YEAR IN REVIEW
– Ben Beckman, NE Extension Educator
As humans, we often like to try and compare things to average or normal. Was the precipitation received within the expected normal range? Were temperatures for a particular season outside of normal? Was our pasture or hay production in the range we consider normal?
Taking this time to look back on last year is beneficial, but resist the temptation to compare things to normal. Very rarely, do things in the ever-changing world of agriculture really meet average or normal.
Depending on where you live in Nebraska, 2021 may have been too dry or just right. Even if we stick to one location, depending on the time of year, temperatures may have been too cold or too hot. Nature is never static. If it were, our job as producers would be much easier. As it is, we lay out our plans then inevitably have to adapt as Mother Nature throws one curveball after another our way. Did anyone foresee the late season army-worm menace we dealt with this year?
Producers work in a dynamic system that seldom repeats itself. In doing so, we learn to be adaptive, to build resilience into our production and planning, and try to spread our eggs out amongst several different baskets. When you take time to look back this year on the challenges and successes, try to see where adapting to a problem worked or how a bit more flexibility next year could keep an issue from arising. Leave the normal and average comparisons out.
Central Valley Ag Delivers Value
Central Valley Ag continues to give back to member-owners, demonstrating the cooperative spirit. Recently, CVA’s Board of Directors approved the distribution of patronage to its member-owners. A total payout of $18.0 Million was approved based on Central Valley Ag’s continuing success. $10.8 Million will be returned in cash, while the remaining $7.2 Million has been allocated as non-qualified equity to be returned in a future year.
“I am proud of CVA’s performance, and our ability to deliver these payments to our patrons,” said Carl Dickinson, CEO of Central Valley Ag. “We truly appreciate the business of our member-owners and are excited to share in the success of the cooperative.”
Patronage is calculated based on volume during CVA’s fiscal year. Fiscal Year 2021 began September 1, 2020 and ended on August 31, 2021. Checks were mailed to patrons on December 16, 2021.
CVA is also passing through $8.73 million in Section 199 Tax Deductions to the members who marketed their grain through Central Valley Ag. 199 Notifications were mailed to qualifying patrons on December 16, 2021.
The success of Central Valley Ag is a result of its member-owners support, Board of Director's vision, and the employee's dedication to excellent customer service.
USDA SURVEYING CATTLE OPERATIONS
In January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will survey about 41,000 cattle operations nationwide to provide an up-to-date measure of U.S. cattle inventories.
“This information helps producers make timely, informed business decisions and plan for herd expansion or reduction. It also helps packers and government leaders evaluate expected slaughter volume for future months and determine potential supplies for export,” said Upper Midwest Regional Director Greg Thessen. “Obtaining the current count of cattle will serve as an important decision-making tool for the entire agriculture industry.”
During the first two weeks of January, Iowa producers will have the opportunity to report their beef and dairy cattle inventories, calf crop, death loss and cattle on feed information. To make it as convenient as possible for producers to participate in the survey, NASS offers the option of responding via the Internet, mail, or telephone interview with a NASS representative. NASS safeguards the privacy of all respondents and publishes only aggregate data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified.
Survey results will be published in the Cattle report to be released on January 31, 2022. These and all NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov/publications.
USDA Invests Nearly $5 Million in Wetland Mitigation Banks
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded nearly $5 million in grant funding for the Wetland Mitigation Banking Program (WMBP), a grant program that supports the development of mitigation banks for the restoration, creation or enhancement of wetlands to compensate for unavoidable impacts to wetlands at another location.
The awarded funding adds to the more than $12.4 million that has been provided to 13 partners in 11 states since 2016. This year's awards prioritized projects in states with large amounts of wetlands as well as large numbers of producers with wetland determination requests.
"The Wetland Mitigation Banking Program supports critical wetland restoration and protection while also expanding options for farmers and ranchers," said Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Terry Cosby. "Wetlands provide valuable ecosystem functions, including wildlife habitat and groundwater recharge. These projects allow us to collaborate with states, local governments and other qualified partners to restore, create and enhance wetland ecosystems."
Awarded projects include:
- $846,000 for Magnolia Land Partners, LLC in Nebraska
- $581,000 for Magnolia Land Partners, LLC in Illinois
- $516,000 for Wisconsin DNR
- $496,000 for Corblu Ecology Group, LLC in Georgia
- $992,000 for Minton Environmental Consultants, LLC in Missouri
- $575,000 for Wildlife Mississippi
- $875,000 for North Dakota Agricultural Mitigation, Inc.
The WMBP helps agricultural producers comply with wetland conservation provisions and conserve ecologically important wetlands by allowing for off-site mitigation through the purchase of credits from wetland banks established and run by local partners.
NRCS awarded the first WMBP grants in 2016 and so far, 21 wetland bank sites have been established through the program, totaling 313 acres. Several more sites have been secured and are in various stages of the restoration process. States with awarded projects include Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio and South Dakota.
Wetland mitigation banks are helping producers across the country. In Georgia, NRCS has partnered since 2016 with Corblu Ecology Group, LLC, an environmental consulting firm, to develop multiple mitigation bank sites to sell credits to producers statewide. In Ohio, NRCS funded the restoration and development of a thirty-acre mitigation bank in the Otter Creek Watershed, creating habitats for wildlife and migratory birds.
Awardees may use WMBP funding to support mitigation bank site identification, development of a mitigation banking instrument, site restoration, land surveys, permitting and title searches and market research. WMBP funding cannot be used to purchase land or a conservation easement.
American Farm Bureau Honoring County Farm Bureaus at Convention
The American Farm Bureau Federation will honor 18 county Farm Bureaus at its 103rd Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, Jan. 7-12. The selected winners participated in the County Activities of Excellence program and demonstrated a commitment to offering quality programming to their counties. Attendees can learn more about these winning programs, and several of last year’s winning programs, during the trade show at convention.
Among the winners:
Nebraska
County Connections Grant, Lancaster. Offered grant money to other county Farm Bureaus to assist in funding member leadership development projects.
“These county Farm Bureaus are leading through innovation to support and engage with their local communities despite the challenges brought on by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall.
Herbicide-resistant weeds? K-State researcher hopes to crush them
A Kansas State University researcher in western Kansas says he may have an innovative way to kill weeds commonly found in farmer’s fields: simply put, he wants to crush ‘em.
That’s right, says Vipan Kumar, a weed scientist at the Agricultural Research Center in Hays: He’s studying a method known as Harvest Weed Seed Control (HWSC) in which weed seed is literally pulverized by a rolling cage mill that is fitted to the back of a combine during harvest.
“This system,” Kumar said, “is designed to destroy weed seed so that it becomes non-viable for the next year.”
HWSC is a method first advanced in western Australia, known as a region where weeds have developed widespread resistance to common herbicides. A version of the rolling cage mill was actually developed by an Australian grower who had become frustrated with other weed control methods.
Current versions are also now being manufactured in Canada. Kumar is cooperating with weed scientists at Iowa State University and the University of Arkansas to find out just how effective a system that crushes weed seeds will work in Midwest and High Plains crop fields.
“We don’t know much yet; not much data exists in the United States,” Kumar said. “We conducted a preliminary test this fall in a grower’s field, and the seed crusher did a decent job of crushing Palmer amaranth seeds in a milo field that was heavily infested with pigweed.
“I’m hoping that this will be a good fit for wheat and soybean folks, as well, and that they can make good use of it in terms of integrated weed management.”
Kansas farmers routinely face such nemeses as Palmer amaranth and other pigweeds, feral ryegrass and kochia, which have developed varying degrees of resistance to herbicides. Because of that – plus the rising cost of chemicals and other inputs – farmers will need options for managing weeds.
“Longer term from a weed science standpoint, HWSC is one type of technique farmers need to bring into their management system if they want to mitigate the resistant weeds on the farm,” Kumar said. “There is no silver bullet; you won’t resolve all your problems with this method, but it can play a critical role in integrated weed management if you combine it with other methods of weed control, and you are making weed management plans for the next 4-5 years rather than an annual basis.”
To date, the roller cage system is likely cost-prohibitive for farmers – manufacturers currently are producing the system for about $75,000 – and using the system will require a combine to pull at 80-100 horsepower. But Kumar anticipates the price for the system will come down over time as the technology is perfected and use becomes more widespread.
“As a researcher, we can show growers if it’s going to work or not,” Kumar said. “Over the next couple of years, we will create data from Kansas fields; we already have data from Iowa where we found that this system destroys more than 90% of waterhemp seed, using the same unit from the same manufacturer that we are using.”
He anticipates that K-State’s research also will dig deeper into the economics, factoring in the cost of equipment, potential yield increases and decreased use of herbicides.
Kumar, who is part of a national core of scientists that go by the acronym GROW (Getting Rid Of Weeds), has also studied the benefits of another HWSC known as chaff lining, in which crop chaff and weeds are funneled into narrow rows behind a combine. The residue is left to over-winter, causing the weed seed to decay, or the thin row can be destroyed with fire.
He has teamed with weed scientists from Colorado, Oklahoma, Iowa and Arkansas on two, multi-state grants funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The researchers will explore the effectiveness and relevance of chaff lining and the seed crusher as part of integrated weed management in the High Plains’ no-till dryland crop production systems.
RFA Ends Landmark 40th Year Growing Even Stronger
The Renewable Fuels Association closes out its yearlong 40th anniversary celebration this week with a fitting milestone, welcoming more than 20 new members in 2021.
“For four decades strong, RFA’s member companies have worked together to move the renewable fuels industry forward,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “Whether innovating new technologies, shaping policies and regulations, or opening new markets, RFA’s members remain at the forefront of the low-carbon bioeconomy. This record of achievement was underscored in 2021, as RFA saw a record number of new member companies join the association. We welcome them to the team and look forward to working together to chart the industry’s course for the next 40 years and beyond.”
New producer members include Calgren Renewable Fuels, Gevo, Heron Lake BioEnergy, LanzaJet, Lincolnway Energy and Mid America Bio Energy. New associate members include Antea Group, Booster, Chase Nedrow, Clariant, Corn Marketing Program of Michigan, Cozairo, Data Gumbo, EcoEngineers, Farmers Business Network/Gradable, Honeywell, Navigator CO2 Ventures, Next Wave Energy Partners, Sorghum Checkoff, StepOne Tech America, and Terracon.
RFA’s 40th anniversary activities included a series of profiles telling the stories of several industry pioneers who were involved in the beginnings of the industry, such as Ron Miller, Bruce Heine, Bob Reynolds, Bob Dinneen, Randy Doyal, and Kelly Davis. At its annual membership meeting in late September, RFA also released a poster timeline of the industry highlights, showing how the association has been the driving force behind all the major developments that helped grow the U.S. ethanol industry.
Bayer Halts Roundup Talks After U.S. Supreme Court Inquiry
Bayer AG said it’s halting discussions to settle further claims over its Roundup weedkiller after the U.S. Supreme Court signaled interest in the company’s effort to end thousands of suits alleging the product causes cancer.
According to Bloomberg News, Bayer is “encouraged” by the court’s call to hear the views of the Solicitor General on its case challenging a $25 million award to Edwin Hardeman, a California man who says decades of exposure to Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the Leverkusen, Germany-based company said in a statement on Monday.
The company argues that federal approval of Roundup’s label meant Hardeman’s suit -- and others like it -- couldn’t go forward.
The pace of resolutions had already slowed considerably over the past year. When Bayer initially announced its Roundup settlement plans in June 2020, it said it had agreements to resolve about 94,000 cases out of 125,000 total claims from consumers and farmers. Last month, the company said it had settlements or was close to reaching deals for 98,000 cases in all. Bayer hasn’t updated the 125,000 figure concerning the total number of Roundup cases in the past year and a half.
No comments:
Post a Comment