Tuesday October 29 Harvest Progress + Ag News

 NEBRASKA CROP PROGRESS AND CONDITION

For the week ending October 27, 2024, there were 6.5 days suitable for fieldwork, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Topsoil moisture supplies rated 48% very short, 36% short, 16% adequate, and 0% surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 44% very short, 36% short, 20% adequate, and 0% surplus.

Field Crops Report:
Corn harvested was 79%, ahead of 72% last year and 67% for the five-year average.

Soybeans harvested was 94%, ahead of 89% last year, and near 91% average.

Winter wheat condition rated 9% very poor, 20% poor, 37% fair, 31% good, and 3% excellent. Winter wheat emerged was 81%, behind 93% last year and 90% average.

Sorghum harvested was 71%, ahead of 65% last year and 66% average.

Dry edible beans harvested was 96%, equal to last year, and near 95% average.

Pasture and Range Report:
Pasture and range conditions rated 37% very poor, 26% poor, 24% fair, 12% good, and 1% excellent.



Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report

Row crop harvest was ahead of normal as Iowa’s farmers had 6.7 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending October 27, 2024, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Field activities included harvesting corn and soybeans, completing fall tillage, and applying fall fertilizer.

Topsoil moisture condition rated 43 percent very short, 42 percent short, 15 percent adequate and 0 percent surplus. Topsoil moisture condition rated at least 75 percent short to very short across the State. Subsoil moisture condition rated 34 percent very short, 46 percent short, 20 percent adequate and 0 percent surplus.

Corn harvest for grain reached 84 percent statewide, almost a week ahead of last year and 12 days ahead of the five-year average. South central Iowa farmers still have 34 percent of their corn for grain remaining to harvest, while farmers have already harvested 91 percent in north central Iowa. Moisture content of field corn being harvested was 14 percent. Iowa’s soybean harvest was nearly complete at 96 percent.

Pasture condition continued to fall and rated 19 percent good to excellent this week.  Pastures have largely gone dormant due to shorter daylight hours, cooler temperatures, and dry conditions.



USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report

U.S. farmers continued to take advantage of favorable harvest weather conditions last week to bring in the corn and soybean crops ahead of schedule, USDA NASS reported in its weekly Crop Progress report on Monday. But the speedy progress of harvest could slow somewhat for some farmers this week, as a more active weather pattern is forecast to bring precipitation to parts of the country, according to DTN forecasts.

CORN
-- Harvest progress: Corn harvest moved ahead 16 percentage points nationally last week to reach 81% complete as of Sunday. That was 13 points ahead of last year's 68% and 17 points ahead of the five-year average of 52%.

SOYBEANS
-- Harvest progress: Soybean harvest continued to slow last week, moving ahead 8 percentage points to reach 89% complete as of Sunday. That was still 7 points ahead of last year's 82% and 11 points ahead of the five-year average of 78%.

WINTER WHEAT
-- Planting progress: Winter wheat planting moved ahead another 7 points to reach 80% complete nationwide as of Sunday, 2 points behind last year's 82% and 4 points behind the five-year average of 84%.
-- Crop development: An estimated 56% of winter wheat had emerged as of Sunday, 5 points behind both last year and the five-year average of 61%.
-- Crop condition: In its first condition rating of the 2025 winter wheat crop, USDA NASS estimated that 38% of the crop that had emerged was in good to excellent condition. That trailed last year's rating of 47% good to excellent by 9 percentage points. Twenty-three percent of the crop was rated very poor to poor compared to 18% at the same time last year.



Nebraska Extension’s Ag Smart Money Week offers financial learning for ag producers

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center for Agricultural Profitability and Nebraska Extension will present a series of webinars and in-person workshops to help agricultural producers better manage and improve their finances and operations during Ag Smart Money week, Nov. 4-8.

The week includes daily webinars and workshops focusing on budgeting, cost of production, debt management, leasing considerations and more. They will highlight tools, resources and information to help farmers and ranchers better manage financial risk to improve their business. A series of hybrid events that are geared toward education on family living expenses will offer in-person learning opportunities at select locations across the state.

“The week will provide critical tools and insights that can help producers to make more informed decisions about their businesses so they can manage risk, capitalize on opportunities and be profitable in the long run,” said Shannon Sand, a Nebraska Extension educator and agricultural economist. “The financial strategies that will be covered will offer producers the tools they need to stay resilient, grow their business and make sound financial decisions.”

Ag Smart Money Week 2024 schedule:
    Nov. 4 at noon CT: Budgeting Family Living into Cost of Production (hybrid event)
    Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. CT: Understanding Annual Cow Costs
    Nov. 5 at noon CT: Current Trends in Nebraska Land Values, Cash Rents and Lease Considerations for 2025
    Nov. 6 at noon CT: Savings and Investments for Farm and Ranch Wellbeing (hybrid event)
    Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. CT: 2025 Cost of Production and Using the ABC Program for Your Operation
    Nov. 7 at noon CT: Thanksgiving Prices and Inflation
    Nov. 8 at noon CT: Navigating Debt — Strategies for Farms and Ranches (hybrid event)

In-person locations for hybrid events
Three hybrid events are part of the Ag Family Living Expenses series during Ag Smart Money Week, offering the opportunity to attend virtually or in person:
    Nov. 4 at noon CT: Budgeting Family Living into Cost of Production (hybrid event)
    Nov. 6 at noon CT: Savings and Investments for Farm and Ranch Wellbeing (hybrid event)
    Nov. 8 at noon CT: Navigating Debt — Strategies for Farms and Ranches (hybrid event)

The following locations will host each in-person event:
    Fullerton — Nance County Extension Office, 304 3rd St.
    Grand Island — Raising Nebraska, 501 E. Fonner Park Road, Suite 100
    North Platte — Lincoln-Logan-McPherson County Extension Office, 348 W. State Farm Road
    Scottsbluff — Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center, 4502 Ave. I
    West Point — Cuming County Courthouse (Room 50), 200 S. Lincoln St.

Each session is free to attend. Registration is required for both the virtual and in-person events. For more information, and to register, visit https://cap.unl.edu/smartmoney.



New Center for Rural Affairs fact sheet provides resources for dual-use solar ordinances

As the demand for renewable energy rises, the future of solar development on agricultural land is a growing concern for state and local governments.

A new fact sheet from the Center for Rural Affairs highlights the use of both solar energy generation and agricultural production on the same land.

“Dual use is a great solution to alleviate concerns about solar on agricultural land,” said Mallory Tope, policy associate with the Center for Rural Affairs. “We encourage local decision makers to consider agrisolar and dual use when drafting or amending ordinances related to solar development.”

According to the Center, dual-use solar sites offer combined renewable energy production with livestock grazing, crop production, pollinator habitats, or beekeeping.

“Dual use has many economic benefits, like increased tax revenues, lease payments to local landowners, and the ability to continue agricultural use,” said Tope. “Through creating balanced siting standards, county officials and landowners can play an active role in capturing those benefits.”

To support dual use development, counties could set additional land-use expectations, adopt zoning approaches that allow for mixed land use, or establish overlay districts for special solar permits.

“For dual-use solar to be possible, it is important to avoid overly prescriptive siting regulations such as restrictions on panel height and prohibitively specific vegetation management requirements,” said Tope.  

The fact sheet addresses ordinance development such as land-use planning, definitions, zoning and sitting regulations, goals of dual use, and construction considerations.

To read and download a copy of “Best Practices for Adopting Dual-Use Solar Ordinances,” visit cfra.org/publications.



Farmers invited to apply for tour exploring the impact of EU policies on agriculture

Iowa Farm Bureau members are invited to apply for an International Market Study Tour from June 7-15, 2025, visiting Brussels and the Netherlands.

The tour will explore agricultural practices and climate-policy impacts in Europe, with opportunities to engage directly with EU agricultural policy organizations and meet farmers affected by EU regulations.

The EU's Green Deal set a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% and have 25% of agricultural land under organic practices by 2030. Farmer protests have emerged across the EU in reaction to measures intended to meet this target, including government buyouts of family farms and agreements that prevent future livestock production.

“Our primary goal is to learn about EU climate policy to help Iowa farmers stay ahead of it stateside,” says Dr. Christopher Pudenz, Iowa Farm Bureau’s economics and research manager. “We’re crafting every aspect of this trip to provide Farm Bureau members with first-hand stories—and warnings—about European policy to share with fellow farmers, communities and policymakers back home.”

Participants on the tour will visit key agricultural sites such as Royal FloraHolland, the world’s largest flower auction, and Greentech, a horticultural show featuring presentations on food security and sustainable farming practices. The itinerary also features Grand-Place in Brussels—a UNESCO World Heritage site—the iconic Kinderdijk windmills in Holland and a walking tour of Amsterdam.

The tour, priced at $2,500 per person, includes round-trip airfare, double-occupancy hotel accommodations and meals. Participants may bring a significant other for an additional fee of $5,800.

Applications must be submitted by Jan 3, 2025, and space is limited. Early applications are encouraged, as only a select group of participants will be chosen.

For more information or to apply, visit www.iowafarmbureau.com/tour.



USDA Restricts PACA Violators in Florida, Maryland and Nebraska from Operating in the Produce Industry

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has imposed sanctions on three produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA). These sanctions include suspending the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without approval from USDA.

The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:

    H&L Fresh Produce LLC, operating out of South Sioux City, Neb., for failing to pay a $4,131 award in favor of a Texas seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Lusio Torres was listed as the manager of the business.

    FP & H LLC, doing business as Fleischmanns Produce, operating out of Doral, Fla., for failing to pay a $30,345 award in favor of a Florida seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Jesus Menendez was listed as the sole member of the business.

    J.A. Blurr Farms LLC, operating out of Hurlock, Md., for failing to pay a $23,588 award in favor of an Arkansas seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Shamar T. Hyatt was listed as the manager and member of the business.

PACA provides an administrative forum to handle disputes involving produce transactions; this may result in USDA’s issuance of a reparation order that requires damages to be paid by those not meeting their contractual obligations in buying and selling fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. USDA is required to suspend the license or impose sanctions on an unlicensed business that fails to pay PACA reparations awarded against it as well as impose restrictions against those principals determined to be responsibly connected to the business when the order is issued. Those individuals, including sole proprietors, partners, members, managers, officers, directors or major stockholders, may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without USDA approval.

By issuing these penalties, USDA continues to enforce the prompt and full payment for produce while protecting the rights of sellers and buyers in the marketplace.



Soy Growers Alarmed After EPA Moves Endangered Species Act Goalposts

The American Soybean Association is expressing concern after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency imposed additional restrictions on farmers—a move that seems to have followed adverse comments from environmental groups. A new registration for glufosinate-P was announced October 18; however, EPA lagged in releasing the final label for that registration. The label is finally available, and with its public posting, additional, unwarranted restrictions are evident.

Alan Meadows, an American Soybean Association director who grows soybeans in Tennessee, responded, “EPA seems to have relented to pressure from environmental groups and decided to impose additional Endangered Species Act restrictions on farmers.”

In their glufosinate-P draft registration comments, environmental groups claimed the number of runoff points and the size of the spray drift buffers currently required by EPA are insufficient. In response to the comments, EPA expressed confidence in its own findings that the registration would not jeopardize species or their habitats. Further, the agency said the draft registration was informed by the Herbicide Strategy. However, in the final label, additional restrictions were included.

“Somewhere between the draft and final registration, EPA without explanation tripled the number of ESA runoff points required and imposed a new 10-foot mandatory ground spray drift buffer farmers must adopt to use the new glufosinate-P herbicide. Growers should be worried about the precedent this will set,” said Meadows.

According to EPA, the Herbicide Strategy and other ESA strategies are simply frameworks. ASA is concerned that with this decision, EPA has demonstrated it is willing to deviate from its own strategies to set more restrictive requirements for individual registrations. In this, the first new herbicide registration following the Herbicide Strategy being finalized, EPA has imposed additional restrictions above and beyond its previous safety findings.

In a similar move after finalizing the Vulnerable Species Action Plan in September, EPA signaled to the public that it would not impose new restrictions for VSAP species until the overly broad pesticide use limitation area maps for those species were refined. However, the final glufosinate-P registration contains restrictions for two of these species prior to map revisions, one of which, the Whorled Sunflower, was added last minute to the registration—and following the draft. Neither EPA nor commenters raised any concerns specific to the Whorled Sunflower, and yet the agency inexplicably opted to impose a strict VSAP avoidance area in this range, preventing farmers in this area from any use of glufosinate-P.

“The agricultural community should be very concerned,” Meadows concluded. “If this registration is any indication, the Herbicide Strategy could serve as only a base layer of restrictions on which EPA can then tack additional restrictions, including in response to pressure from environmental groups. This is not how the agency should implement a science-based regulatory system, as Congress intended.”



Cattle on Feed Report & Thoughts on Herd Expansion
Glynn T. Tonsor, Ph.D., Department of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University
    
On Friday, October 25th USDA NASS released the latest Cattle on Feed report (https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/m326m174z/tb09m065p/6682zx83w/cofd1024.pdf). October 1st inventory was estimated at 11.60 million, on par with 2023. Placements in September were estimated at 2.16 million, down 2% from 2023 while marketings were estimated at 1.70 million, up 2% from 2023. The inventory and marketing estimates were in-line with public pre-report estimates while September placements came in on the higher end of expectations (down but not down as much as most analysts projected). Taken as a whole, this report is not likely to be a market-mover while perhaps signaling some feeder cattle being pulled ahead for placement in September and/or current feeder cattle supplies being larger than expected.

The October Cattle on Feed report also contained an estimate of steer relative to heifer inventories. For October 1, 2024 USDA estimates that 39.7% of feedlot inventories are heifers which is nearly identical to the 40.0% estimated for October 1, 2023. This reinforces ongoing signals that national breeding herd expansion has not been initiated.

I continue to expect the January Cattle Inventory report to indicate some moderate additional breeding herd liquidation suggesting 2025 will have a lower calf crop. Across several talks I have made the past couple months my herd expansion thesis has been that anecdotal examples of rebuilding may occur in 2025 but that nationally, market-relevant levels of expansion would not begin until at least the summer of 2026. The recent bouts of dryness in the Midwest make me even more confident in this. Moreover, recognition that while market-reported $/cow returns in 2024 are slated to be attractive for many producers, when put on an inflation-adjusted basis they have yet to exceed the memorable year of 2014. Likewise, when one moves beyond a $/cow approach to investment and decision-making framing around percentage returns (ROI, return-on-investment %) reflecting elevated capital necessary to operate then attraction in expansion may be further tempered. While on balance I do envision heifer retention will occur nationally, starting in 2026 at the earliest, there indeed are multiple reasons “typical” producers are being rational in not yet pulling the herd expansion trigger. Implications clearly follow for calf crop size and industry capacity utilization discussions will continue as well.



USDA Announces Appointments to National Sheep Industry Improvement Center Board of Directors

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the appointment of one producer and one expert in finance and management to each serve as members on the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center Board of Directors. The newly appointed members will serve three-year terms from January 2025 to January 2028.

Newly appointed members are:
    Producer – Stephen Clements, Philip, South Dakota
    Expert in Finance and Management – James W. Percival, Xenia, Ohio

The board is composed of seven voting members and two non-voting members. Voting members include four active U.S. sheep producers, two members with expertise in finance and management and one member with expertise in lamb, lamb product or wool marketing. Non-voting members include USDA’s Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics.

More information about the center is available on the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center website.

The Sheep Industry Improvement Center was established as part of the 2008 Farm Bill and administers a grant program designed to improve the infrastructure of the U.S. sheep industry by strengthening and enhancing the production and marketing of sheep and sheep products. The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service provides oversight of the center.



USDA Launches $15 Million Program to Promote Organic Dairy Products in Schools and Youth Programs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced the launch of the Organic Dairy Product Promotion (ODPP) program, allocating $15 million to expand access to organic dairy products in educational institutions and youth programs. The initiative was announced today by USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt during a visit to Vermont. Funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), the program will increase consumption of organic dairy products among children and young adults while creating new opportunities for small and mid-sized organic dairy producers.

“Expanding access to a variety of organic dairy products in schools and community programs promotes healthy consumption habits and strengthens local dairy markets,” said Under Secretary Moffitt. “Announcing the Organic Dairy Product Promotion program during National Farm to School Month is yet another way to celebrate USDA’s commitment to connecting producers to new, local markets and providing youth with healthy, fresh dairy products from nearby farms.”

Through the program, AMS will enter into cooperative agreements with four lead organizations: the University of California, Fresno; University of Tennessee; Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets; and University of Wisconsin. Each of these organizations currently leads one of the four Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) Initiatives and, therefore, is uniquely positioned to implement the ODDP program. Key program objectives include:
    Increasing domestic consumption of organic dairy products among children and young adults.
    Diversifying dairy products offered in learning institutions and at other youth and young adult focused program sites.
    Building partnerships with, and networks of, businesses involved in organic dairy product production and the distribution of organic dairy products within the lead organization’s region, which aligns with their DBI service area.

The lead organizations will develop region-specific projects to distribute organic dairy products to K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and other youth and young adult focused programs and institutions. Lead organizations may also subaward funds for procurement to dairy businesses, educational institutions including K-12 schools and colleges/universities, or other organizations with industry expertise to implement the program.