Wednesday April 09 Ag News

 Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska Soybean Board to Sponsor Grain Bin Rescue Equipment and Training

The Nebraska Corn Board (NCB) and Nebraska Soybean Board (NSB) are partnering to improve grain bin safety by donating two grain rescue tubes and two training sessions to fire and rescue departments in Nebraska. In collaboration with Nationwide and the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS), this initiative aims to equip rural fire and rescue teams with the knowledge and tools to respond to grain bin entrapments effectively.

Grain bin accidents remain a significant hazard in agriculture, with suffocation from engulfment being the leading cause of death in grain bins. Between 2007 and 2023, there were 573 documented grain entrapments, and nearly half of all confined space accidents in 2023 were grain-related.

“Grain bin accidents can happen in seconds, and access to proper training and rescue equipment can mean the difference between life and death,” said Andy Chvatal, NSB executive director. “We are proud to work with great partners to ensure Nebraska’s rural emergency responders have the resources they need to protect Nebraska farm families.”

To facilitate the donation process, NSB and NCB have created an entry form https://form.jotform.com/250633834153151 for Nebraska fire and first responder departments to apply for the grain rescue tubes and training sessions. Community members, farmers and emergency personnel are encouraged to submit nominations explaining how their local fire department would benefit from this life-saving equipment and training. The deadline to submit nominations is April 10, 2025. The two selected grain rescue tube training sessions will be scheduled after the nomination deadline by NECAS staff.



INTERNATIONAL TEAM CALLS FOR NEW APPROACH TO ESTIMATE CROP YIELD POTENTIAL, GAPS

An international team of agronomists is calling for a new approach to estimate crop yield potential and gaps — information that is critical in planning how to meet growing food demand.

University of Nebraska–Lincoln researchers made major contributions to the study, published online April 8 in the journal Nature Food.

“We are in a race to feed the world and to try to feed the population with the available agricultural land that we have,” said Patricio Grassini, Sunkist Distinguished Professor of Agronomy and one of the paper’s authors.

To do so requires estimates that predict both yield potential, as determined by weather and soil properties, and yield gaps, which is the difference between yield potential and current farm yields, which indicates the room that exists to increase food production on existing cropland. Those estimates are essential in making investments in agricultural research and development, both from public and private sources.

At issue is how best to compile those estimates.

In the Nature Food paper, a team that includes scientists from Nebraska and three other institutions calls into question the statistical methods now widely used. In addition to Grassini, Husker authors of the study included Fatima Tenorio, Fernando Aramburu Merlos and Juan Rattalino Edreira, research assistant professors of agronomy.

In the United States, for example, current statistical models tend to rely too heavily on best-case scenarios — the most productive counties with the most fertile soils in a year with the most favorable weather, Grassini said. The methods also extrapolate a single yield potential across large regions with a wide diversity of climates and soils that likely would produce a similarly wide range in yield potential.

“Therefore, if you use that year as a reference, you are going to be overestimating your production potential because the best county with the best soils in the best year doesn’t really represent your average climate or your most typical soil across the state,” Grassini said.

But in other parts of the world — Africa, for example — these models might underestimate crop yield. There, farmers may have limited access to inputs compared to producers in other areas, thus attaining yields far below what the climate can support.

This statistical approach also leads to conflicting results, with production potential estimates almost doubling from one method to another. Grassini said this approach — driven mostly by geographers and statisticians, not agronomists — has been largely accepted, and more rigorous analysis is needed.

The research team’s conclusions are explained in the paper, titled “Statistical approaches are inadequate for accurate estimation of yield potential and gaps at regional level.”

The study compared estimates of yield potential and yield gaps of major U.S. rainfed crops — corn, soybeans and wheat — derived from four statistical models against those derived from a “bottom-up” spatial scaling approach based on robust crop modeling and local weather and soil data, such as the Global Yield Gap and Water Productivity Atlas developed at Nebraska.

Process-based crop models used in this study have been rigorously validated for their capacity to estimate yield potential based on experimental data from well-managed crops grown across a wide range of environments. This bottom-up approach, which better incorporates long-term data and regional variations, is clearly superior, the team found.

“I expect some controversy,” Grassini said of the team’s conclusions challenging the conventional wisdom.

The approach recommended by the team should better capture yield gaps, which “can help identify regions with largest room to increase crop production, which, in turn provides a basis to orient agricultural research and development programs.”

“This is a call to set the record straight because if we are going to use this information to inform policy and our investments, we better make sure that the information is sound and has been validated,” Grassini said.

Additional team members included Romulo Lollato, associate professor of agronomy, Kansas State University; Sotirios Archontoulis, professor of agronomy, Iowa State University; and Antoine Couëdel, who completed his postdoctoral research at Nebraska and is a researcher at the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development, France.



Wanted: Nebraska Producers Who are 40-50 Years Old

Do you know someone who has/had colon cancer?

The University of Nebraska Medical Center is looking for Nebraska farmers and ranchers, ages 40 to 50 years old, to complete a survey.

Because Nebraska has a high rate of colon cancer, more information is needed for this age group.

The survey is short (10-25 minutes), and participants will receive a $20 gift card in the mail.

Any questions? Contact Dr. Watanabe-Galloway (swatanabe@unmc.edu) at University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Survey link can be found at https://redcap.link/6lzd93gp.     



Bacon, Hurd, Gottheimer, Meeks, Introduce Bill to Restore Congress’ Constitutional Role in Trade

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE-02), along with Reps. Jeff Hurd (R-CO-03), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05), and Gregory Meeks (D-NY-05) introduced bipartisan legislation to return Congress’ constitutionally authorized role in setting and approving U.S. trade policy. H.R. 2665 The Trade Review Act of 2025 requires that unilateral tariffs proposed by the executive branch receive congressional authority.

Bacon has publicly stated his support for some tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration while also maintaining that the Constitution gives Congress the task of imposing tariffs under Article I Section 8. This legislation is the companion bill to Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Maria Cantwell’s (D-WA) legislation, The Trade Review Act of 2025, which mirrors Grassley’s 2019 Section 232 tariff reform efforts as Senate Finance Committee Chairman during the first Trump administration.

“The Constitution clearly gives the authority for taxes and tariffs to Congress, but for too long, we have handed that authority to the executive branch,” said Rep. Bacon. “This is less about the actual tariffs laid by the Trump Administration, some of which I support because they are reciprocal, but more a commitment to uphold the Constitution. Congress has the power of the purse. Our Founders created checks and balances for a reason.”

“As a constitutional conservative, I am proud to co-lead the ‘Trade Review Act of 2025’, reasserting our congressional responsibility in imposing tariffs,” said Rep. Hurd. “Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution is clear: ‘The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.’ This isn’t a political issue for me. I believe Congress must reclaim its constitutionally mandated authority, and I would support this measure regardless of who is in the White House.”

“When people are already struggling with higher costs, we must do everything possible to make their lives more affordable. President Trump’s tariffs are doing just the opposite — raising the cost of nearly everything from coffee to cars and clothing while slashing people’s retirement savings and sending markets plummeting," said Rep. Gottheimer. "That’s why I’m introducing the bipartisan Trade Review Act with Rep. Bacon to restore Congress’ constitutional authority to oversee foreign trade.”

“For too long, presidents have wielded tariffs as political weapons rather than strategic tools,” said Rep. Meeks. “The Trade Review Act restores constitutional checks and balances by ensuring Congress has a voice before American families are hit with higher costs. If a president wants to raise taxes on the American people through tariffs, they should be required to explain why—and get Congressional approval to do it.”

What is included?
The bill establishes a process for Congressional review of new or increased tariffs (duties) imposed by the President. Specifically, it would:
    Require the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of imposing or increasing a duty on imported goods, including an explanation and an assessment of its impact on U.S. businesses and consumers.
    Limit the duration of such duties to 60 days, unless Congress enacts a joint resolution of approval to extend them.
    Allow Congress to end the duty early by passing a joint resolution of disapproval.
    Exclude antidumping and countervailing duties, which are governed by other statutes.
    Provide expedited procedures in Congress for considering resolutions of approval or disapproval.

Overall, the bill increases Congressional oversight over the executive branch’s ability to unilaterally impose tariffs.



Monthly Dairy Webinar On April 23 To Focus On Dairy Rations Without BMR Corn Silage

The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Dairy Team monthly webinar series continues on Wednesday, April 23, from 12 noon to 1 p.m. This program will be presented by Dr. Adam Krull and Dr. Luiz Ferraretto discussing dairy rations without BMR corn silage.

Adam Krull is a dairy veterinarian and nutritionist currently working for Pioneer, where he provides technical support to dairy producers, optimizing forage production, harvest, storage and preservation to enhance animal productivity and health.

Trained at Iowa State with expertise in dairy science, veterinary medicine, and veterinary microbiology, he brings extensive experience as a general dairy practitioner and former clinical assistant professor at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Krull's passion extends to his hobby farm, where he and his wife Amanda raise a herd of registered black Angus cattle

Luiz Ferraretto is originally from Brazil where he earned his B.S. in Animal Science from São Paulo State University in 2008. Immediately after the completion of his B.S. Degree, Luiz joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison for an internship (2009) followed by an M.S. (2011) and Ph.D. (2015) in dairy science with a focus on applied dairy nutrition and forage quality. After the completion of his Ph.D., Luiz joined The William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute as a Post-doctoral Research Associate. From 2016 to 2020, Luiz was an Assistant Professor of Livestock Nutrition at the University of Florida. Luiz joined UW-Madison in May of 2020.

His research and extension interests are applied ruminant nutrition and management. His program is focused on understanding and improving starch and fiber utilization by dairy cows, corn silage and high-moisture corn quality and digestibility, the use of alternative by-products as feed ingredients, supplementation of feed additives to lactating cows, and the development of on-farm and laboratory techniques for forage and feed analysis.

Producers, dairy consultants and industry reps are encouraged to attend the free webinar live from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23 by registering at least one hour before the webinar at: https://go.iastate.edu/RATIONBMR

For more information contact the ISU Extension and Outreach Dairy Field Specialist in your area: in Northwest Iowa, Fred M. Hall, 712-737-4230 or fredhall@iastate.edu; in Northeast Iowa, Jennifer Bentley, 563-382-2949 or jbentley@iastate.edu; in East Central Iowa, Larry Tranel, 563-583-6496 or tranel@iastate.edu.



Naig Invites Students to Enter the 2025 Choose Iowa Calendar Contest

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig is inviting school-aged Iowa students to participate in the 2025 Choose Iowa Calendar Contest. Choose Iowa is the state’s signature brand for Iowa grown, raised and made food, beverages and ag products and it is a marketing initiative of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

"The Choose Iowa Coloring Calendar Contest offers school-aged students a fun opportunity to highlight Iowa agriculture and its incredible importance to our state," said Secretary Naig. “I encourage students to share their original artwork for a chance to be featured and published in this popular annual coloring calendar. I invite parents, teachers, or grandparents to help your student get their artwork submitted this spring, and I can’t wait to celebrate the talented students who are selected at the 2025 Iowa State Fair.”

Submitted artwork should feature at least one aspect of Iowa agriculture, with an emphasis on food, beverages, livestock, or crop production, including horticulture. Submissions will be judged on creativity and connections to agriculture in everyday life. Entries are due June 1 at 12:00 p.m. and winners will be announced at the 2025 Iowa State Fair.

Secretary Naig will recognize the winning artists during a special awards ceremony on Tuesday, August 12 in the Agriculture Building at the 2025 Iowa State Fair. Winning submissions will also be included in the 2025/2026 Choose Iowa calendar distributed by the Department during the Iowa State Fair and online at ChooseIowa.com.

School-aged Iowa students up to 18-years-old are invited to participate. Pictures should be drawn on plain white, 8.5 by 11-inch paper in a horizontal orientation using only black lines. The pictures should not be colored in. For creative inspiration, the 2024/2025 calendar may be viewed here.

Entries can be submitted via the form found on the Choose Iowa website, emailed to chooseiowa@iowaagriculture.gov or mailed to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Attn: Coloring Calendar, 502 E. 9th St., Des Moines, Iowa, 50319.

If mailed, each submission should include the registration sheet with basic information about the artist, including the artist’s name, age, grade, school, hometown as well as the name, email and phone number of a parent or guardian. If the artwork is submitted by the student’s teacher, then the teacher’s name and contact information should be included.

To be eligible for consideration, artwork submissions must be received by the Department by noon on June 1, 2025.



CHS reports second quarter fiscal year 2025 results

CHS Inc., the nation’s leading agribusiness cooperative, today released results for its second quarter of fiscal year 2025. The company reported a net loss of $75.8 million and revenues of $7.8 billion for the quarter that ended Feb. 28, 2025, compared to net income of $170.3 million and revenues of $9.1 billion in the second quarter of fiscal year 2024. For the first six months of fiscal year 2025, the company reported net income of $169.0 million and revenues of $17.1 billion compared to net income of $693.2 million and revenues of $20.5 billion in the first half of fiscal year 2024.

Key highlights for second quarter fiscal year 2025 financial results:
    Despite strong volumes, Energy segment earnings declined substantially from the prior fiscal year due to evolving market conditions that negatively impacted refining margins.
    Ag segment earnings were weaker due to lower grain and oilseed margins, attributed to a more competitive global marketplace and the timing impact of mark-to-market adjustments.
    Equity method investments continued to perform well, with CF Nitrogen being the largest contributor.

"CHS remains focused on operational excellence and enhancing efficiency as we navigate this time of softer commodity markets, policy uncertainty and volatility. I commend our employees around the world for their commitment to strong execution in this challenging environment," said Jay Debertin, president and CEO of CHS Inc. "While margin and pricing pressure on ag and energy product categories continues, our sales volumes remain strong. We are well positioned to help meet our owners' spring planting needs with inputs, services and local expertise."

Energy
A pretax loss of $83.5 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 represents a $135.0 million decrease versus the prior year period and reflects:
    Less favorable market conditions, including the impact of higher U.S. refinery capacity utilization and global supply and demand factors
    A decrease in propane margins, mostly attributable to hedging-related impacts

Ag
A pretax loss of $45.6 million represents a $102.4 million decrease versus the prior year period and reflects:
    Decreased margins for the grain and oilseed product category, primarily due to the timing impact of mark-to-market adjustments as well as global market conditions
    A higher global supply of canola and soybean meal and oil, resulting in weaker oilseed crush margins compared to the prior fiscal year

Nitrogen Production
Pretax earnings of $20.3 million represent a $16.7 million decrease versus the prior year period, primarily due to the unfavorable impact of increased natural gas costs.

Corporate and Other
Pretax earnings of $24.0 million represent a $16.3 million decrease versus the prior year period, mostly reflecting lower income from the company's equity investment in Ventura Foods, which experienced less favorable market conditions for oil-based food products.



NPPC Praises Sens. Ernst, Grassley, Marshall's Efforts to Avert Pork Industry Crisis
 
National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) President Duane Stateler, a pork producer from McComb, Ohio, released the following statement after U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced the Food Security and Farm Protection Act, which averts a disastrous patchwork of contradictory state-by-state farm regulations that would hit hardest small and medium-sized pork producers.
 
“We thank Senators Ernst, Grassley, and Marshall for standing up for the American pork producer, especially during these times of uncertainty. U.S. pork producers have just suffered the worst 18 months of financial losses in history, and many farm families are contemplating whether they can pass along their farm to the next generation. We urge the Senate to take up this legislation immediately to provide us much-needed relief.”
 
Without certainty from the Food Security and Farm Protection Act, there will be:
    Widespread, damaging consequences for farmers and consumers alike.
    Significant fees forced on producers to pay for outside regulators to audit their farms due to the whims of consumers outside their state’s borders.
    Risk of putting farm families out of business by significantly increasing the cost of raising pigs.
    Increased prices at the grocery store, as much as 41% for certain pork products.

Bipartisan support for providing relief from a patchwork of state laws continues to grow with support from President Donald Trump, former President Joe Biden, and their respective Agriculture Secretaries Brooke Rollins and Tom Vilsack.
 


Senators Stress Importance of Strong RVO Numbers, SRE Reallocation

The Renewable Fuels Association today thanked a bipartisan group of 16 senators, led by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who today urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to put forward strong renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for the 2026 compliance year and beyond.

“These senators understand the importance of lower-cost, American-made renewable fuels to both the farm economy and drivers across the country,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “We thank Sens. Grassley and Klobuchar, and their colleagues, for urging EPA to swiftly finalize strong Renewable Fuel Standard volumes to support American energy independence and economic strength.”

RFA and other renewable fuel proponents are calling on EPA to establish conventional renewable fuel requirements of at least 15 billion gallons for 2026 and beyond, along with higher RVOs for advanced biofuels.

“We have seen the cost to rural communities when RVO levels are set too low,” the senators wrote. “Biofuels are a large economic driver for rural America as farmers’ crops are used for feedstocks and many production facilities are located in small communities. That is at risk if RVO standards are set too low.”

Notably, the senators told EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin that, “should EPA grant any small refinery exemptions, the gallons that would have been obligated to those refiners should be added back into the total number of required gallons, as intended by the structure of the RFS, so that the full volume of the RVOs is accounted for and the overall RVOs are not effectively reduced after the rule is finalized.”

Also signing the letter were Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Roger Marshall (R-IA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tina Smith (R-MN) , Tammy Duckworth (R-IL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Josh Hawley (R-MO).



Growth Energy Commends Senate Letter Urging EPA to Set Strong Biofuel Blending Volumes, Account for SREs

Growth Energy, the nation's largest biofuel trade association, applauded a bipartisan group of 16 senators for a letter they sent this week urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set strong, multi-year renewable volume obligations (RVOs) and to reallocate any gallons lost through the granting of small refinery exemptions (SREs).

Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) led the letter, which eventually garnered another 14 signatures from biofuels supporters from across the Midwest.

"When the Senate's biofuel champions talk, EPA should take care to listen," said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. "This letter hits all the right notes when it comes to offering guidelines that EPA should follow in order to set the strongest possible RVOs that deliver the greatest amount of economic benefits to the rural economy. We commend Senators Grassley and Klobuchar for their leadership in drafting this letter, and we urge EPA to take its advice by setting higher biofuel blending volumes, issuing RVOs for more than just one year, and making sure that any gallons lost to SREs are added back into the total number of required biofuel gallons."  



New Economist Begins Work at NCGA

The National Corn Growers Association announced today that Gretchen Kuck was hired to serve as an economist for the organization. She started her new position this week.

Kuck will work in NCGA’s Washington office and report to Chief Economist Krista Swanson.

“We are thrilled to welcome Gretchen to the team,” said Swanson. “She is widely known in the field as a knowledgeable and outstanding professional, and she will no doubt help us take the NCGA economic portfolio to new heights.”

Kuck comes to NCGA after having served as an agricultural economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and as a contractor for the Office of Agricultural Policy at the U.S. Department of State.

She will provide economic analysis to NCGA staff with a particular focus on supporting the organization’s advocacy work in Washington, D.C.

“I am eager to get to work in this new role,” said Kuck. “I am looking forward to working with Krista and the rest of the team as we work to move the needle for the nation’s corn growers.”

Kuck holds an M.S. in applied economics from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a B.S. in agricultural economics from Texas A&M University.