Thursday May 29 Ag News

 Nebraska Cattlemen Applauds Passage of Bill Protecting Feed Trucks

Nebraska Cattlemen applauds the unanimous passage of LB 490 on Final Reading. This commonsense legislation aims to protect feed trucks and agriculture machinery and equipment from being classified as a motor vehicle.

Specifically, Senator Dan McKeon’s LB 490 would clarify current statues and allow producers to receive titles for their equipment without a obtaining a wrongful motor vehicle classification and requiring producers to unnecessarily pay for licensing and registration. LB 490 also aims to increase efficiency for feed truck dealers and consumers alike, by eliminating the need to continually keep previous bills of sale on a feed truck and by streamlining the buying process.

Executive Vice President Laura Field stated, “Cattle outnumber people more than three to one in Nebraska and it’s no secret that feed trucks are one of the most important pieces of equipment beef cattle producers need to keep their animals healthy. We thank Senator McKeon for his hard work to prevent feed trucks from being wrongfully classified as motor vehicles and we look forward to seeing this bill move across the finish line. Today’s unanimous passage of LB 490 underscores the Legislature’s commitment to advancing the interests of Nebraska’s cattle industry. We also thank the stakeholders who contributed to the development of this important legislation.”

LB 490 will head to Governor Jim Pillen’s desk for further consideration.



CAP Webinar: 2025 Livestock Custom Rates & Budgeting Tools
Jun 5, 2025 12:00 PM
With Glennis McClure, Extension Educator and Farm & Ranch Management Analyst, UNL Center for Agricultural Profitability.

The 2025 Livestock-Related Custom Rates Report is now available—only the second edition of this important resource, following its debut in 2023. This report provides valuable insights to help producers and custom service providers with current custom rate information.

During the June 5, 2025, the webinar hosted by the Center for Agricultural Profitability, Extension Educator Glennis McClure will walk through the survey’s design, share key findings, and explain how the report can be used to set and negotiate fair custom rates.

We’ll also introduce new features of the free Agricultural Budget Calculator (ABC) program, now updated with livestock budgets for cow-calf, backgrounding, finishing cattle, and related operations. These tools help evaluate costs, returns, and support better decision-making.

Find the livestock-related custom rates report at https://cap.unl.edu/customrates.

Find information about the Agricultural Budget Calculator program at https://cap.unl.edu/abc.

Miss the live webinar or want to review it again? Recordings are available — typically within 24 hours of the live webinar — in the archive section of the Center for Agricultural Profitability's webinar page, you can also register using this same link at https://cap.unl.edu/webinars.



NE Corn Board to Meet

The Nebraska Corn Board will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at the Broken Bow Golf Club (2280 Memorial Dr.) in Broken Bow, Neb.

The meeting is open to the public, providing the opportunity for public comment. The board will conduct regular board business.

A copy of the agenda is available by writing to the Nebraska Corn Board, 245 Fallbrook Blvd. Suite 204, Lincoln, NE 68521, sending an email to renee.tichota@nebraska.gov or by calling 402-471-2676.

The Nebraska Corn Board is funded through a producer checkoff investment of one-cent-per-bushel checkoff on all corn marketed in the state and is managed by nine farmer directors. The mission of the Nebraska Corn Board to increase the value and sustainability of Nebraska corn through promotion, market development and research.



365 Ag Groups Call on Congress to Enact Agricultural Labeling Uniformity Act

365 agricultural and related groups have sent a letter calling on Congress to enact the Agricultural Labeling Uniformity Act, a bipartisan bill the groups say is needed to protect access for farmers and the public to safe, well-regulated pesticides. The groups—which represent millions of pesticide users from farmers to scientists, and mosquito control to public land managers—say the legislation would reaffirm and clarify long-standing provisions in federal pesticide law regarding labeling requirements.

Since the 1970s, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act has contained provisions that prevent states from imposing labeling requirements in addition to or different from federal requirements. Yet, the groups warned in the letter that recent state labeling requirements, “directly and unjustifiably contradict EPA’s scientific findings on pesticide safety. These actions risk creating an unworkable, inconsistent patchwork of state pesticide labels that can quickly disrupt commerce and access to these much-needed tools.” The groups are concerned that if contradictory labels are required on the same package, it could lead to products being pulled from the market.

Caleb Ragland, president of the American Soybean Association and a soybean farmer from Kentucky, said, “Not only does FIFRA prohibit states from requiring labels that conflict with federal findings, but also labels are not allowed to be ‘false or misleading.’ If a state requires a product to be labeled in contradiction to scientific findings from federal regulators, it places manufacturers in a no-win situation; either disregard a state labeling requirement or put a false and misleading label on a product, contradicting EPA findings and violating federal law. This situation is not sustainable.”

Supporting the enactment of the Agriculture Labeling Uniformity Act, which was introduced last Congress by Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-SD) and Jim Costa (D-CA), is only the most recent effort farm groups have pursued to bring clarity to pesticide labeling. Earlier this month, 12 national and state agricultural groups filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to hear a case on whether states could require glyphosate to carry a cancer warning label despite repeated findings from EPA and other regulators around the globe that it is not a carcinogen. In March, nearly 300 groups supported a petition from several state attorneys general to conduct clarifying rulemaking at EPA on pesticide labels. Many groups also have been supporting state legislative efforts that reaffirm federal labeling law, including recent state laws passed in Georgia and North Dakota.

Ragland added, “We’re really taking an ‘all of the above’ approach to bring certainty to this issue. Unless there is clarity, we’re worried manufacturers could exit the market and leave farmers without much-needed tools needed to protect crops and provide affordable food for consumers.”



Make Agriculture Great Again Trade Win: Secretary Rollins Secures Greater Market Access with Costa Rica for U.S. Dairy Industry

Under U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins’ leadership, American dairy producers will have greater market access as Costa Rica has approved the first U.S. dairy facility to be registered under their new streamlined approval process. The Trump Administration continues to break down non-tariff barriers, and this latest action is the first of many wins ahead for American dairy producers.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, USDA is putting Farmers First. Securing greater market access for American dairy farmers is a much-needed win for the U.S. dairy industry and will give our producers better increased access to a $130 million market in Costa Rica. I look forward to continuing to Make Agriculture Great Again by breaking down trade barriers and opening new markets for our farmers and ranchers around the globe,” said Secretary Rollins.

On May 22, Costa Rica’s National Animal Health Service (SENASA) officially approved the first American dairy cooperative for export to Costa Rica, making it the first U.S. dairy facility to be registered under the new streamlined approval process that eases market access for U.S. dairy products. This first registration paves the way for future U.S. dairy exports to Costa Rica, a $60 million market in 2024, that could have been lost if the Trump Administration was not able to navigate their new process.

This Make Agriculture Great Again trade win comes on the heels of other major efforts from the Trump Administration to expand market access for American producers. In the last two months, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has worked with India to reduce tariffs on U.S. Bourbon imports by 50 percent, resulting in a likely $2 million increase in distilled spirits exports to India in 2025. USDA has also worked with Panama to exempt U.S. pork from Panama’s import quota mechanism and Pakistan to eliminate its arbitrary genetically engineered ban on U.S.-grown soybeans, resulting in the immediate sale of 65,000 metric tons of U.S.-grown soybeans in the country. The FAS efforts to expand market access also included working with Japan to lift the mandatory aflatoxin testing requirements on U.S. almonds, resulting in a likely eight to 10 percent increase of U.S. almond exports to Japan annually.



Yogurt, butter and American-type cheese provided bright spots in domestic commercial use during the year’s first quarter
NMPF/USDEC
 
Total U.S. dairy exports have steadily increased over the past three months. First quarter U.S. milk production rose 0.8% from a year earlier, due mostly to increased cow numbers; milk solids production grew by 2.1% over the same period.

Mostly lower dairy product prices in April produced a drop in Class II and Class IV prices from both last month and a year ago. April Class III prices were down from a month ago up but well above a year earlier. The DMC Decision Tool is estimating that the DMC margin has already reached its lowest level for the year, $10.43/cwt, in April.

View Full Report here...  https://www.nmpf.org/yogurt-butter-and-american-type-cheese-shine-as-prices-dip-in-april/.