NEBRASKA CROP PROGRESS AND CONDITION
For the week ending July 3, 2016, widespread rainfall and cooler temperatures were experienced, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Moisture accumulations of an inch or more were common with smaller amounts in some southern counties. Temperatures averaged two to four degrees below normal in central and eastern areas but near normal across the Panhandle. Wheat harvest progressed in central and southern counties. There were 5.7 days suitable for fieldwork. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 5 percent very short, 28 short, 65 adequate, and 2 surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 2 percent very short, 19 short, 77 adequate, and 2 surplus.
Field Crops Report:
Corn condition rated 1 percent very poor, 2 poor, 17 fair, 64 good, and 16 excellent. Corn silking was 10 percent, ahead of 4 last year, and near the five-year average of 8.
Sorghum condition rated 0 percent very poor, 0 poor, 17 fair, 74 good, and 9 excellent.
Soybeans condition rated 1 percent very poor, 3 poor, 19 fair, 64 good, and 13 excellent. Soybeans blooming was 10 percent, behind 24 last year and 21 average.
Winter wheat condition rated 3 percent very poor, 9 poor, 25 fair, 49 good, and 14 excellent. Winter wheat coloring was 94 percent, near 91 last year, and ahead of 88 average. Harvested was at 20 percent, ahead of 13 last year, but near 21 average.
Oats condition rated 1 percent very poor, 1 poor, 26 fair, 65 good, and 7 excellent. Oats headed was 98 percent, near 95 last year, and ahead of 93 average. Coloring was 70 percent, well ahead of 50 last year.
Alfalfa condition rated 3 percent very poor, 3 poor, 12 fair, 67 good, and 15 excellent. Alfalfa second cutting was 33 percent, ahead of 24 last year, but near 34 average.
Livestock, Pasture and Range Report:
Pasture and range conditions rated 1 percent very poor, 2 poor, 17 fair, 66 good, and 14 excellent. Stock water supplies rated 0 percent very short, 4 short, 92 adequate, and 4 surplus.
IOWA CROP PROGRESS & CONDITION REPORT
Spotty precipitation brought relief to some while missing other areas entirely in Iowa during the week ending July 3, 2016, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Statewide there were 5.5 days suitable for fieldwork. Activities for the week included cutting hay, hauling grain and spraying beans.
Topsoil moisture levels rated 8 percent very short, 25 percent short, 64 percent adequate and 3 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels rated 4 percent very short, 20 percent short, 73 percent adequate and 3 percent surplus. South central and southeast Iowa continued to have the lowest levels of topsoil moisture in the State with two-thirds short to very short this week.
Six percent of the corn crop had reached the silking stage, with 79 percent of the crop rated good to excellent.
Soybeans blooming reached 20 percent, 2 days ahead of last year and the 5-year average. There were scattered reports of soybeans setting pods. Soybean condition rated 77 percent good to excellent this week.
Oat acreage headed reached 95 percent. Oats turning color reached 51 percent, 5 days ahead of last year and 6 days ahead of normal. Harvesting oats for grain or seed has begun in some areas. Oat crop condition rated 80 percent good to excellent.
The second cutting of alfalfa hay reached 48 percent, 2 weeks ahead of last year and 10 days ahead of normal. Hay condition was rated at 71 percent good to excellent, while pasture condition declined from last week, rating 64 percent good to excellent. Livestock conditions were reported as normal although some producers may need to supplement water in pastures due to low creek levels.
IOWA PRELIMINARY WEATHER SUMMARY
Provided by Harry J. Hillaker, State Climatologist
Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship
Iowa received a welcome break from the heat this past week. Temperatures were above normal across most of the state on Monday (27th) but were below normal for the remainder of the period, particularly over the weekend. Donnellson recorded a high of 95 degrees on Monday while much of southern Iowa saw daytime high temperatures only in the mid-sixties on both Saturday (2nd) and Sunday (3rd). Lowest minimum temperatures were 47 degree readings at Elkader on Wednesday (29th) morning and at Cresco, Elkader and Estherville on Sunday (3rd) morning. Temperatures for the week as a whole averaged 6 to 8 degrees below normal over the northeast to 2 to 3 degrees subnormal over the far southwest with a statewide average of 5.6 degrees less than normal. Rainfall amounts were highly variable, but in a reverse from recent weeks were generally greatest over the southwest and least in the northeast. There were some isolated thunderstorms over southwestern Iowa on Monday (27th) evening, including some that brought a destructive combination of high winds and hail to portions of Mills and Fremont counties. Thunderstorms covered parts of western Iowa on Wednesday (29th) with some damaging wind and hail in portions of Harrison and Pottawattamie counties. Thunderstorms were scattered over much of the state on Thursday (30th) with a band of heavy rain centered over Carroll where 3.83 inches of rain fell in the pre-dawn hours. Friday (1st) was dry in most areas while Saturday (2nd) brought widespread rain to southern and southwestern Iowa with heaviest rains in parts of Mills and Montgomery counties. The reporting week ended with mostly dry weather on Sunday (3rd). Rain totals for the week varied from only sprinkles at Pocahontas and Dyersville to 4.20 inches near Hastings in Mills County. The statewide average precipitation was 0.70 inches while normal for the week is 1.11 inches.
USDA Weekly Crop Progress
U.S. corn and soybean development continued slightly ahead of the average pace this past week. The condition of the corn crop was unchanged while soybean conditions dropped slightly from the previous week, according to the USDA Crop Progress report released Tuesday due to the Independence Day holiday on Monday.
Corn silking was at 15% as of Sunday, July 3, slightly ahead of the five-year average of 13%. Corn condition was unchanged from the previous week at 75% good to excellent.
Soybean blooming was also ahead of normal with 22% of the crop blooming as of Sunday compared to the average pace of 16%. Soybean conditions worsened again this past week, dropping to 70% good to excellent from the previous week's rating of 72% good to excellent.
Winter wheat was 58% harvested as of Sunday, up 13 percentage points from the previous week and 3 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 55%. Winter wheat condition remained the same from the previous week at 62% good to excellent.
Spring wheat was 74% headed, well ahead of the five-year average of 45%. Spring wheat condition also held steady from the previous week at 72% good to excellent.
Cotton squaring was at 42%, behind the five-year average of 47%. Cotton setting bolls was 11%, equal to the average pace. Cotton condition held steady from the previous week at 56% good to excellent. Rice was 20% headed, ahead of the average pace of 15%. Rice condition was also unchanged from the previous week at 69% good to excellent.
Sorghum was 29% headed, ahead of the average of 24%. Sorghum condition dropped slightly to 69% good to excellent from the previous week's rating of 70% good to excellent.
Oats were 92% headed as of Sunday, well ahead of the five-year average of 80%. Oats condition held steady at 67% good to excellent.
Barley was 72% headed, also well ahead of the average pace of 48%. Barley condition was unchanged from the previous week at 75% good to excellent.
Extreme Heat and the Livestock Indemnity Program
Larry Howard, NE Extension Educator, Cuming County
With the extreme conditions we have been experiencing this summer, it is important producers diligently document and report their death losses for possible Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) payments. It is a good risk management practice to keep good records anyway but it is at times like these that they can really pay dividends. In 2015, over $2.4 million in LIP payments were made to 129 Nebraska producers. Jay Parsons, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln has put together some great information that we want to share with producers.
The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), administered by the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who have suffered livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather, including extreme heat and humidity.
FSA recently made a notable change to LIP regarding livestock owner eligibility. Beginning this year, the livestock owner does not have to have an interest in a farming operation in order to qualify for program benefits. In the past, this created issues for livestock owners who had an interest in cattle in a feedlot setting but didn’t necessarily own a farm. Now, a producer only has to have an interest in producing agricultural products, including commercial livestock, in order to be qualified to participate in LIP.
To be eligible for LIP payments, a producer must file a notice of loss on form CCC-852 with their local FSA office within 30 calendar days of when the death losses became apparent. The producer can then file an application for payment to request compensation for losses in excess of the normal mortality rate. This must be completed no later than 30 calendar days after the end of the calendar year in which the loss occurred (i.e. January 30, 2017 for the current year).
Multiple notices of losses and multiple applications for payment may be filed by producers that suffer multiple livestock losses during the same calendar year. Once a qualifying weather event has been identified, adult livestock dying within 60 days of that qualifying event can be considered eligible for loss benefits.
The LIP payment rates are based on 75 percent of the national market value of the livestock. For example, the 2015 payment rate for a 900 pound steer would have been $1,375.41 per head. With the current markets, these payments will be less for 2016 losses but still a potentially important cost recovery from the financial impacts of losing a larger than normal number of animals.
LIP payments are calculated based on eligible death losses in excess of normal annual mortality. Normal mortality rates are established by FSA on a State-by-State basis using recommendations from State livestock and Extension Service organizations.
Producers must document the number and kind of livestock that died. Preferably, this is supplemented with a video record or dated photo(s). It is important producers understand that the key piece in documenting death loss above normal mortality is good inventory records. Producers need accurate counts of the number and type of livestock in their inventory before and after the eligible event. Beginning and ending year inventory numbers supplemented with production records, purchase records, sale records, veterinarian records, inventory related bank loan documentation, and other reliable documents can help verify livestock inventories at different points throughout the year.
The producer should continue to accurately document inventory counts and death losses throughout the year. Because once the annual death loss threshold (normal mortality) has been exceeded, subsequent death losses due to normal mortality or due to eligible events in the same calendar year may trigger additional losses eligible for LIP payments.
The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) Factsheet is available from FSA at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/FactSheets/2015/lip_fact_sheet_2015_march2015.pdf.
JULY NE SOYBEAN BOARD DISTRICT ELECTION BALLOTS HAVE BEEN MAILED
The July election ballots for the Nebraska Soybean Board Districts 2, 4 and 8 have been mailed to soybean farmers in those districts. Each district ballot contains important information that will make the voting process easy to complete and return. As a voter, you will learn about the candidates and why they would like to represent you on the board. If you have not received a ballot by July 11, please call 402-466-1969 and request one. Ballots must be post marked by July 31, 2016, to count.
If you are a qualified soybean farmer living in one of the election districts, the following candidates are asking for your vote!
District 2 (Counties of Burt, Cuming, Dakota, Dixon, Stanton, Thurston and Wayne)
Candidates:
v Tony Johanson, Oakland, NE - Burt County
v Lucas Miller, Randolph, NE - Wayne County
District 4 (Counties of Boone, Hamilton, Merrick, Nance, Platte, Polk and York)
Candidates:
v Brian Brown, Central City, NE - Merrick County
v Eugene Goering, Columbus, NE - Platte County
v Wayne Sackschewsky, York, NE - York County
District 8 (Counties of Arthur, Banner, Blaine, Box Butte, Brown, Chase, Cherry, Cheyenne, Custer, Dawes, Dawson, Deuel, Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Garden, Garfield, Gosper, Grant, Greeley, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Hooker, Howard, Keith, Keya Paha, Kimball, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, McPherson, Morrill, Perkins, Phelps, Red Willow, Rock, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Thomas, Valley and Wheeler)
Candidates:
v Terry Horky, Sargent, NE - Custer County
v Norm Lewandowski, Rockville, NE - Sherman County
Election results will be announced in August.
Controlling Summer Grasses In Alfalfa
Bruce Anderson, NE Extension Forage Specialist
Wet soils in alfalfa fields right after cutting can lead to quick growth of weedy grasses like foxtail and crabgrass, particularly in a thin alfalfa stand.
Management of these weeds begins early, with a thick stand with good soil fertility so the field will compete aggressively with invading grasses. In addition, harvest alfalfa only after it begins to bloom or when new shoots appear at the base of the plants. Then alfalfa should regrow rapidly so grasses don't have much time to become established.
While this sounds obvious, it's not easily done and can have a cost. Harvesting alfalfa after bloom begins may sacrifice some forage quality.
Herbicides are another option. Roundup works great, but only for Roundup Ready varieties. In conventional alfalfa, two post-emerge herbicides that control annual grasses well are Select Max and Poast Plus. These herbicides work well on seedling grasses that are less than 4 inches tall, and alfalfa tolerates both herbicides very well. If you see these grass seedlings after you cut your alfalfa, apply the herbicides soon after harvest and before alfalfa regrowth forms a canopy. None of these herbicides has any soil residual activity, so good plant coverage of the weedy grasses is necessary for control. You may need repeat spray after the next harvest if new weeds emerge.
FARMERS ENCOURAGED TO UPDATE INFORMATION ON IOWA HAY AND STRAW DIRECTORY
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today encouraged Iowa hay and straw producers to register or update their listing on the Iowa Hay and Straw Directory. The directory lists Iowa producers with hay and straw for sale, as well as organizations and businesses associated with promoting and marketing quality hay and straw.
“The directory has been a great tool for both buyers and sellers and we hope farmers will take the time to review and update their information so that it remains a valuable resource,” Northey said. “This directory can serve as a critical link for those producing hay and those looking to buy, so we encourage Iowans to take advantage of this free directory.”
The listing is available to interested buyers throughout the nation, however only sellers from within Iowa can be included on the list.
Names are gathered throughout the year with added emphasis now that hay harvest has started. Sections within the Hay and Straw Directory include “Forage for Sale,” “Forage Auctions,” “Hay Associations,” “Forage Dealers,” “Hay Grinders” and “Custom Balers.”
Farmers interested in listing should visit the Department’s website at www.IowaAgriculture.gov. An application form can be found by going to the “Bureaus” link and then selecting “Agricultural Diversification and Market Development.” Then click on “Hay & Straw Directory” on the right side of the page under “Directories.”
For those without internet access, please call the Hay/Straw Hotline at 800-383-5079. The Department will fax or send a printed copy of the application to be filled out.
The Department is also supporting the Iowa Crop Improvement Association’s “Iowa Noxious Weed Seed Free Forage and Mulch Certification Program.” Through this program Iowa forage and mulch producers can take advantage of many emerging market opportunities for “Certified Weed Free” products. For more specific information on this program producers should contact the Iowa Crop Improvement Association at 515-294-6921. More information can also be found by visiting http://www.iowacrop.org/Weed_Free.htm.
NMPF Offers Updated Tools to Help Dairy Farmers Enrolling in Margin Protection Program for 2017
The National Milk Producers Federation has updated its Margin Protection Program website – futurefordairy.com – with new materials to assist dairy producers considering enrollment in the third year of the federal dairy safety net program. The enrollment period officially opened July 1 and ends September 30, 2016, for coverage in calendar year 2017. Farmers already participating in the program can change their coverage level during this three-month enrollment window.
The Margin Protection Program (MPP) provides financial assistance to participating dairy producers when the margin – the difference between the price of milk and feed costs – falls below a coverage level selected by the producer. Dairy farmers can insure their farms on a sliding scale between $4 and $8 per hundredweight, deciding both how much of their production history to cover, and the level of margin to protect. The program, created in the 2014 farm bill, offers more extensive coverage for low-margin conditions than previous programs.
“The poor margins in the first half of 2016 demonstrate that the Margin Protection Program can play an important role in helping America’s dairy farmers manage their financial risks,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “While we continue to examine ways to improve the program in the future, farmers need to carefully consider their risk management coverage options in 2017.”
To better inform producers as they enroll in MPP, or choose different supplemental coverage levels, NMPF offers the following materials on the website’s Resources page:
· Overview of the Margin Protection Program
· A link to the MPP online calculator
· How to use the MPP online calculator
· Informative PowerPoint presentation on MPP
· Frequently Asked Questions
· MPP Margin Spreadsheet of Milk and Feed Prices, 2007-2015
At the request of NMPF, the USDA has made several improvements in the MPP program in the past year. One change announced by USDA in April ensures that farms enrolled in the program will receive catastrophic coverage at the basic, $4 per hundredweight margin level on 90% of their production history, even if a farmer purchases additional, supplemental coverage at a level of less than 90% of their production base. This should improve the flexibility of the program in offering effective risk management options to dairy farmers.
The USDA also announced earlier this year that a farm’s production history can be restructured to accommodate new family members joining the dairy operation. This will accommodate the intergenerational transfer of production history for children, grandchildren and their spouses to join a dairy operation. Any dairy operation already enrolled in MPP that had an intergenerational transfer occur will have an opportunity during the 2017 annual coverage election period to increase the operation’s production history up to 4 million pounds per year.
Those dairy farms that have already signed up for the MPP will remain in the program through 2018, as long as they pay the $100 administrative fee each year. Producers have the option of selecting a different coverage level during open enrollment each year. Those enrolled in the MPP as of the start of 2015 will receive a 1.3% increase in their production history for 2017, reflecting the overall national increase in the nation’s milk supply since last year.
According to the USDA, 54% of America’s 43,000 dairy farms are enrolled in the MPP, representing 80% of the nation’s milk supply. The USDA also has its own website on the MPP.
CWT Assists with 353,000 Pounds of Butter Export Sales
Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 2 requests for export assistance from Dairy Farmers of America and Northwest Dairy Association (Darigold) who have contracts to sell 352,740 pounds (160 metric tons) of butter (82% milkfat) to customers in Asia and the Middle East. The product has been contracted for delivery in the period from July through October 2016.
So far this year, CWT has assisted member cooperatives who have contracts to sell 28.098 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 5.351 million pounds of butter (82% milkfat) and 20.406 million pounds of whole milk powder to twenty countries on five continents. The sales are the equivalent of 528.696 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. Product volumes and milk equivalent have been adjusted to reflect contract cancellations.
Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program, in the long-term, helps member cooperatives gain and maintain market share, thus expanding the demand for U.S. dairy products and the U.S. farm milk that produces them. This, in turn, positively impacts all U.S. dairy farmers by strengthening and maintaining the value of dairy products that directly impact their milk price.
New Survey Shows Vermont GMO Labeling Mandate Misleads Consumers
A recent online survey of 1,665 online primary shoppers examined consumer understanding of five common on-pack food labels, and found that Vermont’s mandatory on-pack labeling of genetically modified ingredients (GMOs) strongly misleads consumers.
When consumers were asked about the three GMO label statements mandated by the Vermont law, Act 120, (“partially produced with genetic engineering,” “may be produced with genetic engineering,” and “produced with genetic engineering”) the survey showed that on-pack labeling misled substantial percentages of consumers to wrongly perceive the labeled product as less safe, less healthful, less nutritious, and worse for the environment. The Vermont label requirements are so disparaging to consumer perceptions of products that an average of 73% of consumers indicated they would be less likely to buy foods bearing the required on-pack GMO label.
The large consumer survey was conducted from Jun 13-21, 2016 by the MSR Group and sponsored by a group of food and agriculture trade associations, including the American Soybean Association, Corn Refiners Association, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Grain and Feed Association, and SNAC International. The five food labels tested were common food label statements related to trans-fat, allergens, gluten, organic, and GMOs.
The Vermont on-pack GMO label requirements are powerfully disparaging. The Vermont mandated GMO label statement caused approximately --
· 36% of consumers to incorrectly perceive the food to be “less safe.”
· 28% of consumers to incorrectly perceive the food to be “less healthful.”
· 22% of consumers to incorrectly perceive the food to be “less nutritious.”
· 20% of consumers to incorrectly perceive the food to be “worse for the environment.”
· 73% of consumers to be less likely to buy the food.
Consumer perceptions varied significantly by age group. Using the Vermont law’s “produced with genetic engineering” label option to illustrate, consumer perception that the labeled product is –
• “less safe” ranged from 48% (18-34 years old) to 27% (35-44 years old).
• “less nutritious” ranged from 45% (18-24 years old) to 7% (65+ years old).
• “less healthful” ranged from 41% (18-24 years old) to 18% (65+ years old).
• “worse for the environment” ranged from 32% (25-34 years old) to 13% (55+ years old).
The associations that commissioned the large consumer perception survey issued the following joint statement:
“The survey demonstrates that the Vermont on-pack GMO labeling law that is effectively setting GMO labeling policy for interstate commerce is misleading to consumers and powerfully disparaging of a safe, environmentally appropriate technology. The Roberts Stabenow compromise bill now pending in the U.S. Senate would preempt the inappropriate Vermont GMO labeling law and permit GMO disclosure without the on-pack labeling that is so misleading and disparaging to consumers.
“With shocking clarity, the survey results demonstrate why food companies would be pressured to switch to non-GMO ingredients to avoid the requirement of Vermont’s on-pack GMO label and potential conflicting multi-state labeling requirements. Switching away from GMO ingredients is the key assumption of a recent economic analysis that concluded the Vermont on-pack GMO label law would increase food costs for the average American household by approximately $1,050 annually. The Roberts Stabenow bill would avoid the Vermont GMO labeling law’s disparagement of biotechnology and attendant steep increase in consumer food prices.
“While the survey did not test specific GMO disclosure options under the Roberts Stabenow bill, that legislation would authorize disclosure through multiple means, including an internet link that would allow food companies to include informative statements that educate, rather than mislead, consumers. Since the Roberts Stabenow compromise is the only viable legislative option to preempt the Vermont GMO labeling law, the survey results strongly suggest support for the Roberts Stabenow compromise.”
Sorghum Checkoff Launches First Consumer Brand
The Sorghum Checkoff announced today the first consumer-facing brand, Sorghum Natures Super GrainTM, and the launch of SimplySorghum.com.
“Whole grains are becoming increasingly popular,” said Doug Bice, Sorghum Checkoff marketing director. “Nearly two-thirds of consumers are making at least half their grains whole, which is great news for sorghum. These new branding efforts are imperative to help support the expanding sorghum consumer marketplace, and American farmers are eager to meet that growing demand.”
The goal of the Sorghum Checkoff consumer branding efforts is to educate consumers about the wholesome goodness of sorghum and the endless possibilities it has to offer in a healthy diet.
Jennifer Blackburn, Sorghum Checkoff external affairs director, said the new logo and tagline were created to help showcase sorghum’s capabilities as a whole grain. The tagline highlights sorghum’s health, versatility and sustainable attributes.
Serving as the premier source of information for consumers, and food and health professionals, Blackburn said SimplySorghum.com will share information as it relates to what sorghum is and how it can be used. Key features of the website include a sorghum cooking-directions library, recipe catalog, nutritional information, and a list of chefs and restaurants using sorghum.
“SimplySorghum.com and the consumer logo are integral components of the Sorghum Checkoff’s consumer-facing brand,” Blackburn said. “We are excited about the new website, the first sorghum consumer website of its kind, and the robust information and opportunities it provides users.”
Blackburn said new consumer branding efforts and the website not only help enhance consumer awareness of sorghum’s healthy characteristics, it also helps consumers close the missing gaps by giving them a place to locate sorghum brands and take action to request products containing sorghum in their local grocery stores.
Developed using modern-web technology, the website features clean, bold-imagery, rich content and was designed to provide a user-friendly experience. Plus, the website is mobile friendly, so recipes, cooking tips and more can be accessed anywhere users go.
“Just a year ago, establishing a consumer brand was only an idea – a big idea,” Blackburn said. “The launch of this new consumer site and logo further amplifies the strides we have made as an industry. Our hope is that these efforts will help move the needle and make the connections that lead to more sorghum on more consumers’ plates, that in turn will help increase demand for the farmer.”
The Sorghum Checkoff’s new consumer website will be updated regularly with recipes, cooking tips, new sorghum products, restaurants using sorghum and more. Visitors can explore the website and sign up for the consumer newsletter at SimplySorghum.com.
Registration Open For Export Exchange 2016 In Detroit, Michigan
The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) encourage U.S. suppliers of coarse grains and co-products, industry representatives and members of the grain trade to register now for Export Exchange 2016, to be held Oct. 24-26 in Detroit.
Registration is available online via www.exportexchange.org. USGC and RFA members will be eligible for discounted pricing.
The biennial event, co-sponsored by the Council and RFA, is expected to bring together 200 international buyers and end-users of coarse grains and co-products, including distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS), with approximately 300 U.S. suppliers and agribusiness representatives.
“This premiere event is focused on networking in order to establish connections between U.S. suppliers and international customers,” said USGC Chairman Alan Tiemann, a farmer from Nebraska. “Our last Export Exchange in 2014 generated well over a billion dollars’ worth of sales. We know the relationships built at this conference not only help our industry now, but also help build demand for the future.”
In addition to networking opportunities, the conference will have general sessions, which will address critical issues facing U.S. agricultural exports, offering the customers and sellers in attendance an increased awareness of the benefits of U.S. coarse grains and co-products.
“The U.S. ethanol industry has emerged as a major producer of high quality animal feeds like DDGS and corn gluten feed,” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “The Export Exchange provides a venue to connect producers and marketers of those co-products with customers around the world.”
More information will be distributed in the coming months and will be available online at www.exportexchange.org.
USDA Has Made Most Significant Food Safety Updates Since 1950s
Over the past seven years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has instituted some of the most significant updates to our country's food safety system since the 1950s, leading to a 12 percent drop in foodborne illness associated with meat, poultry and processed egg products from 2009 to 2015. Throughout July, at the height of summer grilling season, USDA will be highlighting these changes, introducing Americans to the men and women who are enacting them, and demonstrating the positive impacts for public health.
"The United States has the strongest food safety system in the world, and over the past seven years it has grown even stronger. We're better now at keeping unsafe food out of commerce, whether it's made unsafe because of dangerous bacteria, or because of an allergen, like peanuts or wheat," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Over the course of this Administration, we have tightened our regulatory requirements for the meat and poultry industry, enhanced consumer engagement around safe food handling practices, and made smart changes to our own operations, ultimately moving the needle on the number of foodborne illness cases attributed to products that we regulate."
USDA has a role to play in ensuring the safety of virtually all foods produced and eaten in America, but its most direct responsibility is through FSIS, the public health agency charged with ensuring America's supply of meat, poultry and processed egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged. Through its Agricultural Marketing Service and research agencies, however, USDA is also working to help America's fruit, vegetable and grain producers comply with the landmark Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), and is making groundbreaking discoveries that can lead to safer food production methods.
USDA's modernization efforts are bringing down the number of foodborne illnesses in USDA-regulated products. Advanced testing methods, greater focus on mislabeling, and more rigorous scientific processes are building a stronger overall safety net to detect pathogens and mislabeled product before they reach consumers.
Here are five of the top food safety changes FSIS has made since 2009:
1. Prohibiting STECs: In the 1990's, USDA took historic action by declaring that beef contaminated with shiga-toxin producing E. coli O157:H7 was adulterated and therefore illegal to be sold in America. Prior to this Administration, other strains of shiga-toxin producing E. coli, or STECs, were considered to be a rare public health concern and therefore were not given the same illegal and unsafe status as O157:H7. In 2011, armed with new information about the prevalence of other STECs from our partners at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USDA established a zero tolerance policy for raw beef products that contain E. coli O26, O103, O45, O111, O121 and O145, collectively known as the "Big Six" strains of STEC.
2. Labeling Mechanically Tenderized Meat: Beginning this summer, USDA is requiring meat companies to disclose on packages of beef steak and other whole cuts if a product has been "mechanically tenderized," meaning the meat was pierced with needles or small blades to break up tissue and make it tenderer. The blades or needles can introduce pathogens from the surface of the beef to the interior, making proper cooking very important. However, mechanically tenderized products look no different than meat that has not been treated this way, so without disclosure on the label, consumers may not know about this higher food safety risk. Home cooks, restaurants and other food service facilities now have more information about the products they are buying, as well as useful cooking instructions so they know how to safely prepare them.
3. Targeting Commonly Purchased Items: In February 2016, FSIS finalized the first-ever pathogen reduction standards for poultry parts, like breasts and wings. FSIS implemented performance standards for whole chickens in 1996 but has since learned that Salmonella levels increase as chicken is further processed into parts. Poultry parts like represent 80 percent of the chicken available for Americans to purchase. By creating a standard for chicken parts, and by performing regulatory testing at a point closer to the final product, FSIS can greatly reduce consumer exposure to Salmonella and Campylobacter. These new standards are expected to prevent 50,000 cases of foodborne illness annually.
4. Modernizing Poultry Food Safety Inspections: In August 2014, USDA finalized the most significant update to poultry food safety inspections since 1957, requiring for the first time ever that that all poultry facilities create a plan to prevent contamination with Salmonella and Campylobacter, rather than addressing contamination after it occurs. Under this update, poultry companies now have to collect samples at two points on their production line and have them tested to show control of enteric pathogens, which is done in addition to USDA's own improved testing strategy in poultry plants. This same update introduced the New Poultry Inspection System, a science-based inspection system that, while optional for poultry companies, positions food safety inspectors in a smarter way so that they can have maximum food safety oversight.
5. Testing and Holding Policy: In 2012, USDA began requiring meat and poultry companies to hold all product that is undergoing laboratory analysis until the agency's microbial and chemical tests for harmful hazards are fully complete. This "test and hold" policy will significantly reduce consumer exposure to unsafe meat products, and it could have prevented 44 recalls of unsafe foods between 2007 and 2009 if it had been in place at the time.
Agri-Mek® SC miticide/insecticide from Syngenta now registered for use on soybeans and sweet corn
Soybean growers can now use Agri-Mek® SC miticide/insecticide for exceptional control of pests. Already trusted by fruit, nut and vegetable growers, this industry-proven miticide/insecticide is now available to treat difficult-to-manage pests, like spider mites, in soybeans.
Hot, dry conditions during the flowering and early-pod-fill growth stages can significantly hurt soybean yields. These conditions also favor increased populations of twospotted spider mites. According to Purdue University, dry conditions suppress naturally occurring fungi that could otherwise control spider mite populations. Warmer temperatures accelerate developmental times, allowing for spider mite populations to grow rapidly in soybeans.
“With Agri-Mek SC, soybean growers are armed to prevent widespread crop damage due to spider mites,” said Meade McDonald, insecticide product lead at Syngenta. “Some problems can be unpredictable, but growers can feel at ease knowing they have control over other factors like yield-threatening pests.”
The active ingredient in Agri-Mek SC, abamectin, is locally systemic and provides a reservoir of protection against mobile forms of spider mites. Upon application, abamectin penetrates the leaf and is rapidly absorbed into the leaf tissue, controlling mites on both the upper and lower leaf surfaces. This translaminar movement makes Agri-Mek SC rainfast once dry and provides residual control that lasts up to 21 days.
Soybean growers have flexibility with Agri-Mek SC for ground or aerial applications. They can also tank mix Agri-Mek SC with Endigo® ZC insecticide or other insecticides for broad-spectrum control of soybean pests.
Welcome to the KTIC Agriculture Information blog!!! Check back here for the latest in ag news and information, from local events to international happenings and government reports that affect your operation. Please email with suggestions! -Chad Moyer, Farm Director, KTIC Radio
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Friday, July 1, 2016
Friday July 1 Ag News
CELEBRATING 4th OF JULY AROUND THE WORLD WITH NEBRASKA BEEF
July 4th celebrations are popular here in America and at U.S. Embassies around the world, as well. This year, Nebraska beef is a featured menu item at U.S. Embassy Fourth of July celebrations in Bulgaria, Israel and Singapore. These celebratory receptions are giving those in attendance a taste of the delicious and quality beef product Nebraska has to offer.
“Showcasing beef at special events is part of our ongoing effort to tell the story of Nebraska agriculture,” said Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) Director Greg Ibach. “We’re here to develop and promote the Nebraska brand of excellence and quality wherever that takes us.”
At the U.S. Embassy receptions in Bulgaria and Singapore this week, hundreds were in attendance including the diplomatic corps, politicians, actors, singers, business leaders and educators. The Nebraska Beef Council sponsored the events providing a taste of Nebraska beef to everyone in attendance.
“Foreign marketing is a key component of the strategic plan for the beef checkoff, and these types of activities only help to build upon the solid foundation that Nebraska has as an extraordinary supplier of high quality beef,” said Buck Wehrbein, chairman of the Nebraska Beef Council.
At the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, the Ambassador announced to a cheering crowd that beef from “the Great State of Nebraska” would soon be available in Israel. WR Reserve of Hastings provided the beef featured at the event and is the only U.S.-approved supplier to the Israeli market at this time.
“Export activity like what we are seeing in the beef sector is exactly what we need to continue to grow our Nebraska economy,” said Ibach. “I am excited to further our state’s export efforts for all Nebraska agricultural goods.”
2016 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Report Released
NE Extension Educator Jim Jansen
The state wide all-land average value for the year ending February 1, 2016, averaged $3,115 per acre equating to approximately 4 percent ($135 per acre) decline over last year’s value of $3,250 per acre. Northeast Nebraska saw a 3% decline for the year to average $5,980 an acre. East Central Nebraska average land values fell 2% to 6,990/acre.
Declines in the all-land average varied across Nebraska. The Northwest, North, Central, Southwest, and Southeast Districts averaged around 5 percent lower, whereas the Northeast, East, and Southwest declined at 3, 2, and 8 percent, respectively.
Panel members indicated purchases for farm expansion and 1031 tax exchanges as the two most positive factors influencing land value increases, but these factors were noted as only being slightly higher than neutral. General expectations among panel members weakened for future increases in land value.
Current crop prices once again were listed as the most negative factor for the second year in a row by panel members leading to the decline in land values across Nebraska. Additional concern amongst panel members indicated property taxes may have a negative bearing on the value of agricultural land, depending upon future policies.
Based on 2016 market values, the estimated total value of agricultural land and buildings in Nebraska has declined to $132.0 billion. Between 2015 and 2016, the decline in agricultural land and building values totaled about $5.8 billion.
The Nebraska all land average price of $3,115 per acre marks a 4 percent decline and the second consecutive year of lower weighted average farmland values in the state as commodity prices for crops and livestock continued trending lower from record setting levels.
Declines in cropland generally trended lower across the state. Gravity and center pivot irrigated cropland trended lower at $6,480 and $6,940 per acre for declines of 6 and 5 percent. Dryland cropland with irrigation potential also fell 5 percent to an average of $4,785 per acre, but dryland cropland without irrigation potential recorded a slight uptick of 2 percent to $3,470 per acre.
Hayland used for forage production recorded the highest rate of decline for 2016 at 17 percent. Compounding effects from the drought of 2012 for forages led to increased demand for hayland with record-setting hay prices. Adequate precipitation and lower hay prices in 2015 resulted in lower hayland values seen across the major cow-calf producing regions of the state including the Northwest and North.
Demand for pasture or rangeland slightly receded as grazing land (nontillable) declined 3 percent to $975 per acre, whereas grazing land (tillable) dropped 1 percent to $1,495 per acre. The rate of change for these two land types greatly varied across the districts ranging from a negative 7 to a positive 7 percent.
Interim Heads Named for IANR Animal, Food Science Departments
The Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska--Lincoln has appointed Phil Miller to the post of interim head of the Department of Animal Science and Curt Weller to the position of interim head of the Department of Food Science and Technology.
Miller, professor of animal science, will fill the leadership position held by Larry Berger who has announced his retirement effective June 30.
Weller, professor of food science and biological systems engineering, will fill the role left by Rolando Flores, who has been named dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University. Flores will assume that role on Aug. 1.
"We have great confidence in Phil and Curt to lead their respective departments in the interim," said Ron Yoder, interim vice chancellor for IANR. "Searches to identify permanent heads for each of these departments are moving forward quickly."
The search committee for the animal science department head is concluding interviews with final candidates this week. A search committee is currently being assembled for the food science and technology department head. No specific deadline has been established for the completion of either search process.
In addition, IANR has named longtime faculty member Clayton Kelling as new director of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and associate dean for the ISU/UNL joint Professional Program in Veterinary Medicine. The position was previously held by Don Reynolds. Kelling will serve in the position for a three-year term after which leadership in the school will be reevaluated.
Japanese Beetles Emerging; Identification Key to Management July 1, 2016
Robert Wright, NE Extension Entomologist
Japanese beetle adults are beginning to emerge in eastern Nebraska. Their distribution has been increasing in Nebraska the last few years and they are being seen in corn and soybeans more frequently, in addition to feeding on landscape trees and shrubs. They will continue to emerge for the next few weeks. They have one generation per year. They often feed in clusters, both because of attraction to the female sex pheromone, and they are attracted to volatile chemicals produced by damaged plants.
Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica Newman) can contribute to defoliation in soybeans, along with a complex of other insects, such as bean leaf beetles, grasshoppers, and several caterpillar species. They feed by skeletonizing the leaves, leaving only the leaf veins. In soybeans insecticide treatment is recommended when insects are present and damage is expected to exceed 30% defoliation in vegetative stage, and 20% in reproductive stage soybeans. For more information see Managing Soybean Defoliators, NebGuide G2259.
Similar to corn rootworm beetles, Japanese beetles will scrape off the green surface tissue on corn leaves before silks emerge, but prefer silks once they are available. Japanese beetles feed on corn silks, and may interfere with pollination if abundant enough to severely clip silks before pollination. University of Illinois Extension recommends: "An insecticidal treatment should be considered during the silking period if:
- there are three or more Japanese beetles per ear,
- silks have been clipped to less than ½ inch, AND
- pollination is less than 50% complete."
Be aware that Japanese beetle numbers are often highest on field margins, so scout across the whole field before making a treatment decision. Japanese beetle adults are about ½ inch long and have a metallic green head and thorax. A key characteristic is a series of white tufts of hair on each side of the abdomen.
A variety of insecticides labelled on corn and soybeans would be expected to provide control of Japanese beetles. See product labels or the Insecticides for Field Crops section from Nebraska Extension EC130, for rates and restrictions.
In some cases people have mistaken the Japanese beetle for its look-alike, the false Japanese beetle, or sand chafer, Strigoderma arboricola, which is a native Nebraska insect found across most of the state. Sand chafers (Figure 3) are commonly found along the Platte River valley and other river valleys in Nebraska. False Japanese beetle adults are about the same size as Japanese beetles, but do not have a metallic green head. They may vary in color from coppery brown to black. They may have some white hairs on the side of the abdomen but they are not organized into tufts of hair.
They are often noticed because they have a habit of landing on people and seem to be attracted to people wearing light-colored clothing. They have not been reported to cause economic damage to crops as adults, although the immature white grub has been reported to cause damage to potato tubers.
July Ag Finance and Ag Law Clinics
Openings are available for one-on-one, confidential farm finance and ag law consultations being conducted across the state each month. An experienced ag law attorney and ag financial counselor will be available to address farm and ranch issues related to financial planning, estate and transition planning, farm loan programs, debtor/creditor law, water rights, and other relevant matters. They offer an opportunity to seek an experienced outside opinion on issues affecting your farm or ranch.
Clinic Sites and Dates
Grand Island — Thursday, July 7
Norfolk — Friday, July 8
Fairbury — Tuesday, July 12
North Platte — Thursday, July 14
Lexington — Thursday, July 21
To sign up for a clinic or to get more information, call Michelle at the Nebraska Farm Hotline at 1-800-464-0258. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture and Legal Aid of Nebraska sponsor these clinics.
NPPC PARTICIPATES IN MEETING ON COMBATTING ANTIOBIOTIC RESISTANCE
The National Pork Producers Council Chief Veterinarian Dr. Liz Wagstrom last week participated in the Presidential Advisory Council on Combatting Antibiotic Resistance (CARB) two-day meeting. The first day was dedicated to presentations from federal and non-government stakeholders about incentives for the development of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics. The second day focused on the environment and antibiotic resistance, in addition to a presentation on the new Food and Drug Administration's Guidance 213, which phases out the use in food animals of medically important antibiotics labeled only for growth promotion. Beginning in 2017, it will be illegal to use those antibiotics for that purpose.
NPPC believes that a stronger federal system of antibiotic data collection, monitoring and enhanced surveillance will greatly assist in understanding the impacts of implementation of FDA’s Guidance 213. The information not only will assist policymakers but veterinarians and producers as they make management decisions about the use of antibiotics on their farms.
The pork industry has invested more than $6 million to collect data related to and conduct research on the resistance issue, including on alternative antibiotic technologies, the effects of therapeutic antibiotic treatment on multi-drug resistant Salmonella and the environmental fate of antibiotics in manure.
USDA Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production Report
Total corn consumed for alcohol and other uses was 479 million bushels in May 2016. Total corn consumption was up 7 percent from April 2016 but down 5 percent from May 2015. May 2016 usage included 90.7 percent for alcohol and 9.3 percent for other purposes. Corn for beverage alcohol totaled 2.85 million bushels, up 6 percent from April 2016 but down 12 percent from May 2015. Corn for fuel alcohol, at 426 million bushels, was up 8 percent from April 2016 but down 5 percent from May 2015. Corn consumed in May 2016 for dry milling fuel production and wet milling fuel production was 89.1 percent and 10.9 percent respectively.
Dry mill co-product production of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) was 1.84 million tons during May 2016, up 7 percent from April 2016 but down 1 percent from May 2015. Distillers wet grains (DWG) 65 percent or more moisture was 1.23 million tons in May 2016, down 2 percent from April 2016 and down 10 percent from May 2015.
Wet mill corn gluten feed production was 333 thousand tons during May 2016, up 9 percent from April 2016 but down 4 percent from May 2015. Wet corn gluten feed 40 to 60 percent moisture was 306 thousand tons in May 2016, up 2 percent from April 2016 but down 5 percent from May 2015.
USDA Fats and Oils: Oilseed Crushings, Production, Consumption and Stocks Report
Soybeans crushed for crude oil was 4.83 million tons (161 million bushels) in May 2016, compared to 4.75 million tons (158 million bushels) in April 2016 and 4.68 million tons (156 million bushels) in May 2015. Crude oil produced was 1.88 billion pounds up 2 percent from April 2016 and up 7 percent from May 2015. Soybean once refined oil production at 1.44 billion pounds during May 2016 increased 6 percent from April 2016 and increased 3 percent from May 2015.
Canola seeds crushed for crude oil was 132 thousand tons in May 2016, compared to 137 thousand tons in April 2016 and 114 thousand tons in May 2015. Canola crude oil produced was 112 million pounds down 6 percent from April 2016 but up 17 percent from May 2015. Canola once refined oil production at 137 million pounds during May 2016 was up 18 percent from April 2016 but down 1 percent from May 2015. Cottonseeds crushed for crude oil was 127 thousand tons in May 2016, compared to 132 thousand tons in April 2016 and 142 thousand tons in May 2015. Cottonseed crude oil produced was 38.4 million pounds, down 2 percent from April 2016 and down 12 percent from May 2015. Cottonseed once refined oil production at 43.9 million pounds during May 2016 was up 4 percent from April 2016 but down 18 percent from May 2015.
Edible tallow production was 83.2 million pounds during May 2016, up 9 percent from April 2016 and up 23 percent from May 2015. Inedible tallow production was 291 million pounds during May 2016, up 6 percent from April 2016 but down 2 percent from May 2015. Technical tallow production was 113 million pounds during May 2016, up 33 percent from April 2016 and up 10 percent from May 2015. Choice white grease production at 116 million pounds during May 2016 increased 5 percent from April 2016 but decreased 2 percent from May 2015.
IGC Hikes 2016-17 Forecast
The International Grains Council has increased its forecast for total grains production in 2016-17 by 11 million metric tons to 2.026 billion tons after plentiful rain raised harvest prospects in Europe and North America.
The harvest is set to be the second largest on record after the 2.046-billion-ton crop of 2014-15.
The IGC increased its wheat production forecast by 7 million tons to 729 million tons. Forecasts for corn and soybeans were unchanged at 1.003 billion tons and 320 million tons respectively.
The forecast for 2016-17 grains' consumption was little changed at 2.01 billion tons, compared with 2.009 billion tons in last month's forecast.
As a result, the IGC expects global grain stocks to climb by 15 million tons year-over-year to 482 million tons.
The forecast for global trade was increased by 1 million tons to 319 million tons.
NFU Board Passes Resolutions on Farm Economy, Consolidation in Ag Inputs
National Farmers Union (NFU) Board of Directors convened this week in Healdsburg, Calif., for their annual June board meeting. Two resolutions were passed by the board, prioritizing critical policy issues identified by the organization, the worsening farm economy and consolidation in the crop inputs and agriculture chemicals industries.
“As a farmer-led organization, we proudly advocate for the issues important to our nearly 200,000 family farm and ranch members. The farm economy and consolidation in agriculture are two timely industry topics, and these board-passed resolutions will define precise calls to action for our organization,” said NFU President Roger Johnson.
NFU has been a vocal advocate in support of a strong safety net to aid farmers as they continue to face low commodity prices and high input costs. The ratified resolution calls for “corrective action and evaluation of price support levels” so that farm programs can serve to minimize the farm income drop.
“Family farmers and ranchers should call on their elected officials at the local, state and national levels to educate them about the economic problems facing our nation’s family farmers and ranchers,” explained Johnson, who testified on the state of the farm economy before a panel of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management earlier this year.
Additionally, the board passed a resolution in support of more robust enforcement of antitrust laws as the agriculture inputs sector faces growing consolidation. NFU has strongly opposed further consolidation in agriculture due to the damaging effects of reduced competition on the economic viability of farmers and ranchers.
“Family farmers, ranchers and rural communities are the ones that lose when industry consolidation cripples competition and reduces innovation. We encourage the Justice Department to critically review the pending mergers and ask that Congress act to prevent further consolidation should the regulatory agencies fail to protect competition in rural America,” Johnson concluded.
USDA Announces Commodity Credit Corporation Lending Rates for July 2016
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) today announced interest rates for July 2016. The CCC borrowing rate-based charge for July is 0.625 percent, unchanged from 0.625 percent in June.
The interest rate for crop year commodity loans less than one year disbursed during July is 1.625 percent, unchanged from 1.625 percent in June.
Interest rates for Farm Storage Facility Loans approved for July are as follows, 1.000 percent with three-year loan terms, unchanged from 1.000 percent in June; 1.250 percent with five-year loan terms, unchanged from 1.250 percent in June; 1.500 percent with seven-year loan terms, down from 1.625 percent in June; 1.750 percent with 10-year loan terms, down from 1.875 percent in June and; 1.875 percent with 12-year loan terms, unchanged from 1.875 percent in June.
2016 Childhood Agricultural Injuries Fact Sheet released
Every three days, a child dies in an agriculture-related incident, and each day, 33 children are injured according to the 2016 Childhood Agricultural Injuries Fact Sheet compiled by the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety in Marshfield, Wis.
The leading sources of fatalities are machinery (25%), motor vehicles/ATVs (17%) and drowning (16%).
Some trends since the last fact sheet was released in 2014:
- Among household youth on farms, injury rates increased in the 10-19 age group, despite a continued overall decline in the rate of childhood agricultural injuries (which also includes hired youth and visiting children).
- While overall numbers of farm injuries are declining, injuries to household youth have held steady.
- From 2003 to 2010, among workers younger than 16 years, the number of worker fatalities in agriculture was consistently higher than in all non-agricultural industries combined.
- Every day, about 33 children are injured in agriculture-related incidents.
- In 2014, an estimated 7,469 household youth were injured on a farm and 60% of them were not working when the injury occurred.
- An estimated 738 hired youth were injured on farms in 2014.
“There is no central database on childhood agricultural injuries,” said Barbara Lee, Ph.D., director of the National Children’s Center. “In putting together this fact sheet we draw upon the best available data from a variety of sources.”
Click on this link to see the fact sheet.... https://www.marshfieldresearch.org/Media/Default/NFMC/PDFs/2016-Child-Ag-Injury-Fact-Sheet.pdf.
FB Challenge Moves Into Judging Phase
The American Farm Bureau Federation closed entry submissions for its third Rural Entrepreneurship Challenge on June 30 and is pleased to announce the submission of 355 applications from 39 states. Judging of entries submitted by entrepreneurs competing in the challenge - who are vying for $145,000 in startup funds - is under way.
"We are ecstatic and pleased with the great applications and innovations occurring in rural communities across the country!" said Dr. Lisa Benson, AFBF's director of rural development. "We exceeded our goal for the number of applicants and doubled submissions compared to last year."
All applications, which include a business plan, video pitch and photo, will be reviewed by judges and provided feedback. The top 10 teams will be announced in October. This includes six teams who will each win $10,000 in startup funds and the final four teams who will advance as finalists.
"Our judges will be looking for solid business and financial plans," Benson said. "Innovation is one thing but the numbers are important in a competition like this. Those who can provide statistics that back their business plan will do well."
The competition provides an opportunity for individuals to showcase ideas and business innovations that strengthen and build strong, prosperous rural communities. It is the first national rural business competition focused exclusively on innovative entrepreneurs working on food and agriculture businesses.
Businesses related to food and agriculture include farms or ranches, value-added processing, food hubs, community-supported agriculture programs (CSAs), farm-to-table restaurants, farmers' markets, wineries, breweries, cideries and distilleries. Businesses can also support food and agriculture such as crop scouting, agritourism, ag advertising and marketing, and ag technology companies.
The final four teams will compete in a live competition at AFBF's 98th Annual Convention in Phoenix on Jan. 8 to win:
- Farm Bureau Entrepreneur of the Year award and $30,000 (chosen by judges)
- People's Choice award and $25,000 (chosen by public vote)
- First runner-up prize, $15,000 and
- Second runner-up prize, $15,000.
The Entrepreneur of the Year award and the People's Choice award will be awarded to two different teams. The team that wins the Entrepreneur of the Year award will not be eligible for the People's Choice Award. The competition timeline, detailed eligibility guidelines and profiles of the 2015 and 2016 finalist teams are available at www.strongruralamerica.com/challenge .
AgriBank Pays Quarterly Preferred Stock Dividend
St. Paul-based AgriBank today paid a quarterly cash dividend of $1.7188 per share on its 6.875 percent non-cumulative perpetual class A preferred stock to holders of record as of June 1, 2016.
AgriBank issued $250 million of preferred stock on Oct. 29, 2013 to provide the Bank and the 15-state Farm Credit District it serves with long-term access to high-quality capital, helping ensure the District is well-positioned to meet the long-term growth and credit needs of farmer and rancher customers.
AgriBank is one of the largest banks within the national Farm Credit System, with nearly $100 billion in total assets. Under the Farm Credit System's cooperative structure, AgriBank is primarily owned by 17 affiliated Farm Credit Associations. The AgriBank District covers America's Midwest, a 15-state area stretching from Wyoming to Ohio and Minnesota to Arkansas. With about half of the nation’s cropland located in the AgriBank District, and nearly 100 years of experience, the Bank and its Association owners have significant expertise in providing financial products and services for rural communities and agriculture. For more information, please visit www.AgriBank.com.
Entries Open for 50th World Dairy Expo® Cattle Show
Dairy Cattle Show entries are now open for those wishing to exhibit at the 50th World Dairy Expo. Entry forms are available online through the Dairy Cattle Entry system or for print on the Expo website. Entries are due Aug. 31, 2016. Late online entries will be accepted until Sept. 11 and paper entries will be accepted until the day of the show, both at an increased rate.
New this year, all animals must have an official USDA AIN or Canadian CCIA RFID number listed on the entry form at the time of submission. Animal entries lacking this number or with a pending identification status will not be accepted.
Entry information, a complete schedule of events, rules and other updates can be found in the Premium Book – mailed to recent dairy cattle exhibitors on July 1, or available online at worlddairyexpo.com. New exhibitors can request a copy of the Premium Book by contacting the World Dairy Expo office at 608-224-6455 or entries@wdexpo.com.
Recognized as the meeting place for the global dairy industry, World Dairy Expo attracts more than 70,000 attendees from over 90 countries to Madison, Wisconsin, each year. The annual event will take place Oct. 4-8, 2016, with the theme of “Celebrate 50!” to commemorate its golden anniversary. Visit worlddairyexpo.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@WDExpo or #Celebrate50) for more information.
July 4th celebrations are popular here in America and at U.S. Embassies around the world, as well. This year, Nebraska beef is a featured menu item at U.S. Embassy Fourth of July celebrations in Bulgaria, Israel and Singapore. These celebratory receptions are giving those in attendance a taste of the delicious and quality beef product Nebraska has to offer.
“Showcasing beef at special events is part of our ongoing effort to tell the story of Nebraska agriculture,” said Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) Director Greg Ibach. “We’re here to develop and promote the Nebraska brand of excellence and quality wherever that takes us.”
At the U.S. Embassy receptions in Bulgaria and Singapore this week, hundreds were in attendance including the diplomatic corps, politicians, actors, singers, business leaders and educators. The Nebraska Beef Council sponsored the events providing a taste of Nebraska beef to everyone in attendance.
“Foreign marketing is a key component of the strategic plan for the beef checkoff, and these types of activities only help to build upon the solid foundation that Nebraska has as an extraordinary supplier of high quality beef,” said Buck Wehrbein, chairman of the Nebraska Beef Council.
At the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, the Ambassador announced to a cheering crowd that beef from “the Great State of Nebraska” would soon be available in Israel. WR Reserve of Hastings provided the beef featured at the event and is the only U.S.-approved supplier to the Israeli market at this time.
“Export activity like what we are seeing in the beef sector is exactly what we need to continue to grow our Nebraska economy,” said Ibach. “I am excited to further our state’s export efforts for all Nebraska agricultural goods.”
2016 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Report Released
NE Extension Educator Jim Jansen
The state wide all-land average value for the year ending February 1, 2016, averaged $3,115 per acre equating to approximately 4 percent ($135 per acre) decline over last year’s value of $3,250 per acre. Northeast Nebraska saw a 3% decline for the year to average $5,980 an acre. East Central Nebraska average land values fell 2% to 6,990/acre.
Declines in the all-land average varied across Nebraska. The Northwest, North, Central, Southwest, and Southeast Districts averaged around 5 percent lower, whereas the Northeast, East, and Southwest declined at 3, 2, and 8 percent, respectively.
Panel members indicated purchases for farm expansion and 1031 tax exchanges as the two most positive factors influencing land value increases, but these factors were noted as only being slightly higher than neutral. General expectations among panel members weakened for future increases in land value.
Current crop prices once again were listed as the most negative factor for the second year in a row by panel members leading to the decline in land values across Nebraska. Additional concern amongst panel members indicated property taxes may have a negative bearing on the value of agricultural land, depending upon future policies.
Based on 2016 market values, the estimated total value of agricultural land and buildings in Nebraska has declined to $132.0 billion. Between 2015 and 2016, the decline in agricultural land and building values totaled about $5.8 billion.
The Nebraska all land average price of $3,115 per acre marks a 4 percent decline and the second consecutive year of lower weighted average farmland values in the state as commodity prices for crops and livestock continued trending lower from record setting levels.
Declines in cropland generally trended lower across the state. Gravity and center pivot irrigated cropland trended lower at $6,480 and $6,940 per acre for declines of 6 and 5 percent. Dryland cropland with irrigation potential also fell 5 percent to an average of $4,785 per acre, but dryland cropland without irrigation potential recorded a slight uptick of 2 percent to $3,470 per acre.
Hayland used for forage production recorded the highest rate of decline for 2016 at 17 percent. Compounding effects from the drought of 2012 for forages led to increased demand for hayland with record-setting hay prices. Adequate precipitation and lower hay prices in 2015 resulted in lower hayland values seen across the major cow-calf producing regions of the state including the Northwest and North.
Demand for pasture or rangeland slightly receded as grazing land (nontillable) declined 3 percent to $975 per acre, whereas grazing land (tillable) dropped 1 percent to $1,495 per acre. The rate of change for these two land types greatly varied across the districts ranging from a negative 7 to a positive 7 percent.
Interim Heads Named for IANR Animal, Food Science Departments
The Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska--Lincoln has appointed Phil Miller to the post of interim head of the Department of Animal Science and Curt Weller to the position of interim head of the Department of Food Science and Technology.
Miller, professor of animal science, will fill the leadership position held by Larry Berger who has announced his retirement effective June 30.
Weller, professor of food science and biological systems engineering, will fill the role left by Rolando Flores, who has been named dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University. Flores will assume that role on Aug. 1.
"We have great confidence in Phil and Curt to lead their respective departments in the interim," said Ron Yoder, interim vice chancellor for IANR. "Searches to identify permanent heads for each of these departments are moving forward quickly."
The search committee for the animal science department head is concluding interviews with final candidates this week. A search committee is currently being assembled for the food science and technology department head. No specific deadline has been established for the completion of either search process.
In addition, IANR has named longtime faculty member Clayton Kelling as new director of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and associate dean for the ISU/UNL joint Professional Program in Veterinary Medicine. The position was previously held by Don Reynolds. Kelling will serve in the position for a three-year term after which leadership in the school will be reevaluated.
Japanese Beetles Emerging; Identification Key to Management July 1, 2016
Robert Wright, NE Extension Entomologist
Japanese beetle adults are beginning to emerge in eastern Nebraska. Their distribution has been increasing in Nebraska the last few years and they are being seen in corn and soybeans more frequently, in addition to feeding on landscape trees and shrubs. They will continue to emerge for the next few weeks. They have one generation per year. They often feed in clusters, both because of attraction to the female sex pheromone, and they are attracted to volatile chemicals produced by damaged plants.
Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica Newman) can contribute to defoliation in soybeans, along with a complex of other insects, such as bean leaf beetles, grasshoppers, and several caterpillar species. They feed by skeletonizing the leaves, leaving only the leaf veins. In soybeans insecticide treatment is recommended when insects are present and damage is expected to exceed 30% defoliation in vegetative stage, and 20% in reproductive stage soybeans. For more information see Managing Soybean Defoliators, NebGuide G2259.
Similar to corn rootworm beetles, Japanese beetles will scrape off the green surface tissue on corn leaves before silks emerge, but prefer silks once they are available. Japanese beetles feed on corn silks, and may interfere with pollination if abundant enough to severely clip silks before pollination. University of Illinois Extension recommends: "An insecticidal treatment should be considered during the silking period if:
- there are three or more Japanese beetles per ear,
- silks have been clipped to less than ½ inch, AND
- pollination is less than 50% complete."
Be aware that Japanese beetle numbers are often highest on field margins, so scout across the whole field before making a treatment decision. Japanese beetle adults are about ½ inch long and have a metallic green head and thorax. A key characteristic is a series of white tufts of hair on each side of the abdomen.
A variety of insecticides labelled on corn and soybeans would be expected to provide control of Japanese beetles. See product labels or the Insecticides for Field Crops section from Nebraska Extension EC130, for rates and restrictions.
In some cases people have mistaken the Japanese beetle for its look-alike, the false Japanese beetle, or sand chafer, Strigoderma arboricola, which is a native Nebraska insect found across most of the state. Sand chafers (Figure 3) are commonly found along the Platte River valley and other river valleys in Nebraska. False Japanese beetle adults are about the same size as Japanese beetles, but do not have a metallic green head. They may vary in color from coppery brown to black. They may have some white hairs on the side of the abdomen but they are not organized into tufts of hair.
They are often noticed because they have a habit of landing on people and seem to be attracted to people wearing light-colored clothing. They have not been reported to cause economic damage to crops as adults, although the immature white grub has been reported to cause damage to potato tubers.
July Ag Finance and Ag Law Clinics
Openings are available for one-on-one, confidential farm finance and ag law consultations being conducted across the state each month. An experienced ag law attorney and ag financial counselor will be available to address farm and ranch issues related to financial planning, estate and transition planning, farm loan programs, debtor/creditor law, water rights, and other relevant matters. They offer an opportunity to seek an experienced outside opinion on issues affecting your farm or ranch.
Clinic Sites and Dates
Grand Island — Thursday, July 7
Norfolk — Friday, July 8
Fairbury — Tuesday, July 12
North Platte — Thursday, July 14
Lexington — Thursday, July 21
To sign up for a clinic or to get more information, call Michelle at the Nebraska Farm Hotline at 1-800-464-0258. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture and Legal Aid of Nebraska sponsor these clinics.
NPPC PARTICIPATES IN MEETING ON COMBATTING ANTIOBIOTIC RESISTANCE
The National Pork Producers Council Chief Veterinarian Dr. Liz Wagstrom last week participated in the Presidential Advisory Council on Combatting Antibiotic Resistance (CARB) two-day meeting. The first day was dedicated to presentations from federal and non-government stakeholders about incentives for the development of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics. The second day focused on the environment and antibiotic resistance, in addition to a presentation on the new Food and Drug Administration's Guidance 213, which phases out the use in food animals of medically important antibiotics labeled only for growth promotion. Beginning in 2017, it will be illegal to use those antibiotics for that purpose.
NPPC believes that a stronger federal system of antibiotic data collection, monitoring and enhanced surveillance will greatly assist in understanding the impacts of implementation of FDA’s Guidance 213. The information not only will assist policymakers but veterinarians and producers as they make management decisions about the use of antibiotics on their farms.
The pork industry has invested more than $6 million to collect data related to and conduct research on the resistance issue, including on alternative antibiotic technologies, the effects of therapeutic antibiotic treatment on multi-drug resistant Salmonella and the environmental fate of antibiotics in manure.
USDA Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production Report
Total corn consumed for alcohol and other uses was 479 million bushels in May 2016. Total corn consumption was up 7 percent from April 2016 but down 5 percent from May 2015. May 2016 usage included 90.7 percent for alcohol and 9.3 percent for other purposes. Corn for beverage alcohol totaled 2.85 million bushels, up 6 percent from April 2016 but down 12 percent from May 2015. Corn for fuel alcohol, at 426 million bushels, was up 8 percent from April 2016 but down 5 percent from May 2015. Corn consumed in May 2016 for dry milling fuel production and wet milling fuel production was 89.1 percent and 10.9 percent respectively.
Dry mill co-product production of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) was 1.84 million tons during May 2016, up 7 percent from April 2016 but down 1 percent from May 2015. Distillers wet grains (DWG) 65 percent or more moisture was 1.23 million tons in May 2016, down 2 percent from April 2016 and down 10 percent from May 2015.
Wet mill corn gluten feed production was 333 thousand tons during May 2016, up 9 percent from April 2016 but down 4 percent from May 2015. Wet corn gluten feed 40 to 60 percent moisture was 306 thousand tons in May 2016, up 2 percent from April 2016 but down 5 percent from May 2015.
USDA Fats and Oils: Oilseed Crushings, Production, Consumption and Stocks Report
Soybeans crushed for crude oil was 4.83 million tons (161 million bushels) in May 2016, compared to 4.75 million tons (158 million bushels) in April 2016 and 4.68 million tons (156 million bushels) in May 2015. Crude oil produced was 1.88 billion pounds up 2 percent from April 2016 and up 7 percent from May 2015. Soybean once refined oil production at 1.44 billion pounds during May 2016 increased 6 percent from April 2016 and increased 3 percent from May 2015.
Canola seeds crushed for crude oil was 132 thousand tons in May 2016, compared to 137 thousand tons in April 2016 and 114 thousand tons in May 2015. Canola crude oil produced was 112 million pounds down 6 percent from April 2016 but up 17 percent from May 2015. Canola once refined oil production at 137 million pounds during May 2016 was up 18 percent from April 2016 but down 1 percent from May 2015. Cottonseeds crushed for crude oil was 127 thousand tons in May 2016, compared to 132 thousand tons in April 2016 and 142 thousand tons in May 2015. Cottonseed crude oil produced was 38.4 million pounds, down 2 percent from April 2016 and down 12 percent from May 2015. Cottonseed once refined oil production at 43.9 million pounds during May 2016 was up 4 percent from April 2016 but down 18 percent from May 2015.
Edible tallow production was 83.2 million pounds during May 2016, up 9 percent from April 2016 and up 23 percent from May 2015. Inedible tallow production was 291 million pounds during May 2016, up 6 percent from April 2016 but down 2 percent from May 2015. Technical tallow production was 113 million pounds during May 2016, up 33 percent from April 2016 and up 10 percent from May 2015. Choice white grease production at 116 million pounds during May 2016 increased 5 percent from April 2016 but decreased 2 percent from May 2015.
IGC Hikes 2016-17 Forecast
The International Grains Council has increased its forecast for total grains production in 2016-17 by 11 million metric tons to 2.026 billion tons after plentiful rain raised harvest prospects in Europe and North America.
The harvest is set to be the second largest on record after the 2.046-billion-ton crop of 2014-15.
The IGC increased its wheat production forecast by 7 million tons to 729 million tons. Forecasts for corn and soybeans were unchanged at 1.003 billion tons and 320 million tons respectively.
The forecast for 2016-17 grains' consumption was little changed at 2.01 billion tons, compared with 2.009 billion tons in last month's forecast.
As a result, the IGC expects global grain stocks to climb by 15 million tons year-over-year to 482 million tons.
The forecast for global trade was increased by 1 million tons to 319 million tons.
NFU Board Passes Resolutions on Farm Economy, Consolidation in Ag Inputs
National Farmers Union (NFU) Board of Directors convened this week in Healdsburg, Calif., for their annual June board meeting. Two resolutions were passed by the board, prioritizing critical policy issues identified by the organization, the worsening farm economy and consolidation in the crop inputs and agriculture chemicals industries.
“As a farmer-led organization, we proudly advocate for the issues important to our nearly 200,000 family farm and ranch members. The farm economy and consolidation in agriculture are two timely industry topics, and these board-passed resolutions will define precise calls to action for our organization,” said NFU President Roger Johnson.
NFU has been a vocal advocate in support of a strong safety net to aid farmers as they continue to face low commodity prices and high input costs. The ratified resolution calls for “corrective action and evaluation of price support levels” so that farm programs can serve to minimize the farm income drop.
“Family farmers and ranchers should call on their elected officials at the local, state and national levels to educate them about the economic problems facing our nation’s family farmers and ranchers,” explained Johnson, who testified on the state of the farm economy before a panel of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management earlier this year.
Additionally, the board passed a resolution in support of more robust enforcement of antitrust laws as the agriculture inputs sector faces growing consolidation. NFU has strongly opposed further consolidation in agriculture due to the damaging effects of reduced competition on the economic viability of farmers and ranchers.
“Family farmers, ranchers and rural communities are the ones that lose when industry consolidation cripples competition and reduces innovation. We encourage the Justice Department to critically review the pending mergers and ask that Congress act to prevent further consolidation should the regulatory agencies fail to protect competition in rural America,” Johnson concluded.
USDA Announces Commodity Credit Corporation Lending Rates for July 2016
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) today announced interest rates for July 2016. The CCC borrowing rate-based charge for July is 0.625 percent, unchanged from 0.625 percent in June.
The interest rate for crop year commodity loans less than one year disbursed during July is 1.625 percent, unchanged from 1.625 percent in June.
Interest rates for Farm Storage Facility Loans approved for July are as follows, 1.000 percent with three-year loan terms, unchanged from 1.000 percent in June; 1.250 percent with five-year loan terms, unchanged from 1.250 percent in June; 1.500 percent with seven-year loan terms, down from 1.625 percent in June; 1.750 percent with 10-year loan terms, down from 1.875 percent in June and; 1.875 percent with 12-year loan terms, unchanged from 1.875 percent in June.
2016 Childhood Agricultural Injuries Fact Sheet released
Every three days, a child dies in an agriculture-related incident, and each day, 33 children are injured according to the 2016 Childhood Agricultural Injuries Fact Sheet compiled by the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety in Marshfield, Wis.
The leading sources of fatalities are machinery (25%), motor vehicles/ATVs (17%) and drowning (16%).
Some trends since the last fact sheet was released in 2014:
- Among household youth on farms, injury rates increased in the 10-19 age group, despite a continued overall decline in the rate of childhood agricultural injuries (which also includes hired youth and visiting children).
- While overall numbers of farm injuries are declining, injuries to household youth have held steady.
- From 2003 to 2010, among workers younger than 16 years, the number of worker fatalities in agriculture was consistently higher than in all non-agricultural industries combined.
- Every day, about 33 children are injured in agriculture-related incidents.
- In 2014, an estimated 7,469 household youth were injured on a farm and 60% of them were not working when the injury occurred.
- An estimated 738 hired youth were injured on farms in 2014.
“There is no central database on childhood agricultural injuries,” said Barbara Lee, Ph.D., director of the National Children’s Center. “In putting together this fact sheet we draw upon the best available data from a variety of sources.”
Click on this link to see the fact sheet.... https://www.marshfieldresearch.org/Media/Default/NFMC/PDFs/2016-Child-Ag-Injury-Fact-Sheet.pdf.
FB Challenge Moves Into Judging Phase
The American Farm Bureau Federation closed entry submissions for its third Rural Entrepreneurship Challenge on June 30 and is pleased to announce the submission of 355 applications from 39 states. Judging of entries submitted by entrepreneurs competing in the challenge - who are vying for $145,000 in startup funds - is under way.
"We are ecstatic and pleased with the great applications and innovations occurring in rural communities across the country!" said Dr. Lisa Benson, AFBF's director of rural development. "We exceeded our goal for the number of applicants and doubled submissions compared to last year."
All applications, which include a business plan, video pitch and photo, will be reviewed by judges and provided feedback. The top 10 teams will be announced in October. This includes six teams who will each win $10,000 in startup funds and the final four teams who will advance as finalists.
"Our judges will be looking for solid business and financial plans," Benson said. "Innovation is one thing but the numbers are important in a competition like this. Those who can provide statistics that back their business plan will do well."
The competition provides an opportunity for individuals to showcase ideas and business innovations that strengthen and build strong, prosperous rural communities. It is the first national rural business competition focused exclusively on innovative entrepreneurs working on food and agriculture businesses.
Businesses related to food and agriculture include farms or ranches, value-added processing, food hubs, community-supported agriculture programs (CSAs), farm-to-table restaurants, farmers' markets, wineries, breweries, cideries and distilleries. Businesses can also support food and agriculture such as crop scouting, agritourism, ag advertising and marketing, and ag technology companies.
The final four teams will compete in a live competition at AFBF's 98th Annual Convention in Phoenix on Jan. 8 to win:
- Farm Bureau Entrepreneur of the Year award and $30,000 (chosen by judges)
- People's Choice award and $25,000 (chosen by public vote)
- First runner-up prize, $15,000 and
- Second runner-up prize, $15,000.
The Entrepreneur of the Year award and the People's Choice award will be awarded to two different teams. The team that wins the Entrepreneur of the Year award will not be eligible for the People's Choice Award. The competition timeline, detailed eligibility guidelines and profiles of the 2015 and 2016 finalist teams are available at www.strongruralamerica.com/challenge .
AgriBank Pays Quarterly Preferred Stock Dividend
St. Paul-based AgriBank today paid a quarterly cash dividend of $1.7188 per share on its 6.875 percent non-cumulative perpetual class A preferred stock to holders of record as of June 1, 2016.
AgriBank issued $250 million of preferred stock on Oct. 29, 2013 to provide the Bank and the 15-state Farm Credit District it serves with long-term access to high-quality capital, helping ensure the District is well-positioned to meet the long-term growth and credit needs of farmer and rancher customers.
AgriBank is one of the largest banks within the national Farm Credit System, with nearly $100 billion in total assets. Under the Farm Credit System's cooperative structure, AgriBank is primarily owned by 17 affiliated Farm Credit Associations. The AgriBank District covers America's Midwest, a 15-state area stretching from Wyoming to Ohio and Minnesota to Arkansas. With about half of the nation’s cropland located in the AgriBank District, and nearly 100 years of experience, the Bank and its Association owners have significant expertise in providing financial products and services for rural communities and agriculture. For more information, please visit www.AgriBank.com.
Entries Open for 50th World Dairy Expo® Cattle Show
Dairy Cattle Show entries are now open for those wishing to exhibit at the 50th World Dairy Expo. Entry forms are available online through the Dairy Cattle Entry system or for print on the Expo website. Entries are due Aug. 31, 2016. Late online entries will be accepted until Sept. 11 and paper entries will be accepted until the day of the show, both at an increased rate.
New this year, all animals must have an official USDA AIN or Canadian CCIA RFID number listed on the entry form at the time of submission. Animal entries lacking this number or with a pending identification status will not be accepted.
Entry information, a complete schedule of events, rules and other updates can be found in the Premium Book – mailed to recent dairy cattle exhibitors on July 1, or available online at worlddairyexpo.com. New exhibitors can request a copy of the Premium Book by contacting the World Dairy Expo office at 608-224-6455 or entries@wdexpo.com.
Recognized as the meeting place for the global dairy industry, World Dairy Expo attracts more than 70,000 attendees from over 90 countries to Madison, Wisconsin, each year. The annual event will take place Oct. 4-8, 2016, with the theme of “Celebrate 50!” to commemorate its golden anniversary. Visit worlddairyexpo.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@WDExpo or #Celebrate50) for more information.
Thursday June 30 Ag News
NEBRASKA ACREAGE
Nebraska corn growers planted 9.70 million acres, up 3 percent from last year, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Biotechnology varieties were used on 95 percent of the area planted, down 1 percent from a year ago. Growers expect to harvest 9.40 million acres for grain, up 3 percent from last year.
Soybean planted area is estimated at 5.30 million acres, unchanged from last year’s total. Of the acres planted, 96 percent were planted with genetically modified, herbicide resistant seed, up 1 percent from a year ago. Acres expected to be harvested are 5.25 million, down less than 1 percent from a year earlier.
Winter wheat seeded in the fall of 2015 totaled a record low 1.28 million acres, down 14 percent from last year. Harvested acreage is forecasted at 1.20 million acres, down 1 percent from a year ago.
Alfalfa hay acreage to be cut for dry hay is 800,000 acres, down 6 percent from 2015. Other hay acreage to be cut for dry hay is 1.80 million acres, down 3 percent from last year.
Sorghum acreage planted and to be planted, at 190,000 acres, is down 30 percent from a year ago. The area to be harvested for grain, at 150,000 acres, is down 38 percent from last year.
Oats planted acres decreased to 100,000 acres, down 26 percent from the previous year. Area to be harvested for grain, at 40,000 acres, is unchanged from a year ago.
Dry edible bean planted acres increased to 145,000 acres, up 4 percent from last year. Harvested acres are estimated at 134,000 acres, up 2 percent from previous year.
Proso millet plantings of 80,000 acres are down 24 percent from a year ago.
Sugarbeet planted acres, at 48,700, are up 3 percent from last year.
Oil sunflower acres planted decreased to 16,000, down 45 percent from last year. Non-oil sunflower planted acreage is estimated at 14,000 acres, down 30 percent from a year ago.
Fall potato acres planted increased to 16,500 acres, up 500 acres from previous year. Harvested acreage is forecasted at 16,300 acres, also up 500 acres from the year earlier. The percent planted by type of potato is: 51 percent white, 46 percent russet, 2 percent red and 1 percent yellow.
Dry Pea acres planted are 60,000 acres and harvested acres estimated at 58,000. Comparisons to previous year are not available.
IOWA ACREAGE REPORT
Corn planted for all purposes in Iowa is estimated at 14.0 million acres, up 100,000 acres from the March intentions, and up 500,000 acres from the 2015 planted acreage according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Acreage report. Corn to be harvested for grain is forecasted at 13.6 million acres, up 550,000 acres from 2015. Producers reported planting biotechnology varieties on 92 percent of their 2016 corn acres. The percent of corn acreage planted to insect resistant (Bt) varieties is estimated at 3 percent, herbicide resistant only varieties were planted on 9 percent of the acres, and stacked gene varieties were planted on 80 percent of the acres.
Soybean acreage planted is estimated at 9.70 million acres, unchanged from the March intentions, but 150,000 less than the 2015 planted acreage. Soybean acreage to be harvested is forecasted at 9.65 million acres. Based on reports from producers, 97 percent of the soybean acres were planted with herbicide resistant seed varieties.
Total dry hay expected to be harvested for 2016 is estimated at 1.10 million acres, down 100,000 from the March estimate and down 60,000 acres from 2015. Of the total, 750,000 acres of alfalfa and 350,000 acres of other hay are expected to be harvested for dry hay.
Acreage seeded to oats is estimated at 155,000 acres, up 65,000 from the March intentions and 30,000 acres above 2015. Oat acreage expected to be harvested for grain is estimated at 53,000 acres, down 4,000 acres from 2015.
Winter wheat planted acres are estimated at 40,000 acres, up 15,000 acres from the March intentions, and up 20,000 acres from 2015. Acres to be harvested for grain is forecasted at 30,000 acres, up 15,000 from 2015.
USDA Acreage Report - June 30, 2016
Corn Planted Acreage Up 7 Percent from 2015
Soybean Acreage Up 1 Percent
All Wheat Acreage Down 7 Percent
All Cotton Acreage Up 17 Percent
Corn planted area for all purposes in 2016 is estimated at 94.1 million acres, up 7 percent from last year. This represents the third highest planted acreage in the United States since 1944. Area harvested for grain, at 86.6 million acres, is up 7 percent from last year and represents the third highest area harvested for grain since 1933.
Soybean planted area for 2016 is estimated at a record high 83.7 million acres, up 1 percent from last year. Area for harvest, at 83.0 million acres, is also up 1 percent from 2015 and will be a record high if realized. Record high planted acreage is estimated in Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
All wheat planted area for 2016 is estimated at 50.8 million acres, down 7 percent from 2015. The 2016 winter wheat planted area, at 36.5 million acres, is down 7 percent from last year but up 1 percent from the previous estimate. Of this total, about 26.5 million acres are Hard Red Winter, 6.58 million acres are Soft Red Winter, and 3.42 million acres are White Winter. Area planted to other spring wheat for 2016 is estimated at 12.1 million acres, down 8 percent from 2015. Of this total, about 11.4 million acres are Hard Red Spring wheat. Durum planted area for 2016 is estimated at 2.15 million acres, up 11 percent from the previous year.
All cotton planted area for 2016 is estimated at 10.0 million acres, 17 percent above last year. Upland area is estimated at 9.82 million acres, up 17 percent from 2015. American Pima area is estimated at 199,000 acres, up 26 percent from 2015.
NEBRASKA GRAIN STOCKS
Nebraska corn stocks in all positions on June 1, 2016 totaled 540 million bushels, up 18 percent from 2015, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Of the total, 285 million bushels are stored on farms, up 30 percent from a year ago. Off-farm stocks, at 255 million bushels, are up 8 percent from last year.
Soybeans stored in all positions totaled 73.6 million bushels, up 37 percent from last year. On-farm stocks of 23.0 million bushels are up 53 percent from a year ago. Off-farm stocks of 50.6 million bushels are up 30 percent from 2015.
Wheat stored in all positions totaled 30.1 million bushels, up 74 percent from a year ago. On-farm stocks of 1.00 million bushels are down 9 percent from a year ago while off-farm stocks of 29.1 million bushels are up 80 percent from last year.
Sorghum stored in all positions totaled 3.70 million bushels, up 134 percent from 2015. On-farm stocks of 400,000 bushels are up 54 percent, while off farm holdings of 3.30 million bushels are up 150 percent from last year.
On-farm oats totaled 360,000 bushels, down 14 percent from 2015.
IOWA GRAIIN STOCKS
Iowa corn stocks in all positions on June 1, 2016, totaled 1.02 billion bushels, up 16 percent from June 1, 2015, according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Grain Stocks report. Of the total stocks, 57 percent were stored on-farm. The March 2016 - May 2016 indicated disappearance totaled 518 million bushels, 13 percent below the 597 million bushels used during the same period last year.
Iowa soybeans stored in all positions on June 1, 2016, totaled 183 million bushels, up 46 percent from the 126 million bushels on hand June 1, 2015. Of the total stocks, 29 percent were stored on-farm. Indicated disappearance for March 2016 - May 2016 is 145 million bushels, 10 percent more than the 132 million bushels used during the same quarter last year.
Iowa oats stocks stored on-farm on June 1, 2016, totaled 740 thousand bushels, up 6 percent from June 1, 2015.
USDA Quarterly Grain Stocks Report - June 30, 2016
Corn Stocks Up 6 Percent from June 2015
Soybean Stocks Up 39 Percent
All Wheat Stocks Up 30 Percent
Corn stocks in all positions on June 1, 2016 totaled 4.72 billion bushels, up 6 percent from June 1, 2015. Of the total stocks, 2.47 billion bushels are stored on farms, up 9 percent from a year earlier. Off-farm stocks, at 2.25 billion bushels, are up 3 percent from a year ago. The March - May 2016 indicated disappearance is 3.10 billion bushels, compared with 3.30 billion bushels during the same period last year.
Soybeans stored in all positions on June 1, 2016 totaled 870 million bushels, up 39 percent from June 1, 2015. On-farm stocks totaled 281 million bushels, up 14 percent from a year ago. Off-farm stocks, at 589 million bushels, are up 55 percent from a year ago. Indicated disappearance for the March - May 2016 quarter totaled 661 million bushels, down 5 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Old crop all wheat stored in all positions on June 1, 2016 totaled 981 million bushels, up 30 percent from a year ago. On-farm stocks are estimated at 197 million bushels, up 27 percent from last year. Off-farm stocks, at 784 million bushels, are up 31 percent from a year ago. The March - May 2016 indicated disappearance is 391 million bushels, up 1 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Grain sorghum stored in all positions on June 1, 2016 totaled 88.3 million bushels, up 157 percent from a year ago. On-farm stocks, at 9.70 million bushels, are up 228 percent from last year. Off-farm stocks, at 78.6 million bushels, are up 151 percent from June 1, 2015. The March - May 2016 indicated disappearance from all positions is 113 million bushels, up 32 percent from the same period last year.
Are You “Marketing” Your Calves or Are You “Selling” Them
Steve Tonn, NE Extension Educator, Washington County
As we work into the first days of summer, now is a good time to revisit your marketing plans. Do you have a marketing plan or do you just sell your calves? Every operation should develop and maintain their own individual marketing plan. Marketing plans need to be flexible and easily updated as things change.
With each operation being different we all know there is no cookie cutter solution. Everyone needs to take a critical look at how they have been managing their operation and search for ways to make some changes they can live with that will be a benefit in the end.
Are you using practices that add value to your calves? Superior genetics, crossbreeding, shorten calving season, implanting non breeding animals (steer calves and non-replacement heifers), using beef quality assurance practices for castrating, dehorning, vaccinating, preconditioning, age and source verification, uniform lots, and ear tag identification. Are you promoting these practices when you sell your calves? Research has shown that each of these practices results in a premium paid for the calves.
As you look at or create a marketing plan, you need to answer these five questions:
1) What are you going to sell?
If you have a current operation, this can be easy to come up with. For instance, you already know whether you are producing for a niche market (i.e. all natural, organic, etc.) or a commodity market. If you have a spring calving herd, you should already know the number and sex of the calves you plan to sell. You also need to determine the target weight you want them to reach at time of sale. If you are selling a replacement heifer or cow, you need to determine the target age, as well as whether she will be open or pregnant at time of sale.
2) Where are you going to sell?
Within the beef industry, there are several options. Auction barns have had a long tradition of selling cattle and calves. Market animals can also be sold through online forums or video auctions, as well as direct marketing to local feedyards. It is important to identify your target market and explore all the options available to you to sell your product.
3) When are you going to price or sell that product?
When do you plan to physically market the animals? Establishing your price may occur at a different time than when you physically market the animal. You should feel comfortable with the methods of selling and pricing your cattle. Some producers may only use cash markets or cash forward contracts, while other producers may feel comfortable using the futures market or options market. Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) Insurance is another option to consider when pricing your cattle. The best pricing methods may change from year to year and what your neighbor did may not be the best choice for you.
4) What are your goals and objectives?
Given current market conditions and price expectations, what are the goals and objectives you seek to accomplish with your marketing plan? Keep in mind, seeking only to get the highest price can expose you to more risk than you can handle or feel comfortable. Your goals should be a combination of getting a good price and controlling the risk associated with the market place.
5) How can you accomplish your marketing goals and objectives?
Identify specific strategies and tools that can help you reach your marketing goals and objectives. Specify actions you need to take and deadlines you need to meet in order to put yourself on a timeline that keeps you proactively implementing your plan and managing the market risk.
Planning is essential. Creating a marketing plan can help alleviate stress as well as emotion in implementing your marketing strategy. Understanding your cost of production will help establish your pricing objectives and the triggers that make the marketing plan more valuable. Make sure you continually evaluate your plant and establish contingency or backup plans you can implement if there are price or market changes that differ from your original expectations.
Current National Drought Summary
droughtmonitor.unl.edu
Please note the Drought Monitor depicts conditions valid through Tuesday morning, 8 a.m., EDT (12 UTC); any of the recent locally heavy rain which fell after Tuesday morning (June 28) will be incorporated into next week’s drought assessment. For the 7-day period ending June 28, despite pockets of locally heavy rain (which led to catastrophic flooding in parts of West Virginia), above-normal temperatures and below-normal rainfall caused dryness and drought to expand or intensify across portions of the central and eastern U.S. Nationally, the percent of soil moisture rated poor to very poor climbed 5 points over last week to 31 percent (as of June 26, according to USDA-NASS), which was 14 percentage points higher than last year at the same time.
Central and Southern Plains
While much of the region remained mostly drought free, excessive heat (100°F or greater) coupled with pronounced short-term dryness necessitated the introduction of Moderate Drought (D1) in central Oklahoma. Over the past 60 days, this new D1 area has reported 30 to 55 percent of normal rainfall (locally less); rapid drought intensification in this area is likely if rain does not materialize soon.
Looking Ahead
High pressure will maintain sunny skies across most of the eastern and southern U.S. into the weekend, with cooler-than-normal weather from the Corn Belt into the Northeast contrasting with lingering warmth over the Gulf Coast States. Showers will persist, however, in the western Corn Belt and central Plains, where rain could be locally heavy. During the upcoming holiday weekend, an area of low pressure will develop over the central High Plains and track eastward, producing a swath of increasingly heavy rain from the central Plains to the southern Corn Belt, reaching the southern Mid-Atlantic Region by early next week. Five-day rainfall totals are expected to top 5 inches in parts of Kansas, northern Oklahoma, and western Missouri. Farther west, monsoon showers will continue over the Four Corners and Southwest, with lighter showers spreading as far north as the central and northern Rockies. Hot, seasonably dry weather is expected over the Pacific Coast States. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for July 5 – 9 calls for above-normal temperatures across most of the nation, except for cooler conditions in the Northwest, with the greatest likelihood of abnormal warm extending from the Corn Belt to the Gulf Coast. Above-normal rainfall is expected from the Upper Midwest to the southern Mid-Atlantic Coast, while drier-than-normal conditions are anticipated in New England and from the Interior Northwest southeastward to the western and southern Gulf Coast.
2016 Beef Feedlot School Series Set in Southwest Iowa
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Beef Center are preparing for the ISU Feedlot School 2016 to be held at the Armstrong Research Farm near Lewis, beginning July 12. ISU Extension and Outreach beef program specialist Chris Clark said the five-part educational series will offer information about numerous aspects of feedlot management including environmental stewardship, facility design, animal health, feedlot nutrition and Beef Quality Assurance.
"I have tried to plan a pretty comprehensive program that includes several important topics for feedlot producers," Clark said. "The curriculum should be educational for anyone involved in the day to day management of a feedlot."
Clark will lead the program that features presentations from ISU Extension and Outreach agricultural engineering program specialist Shawn Shouse, and IBC program specialist Erika Lundy. Participants will have the opportunity to become BQA certified and learn about the BQA Feedyard Assessment.
The first session is set for 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on July 12 at the Wallace Foundation Learning Center, Armstrong Research Farm near Lewis, with a presentation on environmental controls and facility design.
“Manure management, runoff control and environmental stewardship will continue to be very important aspects of feedlot management,” Clark said. “We plan to discuss advantages and disadvantages of different facility designs not only in terms of environmental controls, but also in terms of performance, animal comfort and cost.”
Future session topics include animal health management, changing distillers grains and incorporating cover crops into a feedlot system. The rest of the session dates are tentatively set for July 26, Aug. 9 and Sept. 6, with a final tour date to be determined. Meeting times for all regular sessions will be 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The registration fee is $125 for the entire series. For more information or to register please contact Clark at 712-250-0070 or by email at caclark@iastate.edu.
Next Generation of Taiwanese Swine Producers Visit Iowa
A U.S. Grains Council (USGC) trade team of Taiwanese swine producers, government officials, researchers and association representatives visited Iowa and Minnesota from June 6 to the 17 to familiarize themselves with both modern U.S. swine production practices and the U.S. grains industry. As part of the mission, they toured the diversified production farm of Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) Director Kelly Niewenhuis from O’Brien County. ICPB invests Iowa corn checkoff dollars and provides in-kind support to UCGC activities which work to build and expand demand for corn in all forms.
Spending a majority of their time attending the World Pork Expo, the team also visited various agricultural businesses and production plants such as the DuPont Pioneer Research & Development Center, JBS wean-to-finish barn and feedmill, Kinze Innovation Center, Little Sioux Corn Processors, and the Spencer Ag Center.
“The Taiwanese seemed impressed with the quality of Iowa’s corn, and said this corn looked like better quality than what they typically buy,” said Niewenhuis. “Brazil and China are the major competitors for the Taiwanese corn market as U.S. corn is seen as a premium product costing more.” Niewenhuis brought the team to his corn hybrid test plot and let them climb his grain bin to get a true, first-hand experience of the high quality corn he is able to produce. These opportunities helped team members, who are grain end-users, gain a greater confidence in the United States’ ability to supply them with high-quality corn.
Niewenhuis also operates a 4,000 hog finishing facility, but clarified to the team that no tours were allowed because of biosecurity reasons. “The Taiwanese explained their country’s lack of biosecurity, so they understood and appreciated our safety measures” said Niewenhuis. The next generation of Taiwanese swine producers were interested in the updated technology used in hog production in the United States as well as the advantages of feeding high quality feed in swine rations.
Taiwan was the sixth largest market for U.S. corn, eleventh largest market for U.S. DDGS and fourth largest market for U.S. barley during the 2014/2015 marketing year. The USGC is a private, non-profit organization that works to develop exports in more than 50 countries from 10 worldwide offices and its Washington, D.C., headquarters.
Soil Health Field Days Educate Iowa Farmers on Advanced Practices Soil Health Partnership hosts events around state this growing season
Iowa farmers can learn from experts and peers on how to adopt agricultural practices to improve soil health at a series of field days this summer. Hosted by area farmers enrolled in the Soil Health Partnership, as well as other local organizations, the events will highlight the economic and environmental benefits that come from improved soil health.
The SHP is an farmer-led initiative of the National Corn Growers Association in partnership with the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB). This partnership provides a greater understanding and implementation of agricultural practices to protect resources for future generations. SHP will hold at least nine field days throughout the state, from July through September. Confirmed events include:
· July 21: Sioux Rapids, Iowa
· July 26: Waukon, Iowa
· August 2: Washington, Iowa
· August 16: Gilman, Iowa
· Aug. 18: Algona, Iowa
· Aug. 23: Rock Valley, Iowa
· Aug. 25: Eagle Grove, Iowa
· Aug. 29: West Liberty, Iowa
· Sept. 2: Corning, Iowa
“Iowa has some of the richest, most productive farmland in the world. By implementing new practices, we can prevent nutrient loss and erosion, and improve soil structure,” said Elyssa McFarland, Soil Health Partnership field manager for Iowa. “Farmer-to-farmer learning in actual farm environments really tells the story of the difference adopting these practices can make. Our research through this project will quantify that over time as well.”
SHP works closely with diverse organizations including commodity groups, federal agencies and well-known environmental groups toward common goals. The Partnership is in its third year with 65 partner farms across eight Midwestern states.
Featured topics at the field days may include:
· Cover crop management and machinery set-up
· Conservation tillage methods
· Advanced nutrient management
· A soil pit to observe cover crop root growth and soil properties
· An update on water quality news
A list of currently planned events and registration can be found at SoilHealthPartnership.org. More events will be posted throughout the summer.
Nobel Laureates Speak Out in Support of GMOs
Today, national media gathered for the announcement of a letter signed by more than 100 Nobel Laureates supporting modern agricultural practices and condemning non-governmental organizations and those governments who oppose the use of these life-saving technological progressions.
The press conference followed an article yesterday in The Washington Post which reported that "107 Nobel laureates sign letter blasting Greenpeace over GMOs."
Joining together to support agricultural biotechnology and draw attention to the fear-based attacks on a safe, proven technology, this group of internationally renowned scientists highlighted the benefits of biotechnology as well as the safety of GMO crops.
"The National Corn Growers Association has long been a strong advocate for access to this safe, proven technology," said Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team Chair John Linder, a farmer from Edison, Ohio. "This is yet another robust affirmation from the most knowledgeable minds around the world that GMOs are not only safe but also beneficial for our planet and the people with which we share it."
Calling for an end to "opposition based on emotion and dogma contradicted by data," the signatories urged the United Nations and governments around the world to "accelerate the access of farmers to all the tools of modern biology, especially seeds improved with biotechnology."
Sorghum Checkoff Announces Leadership Sorghum Class III
The Sorghum Checkoff is pleased to announce the members of Leadership Sorghum Class III. Leadership Sorghum is a program hosted by the Sorghum Checkoff that seeks to develop the next generation of leaders for the sorghum industry.
"The success of any organization can be directly traced to the people who lead it," said Sorghum Checkoff Chairman David Fremark. "The sorghum industry has moved forward with extraordinary success in the short life of the checkoff program. This success can be credited directly to the people who have been leading it. With that in mind, the Leadership Sorghum program was formed, and the USCP board believes the positive momentum created these last few years can best be sustained by investing in quality people. Providing these next-generation decision makers with the information and tools that propel sorghum to the next level of profitability is our goal."
Fifteen sorghum farmers from seven states have been selected to participate in the program’s third class:
Delbert Ficke - Pleasant Dale, Nebraska
Ted Bannister - Hays, Kansas
Chad Haden - Clay Center, Kansas
Jeffery Mai - Garden City, Kansas
Craig Meeker - Wellington, Kansas
Daniel Riffel - Stockton, Kansas
Mark Scott - Manhattan, Kansas
Zachary Simon - Goddard, Kansas
William Spiegel - Manhattan, Kansas
Allen Hensley - Alice, Texas
Gary Mach - Abbott, Texas
Heath Herring - Saint Joseph, Louisiana
Joe Krippner - Kimball, Minnesota
Ethan Miller - Columbia, Missouri
Zachary Rendel - Miami, Oklahoma
Class III will begin the 15-month program in the Texas High Plains in September focusing on the sorghum seed industry and basic and applied research. Throughout the program, participants will be exposed to various aspects of the sorghum industry from basic research to international marketing.
“Leadership Sorghum not only benefits the sorghum industry by developing leaders for tomorrow, but it also provides the producer with valuable educational experiences,” said Shelee Padgett, Leadership Sorghum program director. “The sorghum industry relies on producers committed to the education and promotion of sorghum.”
Through both hands-on and classroom style education, participants will gain an understanding of how sorghum moves through the value chain, how checkoffs and interest organizations interact on behalf of the industry and what the future holds for the crop. For information about the Leadership Sorghum program, visit www.LeadSorghum.com.
South Korea Confirms First Swine Fever Case in Three Years
South Korea's agriculture ministry on Wednesday confirmed that a case of swine fever had been discovered on a hog farm on the southern island of Jeju, the first in the country since 2013. According to Reuters, testing confirmed so-called 'classical' swine fever, also known as hog cholera, had been found on the farm, the ministry said in a statement.
A ministry official who declined to be identified said the disease, which is highly contagious among swine but harmless to humans, was unlikely to be widespread as other regions have vaccinated pigs against it.
The ministry statement said Jeju had stopped vaccinating against the fever nearly two decades ago.
Some 400 hogs have already been slaughtered in the wake of the discovery, with another 4,700 to be culled as a further precaution, the ministry official said.
Earlier this year, Asia's fourth-largest economy found fresh cases of foot-and-mouth disease on hog farms. But another ministry official on Wednesday said no new discoveries had been reported since March.
Dow AgroSciences to Bring a New Active Ingredient to Burndown Applications
With the 2016 growing season nearing the halfway mark, many growers are scouting soybean fields to find unwelcome marestail plants competing with their crops. While marestail is not new to Midwest growers, herbicide-resistant marestail continues to spread, making it increasingly difficult to control with glyphosate alone.
Pending registration, Elevore™ herbicide will provide thorough control of many glyphosate- and ALS-resistant weeds, including marestail up to 8 inches tall, chickweed and henbit. It is expected to control and suppress costly and high-anxiety weeds when applied as part of a grower’s burndown program before planting.
Elevore contains Arylex™ active, a new Group 4 growth regulator herbicide developed by Dow AgroSciences. Arylex works systemically to control weeds from the inside out to provide thorough control of labeled weeds.
“Because Elevore contains Arylex active, it provides systemic control and does a great job of virtually eliminating the chance for regrowth of targeted plants,” says Jeff Ellis, Ph.D., field scientist, Dow AgroSciences. “Symptoms on targeted plants are shown as typical auxin responses followed by necrosis and death. This type of plant death gives growers peace of mind their fields will be cleaner at planting.”
In field trials conducted by Dow AgroSciences, Elevore tank-mixed with 2,4-D delivered 97 percent control of glyphosate-resistant marestail when applied in a pre-plant burndown program.
“We targeted glyphosate-resistant marestail between five and eight inches in field trials and have seen superior control of this weed species,” Ellis says. “Elevore provided excellent activity on marestail across a wide range of geographies and at various heights, including 8-inch-tall marestail.”
Left uncontrolled, marestail can grow quickly and rapidly consume a soybean field. According to Michigan State University, an estimated 83 percent of soybean yield is lost from 105 marestail plants per 10 square feet. It is critical to control marestail early, before soybean plants begin to emerge, for maximum yield potential at the end of the season, Ellis says.
Once registered, it is anticipated that Elevore will be labeled for application with commonly used residual and burndown tank-mix partners, including glyphosate and 2,4-D, up to 14 days before planting soybeans in the Midwest. With a low use rate, Elevore will have an excellent fit in reduced- and no-till production systems. Registration for Elevore is expected in 2017.
Better bread: How researchers use genomics to predict bread quality and accelerate wheat variety development
A team of breeders and geneticists at Kansas State University and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, or CIMMYT, has come up with a new approach to determine if new varieties of bread wheat will have what it takes to make better bread.
With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development's Feed the Future Initiative, the team is using DNA markers to predict important quality traits for bread wheat, such as dough strength and loaf volume. Their work, "Genomic Selection for Processing and End-Use Quality Traits in the CIMMYT Spring Bread Wheat Breeding Program," was recently published in the journal Plant Genome.
Lead author is Sarah Battenfield, a Kansas State University doctoral graduate in genetics and former postdoctoral associate in plant pathology. Co-authors are the university's Allan Fritz, professor of agronomy, and Jesse Poland, assistant professor of plant pathology; Susanne Dreisigacker, Carlos Guzman, Roberto J. Peña and Ravi P. Singh, all from CIMMYT; and R. Chris Gaynor, Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh.
Historically, the main focus of wheat breeding has been grain yield and the selection of lines with the best performance and disease resistance.
"In many breeding programs, quality traits are evaluated at the very end of the selection cycle for candidate wheat varieties because of the high cost and the large quantity of grain needed for testing," Battenfield said. "Because the typical wheat breeding cycle takes eight to 10 years, waiting to test for bread quality until the final years often results in what were thought to be promising wheat lines being discarded because they can't produce a good loaf of bread."
The team used wheat quality data generated in the test baking lab and built prediction algorithms for determining quality traits in new generations of candidate wheat varieties using DNA markers. Using the prediction algorithm, they were able to advance wheat quality screening by at least a year and predict over 10 times more candidate varieties than can be tested in the quality lab.
"Traditionally, we were able to test about 1,500 samples per year in the CIMMYT quality lab, but since we predicted quality by DNA markers alone, we were able to screen all 10,000 first-year yield trials for quality, which is more than would be possible to physically handle, at roughly the same cost," Battenfield said.
Battenfield and the team believe there is potential to advance the process by up to three years.
"Wheat quality testing starts with analyzing grain morphology, hardness and protein content," said Carlos Garcia, head of the Wheat Chemistry and Quality Laboratory at CIMMYT. "The procedure continues milling wheat kernels into flour then determining protein content and how much water is optimal for dough-making in different rheological tests. Then the flour is mixed with water in a mixograph, which is like a miniature mixing bowl with pins that can measure resistance of the dough while it is being developed — like a seismograph."
"We can investigate that curve to tell us how strong a dough from one candidate variety is relative to another and what is the optimum mixing time to get that dough," Battenfield said. "Our Kansas hard red winter wheat needs to have really strong dough because most goes to industrial bakeries, so it needs to be able to withstand industrial processing."
Dough strength, amount of mixing time and extensibility are all measured and bread is baked as a final test of performance. From all this data a decision can be made on whether the wheat line is good enough to keep — but this question cannot come until six to eight years into the breeding cycle.
"Using DNA from single plants, we can use these new prediction models to get an assessment of the quality much earlier in the breeding cycle," said Poland, the study's senior author. "This is long before we have enough seed for quality testing."
Decreasing breeding cycle time has the biggest impact in breeding on return on investment, according to the researchers.
"These adjustments indicate that we could increase selection for quality two to three times above what is currently possible," Poland said.
The results also show that wheat breeding programs can use genomic selection for wheat quality, along with their traditional breeding pipeline, to more effectively and efficiently use resources, including time and money.
Poland said this prediction method allows the elimination of lines that would not be able to pass the final test of wheat quality. Accurate processing and end-use quality prediction models, such as genomic selection, will allow breeding programs to cull unacceptable lines or target specific lines before time and resources are invested in lines that will not pass the final test.
Additional sources of funding for the study were provided by the Monsanto Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CGIAR CRP WHEAT and the Durable Rust Resistance Project.
Nebraska corn growers planted 9.70 million acres, up 3 percent from last year, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Biotechnology varieties were used on 95 percent of the area planted, down 1 percent from a year ago. Growers expect to harvest 9.40 million acres for grain, up 3 percent from last year.
Soybean planted area is estimated at 5.30 million acres, unchanged from last year’s total. Of the acres planted, 96 percent were planted with genetically modified, herbicide resistant seed, up 1 percent from a year ago. Acres expected to be harvested are 5.25 million, down less than 1 percent from a year earlier.
Winter wheat seeded in the fall of 2015 totaled a record low 1.28 million acres, down 14 percent from last year. Harvested acreage is forecasted at 1.20 million acres, down 1 percent from a year ago.
Alfalfa hay acreage to be cut for dry hay is 800,000 acres, down 6 percent from 2015. Other hay acreage to be cut for dry hay is 1.80 million acres, down 3 percent from last year.
Sorghum acreage planted and to be planted, at 190,000 acres, is down 30 percent from a year ago. The area to be harvested for grain, at 150,000 acres, is down 38 percent from last year.
Oats planted acres decreased to 100,000 acres, down 26 percent from the previous year. Area to be harvested for grain, at 40,000 acres, is unchanged from a year ago.
Dry edible bean planted acres increased to 145,000 acres, up 4 percent from last year. Harvested acres are estimated at 134,000 acres, up 2 percent from previous year.
Proso millet plantings of 80,000 acres are down 24 percent from a year ago.
Sugarbeet planted acres, at 48,700, are up 3 percent from last year.
Oil sunflower acres planted decreased to 16,000, down 45 percent from last year. Non-oil sunflower planted acreage is estimated at 14,000 acres, down 30 percent from a year ago.
Fall potato acres planted increased to 16,500 acres, up 500 acres from previous year. Harvested acreage is forecasted at 16,300 acres, also up 500 acres from the year earlier. The percent planted by type of potato is: 51 percent white, 46 percent russet, 2 percent red and 1 percent yellow.
Dry Pea acres planted are 60,000 acres and harvested acres estimated at 58,000. Comparisons to previous year are not available.
IOWA ACREAGE REPORT
Corn planted for all purposes in Iowa is estimated at 14.0 million acres, up 100,000 acres from the March intentions, and up 500,000 acres from the 2015 planted acreage according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Acreage report. Corn to be harvested for grain is forecasted at 13.6 million acres, up 550,000 acres from 2015. Producers reported planting biotechnology varieties on 92 percent of their 2016 corn acres. The percent of corn acreage planted to insect resistant (Bt) varieties is estimated at 3 percent, herbicide resistant only varieties were planted on 9 percent of the acres, and stacked gene varieties were planted on 80 percent of the acres.
Soybean acreage planted is estimated at 9.70 million acres, unchanged from the March intentions, but 150,000 less than the 2015 planted acreage. Soybean acreage to be harvested is forecasted at 9.65 million acres. Based on reports from producers, 97 percent of the soybean acres were planted with herbicide resistant seed varieties.
Total dry hay expected to be harvested for 2016 is estimated at 1.10 million acres, down 100,000 from the March estimate and down 60,000 acres from 2015. Of the total, 750,000 acres of alfalfa and 350,000 acres of other hay are expected to be harvested for dry hay.
Acreage seeded to oats is estimated at 155,000 acres, up 65,000 from the March intentions and 30,000 acres above 2015. Oat acreage expected to be harvested for grain is estimated at 53,000 acres, down 4,000 acres from 2015.
Winter wheat planted acres are estimated at 40,000 acres, up 15,000 acres from the March intentions, and up 20,000 acres from 2015. Acres to be harvested for grain is forecasted at 30,000 acres, up 15,000 from 2015.
USDA Acreage Report - June 30, 2016
Corn Planted Acreage Up 7 Percent from 2015
Soybean Acreage Up 1 Percent
All Wheat Acreage Down 7 Percent
All Cotton Acreage Up 17 Percent
Corn planted area for all purposes in 2016 is estimated at 94.1 million acres, up 7 percent from last year. This represents the third highest planted acreage in the United States since 1944. Area harvested for grain, at 86.6 million acres, is up 7 percent from last year and represents the third highest area harvested for grain since 1933.
Soybean planted area for 2016 is estimated at a record high 83.7 million acres, up 1 percent from last year. Area for harvest, at 83.0 million acres, is also up 1 percent from 2015 and will be a record high if realized. Record high planted acreage is estimated in Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
All wheat planted area for 2016 is estimated at 50.8 million acres, down 7 percent from 2015. The 2016 winter wheat planted area, at 36.5 million acres, is down 7 percent from last year but up 1 percent from the previous estimate. Of this total, about 26.5 million acres are Hard Red Winter, 6.58 million acres are Soft Red Winter, and 3.42 million acres are White Winter. Area planted to other spring wheat for 2016 is estimated at 12.1 million acres, down 8 percent from 2015. Of this total, about 11.4 million acres are Hard Red Spring wheat. Durum planted area for 2016 is estimated at 2.15 million acres, up 11 percent from the previous year.
All cotton planted area for 2016 is estimated at 10.0 million acres, 17 percent above last year. Upland area is estimated at 9.82 million acres, up 17 percent from 2015. American Pima area is estimated at 199,000 acres, up 26 percent from 2015.
NEBRASKA GRAIN STOCKS
Nebraska corn stocks in all positions on June 1, 2016 totaled 540 million bushels, up 18 percent from 2015, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Of the total, 285 million bushels are stored on farms, up 30 percent from a year ago. Off-farm stocks, at 255 million bushels, are up 8 percent from last year.
Soybeans stored in all positions totaled 73.6 million bushels, up 37 percent from last year. On-farm stocks of 23.0 million bushels are up 53 percent from a year ago. Off-farm stocks of 50.6 million bushels are up 30 percent from 2015.
Wheat stored in all positions totaled 30.1 million bushels, up 74 percent from a year ago. On-farm stocks of 1.00 million bushels are down 9 percent from a year ago while off-farm stocks of 29.1 million bushels are up 80 percent from last year.
Sorghum stored in all positions totaled 3.70 million bushels, up 134 percent from 2015. On-farm stocks of 400,000 bushels are up 54 percent, while off farm holdings of 3.30 million bushels are up 150 percent from last year.
On-farm oats totaled 360,000 bushels, down 14 percent from 2015.
IOWA GRAIIN STOCKS
Iowa corn stocks in all positions on June 1, 2016, totaled 1.02 billion bushels, up 16 percent from June 1, 2015, according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Grain Stocks report. Of the total stocks, 57 percent were stored on-farm. The March 2016 - May 2016 indicated disappearance totaled 518 million bushels, 13 percent below the 597 million bushels used during the same period last year.
Iowa soybeans stored in all positions on June 1, 2016, totaled 183 million bushels, up 46 percent from the 126 million bushels on hand June 1, 2015. Of the total stocks, 29 percent were stored on-farm. Indicated disappearance for March 2016 - May 2016 is 145 million bushels, 10 percent more than the 132 million bushels used during the same quarter last year.
Iowa oats stocks stored on-farm on June 1, 2016, totaled 740 thousand bushels, up 6 percent from June 1, 2015.
USDA Quarterly Grain Stocks Report - June 30, 2016
Corn Stocks Up 6 Percent from June 2015
Soybean Stocks Up 39 Percent
All Wheat Stocks Up 30 Percent
Corn stocks in all positions on June 1, 2016 totaled 4.72 billion bushels, up 6 percent from June 1, 2015. Of the total stocks, 2.47 billion bushels are stored on farms, up 9 percent from a year earlier. Off-farm stocks, at 2.25 billion bushels, are up 3 percent from a year ago. The March - May 2016 indicated disappearance is 3.10 billion bushels, compared with 3.30 billion bushels during the same period last year.
Soybeans stored in all positions on June 1, 2016 totaled 870 million bushels, up 39 percent from June 1, 2015. On-farm stocks totaled 281 million bushels, up 14 percent from a year ago. Off-farm stocks, at 589 million bushels, are up 55 percent from a year ago. Indicated disappearance for the March - May 2016 quarter totaled 661 million bushels, down 5 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Old crop all wheat stored in all positions on June 1, 2016 totaled 981 million bushels, up 30 percent from a year ago. On-farm stocks are estimated at 197 million bushels, up 27 percent from last year. Off-farm stocks, at 784 million bushels, are up 31 percent from a year ago. The March - May 2016 indicated disappearance is 391 million bushels, up 1 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Grain sorghum stored in all positions on June 1, 2016 totaled 88.3 million bushels, up 157 percent from a year ago. On-farm stocks, at 9.70 million bushels, are up 228 percent from last year. Off-farm stocks, at 78.6 million bushels, are up 151 percent from June 1, 2015. The March - May 2016 indicated disappearance from all positions is 113 million bushels, up 32 percent from the same period last year.
Are You “Marketing” Your Calves or Are You “Selling” Them
Steve Tonn, NE Extension Educator, Washington County
As we work into the first days of summer, now is a good time to revisit your marketing plans. Do you have a marketing plan or do you just sell your calves? Every operation should develop and maintain their own individual marketing plan. Marketing plans need to be flexible and easily updated as things change.
With each operation being different we all know there is no cookie cutter solution. Everyone needs to take a critical look at how they have been managing their operation and search for ways to make some changes they can live with that will be a benefit in the end.
Are you using practices that add value to your calves? Superior genetics, crossbreeding, shorten calving season, implanting non breeding animals (steer calves and non-replacement heifers), using beef quality assurance practices for castrating, dehorning, vaccinating, preconditioning, age and source verification, uniform lots, and ear tag identification. Are you promoting these practices when you sell your calves? Research has shown that each of these practices results in a premium paid for the calves.
As you look at or create a marketing plan, you need to answer these five questions:
1) What are you going to sell?
If you have a current operation, this can be easy to come up with. For instance, you already know whether you are producing for a niche market (i.e. all natural, organic, etc.) or a commodity market. If you have a spring calving herd, you should already know the number and sex of the calves you plan to sell. You also need to determine the target weight you want them to reach at time of sale. If you are selling a replacement heifer or cow, you need to determine the target age, as well as whether she will be open or pregnant at time of sale.
2) Where are you going to sell?
Within the beef industry, there are several options. Auction barns have had a long tradition of selling cattle and calves. Market animals can also be sold through online forums or video auctions, as well as direct marketing to local feedyards. It is important to identify your target market and explore all the options available to you to sell your product.
3) When are you going to price or sell that product?
When do you plan to physically market the animals? Establishing your price may occur at a different time than when you physically market the animal. You should feel comfortable with the methods of selling and pricing your cattle. Some producers may only use cash markets or cash forward contracts, while other producers may feel comfortable using the futures market or options market. Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) Insurance is another option to consider when pricing your cattle. The best pricing methods may change from year to year and what your neighbor did may not be the best choice for you.
4) What are your goals and objectives?
Given current market conditions and price expectations, what are the goals and objectives you seek to accomplish with your marketing plan? Keep in mind, seeking only to get the highest price can expose you to more risk than you can handle or feel comfortable. Your goals should be a combination of getting a good price and controlling the risk associated with the market place.
5) How can you accomplish your marketing goals and objectives?
Identify specific strategies and tools that can help you reach your marketing goals and objectives. Specify actions you need to take and deadlines you need to meet in order to put yourself on a timeline that keeps you proactively implementing your plan and managing the market risk.
Planning is essential. Creating a marketing plan can help alleviate stress as well as emotion in implementing your marketing strategy. Understanding your cost of production will help establish your pricing objectives and the triggers that make the marketing plan more valuable. Make sure you continually evaluate your plant and establish contingency or backup plans you can implement if there are price or market changes that differ from your original expectations.
Current National Drought Summary
droughtmonitor.unl.edu
Please note the Drought Monitor depicts conditions valid through Tuesday morning, 8 a.m., EDT (12 UTC); any of the recent locally heavy rain which fell after Tuesday morning (June 28) will be incorporated into next week’s drought assessment. For the 7-day period ending June 28, despite pockets of locally heavy rain (which led to catastrophic flooding in parts of West Virginia), above-normal temperatures and below-normal rainfall caused dryness and drought to expand or intensify across portions of the central and eastern U.S. Nationally, the percent of soil moisture rated poor to very poor climbed 5 points over last week to 31 percent (as of June 26, according to USDA-NASS), which was 14 percentage points higher than last year at the same time.
Central and Southern Plains
While much of the region remained mostly drought free, excessive heat (100°F or greater) coupled with pronounced short-term dryness necessitated the introduction of Moderate Drought (D1) in central Oklahoma. Over the past 60 days, this new D1 area has reported 30 to 55 percent of normal rainfall (locally less); rapid drought intensification in this area is likely if rain does not materialize soon.
Looking Ahead
High pressure will maintain sunny skies across most of the eastern and southern U.S. into the weekend, with cooler-than-normal weather from the Corn Belt into the Northeast contrasting with lingering warmth over the Gulf Coast States. Showers will persist, however, in the western Corn Belt and central Plains, where rain could be locally heavy. During the upcoming holiday weekend, an area of low pressure will develop over the central High Plains and track eastward, producing a swath of increasingly heavy rain from the central Plains to the southern Corn Belt, reaching the southern Mid-Atlantic Region by early next week. Five-day rainfall totals are expected to top 5 inches in parts of Kansas, northern Oklahoma, and western Missouri. Farther west, monsoon showers will continue over the Four Corners and Southwest, with lighter showers spreading as far north as the central and northern Rockies. Hot, seasonably dry weather is expected over the Pacific Coast States. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for July 5 – 9 calls for above-normal temperatures across most of the nation, except for cooler conditions in the Northwest, with the greatest likelihood of abnormal warm extending from the Corn Belt to the Gulf Coast. Above-normal rainfall is expected from the Upper Midwest to the southern Mid-Atlantic Coast, while drier-than-normal conditions are anticipated in New England and from the Interior Northwest southeastward to the western and southern Gulf Coast.
2016 Beef Feedlot School Series Set in Southwest Iowa
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Beef Center are preparing for the ISU Feedlot School 2016 to be held at the Armstrong Research Farm near Lewis, beginning July 12. ISU Extension and Outreach beef program specialist Chris Clark said the five-part educational series will offer information about numerous aspects of feedlot management including environmental stewardship, facility design, animal health, feedlot nutrition and Beef Quality Assurance.
"I have tried to plan a pretty comprehensive program that includes several important topics for feedlot producers," Clark said. "The curriculum should be educational for anyone involved in the day to day management of a feedlot."
Clark will lead the program that features presentations from ISU Extension and Outreach agricultural engineering program specialist Shawn Shouse, and IBC program specialist Erika Lundy. Participants will have the opportunity to become BQA certified and learn about the BQA Feedyard Assessment.
The first session is set for 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on July 12 at the Wallace Foundation Learning Center, Armstrong Research Farm near Lewis, with a presentation on environmental controls and facility design.
“Manure management, runoff control and environmental stewardship will continue to be very important aspects of feedlot management,” Clark said. “We plan to discuss advantages and disadvantages of different facility designs not only in terms of environmental controls, but also in terms of performance, animal comfort and cost.”
Future session topics include animal health management, changing distillers grains and incorporating cover crops into a feedlot system. The rest of the session dates are tentatively set for July 26, Aug. 9 and Sept. 6, with a final tour date to be determined. Meeting times for all regular sessions will be 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The registration fee is $125 for the entire series. For more information or to register please contact Clark at 712-250-0070 or by email at caclark@iastate.edu.
Next Generation of Taiwanese Swine Producers Visit Iowa
A U.S. Grains Council (USGC) trade team of Taiwanese swine producers, government officials, researchers and association representatives visited Iowa and Minnesota from June 6 to the 17 to familiarize themselves with both modern U.S. swine production practices and the U.S. grains industry. As part of the mission, they toured the diversified production farm of Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) Director Kelly Niewenhuis from O’Brien County. ICPB invests Iowa corn checkoff dollars and provides in-kind support to UCGC activities which work to build and expand demand for corn in all forms.
Spending a majority of their time attending the World Pork Expo, the team also visited various agricultural businesses and production plants such as the DuPont Pioneer Research & Development Center, JBS wean-to-finish barn and feedmill, Kinze Innovation Center, Little Sioux Corn Processors, and the Spencer Ag Center.
“The Taiwanese seemed impressed with the quality of Iowa’s corn, and said this corn looked like better quality than what they typically buy,” said Niewenhuis. “Brazil and China are the major competitors for the Taiwanese corn market as U.S. corn is seen as a premium product costing more.” Niewenhuis brought the team to his corn hybrid test plot and let them climb his grain bin to get a true, first-hand experience of the high quality corn he is able to produce. These opportunities helped team members, who are grain end-users, gain a greater confidence in the United States’ ability to supply them with high-quality corn.
Niewenhuis also operates a 4,000 hog finishing facility, but clarified to the team that no tours were allowed because of biosecurity reasons. “The Taiwanese explained their country’s lack of biosecurity, so they understood and appreciated our safety measures” said Niewenhuis. The next generation of Taiwanese swine producers were interested in the updated technology used in hog production in the United States as well as the advantages of feeding high quality feed in swine rations.
Taiwan was the sixth largest market for U.S. corn, eleventh largest market for U.S. DDGS and fourth largest market for U.S. barley during the 2014/2015 marketing year. The USGC is a private, non-profit organization that works to develop exports in more than 50 countries from 10 worldwide offices and its Washington, D.C., headquarters.
Soil Health Field Days Educate Iowa Farmers on Advanced Practices Soil Health Partnership hosts events around state this growing season
Iowa farmers can learn from experts and peers on how to adopt agricultural practices to improve soil health at a series of field days this summer. Hosted by area farmers enrolled in the Soil Health Partnership, as well as other local organizations, the events will highlight the economic and environmental benefits that come from improved soil health.
The SHP is an farmer-led initiative of the National Corn Growers Association in partnership with the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB). This partnership provides a greater understanding and implementation of agricultural practices to protect resources for future generations. SHP will hold at least nine field days throughout the state, from July through September. Confirmed events include:
· July 21: Sioux Rapids, Iowa
· July 26: Waukon, Iowa
· August 2: Washington, Iowa
· August 16: Gilman, Iowa
· Aug. 18: Algona, Iowa
· Aug. 23: Rock Valley, Iowa
· Aug. 25: Eagle Grove, Iowa
· Aug. 29: West Liberty, Iowa
· Sept. 2: Corning, Iowa
“Iowa has some of the richest, most productive farmland in the world. By implementing new practices, we can prevent nutrient loss and erosion, and improve soil structure,” said Elyssa McFarland, Soil Health Partnership field manager for Iowa. “Farmer-to-farmer learning in actual farm environments really tells the story of the difference adopting these practices can make. Our research through this project will quantify that over time as well.”
SHP works closely with diverse organizations including commodity groups, federal agencies and well-known environmental groups toward common goals. The Partnership is in its third year with 65 partner farms across eight Midwestern states.
Featured topics at the field days may include:
· Cover crop management and machinery set-up
· Conservation tillage methods
· Advanced nutrient management
· A soil pit to observe cover crop root growth and soil properties
· An update on water quality news
A list of currently planned events and registration can be found at SoilHealthPartnership.org. More events will be posted throughout the summer.
Nobel Laureates Speak Out in Support of GMOs
Today, national media gathered for the announcement of a letter signed by more than 100 Nobel Laureates supporting modern agricultural practices and condemning non-governmental organizations and those governments who oppose the use of these life-saving technological progressions.
The press conference followed an article yesterday in The Washington Post which reported that "107 Nobel laureates sign letter blasting Greenpeace over GMOs."
Joining together to support agricultural biotechnology and draw attention to the fear-based attacks on a safe, proven technology, this group of internationally renowned scientists highlighted the benefits of biotechnology as well as the safety of GMO crops.
"The National Corn Growers Association has long been a strong advocate for access to this safe, proven technology," said Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team Chair John Linder, a farmer from Edison, Ohio. "This is yet another robust affirmation from the most knowledgeable minds around the world that GMOs are not only safe but also beneficial for our planet and the people with which we share it."
Calling for an end to "opposition based on emotion and dogma contradicted by data," the signatories urged the United Nations and governments around the world to "accelerate the access of farmers to all the tools of modern biology, especially seeds improved with biotechnology."
Sorghum Checkoff Announces Leadership Sorghum Class III
The Sorghum Checkoff is pleased to announce the members of Leadership Sorghum Class III. Leadership Sorghum is a program hosted by the Sorghum Checkoff that seeks to develop the next generation of leaders for the sorghum industry.
"The success of any organization can be directly traced to the people who lead it," said Sorghum Checkoff Chairman David Fremark. "The sorghum industry has moved forward with extraordinary success in the short life of the checkoff program. This success can be credited directly to the people who have been leading it. With that in mind, the Leadership Sorghum program was formed, and the USCP board believes the positive momentum created these last few years can best be sustained by investing in quality people. Providing these next-generation decision makers with the information and tools that propel sorghum to the next level of profitability is our goal."
Fifteen sorghum farmers from seven states have been selected to participate in the program’s third class:
Delbert Ficke - Pleasant Dale, Nebraska
Ted Bannister - Hays, Kansas
Chad Haden - Clay Center, Kansas
Jeffery Mai - Garden City, Kansas
Craig Meeker - Wellington, Kansas
Daniel Riffel - Stockton, Kansas
Mark Scott - Manhattan, Kansas
Zachary Simon - Goddard, Kansas
William Spiegel - Manhattan, Kansas
Allen Hensley - Alice, Texas
Gary Mach - Abbott, Texas
Heath Herring - Saint Joseph, Louisiana
Joe Krippner - Kimball, Minnesota
Ethan Miller - Columbia, Missouri
Zachary Rendel - Miami, Oklahoma
Class III will begin the 15-month program in the Texas High Plains in September focusing on the sorghum seed industry and basic and applied research. Throughout the program, participants will be exposed to various aspects of the sorghum industry from basic research to international marketing.
“Leadership Sorghum not only benefits the sorghum industry by developing leaders for tomorrow, but it also provides the producer with valuable educational experiences,” said Shelee Padgett, Leadership Sorghum program director. “The sorghum industry relies on producers committed to the education and promotion of sorghum.”
Through both hands-on and classroom style education, participants will gain an understanding of how sorghum moves through the value chain, how checkoffs and interest organizations interact on behalf of the industry and what the future holds for the crop. For information about the Leadership Sorghum program, visit www.LeadSorghum.com.
South Korea Confirms First Swine Fever Case in Three Years
South Korea's agriculture ministry on Wednesday confirmed that a case of swine fever had been discovered on a hog farm on the southern island of Jeju, the first in the country since 2013. According to Reuters, testing confirmed so-called 'classical' swine fever, also known as hog cholera, had been found on the farm, the ministry said in a statement.
A ministry official who declined to be identified said the disease, which is highly contagious among swine but harmless to humans, was unlikely to be widespread as other regions have vaccinated pigs against it.
The ministry statement said Jeju had stopped vaccinating against the fever nearly two decades ago.
Some 400 hogs have already been slaughtered in the wake of the discovery, with another 4,700 to be culled as a further precaution, the ministry official said.
Earlier this year, Asia's fourth-largest economy found fresh cases of foot-and-mouth disease on hog farms. But another ministry official on Wednesday said no new discoveries had been reported since March.
Dow AgroSciences to Bring a New Active Ingredient to Burndown Applications
With the 2016 growing season nearing the halfway mark, many growers are scouting soybean fields to find unwelcome marestail plants competing with their crops. While marestail is not new to Midwest growers, herbicide-resistant marestail continues to spread, making it increasingly difficult to control with glyphosate alone.
Pending registration, Elevore™ herbicide will provide thorough control of many glyphosate- and ALS-resistant weeds, including marestail up to 8 inches tall, chickweed and henbit. It is expected to control and suppress costly and high-anxiety weeds when applied as part of a grower’s burndown program before planting.
Elevore contains Arylex™ active, a new Group 4 growth regulator herbicide developed by Dow AgroSciences. Arylex works systemically to control weeds from the inside out to provide thorough control of labeled weeds.
“Because Elevore contains Arylex active, it provides systemic control and does a great job of virtually eliminating the chance for regrowth of targeted plants,” says Jeff Ellis, Ph.D., field scientist, Dow AgroSciences. “Symptoms on targeted plants are shown as typical auxin responses followed by necrosis and death. This type of plant death gives growers peace of mind their fields will be cleaner at planting.”
In field trials conducted by Dow AgroSciences, Elevore tank-mixed with 2,4-D delivered 97 percent control of glyphosate-resistant marestail when applied in a pre-plant burndown program.
“We targeted glyphosate-resistant marestail between five and eight inches in field trials and have seen superior control of this weed species,” Ellis says. “Elevore provided excellent activity on marestail across a wide range of geographies and at various heights, including 8-inch-tall marestail.”
Left uncontrolled, marestail can grow quickly and rapidly consume a soybean field. According to Michigan State University, an estimated 83 percent of soybean yield is lost from 105 marestail plants per 10 square feet. It is critical to control marestail early, before soybean plants begin to emerge, for maximum yield potential at the end of the season, Ellis says.
Once registered, it is anticipated that Elevore will be labeled for application with commonly used residual and burndown tank-mix partners, including glyphosate and 2,4-D, up to 14 days before planting soybeans in the Midwest. With a low use rate, Elevore will have an excellent fit in reduced- and no-till production systems. Registration for Elevore is expected in 2017.
Better bread: How researchers use genomics to predict bread quality and accelerate wheat variety development
A team of breeders and geneticists at Kansas State University and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, or CIMMYT, has come up with a new approach to determine if new varieties of bread wheat will have what it takes to make better bread.
With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development's Feed the Future Initiative, the team is using DNA markers to predict important quality traits for bread wheat, such as dough strength and loaf volume. Their work, "Genomic Selection for Processing and End-Use Quality Traits in the CIMMYT Spring Bread Wheat Breeding Program," was recently published in the journal Plant Genome.
Lead author is Sarah Battenfield, a Kansas State University doctoral graduate in genetics and former postdoctoral associate in plant pathology. Co-authors are the university's Allan Fritz, professor of agronomy, and Jesse Poland, assistant professor of plant pathology; Susanne Dreisigacker, Carlos Guzman, Roberto J. Peña and Ravi P. Singh, all from CIMMYT; and R. Chris Gaynor, Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh.
Historically, the main focus of wheat breeding has been grain yield and the selection of lines with the best performance and disease resistance.
"In many breeding programs, quality traits are evaluated at the very end of the selection cycle for candidate wheat varieties because of the high cost and the large quantity of grain needed for testing," Battenfield said. "Because the typical wheat breeding cycle takes eight to 10 years, waiting to test for bread quality until the final years often results in what were thought to be promising wheat lines being discarded because they can't produce a good loaf of bread."
The team used wheat quality data generated in the test baking lab and built prediction algorithms for determining quality traits in new generations of candidate wheat varieties using DNA markers. Using the prediction algorithm, they were able to advance wheat quality screening by at least a year and predict over 10 times more candidate varieties than can be tested in the quality lab.
"Traditionally, we were able to test about 1,500 samples per year in the CIMMYT quality lab, but since we predicted quality by DNA markers alone, we were able to screen all 10,000 first-year yield trials for quality, which is more than would be possible to physically handle, at roughly the same cost," Battenfield said.
Battenfield and the team believe there is potential to advance the process by up to three years.
"Wheat quality testing starts with analyzing grain morphology, hardness and protein content," said Carlos Garcia, head of the Wheat Chemistry and Quality Laboratory at CIMMYT. "The procedure continues milling wheat kernels into flour then determining protein content and how much water is optimal for dough-making in different rheological tests. Then the flour is mixed with water in a mixograph, which is like a miniature mixing bowl with pins that can measure resistance of the dough while it is being developed — like a seismograph."
"We can investigate that curve to tell us how strong a dough from one candidate variety is relative to another and what is the optimum mixing time to get that dough," Battenfield said. "Our Kansas hard red winter wheat needs to have really strong dough because most goes to industrial bakeries, so it needs to be able to withstand industrial processing."
Dough strength, amount of mixing time and extensibility are all measured and bread is baked as a final test of performance. From all this data a decision can be made on whether the wheat line is good enough to keep — but this question cannot come until six to eight years into the breeding cycle.
"Using DNA from single plants, we can use these new prediction models to get an assessment of the quality much earlier in the breeding cycle," said Poland, the study's senior author. "This is long before we have enough seed for quality testing."
Decreasing breeding cycle time has the biggest impact in breeding on return on investment, according to the researchers.
"These adjustments indicate that we could increase selection for quality two to three times above what is currently possible," Poland said.
The results also show that wheat breeding programs can use genomic selection for wheat quality, along with their traditional breeding pipeline, to more effectively and efficiently use resources, including time and money.
Poland said this prediction method allows the elimination of lines that would not be able to pass the final test of wheat quality. Accurate processing and end-use quality prediction models, such as genomic selection, will allow breeding programs to cull unacceptable lines or target specific lines before time and resources are invested in lines that will not pass the final test.
Additional sources of funding for the study were provided by the Monsanto Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CGIAR CRP WHEAT and the Durable Rust Resistance Project.
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