Kent Bacus, Manager of Legislative Affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), has a lot of important policies that he is working on in D.C. Since so many NCBA members who attended the Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Florida have various policy issues on the top of their minds, I thought it was high-time I learned more about them from the man who lives and breaths policy.
Today, one of Bacus’ key focal points is trade. He said that currently the two top buyers of American beef are in North America – Mexico and Canada. From there, he said that the far East is our next biggest customer and Korea, Japan and Taiwan our the industry’s fastest growing markets. Why? They like to buy a lot of animal parts that American’s don’t have a taste for including beef tongue and short ribs.
Bacus said our exports are doing incredibly well and currently about 10 percent of our beef is exported but the value add of these exports are tremendous. About $150 to $200 per head is credited to exports alone and Bacus said imagine how much that will increase when new markets are opened up.
Speaking of new markets, there are several trade agreements sitting on President Obama’s desk that need to be signed. Once this happens, it will allow exports in several countries including Columbia and Panama and should give the industry a good foothold in South America.
He may have mispronounced their name at first, but it was still a great honor for Wyffels Hybrids to host President Obama during his Town Hall Meeting in Atkinson, Illinois on Wednesday.
“I want to thank the Waffles family for — (laughter) — Wyffels, rather, excuse me. I haven’t had lunch,” reads the official transcript of the president’s opening remarks at the Wyffels Hybrids Production Facility. Obama also noted that he “spent some time with some cows” at the Whiteside County Fair prior to arriving at Wyffels, so it was a very agriculture day for the POTUS. You can see some photos from the event on the Wyffels Facebook page.
The president got a couple of serious questions about agriculture during the meeting, starting with the very first one from a local corn and soybean grower, who was applauded by the crowd for telling Obama not to challenge the nation’s food producers with more rules and regulations. “We would prefer to start our day in a tractor cab or combine cab rather than filling out forms and permits to do what we’d like to do,” he told the president, noting particular concern about regulations regarding dust and water runoff.
“If you hear something is happening, but it hasn’t happened, don’t always believe what you hear,” Obama responded. “And I’m being perfectly honest, the lobbyists and the associations in Washington, they’ll get all ginned up and they’ll start sending out notices to everybody saying, look what’s coming down the pike. And a lot of times we are going to be applying common sense.” He suggested that if farmers have concerns about the administration “putting something in place that’s going to make it harder for you to farm, contact USDA. Talk to them directly. Find out what it is that you’re concerned about. My suspicion is a lot of times they’re going to be able to answer your questions and it will turn out that some of your fears are unfounded.”
That’s right, folks. If you’re worried about the impending rules and regs that the administration is considering that might impact your farming operation, you just give USDA a call and ask them about it and they will set you straight in no time.
Read the White House transcript of the meeting here and watch the video here.
Bob McCan, a cattle producer from Victoria, Texas is optimistic about the future, despite the legislative challenges before the industry. He shared his views with me on the industry during the Cattle Industry Summer Conference.
There are many issues affecting the industry right now including proposed GIPSA rules, which he views as a major issue right now. He said the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) government affairs team has spent an inordinate amount of time working on this issue and he is confident that it can be resolved in a way that favors cattle producers.
When asked him what issue he thought was most affecting his business, McCan said, “I can probably encapsulate most of the issues to over regulation in one word. And that’s basically from all the regulatory authorities. This administration has been particularly restrictive and more or less abusive of the authority they have within the regulatory agencies. That has been a full-time job for our staff in Washington.”
Despite the challenges, McCan said he is confident that the industry is going to be able to work through these issues. However, he did point out the need to elect more agriculture friendly legislators in the next cycle and this goal is being addressed through the PAC.
“We’re thrilled that we had to add an extra bus,” said one of the organizers of this year’s event, Steve Davis with the Ohio USDA NRCS. “We wanted to show people the agriculture in northwest Ohio, the good work that many Ohio farmers are doing, and also talk about the challenges that still lie ahead for us.”
“This is by far our largest tour ever,” said tour chairman Larry Clemens of The Nature Conservancy. “I think that as CTIC we’re learning that our tours are enjoyable for people, they’re gaining in reputation, and we’re going to have to make some adjustments on how to handle over 200 people in the future.” Despite the very large group, the tour went smoothly, on time and without a hitch. Next year’s tour is slated to be in the Mississippi Delta region.
Seven has always been considered to be the perfect number, so it’s no surprise that there are seven factors that make up the combination for consistent high yielding corn crops.
Dr. Below has been on a quest to help all farmers achieve the Holy Grail of corn – consistent 300 bushel per acre yields – ever since he saw it happen more than 25 years ago. He has categorized the results of his research into seven management practices or “wonders” that can result in high yielding corn. His study helps growers answer the question of what the latest products and practices contribute to yield.
“Roughly speaking, the higher up on the Wonder list the more control that factor exerts over the Wonders that follow,” Below explains. “When combined, all of these factors contribute to big-yield gains.” In order of importance, they are:
Below will present his plots and detail the 7 Wonders of the Corn Yield World in person at the annual Farm Progress Show at the AGROTAIN exhibit (lot 1164 on Eleventh Street) Aug. 30 – Sept. 1 in Decatur, Ill. Below’s plots at the show were sponsored by AGROTAIN International, BASF, DEKALB and Mosaic.
It is always a pleasure to cover the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar in North Carolina and see so many young swine producers with their families. Makes me optimistic about the future of agriculture.
The big barefoot kid in this photo surrounded by smaller kids is BIVI’s Dan “The Man” Johnson, who is organizer of this great annual event on the beach in North Carolina that combines just the right amount of work and play. The producers spend a day getting swine health and industry updates on Friday and then get family activity time on Saturday. “We want to be more than a vendor to our customers,” Dan says. “We know that their families are important to our producers, so they are important to us as well.”
This year’s meeting had a pirate theme and concluded with a really fun and funny pirate magic show put on by No Sleeves Magic. It was great fun and the photos are proof!
National Agri-Marketing Association Boot Camp attendees heard directly from the farmer this morning. The first item on the agenda was a producer panel moderated by Tom Hudson, Successful Farming.
Tom says it was very interesting to hear what types of media influenced these farmers. One thing that came through loud and clear was how important local information is. They want to know how information or news relates to them. He says that one of the farmers on the panel still has dial-up internet access but the others had good service and rely heavily on their smartphones for information. When it comes to that old fashioned media he says that print was a very important to them and radio too. Basically, what he heard backed up research that has been done.
I also spoke with one of the farmers on the panel, Jimmie Long, Cole Camp, MO. Jimmie is a cattle buyer and has a cow-calf operation. Jimmie explained to the group that radio ads that are “catchy” get his attention as well as nice colorful mailers and print ads. I think the takeaway is that good creative works! He says they will often see an item they want to purchase but then they’ll get home and research it on the internet. When it comes to his smartphone, he uses it a lot and checking weather is at the top of the list. He would like to get a tablet btw.
He was surprised at how many people in the audience did not have an ag background. He was shocked that no one asked him about DTN and it never came up in the discussion since it is still so important as a source for real time markets.
At the BIVI Swine Health Seminar in North Carolina last week, Dr. Greg Cline gave an update on the acceptance of the 3-way vaccine to combat Porcine Circovirus, Mycoplasma Hyopneumoniae AND PRRS. “The acceptance and reaction has been phenomenal,” Greg says. “It delivers in a lot of areas and we look for the acceptance to continue to accelerate as time goes by.”
The 3FLEX product is the first 3-way combination approved by the USDA to be mixed and administered as a single shot for pigs three weeks of age or older, combining BIVI’s Ingelvac CircoFLEX® 1, Ingelvac MycoFLEX® 2 and Ingelvac® PRRS MLV 3 in one 2 mL shot. “it was a vision by Boehringer-Ingelheim’s a very convenient vaccine in a one-dose, small dose delivery and have it still be convenient, safe and effective,” Greg said, calling it a winning team for hog producers. Chuck interviewed Greg last September when 3FLEX was first introduced.
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What do you like best about farm radio?” This question generated the least results by far of any we’ve done to date. I kind of thought it would have generated more response. So here’s what the results are in order of most responses. 39% said All of the Above, 18% said Markets, 16% said None of the Above, 11% said Policy News, 7% said Crop News and same for Interviews and only 2% said Weather. We also had a comment posted on AgWired that said, “The localization and attachment to the farm broadcaster who is most familiar with the area ag news beat.” So what do you think about these results?
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Which of these Fall Farm Shows Will You Attend?” Your input and thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
BRANDT Consolidated, Inc. has named Karl Barnhart to its senior management team as Chief Marketing Officer.
World Ag Expo is searching for the newest and most innovative products for World Ag Expo 2012.
Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. gave the agriculture industry a glimpse into the future with the unveiling of its precision planting technology – an autonomous planter that operates without an operator in the tractor cab.
Challenger is pleased to introduce the all-new MT500D Series High Horsepower wheeled row crop tractors to North American professional producers.
The kickoff event on the NAMA Boot Camp program was a dinner and program on networking. Our presenter was Becky Johnson, Fleishman-Hillard.
Becky made us get to know each other at our tables. She said that networking can be likened to the idea of six degrees of separation since we all probably have something in common. We also did some “dating.” I was a little worried about that since I was sitting in between Jeff Jackson and Matt Coniglio. But we made it to our third date. ‘Nuff said about that. We also talked about quality vs. quantity.
The 2011 NAMA Boot Camp is underway. To get a preview of the program I spoke with Erin Nash, Osborn & Barr, Vice Chairman for the conference.
Erin says we’ve got a lot packed into the program which includes hearing from farmers themselves. She says “We design Boot Camp to offer not only an introduction but introductory information to the junior staffer or someone who is new to the ag industry where we want to show them the producer side of things.” She wants to remind people that when you register for Boot Camp you get a one year membership in NAMA.
In the photo our group attended a dinner this evening where we learned some networking skills. I’ll more on that tomorrow morning.
The IJC was established by the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty to monitor the rivers and lakes along the border of Canada and the United States and aid the governments of the two countries in finding solutions to problems in these waters. “The commission was established to avoid and resolve disputes with water,” Lana told me. “Everywhere we share waters with Canada is an area that we the commission are interested in helping to protect – for agriculture, hydropower, navigation, and environmental purposes.” The six member commission has three members from each country, appointed by the highest level of government.
Lana’s interest in attending the CTIC tour was seeing what is being done to deal with environmental issues on Lake Erie. “The issue before us is one of water quality and why is Lake Erie so stressed again that we’re seeing algal blooms that are impacting recreation and probably health as well,” she said. Lana was pleased to see the tour included agricultural producers who are implementing best practices to protect water quality.
New results from a trial done in Minnesota show that the PRRS modified live virus vaccine appears to reduce viral shedding.
The trial results were presented at last week’s Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Swine Health Seminar in North Carolina by Dr. Joel Nerem of Pipestone Vet Clinic. “What we found was that vaccinated pigs shed virus for fewer days and for a shorter duration of time than the vaccinated control pigs,” he said.
Why is that important in the fight against Porcine Reproductive & Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS)? “It is important when we are working on maintaining a high health status for a particular region,” Joel explained. “One of the things our group is looking at, is in the control of PRRS, can we establish regions that are free of the virus and what technologies can we utilize to maintain those PRRS-free regions?”
We’ve got a gorgeous afternoon for National Agri-Marketing Boot Camp. There’s a MoKan Chapter Tour going on right now and I’ll be joining the group for a reception and dinner tonight. You can find our program here.
I’ll be here through tomorrow’s program and I’ll bet I can find some good interviews. If you’re tweeting here or would like to put tweets in the stream or just follow along, please use #NAMABootCamp.
Robbie Baird LeValley is a fourth generation Colorado rancher whose ranch has been in the family for a long-time. She hopes it will continue to be in the family for many years to come and operates her business with this goal in mind. I had the chance to speak with her for a bit during the last day of the Cattle Industry Summer Conference and I asked her of all the things she had been following, what was most top of mind as it relates to her business.
“When we look at all the regulations that have been discussed this week, it’s the cumulative effect. Not only is it the dust and the water regulation from the EPA, it’s over-regulation,” said LeValley. “So we just ever need to be diligent at all levels and that’s why it takes good folks at the local, state and national level to make sure we’re all aware and make our voices heard.”
I asked her what she was most concerned about short-term and she said she is worried about the over reach of the GIPSA regulations. Mid-term she believes the industry needs to keep their eye on the EPA and their work on water quality.
In terms of future challenges, LeValley said they have to continue to show consumers that they produce a safe, wholesome product. And in terms of opportunities, she is most excited about young people coming back to the ranches.
One of the stops on the 2011 CTIC Conservation In Action Tour in Ohio last week was the farm of Todd Hesterman in Napoleon, Ohio. Todd has employed continuous no-till on his 450 acre corn, soybean and wheat operation for 22 years and used yield mapping for more than 14 years and is a strong advocate for doing what he can to help water quality and “still stay in business.”
“Our water infiltration rates for heavy rains, we can definitely see an improvement in the quantity of rain water we can accept and not have standing water or running water off the service,” he said. “That’s the biggest improvement we see is soil health and soil quality.”
To show the clear difference between tilled and no-till soil, USDA-NRCS Ohio state agronomist Mark Scarpitti did a little demonstration on Todd’s farm by dropping a chunk of soil that had been in no-till for several decades, compared to a similar chunk of tilled soil. You can see what happens in the video below.
Jeff Hamlin is the Director of Agronomic Research for Weatherbill. At the Ag Media Summit I met Jeff and learned “what is Weatherbill?”
Jeff says “We provide weather insurance that pays farmers for the types of bad weather events that cost them yield.” He says their product is designed to work along with the federal crop insurance as a supplement to “cover the top end bushels that the federal crop insurance program can’t cover.” Weatherbill is currently available for a variety of crops. Jeff says one thing growers like is how simple the product works. You can fill out a form on their website to find an agent near you.
At the Ag Media Summit I stopped by the FMC booth in InfoExpo to find out what’s new. On hand was Matt Foster.
Matt says they’re very excited to be launching Anthem herbicide in 2012. That’s a grass and broadleaf pre-emerge for both corn and soybeans that has both pre and post activity.
I was out on field tour duty with FMC recently. You can learn more about Anthem and how it has been performing in trials from the York, NE event.
Did you know that grasslands evolve by being grazed? And that taking grazing out of the equation damages the environment? I didn’t until I sat down with Jeff Smeenk, one of six Environmental Stewardship Award Program winners announced during the Cattle Summer Industry Conference. Smeenk explained that on his ranch, cattle serve the niche of grazing the land and helping to keep the grasslands healthy and thriving.
The ESAP program recognizes cattle producers with outstanding environmental and conservation practices and I asked Smeenk how he came to be such an environmental steward and role model.
He answered that he was very fortunate to have parents that when he came back to the operation allowed him to run the operation the way he saw fit. “But I just started to become very environmentally conscious at a young age and I think the next generation of Americans are extremely environmentally conscious. I think it’s very important that we as producers do the right thing and then make sure that we let consumers know that we are doing the right thing.”
In South Dakota, where Smeenk’s family ranch is located, water is the limiting factor in his area, which has been in a drought for eight years. His ranch partnered with NRC and they helped him add a well, put in a pipeline, storage tanks, and water tanks. Utilizing other partners, he also fixed up some dams that had been damaged and now during drought years, water shouldn’t be such a make or break factor.
Conservation doesn’t necessarily pay itself back right away, but Smeenk said he is looking long-term and planning for several generations in the future. In his case, over the long-term his environmental and conservation efforts will not only save him money- but might even save his ranch.
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
David conducted a presentation on delivering expert opinion via social media to an audience at the start of International Poultry Expo week. He's got some great information about who consumers trust and how you can use today's consumer behavior to help communicate your message.
Kent Bacus, Manager of Legislative Affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), has a lot of important policies that he is working on in D.C. Since so many NCBA members who attended the Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Florida have various policy issues on the top of their minds, I thought it was high-time I learned more about them from the man who lives and breaths policy.
The president got a couple of serious questions about agriculture during the meeting, starting with the very first one from a local corn and soybean grower, who was applauded by the crowd for telling Obama not to challenge the nation’s food producers with more rules and regulations. “We would prefer to start our day in a tractor cab or combine cab rather than filling out forms and permits to do what we’d like to do,” he told the president, noting particular concern about regulations regarding dust and water runoff. 
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“This is by far our largest tour ever,” said tour chairman Larry Clemens of The Nature Conservancy. “I think that as CTIC we’re learning that our tours are enjoyable for people, they’re gaining in reputation, and we’re going to have to make some adjustments on how to handle over 200 people in the future.” Despite the very large group, the tour went smoothly, on time and without a hitch. Next year’s tour is slated to be in the Mississippi Delta region.
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Lana’s interest in attending the CTIC tour was seeing what is being done to deal with environmental issues on Lake Erie. “The issue before us is one of water quality and why is Lake Erie so stressed again that we’re seeing algal blooms that are impacting recreation and probably health as well,” she said. Lana was pleased to see the tour included agricultural producers who are implementing best practices to protect water quality.
New results from a trial done in Minnesota show that the PRRS modified live virus vaccine appears to reduce viral shedding. 
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“Our water infiltration rates for heavy rains, we can definitely see an improvement in the quantity of rain water we can accept and not have standing water or running water off the service,” he said. “That’s the biggest improvement we see is soil health and soil quality.”
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
