Category Archives: USDA

USDA May Get Precision Ag Data

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infoag conference michael scuseI have now moved from Nebraska to Illinois for the 2011 InfoAg Conference. This is all about precision agriculture so most of our coverage will be found on Precision Pays. Thanks to Cindy we have coverage already started since I was a little slow moving this morning. Here’s her report on the opening session:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Acreage Crop Reporting Streamlining Initiative Project (ACRSIP) may well be the “most important thing that USDA has ever done,” according to Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse.

Scuse talked about the initiative as the keynote speaker at the opening of InfoAg 2011 in Springfield, Illinois on Tuesday. The concept is to simplify and provide new reporting options for producers. “Rather than a farmer or rancher going to the local FSA office to do their crop reports as they do now and have to give a second report to their agent, they can actually do the report from home,” Scuse said. “Our ultimate goal is for those that have precision ag equipment in their planters and combines to actually use the information that’s collected from that equipment to be downloaded directly to their Farm Service Agency and to the crop insurance agent, to simplify the process even further.”

Scuse says they plan a pilot test of the program this fall and hope to have it implemented by 2013. “This is how we’re going to provide a better service for farmers and ranchers,” he said. “It will ultimately save the taxpayers a great deal of money with this initiative.”

Listen to my interview with Scuse from InfoAg here: Interview with Michael Scuse, USDA

Chuck and I are tag-teaming this InfoAg Conference. He will be covering tomorrow while I head to Dixon, IL for a Wyffles corn strategies field day. Chuck will be doing a presentation on using social media here at the conference on Thursday.


2011 InfoAg Conference Photo Album

Our coverage of the InfoAg 2011 Conference is sponsored by: Ag Leader Technology.

USDA Replaces Pyramid with Plate

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Nutrition has a newer, rounder shape.

Fruits and vegetables should make up half of our plates under the more user-friendly nutrition image released today by First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. USDA is ditching the long-used food pyramid for a plate. “I can already tell you how much this is going to help parents across the country,” said the First Lady. “We do have time to look at our kids’ plates … as long as they’re eating proper portions. As long as half of their meal is fruits and vegetables, alongside lean proteins, whole grains and low fat dairy, then we’re good. It’s as simple as that.”

“My plate is a tool that’s simple enough for children to understand even at the elementary school level,” she continued. “So the My Plate icon is a wonderful, kid-friendly tool.”

Details of the new My Plate nutrition symbol can be found on choosemyplate.gov.

Listen to or download Mrs. Obama’s comments here: Michelle Obama on MyPlate

Waiting for GIPSA

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It’s been 11 months since it was first published and six months since the comment period ended, but it will be several more months yet before USDA makes a decision on the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule.

“There were 66,000 comments, about 30,000 of which are unique,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told an agriculture committee meeting last week. “Our hope is that we get this done sometime in the fall.”

Last week, 147 members of Congress sent Vilsack a letter about the proposed rule urging him “to proceed in a manner that allows further public comment on revisions to the proposal and the pending economic analysis” before a final rule is published, adding that a timeline for completion of the economic analysis and any further action is also needed.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Bill Donald of Montana says the members of Congress are standing up for U.S. cattlemen and women. “The proposed GIPSA rule puts big government smack dab in the middle of our business. It is the most pervasive invasion of federal government into the private marketplace I have ever witnessed,” he said.

National Pork Producers Council President Doug Wolf says the regulation as written “would be bad for producers, bad for consumers and bad for rural America” and would cost the U.S. pork industry nearly $400 million a year.

American Meat Institute president and CEO J. Patrick Boyle noted that an “almost unprecedented” third of House members signed the letter. “The sheer number of signatories on this letter is a testament to the growing concern on Capitol Hill about the proposed GIPSA rule. Congress is asking a fundamental and essential question: when will USDA tell us the price tag on this rule?”

Lots of Trade Talking This Week

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Since May is World Trade Month, you would think it would be a great time for Congress to pass those pesky pending Free Trade Agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama that have been awaiting approval for years. Several of the nation’s largest agricultural organizations who testified before the House Agriculture Committee this week on why it is so important to get those agreements operating think so. Actually, most would say that last May World Trade Month would have been better!

Among those testifying was National Cattlemen’s Beef Association president Bill Donald of Montana. “Each day that goes by without implementing these agreements is another day we risk losing American jobs by losing market share to other countries. With 96 percent of the world’s consumers living outside of the United States, future growth of the U.S. economy depends upon our ability to produce and sell products competitively in the global marketplace,” said Donald. May is also National Beef Month, coincidentally.

National Corn Growers Association CEO Rick Tolman told the committee that passing the FTAs and developing new markets for our country’s agricultural products will help our sector lead the nation in economic growth and international competitiveness. “The United States is the largest corn producer and exporter in the world, and exports of corn and corn co-products are essential to producer income,” Tolman said. “Our members want to maintain current export markets and significantly increase demand for corn through opportunities in value-added corn products.”

The committee also heard from American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman, which you can see on the AFBF website. “These trade agreements are not only important to the bottom line of America’s farmers and ranchers but the economic health of our rural communities and the overall U.S. economy,” said Stallman. “There is a long supply chain made up of American workers who get products from the farm gate to foreign consumers.”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also noted the importance of the FTAs for jobs in this country. “”These three trade agreements will create jobs. Through agricultural exports alone, they will yield over $2.3 billion in sales and help support more than 19,000 American jobs in agriculture and related industries,” said Vilsack.

Some progress has been seen recently on moving the FTAs forward and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk indicated to the committee that all three agreements will be submitted to Congress with a view to having them considered this year.

USDA Wants Input on Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement

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The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is requesting comment on the creation of a voluntary National Leafy Green Marketing Agreement that would assist all segments of the leafy green industry in meeting commercial food quality and safety requirements.

To reflect the different climates, production practices and markets handling leafy green produce, USDA is proposing that there be eight regional zones represented on the Board. Representatives from these zones, appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture, would form a Board to manage the Agreement. The Board would include 26 representatives – 12 handlers, 10 farmers (at least two of which must be small farmers), one importer, one retailer, one food service representative and one member of the public.

“We are asking for extensive public participation with input from farmers and handlers as well as the public to develop a comprehensive, voluntary agreement that will meet the needs of everyone,” said AMS Administrator Rayne Pegg. “This agreement is a proposal at this point and we encourage your comments over the next 90 days. We will analyze the comments and decide how or whether to proceed with an agreement.”

Hear Administrator Rayne Pegg in radio interviews and a podcast below.

Radio Interview #1
Radio Interview #2
Radio Interview #3
Podcast

Farmers Suing Army Corps Over Levee Breach

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Over 100,000 acres of prime southeast Missouri farmland is under water today after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers blew up a levee on the Mississippi River Monday night to save the town of Cairo, Illinois from flooding. The action was taken after attempts to stop it were exhausted by Missouri officials. The picture is a screen shot of the video showing the explosions on the levee.

Now 25 farmers have joined in a class action lawsuit against the Corps contending that “the property rights of the farmers and landowners under the 5th Amendment to the Constitution were violated when a 15 foot high wall of water was released and flooded their property.” The Corps itself estimates damage to property in the path of the Birds Point levee at more than $300 million, including about 100 homes and more than 100,000 acres of farmland for corn, wheat and soybeans.

Missouri Corn Growers Association CEO Gary Marshall says the action will “not only decimate this year’s crop, but the sand and silt left behind will impede farmers for years to come. Our efforts will now focus on finding ways to identify federal and state support for growers in the spillway area.”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is pledging help. “Notwithstanding the fact that this was a man-made initiative to breach the levee, it was a result of Mother Nature, so the crop insurance protections will be available to those landowners, both this year and most likely next year,” he told farm broadcasters in Washington DC this week.

*POST UPDATE – AUDIO*
Meghan Grebner (WMBD/WIRL Peoria) is in DC at NAFB’s Washington Watch and sent the audio of Vilsack’s comments about the levee. Listen to or download here: Secretary Vilsack Levee Comments

Rural America Key to Energy Security

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“I am a great believer in American ingenuity,” began Vilsack during his speech in Shenandoah, Iowa where the only first generation ethanol plant is co-located with an algae plant. “I’m a great believer in the capacity of the American farmer and rancher to literally meet any challenge.”

Vilsack recently went on an “energy” tour of the Midwest where he visited various energy projects, many that are supported by the USDA. One project, started three years ago, is the BioProcess Algae project co-located with a first generation corn-ethanol plant. The algae plant utilizes the waste carbon dioxide, waste water and waste heat to produce algal fuels and by-products. Vilsack, along with CEO Tim Burns of BioProcess Algae and CEO Todd Becker of Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) all believe that farmers will soon be growing algae – just like they currently grow other energy crops such as corn. In fact, Burns’ vision is that in 10 or 15 years, when you fly over Iowa, you will see concentric circles of algae around the ethanol biorefineries.

While Vilsack was excited about the technology and partnership happening in Shenandoah, Iowa, maybe what he was more excited about was the ability for domestically produced energy to revitalize rural America. During his keynote speech, Vilsack focused on the need for innovative and creative jobs to bring bright, young people back home. Today, 16 percent of our country’s population comes from rural areas like Shenandoah, Iowa and 44 percent of our military comes from these areas.

Vilsack believes that projects such as the BioProcess Algae / GPRE project will spread across the country and rural communities. “There’s phenomenal innovation and phenomenal growth opportunities to be able to do something for your country that needs to be done and that’s to wean ourselves off of our dependence on foreign oil,” continued Vilsack. “It’s an opportunity for us to create jobs in small towns. It’s an opportunity for American agriculture to continue to respond to the challenges it has met time after time in the country.”

There are four components that Vilsack believes are the secret for success in revitalizing the rural economy: significant investment dollars, innovation, networking, and a sense of place. Vilsack said these are the reasons why the USDA was supporting this project.

He concluded, “I want to congratulate the folks at BioProcess Algae and I want to congratulate the ethanol industry and the advanced biofuels industry for coming together in this operation because it’s a model for the rest of the country and it sends a strong unmistakable message the ethanol industry and the biofuels industry is here to stay and is going to play an important role in shaping not just opportunity for America but very specifically a wonderful opportunity, an unlimited opportunity for the bright young people who want to live, and work and raise their family in the greatest part of America.”

Click here to view the Flickr photo album from the BioProcess Algae/GPRE Grower Harvester event.

Get More From Burndown as Planting Begins

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Planting season has officially started with the first USDA crop progress report of the year released this week. Three percent of the nation’s corn crop planted – the same as both last year and the five year average. Cotton is running on schedule with seven percent planted and sorghum is 20 percent.

As the planters start moving through the fields, Precision Laboratories is reminding growers to get the most out of their fields by getting the most out of their weed control by following two simple steps:

1. Reduce costly tank-mix incompatibility issues by following the proper mixing sequence

Tank mix compatibility issues can cost you time and money – lost spraying time from plugged sprayer nozzles, lost product and the risk of cross contamination problems later. Precision Laboratories recently released a simple and unique way to identify the correct mixing sequence for your crop protection products. The new Mix Tank app for iPhone and iPod touch, is the first of its kind, helping you determine the accurate mixing sequence for pesticides, adjuvants and foliar nutrition products. With over 700 crop protection products from over 15 manufacturers, the new Mix Tank app can process any combination of products and determine the correct solution. Download the Mix Tank app at http://bit.ly/MixTank. And if you don’t have an iPhone, you can enter to win a free iPod Touch loaded with the app and other tank mixing resources. To register for the Precision Laboratories/ZimmComm iPod Touch giveaway, click here. Continue reading →

Agriculture Excited About Colombia Free Trade News

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It’s taken over four years to get to this point, but some action is finally happening on the Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) and U.S. agriculture interests are thrilled.

President Obama announced today that an agreement has been reached on the deal that was signed by the U.S. Trade Representative and the Colombian trade minister on Nov. 22, 2006. The agreement will now be sent to Congress to ratify. It is estimated that the Colombia agreement could mean U.S. agricultural export gains of more than $815 million per year at full implementation.

According to a USDA Fact Sheet, a variety of agricultural commodities would benefit from the Agreement, as more than half of current U.S. farm exports to Colombia will become duty-free immediately, and virtually all remaining tariffs will be eliminated within 15 years. “Colombia will immediately eliminate duties on wheat, barley, soybeans, soybean meal and flour, high-quality beef, bacon, almost all fruit and vegetable products, wheat, peanuts, whey, cotton, and the vast majority of processed products. The Agreement also provides duty free tariff rate quotas (TRQ) on standard beef, chicken leg quarters, dairy products, corn, sorghum, animal feeds, rice, and soybean oil.”

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Bill Donald said it’s essential for the U.S. to take aggressive measures to expand market access for agriculture to stimulate the economy and feed a growing global population. “The cattle industry can breathe a sigh of relief today as the Colombia agreement finally gets the long overdue attention it deserves,” said Donald. “This agreement has collected dust for well over four years while our trade competitors proactively sign, seal and deliver trade pacts.”

American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman says the development is just what a group of Farm Bureau leaders has been pushing for the last two weeks during a visit to Colombia and Panama. “After meetings this week and last with farmers, ranchers and agricultural leaders from Colombia, we know this is a development welcomed by all sides. Trade will help the United States build stronger bonds with our Latin American neighbors, and it makes sense given our advantage of proximity and history of cooperation.”

The National Corn Growers Association says the Colombia FTA would provide immediate access for U.S. corn growers to Colombia’s roughly 2.1 million metric ton market for corn at zero percent duty. “Colombia has traditionally been one of the Top 10 export markets for U.S. corn,” NCGA President Bart Schott said. “This is an important market for U.S. farmers and we do not want to watch this market slip away to our largest competitors.”

National Pork Producers Council President Doug Wolf says the agreement will increase U.S. pork exports to the South American country by $68.9 million and help create 919 U.S. pork industry jobs. “We must implement our pending FTAs to remain competitive,” Wolf said. “Pork producers also support the Korea and Panama FTAs and urge the administration to send them to Congress to be approved by this summer.”

The Sorghum Checkoff Continues

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It’s official. The Sorghum Checkoff (officially the Sorghum Promotion, Research and Information Order) will continue as announced by USDA today.

“We are pleased to announce that this Checkoff program will continue, and I am confident that this program will further its goal of strengthening the industry and expanding marketing opportunities for sorghum producers and importers,” said USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service Administrator Rayne Pegg.

The referendum took place from Feb. 1, 2011, through Feb. 28, 2011. Of the 1,204 valid ballots cast, 917 or 76.2 percent favored the program and 287 or 23.7 percent opposed continuing the program. For the program to continue, it must have been approved by at least a majority of those eligible persons voting for approval who were engaged in the production and sale of sorghum during the period July 1, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2010.

Here’s how the National Sorghum Producers reacted:

Gerald Simonsen, National Sorghum Producers chairman of the board and sorghum farmer from Ruskin, Neb., proclaimed the results as a huge win for the industry and sorghum farmers across the nation.

“The NSP board recognized a need three years ago for improvement in the sorghum industry in the areas of market development, research and education,” said Simonsen. “We developed a vision, worked with USDA to create the program and are proud of the results the Sorghum Checkoff has produced in its two short years of operation.”

Happy Biofools Day!

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The votes have been cast and the winner of “Biofool of the Year” is ….. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack!

While we are disappointed that we were not chosen by Friends of the Earth (FOE) for this award, as they say in the Academy, it was an honor just to be nominated!

According to FOE, more than 6,000 votes were cast on-line for this award and Vilsack won it with 2,424 votes – more than the total number cast last year. They plan to deliver a letter to Vilsack later this month, “congratulating him on earning this honor and thanking him for his efforts to promote dirty biofuels at the expense of a comprehensive agriculture policy that would actually help American farmers who grow food!”

Meanwhile, with over 100 votes cast so far in our latest R&K ZimmPoll, Secretary Vilsack is virtually tied between getting an A or an F as a mid term grade. What do you think? Does the Biofool of the Year deserve to flunk or move to the head of the class?

Keep Potatoes in Schools!

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According to the National Potato Council, “The time has come to stand up for potatoes in schools!”

French fries and mashed potatoes have long been staples of the school lunch program, but that could change if a USDA proposal incorporating the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans is implemented. According to USDA, the revisions will “add more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat milk to school meals.” But, NPC says the changes include the reduction of certain vegetables, including potatoes, in schools. “The proposed rule on Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs would limit the weekly servings of potatoes, corn, peas and lima beans to a single cup in school lunches and would eliminate all these vegetables in school breakfasts.”

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee identified potassium and fiber as nutrients of concern for children. However, the USDA is recommending limiting the availability of a vegetable that not only provides these essential nutrients in a calorie-efficient package, but that’s also a vegetable children actually want to eat.

The comment period on the proposal ends April 13, so NPC is urging people to stand up for potatoes and make their voices heard by submitting comments to support potatoes in school lunches. Find out more at PotatoesInSchools.com.

First Certified Biobased Labels Announced

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The United Soybean Board held a Biobased Products Stakeholders’ Workshop today at Hoover, Inc. Our featured speaker was Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan who announced the first 11 companies whose products have been certified to feature USDA’s new BioPreferred Label. “The USDA BioPreferred label assures the consumer that a product or package contains a verified amount of renewable biological ingredients.” You can hear her comments below as well as a short interview I conducted with her.

We also had soybean farmer representatives with us as well as representatives from a variety of companies that are now certified or working on it. I’ll be posting interviews with them later on.

One of the reasons this event was held in Ohio was the fact that three of the eleven companies are based here. Companies receiving the certification include:

Nutek Green, a division of Hoover, Inc., (Glenwillow, Ohio); Seventh Generation (Burlington, Vermont); Betco Corp. (Toledo, Ohio); Clear Lam Packaging, Inc. (Elk Grove Village, Illinois); DuPont Corporation (Wilmington, Delaware); ElastiKote (Akron, Ohio); Green Earth Technologies (Celebration, Florida); National Industries for the Blind Agencies (Lighthouse for the Blind, St. Louis, Missouri and Travis Association for the Blind, Austin, Texas); NatureWorks LLC (Minnetonka, Minnesota); Rochester Midland Corporation (Rochester, New York); Bio-Lub Canada (Quebec, Canada).

Deputy Ag Secretary Merrigan told us, “When consumers see the BioPreferred label in a store, they’ll know that the product or its packaging is made from renewable plant, animal, marine or forestry materials.” She also told me how happy she was that this program will help our farmers since it will continue to open up and develop new markets for their commodities.

You can listen to or download her comments here: Dep. Ag Secretary Merrigan's Remarks

You can listen to or download my interview with her here: Interview with Dep. Ag Secretary Merrigan

You can find photos from the event here: USB Biobased Stakeholders’ Workshop Photo Album

USDA Releases 2011 Prospective Plantings Report

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USDAUSDA expects more corn, wheat and cotton to be planted this year, but slightly less soybeans, according to the Prospective Plantings report released this morning.

Corn growers intend to plant 92.2 million acres of corn for all purposes this year, up 5 percent from last year and 7 percent higher than in 2009. If realized, this will be the second highest planted acreage in the United States since 1944, behind only the 93.5 million acres planted in 2007. Soybean planted area for 2011 is estimated at 76.6 million acres, down 1 percent from last year. If realized, the United States planted area will be the third largest on record. All wheat planted area is estimated at 58.0 million acres, up 8 percent from last year. All cotton plantings for 2011 are expected to total 12.6 million acres, 15 percent above last year.

Read the whole report here.

*POST UPDATE*
Listen to commentary about the report from Brian Hoops on Midwest Market Solutions who participated in this morning’s Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) Crop Report Conference Call.

MGEX Commentary with Brian Hoops

USDA ERS Atlas of Rural and Small Town America

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USDA’s Economic Research Service has created an online Atlas of Rural and Small Town America that you might find interesting. It’s an interactive map that allows you to select broad categories of data including people, jobs and agriculture. You can select specific counties to get information or areas like regions and states.

ERS promotes the well-being of rural America through research and analysis to better understand the economic, demographic, environmental, and social forces affecting rural regions and communities. In collaboration with other USDA agencies, ERS research helps provide rural residents and community and business leaders with the knowledge and skills to help their communities thrive in the global economy.
The objectives of the Atlas are:

* To provide a spatial interpretation of county-level, economic and social conditions along four dimensions: people, jobs, agriculture, and county classifications.
* To highlight the value of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey as a new source of county data and to bring together data from several different Federal sources.
* To allow the use of socioeconomic indicators jointly with ERS county typologies to better understand the diverse opportunities and challenges facing rural regions and communities.

Thanks to @AFBFMace and @Cottonaggie for the heads up.

Ag Secretary Vilsack at Commodity Classic

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2011 commodity classic tom vilsackAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack gave the keynote address today to an audience of more than 4,500 farmers and commodity group representatives during the General Session of the 16th Annual Commodity Classic in Tampa, Florida. In his remarks, Vilsack commended American farmers, ranchers and producers for helping to lead the United States’ economic recovery by shattering agricultural trade records, creating jobs at home and ensuring affordable food for U.S. families.

“We are all fortunate to be living through one of the most productive eras in history for U.S. agriculture,” said Vilsack. “American farmers and ranchers are seeing record sales of farm goods abroad and looking forward to some of the best net incomes in decades. U.S. agricultural exports for fiscal 2011 are on course to shatter previous records and enjoy a record $47.5 billion trade surplus. This record productivity is creating employment across a variety of sectors, including transportation and storage. Moreover, because American agriculture produces 86 percent of the food we consume, our families spend less at the grocery store compared to consumers in much of the rest of the world. As producers of high-quality products and conscientious stewards of our lands, American farmers and ranchers deserve our gratitude.”

Best Vilsack comment that I heard was “OPEC has more to do with food prices than farmers.” He got loud applause for that!

Listen to or download Vilsack’s address here: 2011 Commodity Classic Vilsack Address

2011 Commodity Classic Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2011 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: BASF New Holland and AgHaven

USDA Deregulates Corn Amylase

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SyngentaSyngenta Seeds announced today it has received full deregulation from USDA for corn amylase (Event 3272), the first corn output trait designed to help ethanol industry become more efficient, profitable and environmentally friendly.

Syngenta Seeds plans to sell corn containing Event 3272 under the “Enogen” seed brand. “Enogen corn is a breakthrough product that provides ethanol producers a proven means to create more value per gallon while offering targeted corn growers an opportunity to cultivate a premium specialty crop in a contracted, closed production system,” said David Morgan, president of Syngenta Seeds. “Also, Enogen corn can substantially reduce the energy and water consumed and the carbon emissions associated with ethanol production.”

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is happy with USDA’s decision.

“Corn amylase is the first processing output trait to be scrutinized by our regulatory system,” said NCGA president Bart Schott, a grower from North Dakota. “The potential importance of output traits to growers and industry will only increase as other output traits are developed.”

Corn amylase is approved in Japan, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Amylase was found to be safe for food and feed by the Food and Drug Administration in 2007.

Winter Weather Woes for Livestock

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Cattle producers around the country have been busy this winter trying to care for their animals in particularly harsh weather.

cow snowIce, snow and freezing temperatures mean lots of extra work to feed and water cattle and there were lots of producers who were unable to make the trip to Denver last week for the Cattle Industry Convention because of that. There have even been reports of barns collapsing and killing cattle. USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) officials are reminding livestock producers throughout the Plains states and the Midwest that FSA programs may be available to assist them.

“This is turning out to be a tough winter for many ranchers and farmers in the nation’s heartland, and learning about our FSA programs is an important step for producers to take,” FSA Administrator Jonathan Coppess said in a release last week. “We need producers to document the number and kind of livestock that have died as a direct result of these winter storms and timely notify their local FSA office of these losses. There may be situations where producers are transporting feed to their livestock. Producers should document these additional costs.”

FSA administers several programs that help producers recover from livestock deaths that are beyond normal mortality rates, losses of purchased and/or harvested forage, and with the additional costs of providing or transporting feed.

Here in mid Missouri, we still have a foot or more of snow in some areas after last week’s storm that dumped about 20 inches. The photo is from Brownfield Network’s Cyndi Young-Puyear who has a cow-calf operation with her husband Jim not far from the state capitol. She’s really proud of her little black and white striped calf and she reports on Facebook that the snow hasn’t slowed little “Oreo Speedwagon” down a bit!

Biotech Alfalfa Deregulated

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Farmers can prepare to “grow the feed, not the weeds” once again, anywhere they want, with the complete deregulation of alfalfa that has been genetically engineered to be resistant to Roundup.

USDA made the announcement today. “After conducting a thorough and transparent examination of alfalfa through a multi-alternative environmental impact statement (EIS) and several public comment opportunities, APHIS has determined that Roundup Ready alfalfa is as safe as traditionally bred alfalfa,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.

This means that, for the first time since 2007, U.S. farmers will have the choice to plant Genuity® Roundup Ready® alfalfa, which makes Monsanto very happy.

“This is great news for farmers who have been waiting for the green light to plant Roundup Ready alfalfa,” said Steve Welker, alfalfa commercial lead at Monsanto. “USDA’s action gives farmers the choice to enjoy the benefits of this product, including superior crop safety and high-quality yield opportunity.”

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is also pleased by the USDA decision. “This is the right decision,” said Wisconsin farmer Jim Zimmerman, vice chairman of NCGA’s Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team. “A clean, full deregulation is the best decision for producers and lets farmers plant the kind of alfalfa they choose this spring.”

The USDA announcement comes just one week after the U.S. House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to review the biotechnology product regulatory approval process where biotech alfalfa was in the spotlight and Secretary Vilsack testified.

Let the complaining by those opposed to genetically modified crops begin!

USDA Outlook Board Chair at AFBF

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Appearing at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in Atlanta this week almost cost USDA Outlook Board Chairman Gerald Bange a 28 year perfect record.

Gerald Bange has not missed a lockup prior to the release of a crop report since 1983, but it was a close call getting out of the snow-bound south in time after his crop outlook presentation at AFBF on Monday. “It’s amazing to see what five inches of snow and some ice will do in Atlanta,” he told USDA Radio. “It shuts that city down and when they shut that airport down, things get a little bit difficult.”

In his presentation at AFBF, Bange said that high commodity prices for corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton indicate higher crop acreage in 2011, as much as 10 more million more acres. “We won’t know until we get the planting intentions report. It won’t be until June until we know for sure,” Bange said.

High prices and very low stocks for corn should mean more corn acreage in 2011, but Bange said indicators right now are actually pointing to more soybean acres. “As farmers look to the future, they may be looking to soybeans,” Bange said. “That intrigues us a little bit because I think everybody is of the opinion that corn would be the favored crop as we move into 2011.”

One factor driving greater prospects for soybeans may be high fertilizer costs associated with corn production as well as greater weather risks for corn production, according to Bange.

2011 AFBF Annual Meeting Photo Album