Cattle Industry Welcomes EPA Adminstrator Wheeler
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler got a warm welcome when he addressed the Board of Directors meeting for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Friday and was able to proudly list repeal of the 2015 “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) in the accomplishments his agency has made for farmers and ranchers.
“If you didn’t spontaneously applaud at that one I was going to reinstate it,” Wheeler joked to the applause. NCBA CEO Colin Woodall tweeted, “Would you have ever imagined an EPA Administrator getting a standing ovation from a room full of cattle producers? Happened at our board meeting as @EPAAWheeler talked about wins such as the repeal and replacement of WOTUS.”
Wheeler says the new Navigable Waters Protection Rule “strikes the proper balance between Washington and the states in managing land and water resources while protecting our nation’s navigable waters” and his hope is that now farmers and ranchers can “refocus on their livelihoods instead of meeting with consultants and lawyers.”
Listen to Wheeler’s remarks and press gaggle from the 2020 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show.
CIC2020 Remarks from Andrew Wheeler, EPA 20:06
Multi-media content from the convention can be found here:
2020 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Virtual Newsroom
The Countdown Begins: 100 Days to ONE
ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE) returns to Lexington, Kentucky May 17–19 for its 36th year. ONE draws on Alltech’s global reach and business scope to assemble thought-leaders from the agriculture, business, health and wellness, and brewing and distilling sectors.
“Science, technology and human ingenuity converge at ONE,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “The topics up for discussion reflect the extraordinary opportunity our industry has to adopt new ideas for producing enough safe, nutritious food for all while preserving our planet.”
Alltech’s flagship conference is attended annually by more than 3,000 people representing 70 countries. Keynote speaker announcements are coming soon, and this year’s mainstage line-up promises to be as dynamic as ever. With universal themes of innovation, inclusion and inspiration, ONE invites everyday heroes from various industries to unleash the power of infinite ideas.
At the 2020 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in San Antonio this week, Alltech has been showcasing its Planet of Plenty initiative and encouraging attendees to write their sustainability ideas on leaves that will then be displayed at ONE.
Dr. Lyons talks about ONE, sustainability, China, and more in this interview.
CIC2020 Interview with Dr. Mark Lyons, Alltech 10:53
Florida Ranch Wins Environmental Stewardship Award
Blackbeard’s Ranch in Myakka, FL was named the national winner of the 2019 Environmental Stewardship Award Program this week at the 2020 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, in San Antonio, TX.
“My family has been in Florida for six generations,” said Blackbeard’s managing partner Jim Strickland. “We’ve always been in the cattle business, and we’ve always taken pride in caring for the land to ensure we’re protecting the land, air and water resources that have been entrusted to us”
Today Blackbeard’s Ranch, with origins in the Hutches Ranch in the 1930s, is one of the last large intact working cow-calf operations in this part of southwest Florida. The cowherd includes approximately 600 head of Beefmaster, Brangus and Charolais cattle, who pasture just east of the sandy beaches and high rises on the Gulf of Mexico.
CIC2020 ESAP Award winner Jim Strickland, Blackbeard Ranch, FL 4:32Multi-media content from the convention, including interviews and photos with regional ESAP winners, can be found here:
2020 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Virtual Newsroom
Zimfo Bytes 2/7
- Throughout February, FFA chapters can apply for the 2020-21 Turn the Bag Blue & Gold program. Sponsored by Mycogen Seeds, this fundraising opportunity with the National FFA Organization is in its fourth year and has raised more than $93,000 for local FFA chapters, state FFA associations and the National FFA Organization. FFA chapters can apply for the program by visiting Mycogen.com/FFA and submitting the online form by March 2, 2020.
- Del Norte County native, Rose Tryon is a passionate advocate for agriculture and has officially stepped into her new role as president of the California Women for Agriculture.
- The Agricultural Relations Council is in year four of the ARC/Gardner & Gardner Communications internship program. The 2020 intern host will be Charleston|Orwig in Hartland, Wisconsin. Students interested in applying for the ARC Internship should fill out the 2020 ARC Intern Candidate Application and submit it to sandraorourke@gandgcomm.com by February 21, 2020.
- The American Farm Bureau Federation is partnering with INTL FCStone to offer Farm Bureau members exclusive discounts on FCStone’s catalog of agricultural risk management tools, which range from customized commodity marketing plans to data management solutions and educational seminars and cover an extensive range of agricultural commodities, from grains and oilseeds to dairy and livestock.
- The Soil Health Partnership is pleased to introduce Dr. Carrie Roever as the new Data Manager.
- The National Corn Growers Association’s Annual Report for the 2019 fiscal year is now available online. The report highlights memorable events and victories accomplished in a year characterized by weather and policy challenges.
- Wayne Stoskopf has joined NCGA’s Washington, D.C. office as Director for Public Policy for Risk Management and Tax. Stoskopf will also serve as lead staff for the Risk Management and Transportation Team.
- The American Soybean Association is pleased to announce Kyle Kunkler will join ASA’s policy team Feb. 20 as director of government affairs, with a focus on the biotech and crop protection portfolio.
- The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance are establishing an Agriculture-Climate Partnershipto unlock the climate-solving potential in farmlands.
- Two central Florida agriculture industry leaders will be inducted into the 2020 Florida Agriculture Hall of Fame next week. Both men are champions of UF/IFAS Extension and research. John Jackson served Florida agriculture for more than five decades with 38 of those years as a leader in UF/IFAS Extension. Robbie Roberson played a pivotal role in the creation of the UF/IFAS Mid-Florida Research and Education Center in Apopka, including leading efforts to secure funding for the consolidation of research centers throughout the region into one state-of-the-art facility.
- Ambassador Kip Tom, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, will speak at the annual dinner of USDA’s 96th Agricultural Outlook Forum, USDA’s largest annual meeting, slated for Feb. 21-22, 2019 in Arlington, Va.
NCBA Announces 2020 Beef Quality Assurance Award Winners
Winners of the 2020 Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Awards were announced this week during the 2020 Cattle Industry Convention in San Antonio, Texas. The awards recognize outstanding beef and dairy producers and marketers who demonstrate high-quality animal care and handling principles and express a strong desire to improve their operations through BQA.
2020 BQA Cow-Calf Award – IX Ranch in Big Sandy, Montana
2020 BQA FARM Dairy Award – Boadwine Farms, Baltic, South Dakota
2020 BQA Feedyard Award – Bledsoe Cattle Company of Wray, Colorado
2020 Marketer BQA Award – Western Video Market (WVM)
2020 BQA Educator Award – Curt Pate
Also announced at the convention this week, five event locations on the Stockmanship & Stewardship Regional Tour, with the next stop in Ontario, Ore. Dates for that session and sessions in Bowling Green, Ky., Durango, Colo., Danville, Ind., and Elko, Nev. have not yet been determined.
In other BQA news from #CattleCon20, the program has updated its online training modules to make them more realistic and useful. The new modules are now available to those who are first becoming BQA certified online and those who are getting re-certified as required after three years.
The Beef Quality Assurance program continues to grow significantly, with more than 100,000 cattle producers now certified through its online learning system. The online option was introduced by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, in early 2017. Since the BQA program was initiated in the early 1990s hundreds of thousands have become BQA-certified through in-person and online training, with an estimated 85 percent of the U.S. fed beef supply now touched by BQA-certified operations.
NCBA Director of Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Chase DeCoite provides an update on the program in this interview.
CIC2020 Interview with Chase DeCoite, Beef Quality Assurance 8:09
Multi-media content from the convention can be found here:
2020 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Virtual Newsroom
USDA Announces Hemp Crop Insurance Details
USDA has announced the availability of two programs that protect hemp producers’ crops from natural disasters.
A pilot hemp insurance program through Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) provides coverage against loss of yield because of insurable causes of loss for hemp grown for fiber, grain or Cannabidiol (CBD) oil and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage protects against losses associated with lower yields, destroyed crops or prevented planting where no permanent federal crop insurance program is available. Producers may apply now, and the deadline to sign up for both programs is March 16, 2020.
“We are pleased to offer these coverages to hemp producers. Hemp offers new economic opportunities for our farmers, and they are anxious for a way to protect their product in the event of a natural disaster,” said Farm Production and Conservation Undersecretary Bill Northey.
Learn more about the challenges and opportunities of industrial hemp farming in the Midwest in our series of feature interviews from the recent “Heart of America – Agricultural Hemp Classic.”
USDA Secretary Chats with NCBA President
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue sat down with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Jennifer Houston on Wednesday to talk about issues important to the thousands of cattle industry representatives attending the 2020 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, in San Antonio, TX.
The new trade deal with China and the signing of USMCA were big topics of discussion, both on stage and with reporters during a press availability afterward. Secretary Perdue also shared his views on the future of “fake meat” and his preference for a “good old juicy beef burger any day of the week.”
Listen to their conversation.
CIC2020 Secy Perdue and NCBA President Chat
During a press availability, Secretary Perdue answered reporter questions on topics including China and coronavirus, reaction to SOTU, European market potential for beef, USMCA, and more.
CIC2020 Secy Perdue press conference
2020 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Virtual Newsroom
NCBA Unveils Top Policy Priorities For 2020
Top policy priorities for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) in 2020 are focused on implementing and protecting regulatory and trade gains made in 2019, while further advancing progress into new territory.
This year’s priorities include an emphasis on climate policy and policy such as the proposed Green New Deal. NCBA plans to “Continue to push back against misguided climate policies while advancing the U.S. cattle industry’s tremendous environmental record, upholding the U.S. cattle industry as the global model for sustainable beef production.”
NCBA environmental counsel Scott Yager says they also adopted a policy regarding Proposition 12 in California which regulates the size of pens for breeding pigs and veal calves. “It’s concerning on a national level because it effectively regulates other states outside of California,” said Yager. The NCBA Executive Committee approved the filing of an amicus brief to support a lawsuit by American Farm Bureau and National Pork Producers.
CIC2020 Interview with Scott Yeager, NCBA Environmental Counsel 8:40
In the year ahead, NCBA also plans to prioritize the importance of cattle markets — specifically promoting “policy that creates markets free from unfair practices and manipulation both in the fundamental markets and the cattle futures markets.” NCBA Associate Director of Legislative Affairs and Market Regulatory Policy Darryl Blakey discusses that and some other regulatory issues.
CIC2020 Interview with Darryl Blakely, NCBA Legislative Affairs 5:572020 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Virtual Newsroom
Precision Ag Bytes 2/5
- Locus Agricultural Solutions and Nori announced a partnership that provides a pathway for payments to farmers harvesting carbon.
- GROWMARK recognized several award winners at its 2020 Cooperative Leadership Conference. Lucknow District Co-operative Inc., based out of Lucknow, Ontario, took home the Management Excellence Award. based out of Harriston, Ontario, took home the first-place Performance Improvement Award.
- Netafim, the global leader in precision irrigation, and Arable Labs, the leader in innovative field-sensing and analytics, have announced collaboration in integrating Arable’s data into Netafim’s automated irrigation and fertigation cloud-based platform, NetBeat™.
- TerrAvion and Ninja Ag are pleased to announce their partnership combining TerrAvion imagery data in the Ninja Ag system.
- Reinke Manufacturing, a global leader in irrigation systems and technology, announced the acquisition of Ace Irrigation & Manufacturing to expand its manufacturing operation.
- Luxxur™ herbicide from Bayer is now available to cereals growers in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming for the 2020 growing season. Classified as a Group 2 herbicide, Luxxur herbicide is formulated with a precise combination of active ingredients optimized to control many grass and broadleaf weeds in spring, winter and durum wheat fields.
- John Deere held its 7th annual Develop with Deere Conference last week in St. Louis, bringing together nearly 700 Deere dealers, software companies, ag service providers and others from 13 countries to share ideas and learn about the latest digital tools and applications in agriculture.
