RFA Ethanol Podcast

WASDE Lowers Corn Forecast

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report for June sharply lowered the forecast for U.S. corn production this year.

Corn production for 2019/20 is forecast to decline 1.4 billion bushels to 13.7 billion, which if realized would be the lowest since 2015/16.Unprecedented planting delays observed through early June are expected to prevent some plantings and reduce yield prospects. USDA will release its Acreage report on June 28, which will provide survey-based indications of planted and harvested area. With sharply lower supplies, use is projected to decline 425 million bushels to 14.3 billion, based on reductions to feed and residual use and exports. With supplies falling more than use, ending stocks are projected to decline 810 million bushels to 1.7 billion, which if realized would be the lowest since 2013/14. The season-average farm price is raised 50 cents to $3.80 per bushel.

The latest crop progress report shows corn planting most delayed in Ohio (50%), Michigan, South Dakota, Indiana, and Illinois. In Iowa, where this photo was taken this week, 93 percent of the crop is in the ground, but only 73 percent is emerged and half of that is rated fair to very poor.

Yesterday’s MGEX Crop Report Conference Call featured commentary on the report from Randy Martinson of Martinson Ag Risk Management. Listen here.
MGEX crop call with Randy Martinson, Martinson Ag Risk Management

AgWired Precision, Audio, Corn, USDA

President Signs Biotechnology Order

Cindy Zimmerman

During his visit to an Iowa ethanol plant yesterday, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to Modernize the Regulatory Framework for Agricultural Biotechnology Products. The order encourages biotechnology innovation, ensures coordination across regulatory agencies, and safely enables billions of people across the world to reap the benefits of American biotechnology crops.

“Throughout our history, farmers have always led the way,” said President Trump. “We will never stop fighting for our farmers.”

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue was with the president in Iowa and applauded the new executive order.

“Our current regulatory framework has impeded innovation instead of facilitating it. With this Executive Order, President Trump is once again putting America first and setting us on a course to modernize our regulatory framework so that it works for our farmers, ranchers, and consumers. We need all the tools in the toolbox to meet the challenge of feeding everyone now and into the future – if we do not put these safe biotechnology advances to work here at home, our competitors in other nations will,” said Secretary Perdue. “Science-based advances in biotechnology have great promise to enhance rural prosperity and improve the quality of life across America’s heartland and around the globe. I applaud President Trump for signing this important Executive Order that will help America’s farmers do what we aspire to do at USDA: Do Right and Feed Everyone.”

AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Biotech

Precision Ag Bytes 6/12

Carrie Muehling

  • igus has developed the world’s first intelligent plain bearing, a high-performance plastic that warns of failure and allows machine and equipment operators to plan maintenance, repairs or part replacement in advance.
  • The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has recognized the winning teams in the spring 2019 Purple Plow Challenge, Protect the Pollinators. Each team received a 3-D printer and a $100 gift card for their class. The following teams were selected as the winners in this national competition: Marigold, Dreams Imagination & Gift Development Program/UGA Savannah River Ecology Lab, Simpsonville, South Carolina; 7A Pollinators, Michie Elementary School, Michie, Tennessee; Bear Lake Lakers, Bear Lake School, Bear Lake, Michigan; and Butterfly Garden, North Decatur High School, Greensburg, Indiana.
  • Renewable Energy Group, Inc. announced that it completed the sale of substantially all assets of REG Life Sciences’ to Genomatica on May 29, 2019.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

President Trump Celebrates Ethanol With Farmers

Cindy Zimmerman

President Donald J. Trump brought a hopeful message to farmers in the Midwest on Tuesday with an appearance at Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy ethanol plant in Council Bluffs, Iowa to celebrate year round sales of E15.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the president, and Trump in turn brought Iowa farmer and National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) first vice president Kevin Ross up to the stage to tell his story. President Trump also gave the microphone to a SIRE plant worker and a regional E15 retailer.

The president touted many administration accomplishments for farmers, including disaster assistance, and talked about the USMCA and China tariffs.

Listen to it all here:
President Donald Trump at SIRE ethanol plant

President Trump at Iowa Ethanol Plant Photo Album

AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Exports, NCGA, RFA

Ethanol Plant Proud to Host President Trump

Cindy Zimmerman

Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) CEO Mike Jerke is honored to be able to host President Donald Trump today as he appears to celebrate the easing of restrictions on sales of 15% ethanol in the summer time.

“The employees and owners of SIRE are very proud of what we have accomplished here,” says Jerke, who serves on the board of the Renewable Fuels Association. “This plant has helped to revitalize southwest Iowa, providing economic opportunity and a new market for local farmers. The year-round use of E15 will create even more long-term value for our fuel while further lowering prices at the pump. We are grateful for President Trump’s leadership and determination to remove this burdensome regulatory barrier.”

The president is expected to tour the plant and make remarks around 3:00 pm central time today.

Jerke talks about preparations for the presidential visit and why it is important for farmers and the ethanol industry: Interview with SIRE CEO Mike Jerke

President Trump at Iowa Ethanol Plant Photo Album

Audio, Ethanol, RFA

House Agriculture Committee Unveils New Website

Carrie Muehling

The House Agriculture Committee has launched a new website with an updated design that is compatible with phones, tablets and desktops.

The new website can be found at the same link: agriculture.house.gov.

“I’m proud of our new website, that makes it easier for folks to navigate and find out what the committee is up to,” said Chairman Collin C. Peterson. “We’ve taken a modern approach that works on all devices and with this new platform, the people we fight for are able to find the critical information they need.”

The new site also features rebranded committee imaging as well as links to the committee’s YouTube, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision

RFA Ready for President Trump Visit to Ethanol Plant

Cindy Zimmerman

President Donald Trump will visit the Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) ethanol plant later this afternoon and the Renewable Fuels Association is ready to welcome him and thank him for supporting farmers and the industry.

SIRE, an RFA member company, operates a state-of-the-art ethanol biorefinery that produces approximately 130 million gallons of high-octane fuel ethanol per year, along with more than 360,000 tons of nutrient-rich animal feed. Mike Jerke is the company’s CEO and represents SIRE on RFA’s Board of Directors.

In anticipation of the President’s visit, RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper stated, “We look forward to joining Mike and the entire SIRE team in welcoming President Trump to America’s heartland, and we thank the President for keeping his promise to remove the unnecessary and ridiculous regulatory barrier that prohibited the summertime use of E15 in most of the country. President Trump understands that ethanol plants like SIRE are important economic engines in rural America, supporting good-paying jobs and bolstering the farm economy. And he knows ethanol reduces prices at the pump, plays a key role in American energy dominance, and helps clean the air we breathe. I can say without hyperbole or exaggeration that without President Trump’s personal interest and advocacy on year-round E15, this critical regulatory reform would not have happened. We are thrilled to have President Trump visit Iowa, so we can personally thank him for his commitment to our nation’s ethanol producers and farmers.”

AgWired is in Council Bluffs for the event today and interviewed Cooper as they were making preparations.

Interview with Geoff Cooper, Renewable Fuels Association: Interview with RFA CEO Geoff Cooper

President Trump at Iowa Ethanol Plant Photo Album

Audio, Ethanol, RFA

World Food Prize Winner Announced

Carrie Muehling

The 2019 World Food Prize Laureate is Simon N. Groot of the Netherlands. Groot has played an important role in enhancing vegetable production for millions of smallholder farmers, affording consumers greater access to healthy diets in more than 60 countries.

The announcement was made at a ceremony in the U.S. Department of State hosted and presided over by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Acting Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Manisha Singh gave remarks, and Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation, made Mr. Groot’s award public.

“Like Dr. Norman Borlaug before him, Simon N. Groot has dedicated his life to improving the livelihoods of millions around the world,” said Amb. Quinn. “With his partner in the Philippines, he began developing vegetable varieties with enhanced disease resistance and significantly higher yields. As the use of his seeds spread throughout the Philippines and to Thailand, Indonesia and across Southeast Asia, farmers’ daily lives were uplifted and consumers benefited from greater access to nutritious vegetables. Mr. Groot in effect developed a stunningly impactful global network of seed producers who are transforming the lives of 20 million farmers every year. For this extraordinary accomplishment, he truly deserves to be named the 2019 World Food Prize Laureate.”

Mr. Groot is the founder and leader of East-West Seed, which serves over 20 million smallholder farmers in more than 60 tropical countries. Many farmers in these areas were subsistence farmers who now enjoy more income and better lives as a result.

“The awarding of the World Food Prize to a vegetable seedsman is reason for excitement and gratitude,” Groot said. “But the ultimate recognition is for the millions of smallholder farmers that stepped up farming from a way of living to building a business. Small scale vegetable farming is a great way to grow rural income and employment and improve nutrition at the same time. Partnering modern science with a long tradition of Dutch seedsmanship has contributed mightily to the growth of the vegetable farming industry of tropical Asia in the last 35 years. Now it is the turn for tropical Africa where again quality vegetable seeds combined with major farmer knowledge transfer programs can create sustainable income for the next generation of African farmers.”

Mr. Groot will receive the World Food Prize at a ceremony that will be held in the magnificent Iowa State Capitol building in Des Moines, Iowa, on the evening of October 17, 2019.

AgWired Precision, Vegetables, World Food Prize

Animal Ag Bites 6/10

Carrie Muehling

  • Revisions to the Pork Quality Assurance® Plus 4.0 are now effective. The updated program reflects pork producers’ commitment to continuous improvement and features two training options – first-time and recertification.
  • The Pork Checkoff, in collaboration with the National Junior Swine Association and Team Purebred – the nation’s largest youth swine organizations – led an industry panel on biosecurity and farm preparation. Nearly 1,400 exhibitors, parents and industry spectators were on-site at The Exposition pig show at the Iowa State Fairgrounds as the panel addressed hot topics to stem on-farm disease spread.
  • David Newman, a pork producer from Arkansas, was elected president of the National Pork Board at the organization’s June board meeting in Des Moines, Iowa. The National Pork Board’s 15 producer-directors represent America’s pig farmers.
  • Global animal health and nutrition company Alltech is proud to support Feeding South Dakota by donating a trip to Ireland that will be presented at the sixth annual South Dakota Prime Time Gala on June 22, 2019. The South Dakota Cattlemen’s Foundation has pledged to raise $150,000 for Feeding South Dakota at the 2019 Prime Time Gala.
  • The dairy community, along with Feeding America, will be kicking off National Dairy Month by rallying consumers across the country to get nutritious food to families who need it. At the national level, a three-vehicle convoy will embark on a cross-country tour in June and July to provide kids with free nutritious milk and dairy foods at locations, including farmers markets, feeding sites and sporting events. People can take action against hunger and help increase access to nutrient-rich foods by donating milk at www.giveagallon.com.
  • The American Meat Science Association announced the appointment of Collette Schultz Kaster as its new Chief Executive Officer.
  • The American Feed Industry Association has opened registration for its 49th Liquid Feed Symposium, being held Sept. 10-12, in Omaha, Neb. More information on the Liquid Feed Symposium, including registration, the agenda and information about the location, can be found on the event’s website.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

Trump to Visit Iowa Ethanol Plant

Cindy Zimmerman

President Donald J.Trump will be showing his love for the American farmer again this week as he visits an Iowa ethanol plant to celebrate the easing of summer restrictions on the sale of E15.

Trump will be touring Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC (SIRE) in Council Bluffs on Tuesday and will speak to hundreds of farmers and other ethanol industry stakeholders. In his remarks, the president is expected to discuss disaster assistance and trade in addition to ethanol.

Just a few weeks ago, President Trump welcomed representatives from a number of agricultural organizations to the White House to discuss the $16 billion in trade assistance offered to offset unjustified retaliation and trade disruption in the agricultural sector. The president’s admiration for farmers and ranchers also brought him to speak at the past two American Farm Bureau Federation conventions.

This will not be Trump’s first visit to an ethanol plant ever, but will be his first as president. As a candidate, Trump toured the POET Biorefining ethanol plant in Gowrie, Iowa in 2015.

AgWired Precision, Corn, Ethanol, Trade