The U.S. Soybean in Southeast Asia

Jamie Johansen

USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Chris Rittgers has called Jakarta, Indonesia home for nearly a year, but is a veteran when it comes to the role of agricultural counselor. Prior to this three-year position, Rittgers worked for the USDA in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Malaysia, Iraq, Egypt and Spain. Naturally, he was the perfect person to share the role of Indonesia in the global marketplace during the 13th SE Asia Soy Food Symposium and Ag Supply Chain Asia 2018 events in Surabaya, Indonesia.

“Indonesia is unique. They import soybeans primally for food use. The objective of these events is to provide technical information for Southeast Asia on the quality characteristic of U.S. soybeans, our infrastructure, marketing system and how it’s produced. They are also getting information about our supply chain and no one can explain it better then our U.S. producers themselves. They are our best ambassadors for our sector and many are here from various states in the Midwest,” Rittgers said.

As an advocate for U.S. soybean in the southeast Asian market, Rittgers continually shares the advantages of U.S. soybeans. He said U.S. beans come with a transparent price, systematic infrastructure, consistent quality and stable supply.

Rittgers also said the history and relationship between the Indonesian buyers and the U.S. exporters is a big contributor. “It’s been several decades they have had hard, concrete and successful economic relationships,” Rittgers said.

Listen to my complete interview with Chirs to hear his overall views on the future of the Southeast Asian market beyond soy: Interview with Chris Rittgers, USDA FAS Indonesia

View and download images from the event here: USSEC SE Asia Buyers Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Exports, Soybean, USDA, USSEC

China Adds Tariffs on Beef and Soybeans

Cindy Zimmerman

More U.S. agricultural products are on the second list of retaliatory tariffs from China, including both soybeans and beef, of 25 percent.

Kent Bacus, Director of International Trade and Market Access for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), calls the action unsettling but not surprising. “This is a battle between two governments, and the unfortunate casualties will be America’s cattlemen and women and our consumers in China,” said Bacus.

Listen to Bacus in this special edition of Beltway Beef – Beltway Beef report with Kent Bacus

American Soybean Association treasurer Bill Gordon, a grower from Minnesota, says the move has already cost them. “We had a 30-40 cent drop in our soybean price this morning,” said Gordon. “So just on the speculation alone of a tariff, we lost 1.7 billion.”

However, Gordon is optimistic that the situation could turn into a positive. “If it gets both countries to the table, it could create a positive trade balance, with soybeans and other ag products,” he said. “We have the products that China wants.”

Get more details from Gordon in this interview – Interview with ASA treasurer Bill Gordon, Minnesota soybean farmer

Also included on the second list of 25% tariff items are corn, cotton, and frozen orange juice.

AgWired Animal, ASA, Audio, Beef, Soybean, Trade

2018 Ag Media Summit

Chuck Zimmerman

Just in case you didn’t get the memo, this year’s Agricultural Media Summit will be August 4-8 in Scottsdale, AZ.

In case you don’t know what this is then read on.

This is the largest gathering of agriculture’s top writers, editors, photographers, publishers and communication specialists in the U.S. This year the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences will join the American Agricultural Editors’ Association, Livestock Publications Council and the Connectiv Agri-Media Committee. With the addition of ACE, more than 850 media and communications professionals are expected to attend.

This industry-wide gathering of agricultural communicators offers one of the best opportunities for professional improvement and industry networking. The InfoExpo (trade show) annually exceeds 75 booths and provides the best place to promote your company or organization’s products and services. Sign up for your booth here.

HOTEL HEADQUARTERS:

The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa
6902 E. Greenway Parkway
Scottsdale, AZ 885254
480-624-1000
kierlandresort.com

To book your room, click here. Room rate: $149

ACE, ACN, Ag Media Summit, LPC, Media

Nebraska Water for Food at 8th World Water Forum in Brazil

Cindy Zimmerman

The 8th World Water Forum, held in Brazil last month, drew more than 20,000 participants from 170 countries to focus on the challenges and solutions to ensuring water security around the world. The Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska (DWFI) coordinated the Water for Food track of sessions with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

The institute organized a High Level Panel on Water for Food, moderated by DWFI executive director Peter G. McCornick, featuring international leaders who shared their views and experiences on ways organizations and nations can work together to improve food security and successful farming production, conserve natural resources and mitigate the effects of climate variability.

“We are building awareness of the urgent importance of looking at water issues differently, especially when it comes to agriculture,” said McCornick. “If we’re not including agriculture in the water security challenge, we’re ignoring 70 percent of the equation, and missing the opportunity to increase resilience in our food systems. Nebraska has a lot of expertise to share, as well as a lot to gain through our involvement with the many partners participating in the World Water Forum – developing potential projects that will further our goal of ensuring water and food security.”

DWFI also held a side event to discuss ways in which organizations can support farmer-led agricultural production, including access to irrigation for small-scale farms.

Listen to my interview with McCornick here: Interview with Peter McCornick, Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute

AgWired Precision, Audio, International, Irrigation, Water, Water for Food

Farm and Ethanol Groups Slam RFS Waiver for Big Refiner

Cindy Zimmerman

A Reuters report about EPA exempting one of the country’s largest oil refiners from complying with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) touched off a backlash from farm groups and ethanol organizations Tuesday.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) was first to respond to the report that Texas-based Andeavor received small refiner economic hardship waivers for three of its 10 refineries that exempted them from complying with 2016 blending obligations. NFU President Roger Johnson called the alleged actions “deeply disturbing,” noting that waiving RFS requirements for large refining corporations undercuts the effectiveness of the law. “What’s equally disturbing is that these actions have purportedly been taken without any transparency, which violates central tenets of responsible governance,” said Johnson. Andeavor reported a $1.5 billion net profit last year and the waiver was reportedly granted earlier this year.

“Providing a small refiner waiver to a company like Andeavor is laughable and abandons the commitment of President Trump to protect the RFS,” said Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen. “Suffice it to say we are exploring all our options to return the RFS to what the statute intended and what the President has supported.”

The impact of the waiver removes additional Renewable Identification Numbers (RIN) from the total 2016 obligation, effectively reducing the total Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) for the year.

“Since EPA refuses to disclose which refiners get these RFS exemptions, it blurs the transparency of the RIN market giving an advantage to refiners receiving waivers,” said American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings. “Waiving RFS obligations based on ethanol use thresholds violate the intent of the RFS and invite litigation.”

The waivers impact both ethanol producers and corn farmers, who are facing their fifth year of prices at or below the cost of production. “Granting these waivers significantly reduces the number of gallons of fuel blended with ethanol hurting rural economies and the nation’s corn farmers,” said National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president Kevin Skunes of North Dakota. “When refiners aren’t meeting their blending obligations, corn farmers pay the price.”

Two of the Andeavor refineries receiving the waivers are in North Dakota and one in Utah.

ACE, Corn, Ethanol, NCGA, RFA

Precision Ag Bytes 4/4

Carrie Muehling

  • Dr. Henry Nguyen, a Curators’ distinguished professor of plant sciences in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources, has employed NRGene‘s DeNovoMAGICTM to assemble two genomes of soybean: “Lee,” a Glycine max variety, and a Glycine soja accession PI 483463. In addition to the United Soybean Board, funding for the sequencing project was provided by three private companies: Bayer CropScience, DOW AgroSciences and Monsanto.
  • Semtech Corporation, a supplier of high performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms, announced that Teralytic, a manufacturer of wireless soil sensors, implemented LoRa devices and wireless radio frequency technology (LoRa Technology) in its wireless sensor to detect nitrogen, phosphate and potassium (NPK) levels in soil to help farmers reduce waste and to improve crop yields. Teralytic launched its LoRa-enabled NPK soil sensor at the recent World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in San Francisco on March 20, 2018.
  • The National Corn Growers Association partnered with the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council to conduct a study on the benefits of poultry exports to corn. The study, conducted by World Perspectives, Inc., entitled “Corn and Poultry: A Great Partnership,” outlined the benefits realized by America’s corn farmers from exports of poultry and eggs.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

U.S. Farmers Advocate for Trade in SE Asia

Jamie Johansen

Ag Supply Chain Asia 2018 took place in Surabaya, Indonesia March 20-22. The event, organized by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and U.S. Grains Council (USGC), took international attendees ‘Beyond the Horizon of Food and Agriculture.’ Relationships sit center-stage even in the international marketplace and putting a face to the U.S. farmer is pivotal for buyers of U.S. agricultural products.

This event brought buyers and U.S. farmers together to share stories, ask questions and even discuss challenges each face. I was able to sit down with a few of the farmers to learn why they are involved in such trade missions, how trade impacts their bottom line and why free trade is so important.

Meet the U.S. Farmers:
Interview with Jamie Beyer, Minnesota Farmer

Interview with Bill Bayliss, Ohio Farmer

Interview with David Droste, Illinois Farmer

Interview with Sharon Covert, Illinois Farmer

Interview with Jeff Frank, Iowa Farmer

Interview with John Longley, Illinois Farmer

Interview with Josh Miller, Indiana Farmer

Interview with Alan Moore, Michigan Farmer

Interview with Ryan Wagner, South Dakota Farmer

View and download images from the event here: USSEC SE Asia Buyers Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, AgWired Precision, Audio, Trade, USGC, USSEC

China Strikes Back

Cindy Zimmerman

From almonds to frozen edible swine offal, the majority of the 128 products on which China imposed retaliatory tariffs Monday are agricultural, making farmers bear the brunt of the reaction to U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs.

“This is a tax on American farmers, brought about by protectionist trade policies,” said Farmers for Free Trade (FFT) Co-Chair Max Baucus. “American farmers appear to be the first casualties of an escalating trade war.”

U.S. exports of fruits, nuts, and wine will see a 15% tariff, while U.S. pork products were slapped with a 25% tariff, which National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) CEO Neil Dierks says is a significant blow to the industry. “China was the third largest value market, with more than $1 billion in U.S. pork being shipped there last year,” said Dierks. “We recognize that the U.S. and China are negotiating, and we are hopeful that the 25 percent tariffs on U.S. pork will be short lived.”

China added another 15% tariff on U.S. ethanol imports to an already-imposed 30% duty, making the total tariff 45%. “This one-two protectionist punch will ultimately harm Chinese consumers who are being denied access to the lowest-cost, highest-octane, and cleanest fuel on the planet,” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “But it will also hurt farmers in the U.S. who have worked to build value-added markets for their commodities here and abroad.”

In an interview with AgNet West, California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) President John Aguirre says their industry will be severely impacted by a 15% tariff. “When you talk about U.S. wine exports, you’re really talking about California,” Aguirre said. “You’re looking at about a $197 million market for U.S. wine.”

Audio: Calif. Winegrape Growers president John Aguirre

The good news is that soybeans were not on the list announced Monday, since it could mean an overall drop in U.S. soybean exports of 40 percent, according to a study commissioned by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC). FFT has been sharing videos of soybean growers who are concerned about the possible trade disruption that would cause for their number one market, worth $14 billion annually. Watch one here:


AgWired Animal, Ethanol, Exports, International, NPPC, Pork, RFA, Soybean, Trade

American Lamb Board Sets Goal of 2 Percent Annual Growth

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Lamb Board (ALB) has approved a new long range plan for 2018-2022 that sets a bold new demand growth goal.

The strategic objective of the plan is to increase demand for American Lamb by 2 percent annually over the next five years, for a total demand growth of 10 percent. Per capita consumption of lamb in the U.S. has remained steady over the past ten years at approximately one pound per person per year with nearly 20 percent of lamb consumption occurring during the spring holidays. Urban shoppers are the most likely to consume lamb with the highest consumption occurring on the East and West Coasts. In 2015, lamb demand was up 7 percent compared to 2014 and increased again in 2016 by 2.5 percent.

The Long Range Plan outlines Five Core Strategies to increase the demand for American Lamb.

• Grow awareness and increase usage of American Lamb among chefs and consumers
• Promote and strengthen American Lamb’s Value Proposition
• Improve the quality and consistency of American Lamb
• Support industry efforts to increase domestic supplies of lamb
• Collaborate and communicate with industry partners and stakeholders to expand efforts to address the first four strategies

“Using these core strategies, the ALB will create budgets and annual work plans to achieve the goals and initiatives set by the Long Range Plan. America’s lamb producers are excited about the work we’ll be doing over the next several years to increase the demand not just for lamb, but specifically for American Lamb,” says Ohio lamb producer Jim Percival, ALB chairman.

Click to see the full version of the Long Range Plan.

AgWired Animal, American Lamb Board, Lamb, Livestock, Meat

Bayer, Growers Pleased with Delaro Trials

Carrie Muehling

Participants in the 2018 Commodity Classic in Anaheim heard results of extensive trials done last year on Bayer’s Delaro fungicide. The company tested the product in more than 500 grower trials across 20 Midwestern states in 2017.

“What was actually really interesting about 2017 is that it was very, very wet in some parts of the country, particularly the Eastern Corn Belt, and it was very dry in the Western Corn Belt,” said Thorsten Schwindt with Bayer. “I think that was somewhat of actually an advantage for a demo year because it gave us a good feeling about how Delaro would perform in different seasons, like a very wet season like we had in Ohio and Indiana, or very dry like we’ve seen in Iowa or Nebraska.”

Schwindt said they saw consistency across all geographies, with a 90 percent win rate in both corn and soybeans. Yield results were also higher than growers had seen with previously used or competing products. Corn yields averaged a 12-18 bushel lift and soybeans averaged a 4-5 bushel increase.

Minnesota farmer Todd Golly trialed Delaro last year on his corn and soybean farm.

“We used aerial image to monitor it during the season and the plant’s reaction to the product. We were very excited to see that the Delaro was absorbed into the plant within 16 hours of application so it was very quickly absorbed. And then we monitored it every week through the season, and it lasted for 60 days until harvest. As a farmer, that’s kind of a dream product. It acts quickly and lasts the full season,” said Golly, who farms in the southern part of the state.

He saw a 46 bushel benefit under almost perfect growing conditions with almost no disease present. Golly plans to use Delaro again in 2018 for soybeans and for the first time on 100 percent of his corn crop.

Listen to Jamie’s interview here: Interview with Thorsten Schwindt, Bayer & Todd Golly, Minn. Grower

2018 Bayer AgVocacy Forum & Commodity Classic Photo Album



Audio, Bayer, Commodity Classic, Fungicide, Video