The American Gelbvieh Association (AGA) is welcoming Taylor Evans of Denver, Colorado, to their staff as member and youth programs coordinator. Evans began his role on August 14, 2017, and will work directly from the AGA headquarters office in Broomfield, Colorado.- Jennifer Kopanke has been selected for the 2017 Sheep Heritage Foundation Scholarship of $3,000. Kopanke is a veterinary student at Colorado State University and earned the honor for her research into bluetongue virus.
- Agricultural wast company, Regenis, has installed the first phosphorous recovery system west of the Cascades at Edaleen Dairy. The system can remove 80-90 percent of phosphorous and 30 percent of nitrogen in wastewater.
- The Public Lands Council and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association feel the final report from the Department of the Interior regarding National Monuments contained good news. It clearly states that Presidents have abused their authority under the Antiquities Act, locking up over 250 million acres of land and water.
- Register now for a webinar by Alltech’s Dr. Rebecca Delles on meat science and quality. The webinar takes place Friday, September 1, 2017 at 2:00 Eastern.
SMART Farmer Anne Meis
Anne Meis is a family farmer from Elgin, Nebraska who raises corn, soybeans, and beef with her husband Jim, and serves on the boards of the Nebraska Soybean Board and the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA). In this SMART farmer podcast episode, she talks about the importance of technology such as genetically modified crops for smart farmers.
She also talks about the upcoming “Food Dialogues: Pivoting the GMO Conversation” at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln on September 6, presented by USFRA and Nebraska Soybean Board and invites everyone to join live and in person or live and on Facebook for the event next week – details are here.
Listen to our SMART farmer conversation with Anne – SMART Farmer Podcast with Nebraska farmer Anne Meis
Cellerate + Enogen Could Meet Cellulosic Ethanol Goal
Delayne Johnson and Jeff Oestmann on panel at 2016 ACE conference
“There’s a one billion to two billion gallon opportunity in the United States without grinding anymore corn,” said Delayne Johnson, CEO of Quad County Corn Processors, which developed the Cellerate technology and has collaborated with Syngenta to license it to other plants.
QCCP is already producing most of the country’s cellulosic ethanol, which last year amounted to about 176 million gallons, lower than the 230 million gallon obligation for 2016 set by EPA under the Renewable Fuel Standard, leading the agency to lower the 2018 requirement to 238 million gallons from the 311 million set for this year. But with cellulosic production finally growing and a greater potential for more, QCCP and Syngenta are among the voices commenting to EPA that now is not the time to lower the standard.
Jeff Oestmann, head of accounts for Enogen at Syngenta, recently testified at the recent public hearing on the EPA’s latest proposed standards under the RFS. “I felt it was important to get in front of the EPA and tell our story on the cellulosic side and what we’ve been able to do with corn kernel fiber,” said Oestmann. “I had three minutes and I actually took six, so I think I got a lot across.”
Both Oestmann and Johnson are submitting comments to the EPA on the proposed rule before the deadline this week of August 31, and they encourage others to do so as well. Listen to interviews with both from the recent American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) annual conference.
Interview with Delayne Johnson, QCCPInterview with Jeff Oestmann, Enogen Syngenta
2017 ACE Conference Photo Album
Missouri Rice Council Hosts Field Day
The Missouri Rice Council hosted their annual Rice Field Day August 24, at the Rice Research Farm in Campbell, Missouri. Research personnel from Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) and the University of Missouri Fisher Delta Research Center were on hand to provide area farmers a chance to see and learn about recent developments in rice research and other agricultural related topics. Nearly 250 growers and rice industry leaders took part in the field day.
I caught up with Eric Hover, Missouri rice producer and chairman of the Missouri Rice Council, to learn more about how they serve producer-members and ways research dollars are spent. “There are 10 counties in the bootheel of Missouri that grow rice. We [Missouri Rice Council] administer the checkoff funds and TRQ funds that are made through the sale of rice. We conduct research and promotion of rice throughout the state and country. We take trade missions and develop new lines of rice with our breeder at SEMO that are best fit for our Northern growing area.”
Listen to my complete interview with Eric here: Interview with Eric Hover, Missouri Rice Council, Chairman
View and download photos from the event here: Missouri Rice Field Day Photo Album
Nebraska Corn & Soy Grows Future Leaders
Lori Luebbe, Executive Director for the Nebraska Soybean Association, attended the 2017 U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange with agriculture students participating in the Nebraska Corn & Soy Ambassador Program. The program is a co-sponsored partnership that reaches out to agriculture majors from the University of Nebraska to show them different aspects of the soy and corn checkoff organizations and teach them about career opportunities. It also strives to give students a bigger view of ag, Luebbe says- something more than what they get within a specific major.
Two of the members of this year’s ambassador program can vouch for the effectiveness of the program. “We’ve learned about the economic part of the ag world; today we’ll learn about the farming part of the ag world with Prairie Land Dairy. Here we’re learning about globally how important agriculture is around the world and how it’s a big impact on today’s economy,” says Kenzie, an Ag Education major. “The reason I did this is to grow my knowledge as an educator. I hope to teach kids what I’m learning here today.”
Emily, an Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Communication major, appreciates the relationships she’s building. “I applied personally because I knew this would be a great connection to meet people in the industry- which is great for my major- and just to find further connections in the ag industry. It’s a great learning opportunity. We’ve learned a lot about social media and how to advocate individually, which is awesome.”
Luebbe hopes this program is providing a wide variety of educational information, but she’s also focused on growing leaders. These students will be well-placed to serve as future board members she says.
Listen to Jamie’s full interview to hear more about the program: Interview with Lori Luebbe, Nebraska Corn & Soy Ambassador Program
You can find photos from the event here: U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange Photo Album
NFU Announces Biofuels Initiative
National Farmers Union (NFU) has announced an initiative “to advance federal policies that support homegrown and home-produced renewable energy sources.”
“American family farmers and ranchers are facing a rapidly changing climate, a severely depressed farm economy, and deteriorating rural infrastructure and services,” said NFU President Roger Johnson during a press call to announce the effort. “Expansion of homegrown, renewable energy production provides solutions to each of these issues and significant benefits for American consumers and the environment.”
NFU hired energy policy specialist Anne Steckel, formally with the National Biodiesel Board, to lead the effort. “Federal-level policies like the Renewable Fuel Standard have reaped tremendous gains for the farming and rural communities that grow and produce renewable, bio-based fuels,” said Steckel. “NFU will continue its avid support of the RFS and pursue innovative policy solutions that expand renewable energy demand, development and infrastructure.”
The effort follows a special order of business that was passed by delegates to the NFU 115th Anniversary Convention in March supporting expanded markets for higher blends of ethanol, like E30, and advanced biofuels. NFU’s initiative is supported by all three major ethanol organizations.
NFU press conferenceZimfo Bytes 8/25
The Illinois Corn Marketing Board has selected officers for the coming term. Paul Jeschke from Mazon, Illinois was elected to serve as Chairman. Don Duvall will fill the position of Vice-Chairman, Roger Sy as Treasurer, and Dirk Rice will be Secretary.- American Soybean Association (ASA) President Ron Moore confirmed 19 growers from across the nation to lead the ASA’s World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) Program Committee in 2017-18. The committee will focus on long-term market development and finding new markets for U.S. soy.
USDA Making the Most of Tax and Checkoff Dollars
Michele Kennedy Kouadio works with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Services, specifically interacting with the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and watching how the organization uses tax payer dollars to promote exports around the world. Kouadio also helps create a better understanding of U.S. soy for international customers and helps growers here diversify soybeans to meet demands, so for her the 2017 U.S. Global Trade Exchange in Omaha, Nebraska is an important event.
“It gives me an opportunity to see our U.S. farmers in action as they interact with and answer questions of our international buyers who are here,” Kouadio said. “Right now we have an audience of about 300 people and we have buyers from roughly 55 countries. The U.S. soy family is active in those markets and we do this through U.S. tax payer dollars, but also through the United Soybean Board from farmer checkoff dollars.”
Making the most of those dollars means building relationships with buyers and helping them understand the value of the U.S. soybean. International customers at the U.S. Soy Exchange are very appreciative of what they learn at the conference, Kouadio said. And that encourages them to increase their purchases from the U.S.- something the USDA can be happy about as well.
Learn more about tax and checkoff dollars at work in Jamie’s interview with Kouadio here: Interview with Michele Kennedy Kouadio, USDA
You can find photos from the event here: U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange Photo Album
GROWMARK CEO Reports at Annual Meeting
The CEO for GROWMARK is Jim Spradlin. Jim took the stage at the annual meeting here in Chicago to report on how GROWMARK is maintaining a focus on its core values while adapting to changing market conditions, leadership and the importance of engaged employees, implementing a strategic plan and being mindful of environmental concerns. He told me that GROWMARK has started a multi-year process to update its information technology system which is the software that runs in the background of the organization.
Jim also comments on the recent announcement of a grain partnership with COFCO International Limited. He says the project was about a year in the making and is a mutually beneficial agreement that opens up new opportunities for midwest grain producers.
You can listen to my interview with Jim here: Interview with Jim Spradlin, GROWMARK
You can find photos from the events of the annual meeting here: 2017 GROWMARK Annual Meeting Photo Album
Brazil Tweets Tariff Decision
A tweet from Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply Blairo Maggi late yesterday afternoon informed the world that Brazil’s foreign trade chamber has approved a 20 percent tariff on U.S. ethanol imports after a 600 million liter tariff rate quota.
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and Growth Energy issued a joint statement on the decision.
“We are disappointed and discouraged to see the ruling out of Brazil today imposing a tariff on U.S. ethanol. Given the tremendous volume of information we provided to Brazil that demonstrated how misguided a tariff would be, it seemed politics prevailed today and Brazilian consumers lost. Imposing tariffs on U.S. ethanol imports will hurt Brazilian consumers by driving up their costs at the pump. Additionally, this action goes against Brazil’s longstanding view that ethanol tariffs are inappropriate and will effectively close off an open and bilateral trading relationship that benefits all sides. We strongly urge this recommendation to be reversed as soon as possible and will work to that end through all available pathways.”
RFA CEO Bob Dinneen (@ethanolbob) had his own tweet in response to the decision:
“Brazil just hurt their own consumers by imposing a quota and tariff on US #ethanol – the lowest cost octane on the planet. #foolish”