Animal Ag Bites 9/4

Kelly Marshall

  • Findings from the beef checkoff-funded 2016 National Market Cow and Bull Beef Quality Audit will be shared with media at a web broadcast featuring the study’s principal investigators on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. MT (3 p.m. CT). To register for the webinar, contact Jesse Fulton at jfulton@beef.org for an email invitation.
  • The Animal Agriculture Alliance’s annual College Aggies Online (CAO) scholarship competition begins September 10, 2017 with Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) as its largest supporter.  Sign up through October 1, 2017.
  • The August Dairy Market Report is now available from the National Milk Producers Federation.
  • Gail Lombardino, St. Joseph, Missouri, has joined Angus Media as a member of the print services team.  She began her new role in August.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

Northey and Two More Nominated for USDA Posts

Cindy Zimmerman

Three more nominations for key posts at USDA were made Friday as Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue remains the only Trump nominee approved in the department.

“I’m hoping that the Senate can move very quickly on the ones before them when they get back,” said Perdue during a stop at Farm Progress Show last week. “I need some help and I hope we get it sooner rather than later.”

On Friday, President Trump announced Gregory Ibach as Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP), Bill Northey as Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC), and Stephen Vaden as USDA’s General Counsel. They join the previous three nominees announced in July – Steve Censky for Deputy Secretary, and Under Secretaries Ted McKinney for Trade and Foreign Affairs, and Sam Clovis for Research, Education, and Economics.

Audio file: Perdue comments on need for Senate confirmations

It was reported in May that Northey would be nominated for the newly created Farm Production and Conservation mission area to oversee FSA, RMA, and NRCS.

During an interview at Farm Progress Show two days before he was officially nominated, Northey said he hoped the Senate approval process will move forward soon. “It’s been a slow process,” said Northey. “Hopefully there will be three more here pretty soon.”

Northey is a farmer from Spirit Lake, Iowa who has served as Iowa ag secretary for three terms and is a former president of the National Corn Growers Association. Greg Ibach has been Nebraska’s Director of Agriculture since 2005, and Vaden has been serving as Acting General Counsel at USDA since March.

Audio file: Northey comments on need for Senate confirmations

2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

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Rice for Today and the Future

Kelly Marshall

Dr. Chrisitan De Guzman, Southeast Missouri State University, spoke to attendees of the Missouri Rice Council Field Day about varieties in the trial plots answering their questions about his research.

“I believe they are looking for which varieties are most suitable to them because most of our resourceful research here- they try to evaluate it and see if it is applicable to their farms,” De Guzman told Jamie. “So I believe for my specialization, which is rice breeding, it more about which varieties are preforming best here in our region.”

De Guzman also spoke about the future of rice breeding, noting that he looks forward to having technologies that allow for more DNA markers. Being able to look at a plant’s gene sequence and understanding how it will preform in the field without the need to plant it will really reduce time and expenses to bring new varieties to market. The computational part of managing data is another aspect he sees playing a large role in the future.

To learn more about which varieties grew well in Dr. De Guzman’s trials, listen to Jamie’s full interview here: Interview with Dr. Christian De Guzman, Southeast Missouri State University

View and download photos from the event here: Missouri Rice Field Day Photo Album

Ag Groups, AgWired Precision, Audio, Rice

USDA Allows Dairy Farmers to Opt Out of Program

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) has announced that, starting today, dairy producers can enroll for 2018 coverage in the Margin Protection Program – or opt out, a new option granted by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.

To opt out, a producer should not sign up during the annual registration period. By opting out, a producer would not receive any MPP-Dairy benefits if payments are triggered for 2018. Full details will be included in a subsequent Federal Register Notice. The decision would be for 2018 only and is not retroactive.

National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) CEO Jim Mulhern called the news “a welcome development, in that it acknowledges the widespread dissatisfaction among farmers enrolled in the program. Simply put, the way the program was enacted in the 2014 Farm Bill, it does not meet the needs of America’s dairy farmers today, and declining participation levels amply illustrate farmers’ disenchantment with the MPP. Farmers who choose to opt out of the MPP will then be able to enroll in the Livestock Gross Margin program for 2018.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation was also pleased with the action. “Dairy farmers need access to effective risk management tools,” said AFBF president Zippy Duvall. “Approximately 24,000 dairy farms, representing 80 percent of the U.S. milk supply, are currently enrolled in the program, however, this year only 2 percent of the milk enrolled participated at levels above the basic coverage option. The low participation rate is due to the poor performance of MPP in providing a viable safety net to dairy farmers.”

AFBF, AgWired Animal, Dairy, USDA

Credenz Soybeans Launch New Varieties for 2018

Cindy Zimmerman

Soybean growers visiting the Farm Progress Show this week got the news that Bayer is introducing 15 new Credenz® variety options to fight against key agronomic issues in 2018.

The new Credenz® varieties include LibertyLink® traits and feature Bayer smart genetics. In addition, six new Balance® GT varieties have been developed for maturity groups 2.1 to 4.1. Upon approval, the Balance® GT system will give growers the flexibility to use Balance Bean herbicide for burndown or pre-emergence applications. Growers will have access to additional powerful solutions that continue to maximize performance, boost profit potential and increase yield efficiency.

At the show, we got more details Marc Hoobler, soybean seed product manager for the Credenz brand, in this interview. Interview with Marc Hoobler, Bayer

2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

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AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Farm Progress Show, Soybean

Zimfo Bytes 9/1

Kelly Marshall

  • The Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska welcomes Howard W. Buffett to the board of directors.
  • To date, 33 corn mazes in 19 states have joined together with Culver’s Thank You Farmers initiative and have planted more than 7 million seeds of gratitude for the hard work of America’s farmers. These mazes are just one of the many ways Culver’s shows charitable support for the future of farming.
  • The Farm Foundation is hosting a forum on the role of innovation in U.S. agriculture and changes needed for global competitiveness.  It will be held Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 9 a.m. EDT at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, Washington D.C.  Register here to attend in person or here to participate online.
  • Performance Food Group Company (PFG) and DuPont Pioneer have announced PFG is introducing a new high-performance soybean oil that is helping expand the market for U.S. soybean growers. The primary ingredient in the new oil is Pioneer® brand Plenish® high oleic soybean oil, which has been shown to have superior longevity and taste.
  • Farm Computer Usage and Ownership report released on August 18, 2017 by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is being reissued due to a correction on page 10. The percent of farms in 2017 that purchase agricultural inputs over the internet has been updated.
ZimmNews

Biofuels Voices Comment on RFS Rule

Cindy Zimmerman

The comment period for the EPA’s proposed volume obligations for biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has officially ended and stakeholders in both the biodiesel and ethanol industries made their voices heard.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) submitted comments “urging the agency to finalize the RVOs that were included in EPA’s first draft of the proposal that was submitted for interagency review in May.” EPA’s initial draft proposed RVO requirements of 384 million gallons for cellulosic biofuel, 4.38 billion gallons of advanced biofuel; and 19.38 billion of total renewable fuel, higher than what the agency ultimately proposed in July.

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) comments emphasized the economic benefits of the RFS, use of the general waiver authority, the potential of a future “reset” of the RFS, and the advanced and cellulosic biofuel levels.

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) called for higher volumes of advanced biofuels and biomass-based diesel, which were cut or frozen in the proposal. NBB asked EPA to increase the advanced biofuel volume for 2018 to at least 4.75 billion gallons and the biomass-based diesel volume for 2019 to at least 2.5 billion gallons.

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) comments asked EPA to maintain the proposed amount of conventional ethanol blended into the nation’s gas supply for 2018, and to raise the amount of cellulosic, advanced, and total biofuels.

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association commented that EPA should “follow the law” and set a 2.75 billion gallon biodiesel level and a 384 million gallon cellulosic level in the final rule.

ACE, Biodiesel, Biofuels, Corn, Ethanol, RFA

GROWMARK Leading in Nutrient Loss Reduction

Cindy Zimmerman

Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey talks with GROWMARK CEO Jim Spradlin (L) and chairman John Reifsteck

GROWMARK and the FS System have been leaders in the state of Illinois when it comes to helping farmers adopt best management practices to reduce nutrient losses, contributing to the success of the state’s Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. At the Farm Progress Show this week, Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey visited the GROWMARK FS tent to learn what he can adopt in his state.

Northey is particularly interested in growing adoption of cover crops. “For a farmer to go out there and spend a significant amount of money to start cover crops, you’ve got to figure out how it’s going to work,” he said.

Ben Nuelle with Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network and I had a chance to talk with Northey about that and various other topics.

audio file: Interview with IA Ag Secretary Bill Northey

The Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy Biennial Report was released this week at the Farm Progress Show, describing actions taken during the last two years to reduce nutrient losses and influence positive changes in nutrient loads over time. GROWMARK chairman and Champaign, Illinois farmer John Reifsteck says they have been very involved with making sure farmers do the right thing in their fields. “We’ve been using the science-based approach, the 4R program is really the cornerstone of what we are implementing,” he said.

audio file: Interview with GROWMARK chairman/president John Reifsteck

View and download photos from the event here: 2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

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AgWired Precision, Audio, Farm Progress Show, FS System, GROWMARK

House Ag Committee at #FPS17

Cindy Zimmerman

LtoR: Reps. Glenn Thompson, Mike Bost, Mike Conaway, Darin LaHood, Collin Peterson, Cheri Bustos, Rodney Davis

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX), Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) and members of the committee hosted a farm bill listening session at the Farm Progress Show Thursday in Decatur, Illinois. It was the fifth such session the committee has held so far.

“This was a terrific listening session that will benefit us as we write the next farm bill,” said Chairman Conaway at a press conference following the session.

“Today’s listening session was a continuation of the Agriculture Committee’s efforts to hear directly from the varied interests, across all regions of the country, who are impacted by the farm bill,” said Ranking Member Peterson.

Others who took part in the listening session were Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania, and Illinois Representatives Mike Bost, Darin LaHood, Cheri Bustos, and Rodney Davis.

House Ag Committee presser

View and download photos from the event here: 2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

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Versatility, Durability & Comfort from John Deere Gators

Jamie Johansen

John Deere hosted ag media during the 2017 Farm Progress Show to give us a chance to get behind the wheel of their new Gator utility vehicles, highlighting a redesigned cab, three-wide seating, and heating and A/C.

Designed for customers who need all-day comfort with off-road terrain capability in all seasons, John Deere introduced the new gas-powered Gator XUV835 and diesel-powered Gator XUV865 Utility Vehicles. Chuck spoke with Michael Prada, a John Deere product engineer, who is the man behind this redesigned cab.

“We listened to our customers and realized they wanted to have three passengers, so we made it wider. In addition, we have a full cab built by John Deere including the doors and windshield rear panel. It also has HVAC which is a big step forward. We took a lot of time to develop the ceiling of the vehicles to make sure the performance of the air conditioning and heat is best in class,” said Prada.

Listen here to get the full scoop: Interview with Michael Prada, John Deere

Deere also introduced the gas-powered Gator HPX615E and the diesel-powered Gator HPX815E models that offer four-wheel drive for improved terrain capability and superior payload, cargo capacity, towing and overall stability.

Jamie was able to test drive the fully-loaded gas-powered Gator XUV835 and was a big fan of the power steering, A/C and adjustable seats. Join her for the ride.


View and download photos from the event here: 2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience
Agribusiness, AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Audio, Equipment, Farm Progress Show, John Deere