Commentary
There are now 13 counties certified as Livestock Friendly in the state of Nebraska. This is a great program and could and should be implemented in every state!The Livestock Friendly program recognizes the positive economic impact the livestock industry has on communities across the state.
Congratulations to the 13 Nebraska counties who are LIVESTOCK FRIENDLY. You’re number one in my book.
The EPA is currently considering whether to raise the ethanol blend rate from 10 to 15 percent. There has been some speculation that the agency could settle on a 12 or 13 percent blend, rather than stepping all the way to 15 percent. But after meeting with EPA officials in Washington last week, the executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, Monte Shaw, says that’s not going to happen.
JBS Swift has expanded its June 24th voluntary recall of 41-thousand pounds of beef products. On Sunday, the FSIS announced that an additional 380-thousand pounds of assorted beef primal products that “may” be contaminated with E. coli (0157:H7) and distributed nationally and internationally were recalled. JBS says it is expanding the recall “out of an abundance of caution” after the CDC confirmed two-dozen illnesses in “multiple” states – with 18 of those illnesses likely associated with the recalled beef.JBS Swift told Brownfield last week that it learned after the fact that there was a breakdown on the production line April 21st at its Greeley, Colorado plant in which some of the meat should have been pulled off the line. JBS says some of the products in the recall, which were whole muscle cuts of beef, were further processed into ground beef by retailers that purchased it.
The E. coli was found in a routine sample at a retail location.
JBS says it has contacted the stores that bought the meat and is leaving it to them whether to publicize it. FSIS says: consumers with questions regarding the recall should call the company’s Consumer Hotline at 1-800-685-6328.
In the initial recall, JBS identified 13 states where the recalled meat was distributed: Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin and South Carolina – also – Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah.
The House passed the climate change bill 219-212 on Friday evening with 44 Democrats voting against the bill and 8 Republicans voting for it.
House Ag Committee Chair Collin Peterson praised the bill as passed stating agriculture and forestry are clearly exempt from the bill’s greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements. The bill establishes an agriculture and forestry offset program so farmers, ranchers and forestland owners will earn offsets which they can sell to utilities, refiners or other firms. The bill also prevents the Environmental Protection Agency from holding U.S. biofuels producers responsible for deforestation or other land use changes in other countries, the so-called “indirect land use” assessment.
The bill now moves to the Senate where it faces another round of stiff opposition.
Saying progress doesn’t happen without a plan, Indiana Lt. Governor Becky Skillman presented the updated strategic plan for Indiana agriculture on Thursday, June 25 at the Kelsay Dairy in Johnson County.
“This is not an abandonment of the strategies we put in place in 2005,” said Skillman. “It’s an update and it’s based on some new challenges or where we see we should have a greater focus, such as the advocacy efforts.”
Advocacy is one of three core strategies identified in the strategic plan update, the others being economic opportunity and environmental stewardship.
In an interview with Brownfield, Anne Hazlett, director of ISDA explained why advocacy has been identified as a core strategy.
“This is something I’ve shared with many folks, it’s the thing that has people waiting in line after a speech to visit with you about, they want to know what you are going to do to stand up and be a voice for our industry,” Hazlett said. “I think there’s a lot of concerns across the different sectors that we do have this growing disconnect between not only consumers, but elected officials, community leaders, decision makers are disconnected from where there food is coming from and it is our job as an industry to help educate.”
The update of the strategic plan was developed over the past year with input from more than 250 agricultural stakeholders and partners across the state.
AUDIO: Indiana Lt. Governor Becky Skillman (4:00 MP3)
AUDIO: Anne Hazlett, director, Indiana State Dept. of Agriculture (3:00 MP3)
House Ag Chairman Peterson says much was accomplished for agriculture and biofuels in his deal reached with Henry Waxman on the climate change bill. The bill and his amendment are scheduled for votes today. Peterson say the big things were getting USDA in and EPA out of running the offsets and removing the indirect international land use RFS calculation that’s part of the 2007 Energy law, “So, we’re actually getting all that out even though it has nothing to do with this bill. So, that’s a big deal because it’ll make sure we can have an ethanol industry and biodiesel industry going forward.”
And, Peterson says, agriculture is one of the exemptions,
“We put in an ag exemption to make it clear that agriculture will not be charged under the cap.” That means ag would be exempt from carbon limits under the bill… things like methane gas from cows and tractor exhaust.
There’s no support from the GOP in the House for the House Ag Committee member Sam Graves of Missouri says the American Clean Energy and Security Act (Waxman Markey Climate Change bill), now being debated in the U.S. House, is nothing more than a tax on energy that will go into the general revenue fund, “This administration has increased the national debt more than all previous administrations combined. And, they’re trying to come up with revenue to shore that up and that’s what this is about.”
The Republican told Brownfield Thursday that agriculture will be a “net loser” in the deal, “If it was such a great thing for agriculture then it should have been spelled out in the bill and it’s not. There is nothing in the bill that provides for an offset.”
Graves calls the proposed legislation “extremely frustrating and scary”, “Bureaucrats in Washington or legislators who are pushing this, from New Jersey, for instance, that are saying that – you know – our farming practices aren’t good for the environment and we need to change them. Farmers are the best environmentalists in the world.”
Graves says the bill should expand nuclear and clean coal power but instead will benefit the Coasts, “The Midwest is very dependent on coal energy and our traditional energy sources. Those in the Midwest are the ones that are going to get the tail-end of this deal.”
And the exemption it gives – even for agriculture in some instances – Graves says, is just a buy-off, “You know, what’s the real reason? You’re obviously not interested in protecting the environment when you take the steel industry, for instance, and you just exempt them out of the bill.”
And what Graves says the legislation would do to the nation’s competitiveness has countries like China laughing, “You take a country like China – they’re looking at this thing and they’re hoping we pass it as a country because it’s going to make them so competitive globally.”
Ranking Member Frank Lucas of the House Ag Committee commends Chairman Peterson for negotiating the “worst features” out of the bill but says it still falls short – with the greatest threat being increased input costs for producers – fuel, natural gas, fertilizer, pesticides and electricity – as a direct result of the bill.
Peterson says the bill would be refined in the Senate. The bill is scheduled for a vote at 5:00 Central this evening.
The Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) has confirmed a case of tuberculosis in a second cervid herd in the state, this one in Wayne County.
“We’ve identified an elk that’s positive on this particular site, so we have not identified it in any cattle in our state but this is the second site where we have found it in cervid species, so this farm has been placed under quarantine and we are going through the routine investigations that we would do in this particular situation and we’ve had great cooperation from the producer,” said State Veterinarian, Dr. Bret Marsh.
Marsh tells Brownfield that neither site has fence line contact with cattle. The State Veterinarian also says premises registration is helping BOAH identify those with livestock in the area of the infected cervid herds.
“For example we can take a look at that as say how many cattle producers are within three miles of that infected site or of 10 miles, we can get that contact information, it’s been a great resource for us, that’s not to say that we have 100 percent of them, but at least it’s been a great resource for us and gives us a leg up in this investigation,” Marsh said.
The latest case of TB in a cervid herd does not affect the states TB free status, Dr. Marsh says in order for the TB free status to be affected, the state would need to have 2 infected cattle herds within a 24 month period.
AUDIO: Dr. Bret Marsh, Indiana State Veterinarian (3:00 MP3)
USDA’s quarterly hogs and pigs update came out near pre-report expectations. Allendale Inc.’s David Kohli tells Brownfield the numbers look neutral to negative, adding he didn’t see the liquidation he was looking for and what liquidation he did see was skewed “because of the fact that the deferred hogs have such a premium to the nearbys, encouraging producers to keep their supplies.”
The total number of hogs and pigs in the U.S. as of June 1 was down 2% on the year with the breeding herd 3% lower and market hogs down 2%. Most of the weight breakdowns were down 2% from a year ago but the 180 pound and over herd was unchanged. The March to May pig crop was steady with last year and March to May pigs per litter were up 2% from a year ago.
Soybeans were mixed on old crop/new crop spread trade and the mixed outside markets. The dollar was lower, but so were the Dow Jones Industrial Average and crude oil. The fundamentals remain supportive, which propped up the nearby contracts. However, deferreds were lower on forecasts for good crop weather and expectations for increased acreage in the upcoming USDA report. Soybean meal was mixed on bull spreading and the solid demand. Bean oil was lower on product spread trade and the lower crude oil. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange states that the Argentina’s soybean harvest has completely wrapped up with production pegged at 32 million tons, well below the initial estimate of 50 million tons following a hot, dry growing season.
Corn was modestly higher on short covering, technical buying and the lower dollar index. Near term crop weather remains good, helping crop development. Traders are getting ready for the USDA’s planted area update out Tuesday, June 30th, expecting a smaller acreage estimate and seasonally tighter quarterly corn stocks. On average, the trade may expect a smaller area estimate but there’s a wide range of projections and a chance, however slight, that the Ag Department could leave the figure unchanged, at least for now. Ethanol futures were mostly higher. According to the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange, 94% of Argentina’s corn crop has been harvested with production seen at 12.7 million tons due to drought damage.
The wheat complex was mixed with Chicago up on the lower dollar and technical buying, along with some disease concerns in the soft red winter crop. Kansas City was lower on hard red winter harvest pressure and forecasts for good harvest weather with generally hot and dry conditions. Minneapolis was lower on profit taking and a lack of new buying interest. Overall, the fundamentals for wheat remain negative with a large available supply and poor demand, especially for U.S. supplies. European wheat was just about unchanged in end of the week consolidation activity. Japan’s Ag Ministry bought 44,632 tons of wheat from Australia and Canada and South Korea’s Daehan Flour Mills purchased 25,300 tons of U.S. wheat (10,500 tons western white, 8,500 tons dark northern spring and 6,300 tons hard red winter). The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange reports that wheat condition ratings continue to deteriorate and that final planted area should be the smallest in more than a century.
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