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ImmuCell protects from a calf’s early stages

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 

Matt Hutchins with ImmuCell at World Dairy Expo, Oct. 4, 2012.

ImmuCell produces what the company’s website describes as scientifically-proven and practical products that result in a measurable economic impact on animal health and productivity in the dairy and beef industries. Some are intended to protect calves at an early age. “We’ve got several different products on the market that actually make that calf have to create an immune response in order to provide protection,” said Matt Hutchins, ImmuCell’s regional marketing and sales manager for the eastern U.S., during an interview with Brownfield Ag News.

AUDIO: Matt Hutchins (3 min. MP3)

Filed Under: 2012 Events, 2012 World Dairy Expo, Featured, Special Reports

SiloStop helps preserve bunker silage piles

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Keith Bolsen of Silo Stop talks about protecting silage piles at World Dairy Expo, Oct. 4, 2012.

The biggest enemy of bunker silage piles is waste. The greater amount of silage exposed to the elements, the less usable silage is available as feed. Keith Bolsen provides tech support for a product called SiloStop that he says is an oxygen barrier protecting silage from waste. “SiloStop film keeps oxygen away from the surface of a bunker pile of forage, corn silage, alfalfa haylage, high moisture corn, earlage, and it protects that stored feed from oxygen and deterioration over time due to infiltration of air into the silage mass,” Bolson told Brownfield Ag News, at World Dairy Expo.

AUDIO: Keith Bolsen (7 min. MP3)

Filed Under: 2012 Events, 2012 World Dairy Expo, Featured, Special Reports

Cattle pregnancy test began as test for deer, elk

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Jeremy Howard with BioTracking, Moscow, Idaho, explains Biopryn at World Dairy Expo, Oct. 4, 2012.

The founder of BioTracking, the maker of BioPRYN, an early pregnancy test for cattle, first went into business with a product to detect pregnancy in wildlife. As the technology improved, business moved to pregnancy tests for beef and dairy cattle. Two CCs of an animal’s blood is analyzed for a protein indicating pregnancy. “This protein is very unique in the fact that it is only produced by the placenta,” said Jeremy Howard, director of sales and marketing for BioTracking LLC. It allows the detection of pregnancy at an early point.

AUDIO: Jeremy Howard (3 min. MP3)

Filed Under: 2012 Events, 2012 World Dairy Expo, Featured, Special Reports

When choosing vaccines consider ‘safety first’

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Dr. Doug Scholz of Novartis Animal Health, World Dairy Expo, Oct. 4, 2012.

Reproductive performance is critical to the financial success of a dairy farm. Good nutrition, appropriate vaccinations along with proper management are three of the cornerstones, according to Dr. Doug Scholz, Director of Veterinary Services for Novartis Animal Health. He cites recent research into the use of modified live IBR vaccines at breeding time and in pregnant cows. “And the results have been a little alarming,” Scholz told Brownfield Ag News. “It drives home the point that when we’re dealing with pregnant females we certainly want to consider safety first.”

AUDIO: Doug Scholz (2 min. MP3)

Filed Under: 2012 Events, 2012 World Dairy Expo, Featured, Special Reports

Wrapping up harvest in Fulton County, Illinois

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Like most farmers across the Corn Belt, Fulton County, Ill. farmer Rick Bull says this year’s dry weather caused some problems.  But because of the location of some of their fields – their crop this year will not be a total loss.  “We’re actually located in the river bottoms along the Illinois River – so our soil types are heavy and wetter type soils,” he says.  “Probably overall we faired the drought better than other producers in our area did.”

But, Bull tells Brownfield that is not always the case – and sites 2010 as an example.  “In 2010 we barely produced half a crop because it was so wet,” he says.  “Our crop conditions then were much worse than they were this year with the dry conditions.  Our soils ended up handling this year pretty well.”

He says they do farm on some sandier-type soils where there ended up being no corn and adds they cut those for silage.

AUDIO: Rick Bull, Fulton County, Ill. farmer (4:04mp3)

Filed Under: Crops, Human Interest, News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Wet welcomed in Wisconsin

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Some much-needed rain over the weekend helped the soil moisture profile in Wisconsin. The weekly crop progress report from the National Ag Statistics Service Wisconsin Field Office shows as of Sunday, 41 percent of the soil is still very short of moisture but that was 52 percent last week. The short category was unchanged at 38 percent while the adequate category improved from 10 percent last week to 20 percent this week and for the first time in a while, 1 percent is surplus. The heaviest rains were through the middle of the state with reporters in Juneau, Marquette and Ozaukee Counties tallying over 3 inches.

The Badger State corn crop is 96 percent mature and 54 percent harvested compared to 84 percent mature and 20 percent harvested normally on this date. Soybean harvest is 88 percent complete, 42 points ahead of the five-year average. While yields are varying greatly, most are saying things are better than expected.

Another rarity this year, a number of farmers are getting a fifth cutting of hay.

Read the full NASS report here:

Filed Under: Crops, News Tagged With: ,

Survey measures soybean protein, oil

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

An annual quality survey measuring protein and oil in U.S. grown soybeans helps to ensure U.S. soybean demand. Coordinator Seth Naeve says the survey, funded by the U.S. soybean checkoff, is based on samples from U.S. soybean farmers and determines several competitive parameters for U.S. soybeans.

“What the overall quality of the U.S. crop is compared to the South American crop, but also how it compares with last year’s crop and where within the U.S. they might source soybeans that specifically meet their needs for their customers,” Naeve, a soybean agronomist at the University of Minnesota, told Brownfield Ag News during an interview Monday.

Even though oil and protein levels top the list, Naeve says there are other components that determine the value of soybeans.

“That’s actually another project we’ve just begun to look at; variation in amino acid levels and fatty acid levels and digestibility of different fractions and energy within these soybeans,” said Naeve, “so we’re now stepping beyond just looking at protein and oil.”

Naeve says sample kits are sent to about 10,000 farmers, but he says the more samples tested, the better to ensure a comprehensive look at soybean crop quality. Results of the survey are shared with potential foreign buyers to promote U.S. soybean quality. To request a sample kit, email Seth Naeve at the University of Minnesota.

AUDIO: Seth Naeve (7 min. MP3)

Filed Under: Crops, Markets, News, World Ag News/Trade Tagged With: ,

CNH – Fiat International deal hits a snag

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The independent shareholders of CNH Global have rejected a merger proposal from Fiat International (FI). FI owns 88 percent of CNH, the parent company of Case I-H and New Holland; the Italian company chairman Sergio Marchionne had proposed buying the remaining 12 percent to create a North American company on the same level as John Deere and Caterpillar.

The “snag” is over the value of CNH stock, Marchionne’s proposal is a stock trade, offering 3.8 shares of FI for each share of CNH. Independent CNH owners say that puts their stock at about half the value of Deere and Caterpillar, while they like the merger idea they don’t like that price. Marchionne says that is the current stock value and he sees no reason to pay a premium for it. The deal has also been complicated by the on-going economic crisis in Europe. The company had hoped to complete the deal yet this year.

As part of the proposal, the new company would be registered in the Netherlands and would be traded on the New York Stock Exchange instead of Milan where FI is currently traded.

Case and New Holland products are sold in 170 countries.

FI also owns controlling interest in Chrysler Corporation; analysts say the CNH deal would be a blueprint for the plan to acquire the 41.5 percent of Chrysler it does not own.

Filed Under: News, World Ag News/Trade Tagged With: , , , ,

Food prices up a little

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

We paid a little more at the grocery store over the last three months. The American Farm Bureau’s Quarterly Market Basket Survey of 16 items increased 2 percent or $1.00 to $51.90.

Compared to the second quarter, apples were 36 cents a pound higher, large eggs are up 33 cents a dozen, bagged salad is 20 cents a pound higher, bacon increased 19 cents per pound, a gallon of whole milk cost 19 cents more, orange juice increase 13 cents for a half-gallon, boneless chicken breasts were 8 cents higher per pound, sirloin tip roast was a nickel higher and toasted oat cereal is a penny higher for the 9-ounce box.

Ground chuck decreased 19 cents per pound, a 20-ounce loaf of white bread is 13 cents cheaper, vegetable oil is down 7 cents for the 32 ounce bottle, a five-pound bag of flour was a nickel cheaper, sliced deli ham is 4 cents lower and shredded cheddar was 3 cents lower per pound.

John Anderson is AFBF’s deputy chief economist, he says compared to a year ago, the 16 items in the market basket are 2 percent lower although sirloin tip roast, eggs, apples and bagged salad are higher than last year.

AFBF says the farmer’s share of the $51.90 in the Marketbasket is $8.30.

Tracking the milk prices in the third quarter, AFBF says the average price for a half-gallon of regular whole milk was $2.31, up a dime from the second quarter. The average gallon of whole milk was $3.54 up 18 cents. That works out to a 25 percent savings when buying the gallon instead of two half-gallons.

The average price for a half gallon of rBST-free milk was $3.35 down 22 cents from the second quarter and 40 cents above a half-gallon of conventional milk.

The average price for a half-gallon of organic milk was $3.81 down 9 cents for the quarter and $1.50 or 70 percent above a half-gallon of conventional milk.

Read more here:

Filed Under: Human Interest, News Tagged With: , , ,

Alltech’s “take” on global feed grains

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Alltech is a global feed company doing business more than 120 countries. Recently the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) asked the company to present their assessment on the global feed grains supply. Alltech vice president Aiden Connolly travelled to Rome to present the numbers last week, he reported that while we had huge supplies in 2011 and 2012, they expect livestock numbers to decline in 2013 and feed grains to decline as well.

The U.S. drought is a major contributing factor although other countries are suffering water shortages as well. Connolly says there are also concerns about the amount of grains going into renewable fuels. Some contend the elimination of the RFS would not have that big of an impact on feed grain prices plus fuel prices would undoubtedly go up, Connolly says while that may be true, it still comes down to food-versus-fuel.

A recent analysis by Rabobank found that while there will be a reduction in livestock production over the coming months, there is sufficient wheat and rice so countries could switch back to those food staples, Connolly says his experiences in traveling around the globe have been once people start eating meat, they don’t want to go back to a vegetarian diet.

Connolly says while they predict a downturn in 2013, if you look further, out to 2020, “the world is going to be consuming much more agricultural products than it ever has before,” and he surmises the future looks bright.

AUDIO:Connolly talks about their numbers 10:56 mp3

Filed Under: Human Interest, News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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