Jay Ogden is tire technology manager for Titan Tire. He is responsible for the engineering design of agricultural tires for the Titan and
Goodyear Farm Tire Brands.
During a recent visit to the Titan Tire plant in Des Moines, we visited with Ogden about how tire makers keep up with the rapid changes in farm equipment and farming practices. He says the trend to narrower rows and the increased emphasis on reduced compaction are two of the biggest challenges they’re dealing with right now.
The ethanol industry has experienced phenomenal growth in the past ten years. It grew from 56 plants in 2001 to 204 in 2011. Production went from 1.77 billion gallons to 13.9 billion gallons in that same ten-year period.
So with VEETC disappearing from the rear view mirror and E15 moving closer to reality, where does the ethanol industry go from here? Will it continue to grow or has it just about maxed out? What needs to happen to maintain forward progress? And how will the current political climate in Washington, D.C. affect, not only ethanol, but renewable energies in general?
At the recent Ethanol 2012: Emerging Issues Forum in Omaha, we asked Doug Durante, executive director of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition, for his thoughts on ethanol’s future.
AUDIO: Doug Durante (7:10 MP3)
After a good run of profitable times, the ethanol industry has been plagued by a supply-demand imbalance so far in 2012.
Several smaller plants have “temporarily” shut down and some in the industry wonder if some of those temporary shutdowns may become permanent.
At the recent Ethanol 2012: Emerging Issues Forum in Omaha, we discussed the current situation with Steve Bleyl, executive vice president of ethanol marketing with Omaha-based Green Plains Renewable Energy, the nation’s fourth largest ethanol producer—and Todd Sneller, administrator of the Nebraska Ethanol Board.
AUDIO: Todd Sneller (4:35 MP3)
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has launched a new membership drive in Nebraska.
In a news release, HSUS says the campaign is a response to what it calls “polarizing political figures in the state who mistakenly believe that Nebraska residents don’t support animal welfare.”
The announcement has reignited speculation that HSUS may be planning to pursue an animal welfare ballot initiative in the state. However, the state director for HSUS in Nebraska, Jocelyn Nickerson, tells Brownfield that is not the case. She says that, as part of their agreement with the Nebraska Farmers Union to establish an agriculture council for HSUS in Nebraska, HSUS has promised it will not pursue an animal welfare ballot initiative in the state—and Nickerson says they “absolutely” plan to honor that agreement.
AUDIO: Jocelyn Nickerson (3:55 MP3)
Despite HSUS’ assurances, a spokesman for Nebraska’s livestock industry says they will continue to prepare for the possibility HSUS will pursue an animal welfare ballot initiative at some point in the future.
Pete McClymont is the president of the Nebraska coalition called We Support Agriculture.
AUDIO: Pete McClymont (5:21 MP3)
The House Agriculture Committee is holding a field hearing on the 2012 Farm Bill today (Friday) in Dodge City, Kansas.
One of those testifying at the hearing is Hamilton County, Nebraska farmer Zach Hunnicutt. Hunnicutt, a fifth-generation farmer, raises corn, soybeans an popcorn with his father and brother. He has been farming full time for five years.
In a phone interview prior to his testimony, Hunnicutt told Brownfield that while the recent prosperity in agriculture has made the farm bill less of a priority for many farmers, an effective safety net is still important.
AUDIO: Zach Hunnicutt (6:50 MP3)
The chief risk officer at Omaha-based Farm Credit Services of America, Ken Keegan, spoke at a National Farm Foundation forum in Washington last week.
Keegan told the gathering that the pace of gains in farmland values may ease as crop prices decline and fertilizer and fuel costs rise. He said many buyers feel we have reached a price point that’s difficult for them to justify.
Keegan shared his thoughts on farmland values in a recent interview with Brownfield’s Ken Anderson.
The wording used in advertisements being run by Omaha-based Farm Credit Services of America (FCSAmerica) has reignited long-standing tensions between the government-backed ag lender and the Nebraska Bankers Association (NBA).
According to NBA president and CEO George Beattie, the FCSAmerica ads, in his words, “make a big deal about the ‘dividends’ they (FCSAmerica) are paying customers who borrow from them.
“In the ad, one of the things they say is they are—I think I have this right—that they are the only lender that shares its success with the borrowers,” Beattie says. “We take exception to that because our banks are very generous to their communities in many, many ways.
“The other thing that bothers us about this is that our tax-paying banks have to compete with the farm credit system at the retail level—and they enjoy a different situation when it comes to paying income taxes.”
According to Beattie, FCSAmerica paid nine-point-four million dollars in total federal and state taxes in 2011, on after-tax profits of more than 456 million dollars. He says that equates to two percent of the FCSAmerica’s pre-tax income.
By comparison, Beattie says, banks in Nebraska pay state and federal taxes at a much higher rate—from 36 to 39 percent of income.
Bottom line, Beattie, says it’s time the farm credit system started paying its fair share of taxes.
FCSAmerica president and CEO Doug Stark had this response to Beattie’s charges about their advertisements.
“We are really proud of the fact—and it’s the reason we are advertising—that we’re returning a good share of our profits to our customers,” Stark says. “We think it really highlights our business model and is one of the hallmarks of a cooperative institution.”
As for the low tax rates enjoyed by the farm credit system, Stark says banks also receive some benefits from the federal government. “Banks also have some nuances with their business model in terms of federally insured deposits that provide a dependable source of funds for them as well.”
And Stark says it’s really an apples and oranges comparison.
“We bring different perspectives to the same table, from different points of view,” he says, “and we think it’s really advantageous that customers out there—particularly farmers and ranchers in such a capital intensive industry—have choices about how they want to do business and who they want to do business with.”
Beattie says NBA is not planning to pursue legislative changes at this time—but he say the nation needs to decide what it can afford and who should be recipients of tax credits.
“I think it’s more a matter of trying to open the discussion on tax policy in this country and hopefully help people understand a couple of things—that banks do pay taxes and the farm credit system enjoys a little different benefit,” Beattie says.
“But it’s bigger than that, because we have a tremendous amount of debt in this country and I think we need to look at who gets tax credits—or gets exemptions from paying taxes in today’s environment—and whether that tax situation is still justifiable in today’s world.”
AUDIO: George Beattie (2:20 MP3)
In terms of health care, rural communities are often underserved. According to Mark Meurer with the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rural Medical Education program, 82 percent of Illinois’ rural counties are considered underserved. With approximately 500 doctors in rural Illinois at or near retirement age, he says there is a need for primary care physicians in rural areas.
One of the goals of RMED, Meurer says, is to recruit students from the state of Illinois with rural backgrounds. “They have to be rural,” he says. “We have a phrase we use – it’s called ‘ruralality’ – and we have to have students in our program that understand what it’s like to grow up in a rural community.”
UIC’s RMED program is one of a few rural medical programs nationally that has curriculum that spans all four years of medical school. “Our students will go to class with everyone else at the University of Illinois College of medicine,” he says, “they receive the same exact medical school education as all other graduates.” The difference is, Meurer notes, “Our students also take a supplemental curriculum that focuses on issues that are more pertinent to rural doctors.”
The RMED program was established in 1993 and has graduated 211 students. Meurer says currently there are 164 graduates still practicing – 118 of them in Illinois.
Citing a study conducted by Kansas State University (KSU), the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) says opponents of antibiotics use in livestock production “wildly overestimate” the amount given to food animals.
Using data from a 2006 U.S. Department of Agriculture swine survey and a 2009 survey of swine veterinarians, KSU found that annually about 1.6 million pounds of antibiotics are used in pork production for growth promotion/nutritional efficiency and disease prevention.
According to NPPC, a 2001 report, “Hogging It,” from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) claimed that 10.3 million pounds a year are used.
The KSU study, which was published in the March issue of Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, found that 2.8 million pounds of antibiotics were used for growth promotion/nutritional efficiency, disease prevention and disease treatment. NPPC says that amount is 368 percent less than the amount asserted by UCS for just growth promotion/nutritional efficiency and disease prevention.
We asked NPPC chief veterinarian Dr. Liz Wagstrom for her reaction to the KSU study.
AUDIO: Dr. Liz Wagstrom (2:26 MP3)
Protect the Harvest is a new coalition of farmers, ranchers and hunters that is, according to its web site, “dedicated to educating American’s about the growing threat posed by the radical animal rights fringe.”
Forrest Lucas, founder and owner of Lucas Oil—who also owns a cattle ranch in Missouri—is reportedly one of the driving forces behind formation of the group.
Erik Helland of Johnston, Iowa serves on the board of Protect the Harvest. Helland is an Iowa state legislator and is the majority whip in the Iowa House of Representatives.
Referring to HSUS’ efforts to establish federal “cage size” standards on the egg industry, Helland says, “Enough is enough—it’s clear that HSUS cares less about protecting chickens from inhumane treatment and more about making it impossible to produce eggs or raise poultry in America.”
In an interview with Brownfield, Helland says Protect the Harvest is going to be more aggressive than some other groups have been, in taking on HSUS and other animal rights groups.
AUDIO: Erik Helland (13:17 MP3)
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