agriculture | Field 2 Field

February 21, 2020February 21, 2020

Water quality awards given out to two Minnesota farmers

Water quality is a hot topic of conversation in Minnesota right now, with the state’s farmers at the forefront of the discussion in award-winning fashion.

Two Minnesota farmers are being recognized for their commitment to agriculture, water quality, and wildlife. Randy Schmiesing of Stevens County, as well as Tom Cotter of Mower County, were recently given the new Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP) wildlife endorsement at the Pheasants Forever National Pheasant Fest in Minneapolis. Schmiesing and Cotter are the first farmers in the state to receive the endorsement.

“Conserving our natural resources for future generations to enjoy has been a lifelong goal and commitment,” said Randy Schmiesing. “We are proud to be one of the first farms to be certified by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture for the wildlife endorsement through the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program and encourage other farmers to pursue this wildlife endorsement and reap the many benefits it achieves.”

Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen presents Tom Cotter of Mower County with his Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program wildlife endorsement. (Contributed photo)

Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen presents Randy Schmiesing of Stevens County with his Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program wildlife endorsement (Contributed photo)

MAWQCP launched the wildlife, soil health, and integrated pest-management endorsements in December as additions to the 10-year certification a farmer or landowner receives in the program. The certification program partnered with various non-profit organizations like Pheasants Forever and the Minnesota Soil Health Coalition, as well as state agencies, to develop the endorsements.

“Many conservation practices targeting water quality also have benefits for other conservation goals, such as wildlife,” said Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen. “With the help of organizations like Pheasants Forever, we want to recognize farmers who are making efforts to protect our numerous natural resources in Minnesota.”

“Pheasants Forever appreciates the opportunity to work alongside the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and other partners in highlighting the new wildlife endorsement through the MAWQCP at Pheasant Fest,” said Tanner Bruse, Agriculture and Conservation Programs Manager, Pheasants Forever. “It’s our honor to be a part of the recognition of those implementing conservation practices that represent a win-win scenario for their operation, soil, water and wildlife. We congratulate them and thank them for their stewardship.”

Certified producers who achieve an endorsement will receive an additional sign for their farm and recognition for their conservation excellence.

Certified farmers and landowners interested in an endorsement, or those interested in in earning a certification in water quality, can contact their local Soil and Water Conservation District. They can also visit MyLandMyLegacy.com.

About the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program

The Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program is a voluntary opportunity for farmers and agricultural landowners to take the lead in implementing conservation practices that protect our water. Those who implement and maintain approved farm management practices will be certified and in turn obtain regulatory certainty for a period of ten years. The program is available to farmers and landowners statewide. To date, the program has certified 832 farms totaling 566,862 acres.

January 4, 2020January 4, 2020

Grain Markets put 2019 in the rearview mirror

Here’s the full conversation with Joe Vaclavik of Standard Grain in Chicago. You can download it on your computer by clicking on the three dots on the right side of the player. Play it here on your mobile device.

Grain Markets officially bid 2019 a not-so-fond adieu. Like most other segments of American agriculture, grain farmers are more than happy to put 2019 in the past. Joe Vaclavik, founder and president of Standard Grains in Chicago, says last year didn’t start off well in the grain markets and it just kept going for the next 12 months.

“We had a pretty comfortable, if not burdensome supply situation entering the calendar year, so, the calendar year kind of began similar to what we’ve seen the last two, three, four years, a comfortable supply-demand situation, not anything terribly tight. Low prices, farmers not making a ton of money, you got the trade war going on, a lot of overall negative factors I would say to start the year.”

He says the spring is when things began to get “interesting.”

“Both in the markets and the weather. We basically sold the markets off until about that May time frame, that I think traders started to realize that we had some serious weather problems. Wet weather, cold weather, planting delays continued, and typically we are always told the crop’s always going to be planted, and planting delays are not a cause for concern.”

However, as the spring continued, things turned more serious in the markets.

“Planting delays turned into a major concern. There was a point in time in late May into maybe the mid part of June where we just had no clue what type of production was possible, and out of that, we had a very significant crop scare rally in the corn market and in the soybean market, to a lesser extent.”

Farmers continued to plant corn long past what would be a normal planting date. Vaclavik says the market was rallying as farmers continued to plant, even into early July in a few locations. He says the market peaked in June because it bought a “whole bunch of corn acres” that wouldn’t have been there otherwise.

Vaclavik says farmers faced challenges from a weather standpoint, logistics, and from a demand standpoint with trade challenges in 2019. With all that stacked against them, the question is how much grain U.S. farmers produced last year. Vaclavik says the answer depends on who you ask.

“A lot of people think that the numbers USDA has put out are just not achievable given the late planting, the wet spring, the late harvest, so there’s still some debate out there. I’m not one to tell you with any degree of certainty that we know for sure what the crop is, and we’ve got this big report on January 10, which is the final crop production report, and I suppose if USDA is going to make any sort of sweeping adjustment, it probably comes on that date.”

Again, Joe Vaclavik is the president of Standard Grains in Chicago.

December 28, 2019December 28, 2019

Meat Sector Looking for 2020 Rebound

Here’s the complete podcast with Mike Zuzolo. You can play it here or download it by clicking on the three dots on the right side of the player.

“Meat, the redder, the better.” Words of wisdom from the grill master (me). However, those folks who raise that red meat (which includes all types of the protein products in the meat case at your local grocery store), for the most part, had a difficult year.

The U.S. ag sector has to be happy to see the end of the calendar year 2019. It was rough, which might be the understatement of the century so far. I’ve been doing a series of interviews for the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service (I’m the assistant editor/reporter) that looks back at 2019 and peeks ahead to next year. I caught up with Mike Zuzolo, President of Global Commodity Analytics in Atchison, Kansas.

2019 was not good for most sectors of the U.S. ag economy, including the protein sector. “No, it wasn’t,” Zuzolo says. “Given the packer break-evens being in the hundreds of dollars for much of the year in cattle, and given the cash prices of hogs struggling to get above $50 live prices, as well as seeing that African Swine Fever was decimating half of the world’s hog herd, I’d say 2019 was a very big disappointment to the cattle and hog industry.”

He said the challenges didn’t just include the trade troubles that dominated headlines throughout the year, they also included a major fire at a Cargill plant in Holcomb, Kansas. Zuzolo said that shot cattle prices sharply lower.

“Prices went below break-evens and they didn’t recover for several weeks,” he recalled. “In my opinion as a livestock analyst, it really shouldn’t have hit the markets quite that hard. The market saw cash prices for cattle collapse from around $120 to $100 for several weeks. At the same time, ground beef and boxed beef prices shot sharply higher because of expectations for tighter supplies.”

Cattle producers took a major hit at that time. The good news is I want to leave you is that Zuzolo sees potential for several bright spots ahead for the protein sector in 2020.

You can find Mike’s website at https://globalanalytics.wpcomstaging.com/

December 18, 2019December 18, 2019

Dairy Assistance Program Enrollment Reopened

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is reopening enrollment in its Dairy Assistance, Investment, and Relief Initiative (DAIRI) program for eligible milk producers through the end of the year.

Producers who have locked in five years of coverage through the USDA Farm Service Agency’s Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program and who have not already successfully enrolled in the Dairy Assistance program can apply.

The MDA has already issued $3.4 million to about 1,800 producers representing more than 1,550 farms in Minnesota through the program in its first round of payments.

Producers not yet successfully enrolled will not receive the first round of payment, but may receive a check for the second round of dairy assistance, which will be determined after all new enrollments have been received.

In order to qualify, farmers must have produced less than 160,000 cwt (hundredweight) of milk in 2018. They will be paid based on production levels, up to 50,000 cwt of milk produced in 2018.

An application form, an IRS Form W-9, a copy of their DMC enrollment form, and a statement from their processor(s) detailing the amount of milk produced in 2018 are required to complete an application. All materials must be postmarked by December 31, 2019.

Producers who are already successfully enrolled and have received their first check do not need to take any action. They will automatically receive a second payment. However, producers who submitted incomplete applications and have not received a check must return any requested information by December 31, 2019, to be eligible for the second payment.

For additional information and the application form, visit the DAIRI program page of the MDA website.

October 31, 2019October 31, 2019

Wolf help available for Minnesota livestock farmers

New money is available to Minnesota livestock producers to help prevent wolf attacks. A total of $60,000 will be awarded through the Wolf-Livestock Conflict Prevention Grants. Applications are due January 31, 2020, to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA).

The grants provide reimbursement for costs of approved practices to prevent wolf-livestock conflicts. Eligible expenses for the grant program will include any or all of the following items:

Purchase of guard animals
Veterinary costs for guard animals
Installation of barriers which may include pens, fladry, and fencing
Installation of wolf-deterring lights and alarms
Calving or lambing shelters
Other measures demonstrated to effectively reduce wolf-livestock conflicts

“We’re fortunate to be able to offer this assistance again to Minnesota farmers and ranchers thanks to a grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service,” said Assistant Agriculture Commissioner Whitney Place. “Livestock owners can get additional resources to protect their animals and livelihood, and I encourage producers to examine ways they can decrease the chances of wolf attacks and apply for this funding.”

Producers must live within Minnesota’s wolf range, as designated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or on property determined by the Commissioner of Agriculture to be affected by wolf-livestock conflicts. Any animal species produced for profit and documented to have been killed by wolves in Minnesota in the past is eligible. This includes bison, cattle, chicken, deer, donkey, duck, geese, goat, horse, llama, mule, sheep, swine, and turkey.

The grant application must be emailed or postmarked by 5 p.m. on January 31, 2020. Work for this grant must be done and expenses reported by August 31, 2020. The application and more information can be found at www.mda.state.mn.us/wolfgrants.

The grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service is funding the third round of Wolf-Livestock Conflict Prevention Grants. The first two rounds were funded by the Minnesota Legislature in 2017. Those grants awarded $240,000 between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2019. Grantees used the money for items like fencing, guard animals, and motion lights – all deterrents to wolves.

October 30, 2019October 30, 2019

Hemp Production Rules in Place for U.S. farming

The U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted a press conference to announce the rollout of the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program. As long as farmers aren’t working in states that prohibit hemp farming by law, officials will work with farmers to help them establish an approved plan to produce industrial hemp on their operations.

Here’s the complete press conference audio from this week:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture officially announced the establishment of the Domestic Hemp Production Program. The program is designed to create a consistent regulatory framework involving hemp farming across the country. USDA Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach says the agency will work with states and tribes to help producers establish federally approved hemp production plans, as long as hemp production isn’t outlawed by their states.

The interim rule also calls for a public comment period so USDA can take input on the final rule before it’s enacted. Ibach says the 2020 growing season will be a “test drive” so USDA can make any needed corrections before publishing the final rule. He talks about some of the key provisions in the interim final rule.

There will be a 30-day waiting period for USDA to license farmers who want to grow hemp in states or tribes that don’t submit plans for federal approval. Ibach says they’ve gotten a lot of questions during the development process surrounding hemp testing for THC.

USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey says once state and tribal plans are in place, hemp growers will be eligible for various government programs in 2020…tape

If you have any more question, contact your local Farm Service Agency office. They can point you in the right direction. You can also find more information online at farmers.gov/hemp.

October 22, 2019October 22, 2019

Harvest season in MN requiring extra patience

Here’s another chadsmithmedia podcast, this time with Houston and Fillmore County Extension Educator Michael Cruse, talking harvest progress in southeast Minnesota.

Harvest season. Never a dull moment in farm country. It’s never an easy season for anyone, regardless of what the growing season was like. This year’s ridiculously wet growing season is going to make things even more challenging, which is not exactly a state secret.

The harvest season is officially underway in southeast Minnesota. A few days of drier and windier weather last week allowed some crops to come out of fields across the area. Houston and Fillmore County Extension Educator Michael Cruse said timing appears to be everything when it comes to fall harvesting in 2019.

“I’m glad you called me later last week, rather than on Monday,” Cruse said. “I would have been much more down on the situation earlier last week. However, a couple of windy days helped some farmers take some corn and beans out of their fields. In spite of that, we’re still behind and we’ll still be scrambling to make sure everything gets done before the ground freezes. At least we’re starting to make some progress.”

The excess rainfall this year means the crops will come out of the fields much wetter than normal. He said the recent windy days seem to have put soybeans into pretty good shape. But, the corn is still going to require some time in the dryer, which isn’t a big surprise this harvest season.

Harvest season is underway in southeast Minnesota, all be it slowly, according to Michael Cruse of the University of Minnesota Extension Service. There’s still a long way to go in very we conditions. (Photo from UMN.Extension.Edu)

“The beans are actually drying down to the point that it looks like they’ll be okay,” Cruse said. “Just be patient with them. Obviously, the last thing you want is to get a big snowfall on top of them, but they seem to be coming along. However, the hard truth is that the majority of our corn crop will come out of the field too wet.

“No matter how long we wait this fall, we just won’t have the drying conditions to get that corn down to optimal moisture,” he added. “That’s probably why we see a lot of farmers working corn right now. They know there’s going to be a bottleneck while the corn has to sit in their dryers and it’s going to take some time. Get a head start because it’s going to take a while.”

September 11, 2019September 11, 2019

Dairy Margin Coverage Program Signup Deadline Sept. 20

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds dairy producers that the deadline to enroll in the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program for 2019 is Sept. 20, 2019.

Authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill, the program offers reasonably priced protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed cost (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer.

“Over 19,100 operations have signed up for DMC since the new program opened enrollment on June 17,” said FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce. “DMC is a great risk management tool that protects against narrowing margins caused by down turns in the market and increased feed costs. I encourage farmers who have not yet enrolled to sign up as soon as possible.”

As the 2019 enrollment period draws to a close, FSA estimates over $257.7 million in payments to producers who are currently registered. Also, nearly half of the producers are taking advantage of the 25 percent premium discount by locking in for five years of margin protection coverage. FSA has launched a new web visualization of the Dairy Margin Coverage Program data, which is available here.

Margin payments have triggered for each month from January through July. Dairy producers who elect higher coverage levels could be eligible for payments for all seven months. Under certain levels, the amount paid to dairy farmers will exceed the cost of the premium.

For example, a dairy operation that chooses to enroll for 2019 an established production history of 3 million pounds (30,000 cwt.) and elects the $9.50 coverage level on 95 percent of production will pay $4,275 in total premium payments for all of 2019 and receive $15,437.50 in DMC payments for all margin payments announced to date. Additional payments will be made if calculated margins remain below the $9.50/cwt level for any remaining months of 2019.

Enrollment for 2020

For 2020, dairy producers can sign up for coverage under DMC beginning Oct. 7 through Dec. 13, 2019. At the time of signup, dairy producers can choose between the $4.00 to $9.50 coverage levels.

DMC offers catastrophic coverage at no cost to the producer, other than an annual $100 administrative fee. Producers can opt for greater coverage levels for a premium in addition to the administrative fee. Operations owned by limited resource, beginning, socially disadvantaged or veteran farmers and ranchers may be eligible for a waiver on administrative fees. Producers have the choice to lock in coverage levels until 2023 and receive a 25-percent discount on their DMC premiums.

Producers who locked in coverage in the 2019 sign-up must certify the operation is producing and commercially marketing milk and pay the annual administrative fee during the 2020 enrollment period.

To assist producers in making coverage elections, USDA partnered with the University of Wisconsin to develop a DMC decision support tool, which can be used to evaluate various scenarios using different coverage levels through DMC.

2019 Retroactive Intergenerational Transfers

Participating dairy operations who had an intergenerational transfer between 2014 and 2019 will a have a one-time opportunity to increase their established production history during the 2019 and 2020 annual coverage election periods. Retroactive payments based on the increased production history will apply for 2019 and not prior years.

A dairy operation may add to their approved production history for an intergenerational transfer when a spouse, child or grandchild join a participating dairy operation. Non-lineal relatives, such as siblings, cousins, nieces or nephews, that join the operation will not be eligible for a production history increase.

The increase to the established production history of the participating dairy operation will be determined based on multiplying both the national rolling herd average data for the current year in effect at the time of the intergenerational transfer and the quantity of cows purchased by the joining family member within 60 days of joining the dairy operation. For an intergenerational transfer to be recognized by FSA, the requesting dairy operation will meet all eligibility requirements including an ownership provision for those entering the business.

Applications for an intergenerational transfer must be submitted by Dec. 6, 2019, for approval by the local FSA county committee, to be eligible for the increased production history effective on January 1, 2019.

More Information

On December 20, 2018, President Trump signed into law the 2018 Farm Bill, which provides support, certainty and stability to our nation’s farmers, ranchers and land stewards by enhancing farm support programs, improving crop insurance, maintaining disaster programs and promoting and supporting voluntary conservation. FSA is committed to implementing these changes as quickly and effectively as possible, and today’s updates are part of meeting that goal.

For more information, visit farmers.gov DMC webpage or contact your local USDA service center. To locate your local FSA office, visit farmers.gov/service-locator.

Refresher on the DMC Program:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1J7SJsyXZ0

September 11, 2019September 11, 2019

IFYE – the International Farm Youth Exchange Program

The International Farm Youth Exchange Program recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA and IFYE (iffy) will work together to promote cultural understanding between the U.S. and overseas countries. The MOU commends IFYE for its past and continuing contribution to international cultural understanding of rural areas across the world. Victoria Warren is President of IFYE. She says the MOU also means the USDA and her group will work together to continue the IFYE mission into the future.

The IFYE program sends young adults 19 and over to farms and rural areas in other countries and helps them learn to understand different cultures and ways of doing things. Warren says the experience isn’t just for young adults in rural America either.

Program participants should be interested in things like agriculture, foods, nutrition, or family consumer science to get the best possible program experience. Warren talks about what the participants will do when they’re overseas with exchange families.

Warren says IFYE isn’t like other exchange programs because participants aren’t there to go to school. However, that doesn’t mean the young adults don’t learn anything.

Warren participated in the program too. She made an overseas trip back in the late-1970s.

For more information about the program, go to www.ifyeusa.org.

September 1, 2019September 10, 2019

Weather turns cool but won’t last in Ag country

Here is the full podcast with Bryce Anderson. You can download for later if you like. Just click on the three dots on the right and hit the download box.

Weather and agriculture go together like husband and wife, hand in glove, or ball and chain. I caught up to a guy who knows a lot about agriculture and weather. He’s Bryce Anderson, Senior Ag Meteorologist with DTN.

Temperatures have turned cool in the Midwest recently and it has some farmers concerned about a potential impact on crop development. Anderson says that cool trend is going to continue for several more days.

He says the cooler-than-normal temps cover most of the Corn Belt. In some cases, certain locations in the Corn Belt have been double-digits below where they normally are in late August-early September.

Cool high pressure dropped down from Canada and took control of the weather in the Corn Belt. However, Anderson says that high pressure will begin to move away soon.

Because much of the crops in the ground went in late, all eyes are on the weather forecast and trying to anticipate when that first frost will be. While Anderson says an early frost doesn’t look likely, that may not be good enough for this year’s crops…tape

He says the weather during harvest should be good enough to help farmers get their crops into the bins quicker than last fall. Anderson says the bigger question will be how good the condition of those crops are when they’re taken out of the fields across farm country.