(NCGA) Much of the U.S. agricultural world converged on Kansas City last week to participate in the annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.

The meeting provides a great opportunity for agricultural businesses and organizations like the National Corn Growers Association to tell the story of the industry. ”

As a farmer, I also appreciate the unique relationship I have with my local farm broadcaster who shadows me throughout the day in my home, my tractor, my shed and my truck. They provide important information I need from markets to weather,” said Kevin Skunes, NCGA president from Arthur, North Dakota.

“Sometimes we forget that farm broadcasters also provide an opportunity to reach many urban folks. Consumers get farther and farther from the farm while the list of issues they are concerned about continues to grow.”

So, leaders of NCGA spent hours last Thursday doing dozens of interviews on critical issues like the new farm bill, trade and ethanol. But they also discussed the expansive efforts underway to make farming more sustainable and protect our soil and water resources.

“Trade is obviously a hot topic here that effects farmers and consumers alike. Farmers continue to grow their productive capacity and we are producing a crop the world needs.

But building and maintaining the relationships necessary to keep trade moving is a constant process and one we can’t ignore,” Skunes said.

“Corn and corn product exports account for 33 percent of my income. With corn prices at or below break even, every market counts. And everyone has a stake because each dollar of agricultural exports creates an additional $1.27 in business activity.”

(ILCG) With corn production yield estimates coming in nationally at a record-high number, and the Illinois yield to be the second largest on record, market access will be a key factor in limiting losses due to depressed corn prices. “

This is the type of scenario that we pencil out to demonstrate why market access is so important to corn farmer profitability,” said Illinois Corn Growers Association President Justin Durdan. “Now it looks like our “what if” scenarios might become “what now” situations as we face continued below cost of production prices, threats to our export relationships, and deteriorating transportation infrastructure.”

The November 9, 2017, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Crop Production report pegs the national average per acre corn yield at 175.4 that if realized, would be a record. “We cannot say strongly enough how important export markets are to the profitability picture for corn farmers,” said Durdan. “Specifically, NAFTA needs to remain in effect, and maybe even improved by the Trump Administration, but we cannot withdraw because losing our top corn customer right now is unimaginable.”

Secretary Perdue said this past week that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is preparing for the loss of NAFTA, just in case, but at the farm level, no amount of preparation will make a difference to losing that market, especially since we believe that more than half the corn that ends up in Mexico from the U.S. was grown on an American farm.

The U.S. Department of Ag announced it will delay the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices Rule until January 19. The Hagstrom Report says the announcement was strongly criticized by several House Democrats but praised by House Ag Committee Chair Michael Conaway, a Texas Republican.

There are several provisions under the rule, an example of which is requiring outdoor access for poultry that will produce meat to be labeled “Certified Organic.”

The USDA announcement says during the course of reviewing the rule, officials discovered a material error in the record and there was a question about the scope of statutory authority. The agency also says it’s delaying the rule so that it can answer important questions, including the likely costs and benefits analysis.

However, three Democrats, including Ron Kind of Wisconsin, said they were outraged, saying, “This is not a regulation for the sake of regulation,” they said., “This rule has already undergone over 10 years of public process and debate.” The Organic Trade Association filed a lawsuit against USDA, seeking a judicial review of the Trump Administration’s delay of final organic livestock production rules. While the lawsuit is still pending, USDA must answer it by mid-November.

(NPPC) With a Nov. 15 deadline looming, the National Pork Producers Council and the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association today filed a brief in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s motion to delay a mandate that farmers report certain air emissions from manure on their farms. In April, a federal court, ruling on a lawsuit brought by environmental activist groups against EPA, rejected an exemption for farms from reporting “hazardous” emissions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Emergency Planning Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA). CERCLA mainly is used to clean hazardous waste sites but has a federal reporting component, while EPCRA requires entities to report on the storage, use and release of hazardous substances to state and local governments, including first responders. EPA had exempted farms from CERCLA reporting, reasoning that while emissions might exceed thresholds that would trigger responses under the law such responses would be “unnecessary, impractical and unlikely.” The agency limited EPCRA reporting to large, confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), requiring them to make one-time reports. Under the decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, all livestock farms, not just CAFOs, are required to report.

(USMEF) The World Trade Organization has ruled in favor of the United States in a dispute over Indonesia’s complex import requirements for a number of agricultural products, including U.S. beef. The ruling is expected to open up significant new export opportunities for U.S. beef in the Indonesian market. Thad Lively, U.S. Meat Export Federation senior vice president for trade access, explains that Indonesia’s import restrictions were originally aimed at achieving self-sufficiency in beef production but actually resulted in tight beef supplies and high prices for consumers. He notes that the ruling gives both U.S. exporters and Indonesian importers confidence that the market will remain open to U.S. beef, paving the way for significant growth. Last year U.S. beef and beef variety meat exports to Indonesia were 10,783 metric tons valued at $39.4 million, making it the ninth-largest export market for U.S. beef by volume and 15th-largest by value. Through September of this year, exports to Indonesia already nearly matched last year’s totals, reaching 9,934 mt valued at $36.6 million. Indonesia is currently the third-largest export market for U.S. beef hearts, following Mexico and Hong Kong.
More details on the ruling are available from the WTO website and from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

(Missourinet) – Six Missouri farms have joined the Soil Health Partnership (SHP), a research project aimed at bringing more benefits to farmers and the environment.

The six have joined crop growers across what’s referred to as the corn belt states in the Midwest to study ways to improve production and water quality as well as reduce greenhouse gases.

A total of 110 farms in 10 states are taking part in the partnership.

There’s research suggesting that nurturing soil leads to better performance of crops and a higher resistance to floods and droughts, as well as benefits to water quality and carbon emissions.

Some farming experts have identified three practices as effective in improving the quality of soil. They include managing the use of fertilizers, cutting back on tilling procedures and planting cover crops during the off season.

Darrick Steen oversees environmental programs for both the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council and the state’s Corn Merchandising Council.

He says the purpose of the Soil Health Partnership is to provide proof the suggested practices actually work.

“The missing link has been data that show these practices can provide a significant economic benefit on real, working farms, in addition to positive environmental outcomes,” said Steen.

The six Missouri farms involved with the program will concentrate on the use of cover crops. Steen says there are two reasons to do so.

“The cover crop area, the science is not mature. So we’re focusing on cover crops because of that, but also because Missouri’s landscape in almost all areas is not flat. It’s subject to, and more prone to soil erosion.”

In a state where soil erosion is an issue, Steen says cover crops help provide protection.

“You’ve got a protective layer on top of the soil, as well as the root system from those plants that’s holding that soil in place, preventing it from eroding during rain storms.”

Soybeans are the number one revenue producing crop in Missouri, followed by corn. The vast majority of crop acres on Missouri farms are on a corn and soybean rotation. The two plants are a good fit for each other because soybeans tend to replenish the soil with nitrogen, while corn crops absorb the gas.

Steen says farmers in Missouri and across the country are now facing hardships because commodity prices are at all-time lows, and because of changing weather patterns.

“We’re seeing more intense rainfalls, more rain coming down in one storm,” Steen said.  “And when we have more intense rainfall we have a harder time addressing some of those environmental challenges like erosion, like nutrient run-off, and all those things.”

One of the goals of the Soil Health Partnership is to stop nutrients – namely fertilizer – from ending up in rivers. Steen says the farming community knows that water quality is an important issue in Missouri.

“Our state’s tourism is centered around the use of, and recreation of water. So it’s something that we’re always working to try and protect.”

There’s also the phenomenon of “Gulf Hypoxia.” According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Hypoxic zones are areas in the ocean that have such low oxygen concentration that marine life suffocates and dies. As a result, such areas are sometimes called “dead zones.”

Each spring as farmers fertilize their lands preparing for crop season, rain washes fertilizer off the land and into streams and rivers.  Those runoffs have been cited as a major contributor to dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico. The largest dead zone ever recorded in the U.S. appeared last month in the Gulf.

Steen says the Soil Health Partnership is designed to help curb the occurrence of dead zones.

“That’s a big issue that we recognize. There are a number of things going on within Missouri to try and reduce our contribution, our impact to that and this one of those.”

Other groups involved in the Soil Health Partnership represent a wide range of agricultural, environmental, corporate and political interests that are often on opposite sides of farming issues. They include Monsanto, The Nature Conservancy, the Walton Family Foundation, General Mills, the USDA and the Environmental Defense Fund.

One of the six Missouri farmers taking part in the partnership, Richard Fordyce, is former director of the state Department of Agriculture. During his tenure, he championed initiatives such as the Agricultural Stewardship Assurance Program, a voluntary certification program.