INDIANAPOLIS – The National FFA Organization has selected 50 outstanding young people to participate in the 2011 New Century Farmer program. This exclusive, highly competitive program develops young men and women committed to pursuing a career in production agriculture. The New Century Farmer program is sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business; Rabo AgriFinance; Case IH; and CSX Corporation; with media partner Successful Farming as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.

Participants representing 23 states will take part in an intensive seminar July 24-30 in Johnston, Iowa. They will learn from each other and industry experts during a series of workshops and sessions. Topics will include the global marketplace, farm financing, demographic trends and risk management. New Century Farmers will hear from motivating and informative keynote speakers who will educate them on the risks and rewards involved with agriculture production. In addition to classroom learning, students will experience the latest developments in agricultural technology.

The program is designed to provide participants with valuable skills and knowledge applicable to their own farming operations. In addition, they will build a network of colleagues that will benefit them throughout their careers.

 

Missouri
Megan Anderson
Gregory Cooper
Kaylyn Dalbom
Nancy Jackson
Jarred Lewis

Iowa
Whitney Harris
Tyler Moser

Kansas
Kelsey Harris
Morgan McNeal
Michael Welch

California
Ryan Clifton
Katharine Rosser

Florida
Anthony Cannon
Austin Courson
Jacob Nyhuis

Georgia
Troy Highsmith

Idaho
Seth Pratt

Illinois
Matthew Dehlinger
Matthew DeSutter
Logan Frye
Christopher Richards
Justin Thomas

Indiana
Ryan Brauser
Kelsey Freeman
Blake Hesters

Kentucky
Beau Neal
Alexander Richardson

Maryland
Alan Eck

Michigan
Stephanie Andersen
Carl Wagner III

Minnesota
Jason Keck
Todd Speltz
Gregory Tusa

Montana
Rob Newton

New York
Corey Reed

North Carolina
John Layton
Matthew Westmoreland

North Dakota
Aaron Steckler

Ohio
Jake Detwiler
Kayla Finton
Mike Hannewald
Matthew Lutz

Oregon
Logan Skeen

Pennsylvania
Tyler Funk
Lindsay Hetrick

Texas
Josh Snodgrass
Dennis Underwood
Carl Whitworth

Virginia
Westley Drake

Wyoming
Kyle Thoman

(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.) – In less than 24 hours, the Missouri Department of Agriculture collected more than $19,000 in donations for individuals affected by recent disasters in the southern portion of the state.

Staff members from the Missouri Department of Agriculture spearheaded a donation drive for the Food Bank of Central Missouri that included a challenge to other state agencies, community organizations and agriculture industry groups.

“Our hearts and prayers certainly go out to all of those affected by the tornadoes and severe storms in Joplin and to those trying to get back on their feet following flooding throughout the southern portion of our state,” said Director of Agriculture Dr. Jon Hagler.  “The response to these events is just one example of the power of Missourians helping Missourians in times of crisis.  This is certainly a case when the worst of Mother Nature brings out the best of human nature.”

Donations were headlined by a $10,000 commitment from Monsanto and $1,000 donations from the Missouri Corn Growers Association, Missouri Soybean Association, Missouri Renewable Fuels Association and FCS Financial.

Missouri Department of Agriculture employees came together to donate more than $1,500.  The Missouri Egg Council donated $500 as well.

The event also included a barbecue lunch donated by Jefferson City businesses, including Bandana’s BBQ, Hy-Vee, McAllister’s Deli and FCS Financial.

“The Missouri Department of Agriculture has been a tremendous partner with organizations like the Food Bank of Central Missouri,” said Executive Director Peggy Kirkpatrick.  “We both have the same passion for feeding people.”

The Department of Agriculture also announced the “Grow & Give” component of the 10,000 Garden Challenge with the news that the AgriMissouri team will be donating the produce from their Growing Together Garden to the Food Bank of Central Missouri.  The announcement included a challenge to Missouri gardeners to donate a portion of their produce to Missouri’s food banks and pantries as well.

Anyone interested in joining this effort or making a donation may contact Misti Preston at (573) 751-8596 or Misti.Preston@mda.mo.gov. Donations may be dropped off at the Missouri Department of Agriculture building in Jefferson City or made directly to the Food Bank of Central Missouri by contacting them at http://www.sharefoodbringhope.org or calling (800) 764-3663.

More information about the Missouri Department of Agriculture and its programs is available online at http://www.mda.mo.gov.

JP Dunn, Director of Field Services with the Missouri Soybean Association, is our guest for this week’s Soybean Update.   JP discusses numerous projects the Missouri Soybean Association is involved with through Missouri Farmers Care.

New cooking guidelines from the nation’s food-safety agency confirm Pork Checkoff research that shows pork can be consumed safely when cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit, followed by a three-minute rest time. The guidelines were announced today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS).

The new recommended temperature is a significant 15 degrees less than what was previously recommended and typically will yield a finished product that is pinker in color than most home cooks are accustomed to.

“Our consumer research has consistently shown that Americans have a tendency to overcook common cuts of pork, resulting in a less-than-optimal eating experience,” said Dianne Bettin, a pork producer from Truman, Minn., and chair of the Checkoff’s Domestic Marketing Committee. “The new guidelines will help consumers enjoy pork at its most flavorful, juicy – and safe – temperature.”

The revised recommendation applies to pork whole-muscle cuts, such as loin, chops and roasts. Ground pork, like all ground meat, should be cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Regardless of cut or cooking method, both the USDA and National Pork Board recommend using a digital cooking thermometer to ensure an accurate final temperature.

The new recommendation evolved from a 2007 Pork Checkoff-funded research project conducted by Ohio State University to measure consumer eating preferences. As part of that project the university researchers tested how various end-cooking temperatures affected eating preferences. But the researchers needed to know if temperatures below 160 degrees would be safe if that turned out to be consumers’ preference.

That question resulted in a Checkoff-funded research project with Exponent Inc., an engineering and scientific consulting firm, to conduct a risk assessment to evaluate any food-safety implications of cooking temperatures within a range of 145-160 degrees Fahrenheit.

The risk assessment found that cooking pork to an internal temperature of 145 degrees was equivalent to cooking pork to 160 degrees. Checkoff-funded research conducted by Texas A&M supports the fact that meat temperature continues to rise after being removed from the heat and the reality that “resting time” between cooking and eating is at least that long.  Therefore, FSIS agreed that the cooking temperature for pork could be lowered.

The USDA guidelines for pork now mirror doneness advice for other meats.

“It’s great news that home cooks can now feel confident to enjoy medium-rare pork, like they do with other meats,” said Guy Fieri, a chef, restaurateur and host of several food-focused television programs. “Pork cooked to this temperature will be juicy and tender. The foodservice industry has been following this pork cooking standard for nearly 10 years.”

The new recommendation reflects advances in both food safety and nutritional content of pork in recent years. On average, most common cuts of pork are 16 percent leaner than 20 years ago, and saturated fat has dropped 27 percent. In fact, pork tenderloin is now as lean as the leanest type of chicken – a skinless chicken breast.

In addition to the new recommendation to cook pork to 145 degrees Fahrenheit, followed by a three-minute rest time, the USDA food preparation guidelines advise the following:

* Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often
* Separate: Don’t cross-contaminate
* Cook: To proper cooking temperatures
* Chill: Refrigerate promptly

Additional information about cooking pork, including recipes, is available at PorkBeInspired.com, or Facebook.com/PorkBeInspired.

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The Missouri Pork Association represents the state’s pork producers in the areas of promotion, research, education and legislation. For more information about this or any other programs of the Missouri Pork Association, go to www.mopork.com, or call (573) 445-8375.

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Meet Shane Kinne, the newest member of the Missouri Corn Growers staff in Jefferson City.  Shane joins us on this week’s Missouri Corn Update to share his background and give an update to what’s going on with the Bird’s Point Levee in Southeast Missouri.

A coalition of 17 organizations – led by National Farmers Union – recently sent a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. The letter states that waiting to complete the next farm bill until 2013 could negatively impact the baseline needed to write a bill that would effectively deliver the programs under its jurisdiction. NFU

President Roger Johnson says many programs enacted by the 2008 Farm Bill have spent less than projected. The commodities program – originally projected to cost 41.6-billion dollars – is now projected to cost a total of 32-billion for the past five years. Johnson says disproportionate cuts to ag spending won’t help balance the national budget – but would be damaging to America’s future.

A 17.2-billion dollar 20122 ag spending bill is set for mark up today (Tuesday) in a House Appropriations Subcommittee. That’s nearly 2.7-billion dollars less than the final fiscal year 2011 amount – which was a 14-percent reduction from the year before. A legislative draft released Monday shows discretionary funding for ag research would be reduced by 354-million dollars next year. Nearly 200-million of that would come from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Cuts to nutrition spending would total more than 900-million dollars, 486-million would come from food aid and rural development would be cut by 338-million. Funding for farm loan and risk management programs would be reduced by a combined 127-million dollars. The full Appropriations Committee will hold a mark up on May 31st.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Apiary Inspectors of America have released their annual survey on winter honeybee losses for 2010-2011. Total losses from managed honey bee colonies nationwide were 30-percent for all causes last winter. Jeff Pettis – USDA Agricultural Research Service Entomologist – says this is similar to losses reported in similar surveys conducted the four previous years. He says the lack of increase in losses is marginally encouraging in the sense that the problem doesn’t appear to be getting worse for honeybees and beekeepers. However – if losses near 30-percent continue – Pettis says it could put tremendous pressure on the economic sustainability of commercial beekeeping.

According to beekeepers – losses of 13-percent would be economically acceptable – but the average loss for an individual operation was 38.4-percent. Sixty-one percent of those responding had losses greater than that 13-percent level. Of the beekeepers who lost colonies – 31-percent lost some colonies without finding dead bee bodies – a symptom of Colony Collapse Disorder. These beekeepers also reported higher average colony losses – 61-percent – compared to those who lost colonies and didn’t report the absence of dead bees – which was 34-percent.

The survey covered the period from October 2010 to April 2011. Nearly 56-hundred beekeepers – who manage more than 15-percent of the country’s estimated 2.68-million colonies – responded to the survey.

Growers across the United States are concerned about the potential for early-season pests and diseases in corn and soybean crops because of weather conditions so far this spring. Pioneer Hi-Bred experts say corn crops planted early could experience more problems than those planted later because of cooler and wetter soils. Pioneer suggests growers scout their fields and evaluate stand establishment.

Crops planted early in April could experience seed rot or damping off – which occurs when fungal pathogens like Fusarium, Pythium and Rhizoctonia are present in the soil – and seedbed conditions are challenging. Concerns of these issues may lessen in areas with delayed planting because of warmer temperatures and drier conditions. However – for growers who plant into late May – experts say those fields could be more susceptible to black cutworm – which grows larger with time – increasing the chance of cutting down newly emerged plants. When the cutworm gets to be half-an-inch long it can kill the plant because it leaves small shot holes in corn leaves – resulting in stand loss or irregular stands.

Growers also should scout for soybean diseases – such as Pythium, Phytophthora and Rhizoctonia. Experts say tracking emergence is important. Seed treatments could help reduce early season disease and pest pressures for both crops.

The American Farm Bureau Federation is now estimating that nearly 3.6-million acres of farmland have been impacted by recent flooding. Farm Bureau Chief Economist Bob Young says the effect of the flooding is being felt deeply across the south. Arkansas is at the top of the list of devastation with a million acres affected. This includes 300-thousand acres of rice and 120-thousand acres of wheat. Tennessee has reported 650-thousand acres – with Mississippi and Missouri falling next in line at 600-thousand and 570-thousand acres respectively. Illinois is estimated to have half-a-million acres under water – while Louisiana is pegged at 280-thousand acres. An estimated 40-percent of the U.S. rice crop has been impacted.

Young says it’s critical for the government to act quickly to rebuild levees and allow producers to make plans for the future. In many of the affected areas – he says agriculture is the major economic driver. He says it’s important to think about the long-term economic health of these farms and communities.