A five-minute summary of AAI, regulation, and industry activities for members of the largest state agribusiness association in the nation. | |
Comments From AAI Submitted to EPA on Dicamba Registration Review | |
Dicamba is up for a regularly scheduled review by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Earlier this week, comments were submitted by the Agribusiness Association of Iowa encouraging continued approval of this important crop protection product. An excerpt of the letter is below:
Dicamba has been in use since the 1960’s. Since then, it has a proven record for safe, economical, and effective weed control. EPA should continue to maintain the registration of dicamba products based on peer-reviewed science and data that continue to show it is safe when applied according to the label.
EPA strongly encouraged Iowa’s development of the Iowa Pest Resistance Management Program to protect Iowa crops from costly pest resistance. AAI plays an active role in this program, and we need multiple modes of action and timing of applications available to applicators to battle the costly development of pest resistance. Dicamba is an important tool for managing resistance that has developed in some weeds to multiple herbicide modes of action. It is important for applicators to continue to have both pre- and post-emergence dicamba application options as part of their available toolkit to successfully control weeds and pesticide resistance.
Read the full comments at the link below:
AAI Dicamba Comments
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Thank You 2023 AAI Members | |
The following list of members have recently completed their membership investment for 2023.
Thank you for your membership!
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- BinSentry Inc.
- Rosen's
- Vicam-A Waters Business
- AgriSmart
- AGP
- Kohlhaas Ag Aviation
- Van Diest Supply Company
- Quad Commodities Marketing
- Pella Feed Service Inc.
- Oakland Corp
- Aspinwall Coop Co
- Nationwide Agribusiness
- Van Maanen Seed & Chemical
- United Cooperative
- Two Rivers Coop
- Sukup Manufacturing Co
- Steinbeck & Sons Inc.
- SoilView LLC
- Merschman Fertilizer LLC
- Meriwether Wilson and Co, PLLC
- Juhl Feed, Inc.
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- Gardiner + Company
- Fivestar Cooperative
- Farmers Mill Inc. - Protivin
- CR Conveying Inc.
- Bruntlett Elevator Inc.
- Berkley Insurance Company
- B.B. & P. Feed & Grain Inc.
- Aurora Elevator Inc.
- Ag Solutions Group
- Adair Feed & Grain Co
- agriCareers Inc.
- Allied Gas & Chemical Co
- LeMars Agri-Center Inc.
- White Commercial
- St Ansgar Mills Inc.
- Ewing Enterprises Inc.
- D&J Feed Service
- CCS Group LLC
- Cartersville Elevator Inc.
- Agriland FS Inc.
- Advanced Crop Management
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Election Information - Vote November 8 | |
The upcoming mid-term elections will take place on Tuesday, November 8.
Below are a few resources for getting registered, finding your voting location, and absentee voting.
REGISTER TO VOTE
If you are not currently registered to vote in the state of Iowa, the following link provides information and access to voter registration options:
https://voterready.iowa.gov/registertovote/
FIND YOUR POLLING PLACE
As part of redistricting, your polling place may have changed. Visit the following website to find your polling location:
https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterreg/pollingplace/search.aspx
IMPORTANT DATES
Wednesday, October 19
- First Day of Absentee Voting
Monday, October 24
- Pre-registration Deadline
- Deadline to Request Absentee Ballot to be Mailed
Saturday, November 5
- Auditors’ Offices Open for Absentee Voting
Monday, November 7
- Absentee Ballot In-Person Deadline
Tuesday, November 8
- General Election Day
- Absentee Ballots Receipt Deadline
HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION?
Visit https://voterready.iowa.gov/ to find detailed information and answers to voting and election questions.
Visit your county auditor site to find sample ballots and detailed election information specific to where you live:
https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/auditors/AuditorsList.html
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Meetings and events attended by AAI:
World Food Prize Foundation Borlaug Dialogue
In Attendance: AAI CEO Bill Northey
BIO, CropLife, RISE Midwest Issues Summit
In Attendance: AAI CEO Bill Northey, AAI CFO Joan O'Brien, INREC Executive Director Ben Gleason
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Iowa Nitrogen Initiative Seeks Participants for Rate Trials | We encourage AAI members to identify farmers, crop advisors, and variable rate applicators willing to take part in this initiative. | |
Using the latest advances in precision agriculture, the Iowa Nitrogen Initiative is seeking the help of farmers, crop advisers, and variable rate applicators to deploy hundreds of on-farm, scientifically robust trials every year.
Participating in the nitrogen trials is easy. Farmers commit to reserving a small portion of their farm field (four to seven acres) for a personalized variable rate nitrogen prescription. All other farming decisions, including the nitrogen application for the rest of the field, remain with the farmer. A well-calibrated yield monitor and variable rate nitrogen application are required.
Farmers, crop advisers, and variable rate applicators interested in participating should contact Melissa Miller, Project Director for the Iowa Nitrogen Initiative, by emailing millerms@iastate.edu or calling 515-567-0607. Learn more at agron.iastate.edu/ini.
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Asian Copperleaf Found In Iowa - IDALS Urges Reports Of Sightings | |
A weed first discovered in Black Hawk County in 2016 has again been spotted in 2022, nearly 30 miles away in Grundy County. Due to its potential threat to row crops, the Iowa Department of Agriculture is asking Iowans to report any sightings to determine the potential scale of the infestation.
Asian copperleaf was detected in both fields during crop harvest. Thus, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) is requesting that farmers and others in the agricultural industry keep an eye out for this plant as fields are harvested.
Full details for identification can be found here:
https://iowaagriculture.gov/news/report-asian-copperleaf
Contact IDALS If Found
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Iowa State University are interested in determining how widespread the weed is across the state. By determining how much area is infested with this weed, a better estimate of the risk it poses to Iowa crop production can be made.
If you detect the plant, please contact IDALS at 515-725-1470 or e-mail entomology@iowaagriculture.gov.
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WATCH THE AGRIBUSINESS REPORT | | |
Source: Progressive Farmer
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Conflict and climate were repeated themes in the opening sessions of the World Food Prize Foundation's Norman Borlaug International Dialogue on Tuesday.
The annual event typically highlights scientific and policy in dealing with both the challenges and success stories in global food production. The World Food Prize event this year is focused heavily on fragile food supply chains and the disruption caused by the war in Ukraine.
A few themes were repeated by keynote speakers and panelists when it comes to the rise in global hunger and risks to both food production and delivery.
1. CONFLICT
Conflict is both a cause and effect of food insecurity, said Cary Fowler, a special envoy for global food security at the State Department
"What happens in Ukraine doesn't stay in Ukraine," he said.
The war has shifted the focus of the State Department more on food production and aid challenges, as Fowler came on to the department in that role last spring.
The war plays into fertilizer production and access due heavily to Russian natural gas supplies. Natural gas makes up 85% of the cost of nitrogen fertilizer. With the gas supply to Europe being squeezed, roughly 75% of nitrogen production in Europe is idled right now because of limited access and high natural gas prices.
[...] Read Full Story
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Farmers Business Network (FBN), the global AgTech platform and farmer-to-farmer network, released its first Fertilizer Price Transparency Report, an in-depth examination of how rapidly increasing fertilizer prices will impact farmers’ application rates this fall and planting decisions next year. The report is based on FBN member input on fall fertilizer price quotes, their 2022 application rates, and a preview of their 2023 crop plans. FBN’s analysis exposed widespread fertilizer price variation across regions–especially with nitrogen fertilizer–which could suggest a lack of price transparency with possible implications for 2023 crop plans. The FBN analysis of 2022 fertilizer prices and the impact of extreme price increases on farmers’ fall application rates and 2023 cropping decisions is the most comprehensive research to date on the topic.
“With natural gas prices still high and major market disruptions due to the Russia-Ukraine war, we don’t expect fertilizer prices to normalize in time for farmers’ 2023 crop planning,” said FBN Chief Economist Kevin McNew. “The widespread regional variation in fertilizer prices–about twice as much with nitrogen fertilizers as potash fertilizers–could be symptomatic of the same lack of transparency FBN has previously exposed in other input markets such as seed. A lack of price transparency can impact ROI significantly, tighten operational budgets, and make crop planning for next year even tougher for farmers in an already challenging environment.”
FBN also introduced its new Nitrogen Planning Tool in the FBN app, offering U.S corn farmers a personalized nitrogen recommendation that considers fertilizer price, expected yield, and expected crop sale price. This tool leverages data from 12 universities across the corn belt that have been running nitrogen tests across their states for more than 20 years to calculate the Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN). The tool is free to FBN members; FBN membership is also free.
[...] Read Full Story
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Soy — which comes from soybean plants and is one of the largest commodities produced in modern American agriculture — is one of those foods that gets demonized so often that you may tend to avoid it without really even knowing why.
From claims of breast-cancer-causing phytoestrogens to causing “man boobs” and decreased sperm count, you can see why people may decide to “play it safe” when it comes to soy. But are the fears warranted, or is it just another case of sensationalism and fearmongering? After all, known soybean cultivation dates back almost 5,000 years, so it’s been part of human society for a long time.
Let’s take a look at some of the claims about soy along with the actual scientific evidence to see how they stack up.
1. Claim: Phytoestrogens in soy cause breast cancer
Soy contains a high concentration of isoflavones, a class of phytoestrogens, which are estrogen-like compounds derived from plants. Soy isoflavones can bind to estrogen receptors in the body, but with much weaker effects. Decades of research has looked at a potential link between soy isoflavones and breast cancer, and the data is reassuring.
A 2022 meta-analysis of soy isoflavones and breast cancer risk showed that, “The data were indicative of a clear inverse correlation between the amount of isoflavones consumed and breast cancer occurrence in pre- and post-menopausal women. The consumption of soy isoflavones can reduce the risk of breast cancer in pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women.”
[...] Read Full Story
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A common weed provides crucial hints about how to develop drought-resistant crops.
Purslane, also known as Portulaca oleracea, combines two different metabolic pathways to produce a unique sort of photosynthesis that allows the plant to withstand drought while remaining extremely productive, according to Yale University scientists. The researchers recently published their findings in the journal Science Advances.
“This is a very rare combination of traits and has created a kind of ‘super plant’ — one that could be potentially useful in endeavors such as crop engineering,” said Yale’s Erika Edwards, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and senior author of the paper.
Plants have developed a diverse set of processes to enhance photosynthesis, the process by which green plants utilize sunlight to synthesize nutrients from carbon dioxide and water. Corn and sugarcane, for example, evolved C4 photosynthesis, which allows the plant to stay productive at high temperatures. Succulents, such as cacti and agaves, have another kind of photosynthesis known as CAM photosynthesis, which allows them to live in deserts and other dry regions. C4 and CAM have different functions, yet they both use the same biochemical pathway to act as “add-ons” to conventional photosynthesis.
Purslane is unique in that it exhibits both of these evolutionary adaptations, allowing it to be both highly productive and drought tolerant, an unusual combination for a plant. Most scientists assumed that C4 and CAM operated independently inside purslane leaves.
[...] Read Full Story
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THE AGRIBUSINESS REPORT
Follow host David Geiger on Twitter:
@geigerreports
Watch daily broadcast live:
KCRG-TV Cedar Rapids
WHO-TV Des Moines
KYOU-TV Ottumwa
Watch online any time:
https://agribiz.org/report
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