A five-minute summary of AAI, regulation, and industry activities for members of the largest state agribusiness association in the nation. | |
EPA Accepts Atrazine Science Panel Recommendations | |
EPA recently agreed with the recommendations of the atrazine Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP), removing several poor-quality studies that played a role in the agency’s recommendation for an ultra-low aquatic level of concern for atrazine. The SAP was held in August 2023 at the request of agriculture groups active in the Triazine Network. The panel considered EPA’s white paper and stakeholder comments to exclude or rescore several questionable studies used to set the aquatic concentration equivalent level of concern (CELOC).
Scientists on the panel expressed appreciation to the farmers and agriculture representatives who testified on the real-world benefits and necessities of atrazine as well as the real-world consequences of EPA’s proposed decisions. According to Triazine Network Co-Chair Mike Aerts, who also serves as vice president of Science and Regulatory Affairs for the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, hearing directly from the people using the product was a key component of the SAP.
Following the SAP, the Triazine Network requested EPA review two additional low-quality studies not included in the SAP’s charge questions. The Network has received reassurances the agency is reviewing those studies.
The Triazine Network’s request for the atrazine SAP followed EPA’s 2022 proposed revision to the Atrazine Registration Review decision. The proposal altered the atrazine CELOC from 15 ppb to 3.4 ppb using low-quality scientific studies and a flawed modeling system. If implemented, the proposed rule would have severely impacted atrazine use for 72 percent of U.S. corn acres, with similar effects for other crops.
The Triazine Network is a coalition of agriculture organizations and producers that has advocated for science-based decisions on the Triazine herbicides, including atrazine, since the mid-1990s.
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INREC Survey For 2023 Crop Season Underway - AAI Encourages Member Participation | |
The Iowa Nutrient Research & Education Council (INREC) is finishing its seventh year of surveys for measuring progress for the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. The survey is a collaboration with ag retailers and Iowa State University and utilizes a first-of-its-kind approach to using ag retailer records to track progress made by Iowa farmers with the adoption of in-field conservation practices such as cover crops, nutrient management, and reduced tillage.
Four INREC survey liaisons are traveling across the state to visit 150 randomly selected ag retail locations to conduct the survey. Ag retailer cooperation is critical to ensure a statistically significant number of surveys are completed. The survey visits are short - usually about 30 minutes - which should be manageable even with the busy schedules of ag retail staff and unseasonably warmer weather. Please return any phone calls from the INREC survey liaisons!
“INREC greatly appreciates the cooperation of ag retailers to spend time with our survey liaisons to conduct the survey and ensure statistical targets are met,” said Roger Zylstra, farmer and chair of the INREC board of directors.
Curious about results from past surveys? Visit the INREC website:
INREC Survey Results
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Iowa Ag Leaders Dinner
Attended By:
- Mark White, AAI Board Chair, Smith Fertilizer & Grain
- Brent Schwennecker, AAI Board, Bayer CropScience
- Mark Reisinger, AAI Interim CEO
- Heath DeYoung, AAI Membership Director
ACWA Board Meeting
Attended By:
- Ben Gleason, INREC Executive Director
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April 4
AAI Board of Directors Meeting
10:00 AM | Northey Building Board Room
July 25
AAI Golf Outing - Okoboji
Emerald Hills Golf Club
August 15
AAI Golf Outing - Amana
Amana Colonies Golf Club
September Golf Outing On The Way - Stay Tuned!
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4-H Survey of Ag Industry Workforce Needs | |
For more than 100 years, 4-H has been helping youth to be prepared members of the workforce. To continue that effort, Iowa 4-H is excited to be a part of a multi-state, multi-year grant through USDA-NIFA to build awareness of the full range of career pathways in the food and agriculture sector. You can help by completing this anonymous, 10-minute survey on job recruitment practices, retention, and training needs in your industry.
Click link below to participate in the survey:
Iowa Food, Agriculture, & Related Businesses Workforce Needs Survey
Please complete this survey by March 31. The employer survey is important and will help us better understand the agricultural workforce needs. Information gathered from the survey will enhance 4-H Youth Development initiatives to promote agricultural careers, and help 4-H programs better prepare youth to be successful in the agricultural industry. For questions or to stay informed about the study results, contact Cayla Taylor at cayla@iastate.edu.
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The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) is expressing concern about the Environmental Protection Agency’s release last Friday of its draft formaldehyde risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for public comment and peer review.
“The AFIA has strong concerns with the EPA’s draft risk evaluation of formaldehyde, which is one of the most well-studied chemicals in use today. The chemical has been safely used in the U.S. animal food industry for over 40 years via accurate automated equipment that significantly minimizes employee exposure as an effective way to control food safety pathogens in feed,” stated AFIA’s Vice President of Public Policy and Education Leah Wilkinson.
There is also emerging research that shows formaldehyde may be a very effective tool to mitigate the African swine fever (ASF) virus, but not if that tool is taken away from the animal food industry, she added. “The U.S. animal food industry must have access to this safe and effective tool.”
The AFIA has been working closely with other animal agriculture groups and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) to oppose EPA’s efforts to further regulate formaldehyde. The ACC’s Formaldehyde Panel said the EPA’s peer review on formaldehyde, to date, “has been limited and is insufficient to meet the scientific standards for a TSCA risk evaluation.”
“Over 40 years of scientific studies by universities and independent scientists have been used by U.S. government agencies and international regulatory bodies to establish a safe level of formaldehyde exposure. There are dozens of peer-reviewed publications that support the safe use of formaldehyde at current regulatory levels."
[...] Read Full Story
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The nonprofit American Farmland Trust has launched a new U.S. Farmed certification and packaging seal for products that derive at least 95 percent of their agricultural ingredients from farms in the United States. Anheuser-Busch, the nation’s largest brewer, will be the first adopter of this new initiative, using the seal on several of its beer brands.
The goal is that this certification will help empower consumers to directly benefit U.S. farmers and invest in the future of domestic ingredient sourcing, helping to ensure a vibrant and thriving agricultural sector in America. The seal will first appear on Anheuser-Busch’s Busch Light beer this May, while Budweiser, Bud Light, and Michelob ULTRA beers have also obtained the U.S. Farmed certification.
“American farmers are the backbone of this country, and Anheuser-Busch has been deeply connected to the U.S. agricultural community and committed to sourcing high-quality ingredients from U.S. farmers for more than 165 years — that’s who we are,” Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said in a news release. “We source nearly all the ingredients in our iconic American beers from hard-working U.S. farmers — many of whom we have worked with for generations. The U.S. Farmed certification takes our commitment to the next level, and we are proud to lead the industry in rallying behind American farmers to ensure the future of U.S. agriculture, which is crucial to our country’s economy. We look forward to other companies joining us in seeking U.S. Farmed certification for their products so that together we can make an even greater impact and show our support for American farmers.”
Becoming U.S. Farmed costs an annual $5,000 certificate fee as well as requiring a licensing royalty/contribution, which is done on a sliding scale based on the company’s estimated sales.
[...] Read Full Story
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Source: DTN Progressive Farmer
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Bayer plans to step up its fight against Roundup lawsuits in and out of courtrooms by beefing up its litigation team and continuing to work for legislative reform to protect companies against so-called risk warning lawsuits, CEO Bill Anderson said during a company event earlier in March.
Bayer testified in favor of bills in three states that would help protect companies from risk-warning lawsuits such as those involving Roundup.
The company hosted its "Capital Markets Day" event on March 5 during which Anderson said the company would do more to address litigation.
Because Bayer has been experiencing financial losses many shareholders have called on the company to split into three separate businesses -- crop science, consumer health and pharmaceuticals.
"Our priority is on tackling our challenges, boosting performance and creating strategic flexibility," Anderson told investors. "We are convinced that this approach is what's best for Bayer. So, for the next 24 to 36 months, that's where we'll put our energy and focus."
The billions of dollars spent on Roundup and other lawsuits are dragging on the company's ability to offer new products to farmers, Anderson said. "This is a huge burden on our financials and our ability to invest in better medicines and solutions to feed the world."
The company is hiring new "external counsel" and adding a "litigation expert" to Bayer's supervisory board in preparation for more Roundup cases upcoming in 2024, Anderson said.
"We continue to see reductions of awards by roughly 90% on average," he said about the Roundup cases.
[...] Read Full Story
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In our rapidly industrialized world, the quest for sustainable materials has never been more urgent. Plastics, ubiquitous in daily life, pose significant environmental challenges, primarily due to their fossil fuel origins and problematic disposal.
Now, a study led by Jeremy Luterbacher's team at EPFL unveils a pioneering approach to producing high-performance plastics from renewable resources. The research, published in Nature Sustainability, introduces a novel method for creating polyamides—a class of plastics known for their strength and durability, the most famous of which are nylons—using a sugar core derived from agricultural waste.
The new method leverages a renewable resource, and also achieves this transformation efficiently and with minimal environmental impact.
"Typical, fossil-based plastics need aromatic groups to give rigidity to their plastics—this gives them performance properties like hardness, strength, and high-temperature resistance," says Luterbacher. "Here, we get similar results but use a sugar structure, which is ubiquitous in nature and generally completely non-toxic, to provide rigidity and performance properties."
Lorenz Manker, the study's lead author, and his colleagues developed a catalyst-free process to convert dimethyl glyoxylate xylose, a stabilized carbohydrate made directly from biomass such as wood or corn cobs, into high-quality polyamides. The process achieves an impressive atom efficiency of 97%, meaning almost all the starting material is used in the final product, which drastically reduces waste.
[...] Read Full Story
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