A five-minute summary of AAI, regulation, and industry activities for members of the largest state agribusiness association in the nation. | | |
EPA Re-evaluating Atrazine Registration; Comments Due September 6 | |
EPA re-evaluated the current atrazine level of concern (LOC), which is 15 ppb, and proposed a revised interim decision to lower the LOC to 3.4 ppb with additional label mitigation measures required for atrazine use. EPA is taking public comments until September 6, 2022. After considering public comments on the proposed revisions to the atrazine interim decision, EPA will determine if any changes are warranted to the proposed revisions and then release its decision on this re-evaluation. EPA also intends to seek external peer review of the risks to the aquatic plant community that underlies this proposed risk management strategy.
The proposed rule will impact more than 70% of U.S. corn acres, significantly reducing application rates while requiring additional conservation practices and reporting procedures. These restrictions will impact more than 90 herbicide formulations. EPA estimates the cost to replace atrazine is $42/acre from alternative herbicide use and reduced yields. Atrazine is a vital tool for farmers across the nation, and it is especially important for weed control to farmers who implement conservation tillage or no-till farming.
AAI is planning a member feedback virtual meeting regarding the atrazine issue in August. Please watch your inbox and next week’s Take Five for more details.
Those wishing to submit their own comments may do so at the following link:
EPA Atrazine Regulations Docket
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HPAI Quarantine Restrictions Lifted on Last Commercial Poultry Site In Iowa | |
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship today announced that the last commercial Iowa poultry farm has been released from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) quarantine restrictions. The restrictions prohibited the movement of poultry and poultry products on or off the affected premises and were lifted after the farm cleared all HPAI testing protocols and quarantine requirements.
"This year's outbreak was thankfully much smaller than the one in 2015 in large part due to the lessons learned and positive changes implemented by farmers, our team at the Iowa Department of Agriculture, and USDA. Moving forward, we will work with partners to assess this year's response to ensure that we are even better prepared for any future disease challenges that may arise," said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.
The latest site released from quarantine is a commercial turkey farm in Bremer County. The requirements for release include, but are not limited to, cleaning, disinfection, and environmental sampling of the infected premises.
“Since February HPAI has impacted U.S. poultry farmers. Today’s announcement, lifting the last commercial site quarantine in Iowa, is great news,” said Gretta Irwin, Iowa Turkey Federation Executive Director. “The fact that in 2022, Iowa had nine HPAI turkey cases instead of 71 in 2015 shows that proactive plans and focused changes by Iowa’s turkey farmers helped to reduce the number of cases.”
Quarantines remain in effect on four backyard flock sites and will be lifted as requirements for release are met.
View the Full Press Release from IDALS
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National Groups Submit Comments On Clean Water Act Hazardous Substance Worst Case Discharge Planning Rule | |
Comments on the proposed rule by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Hazardous Substances was recently submitted by a coalition of interested parties including The Fertilizer Institute and Agricultural Retailers Association.
Among the concerns with the rule are:
- A small fraction of all spills are from non-transportation facilities. Additionally, an even smaller fraction reached a water way, and that number continues to diminish over time with voluntary prevention measures.
- The rule depends on WOTUS, which is currently undefined in the court system.
- Much of the regulation is duplicative with EPA’s Risk Management Plan (RMP) requirements and EPA’s Pesticide Container and Containment (PCC) regulations.
- Ambiguous language and specific parameters that do not address actual facility risks.
AAI will continue to monitor this issue in conjunction with our national partners.
Press Release from ARA
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Next Outing In September. Register Now! | |
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AAI Golf Outings
July 21
Emerald Hills Golf Course - Okoboji, Iowa
September 7
Amana Colonies Golf Club - Amana, Iowa
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Okoboji Golf Outing
Thanks to everyone who made our July 21 event a great success and a great day on the golf course! Don't forget to register for our September event.
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GRAIN GRADING WORKSHOPS
Registration Open!
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Grain Grading Workshops
August 23 & 24
Location:
Zeigler CAT
1500 Ziegler Dr NW
Altoona, Iowa
Participant Fees:
AAI Member - $130
Non-Member - $155
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3 Seats Remaining For This Event | | |
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Advanced Grain Elevator Operations Management Short Course
August 8 – 11, 2022
Jeff and Deb Hansen Agriculture
Student Learning Center
2508 Mortensen Road | Ames, Iowa
Course Tuition:
AAI Member - $1050 | Non-Member - $1200
Click Here for Additional Course Information
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It's the Soil That Makes the Crop
Iowa Certified Crop Adviser Summer Workshop
August 5, 2022
Field Extension Education Lab | Boone, Iowa
Registration:
Showcase Attendee Rate - $50 | Regular Attendee - $75
This event is open to all agribusiness professionals who want to expand their knowledge base and acquire up-to-date information on agronomic issues and developments.
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A top notch program to expand knowledge, acquire CEUs, and reinforce the role of attendees as the primary expert for grower clients.
TOPICS & SPEAKERS
Iowa Nutrient Research & Education Council (INREC) Update
- Presenter: Ben Gleason, Executive Director, INREC
Nitrogen Trialing Effort & MRTN Model Update
- Presenter: Sotirios Archontoulis, Iowa State Unversity
Soil DNA Analysis
- Presenter: Al Toops, BiomeMakers
Tissue Sampling & Soil Micronutrients
- Presenter: Matt Clover, Corteva Agriscience
Disease Management
- Presenter: Kurt Maertens, BASF
Plant Breeding for Disease Resistance - Tentative
- Presenters: Dr. Leah Stirling- Seed, Research and Development- Research Scientist | Dr. Jordan Spear- Seed, Research and Development- IMPACT Lead
Risk Management
- Presenter: Dave Reddel, Wilbur Ellis
Agribusiness Association Update
- Presenter: Bill Northey, CEO, Agribusiness Association of Iowa
Click Here for Detailed Schedule Information
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Meetings and events attended by AAI:
Cedar Creek Watershed Saturated Buffer Field Day - Featuring Secretary of Agriculture Naig
INREC Executive Director Ben Gleason
Agribusiness Leadership Academy Washington D.C. Experience
CEO Bill Northey; Matt Van Weelden, Two Rivers Cooperative; Nick Hageman, Two Rivers Cooperative; Alexis Stephens Iowa State University
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AAI Main Office closes at Noon on Fridays through Labor Day
August 2
Showcase Committee Meeting
9:00 AM | AAI Board Room
August 8-11
IGQI-AAI Advanced Grain Elevator Operations
Management Short Course
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
August 23
Legislative Committee Meeting
10:00 AM | AAI Board Room
August 23 & 24
Grain Grading Workshop
Zeigler CAT | Altoona, Iowa
August 29
Joint Transportation & Grain Committees Meeting
10:00 AM | AAI Board Room
September 7
AAI Golf Outing - Amana Colonies
Amana, Iowa | Click Here to Register
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WATCH THE AGRIBUSINESS REPORT | | |
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While consumers average rating for their current financial situation is in the middle between “poor” and “excellent,” 87% are buying more or the same amount of fresh chicken now compared to six months ago, according to new National Chicken Council (NCC) research.
The study focused on current and anticipated U.S. consumer behavior, specifically, consumption of fresh chicken. The results suggest opportunities for chicken to maintain market share. IRI provided supporting data from its retail databases. The study was commissioned by NCC and conducted online by IRI June 30 – July 5, 2022, among 537 U.S. adults.
During the past six months, 99% of those surveyed said they eat meals made with fresh chicken more than once a month; 88% do so more than once a week.
U.S. consumers plan to buy more chicken than other types of protein in the twelve months ahead. Chicken purchasers cite nutrition, value and versatility as the top reasons for consuming more chicken. When asked about the fresh proteins they plan to consume in the next 6-12 months, 37% said they plan to consume more chicken, while 15% plan to consume more beef and 14% plan to eat more pork.
Eight-five percent of respondents recognize that chicken prices are higher than at the start of the year. When asked why they believe those prices are rising, 52% said higher energy and gas prices, 44% said higher wages and worker shortages across supply chains, and 42% cited higher prices for chicken feed.
[...] Read Full Story
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Mechanical engineer Gregory Groeneveld picked up a 30-pound construction building block at Just Bio Fiber’s headquarters in Alberta, Canada. The block isn’t a traditional concrete cinder block. It’s made of fast-growing sustainable industrial hemp and looks like an oversized Lego.
Despite the historical social stigma of hemp, often thought to be the same as the psychoactive drug marijuana, industrial hemp won’t get you high. Hempcrete blocks used in construction don’t look or smell like a marijuana plant. They’re nearly odorless with a grayish earth-tone color.
In the U.S., most state officials define industrial hemp “as a variety of cannabis with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of not more than 0.3 percent.” Although industrial hemp has been legal to import into the U.S. since 1998, it has been illegal to cultivate commercially since 1957.
But that changed with the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill. The bill removed the designation of hemp as a Schedule I drug and reclassified it as an agricultural product, opening the market to American farmers once again.
For Canadian hempcrete manufacturing companies like Just Bio Fiber, sourcing locally grown industrial hemp is fairly easy since a supply chain already exists. Canadian farmers have legally cultivated industrial hemp for more than two decades and exported this cash crop to the U.S. since 1999.
[...] Read Full Story
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Source: Progressive Farmer
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With the long-term drought, or essentially the change in climate, and steady decline of water supplies on the Colorado River, residents in states such as California are increasingly suggesting why can't we pipe water to western dams much like we pipe oil now?
This isn't a new debate, but it's a topic that's going to come up more and more as water levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell continue to shrink.
This past weekend I received an email about an editorial in the Waterways Journal, "Drought Revives Mississippi River Pipe Dreams." The editorial noted the debate going on through columns and letters to the editor in the Palm Springs, Calif., newspaper over the possibility of piping water from the Mississippi River to Lake Powell in northern Arizona.
Looking at nothing more than Google Maps, getting water the Mississippi River to Lake Powell is 1,459-mile journey from Baton Rouge, La.
Debate is heightening as states in the Colorado River are proposing cuts in water use for next year to keep Powell and Mead from reaching critically low levels -- points at which the Glen Canyon Dam could stop generating hydropower. Right now, the Bureau of Reclamation pegs it at nearly a one-in-four chance (23%) that Lake Powell is not generating power in summer 2024.
[...] Read Full Story
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The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) published a study on the use of E30 in non-flex fuel vehicles in February 2021. The study involved 50 non-flex fuel vehicles that used varying levels of octane to show the contrast between ethanol and carbon dioxide emissions.
Results from the UNL study show that if 10% of Nebraska’s non-flex fuel vehicles switched from E10 to E30, carbon dioxide emissions would decrease by 64,000 tons per year.
These numbers echoed throughout the ethanol industry, igniting a call to action in some Midwestern states.
Marcy Kohl, director of communications and corporate affairs at Glacial Lakes Energy in South Dakota, says her team is well aware of E30’s benefits and they’re pushing for the state to maximize on those opportunities.
“By fueling the state's fleet with E-30, you save $6 for every 15 gallons of fuel. What does that mean for the South Dakota taxpayer?" Kohl asked. "We've been trying to put that pressure on Noem, but she won't return our calls. We are asking her to support local agriculture, ethanol and the South Dakota economy by fueling the fleet with E-30."
South Dakota wasn’t the only state to catch wind of Nebraska’s ethanol study. After being published, the results quickly made their way to The Hill.
[...] 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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