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CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Iowa Agribusiness Network!
CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
An Iowa businessman has returned from Brazil where his company helped the country open its first large-scale corn ethanol production plant. Summit Agricultural Group C-E-O Bruce Rastetter, of Alden, says Brazil has previously made most of its ethanol from sugar cane. But the country now has gone to a two-season crop system that has increased the amount of corn available.
“Because of the weather and the rainfall they have been able to move to produce a crop of soybeans, and plant the corn the next day in January and February when harvest the corn in May and June,” Rastetter explains. “So that ability has allowed them to grow to significant corn production on second crop — which allows the opportunity for corn ethanol.”
The 115 million-dollar ethanol plant will annually process 22 million bushels of corn and produce more than 60 million gallons of corn ethanol along with 62-hundred tons of corn oil and 170-thousand tons of feed rations for Brazil’s growing livestock industry. Rastetter says the plant keeps the additional corn production in Brazil — which is good news for Iowa. “For them to produce value in their country — producing energy with it and also then the high-quality livestock feed alongside of it — is probably pretty important to the American farmer when we see large grain surpluses here in the U-S,” according to Rastetter.
He says Brazil already uses more ethanol than the United States, as their minimum ethanol blend with gasoline is 27-and-half percent compared to 10 percent in the U-S. And he doesn’t expect the increased ethanol production to hurt the U-S. He says the U-S exported about 500 million gallons of ethanol to Brazil last year and the number is increasing. And while their home produced ethanol might cut into that, he says other countries like China, Europe and those in Southeast Asia will use more ethanol in the future.
Rastetter says exporting ethanol is not the problem here, he says it needs to be offered in more blends at the pumps like Brazil.”The U-S needs to move form 10 percent to 15 to 20 percent ethanol blends. That’s the problem for the industry, it’s part of the problem for agriculture,”Rastetter says. “Over the last eight years we haven’t seen ethanol use increase in the U-S, production go from 12 billion to 15 billion gallons.”
Rastetter says the new plant used some parts that are only made in the U-S along with some production expertise from a company called I-C-M Incorporated of Colwich, Kansas. He doesn’t think this will be the only modern ethanol plant built there. “We have terrific support from the government..the president of the country as at the inauguration as were a number of ag businesses, farmers and governors. So, we are excited about the opportunity,” Rastetter says.
Rastetter’s company partnered with a Brazilian firm known as Fiagril (Fee-uh-Grill) to build the plant. They broke ground on the facility in early 2016.
(Radio Iowa)
A farm equipment manufacturer is wrapping up a tour of the Upper Midwest highlighting “common planting mistakes.” Joe Whorton, with AGCO, says they’ve set up 10-acre demonstration fields across Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and South Dakota. “What we’re trying to do is bring customers out and really get in the field and highlight what type of yield impacts common mistakes can have on your operation, with the idea farmers can take this knowledge home and try to do a little bit better job next year,” Whorton said.
Each plot includes strips comparing plant emergence, season-long plant progress, and how variables impact yield. “Things like incorrect depths, too much down-force which can create compaction, and incorrect spacing and singulation,” Whorton said. Data from the demonstration fields will be collected and made available online (at agcocropcare.com).
AGCO planter
“We’ll have yield estimates, and then in the October timeframe, when we come back and combine this corn – we’ll be capturing yield data to really quantify exactly the impact different depths, spacing (and) down-pressure have on your operation,” Whorton said.
The AGCO crop tour ends today (Friday) with a stop in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The tour’s only stop in Iowa was in New Hampton last Thursday (August 10).
(Radio Iowa, w/reporting by Mark Dorenkamp, Brownfield Ag News)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly report shows drought conditions continue to burden the rural economy in parts of 10 Plains and Western states. The overall Rural Mainstreet Index for the region rose slightly in August to 42.2 from July’s abysmally low 40.7. The index ranges between 0 and 100, with any number under 50 indicating a shrinking economy.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, says nearly 58 percent of bankers reported in August’s survey that drought conditions were having a negative effect on agriculture products in their area. Also, bankers expect farmland prices to decline by another 3.5 percent on average over the next year.
Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
We’ve heard for months that it’s a possibility, and Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey says he’s still under consideration for a top job at the U-S Department of Agriculture. Northey says he’s been told a background check is underway. “I think it’s getting closer but I don’t know how close it is,” Northey says. “I think I’m still going through the vetting process and the discussion pieces and I think it’s still moving along. I think it’s still very possible that it’ll happen but no announcement yet.”
Northey says he’s impressed with the team U-S Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue is putting together. All three of the top appointees so far are from the Midwest, including one from Iowa. “I’m very excited about the three that have been announced that are up for their hearing in September,” Northey says. “It’ll be wonderful whether I get to Washington or not, I look forward to working with them, either as Secretary of Ag from Iowa or as a fellow undersecretary.”
President Trump has nominated Steve Censky of Minnesota as his deputy and Ted McKinney of Indiana and Sam Clovis of Hinton, Iowa, as undersecretaries.
(Radio Iowa)
A Southwest Iowa Beginner and Young Farmers group will host the third meeting in the series for the Start to Farm: New Farmer Learning Network, organized by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, on August 23, 2017. Start to Farm is a statewide program designed to provide education and support for beginning and early-career agricultural producers.
The SW Iowa group will meet several times throughout the year to discuss farm management and beef cattle production topics. Based on priorities and specific topics determined by the group, they will discuss production techniques, ways to grow and improve business practices, and farm management strategies.
Production topics include: winter nutrition, reproduction management, preconditioning, nutrition management, low-stress weaning, pregnancy checking, body condition scoring and more.
Farm Financial topics include: developing farm financial statements, using key financial rations and indicators, managing cash flow, financing capital assets and livestock economies.
Participants will participate in a wide variety of activities, including the opportunity to learn about resources available to get started and tour successful farming operations. They also will become part of a community of Iowa beginning farmers.
There is no registration fee for this program. It will be held in the White 4-H Exhibit Building at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Red Oak, Iowa. The program will begin at 6:30 pm, and it will end at 8:30 pm. The address is 1809 4th Street, Red Oak, Iowa.
For more information contact Montgomery County Extension at 712-623-2592.
ISU Extension and Outreach connects the needs of Iowans with Iowa State University research and resources. We provide education and partnerships designed to solve today’s problems, prepare for the future and help Iowans make informed decisions. The Montgomery County office is located at 400 Bridge Street in Red Oak. You can contact us at 712.623.2592 or through our website at www.extension.iastate.edu/montgomery ,or “like” Montgomery County-IA Extension on Facebook!
(Press Release)
If you wish to hunt deer this season, don’t forget to pickup your license. The Iowa DNR says licenses to pursue Iowa’s world class deer herd went on sale Tuesday, Aug. 15th, at more than 700 license sales agents statewide and online at www.iowadnr.gov.
Resident Iowa hunters may purchase one any deer license for a gun season, one any deer license for archery season and one county specific antlerless deer only license. The number of county specific license quotas for antlerless deer only has changed for 22 counties – 11 counties quotas increased and 11 counties quotas decreased. Hunters may purchase one antlerless only deer license until Sept. 15, then as many as they want until the season ends or quotas fill.
The price of an Iowa deer license is $28.50. Excluding fees for license vendors and required $1 fee to fund Help Us Stop Hunger, the price of an Iowa deer license has remained the same since 1991.
All of the milk collected from dairy cows being shown at the 11-day Iowa State Fair will be dumped. In years past, the milk was sold to a Des Moines area co-op for production into cheese. This year, however, the longstanding buyer backed out and no one else stepped up. Dairy farmer Doug Lyons of Castalia says it’s a commentary on the larger picture of the dairy industry. “It’s just a fine way of saying we have too much milk in the country and we don’t have to mess with it, we’re not gonna take the chance,” Lyons says. “That’s why they’re not doing it.”
Dairy farmers at the fair can milk their cows in the popular, window-lined milking parlor. Fairgoers can watch as cows are led into stalls and connected to milking machines. Lyons says it’s unfortunate the milk is all going to waste. “I did get paid for the milk and it did help, but showing cows is not a money maker,” Lyons says. “It’s more just for advertising the farm.”
Lyons says when his herd generates attention at the fair, that can lead to breeding sales down the road. The state fair runs through Sunday.
(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Amy Mayer, Iowa Public Radio)
Dry weather continues to impact Iowa’s corn and soybean crop. The U-S-D-A weekly crop released Monday afternoon shows corn condition declined so three percent of the crop is in very poor condition compared to two percent last week. Nine percent is rated in poor condition, compared to eight percent rated that way last week. Eighty-one percent of the corn crop is rated in fair to good condition — but just nine percent is rated excellent.
The soybean crop also saw a drop with four percent rated in very poor condition — compared to three percent last week. The report shows 11 of the soybeans are no rated in poor condition — an increase of two percent compared to last week. Seventy-eight percent of the bean crop is rated in fair or good condition, with just seven percent rated in excellent shape.
(Radio Iowa)
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