TB Testing continues in Nebraska  
Leslie Smith, KNEB Farm Director

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture is in 10th week of testing for Bovine Tuberculosis.  All TB test results have been negative on the approximately 10,100 head of cattle tested between June 15th and August 16th. Twenty two herds in twelve counties remain quarantined.  Christian Kamm, NDA Public Information Officer says over 15 thousand head of cattle will be tested in Nebraska.  Testing is tentatively scheduled to be completed by early November.   Cattle remain quarantined in Antelope, Boyd, Brown, Buffalo, Cedar, Colfax, Dundy, Holt, Loup, Nance, Pierce and Rock counties.  The investigation began in early June when a cow from a Rock County beef herd had tested positive for bovine TB. A second cow from that herd later also tested positive for the disease.  The epidemiological investigation involves locating any cattle that may have been pastured next to the infected herd during the past two years, as well as tracing cattle movement into and out of the herd during that time frame.



Soybean Cyst Nematode Mgt Field Day in Herman Rescheduled

UNL Extension Educator in Burt County, John Wilson, says because of the weather, we are rescheduling the Soybean Cyst Nematode Management Field Day, originally scheduled for the evening of August 26, to Monday, August 31st.  The time and location are the same... 6:30 p.m., 1 mile south of Herman on Hwy 75 and 2.5 miles east on County Road P4. If you can help us get the word out on this, it would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!

Editor's note:  Here's the notice, John!  Producers, SCN stole 25 million dollars in profits from soybean farmers last year.  This is a pest that warrants your attention!  There's also a SCN Mgt field day that will be held Sept 2nd near Cedar Bluffs, NE.  Your local extension office has more information on this series of meetings.  



Sudden Death Syndrome Appearing in Soybean
Loren Giesler, UNL Extension Plant Pathologist

Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) has been found in many fields in Nebraska over the last two weeks. So far this year we have confirmed it in Hall, Seward, Jefferson, Gage, Kearney, and Platte counties and there are many others areas where the disease likely is  present, based on calls the past week. This distribution is based on samples submitted to the UNL Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic to date.   This outbreak appears to be more widespread than in any year since it was first confirmed in Nebraska in 2004. Most affected fields have small areas with the disease and large areas are not being impacted.

Sudden Death Syndrome of soybean is caused by the fungus Fusarium solani f. sp. glycines. This is a different fungus than the one which caused early season damping off problems associated with soybean stand.The weather pattern we have had this year is very conducive to SDS as we had moisture early season and at the early reproductive stages.In addition, many producers are adapting earlier planting strategies which favor SDS development.  Soil compaction and high fertility levels also have been associated with increased levels of SDS.

The foliar symptoms start with interveinal necrosis and the spots coalesce to form brown streaks between the leaf veins with yellow margins. Leaves eventually drop and the petiole (leaf stem) remains attached. The root system will have a deteriorated tap-root and lateral roots will only be evident in the upper soil profile.The root cortex is light-gray to brown and may extend up the stem. Typically, plants can be easily pulled and there will be a dark blue fungal growth on the roots. The blue color will not be evident in dry soil conditions.

At this time SDS appears to be widespread in Nebraska, but it can be effectively managed. If you have a large area of the field affected, avoid early planting and use resistant varieties. Thus far, seed treatment has not been shown to be effective.



USDA still seeking some type of nat'l animal ID

U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service officials still want to implement a workable National Animal Identification System, said USDA's chief veterinarian.  John Clifford, deputy administrator for APHIS' Veterinary Services, said that APHIS officials were pouring over the thousands of comments received about the proposed program in order to address the concerns of many. He spoke a group of livestock producers and industry officials here Tuesday at the National Conference on Animal Identification, sponsored by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture.  Those concerns about the system generally lie in the realm of confidentiality, liability, cost and privacy, he said.

Opponents object to the program because they don't trust the system to protect their records from database requests via the Freedom of Information Act. These protestors say people who are opposed to animal agriculture or those who might want to harm an individual could gain enough information to make life hard for some producers.  Concerns also have been raised about the liability of producers if an animal that once belonged to them ever comes down with a serious disease.

Opponents of the NAIS also are concerned about costs, Clifford said. Smaller producers might be disproportionately affected by the costs of a large system, and requirements to register every move of every animal would be inordinately costly and time consuming.  There might not be a way to recover those costs either, opponents have said. Currently, those in one of many private trace-back systems can market their livestock as being source-verified or traceable in some way and get a premium for such a benefit. But if everyone were compelled to be in a nationwide system, any value-added benefits would disappear.

Clifford said one of the goals of having a workable trace-back system was to assure U.S. export customers that the products were safe. Many countries that import U.S. product have their own trace-back systems in place and may soon require it of U.S. product.  In addition, Clifford said he saw traceability as essential for maintaining the health of the U.S. livestock herds. Fast response and coordinated efforts can help contain a disease and facilitate its eradication, allowing farms and ranches to get back to business as usual after an outbreak.



Land Use Change Tricky to Measure

A leading agricultural economist says it is nearly impossible to verify the reasons for why farmers around the world change their land use, much less to blame it on biofuels production in the U.S.
 
“There are just too many variables that go into a land use decision and we simply don’t have that data to make assumptions as to why,” said Bruce Babcock, economist with Iowa State University’s Center for Agriculture and Rural Development. Babcock and other experts in climate change and biofuels policy spoke yesterday at the Land Use and Carbon Impacts of Corn-Based Ethanol Conference, hosted in St. Louis by the National Corn Growers Association.  “We are measuring something that is unmeasurable,” Babcock said.
 
Indirect land use change is a controversial theory that predicts that using biofuels made from U.S. corn and soybeans causes a farmer halfway around the world to make a land use decision to plow up virgin land to replace feed. It also suggests that any carbon emissions resulting from this land use change should be ascribed to biofuels.  The concern among those gathered at the conference here in St. Louis is that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to include indirect land use change theory in its revision of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2), which could create what some consider a nationwide carbon penalty for biofuels compared with gasoline.
 
“There is a problem in that we are intertwining greenhouse gas policy with biofuels law,” said Bruce McCarl, Texas A&M University economist and climate change specialist. “They really need to be regulated separately.”  McCarl believes a bigger concern is that other countries around the world are not receiving any carbon penalty for developing their virgin land for crop production.  “If we want to get out of this indirect land use debate, we simply need to have Brazil institute some greenhouse gas emissions penalty for when it develops its land,” McCarl said.



DFA Distributes Balance of 2008 Patronage Early

Recognizing the continued financial burden its members are experiencing, Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.’s (DFA) Board of Directors has issued the balance of 2008 patronage payments several weeks ahead of schedule.

More than 12,000 members who marketed their milk through DFA in 2008 will receive cash payments equal to 2¢/cwt, for a total of $7.6 million. Combined with the payment issued in April, DFA members received a total of $19 million (a combined 5¢/cwt) in patronage payments for 2008. An additional $9.5 million was distributed to members in July, which was paid from 2009 earnings.

“Our members continue to experience unprecedented stress as a result of the current economic climate,” said Tom Croner, DFA Board treasurer and chair of the Board’s Finance and Budget Committee. “By issuing patronage checks early and in cash, we hope to send a clear message to these hardworking dairy men and women that we are deeply committed to identifying options that deliver short-term relief, while we explore long-term solutions that will prevent a crisis of this proportion from occurring again.”

Patronage is the Cooperative’s way of sharing DFA’s earnings with its members. The amount of patronage a member receives each year is based on the amount of milk marketed through the Cooperative. The payments are being issued 100% in cash, regardless of members’ base capital level.



Vilsack Established Dairy Advisory Committee, Requests Nominations

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that as part of USDA's continuing efforts to listen to and respond to the needs of producers in the dairy industry he is moving forward on establishing the Dairy Industry Advisory Committee and is requesting nominations.

Earlier this month, Secretary Vilsack promised to move forward with establishment of a charter creating the committee for two years. Once appointed, the committee will review the issues of farm milk price volatility, and dairy farmer profitability. The committee will also offer suggestions and ideas on how USDA can best address these issues to meet the dairy industry's needs. USDA is establishing the committee under the authority of the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972.

The Secretary of Agriculture will appoint up to 15 representatives of the dairy industry to serve in an advisory capacity on the Committee. Representatives will include: producers and producer organizations, processors and processor organizations, handlers, consumers, academia, retailers, and state agencies involved in organic and non-organic dairy at the local, regional, national and international levels.

Written nominations must be received on or before September 28, and should be sent to Judith Lindsay, secretary to Brandon Willis, Deputy Administrator, Farm Service Agency, Farm Programs, USDA Room 3612-S, Stop 0501, Washington, D.C. 20250-0501; faxed to (202) 720-4726; or e-mailed to: judith.lindsay@wdc.usda.gov

Advisory committee members will elect the chairperson and vice-chairperson who will each serve a two-year term. As Deputy Administrator of the FSA Farm Programs, Willis will serve as the committee's executive secretary.

Details will be published in the August 28 Federal Register.



Iowa Soybean Association announces newly elected directors

The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) announces its new district directors, elected by soybean growers of Iowa.  The newest district director is Jan Christensen of Shenandoah, representing District 7. Christensen and his wife, Ellen, raise corn, soybeans and cattle. Christensen has served as a member of the State Judicial Nominating Commission and is a charter member of the Page/Fremont County Corn Growers Association, having served as its president and on the board of directors. He is replacing John Schlorholtz of Percival; Schlorholtz did not seek reelection.  Delbert Christensen, ISA president-elect and director of District 4 from Audubon, was pleased with voter turnout and the number of candidates running for positions.  “We had a group of very excellent candidates running for positions this year,” Christensen says. “Voter turnout was great and we had 2 candidates running for every position, so it was a very highly contested race. I’m also looking forward to working with Jan [Christensen] in the coming years.”

Others reelected to three-year terms include Brian Kemp of Sibley, representing District 1; Dean Coleman of Humboldt, representing District 2; Cindi Grover of Elma, representing District 3; John Heisdorffer of Keota, representing District 9; and Ron Heck of Perry, at large.  Other district directors include Curt Sindergard of Rolfe, representing District 1; Wayne Fredericks of Osage, representing District 2; Bob Cole of Fayette, representing District 3; Sheila Hebenstreit of Jefferson and Delbert Christensen of Audubon, representing District 4; Randy VanKooten of Lynnville and AJ Blair of Dayton, representing District 5; Ed Ulch of Solon, representing District 6; Ray Gaesser of Corning, representing District 7; Cliff Mulder of Pella, representing District 8; Mark Jackson of Rose Hill, representing District 9; Jim Andrew of Jefferson, Roy Arends of Alexander and Tom Oswald of Cleghorn, at large directors.

The new slate of directors will assume their seats on the ISA board on September 8.  To learn more about ISA, visit its Web site at www.iasoybeans.com .