You’re invited to join us for the fastest field day in the industry! Rev your engines and join the ride as Freedom Ride V embarks on a beautiful journey through the Loess Hills of western Iowa on Saturday, August 24, 2013.
Click Here to register. Those who sign up before August 15 will receive a complimentary do-rag or commemorative t-shirt. Hope to see you on the open road!
Grain gridlock and globalization were hot topics of conversation when nearly 300 Iowa farmers and agribusiness industry leaders gathered July 22-23 for the 2013 Iowa Farm Bureau Economic Summit.
Attendees, like me, were reminded how important it is to prepare for the storm – whether that means increased global competition or rising land prices. Panelists agreed the agricultural sector can expect changes in the months to come and only good planning will protect their sustainability.
“The consistent message was, ‘Make long-term plans and make sure you’re grounded in reality’,” said IFBF Director of Research and Commodity Services David Miller. Risk management was certainly the most important take away. With weather extremes and government policies, it will be critical for farmers keep their finances balanced and not get leveraged.
The one topic that stood out from all the rest for me was U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s talk about Farm Bill and his rationale for keeping it a “food and farm bill.” This bill is really the Farm Bill only in title as 80% of the bill pertains to the food stamp program. Now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP cost almost $80 billion last year – twice the amount it cost just five years ago.
Sec. Vilsack really, really emphasized the need to keep food stamps and farming in the same bill because, without SNAP, he says farmers have no clout. (Does this remind anyone else of the comment he made about rural American becoming less and less relevant?) He then went on to tell us how important the Farm Bill is. Not only do Americans need food, but according to the Secretary, SNAP is a great program that creates jobs – and a market – for U.S. farmers. Sec. Vilsack believes that the billions going into SNAP helps famers sell more food!
That reminds me… Last month the Senate Budget Committee reported that between food stamps, housing support, child care, Medicaid and other benefits, the average U.S. Household below the poverty line received $168/day in government support in Fiscal Year 2012. However, the median U.S. household income averages $137.13/day. Interesting facts, right? Yet Secretary Vilsack claims there is very little abuse of the U.S. food stamp program.
Vilsack went on and on about how the Farm Bill benefits everyone, urban and rural. I understand that SNAP is food and food is farming, but I can’t help but question why two programs with such merit couldn’t stand on independently.
Sec. Vilsack claims the Ag department would be split up between other agencies if we don’t keep the SNAP in the Farm Bill. From his convincing arguments, one can see how persuasive he must have been as a practicing lawyer. Vilsack strongly “sold” his ideas, and I’m afraid most people in the audience bought into everything he said. No one challenged dared to challenge assumptions. On why Congress needs to pass a unified farm bill and not separate the bill into nutrition and non-nutrition bills, here’s what he said during the Economic Summit:
“They’re not on the farms. They’re not producing the vast majority of what you produce. They don’t understand what you do. They have a hard time even appreciating what you do. When they send members to Congress and to the Senate, they may send folks who do not have an appreciation for what you do and those folks may find it hard to understand the importance of having a safety net: of why crop insurance is not just important for producers but it’s also important for the community where producers live. You’ve got to give them a reason why it’s important for them to think that a farm bill is more than a farm bill. They have to understand that it is a foods bill, that it is a jobs bill, that it will impact their constituents. If you separate those two things, you lose that leverage. You lose that capacity to convince, to persuade, to advocate. Why would you do that?”
Quite frankly, Vilsack knows from personal experience that many folks in Washington don’t understand farming. Just because he holds the esteemed title of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture doesn’t mean he can appreciate what it’s like to place your future in the hands of God each spring when you plant seed in hopes of harvesting a bumper crop.
Obviously, food is important to everyone. And everyone is titled to his or her opinion, but this is what makes it so difficult to move forward. How can we afford to spend more money? Do we cut programs? If so, which programs? Who will this affect and how!
I don’t have all the answers, but I will still be part of the conversation. You can bet that I will listen and I will share my thoughts, as well. Farming and food is relevant! More people need to understand that – especially the people we send to Washington, D.C.!
Guest Blog by Aaron Putze
Director of External Relations & Coordinator
Iowa Food & Family Project, Iowa Soybean Association
It’s less than week away from the start of the one-and-only Iowa State Fair. Indulge in all the great fair fun. Try some of the 18 foods to debut in 2013, and put the “Get Connected to Farming” exhibit on your “must see and do” list!
The Iowa Food & Family Project will be building (yes, literally building!) connections between rural and urban Iowans about farming and food at the Iowa State Fair, Aug. 8-18, with a unique “Get Connected to Farming” exhibit located in the south atrium of the Varied Industries Building.
The centerpiece of this year’s exhibit will feature the work of Sean Kenney, a LEGO® Certified Professional who uses LEGO pieces to create amazing sculptures. Kenney’s build for the Iowa Food & Family Project (Iowa FFP) will be made completely of LEGO pieces showcasing the positive contributions farming makes to Iowa, the nation and the world. It will feature a colorful representation of Iowa’s landscape, including rolling farm fields interspersed with farms and towns surrounded by a variety of food grown, made and sold in Iowa.
The daily LEGO brick building contest held at 2 p.m. promises to be fun and engaging. It will feature a celebrity vs. youth as they compete to successfully build a farm-related sculpture using LEGO bricks. Confirmed participants include Gov. Terry Branstad, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich, WHO-TV’s Erin Kiernan, radio personalities Mark Dorenkamp, Kim Chase, Duane Murley and Greg Chance and the 2013 Iowa State Fair Queen.
Fairgoers can also participate in a variety of other activities. They can build their own creations using LEGO bricks, visit with farmers and test their knowledge about food and farming. They’ll also be invited to contribute to the Iowa Food Bank Association.
Another Iowa Food and Family Project is helping make the connection to the need for a wholesome food supply for everyone is through its partnership with Meals from the Heartland. On Opening Day, August 8, it will partner with the Iowa Soybean Association and GROWMARK to package 250,000 servings of the soy-based meals. To reach this goal, it will take 1,500 volunteers packaging in one-hour shifts from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Stop by the exhibit opening day and lend a helping hand!
Food is certainly an important part of the Iowa State Fair. And it just wouldn’t be state fair season without a tribute to food on a stick! Pay tribute to Iowa’s dairy farmers and soybean producers with this simply recipe, provided by The Soyfoods Council, for Cheesecake on a Stick.
Iowa farmers, agronomists, crop consultants and others wanting to get the scoop on corn rootworms are invited to participate in a corn rootworm field day on Thursday, Aug. 8, in Boone, Iowa, at the ISU Field Extension Education Laboratory (FEEL). There is no attendance fee, but preregistration is required as attendance is limited to 50.
Between 8:00 – 10:00 a.m., ISU Extension specialists will perform tissue testing and do rootworm injury assessments on samples brought in by attendees. Receive one-on-one training on using the corn rootworm injury rating scale, as well as discuss corn rootworm (CRW) management options with ISU specialists.
Even if you don’t attend next week’s field day, it’s a good time to be scouting for rootworm beetles and other insects that are actively feeding on corn silks. If silks are clipped to a length of ½” or less, pollen has a hard time landing on the silks and uneven pollination occurs.
It’s also a good time to conduct root digs. Here are some quick tips for conducting a rootworm dig:
For more information about corn rootworm management, click on the links below:
Anyone who’s been a farmer, was married a farmer or has sat around a coffee table with them knows farming is a cyclical business that’s largely depending on supply and demand, and the supply is largely dependent on how fickle Mother Nature is feeling. During the Iowa Farm Bureau’s 2013 Economic Summit in Ames last week, I learned to not only expect the unexpected but I was reminded about the importance of planning for it.
Honestly, two full days of meetings with more than 20 speakers is a bit of an overload for this old hog farmer! There was so much information covered that I can’t possibly fit it into one blog post. Today’s I’ll merely provide a summary, and next week I’ll provide more details about the farm policy discussion.
To begin with, John Phipps was a great emcee. He kept things moving. He also shared interesting information and stories from his many travels including Africa. If you think farming in America is hazardous, it’s nothing compared to Africa! African farmers are very much at risk of getting killed – and not by their machinery. It’s a tough political climate with too much unrest and uncertainty. Land disputes have become life or death situations. What a contrast Africa is to America where many families engage in transition planning, so the family farm stays in the family for generations to come.
Legacy planning, economics and farmland prices were interesting items of discussion over the course of two days. A presentation on weather was especially interesting to me. Iowa State University Extension Climatologist Elwynn Taylors says our weather has been following a predictable cycle and continues to do so. Ironic, isn’t it? We’ve been finding our weather unusual, yet the climatologist finds it predictable. He says we’re entering the third year of a 25-year cycle of unsettled weather: floods in 2011; drought in 2012; and then both floods and drought-like weather in 2013. What could be more unsettling? It sounds like we’ll find out whether we want to or not!
I also enjoyed David Miller’s summary of our recent Black Sea Study Trip. The first question he fielded from the audience was, “How do you get to go on such a trip?” It was a great trip! The Ukraine was discussed in several presentations that explored future export trading. David’s presentation provided a nice segue for Dr. Michael Boehlje’s presentation about globalization and agriculture.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and Dean Lemke, an engineer with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), explained the workings of the new nutrient management program. It’s a very intense and well rounded program, and I’m actually looking forward to this program working. We also were schooled on nano technology by Suranjan Panigrahi, PH.D., MBA. It’s unbelievable the things that are possible now! Most of this presentation went way over my head – and being half deaf didn’t help – but it was still very fascinating.
The final speaker of the conference was John Hinners of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, who told us that meat is probably the brightest spot in the U.S. export markets. The rest of the world is looking to improve their diet, and we’re a low-cost producer of protein. Asia will remain our biggest buyer simply because of the large numbers of people there.
I love ending on a positive note! Be sure to tune in next week when I recap U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s presentation about the Farm Bill.
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds created its hallmark Seed-2-Soil® program before “right seed, right acre” became an industry buzzword. Why? Because we’re interested in simplifying the crop planning and seed selection process to help our customers maximize their yield potential.
Research has shown that correct product placement leads to a 3-7% yield improvement. Latham’s Seed-2-Soil program utilizes the power of a partnership between grower and Latham representative to fit the right seed to every acre.
Seed-2-Soil begins with a discussion with you and your seed rep about all the variables that go into your farming practices each year. Each field is considered on an individual basis, factoring all the important information the farmer holds with the product and performance information the seed rep can bring to the table. The outcome is a tailored solution focused on maximum yield and profit per acre.
Not everyone has the same needs, so you get to choose your level of participation in the Seed-2-Soil program. Want to go beyond managing which varieties go in your field? Seed-2-Soil has another level of offerings to help measure and utilize micronutrients in your field for maximum yield per acre. Click here for more information.
There are many variables that contribute to overall yield, so the Seed-2-Soil program helps you focus attention on those you can more easily control. That’s why this year-long field observance and consulting program gives more meaning to grid sample data and geo-reference yield data, as well as promotes understanding about nutrients, varieties, and production practices.
To get started, your Latham representative will want to gather any previous year data that may be of help when planning and placing products for the coming season. This can include but is not limited to:
Seed-2-Soil provides farmers an opportunity to utilize data to help make sound management decisions in the quest for more profit per acre. Click here to see how Seed-2-Soil can help organize data and evaluate results.
Corn diseases will likely be more prevalent this season due to an excessively wet spring followed by humid summer weather. Plentiful moisture or dew is ideal for most fungal corn diseases. Watch for Gray Leaf Spot, Southern and Common Rust, Northern & Southern Leaf Blight and Eyespot.
Later planted crops can get stressed more easily, which also makes them more prone to insect pressure. It’s likely we’ll see different insect and disease pressure now than we typically would because our corn is not as far along in its development as it would be in late July.
Watch for these insects now that corn is silking: adult corn rootworm beetles, Japanese beetles, western bean cutworm, aphids, corn flea beetle, corn borer and grasshoppers. Consider infection levels, potential economic damage and weather conditions before determining a treatment strategy.
Take good field notes to help you select the right seed for the future. For example, fields with confirmed Goss’s Wilt should be planted to a hybrid that is more resistant to Goss’s wilt in subsequent years. Tillage and crop rotation can also help reduce corn rootworm. Tillage and crop rotation also can help reduce the amount of residue that can harbor bacteria for the next corn crop. For additional information about managing disease or insects, click on the related links below.
Related Links:
I’m doing another blog about my experiences on the Black Sea Study Trip to Eastern Europe, so hopefully you’re not getting tired of this subject. From converting weights and measurements to contrasting farmer’s markets, there are just so many fascinating things to talk about!
We spent the majority of our time touring farms and learning about agriculture, but we also got to do a little sightseeing. One of my favorite stops was Transylvania, in the heart of rural Romania, at the medieval Bran Castle. This castle has been appraised at $180 million, making it one of the most expensive houses in the world! It’s owned by architect Archduke Dominic Hasburg, Princess lleana’s son, who resides in New York.
Originally built in 1212 by the Knights of the Teutonic Order, Bran Castle remained an important feudal fortress throughout the Middle Ages. Then in 1921, Queen Maria of Romania brought the royal court architect to the castle for extensive renovations and transformed it into a Royal residence. The castle was taken from the royals by the communists in 1948, and in 2006, it was returned to the Archduke.
Bran Castle is better known as Dracula’s Castle. Dracula, written in 1897 by Brampton Stocker, is one of the most famous horror novels of all time. It’s based on Prince Vlad the Impaler, who was imprisoned in the castle for one night in the 1400s. He was famous for the way he killed his foes and terrorized his enemies. In fact, killing a vampire with a wooden stake most likely came from his practices.
Inside the castle courtyard is a scale that was used to determine whether or not a lady was a witch. The lady was placed on one side the scale; a Bible and some stones were placed on the other side. If the lady weighed more, she was considered a witch and put to death!
After touring the castle, we enjoyed lunch in the village. The restaurateur told us about his flock of sheep. Since he makes his own cheese from sheep’s milk, we enjoyed sampling many different kinds. He also prepared a very good meal of lamb. He uses many sheepskins as decorations, too. It was certainly a dining experience unlike any I’ve had in the States!
Traveling abroad certainly provides one with unique experiences and perspectives. I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to see so many interesting places throughout Eastern Europe and to learn about agriculture from half a world away. Hats off to David Miller and the Iowa Farm Bureau for all of their efforts!
Bacon wrapped smokies. Bacon cheeseburger soup. Slow-cooked pulled pork. Smoked beef brisket. Individual fruit pizzas. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles.
All of these dishes and more were entered yesterday in the all new Dish This! competition at the Franklin County Fair. 4-H members could enter one dish in each of these five categories: Appetizer, Snack or Salad, Side Dish, Main Dish, Bread and Desserts.
Entries were scored based on presentation, taste and use of Iowa-grown food products. When selecting their recipes, participating 4-H members really had to think about which of the ingredients were made in Iowa. For example, Iowa-made Cookie’s Barbecue Sauce was used to top some of the pork and beef dishes. Blue Bunny® ice cream was featured in several desserts. An award-winning taco salad was made using every ingredient fresh from the backyard garden.
4-H’ers also were asked how they could promote Iowa-grown products. Our son said social media is a great tool to share recipes and educate others where their food comes from. (His answer did his mama proud. #agvocate!) Our daughter shares soyfoods with at Girl Scout troop meetings. Because soybeans are such an important part of our business, our daughter chose to bake Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with tofu. And, yes, these cookies passed the taste test at a Girl Scout meeting this past spring.
Ellie has been a fan of this recipe ever since she took the Iowa Soybean Association’s Cookie Challenge at the Latham Country Fair. Today we’re featuring the recipe for these award-winning Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with tofu. These cookies are moist, delicious and oh “soy” delicious! Serve up some fun at home this weekend!
Bare ground is an invitation for weed development. From the looks of it, Waterhemp and Marestail are having quite a party in the fields! Large-seeded broadleaf weeds like giant ragweed, sunflower and cocklebur are showing up, too.
Existing weed vegetation should be controlled with tillage, herbicides, or a combination of tactics. Weed management on prevent plant acres is challenging for a couple reasons. First of all, many of those fields have weeds growing on them that are now two to three feet tall. The taller the weeds, the harder it is to manage them.
Some weeds are simply too large to effectively spray at this point, and those weeds that survive a herbicide application can start developing resistance. Manage herbicide resistance before it becomes a major problem. Some farmers are trying to control weeds with tillage, but this method may require more than one pass.
You don’t want this season’s weeds to rob next year’s corn or soybean crop of yield. Crops have a better chance of reaching optimal yield when they’re not competing with weeds for sunlight, water and nutrients.
It’s important to take care of the weeds before they go to seed. As weeds reach maturity, any seeds they leave behind will increase the difficulty of keeping next year’s crop clean. Dead weeds don’t make seeds!