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PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit #36 OMAHA, NE
March 21, 2013 Issue 261-17-6
Nebraska ‘Living Lab’ for World Food Needs
Check out our Agstuff Classifieds Pages 30-35
FFA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13, 15-17, 19-20 College Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Weather Al Dutcher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Country Living House Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The Lighter Side Lee Pitts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Markets Grains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Livestock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Government Report Government Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Ag Management
Goal should be increasing livestock production Lori Potter, The Kearney Hub KEARNEY — Feeding a growing world population in the last century involved plowing new ground for crops and putting fences around new pastures or feedlots. Land and water resources seemed unlimited then, according to Ronnie
Green, University of Nebraska vice president and Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources vice chancellor. That's not true today. So the progress made by U.S. farmers to harvest more from an acre of land and do it with fewer inputs must continue, Green said at last month's
Governor's Ag Conference in Kearney. He said the world population is estimated to grow by 2 billion to 2.5 billion by 2050 to a total of 9.3 billion people. Of that growth, 49 percent is expected in sub-Sahara Africa and 41 percent in eastern Asia. Continued on page 26
Nebraska Opens Trade Office in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Livestock News Heartland Cattle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Production News No-Till Notes: Dryland Budgets. . . 25
Schedule of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Gothenburg FFA Chapter’s Great Achievements and Activities Carson Messersmith, Gothenburg FFA Chapter Reporter The 2013 year is off to a very exciting and successful start for the Gothenburg FFA chapter. From Career Development Events (CDEs) to the annual FFA lock-in, the chapter has been rich with great achievements and activities. Almost the entire chapter has qualified to compete at State Convention in areas ranging from speaking events and all but a handful of CDEs. In January, members rang in the new year with proficiency and state degree applications. The chapter had many individuals apply, with projects from placements to beef and forage production, just to name a few. February brought more success
with both sets of district CDEs. Gothenburg first qualified a welding team and later added three more teams that same day. Two weeks later, more success was obtained as the Meats Evaluation team took first place and four more teams qualified for state. Also, in February, was the annual Gothenburg FFA lock-in. During the lock-in, students learned about the many facets of FFA. Eighth grade students were afforded a glimpse into the wonderful world of FFA. Also joining in the festivities were past and present state FFA officers. The week of February 18-23 was National FFA week as well as the Nebraska Cattleman's Classic. The FFA chapter participated in both of these events with various activities
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at the school all week, ranging from trivia questions to parliamentary procedure demonstrations for the elementary school. The chapter also sent several participants to the Cattleman's Classic in Kearney with a judging team and multiple beef exhibitors. Presently the chapter is focusing on the future. The month of March is being spent diligently working to prepare for state contests, with students coming in before and after school daily to practice. With over sixty students representing the Gothenburg FFA at State Convention, the chapter is hopeful that they will have a very strong showing at Lincoln and build on last year's success.
MARKET GLANCE Livestock and Products, Weekly Average
Crops, Daily Spot Prices Year Ago 4 Wks Ago 3/8/13
Nebraska Slaughter Steer 35-65% Choice, Live Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$129.25 124.27 128.00 Nebraska Feeder Steers, Med. & Large Frame, 550-600# . . . . . . . . . . . .184.17 169.76 162.57 Med & Large Frame, 750-800 # . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155.93 142.93 142.09 Choice Boxed Beef, 600-750# Carcass . . . . . . . . . .196.65 183.31 195.02 Western Corn Belt Base Hog Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84.98 84.77 71.95 Feeder Pigs, National Direct, 50#, FOB . . . . . . . . . . . .* * * Pork Carcass Cutout, 185#, 51-52% Lean . . . . . . . .84.55 82.44 79.04 Slaughter Lambs, Ch. & Pr.,Heavy, SD Dir. . . . . . . . .145.00 107.50 105.00 Nat. Carcass Lamb Cutout, FOB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .377.61 296.00 289.23
Wheat, No. 1, H.W. Imperial, bu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.07 Corn, No. 2, Yellow, Omaha, bu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.38 Soybeans, No. 1 Yellow Omaha, bu . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12.92 Grain Sorg. No. 2 Yellow, Dorchester, cwt . . . . . . . . .11.00 Oats, No. 2, Heavy Minneapolis, MN, bu. . . . . . . . . . .3.15
7.39 7.15 14.32 12.00 4.10
6.87 7.39 14.96 12.25 4.28
Hay (per ton) Alfalfa, Lrg. Sq. Bales Good to Prem., NE Neb. . . . .225.00 Alfalfa, Lrg. Rounds, Good, Platte Valley, . . . . . . . .145.00 Grass Hay, Lrg. Rounds, Premium, Neb., . . . . . . . . .100.00 Dried Distillers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220.00 Wet Distillers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76.00 * No market.
247.50 * 230.00 227.50 212.50 212.50 284.00 268.00 108.00 103.50