SD Farm & Ranch - February 2016

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Advocating for ag Don’t overlook your own circles of influence SOURCE: S.D. FARM BUREAU

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uron — Agriculture advocates are wise to reach out beyond the industry to talk to the urban consumer about how crops and livestock are grown, but as it turns out, this isn’t the only approach for ag-vocating.

“It’s not always about searching for new people to share your story with, but telling it in a new way to those that you already know,” said Josh Geigle, a young rancher from the Creighton, South Dakota area and recent graduate of Farm Bureau’s Partners in Agricultural Leadership (PAL), a twoyear training program that enrolls only 10 Farm Bureau members in each class, chosen among applicants nationwide.

Geigle was asked to be a speaker on this topic during the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) annual meeting held recently in Orlando, a convention attended by more than 5,800 people. He and fellow PAL classmates Katie Heger of Underwood, North Dakota and Brandon Whitt of Murfreesboro, Tennesse, conducted a breakout session about how to advocate for agriculture within your own circle of friends.

“Advocating for agriculture through your circle of friends enables you to reach consumers within your circle, plus those who might be outside your circle,” Geigle commented, noting that a person’s “circles” could encompass their friends, relatives, co-workers, professional contacts, classmates, church members, civic groups, their community and more.

To get the conversation started during their breakout session, Geigle and his co-presenters shared these ideas: • Host a banquet in a field or pasture • Open your farm or ranch for tours • Create leave-behind items, like a small container of seeds labeled with a crop fact for hotel staff • Design table tents for restaurants • Visit a local classroom as a guest speaker • Host a sweetcorn picking party • Create a video documenting your farm/ranch history • Post pictures and videos of everyday farm and ranch life on social media sites

South Dakota Farm Bureau member Josh Geigle presents an advocacy training session at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in Orlando.

“People could also consider getting their farm or ranch logo placed on a few items of clothing. That is a great conversation starter,” Geigle commented.

“This is a really smart approach,” commented Krystil Smit, executive director of the South Dakota Farm Bureau and 20-year veteran of agricultural communications. “Even here in South Dakota, people who aren’t involved in agriculture are often a couple of generations removed from the farm or ranch. You can have more influence than you realize right within your own circle of friends, family and community. Don’t overlook the opportunity to share with them. Because you already have the relationship with them, they will hear what you have to say.”

Geigle is active on social media and has been successful in telling his agriculture story to his online circle. Follow him on Twitter @bargcattle, or look him up on Facebook. Josh and his wife, Shasta, are the fourth generation on his family’s ranch, raising cattle and crops, plus three little ranchers: their children Owyn, Moriah and Sully. I

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Pea, lentil business is booming Montana grows about half of US production

BY MADISON DAPCEVICH Special to Agweek

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ONRAD, Mont. -- When David Oien applied for a farm loan nearly three decades ago, the bank asked him two questions: what is a lentil and what does organic mean?

With lentil production at an all-time high in 2015, business is better than ever for Oien, founding farmer and CEO of Montana’s leading organic legume producer, Timeless Natural Foods.

“As organic farmers, we needed an alternative to synthetic input,” Oien says. “That’s where we started getting interested in pulse crops and seeing the advantage of crop rotations. In the past 30 years (lentils) have gone from an unfamiliar cropping option to one that many farmers now grow on hundreds of thousands of acres.”

Growth Significant growth occurred across Montana after a 2003 farm bill provision classified pea and lentil production at the same list level as wheat. Additionally, this provision provided risk protection for legumes, removing an important source of risk. A need to diversify crops further incentivized farmers to begin planting peas and lentils.

“These pulse crops, lentils in particular, are a huge opportunity for farmers to diversify their rotation, and it has huge advantages for the consumer as well,”

Oien says.

Pulse crops have a very low carbon footprint when compared with conventional crops. Lentils have a shallow rooting structure that reduces water intensity.

By fixing nitrogen, peas and lentils replenish nitrogen in the soil and eliminate the need for costly and sometimes toxic fertilizer.

Joseph Janzen, assistant professor of agricultural economics at Montana State University, says the economic impact is huge because farmers are taking land that was once used as fallows and are replacing it with pea and lentil agriculture.

“I think that’s really at the heart of what’s driving the increase in demand in pulse crops, whether they’re organic or not; having both the environmental responsibility and personal health impact,” says Oien, who has been a vegetarian for eight years.

“Just by nature, it’s an environmentally friendly crop.

It’s gratifying that we’re able to make some small contribution.”

A healthier option Plant-based protein has been found to be healthier than animal protein. Perry Miller, an MSU cropping systems professor, partially credits the increased demand for lentils to protein fractionation, a process that physically and chemically breaks down a pea to

extract its protein.

Often used as protein enrichment in dog food, fractionation has added value to the pea crop in a way that wasn’t available 15 to 20 years ago.

Janzen says lentil consumption around the world mostly occurs in Asia, where the bulk of the demand is from two bad domestic lentil crop failures. He says the U.S. and Canada are producing more than they can consume. Compounded with India’s rising wealth and North America’s booming lentil production consumption around the world mostly occurs in Southeast Asia.

“Farmers now have long-term experience in their systems and they see all the important things rotations add,” Miller says. “I think they are here for a long time given that the demand is growing and farmers recognize they work wonderfully.”

About 3 to 4 percent of legumes produced by Timeless Natural Foods stays within the state, with 10 to 15 percent of products going overseas.

Revenue from lentil production is growing, and accounted for 1.8 percent of 2014 total crop value in the state. In 2015, Montana produced 244 million pounds of lentils.

Today, Montana produces a growing share of all U.S. lentils, about half of U.S. production. I

BELOW: A truckload of har vested lentils await transport near Williston, N.D. in this August 2015 photo. (FNS photo)

FEBRUARY 2016 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH 5

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ABOVE: A September corn har vest in Malden, Illinois, is pictured. Global surpluses left corn and soybean prices below the cost of production. (Bloomberg photo)

Farm boom fizzles as US crop surplus expands financial strain

BY ALAN BJERGA AND JEFF WILSON Bloomberg News

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HICAGO — The American farm boom is all but over.

Farmland values are down from all-time highs. Global surpluses left

corn and soybean prices below the cost of production. And the amount of agricultural debt relative to income ballooned to the highest in three decades, just as the Federal Reserve has begun raising interest rates for the first time since 2006.

Land prices are down very little relative to the drop in farm income.

— Dan Kowalski

While many growers remain profitable, the global commodity slump is increasing pressure on a Midwest economy that was largely shielded from

and seed supplier Monsanto Co.

the worst of the financial crisis by high crop prices and land values. Last year,

“The farm economy had a near-perfect five or six years,” built upon record

farm income was the lowest since 2002. This year’s agriculture-trade surplus

U.S. demand for corn-based ethanol in fuel, surging food purchases in Asia

in the U.S. — the world’s top exporter — will be the smallest in a decade. At

and near-zero-percent interest rates that helped spur land investment, said

the same time, sales are dropping for the likes of tractor-maker Deere & Co.

Continued on page 8 FEBRUARY 2016 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH 7

Continued from page 7

Brent Gloy, an agricultural economist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. With the oil slump eroding ethanol margins and a strong dollar eroding U.S. exports, the Fed’s decision last month to start raising borrowing costs “means there’s nothing left of the boom,” Gloy said.

With the prices of corn and soybeans, the nation’s biggest crops, down by more than half from records in 2012, net farm income probably tumbled in 2015 to a 13-year low of $55.9 billion, down 55 percent from a record $123.3 billion in 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates. Debt is 6.6 times larger than net income, up from 3.8 a year earlier, and the ratio is the highest since 1984, when farm foreclosures were the highest since the Great Depression, government data show.

As surpluses keep prices low, demand for American farm exports is dropping as other countries boost output and the strong dollar makes competing supplies from Brazil to Ukraine cheaper for importers. With U.S. exports at a six-year low and imports up, the nation’s trade balance in agriculture will slump to $9.5 billion in 2016, down 78 percent from a record $43.1 billion in 2014, when shipments were the biggest ever, USDA data show.

Compounding the strain is higher borrowing costs, which makes it more difficult for farmers to finance operations or purchase land and equipment.

The Fed raised interest rates by a 0.25 percentage point last month -- ending more than seven years at near zero percent — and signaled its intent for further increases this year. Cheap loans and high crop prices helped fuel a U.S. farmland boom, with values doubling over a decade.

“Low rates pushed ag markets and farmland beyond true value,” said Jim Farrell, president of Omaha, Nebraska-based Farmers National Co., which manages more than 5,000 farms and ranches in 24 states. “Rising interest rates are another headwind” that could reduce farmland values by as much as 15 percent within two years, he said.

Rural bankers are getting more bearish, according to the Rural Mainstreet Index created by Creighton University from a survey that measures attitudes of lenders across 10 Midwestern states. Its gauge of farm and ranch land prices sank to 28.8 in December, the 25th straight month below a growthneutral rating of 50.

“Land prices are down very little relative to the drop in farm income,” said Dan Kowalski, director of research at CoBank, a cooperative member of the U.S. Farm Credit System in Greenwood Village, Colorado. “As the liquidity situation for farmers changes, buying farmland will become a more difficult decision.”

As tight as things are becoming, farmers probably won’t see the same kind of economic crisis they did in the 1980s, said Paul Pittman, chief executive officer of Westminster, Colorado-based Farmland Partners Inc., a real-estate fund that on Nov. 30 owned or had under contract 105,000 acres across the U.S. Most are in better shape financially after years of high prices, and the interest-rate increases so far are relatively small, he said.

For Anthony Busch, who farms more than 1,400 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat outside Mount Gilead, Ohio, higher interest rates are just another sign that the boom is over.

“I look for a period of pretty tough times,” said Busch, 45. “I need to borrow money in the spring to cover the costs I pay off in the fall, so when you’re buying your seeds, your fertilizer, you have to take on your debt all at once.”

But even with those increased costs, he expects farming to remain viable.

“If you want to stick in this business, you have to be an eternal optimist,” Busch said. “We may not have cheap interest rates. But we’ll still have to eat.”

I

8 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH FEBRUARY 2016

Neighbors worry big swine farm will cause a big stink Some studies link large hog farms with respiratory illnesses

BY PATRICK SPRINGER Forum News Service

B

UFFALO, N.D. — Roy and Sheila Thompson bought a farmstead out in the country for the fresh air and solitude away from the bustle of the city.

They own 7 acres a couple of miles south of Buffalo, a farming hamlet shy of 200 souls about 40 miles west of Fargo, where a post office has operated since 1883.

“Just enough room for a couple horses and some chickens and a couple cats,” said Roy Thompson, who with his son built the home and gazebo, a project that took a year working nights and weekends.

Now the Thompsons could have lots of new neighbors — a 9,000-sow factory farm proposed by Pipestone Holdings’ Rolling Green Family Farms, which would be a mile away if given a permit by the North Dakota Department of Health.

All of those hungry hogs will produce lots of manure — an estimated 6.39 million gallons a year, a quantity that will be stored in concrete pits before being spread as fertilizer on nearby farm fields covering more than 3,300 acres.

The proposed $15 million farm’s three barns will be ventilated to release fumes given off from the manure and urine that will be collected beneath the hogs, creating odor concerns among neighbors.

“It’s going to stink,” Thompson said. “It’s just a dramatic change in the neighborhood.”

Kathy Tyler lives half a mile from a large hog operation, Teton Family Farms, near Big Stone City, 140 miles southeast of Fargo. The farm is permitted for more than 6,000 sows producing 140,000 baby pigs a year.

“It’s horrible,” she said. “The smell is horrible. You have to close up your house.”

The odors are especially bad when the wind comes from the direction of the pig farm, Tyler said. “If the wind is from the southwest, we can’t go outside.

It’s a thicker air and it comes in masses. It can bring tears to your eyes. It’s just terrible.”

The Tylers have lived on their farmstead for 43 years, and have invested significantly in their property, appraised two years ago at $225,000. But given the odors from the pig farm, Tyler worries about its resale value. “What are the options of selling my house?”

Health concerns mount More than foul odors are at issue. Researchers have documented health Continued to page 31

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TOP PHOTOS: John O'Connell takes off from his private runway just east of Letcher. BOTTOM PHOTOS: Rodney Bahm, left, works on the GPS on the bottom of the plane while Mark Becker tests out the computer screen in the cockpit as Mar vin Northrup, center, watches, after O’Connell came back after spraying over a field east of Letcher, on Oct. 6.

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ore than j ust fl ying Letcher man logs more than 25,000 hours of flight time in 40-year career as pilot, pesticide applicator

BY MATT GADE The Daily Republic PHOTOGRAPHY BY Matt Gade/ The Daily Republic

L

etcher — For John O’Connell, crop dusting is more than just flying while spraying pesticide on plants.

O’Connell, the owner and one of three pilots for MJ Aviation, of Letcher, flying is just one small aspect of crop dusting.

“You have to be an agronomist, botanist, chemist, you have to be a weatherman,” he said. “You should also be some sort of mechanic with the airplanes.”

The Custer, S.D., native who spent five years in the United States Army started crop dusting in Letcher more than 40 years ago.

With more responsibilities than just flying, piloting the aircraft becomes second nature, O’Connell said.

Crop dusters dispense product out the back of their aircraft, so they have to keep a close eye on where that is going, O’Connell said. He must monitor how the product is coming out, how it’s being affected by conditions such as wind and the airplane, all while watching for safety hazards.

“That’s just product, and then you start getting into obstacles and power lines and towers. As you fly it becomes more second nature. It’s still dangerous,” he said.

10 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH FEBRUARY 2016

A requirement to be a crop duster includes a commercial pilot’s license, but also a license for application pesticide. That requires continuing education and retraining every two years, O’Connell said.

While flying his airplane is considered commercial flying, O’Connell isn’t required to have the same type of licensing to operate a passenger plane. There is an advanced

Continued on page 11

Y ou have to be an ag ronomist, botanist, chemist, you have to be a weatherman.

— John O’Connell

John O’Connell creates a smoke cloud out the back of his plane helping to read the winds while spraying.

Continued from page 10 specification called an airline transport pilot. O ’C onnell said it’s the level airline pilots need when they become “ senior.” “ I ’ve got one, but it’s something to talk about in the bar. I don’t need it,” he said.

O ’C onnell said it’s easier to be qualified with Federal Aviation Administration as a pilot than by the South Dakota Department of Agriculture as a licensed applicator. “ We have a lot of people regulating us. B elieve it or not, the FAA kind of stays away from us,” he said. “ They make sure that we’re legal healthwise, make sure the airplane is legal to fl y. B ut as far as the application side of it, they get out of it, and the state Department

of Agriculture gets involved.”

That’s essentially under the auspices of the E nvironmental P rotection Agency, O ’C onnell said. “ The state supposedly runs everything, but they have to meet all the requirements of the E nvironmental P rotection Agency to manage us,” he said.

O ne of the problems O ’C onnell said, are the limitations created by the E P A and what it requires of the state’s Department of Agriculture. “ The people who make the rules have never been out here in this part of the world. They sit in Washington and write the rules. And they don’t fit,” O ’C onnell said.

B ut O ’C onnell praised the state regulators, and the FAA employees as “ good people.”

“ They’ve been good to me my whole life,” he said.

‘A couple of years’ After spending five years in the U nited States Army, fl ying nearly 1 ,0 0 0 combat missions as a medevac helicopter pilot in V ietnam, O ’C onnell knew he wanted to keep fl ying.

So he returned to South Dakota, landing in L etcher in the spring of 1 9 7 3 . “ When I started it, I didn’t have anything. I started with nothing. I wanted to go into an area where there wasn’t any competition. I didn’t think I could handle the competition,” he said noting that he has more than 1 5 competitors in the area now. “ I was going to stay

Continued on page 12

PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: O’Connell started MJ Aviation in Letcher in 1973 after returning from Vietnam as a medevac helicopter pilot. MJ Aviation has its own personal airstrip that runs just short of 241st Street into Letcher. Prior to heading out to a field John goes over his checklist inside the cockpit of his plane. O’Connell flies his Thr ush Aircraft plane when spraying over a field.

FEBRUARY 2016 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH 11

Continued from page 11 One thing that will never change is the weather, but do 60 percent of what he does. If we’re not real busy, here a couple of years and see how it worked. I guess how crop dusters stay up to date on the latest changes I’ll just have him fly and I won’t fly it.” it worked.” in weather has changed tremendously.

O’Connell met Becker through happenstance.

When he was starting, O’Connell flew a plane “Years ago, we were constantly on the phone with Becker’s sister lives in Letcher, and he flew there to visit so small he used to land on gravel roads next to the the weather service,” O’Connell said. “Now I haven’t her. He knew there was a private runway, so he found fields he was working. He estimated the plane’s cost talked to the weather people in three years. In 5 out who owned it — O’Connell — and gave him a call. was $6,500; a new airplane would cost more than $1 “I gave John a call and asked if million. it would be OK to land here, and “The Piper Super Cub was a tiny he said sure,” Becker said. “That’s little airplane. But it worked,” he how we got to know each other. If said. “I tell people, the GPS I have it wasn’t for my sister, I wouldn’t be today in my airplane cost five times down here.” more than the first airplane I sprayed When he first visited Letcher, with.” flying was already second nature for That plane that lasted him a couple Becker, but becoming an applicator of years before it was run over. was definitely a learning curve.

“I was working off a road, then an “My first year I flew in North old man who was blind was driving Dakota with a smaller airplane. Then a truck down the road and didn’t I came down here and John put me see the airplane and drove right over in a turbine and I was in over my me,” he said. “That was the end of head,” Becker said. “Made it work that airplane.” though.”

For O’Connell, mapping a field He said he is still learning, which used to require a lot of attention O’Connell said is normal. to the ground and terrain and “It takes some time to get in the utilizing simple flags and markers to John O’Connell checks the damage to his wing as Rodney Bahm, left, and Mark seat and get comfortable,” said recognize the boundaries.

Becker watch. O’Connell had hit a duck while spraying a field earlier in the day on O’Connell who has logged more An “automatic flag” — which Oct. 13 in Sanborn County. than 25,000 hours of flight time.

O’Connell described as a tube that minutes I can check all the weather around here for a While John and Marci, John’s wife, haven’t set a had toilet paper glued under a piece of cardboard — 50-mile radius and have a good idea what the winds specific time when they’ll retire, it is something they’ve would, at the push of a button, drop a marker on the are going to be.” started planning. They sold ownership of MJ Aviation ground visible from the plane. to Aurora Coop of Aurora, Nebraska.

“You’d learn to count fence posts and power poles; Mark has taken the role as the primary pilot the we did that for years,” O’Connell said. “But if we ‘Gradually slide out of here’ last two seasons, with O’Connell dropping his flight wanted to be really super accurate, we hired a kid. My After flying for more than 40 years, the 72-year-old time of an average of more than 500 hours down to a daughter did that.” pilot has cut back on his flight time. In the last two couple hundred.

Then came GPS. “It was really kind of neat. It was years, O’Connell has transitioned away from being the While Marci handles the primary office duties and tough in the beginning because we were pushing the primary pilot, passing on the responsibilities to Mark sales, they are looking for someone who can take over technology and the technology wasn’t quite there yet,” Becker in hopes he’ll take over the flying when he’s for her, as well.

O’Connell said. “Now when they quit you gotta quit, ready to retire.

“The idea is we’ll just gradually slide out of here,” shut down. You can’t work without it. For the farmers, “I used to always launch first like and go out and go O’Connell said. it’s so much better. The quality of work is unbelievably like a wild man, now I let him do that and I go behind better.” him. That’s OK with me,” O’Connell said. “I probably

John O’Connell climbs into the cockpit of his airplane before heading out to a field.

12 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH FEBRUARY 2016

FEBRUARY 2016 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH 13

Ag education

interest on the rise

BY EVAN HENDERSHOT The Daily Republic

A

At the land lab, students have the opportunity to work on an 85-acre patch of land near Mitchell to manage crops and expose them to precision agriculture technologies. At the animal lab, students are able to interact with cattle from birth and learn how to manage a beef herd.

Another major advantage of the modern ag-education program, according to Repenning, is the emphasis on finances. The Agriculture Technology curriculum includes courses on commodity marketing, farm accounting, ag finance and fundamentals of insurance.

She also noted the importance of the internship offering, which places students at area farms to work alongside and learn from experienced farmers.

“We really stress in our program to get their minds to think outside of the box and see different to do things,” Repenning said.

MTI also added three other programs since 2012, which contribute a total of 88 students to the ag-related enrollment total.

The most popular of these new programs is Farm Power Technology, which has offered students tools to learn about ways to increase productivity on a farm through courses on electronic controls, harvesting equipment and service management since 2012.

Prior to the introduction of the Farm Power Technology program, MTI added Precision Ag Tech to train students for careers in geospatial data processing and equipment installation. Most recently, in 2014, MTI included the ButlerEdge Ag Technician Program to provide students with training on equipment and systems while earning an Associate’s degree in applied science.

With the increasing demand for food production for a growing world population, Repenning said it’s important to continue expanding ag-education.

“That’s going to take a lot of people and a lot of knowledge and research to get that done so everybody has something to eat,” Repenning said. I

griculture-related education continues to expand in South Dakota, and local enrollment numbers have responded in kind.

Mitchell Technical Institute has seen it’s ag-related program enrollment more than triple in the past five years while adding three new agriculture programs.

South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture Lucas Lentsch highlighted the importance of expanding agriculture education in the state.

“Because agriculture is such a huge part of South Dakota’s statewide economy, agriculture programs are essential to providing the latest information to the workforce,” Lentsch said. “The demand for knowledgeable, highly trained workers both on and off the farm continues to grow.”

MTI is helping to fill that demand with the help of Lori Repenning, an instructor in MTI’s most popular ag-related program. Repenning teaches animal science, reproduction, livestock disease and nutrition courses within the Agriculture Technology program, which reached 79 students in the 2015-16 school year.

Repenning, an instructor at MTI since 2012, attributed increased interest in MTI’s agriculture programs to the tech school’s distinct and precise curriculum.

“I think we’re growing, and I think the kids are getting a great education,” Repenning said. “(It’s) very targeted, or more specific, than a four-year degree as far as learning the things important to use right off the bat.”

The Agriculture Technology program, the school’s first agrelated offering, provides its students with an wide variety of courses including animal nutrition, livestock diseases and soil science. But Repenning said it’s the hands-on experience offered in modern agriculture education courses at MTI that set the school apart.

“A lot of what kids learn and retain is something they got to do versus something they got to read,” Repenning said.

Two features of MTI’s Agriculture Technology course that provide the hands-on experience are the land and animal labs available to students.

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Marty & Julie Hoffmann

Will there be an early arrival of

SPRING?

BY LAURA EDWARDS

SDSU Extension Climate Field Specialist

P

unxsutawney Phil, the famous groundhog, did not see his shadow this year, but can we really expect an early spring in South Dakota?

Some people who follow Phil’s annual Feb. 2 outing say he is accurate as little as 39 percent of the time.

So will 2016 be among the lucky 39 percent?

The forecasters at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center use a suite of computer forecast models, and have El Nino to help this year.

El Nino typically has a larger role in our winter season climate, particularly as above average temperatures, but its impact wanes in the spring season.

January climate review Here in South Dakota our winter season so far has been slightly wetter and warmer than usual. The northwest counties and northern Black Hills have been drier than average since November. The southcentral and southeast parts of the state have been about one and a half

to two times wetter than average over the last three months.

The northeastern counties have been especially warm in January, as some locations were 3 to 6 degrees above average, consistent with the NOAA outlooks for the winter.

Temperatures were slightly below average in the central and southern parts of the state, and near average in the southeast in the last month.

Forecast for February & beyond NOAA’s latest official forecast for the next three months shows South Dakota continuing to straddle the line between regions that are projected to be wetter to our south and drier to our north and east.

This could mean a couple of surges of moisture in the southern part of the state, such as what we saw this week with the blizzard in the southeast corner of the state, and also some northerly flow bringing drier air at times.

The temperature outlook for the spring season indicates warmer than average temperatures favored over the northern states. I — Source: SDSU Extension

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South Dakota Farm Bureau

Bayer rejects EPA request to pull insecticide from US market

education project wins national award SOURCE: S.D. FARM BUREAU

H

uron — An agriculture education resource created by the South Dakota Farm Bureau (SDFB) Women’s Leadership Team has won a national award from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). The “Book in a Bucket” education kit was one of three “Our Food Link” program winners nationally at the AFBF annual meeting held recently in Orlando.

“The goal of the Our Food Link program is to share with consumers the message that farmers and ranchers provide a safe, healthy and affordable food supply. There’s no better place to talk about the positive story of agriculture than with kids, and this Book in a Bucket program allows us to do that in a fun and interactive way,” said Cindy Foster, a farmer from the Fulton. area and chair of the SDFB Women’s Leadership Team. “We’ve had a lot of fun creating these kits and taking them out to classrooms, and we are truly honored by this award from AFBF.” The “Book in a Bucket” concept was created by SDFB’s Women’s Leadership Team as a hands-on ag education kit. The kit is convenient for teachers because it delivers a self-contained ag lesson — complete with core standards curriculum and corresponding props — all in one five-gallon bucket with a lid. For example, the beef-themed bucket contains the book “Our Star Goes West” with stories about growing up on a cattle ranch, plus an

ear of corn, mineral, milk replacer, a calf bottle, matching cow and calf ear tags, coloring pages and activities. The beef curriculum included in the kit is applicable to preschool through sixth grade.

In addition to Farm Bureau volunteers presenting the “bucket” lessons in local elementary classrooms, kits have been donated to or purchased by teachers, after-school programs, libraries, FFA chapters and 4-H clubs. Farm Bureau estimates that in 2015, more than 15,000 students have been reached with accurate agriculture information through the Book in a Bucket project.

“This award is an honor for our Farm Bureau volunteers who have worked so hard on this project. The quality of outreach programming coming from South Dakota Farm Bureau speaks to the dedication of our farm and ranch members who want to see agriculture succeed through increased understanding by the public,” said Krystil Smit, SDFB Executive Director.

Foster, along with SDFB Women’s Leadership Team vice chair Janet Hurlbert, of Clark, had the opportunity to make a presentation of their awardwinning project on the IDEAg trade show stage during the AFBF annual meeting. For more information about how to use the Book in a Bucket for ag education in your community, contact South Dakota Farm Bureau at (605) 353-8050 or visit the “Get Involved” tab online at www.sdfbf.org.

BY KARL PLUME Reuters

C

HICAGO — The agricultural unit of German chemicals company Bayer AG said on Friday it will fight a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency request to pull one of its insecticides from the marketplace amid concerns that it could harm organisms in streams and ponds.

Bayer CropScience will instead ask for an administrative law hearing from the EPA’s Office of General Counsel to review the registration of flubendiamide, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Belt pesticide.

The pesticide, launched in 2008, is used to control yield-damaging moths and worms in more than 200 crops including almonds, oranges and soybeans.

Bayer’s own tests have found that the pesticide is toxic in high doses to invertebrates in river and pond sediment. The organisms can be an important food source for fish.

However, the company’s field studies showed that doses in waters near agricultural fields never reached high enough levels to be toxic.

But the EPA’s risk assessment disagreed so the agency sent Bayer the request on Jan. 29.

“We are disappointed the EPA places so much trust on computer modeling and predictive capabilities when real-world monitoring shows no evidence of concern after seven years of safe use,” said Peter Coody, Bayer vice president of environmental safety.

After rejecting the EPA’s request, Bayer now expects the agency to issue a formal request to cancel its registration of the pesticide. After a comment period mandated by U.S. pesticide regulation law, Bayer will ask for a formal hearing to determine the pesticide’s fate.

Belt will remain on the market throughout the process.

Bayer reported 471 million euros ($527.5 million) in insecticide sales globally in its most recent quarter. The company declined to provide sales details of Belt.

The EPA’s move follows the agency’s unsuccessful attempt to withdraw its registration for Dow Chemical Co’s Enlist Duo weed killer.

Income Tax Preparation & Accounting

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LOW, LOW CASH PRICES OR 0% FOR 60 MONTHS ON IN STOCK FARMALL TRACTORS!

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Tiger-Mate 200 Field Culti ators

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32,481 35, 85 57, 5 5 , 5 67,533

2016 Truckload Sale!

MKX 10x73 GLP

$10,156

MKX 10x83 GLP

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2800 W. Havens • Mitchell • 996-7704 • 1-800-952-2308 18 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH FEBRUARY 2016

CHOOSE CASH BACK OR FINANCING AS LOW AS 0%* EITHER WAY YOU WIN!

During the Season of Champions Sales Event, you win with financing as low 0% for 60 months* or choose cash back on select New Holland tractors and equipment. Eligible models include popular haytools, compact and utility tractors, construction equipment, and more. ACT NOW! The New Holland Season of Champions Sales Event ends March 31, 2016, so visit Scott Supply today.

FINANCING*/ CASH BACK: HAY & FORAGE EQUIPMENT Roll-Belt 560 Specialty Crop Round Balers Haybine® Mower-Conditioners DB316R Discbine® Disc Mower-Conditioners TRACTORS Mid-Range Tractor T6.180 125 PTO HP Utility Tractors T4.90 with Loader 73 PTO HP LIGHT CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT Skid Steer Loaders Compact Track Loaders MATERIAL HANDLING Box Spreaders

0% for 48 OR Cash Back PLUS 2.0% for 60 0% for 48 OR Cash Back PLUS 2.0% for 60 0% for 48 OR Cash Back PLUS 2.0% for 60 0% for 48 OR Cash Back PLUS 3.5% for 60 0% for 60 OR Cash Back PLUS 3.5% for 6 0% for 60 OR Cash Back 0% for 60 OR Cash Back 0% for 36 OR Cash Back

ACT NOW! Offers end March 31, 2016. * For commercial use only. Customer participation subject to credit qualification and approval by CNH Industrial Capital America LLC or CNH Industrial Capital Canada Ltd. See your participating New Holland dealer for details and eligibility requirements. Down payment may be required. Offer good through March 31, 2016. Not all customers or applicants may qualify for this rate or term. CNH Industrial Capital America LLC or CNH Industrial Capital Canada Ltd. standard terms and conditions will apply. This transaction will be unconditionally interest free. Canada Example - 0.00% per annum for a total contract term of 60 months: Based on a retail contract date of March 15, 2016 with a suggested retail price on a new Boomer 24 of C$20,643.11, customer provides down payment of C$2064.11 and finances the balance of C$18,579.00 at 0.00% per annum for 60 months. There will be 60 equal monthly installment payments of C$309.65 each. The total amount payable will be C$20,643.11, which includes finance charges of C$0.00. Taxes, freight, setup, delivery, additional options or attachments not included in suggested retail price. Offer subject to change or cancellation without notice. © 2016 CNH Industrial Capital America LLC. All rights reserved. New Holland Agriculture is a trademark registered in the United States and many other countries, owned by or licensed to CNH Industrial N.V., its subsidiaries or affiliates. CNH Industrial Capital and New Holland Construction are trademarks in the United States and many other countries, owned by or licensed to CNH Industrial N.V., its subsidiaries or affiliates.

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2800 W. Havens Mitchell 996-7704 1-800-952-2308 FEBRUARY 2016 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH 19

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2013 Case IH Steiger 350 4WD, 512 hours, Powershift, 480/80R46 Duals, 4 Valves, PTO, Autoguidance Ready 2008 Case IH Puma 180 MFD, 150 PTO hp, Approximately 2,700 hours, Powershift, 18.4x42 Rear Tires, 14.9x30 Front Tires, 3 Valves, With Case IH LX770 Loader, 8.5 ft. Bucket, 5-Tine Grapple, Joystick 2006 Challenger MT875B, 570 hp, 4,626 hours, Powershift, 30 in. Tracks, 4 Valves, Front Weights, Track Weights 1996 Case IH 5240 Maxxum MFD, 18.4x38 Rear Tires, 14.9x24 Front Tires, With Miller PL-2 Loader 1988 Case IH 7140 Magnum MFD, 20.8x42 Rear Duals, 18.4x26 Front Tires, 3 Valves, 1000 PTO 1977 IH 1586 2WD, 20.8x38 Duals, 2 Valves

Used Combines & Heads 12 Months Interest Free or 3.50% for 3 Years 2013 Case IH 3020 30 ft., 3 in. Cut 2010 Case IH 2020 30 ft., 3 in. Cut 2010 Case IH 2162 35 ft., Flex Draper, Slow Speed Transport 2010 Case IH 2020 35 ft., 3 in. Cut 2007 Case IH 2020 35 ft., 3 in. Cut 2007 Case IH 2020 30 ft., 3 in. Cut 2002 Case IH 1020 25 ft., 3 in. Cut 2010 Case IH 3412 12R30, Hyd. Deck Plates, Field Tracker 2005 Case IH 2212 12R22, Hyd. Deck Plates, Field Tracker 1997 Case IH 1083 8R30 1989 Case IH 1063 6R30

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Notice: The promotions listed below are cash or CNH Capital Productivity Plus Card ONLY! Customers using VISA, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover Credit Cards are not eligible for these promotions!

2800 W. Havens • Mitchell, SD 996-7704 • 1-800-952-2308 001369519r1

www.scottsupplyco.com

20 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH FEBRUARY 2016

Case IH Farmall 70A 2WD, 62 PTO hp

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Local bull sale takes years of preparation Rock Creek Livestock in 16th year of annual event near Mitchell

BY CAITLYNN PEETZ The Daily Republic PHOTOGRAPHY BY Sarah Barclay/The Daily Republic he Rock Creek Livestock bull sale is an annual, one-day event, but preparation for the Mitchell operation’s sale spans nearly two years.

On Feb. 23, Kevin Geppert, head of the operation, his son, Weston, and their families will put their years of hard work on display for buyers. This year’s annual bull sale, which is in its 16th year, will be at 1 p.m. at the Geppers’ ranch, which is southwest of Mitchell about two miles.

“It’s amazing when you really sit back and think about it,” Weston said. “From conception to weaning to feeding, you just sit back and think about it — and if there’s something that turns out really good, you think, ‘Man, I made that decision dang near two years ago.’ I’d say over 75 percent of our bulls for next year’s sale are already born.”

T

Continued on page 24

ABOVE: A page out of the Rock Creek Livestock bull catalog, which the ranch sends out ever y year prior to the bull sale. The catalog, which includes pictures and statistics of each bull available, takes around three months to produce.

ABOVE: Kevin Geppert, left, and son Weston Geppert, right, herd bulls with their dog, Whiskey, on Feb. 4 at their ranch, Rock Creek Livestock, in Mitchell. The ranch is in the process of preparing for its annual bull sale, which will take place on Feb. 23.

605-337-2561

• • • • 001374093r1

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Federal Judge weighs fate of $380 million left over in 2010 Native American farm suit

BY SPENCER S. HSU The Washington Post

to distribute the money over 2 0 years through a trust led by N ative Americans to charities selected by class attorneys. The dispute pit class members against one another and against lawyers who represented the overall group.

I nstead, Sullivan called for new talks.

The original settlement cannot be changed after April 2 8 without agreement on what to do with the leftover funds, said J ohn G . Dillard of O lsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz , a lawyer for lead plaintiff Marilyn K eepseagle, a N orth Dakota Sioux rancher.

U nder those original terms, now criticiz ed by all sides, what was expected to be a small amount of leftover money would have to be distributed in equal shares to nonprofit groups chosen by class attorneys.

Sullivan said that because of the larger amount left unclaimed, that option “ could be viewed as both unj ust and inefficient.”

Attorneys for K eepseagle, the class and the department produced a new agreement in December, to award successful claimants an additional $ 2 1 ,2 7 5 in cash and tax payments in their behalf — about $ 7 7 million in all — atop the $ 5 0 ,0 0 0 apiece most received initially.

An additional $ 3 8 million would go to nonprofit groups chosen by class counsel, and the rest would endow a N ative American-led trust that could use its discretion to distribute money to nonprofit groups — an arrangement that could create the largest U .S. philanthropic institution to serve N ative American farmers and ranchers.

About 7 0 percent of 3 0 0 written comments filed with the court, and several of nearly 1 0 0 people who filled Sullivan’s courtroom Thursday, opposed the proposal. Those who obj ected include individuals who had tried to collect through the settlement but were denied and those who had never filed and were left out altogether.

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Three of four named class representatives, including K eepseagle and C laryca Mandan, a N orth Dakota rancher with the Hidatsa tribe, said that they believed that they had no choice but to accept the deal that includes some added payment to people like them but also creates the large trust and donations to charities. “ I t is with a heavy heart and great reluctance we accept this meager amount,” Mandan said. “ I t was too much to risk not getting any money at all.”

Another representative, K eith Mandan, C laryca’s ex-husband, opposed it. K eith Mandan agreed with William H. “ B illy” Smallwood J r., a successful C hoctaw claimant from Antlers, O klahoma, who filed a new lawsuit this week challenging the distribution of funds to “ undeserving third parties” — including charities with no track record formed j ust to capture the taxpayer-funded windfall — at the expense of proven victims of discrimination.

Dillard said that he was “ cautiously optimistic” the change would be approved, because time to make changes was running out for the court and for many aging farmers.

O f nine original class representatives, K eepseagle is now 7 8 , four others are deceased, and one has dementia, Dillard said. “ There’s real interest in going ahead and resolving this matter now,” he said.

L ead class attorney J oseph Sellers of C ohen Milstein Sellers & Toll said the result was a compromise by all sides to serve “ a community that has suffered enormous poverty over centuries and has extraordinary financial needs.”

Sellers said that he hoped the dispute over the leftover money would not distract from the case’s achievements, which in addition to funds included a systematic review of farm loan rules and the creation of a N ative American advisory council for the department. I

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N

ative American farmers asked a federal j udge Thursday to fix the “ monumental” failure of a landmark civil rights settlement that has left $ 3 8 0 million — more than half the total — unclaimed after the U .S. government agreed to pay the farmers for years of official discrimination.

The government in 2 0 1 0 committed $ 6 8 0 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit by thousands of N ative American farmers and ranchers. The suit filed in 1 9 9 9 alleged that the Agriculture Department discriminated against N ative Americans in loan programs from 1 9 8 1 to 1 9 9 9 .

O nly about 3 ,6 0 0 successful claimants came forward after the settlement, not the more than 1 0 ,0 0 0 expected. Those who filed claims received roughly $ 1 8 0 million plus $ 6 0 million in tax payments on their behalf, not counting other relief on farm loan debt. About $ 6 0 million went to attorneys.

B ut that left unclaimed hundreds of millions set aside for the settlement and launched a battle over how to handle those funds. “ The scope of this failure is monumental; the reasons for it remain unclear,” U .S. District J udge Emm et G . Sullivan of the District of C olumbia wrote in J uly, calling the result a “ cautionary tale” in classaction law.

Ex perts said the inability to distribute money to more aggrieved farmers could track to several factors: the department’s failure to keep records of applicants who previously had been denied loans, a history of skepticism in I ndian country about federal promises, and the hurdles of reaching poor and isolated N ative Americans in remote areas who — based on previous calculation models used in litigation — were believed to have been engaged in agriculture.

Sullivan rej ected competing proposals last summer to split the untapped $ 3 8 0 million among class recipients — which the government opposed — or

Call Carl at 605-770-2957 Emery, SD

FEBRUARY 2016 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH 23

ABOVE: Whiskey, the Geppert family pet and cattle dog, helps herd any straying bulls for the upcoming annual sale. RIGHT: In preperation for the sale, Kevin herds a calf around its enclosure.

Continued from page 21 On the day of the sale, bulls will be on display in a pen at the family’s farm south of Mitchell. The Gepperts will be available throughout the morning and early afternoon to answer questions and visit with potential buyers.

At noon, a lunch will be provided, and the sale auction will begin right after lunch, around 1 p.m.

Kevin said oftentimes, because of winter weather conditions, buyers don’t take the bulls they purchase home that day.

“So, we take care of them until spring, and then deliver them later,” Kevin said.

“That gives an opportunity to visit with them again and be at their place to see their operation.”

The days and weeks leading up to the sale can be stressful, the Gepperts agreed.

Kevin referred to the sale as a “nice relief day” after working to put the event together.

Between performing ultrasounds on the cattle, photographing each for a catalog sent out prior to the sale and producing videos of the animals, the hours add up.

“You see the pictures of the animals and the pedigree and all of the numbers. It doesn’t just happen,” Kevin said. “It takes quite a few different days of the year, different times and different steps to get that all gathered up.”

The videos, a new tactic recently adopted by the operation, show each bull individually. The videos are then edited, proofed and placed on the Rock Creek Livestock website, and are shown at the bull sale, rather than taking each bull through a traditional show ring.

The videos provide an array of benefits.

First, potential buyers are able to see the animals before the sale, rather than just read the measurements and figures listed in the catalog the operation mails out.

Additionally, though most of the Gepperts’ customers are local, it provides a way for people farther away to participate in the sale. The day of the sale, Weston said, is the business’ primary day of income for the year, so if inclement weather arises, it alleviates some stress to know that day is not lost.

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“We only have one day of the year — this is our one day — that we’re hoping for good weather and for people to be able to make the sale,” Kevin added. “In comparison to other businesses where you sell a product every day, a lot of times that’s not necessarily the case here. You’re putting a lot of your eggs in one basket.”

But, even though the videos, catalogue and measurements provided are tools that are made as accurate as possible, Kevin said there’s simply no better alternative than a buyer examining a bull in person.

“People can easily get wrapped up in just buying an animal based off of the numbers,” he said. “But we always need to keep in mind these are just tools. There’s nothing probably better than actually evaluating the animal itself and looking at it yourself and making decisions off of that.”

Moreover, the Gepperts view the sale as an annual “reunion” in which they are able to visit with their repeat-buyers, many of which they don’t often get to see at other times.

The family owned and operated businesses also takes the day to reminisce on the help they’ve received from friends and neighbors over 20-plus years. Occasionally, the sons of some of Rock Creek Livestock’s first customers will show up to the sale and buy their own bulls.

“It’s been nice over the years as I look back and see how we’ve grown,” Kevin said.

“We’ve gotten more buyers and it’s always fun to see your buyers’ kids come and buy from you, too.”

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Platte Power Sports Members of the 2016 Mitchell FFA chapter are: (front row): Jennilee Wipf, Adrionna Long, Haylee Constant, Leah DiPippo, Edana Mahrt, Advisor Jeff Hoffman, Annika Vermeulen, Lane Jorgensen, and Lily Hoffman. (2nd row): Shalynn Klunder, Morgen Mahrt, Tyler Sypnieski, Brie Somerville, McKenzie Patton, Micah DiPippo, Natalie Buckley, Grace Phinney, Sam Podzimek, McKenzie Norton. (3rd row): Karly Blaalid, Tegan Stunes, Matthew Wantoch, Matthew Lambert, Trevor Vaughn, Shelby Riggs, Bailey Kahler, Johnna Jorgensen, Lesley VanDrongelen, Hailey Axemaker. (Back row): Stacie Knigge, Jennifer Beinlich, Patricia Weins, Rachel Robertson, Nicole Conrad, Clay Jorgensen, Zeke Van Walleghen, Mahayla Foos, and Jared Sorenson. FFA members not pictured are Logan Kommes, Ally Goldammer, Tierney Musick, Jesse Tegethoff, Skyler Sievert, and Caitlyn Weins

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CLUB CONNECT The Following is a roundup of events and activities by various FFA and 4-H clubs in the region: Beresford FFA According to Bridget Twedt, Beresford FFA will celebrate National FFA Week Feb. 21-28.

Activities include: Feb. 22: Elementary classes will visit the ag classroom and enjoy a petting zoo along with Dress As A Farmer Day. Feb. 23: Students throughout the high school are encouraged to drive ABOVE: Pictured are freshmen FFA members their tractor to school and participate working on their “Greenhand” T-shirts. Members in the “Tractor Cade” over their lunch will celebrate Greenhand Day on Feb. 25 by wearing hour as they show off their flannel their T-shirts and dyeing their hands green. apparel.

Feb. 24: Annual community pancake, held in the multi-purpose room. All are encouraged to attend, and FFA members will sport their blue and gold for Official Dress Day. Feb. 25: Kick off of state wrestling. Wrestlers and fans will be encouraged to participate in the Ag Relays during our prep rally. Freshmen FFA members will sport their “green hands” that day, along with chapter members in FFA apparel.

Feb. 26 will be the conclusion of National FFA week with all school members encouraged to wear camouflage.

Lennox Sundstrom According to FFA adviser Jim Wilson, the Lennox Sundstrom FFA Agriculture Issues Team performed its state-winning presentation on GMO labeling to the South Dakota legislative agriculture committees of the House and Senate on Jan. 21 at ABOVE: From left, Lennox Sundstrom FFA Agriculture Issues Team members Molly the Capitol. These presentations were Kroeger, Megan Cramer, Jessica Birgholtz, made possible by state Sen. Jason state Sen. Jason Frerichs, FFA members CarLee Frerichs, who arranged opportunity Mechels, Corrisa Sweeter and Abbie Strasser. for the team.

The rules of the Agriculture Issues Career Development Event require the team to give a 15-minute unbiased presentation on an issue facing agriculture. The team chose GMO labeling because it is a timely issue on the state and national level, which has two defendable sides. They completed research on the topic and chose to role play a TV panel discussion called the “Women of Agriculture.” The team completed 10 presentations to a variety of agriculture groups prior to the state contest on Dec. 6.

The team has qualified and will compete at the National FFA Convention in October, which will be in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Winner FFA “The school year is already on the downhill slide with the first semester giving way to new experiences, opportunities for learning, exploration, and challenging moments that yielded growth and improvement,” said Wyatt DeJong a high school ag teacher and FFA adviser.

DeJong said the Winner FFA Chapter this year has expanded participation in leadership-based competitive events. He said 31 members took advantage of those opportunities, and two members were elected to district office, five seniors completed the ABOVE: These are 12 of the 13 Winner FFA members that requirements for their enrolled in the first-ever Advanced Animal Science summer course, where they had to get 40 hours of classroom instruction State FFA Degree and and 60 hours of hands-on work with their leased beef heifer that others traveled to various they showed at the Mid-Dakota Fair.

locations for one-day ag tour events to learn about current agricultural careers.

He said that is in addition to nine students attending a leadership conference in Washington, D.C., and 13 students earning credit in the first-ever advanced animal science summer course.

Aurora County 4-H The Aurora County Country Kids 4-H club had its annual soup and sandwich bingo at the Plankinton Methodist Church on January 23, 2016. Cortney Olinger said the club served ham sandwiches and eight kinds of soup to about 37 guests.

After the meal, attendees played bingo.

Beadle County 4-H • HEARTLAND 4-HERS 4-H — In December, the club participated in the local festival of trees and created a giving tree. Members decorated the tree with hats, gloves, scarves, socks and other items for people to take off the tree. They also provided a box next to the tree for donations from the community. At the end of the festival, they donated all the items remaining on the tree and in the box to a local elementary school.

• BROADLAND BUDDIES 4-H — This Christmas season the Broadland Buddies 4-H Club of Beadle County set up a Christmas Tree at Crossroads for the public to view. The club purchased gifts for two names for the Angel Tree.

RIGHT: Broadland Buddies are pictured with the items they have collected for the Salvation Army this Christmas.

Buffalo County 4-H • LEADER BAD NATION RUSTLERS Bad Nation Rustlers are a small and growing 4-H club out of Fort Thompson, said Diane Inch.

“We have several very accomplished members in bead work, crafts, photography, chickens, sheep and goats,” Inch said, adding that members range in age from 8-16.

“We are always learning and trying new things in addition to giving back to our community in our various volunteer activities. We are always looking for new members and adults with experience they are willing to share,” she wrote.

Pennington County The 4-H dog project spring class is from 6 to 8 p.m. March 3 to April 21, with meetings at the 4-H building on the Central States Fair Grounds in Rapid City. Classes are open to all youth and their families wanting to create a better relationship with man’s best friend.

For more information, contact Matthew Olson, SDSU Extension 4-H youth program adviser in Pennington County at (605) 3942188, or visit www.facebook.com/groups/ ExtraOrdinaryFriends4HDogProject/.

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Continued from page 8 risks associated with fumes emitted by the large volume of waste generated by industrial hog farms.

Some noteworthy studies have come from Iowa, the nation’s top pork-producing state.

Emissions including hydrogen sulfide and ammonia monitored near livestock operations were high enough to be harmful to humans, according to a study by the University of Iowa and Iowa State University.

Another study by the University of Iowa concluded that children living on hog farms where antibiotics are added to feed have significantly higher rates of asthma.

Similarly, a North Carolina study of more than 58,000 children found a 23 percent higher incidence of asthma symptoms for students attending schools with livestock odors.

Yet another study by the University of Iowa found that residents living within 2 miles of a 4,000hog confinement farm reported significantly more respiratory problems than other residents.

Ammonia given off by hog waste can drift in the wind and mix with acidic gas to form fine particles that settle to the ground, posing a health risk.

“They cause respiratory distress, they cause reduced lung function,” said Joseph Rudek, lead senior scientist for the Environmental Defense Fund.

The health risks from large hog operations are most prevalent in areas where very large numbers of hogs are found in concentrated areas. In North Carolina, for instance, 10 million hogs are concentrated in five counties, he said.

In an area with only one large hog farm, the effects would not be as concentrated, Rudek said.

But, he added, the effects would increase if other large hog operations clustered in the area.

Thompson and his neighbors, in fact, are worried that Rolling Green Family Farms could be the first of more to come.

“Our concern is if this goes through, it’s just the beginning,” said Liane Stout, who lives in Buffalo.

ND permits don’t require air quality North Dakota officials have been promoting large feedlots as a way to boost the state’s livestock industry, significantly smaller than in neighboring states. Lawmakers granted exemptions for swine

and dairy farms in the state’s ban on corporate farming, a change that is being challenged in the June primary.

Although many of the health concerns involving large livestock operations involve air quality, North Dakota’s permitting addresses only water quality standards. As a result, the permit for Rolling Green Family Farms does not require steps to reduce air emissions from manure.

Minnesota, which has a much larger livestock industry, enforces a standard for hydrogen sulfide as part of its state feedlot rules. Those rules were imposed because of health concerns, said Brent Riess, a livestock specialist for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, which regulates feedlots.

Minnesota has banned open-air manure pits for all swine units since the late 1990s, meaning that any pit for swine manure must be covered, thus reducing odors and emissions, Riess said.

The permit application for Rolling Green Family Farms calls for confinement barns covering deep concrete pits to trap waste.

Drain tile will be placed beneath the deep pits in the barns to collect contaminated water leaking from the pits in a shallow containment pond.

Alan Dostert, an architect who lives in the area, said specifications for the concrete pits do not require reinforcement bars that are corrosionresistant. “This is going to deteriorate very rapidly,” he said.

Officials in Minnesota and South Dakota said Pipestone Veterinary Services, a company that is affiliated with Pipestone Holdings, has a good compliance record in managing large swine

operations.

“I think this is a very large corporation,” said Jeff Bathke, director of planning and zoning for South Dakota’s Davison County, which includes Mitchell.

“They’re great to deal with. They’ve been very responsive.”

Still, Bathke said, the county has received odor complaints stemming from Jackrabbit Family Farms, a large hog operation managed by Pipestone Veterinary Services. Davison County has 20 to 30 large swine farms, and rural residents know that odors go along with animal agriculture, he said.

“I haven’t had any compliance issues with them,” Riess of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said of Pipestone Veterinary Services.

Pipestone Veterinary Services operates 10 permitted swine feedlots in South Dakota, said Kent Woodmansey, feedlot program administrator for the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Pipestone Holdings spokesmen answered questions about the project in a public meeting earlier this month, but did not respond to interview requests Friday.

Health officials have said the application for Rolling Green Family Farms meets state laws, but have scheduled a public hearing March 17 and will accept comments until March 19.

Roy Thompson, meanwhile, said it would be welcome to hear from a neighbor elsewhere with experience who can offer reassurances that large hog farms can be good neighbors.

“I’ve never met that person,” he said, “and I don’t think they exist.” I

On Feb. 3, Roy Thompson looks toward the site of a proposed pig farm 1 mile southwest of his sevenacre farmstead southeast of Buffalo, N.D. He hoped to retire to the home he built there but is now unsure whether he will. (FNS photo)

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32 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH FEBRUARY 2016

401 Cabela Dr Mitchell SD 57301

Can cattle producers impact a cow’s ability to deliver better

COLOSTRUM?

SOURCE: SDSU EXTENSION

B

rookings — Due to the large body of evidence clearly pointing to the benefits of colostrum for baby calves, much attention has been given to the calf side of the equation: ensuring a calf consumes an adequate amount of high-quality colostrum.

“But what about the production side of colostrum — the cow’s side?” asked Julie Walker, Associate Professor and SDSU Extension beef specialist. “What interventions could be made within the cow herd to improve the quantity and quality, or concentration of immunoglobulins, of colostrum produced?”

Late-gestation nutrition’s role Walker said perhaps the most important cow-aspect of colostrum production is late-gestation nutrition.

“Cows with body condition score of 5 or 6 at calving tend to produce more and higher-quality colostrum compared to thinner cows, with a score of 4 or less,” she explained.

However, depriving cows nutritionally in late gestation will not consistently result in lower antibody concentration in their colostrum. “Nutritional deprivation, may however affect the quantity of colostrum the cow produces,” said Russ Daly, Professor, SDSU Extension Veterinarian, State Public Health Veterinarian. “Providing adequate levels of trace minerals also improves immunoglobulin concentration compared to cows on mineral-restricted diets.”

On the other hand, Daly said there is some evidence that over-conditioned cows produce colostrum with lower immunoglobulin concentration.

“The bottom line is maintaining cows in a moderate to good body condition score at calving, along with providing adequate levels of trace minerals, will give cows their best opportunity to produce plentiful, antibody-rich colostrum,” Daly said.

Can cattle breed influence production?

In general, Walker said differences among beef breeds don’t significantly influence colostrum immunoglobulin concentration. “However, it’s not a stretch to understand that some breeds — and individual animals — are better milk-producers than others,” she said.

Walker explained that heavier-milking breeds and individuals produce more colostrum but of lower

immunoglobulin concentrations. For beef breeds, these cows tend to produce a higher overall mass of antibodies available to the calf.

In addition, cows of some breeds are more efficient at moving antibodies from their bloodstream into their colostrum; and cows that produce higher-fat milk produce higher-quality colostrum.

“We are not near a point where we can select cows for better colostrum production, but producers should at least be aware of differences between individuals, even within a breed or herd,” Walker said.

Parity of the mother influences both the volume and quality of colostrum.

Does environment impact colostrum?

Environmental conditions surrounding the cow in late gestation have not been well-studied for their effect on colostrum production. “Evidence exists, however, to suggest that heifers undergoing heat stress produce colostrum with lower immunoglobulin levels compared to heifers housed in cooler environments,” Walker said.

Therefore, Walker said cattle producers may want to consider colostrum quality as yet another reason to prevent heat stress, particularly in fall-calving herds.

“It’s also widely accepted that the organisms to which a cow is exposed influence the antibody profile of colostrum,” she said. “Colostrum from cows brought in from different locations in late gestation may contain antibodies to different infectious organisms than are present in the cow’s new location.”

Other factors to consider

Cows gather to feed at the L & Z dair y farm in Fari village in Januar y on the outskirts of Nigeria’s northern city of Kano. (Reuters photo)

First-calf heifers produce colostrum in smaller volumes as well as lower immunoglobulin concentrations, explained Daly.

“Studies in dairy breeds indicate that the antibody concentration of colostrum increases with each successive pregnancy until a cow’s third calving, after which it levels off,” he said.

Daly added that vaccinating cows in late pregnancy has long been recognized as a method to improve colostrum quality.

“Cow vaccination against scours pathogens may not increase the overall level of immunoglobulins in a cow’s bloodstream, and therefore the level in colostrum, but it will increase the concentration of immunoglobulins specific to those agents vaccinated for,” Daly said.

“Cattle producers should work with their veterinarian to choose the optimal product and timing.”

Other cow-related factors might not directly influence colostrum, but Daly said they definitely affect the calf’s ability to nurse promptly and adequately. “Poor udder conformation, for example, dropped teats, make it difficult for newborns to find the udder and nurse.

Mastitis acutely affects colostrum production while the associated pain and discomfort may discourage the cow from allowing the calf to nurse.”

Mothering ability has been shown to significantly affect immunoglobulin levels in calves after they consume colostrum. Finally, calving difficulty due to any reason may result in calves that are slower to stand and nurse, and more likely to suffer from acidosis, delaying immunoglobulin absorption.

Walker and Daly both add that culling practices which focus on retaining females with well-constructed udders, good mothering abilities and calving ease will positively affect colostrum production, as well as many other parameters within the herd. “Prompt and appropriate intervention for cows in need of calving assistance will also indirectly help colostrum utilization within the herd,” Daly said.

“It may not be possible to determine how well an individual cow will produce colostrum before she calves.

But stacking the deck in her favor with appropriate nutrition and care will help ensure you’re giving her — and her calf — the best chance possible,” Walker added. I

FEBRUARY 2016 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH 33

Monsanto to focus on technology as

Syngenta merger slips away

BY JACK KASKEY Bloomberg News

M

ABOVE: Michel Demare, president of Swiss agrochemicals maker Syngenta, at right, and Ren Jianxin, at left, chairman of China National Chemical Corp, address Syngenta’s annual news conference Feb. 3 at the company’s headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. (Reuters photo)

34 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH FEBRUARY 2016

onsanto Co. wanted Syngenta so badly it pursued the pesticide producer for four years and made three separate takeover offers. Yet losing out to a Chinese bidder could be the best outcome for the seed company.

State-owned China National Chemical Corp.’s agreement Wednesday to buy Syngenta for about $43 billion ends Monsanto Chief Executive Officer Hugh Grant’s vision of combining the Swiss company’s weed- and bug-killing chemicals with the world’s largest genetically modified seed business.

Victory for ChemChina, as the state-owned company is also known, means paying 17 times Syngenta’s trailing 12-month earnings, exceeding the multiples paid in 10 comparable deals, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Such a deal would have been too expensive for Monsanto, according to Chris Shaw, a New York-based analyst at Monness Crespi Hardt & Co. Monsanto “is better off having not overpaid for Syngenta,” Shaw said Tuesday in a note, ahead of the official announcement of the ChemChina offer. “There’s benefit on a strategic basis as well.”

That benefit, according to Shaw, lies in St. Louis-based Monsanto’s strong position in modified seeds and precision agriculture, the term for software that advises farmers

Continued on page 35

Continued from page 34 on seed selection and the application of pesticides and fertiliz ers.

The U .S. company told investors in N ovember it expects to add $ 3 .5 billion in gross profit by 2 0 1 9 as it rolls out new products. B ig drivers of growth are expected to include I ntacta soybeans, modified to combat insects in South America. The company said Wednesday a new soybean engineered to withstand the application of both Roundup and dicamba herbicides is now available in the U nited States and C anada And then there’s Monsanto’s precision-agriculture app for tablet computers and smartphones, which provides real-time data on soil conditions, weather and yields.

Monsanto envisages farmers around the world paying to use the app on as many as 40 0 million acres by 2 0 2 5 . C ompared with all of that, Syngenta’s crop chemicals are “ mundane,” Shaw said. “ We have a strong stand-alone growth plan and our shareowners can be assured we will continue to remain disciplined,” Monsanto said in a statement Wednesday, in response to questions about the C hemC hina offer.

The C hemC hina deal comes less than two months after Dow C hemical C o. and DuP ont C o. agreed to merge, as a prelude to splitting into three separately traded companies. O ne of those new businesses would include an agriculture company larger than either Monsanto and Syngenta.

I f Monsanto still wants to add more pesticides, G erman companies B ayer and B ASF

may want to strike a licensing deal or even sell off some assets, J ohn Roberts, a N ew York-based analyst at U B S Securities, said by phone Tuesday. B ASF and B ayer spokesmen declined to comment on potential deals. “ Any potential opportunity would need to continue to meet three critical obj ectives,” Monsanto said in its statement. “ I t must be a strong strategic fit, it must provide synergistic value and it must result in a responsible capital structure.”

B ayer’s agriculture business is similar to Syngenta, and the company eventually may want to exit the sector to focus on its health-care business, Roberts said. Monsanto already collaborates with B ASF on developing gene-altered crops, providing a ready avenue for talks on pesticide deals, he said. B ut it’s possible B ASF and B ayer could strike their own merger within G ermany, much as Dow and DuP ont are doing in the U .S., he said. “ We expect Monsanto to deepen relationships with B ASF,” J onas O xgaard, a N ew York-based analyst at Sanford C . B ernstein, said in a note Wednesday.

O xgaard sees Syngenta’s acquisition as “ a net negative” for Monsanto. U B S’s Roberts says that even if the company remains on the sidelines, it will still benefit from the deals being done by its largest rivals, which will raise performance across the industry. “ The industry being more consolidated won’t hurt Monsanto,” he said. “ C onsolidation usually benefits everybody.” I

The logo of Swiss agrochemicals maker Syngenta adorns its headquarters Feb. 3, in Basel, Switzerland.

(Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann)

FEBRUARY 2016 SOUTH DAKOTA FARM & RANCH 35

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