Swine & U

By Gerald Shurson, Zhengia Dou, David Gallagan, and Allison Thomson

The food supply chain in the United States has been actively partnering with farmers and ranchers to reduce the environmental impact of agricultural operations in the United States over the past 15 years. Food supply chains from the field to the plate are complex, with many different arrangements — ranging from direct contracts between growers and food brands common in specialty crops, to the largescale commingling of commodity grains used in food, feed and fuel which makes traceability of food products back to an individual farm challenging.

The private sector has been taking on this challenge in order to meet environmental commitments, including corporate objectives and science-based targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase soil carbon sequestration, and improve soil health.

Commitments to reducing emissions from food production must include an accounting for on-farm production of the raw ingredients and interventions which reach a diverse community of private landowners and managers. To meet these commitments, grower organizations and the food supply chain are working to engage farmers in projects and programs to accelerate the transition to more sustainable and regenerative farming practices such as reductions in

UniversityofMinnesota EXTENSION SWINE&U

tillage, increases in rotation complexity and introduction of cover

SWINE & U crops and grazing.

Gerald Shurson Private sector efforts have included piloting science-based approaches to measuring outcomes and reporting on progress, engaging growers in on-farm research and trials, testing digital technology for measurement and investing in development of voluntary carbon markets.

This experience provides a foundation for learning about successful strategies to engage and support producers in making practice changes. However, there are limitations to the scope of voluntary programs to influence farmers and the information available on creating successful interventions.

The scope of the research necessary to move past some of these limitations requires investments which would collectively benefit all farmers and actors in the food supply chain. Government-supported research programs can help understand the barriers preventing adoption and sustained use of regenerative and climate smart agricultural practices.

Providing a roadmap and establishing public-private partnerships will increase the effectiveness of private sector efforts. Reaching and enrolling farmers to participate, gathering sufficient data to measure or calculate greenhouse gas emissions and soil carbon, and incentives for implementing practice changes could all be enhanced with evidence-based strategies for collective action.

Another barrier is in the efficient and accurate calculation of environmental outcomes, and monitoring improvements to ensure interventions are achieving the desired goal. One major obstacle in this work is the limited availability of field-based research data across the full scope of farming systems and geographies of U.S. agriculture.

See SWINE & U, pg. 11

We can’t help your daughter get straight A’s, but we can help you get the best genetics for your farm.

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TALENT IN THE GREENSEAM

By Shane Bowyer

See GREENSEAM, pg. 14

It’s a good time to be in the “Help food has not translated into people One way is to look outside traditional agriculture Wanted” sign business. Just drive taking jobs in the industry. The degree programs such as the various business around town and you’ll see it as tight overall job market is affecting degrees. Of the open positions noted in the NIFA most every business in the region most functions of companies from report (https://www.purdue.edu/usda/employment/), is in need of employees. Employers production to sales to management. there will be 24,700 annual open business and manare scratching their heads trying to Positions are going unfilled; and as agement positions for new college graduates in the figure out where to find qualified a result, the growth of companies is FANRE realm. Many are never filled. employees — and sometimes “qualified” simply means a person who shows up every day on time. The story of the increasingly difficult search for employees keeps amplifying as the Minnesota unemployment rate keeps falling. In July, the unemployment rate in Minnesota hit 3.9 percent — well below the U.S. number of 5.4 percent. The current percentage in Minnesota is growing closer to the pre-Covid rate of February 2020 which was 3.3 percent, compared to May of 2020 when it was 11.3 percent. The unemployment numbers can only tell part of the story. Other factors impacting the agriculture and food industry labor market include fewer people in rural communities, the decline in the overall labor participation rate, higher wages and competition from other job sectors, and the untrue image of all ag jobs being hard, dirty work. Besides that, what’s there not to like? becoming stagnate. The 2021 GreenSeam State of Ag Report found companies ranked the lack of talent/employees as the secondgreatest factor in limiting business to grow — right behind policy and regulations (which was higher than normal due to Covid regulations). According to U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2020-2025 National Food and Agriculture report, “Employment Opportunities for College Graduates,” there will be approximately 59,400 open positions annually within food, agriculture, renewable natural resources and the environment (FANRE). Thus, to help overcome the talent shortage, companies need to be creative in recruiting methods as well as search in non-traditional places. GreenSeam’s director Sam Ziegler agrees with the opportunity to look towards business schools. “Ag companies are businesses, all which have similar needs of talent,” Zeigler said. “Having foundational knowledge of how a business operates has big value as every ag company needs talent which aligns with business majors.” In addition, the State of Ag Report also found that ag knowledge is not the strongest need of what is desired of current candidates. The report showed individual skills such as work ethic and emotional intelligence ranked high, as well as collaborative skills like communication, leadership and cultural awareness — all of which are core to most business degree programs. Meshke adds to this point. “Every individual skill set can find a career path in agriculture,” she said. “When interviewing a candidate, however, I focus on communication, problem solving and follow through. That’s important, no matter the job description.” Sheryl Meshke, co-President and CEO of Associated Milk Producers Inc., noted that consumers are becoming more aware of the food supply chain and the infrastructure. “Perhaps the pandemic brought food back into perspective,” she said. “In Gallup’s 20 years of tracking Americans’ views of various business and industry sectors, farming and agriculture was the clear leader this year.” I may be biased, as well as tooting our own tractor horn, but I would be remised in not mentioning that we have been developing agribusiness and food innovation programing in the College of Business at Minnesota State University, Mankato. In the past couple years, we have added a new major, minor and a number of extra-curricular ag-related activities for business students to help

Yet, the positive view of agriculture and

On an annual basis, expect 59,400 job opportunities for new college graduates

Intern in the

Luke Hennis

Madelia, MN School: Southwest Minnesota State University Major: Agronomy/Ag. Business Internship with Crystal Valley Cooperative

How did you learn about your internship?

I grew up in a region where Crystal Valley had many of their locations which allowed me to meet some of the employees. I also knew other people who had interned with them before me and had good experiences with the company. Have you always wanted a career in agriculture?

Yes, I have known since a young age that my passion was within the agricultural industry. I grew up in a small farming community and was surrounded by agriculture which exposed me to various sides of crop and livestock operations. Having these experiences was the main source of how I found my passion and knew what I wanted to do when I was going into the job market.

Why did you choose an internship in the ag industry?

I chose an internship in the ag industry because it correlated directly with my major in college and allowed me to expand my knowledge and network.

What are you learning on the job you did not learn in class?

I learned all my hands-on experiences in the field. I was able to see and experience not only the crop/weed scouting in the field, but I was also able to do sale call ride-alongs which allowed me to see the sales side of an agronomist’s job. Among other things I was able to work at the airport to load crop dusters, soil sample, attend seed kickoffs, and had bi-weekly trainings with other companies in the industry. What surprised you about the internship?

Something that surprised me the most about the internship with Crystal Valley is that I did not feel like summer help. I felt like they hired me to expand my knowledge and invest in me. This countered my original thoughts before I started the internship that my role would be summer help.

In what ways has your employer worked with you to be flexible for your student life and classes?

My employer allowed me to receive college credits for this internship by putting in extra time to fill out paperwork for my summer class.

What is your favorite animal?

My favorite animal is dogs.

What is your favorite food?

I would have to go with steak and potatoes because, nothing beats a medium-rare ribeye with potatoes.

Who is you favorite musical artist/band?

My favorite musical artist is either Jason Aldean or Nickelback.

By DICK HAGEN

The Land Staff Writer Emeritus

Retired after 40 years with Farmers Coop Elevator in Cottonwood, Minn., Gary Morken, age 62, now has even more time to enjoy his favorite hobby: flying. On Aug 31 he flew his 1957 Cessna 170 the 30 air-miles from Cottonwood to enjoy coffee and breakfast with his two grandkids at the ChatterBox Café, next door to Olivia airport.

Yep, I was at the café with the usual ‘self appointed’ opinion experts which often includes Doug Toreen, Bird Island area corn/soybean farmer and predictably well-versed on local gossip. Toreen knows Morken, so I scooted over from our Round Table intelligence center to meet this new ‘fly-in’ arrival. Morken agreed to a quick interview. “Sure, but we’re out of here in just a few minutes.”

I dashed back into town to get my cell phone and tape recorder. But when I got back to the Chatterbox, visiting pilot and kids were gone. So quickly back to my car I sped to our adjacent airport. That Cessna was cranked up and ready to lift off. I waved my arms — hoping to get the attention of the pilot. He recognized me and shut down his Cessna … and now you get the rest of the story.

Merken said he is a frequent visitor to Olivia. “I get here often,” he admitted. “Your airport is next door. I park my plane and it’s just a five-minute walk to this café. Sometimes, when I bring my wife, we’ll saunter a few more minutes to Max’s Bar & Grill. That’s a great restaurant too!”

Merken said his Cessna 170 is a “very dependable rig. Cost about $270,000 then; now about $400K. Besides myself, two retired farmers and a retired Delta Airlines pilot own this airplane. It cruises at about 115 miles per hour; but can also fly at only about 58 mph. A four-passenger and great air plane.”

The long-time elevator ag guy was scanning farm fields today with his two grandkids: Evra, age 7, and Abram, age 9. “This drought is showing everywhere between here and Cottonwood,” Merken reported. “Sandy spots in farm fields stick out like a sore thumb this year. Low spots needing some drainage are also very evident. Sure, some good looking areas too.”

“My son-in-law, Andy Frank, works at the Agronomy Center in Cottonwood,” Merken continued. “He also farms our land and figures around 120-bushel on the corn. And about 40-45 bushels on the soybeans. These showers the past few days might bump up beans just a bit.”

I told Merken I heard on Lynn Ketelsen’s farm radio reports that corn silage harvest is already underway. “I’ve got a dairy farm right next to me,” Merken agreed. “They started yesterday (Aug. 30) on corn silage.”

Merken said he’s been flying for a little over 40 years. “I went through a divorce. My daughter was 300 miles away and I wanted to stay in touch. That’s what got me started.”

He confessed he didn’t make the Olivia Lion’s July 25 fly-In breakfast which drew 41 pilots. “I’ve done a lot of flying this yea — except when forest-fire smoke was cascading around the atmosphere. You’ve got a great airfield here at Olivia. I’ve flown much of southern Minnesota; a few trips over northern Iowa and on into South Dakota. Yes, the drought damage is everywhere.”

With that, Merken said it was time to go. “Got to get these two tykes back home,” he chuckled, “and then crank up my lawn sprayer and tackle a few weeds now sprouting in the yard. Those buggers never take a break until frost finally puts them down.”

“Overall, so much to be thankful for this year … and every year!” he said as he boarded his plane. “Even in this dry season, our Minnesota farm belt looks pretty darn good from my airplane!” v

www.TheLandOnline.com Americans must stop thinking of food waste as garbage

SWINE & U, from pg. 9

Enabling field research on climate smart agriculture practices and standardized data are necessary. In addition, this field data must be readily available to improve the accuracy of greenhouse gas emissions and soil carbon estimates from farms.

Food waste and carbon footprints

With roughly one-third of food produced for humans lost or wasted, our ability to end hunger, protect the environment, conserve natural resources, and mitigate climate change impacts is greatly undermined. Greenhouse gas emissions attributed to food loss and waste account for 8–10 percent of global anthropogenic emissions, making it the third largest emitter behind China and the United States if food loss and waste were a country.

In addition, food loss and waste has dramatic effects on depleting finite essential resources such as phosphorus, and aggravating nitrogen pollution problems.

Food waste prevention is at the top in addressing food’s climate and sustainability challenges. However, progress in waste prevention has been extremely slow. The UN Sustainable Development Goals Target 12.36 calls for halving per capita food waste at retail and consumer level by 2030.

In the United States, food donation and various food rescue efforts helped to save up to 2 million tonnes (4.4 million pounds) of food from being wasted. The amount is significant, but very small compared to the magnitude of the problem: 60 million tonnes (132 million pounds) of edible food is lost/ wasted at the consumption stage annually.

The question is: How can societies manage the food waste streams to extract the maximal value while alleviating climate and environmental burdens?

A national framework is needed which focuses on creating and/or expanding commercialization of food waste recycling options, with the goal of optimizing resource recovery; reducing carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus footprints; and mitigating climate impact. Government policies and entrepreneurial incentives at local, state, and national levels must be developed.

Agencies must address biosafety concerns including applying FSMA regulations to food waste for animal feed; re-evaluating the Swine Health Protection Act and current thermal processing conditions; define low bio-hazard food waste stream sources; and develop science-based hazard analysis and preventive controls for food waste processing facilities.

Investments are needed in research and technological innovation to establish LCC reduction credits of food waste recycling options; as well as documenting the impacts of the various options; and foster technological integration.

It is also important to create educational programs and promotions to change society’s perceptions — thinking that food waste is “garbage” toward considering it as a valuable “green” resource for composting, biogas and animal feed.

This article is part of a larger paper composed by members of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology: The Science Source for Food, Agricultural and Environmental Issues. The entire paper, “The Role of Agricultural Science and Technology in Climate 21 Project Implementation” June, 2021 can be accessed at https://z.umn.edu/CASTjune2021.

Gerald Shurson is a professor in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Animal Science. Dr. Shurson focuses on the area of swine nutrition with a wide variety of related research topics. He can be reached at shurs001@umn.edu. v