NEWS BRIEFS

Record dairy exports reported

The U.S. saw record dairy exports in 2021 totaling $7.6 billion, up from $6.4 billion in 2020. However, last year, U.S. dairy exports didn’t just break this record – they crushed it with exports valued at $9.5 billion.

This represents a 25 percent increase in exports in just one year. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. shipped 2.4 million metric tons to foreign buyers, which was a five percent increase over 2021.

“We’ve had three consecutive years of record U.S. dairy exports while facing some of the strongest dairy export headwinds we’ve ever seen,” says U.S. Dairy Export Council President and Chief Executive Officer Krysta Harden.

The U.S. set annual export records in cheese, whey and lactose. U.S. cheese shipments were particularly notable, rising 12 percent to 451,370 metric tons, or nearly one billion pounds.

Butter exports in 2022 totaled 144.1 million pounds, up 48 percent from 2021 and the highest level since 2013. The value of 2022’s butter exports totaled $240.5 million, which was up 37 percent from 2021.

Ice cream exports for 2022 were down two percent from 2021. The value of ice cream exports totaled $255.6 million, up three percent from the previous year.

AWA rule proposed

On Feb. 17, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced a final rule to establish new regulations and standards governing the humane handling, care, treatment and transportation of birds covered by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA).

The final rule applies to captive birds not bred for use in research.

The final rule will help ensure all birds subject to the AWA are raised and cared for in conditions ensuring their good health and well-being and their physical and behavioral needs are met. The rule outlines how entities with regulated birds can obtain a license and the standards they would have to follow.

Current AWA licensees and registrants must comply with this new rule by Aug. 21. New AWA licensees and registrants must obtain a license and comply with this new rule by Feb. 21, 2024.

APHIS announced a proposed rule, along with an Environmental Assessment and a Regulatory Impact Analysis, in February 2022 and received more than 19,000 comments from interested stakeholders. APHIS reviewed the comments and incorporated the feedback into the final rule.

Investment announced

On Feb. 21, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the Biden-Harris administration is investing $59 million across the country to increase independent meat and poultry processing capacity, expand market opportunities for farmers and create jobs in rural areas.

The investments support the Biden-Harris administration’s action plan for a fairer, more competitive and more resilient meat and poultry supply chain, which dedicates resources to expand independent processing capacity. As President Biden has highlighted, creating fairer markets and more opportunities for family farmers helps bring down prices at the grocery store.

Vilsack announced USDA is providing the $59 million in grants to five independent processors under the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program. The funding will help build new processing plants, create hundreds of jobs, give local producers and entrepreneurs more options and business opportunities and give consumers more options at the grocery store.

Additional information is available at usda.gov/meat

Ag scholars awarded

The Farm Foundation, an accelerator of practical solutions for agriculture, has announced its 2023 Agricultural Scholars recipients. This annual program is sponsored in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS).

Up to 15 applied or agricultural economics graduate students are selected to join the program for inspiration and training in agricultural policy, commodity market analysis, agricultural finance and other applied fields.

Events and projects are conducted throughout the year, including a mentorship with an ERS senior analyst, a research project and ag-focused forums and meetings, such as a World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates “lock-up” session and Farm Foundation Round Table meetings.

The 2023 Agricultural Scholar recipients are Samantha Ayoub of Colorado State University, Jahqethea Johnson of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Jack Long of Oklahoma State University, Kayla Braggs of Michigan State University, Ezra Butcher of Iowa State University, Harrison Clark of the University of Tennessee and Inder Majumdar of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Other recipients include Evan McKay of Virginia Tech, Zach Myers of the University of Arkansas, David Nason of West Virginia University, Faith Parum of Texas A&M University, Sarah Smith of Texas State University, Jim Teal of the University of Wisconsin, Analiese Winton of Clemson University and Asamoah Zadok of Lincoln University Missouri.

Angus representative selected

The Angus Foundation selected Gabriel Connealy of Whitman, Neb. to represent the Angus breed at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) Young Cattlemen’s Conference (YCC).

Each year, the foundation selects and sponsors an individual to attend the conference, held in June in Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Originally selected in 2020, Connealy’s trip was postponed for several years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Connealy is well versed in both experience and history within the Angus breed. Growing up in Nebraska on his family’s Angus seedstock operation, Connealy Angus, he developed a passion for the industry and desire to assist the family business.

This led him to obtain his bachelor’s degree in finance and later his master’s degree, with an emphasis in animal breeding and genetics, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL).

In addition to managing the family herd of 3,000 registered Angus cows, Connealy has been a 26-year member of NCBA, served as an Angus Convention voting delegate and played an integral role in the startup of his local Grant County Nebraska Farm Bureau chapter.

His experience is backed with an innate desire for knowledge, inspiring him to put new information to use for the betterment of the breed.

Connealy has had an array of industry experiences, from interning in Argentina with an Angus breeding consultant to regularly hosting both domestic and international tour groups at his family’s ranch.

FAS accepting applications

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is accepting Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 applications for the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, which helps support education, child development and food security in low-income, food-deficit countries around the globe.

The FY 2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the program is now available on grants.gov at FY 2023 McGovern-Dole NOFO. Priority countries for FY 2023 are Cameroon, Haiti, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka and Togo.

The application deadline is April 28. Information about how to apply can be found on grants.gov and on the Food Aid Information System website at fas.usda.gov/ food-aid-information-system

FAS will also hold a public meeting to discuss the NOFO. Information and details on the meeting will be shared when available.

Train derailment cleaned up

According to officials, nearly 10 of the 50 train cars involved in the the massive train derailment and ensuing chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio on Feb. 3 were carrying liquid vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate.

On Feb. 5, residents were urged to evacuate over the risk of an explosion, and the following day, crews conducted a controlled release and burn of the chemicals. Since the evacuation order was lifted on Feb. 15, officials have stated the air is safe to breathe and the water is safe to drink.

Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, noted about 3,500 fish deaths have been attributed to the incident. However, no deaths from nonaquatic species in either Ohio or Pennsylvania have been reported.

In an interview with Farm Progress on Feb. 16, Haley Shoemaker, Ohio State University Extension educator for Columbiana County, said reports from the Ohio Department of Agriculture and veterinarians who have been in close contact with all the farms in the surrounding area do not substantiate media claims of livestock dying off.

Shoemaker also mentioned there are no large animal operations in the evacuation area, rather smaller farms with animals such as horses, dairy goats, feeder calves and backyard poultry.

“There is a dairy, milking about 400 head and about 900 cows total – including heifers and dry cows – outside of the evacuation zone, about three miles from the wreck,” she said.

Trail opportunities planned

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails are seeking input in the planning of new hiking, horseback and trail running opportunities on public land in the South Pass City area.

To kick off this effort, the partners hosted an open house on Feb. 23 at the Lander Library, which will be followed by an initial public input period through April 28.

During this first comment period, public input is needed as trail locations, designs and desired experiences are planned. The open house provided an opportunity to discuss possible options for these trails with both Ellis and BLM Outdoor Recreation Planner Jared Oakleaf.

While input is welcome at any time, comments at this stage of the process should be submitted by April 28 to Oakleaf at joakleaf@blm.gov or Ellis at joe.ellis@wyo.gov.

Future onsite tours and additional public input periods will be announced over the next several months.

For more information, including to request a map depicting possible trail options, contact Oakleaf at 307-332-8400 or Ellis at 307-332-3684.

Farm numbers drop

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) newly released annual report on farm and farmland showed drops in farm numbers and farm acreage in 2021 compared with 2020.

The 17-page report said the number of farms in the U.S. for 2021 is estimated at 2,012,050, down 6,950 farms from 2020.

The number of farms increased in all sales classes except $1,000 to $9,999, $100,000 to $249,999 and $1 million or more. In 2021, 51 percent of all farms had less than $10,000 in sales, and 81.5 percent of all farms had less than $100,000 in sales. In 2021, 7.4 percent of all farms had sales of $500,000 or more.

Total land in farms, at 895.3 million acres, decreased 1.3 million acres from 2020. The biggest change for 2021 is producers in the sales class of $1,000 to $9,999 operated 640,000 fewer acres than in 2020, the report said.

In 2021, 30.1 percent of all farmland was operated by farms with less than $100,000 in sales, while 40.9 percent of all farmland was operated by farms with sales of $500,000 or more.

The average farm size for 2021 is 445 acres, up from 444 acres the previous year, the report said. Average farm size increased in the $1 million or more sales class and decreased or remained unchanged in all other sales classes.

Red Angus sees success

Red Angus breeders and exhibitors from across the U.S. experienced one of the largest attended national Red Angus open and junior shows to date in Oklahoma City at the third annual Cattlemen’s Congress Jan. 2-5.

In the 2023 Cattlemen’s Congress Red Angus National Open Female Show, Morley Griffith’s MHG Barcelona 107J of Shawnee, Okla. was named Grand Champion Open Female, and Tucker Bayer’s TC Fancy 09J of Ringle, Wis. was named Reserve Champion Open Female.

Red Diamond El Rey 102, exhibited by Jackson Braggs of Salado, Texas, was the Grand Champion Open Bull, and 3ACES Ground Work 1502, exhibited by Andrew Meier of Clinton, Tenn., was the Reserve Champion Open Bull.

TC Reds of Ringle, Wis. received honors as the Premier Breeder and the Premier Exhibitor.

In the 2023 Cattlemen’s Congress National Junior Female Show, Bayer’s TC Fancy 09J was selected as Grand Champion Junior Female, while H/H Larkaba 1104, exhibited by Addison Vowell of Forest, Miss., was named Reserve Champion Junior Female.

Griffith’s MHG Barcelona 107J was selected as the Grand Champion Bred and Owned Female, while Meier’s 3ACES Ground Work 1502 was deemed the Grand Champion Bred and Owned Bull.

In the 2023 Cattlemen’s Congress Red Angus National Pen Show, Kip Wallace of Emerald, Wis. exhibited the Grand Champion Pen of Three Bulls; TC Reds exhibited the Reserve Grand Champion Pen of Three Bulls; Holton Cattle Company of Cisco, Texas exhibited the Grand Champion Pen of Three Females and Newt Hutchinson of Canton, Okla. exhibited the Reserve Grand Champion Pen of Three Females.

Fertilizer report published

The Fertilizer Institute in Arlington, Va. has released a new report highlighting industry improvement in sustainability performance in key priority areas of workforce safety, energy and the environment, fertilizer use and industry innovation.

“The 104,000 employees of the fertilizer industry work each day to produce and supply fertilizer to farmers in an effort to feed the world,” said TFI President and Chief Executive Officer Corey Rosenbusch.

“To feed a global population of one billion people by 2050, fertilizer is playing a critical role in increasing food production and land use efficiency sustainability in agriculture. Last year also showed us how fertilizer’s role in feeding the world contributes to global stability and national security,” Rosenbusch continued.

TFI has collected data since 2013 on metrics providing insight into the industry’s efforts to improve safety, security, sustainability, environmental stewardship and efficiency, the release said. This new data was gathered in 2022 and reflects industry operations in 2021.

Report highlights include survey participants invested an average of over $1 billion annually in capital investments to help the industry meet sustainability goals, including increasing production efficiencies, reducing energy and water use, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening the U.S. economy to meet current and future agricultural needs.

Additionally, in 2021, the industry captured 31 percent of all carbon dioxide generated per ton of nutrient produced, an increase of 368 percent over emissions captured in 2013. To reduce the industry’s energy footprint, 39 percent of all energy consumed is generated using waste heat rather than pulling from the electrical grid.

Nitrogen producers recycled enough water to fill 1.6 million Olympic-sized swimming pools, and in 2021, both the recordable rate and the lost time incident rate were the secondlowest since the survey was launched in 2013.