Markets Begin the Week Lower – From Wall Street to the CME Group, markets are beginning the week lower. The number of Omicron COVID-19 cases is rising rapidly, resulting in fears of another lockdown. Events are being canceled in major cities and restrictions are resurfacing in the U.S. and Europe. Traders are concerned this could further impact the supply chain and have an effect on inflation.

What’s Hot, What’s Not in the Markets – In this edition of What’s Hot, What’s Not in the Markets, Advance Trading Risk Management Advisor Tommy Grisafi offers his perspective on the trade. Outside markets, including the Dow and crude oil, are lower to start the week as the number of omicron virus cases us escalating. Additional restrictions are happening in Europe and in the U.S.

Renewable Diesel: A Market Disrupter – Ag Resource Company President Dan Basse believes the push toward renewable diesel will be the most disruptive factor in agriculture for the next few years. “With states like California providing tremendous subsidies and mandating 700 million gallons of usage, you can see how quickly this is all ramping up.” This policy change will have a dramatic impact on the soybean oil market. “If I take the existing, under construction and proposed or announced plants, I come up with U.S. soybean oil demand doubling in the next three years.” If these soybean crush plants all come online, Basse said the U.S. will need an additional 40 million acres of soybeans to meet the demand. During the Farm Foundation Forum, Basse said it seems impossible to see that kind of growth, but this demand factor will significantly change the agricultural landscape.

Vegetable Oil Shortages Weigh on Markets – Shortages in the vegetable oil market are pushing the grain markets higher. Market advisor Mike Krueger says this shortage is two-fold. “People want to be bearish on the soybeans, because there’s talk about record crop production for North America in 2022. Then, they’re already forecasting a record crop in Brazil. On the other hand, canola ending stocks are nearing zero, not just because of the drought, but worldwide.” Increasing biodiesel and renewable diesel demand could be a game changer. “If we start to throw oil demand into the picture, that’s going to support crushing economics for soybeans as well. We set all-time record highs for canola futures in the last month or two. It’s going to take time to get crush facilities online and we may not be able to crush these in the next six months.”

Volatile, Sideways Market Movement – The commodity markets have been volatile, but mostly moving in a sideways pattern. Utterback Marketing President Bob Utterback says the entire commodity complex is stuck. “I see a rangebound market ahead for the grains and meats, making it very difficult to make decisions. It won’t be high enough to sell or cheap enough to buy. It will be a difficult market for decision making.” While the markets may be in a holiday lull, Utterback encourages farmers to not become complacent in marking the crop.

Basis Begins to Narrow – Basis is starting to narrow at certain levels in parts of the Northern Plains. “The only concern I’ve been seeing on the radar is that railcars have been getting more expensive,” says Kristi Van Ahn, market analyst, Van Ahn and Company. “If that’s the case, there could be pressure from basis opportunities from local elevators. Ethanol profitability and crush plant basis are strong and local elevators have been able to back off that and see good profitability.”  Van Ahn tells farmers there are basis opportunities corn and soybeans in the region.

Brazilian Soybeans Will Come to the International Market Earlier-Than-Normal – In a Northern Crops Institute webinar, NDSU Extension Crops Economist Frayne Olson said Brazil’s soybean harvest is unusually early this year. “My concern from the United States perspective is that may shorten our export window, not nearly as long as last year or even on a typical basis. U.S. soybeans are going to need to be more aggressive to compete with the soybeans coming out of Brazil.”

Cordonnier: A Split Decision – Brazil’s corn and soybean crop conditions are mixed due to the La Nina conditions. Soybean and Corn Advisor President Michael Cordonnier calls the crop a split decision. “Central and northern Brazil continues to get a lot of rain; too much in some areas. Far southern Brazil has been drier than normal,” says Cordonnier. “It’s already impacting the first crop corn in southern Brazil. In fact, I’ve lowered my corn estimate a couple of million tons already. The corn in the southern most state of Brazil was pollinating and filling grain during really dry conditions. That’s hurt the corn.” It’s a little too early to tell how much weather is impacting the soybean crop. “In those southern states, the crop has just been planted. It’s kind of early to say for soybeans, but the dry concerns are in the southern three states of Brazil.” Photo credit: Marcos Fridrich via Corn and Soybean Advisor

A Price Squeeze Ahead in 2022 – Despite the dry conditions in the Dakotas and Minnesota, 2021 was a decent year financially for many producers. “Producers with marginal yields probably did okay just because of increased commodity prices and production expenses that were somewhat reasonable,” said Lynn Paulson, senior vice president of agribusiness development, Bell Bank. “That dynamic changes going into 2022 when there’s commodity prices that allow farmers to make a profit, but production expenses will go up. I don’t think we could operate in 2022 with marginal yields, even with these prices, because of increased production expenses.” In addition to higher input costs, inflation will be a consideration. “When you start breaking down the increased cost per bushel with these expenses and conveying that in what you can expect from a commodity, that price squeeze is certainly there. Farmers will have to scrutinize their budgets closely.”

Use Tax Planning as a Tool – The end of the year means tax preparation. AgCentric Farm Business Management Instructor Nathan Converse says managing income by pre-paying expenses is always an option. “This depends on how the year went. Right now, I have farmer clients who are considering deferring or doing a fair amount of pre-buying to help manage taxes. Others may have had more expenses this year due to the drought where they’re looking to take extra income or doing less pre-buying to help manage their tax situation.” Converse encourages famers to look at tax planning as a tool. “That can help you determine if you should pre-buy, deferring income or taking some of that this year.”

Operation Open Road Launched – Governors from 15 states have launched an effort to assist the trucking industry called Operation Open Road. The states will reduce regulations and adjust hours-of-service restrictions. These governors are also asking the Biden administration to lower the age for commercial truck drivers from 21 to 18 and suspend the federal mandate for COVID-19 vaccinations. Midwestern states involved in this initiative include North Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri.

Truck Driver Shortage Challenges Product Movement – Minnesota Trucking Association President John Hausladen says a shortage of truck drivers has been building for many years. “We are seeing a shortage of drivers that pre-dates the pandemic. There are many great people in this industry, but the average drivers are males in their mid-50s. As those people get closer to retirement, they’re dropping out. We haven’t been able to fill the pipeline as fast as we’d like.” Hausladen thinks the pilot program included in the Federal Highway Bill will help. “This bill created a pilot for up to 3,000 men and women to get started. The Biden administration put forward an action plan and one of those actions is an apprenticeship program.” According to Hausladen, the trucking industry is facing a shortage of 80,000 truck drivers. Current trends indicate that number could be 160,000 by 2030.

Ocean Carriers Asked to Help Container Issue – Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack are asking the world’s leading ocean carriers to help mitigate ag export disruptions. Ocean carriers are making fewer containers available for U.S. ag commodities, changing return dates and charging unfair fees. The administration leaders want carriers to fully use full terminal capacity on the west coast. A letter sent on Thursday is addressed to the presidents of CMA CGM America, Wan Hai Lines America, COSCO North America and 10 other shipping companies. Read the letter.

Level the Field for American Exporters – Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and South Dakota Senator John Thune are working together on a bill to address the supply chain disruptions. Klobuchar said ocean carriers are treating Midwest exporters unfairly. “What Thune and I are doing is to even the playing field by making it harder for ocean carriers to unreasonably refuse to load goods ready to export at port and also get some clarity to the fees they’re imposing, which can be unfair.” A recent Commerce Committee hearing brought key players in the supply chain to the table. “Sometimes these hearings can be bogus and boring where they’re throwing popcorn at people. I’m really glad we did this one to call attention to the fact that Democrats and Republicans from ag producing states are not satisfied with what is happening at the ports.”

Sitting on the Sidelines – Rather than negotiating trade agreements, the United States has concentrated on the enforcement of existing trade agreements. During a Farmers for Free Trade town hall event, Corn Refiners Association President and CEO John Bode said the United States is losing business to our competitors. “Over the last ten years, the U.S. progress on these trade agreements has been very modest and the outlook is not promising.” In Bode’s view, the U.S. has been sitting on the sidelines while rival trading nations have expanded trade opportunities. Bode says other countries, including China and the European Union, have expanded trade opportunities through numerous trade agreements over the past ten years. “The U.S. has concluded just four trade agreements, with the most significant being the modernization of NAFTA,” said Bode. “China has negotiated ten (trade agreements), the European Union and Canada each have eight, Japan has seven and the U.S. has just four and arguably just three-and-a-half.” Farmers for Free Trade advocates a shift in trade policy, focusing on opening international markets.

A Historic Time for U.S. Ag Exports – During a Farm Foundation Forum, Aimpoint Research Chief Economist Gregg Doud said it’s a historic time for U.S. soybean exports. “October was an all-time record for any month in history for U.S. agricultural exports to China and it was all-time record for U.S. agricultural exports to the world.” Doud served as the chief agricultural trade negotiator at the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office during the Trump Administration. During the forum, Doud asked Colorado State University Associate Professor Amanda Countryman what trade issues need to be addressed in the year ahead. The answer is China. “We’re coming to the end of the phase one trade deal so what’s going to happen next? Will there be an advancement of some of the policies that are still left undone?” Countryman said the U.S. also needs to keep an eye on the European Union and its relationship with our trading partners.

Democratic Congressman Frustrated With Current Trade Policy – California Democratic Congressman Jim Costa calls the Biden Administration’s trade policy as ‘a work in progress.’ In a Farmers for Free Trade roundtable discussion, Costa voiced frustration. “The Biden Administration has been in office for ten months and we didn’t get our trade ambassador until June of this year and we still don’t have the agricultural trade person, Elaine Trevino, confirmed.” Trevino is the current president of the Almond Alliance of California. Costa said trade relations have been complicated by the pandemic and the supply chain disruptions.

Keeping U.S. Wheat Competitive – Eighteen U.S. Senators sent a letter this week to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai asking them to pursue a WTO case against India’s domestic support of wheat production. The letter says American farmers are operating at a disadvantage compared to competitors, when India subsidizes more than half of their value of production. North Dakota Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer signed the letter. In a statement, the National Association of Wheat Growers thanked senators for sending the letter.

Build Back Better Act Punted Into ’22 – Over the weekend, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said he can not support the $2 trillion Build Back Better bill. The Russell Group President Randy Russell says there are two issues with this proposal; “what’s going on with the inflation rate and the true price tag.” The legislation includes $27 billion in conservation funding for agriculture. “If passed, this would be a major new infusion of conservation funding and it would be built into the baseline of the farm bill.”

Vilsack Stumps for Build Back Better Plan in Wisconsin – Due to the impasse within the Democratic caucus in the Senate, the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better proposal is on life support. While negotiations were happening on Capitol Hill, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was on a Wisconsin dairy farm Thursday promoting the bill. Vilsack told the Wisconsin Farm Report agriculture has some misperceptions about this Build Back Better plan. “I don’t think it understands and fully appreciates that this is paid for and paid for by companies that haven’t paid any tax at all and by extraordinarly wealthy Americans that make more than $10 million or $25 million per year.” Secondly, Vilsack said the farming sector may not understand the investment in conservation and research within this proposal that will provide assistance to agriculture and compliment the new infrastructure bill.

‘Not Ready for Prime Time’ – That’s how South Dakota Senator John Thune describes the Build Back Better Act. The Congressional Budget Office scored the cost of the proposal this past week. “It’s a $5 trillion bill and it wasn’t ready for prime time.” Thune said Senate Agriculture Committee Republicans weren’t consulted when $27 billion for conservation was added to the Build Back Better Act for agriculture. This money would add to the baseline of the new farm bill. “The farm bill is usually done in a bipartisan way and that wasn’t the case. I’ve been very involved in all of the titles of last few farm bills. I’m a big believer of conservation, but it needs to be done in a fiscally responsible way.” Thune tells the Red River Farm Network farm bill discussions should start right away for the agriculture committee in 2022.

Hoeven, Tester Ask USDA to Advance Disaster Aid – North Dakota Senator John Hoeven and Montana Senator Jon Tester are urging USDA Undersecretary Robert Bonnie to expedite agricultural disaster assistance. In September, Congress approved $9.25 billion for WHIP+, including $750 million specifically for livestock producers. The lawmakers spoke to Bonnie and said farmers and ranchers need the details of the program as soon as possible to make plans for next year.

Three Interest Rate Hikes Expected in 2022 – The Federal Reserve will continue to hold interest rates near zero, but Federal Reserve officials are prepared to raise their short-term benchmark rate at least three times next year due to inflation. After the two-day meeting wrapped up Wednesday, officials said they’d keep rates near zero until they were satisfied labor market conditions were consistent with maximum employment. Read the statement.

Senators Write the Fed, Asking to Address Regulatory Burdens – Year-over-year inflation is at its highest level in 40 years. Republican Senators sent a letter to the Federal Reserve and Farm Credit institutions to highlight the impact high inflation and higher input costs have on agriculture. The lawmakers ask for regulatory flexibility for rural financial institutions as profit margins start to shrink. They also want these financial leaders to monitor how inflation and inflationary-related pressures are affecting the agriculture industry, citing that this would be valuable as Congress starts to consider the next farm bill. Read the letter.

AFBF Asks Biden Administration to Help Alleviate Input Costs – The American Farm Bureau Federation wants the Biden administration to help U.S. agriculture push high fertilizer prices down. President Zippy Duvall says the administration can help resolve supply chain disruptions and remove import duties. Read more.

AFBF Fertilizer Report Takes Deep Dive Into High Prices – A new report from the American Farm Bureau Federation takes a deeper look at the higher than usual fertilizer costs. AFBF economist Shelby Meyer says there are many factors contributing to higher costs, including strong domestic and global demand, low inventories and the inability of the U.S. fertilizer industry to adjust production levels. Trade and tariffs also come into play. “About 44 percent of all fertilizer is exported across the world. As tariffs have been applied on fertilizer, the U.S. has shifted to other buyers on the global market. We’ve had to pay a higher price for that which factors into the cost.” Meyer says all of the factors influencing these higher prices have long and short-term impacts. “We’ll have to monitor this and frankly, we’re not sure we’ll see prices come down in the next few months, it could be longer.”

Be Ready With Plan B – The shortages of glyphosate, glufosinate and other crop inputs has farmers scrambling. Pioneer Agronomy Manager Dan Berning says those issues are part of the crop management considerations this winter. “You may need to be thinking of not only Plan A, but Plan B,” siad Berning. “Think about how we can utilize systems or products that you haven’t used as much the last several years, but there is a pretty broad range of products to give us that flexibility.” Whatever happens with the supply of crop inputs, weed control must be a priority. “No matter what we use for technology, we need to start with a good foundation program up front followed by a good post-emerge program, a good two-pass or maybe three-pass program is needed depending on your weed spectrum.”

MN Wheat Minute – Learn more about the National Wheat Foundation in this week’s Minnesota Wheat Minute. Hear the update from Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Board Member Scott Swenson.

Northern Plains Winter Starts With More Moisture – World Weather Incorporated Senior Agricultural Meteorologist Drew Lerner is glad to see winter starting off with moisture for the Northern Plains. “I’m encouraged with what’s been happening in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest because it fits well with our preliminary outlook for the spring,” says Lerner. “It seems like the biggest area to see expanding drought in the spring will happen in the central U.S. plains, not the Dakotas and Minnesota. We’ll still be vulnerable to dry down, but with the precipitation we’ve received this autumn and perhaps what we could get this winter, we’ll start things off well.”

Historic December Winds Hammer KS Winter Wheat – While the Northern Plains endured wintery conditions this week, up to 90 mile per hour wind gusts moved through the Central Plains on Wednesday, impacting winter wheat. Kansas Wheat CEO Justin Gilpin called this a historic event. “There was lots of blowing dirt. We’re getting lots of reports about two to three feet drifts of dirt in fields. It’s covering some wheat fields and blowing dirt out of fields. Then, there’s an effect when you have blowing dirt at high winds like that. It creates static electricity that can really impact the vulnerable parts of the wheat plant. After those reports, I think farmers will be thinking about whether or not they’ll be sticking with those crops in the next few weeks.” Stanton County, Kansas farmer Bart Parks told the Kansas Agriculture Network the little stuff (wheat) got hammered. “Nothing looks great. Wednesday was hard on everything.” Photo credit: Bart Parks, wheat grower in Stanton County, Kansas

Too Early to Know Full Extent of Winter Wheat Damage – Stone X Group Chief Commodities Economist Arlan Suderman says the most significant winds from Wednesday impacted nearly half of the U.S. total wheat production. “The damage is highly variable depending on where you’re at. The worst of the damage was in the wheat that was most drought stricken prior to the event,” says Suderman. “If you look at the central and southern plains rainfall since November 1, it’s the second lowest of the last four decades. Plus, we’d been very warm, keeping wheat out of dormancy. There was a lack of cover in the drought areas, meaning the winds could get a hold of the soil.” Suderman says little to no rain in the forecast is expected to hurt wheat recovery. Total production losses are unclear at this time. Suderman will be watching monthly crop ratings in January and February. The markets responded to the news of the damage.

An Optimistic View on Wheat Acres – Wheat acres will increase in the region. “I think wheat is going to have a really good year,” said Peter Comis, regional commercial manager, WestBred, “I know fertilizer prices are high this year and that is a big concern, but with the commodity prices and the future outlook, wheat will be a great crop.” Wheat acres are down nationwide, but Comis remains optimistic. “There’s a lot of money going into wheat; a lot of people want to move to hybrid wheat.”

North Dakota May Have a Boost in Canola Acres for 2022 – CHS agronomist Ron Beneda is expecting canola acres to increase dramatically next season. Beneda thinks North Dakota canola acres could top 2 million. “We’ll see an increase in canola acres when we have good prices. Even at average yields, we can do well with those higher prices.” A few varieties may not be available, but canola seed availability is not expected to be a major issue. “The more popular, newer varieties that can be direct combined are likely sold out. The more popular varieties are sold out, but there should be enough to go around. They’re good varieties, but you may not be able to direct combine them.”

Canola Minute – The 24th annual Canola Expo happened in mid-December. Northern Canola Growers Association Board Member Pat Murphy and Executive Director Barry Coleman recap the event in this week’s Canola Minute.

Specialty Crops Getting Consideration for ’22 – According to Bayer Field Sales Representative Clark Leier, specialty crops are bidding for acres for the 2022 growing season. “More barley acres are being talked about, more edible beans and sunflowers are getting traction again.” Increased demand for specialty crops could steal acres from corn, soybeans and wheat. Leier, who is based at Minot, said that will vary on a regional basis. “It’s all over the board, some retailers are saying they’ll lose acres out of corn, others are saying it will come out of soybeans and wheat. They’ll lose corn acres with guys that haven’t been fertilizer yet.”

No Silver Bullet Available for Clubroot Management – Canola growers from across the region met in Langdon, North Dakota to learn about the latest hot button issues in canola production. Northern Canola Growers Association President Pat Murphy says club root research continues to be a priority. “The genetics are coming around, but we need a combination of everything: genetics, rotation and varieties to mix things up.” NDSU Extension plant pathologist Venkat Chapara says the take home message for managing club root is not to rely on just one method of control. “I encourage growers to go for longer rotations, at least two years, and grow a resistant variety. Farmers should also sanitize their equipment. That’s very good to keep this disease in check.”

Potato Stocks Lower Than Last Year – As of December 1, U.S. potato stocks in storage totaled 265 million hundredweight. That’s down two percent from one year ago. Potatoes in storage account for 64 percent of this past year’s production. Seventy-two percent of Minnesota’s 2021 potato crop and 71 percent of North Dakota’s crop is now in storage.

National Potato Council Meets with Prince Edward Island Delegation – On Thursday, the National Potato Council met with Prince Edward Island’s Premier Dennis King in Washington, D.C. to discuss safely restoring potato trade. A potato wart outbreak in the Canadian Province put a halt on fresh potato exports in the last month. USDA’s APHIS is requiring the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to provide comprehensive data indicating where potato wart has been found. Based on that information, the two agencies can agree on additional mitigation efforts. Certain requirements will need to be in place before potato trade can resume.

Beef Cow Slaughter Up Nationwide, Down in Northern Plains – Beef cow slaughter was up more than seven percent nationwide this fall. From September-to-December, beef cow slaughter totaled 935,500 head, nearly 63,000 more than during the same time one year ago. The largest fall cow run was in the Southeast, which includes Florida and Alabama, and the Southern Plains region, including Texas and Oklahoma. Slaughter was up 24 and 21 percent respectively. Despite the drought, ranchers in the Northern Plains sent fewer beef cows to the auction barn this fall. Cow slaughter in our area was down 23 percent.

SD Corn Comments – Did you know South Dakota’s beef industry provides $5.8 billion annually to the state’s economy? Hear more about how corn and livestock are connected in week’s Corn Comments, a production of the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council.

Cattle Industry Issues Will Get Attention at AFBF Meeting – Farm Bureau presidents met this past week in Washington D.C., discussing resolutions ahead of the American Farm Bureau Convention. AFBF Vice-President Scott VanderWal says the cattle markets continue to be a tough issue. “Some people think we need to do something, but we’re not sure what, and others are saying if we mandate a certain level of negotiated trade, we’ll limit opportunities for people to engage in alternative marketing agreements. The discussion continues and those resolutions will appear during our national convention. Delegates will sort out those details at that time.”  VanderWal is the president of the South Dakota Farm Bureau and is a rancher. The American Farm Bureau Convention will be held in Atlanta, Georgia on January 7 – 12.

Additional COVID Relief for Hog Farmers – USDA is offering additional pandemic assistance for pork producers. The Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program will fill gaps from the previous COVID relief for hog farmers. Previous assistance programs used a flat rate payment throughout the swine industry. With this program, the payments will be calculated by multiplying the number of eligible hogs by a payment rate of $54 per head. Applications will be accepted through February 25.

Challenging Prop 12 in Court – A coalition of California restaurants and grocery stores has filed a lawsuit, hoping to block the implementation of the state’s new animal welfare law. Voters approved Proposition 12 in 2018, establishing minimum requirements for animal housing. The lawsuit says these rules will make meat products more expensive or in short supply. These new regulations take effect January 1.

Seaboard Reacts to Prop 12 – One the largest pork producers in the country will no longer sell certain pork products in California. Seaboard Foods cites California’s Proposition 12 law that mandates restrictions on the way farm animals are raised.

Recommendations to Avoid Nitrate Poisoning in Livestock – Given the extent of the drought this past growing season, many forages contain high levels of nitrate that can cause toxicity issues in cattle. “Once you have a good idea of what your nitrate content is in all of your hay, then we can start looking at the possibility of blending all these hays together, whether that’s through a Hay Buster, some type of bale processor, or in a situation where you’re rolling out bales,” said Zac Carlson, beef cattle specialist, NDSU Extension. “The best strategy is to slow the intake of high nitrate forage”. Carlson recommends testing your nitrate content before blending hay together of different nitrate levels and controlling the intake. “What you don’t want to do is have free-choice of high-nitrate forage. There’s nothing to say even one cow might go to the high-nitrate forage and consume that completely, which can cause toxicity issues.”

Lamb Market ‘Couldn’t Be Much Better’ – NDSU and University of Minnesota Extension Sheep Specialist Travis Hoffman says the lamb market has been at a steady incline for the last year. “It really couldn’t be much better. We’ve had as lucrative of a 2021 as anyone could’ve imagined in terms of sales. We know that input costs are up and so there’s still some balances to our bottom line. We’ve been over $2 a pound for over a solid 20 month and we’ve had more lamb that was sold at retail this year that was also at a higher price.”

Travel Exemption Sought for South African Farm Workers – More than 60 agriculture groups are asking the Biden Administration to exempt agricultural workers from the travel restrictions from South Africa. The restrictions were implemented in response to COVID-19 and the new omicron variant. The farm groups claim the H-2A workers are critically important for the production of food. Nearly 7,000 guestworkers from South Africa travel to the U.S. each year to work in agriculture.

India Plans to Appeal WTO Panel Ruling on Sugar – A World Trade Organization panel has ruled against India in a trade dispute over sugar. Brazil, Australia and Guatemala brought the case before the WTO, claiming India distorted trade with large subsidies to its sugarcane farmers. India plans to appeal the ruling.

USGC Promoting Ag Exports – U.S. Grains Council Chairman Chad Willis says key markets for grains and byproducts are holding steady. “If you look at this past year, China came on like gangbusters and hopefully we can keep that market going. Our neighbors, Mexico and Canada, have also been good markets; Canada with ethanol and Mexico with corn and barley. Their appetite for protein over there is huge, and I think the market will stay hot for a while.” With more focus on climate issues, Willis believes more countries with continue to increase inputs of ethanol. “There’s a lot of countries that want to reduce their carbon and we all know that ethanol can get us the quickest carbon reduction in the fuel supply, even over electric.” Willis is currently in South Korea on a USGC trade mission.

UK-Australia Ink Trade Deal – The United Kingdom and Australia have signed a free trade deal that will eliminate tariffs and open up new markets for farmers. The value of this trade deal is estimated to have the U.S. equivalent of $13.3 billion. This agreement will likely have the biggest impact on wheat, beef, dairy and sugar.

EPA Releases 2022 Agenda – The Environmental Protection Agency released its unified agenda for the year ahead. The agency plans to release plans for the 2023 renewable volume obligations under the RFS by May and complete the rule one year from now. Canola oil is expected to be designated as an advanced biofuel during that time. EPA is also scheduled to issue the regulatory process for a new Waters of the United States rule in February. A national ambient air quality standard is also in the works with an announcement by August of next year. This is the proposal to regulate farm dust that came up during the Obama administration.

EPA Sued Over Neonics – The Center for Food Safety and Pesticide Action Network of North America have filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency. The environmental groups claim the agency has failed to regulate neonicotinoid seed treatments which is threatening pollinators and beneficial insects.

ASA Board Works on Policy – Minnesota Soybean Growers Association Past President Jamie Beyer is one of ten newly elected board members to the American Soybean Association. “It is an interesting time to be working on national ag policy. There’s an unlimited list of topics to discuss including trade and possible tax changes. It’s good to hear from national folks that those tax increases are being put to bed.” Beyer says farm bill discussions will begin in the first quarter of 2022. “ASA will be holding a series of town halls the first few months. “I think the plan is to meet by region to get farmer feedback and these meetings will be held virtually. We’ll be looking for feedback from farmers about what needs changed for the new bill.”

School Lunch Program Receives Funds to Address Supply Chain Crisis – USDA is providing up to $1.5 billion to help the school lunch program deal with supply chain disruptions. There is also a new Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program to encourage the use of local foods with an emphasis on purchasing food from historically underserved producers and processors.

SD Farmers Union Adopts Three Special Orders at Convention – There were three special orders of business adopted during the South Dakota Farmers Union annual meeting. These include addressing the cattle and beef industry crisis, Medicaid expansion and a resolution for a co-op bylaw change. “Co-ops need to make sure they include their membership in any major decisions in liquidation,” said SDFU President Doug Sombke. National Farmers Union President Rob Larew attended the convention to talk about the Fairness for Farmers campaign. “If we’re not careful, market consolidation could be a national security food issue. There are four major packers and that’s it. Two of them aren’t from the United States; from China and Brazil.” South Dakota delegates will discuss these key policy priorities on the national level at the upcoming National Farmers Union Convention. Fourteen delegates will represent South Dakota at the 2022 convention.

MFU Minute – The EPA released proposals for the Renewable Volume Obligations earlier this month. Minnesota Farmers Union President Gary Wertish responds in this week’s MFU Minute.

An Important Step for the Spiritwood Crush Project – Archer Daniels Midland and Marathon Petroleum finalized their joint venture for the soybean crush plant at Spiritwood, North Dakota. ADM will own 75 percent of the joint venture and Marathon Petroleum will own the remaining 25 percent. The joint venture, Green Bison Soy Processing, will produce soybean oil for the renewable diesel market. The work on the $350 million facility is expected to be complete in 2023.

MN Agencies Welcome Feedback on Clean Fuel Standard – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture and Minnesota Department of Transportation took public input on the state’s Clean Fuel Standard in a series of virtual meetings. This follows Governor Tim Walz’s directive for state agencies to determine if and how to move forward with the CFS. During Tuesday’s virtual program, Deputy Agriculture Commissioner Andrea Vaubel said there have been questions from the tracking of on-farm practices. “If the feedstock is corn, in some modeling there could be a general number and for some (modeling) there could be a farm-by-farm accounting of the practices done on the landscape to determine the carbon intensity.” There have also been questions about Minnesota going alone with a Clean Fuel Standard, rather than participating in a multi-state Midwestern effort. “There’s pros and cons here if Minnesota were to go first,” said Vaubel. “We could design this to what makes the most sense in Minnesota and others could follow suit. There are also concerns about not having similar policies in place in neighboring states.”  Minnesota is a leader in biofuels policy. Vaubel said stakeholders are concerned the CFS may impact that reputation.

A Milestone for the Ag Innovation Campus – The first phase of construction of the Ag Innovation Campus in Crookston, Minnesota is complete. Ag Management Solutions CEO Tom Slunecka says this one-of-a-kind facility and will focus on developing new markets and new technologies. “We’ll be designed to take small quantities of seed, process them and make sure they work in feeding trials, oil trials and make sure their nutritional components are what is predicted to be there.” The pandemic and supply chain issues set back construction, but the facility should be ready to go in fall 2022. “We hope to commission the plant in late August or early September and so we should be ready when those soybeans starting rolling out of the field.”

Irrigation Technology – Irrigation made a big difference for many farmers going through last year’s dry growing season. Irrigators Association of Minnesota President Jake Wildman says the technology available to irrigators has been beneficial. “The instruments that we can use for soil moisture testing to determine when and how much to apply per pass and the soil moisture is connected to our apps that allow us start and stop the irrigator from our phone.” The technology allows farmers to be more efficient with water, so more is applied to crops and not lost to evaporation or runoff. “When a pivot is designed with the sprinkler technologies and the correct sprinkler package, the manufacturers have figured out what the best design is. When they design a pivot, we’re 90 to 95 percent more efficient compared to when we had high impact nozzles on top of the pipe”.

DOJ Considers Roundup Lawsuit – The Supreme Court has asked the Justice Department to file a brief in the Monsanto cancer case. Monsanto, which is now under the Bayer brand, argues the federal label should have blocked any claims linking Roundup to cancer. The lawyers representing the individual in this lawsuit argue Monsanto deceived the public and the EPA.

Agritechnica Postponed Until 2023 – Due to ongoing pandemic, Agritechnica 2022 will not take place. A show official said “the trouble-free execution of Agritechnica is no longer possible.” This massive ag machinery exhibition will now be held in November of 2023 in Germany.

CLAAS Introduces Used Equipment Program – CLAAS of America is introducing a pre-owned equipment program. CLAAS USED offers certified inspected and protected equipment with special low-rate financing options. With supply chain disruptions and financial constraints, CLAAS said many North American farmers have had trouble accessing top performance equipment.

CPKC Takes the Next Step – The Canadian Pacific Railway has completed its acquisition of the Kansas City Southern and the shares have been put into a voting trust. This voting trust will be in place until the Surface Transportation Board approves the deal, which is expected to happen one year from now. The new railroad will be called the CPKC and will be the first rail connection that links Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Ralco Celebrates Expansion – Ralco has opened a new distribution center in Marshall, Minnesota. This facility will hold up to 100 truckloads of product and includes six loading docks. That compares to the previous capacity of 80 truckloads and four loading docks. Ralco produces nutrient conversion products for animal agriculture and crop production.

A Full Product Pipeline for Vive Crop Protection – There’s a long list of new products on the horizon for Vive Crop Protection. “We have a really efficient and fast product innovation engine,” said Darren Anderson, CEO and co-founder. “We’ve got seven new products that we’re developing and planning on submitting for regulatory approval in the next 24 months. It is a big year of market expansion for Vive.” The sugarbeet industry in the Red River Valley was original target for Vive Crop Protection. That focus has expanded to more row crops, including corn.

Simple At-Plant Protection – FMC introduced a new at-plant corn fungicide this past year called Xyway. FMC Retail Technical Service Manager Gail Stratman says this product delivers foliar disease protection throughout the growing season. There are additional benefits. “Stalk diseases like anthracnose and fusarium are suppressed so we see better standability.” A systemic product, like Xyway, can cause additional stress to the seedling. “One of the recommendations we have is lets maintain a half-inch of distance between it and the seed and we’ll alleviate additional early stress on the seedling and make sure the seedling gets up and out of the ground in a timely fashion.”

Sustainable Aviation Fuel Takes Flight – United Airlines has completed the first flight operated with 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel. This flight went from Chicago to Washington, D.C. The Department of Energy has a goal of having renewable fuel meeting all of the aviation fuel needs by 2050.

Dry Bean Scene – Plant-based foods are gaining in popularity, which is positive news for the dry edible bean business. Northarvest Executive Director Mitch Coulter considers those opportunities in this week’s report.

New Technology to Benefit Southern Manitoba Oat Growers – The Canadian government is investing up to $5.1 million for Buffalo Creek Mills to purchase and install new equipment in its Altona, Manitoba plant. A customized continuous oat kiln will allow Buffalo Creek Mills to further process oats for use as conventional food ingredients and the creation of emerging oat products. Byproducts will be repurposed for animal feed and biofuels.

Dots Acquisition Finalized – Hershey has completed its acquisition of North Dakota-based Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels and Pretzels, Incorporated. The combined purchase is $1.2 billion. Hershey said it would take a phased approach to integrate the businesses in partnership with their respective leadership teams. Read more about the acquisition. 

Changes Coming at CFTC – The Senate has confirmed Rostin Behnam as the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Behnam has been a CFTC commissioner for the past four years. Meanwhile, President Biden has nominated Summer Mersinger and Caroline Pham as CFTC commissioners. Mersinger is a South Dakota native who previously worked for Senator John Thune. For the past two years, Mersinger was the CFTC director of legislative and intergovernmental affairs. Pham is a managing director at Citi and previously worked as special counsel and policy advisor to former CFTC Commissioner Scott O’Malia.

Bushel Announces New Hire – Bushel has added Nathan Jennings to its team as chief revenue officer. Most recently, Jennings was the executive vice president of sales for Call Box. Bushel is a software technology company that focuses on developing solutions for the grain supply chain. Bushel is based in Fargo.

IntelinAir Announces New CEO/President – Tim Hassinger will take over as CEO and president of IntelinAir on January 3, succeeding company co-founder Al Eisaian. Hassinger has 37 years of experience in the ag world, including time as CEO of Dow AgroSciences and the Lindsay Corporation.

Hula Wins Again – Virginia farmer David Hula is a repeat winner of the National Corn Yield Contest. Hula’s entry topped 603 bushels per acre in the no-till irrigated division. The overall state winners include Chris Sobeck of Winona, Minnesota with 309 bushels per acre. Betty Huber of Berlin, North Dakota had the top yield statewide just shy of 300 bushels per acre. For South Dakota, Bob Creasey of Geddes yielded 318 bushels per acre to win the state contest.

Herath Starts With USMEF on January 3 – The U.S. Meat Export Federation has added veteran journalist John Herath to its staff. Herath will serve as the organization’s communications director. Herath spent time with Farm Journal Media and Vance Media, inlcuding time as the producer of AgriTalk. Herath was also bureau chief in the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s Office of Public Information.

Corn Matters – The Minnesota Corn Growers Association has several scholarships available. Learn more about the scholarships from board member Angela Guentzel in this week’s Corn Matters.

Collin Peterson Recognized by Pro Farmer – Pro Farmer has presented House Agriculture Committee Chairman Emeritus Collin Peterson with its Agriculture Man of the Year Award. The recognition is based, in part, on Peterson’s role in protecting stepped-up basis and other key tax provisions.

UMC Awards Torch & Shield – The University of Minnesota-Crookston has named three recipients of its Torch & Shield recognition. The honorees are recently retired Northwest Research and Outreach Center sugarbeet researcher Jason Brantner and UMC Agricultural Education and Animal Science faculty emeriti Lyle Westrom. The Frank W. Veden Charitable Trust, which has been used for economic development in the region, was also recognized. The Torch & Shield honors individuals and organizations who have provided leadership and aided in the development of UMC, NWROC and Extension.

SDFU Honors Woster and Keierleber – The South Dakota Farmers Union has presented its Ag Ambassador award to Jim Woster and Joel Keierleber. Woster spent 35 years with the Sioux Falls Stockyards, is a columnist for Tri-State Neighbor and an advocate for South Dakota agriculture. Keierleber is a Tripp County farmer who spent seven years on the SDFU board of directors.

4-H Ambassadors Elected – Eight youth have been selected for the North Dakota State 4-H Ambassador program. The team members are Marit Ellingson of Walsh County, Wyatt Dunlop of Rollete County, Forrest Sears of Cass County, Grady Hornung of Pembina County, Aidan Sears of Cass County, Alyssa Thomsen of Barnes County, Kiley Kvamme of Cass County and Taiton Axtman of Cass County.