A Change in Perspective for the House Agriculture Committee – For the past two years, President Biden has been in the Oval Office and the Democrats had the majority in the House and Senate. Republicans took control of the House in Tuesday’s election.  Public policy consultant and lobbyist James Callan said this scenario will influence the legislative agenda. “I think it will be difficult for the administration, if not impossible, to get anything major done.” If the Republicans win the majority in Congress, the chairmanship of the House Agriculture Committee would shift from current Chairman David Scott of Georgia to G.T. Thompson of Pennsylvania. Callan believes Thompson would change the direction of the committee. “His priorities would be on dairy, forestry, nutrition from an oversight perspective and crop insurance,” said Callan. “Mr. Scott has focused on climate, racial equity and Southern commodities so I think there will be a significant differences in their approach and priorities.” Thompson has already discussed an ambitious timeline for the farm bill, completing the legislation before its expiration at the end of September. Callan leads a public policy firm in Washington, D.C. and represents Midwestern farm groups.

Incumbents Re-elected – It was a winning strategy for the incumbents across the three-state area. North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, Congressman Kelly Armstrong and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring were reelected by wide margins. In Minnesota, House Agriculture Committee members Michelle Fischbach, Angie Craig and Brad Finstad were reelected. South Dakota voters kept Senator John Thune, Congressman Dusty Johnson and Governor Kristi Noem in office.

Work Remains During the Lame Duck Session – The House and Senate are returning to Washington, D.C. this week. In addition to electing new leadership, Congress still needs to pass the 12 appropriations bills, which will likely be folded into one massive omnibus bill. The Russell Group President Randy Russell said important nominations are also awaiting confirmation. “It’s been two years and we still don’t have an undersecretary of trade at USDA and we’ve got a great nominee, Alexis Taylor, who’s currently the ag director in Oregon and formally in the Obama administration at USDA from Iowa; she’s outstanding,” explains Russell. “Doug McKalip is the ag trade ambassador nominee. That’s two critically important positions that are both on the executive calendar. I am cautiously optimistic they’ll both get confirmed before we break at Christmas.”

Walz Wins Another Term – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has been reelected.  The incumbent beat Republican challenger Scott Jensen with a margin of 52 percent-to-44 percent. Jensen had the majority of the vote across most of outstate Minnesota, but it was not enough to overcome Walz’s lead in the Twin Cities and metro areas like Duluth, Rochester, Mankato and Moorhead.

Walz Team Makes Plans for New Term – A day after the election, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz sat down with commissioners and state agency heads. Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen said the administration is hitting the ground running and mapping out the next four years. “It’ll be a little different with a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate, but with very close numbers,” Petersen told RRFN. “For agriculture, we’ve been able to pass bipartisan bills for the past four years I’ve been commissioner and we hope to see meaningful investments in agriculture.” Walz was scheduled to be at the AgriGrowth annual meeting to deliver his State of the State of Agriculture address, but shared video greetings instead.

Dems Take Control of Minnesota Legislature – There are 68 new legislators coming to St. Paul in January. “One-third of the legislature is new and when you add to that the people who won in 2020, which was about 20 percent new, you’re almost up to 50 percent that nobody’s actually lobbied, engaged with or met with in person,” said Blois Olson, political analyst. The House committee hearings were done remotely during the pandemic. Speaking at the Minnesota Ag and Food Summit,  Olson said the Republican brand was damaged in this election. “If you can’t win in the suburbs in Minnesota, you can’t be a statewide majority party.”

Leadership Elected – The new DFL majority elected Kari Dziedzic of Minneapolis as the Senate majority leader. State Senator Mark Johnson of East Grand Forks will serve as the minority leader in the upcoming session. In the House, Melissa Hortman of Fridley was reelected as the Speaker. The new majority leader is Representative Jamie Long of Minneapolis. Representative Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring is the minority leader.

A Rural-Metro Split – Food and agricultural interests will need to nurture a relationship with the many new faces in the Minnesota Legislature. According to agricultural lobbyist Cory Bennett, the DFL won the majority by winning the metro and suburban vote. “Lines have been drawn and a lot of rural Minnesota is red while the urban centers, the suburban rings and the regional centers are blue,” said Bennett. “We’re going to have to try to educate some folks on agriculture and we’re going to have to be as proactive as we possibly can.”

A Time of Education – Minnesota Corn Growers Association Senior Public Policy Director Amanda Bilek believes work needs to be done to educate both sides of the aisle about agriculture. Minnesota Corn is already at work stressing the importance of agriculture’s agenda. “We are going to have 68 new members between the House and Senate so that’s a lot of new people we need to get to know.”

North Dakota’s Supermajority – North Dakota Republicans dominated the state legislative races in Tuesday’s election. In the Senate, Republicans control 43 of the 47 seats. In the House, the GOP has the majority in 82 of the 94 seats in the House. Two House races are eligible for a recount.

ND Voters Support Term Limits – North Dakota voters gave their support to term limits in the state legislature and the governor’s office. This measure passed with a 63-to-37 margin. The North Dakota Farmers Union and North Dakota Farm Bureau opposed term limits, saying it would be detrimental to rural districts.

Rail Strike Deadline Moves to Early December – The threat of a railroad strike is now off the table until December 4^th at the earliest. The previous strike deadline was November 20^th. One of the major unions announced it was extending the status quo timeline to match another union. If either of the two largest unions are still voting, the deadline could be extended again. The Class I railroads reportedly planned to start shutting down service in anticipation of a work stoppage. In a notice to members, the unions claimed the railroads are trying to cause panic and manipulate Congress to intervene.

TFI: Rail Strike Would be Devastating – The Fertilizer Institute is warning Congress a railroad strike would be devastating for fertilizer manufacturing and fertilizer distribution to farmers. President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch said the trucking and river systems are already having problems. In a letter to congressional leaders, Rosenbusch said a work stoppage in the rail industry would be felt quickly within the economy.

Russia Seeks Concessions – The humanitarian grain agreement that includes Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations will expire on Saturday. Negotiations took place over the weekend, but Russia’s deputy foreign minister said an extension is not yet in place. Russia wants unlimited access to the world market for its grain and fertilizer. There are no sanctions on Russian grain or fertilizer, but trade is shut down over access to insurance and financing. Russia also wants its state bank to again have access to a global financial platform. Ukrainian troops pushed Russia out of city of Kherson late last week. which  complicates the negotiations for the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Biden and Xi Meet – President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are meeting face-to-face on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Indonesia. Ahead of the meeting, Biden said both countries have a responsibility to manage their differences.

COP27 Addresses Climate Concerns – President Joe Biden made a weekend stop at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt. Biden said his administration has a bold agenda to address the climate crisis. “Approving a good climate policy is good economic policy,” said Biden. “It is a strong foundation for durable, resilient, inclusive, economic growth.” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also participated in the COP27 conference. The USDA leader highlighted the $3 billion investment made in climate smart agriculture. Vilsack said future programs will support small-and-medium sized farms.

Change Can Happen in an Instant – During a time of high commodity prices, rising land values, and government payments, a percentage of farmers became complacent. Virginia Tech Professor Emeritus Daid Kohl made that point during the National Bankers Conference in Omaha. “You’re going to have a certain set of customers that are going to burn through working capital, liquidity and their equity, but you’re going to have another set of customers that will put profits on the table, build liquidity, build equity and they’re going to grow.” In this time of extreme volatility, Kohl said commodity prices could drop quickly. That makes it more important for farmers to know their breakeven costs and manage risk. The geopolitical environment can make changes in an instant. “Whether it’s China, the United States or the Federal Reserve, they’ll flip the switch and when change happens, it will happen very, very quickly.”

Back on Track – NDSU Center for the Study of Public Choice and Private Enterprise Director Jeremy Jackson says the U.S. Gross Domestic Product is almost back on track after the pandemic. “We’re not quite back onto the same path as we would be if we hadn’t experienced a pandemic, but we’re close,” said Jackson. “What’s really troubling is the downward trend in GDP the first two quarters of 2022, but the third quarter saw a slight increase of economic growth.” Jackson says the economy is growing even with inflation.

End of Year Planning – Northland Community and Technical College Farm Business Management Advisor Betsy Jensen says the high interest rates could throw a curveball if farmers are caught unaware. “Our interest rates are unique this year in that it’s up at least four percent so if you have to borrow money for your pre-pays, you should probably do a little math to see what the true cost of it is.” Jensen says farmers should also take into stock their income and expense statement with the extra government payments distributed this year. “Quite a few government payments were unexpected. There is definitely a need for tax planning this year.”

Ag Markets Following Outside Factors – Factors beyond traditional agricultural market fundamentals are dominating the trade. “It’s not good when you’re worrying about things in the general news; you’re looking at CNN or the Wall Street Journal and you’re hearing about negotiations on getting grain and fertilizer on ships and out of Ukraine and Russia,” said Dan Kowalski, economist, CoBank Knowledge Exchange Division. “Worrying about the rail situation or things we’re reading about Mexico and not importing GMO corn.” That list goes on to include the Russia-Ukraine war, the U.S. elections and inflation. Kowalski spoke at Thursday’s Ag and Food Summit in Minneapolis. Kowalski said he expects the Federal Reserve to continue to increase interest rates in early 2023, but “probably at a much less aggresive basis.”

What’s Hot, What’s Not in the Markets – In this week’s edition of What’s Hot, What’s Not in the Markets, Martinson Ag Risk Management President Randy Martinson says the dry conditions in the Southern Plains have given the wheat a boost. :We also have trouble with Australia as they’re getting heavy rains and it is hurting quality,” said Martinson. “That’s likely supporting the Minneapolis market because they’re going to need quality wheat to blend off.” Corn and soybean markets may be entering the holiday doldrums earlier than normal.

Land Values Will Respond to Interest Rate Increases – Inflation has affected nearly every aspect of production agriculture, including land prices, machinery, fertilizer, and other inputs. NDSU Ag Finance Specialist Bryon Parman expects land prices to eventually decline due to the higher interest rates. “I wouldn’t be shocked to see 8.5 percent interest heading into the spring on most consumer loans,” said Parmon. “With the interest rationing higher, there’s bound to be an impact on land values.” Farm equipment values may waver. “We see used (equipment) prices ebb and flow depending on the demand of new machinery.”

Well Grounded Podcast: Land Values and Farmland Appraisals – Farmland values continue to move at or near record levels. Are there concerns on the horizon? In latest Well Grounded podcast, AgCountry Farm Credit Services appraisers Chad Wigestand and Andrew Hammen discuss land values and the role of farmland appraisals. Well Grounded is hosted by Acres and Shares owner Jayson Menke and Red River Farm Network’s Randy Koenen.

Tax Planning and Cash Flow 2023 – AgCentric Executive Director Keith Olander says this year’s tax season and planning for 2023 may be more challenging than years past. Supply chain issues remain and rising input costs present new problems for farmers and ranchers when planning purchases. “If we want a combine or tractor, we can put it in a cashflow, but we can’t guarantee that it’s even available,” said Olander. “If you’re looking at a tax perspective and wanting to sign by December 31, you probably need to plan forward more this year than in the past.”

Farm Equipment Industry Adapts – Farm equipment purchases tend to increase with end-of-the-year spending. That has been complicated by logistical issues this fall. “It’s an interesting time with how the industry has adapted to tight supply chain issues,” said John Onken, CEO, True North Equipment. “It’s created challenges for everyone in new and used equipment sales.” Onken says supplies chain issues are slowly getting better. “Supply chain varies by component segment and models; tires will continue to become a challenge in our industry especially.” True North Equipment is based in Grand Forks and has dealerships in North Dakota and Minnesota.

Agribusiness Takes Proactive Step at COP27 – Fourteen major ag companies, including Cargill, ADM, JBS and COFCO, have announced a plan to deal with climate change. During the United Nations Climate Summit, the agribusiness firms said they plan to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains for soybeans, beef and palm oil by 2025. The plan also includes the establishment of targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

EU Energy Crisis – NDSU Extension Bioproducts and Bioenergy Economics Specialist David Ripplinger is keeping an eye on the European energy crisis. “This started prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; there’s extremely high energy prices and high natural gas prices, that’s only been exasperated by Russia’s invasion.”

Klobuchar Outlines Priority List – In an address at the AgriGrowth Council annual meeting, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar said the farm bill is her number one priority in the year ahead. That is followed by infrastructure and broadband. “Number 3 is taking down barriers for trade; Number 4 is the cost issue with shipping, healthcare and the like; and Number 5 would be this grouping of issues that I think you don’t traditionally talk about at this conference, housing, childcare and workforce development.” Klobuchar ended her speech by focusing on the need for bipartisanship and a positive tone in politics.

USDA Projects Wheat Ending Stocks at a 15 Year-Low – In the monthly USDA supply and demand report, USDA increased domestic wheat usage five million bushels to 1.09 billion bushels, raised feed usage by seven million bushels and left wheat exports unchanged at 775 million bushels. Ending stocks are forecast at 571 million bushels, down five million bushels and the lowest ending stocks since the 2007/2008 marketing year. The season average farm price is unchanged at $9.20 per bushel.

Ag Department Forecasts 7th Largest Corn Crop on Record – USDA made a small upward adjustment to U.S. corn production in the November crop report, raising it to 13.9 billion bushels. That is up 35 million from the October report. USDA raised U.S. corn ending stocks 10 million bushels and left the season average farm price unchanged at $6.80 per bushel. Yields rose two percent to 172.3 bushels per acre.

Corn Matters – Minnesota Corn supports soil health. Hear more about the Soil Management Summit in the latest Corn Matters.

More Soybeans – USDA increased soybean production by 33 million bushels to 4.35 billion bushels. The supply/demand report estimated the average yield at 50.2 bushels per acre. Soybean ending stocks were raised 20 million bushels to 220 million bushels. The season-average farm gate price was left unchanged at $14.00 per bushel.

South America Holds the Keys – U.S. wheat ending stocks were down from last month, but corn and soybean supplies increased. Total Farm Marketing Senior Market Advisor Naomi Blohm says global ending stocks only had small changes. “Corn ending stocks pretty much came in right on the estimate. Soybeans came in 102.2 million metric tons and wheat came in a little bit larger than the average estimate at 267.8 million metric tons.” Blohm says everyone’s putting all the chips on South America’s production. “The world ending stocks situation is not as good as a few years ago so the world is hoping that South America has record-high production.”

Baseline Numbers Released – USDA’s ten-year baseline outlook forecasts trendline yields to increase from 171.9 bushels per acre this year to 199.5 by the year 2033. The corn price is expected to fall over the next five years to $4.30 per bushel and remain flat at $4.30 for the remainder of the outlook. The average soybean yield is expected to increase from 49.8 bushels per acer this year to 56.5 bushels per acre in 2033.  The average soybean price is expected to decrease from $14.00 per bushel this marketing year to $10.30 per bushel for the last five years of the baseline outlook. CRP acres are expected to increase from 24 million in 2023 to 27 million acres in 2033.

Job Opportunities in Agriculture – The Red River Farm Network is connecting agricultural companies, organizations and farms with high quality job prospects. Click on the Job Opportunities in Agriculture tab on the RRFN website to see the latest listings. Minnesota’s AURI is looking for a business development director. R.D. Offutt Farms is seeking a team lead and has three agronomy internships available. Dakota Ingredients, Pioneer and others are among those listed at this time. If you want your job listed, contact don@rrfn.com or kolleen@rrfn.com.

A Game-Changer – Renewable diesel was a hot topic at the U.S. Canola Association autumn board meeting. “Talk on renewable fuels revolves around demand and how growers are going to supply the need,” said Barry Coleman, executive director, Northern Canola Growers Association. “If a lot more oil is used for biofuel, canola will be the oil used to fill the gap in the food market.”

A Fortunate Fall – Asgrow Dekalb Technical Agronomist Derek Pruitt says farmers in his trade area had a very good harvest. “For as much as we preach the best practices to increase yields, like early planting, that didn’t hold up this year; we were pretty fortunate.” Dry weather impacted fall fieldwork, such as tillage. “With as dry as it was, farmers had to make a decision on if they wanted to work the soil or not.”

Crop Turned Around From a Late Start – The 2022 season began with logistical challenges and weather delays. “One thing that we are upfront about is we had some soybean germination issues in the industry, not just Peterson Farms Seed, but around our region which was caused by the planting and growing season of 2021,” said Scott Sanders, general manager. “If you couple that with getting into the planting season about a month late across our region, we had a fantastic growing season.” After excellent yields this fall, Sanders said growers are coming into the fall pretty excited about the ’23 season.

Middle-Of-The-Road Harvest – Pioneer sales representative Ron Truax says harvest went well in the Litchville, North Dakota area. “There’s a little bit of corn coming off yet, but otherwise harvest is mostly done,” said Truax. :It hasn’t been a bumper crop, but I’d call it average.”

An Uneventful Beet Campaign – SES Vanderhave Regional Sales Manager Nick Revier is thankful this season’s sugarbeet harvest was uneventful. “We needed it with how many challenges we had this spring,” said Revier. “Typically, we look at that crop freezing off in September, but this year it kept growing until the second week of October so we got some extra yield and quite a bit of extra sugar.” At the end of the season, the sugar content was over 18 percent, which is “fantastic.”

Sunflowers Exceed Expectations – At Bremen, North Dakota, Donny Allmaras is pleased with the local sunflower crop. “The sunflowers actually turned out quite well, even in the drought areas,” said Allaras. “In the good spots, they were well in excess of 3,000 pounds.”

Drought Tolerance Hybrids Perform Well – The dry, open fall is on everyone’s mind. “We had a relatively full tank last year because we had a rain in the fall,” said Pioneer field agronomist Clyde Tiffany. “We’re pretty well depleted right now.” In this harvest update, Tiffany said soil moisture conditions can change quickly. “The good news is that drought tolerance is really pretty good in these modern hybrids.”

Dairy Farmers Urged to Embrace Marketing Opportunities – AgDairy marketing specialist Robin Schmahl expects Class III milk prices to remain steady with little change expected in milk production or consumer demand. “Higher demand probably isn’t going to happen because of the current economic situation and it will take a while before milk production declines,” said Schmahl. “Dairy producers need to take a hard look at this market and when there are opportunities to protect prices, do some marketing or sign up for DMC (Dairy Margin Coverage), they need to embrace those things.”

Corn 10 Cents Forward, Feeders $1 Back – Calf prices are lofty compared to 2019-2020. However, the corn prices may be the glass ceiling for the cattle market. “When we look at the price for feeder cattle, we see it may be further away from setting records than the fed cattle are,” said NDSU Livestock Economist Tim Petry. “There’s an old adage that says, ‘change corn price ten cents, change feeder prices a buck in the opposite direction’ so that’s put a lid on the market.” Petry remains optimistic. “With the cow herd going down, I’m looking for higher calf prices even later on.”

Calf Run Underway at Wishek Auction Barn – When the snow falls, the calves come home. “A lot of producers pull calves off cows in November and December so guys are just starting to filter in the calf groups,” said Missy Walth, manager, Wishek Livestock Auction. Demand looks good. “Yearling prices were really good so maybe it’ll give buyers incentive to go after weaned calves.”

Expansion is a Double Edged Sword – CattleFax CEO Randy Blach spoke the expansion of meat processing while at the U.S. Meat Export Federation Strategic Planning Conference in Oklahoma City. Labor shortages are a huge obstacle faced by packing plants. “Are we going to continue to have a workforce willing to work at these new plants on Saturdays?” asks Blach. “If we look at the last several years, we’ve harvest roughly 2.5 million cattle on Saturdays, so will these new plants offset that?” Increasing packer capacity could be a double-edged sword. “We know margins are going to get tight for the packers in the next several years, but the U.S. cowherd will not grow if we don’t increase packing capacity.”

MN Beef Update – Minnesota’s State Cattlemen’s Association’s Convention is coming up. Hear more on the agenda and speakers in the latest Minnesota Beef Update.

Packers Hesitant to Expand – USDA has invested the expansion of beef processing capacity. However, Iowa State University Extension Livestock Economist Lee Schulz beleives some meat processors are having second thoughts. “Some of those planned additions are being postponed indefinitely.” Numerous factors are at play. “The cost of building materials are almost 40 percent higher than two years ago. There’s also a labor shortage to work in plants and with the current cattle cycle, numbers are declining.”

NCI Hosts Online Pelleting Course – The Northern Crops Institute wrapped up an online Quality Feed Pellet Production course this past week. Participants attended virtually from Korea, the Philippines, Germany, Denmark, Chili, Canada, and the U.S. The course provided technical information about pellet manufacturing and the role different ingredients play in the pelleting process. ” I am very pleased with this group because they were very involved,” said Nick Sinner, program manager. NCI course information is available online.

MN Wheat Minute – The U.S. Wheat Association held their annual fall meeting. Hear more from Executive Director Charlie Vogel in the latest MN Wheat Minute.

Weathering the Storm – Freshly weaned calves are more susceptible to sickness from the cold, wet weather, NDSU Extension Veterinarian Gerald Stokka reminds ranchers to monitor for pneumonia following the storm. “Hopefully, weaned calves have settled down and are eating creep feed so their stress levels go down and they’re not as susceptible.”

SD Corn Comments – In the latest South Dakota Corn Comments, we honor those who selflessly served our country.

Beet Share Values – According to Acres and Shares President Jayson Menke, it was a quiet week on the American Crystal Sugar Company beet stock front. No shares were brokered last week. For the season which started in early September, 1,125 shares have been brokered for an average price of $4,489.97. The trading range has been $4,300 to $4,800 per share.

ACSC Beet Payments on the Way – American Crystal Sugar Company shareholders have received a final 2021 gross beet payment of $65 per ton. The forecast for the current growing season is a gross payment of $71 per ton. The increase is due to higher sugar, pulp and molasses net selling prices and higher sugar content. That’s partially offset by higher operating costs and lower sugar recovery. American Crystal will mail the 2022 crop payment on Tuesday. These payments will be based on 65 percent of the forecasted net payment of $67.

Dry Bean Scene – The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation has extended the Gateway Incentive Program to the Soy Transportation Coalition. Tune into the latest Dry Bean Scene to hear more from St. Lawrence Seway Management Corporation Director of Market Development Bruce Hodgson. The Dry Bean Scene is brought to you by SRS Commodities, Northarvest Bean Growers Association, Johnstown Bean Company, and BASF.

Strong Loan Growth and Credit Quality for AgriBank – For the nine months ending September 30, St. Paul-based AgriBank had net income of $576.1 million. That’s up from $558.7 million during the same period one year ago. Net interest income topped $621 million, an increase of eight percent from last year. Total loans in the portfolio wer at $129.6 billion, up more than six percent. The increase in AgriBank’s wholesale portfolio was driven primarily by agribusiness and real estate mortgage volume, partially offset by declines in production and intermediate term volume.

Hurricane Ian Impacts Mosaic Financials – The Mosaic Company is reporting third quarter net income of $842 million. Profits were influenced by Hurricane Ian and a drop in sales volume. Mosaic said fertilizer application rates are trending toward normal levels this fall after a downturn in the spring. That is expected to reduce fertilizer supplies for the North American market.

Bayer Sees a Sales Increase – Bayer finished the third quarter with net income of $546 million, up from $85 million one year ago. The Crop Science division enjoyed strong growth with sales increasing more than eight percent. Herbicide sales were strong due to price increases and a positive market environment for glyphosate-based products. North American corn seed and traits was influenced by lower licensing revenue and higher returns. Sales for the soybean seed and traits business declined. Bayer’s fungicide sales were unchanged from one year ago.

Peterson Farms Seed Announces Expansion – Peterson Farms Seed has announced the expansion of its Prosper, North Dakota headquarters. This expansion includes 20 additional bins, a second dump pit and variable speed unload conveyers. This will more than double the storage available during processing and increase the unloading capacity.

FMC Brings a New Foliar Disease Tool to Market – FMC is launching Adastrio fungicide on a limited commercial basis for the 2023 growing season. This foliar fungicide combines three modes of action and is the first fungicide using the newest molecule in the SDHI class, fluindapyr. Adastrio is labeled for corn, wheat, barley, grain sorghum and triticale for use against anthracnose leaf blight, common rust, gray leaf spot, Northern corn leaf blight and Southern rust.

Canola Minute – In this week’s Canola Minute, Northern Canola Growers Association Executive Director Barry Coleman talks about the upcoming Canola Growers Research Conference.

Summit Carbon Pipeline Secures Half of Easements – Summit Carbon Solutions has secured easement agreements for more than 50 percent of the proposed pipeline route across its entire project footprint. Over 3,400 easements agreements have been signed by landowners, totaling 1,030 miles across Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota.

Thornton Moves to Stratovation Group – Mace Thornton has joined Stratovation Group as partner and COO to lead client services. Stratovation Group is a specialized management consulting firm, offering market research, strategy and business consulting. Thornton previously worked for the United Soybean Board and American Farm Bureau Federation.

Land Broker Brett Meyers Joins AcrePro Farm Agency – Brett Meyers is joining the team at AcrePro Farm Agency as a land broker. Meyers is a farmland expert specializing in tillable acreage and agribusiness and manages 10,000 acres in eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota. Meyers has actively farmed for over 25 years with his family. Land values are at historic highs. In this AcrePro Farm Agency blog post, Meyers discusses creative solutions for your farmland goals.

Rock Named CHS CSO – CHS has announced the appointment of Megan Rock as vice president, sustainability and innovation and chief sustainability officer. Before CHS, Rock was the vice president of corporate responsibility, sustainability and sustainable solutions at Bunge.

USMEF Elects Officer Team – The new chairman of the U.S. Meat Export Federation is Iowa farmer Dean Meyer. Randy Spronk will serve as the vice-chair. Spronk is a past president of the National Pork Producers Council and farms in Minnesota’s Pipestone County.

Schlosser to Lead MARL – Brad Schlosser is the new executive director of the Minnesota Agriculture and Rural Leadership program. Schlosser comes to MARL from South Central Technical College where he was the Dean of Agriculture and the first director of the Minnesota State Southern Agricultural Center of Excellence. He will begin his duties December 19.

AgriGrowth Team Adds Deyle – Nikki Deyle has joined the Minnesota AgriGrowth staff as its director of strategic engagement. Nikki and Nathan Deyle own and operate Stone Hill Farms at Browerville, Minnesota. Deyle previously worked for AgriGrowth from 2005-2008.

AgriGrowth Recognizes Duncanson – The Minnesota AgriGrowth Council presented its Distinguished Service Award to Kristin Weeks Duncanson of Highland Family Farms at Mapleton. Duncanson previously served as AgriGrowth’s chair, president of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association and is a trustee with the Nature Conservancy.

MN Soybean Leader Passes – A memorial service will be held Friday in Owatonna, Minnesota for Gary Joachim. Joachim, 73, passed away November 4. He served as president of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association in 1998-1999 and was on the American Soybean Association board from 1999-to-2008.