Putin Criticizes Humanitarian Grain Lane – During a speech to the Eastern Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted the grain deal that was put together by Turkey and the United Nations to safely export grain through the Black Sea Region. Putin claims importers are cheating, saying Ukrainian grain exports are not getting to the poorest countries in Africa and other areas dealing with food shortages. The Russian leader said he may seek changes in this agreement. A Ukrainian government spokesman said Putin’s comments were “unexpected and groundless.”

China-Russian Alliance – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are planning to meet late this week in Uzbekistan. A senior Chinese government official said the meeting is designed to improve cooperation between the two countries on issues like agriculture and energy.

European Economic Crisis to be Felt Around the Globe – In a dispute over sanctions, Russia has cut off natural gas supplies to Europe. Energy prices in the EU are skyrocketing and the value of the euro is at a 20-year low. Advance Trading Risk Management Advisor Tommy Grisafi says this situation will be felt worldwide. “We’ve went from Covid supply chain issues to supply chain issues due to the war in Ukraine and with what’s happening, Europe will need to shut down industry to try to conserve natural gas and electricity.” You can hear more from Grisafi in the monthly conversation about the markets called the Bull Pen. That interview can be found on the Red River Farm Network YouTube channel. Grisafi will be on the RRFN stage at Big Iron during Tuesday’s market outlook forum, starting at 1:30 PM.

Looking for a Hedge Against Inflation – According to Utterback Marketing President Bob Utterback, the market attitude about the equity markets has changed over the last three weeks. “It’s darkening because the Fed said they’re going to be aggressive on getting inflationary rates down and Interest rates may move up through the second quarter of next year.” Utterback sees potential for the agricultural market. “You can see money moving out of the equities looking for a home to go to and I think that’s going to be supportive of the commodities.”

U.S. Dollar Strength is a Weakness – The U.S. dollar slid lower at the end of this past week.Van Ahn and Company market analyst Kristi Van Ahn says the dollar is still very strong. “When you look at soybeans, compared to Brazil, we’re not all that competitive and that’s a struggle going into harvest.”  Van Ahn will be part of the Red River Farm Network market outlook forum Wednesday at the Big Iron Farm Show in West Fargo.

MN Wheat Minute – Minnesota Wheat CEO Charlie Vogel previews the upcoming MAWG September Marketing Seminar, happening virtually on Wednesday. Hear more in the latest MN Wheat Minute.

Many Factors Impacting the Grain Markets – Global Commodity Analytics and Consulting President Mike Zuzolo says weather and geopolitical concerns are supporting the grain markets. “We’re starting to read more into the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map that came out on Thursday and weather is starting to be discussed more. Ukrainian news is also underpinning the markets.” Zuzolo will be featured at the Red River Farm Network market outlook forum Wednesday at the Big Iron Farm Show.

Marking Grain at Harvest – When it comes to marketing the crop at harvest, Bolt Marketing market analyst DuWayne Bosse says there may be good profits on the spreadsheet for growers with today’s prices. “The risk manager in me says well that’s good enough, take your profit, but I think many producers are asking brokers if they’re thinking higher or lower commodities prices. I’m thinking higher prices in the future,” says Bosse. “I think we’re going to have to buy acres of corn and soybeans next year. The spreadsheet may say sell, but my estimated guess moving forward is higher prices. Adjust accordingly based on what’s best for you and plan ahead.” Bosse will join the Red River Farm Network for the Big Iron Farm Show Thursday, September 15 at 1:30 p.m. for the market outlook panel discussion.

Green Straw Slowing Wheat Harvest Near Karlstad, MN – Karlstad, Minnesota farmer Kurt Aakre will finish wheat harvest soon. “We’re in seed production and waiting for fields to dry.” Quality is good, but harvest conditions are a little tough. “Combining, there’s a lot of green straw out there. We had above normal rainfall in August, around seven inches. We had a few fields that went down and it was tough picking it back up again.”

Better-Than-Average Small Grains Crop – Syngenta Agronomy Service Representative Wally West says the general consensus about the crop in the Dakotas and Minnesota is better than average. “The heat really didn’t turn on through the majority of the spring wheat belt until the crop was mature so the heat didn’t nick it too bad.” If farmers are interested in growing spring wheat in 2023, West encourages them to consider disease protection. “This was another year where disease protection was important in wetter pockets earlier on. Fast forward to later in the season, scab was a bit of an issue this year.” Hear the story.

Silage Chopping Season Kicks Off – Dry conditions in parts of South Dakota has pushed the corn crop to mature. Watertown, South Dakota farmer Doug Noem has started chopping corn silage.”We going to be about ten-to-15 percent under normal yields. The silage choppers are finding about 170 bushel corn, when we typically have 200-to-200-plus.” Noem planted corn well into May. “There such a wide variety of planting dates that chopping might stretch out.”

Corn Needs Growing Degree Days – The cooler start to summer got the crop off to a later start. NDSU Small Grains Agronomist Claire Keene says the corn needs a few more days of warm temperatures to finish out. “Certainly the hot temperatures have helped us catch up a little bit.” The balance of this month will be instrumental in drying the crop. “I don’t expect most full-season corn to hit black layer for another two weeks or so. Corn really benefits from warm weather to dry down and save farmers the cost associated with drying corn.”

More Time Needed – The corn is getting close to black layer west of Hillsboro, North Dakota. Pioneer Field Agronomist Kevin Sinner says more growing degree days are needed for the corn to finish up. “On a good, warm day in the upper 80s and 90s, we should get about 25 heat units. As we dip into 70s, we’ll struggle to get a dozen (GDUs) each day at that rate.” The corn that still needs to dent will need 200 to 300 heat units to finish. There’s some firing on the lower parts of the corn. “If there are stalk issues, prioritize those fields first at harvest.” Hear more in the latest Pioneer Agronomy Update.

Update on the Beet Crop – As the pre-pile season continues, sugarbeet growers seem to be pleased with tonnage. However, “the sugar (content) needs a lot of help.” Betaseed sales manager John Samdahl says it is difficult to make up for the late planting season. Cercospora Leaf Spot has been widespread in recent years. Betaseed’s new CR+ trait was available this past year in the American Crystal Sugar Company region and the past two seasons in the Minn-Dak and Southern Minn production areas. “CR+ is doing amazing; it is stretching out spray intervals and keeping fields clean,” said Samdahl. “Cercospora has cost the industry a lot of money over the years and to have a tool like this in our pocket is phenomenal.”

Early Soil Sampling Data Reported – The Mosaic Company Senior Technical Sales Manager Sherry Koch says a good soil test provides a snapshot of what’s actually happening in the field. “Make sure to also test for micronutrients because we’re seeing more deficiencies over the years when we see higher yielding corn and better genetics. We’re using more of those nutrients in the soil.” Koch has been checking soil samples following the small grain harvest. Nitrogen and phosphorus levels are low. “We want to be mindful we’re feeding the crop we’re shooting for. If we’re shooting for 60-to-70 bushel wheat, let’s fertilize for that.” Hear the story.

Canola Minute – The former president of the Northern Canola Growers Association, Pat Murphy, is harvesting canola near Minot, North Dakota. Hear more about the crop in this week’s Canola Minute.

Sunflowers Drying Down – The sunflower crop has just finished blooming across most of North Dakota. National Sunflower Association Executive Director John Sandbakken says the sunflower crop is drying down. “The crop has really advanced to that dry petal stage and into that R7 stage. The heat we’ve had has really pushed it along nicely.” The sunflower harvest is expected to begin later than normal. Even with the late start to the year, Sandbakken is happy with the state of the crop.

Desiccation Happening in Dry Beans – The dry bean crop is rapidly approaching maturity across the region. “We’ve got an outstanding crop out here due to the added moisture this year and we need to get these desiccation or as some call them harvest aid applications going,” said Ken Diebert, technical service representative, BASF. Timing is the key to the success of the desiccation application.  “We want that crop to be at least 80 percent yellow to brown pods and I would also add no more than 30 percent of the leaves should still be green.”

Potato Harvest Starting Soon – Halma, Minnesota farmer Lance Hapka plans to start Russet potato harvest this week. “The potatoes are looking good right now, but are ten days behind schedule due to the late planting.” It’s been an interesting growing season. “After the late planting, it got hot in June before row closure. That hurt our initial set. We have fewer potatoes per plant and there’s less size on those.” After that, conditions improved, Halma said the last two weeks have been great for tuber bulking.”

Fielding Questions: A Look at Margin Protection – AgCountry Farm Credit Services Vice President of Insurance and Customer Education Rob Fronning takes a closer look at margin protection insurance. “This is a fairly new crop insurance program, coming out in 2016. It’s gaining traction because of volatility in the commodity markets and inputs,” says Fronning. “This insures the difference between revenue and interest cost at a high level, county based policy. Margin protection is available for wheat, corn and soybeans, but it varies by county in North Dakota and Minnesota.” Hear more in the latest Fielding Questions podcast episode.

Weekly Export Sales Data Resumes Thursday – USDA will release four weeks of weekly export sales data on Thursday. The August 18 and 25 data will be combined in a single report. USDA says separate reports will be released for the reporting periods ending September 1 and September 8. Read more.

What’s Hot, What’s Not in the Markets – The Big Iron Farm Show has a lot of the attention in the Northern Plains. In the latest What’s Hot, What’s Not in the Markets, that’s what’s hot. The U.S. dollar is not hot. Hear the update.

StatsCan Report is Within Trade Expectations – Given last year’s drought across the Canadian Prairies, lower ending stocks from Statistics Canada were expected. Ag-Chieve Inc. President David Drozd says there were a couple of outliers, including flax. “They’re showing an 85,000 ton carryout versus 59,000 one year ago. It’s up a little. The other one is also rye at 109,000 tons, up from 91,000 one year ago.” Drozd feels most of the other crops are in line with expectations.

Potential Rail Strike a Concern in the Northern Plains – If an agreement for an increase in wage and benefits is not reached by railroads and labor unions by late next week, there is a possibility of strikes and lockouts. If realized, this would affect grain movement out of the Northern Plains. “I’d be lying if I said we weren’t concerned,” says Levi Hall, grain division manager, Horizon Resources. “The temporary pause in this negotiating window goes through mid-September. That’s when we’d be in the middle of small grain harvest.” There’s a lot of bin space on the farm this year and the early grain will likely go there first. Once on-farm storage is filled, grain gets sold to the local elevator where storage is limited. “Right when we start getting hit (with that grain), we’re going to see the railroad start to struggle.”

Reliability Still a Struggle – Earlier this year, rail service was backed up for weeks in the Dakotas and Minnesota. North Dakota Wheat Commission Policy and Marketing Director Jim Peterson says the railroads still aren’t close to where they need to be when it comes to service or reliability. “If we would see a strike, this would further disrupt our poor service and delivery by the railroads, affecting our ability to compete in September, October and November and that’s our prime competitive period.” This concern goes beyond wheat. “Farmers will be starting soybean harvest in October. There’s a big book on export sales for corn and soybeans at the Pacific Northwest ports. Product needs to move.”

An Armageddon for the Supply Chain – The Agricultural Transportation Working Group sent a letter to the Senate and House Transportation Committees Thursday asking them to intervene if an agreement can’t be reached between railroads and labor unions by Friday. National Grain and Feed Association Chief Economist Max Fisher says a strike or lockout for workers would be an Armageddon to the U.S. supply chain. “For domestic movement within the United States, if you take away the rail component, many different businesses will not receive the supplies they need to continue operating.” Fisher says the working group is leaving it up to lawmakers on how to intervene, if necessary. “We definitely want them to forbid a lock out or a strike, but beyond that, we didn’t address it.” Hear the story.

Rail Strike Would be Costly – The Association of American Railroads is estimating a national rail strike would have a $2 billion daily economic impact. Five unions have reached an agreement with the major railroads, but another eight unions are still negotiating. If a deal is not in place within the next week, union members could walk off the job. The Association of American Railroads said a temporary switch to trucks and river shipping would be costly and disruptive.

House Lawmakers to Review Rail Delays – Next Thursday, the House Transportation Subcommittee on Railroads and House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture will dive deeper into rail service challenges. That hearing will be available online at 1 p.m. central time here.

Work Remains on Stopgap Spending Bill – Congress is working on a continuing resolution to keep the government running through mid-December. Without action, the government will run out of funds at the end of September. The White House wants additional assistance for Ukraine and $1.5 billion in agricultural disaster relief attached to the continuing resolution.

Boozman Asks USDA to Focus on its Mission, Not Politics – Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member John Boozman is blasting USDA, saying it is paying more attention to the Biden Administration’s political goals than its day-to-day responsibilities. In a letter sent to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Boozman cited USDA’s failed launch of its new export sales reporting system. With the system shut down for three weeks, the Arkansas senator said price discovery has been limited at the beginning of the marketing year.

USDA Urged to Protect Sugar Policy – A letter has been sent to USDA asking Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to reject proposals to weaken U.S. sugar policy. The letter also highlighted the positive economic impact created by the sugarbeet and sugarcane industries. The letter was signed by North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith and ten other colleagues.

Preventing Regulatory Overreach – The Senate held a hearing this week to consider the Livestock Regulatory Protection Act of 2021. South Dakota Senator John Thune says this bill would prevent regulatory overreach into the livestock sector. “Regulating animal emissions would negatively impact the livestock sector; the Livestock Regulatory Protection Act would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from imposing regulations on livestock emissions.” American Farm Bureau Federation Vice President Scott VanderWahl also testified at the hearing. “We do not need to burden hardworking farmers and ranchers with regulations and permit fees.”

MFU Minute – In the Minnesota Farmers Union Minute, President Gary Wertish previews the National Farmers Union Fly-In happening in Washington D.C. this week.

U.S. Trade Representative Nominee Advances to Full Senate – On Wednesday afternoon, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously advanced the nomination of Doug McKalip as Chief Agriculture Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Agricultural groups issued statements of support in response. Farmers for Free Trade said there’s bipartisan momentum to expanding new markets for food and ag. Once McKalip is confirmed by the full Senate, the coalition said they look forward to working with him to address trade barriers and pursue the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

HPAI Decision Impacts Hunters – USDA has banned the importation of ducks and geese harvested by American hunters in Canada. The decision was made to prevent the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Ducks Unlimited is calling this a “disturbing development” and is asking USDA to end the ban.

Seeking Truck Drivers – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has awarded more than $44 million in grants to state commercial driver’s license programs. That’s a 74 percent increase over last year. The goal is to increase the number of commercial drivers and reduce the supply chain problem.

Supreme Court to Hear Prop 12 Case – The American Farm Bureau Federation and National Pork Producers Council have filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, responding to California’s Proposition 12. Prop 12 bans the sale in California of pork not produced to specific state standards. The Supreme Court is scheduled to take oral arguments on this case October 12 and a decision could be seen before the end of the year.

Hours of Service Exemption Extended – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced the current hours of service exemption for livestock and livestock feed haulers has been extended again. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says the HOS emergency declaration provides additional flexibility for livestock haulers to maintain animal welfare.

Positive Demand for Yearlings – Some auction barns are still holding sales for ranchers selling yearlings off grass. Herreid Livestock Auction co-owner Kent Fjeldheim has high expectations for the fall feeder run.”We’ve had a nice run in August where cattle was coming off of grass and bringing very good demand. I think we’ll continue to see grass cattle through September and October before lightweight yearlings come through in November and December.”

Farmers Union Teams Up with Western Legacy – A recent panel organized by the South Dakota Farmers Union addressed concerns on the beef and bison processing facility planned to be built in Rapid City. Owners of a beef and bison processing plant set their eyes on bringing fair market competition into the cattle industry. South Dakota Farmers Union President Doug Sombke says a transparent marketplace is needed. “The meat industry is controlled by four major packers who own over 84 percent of meat processing in the U.S.” Working with the proposed plant, Farmers Union Industries plans to operate a rendering plant nearby. “We own a rendering company, so we could bring some expertise to the processing line.” The plant, called Western Legacy, hopes to break ground in January of 2023.

MN Beef Update – In this week’s Minnesota Beef Update, Beef Council Director of Industry Relations Royalee Rhoads recaps beef promotion at the Minnesota State Fair.

Demand for Lamb Grows – Compared to one year ago, second quarter lamb sales increased nearly ten percent in volume and 16 percent in value. A retail sales report from the American Lamb Board said the sales increased despite a higher price point.

Dry Bean Scene – This week, North Dakota Grain Growers Association Executive Director Dan Wogsland tells us about the upcoming E-Tour. The Dry Bean Scene is brought to you by SRS Commodities, Northarvest Bean Growers Association, Johnstown Bean Company, and BASF.

North Dakota Farm Bureau Blocks Township Ordinance – In November of 2020, North Dakota Farm Bureau challenged Howes Township’s regulation of animal feeding operations. The court recently sided with NDFB. President Daryl Lies says the ordinance went beyond the state law. “That’s just township overreach.” Lies says regulation and red tape has been a big problem. “It’s prevented domestic expansion of agriculture.”

Investigating ND’s Clean Energy Potential – Sumitomo Corporation of Americas has signed a memorandum of understanding with the State of North Dakota to explore clean energy projects. The areas of interest include sustainable aviation fuel supply chain development, carbon capture, hydrogen and ammonia supply chain development and Carbon Intensity measurement and agricultural optimization. SCOA is a subsidary of the Japanese trading firm Sumitomo Corporation.

Opportunity in Uzbekistan – Minnesota Soybean and Research Promotion Council leaders were on a trade trip to Uzbekistan this past week. MSRPC district representative Gene Stoel was one of the participants. “About three weeks ago our first shipment of soymeal landed in the country. We’ve found that this country is very ready to utilize U.S. soy.”

Corn Matters – Minnesota Corn Growers Association District Field Manager Tanner Sanborn is getting ready for county plot tours. Hear more in the latest Corn Matters, presented by Minnesota Corn.

Entrepreneur in Residence Program Launched – Minnesota’s Agricultural Utilization Research Institute is accepting applications for its Entrepreneur in Residence Program. Program participants will have access to AURI labs and scientific expertise. This program can also open the door for research and development grant funds.

Ag Economy Barometer Gets Boost in August – Farmer sentiment increased slightly in the August Ag Economy Barometer. According to the survey, presented by Purdue University and the CME Group, farmers were less worried about their farm’s financial situation. Center for Commercial Agriculture Director Jim Mintert says the rally in corn and soybean prices helped. “Prices from mid-July to mid-August improved. Since then, we’ve seen some weakness in prices. We’ll see how that impacts the index moving forward.” Mintert says there are still concerns about what inflation could bring to the farm in 2023. “People are uneasy when considering what margins will look like going into 2023. We asked more specifically about inflation. More producers in this survey are expecting a higher rate of inflation than previously.”

MFBF Update – What’s the benefit of being a member of the Minnesota Farm Bureau? Director of Membership and Marketing Robin Kinney highlights a few benefits of joining the organization in this week’s MFBF Update.

Prepare for Transitioning the Farm to the Next Generation – Forty percent of American adults have no estate plan in place. Freedom Financial Group CEO Marissa Nehlsen says that means decisions have not been made to transition the farm from one generation to another. “What do you with operations? What do you do with the financials? How do you make sure the kids eat family dinner together when Sara got this and Tom got that?” Estate planning takes preparation.  “We spend more time looking at what we’re doing for marketing our grain or marketing cattle today than we do in preparing for the legacy that we leave behind which is our families and the assets that we’ve been given the opportunity to steward.” Nehlsen will be presenting a daily seminar in the Red River Farm Network building at the Big Iron Farm Show. The session will be at 3:30 PM Tuesday and Wednesday and 2:30 PM Thursday.

Think About Corn Rootworm Control – If you plan to grow corn in 2023, Bayer Corn Traits Marketing Manager Travis Coffman encourages them to consider SmartStax Pro for corn root worm control. “That’s the strongest biotech defense available for corn rootworm. We’ll be on more than one million acres in 2023.” Now is a time when farmers can go out and scout fields, evaluating the crop. “If farmers don’t see corn root pressure, there are other traits available. Go talk to your trusted advisor to find the best fit for next year.” Hear the story.

Disease Management Crucial for Potato Quality – Syngenta Agronomy Manager Chris Clemens says the first ten-to-14 days of storage are critical for protecting potatoes from disease.Disease can impact a potato’s marketability and weight. “Make sure we have a good program throughout the growing season, but then get a good fungicide application on the potatoes before they enter the pile. That’s the key to keep things from spreading once in storage.” Syngenta has a new fungicide called Archive to protect potatoes. “This product is a combination of two key ingredients active on fusarium dry rot and silver scurf.” Hear the story.

A Digital Focus – AGI is helping  farmers digitally track grain movement throughout the growing season. Digital Vice President of Product Engineering Harley Janssen says sensors can bring farmers information right to their computer or phone. “I want to be able to connect that data to something downstream, whether that’s a sustainability program or future programs, but it starts with collecting the data.” Once farmers have the data, they can analyze it and make better farm decisions. Hear the story.

An Acquisition for Summit Nutrients – Summit Nutrients has acquired AGVNT. Summit Nutrients is a precision-based manufacturer and marketer of bio-nutritional and fertilizer products and AGVNT is an R&D company known for pioneering technologies for nutrient efficiency. With record-high fertilizer costs on the horizon, Summit Nutrients Business Development Director Jeremy Fountain said there has never been a more urgent time to introduce new products and technology.

CHS Settles With Regulatory Agency – CHS and the Securities and Exchange Commission settled a case involving fraudulent bookkeeping. From 2014-to-2018, a former CHS employee manipulated rail contracts, inflating company profits. CHS self-reported the fraud, fired the senior rail freight merchandiser and implemented new internal oversight measures. CHS said it welcomed the action taken by the SEC.

RNG Plant Coming to SD Dairy Farm – Biogest America is building an agricultural biogas plant in Hurley, South Dakota. The company is providing engineering, design and equipment for a four-tank system with Brightmark in collaboration with Full Circle Dairy. The project will operate on 224,000 tons of cow manure each year. The cow manure would produce high quality organic fertilizer to be used as a substitute for chemical products. After the plant is built, the biogas would be captured, cleaned and turned into RNG at the farm. RNG is the only renewable energy source that can be carbon negative, reducing methane emissions from ag operations. The first gas production is expected in the first quarter of 2023.

Growing a Global Market for Fries – Lamb Weston plans to build a French fry manufacturing plant in Argentina. Lamb Weston President Tom Werner said this decision demonstrates the company’s confidence in the growing global market for frozen French fries. The plant will produce 200 million pounds of frozen French fries and other potato products per year and will be operational in 2024.

Prime Minister Truss – UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has been chosen as England’s new prime minister. Truss has experience in agriculture with her previous roles in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for International Trade. While serving as the trade secretary, Truss negotiated several new trade agreements.

Ag Minister Quits After Farmer Protests – The Dutch agriculture minister has unexpectedly resigned, saying he was not the right person for the job. Dutch farmers have spent the summer protesting new regulations. The government has called for a 50 percent reduction in fertilizer usage by 2030 and is demanding farmers change their feed rations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A Potato Celebration – It was a week-long celebration of local potato production in the northern Red River Valley last week with the Potato Bowl. Festivities included the World’s Largest French Fry Feed, presented by Simplot. Northern Plains Potato Growers Association President Donavon Johnson says “it’s always a fun celebration.” This year’s Potato Bowl Parade grand marshal was Mike Delisle, who owns Mayo Manufacturing. The University of North Dakota defeated Northern Iowa in the Saturday football game.

UPL Promotes Frank to CEO – UPL Corporation has appointed Mike Frank as the CEO of its global crop protection business. Frank joined UPL earlier this year as the president and chief operating officer for UPL’s crop protection division. Before that, Frank was the executive vice president and CEO of Nutrien Ag Solutions.

Beck Joins Invariant – A bipartisan lobbying firm named Invariant has hired Danielle Beck for its government relations team. Previously, Beck worked for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Russell Group.

MN Corn Staff Adds Boelk – Barbara Boelk is the new senior communications director for the Minnesota Corn Growers Association. Most recently, Boelk had a similar role with Taco Johns International.

ND Beef Commission Leader to Retire – The Executive Director of the North Dakota Beef Commission, Nancy Jo Bateman, will retire December 30.  Bateman served more than 38 years in the role and is considered the longest-serving state beef council executive director in the United States.

Cornell Extension Leader Dies at 100 – Everett Markwardt has died at the age of 100. Markwardt is a professor emeritus of agricultural engineering at Cornell. Markwardt’s research focused in mechanizing the harvesting of fruit and vegetable crops, like apples and cabbage. He also led efforts to streamline and support cooperation between extension services in the northeastern United States. Markwardt was born at Bisbee, North Dakota and attended the North Dakota Agricultural College which is now known as North Dakota State University.