08 Jan 2016

JAMES CECIL PLACES IN STATE CORN YIELD CONTEST

By Jane Slusark

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (January 7, 2016) - James Cecil of Rock Island, Illinois, recently won first place in the AA non-irrigated division of the 2015 National Corn Growers Association's (NCGA) Corn Yield Contest in Illinois. Cecil won with Pioneer(r) ...

06 Jan 2016

Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Proclaiming Today Bob Stallman Appreciation Day

By USDA Office of Communications

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released the following statement proclaiming today, Jan. 6, 2016, Bob Stallman Appreciation Day. Stallman is retiring as President of the American Farm Bureau Federation after 16 yea...

06 Jan 2016

See for Yourself the Checkoff’s Role in the Global Soy Industry

By United Soybean Board

Farmers can apply now to see results of checkoff investment ST. LOUIS (Jan. 5, 2016) – Meet domestic and international customers, see where soybeans go beyond the elevator and evaluate the work of the soy checkoff. That’s what farmers will expe...

04 Jan 2016

News from the ISU EXTENSION SCOTT COUNTY office, Jan 4, 2016

By Denise Schwab, Sherry Hoyer, Patrick Wall, Richard Jauron

Conference Has Beef Production Information for Producers in the Driftless Region

Dubuque, Iowa --- Education is a gift that beef p...

04 Jan 2016

ISU Extension and Outreach Scott County Calendar, lJan 2016

By Angela M. Orr

January 5, 2016    GrowingOn 2016 Scott County Extension Office 5:30pm-8:00pm

January 16, 2016    4-H Family Fun Night Mississip...

28 Dec 2015

USDA to Honor American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman

By Randy Stalsberg

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2015 - On Jan. 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will honor Bob Stallman's tenure as President of the American Farm Bureau Federation. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden will proclaim Jan. 6, Bob Stallman Appreciation Day, presenting the honoree with an official proclamation in recognition of Stallman's commitment to strengthening rural American families and communities.

Stallman, a recognized champion of agriculture, has served as President of the American Farm Bureau Federation for 16 years, tirelessly supporting U.S. farmers and ranchers as they help feed the world, protect and preserve the environment, provide jobs, and contribute to the nation's economy.

WHAT: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden will proclaim Jan. 6, Bob Stallman Appreciation Day.

 

WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016

10 a.m. EST

WHERE: U.S. Department of Agriculture - Whitten Patio

1400 Jefferson Ave SW, Washington, D.C.

For questions, please email gwen.sparks@oc.usda.gov.

 

#

21 Dec 2015

ISU Extension and Outreach Scott County Calendar, late late-Dec 2015 into Jan 2016

By Amanda Heitz

December 24, 2015    EXTENSION OFFICE CLOSED


December 25, 2015    EXTENSION OFFICE CLOSED


January 1, 2016    EXTENSION OFFICE CLOSED


January 5, 2016    GrowingOn 2016 Scott County Extension Office 5:30pm-8:00pm


January 26, 2016    ServSafe Food Safety Certification Workshop Scott County Extension Office 9am-5pm


January 26, 2016    Extension Council Meeting Scott County Extension Office 7:00pm


January 29, 2016    2016 Crop Advantage Meeting-Moline  8:30am-4:00pm





Visit our events calendar at our web site:   http://dbs.extension.iastate.edu/calendar/

16 Dec 2015

Grassley statement on USDA final rules on actively engaged provisions

By Grassley Press
Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Senator Chuck Grassley made the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture released the final rules on the actively engaged provisions of the 2014 farm bill.  Grassley led the effort to get passed in both the Senate and the House provisions that would have established a farm payment cap of $250,000 and tightened loopholes that have allowed some non-farmers to game the system.  Despite receiving a majority of support in both bodies of Congress, the conference committee tied the hands of the U.S. Department of Agriculture by including a watered down version that allowed loopholes to remain.

"The final rule issued by the Department of Agriculture to reduce abuses of the actively engaged loophole is a first step.  While this rule still isn't as stringent as the reforms approved by both bodies of Congress through my payment limit amendment, it represents a good faith effort by the department to make the farm bill more defensible, despite the indefensible loopholes left open by the conference committee.

"Meaningful and enforceable limits on farm subsidies are the right thing to do.  Taking steps to end farm payments to people who don't farm is good for agriculture going forward and helps begin to bring the program back to its original intent.

"If the farm bill is reopened in the omnibus appropriations bill by allowing unlimited subsidies to farmers by reviving commodity certificates, it creates long-term consequences for agriculture and puts at risk the positive step this final rule takes."

 

-30-
11 Dec 2015

New Chair Focuses on Profit Opportunities for Soybean Farmers

By United Soybean Board
North Dakota farmer to drive checkoff investments in soybean innovation ST. LOUIS (Dec. 10, 2015) - Jared Hagert, soybean farmer from Emerado, North Dakota, has been elected by his fellow United Soybean Board (USB) farmer-directors to lead the national soy checkoff in 2016. Hagert will be the first chair to implement the board's new Long-Range Strategic Plan, which emphasizes soybean innovation for farmer profit opportunities, including continued high oleic development, soybean-meal-quality improvements and technological advances to maximize on-farm profitability.

"The best use of checkoff funds is to invest in programs that provide value back to all U.S. soybean farmers," Hagert says. "To maximize profit opportunities for our farmers, we need to look beyond the bushel and focus on our end users. Meeting their needs will help to drive demand for our crop now and in the future."

The following farmer-leaders will be joining Hagert as executive committee members to oversee USB's profit-building programs:
- USB Vice Chair: John Motter, Jenera, Ohio
- USB Secretary and Oil Target Area Coordinator: Jimmy Sneed, Hernando, Mississippi
- USB Treasurer: Delbert Christensen, Audubon, Iowa
- USB Past Chair: Bob Haselwood, Berryton, Kansas
- USB Meal Target Area Coordinator: Mike Beard, Frankfort, Indiana
- USB Sustainability Target Area Coordinator: Nancy Kavazanjian, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
- USB Supply Action Team Lead: Bill Beam, Elverson, Pennsylvania
- USB Marketplace Action Team Lead: John Dodson, Halls, Tennessee
- USB Demand Action Team Lead: Lewis Bainbridge, Ethan, South Dakota
- USB Audit & Evaluation Committee Chair: Keith Tapp, Sebree, Kentucky

Members of the Strategic Management Committee (SMC) will ensure that program goals align with the checkoff's strategic objectives. Farmer-leaders who will serve on the SMC include :
- SMC Chair: Bob Haselwood, Berryton, Kansas
- Delbert Christensen, Audubon, Iowa
- Larry Marek, Riverside, Iowa
- John Motter, Jenera, Ohio
- Ron Ohlde, Palmer, Kansas
- Jacob Parker, Columbia, North Carolina

In addition to electing a new slate of officers, 17 checkoff farmer-leaders were sworn in. Five of these directors are new to the board, with 12 returning.

The 70 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy's customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.

For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit www.unitedsoybean.org
Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UnitedSoybeanBoard
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/unitedsoy
View our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSoybeanBoard

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11 Dec 2015

Bangladesh Soy Market Reaches Key Milestone

By United Soybean Board
ASA's WISHH Transitions Country Programs to U.S. Soybean Export Council

ST. LOUIS (Dec. 9, 2015) –Having achieved U.S. soybean farmer strategic goals for market growth, the American Soybean Association's World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) transitioned its Bangladesh country programs to the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC).

"Demand for U.S. soy protein has taken off in this South Asian country that is the eighth most populous country in the world," said WISHH Program Committee Chairman Lucas Heinen, a Kansas soybean grower. "Soybean growers planned for such success when they created WISHH as a trailblazer for trade through long-term demand building in developing countries."

"We are excited by Bangladesh's potential. There is real opportunity in this market for U.S. soy as poultry and fish consumption continue to rise," said U.S. Soybean Export Council Chairman Laura Foell, an Iowa soybean farmer.  

Bangladesh is home to more than 168 million people and has a rapidly growing middle-class economy. The country has purchased more than $500 million of U.S. soy in the last five years with those purchases accelerating in the last couple years.

The U.S. Soy Family has been conducting programs in Bangladesh since 1999 with WISHH taking the lead since 2010.  Through their checkoff programs, state soybean organizations supported WISHH's work in Bangladesh, which has included a variety of educational programs with food companies and their trade associations. U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service programs also played a key role in introducing the benefits of soy protein to the South Asian market. USDA funding aided WISHH in forging key relationships with organizations like the Bangladesh Auto Biscuit and Bread Manufacturer's Association that signed a February 2015 agreement to conduct soy flour baking trials under a USDA Quality Samples Program. USSEC will now build on WISHH's work in Bangladesh, and will work in both the feed and food sectors.

Pakistan, the sixth most populous country in the world, is the next market that WISHH will transition to USSEC. Planning and coordination discussions have begun for a 2017 transfer.

WISHH is a trade-development program, headquartered at the American Soybean Association, in St. Louis. Since U.S. soybean farmers founded WISHH in 2000, it has worked in 24 countries to develop long-term markets for U.S. soybean farmers while fueling economic growth and value chain development. For more information, visit www.wishh.org.

The U.S. Soybean Export Council aims to maximize the use of U.S. Soy internationally by differentiating and building a preference for U.S. Soy while also keeping trade lanes open so international buyers have full market access to U.S. Soy.   The organization uses a global team of 130 members that work with numerous stakeholders including soybean farmers, exporters, agribusinesses, agricultural organizations, researchers and government agencies, to accomplish that mission.

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