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John Deere is launching its first all-electric zero turn mower, the Z370R Electric ZTrak.

This tractor is targeted for residential property owners for yard maintenance uses. This tractor is designed to produce less noise and vibration while mowing to promote a more comfortable operating experience.

“Everyone has different needs when it comes to their land, and we understand that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to energy solutions,” says Eric Halfman, go-to-market manager for riding lawn equipment at John Deere. “That’s why it is important for us to provide our customers with a broad range of mower options without compromising performance from gas machines.”

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John Deere announces Z370R Electric ZTrak all-electric zero turn mower

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The mower can cover up to 2 acres on a single charge and charges off a standard outlet and extension cord.

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There has been much expectation China would buy soybeans this week.  Naomi Blohm with Total Farm Marketing says says there is talk China bought two or three Brazil March/April soybean cargoes.

Blohm also says the USDA attaché in Argentina made a big cut to the soybean crop, but this is already priced into the market.

CBOT wheat is down 7¢. KC wheat is up a penny. Minneapolis wheat is up 2¢.

Live cattle are down 58¢. Lean hogs are down $2.85. Feeder cattle are down $2.53.

Crude oil is down $1.25.

The U.S. Dollar Index is at 101.56.

S&P 500 futures are down 15 points. Dow futures are down 284 points.

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Corn is still down 4¢ at midday while soybeans have sunk 22¢.

There has been much expectation China would buy soybeans this week. Naomi Blohm with Total Farm Marketing says says there is talk China bought two or three Brazil March/April soybean cargoes.

Blohm also says the USDA attaché in Argentina made a big cut to the soybean crop, but this is already priced into the market.

CBOT wheat is down 7¢. KC wheat is up a penny. Minneapolis wheat is up 2¢.

Live cattle are down 58¢. Lean hogs are down $2.85. Feeder cattle are down $2.53.

Crude oil is down $1.25.

The U.S. Dollar Index is at 101.56.

S&P 500 futures are down 15 points. Dow futures are down 284 points.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to announce a decision on interest rates today at 2 p.m. ET.

"Markets are pricing in a 0.25 percentage point increase from the Fed with near-certainty," says Blohm. "This would mark a further deceleration, after it slowed to a 0.5 percentage point increase at its last meeting."

Corn starting day down 4¢: 9:18 a.m. CST

Corn is currently down 4¢ while soybeans are down 5¢.

CBOT wheat is down 6¢. KC wheat is down 2¢. Minneapolis wheat is down a penny.

Live cattle are down 30¢. Lean hogs are down $2.08. Feeder cattle are down 85¢.

Yesterday afternoon, USDA released the biannual cattle inventory report. Prices had been on the rise this week and traders expected numbers in the report to be friendly.

The report found all cattle and calve inventory as of Jan. 1, 2023 was 3% below last year. Reuters also reports the U.S. beef cow herd specifically is at the lowest level since 1962.

Blohm characterized the report as "supportive, but not over the top bullish to justify a huge breakout higher." She says a slight correction is expected, but the overall trend is up.

Live cattle prices peaked yesterday morning around $163.40 per hundredweight and are now down to $162.73. Feeder cattle peeked yesterday afternoon near $186.15 and are now down to $185.30.

Crude oil is down 55¢.

S&P 500 futures are down 11 points. Dow futures are down 191 points.

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Soybeans down 22¢ at midday | Wednesday, February 1, 2023

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Corn is still down 4¢ at midday while soybeans have sunk 22¢. There has been much expectation China would buy soybeans this week. Naomi Blohm with Total Farm Marketing says says there is talk China bought two or three Brazil March/April soybean cargoes.

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SOYBEANS DOWN 9¢ AT MIDDAY | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2023

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SOYBEANS DOWN 9¢ AT MIDDAY | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2023

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Soybeans have fallen further, now down 9¢.

Corn has been up and down this morning by roughly 2¢ or less and is currently down less than a penny.
CBOT wheat is down a penny. KC wheat is down less than a penny. Minneapolis wheat is down 2¢.

Live cattle are up 13¢. Lean hogs are down $1.48. Feeder cattle are up 5¢.

Crude oil is at $82.12 a barrel.

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Soybeans have fallen further, now down 9¢.

Corn has been up and down this morning by roughly 2¢ or less and is currently down less than a penny.

CBOT wheat is down a penny. KC wheat is down less than a penny. Minneapolis wheat is down 2¢.

Live cattle are up 13¢. Lean hogs are down $1.48. Feeder cattle are up 5¢.

Crude oil is at $82.12 a barrel.

The U.S. Dollar Index is at 101.7.

The S&P 500 is down 17 points. The Dow is down 267 points.

Soybeans down 2¢ this morning: 9:08

Yesterday, prices rallied after starting the day lower and Naomi Blohm with Total Farm Marketing says this is because of comments Russian President Vladimir Putin made about keep reserves of grain in the country.

This morning, corn is up 2¢ while soybeans are down 2¢.

"In conversations we've had with producers, there is still quite a bit of corn in the bins in non-deficit areas," says Nick Tsiolis, founder of Farmer's Keeper. "With that said, we think if the board gets near $7 again there should be some bushels shaken loose."

Corn is at $6.87 a bushel this morning.

CBOT wheat is up 6¢. KC wheat is up 9¢. Minneapolis wheat is up 5¢.

Live cattle are up 43¢. Lean hogs are down $1.83. Feeder cattle are up 48¢.

Crude oil is above $82 a barrel this morning. Blohm attributes this to anticipation that China's consumption may increase as the country opens up.

The S&P 500 is up 14 points. The Dow is up 41 points.

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Soybeans down 9¢ at midday | Wednesday, January 18, 2023

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Soybeans have fallen further, now down 9¢. Corn has been up and down this morning by roughly 2¢ or less and is currently down less than a penny. CBOT wheat is down a penny. KC wheat is down less than a penny. Minneapolis wheat is down 2¢. Live cattle are up 13¢.

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WHEAT UP 10¢ AT MIDDAY | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2022            

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WHEAT UP 10¢ AT MIDDAY | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2022            

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Corn is currently up 2¢ while soybeans are up 8¢.

CBOT wheat is up 10¢. KC wheat is up 9¢. Minneapolis wheat is up 3¢.

Live cattle are down 13¢. Lean hogs are down 45¢. Feeder cattle are down 70¢.

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March corn closed up a penny, putting an end to a fairly flat corn trading day.

March soybeans closed up 9¢.

CBOT wheat is up 8¢. KC wheat is up 10¢. Minneapolis wheat is up 5¢.

Live cattle are up 13¢. Lean hogs are down 58¢. Feeder cattle are down $1.08.

Crude oil is up $2.45 to $77.57.

The S&P 500 is up 37 points. The Dow is up 200 points.

Wheat up 10¢ at midday: 11:39 a.m.

Corn is currently up 2¢ while soybeans are up 8¢.

CBOT wheat is up 10¢. KC wheat is up 9¢. Minneapolis wheat is up 3¢.

Live cattle are down 13¢. Lean hogs are down 45¢. Feeder cattle are down 70¢.

Crude oil is currently up $2.42.

The U.S. Dollar Index is at 103.1.

Tomorrow the USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE), Crop Production, and Grain Stocks reports come out. Naomi Blohm with Total Farm Marketing says depending on what happens tomorrow, corn may break out of its current pennant flag formation and go either higher or lower.

"If the breakout is lower, look for prices to drop over time approximately 75¢," she says. "If the report is friendly, corn prices will likely climb 75¢ over time and re-test the summer highs."

Soybeans start day up 11¢: 9:09 a.m.

This morning, corn is up a penny while soybeans are up 11¢.

CBOT wheat is flat. KC wheat is down 3¢. Minneapolis wheat is down a penny.

Live cattle are down 15¢. Lean hogs are down 30¢. Feeder cattle are down 38¢.

Crude oil is up $1.11.

The U.S. Dollar Index is at 102.97.

Bob Linneman with Kluis Commodity Advisors says there have been reports of Argentina actively trying to buy Brazilian soybeans, possibly confirming just how bad production conditions are in the country.

According to Commodity Weather Group northern Argentina will see scattered showers Thursday and western Argentina will see rain late next week, but stress persists for two-thirds of the country's corn and soy acres for the next 10 days.

The S&P 500 is up 21 points. The Dow is up 82 points.

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Corn finishes flat day | Wednesday, January 11, 2022

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March corn closed up a penny, putting an end to a fairly flat corn trading day. March soybeans closed up 9¢. CBOT wheat is up 8¢. KC wheat is up 10¢. Minneapolis wheat is up 5¢. Live cattle are up 13¢. Lean hogs are down 58¢. Feeder cattle are down $1.08.

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https://www.agriculture.com/crops/crop-protection/verdesian-life-sciences-announces-new-biological

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Verdesian Life Sciences announces new biological

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Accolade utilizes Azospirillum brasilense to bolster root development and early season nitrogen access.

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1. Soybeans Rise, Grains Fall in Overnight Trading

Soybean futures rebounded from the lowest price in a week in overnight trading while wheat and corn futures declined.

Better-than-expected rains in Argentina over the weekend led to a selloff in beans yesterday, but the overnight session brought in bargain-hunters who focused on upcoming weather, as stress is expected to rebuild in the South American country.

Crop stress is expected to rebuild starting Friday in northern and eastern Argentina and will expand from just under half of soybean- and corn-growing areas to about 60% of the regions, Commodity Weather Group said in a report.

Temperatures from Friday through Tuesday are forecast in the 90s and 100s Fahrenheit, CWG said.

In Brazil, about 15% to 20% of growing areas remain the driest, though in Paraguay rains are aiding crops even as the southern half of the country may turn drier in the next two weeks, the forecaster said.

Wheat futures plunged in overnight trading as rain and snow in U.S. hard-red winter areas likely improved crop prospects.

Rain and snow in northeastern Colorado, parts of Nebraska, and northern Kansas this week improved soil moisture for about 25% of hard-red wheat area, CWG said.

Two more vessels - one hauling wheat and one carrying sunflower meal - left Ukrainian ports yesterday as more agricultural products continue to make their way out of the war-torn country, according to the United Nations.

Four ships left ports today carrying corn and sunflower meal, the UN said.

Soybean futures for March delivery jumped 11½¢ to $15.03 ¾ a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soymeal was up $5.60 to $470.70 a short ton and soy oil was down 0.23¢ to 62.97¢ a pound.

Wheat lost 8¾¢ to $7.66 ¾ a bushel while Kansas City futures dropped 9 ¾¢ to $8.59 ½ a bushel.

Corn futures were down 2¾¢ to $6.67 ¾ a bushel in overnight trading.

**

**

2. Weekly Inspections of Grains and Beans For Export Decline

Inspections of grains and beans for overseas delivery declined week-to-week, according to data from USDA.

Corn assessments for export in the seven days that ended on Dec. 29 fell to 667,010 metric tons from 922,142 tons a week earlier, the agency said in a report.

That's also down from the 759,563 tons examined during the same week a year earlier.

Wheat inspections last week were reported at only 85,672 metric tons, down from 313,707 tons the previous week and 230,361 tons during the same week in 2022, the government said.

Soybean assessments came in at 1.46 million metric tons, but that was down from 1.77 million tons a week earlier and 1.62 million tons a year earlier, agency data show.

Since the beginning of the marketing year on Sept. 1, USDA has inspected 9.58 million metric tons of corn for overseas delivery, down from 13.1 million tons during the same timeframe a year earlier.

Soybean inspections since the start of September now stand at 28.6 million metric tons, down from 30.8 million tons a year earlier, the agency said.

Wheat assessments since the beginning of the grain's marketing year on June 1 are now at 11.8 million metric tons, behind the 12.2 million tons examined for export during the same period last year, USDA said in its report.

**

3. Winter Storm Warnings Remain in Parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin

Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories remain in effect in parts of the upper Midwest while storms hit the Gulf Coast, according to National Weather Service maps.

In parts of north-central Minnesota and northeastern Wisconsin, winter storm warnings have been issued through 6 p.m. local time this evening as another 2 to 4 inches of snow is expected, the NWS said in a report early this morning.

A light glaze of ice also is forecast for the area.

Much of Wisconsin and parts of eastern South Dakota, northern Iowa, and northern Wisconsin are under a winter weather advisory.

Light snow and freezing drizzle are expected in northwestern Iowa this morning, the agency said. Another inch or two of snow is expected in the area.

In the Gulf Coast, meanwhile, severe thunderstorm, flash flood warnings, and tornado watches have been issued as storms approach Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, the maps show.

Damaging winds and tornadoes with a rating of EF-2 or stronger are potentially threatening the region, the NWS said.

"There is an enhanced risk (Level 3 of 5) of severe weather across much of the area late this evening into Wednesday morning as a cold front moves into the area," the agency said. "Main threats: damaging straight line winds up to 60 mph, tornadoes (a few could be strong), and large." hail."

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Soybean futures rebounded from the lowest price in a week in overnight trading while wheat and corn futures declined. Better-than-expected rains in Argentina over the weekend led to a selloff in beans yesterday, but the overnight session brought in bargain-hunters who focused on upcoming weather, as stress is expected to rebuild in the South American country.

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Many of us know the legend of Catherine O'Leary's infamous cow accused of kicking over a lantern and starting a barn fire on the night of October 8, 1871, leveling three square miles of Chicago. A barn fire in today's world is not likely to destroy a city, although it is likely to devastate the barn. In the blink of an eye, a fire can destroy a barn structure and all its occupants, while the owners stand by helplessly. Many advances in residential fire protection have been made, but protecting barns is much more difficult because of their harsh environment and housing requirements of the horses in them.

How a Fire Behaves

A fire occurs when a fuel source comes in contact with an ignition source. A fuel source can be any item that contains wood, plant material, plastic, paper, fabric, combustible fuel, etc. After contact with the ignition source (anything that would cause the fuel to burn, e.g., spark, intense heat), the fuel starts to smolder. Oxygen availability, fuel type, and physical arrangement are factors that determine the length of the smoldering process. Smoldering can vary from minutes to hours. Fires caught during this stage have the greatest chances of being controlled with minimal damage, but are still extremely dangerous. Smoldering fires may also be difficult to detect and completely extinguish, especially with smoldering hay or wood shavings, when the fuel itself helps to insulate the fire and prevent water penetration. The time it takes a fire to grow and spread is again related to a number of factors, such as the fuel source, the fire temperature, and the time the fire has to burn.

Smoke and heat production increase as the fire smolders. By the end of this smoldering or "incipient" phase, enough heat has been generated to produce flames. Once flames are present, the fire is extremely dangerous and unpredictable. It grows rapidly and the heat produced be- comes intense. The capabilities of fire extinguishers as a line of defense will soon be surpassed. After flame eruption it only takes a few minutes for ceiling temperatures to exceed 1,800 o F. As ceiling temperatures continue to rise, the building acts as a boiler and the "flash point" is soon reached. When fire has reached the flash point, often in as little as 3 to 5 minutes, the hot air temperature simultaneously ignites all combustibles within the space. At flash point, survival within the structure is unlikely, and the building contents are destroyed.

Smoke is produced in the earliest stages of fire development. The color and density of the smoke is dependent on fuel and burning conditions. Low-temperature fires produce more visible smoke particles, creating darker, thicker smoke, whereas hotter fires have smaller particles in the smoke, making it less visible. Smoke and heat are the fire's killing attributes. Smoke contains noxious gases and vapors specific to the fuel. The most common products of combustion (fire) are carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. As the fire consumes the available oxygen in the room, it releases carbon monoxide. When inhaled, carbon monoxide combines with blood hemoglobin more readily than oxygen would, resulting in suffocation, even if an adequate supply of oxygen is available.

Elevated levels of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide increase respiration in an attempt to obtain more oxygen, resulting in the inhalation of more deadly gases. The consequences are swift thorough incapacitation and asphyxiation. Bodily harm from smoke is increased by its intense heat. When this super-heated mass of gases is inhaled, the respiratory tract will be seared. Smoke damage can occur even before flames are visible.

Once all available fuel sources have been used, the fire will "burn out." Unfortunately, this is not necessarily the end of the fire. Barns and agricultural buildings often contain large quantities of fuel sources that can be impervious to water (e.g., hay, petroleum fuels, and fertilizers). It is common for some of these fuel sources to remain unburned during the initial fire, then continue to smolder. These smoldering pockets often re-ignite or "re-kindle" another fire, requiring another visit from the fire department.

Fire Prevention Is the Best Protection

There is no such thing as a fireproof building, especially in agricultural settings. Building design, management, and safety practices are the best way to minimize the risk of fires. It has been estimated that the root cause of 95 percent of preventable horse barn fires is from careless smoking, with faulty electrical systems high on the list. Fires can grow quickly and give no warning. In most cases, if you see flames, it is already too late. The damage a fire causes grows exponentially with the amount of time it has burned. Fire is extremely dangerous at any stage of growth and controlling it is best left up to the professionals. Most barn fires occur in the winter when most forage and bedding is stored, electrical use is high, and equipment repairs and upgrades are traditionally made. Most of the components in a horse barn are highly flammable. Stall walls are frequently constructed with wood and horses are usually standing in ample amounts of dried bedding, eating dried forages.

Hay Fires

Hay fires are unique to the horse and agricultural industry. Baled hay can be its own fuel and ignition source. The majority of hay fires occur within 6 weeks of baling, usually caused by excessive moisture in the bale. Ideal moisture range for hay at baling is 15 to 18 percent. Even after grass and legume forages are harvested, plant respiration continues and generates a small amount of heat. In properly harvested forages, respiration decreases and will eventually cease during drying and curing. The heat of respiration is normal and under appropriate curing is inconsequential. However, if moisture levels are too high, the respiratory heat will provide an environment suitable for the already-present mesophilic microorganisms (that require moderately warm temperatures) to grow and multiply. As these microorganisms grow, heat is produced as a byproduct of their respiration and reproduction. Once the bale interior reaches temperatures of 130 to 140 o F, the environment becomes unsuitable for these organisms and most die. If microorganism activity declines, the interior bale temperature also declines. This cycle may be repeated several times, but the maximum temperature will be lower each time. Hay that has sustained these heat cycles has lost its quality as a feeding source, but poses no threat as an ignition source.

Baled hay becomes a potential fire hazard when the interior bale temperature does not cool after the first heating cycle. If conditions are favorable, the heat created by the mesophilic organisms provides an environment for thermophilic, or heat-loving, microorganisms to take over. When the thermophilic micro-organisms begin to multiply, their heat of respiration can raise the interior bale temperature to 170 o F before they die from the heat. This is an extremely high temperature and can cause the bale to ignite if oxygen is present. The growth of microorganisms within the hay bale creates a microscopic cavernous environment, similar to a sponge. The damaged material in the bale combines readily with oxygen and, in its already-heated state, can self-ignite quickly. A burning bale of hay may be difficult to detect because the inside of the bale burns first. Hay fires are very difficult to extinguish completely. The tightly laced forages prevent water from penetrating to the core. Only a forceful blast of water can penetrate deep enough to extinguish the fire.

Hay temperature monitoring can be done to ensure that bale temperatures never reach critical levels. Under less-than-ideal field curing conditions, hay may have been baled above the recommended 15 to 18 percent moisture level. Check newly baled hay twice a day for heat buildup.

A temperature probe is available at most farm supply companies (e.g., Nasco, Gemplers) and stores (Agway) from $12 to $20. If bale temperatures have reached 150 oF, monitor the interior bale temperature frequently, as the temperature is most likely to climb. By the time the interior bale temperature reaches 175 to 190 oF, a fire is about to occur, and at 200 o F, a fire has already erupted (Table 1).
Table 1. Determining Hay Temperatures with a Probe

130 to 140 o F

No Problem yet
Temperature may go up or down.
Recheck in a few hours

Temperature will most likely continue to climb.
Move the hay to circulate and cool the air.
Monitor the temperature often.

175 to 190 o F

Fire is imminent or may be present a short distance from the probe.
Call the fire department.
Continue probing and monitoring the temperature.

200 o F or above

Fire is present at or near the probe.
Call the fire department.
Inject water to cool hot spots before moving hay.
Have a charged hose ready to control fire when moving hay.

You should use a probe and thermometer to accurately determine the temperature inside a stack of hay. Push or drive the probe into the stack and lower the thermometer to the end of the probe on a lightweight wire. If the probe is horizontal, use a heavier wire to push the thermometer into the probe. After about 15 minutes, retrieve the thermometer and read the temperature. Refer to the table for temperature interpretations. Source: Ogburn 1995.

An alternative to purchasing a temperature probe is to make one, using a metal rod 3/8 to 1/2 inches in diameter (Ogburn 1995). Drive the rod into the hay and let it stand for at least 15 to 20 minutes before removing it. If the temperature within the bale is less than 130 oF, you should be able to hold the metal comfortably in your bare hand. If the bale has reached a temperature of 160 o F or greater, the rod will be too hot to hold comfortably in your bare hands. If the rod is too hot, let it cool for a few minutes and then reconfirm by taking another sample. When hot hay bales are found, summon the fire department. Be sure to tell the dispatcher that you have hot hay bales that may ignite instead of saying that you have a hay fire. This will help the fire company in planning on how to deal with your situation.

Hay Storage Recommendations

There are plenty of theories about how to stack bales in a storage or mow. It is a good idea to stack bales on their sides with the stems of the cut hay running up and down. This allows convection ventilation of warm, moist air up and out of the bale. The greener or moister the hay, the looser it should be packed to allow cooling and curing without danger of mildew formation or combustion. Realize though that loosely packed bales are more prone to tumbling out of their stacked formation. Using pallets, or at least a layer of dry straw, under the bottom row will reduce storage losses from ground moisture. One strong recommendation to reduce fire hazard (with an added benefit of decreasing dust levels in the barn) is to store hay and bedding in a separate building from the horse stable.

Site Plan and Construction Considerations

Fire Codes for Barns

Currently in Pennsylvania, horse barns and agricultural buildings do not have state-mandated fire code requirements. Some states such as New Jersey have enacted fire codes for their agricultural community, and there is some speculation that Pennsylvania is not far from doing the same. Fire codes consider building materials and designate fire prevention techniques based on floor area and use. Fire codes do vary among municipalities, so check the local zoning and building codebook while in the planning stages of construction.

Site Planning for Fire Fighting

Facility design plays an important role not only in fire prevention, but also in fire suppression. Design the facility for accessibility of large res- cue vehicles. Be sure that all roads and bridges providing access to the property and between buildings are large enough for emergency vehicles. A 12-foot-wide lane is sufficient and any bridges should support a 40,000-pound fire truck. Bridge requirements will vary depending on the span of the bridge. It may be a good idea to contact your local fire chief to ensure that you meet any requirements for your lane. An effective tool to prevent the spread of fire between buildings is to place buildings at least 50 to 100 feet away from the stable. The 100-foot distance reduces the chance of fire spreading from building to building through radiation. The 50-foot gap between buildings provides access for fire-fighting equipment. The ground around all buildings should be compacted or sturdy enough to support the weight of heavy equipment, such as a fire truck, during wet conditions. Fire hoses can deliver 250 gallons of water per minute and the ground around the building and truck will get saturated. The fire department will not risk endangering their lives or equipment at a fire scene. Having a surface that can provide access to buildings allows the fire department more options to attack the fire efficiently and safely.

Building Materials

The three rating systems for building materials are flame spread, smoke development, and fire rating. Each rating system compares how well the material in question behaves in a fire compared to a standard. The standard materials are concrete and raw wood, usually red oak. Flame spread ratings indicate how well or poorly a material will prevent flames from traveling along it. Concrete has a flame spread rating of 0 and raw wood, 100. The lower the flame spread rating, the longer it takes for flames to traverse the surface of the material.

A good or low smoke development rating indicates the material produces less smoke as it burns. Less smoke improves visibility, decreases the quantity of noxious gases, and decreases fire progression through smoke particles and gases. Fire ratings tell important characteristics about how long (in minutes) the material contains a fire. The longer the progression of the fire is blocked, the greater chance rescue and fire suppression efforts will have at being successful. Each rating has inherent differences in controlling fires. For example, metal siding on a barn has a good flame spread rating, preventing the spread of flames, but since metal is a good conductor of heat, it has a poor fire rating because it could conduct enough heat to ignite combustible materials behind it.

Use rated fire retardant/resistant products, such as masonry, heavy timber, or fire-retardant treated wood whenever possible. Masonry will not burn, but may be too costly to install, and because masonry construction is so tight, it tends to obstruct air flow. Heavy timber has a greater ratio of volume to surface area. The small surface area compared to the total volume prevents the wood from burning as quickly. In heavy timber construction, fire chars the wood to a depth of approximately 1 inch. The charred surface prevents the flames from accessing the wood in the center of the post, maintaining its structural integrity.

Fire-retardant treated wood decreases flame spread by 75 percent (flame spread rating = 25 for treated wood, 100 for untreated), and if the treatment is properly applied, it will be effective for at least 30 years. Lumber or plywood treated with fire retardant releases noncombustible gas and water vapor below normal ignition points, usually 300-400 oC or 572-752 o F. When the wood is exposed to flames, a hard-carbon char layer forms on the surface of the wood, insulating it from further damage. Because of this insulation (charring), heavy timber and wood treated with fire retardant retains its structural integrity longer than unprotected steel during a fire.

Treated wood products may withstand the harsh, humid barn environment better than untreated products, but is dependent on the ingredients used. Obtain information on wood strength and recommended fasteners from the manufacturer. The fire-retardant ingredients can be more corrosive to fasteners, especially in a high-humidity setting, characteristic of barns and indoor riding arenas. Be sure that any fire-retardant treated wood is stamped with either the Underwriter's Laboratory or Factory Mutual seal to assure the products meet recent fire-retardant standards of the American Wood Products Association.

Some care must be given to selecting fire-retardant lumber and plywood. The fire-retardant ingredients contain inorganic salts, such as monoammonium and diammonium phosphate, ammonium sulfate, zinc chloridem, sodium tetraborate, boric acid, and guanylurea phosphate, and may not be safe for chewers, cribbers, and foals. Most salts are water soluble and will leach out of the wood if it is frequently washed (such as a wash or foaling stall) or if the barn is continually damp due to poor drainage or inadequate ventilation. In these situations, select fire-retardant wood with low hygroscopicity. Instead of salts, low hygrosopicity materials use impregnated water-insoluble amino resins or polymer flame-retardants grafted directly to the wood fiber. These retardants bond directly with the wood and will not wash out.

Horse Stall on Fire

Protecting a horse stall is not the same as protecting a home. The horse is standing in dry bedding material that is very flammable. Straw reaches a burning temperature of 300 o F in 1 to 5 minutes and develops as much heat at the same rate as gasoline. All that is required to start this fire is a spark or match. It takes 2 to 3 minutes for a straw fire to burn an area 10 feet in diameter. Compare this to the size of a common horse box stall that is 10 to 12 square feet. After a fire starts in a stall and spreads to only 4 feet in diameter, most horses are injured. By a 6-foot diameter its lungs are seared. With an 8-foot diameter fire the horse will start to suffocate. By 10 feet, the horse is dead. All of this occurs in 2 to 3 minutes. If the horse is to survive unharmed, he must be removed from the stall within 30 seconds. A quick rescue is key, but fire prevention is more important.

Lightning Protection Systems

All barns, regardless of age, should be outfitted with a lightning protection system, commonly referred to as lightning rods. Lightning storms occur in every state, but most prevalently in the central and eastern United States. It is estimated that there are 40 to 80 lightning strikes per square mile each year. Lightning is a stream of pure energy, 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick, surrounded by 4 inches of super-heated air, hot enough to boil and instantaneously evaporate all the sap from a tree at the moment of impact. It looks for a path of least resistance from ground to cloud and has the potential to burn, damage, or kill anything in its path.

A properly installed and grounded lightning protection system is good insurance to minimize the chance of a horse barn catching fire from a lightning strike. The metal air terminal (rod) is the highest part of the building to intercept the lightning bolt, and direct it through a heavy conducting cable, deep into the ground to be harmlessly dissipated. These systems are inexpensive to install on existing or newly constructed barns and should be periodically inspected by a qualified professional to ensure that all connections are intact and still work properly. Lightning protection systems should only be installed by a certified installer, not by an amateur. An improperly installed system cannot only fail, but increases the potential of the building being struck by lightning. Certified installers can be found by contacting the Lightning Protection Institute (335 N. Arlingtons Heights, IL 60004, 1-800-488-6864) or the Underwriter's Laboratory (333 Pfingston Road, Northbrook, IL 60062, 1-847-272-8800).

Simple Solutions to Minimize Fire Risk

The Best Way to Prevent Fire Is to Minimize Fuel Sources

Keep the grass mowed and the weeds down to improve the aesthetics and eliminate a frequently overlooked fuel source (dried plant materials).

Store hay, bedding, and equipment in a separate section of the barn or, preferably, in its own building.

Remove less frequently used combustibles from the stable. Store all combustibles properly and be sure to provide appropriate receptacles to dispose of rags soiled with combustibles.

Keep the barn clean and free of cobwebs, chaff, and dust, which are easily combustible and make excellent fuel sources.

An ignition source includes the obvious cigarettes and heaters to those not so obvious, such as machinery exhaust systems. Trucks driven into the hay/bedding storage area have been known to ignite materials in contact with the hot exhaust and catalytic converters. Space heaters should only be used according to the manufacturer's guidelines and should not be left unattended.

Post and enforce a NO SMOKING policy. All smoking should be banned from the barn and immediate premises. If smokers do frequent the barn, provide them with a smoking area away from the barn that is equipped with a receptacle for butts and matches.

Stable design and management to minimize fire risk

Having water hydrants (more than one) with adequate water volume and pressure located in and around the barn helps in early suppression before the fire company arrives. An alternative is having enough hose available to reach all areas in the barn. In all facilities, hydrants need to be frost-free. If heat tapes are used (but their use is discouraged), be sure to read, understand, and follow all manufacturer warnings and directions. An improperly installed heat tape is a fire hazard.

Locating additional water sources around the barn will save valuable time for firefighters. Water sources include ponds, swimming pools, cisterns, and manure lagoons. The major reason for fire suppression problems in rural communities is the lack of water supply. Any potential water source must be no lower than 20 feet below the pump truck elevation (Figure 1). Most large agricultural enterprises develop a pond into the farmstead plan for fire suppression. The farm pond often provides recreational and aesthetic functions as well.

Figure 1. Maximum elevation difference between water source and fire truck.
From: Fire Control in Livestock Buildings NRAES-39

Do not overlook the importance of proper electrical wiring. Old, damaged, or improperly connected wires are a fire hazard, especially in a dusty environment. All wiring should be housed in a conduit and have an UFB rating. The plastic used in wire insulators is often "sweet" and invites rodents to chew the wires, exposing them to each other. Conduit can be metal, but due to the humidity in barn environments, PVC is preferred.

Overloaded circuits or outlets are another recipe for disaster. Inspect and clean electrical panels, wiring, and fixtures frequently. Lighting fixtures and fans should be designed for agricultural use (which is a harsher environment than in residential applications) and have appropriate dust- and moisture-resistant covers. Use products approved by the Underwriter's Laboratory (UL), keep all electric appliances in good repair, and unplug them when not in use. Electricity to the barn may be turned off at night. Locate master switches near entrances so that light is available for rescue and fire suppression efforts.

Be sure that a charged and mounted fire extinguisher is easily accessible every 50 feet in the barn. The most versatile type of extinguisher is the ABC-type (Figure 2, Class D) that extinguishes the broadest range of fire. Extinguishers are not universal. Using a water-type extinguisher can spread fires fueled by flammable liquids, such as gasoline, or become a safety hazard in electrical fires. An ABC type is recommended for locations that may experience different types of fires.

Figure 2. Fire extinguisher types and codes
Adapted from Hanford Fire Department website information.

Try to design stalls with two exits for the horse to use in an escape route. An adequate number of exits are needed so that the fire will not block the only exit(s). Provide easy entrances and exits from all stalls and rooms. Have exits open into an enclosed area so that horses escaping the stable will not have access to nearby roads and traffic or destroy neighbor's property. Be sure to keep all exits clear. A fire door is not an effective exit if it is blocked. Have halters and lead ropes available for each horse.

Swinging stall doors should open out of the stall. Frantic horses will catch a hip on half-open doors. Also, if there is only time for someone to run down the alley opening stall door latches, a horse pushing out on the door can escape on his own. Likewise, sliding doors can be unlatched and pushed open. All latches and fastenings on doors should work quickly to save time.

Post evacuation plans and practice fire drills with all persons and horses in the barn. Post by the phone all emergency numbers, written directions, a list of any chemicals stored on the premises, and any other important information that emergency operators will need. Providing a map of the facility to emergency services will greatly enhance reaction time once emergency medical services (EMS)/fire is on site. This map should indicate where animals are housed, water sources that can be used to help extinguish a fire, and the location and quantity of commonly stored chemicals.

By practicing evacuation drills, both horse and handler can prepare for emergency situations. Teach the horses to walk out with their eyes covered and accustom horses to firefighter turn-out gear, loud noises that simulate sirens, and smoke. If horses are reluctant to walk blind-folded during the drills, chances are that they will be even more reluctant during an emergency situation. Some fire companies are willing to meet with you to train both you and the firefighters. Most firefighters are volunteers who may have little to no horse experience, making handling a frightened horse not only difficult and dangerous, but also potentially lethal.

More Extensive Fire Protection

The best barn fire prevention systems incorporate building design, early warning devices, and fire suppression mechanisms. Building design for fire prevention changes the environment to minimize the spread of heat and flames and provides multiple options for escape. Barn design should increase the time it takes a fire to reach the flash point by modifying ceiling height or room volume, building materials, and building contents.

Figure 3. Firewall to prevent or delay the spread of fire.
From Fire Control in Livestock Buildings. NRAES-39

Compartmentalization

Although not a common practice in Pennsylvania horse barns, one way to slow a fire's spread is to compartmentalize the structure. Compartmentalization divides the stable into "rooms" not longer than 150 feet with fire-resistant barriers such as walls, doors, or fire curtains. This prevents the spread of fire within the building and allows more time for fire suppression. A true firewall must be completely sealed in a fire and should provide at least one hour of fire protection (Figure 3). Any doors in the wall need to be fire-rated and self-closing, and any openings for wiring or pipes need to be sealed. In a stable with a frame constructed roof, the wall itself needs to extend at least 18 inches above the roof; the higher the wall extends, the longer the fire protection. Fire curtains (Figure 4) or fire barriers are walls that divide up the open space in the roof trusses and prevent the spread of heat and smoke through the attic space. This prevents the truss area from becoming a natural tunnel for heat and flame travel. Building design determines the size of the fire curtain; the taller the fire curtain, the greater the effectiveness.

Figure 4. Fire curtain to delay and limit the horizontal spread of heat, smoke, and flame.
From Fire Control in Livestock Buildings, NRAES-39

Compartmentalization is not as simple as just adding a wall. Preventing the exchange and redirection of superheated air and flame is the operating principle of a firewall or curtain. Although if not properly installed, it disrupts the everyday air patterns needed for proper ventilation in the stable. An option more common at horse facilities is to "compartmentalize" by having entirely separate structures rather than dividing up one extra large building. This is one reason why many racetracks have several modest-sized stables rather than one huge stable.

Fire Ventilation

Proper ventilation will also improve survival by removing gases from occupied areas, directing flow of air currents and fire spread, and providing for the release of unburned gases before ignition. Roof vents are an effective way to ventilate a barn during a fire. Recommendations for vent spacing and sizes are set by the National Fire Protection Association, based on building material types and area to be vented. The most important factor to determine the space needed between vents is the rate at which burning material gives off heat. Horse barn fires burn with moderate- to-high heat production. Stables should have 1 square foot of ceiling vent space for every 100 square feet of floor area. Buildings with hay storage need 1 square foot for every 30 to 50 square feet of floor area. Options include a continuous slot opening along the ridge; roof vent monitors with louvers or thin glass that are opened by the super-heated air; and unit vents that are designed to melt, collapse, or spring open at predetermined temperatures. Each of these vents increases gas removal during the fire. Vents on heat-triggered fuses (usually set to open at 212 o F) may not open unless a hot, free-burning fire produces smoke temperatures high enough to activate fuses. This may mean that the fire has had time to progress, depending on its origin. Do not assume that just because vents are installed, the environment within a burning barn is livable. A smoldering fire can produce enough toxic smoke to be an immediate threat to human and animal life.

Fire Detection Devices and Principles

Early warning devices can be an effective tool in fire detection but few are suitable for barn use. In some situations, the main goal is to save the animals housed in the barn, but in other situations, minimizing property damage is the priority. Many early detection and fire suppression systems are available, but most were developed for residential use. This severely limits their practicality in horse or livestock facilities since they tend to be dustier, more humid, and colder than residential environments. It is best to seek advice and recommendations from fire engineers or fire protection professionals familiar with the unique needs and situations found in horse facilities. If you have trouble locating fire protection professionals, contact your fire department and ask for referrals.

Early warning devices were developed to mimic human senses. There are three basic types of fire detection devices: smoke, thermal (heat), and flame detectors. Smoke detectors mimic the human sense of smell. An ionization detector charges the air within the detector so that it will carry an electric current and any resistance to the electrical current will set off an alarm. Smoke particles and dust will interrupt the air's ability to conduct electrical current. An ionization detector is more responsive to a flaming fire than a smoldering one. For earlier smoke detection a photoelectric smoke detector is recommended. Within a chamber in the smoke detector, is a light-sensitive photocell. Smoke particles and dust will act like miniature mirrors, scattering a light beam and directing it towards the photocell. Once the amount of light detected by the photocell reaches a predetermined point, the alarm is activated.

Smoke detectors are the best line of defense for early warning of fires. They identify the fire while it is in the smoldering or early flame stages. Smoke detectors are not as reliable in the dusty and humid environment of horse barns. Airborne dust and dander or humidity may trigger false alarms. In more controlled environments, such as a lounge or office, a smoke detector is better suited.

Figure 6. Many fire detection devices, such as this smoke detector, were developed for residential use which severely limits their application in dusty, humid barn environments.
From Fire Control in Livestock Buildings NRAES-39.

Thermal detectors, developed in the mid-1800s, are the oldest type of automatic detection device. They are inexpensive to install and easy to maintain. The most common thermal detectors are fixed temperature devices, set to operate when temperatures reach a predetermined level, usually 135 to 165 o F. Another class of thermal detectors, called rate-of- rise detectors, activates an alarm when the temperature climbs at an abnormally fast rate. Both fixed temperature and rate-of-rise detectors are spot detectors and activate sooner with a closer proximity to the heat source.

A third type of thermal detector, the fixed temperature line detector, does not require the sensor to be as close to the heat source for activation. Two wires are run between detectors. Alarms are activated when the insulators, designed to degrade at a specific temperature, are damaged. The benefit of this fixed temperature line sensor is that floor area coverage can be increased at a lower cost. Thermal detectors are highly reliable and are not as affected by a dusty, moist environment. However, their adequacy in a horse barn is debatable since they require the fire to be in the later stages of progression before the sensor recognizes and signals the alarm. The longer a fire has to develop, the greater damage it can cause and the more difficult it is to control, especially in a barn. This is why they are usually not permitted as the sole detection device in life safety applications, such as in residential use.

The most reliable and expensive early warning detection device is the flame detector. These sensors imitate human sight and are most commonly used in aircraft maintenance facilities, refineries, and mines. As with other spot detectors, flame detectors must be "looking" directly at the fire source. Flames are classified by short wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation flickering in the range of 5 to 30 cycles per second. When the device senses these conditions, it is preset to monitor the source for a few seconds, before sounding the alarm. By recognizing the flame's wavelength, cycle, and consistency, flame detectors differentiate between hot objects and actual fires, minimizing false alarms. The greater the distance the flame is from the sensor, the larger it must be before the sensor will respond to it. They are highly reliable early detection devices especially for hot burning fires that are not likely to give off smoke, such as alcohol or methane fires.

Early warning systems can add valuable time to rescue efforts, if someone is available to hear them. One way to ensure that someone is alerted when a fire is detected is through a telephone dialer. A telephone dialer provides 24-hour alarm monitoring. The dialer can be connected to a professional monitoring service, family, neighbors, or directly to the fire department. It may be best to alert someone near the premises first, to prevent calling the fire department for any false alarms. However, best judgement should prevail, and if the nearest neighbor is too far away, contacting the 911 operator may be a better alternative. A phone dialer will need its own line, to ensure the availability of a phone connection after a fire has been detected.

Automatic Fire Suppression

Sprinkler systems are an effective tool for controlling fires but are not common in rural horse barns. Most sprinkler systems open to apply water to a fire when a sensing element in the individual sprinkler head comes in contact with intense heat. Only the sprinkler heads that come in contact with the fire's heat react, minimizing the water needed to extinguish the fire. A sprinkler system usually suppresses a fire with as few as two sprinkler heads and is very effective at controlling fires before they get out of hand. However, for sprinkler systems to be effective, an adequate water supply needs to be available at all times to provide enough gallons and sufficient pressure to extinguish the fire. It is often difficult for rural horse farms to meet these criteria. On average, one sprinkler head will deliver 25 gallons of water per minute to extinguish the blaze. As more sprinklers are activated, more water must be available to maintain pressure in the line (47 gallons and 72 gallons per minute for activation of the second and third sprinklers, respectively.) If water availability is a problem, a tank can be installed. This is an extremely expensive addition that will need regular service checks and maintenance.

Figure 7. Sprinkler installed in barn.
From Fire Control in Livestock Buildings NRAES-39.

If the facility's water supply is sufficient, several options are available for sprinkler systems. A sprinkler system that holds water all the time is called a wet-pipe system. These are the most inexpensive systems to install and require the least amount of maintenance. However, in climates where the barn temperature is too low to prevent freezing, the wet-pipe system will not work.

In freezing environments, a dry pipe system is employed. The supply lines are pressurized with air or nitrogen gas to hold a valve closed, preventing water from entering the system. In a fire, the sprinklers are activated, releasing the pressure and opening the valve. If the pressure is released through damage to the supply line, the valve is also released. This poses problems if the valve release is not found and temperatures are low enough for freezing to occur. Dry-pipe systems are more limited in design. The reliance on pressure to close a valve creates strict requirements on the overall size and locations of the sprinkler heads and sup- ply lines. The increased system complexity requires more components, has more opportunity for failure, and increases the costs of installation and maintenance.

A preaction system was designed to eliminate the danger of accidental valve release on the dry-pipe system. A preaction system uses an electronically operated valve to prevent water from prematurely entering the pipes. In order for the valves to be opened, an independent flame, heat, or smoke detection device must identify a fire or potential fire. Once a fire is detected, the valve is released and the water is available to the sprinkler heads. The sprinklers open when triggered by heat, not by the valve detection device. As with an increasingly complex system, installation and maintenance costs increase along with the potential for malfunction.

One promising technology for areas with limited water supplies is the water mist. This system was originally designed for controlling severe fires on ships and oil-drilling platforms, where excessive water use could make the vessel capsize. Currently, these systems are standard on marine vessels, and have a proven record of extinguishing maritime fires. Their applications in buildings have been recognized and used in Europe. Water mist systems are highly pressurized, ranging from 100 to 1,000 psi and produce finer droplets 50 to 200 microns in diameter (sprinklers deliver 600 to 1,000 micron droplets). These smaller droplets are exceptionally efficient at cooling and fire control with 10 to 25 percent less water than a sprinkler system. Due to its limited availability, this technology is significantly more expensive than sprinkler systems. Currently, insurance companies do not recognize water mist systems as a fire suppression system and will not give rate incentives for them. Recognition of and advancements in this technology should bring it closer to affordable horse farm applications.

What to Do If You Have a Fire

#1 Remain Calm

The most important thing to do is remain calm. The situation may be perilous, but panic is only going to make it worse. Panic can create situations that endanger lives. Take a deep breath, stop, and plan.

#2 Survey the Scene

This is the most important and most often forgotten step. If the area is not safe, get out! Botched acts of heroism will only jeopardize lives and the structure. Look and see what the fire is near. A smoldering pile of hay is not nearly as deadly as one smoldering near bags of fertilizer. Take a quick inventory of available resources. Are there other people present? Use their skills in the most efficient manner possible. Remember, because of their behavior patterns, horses are the most difficult domestic livestock species to evacuate from a burning barn. Always send the most qualified person to do the task. Persons who are not qualified to do the task are more of a liability than assistance. A person who is unfamiliar with operating a fire extinguisher may spread the fire. Someone unfamiliar with the behavior of a panicked horse puts others, themselves, and the horse in greater danger. If the area is unsafe to enter, don't put yourself or anyone else at risk. Be alert for potential hidden dangers. Firefighters cannot concentrate on saving the horses until they have rescued the people.

Investigating a smoldering hay stack or mow is especially dangerous. If smoke is seen or smelled in hay, do not attempt to move it or walk on it. Disturbing the hay may expose the smoldering sections to oxygen, causing it to flash quickly. Smoldering cavities are prone to collapse. Burned out cavities may collapse under weight and trap a person who was attempting to stand or walk on the bale.

Surveying the fire scene only takes a fraction of a second, but is the single most important step to ensure everyone's safety.

#3 Call 911 or the Fire Department

Regardless of the size of the fire or potential fire, call the fire department. Even if the fire was contained without professional help, contact the fire department immediately and have the area inspected to ensure the fire has been completely extinguished. Firefighters are trained, certified, and experienced in fire control. It is better to catch a blaze in the earliest stages than have it get out of hand.

Be sure that whoever is calling the emergency dispatch operator is capable of giving clear, concise directions and other valuable information. Also include the county, state, and municipality if using a cell phone. The nature of the fire (barn fire, hay storage shed, etc.), how far the fire has gone (still smoldering, flames erupted, structure totally engulfed), and whether any people/animals are trapped in the structure are invaluable pieces of information for dispatching emergency crews.

#4 Evacuation

If time permits, get the horses out and into a safe pasture. Once the flames have erupted, the fire will spread quickly and pose an immediate danger to life. Put horses in a secure, fenced area, as far away from the commotion as possible. During a fire, many situations are present that can distress even the most "bomb-proof" horse. Loose horses running amid the lights, sirens, and moving trucks can be hit, injure firefighters, or even run back into the burning barn. Using a pasture right next to the barn will endanger the horse(s) and inhibit fire-fighting measures.

Summary

Although a serious threat because its rapid spread and destructiveness, horse barn fires are largely preventable. Take steps to reduce the chances of fire in your facility. Fortunately, much of fire protection involves simple, common sense prevention measures.

Fire requires a fuel source, an ignition source, and oxygen and goes through four growth stages: incipient, smoldering, flame, and heat production.

Baled hay can be its own fuel and ignition source if it is baled too wet. Wet hay should be monitored for heat build-up, caused by microbial respiration.

Store hay and bedding in a separate building from the horse stable.

Minimize fuel and ignition sources in and around the barn. Be sure to store and dispose of combustible materials properly.

Keeping the barn neat and clean has aesthetic appeal, will minimize the risk of fire, and increase the chances of escape during a fire.

Post and enforce a No Smoking policy.

Be sure that the facility is accessible to emergency vehicles and that the ground around the buildings is sturdy enough to support them.

An effective tool for preventing fire spread is to separate the buildings.

The three fire control rating systems for building materials are flame spread, smoke development, and fire rating.

Fire retardant/resistant products include masonry, heavy timber, and fire-retardant, treated wood.

All barns should be outfitted with a lightening protection system and inspected regularly. Only certified professionals should install and inspect the lightning protection system.

Having multiple water hydrants around the barn will give more options for early fire suppression.

Know where additional water sources (e.g., ponds) can be located.

Have at least one charged and mounted ABC-type fire extinguisher every 50 feet.

Be sure wiring and all electrical equipment is rated for agricultural use, is in working condition, is free of dust and cobwebs, and is housed in PVC conduit. Wires with UFB ratings are preferable.

Design stalls with two exits that open into a secure, enclosed area and be sure that any swinging doors do not obstruct pathways.

Have halters and lead ropes easily accessible on stall doors.

Post written emergency information at each phone. This information should include written directions to the facility and a list of commonly kept combustibles.

Post and practice evacuation routes.

A more elaborate barn fire protection system may incorporate building design, early warning devices, and fire suppression mechanisms.

Many early detection and fire suppression systems are available, but most were developed for residential use. This severely limits their practicality in horse facilities. Barn environments tend to be dustier, more humid, and colder than residential environments, which decrease the life of the detector and may cause the sensors to indicate false alarms.

Use sprinkler systems that have adequate water pressure. These systems can be expensive to install and maintain in freezing climates, but do have a proven history of containing fires and saving lives.

Seek advice and recommendations from fire engineers or fire protection professionals familiar with the unique needs and situations found in horse facilities.

Check local zoning and building codebooks for fire regulations in your area.

If you do have a barn fire, don't put yourself or someone else in danger. Think out your actions first.

Figure 8. Site Features for Fire Prevention and Fighting

Additional Resources

Accident Prevention Manual for Industrial Operations. National Safety Council. 1988. R. R. Donnelley & Sons, Chicago, IL.

Ogburn, C. B. Sept. 1995. Guarding Against Hay Fires, ANR-964. Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, Agricultural Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL.

Agricultural Safety and Health Best Management Practices. 2000. Penn State, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Extension.

Fire Control in Livestock Buildings, NRAES-39. Arble, W. C. and D. J. Murphy. 1989. Northeast Regional Agricultural Engineering Service (NRAES), Ithaca, NY.

Extinguishing Fires in Silos and Hay Mows. NRAES-18. 2000. D. J. Murphy and W. C. Arble. Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service (NRAES), Ithaca, NY.

Fire safety information, including extensive extinguisher specifications, is available at the Hanford Fire Department Web site.

National Fire Protection Association Batterymatch Park Quincy, MA 02269

NRAES Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service 152 Riley-Robb Hall Ithaca, NY 14853-5701 607-255-7654

The authors express their appreciation for the very helpful, in-depth reviews of this manuscript to Nancy Diehl, former assistant professor of equine science, Department of Dairy and Animal Science, Penn State; Malcolm Legault, research associate in agricultural safety, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Penn State; and Bonnie L. Darlington, developer of safety programs, Pennsylvania Equine Council.

Prepared by Jennifer Smith Zajaczkowski, senior research technologist in agricultural and biological engineering, and Eileen Wheeler, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering.

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The Agriculture Department is significantly increasing its farm earning forecast for 2022, estimating net cash farm income will reach its highest level in a decade due to the booming prices for crops and animal products.

Net cash farm income is now forecast at $168.5 billion in 2022, an increase of $22.1 billion - or 15.1% over 2021 - and the highest level since 2012 when adjusted for inflation, USDA's Economic Research Service said Thursday.

Net farm income, a broader measure of profits, is forecast at $147.7 billion in calendar year 2022, an increase of $7.3 billion, or 5.2%, over last year.

In February, USDA forecast net farm income at $113.7 billion in 2022 and net cash farm income at $136.1 billion.

Net cash farm income is based on cash receipts from farming, plus government payments and other farm-related income, minus cash expenses. Net farm income also factors in depreciation and changes in inventory values.

The stronger forecast reflects sharply higher estimates of crop and livestock revenue. The February forecast was issued ahead of a steep run-up in market prices that resulted from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

USDA now estimates cash receipts from the sale of agricultural commodities will soar by 21.2% - $91.7 billion - this year to $525.3 billion. February's forecast was for an increase of 6.8%, or $29.3 billion, in 2022.

Crop receipts are now estimated to jump by 15.3%, or $36.4 billion, led by an inflation-adjusted 23% increase in soybean revenue, a 10% increase in corn receipts and a 26% increase for wheat.

Sales of animals and animal products are forecast to skyrocket by 28.3%. Revenue from broilers is forecast up 48% this year, adjusted for inflation, while egg receipts are estimated to increase by nearly 67%. Dairy sector revenue is forecast to increase by 29%.

But farms will actually see their earnings lower this year compared to 2021 because of the combination of higher input costs and a decline in government payments due to the end of pandemic assistance and reduced disaster aid, according to USDA.

For the latest on what's happening in Washington, D.C. and around the country in agriculture Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! just click here.

Farms producing corn are expected to see their net cash income drop by about 4.3% this year, when adjusted for inflation, while soybean growers will see an estimated drop of 10.2%. Wheat and cotton growers will see even larger drops in net cash farm income of 35.5% and 25.7% respectively.

Farmers' production expenses are forecast to be up this year by $66.2 billion, a 17.8% increase to $437.3 billion, reflecting sharply higher input prices. Producers' total fertilizer bill is expected to hit $45 billion this year, up from $29.5 billion in 2021.

Citing higher input costs, many farm groups are urging Congress to increase funding for farm bill commodity programs in 2023 in order to raise the reference prices that trigger payments under the major commodity programs for grains and oilseeds.

Farmers' debt-to-asset levels are expected to decline from 13.5% in 2021 to 12.9% in 2022. But working capital, which measures the amount of cash available to fund operating expenses after paying off debt due within 12 months, is expected to be 2.6% lower this year.

For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com.

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If you're reading this, you have survived a wild New Year's Eve celebration and are thinking that your first new year's resolution should be that you'll never attend such a party ever again.

My wife and I haven't attended a New Year's party in ages. But we do what we can to emulate the resulting hangover by starting work on our income taxes.

We figure it's a cold and wretched time of year anyway; what's a little more misery?

I hate to brag, but my wife and I have one of the best bookkeeping systems. It works like this: I do the spending and she keeps track of the receipts.

My wife is of German heritage, which means that ensuring everything remains organized is in her DNA. I am of Norwegian ancestry, which means that I have Viking genetics. Vikings were never known for keeping things neat. There's not a record of a long-ago villager saying after a raid, "Those darn Vikings left everything in such a state of organization!"

There was much commentary when it was announced that the Treasury Department could be hiring additional IRS agents over the next several years. Like most things nowadays, it was bemoaned by some as "the end of life as we know it."

The majority of the new hires will be replacing agents who have quit or retired.

I don't have an issue with the IRS adding more agents because - here's a secret - I don't cheat on my tax returns!

Fretting about increased staffing at the IRS is like grousing about the police receiving additional funding for more speed detectors. It's only a problem if you have a lead foot.

But, you may ask, what about innocent taxpayers who are unjustifiably slapped with a tax bill the size of the national deficit? That's pretty much what happened to my wife and me a couple years ago.

My wife's father, Dale, was an IRS agent for 30 years. After he retired, Dale became an enrolled agent, meaning he could prepare tax returns and represent people in tax court.

We hired him to do our taxes. It was like having a former undercover spy working for us, someone who understood all of the other side's obscure protocols and convoluted strategies.

One day, we received a letter from the IRS. The missive informed us that we owed the government more money than we had earned during the tax year in question.

We immediately took the letter to Dale.

"Uffda!" he muttered, "Let me handle this."

Dale dashed off a reply to his former employer, telling them in polite, bureaucratic terms that they made an error and that they should rescind the proposed taxes, penalties, and interest.

We never heard back from the IRS, so his letter must have done the trick.

Personally knowing a former IRS agent gave me some insights regarding the agency. When my wife and I visited Dale at his office one day, he showed us a long bookshelf that groaned beneath a conglomeration of novel-sized tomes.

I guessed that the books contained the entirety of our nation's tax laws.

"Nope," Dale said, "Those are just the changes to the tax codes. For just one year!"

No wonder preparing your own taxes is akin to performing do-it-yourself brain surgery.

Dale had strong opinions regarding where to place the blame.

"It's Congress's fault," he said. "They're always messing with the tax laws. That's why hardly anybody understands the codes, including many at the IRS."

Dale expressed that sentiment many years ago, but it still rings true.

Congress prides themselves on "bringing home the bacon" in the form of pet projects or bizarre tax breaks. This can lead to such things as a National Pickerel Museum or special deductions for taxpayers who collect Hummel figurines.

So, if you think your taxes are too high, take it up with your representative in Congress. If you want to do so in person, find their field office via the internet and drive there on the highway using your car's GPS as a guide. While you're at it, tell your representative to keep their filthy government hands off my Social Security.

By the way, the internet, our interstate highway system, and GPS were all created by the government.

Leland, a local farmer, who did my tax preparation when I was starting out in the dairy industry, once exclaimed, "I never complain about paying taxes because it means that I made money."

I thought about that as my wife waded through our financial records.

"How's it looking?" I asked.

"Not so good," she replied. "How do you feel about buying a bunch of Hummel figurines?"

About the Author

Jerry Nelson and his wife, Julie, live in Volga, South Dakota, on the farm that Jerry's great-grandfather homesteaded in the 1880s. Daily life on that farm provided fodder for a long-running weekly newspaper column, "Dear County Agent Guy," which become a book of the same name. Dear County Agent Guy is available at workman.com/products/dear-county-agent-guy.

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If you're reading this, you have survived a wild New Year's Eve celebration and are thinking that your first new year's resolution should be that you'll never attend such a party ever again. My wife and I haven't attended a New Year's party in ages.

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Stepping ahead of a pending Supreme Court ruling, the Biden administration spelled out through a new regulation the upstream reach of water pollution laws, saying it would assure safe drinking water for Americans "while supporting agriculture, local economies, and downstream communities." Farm and home-builder groups, who helped stall an Obama-era definition of the "waters of the United States" (WOTUS), said the Biden WOTUS rule also was a regulatory nightmare built on murky interpretations of the law.

The new WOTUS rule would cover more waterways and wetlands than the narrower definition written by the Trump administration, which was overturned by a federal district court in 2021. The EPA said the new regulation, which would take effect in 60 days, covered the ground intended by Congress in the 1972 Clean Water Act - "territorial seas, interstate waters, as well as upstream water resources that significantly affect those waters."

"Following extensive stakeholder engagement, and building on what we've learned from previous rules, EPA is working to deliver a durable definition of WOTUS that safeguards our nation's waters, strengthens economic opportunity, and protects people's health while providing greater certainty for farmers, ranchers, and landowners," said EPA administrator Michael Regan in a joint announcement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Friday.

In a memorandum with USDA, the EPA, and the Corps of Engineers said cropland converted from wetlands would remain exempt from WOTUS regulation; the exemption was first codified in 1993.

Environmental groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council applauded the new WOTUS definition as "a step in the right direction," saying it would protect millions of miles of streams and tens of millions of acres of wetlands more than Trump's Navigable Waters Protection Rule. "The EPA's new rules will help protect the streams, wetlands, rivers, and lakes people and wildlife depend upon from pollution and other threats," said the National Wildlife Federation.

The Pacific Legal Foundation, which argued in the Supreme Court last fall for strict limits on the clean water law, said the administration should have waited for the court to rule. "The definition of the waters of the United States shift with each new presidential administration, providing property owners with no long-term clarity," said the foundation, an avowed foe of government overreach. It says the clean water law should apply only to waterways and adjacent wetlands with a surface connection to the waterways.

In 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that wetlands with a "significant nexus" to navigable waters were covered by the water pollution law. Courts have generally followed that rule since. Executive branch efforts to put it into regulation have been challenged repeatedly in court.

"EPA has doubled down on the old significant nexus test, creating more complicated regulations that will impose a quagmire of regulatory uncertainty on large areas of private farmland miles from the nearest navigable water," said the American Farm Bureau Federation in criticizing the Biden initiative. The National Association of Home Builders said the new WOTUS definition "will dramatically expand" the land subject to federal wetlands rules. "This definition of WOTUS adds uncertainty and confusion to the regulatory process, raises housing costs, and drastically increases federal overreach in the process," said the NAHB.

Rep. Glenn Thompson, the incoming chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said the Biden WOTUS definition was "an egregious government land grab. Simply recognizing long-standing agriculture exemptions that have been too narrowly applied for decades does not make up for, once again, plunging our rural communities into ambiguity."

The 1972 clean water law was directed toward the waters of the United States but Congress did not define them, leaving it to the EPA and the Corps of Engineers to define them through regulation.

When the Trump administration wrote its WOTUS definition, it said enforcement of the clean water law would be limited to oceans, rivers, core tributaries, and adjacent wetlands. Environmentalists said the move would leave half of U.S. wetlands and millions of miles of streams without protection from pollution.

The EPA website for WOTUS is available here.

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Biden administration defines upstream reach of clean water laws

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Stepping ahead of a pending Supreme Court ruling, the Biden administration spelled out through a new regulation the upstream reach of water pollution laws, saying it would assure safe drinking water for Americans "while supporting agriculture, local economies, and downstream communities."

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TOP STORY

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With varying perspectives, the pharmaceutical industry, the Canadian Pork Council and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker hope to influence the Supreme Court in deciding whether an animal welfare law approved by California voters is an unconstitutional burden on the rest of America. The pork industry and the Justice Department say it is.

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Trading of corn futures, soybean futures, and wheat futures will resume this morning.

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Strock, J. in Managing Soil Health for Sustainable Agriculture Vol. 2 (ed. Reicosky, D.) Ch. 3 (Burleigh Dodds, 2018).

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture Grant no. 20196701929404, the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research, the Iowa State University (ISU) Plant Sciences Institute Faculty Scholars program, and a professional development assignment to M.J.C. that was granted by ISU and hosted by ETH-Zürich.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

Michael J. Castellano & Sotirios V. Archontoulis

Department of Environmental Systems Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH-Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

Michael J. Castellano & Johan Six

Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

Matthew J. Helmers

Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

Hanna J. Poffenbarger

Contributions

M.J.C. led the concept development and writing; all authors contributed to the concept development, data interpretation and writing. S.V.A. conducted the modelling. H.J.P. led data analyses and figure development; M.J.C. contributed to data analyses and figure development.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael J. Castellano.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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About this article

Cite this article

Castellano, M.J., Archontoulis, S.V., Helmers, M.J. et al. Sustainable intensification of agricultural drainage. Nat Sustain 2, 914-921 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0393-0
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Sustainable intensification of agricultural drainage - Nature Sustainability

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Artificial drainage is among the most widespread land improvements for agriculture. Drainage benefits crop production, but also promotes nutrient losses to water resources. Here, we outline how a systems perspective for sustainable intensification of drainage can mitigate nutrient losses, increase fertilizer nitrogen-use efficiency and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma entered settlement agreements with three major pharmacy chains and an opioid manufacturer totaling more than $226 million, Attorney General John O'Connor announced Wednesday.

Including the new settlements with drugmaker Allergan and pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, Oklahoma has received more than $900 million from opioid makers and distributors to help address the state's opioid crisis, O'Connor said.

"The opioid crisis has inflicted unspeakable pain on Oklahoma families and caused the deaths of thousands of Oklahomans," O'Connor said in a statement. "Between 2016 and 2020, more than 3,000 Oklahomans died from opioid overdoses."

Nearly all the settlement funds must be used to help remediate the affects of the opioid crisis in Oklahoma, including prevention and treatment services.

In November, three of the largest U.S. pharmacy chains reached settlements with states over the toll of opioids worth a total of about $13 billion. Under the separate deals, CVS Health and Walgreen Co. are each paying about $5 billion and Walmart is paying more than $3 billion. None has admitted wrongdoing.

Allergan didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment about the Oklahoma settlement.

The settlements are the latest in a wave of deals that state and local governments have struck with companies, including drugmakers, distribution companies and even a consulting firm, even as some lawsuits over how the drugs are marketed and sold continue. The total of proposed and finalized settlements is now more than $50 billion. Unlike with tobacco company settlements in the 1990s, the bulk of the money is required to be used to address the opioid crisis, which has been linked to well over 500,000 U.S. deaths since 2000.

In 2019, Oklahoma, under then-Attorney General Mike Hunter, was the first state to reach a settlement with Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, for $270 million. Most of that money was used to establish a National Center for Addiction Studies and Treatment at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa.

Oklahoma was also the first state to go to trial in a lawsuit against the makers of opioids blamed for contributing to the nation's opioid crisis. A district court judge in 2019 found that New Jersey-based drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and its Belgium-based subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals violated the state's public nuisance statute and ultimately ordered the company to pay the state $465 million to help address the state's opioid crisis. However that decision was later overturned by the state's Supreme Court, which determined the trial court judge wrongly interpreted the state's public nuisance law.

___

Follow Sean Murphy at www.twitter.com/apseanmurphy

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Oklahoma AG announces 4 new opioid settlements worth $226M

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma entered settlement agreements with three major pharmacy chains and an opioid manufacturer totaling more than $226 million, Attorney General John O'Connor announced Wednesday. Including the new settlements with drugmaker Allergan and pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, Oklahoma has received more than $900 million from opioid makers and distributors to [...]

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News

92% of Ohio corn is harvested

The USDA says harvest advanced in Ohio as freezing weather arrived.

Ninety-two percent of the state's corn crop is harvested, ahead of the one-year and five-year averages.

Fifty percent of the topsoil moisture and 48 percent of the subsoil moisture is adequate to surplus.

Ninety-three percent of the winter wheat crop has emerged, and 58 percent is rated good to excellent.

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92% of Ohio corn is harvested - Brownfield Ag News

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The USDA says harvest advanced in Ohio as freezing weather arrived. Ninety-two percent of the state's corn crop is harvested, ahead of the one-year and five-year averages. Fifty percent of the topsoil moisture and 48 percent of the subsoil moisture is adequate to surplus. Ninety-three percent of the winter wheat crop has emerged, and [...]

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drones are different so they test different drones

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Sprayer drones had hit the agricultural market by 2018, but Taylor Moreland was having trouble finding a dealer who understood agriculture in the Midwest.

He wanted to solve a problem for the farmers he serves through his Pioneer seed dealership, Moreland Seed & Soil, in Centralia, Missouri. Many of his customers rely on crop dusters for aerial applications of fungicide, which often leads to yield-reducing delays during busy, but critical, weeks. He thought he would buy a sprayer drone and become a custom applicator to provide timelier service.

However, he quickly realized there was a deeper void.

The United States had only a few sprayer drone dealerships at the time, and most were in Florida or California. No one he talked to was familiar with row crop farming nor were they able to provide support specific to farmers, so he decided to become a dealer himself.

His focus would be on providing "a superior level of service," he says. Anything a farmer would need to navigate this new world of drone technology, Agri Spray Drones would provide.

Moreland and his team spent the next couple of years researching and testing sprayer drones from various manufacturers. They did custom applications and learned best practices for operation. They also worked with local farmers to better understand their questions.

By 2020, Agri Spray Drones was open for business.

Taylor Moreland (center) demonstrates the Agras T30 system to brothers Trent (right) and Taylor (left) Braungardt of Braungardt Ag Farms in Bowling Green, Missouri. Photo courtesy of Agri Spray Drones.

What You Get

Agri Spray offers a line of drones made by DJI, including the Agras T30, which at 7.9-gallon capacity is the largest sprayer drone available in the United States.

Customers who buy a drone from Agri Spray receive resources for insurance options and in-field support. They can also add the Federal Aviation Administration regulations training, which includes support to get licensed to legally operate the drone and in-depth training in efficient operation of the drone.

Most people do add the extra support, Moreland says. The full package costs $20,000 to $35,000, depending on the model.

Myriad Uses

Dale Diederich and his father, Scott Diederich, who grow corn and soybeans in Old Monroe, Missouri, purchased a drone from Agri Spray in 2021. After initially seeing the technology demonstrated at a field day earlier that year, they contacted Moreland for more information. A couple of weeks later, an Agri Spray representative visited their farm and demonstrated how the drone would work in one of their soybean fields.

"It worked great," Dale Diederich says, adding that they liked the drone's ability to access tight places, such as around tree lines, where a ground rig can't easily fit.

They primarily use the drone for spraying herbicides in the tighter areas and in small fields, but discovering the drone also could be used as a seeder was the deal clincher for their purchase.

In addition to farming, the Diederichs manage lakes for duck habitat. This involves planting millet in and around the lakes, which is a messy process. Typically, they seed millet using four-wheelers, making ruts and covering themselves in mud. Now, they're able to stand on dry ground while the drone drops seed from above.

The Diederichs initially purchased the T16, but after using it a while realized they wanted the larger T20 model. They worked with Agri Spray to make the switch. The learning curve was steep, Diederich says.

The technology includes options that are helpful, but only if you understand them. For example, object avoidance stops the drone from flying into trees, telephone poles, and other objects. Another feature is mountain mode, which enables the drone to sense changes in elevation.

Diederich says he had to learn how to adjust these settings for his family's farm.

From left; Rachel Burkemper and fiancé Dale Diederich, Stacey and Scott Diederich, and Maggie and Tony Schulte. Photo courtesy of Agri Spray Drones.

"He answered questions all the time," Diederich says of Moreland, remembering instances when he would call Moreland on a Sunday after running into issues. "Taylor would answer the phone right away or call me right back. We'd get it figured out and keep moving."

A year later, Diederich is more confident in his use of the drone. He says Agri Spray Drones is still there if he gets into a bind, but nine times out of 10 he's able to solve problems on his own.

Is a Drone Worth the Cost?

Before you consider buying a drone, ask yourself these questions:

What will I use the drone for?

How many acres of fungicide do I currently apply by helicopter or airplane?

How much does it cost me to hire this done?

What time of year do I need aerial services, and am I getting them in a timely manner?

Do I have time to operate a drone myself?

Bottom line: What is my return on investment?

Taylor Moreland of Agri Spray Drones says you can expect a drone to cost about $1 an acre to operate. You can cover about 20 to 30 acres per hour.

It's important to know how much money a drone will cost you and save you (or buy you, in the case of better yields). Moreland can help you determine your ROI and evaluate whether a drone may be a good choice for you. Visit agrispraydrones.com for more information.

A Hidden Gem

Moreland says sprayer drones are not intended to be a replacement for tractors or for ground sprayer rigs, especially for herbicide, which is more susceptible to wind drift.

They can deliver anything already applied by air, such as fungicide. They are also useful for spot spraying herbicide and fertilizer and in places where ground rigs are inefficient. The drones can map specific areas to spray, and they generate data on when, where, and how much they sprayed in specific areas. Overlaying this information with production data allows the operator to test various chemicals and determine the efficacy of each one.

Moreland calls the potential for drones to provide farmers with data a "hidden gem" of the technology that's not used to its full potential yet. Another is its overseeding abilities.

Some farmers, like the Diederichs, are using drones to spread seed. However, Moreland envisions more farmers in the future using drones to overseed cover crops into standing crops. He says the ability to plant from the sky could make timing less of a barrier to increasing biodiversity and soil health with cover crop species that would do better if planted before, not after, harvest.

"It's going to change the marketplace," Moreland says. "You look at carbon credits coming, where we need to have a variety of different crops out there. I think a drone is going to be very valuable in doing that."

Today, DJI drones are available from dealers in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska, in addition to Agri Spray in Missouri. Moreland expects the industry to continue to grow, and he plans to add dealerships throughout the Midwest. While he says he wants to extend reach, Moreland doesn't want to sacrifice service and support.

Diederich says he and his father are among a growing number of farmers in their area who are adding drones to the farm.

"Anything where you don't have to run down your crops is the best thing," Diederich says.

He adds that he is excited to see how far the technology will develop and hopes anyone who starts using drones will join the community in learning how to best use them.

Taylor Moreland (center), Trent (right) Braungardt and Taylor (left) Braungardt. Photo courtesy of Agri Spray Drones.

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Sprayer drones had hit the agricultural market by 2018, but Taylor Moreland was having trouble finding a dealer who understood agriculture in the Midwest. He wanted to solve a problem for the farmers he serves through his Pioneer seed dealership, Moreland Seed & Soil, in Centralia, Missouri.

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When you think about NASA, the first things that come to mind might be Mars rovers or the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope. The planet NASA studies the most, however, is our own: Earth.

Our planet was the focus of Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders' photo of the earthrise from the moon in 1968. "That was really the first time people realized, 'Oh, we can see - and study - our home planet from space,'" says Karen St. Germain, director of NASA's Earth Science division. "That unique vantage point of space gives us a global understanding."

"This is obvious if you think about it, because NASA's mission is about the betterment of mankind and everyone we know, and everyone we love, is right here on this planet," says St. Germain. "Understanding how this planet works and helping people make better, informed decisions is really what we're about in Earth Science."

This includes agriculture.

NASA's missions capture all aspects of the planet: the oceans, land, ice, and atmosphere. Through these observations, NASA has noted changes in the water cycle, which have led to changes in the carbon cycle and, in turn, to agriculture.

Scientists have measured the energy entering and leaving the Earth's system and noted an imbalance, with significantly less energy now leaving than entering. More than 90% of this energy is being absorbed by the oceans, and transported all around the world, says St. Germain. These changes in energy are then manifested in more intense drought, flooding, or other severe weather events.

Farming from space

Farmers may be most familiar with NASA's agricultural contributions via the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which collaborates with the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to produce the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Much data that feeds the Drought Monitor comes from satellites. Two active satellite missions measure minute changes in the Earth's gravitational pull right below the satellite. The pull is dependent on how much mass is right below the satellite, which changes based on how much water is in the soil - on the surface, in the root zone, or in the aquifers. Where there's less water, there's less mass, meaning less gravitational pull.

In addition to the Drought Monitor, NASA participates in other applications for producers.

The NASA Harvest program offers precision nutrient management tools as part of its mission to "benefit food security, agriculture, and human and environmental resiliency in the U.S. and worldwide."

OpenET uses satellite data to provide estimates of evapotranspiration (ET) for water management across the United States. OpenET generates daily, monthly, and annual estimates at the field scale, and it provides access to weather and vegetation conditions. Farmers can use this data during irrigation to reduce costs for fertilizer and water, as well as to help support groundwater management programs that require consistent and accurate ET data.

The Crop Condition and Soil Moisture Analytics Tool (Crop-CASMA) is a web-based application developed in partnership with the USDA to map soil moisture and crop vegetation conditions across the country. The tool is designed to help farmers during spring planting, to track damage after natural disasters, and to monitor crop health. Users of Crop-CASMA can select an area and create a map as a PDF, as well as download data to input into their own models.

Forecasted yield loss

NASA's Earth Science division has also made long-term crop projections based on the data gathered. If current climate change trends continue, global crop yields for maize, or corn, may see a decrease of 24% by the end of the century. This forecast is based on the projected increases in temperature, shifts in rainfall patterns, and elevated surface carbon dioxide concentrations due to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

This projection was run under the assumption current corn genotypes and management practices hold the same through the remainder of the century.

"Producers are already making adjustments and that of course will continue," says St. Germain. "One of the things the tool lets us do is show what crops - under what conditions - will likely see stress the soonest given what's going on globally."

All of NASA's collected data is open to the public and freely available.

Back down to Earth

Brandon Hunnicutt farms alongside his father, Daryl, and brother, Zach, near Giltner, Nebraska, and serves as a member on the Corn Board of the National Corn Growers Association. They started working with UNL on very early stages of soil moisture monitoring systems with stationary probes. They found this method challenging as soil types vary throughout their fields, and even as they've added more data points, the probes couldn't accurately observe the entire field.

"So we started looking at what's the next step we need to do?" says Hunnicutt. "That being able to more accurately monitor - maybe through this satellite data - so we can say, 'This farm as a whole is OK.'"

Hunnicutt says satellite data from programs like NASA's may help make decisions for how much water, fertilizer, or fungicide to use.

"We're always trying to figure out what's the next big thing for yield," says Hunnicutt. "What is the next big thing to bring more value back to the farm? All these things are fascinating because it's that next stage."

One small step for ag

The Earth Science division at NASA has launched a wide variety of missions in the past 25 years. About 25 satellites or space-based missions currently are observing the Earth, and another 10 missions are in the works, with even more being planned.

Around the same time as the earthrise photo and Apollo 8 mission, the Landsat mission was developed in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The Landsat 1 satellite was launched in July 1972. This satellite orbited the Earth multiple times a day and completed a full image capture of the planet after 251 orbits - about 16 days, according to USGS.

The various Landsat missions have provided 50 years of uninterrupted coverage of the Earth.

Landsat 9 was launched in late September 2021 as a continuity mission to maintain increased coverage for the program. In any given location, a lot can change in the 16 days between satellite passes. Adding just one more satellite decreases the period between passes to just eight days. Landsat 9 is currently orbiting the Earth in tandem with Landsat 8, which launched in 2013. Landsat 7, which launched in 1999, completed its mission when operations ended in September of this year.

Landsat Next

Where Landsat 9 was a continuity mission, Landsat Next is an update to the program designed to better monitor, understand, and predict changes to the world's land surfaces, including farmland. Landsat Next will have higher spatial resolution and higher spectral imaging bands.

Where Landsat 8 and 9 are capable of observing 11 spectral bands - wavelengths of light - Next can observe 25. This will help it better detect surface temperature, water quality, soil quality, and more.

Landsat Next is on target to launch in 2029 or 2030.

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Space for ag: NASA works to ensure food security

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When you think about NASA, the first things that come to mind might be Mars rovers or the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope. The planet NASA studies the most, however, is our own: Earth. Our planet was the focus of Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders' photo of the earthrise from the moon in 1968.

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By Tim Carpenter

TOPEKA - The state of Kansas will enter the new year adhering to the October drought declaration issued by Gov. Laura Kelly covering all 105 counties.

Kelly's order was based on a drought map that placed 67 counties on emergency status, assigned 11 counties to warning status and left 27 counties on watch status. Her action was in response to severe drought associated with a dry spring, hot summer and anticipated above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation throughout Kansas into December.

Connie Owen, director of the Kansas Water Office and chairwoman of the governor's disaster response team, said conditions hadn't changed sufficiently to warrant modification of the executive order issued Oct. 6.

"The Kansas Water Office continually watches the U.S. Drought Monitor and other scientific sources to determine when modifications of the current drought declaration may be appropriate," Owen said.

The National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska reported drought conditions in the past four weeks had worsened in portions of northwest and western Kansas and improved in eastern Kansas along the border with Missouri. The U.S. Drought Monitor showed a broad swath of southern Kansas to be in "exceptional" drought as of Dec. 27.

Kelly said she would make water policy a top priority in her second term as governor and would not allow policy decisions about conservation to be kicked further down the road.

In mid-December, the Kansas Water Authority voted to recommend to the governor and 2023 Legislature that Kansas abandon a philosophy of "planned depletion" of the Ogallala Aquifer. The massive underground water reservoir has propelled irrigation of crops for three-quarters of a century.

Drought was significant enough in Kansas that 85 counties became eligible for the assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's livestock forage program. The declaration provided access to millions of dollars in cash assistance to ranchers in severe, extreme or exceptional drought.

The Kansas Farm Service Agency processed 7,700 applications for relief totaling more than $45 million by the end of October. The same program paid out $1 million in the previous fiscal year ending in October 2021 when drought was generally confined to northwest Kansas.

Image: The Kansas River near Lawrence runs low. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

The Kansas Reflector is part of the States Newsroom, a network of similar news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

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Kansas' drought emergency order to remain in place as calendar flips to 2023

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By Tim Carpenter TOPEKA - The state of Kansas will enter the new year adhering to the October drought declaration issued by Gov. Laura Kelly covering all 105 counties. Kelly's order was based on a drought map that placed 67 counties on emergency status, assigned 11 counties to warning status and left 27 counties on watch status.

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The government often is the best source of information about U.S. corn plantings, yields per acre, production, and likely season-average prices, said three researchers who analyzed 80 studies on the accuracy and market impact of USDA reports involving corn. "USDA helps uncover these market conditions for all market participants, thereby providing a level playing field for all, even though the process is sometimes bumpy," they concluded.

The National Corn Growers Association commissioned the independent study in response to doubts among growers about the accuracy of USDA reports and a decline in voluntary participation rates for the reports. Conducting the review were professors Olga Massa of Virginia Tech, Berna Karali of the University of Georgia, and Scott Irwin of the University of Illinois. Corn is the most widely planted crop in the country and the United States is the largest corn grower in the world.

In their review, Massa, Karali, and Irwin noted "errors in supply and use forecasts contributed to ending stocks forecast errors" due to structural changes in commodity markets that took place in the mid-2000s, along with challenges in predicting periods of economic growth and changes in exchange rates. A decade ago, there was difficulty among market participants to anticipate USDA's figures for corn stocks, issued quarterly.

But USDA estimates of corn yields were consistently accurate and its price forecasts were more reliable than alternatives based on futures prices, said the professors. The annual Prospective Plantings report in March, the annual Acreage report in June, and the October crop report "were consistently more accurate than private forecasts," they said. "Most of the evidence confirms" that USDA reports are accurate and reliable. "Even in cases where some shortcomings are highlighted...it is difficult to find better sources of information and previous research shows that private forecasters are not able to beat USDA in most cases."

The report, '"What do we know about the accuracy and impact of USDA reports in the corn market?", is available here.

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USDA corn estimates are accurate overall, says review

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The government often is the best source of information about U.S. corn plantings, yields per acre, production, and likely season-average prices, said three researchers who analyzed 80 studies on the accuracy and market impact of USDA reports involving corn.

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U.S. PLAINS WHEAT RATINGS DIP IN KANSAS, MIXED ELSEWHERE

CHICAGO, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Condition ratings for winter wheat fell during December in Kansas, the top U.S. winter wheat producer, and in several other drought-hit Plains states, although they improved in Colorado and Oklahoma, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Tuesday.

The United States is among the world's biggest wheat exporters. The USDA issued its last national winter wheat ratings of the season on Nov. 29, reporting 34% of the U.S. crop in good-to-excellent condition,

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corn falls two weeks low -Addison Bellah

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corn falls two weeks low -Addison Bellah

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Corn falls to two-week low | Wednesday, January 4, 2023

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Dry weather in Argentina supporting soybean prices today.

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the food supply is low in texas by layton

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Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
On the heels of a historic drought that devastated crops from the High Plains to South Texas, a new Texas Department of Agriculture report released Tuesday linked climate change with food insecurity and identified it as a potential threat to the state's food supply.

The food access study, coordinated by the TDA and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, notes that "climate instability" is strongly associated with soil loss, water quality, droughts, fires, floods and other environmental disasters. 2022 was one of the driest years on record for Texas, and about 49% of the state was still in drought conditions at the end of December. The drought resulted in failed crops, low yields for farmers and diminished grazing, which forced ranchers to cull their cattle and led to the highest amount of livestock sales - nearly $2.7 million - in more than a decade.

"From the agricultural perspective, concerns were expressed regarding droughts, drying up of artisanal wells, water use restrictions, fire threats and dangerous conditions for farm workers," the report says.

Extended dry periods devastated Texas' agricultural production, said Victor Murphy, a climate service program manager with the National Weather Service.

"We're seeing longer periods without any precipitation, then when it does come, it's in shorter, more intense bursts," he said.

In total, Texas received a similar amount of precipitation in 2022 as in 2021, but most of that precipitation came all at once at the end of the summer.

Much of the state went through the worst of the drought conditions from June to August, during the high heat of the summer while plants are still growing. This was a sharp contrast to the torrential rainfall totals that followed. At the end of August, the Dallas-Fort Worth area was hit with a 1,000-year flood that brought 13 inches of rainfall in 18 hours.

"It is very difficult being a producer to have high and consistent yields with this kind of weather whiplash of extremes," Murphy said. "It's extremely difficult to prepare for a precipitation pattern that features long periods of near zero rainfall and short periods of extreme precipitation."

The report recommends several actions, including having farmers work alongside researchers and policymakers, creating more food forests that allow trees to restore soil health and improve water quality, and strengthening bonds between local farmers and businesses to boost the farm-to-school infrastructure.

Food affordability and living wages

The report, which was submitted to the Texas Legislature on Dec. 31, also points to other factors that are making it harder for Texans to access and afford food, such as wages falling behind rising costs of living and lack of access to food in rural areas. Another issue is organizations being unaware of others with similar goals; for example, the report notes that certain grocers are interested in expanding delivery services into rural markets, while several food banks have acquired trucks to do the same.

The study includes suggestions that lawmakers could consider to help more Texans have consistent food access, such as expanding online and delivery options for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants and allowing more stores to accept those benefits.

Lawmakers have already filed some bills to address food insecurity during this year's legislative session. State Rep. Shawn Thierry, D-Houston, filed House Bill 1118, which would offer tax credits to grocery stores that open in food deserts.

The report also recommends raising the minimum wage, citing the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's living wage model, which estimates the hourly rate individuals must earn to support themselves and their families in each state. According to MIT, in a Texas household with two parents and a child, each adult needs to make $17.44 an hour to meet their basic needs. The minimum wage in Texas is $7.25 an hour.

According to the report, meeting the living wage draws the line between "the financial independence of the working poor and the need to seek out public assistance or suffer consistent and severe housing and food insecurity."

The report acknowledges that raising wages is an energized and politicized topic.

"The important take-away here is that there are significant gaps that need to be addressed between what researchers calculate to be a living wage in Texas, the wages that Texans are actually receiving, and many of the poverty thresholds that determine eligibility for assistance programs," the report says.

The report also highlights how many families' incomes have remained flat at the same time they're having to spend more on food, housing and utility costs.

In 2021, 13.7% of Texas households faced food insecurity, the sixth-highest rate in the nation.

According to a 2021 report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, almost 79% of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants in Texas were families with children, and more than 27% of them are families with older and disabled adults.
Disclosure: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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Texas ag agency says climate change threatens state's food supply

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Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. On the heels of a historic drought that devastated crops from the High Plains to South Texas, a new Texas Department of Agriculture report released Tuesday linked climate change with food insecurity and identified it as a potential threat to the state's food supply.

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News

92% of Ohio corn is harvested

The USDA says harvest advanced in Ohio as freezing weather arrived.

Ninety-two percent of the state's corn crop is harvested, ahead of the one-year and five-year averages.

Fifty percent of the topsoil moisture and 48 percent of the subsoil moisture is adequate to surplus.

Ninety-three percent of the winter wheat crop has emerged, and 58 percent is rated good to excellent.

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92% of Ohio corn is harvested - Brownfield Ag News

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The USDA says harvest advanced in Ohio as freezing weather arrived. Ninety-two percent of the state's corn crop is harvested, ahead of the one-year and five-year averages. Fifty percent of the topsoil moisture and 48 percent of the subsoil moisture is adequate to surplus. Ninety-three percent of the winter wheat crop has emerged, and [...]

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The government often is the best source of information about U.S. corn plantings, yields per acre, production, and likely season-average prices, said three researchers who analyzed 80 studies on the accuracy and market impact of USDA reports involving corn. “USDA helps uncover these market conditions for all market participants, thereby providing a level playing field for all, even though the process is sometimes bumpy,” they concluded.

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The government often is the best source of information about U.S. corn plantings, yields per acre, production, and likely season-average prices, said three researchers who analyzed 80 studies on the accuracy and market impact of USDA reports involving corn. "USDA helps uncover these market conditions for all market participants, thereby providing a level playing field for all, even though the process is sometimes bumpy," they concluded.

The National Corn Growers Association commissioned the independent study in response to doubts among growers about the accuracy of USDA reports and a decline in voluntary participation rates for the reports. Conducting the review were professors Olga Massa of Virginia Tech, Berna Karali of the University of Georgia, and Scott Irwin of the University of Illinois. Corn is the most widely planted crop in the country and the United States is the largest corn grower in the world.

In their review, Massa, Karali, and Irwin noted "errors in supply and use forecasts contributed to ending stocks forecast errors" due to structural changes in commodity markets that took place in the mid-2000s, along with challenges in predicting periods of economic growth and changes in exchange rates. A decade ago, there was difficulty among market participants to anticipate USDA's figures for corn stocks, issued quarterly.

But USDA estimates of corn yields were consistently accurate and its price forecasts were more reliable than alternatives based on futures prices, said the professors. The annual Prospective Plantings report in March, the annual Acreage report in June, and the October crop report "were consistently more accurate than private forecasts," they said. "Most of the evidence confirms" that USDA reports are accurate and reliable. "Even in cases where some shortcomings are highlighted...it is difficult to find better sources of information and previous research shows that private forecasters are not able to beat USDA in most cases."

The report, '"What do we know about the accuracy and impact of USDA reports in the corn market?", is available here.

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USDA corn estimates are accurate overall, says review

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The government often is the best source of information about U.S. corn plantings, yields per acre, production, and likely season-average prices, said three researchers who analyzed 80 studies on the accuracy and market impact of USDA reports involving corn.

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Tight supplies, inflation, and tough weeds nearly guarantee higher 2023 herbicide costs. One way to boost herbicide performance, though, is through properly mixed adjuvants.

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Proper adjuvant use boosts herbicide effectiveness

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Adjuvants work by enabling herbicides to get into, onto, and through a weed.

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Biden administration officials refused to say more than that they were studying potential resolutions to a blossoming dispute over GMO corn exports on Wednesday, although Mexico's agriculture minister said an informal agreement already existed. Minister Victor Villalobos said U.S. officials were satisfied with a proposal to delay a ban on the import of GMO corn until 2025, according to a published report.

Mexico is one of the biggest customers for U.S. corn, almost all of which is grown from genetically modified seed. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador signed a decree in late 2020 to end imports of GMO corn by 2024. Ahead of a U.S.-Mexico meeting last week, López Obrador reportedly offered to wait until 2025 to ban imports of yellow corn, used in livestock feed, which makes up the lion's share of U.S. corn shipments. White corn is used in making tortillas, an everyday food in Mexico.

"Our U.S. counterparts considered this response satisfactory," said Villalobos at an event on Wednesday, reported Reuters. "We submitted a document for discussion, possible in the second half of January, where this issue will be definitively resolved." The time line for restrictions on corn imports could be adjusted again in the future depending on domestic production levels, he said.

"We refer you back to the public statement following last week's meeting with Mexican officials," said the Agriculture Department when asked about Villalobos' remarks. In a joint statement, U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the Mexican delegation had presented "some potential amendments" to the GMO corn decree on Friday.

"We agreed to review their proposal closely and follow up with questions or concerns in short order. There is a joint recognition that time is of the essence, and we must determine a path forward soon," said Tai and Vilsack.

Vilsack has raised the possibility of a USMCA challenge to Mexico's policy, and there have been forecasts of economic disruption on both sides of the border. Mexican livestock feeders would have to pay higher prices for the smaller volume of non-GMO corn on the world market, while U.S. farmers would lose up to 17 million tonnes of corn sales annually, according to one analysis.

"We find that the researchers overestimate the costs of the ban in both the United States and Mexico," said the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, which promotes "fair and sustainable food, farm, and trade systems." Given time, U.S. farmers could adjust their corn production to reflect the Mexican decree, said the IATP, especially since Mexico "has announced it will phase in the ban on feed corn."

The United States is a global leader in agricultural biotechnology and fiercely disputes restrictions on the sale of commodities grown using biotech methods.

To read a FERN story on the issue, "The deep roots of Mexico's trade dispute with U.S. over GMO corn," click here.

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U.S. shrugs at Mexico claim of accord on GMO corn

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Biden administration officials refused to say more than that they were studying potential resolutions to a blossoming dispute over GMO corn exports on Wednesday, although Mexico's agriculture minister said an informal agreement already existed. Minister Victor Villalobos said U.S.

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U.S. PLAINS WHEAT RATINGS DIP IN KANSAS, MIXED ELSEWHERE

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U.S. PLAINS WHEAT RATINGS DIP IN KANSAS, MIXED ELSEWHERE

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https://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/table-us-plains-wheat-ratings-dip-in-kansas-mixed-elsewhere-usda

CHICAGO, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Condition ratings for winter wheat fell during December in Kansas, the top U.S. winter wheat producer, and in several other drought-hit Plains states, although they improved in Colorado and Oklahoma, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Tuesday.

The United States is among the world's biggest wheat exporters. The USDA issued its last national winter wheat ratings of the season on Nov. 29, reporting 34% of the U.S. crop in good-to-excellent condition

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JOHN DEERE INTRODUCES TRACTOR STEERING IMPROVEMENTS

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JOHN DEERE INTRODUCES TRACTOR STEERING IMPROVEMENTS

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https://brownfieldagnews.com/innovations/john-deere-introduces-tractor-steering-improvements/

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John Deere introduces tractor steering improvements - Brownfield Ag News

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John Deere has announced some enhancements to its 7R tractor series to improve driving performance. Marketing manager Ryan Jardon says they have increased steering capacity for 2023 models. "If a customer is running things like a triple mount mower conditioner on the front of that tractor, or a loader with bales or something heavy up [...]

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An employee of the third-largest open feedlot in Iowa improperly pumped manure water onto a field this year that was too saturated with rainwater to absorb the liquid.

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https://www.agriculture.com/markets/analysis/corn-starts-day-down-5-wednesday-january-4-2023

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Corn falls to two-week low | Wednesday, January 4, 2023

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Dry weather in Argentina supporting soybean prices today.

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Tracking market changesMARKETSCorn falls to two-week low | Wednesday, January 4, 20231/4/2023 11:15 am

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Tracking market changesMARKETSCorn falls to two-week low | Wednesday, January 4, 20231/4/2023 11:15 am

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Pork, corn, wheat export sales up on week - Brownfield Ag News

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The USDA reports the week ending November 17th was a big week for corn and pork export sales. Corn sales for this marketing year topped 1.8 million tons, the second week in a row above a million, nearly all of that to Mexico, with more than 600,000 tons also sold for next marketing year.

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Closing Grain and Livestock Futures: January 3, 2023 - Brownfield Ag News

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Mar. corn closed at $6.70 and 1/2, down 8 centsJan. soybeans closed at $14.87 and 1/4, down 32 centsJan. soybean meal closed at $476.80, down $1.70Jan. soybean oil closed at 63.16, down 65 pointsMar. wheat closed at $7.75 and 1/2, down 16 and 1/2 centsFeb. live cattle closed at $156.85, down $1.05Feb.

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Livestock economist looks ahead to 2023

A livestock economist says consumer demand and drought will be the top stories he’s watching in 2023.  University of Missouri’s Scott Brown says despite the economic downturn in 2022

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Ag groups express frustration on WOTUS

Agriculture groups are disappointed with the Environmental Protection Agency’s final Waters of the United States rule. Alan Bjerga with the National Milk Producers Federation tells Brownfield EPA

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By Jorgelina do Rosario and Karin Strohecker

LONDON, Dec 28 (Reuters) - It has been a rough 12 months for emerging markets that have seen more governments stumble into default, currencies suffer and double-digit losses in stocks and bonds alike - though many investors are optimistic that 2023 could bring some relief.

Below are the events, trends and topics investors expect to shape the outlook for emerging markets next year.

1. HIGH RATES, LOW GROWTH

A slowing pace of interest rate hikes in the United States and other major economies could set the stage for an emerging markets recovery in 2023, with a softer dollar and falling inflation providing much sought relief.

Developing economies are expected to cling to their growth differential over developed peers, but recession fears in the United States as well as Europe are casting a pall over global markets generally - especially in the first half of the year.

"The economic downturns along with the aggressive monetary tightening and geopolitical and commodity shocks that induce them will be temporarily painful in financial and emerging markets," said David Folkerts-Landau, group chief economist at Deutsche Bank.

Recovery could be delayed if emerging central banks lack room to lower interest rates for most part of the year.

2. CHINA REOPENING

China's reopening following its COVID-19 lockdowns will be bumpy, but making up nearly a fifth of global gross domestic product the prospect of a sharp upswing at a time of slow global growth is enticing.

Analysts expect a sharp pick-up in consumption and investment in the world's second-largest economy from mid-2023 onwards.

"If you look at the savings rate for China right now, it's very elevated," said Erik Zipf, head of emerging market equities at DuPont Capital. "We think that's going to get spent as soon as people feel comfortable to go out, that's going to provide a pretty big tailwind from an economic perspective."

3. WAR IN UKRAINE

Russia's invasion of Ukraine roiled markets and the world economy - and how the war progresses in 2023 could be no less important, whether that would be a continuation, escalation or progress towards finding a resolution.

Globally, the war has transformed energy markets and inflation pressures, food security and geopolitical risk perception - factors that are often more keenly felt in emerging economies. Emerging Europe has also felt the immediate humanitarian impact - from refugee movements to Russia's brain drain.

4. DEBT REWORKS

A growing list of countries are in debt distress in the wake of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine: Zambia and Ethiopia are trying to overhaul debt burdens under the Group of 20 Common Framework. Sri Lanka and Ghana defaulted in 2022.

But a more complex mix of creditors - including the emergence of China as the world's top bilateral lender - compared to previous episodes of debt distress have made proceedings slow and complex.

"To get them all singing the same song in the same key is quite challenging", said Tim Samples, associate professor of Legal Studies at the Terry College of Business.

The number of countries locked out of capital markets among smaller, riskier economies is at historic highs - though there might be a saving grace.

"There's not actually a lot of debt maturing next year," said Carmen Altenkirch, emerging markets sovereign analyst at Aviva Investors. "The country that's probably most at risk is Pakistan."

5. BRAZIL UNDER LULA 2.0

President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will take office on Jan. 1 with markets already looking for signals of a fiscal anchor to control spending in Latin America's largest economy.

Policymakers have highlighted inflationary risks arising from da Silva's 168 billion reais ($31.6 billion) spending proposal to meet campaign promises.

"Investors want to know if the debt-to-GDP in Brazil is explosive or under upward pressure, whether we're hitting 100% debt to GDP anytime soon, or we can stabilize it over the next two or three years," said Gordian Kemen, head of EM Sovereign Strategy (West) at Standard Chartered Bank.

6. TURKEY ELECTIONS

President Tayyip Erdogan could face the biggest political challenge of his two decades in power as Turks head to the ballot box in the most high-profile vote in emerging markets.

The country has grappled with surging living costs and a plunging currency, with the lira falling to a record low against the dollar TRYTOM=D3 in recent days. Years of unorthodox monetary policy have seen many investors cut exposure to the country's assets. A change in leadership could mark a stellar turnaround.

"This is potentially the most interesting story of 2023, one way or another," said David Hauner, head of EM Cross-Asset Strategy & Economics, EMEA, Bank of America Global Research.

7. CASTING A VOTE

A number of other emerging market countries face elections. Voters in Africa's most populous nation Nigeria choose their next president in February, with incumbent Muhammadu Buhari not taking part due to term limits.

In Latin America, Argentina will hold presidential elections in October. Two-time president and Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said she "would not be a candidate for anything" in the general vote, after an Argentine court sentenced her to six years in jail in a high-profile corruption case.

In Poland, an election expected in autumn might see voters ousting the country's ruling nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS), which could reshape Warsaw's tense relations with Brussels.

($1 = 5.3109 reais)

(Reporting by Karin Strohecher and Jorgelina do Rosario, additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

© Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Click For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

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What investors watch out for in emerging markets in 2023

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By Jorgelina do Rosario and Karin Strohecker LONDON, Dec 28 (Reuters) - It has been a rough 12 months for emerging markets that have seen more governments stumble into default, currencies suffer and double-digit losses in stocks and bonds alike - though many investors are optimistic that 2023 could bring some relief.

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The Netherlands has embarked on a far-reaching transformation of its agricultural sector as it pushes to cut nitrogen emissions and revive natural lands.

The country famous for being one of the world's biggest agriculture exporters no longer wants to prioritize exports, Minister for Nature and Nitrogen Policy Christianne van der Wal-Zeggelink said in an interview in her office in The Hague.

For months, the Netherlands has been engulfed by farmer protests after the government presented a nitrogen reduction target based on European Union regulations in June. If implemented, the government's plan would require cuts of as much as 95% in emissions in some provinces, halving total emissions by 2030. The plan could reduce livestock in the Netherlands by a third over the next eight years.

In November, Van der Wal-Zeggelink laid out plans to buy out 2,000-3,000 "peak emitters" near nature reserves, in an attempt to quell the fury of Dutch farmers. This "one-time buyout plan" will run from April until the end of next year and aims to convince as many farmers as possible to voluntarily quit their business. This will be the "most generous" arrangement the government will offer, she said, "a more generous arrangement will not follow after this one."

Van der Wal-Zeggelink has been in her post for nearly a year now and says she has a clear goal in mind.

"Dutch nature is in a really bad state," she said. "We have to develop a new agricultural system. One that our nature can carry, one in which we sustain a good quality of our water, and in which the agricultural sector contributes to our climate goals."

The Netherlands is the second-largest exporter of agricultural products, with estimated exports of 104.7 billion euros ($110 billion) in 2021, according to Wageningen University. Cattle and fertilizers are key sources of nitrogen emissions.

The shift will have consequences for Dutch exports, she acknowledged. She noted that 58% of the Netherlands is agricultural lands, but only 1.3% of GDP is linked to agricultural goods.

In order to reset the balance many farmers will have to quit their agricultural businesses, especially those located near nature reserves. That prospect has elicited months of farmer protests. They blocked highways, drove their tractors to parliament, and even visited Van der Wal-Zeggelink's home.

"I am happy we live in country in which people are allowed to protest, but the farmers have gone too far," said Van der Wal-Zeggelink. "They have overstepped the boundaries of the law, and they have overstepped a moral boundary by coming to my home."

Van der Wal-Zeggelink hopes her voluntary buyout plan will win the backing of enough farmers. But she already has a plan B: expropriation of the lands. The government will decide on next steps in the autumn of next year.

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Dutch no longer want to be one of world's top ag exporters

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The Netherlands has embarked on a far-reaching transformation of its agricultural sector as it pushes to cut nitrogen emissions and revive natural lands. The country famous for being one of the world's biggest agriculture exporters no longer wants to prioritize exports, Minister for Nature and Nitrogen Policy Christianne van der Wal-Zeggelink said in an interview in her office in The Hague.

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The Official Blog of Southern Loggin' Times Magazine by Hatton-Brown Publishers

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By All Around the Farm

Joseph Kasak found a solution when would forget to turn off the heater or lights in the shop when leaving. To solve the problem, he purchased a blank outlet plate and drilled six small holes to insert LED lights. After mounting the lights, he attached one leg of each of the six indicators together and connected those wires to the neutral bar on the electrical panel in the shop.

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By All Around the Farm Joseph Kasak found a solution when would forget to turn off the heater or lights in the shop when leaving. To solve the problem, he purchased a blank outlet plate and drilled six small holes to insert LED lights.

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Strong harvest-time commodity prices pushed farmer confidence to its highest level in 16 months, said a Purdue University poll of large operators released on Tuesday. The abrupt 24-point climb in the Ag Economy Barometer "was motivated by producers' stronger perception of current financial conditions on their farms," said agricultural economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier.

While producers said 2022 was a better year financially than 2021, in line with USDA estimates of record-high net farm income in 2022, their euphoria faded when asked about the new year.

"Producers indicated they expect financial performance in 2023 to fall," wrote Mintert and Langemeier, who oversee the barometer. "Rising costs and narrowing margins are key reasons."

The barometer, with a current reading of 126, is updated monthly, based on a telephone survey of 400 producers. The latest telephone survey was conducted from December 5-9.

USDA chief economist Seth Meyer said there were uncertainties about 2023, beyond the difficulty of achieving two years in a row of highest-ever income for the sector. "Will we see some moderation in commodity prices? Will there be continued concern about input prices?" said Meyer in a USDA Radio interview.

"Concerns about costs continue to be top of mind for producers when asked to look ahead," said the Purdue economists. Some 45% of producers said higher input costs were their top concern, followed by rising interest rates, 22%. Half of producers said they expected cash rental rates for farmland to be higher this year than in 2022.

Producers' assessment of their financial condition was sharply higher in the December survey than it was a month earlier. "The change in perception among producers regarding their farms' financial situation could be attributable to producers taking time to estimate their farms' 2022 income following the completion of the fall harvest," said Mintert and Langemeier.

The current barometer reading was the highest since 138 in August 2021. Purdue says it interviews operators with production worth at least $500,000 a year. USDA data say the largest 7.4% of U.S. farms top $500,000 in annual sales. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 5%.

The Ag Economy Barometer is available here.

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After year-end surge, farmers' financial confidence wavers

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Strong harvest-time commodity prices pushed farmer confidence to its highest level in 16 months, said a Purdue University poll of large operators released on Tuesday. The abrupt 24-point climb in the Ag Economy Barometer "was motivated by producers' stronger perception of current financial conditions on their farms," said agricultural economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier.

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https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/agriculture/our-insights/voice-of-the-us-farmer-in-2022-innovating-through-uncertainty

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Voice of the US farmer in 2022: Innovating through uncertainty

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A McKinsey survey shows that growers are embracing new products and technologies to manage market unpredictability.

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My sons wanted to choose their own Christmas tree this year, and not from a lot in town. They wanted to visit a farm, pick their tree, and chop it down.

Before moving here, I thought most Christmas trees were grown in the western part of the United States. Imagine my surprise to discover that North Carolina is number two in Christmas tree production. Our farmers grow over 16 million trees. And one of those was perfect for us.

We traveled to the western part of the state, which gets cold enough to grow Fraser Fir and other Christmas tree species. Our destination was Twin Pines Nursery, a family-owned farm that has been letting people choose their own tree for more than 40 years.

I met Olivia and Dustin Haigler when I judged the North Carolina Farm Bureau Excellence in Agriculture award, which they won. The couple moved to Olivia's family farm after graduating college. They are agriculture teachers and FFA advisors by day and help oversee the tree nursery, including planning and pruning and harvesting trees.

When we pulled up to the farm, the boys were ready to find the perfect tree. There were four fields to choose from and they looked at every tree in those fields. Of course, they didn't all agree on the same tree. The oldest had his eye on one tree and his younger brothers wanted another one. I left them to negotiate and guess who won?

If you said the younger two, you're right. The oldest may have given in because he was cold and wanted to stand beside the fire pit. Either way, we had a tree that someone else chopped down, although I think the youngest would have taken over the chainsaw if given the chance.

They are already asking to go back next year. Until then, they will sleep by the tree with visions of sugarplums dancing in their head.

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My sons wanted to choose their own Christmas tree this year, and not from a lot in town. They wanted to visit a farm, pick their tree, and chop it down. Before moving here, I thought most Christmas trees were grown in the western part of the United States.

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Extreme cold could wipe out portions of U.S. winter wheat crop - Brownfield Ag News

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An ag meteorologist says this week's extreme cold snap could cause irreversible damage to the nation's winter wheat crop. Matt Makens with CattleFax tells Brownfield wheat in parts of the Central and Western Plains don't have a protective layer of snow to defend against sub-zero temperatures.

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80 cattle worth $100,000 dollars went missing from Chicago
Agdaily.com is where you can find this

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biden defines upatream clean water laws

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Stepping ahead of a pending Supreme Court ruling, the Biden administration spelled out through a new regulation the upstream reach of water pollution laws, saying it would assure safe drinking water for Americans "while supporting agriculture, local economies, and downstream communities." Farm and home-builder groups, who helped stall an Obama-era definition of the "waters of the United States" (WOTUS), said the Biden WOTUS rule also was a regulatory nightmare built on murky interpretations of the law.

The new WOTUS rule would cover more waterways and wetlands than the narrower definition written by the Trump administration, which was overturned by a federal district court in 2021. The EPA said the new regulation, which would take effect in 60 days, covered the ground intended by Congress in the 1972 Clean Water Act - "territorial seas, interstate waters, as well as upstream water resources that significantly affect those waters."

"Following extensive stakeholder engagement, and building on what we've learned from previous rules, EPA is working to deliver a durable definition of WOTUS that safeguards our nation's waters, strengthens economic opportunity, and protects people's health while providing greater certainty for farmers, ranchers, and landowners," said EPA administrator Michael Regan in a joint announcement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Friday.

In a memorandum with USDA, the EPA, and the Corps of Engineers said cropland converted from wetlands would remain exempt from WOTUS regulation; the exemption was first codified in 1993.

Environmental groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council applauded the new WOTUS definition as "a step in the right direction," saying it would protect millions of miles of streams and tens of millions of acres of wetlands more than Trump's Navigable Waters Protection Rule. "The EPA's new rules will help protect the streams, wetlands, rivers, and lakes people and wildlife depend upon from pollution and other threats," said the National Wildlife Federation.

The Pacific Legal Foundation, which argued in the Supreme Court last fall for strict limits on the clean water law, said the administration should have waited for the court to rule. "The definition of the waters of the United States shift with each new presidential administration, providing property owners with no long-term clarity," said the foundation, an avowed foe of government overreach. It says the clean water law should apply only to waterways and adjacent wetlands with a surface connection to the waterways.

In 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that wetlands with a "significant nexus" to navigable waters were covered by the water pollution law. Courts have generally followed that rule since. Executive branch efforts to put it into regulation have been challenged repeatedly in court.

"EPA has doubled down on the old significant nexus test, creating more complicated regulations that will impose a quagmire of regulatory uncertainty on large areas of private farmland miles from the nearest navigable water," said the American Farm Bureau Federation in criticizing the Biden initiative. The National Association of Home Builders said the new WOTUS definition "will dramatically expand" the land subject to federal wetlands rules. "This definition of WOTUS adds uncertainty and confusion to the regulatory process, raises housing costs, and drastically increases federal overreach in the process," said the NAHB.

Rep. Glenn Thompson, the incoming chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said the Biden WOTUS definition was "an egregious government land grab. Simply recognizing long-standing agriculture exemptions that have been too narrowly applied for decades does not make up for, once again, plunging our rural communities into ambiguity."

The 1972 clean water law was directed toward the waters of the United States but Congress did not define them, leaving it to the EPA and the Corps of Engineers to define them through regulation.

When the Trump administration wrote its WOTUS definition, it said enforcement of the clean water law would be limited to oceans, rivers, core tributaries, and adjacent wetlands. Environmentalists said the move would leave half of U.S. wetlands and millions of miles of streams without protection from pollution.

The EPA website for WOTUS is available here.

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Biden administration defines upstream reach of clean water laws

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Stepping ahead of a pending Supreme Court ruling, the Biden administration spelled out through a new regulation the upstream reach of water pollution laws, saying it would assure safe drinking water for Americans "while supporting agriculture, local economies, and downstream communities."

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https://www.agriculture.com/news/three-big-things/3-big-things-today-january-3-2023

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Trading of corn futures, soybean futures, and wheat futures will resume this morning.

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https://www.agweb.com/news/crops/corn/ferrie-you-can-reduce-fertilizer-and-still-harvest-big-corn-yields-some-parameters

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Farmland prices go up 20%

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Buying a plot of land in rural America has never been so expensive. And that's even with soaring interest rates.

Rising commodity prices mean farmers made record amounts of money this year, spurring a rush for space to plant in 2023. More demand comes just as people fled to the countryside during the pandemic - with non-metropolitan areas growing faster than urban ones - and investors turned to fields as a hedge against inflation.

Farmland prices in the Midwest, the nation's breadbasket, jumped 20% just in the third quarter from a year earlier - bucking a downturn in the residential real estate market, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the National Association of Realtors. That was the eleventh consecutive quarter of gains, the longest streak since 2014.

Jim Schultz, who runs Open Prairie, a private-equity investment firm in central Illinois, believes farmland prices could double in the next 10 years. That's after the 13,000 acres he bought between 1987 and 1992 for $750 an acres are now worth 16 times more.

"I believe we're at the start of a decade-long trend," said Schultz, who says he has no interest in selling. "We sit in a very good position."

Growers across the U.S. are making more money as Russia's invasion of Ukraine chokes off supplies from a key producer of everything from corn to wheat and sunflower oil. Higher prices have boosted farmer profits to almost $161 billion this year, a 14% increase from 2021, the US Department of Agriculture estimates.

More demand for farmland coincides with pandemic-induced shifts in population. The number of people living in non-metro counties rose 0.3% in the 12 months ended in July 2021, the first time the growth in rural population outpaced that of urban areas since the mid-1990s, according to USDA.

Tom Halverson, chief executive officer of CoBank, a cooperative lender serving rural America, said the expansion of broadband and the ability to work from home helped fuel that shift.

"The reality is that for the first time in several decades, rural America is picking up population," he said on Bloomberg TV this month. "It's our hope and our expectation that this will be somehow structural, but it will be unevenly distributed across the country."

It has also become more attractive as owners seek to make money from the shift to clean energy. Demand for renewable diesel - made from vegetable oils but with identical chemical properties to the petroleum- based fuel - is expected to triple in the next five years, according to BloombergNEF.

Growers also have space for solar panels and wind turbines, with the number of farms with photovoltaic installations doubling in the five years to 2017, according to the most recent USDA census of agriculture. Still, farmland with renewables assets accounted only for 6.5% of the total, highlighting untapped potential.

Producers can also now gain from sequestering carbon, with the price Indigo Ag pays farmers for carbon doubling in the past two years.

To be sure, rising rates and a potential U.S. recession next year could still hit the farmland market. Prices for grade-A plots in Illinois could decline between 2% and 5% next year, according to Luke Worrell, a farmland broker in the state's town of Jacksonville.

"Between decreasing returns and higher interest rates, you're hitting your top two buyers of farmland. It's a one-two punch," Worrell said in an interview. "We've had a wild ride, but we'd be naive to think it will last forever. We have to prepare for a little softening."

Matthew Fitzgerald, who grows organic corn and soybeans with his family in McLeod County, Minnesota, said the biggest challenge for young farmers is the cost of land. He tapped a USDA program to expand his family's 200 acres to about 2,500 acres, and is partnering with agriculture-land investment platform AcreTrader, which purchases land that he then manages and co-invests in.

"With farmland prices at these levels, it's a total puzzle to figure out how to be competitive and how to acquire land," Fitzgerald, 31, said by phone. "Midwest commodity farming is a lot like the mafia - you have to know someone or have a lot of money."

In the long term, a growing global population coupled with a changing climate makes productive land in the Midwest integral to global food production.

Interest from outside investors is also on the rise. Farmland is considered a great hedge against inflation because the commodities it produces usually gain in value when overall prices rise.

"Land is a real asset," Gary Schnitkey, professor at the University of Illinois, said at a conference in Champaign. "Do you want to own a piece of dirt or cryptocurrency? It's a good way to diversify your asset pool."
With assistance from Tarso Veloso.

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U.S. farmland escapes real estate slump as prices soar

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Buying a plot of land in rural America has never been so expensive. And that's even with soaring interest rates. Rising commodity prices mean farmers made record amounts of money this year, spurring a rush for space to plant in 2023.

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China’s state-owned grains trader COFCO said a new joint venture it has set up with state stockpiler Sinograin to manage the country’s grain reserves will officially begin operations next month.

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Corn, soybean and wheat trading are closed Monday in observance of the New Year’s holiday.

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https://den.mercer.edu/professors-analysis-of-animal-agriculture-spurs-climate-change-research/

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A Mercer professor's research has sparked awareness and further investigation into the environmental impacts of animal agriculture. Most recently, the collective findings of Dr. Vasile Stănescu and other researchers were used for an article in The New York Times.

An associate professor and chair of the Department of Communication Studies and Theatre, Dr. Stănescu's training is in rhetoric. He studies the way people talk about animals and the natural world and often focuses on health and food studies.

"My interest isn't in figuring out the environmental footprint of the item itself; it's how we talk about it, how we report it, and how the media covers it," Dr. Stănescu said. "I've looked at invasive species populations, local meat, locavorism, climate change, and what I'm working on now is conversations around in vitro meat."

In 2019, Dr. Stănescu published a chapter in the book Climate Change Denial and Public Relations, edited by Dr. Núria Almiron of Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Spain. Titled " Cowgate," it was the first peer-reviewed publication to claim that Dr. Frank Mitloehner, a professor of animal science at the University of California, Davis, was misinterpreting the environmental effects of factory farms.

In 2006, the United Nations released a report called " Livestock's Long Shadow," which made news around the world and led to calls for changes in the way animals are raised and consumed, Dr. Stănescu said. Among its many findings, one claim was particularly shocking: The total number of greenhouse gas emissions from animal agriculture, 18%, was larger than emissions from transportation, 14%.

Dr. Mitloehner responded to the report with an article that argued the UN report was wrong, not because it had overcounted the amount of carbon released by animal agriculture, but because it had undercounted the emission by the transportation industry. In particular, the UN report had not included the whole life cycle analysis of the transportation industry, which evaluates the full environmental impact of a product from extraction to final disposal. Dr. Mitloehner's response made it appear that factory farms do not pollute as much as they actually do, Dr. Stănescu said.

"That was a good critique from him, but he proceeded to take this study and critique and go on media and wildly misrepresent his own research," he said.

Dr. Stănescu's chapter has since inspired additional research by other professors and agencies. Dr. Jennifer Jacquet and her team at New York University have been working on a follow-up, peer-reviewed article on the same topic.

They are looking at the "broader industry-wide movement from factory farms of skewing public discourse about environmental effects of factory farms to hide how bad it really was on the environment," Dr. Stănescu said. In addition, Dr. Jacquet wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post titled "The meat industry is doing exactly what Big Oil does to fight climate action."

"Dr. Stănescu demonstrated how eager the mainstream media was to cover 'a challenge' to the UN report that assessed livestock's contributions to climate change," Dr. Jacquet said. "Stănescu's chapter showed how effective these industry-funded challenges to mainstream scientific assessments can be, and also showed how complicit the media is - not a single reporter mentioned Mitloehner's industry funding."

The research by Dr. Stănescu and NYU has caught the attention of a variety of nonprofit organizations, including DeSmog and Greenpeace, spurring them to launch their own research projects. Greenpeace did a deep-dive investigation into Dr. Mitloehner and documented funding he received from the factory farm industry.

In October, this collective research was used in a New York Times article about Dr. Mitloehner titled "He's an Outspoken Defender of Meat. Industry Funds His Research, Files Show." Dr. Jacquet also cited Dr. Stănescu's work in her 2022 book The Playbook: How to Deny Science, Sell Lies, and Make a Killing in the Corporate World.

"My article, Dr. Jacquet's and her research team's scholarship, work from various nonprofits, and other researchers who got interested in the topic led to the full article in The New York Times about Frank Mitloehner and his research," Dr. Stănescu said. "I never expected this type of response. I was very pleased to see how the argument caught on with others."

Tactics of data misinterpretation or misrepresentation are not new. The tobacco industry used this strategy to downplay the health risks of cigarettes and the petroleum industry to de-emphasize oil's impact on climate change, he said.

"Dr. Stănescu's research on Dr. Frank Mitloehner shows how the animal agribusiness is literally copying the successful strategies earlier used by the tobacco and the oil industry to delay public awareness and policy action toward key issues," Dr. Almiron said. "In this case, what is delayed is the public recognition of the impact of animal agribusiness on the environment. The tactics used are mostly based on sowing doubt on the impact of animal agriculture with a narrative framed under a scientific facade. Dr. Stănescu's work unveils the key role of Dr. Frank Mitloehner in the building of this narrative."

Dr. Stănescu said he'll be able to use "Cowgate" and the subsequent research as a real-life example for his students during his environmental communication class next year.

"These rhetorical tactics hide what's really going on in the industry," Dr. Stănescu said. "That's what's happening with the factory farms. They're using these same tactics as the petroleum and the tobacco industry to confuse people as far as their environmental effects. I'd like our conversations to go back to that UN report and realize that 18% (of greenhouse gas emissions from animal agriculture) is still a large number. When we have numbers about climate change, we need to take seriously the effects of animal agriculture."

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Professor's analysis of animal agriculture spurs climate change research

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A Mercer professor's research has sparked awareness and further investigation into the environmental impacts of animal agriculture. Most recently, the collective findings of Dr. Vasile Stănescu and other researchers were used for an article in The New York Times. An associate professor and chair of the Department of Communication Studies and Theatre, Dr. Stănescu's training is in rhetoric.

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https://www.agriculture.com/machinery/construction-equipment/inflated-used-asking-prices-for-wheel-loaders

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Inflated used asking prices for wheel loaders

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Buyers have been gobbling up-late model used loaders, leading to inflated used asking prices or final bids that are sometimes double or triple what they were three to four years ago.

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https://www.agupdate.com/news/state-and-regional/midwest-soil-is-eroding-faster-than-ever-modern-farming-could-be-to-blame/article_a9e442ab-c825-5729-b9d2-3604bd586359.html#tracking-source=mp-news

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Midwest soil is eroding faster than ever. Modern farming could be to blame.

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Researchers studied stardust and found that the rate of soil erosion in the Midwest is 10 to 1,000 times greater than it was before modern agriculture practices.

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Farms are beginning to recover from Covid-19. 19 hog farms saw no change while 11 increased in size and 7 decreased.

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Pork Powerhouses 2021: Bouncing Back From COVID-19

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The largest U.S. hog farms begin recovery from the pandemic.

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Colorado authorities are searching for 80 head of cattle that went missing from Baca County, Colorado, in early December - totaling roughly two tractor-trailer loads and worth about $100,000.

The missing cattle belong to 65-year-old Steve McEndree, a fourth-generation rancher. McKendree raises cattle on an 18,000-acre ranch 30 miles northwest of Springfield. A Facebook post made by the Colorado rancher has been circulating heavily in various regional agricultural and missing animals groups.

According to KRDO, a Colorado Springs-based TV station, McKendree waited to report his cattle absent until he'd verified they had not wandered onto neighboring properties, even hiring an airplane to search for the missing portion of his herd.

"It's going to tighten our belts a little bit. We'll have to cut some stuff out, put retirement out a few years, maybe, four to five," McEndree told KRDO.

Their location near corrals on their property may have made them an easy target as well as a full moon followed by wind that would have covered any would-be thieves tracks.

The cattle are primarily black, spring-bred females with predominantly blue Y-tex tags and the brand SJM connected or the Lazy TC connected followed by a quarter circle. McEndree has said that he didn't have insurance on the animals.

Colorado's Operation Livestock Thief program is now offering an award of up to $2,500 for information leading to the conviction of the cattle thieves. An additional $2,000 is being offered by the Bent Prowers Cattle and Horse Growers' Association.

Surrounding states have been informed of the theft. All leads should be reported to the Baca County Sheriff's Office.

" Related: Trust your neighbor, but brand your cattle

In a comment on social media, McEndree doled out a public admonishment to the unnamed person who gave an apparent false or misleading tip in the case.

"You not only hurt the people who you reported, but you hurt my family!!! This is our life and not a game for you to cause hurt and pain for others!!!," he said in the comment.

Per Colorado Law, anyone caught in the act of cattle rustling will receive up to a Class 4 felony charge.

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80 head of Colorado cattle worth $100,000 missing since December | AGDAILY

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Colorado authorities are searching for 80 head of cattle that went missing from Baca County, Colorado, in early December - totaling roughly two tractor-trailer loads and worth about $100,000. The missing cattle belong to 65-year-old Steve McEndree, a fourth-generation rancher. McKendree raises cattle on an 18,000-acre ranch 30 miles northwest of Springfield.

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Corn, soybean and wheat trading are closed Monday in observance of the New Year’s holiday.

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With varying perspectives, the pharmaceutical industry, the Canadian Pork Council and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker hope to influence the Supreme Court in deciding whether an animal welfare law approved by California voters is an unconstitutional burden on the rest of America. The pork industry and the Justice Department say it is.

Justices scheduled oral arguments on California's Proposition 12 for Tuesday morning. A decision could be months away. The Humane Society of the United States says Prop 12 "is the strongest law in the world addressing farm animal confinement."

An array of interests are trying, through four dozen friend-of-the-court briefs, to bend the court's interpretation of the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution - the key question in the case - in their direction or to catch a ride on the winning side. Pharmaceutical companies, for example, said legislators increasingly have enacted laws that handicap marketing nationwide despite being avowedly limited to individual states, just as California says its law affects no one else.

"PhARMA is currently involved in litigation challenging two such laws, enacted by California and Oregon," said the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America in its "amicus curiae" brief. The states require advance notice of some price increases, which effectively freezes prices nationwide during the waiting period because federal law says prices must be the same in all states, said the trade group.

Passed by a 3-to-2 margin in a 2018 statewide referendum, Proposition 12 requires California farmers to give more room to sows and egg-laying hens. And it bars the sale of eggs and pork produced on farms outside the state that do not match California's standards, which say each sow should have 24 square feet of space to move about. The requirement precludes the use of sow crates, which are common on hog farms and greatly limit a sow's movements.

The pork industry says the Prop 12 carries a national impact: Hog farmers across the country will be forced to remodel their pig barns at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars and consumers everywhere will pay for it in higher meat prices because it would be unduly expensive to produce pork exclusively for the California market.

Groups with a national or international market argued for uniformity in regulation, with an eye to their fields of operation.

"Proposition 12, if allowed to stand, may embolden other states to regulate beyond their borders, resulting in a complex web of inconsistent and competing extraterritorial regulations in the agriculture, food and other industries," said the National Association of Manufacturers, joined by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the National Federation of Independent Business. "Allowing states to impose their own policy preferences...will fracture national markets into regional and local affairs."

"More broadly, if Proposition 12 stands, California and other states commanding large market shares will be able to impose their notions of sound public policy on the people of other states," said the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "States are limited to laws affecting the health, safety or welfare of their own citizens."

The Canadian Pork Council, representing pork producers in Canada, joined by OPORMEX, a similar group in Mexico, and the Illinois Pork Producers Association, said the California law reached across national borders. "Canada is the third-largest pork exporter in the world and Canadian farmers export to the United States significant amounts of finished pork products and live hogs," said the groups.

The hog industry is the bully, not the victim, said animal welfare groups in defending Proposition 12. "What petitioners are asking this court to do is to strike down a law democratically enacted by the most populous state with the largest economy in the Union to financially benefit a handful of giant food conglomerates - two of the largest of which are foreign-owned," said five groups, including SPCA International. If the Supreme Court "scorns the clear will of California voters, it also imperils a wide range of other state laws expressing citizens' and state legislatures' political wills."

Regulation of interstate commerce "is a decisively legislative matter," and Congress is better equipped than courts to do the job, said Sen. Booker, a member of the Senate Judiciary and Agriculture committee. Challengers of Prop 12 were trying "to create a new constitutional privilege for their preferred methods of operation," said the brief filed on his behalf.

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Piggybacking onto a Supreme Court case over hogs

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With varying perspectives, the pharmaceutical industry, the Canadian Pork Council and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker hope to influence the Supreme Court in deciding whether an animal welfare law approved by California voters is an unconstitutional burden on the rest of America. The pork industry and the Justice Department say it is.

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By Tim Carpenter

TOPEKA - The state of Kansas will enter the new year adhering to the October drought declaration issued by Gov. Laura Kelly covering all 105 counties.

Kelly's order was based on a drought map that placed 67 counties on emergency status, assigned 11 counties to warning status and left 27 counties on watch status. Her action was in response to severe drought associated with a dry spring, hot summer and anticipated above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation throughout Kansas into December.

Connie Owen, director of the Kansas Water Office and chairwoman of the governor's disaster response team, said conditions hadn't changed sufficiently to warrant modification of the executive order issued Oct. 6.

"The Kansas Water Office continually watches the U.S. Drought Monitor and other scientific sources to determine when modifications of the current drought declaration may be appropriate," Owen said.

The National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska reported drought conditions in the past four weeks had worsened in portions of northwest and western Kansas and improved in eastern Kansas along the border with Missouri. The U.S. Drought Monitor showed a broad swath of southern Kansas to be in "exceptional" drought as of Dec. 27.

Kelly said she would make water policy a top priority in her second term as governor and would not allow policy decisions about conservation to be kicked further down the road.

In mid-December, the Kansas Water Authority voted to recommend to the governor and 2023 Legislature that Kansas abandon a philosophy of "planned depletion" of the Ogallala Aquifer. The massive underground water reservoir has propelled irrigation of crops for three-quarters of a century.

Drought was significant enough in Kansas that 85 counties became eligible for the assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's livestock forage program. The declaration provided access to millions of dollars in cash assistance to ranchers in severe, extreme or exceptional drought.

The Kansas Farm Service Agency processed 7,700 applications for relief totaling more than $45 million by the end of October. The same program paid out $1 million in the previous fiscal year ending in October 2021 when drought was generally confined to northwest Kansas.

Image: The Kansas River near Lawrence runs low. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

The Kansas Reflector is part of the States Newsroom, a network of similar news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

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Kansas' drought emergency order to remain in place as calendar flips to 2023

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By Tim Carpenter TOPEKA - The state of Kansas will enter the new year adhering to the October drought declaration issued by Gov. Laura Kelly covering all 105 counties. Kelly's order was based on a drought map that placed 67 counties on emergency status, assigned 11 counties to warning status and left 27 counties on watch status.

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https://www.agriculture.com/news?page=2

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Find the latest ag news, including updates on farm policy, business, machinery, and technology. This section also covers crop news for corn, soybeans, and wheat as well as livestock updates on cattle, hogs, and poultry.

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A Minnesota program helps farmers clean up water and conserve resources.