Heroes in the heartland

On Aug. 28, the EPA approved the first bee-distributed organic pesticide for the U.S. market—a powder branded as “Vectorite” that contains the spores of a naturally occurring fungus called CR-7. The compound is completely harmless to its host plant but acts as a hostile competitor to other fungi. It has been approved for commercial growers of flowering crops such as blueberries, strawberries, almonds and tomatoes.

A Canadian company, Bee Vectoring Technologies, devised the system, which involves placing small trays of CR-7 inside bee hives. The bees walk over the trays while in the hive, and the CR-7 attaches to their bodies. When they fly out to pollinate plants, the bees leave traces of the fungal compound everywhere they go. Both bumblebees and honeybees are capable of spreading Vectorite up to 400 yards from their hive.

Once it’s delivered by the bees, CR-7 quickly embeds itself within the plant, establishing a natural defense system against common diseases such as gray mold, white mold, early potato blight, black rot on citrus and other fungus-based crop problems.

EPA’s published statement on the approval says there is no evidence that CR-7 is unsafe to either humans or the environment and also creates a tolerance exemption, which means there is no requirement to test crops for CR-7 residue on food.

The bee-delivered pesticide is already being marketed for U.S. strawberry and blueberry crops grown in the fall and winter, and the technology is being tested on sunflower crops in the Dakotas.
The importance of soil health is being highlighted in a new series of 10-to-15-minute, science-centered “PED Talks” on YouTube designed to engage and educate a wide range of audiences on the topic.

Inspired by similarly named “TED Talks,” the soil health series addresses progress that’s being made to ensure the healthy soils necessary to feed, clothe and fuel the world in the future. Soil peds, by the way, are aggregated particles of sand, silt, clay and organic matter.

Five inaugural PED Talks are now available, including a video introduction from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Matt Lohr and presentations by experts from other partnering organizations.

“People say that clean water is the key to life on the planet, but the very same thing can be said about healthy soil—it is literally the foundation to productive agriculture, balanced wildlife habitats and an overall healthy environment,” Lohr said. “These PED Talks are not only useful for our nation’s agricultural producers, but also for our educators, policy makers and the general public. We all benefit from good soil health.”

The PED Talks series was created by NRCS along with the Conservation Technology Information Center, Soil Health Institute, Soil Health Partnership, Soil Science Society of America and Soil and Water Conservation Society. The partners plan to record additional presentations and release them on the PED Talks YouTube channel, with a focus on the next generation of scientists and farmers.

View the PED Talks at http://bit.ly/PEDtalks.
Missouri FFA members were awarded 520 American FFA Degrees at the 92nd National FFA Convention, held Oct. 30 through Nov. 2 in Indianapolis. That’s the most recipients of any state earning the organization’s highest individual honor in 2019.

The awards were among many earned by Missouri FFA members, past and present. Among them were Dr. Alan Wessler, retired MFA Incorporated Vice President of Feed Operations and Animal Health, who was presented with an Honorary American FFA Degree. The recognition is given to people who have provided exceptional service on a national level to agriculture, agricultural education or FFA. Six others from Missouri also received honorary degrees: Jackie Carlson, Scott Gardner, David Higgins, Jill Nagel, Diane Olsen and Jon Wilson.

Troy FFA was also recognized as the National Premier Chapter winner for “Building Communities,” based on its campaign to promote organ donor registration to members and supporters. Troy FFA members used social media, videos and presentations to encourage enrollment in the program while educating others on the importance of organ donations. The chapter signed up more than 1,000 people to the registry.

The Sweet Springs FFA chapter was named among the top 10 in the nation in the Premier Chapter’s “Strengthening Agriculture” Division.

Two youth captured national championships in Agricultural Proficiency: Amelia Liebhart (Bucklin FFA, diversified livestock production) and Kylynn Mallen (Cameron FFA, nursery operations). The North Shelby FFA team also took first place in the agriculture mechanics category of Career and Leadership Development Events.

During the 2019 convention, the national FFA organization announced that it now has record student enrollment of more than 700,000 members, up from 669,989 in 2018. Missouri is among the top six student membership states.

A full list of this year’s award recipients is available at www.ffa.org/event-results.
On Sept. 18, MFA presented the University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute with grants totaling $26,000 from the MFA Charitable Foundation and CoBank. The money will be used to train and equip volunteer fire departments in rural areas to save lives and protect property.

“While no fire department has all the funding necessary, rural departments often struggle the most,” said Kevin Zumwaldt, MU FRTI director. “Even the smallest amount can make a big difference. Over 80% of Missouri’s firefighters are volunteer, and many do not have a dedicated funding source, depending solely on donations.”

The MFA Charitable Foundation has a long history of fulfilling donation requests made by fire departments across Missouri but lacks the expertise to determine their true needs. In this first-of-its-kind program, MFA and CoBank will provide the funding and allow MU FRTI to manage the program.

The goal is to award grants in each of the nine Fire Mutual Aid Regions in Missouri. Each award recipient must provide a 50% match. More than 30 proposals had been submitted by mid-October, with the application period closing Oct. 31.
Proposed rules for the Missouri Industrial Hemp Program have been posted, and applications for interested producers are expected to be available in early December.

The rules will amend existing regulations and transition the legal growth of industrial hemp in the Show-Me State from a pilot research program to a commercially regulated industry. A public comment period will be available on the Missouri Department of Agriculture website until Dec. 1. Missouri’s final rules will incorporate citizen feedback from this process as well as federal regulatory guidance from the USDA.

Department officials anticipate that applications for the program will be made available as a fillable PDF in early December, after the comment period closes. The program is structured in two parts: registration for those who want to produce hemp and permits for those who want to sell or distribute hemp plant materials or seed to registered producers or other permit holders.

The proposed rules, additional resources and frequently asked questions are online at Agriculture.Mo.Gov/plants/industrial-hemp.
Concerns over trade policy, weather and African swine fever dominated agricultural markets last quarter, causing greater uncertainty among producers, supply chains and end users, according to the latest Quarterly Rural Economic Review from the CoBank Knowledge Exchange division.

Trade negotiation breakthroughs have largely remained elusive and the U.S. agricultural sector is in the midst of its second consecutive harvest under the shadow of hefty tariffs. Lower feed prices, however, are aiding animal protein and dairy margins.

“Global trade tensions are ratcheting up as world economic growth slows,” said Dan Kowalski, vice president of the Knowledge Exchange. “However, the new trade deal struck between the U.S. and Japan is a bright spot and will bolster U.S. agriculture’s competitiveness into a key export destination.”

The historically late planting of the corn crop cast a long shadow through the quarter with extremely volatile cash corn prices. End users such as ethanol producers and livestock feeders bid old-crop corn supplies higher in anticipation of a short harvest this fall, with prices falling back to levels seen prior to spring planting.

Farmers continue to hold on to old-crop corn supplies in hopes that prices will recover in the months ahead on local supply shortages. But globally, grain stocks remain ample and are widely expected to dull any significant rallies in corn if harvest reports confirm a smaller-than-expected U.S. crop.

Soybean prices surged late last quarter based on fears of delayed maturity of the U.S. soybean crop and hopes of resuming China market access. In a sign of good faith ahead of negotiations, which resumed in October, China exempted U.S. soybeans from additional tariffs.

The already volatile U.S. animal protein markets have gotten even more so in the third quarter. The impact of African swine fever on global pork supplies is just beginning to be felt in the United States. Trade volume is expanding and will begin to yield benefits to producers across the meat and poultry industries. The new trade deal with Japan also lifts hopes of renewed exports, particularly for U.S. beef and pork.

Fertilizer prices have stabilized after falling throughout the summer. Warehouse fertilizer inventories in the Corn Belt remain oversupplied following this year’s unseasonably wet weather that caused a sharp reduction in planted acreage.

The full report is available at cobank.com.