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Shop around to fill up your tank for less during Renewable Fuels Month

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The governor has designated May as Renewable Fuels Month in Nebraska.

State Ethanol Board administrator Todd Sneller says events are underway all month to promote the industry with special discounts on various fuels like E-15, E-30 and E-85.

“So the consumers can become accustomed to finding these outlets easily, making sure they understand the benefits of using these fuels and at least during a short period of time, providing price discounts and other promotional activity that will encourage their focus on these fuels,” Sneller says.

The board is also targeting consumers in the Omaha metro area to show them the environmental and economic benefits of renewable fuels.

“We’ve got a variety of fuel options for consumers at the pump but we’re going that even one better,
Sneller says. “We’re working with local non-profit organizations that promote the environment, clean air and public health benefits of using biofuels in those areas like the Metro Market that has some potential concerns about pollution.”

Sneller says the state’s 25 ethanol plants have a significant economic impact on the entire state.

“About $200-million has been spent on new projects to provide some modest increases in productivity at the plants to provide some increases in volume output,” Sneller says. “We’re seeing food, feed, fiber and fuel products coming out of a number of new locations as a result of partnerships with different bioindustries that use those ethanol campuses.”

Ethanol is currently blended with 90% of all fuel in Nebraska. The industry directly employs more than 1,300 people in the state with an average salary of more than $50,000.

Nebraska is the nation’s #2 ethanol producer, behind only Iowa.

Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton

 

Groundbreaking soon on Costco chicken plant in Fremont

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A major retailer is finalizing plans for a large production facility in eastern Nebraska.

A $280-million chicken processing operation to be built in Fremont has won final approval from officials at Costco.

The facility will include a feed mill and hatchery in addition to the production factory.

Construction should start soon with a formal groundbreaking scheduled for next month.

Backers of the plant say it’ll be a boon for area chicken farmers though opponents complain the industry treats those farmers like a disposable resource.

The plant should be in operation in April of 2019. Annual economic impact for the region could exceed $1.2 billion.

 

Holt County hog farmers are first to win conservation award

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Two brothers who run a hog farm in north-central Nebraska’s Holt County are being recognized for their environmental efforts.

Kurt and Wayne Kaup run K & W Farms in Stuart and they’re the first pork producers to win the Leopold Conservation Award.

Wayne Kaup says they’re committed to running their operation properly.

“Our business was built off teamwork, respect for the land, respect for our animals, character and integrity, doing what’s right when nobody’s watching,” Wayne Kaup says. “That all falls back to taking care of everything and doing it in the best way we can.”

The 11th annual award is presented by the Nebraska Cattlemen Association and the Sand County Foundation.

Kurt Kaup says he’s grateful for receiving the award and he thanked God for their land.

“It’s an honor to have it and take care of it and I felt it’s pretty fragile ground and we’re blessed with it for a reason,” Kurt Kaup says. “We’re going to continue to take good care of it and pass that legacy on to the second generation, instill that in their minds, what it means to take care of the land so it’s there for future generations, also.”

The Kaups raise hogs, grow crops and implement “no till” farming strategies combined with cover crops to improve the soil, reduce erosion and recycle nutrients.

They also plant shelter belts and leave food plots for wildlife. In addition, there’s a cold-water trout pond running through their farm.

By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton

 

Beef remains king in Nebraska, and state officials see room for growth

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Agriculture Dir. Greg Ibach speaks during the governor’s proclamation making May Beef Month in Nebraska.

Beef is the top industry in Nebraska, but state officials say there remains room for growth.

Gov. Pete Ricketts signed a proclamation making May Beef Month in Nebraska during a ceremony in his office.

Nebraska ranks first among the states in beef exports with a total export value last year topping one billion dollars. It is the top state in cattle on feed as well as commercial cattle slaughter. Nebraska ranks second in cow-calf operations.

State Agriculture Director Greg Ibach says the University of Nebraska Animal Science Department is leading research in how to increase the amount of food available to cattle to increase herds in the state.

Work is underway on the federal level to open more markets for American beef, with an eye to China.

Ricketts says the beef industry should benefit greatly once former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad officially becomes the United States Ambassador to China. Ricketts says he met recently with Branstad and talked trade.

“And in our conversation about that, we specifically talked about getting the beef trade open and him making that one of his priorities as a new ambassador over there,” according to Ricketts.

Japan is the largest importer of Nebraska beef, buying $316 million worth of beef last year. South Korea is second with Mexico third.

China would represent a huge market, according to Ibach says the announcement last fall by Chinese officials that they are ready to open their markets to United States beef again is encouraging.

“We were very close last fall, but couldn’t get it over the finish line,” Ibach says, adding that the USDA has rekindled those talks, which should help re-open a huge market.

 

 

 

Part of Nebraska’s winter wheat crop is still buried under snow

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Photo by University of Nebraska - Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Damage to the state’s winter wheat crop is still being assessed after last weekend’s snowstorm.

Caroline Brauer, executive director of the Nebraska Wheat Growers Association, says the early spring snow came at an unfortunate time for many growers.

“The highest levels of snowfall we saw were in the southwest region,” Brauer says. “They got up to eight inches of snow, parts of the Panhandle saw anywhere from one to four inches. Eastern Nebraska saw some decent rainfall but didn’t get any snow damage.”

Brauer says some fields are still buried under a white blanket, so it’s unclear how bad off the wheat may be.

“What we’re waiting to see right now is whether there will be any major damage to tillers,” Brauer says. “With the colder temperatures, the snow hasn’t melted yet so it’s unclear exactly what the extent of the damage will be at this point.”

Brauer says some areas may have dodged the bullet.

“In parts of the northern Panhandle, the crop was in an earlier stage of growth,” she says. “It wasn’t as tall so we’re thinking the crop up there will likely weather the damage a little better. It’s parts of the southwest where the eight inches they reported were heavy and wet. There’s the potential there for some tillering damage.”

Brauer says it may well be next week before they know how much damage is out there.

Reporting by Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton

 

County assessor: Proposed tax change will scarcely help farmers

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Questions arise over how much benefit ag land owners will really see from tax revamp.

While the Unicameral considers changing how agricultural land is assessed for property tax purposes, one critic says it’ll have little impact on farmers’ tax bills.

Cedar County Assessor Donald Hoesing says any changes enacted in Lincoln won’t significantly lower taxes, especially in rural counties.

“Because we’re ag land counties, the ag land is still going to bear the brunt of the tax load no matter which way you go,” Hoesing says. “If they change how we value it and say the value goes down, the tax request doesn’t go down as well. The taxes will remain the same. The levy will be adjusted.”

Hoesing says there’s still precious little information coming from the capitol about how the changes would be implemented.

“They don’t really have a refined idea yet of how it’s going to work or who would come up with the equation as far as the income approach,” Hoesing says. “From what we’ve heard, it would be arrived at in Lincoln and then sent out to the counties and then we’d have to adjust, according to our own county, how we applied that equation.”

As long as the spending requests remain the same, Hoesing says landowners will likely end up paying about the same amount in property taxes.

“It just doesn’t appear to any of us assessors like that’s the answer, Hoesing says, “because when most of your tax base is ag land, it’s still going to carry the load no matter how they want to value it.”

The property tax changes are attached to a bill proposed by Governor Pete Ricketts that also aims to reform income taxes.

By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton

Ethanol producers hope for ally in Trump White House, EPA

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A leader in the biofuels industry says the jury is still out on the Trump administration’s attitude toward biodiesel and ethanol.

Doug Durante, executive director of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition, says the industry is still trying to figure out how to deal with the new administration.

Durante says the ethanol industry’s argument that ethanol use reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps clean the air doesn’t resonate with the Trump team.

“This is not a pro-renewable energy administration,” Durante says. “They make no bones about it, this isn’t a secret.”

According to Durante, the Trump administration is “very skeptical about climate change,” so reducing carbon emissions isn’t a priority. Durante is hopeful Trump’s EPA will be easier to work with on regulatory issues.

“That the EPA will be more inclined, under this administration, to look at things differently…because it hasn’t been good for us in the past,” Durante says. “If they reinterpret some of these things and accept new data and listen to what we’re telling them, that part I believe is going to be very good. So from that standpoint, I’m encouraged.”

Last month, new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt set up a task force to review existing EPA regulations and invited public comments.

Brian Jennings, executive vice president of the American Coalition for Ethanol, says the top priority for his group is having the EPA revise emissions standards to allow E-15 and higher ethanol blends to be sold year-round.

“Today, in most parts of the country, retailers are now allowed to sell E-15 in the summer months. That’s because EPA has refused to update a regulation regarding evaporative emissions for fuel,” Jennings says.

An update of that regulation, Jennings says, would increase demand for ethanol production and higher ethanol blends, which could help increase the price of corn.

“We all know we’re sitting on surplus stocks of corn today and low corn prices. So at the end of the day, this is about increasing demand for corn and providing a valuable market for farmers,” Jennings says.

The deadline to submit comments to the EPA on its regulatory review is May 15th.

Nebraska is the nation’s number-two ethanol producer, behind only Iowa. There are 24 ethanol plants in Nebraska that produce a combined total of more than two-billion gallons each year.

Reporting by Ken Anderson, Andrew Flinn and Julie Harker, of Brownfield Ag News

 

Lawmakers consider Brand Committee reserves to offset budget shortfall

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There’s growing fear state senators are plotting to “raid” the Nebraska Brand Committee’s coffers to help balance the state budget.

Troy Stowater, president of the Nebraska Cattlemen Association, says the Brand Committee is self-funded through producer fees, not taxes. He says if lawmakers take Brand Committee funds, it will exhaust resources.

“Appropriations tried to appropriate a half-million dollars from the Brand Committee’s cash reserves,” Stowater says. “They do have adequate cash reserves at this time. Throughout the year, this is their peak and as they head into August, the amount they were considering appropriating left them basically with no cash reserves.”

He says it’s not right for the legislature to take those funds that were collected as fees.

“Initially, it was a half-million dollars they were trying to grab,” Stowater says. “They reduced that by $400,000 down to $100,000. A dollar is too much. If they took, $100,000, could they function? Yeah, but it sets a dangerous, dangerous, dangerous precedent. What it says is, all of you agencies out here, operate with no cash reserves because you never know on a rainy day when somebody’s going to come along and sweep you.”

Debate on the budget is expected to begin today and Stowater says his group will be making its case at the Unicameral.

“We’re going to be on top of it,” Stowater says. “Unfortunately, these things, unless you have somebody whispering in your ear, you don’t know (the funds) have been appropriated. We’re fortunate that they said hey, somebody’s trying to tap into those dollars.”

Stowater says depending on the amount taken from Brand Committee funds, the agency might not be able to meet its financial obligations and stay in compliance with current Nebraska brand laws.

By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton

 

USDA Acting Under Secretary Bartuska visits Omaha urban farm program

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Congressman Don Bacon speaks with USDA Acting Under Secretary Ann Bartuska

U.S. Department of Agriculture Acting Under Secretary Ann Bartuska and Congressman Don Bacon today toured an Omaha urban agriculture program that is the product of a partnership between the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, University of Nebraska - Lincoln Extension and the Omaha Home for Boys.

The two joined other dignitaries on a tour at the Cooper Memorial Farm at 86th and Mormon Bridge Road. This program offers hands-on learning for young people and adults interested in obtaining skills for employment in agriculture or for starting their own enterprise. They were also joined by a group of Bryan High School students involved in their Urban Agriculture and Natural Resources Academy.

Dr. Bartuska says, “A growing interest in urban agriculture is generating creative approaches to growing fruits, vegetables and ornamentals in urban settings while also spurring economic development and developing a new generation of farmers. This remarkable partnership in Omaha has produced a program that not only holds promise for Nebraskans but can serve as an example for other cities.”

Through this partnership, young adults at the Omaha Home for Boys get a hands-on experience of raising food for their own table and for others. They have several large gardens and grow produce that is sold at farmers markets and for retail sales. They also get experience with livestock by raising cattle and chickens.

Congressman Bacon says, “This program offers an incredible opportunity for our youth to boost their knowledge and learn about the limitless career opportunities that are now available through agriculture involving technology, biology, economics and financial services.”

Farm group lobbies Unicameral for more property tax relief

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The Unicameral will soon debate tax relief legislation and one measure would bring state income tax relief but little relief from property taxes, which is a big worry for several farm groups.

Ansley Mick, government relations director for the Nebraska Farm Bureau, says it’s disappointing there’s not much in LB-461 to target property taxes.

“I know at one point, Senator Watermeier said, ‘This has to be 10-to-1 property taxes to income taxes or it’s not going anywhere’,” Mick says. “He’s been pretty strong about that and we have a lot of allies that have been really strong about that. Unfortunately, 461 is 10-to-1 income to property.”

Mick says some senators, along with Governor Pete Ricketts, are focused on income tax relief due to its impact on economic development. Mick says reducing property taxes could be more beneficial.

She says Nebraska’s property taxes are the 5th or 7th highest in the nation, depending on which rankings are used. Mick says property taxes are a disincentive to economic development.

“That’s the one that’s suffocating people right now and that’s what we hear about,” Mick says. “It’s disappointing to see these numbers. We’re all for improving the tax climate in good years. We want to be able to lower income taxes. We want to be able to help folks out on all of those fronts but there’s one priority when you travel the state and when you talk to folks. It’s clear what they’re asking for.”

Mick says her group will work with other organizations to try and convince senators to include more property tax relief in the legislation.

“Farm Bureau is part of a number of coalitions and we also have the agriculture leaders working group that we’ll be working with,” Mick says. “We are willing to sit down and try to make these bills better and get a win.”

Mick says LB-461 is up for full Senate debate on April 21st.

By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton