A five-minute summary of AAI, regulation, and industry activities for members of the largest state agribusiness association in the nation.
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REMINDER:
The main office in Des Moines is closed to visitors. AAI staff is still available to help you with your member needs via phone or email. Phones are still being answered during normal business hours. If you'd like to reach a specific member of the staff please visit our
staff listing
online.
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AAI Member
The AAI office is closed on Monday, May 25 to observe the Memorial Day holiday. Normal business hours will resume on Tuesday, May 26. Please have a safe and happy holiday weekend.
AAI Staff & Board Members
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AAI Encourages Members to Take Advantage of Drive Up Testing
Opportunities Across the State for Staff Needing Commercial Pesticide Applicator Certification
Members with staff who need commercial pesticide applicator certification are encouraged to take full advantage of the drive-up testing option. Session will take place at various locations across the state.
The next set of sessions will take place next week on Thursday, May 28, 2020:
- Fort Dodge: 9:00 AM | 11:00 AM | 1:00 PM
- Des Moines: 9:00 AM | 11:00 AM | 1:00 PM
- Iowa City: 9:00 AM | 11:00 AM | 1:00 PM
The testing sessions provide the opportunity to acquire any of the certifications needed for commercial pesticide applicators including aerial applications and crop applications.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) has said they will maintain frequent opportunities as long as participation remains high, but will reduce the number of sessions offered once it is determined Commercial Pesticide Applicator testing has met the seasonal demand.
Thank you to IDALS, Secretary Mike Naig, and Deputy Secretary Julie Kenney for their work to help our members with the certification issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Ethanol Production Ticks Up Slightly; Naig Calls CFAP “Good First Step”
Ethanol has begun a slow march toward resuming production in the state. During the Secretary of Agriculture’s Crop Production Teleconference, Chad Hart reported that roughly 10 percent of the ethanol production lost this year has come back online. Hart also said ethanol supply is starting to diminish as fuel use begins to increase. Both factors should help to make it possible for ethanol plants to begin to resume some level of operation going forward, though it is expected to be a long, slow process.
Also on a slow increase are packing plant operations which are running at around 75 percent nationally for beef and close to 72 percent for pork. Extra weekend slaughter is helping the overall picture, though Monday’s holiday is likely to maintain current levels next week.
The USDA Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) came as a welcome announcement for farmers this week, though members reported during the meeting that there is some confusion among their customers about the program. Secretary Naig called it a good first step that will provide help to a lot of Iowa farmers, but continues to advocate for support that includes eggs, ethanol, and turkey.
It was also noted that IDALS has completed the processing of the backlog of paper applications for commercial pesticide certifications. During the call, AAI CEO Joel Brinkmeyer thanked the secretary and his staff for working diligently to help make sure applicators can operate this season.
The weekly Crop Production Teleconference takes place on Thursdays and includes AAI staff, AAI members, and other drop production related associations. If you have questions or concerns that need to be addressed, contact Joel Brinkmeyer
jbrinkmeyer@agribiz.org or call the Home Office at 515-262-8323.
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Keep Field Workers Safe During the 2020 Growing Season
The state of Iowa has provided guidance for keeping field workers safe during the 2020 growing season in response to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of the guidelines involve additional physical separation through spacing or barriers as well as additional cleaning protocols. The full document can be found
here.
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CISA Releases Updated Guidance on Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19
On May 19, 2020, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released version 3.1 of its Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce. Version 3.1 provides clarity around many individual worker categories, including expanded language for those workers supporting at-risk communities and the essential nature of health facility workers in communities across the country. The revision also includes updated language to better reflect terminology used in food and agriculture industries and includes other minor technical adjustments. Further, it addresses changes in the daily lives and routines driven by COVID, adding as essential those who enable telehealth and the availability and sale of goods and services to enable home schooling.
This Guidance is not a federal mandate, and final decision on its use remains with state and local officials, who must determine how to balance public health and safety with the need to maintain and/or more fully return-to-work critical infrastructure personnel in their communities. As the nation’s response to and recovery from COVID-19 continues to evolve, CISA will work in close coordination with our partners across government and industry to update this list as needed.
The degree to which state and local orders have already leveraged this Guidance when defining essential workers is encouraging. Equally, we hope this revised guidance helps you as your community continues to respond to and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Please direct any questions on this guidance and its use to
CISA.CAT@cisa.dhs.gov.
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Corn Consumption Increasing Among Pork Producers
As pork producers attempt to mitigate issues caused by the backlog in livestock it is increasing their per animal corn usage. That was one of the items shared curing the Secretary of Agriculture Livestock Teleconference Tuesday morning.
Iowa Pork Producers Association CEO Pat McGonegle said that many of the rations for pork production look a lot like the 1950s as producers look to slow down the growth of their animals. This is increasing the average corn intake by two to three bushels per animal. Also, some depopulation is taking place, but it is not on a large scale and not like what is happening in Minnesota.
Pork processing plants have increased production from roughly 65 percent of slaughter at this time last year to 89 percent. It is a major improvement, but the glut of hogs continues to increase. Cattle processing also made gains and is now operating at roughly 75 percent capacity, which is better than the 65 percent last week. Also of some help will be the expected Cooperative Interstate Agreement where participating smaller state inspected packing facilities will be able to ship meat across state lines.
Some relief appears to be on the way for a portion of Iowa’s farmers from the USDA, but Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said he is pushing for help to all sectors, most notably eggs and ethanol, and would like to see a combination of direct payments to farmers and an indemnity for animals lost due to the market disruption from the coronavirus.
The Agribusiness Association of Iowa is an invited member of the Livestock call and association staff take part in the call each week. Both AAI staff and AAI members also take part in the Agriculture Secretary’s Crop Production Call each Thursday.
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SBA Releases Details For PPP and Loan Forgiveness
Late Friday, the SBA released much-anticipated guidance regarding the forgiveness component of Paycheck Protection Program loans. The guidance includes the forgiveness worksheet that borrowers will be required to fill out as well as information on the types of documentation that borrowers will need to maintain for purposes of supporting their claims for loan forgiveness.
Detailed information can be found
here.
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USDA Coronavirus Food Assistance Program Offers Much Needed Support for Ag Community
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced details of the
Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition to this direct support to farmers and ranchers, USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box program is partnering with regional and local distributors. It will assist producers with additional adjustment and marketing costs resulting from lost demand and short-term oversupply for the 2020 marketing year caused by COVID-19, according to USDA.
Applying for Assistance
Producers can apply for assistance beginning on May 26, 2020. Additional information and application forms are available at farmers.gov/cfap. Producers of all eligible commodities will apply through their local FSA office
here.
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Mental Health Resources
Iowa Farm Bureau Federation has released two episodes in a
3-part podcast series on managing farm stress amid COVID-19. The series features Dr. Larry Tranel, an ISU Extension dairy specialist and a pastoral psychologist with 30-plus years working with farm families.
Additionally, resources are available to help those who are struggling in these challenging times, including those listed below:
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ISU-CALS CARD/ECON Website Tracks the Effects of COVID-19
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AAI Calendar of Meetings & Events
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Office Closure
Memorial Day
May 24
AAI Board of Directors Meeting
July 9
10:00 AM
Golf Tournament #1
July 21
Fox Ridge Golf Course
Dike, Iowa
(tentative)
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Golf Tournament #2
July 22
Emerald Hills Golf Course
Arnolds Park, Iowa
(tentative)
Golf Tournament #3
August 10
The Legacy Golf Club
Norwalk, Iowa
(tentative)
Golf Tournament #4
September 17
TBA Location
(tentative)
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Note:
Until further notice, all committee and board meetings will be held via conference call. Conference call access information will be listed in calendar invitations. View calendar online
here
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- The next aid package for farmers and local Iowa processors can sell across state lines
- Planting is almost over according to the latest progress report
- DOJ making it easier for hog producers to coordinate during tough times
- USDA is investing dollars into rural Iowa broadband
Watch episodes from the past week anytime online!
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A new agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture makes Iowa the seventh state where some small meat lockers can sell products in other states.
Almost a year ago, some small, state-inspected meat lockers approached the Iowa Department of Agriculture about joining the USDA cooperative interstate shipment program. It lets lockers with fewer than 25 employees apply for permission to sell their meat across state lines. Currently, those lockers are held to the same food safety and other standards as federally-inspected meat processors, but state employees are on-site during operations.
“We have a program that’s already jointly conducted with USDA,” says Mike Naig, Iowa secretary of agriculture, “and this really takes it to the next level.”
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PFI Holds Agronomists In the Know Calls Through August
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Practical Farmers of Iowa are again hosting the "Agronomists in the Know" phone calls in 2020. The calls run from 12:10 pm - 12:40 pm. Any ag industry professional is welcome to join. Iowa CCAs can receive 0.5 CEU credits for each 30 minute phone call you attend.
The Schedule is announced:
- Thursday, June 4 Nitrogen and Cover Crops, Angie Rieck-Hinz, Iowa State University
- Thursday, June 25 Conservation Agronomy, Betsy Bower, Ceres Solutions Cooperative
- Thursday, August 6 Cover Crops & Weed Seeds, Gina Nichols, Iowa State University
- Thursday, August 27 Farmer Customer and Cover Crop Plan, Betsy Bower, Ceres Solutions Cooperative and David Beard, Indiana farmer
To attend these calls use the following information - Call-in information: 605-313-5404 and use passcode: 522097. For more information regarding the calls, please contact Sarah Carlson at
sarah@practicalfarmers.org 515-232-5661 or visit www.practicalfarmers.org.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a mixed forecast for crops. The monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates predicts farmers will have a good year for corn and soybean harvests, but prices are likely to drop as much as 10% for corn compared to last year.
Iowa State University ag economist Chad Hart says that could attract some new uses for the grain and oilseed crops. “As prices drop, suddenly you’re like, ‘Okay I didn’t use to use corn before in this, but I can, and corn is now inexpensive enough that it makes sense for me to do that,'” Hart says, “so you would see other uses pop up.”
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Bipartisan legislation was introduced May 19 in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, which would provide assistance to biofuel producers adversely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and the economic fallout from the health crisis.
The legislation, titled the “Renewable Fuel Feedstock Reimbursement Act of 2020,” would require USDA to reimburse biofuel producers for their feedstock purchases made Jan. 1 through March 31 through the Commodity Credit Corporation.
“The biofuels industry works directly with our farmers,” Grassley said. “And the current disruptions from the pandemic have created ripple effects, including steep declines in corn and soybean prices. We need to continue to support those farmers who feed and fuel our country and the world. This bill will help ensure biofuel producers survive this economic downturn and also ensure corn and soybean farmers have a place to sell their products.”
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Animal activists infiltrated a facility on Tuesday used by Iowa Select Farms and proceeded to taunt, harass and videotape their team members, says Jen Sorenson, director of communications for Iowa Select Farms.
“Not surprisingly, animal activists are trying to exploit this current challenge in agriculture to advance their own agenda,” Sorenson says. “It is disappointing that these individuals would try to use what is a profoundly difficult time to undermine the mission of every farmer.”
The significant number of processing plants temporarily shutting down or reducing their capacity due to employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 has created a backlog of hundreds of thousands of pigs staying on farms.
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WATCH THE AGRIBUSINESS REPORT EACH DAY
Cedar Rapids - KCRG
Des Moines - WHO-TV
Ottumwa - KYOU-TV
You can follow David Geiger on Twitter to get all things agribusiness:
@GEIGERREPORTS
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STAY ENGAGED WITH AAI
The Agribusiness Association of Iowa is on multiple social media platforms. We publish event and learning session updates on our social media accounts.
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