A five-minute summary of AAI, regulation, and industry activities for members of the largest state agribusiness association in the nation. | |
AAI Signs Industry Letter To President Addressing Ag Transportation Issues | |
Multiple transportation issues impacting agriculture have prompted an industry letter to the Biden administration asking for attention and action. The letter addresses rail embargoes impacting trade with Mexico, potential labor strikes at East Coast ports, and historically low water levels on the Mississippi River. Each issue is problematic in its own right, but the combination of issues has the potential to cause severe problems for movement of agricultural products at a critical time.
This letter is an effort led by the National Grain and Feed Association. AAI has signed onto this letter along with dozens of additional of national associations, state associations, and industry partners.
Additional Information:
Groups call on White House to avert shipping disruptions - FeedStuffs
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Fall Meetings Of Propane Stakeholders Monitor Supply Chain Issues | |
Since 2019 when Iowa experienced propane supply challenges, Secretary Naig and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship have regularly convened a group of propane stakeholders. The Agribusiness Association of Iowa takes part in this group. Other stakeholders include the Governor’s office, members of the Iowa Legislature, Iowa Propane Gas Association, propane suppliers, and several agricultural groups. The goal of the group is to anticipate and act on any propane supply chain issues.
Earlier this month, AAI took part in the first meeting of the propane stakeholders as the fall season gets underway. Currently, supplies are comparable to last year at roughly 124 days. As the season progresses, AAI will continue to engage in this discussion with the industry.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is encouraging propane users to take advantage of the current strong supply and moderate prices to top off their storage for heating and grain drying needs.
If farmers or agribusinesses experience propane shortages, they should notify Paul Ovrom of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at 515-242-6239 or paul.ovrom@iowaagriculture.gov, or Michelle Wicker of the Iowa Propane Gas Association at 515-564-1260 or mwicker@iapropane.org.
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Bill Northey Honored By National Association of State Departments of Agriculture | |
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) named the late Bill Northey, former AAI CEO, NASDA member, and USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, as this year’s recipient of the Ambassador’s Circle Award. The Ambassador’s Circle Award recognizes NASDA’s external ambassadors who advanced the organization’s work in the states, nationally and beyond.
Northey served as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture from 2007 to 2018 when he continued serving our country at USDA until 2021. Northey had an immense depth of knowledge and experience in agriculture, and worked tirelessly to ensure farmers and ranchers were kept at the center of issues. Northey built relationships across sectors, ensuring all sides were heard and supported through difficult issues while uplifting farmers and ranchers.
In recognition of Northey’s lifelong service to the agricultural sector, the NASDA board announced the Ambassador’s Circle Award will from now on be known as the Bill Northey Legacy Award.
Click the image below to view the NASDA video honoring Northey.
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Register by October 21 for Upcoming Certified Crop Adviser Testing Window | |
The Iowa Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) board would like to provide reminders of the testing timeframes for taking the CCA exams. The deadline for registration of the next testing period of 2024 is October 21. The exam can be scheduled to be taken any time between October 30 and November 11. The registration can be completed on the national CCA website:
https://www.certifiedcropadviser.org/exams
The Iowa CCA exam and the exam's performance objectives have been recently updated. The board recommends reviewing the updated performance objectives at:
Iowa CCA Performance Objectives.pdf
The exam is offered four times per year, and it can be taken at any scheduled time in a two-week window. There is a registration period before each window to schedule the test.
In recent years, the CCA testing has changed from in-person testing to online window testing to on-demand testing. In the last year, the national CCA board has determined on-demand testing was not the best method for the CCA exam. As a result, it has moved back to online window testing.
If you or one of your agronomy employees have any questions about studying for or registering for the CCA testing, feel free to contact the Exam Committee Chair, Cody Ostendorf at cody.ostendorf@plantpioneer.com.
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Exhibitor Registration Opens Oct. 15 at 10:00 AM | Visit AgribizShowcase.com for exhibitor and sponsor information. | |
The 2025 Agribusiness Showcase & Conference will open for general exhibitor registration on October 15 at 10:00 AM. Exhibitors will select their booth location when they register (i.e. booths are first come, first served). Staff will not be assigning booths.
Previous Sponsors Deadline
Sponsors at the 2024 Showcases have the first opportunity to claim a sponsorship for the 2025 event. On October 1, 2024, sponsorships will be available to all companies. If you will be claiming your sponsorship again this year or if you will be electing to take advantage of a different sponsorship opportunity, be sure to contact us by September 30.
Early Exhibitor Registration Opportunity
All Premier level sponsors ($5000 and above) will receive the opportunity to claim their booth spaces before general registration opens on October 15. Other sponsors may receive an early opportunity to register for a booth once Premier level sponsors have been accommodated.
Contact Us To Reserve Your Sponsorship
If you would like to secure a sponsorship for your company, email agribizshowcase@agribiz.org, or call the AAI Main Office - 515.262.8323.
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Disaster Declarations and Resources | |
Visit the Governor's website for links to resources and information on additional declarations that may be applicable to you or your business:
https://www.iowa.gov/iowa-disaster-recovery
Links to state and federal programs and agencies can be found on the site.
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October 15
Exhibitor Registration Opens - Agribusiness Showcase & Conference
10:00 AM - https://agribizshowcase.com
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45Z is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2025. While the 45Z credit has the potential to significantly boost sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, the current lack of detailed guidance is causing some uncertainty in the industry.
Producers and investors are eagerly awaiting further clarification from the Treasury Department to make informed decisions about SAF production and investments.
There are a few key reasons why guidance on the 45Z clean fuel production tax credit program is taking a long time to be issued:
- Complexity of the program: The 45Z credit is a new, technology-neutral credit based on carbon intensity scores, which is more complex than previous biofuel tax credits. Developing the emissions rate tables and carbon intensity scoring methodology is technically challenging.
- Interagency coordination: The Treasury Department and IRS need to coordinate with other agencies like the Department of Energy to develop the emissions rate tables and carbon intensity methodologies.
- Stakeholder input: The government is likely taking time to gather and incorporate input from various industry stakeholders on how to structure and implement the credit.
[...] Read Full Story
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Weather experts say this year’s typhoon season has been the most disruptive. According to Everstream Analytics, the most disruptive storms this season and the areas most affected have been Gaemi (Taiwan and China), Ampil (Japan), Shanshan (Japan), Yagi (Philippines, China, Vietnam), and Bebinka (China). These storms have had a significant impact on port operations.
Jon Davis, chief meteorologist for Everstream Analytics, tells FreightWaves that along with the disruptions to port operations, shipping across the western Pacific has been impacted via delays and increased congestion. He warns the Gulf Coast should be on high alert this week.
“The Gulf of Mexico will have significant issues … as a potentially strong hurricane develops and moves northward across the Gulf of Mexico impacting the U.S. Gulf Coast [late this week] or over the weekend of September 28-29,” Davis forecast. “The ports along the U.S. Gulf Coast should be on high alert for issues … .”
But these highly destructive tropical cyclones impact more than the ports and ship arrivals. The storms can also affect the volume of bulk and freight that can be moved along the waterway superhighway.
Trade takes people and can destroy the products they make. The world of trade is reliant on the transport of products/commodities. Typhoons have impacted some of those trade volumes. For the agricultural trade, Typhoons can be devastating for crops, which means the bulk industry can be affected with less product to move.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Taiwan’s loss of crops from Typhoon Gaemi was a whopping estimated $58.3 million. With the addition of livestock and fish production, the estimated loss exceeds $86 million. The affected area spans 23,060 hectares, with a damage severity of 27%, translating to 6,305 unharvestable hectares.
[...] Read Full Story
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Midwestern soils are among the most productive in the world, thanks in part to extensive tile drainage systems that remove excess water from crop fields. But water isn’t the only thing flowing through tile drains. Nitrogen moves along with soil water into drainage ditches, streams, and ultimately into the Mississippi River Basin, where the nutrient contributes to massive algal blooms and hypoxic conditions that impact aquatic life in the Gulf of Mexico.
A recent study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign provides a new look at the sources and processes affecting the nitrogen load in tile drainage water. The study reveals an unexpectedly large and stable “legacy” pool of nitrogen, adding nuance to the common belief that nitrogen pulses rapidly through tile drainage systems as a transient reflection of fertilizer input and microbial activity.
“The legacy effect relates to the time lag between when nitrogen is made available in the soil environment to its loss to waterways. For example, if you have a nitrogen input via fertilizer this year, it won’t be reflected in offloads downstream immediately. This lag has been found in many systems, but previous researchers didn’t know what caused it or how large its magnitude was,” said lead study author Zhongjie Yu, assistant professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois.
[...] Read Full Story
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Source: Visual Capitalist
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In 2023, the U.S. harvested 500 million metric tons of corn—a volume so immense it would fill over 1,000 of the world’s largest cargo ships, each with a 400,000 metric ton capacity.
Naturally, this enormous amount of corn, along with other major crops, requires a vast amount of land. In this graphic, we compare the size of farmlands needed for growing corn, soybeans, hay, and wheat to similarly-sized countries around the world.
Data for visualization was sourced from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the World Bank.
The U.S. devoted more than the entire area of Malaysia (127,000 miles² or 329,000 km²) to growing corn in 2023. Corn is a key caloric ingredient in animal feed, as well as for creating high fructose corn syrup, used as a sweetener in many processed foods and beverages.
Meanwhile, America’s soybean crop could cover all of Finland, an area measuring 117,000 mi² or 304,000 km².
Like corn, soybean is also primarily for animal feed. Other uses include vegetable oil production and biodiesel, and for export to countries like China.
Together, just both these crops (274,000 mi² or 710,000 km²) could replace Myanmar, the 40th largest country in the world.
[...] Read Full Story
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