Latest News & Updates in KC Agriculture - October 2020

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Developments 

USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service reports U.S. dairy product exports totaled $4.4 billion from January through August this year, a 14% increase over last year’s corresponding time period. “U.S. dairy exports are posting positive gains in value and volume to markets around the world and are keeping pace with other animal product exports,” says Michael Dykes, president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association. “U.S. dairy exports are up in 8 of our top 10 export markets by both value and volume over the same period in 2019.” Australia, Canada, China and Vietnam were the primary importers of U.S. dairy products, Dykes said.  China imported about $344 million worth of dairy in the first eight months of 2020, a 38% increase over the January-August period last year.

Boehringer Ingelheim announced the launch of Vaxxitek HVT+IBD+ILT. According to the company, it is the first vaccine for poultry to offer protection in one shot from Infectious Laryngotracheitis, Marek's Disease and Infectious Bursal Disease. (PRnewswire)

Kansas State University researchers are developing facial recognition technology for the cattle industry. The technology builds on concepts used for human facial recognition; using unique facial features of individual cows that can be scanned and used to track the animal throughout its life.  A recent test of the network’s reliability, resulted in 94% accuracy. (Vet Advantage) Kansas State University is using artificial intelligence to build a database of facial recognition technology for the cattle industry. The system could boost biosecurity efforts and work into animal disease traceability systems, according to the university. Just like people, cows have unique facial features that modern technology can scan and later use to track the animal throughout its life, Kansas State said. “We’re talking about a system here that has an incremental cost that is close to zero, and nobody would be (forced) to use it,” said KC Olson, a beef cattle scientist with Kansas State Research and Extension who helped develop the idea. “There would be economic incentives provided by the beef industry to participate.” Human facial recognition is becoming more common in secure locations, such as airports.

Elanco Animal Health says it will restructure its business, eliminating more than 900 jobs, and has started to deleverage by making a $100 million payment on the loan that financed its acquisition of Bayer Animal Health. “Elanco leadership has quickly evaluated the capabilities, structure and staffing of the combined business required to meet its goal of being an agile, fit-for-purpose global leader dedicated exclusively to animal health,” the company said in a news release. “As part of this effort, today the company is announcing its intent to eliminate more than 900 positions across nearly 40 countries, primarily in sales and marketing, but also R&D, manufacturing and quality, and back office support. These actions begin to reduce duplication, drive efficiency and optimize the company’s footprint across geographies, particularly Basel, Switzerland.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit rejected the North American Meat Institute’s legal challenge in a different California court brought by the National Pork Producers Council and American Farm Bureau Federation. Enacted in November 2018, Prop 12 imposes space requirements regarding breeding pigs and veal calves within California. The Meat Institute said Prop 12 creates a barrier to trade by imposing obligations on out-of-state competitors in an effort to assist local producers of pork and veal. Prop 12 reaches beyond the state’s borders by prohibiting the sale in California of uncooked pork or veal from animals housed in ways that do not meet California’s requirements. As a result, Prop 12 sets confinement standards for how pigs and veal calves are raised anywhere in the United States or in any foreign country.

The hog backlog peaked at 3.5 million head in late May, according to a Purdue University report. But it says farmers may see elevated prices by the end of the year as the hog supply shrinks. “It will take some time to work through the COVID-19 disruptions,” Purdue economist Jayson Lusk wrote in the quarterly Purdue Agricultural Economics Report. “Decisions to delay breeding or liquidate sows during the worst of the COVID-19 shutdowns [at packing plants] will likely help further reduce the backlog in the months ahead. These same decisions will likely imply a smaller market-hog supply, and thus possibly elevated hog prices, around the end of 2020.” While Lusk said hog prices will improve in the near future, the National Pork Producers Council said farmers need help now and urged passage of a new coronavirus aid bill.

Before the Butcher launched a new plant-based burger that matches the price of ground beef. Mainstream Plant-Based Patties was priced at about $5.50 per pound, similar to average prices of lean ground beef, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Before the Butcher founder and president Danny O’Malley said the goal of the new product line was to produce a plant-based burger that was affordable to all consumers. While boxes of Mainstream have a suggested price of $10.99 per package of eight quarter-pound patties, other plant-based burgers can cost up to $8 at the grocery store for two patties.  Source: FoodDive, October 6, 2020; www.fooddive.com.

Most rural Nebraskans believe agriculture is a major driver of economic well-being in their households and communities, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s 2020 Nebraska Rural Poll. Rebecca Vogt, survey research manager of the poll, said, "Even those respondents who are not directly involved in farming or ranching, they do recognize that their communities are dependent upon the agriculture industry," Vogt said. "The different businesses in their community are affected by agriculture, and they recognize that tie.” But the poll results show only 40% of rural Nebraskans know anything about important agriculture policies in the state.

U.S. farmers remain optimistic in the latest Purdue University–CME Group Ag Economy Barometer reading. At 156, the barometer in September hit its highest reading since the pandemic began and 12 points higher than a month earlier. Producers were more optimistic about both current and future conditions than they were in August. Officials noted that the improvement coincided with the announcement by USDA of the second round of pandemic relief payments for producers. Additionally, fall crop prices rose, which also likely contributed to the rise in farmer optimism. 

Sales of both plant-based and conventional meats spiked at the beginning of the pandemic. But plant-based products saw a considerably larger spike, data shows. Nielsen found that March grocery sales of plant-based meat alternatives jumped 231% from the year before; IRI data analyzed by The Good Food Institute showed a 454% increase of plant-based meat alternatives from the previous year for the week of March 21. Conventional meat sales saw their largest year-over-year increase in March, at 40%, Nielsen said. Still, the U.S. meat market is worth about $95 billion at retail, while plant-based meat alternatives are worth about $1 billion.  

Wamego, Kansas – based U.S. CattleTrace has announced new partnerships in the states of Colorado and Iowa, increasing its number of partner states to 12 (Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and Washington). “As we continue our mission of developing the infrastructure for disease traceability in the cattle industry, partnerships in all segments of the industry remain crucial,” say Callahan Grund, executive director. Learn more on how to become a partner and to see a list of current partners at www.uscattletrace.org/our-partners.

People

During the CropLife America 2020 Annual Meeting, the Industry Task Force II on 2,4-D Research Data honored its own Jim Gray in memoriam with its the Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes someone who has dedicated their life to successfully defending the pesticide industry with passion and professionalism. Jim served as the executive director of the Industry Task Force II for 12 years, from 2007 until the moment of his passing in November 2019. He was considered the heart and soul of the Task Force, bringing sharp wit, a broad smile, and an inexhaustible knowledge of all things 2,4-D. He had an extraordinary ability to connect with those around him and introduce people who share a common interest in agriculture, and a love for the land was felt throughout his travels from Europe to North America to Asia.

National 4-H Council president and CEO Jennifer Sirangelo (and lead presenter at the Agricultural Business Council’s May 2020 meeting) has been named winner of a Gold Stevie® Award in the Female Executive of the Year . The Stevie Awards for Women in Business is an international competition produced by the creators of the International Business Awards® and American Business Awards®. She will receive her award at a virtual ceremony December 9, 2020.

In August Look East received two AVA Digital Awards – one gold award and one honorable mention – for work done on behalf of clients Best Food Facts and Kansas Corn Growers Association. AVA Digital Awards is an international competition administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals that recognizes outstanding work by creative professionals in digital communication. Look East submitted an entry for KCGA’s social media platform that featured a single kernel of corn – that work received honorable mention. LookEast’s short form video for Best Food Fact’s TASTE Tour garnered the gold. This year there were 2,500 entries from the U.S., Canada and 23 other countries. Sixteen percent of the entries won Platinum, the top award, and 21 percent grabbed Gold. 

The Kansas Department of Agriculture has selected Earl Lewis to serve as the chief engineer for the agency’s Division of Water Resources. As chief engineer, Lewis will manage the personnel and programs of KDA–DWR and administer laws related to conservation, management, use and control of water and water structures in Kansas. Lewis has dedicated his career to water resources in Kansas, including more than 20 years with the Kansas Water Office where has been serving as the director since December 2018. He began his career with KDA–DWR in 1992, and has been a licensed professional engineer since 1998. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Kansas.

Drs. Mike Tokach and Jason Woodworth, Kansas State University Department of Animal Sciences and Industry (ASI) professors, were presented awards by the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) last week. Dr. Tokach is the recipient of the ASAS Fellow Award for research.  Dr. Woodworth is the recipient of the ASAS Industry Service Award. The awards were presented during the 2020 ASAS-CSAS-WSASAS Virtual Annual Meeting and Trade Show this past summer.

The first issue of JDS Communications, a new journal from the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA), has been published. Matthew Lucy, a professor in the Division of Animal Sciences at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resource, will serve as editor-in-chief of the new publication. “JDS Communications will offer a fresh and different publication option for dairy scientists,” Lucy said. “We are interested in high-quality research studies that are focused, hypothesis-driven and designed to answer a specific question on the production or processing of milk or milk products intended for human consumption.” Along with serving as editor-in-chief for an ADSA publication, Lucy received the ADSA Award of Honor earlier this year. The award recognizes unusually outstanding and consistent contributions to the welfare of the Association or distinguished service to the Association. 

Events

Two professional development workshops on regulatory affairs in animal health are being offered by Kansas State University's Olathe campus. Workshops cover the regulatory aspects of animal drug and vaccine development, with options for introductory and advanced courses. The workshops can be attended in-person at the Olathe campus or virtually. Those who attend on campus are required to practice social distancing to aide in participant safety:

  • Advanced Animal Pharmaceuticals, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Nov. 11-12: Workshop provides a detailed, practical and experience-based review of the veterinary drug approval process. Content covers the five topics that comprise the four major technical sections of a product submission to FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine - chemistry, manufacturing and control; efficacy; target animal safety; human food safety; and efficacy for generic products.

  • Animal Health Regulatory 101, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Dec.  9-10: Two-day introductory course on the regulatory requirements of animal drug and vaccine development. Attendees will learn how to navigate two of the federal agencies that oversee these products, FDA and USDA; as well as the requirements the agencies place on the development and maintenance of drugs and vaccines.

Agriculture Future of America launches its annual AFA Leaders Conference virtually, November 11. AFA Leaders Conference provides leader development and networking opportunities for college men and women who are preparing for careers in agriculture and food-related fields. Leaders Conference bridges the gap between academic, leadership and work experiences while helping students understand the impact of their decisions. Students are given the opportunity to network with peers and leaders in the agriculture industry as well as increase their excitement about the future of agriculture by creating awareness about career opportunities in food and agriculture. Program and agenda details available at www.agfuture.org.