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Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation® AG News Wire

Madison, WI(WFBF release) -THANK YOU FOR READING THE AG NEWSWIRE
We don't say it very often, but this week we want to start off by thanking the growing number of Farm Bureau members, farmers, agriculturists and reporters who read the now twice-weekly Ag NewsWire. We at Farm Bureau think it is critically important to keep people informed on the ever-changing world of agriculture. The Ag NewsWire lets us bring you a snapshot of what's making news each week. In addition, we are flattered and encouraged by the number of people who forward the NewsWire to others. We often hear from people who have received the NewsWire from a friend, and want to know how they can sign up to receive it in their own personal inbox. It's easy. Just email me your name at clangan.fbcenter@wfbf.com  Rest assured we do not share our email list with anybody. Once again, thank you to all of our readers! 

BIG VOTE TAKES PLACE IN OHIO NEXT WEEK
The ag world will be watching closely as Ohioans go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 3 to vote for or against a new livestock standards board (developed by Ohio Farm Bureau and other stakeholders) that would oversee farm animal care. Read more in the Columbus Dispatch

CROPS NEED A RUN OF DRY DAYS
Warm, dry weather predicted for the next few days may help some Wisconsin farmers ease their concerns over harvesting their crop before quality is completely compromised, says the Oct. 27 Wisconsin Crop Progress report from the Wisconsin field office of USDA's Agricultural Statistics Service. The latest weekly survey of Wisconsin farmers showed just 9 percent of the states corn crop had been combined for grain. 91 percent had been cut for silage. All farmers, corn and beans both, are expressing concern over not just wet plants - but now wet fields. Corn mature was reported at 81 percent complete, an increase of 11 percentage points from the previous week.  Many farmers are hoping for sunshine and warm winds to dry the corn down before continuing harvest to avoid high drying costs. Soybean harvest was reported at 25 percent complete, an increase of 11 percentage points from the previous week. Fall tillage increased slightly to 21 percent complete, up 4 percentage points from the previous week. Fall tillage was slow due to wet fields and growers concentrating their efforts on corn and soybean harvesting. Winter wheat planting was reported at 65 percent complete and 37 percent emerged. Planting was slowed by wet fields and delayed corn and soybean harvest. Previously planted winter wheat was reported as continuing to emerge. Cranberry harvest was mostly done in Portage County, with variable yields and improvement in color reported. Very good quality apple and potato crops were reported in Dunn County. Wisconsin farmers still have confidence in the crop though, with 47 percent of their corn crop rated as good with 13 percent rated as excellent. Soybeans are rated 50 percent good and 9 percent excellent.

SEPTEMBER'S DAIRY NUMBERS
September milk production in the 23 major dairy states totaled 13.9 billion pounds, which is down 0.7 percent from a year prior. There were also 168,000 fewer cows in those states than a year ago (for a total of 8.34 million head). All told, there are 9.126 million milking cows in the entire U.S. and that's down 208,000 less than September of 2008. Here in Wisconsin, we saw the number of milk cows go up in the past year (5,000 head) to bring our total herd to 1.258 million. Production also went up by 5.2 percent. In addition to having more cows, each is producing more as well. On average the typical Wisconsin cow gave 1,655 pounds in September; that's 75 pounds more than a year ago. Numbers for California's dairy industry are headed in the other direction. The number of cows in California has dropped from 1.845 million last year, to 1.772 this year. Milk production per cow has dropped by 45 pounds a month, and therefore milk production fell 6.4 percent, from 3.275 million pounds to 3.066 million pounds. 

TWO FFA STARS FROM ONE WISCONSIN CHAPTER...
In what has to be a record, two Wisconsin FFA members from the same local FFA chapter were among the elite during the National FFA Convention last week in Indianapolis. Tony Crescio was named the American Star in Agricultural Placement, while Ben Alsum was the American Star in Agribusiness. Both come from the Randolph-Cambria-Friesland FFA. Both are invited to ride the RFD-TV/FFA Float in the 2010 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California along with Wisconsin State FFA President BJ Chrisler who will be walking alongside the float representing the 52 Associations.

...BUT THE WINNING DIDN'T STOP THERE
Wisconsin FFA members also took a slew of national proficiency awards. They include Tanner Bradley of the Fort Atkinson FFA in dairy production, Elizabeth Dahlke of Montello FFA in diversified livestock, Keith Bollinger of the Cochrane-Fountain City FFA in environmental science and natural resources, Andy Feucht of Mayville FFA in forage production, and Tanner Strunz of Brodhead FFA in turf grass management. National Agriscience Fair award winners included Aaron Zimmerman and Kyle Herman of Spencer FFA in Environmental Science (team grades 7, 8 and 9); and Derek Nelson and Justin Scheel from the Cochrane-Fountain City FFA in engineering (team grades 10, 11, and 12).

AG ECONOMIST CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC FOR 2010
At the American Farm Bureau commodity outlook conference held recently in New Mexico, speakers said they are cautiously optimistic about the year ahead, with crop and dairy producers expected to do better than livestock producers.

USDA SEES PORK INDUSTRY RECOVERY
Deputy Agriculture Undersecretary Michael Scuse told a hearing of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry on Thursday that losses for the pork industry should moderate from now through 2010 as demand increases and hog supplies decline. Scuse said it could be up to two months before USDA makes its first purchase of pork for food aid programs. He said the only pork buying USDA would be doing in the foreseeable future would be for "our traditional purchases for our various food and nutritional programs." The National Pork Producers Council wants USDA to buy at least $50 million of pork products to use for government food assistance programs. "Hog producers have lost, on average, nearly $23 for each hog marketed since September 2009, and things look bleak going forward," Don Butler, NPPC president, said at the hearing. Read the Reuters article

PORK COUNCIL SEEKS H1N1 VACCINE FOR INDUSTRY WORKERS
In a letter sent last week, the National Pork Producers Council urged the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to make the vaccine for 2009 Novel H1N1 flu available to swine workers, swine veterinarians and employees of pork processing plants. The letter recognized the importance of providing the vaccine to children, the elderly and pregnant women but pointed out that, because of their proximity to swine - and the fact that already there has been human-to-swine transmission of the H1N1 virus - pork industry workers also should be provided the vaccine. See more at Pork Alert

MILK ‘ROCKS'
A Wisconsin Dairy Council statewide in-school milk promotion reminds students milk "rocks." The ‘iRock with Milk' promotion features "2^nd Thought Band," a group of high school students from Whitefish Bay. Students can visit a new website www.iRockwithMilk.com to download songs, make music videos and enter to win prizes. A free concert will be awarded to seven middle schools. More than 1,200 cafeteria promotion kits will be distributed, according to Dairy Profit Weekly.

...FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT LACTOSE INTOLERANT
Log on to www.dairyline.com to read a conversation about the issue of lactose intolerance. Tom Gallagher, CEO of Dairy Management Inc. described lactose intolerance as "overstated," noting that while 20-year-old studies claim the problem affects 60 percent or more of the population, the reality is no more than 8 to 12 percent are lactose sensitive or intolerant. A National Dairy Council study looked at three ethnic groups and found their lactose intolerance rates were 7.72 percent of European Americans, 10.05 percent of Hispanic Americans and 19.5 percent of African Americans.

FSA LISTS TOP LENDERS
Wisconsin State Executive Director, Brad Pfaff, recently shared a list of the top lenders to Wisconsin farmers. In 2009, these lenders were the leading participants of the FSA Loan Guarantee Program, which provides financial tools to their rural customers. For the complete list, click here.

FOOD LABEL PROGRAM TO SUSPEND OPERATIONS
Under pressure from state and federal authorities who feared consumers would be misled, the food industry on Friday started backing away from a major labeling campaign meant to highlight the nutritional benefits of hundreds of products. The Smart Choices label adorns even the front of cold cereals known for high sugar content, like Kellogg's Pops. PepsiCo said that it was cutting its ties with the program, called Smart Choices, which features a green checkmark on the front of products that meet its nutritional criteria. Kellogg's, which makes Fruit Loops and other sugary cereals that received the program's seal of approval, said that it would begin phasing out packaging bearing the program logo as its inventories ran out. See the full story in the NY Times

‘MEATLESS MONDAYS' CLARIFIED
A recent decision by the Baltimore City Public Schools to establish "Meatless Monday" on its lunch menu has caught the attention of many within the animal agriculture industry. In a recent letter to the district's management, American Meat Institute (AMI) president J. Patrick Boyle urged reconsideration of the Meatless Monday decision, saying children should be allowed everyday access to the most nutrient-dense food available: meat and poultry products. "Your children, in particular, deserve this choice," Boyle wrote. Meatless Monday is an initiative of the Grace Spira Project and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, two major opponents of modern agriculture, and the fear is that adoption of the program sends the wrong message to kids and parents of the district about the value of meat in the diet. For the full story, see the Feedstuffs Food Link.