The Farm Post eNews

Friday eNews from the Pike and Scott County Farm Bureaus
 

FEBRUARY 5, 2016
JWCC Hosts Precision Ag Workshops
JWCC will hold Precision Agriculture Management workshops throughout its district on February 17. The workshops will cover the various ways data can be more effectively collected and used within the agriculture industry.

Mike Twenhafel, Monsanto climate and district services manager, will be the featured speaker. Twenhafel has worked for Monsanto for 17 years in climate services, ag retail and soil sampling.

During the workshop, Twenhafel will share best practices for agriculture data management and the basic uses of Geographic information System (GIS) and telemetry. The workshop will also cover non-equipment data collection, such as imagery, soil and LiDar, a remote sensing technology that measures distance by illuminating a target with a laser and analyzing the reflected light. Twenhafel will also share insights on nitrogen management sampling and modeling and data execution with variable-rate prescriptions.

The workshops are open to members of the agricultural community and the general public. Cost is $35 per person, which includes accompanying meal. Registration is requested by calling Kelly Lewis at 217.641.4971 orlewis@jwcc.edu. Participants may choose to attend one of three available sessions:

JWCC Pittsfield Education Center - 1308 West Washington, Pittsfield, 8-10:30 a.m. (Includes light breakfast)

JWCC Workforce Education Center - 4220 Kochs Lane, Quincy, noon-2:30 p.m. (Includes lunch)

JWCC Mt. Sterling Education Center - 108 N. Capitol, Mt. Sterling, 5:30-8 p.m. (Includes dinner)
2016 ifarm crop insurance calculators out
Two new web-based decision tools are now available in the crop insurance section of farmdoc. The ifarm Premium Calculator provides farmer-paid premiums for insurance products on a per acre basis. The ifarm Insurance Evaluator provides performance evaluations of alternative crop insurance products for a case farm within a county. These computer tools are supported by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois. Evaluations of crop insurance are available for corn and soybeans in the Midwest, Great Plains, and eastern United States. The web-based design of these products are scalable to different platforms including laptop computers, tablets, and phones.

Check out the calculators here.
Oil price plunge impacts ethanol
The renewable fuels industry and Big Oil don't share the same vision for the future of motor fuel. One sees a lower-carbon future and the other doesn't, but both are affected by the slump in commodity prices. The price of ethanol generally tracks with the price of gasoline and the barrel price of crude oil. The steep slide in oil prices has affected ethanol producers, but not to the same extent as domestic oil producers.

Focus on Ag column 
Animal Ag Alliance promotes health
The Animal Agriculture Alliance has unveiled a new campaign focused on promoting the role of meat and poultry in a healthy, balanced diet. The initiative counters claims made by activist groups about the nutritional value of animal protein, as well as the sustainability of meat and poultry production.

Feed & Grain article
NRCS Announces wetland bank
On Jan. 28, NRCS released an Announcement of Program Funding requesting proposals to establish wetland mitigation banks. Landowners get a chance to be paid for wetlands preservation under a USDA project to create at least nine wetland mitigation banks according to USDA. The banks would compensate farmers for conservation projects that offset losses of wetlands on other farms. The federal government has a goal of no net loss of wetlands.

The APF makes available up to $9 million to interested third-party entities who propose to develop wetland mitigation banks and market mitigation credits as an option for farmers and ranchers needing to comply with the Farm Bill's wetland compliance provisions to maintain eligibility for USDA programs. Funds for this grant are competitively awarded to federally recognized Indian Tribes; state and local units of government; for-profit entities; and nongovernmental organizations

NRCS website
Annual Meeting
The Pike County Farm Bureau will hold its annual meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 in the Auditorium at 1301 East Washington St., Pittsfield, IL.
Notice posted .  
SUPER BOWL L
Grazing Facts

Get ready to serve up some #AgFacts on Super Bowl Sunday! Drovers Cattle Network reports that one cow hide makes 20 pigskins, (aka footballs). Another fun fact - 1.25 billion chicken wings will be consumed on Sunday by Super Bowl fans - enough to circle the Grand Canyon 120 times.
TODAY IN HISTORY
FDR COURT PACKING
 February 5, 1937
  
One of the greatest Constitutional controversies began on February 5, 1937 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveiled proposed legislation known as the Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937, though the whole affair is better known as Roosevelt's "Court-Packing Plan."

FDR proposed to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. By adding more Justices who were more philosophically in step with him, FDR's goal was to obtain favorable rulings for pieces of New Deal legislation that had been previously ruled unconstitutional. The most controversial provision of the bill would have granted the President power to appoint up to six more Justices to the court, one for every sitting member over the age of 70.

During Roosevelt's first term, the Court had struck down several of his New Deal measures intended to bolster economic recovery during the Great Depression. Democrats accused a narrow majority of the court of being obstructionist and political. Since the U.S. Constitution does not limit the size of the Supreme Court, Roosevelt sought to counter this entrenched opposition to his political agenda by expanding the size of the court in order to create a pro-New Deal majority on the bench.

The U.S. Senate, bowing to public opinion, stepped in and defeated Roosevelt's attempt to usurp the Constitution to achieve his political ends.

Read more at potus-geeks.
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