Editor, Mark Mayer Green County Agriculture Agent

University of Wisconsin-Extension 608-328-9440/E-Mail: mark.mayer@ces.uwex.edu

GREEN COUNTY

AGRI - NEWS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: January - March, 2017

January

5 11 AM -3 PM 29th Annual Green County Dairy Management Seminar, Multipurpose (MP) Rooms, Green County UW-Extension, 2841 6th St, Monroe

10-12 2017 Wisconsin Agri-business Classic Conference, Alliant Center, Madison

19 9AM -2:30 PM Wisconsin Soybean Conference, Janesville Holiday Inn, 3100 Wellington Place

20-21 Returning to the Farm, UW Platteville Pioneer Farm, Platteville, WI (4 Day Session Jan 20-21; Feb 17-18)

24&31 Green County Nutrient Management Planning Meetings, Green County UW-Extension Multi Purpose Room, 2841 6th St, Monroe

26 9 AM-3 PM Byron Nuclear Plant Ingestion Zone Workshop, MP Rooms, UW-Extension, Monroe

26-27 Driftless Region Beef Conference, Grand River Convention Center, Dubuque

February

2-4 Grass Works Annual Grazing Conference, Chula Vista Resort, WI Dells

2-3 WI Corn/Soy/Pork Expo, Kalahari Resort, WI Dells

15 10 AM - 4 PM Private Pesticide Applicator Training, MP Rooms 2&3, UW-Extension, Monroe

20 10 AM - 3 PM Grain Management Meeting, MP Rooms 1-3, UW-Extension, 2841 6th St Monroe

23 1 -3:30 PM Soil and Crops Seminar, MP Rooms 1&2, UW-Extension, 2841 6th St Monroe

21 6-9 PM UW-Extension Master Gardener Training Starts UW-Extension, Monroe

22-23 UW-Extension Midwest Manure Summit, Radisson Hotel , Green Bay

22 1– 3:30 PM Private Pesticide Certification Test Only Session, UW-Extension, Monroe

23 1– 3:30 PM UW-Extension Soil & Water Health Meeting, MP Rooms 1-3, UW-Extension, 2841 6th St Monroe

23-25 Organic Farming Conference, La Crosse Center, La Crosse, WI

27 10AM - 4 PM Private Pesticide Applicator Training, M-P Rooms 2&3, UW-Extension, Monroe

March

3 9AM-3PM WI Dairy and Beef Well Being Conference, Country Aire and Equity @ Stratford

10-11 Ag Women’s Summit, Marriott West , Middleton, WI

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WI Agribusiness Classic

Agribusiness’s and Farmers will come together at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison on Jan. 10-12, 2017 for the Wisconsin Agribusiness Classic (formerly Wisconsin Crop Management Conference) With over 40 educational sessions, 100,000 square feet of agricultural equipment and services exhibits, and approximately 1200 agricultural industry employees in attendance, the WCMC is the largest agri-industry conference of its kind in the state of Wisconsin.

“Tornado Tim” Baker will lead off as the keynote speaker. Born and raised near Lake Genera, WI, Tim now makes his home in Loveland, Colorado, where he spends his time as a tornado chaser. Another featured speaker will be former Green Bay Packer Ahman Green.

Educational sessions feature a range of topics includ-ing: SNAP-plus and SnapMaps Basic training, Soil erosion, Improving white mold management of Soybeans, Veterinary Feed Directive, Nutrient Uptake, and many others.

Register online at http://www.agclassic.org The conference is co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Agri-Business Association, UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and UW-Extension.

2016 UW Variety Test Results

The University of Wisconsin Extension variety test results for corn, wheat and soybeans are now available. The purpose of this program is to provide unbiased performance comparisons of hybrid seed. The corn trials evaluate hybrids for both grain and silage production performance. Organic corn varieties were also evaluated. To view the recently released 2016 crop yield data from the UW trials go to the UW-Extension Green County Agriculture website at: http://green.uwex.edu/agriculture/ .

Dairy Management Seminar The Green County Milk Quality Council and UW-Extension, will be sponsoring its 29th Annual Green County Dairy Management Seminar on Thursday, January 5, 2017. The seminar will run from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm and will be held at the UW-Extension Office, 2841 6th St, Monroe.

The featured speakers for this year’s program will include Dr. Andy Johnson, Herd Health and Wellness Veterinarian with Grande. Dr. Johnson is known as the “Udder Doctor” and has consulted on dairy farms all over the world. He will discuss the proper Milking and Management Procedures to Reduce Mastitis by combating udder infections. He will also give a presentation on the aspects of cleaning and maintaining milking equipment for high quality milk. This discussion will include many of the common problems that he sees on farms and give recommen-dations on how to avoid them.

Dr. Richard Wallace, Cattle Technical Service Veterinarian with Zoetis, will discuss how the new veterinary feed directive regulations that takes effect on January 2017 will impact dairy farms. His presentation will include changes to labels on medicated feeds, how the use of antibiotics in feeds will require a veterinary feed directive (VFD) from a veterinarian, and the steps needed to use antibiotics in feed after January 1, 2017. Due to sponsorships by many local businesses the advance registration fee is only $7 and includes lunch. Registrations are due to the Green County UW-Extension Office by January 3, 2017. An addi-tional $3 late fee will be charged for registrations received after this date. Enrollment is limited to the first 60 participants who register.

Registration brochures are available at many Green County area dairy supply and service businesses, can be obtained on-line at green.uwex.edu or by contacting Mark Mayer, UW-Extension Agriculture Agent @ 608-328-9440.

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Grain Seminar Tackles Profitability in Low-Margin Years

UW-Extension Specialists are hitting the road with a

series of talks, “Grain Management in Low-Margin

Years” and an accompanying fact sheet that address

how to best handle different aspects of production

during low-margin years. The talks will start in

February of 2017 and will take place at locations

throughout the state. One of the meetings will be

held at the Green County UW-Extension Office on

February20, 2017 from 10 AM-3:30 PM.

Each talk is about a half-hour long with time for Q& A.

If one of the presenters is not available for any of the

dates, the talks will also be available as high quality

video presentations. The seminar is being sponsored

by Bank of Brodhead, U.B.&T, Badgerland Financial,

BMO Harris Bank, and UW-Extension.

The program includes a meal and is free due to the

local sponsorships. Participants are asked to RSVP

by February17th by calling the Green County UW-

Extension Office at 608-328-9440 or emailing Ag

Agent Mark Mayer at: mark.mayer@ces.uwex.edu

Presentations for the Green County Program include:

Crop Budget Analysis: A Practical Tool for Low

Margin Years

Soybean Inputs that Deliver the Highest ROI in a

Low-Margin Year

Practical Weed Management for Low-Margin

Years

Fundamental Soil Fertility Strategies for Success

How to Survive and Thrive on Current Corn Price

Projections

Low Grain Prices = Smart Disease Management

Decisions

Managing Insects Economically Using Convention-

al Hybrids and Thresholds

Machinery/Technology Management and Tillage

Considerations to Reduce Operational Costs

See Flyer on next page for more details

Century Farm Applications

Applications are now available to register for a 2017 Sesquicentennial or Century Farm. To qualify for the award, continuous family ownership of a property in the state of Wisconsin for the past 150 or 100 years must be proven. Applications are available from the Green County UW-Extension office and are due by March 1, 2017. Honorees will receive compli-mentary State Fair tickets for a program to be held there next August, an awards breakfast, commemorative photo, certificate and outdoor display sign provided by Hillshire Farms. Green County currently has 166 farms that have been designated as Century Farms and there are over 9,208 Century Farms in the state. The oldest documented Century Farm in Green County is the Hawthorne farmstead located in Clarno township that was settled in 1833. The Sesquicentennial Program originated in 1998 and there are currently 14 sesquicentennial farms in Green County.

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Pesticide Applicator Certification

All farmers and their employees who load, mix, handle or apply "restricted-use" pesticides must complete a pesticide applicator training course and pass a written exam every five years. There is a $30 fee for materials and the license. An exam must be taken after completing the class-room session or after a self study course at home. Participants that take the class need to score 50% on the exam and those that take the independent study need to score 70%. Farmers with certifications that expire before the 2017 cropping season should have received a postcard in December. UW-Extension in Green County is offering two full day training sessions, and one test only session for farmers in 2017. All of the sessions will be held in the Justice Center Multipurpose room, Monroe. The dates and times for 2017 are as follows:

2017 One Day Training Sessions Wednesday, February 15 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Monday, February 27 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Test Only Session (Recommended for farmers getting recertified :Need to score 70% on Exam) Wednesday, February 22 1:00 - 3:30 PM Pre-registration is required at least one week prior to the session to allow time to review the training materials. You must pre-register by paying the fees, and receiving your training materials at the Green County UW-Extension Office, located in the lower level of the Justice Center, 2841 6th St., Monroe.

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What’s In Your NMP? Tonya Gratz, Green County Land & Water Conservation Dept.

How do you know if you are wasting your money on fertilizer? One way is to develop a Nutrient Manage-ment Plan (NMP). A farmer can write their own plan if they attend training classes hosted by Green County Land and Water Conservation Department, UW Extension and Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). Traditionally, the classes have been aimed at those who raise livestock to ensure they are crediting properly for the manure they apply in their cropping system. But it is equally important for cash grain operators to make sure they balance what is in the soil already with the fertilizer they will apply to meet the crops demand. If more fertilizer is applied than the crops can use, then those excess nutrients create a high potential to be an environmental problem. The nutrients can leach to groundwater, bind to soil particle and leave the field through erosion or make it less likely for additional fertilizer to be effective. With crop prices low, now is the time to recheck your fertility program. The classes are offered in Green County for free. The producer needs only to have current soil samples and a willingness to learn in order to take the class. The first two classes give the back-ground on NMPs- nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, pH, and restriction maps. They will be held January 24 and 31 from 1- 3 pm at the Green County Justice Center. The computer portion of the class, which is what is used to write the plan, will be held the Fridays in February (3, 10, 17, and 24) at the Justice Center from 1-3pm. If you are interested in taking NMP classes or just

attending the first two classes to learn the basics of an

NMP, please contact Tonya Gratz at the Green County

Land and Water Conservation Department 608-325-

4195 extension 121 or

Tonya.Gratz@wi.nacdnet.net

Thursday, February 23, 2017

1:00-3:30 PM

Green County Justice Center Multi-Purpose Rooms, Lower Level

2841 - 6th St Monroe WI 53566

UW-Extension Soil and Water Health

Meeting

Speakers Selecting Cover Crops for Your Farm

This presentation will cover how Wisconsin Farms are successfully adopting and using cover crops on their farms. It will cover the latest cover crop research and the benefits of using cover crops.

Heidi Johnson, Crops & Soils Educator, Dane County UW-Extension

Management Goals to Achieve High Yields and Profitability with No Till Leverich has used no-till practices on his farm near Sparta WI for many years and has written numerous articles on No-Till crop production practices. He will discuss practical applications with no-till that are being used on many farms to improve both soil health and profitability.

Jim Leverich, UW-Extension On-Farm Research Coordinator, UW-Extension

Farmer Panel Talking about Conservation Improvements Local farmers will talk about conservation improvements and ways to improve water quality. Topics will include stream bank improvement, manure separation, composting, and aerial application of cover crops.

Brad Williams, Dan Truttmann, Evan Lemenager, Green County Farmers

University of Wisconsin, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Wisconsin counties cooperating. UW Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming including Title VI, Title IX and ADA.

If you have questions or need additional information, contact Mark Mayer, Green County UW-Extension Ag Agent at 608-328-9440 or by email at mark.mayer@ces.uwex.edu or Tonya Gratz, Green County Land & Water Conservation Department at 608-325-4195.

R.S.V.P. To Green County UW-Extension at 608.328.9440 by February 21st, 2017.

The FDA’s new veterinary feed directive (VFD) rules

take full effect on January 1, 2017. Many producers,

and even veterinarians, remain unclear on the details

and procedures they will need to follow to continue

using medicated feeds for prevention, control and

treatment of disease in their herds.

The expanded VFD rule ends over-the-counter (OTC)

purchases of medically important feed-grade antibi-

otics, placing their purchase and use under the direct

oversight of veterinarians.

Medically important antibiotics currently used in

cattle feeds for therapeutic purposes that will

require new labels under the VFD rule include

chlortetracycline, chlortetracycline plus sulfametha-

zine, neomycin plus oxytetracycline, oxytetracycline,

tylosin and virginiamycin.

Off-label use of medicated feeds is illegal, so the VFD

order, which specifies the animals to be treated, the

VFD drug(s) to be used, dosage, duration of use and

reasons for use, must conform with product labels.

The following are some of the key points to the new

VFD regulations:

A valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship

(VCPR) is required by law for a veterinarian to

provide a VFD order. The veterinarian must have

first-hand familiarity with the client and the cattle

involved. If you do not have a relationship with a

veterinarian, find one in your area and begin to

establish a VCPR.

Take an inventory of medicated feeds you have

on hand. You can still use VFD products with

older labels after January 1, but you need to work

with your veterinarian to secure a VFD order to

use those products purchased prior to implemen-

tation of the new rules.

Plan your future inventory management. If you

purchase a VFD feed and do not use it all during

the period allowed under the VFD order (six

months maximum), you can still use the remain-

ing product. You do, however, need to obtain a

new VFD order to legally use that left-over VFD

feed.

Determine and implement a filing system for

documentation and storage of VFD orders and

related records, either electronically or in paper

files. Producers, veterinarians and feed distribu-

tors need to retain VFD records for two years.

Develop a set of standard operating procedures

(SOPs) to follow in case of an FDA inspection of

your VFD records. Collaborate with your veteri-

narian to understand you rights and your

responsibilities for providing VFD documentation.

If you see a need to use a medicated feed, work with

your veterinarian to determine the best product, dos-

age and duration of use to address the specific health

problem., and obtain and file a VFD order from your

veterinarian. For more information on the VFD rule

and related regulations, visit the FDA’s Veterinary

Feed Directive website. http://www.fda.gov/

AnimalVeterinary/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/

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New Veterinary Feed Directive Regulations Starts in 2017

Spring Creek Watershed Project The local Natural Resources Conservation Service office and the Green County Department of Land and Water Conservation Department requested and received special funds for Spring Creek Watershed in Spring Grove and Jefferson Townships. The watershed is approximately 12,000 acres and drains into the Sugar River about 2 miles south of State Highway 11. Spring Creek provides habitat for fish and forage fish from the Sugar River at various times of the year. Spring Creek is also listed as an impaired water- meaning it is not meeting the swimmable, fishable and drinkable standards due to excessive sedimentation. Landowners in the watershed were very interested in improving the resources on their farms. In the first year of the project, 10 different conservation practices were contracted for $542,132 of cost sharing with numerous farmers. During 2016, some of those practices were implemented which totaled $276,804 in cost sharing. The remaining practices are scheduled to be built and applied in the next couple of years. In the first year of the project, a large number of cover crops were implemented via airplane application. Yes, the crop dusters can drop seed into standing crops and germination this fall was phenomenal in corn and soybeans. Mostly simple mixes of oats, oilseed radish and cereal rye were applied in late August and early September with the application cost as low as $11 per acre. Interested sightseers can contact our office for a brochure of a self-guided cover crop tour of 9 sites in the watershed. Landowners can apply for additional practices on their farms this year, and we expect the funding to continue for about 4 years. Over 50 practices are available with the most common practices including cover crops, streambank erosion control, manure storage, and clean water diversion practices from cattle feeding areas. Considering the high participation rates at this time, the goal for delisting the watershed from the impaired waters list appears achievable in next 5 years.

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New Traits Don’t Automatically Translate to Highest Yields

Shawn P. Conley, Soybean Extension Specialist

In November the EPA approved registering Dicamba formulations for use on Dicamba Tolerant Crops. Many of my weed scientist colleagues across thecountry will be discussing best management practices (BMP’s) for introducing this technology into our agricultural landscape and will put forward recommendations to prolong the shelf-life of this technology.

One such example from UNL entitled: Understanding the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend Soybean Weed Manage-ment System . In this brief article I would just like to highlight four points to consider when making soybean variety selection choices for 2017.

New doesn’t always mean it is automatically better. The WI Soybean program evaluated 200 RR2Y (Roundup Ready 2 Yield) and 47 RR2X (Roundup Ready 2 Xtend) varieties in 2016. On average across all varieties and regions RR2Y out-yielded RR2X by a significant +1.8 BPA.

2. Remember every variety must stand on its own. Use independent trial data and pick varieties that not only perform well (we call them starred varieties) but also have the traits you are inter-ested in (e.g. herbicide tolerance). Please review the 2016 WI Soybean Variety Performance Trials for individual variety performance as we have RR2X varieties starred in each region.

RR2X soybeans are a stack of herbicide traits and not yield traits (i.e. these traits protect yield, not enhance yield). Remember this point with all pest management traits!

Hey Mr. Ivory Tower if I don’t use this technolo-gy my yield loss will be a lot more than 1.8 bu per acre. I am fully aware of the amaranthus spp. train wreck across much of the corn belt and mid-south. We are starting to see herbicide resistance move across Wisconsin as well. I just want to reiterate #2 above that every varietymust stand on its own as well as remind growers to use multiple modes of action and consider incorporating other traits such as Liberty Link soybeans into your soybean weed management plans. All of the data and models I have seen suggest that the Dicamba tolerant crops shelf-life will be much shorter than the original RR if we don’t mange this technology correctly.

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Installing Roof Gutters Tonya Gratz, Green County Land & Water Conservation Dept.

A simple, yet often over looked conservation practice is installing roof gutters on a barn or shed roof that drains on a barnyard. The majority of barns have a concrete barnyard next to them. Precipitation that falls onto the roof flows onto the barnyard, and then mixes with deposited manure from livestock. The manure on the barnyard then becomes either- a greater volume to manage or the manure will more likely become barnyard runoff- flowing away from containment. Who wants more manure to haul? And who would want to contribute to nitrates, phosphorus and pathogens contaminating surface waters? No one that’s who.

We would like to suggest an alternative: roof gutters. Gutters divert the clean water from the roof and place it on the ground where it won’t come into contact with manure or into a pipe that will carry the clean water further away to a safe outlet. Not all sites are easy to protect, but well worth the effort of a site investigation by Land & Water Conservation Department staff. And the best thing- there is cost sharing to offset the cost to the producer. Green County LWCD offers reimburs-ing 70% of the cost of the project. If you are interested in applying for cost sharing of this practice or a multitude of other clean water conservation practices offered, or would like to schedule a site visit- please contact the office at 1627 4th Ave West, Monroe or 608-325-4195, ext 3.

2017 Clean Sweep Programs

Over 225 Green County residents and farmers were able to dispose of over 7,000 pounds of hazardous materials through the 2016 Clean Sweep program. Green County UW-Extension secured grant funding from the WI DATCP to pay for the majority of the collection costs in 2016. Green County is pleased to announce that we will again receive grant funding to continue the Clean Sweep Collection program in 2017. The collection site will be at the Green County Landfill which will accept hazardous materials from ALL Green County farmers starting on May 1, 2017 through October 31, 2017. For more information call UW-Extension at 608-328-9440 or visit http://green.uwex.edu/agriculture/

Ag Plastic Still Accepted Weekly

Area farmers can still dispose of low density polyeth-ylene agriculture plastic from silo bags, wrapped bales, and bunker covers every Wednesday at the Green County Landfill between 7AM and 2PM.

Free Dumpsters for Ag Plastics Still Available The use of silo bags, bunkers and wrapped bales has increased dramatically on Wisconsin dairy and livestock farms over the past 10 years. While the use of plastic on farms has proven popular the disposal of used agriculture plastic film has become a big issue .

UW-Extension developed a pilot program with Revolution Plastics in 2015 in which free dumpsters were provided and placed on 88 farms in Wisconsin and Illinois specifically for storing these types of plastic. Due to the success of the pilot program started in Green County 2 years ago the company now has dumpsters on over 2,400 farms in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota, and over 250,000 pound of used ag plastic is being diverted from landfills weekly!

Free Dumpsters are still available for area farm-ers who produce at least 1,000 pounds of plas-tic annually. A fourth drop of 55 additional dumpsters is scheduled to occur in Green County on January 9-10th. If you would like to receive a dumpster contact Price Murphy, Operations Manager for Revolution Plastic at 608-851-0048. This program certainly is a win-win for everyone involved. It enables farmers to dispose of their used Ag plastic no cost, reduce the amount of plastic going to landfills and reduce the amount of plastic being illegally

Returning to the Farm Workshop UW Center for Dairy Profitability, U.W.-Platteville and University of Wisconsin-Extension are offering a work-shop to help farm families plan for a son, daughter or partner to return to the farm and eventually take over the farm business. The four-day workshop will be offered on the UW-Platteville’s Pioneer Farm Ag Tech-nology Center on Jan. 20 & 21 and Feb. 17 & 18, 2017. Farm businesses looking toward the future of their farming operations have many issues to consider. Two issues of extreme importance to the future life of the business are the development of a son, daughter, or partner to be the future manager of the business and the creation of a succession plan. The Returning to the Farm workshop helps families make these plans. Returning to the Farm is open to all farm businesses who want to learn more about planning for farm suc-cession. Farm businesses are expected to participate in both sessions. At the end of the sessions participants will have action steps to move forward with a plan. Through this program, farm businesses will:

Determine if an existing operation is large enough to support an additional partner.

Uncover alternatives for the transfer of farm assets.

Recognize personalities and learn to work with each individual's strengths.

Write long- and short-term business & family goals.

Learn how to address issues in a multiple generation farm business.

Hear the current issues and information on the tax implications of farm transfer.

Understand the tools of estate planning and business succession planning.

Receive succession and estate planning resources.

The registration fee for this four-day program is $300 per farming unit (up to four people per farm). This includes materials, meeting room costs, refreshment breaks and lunches. The registration deadline is January 9, 2017. If more than four people attend from a farming unit, $80 will be charged for each additional participant. For more information or to register contact Joy Kirkpatrick, Dairy Profitability Outreach Specialist at 608-263-3485 or by email joy.kirkpatrick@ces.uwex.edu. To register online and use a credit card go to: http://bit.ly/RTTFPlatteville2017

Wisconsin Corn/Soy/Pork Expo Wisconsin Corn/Soy/Pork Expo is set for February 2&3 at the Kalahari Conference Center, Wisconsin Dells. Some of the highlights of the Expo will include: Commodity Transfer 2017 Bryan Doherty—Stewart Peterson This is Your Brain on $3 Corn: Odd things happen when there isn’t “enough”. John Phipps Cooking with Pork Chef Michael Althen, 2016 Taste of Elegance Winner Corn and Soybean Disease Management Damon Smith, UW-Extension Plant Pathology Establishing Pollinator Habitat: a step-by-step how to guide Keri Carstens, DuPont Pioneer Soil Health Partnership Updates Nick Goeser, Soil Health Partnership Director Farm Succession Planning Workshop Stephen Barnes, Waddell & Reed Financial Advisors Soybean Yield Gap Reboot Shawn Conley, UW-Extension Soybean Specialist UAV Update for Ag Brian Luck, UW Extension Specialist Ag Engineer Protecting Water Quality and Managing our Soils Amber Radatz, UW Discovery Farms; Dennis Frame, Yahara Pride Farms; & Mark Riedel, WI DNR Changing Pork to Improve Consumer Experiences Dr. Jim Magolski, Coleman Natural Foods & Dr. Steve Larson, National Pork Board Policy Potpourri: President Trump, Program Payments & Pesticide Policy Dr. Paul Mitchell, UW Extension Panel with Wisconsin Bankers on latest trends General Session with Orion Samuelson Bonus Agronomic Session: More on the Quest for High Yield Corn & Soybeans Univ of IL Professor Fred Below & Researcher Tryston Beyrer

The complete Corn/Soy/Pork Expo program and event registration is available online at: www.CornSoyExpo.org web site. Registration material also can be requested by calling the Wisconsin Soybean Program office at 608-274-7522 or the Wisconsin Corn Program office at 262-495-2232. 10

11

On total milk solids basis October exports were equivalent to 15.7% of U.S. milk production bringing the year-to-date to 14% of milk production compared to 14.2% a year ago. Improved world demand by Southeast Asia, China, South Korea and others along with lower world milk production has strengthened world prices all of which helped to improve exports. Dairy product prices on the last Global Dairy Trade were the highest in two years. Of the major dairy exporters, EU, New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina milk production is now running lower than a year ago. U.S. is the only major exporter with milk production running higher.

We should see continued improvement in milk prices as we move through 2017. Continued relatively strong milk production may dampen the increase, but contin-ued strong butter and cheese sales along with further improvement in dairy exports will strengthen milk prices. Improved milk prices along with lower feed costs will stimulate an increase in milk production.

USDA is forecasting milk production for 2017 to total 216.8 billion pounds, an increase of 2.1% over 2016. Milk cows are forecasted to average 0.3% higher and milk per cow 1.8% higher. But, with milk per cow 1.7% higher in 2016, another year of milk per cow increasing more than trend maybe on the high side.

As of now the Class III price could be in the low $16’s first quarter, the mid-16’s second quarter, and in the high $16’s the start of the third quarter reaching the $17’s by the end the quarter through the fourth quarter. This would put the average for the year around $16.85, about $2 higher than 2016.

USDA’s forecasts a little lower prices with a range of $15.85 to $16.65. Current Class III futures is much more optimistic with Class III in the $17’s all year and averaging about $17.50 for the year. No doubt forecasts will change as we get a better idea of actual milk production and dairy exports as we move through the year. It doesn’t take major changes to result in quite different milk prices.

Dairy Situation and Outlook Bob Cropp, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Milk prices ended the year on a stronger note. The November Class III price was $16.76 and the December Class III will be near $17.30. However, with much lower Class III prices during the first six months, which averaged just $13.48, the average for the year will be about $14.85 compared to $15.80 for 2015 and $22.34 for 2014.

While fluid (beverage) milk sales continue to decline, 0.8% lower than a year ago January through October, butter and cheese sales were strong. Domestic commercial disappearance January through October for butter was 5.6% higher than a year ago and cheese was 3.7% higher. Relatively strong milk production and lower dairy exports were responsible for the lower average Class III price.

U.S. milk production for November was estimated to be 2.4% higher than a year ago. This makes two c consecutive months of relatively strong milk production since the October increased was revised to 2.5%. Strong increases in milk per cow is the primary reason for the increase in milk production.

November milk cows were just 0.2% higher than a year ago. But, milk per cow was 2.2% higher. We can expect December milk production to be up similar to November resulting in about 212.4 billion pounds of milk for the year, an increase of 1.8% over last year.

Of the 23 reporting states 11 had fewer milk cows in November than a year ago, but just five states had lower milk production: Utah –4%, Florida -3.7%, Oregon -1.0%, Virginia – 2.2% and Washington -0.2%. After declining for 22 consecutive months California’s production has run higher for three consecutive months with November’s production up just 0.2%. There were relatively strong increases in milk production for Idaho +3.6%, Texas 11.4%, Kansas +11.6%, Michigan 5.3%, New York +4.4%, Pennsylvania 2.5%, Iowa 3.9%, South Dakota +5.0%, Wisconsin +2.2% and Minnesota +1.3%.

Dairy exports have been lower than a year ago, but are improving. October was the fifth straight month the volume of exports were higher than a year ago. Compared to October a year ago, exports of nonfat dry milk/skim milk powder were 16% higher, cheese 5% higher, butterfat 233% higher, total whey prod-ucts 34% higher and lactose 26% higher.

Value of Corn Stover

Many producers struggle with placing a value on corn stover. The first question to ask is if the lost fertility from removing and selling the stover costs more to replace than what you will receive from selling the stalks. The following information can be used for determining corn stover value based on the fertilizer value of the stalks. When the stalks are removed in the fall there are several factors that are impacted in the field. One is that there will be less ground cover that could lead to more soil erosion and you need to make sure you leave adequate residue cover to meet the require-ments in your conservation plan. The erosion factor is difficult to put a dollar value on because the amount of erosion is determined by many factors such as how much residue is removed, the soil type, and the slope. However, if you fail to maintain the required residue cover that is specified in your conservation plan by removing too many stalks you could lose your government payments which would negate any profits gained from selling or pasturing the stalks. The largest monetary factor from removing stalks from a corn field is the loss of potassium and phospho-rous fertilizer. When stalks are chopped and baled you usually will remove anywhere from 50-80% of the total corn fodder in the field. Yields of corn stover will usually be around 4.5 tons of dry matter per acre for corn yielding 200 bushels per acre. Each ton of corn stalks removed has a fertilizer value of approximately 4.6 pounds of P205 and 32 pounds of K20 pounds. Assuming a removal rate of the stalks at 65% you would remove 5,860 pounds D.M. of corn stalks per acre or 2.93 tons. This means that you would remove 13.48 pounds of P205 (2.93 ton x 4.6) and 93.76 pounds of K20 (2.93 ton x 32) per acre. Using fertilizer prices of $.45/lb. for P2O5, and $.25/lb. for K2O, the fertilizer value of the stalks removed per acre would be $6.07 for P205 and $23.44 per acre for K, resulting in a total fertilizer value of $29.51/acre for removing 65% of the corn stalks. If 80% of the stalks were removed (7,200 lbs./acre D.M.) the value of fertilizer lost per acre would be $36.25.

The previous figures assume that the stalks are harvested in the fall. If they were harvested in the spring the amount of potassium removed would be reduced by approximately 50% due to the nutrients that would leach out of the stalks over winter. The amount of phosphorus would not be reduced because it is part of the cell wall structure and would not be broken down over winter. Losses of organic matter from stalk removal are estimated at around 50 cents per ton of stalks removed. This means the value per acre for loss O.M. would be about $2-3 per acre. Thus, if you are thinking about selling your stalks you would need to charge approximately $32-33/acre to recoup the lost P and K fertilizer and O.M. value taken from the field if 65% of the stalks were removed in the fall.

Hay and Bedding Markets

If you want to check on current local hay and bedding prices they are available at the Green County UW-Extension Agriculture Web page. The auction price summaries from the weekly area hay sales are posted each week at: http://green.uwex.edu/agriculture/

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Approximate Removal rates of corn stover: Shredding and Raking 80% Raking only 65% Combine windrow only 50%

Land rental rates increased dramatically from 2009-2013 due to the demand for farmland. This demand was driven by higher commodity prices, larger farms seeking more land for both manure disposal and feed, and larger equipment allowing grain producers to run more acres. The higher cost and limited availability of land in the surrounding counties also contributed to higher rental as more opera-tors were looking for land.

Due to lower commodity prices in 2014 Green County farm land rental rates dropped for the first time in several years. According to the USDA the average farm land rental rate was $157/acre for Green County in 2014 a decrease of 1.9%. Despite continued lower commodity prices in 2016 rental rates for agricultural land in Green County increased by 7.8% in 2016 to an average of $169/acre. This increase is mostly due to the demand for land and the fact all the surrounding counties had higher cash rents in both 2014 and 2016. See county comparison at the end of this article.

Margins on many agriculture commodities are expected to be small again in 2017 and this should create some down-ward pressure on farm land rental rates. However, the decline will likely not be large or rapid as there is still a good demand for farm land. A factor that will also temper significant reductions in farmland rental rates include the current level of farm land prices. Although land prices have peaked in many areas the average price paid for farm land in Green County increased by 14.3% in 2015 and averaged $5,117/acre. In this area we are not as likely to see a dras-tic reduction in land values (especially for high quality crop land) like they are seeing in other states because our values did not spike as high several years ago.

Another factor that will temper the decline in land rental rates include some multi-year rental contracts that are still locked in at higher rates that will run through the 2017 cropping season. There is still a solid demand for crop land and we will likely still see some farmers willing to again ac-cept very small profit margins to maintain future access to the land they currently rent. There are many factors that influence land rental rates. These factors start with the quality of the land and soil types. Obviously a deep Tama soil is going to be worth more than a shallow sloping field that contains lower yield capacity soils. Other factors that impact the value of renting bare ground are as follows:

Location: land parcels located near large livestock farms will be higher as will land that adjoins other parcels that are already being farmed by another party. In either case these parcels are worth more to the nearby operators and they

will usually be willing to pay more because of the location of the land.

Fertility: land with low fertility levels will result in lower rental rates. Soil test levels should always be requested when renting new farm land to determine the fertility level of the soils.

Size of Parcel: smaller parcels will generally bring lower rates and larger parcels more due to the cost of trans-porting large equipment. In fact, some small parcels of less than 5 acres are rented for free by landowners simply to reduce their property tax liability through the Farmland Use Assessment law.

Accessibility: fields with narrow, steep or poor farm road access for large farm equipment and tractor trailers will bring less than those fields bordering a paved road.

Contract Length and Payment: the number of years that the land lease runs and when payment is required will impact the price. Some landlords require 100% of the payment up front. There is usually some discount given on these contracts due to the time value of money. However, most contracts still require half of the rental payment up front and the other half at the end of the year. Many farmers are also looking at flexible cash rental agreements to help reduce rental rates. However, they find resistance from landlords on fixed income that are not interested in taking on any of the risk in the crop prices or yields even if it could potentially mean higher returns.

Conservation Plan: a farm that requires hay in the rotation and containing contour strips may bring lower rental rates because many grain producers are not interested in hay, and don’t want to deal with strips and waterways, there-fore you have smaller pool of producers interested in the land.

Personal factors: many landlords place a big value in how they are treated (plowing their snow, giving a quarter of beef, etc.) timeliness of payment, and how the land is cared for when determining rates. Many times these personal factors trump all the others listed when determining rental rates.

The bottom line on land rental rates is that the land is worth whatever another party is willing to pay for it and that is set by local supply and demand. If you want to see rental rate charts or get farm cash lease forms, both fixed and flexible go to the UW-Extension Green County Agriculture Web page at: green.uwex.edu/agriculture/

Factors Determining Land Rental Rates in 2017

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Green County and USDA Agricultural Agency’s

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Policy

The Green County Agencies of UW-Extension, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Department of Land Conservation, and Farm Service Agency are committed to our obligation to provide equal opportunity and affirmative action in program participation, educational programs, and employment. Equal opportunity for minorities and women in all levels of program participation, is the cornerstone of this obligation. In addi-tion, we are committed to developing positive action to insure program expansion to under-represented individuals in Green County.

We are committed to the full participation of members of protected groups, creating a diverse workforce representative of the labor markets. We will promote the full realization of equal opportunity for minori-ties, women, and persons with disabilities, through comprehensive affirmative action programs. No person will be excluded form participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination in any program or activity. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for disabled individuals to insure equal access for programs participation.

We hope this has been helpful to you in understanding our equal opportunity and affirmative action obligations. We look forward to continuing our partnership with all of you to bring the resources of our Agencies to the people of Green County.

Sincerely,

Mark Mayer UW-Extension Agriculture Agent

Jason Thomas Natural Resources Conservation Service District Conservationist

Todd Jenson Department of Land Conservation County Conservationist

Teresa R. Zimmer Farm Service Agency County Executive Director

If you are willing to receive future newsletters via email please send an e-mail to:

mark.mayer@ces.uwex.edu

with “Agri-News” in the subject line

What's Inside: Green County Area Dairy Management Seminar 2017 Wisconsin Agribusiness Classic Conference Seminar on Managing Low Grain Margins Private Pesticide Applicator Certification 2017 Training Dates Dairy Situation and Price Outlook New Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) Regulations Determining 2017 Farm Land Rental Rates UW-Extension 2017 Soil & Water Health Meeting New Soybean Traits Don’t Automatically Translate to highest Yields Agriculture Plastic Recycling Program Determining the Value of Corn Stover Nutrient Management Training Classes in 2017

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