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MN Wheat Weekly Wheatsource

MN Wheat Weekly Wheatsource

MN Wheat Weekly Update

USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report (MN) –
Click Here for Full Report

  • HRS 97% Planted; 21 days ahead of 2020; 21 days ahead of 5yr avg
  • 50% Spring Wheat Emergence – 2 wks ahead of 2020 & 11 days ahead avg 
  • Top Soil Moisture: 12% very short, 32% short, 53% adequate, & 3% surplus
  • Sub Soil Moisture: 7% very short, 33% short, 57% adequate, & 3% surplus

American Families Plan Farm Example
Paul Neiffer

The USDA issued a press release titled “The American Families Plan Honors America’s Family Farms”.  In the press release, they strived to indicate that the transfer tax proposed in the American Families Plan will not affect 98% of farm estates.  However, the details are lacking and most farm families that keep the farm in the family may not owe any transfer tax, but they will owe a lot more income tax under the proposal…. Click here for a farm example

Seeking Cooperators for the Small Grain Pest and Disease Survey
The University Minnesota Extension has conducted a small grains pest and disease survey for more than a decade. This effort has been funded by your check-off dollars to inform producers and the research community of the presence of disease and pest problems, a first step to effective and timely management.

Rather than relying on random fields, we plan to visit only fields that you have volunteered, and we have written permission to scout. I ask your cooperation by volunteering some of your wheat fields now.

We will select a subset of all submitted fields such that we have a good representation across the region. We will inform you if one of your fields has been selected. Our scouts will visit only the selected fields this coming summer. The anonymous data will be used to generate the weekly pest, and disease updates in cooperation with NDSU. Unfortunately, we cannot share the data we collect in your fields with you individually.

The form will ask for your name, the latitude and longitude of the field in decimal degrees, the previous crop in that field, and asks whether you agree to grant the University of Minnesota Extension permission to enter the field. 

Thank you for considering this request. Simply follow the link at the bottom to a Google Form to submit your field.

Submission Form

Sin-cereal-y, 

Dr. Jochum Wiersma, UMN Small Grains Specialist
Dr. Jared Goplen, UMN Extension Educator – Crops

National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) Update
(Mariah Wollweber)

NAWG CEO Discusses Proposed Tax Changes

  • Last week, NAWG CEO Chandler Goule discussed the American Families Plan updates to stepped-up basis and higher capital gains taxes. “We’ve had programs that exempted family-owned businesses before, but they’ve been complex and difficult to administer,” said Goule. NAWG has continued to engage with the White House and Capitol Hill about our tax policy positions and learn more about how they are working to protect family farms as part of the American Families Plan. Read more here. 

NAWG Joins Coalition Letter in Support of Ag Research Infrastructure 

  • On Monday, May 3, NAWG joined a diverse collation of stakeholders in sending a letter to the House and Senate Agriculture Committee leadership calling for additional investments in agricultural research infrastructure needs. The United States must maintain the strong core research infrastructure for scientific discovery, technology transfer, and training of plant researchers that makes us competitive worldwide. Read the letter here. 

NAWG Joins Coalition Letter Urging Resolution to Ongoing Transatlantic Trade Issues

  • On Thursday, April 29, NAWG and U.S. Wheat Associates joined 86 other U.S. and EU trade associations in sending a joint letter to President Joseph R. Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for the permanent removal of tariffs on sectors unrelated to the ongoing WTO Boeing/Airbus disputes. On March 6, 2021, the U.S. and the EU agreed to temporarily suspend tariffs in connection to the Boeing/Airbus dispute. However, this suspension ends on July 11, 2021, and a long-term fix is needed to avoid tariffs once again being levied on U.S. wheat exports to the EU.

USDA Holds Listening Session on Impacts of COVID-19 on New Farmers

  • USDA held a virtual listening session on Thursday, May 6, for beginning farmers and ranchers to learn how COVID-19 impacted their farming operations and to get their feedback on USDA assistance. This feedback will inform USDA preparations for outreach strategies, programmatic needs, technical assistance, and accessible program delivery for beginning farmers and ranchers through Pandemic Assistance for Producers. Read the press release here.

US Wheat Associates, Weekly Price Report
Michael Anderson

  • With persistent dry conditions and continued strong global demand for feed wheat, all futures prices climbed higher for the fifth week in a row. CBOT soft red winter (SRW) futures rose 31 cents to close at $7.73/bu. KCBT hard red winter (HRW) futures were up 29 cents to end at $7.27/bu. MGE hard red spring (HRS) futures gained 26 cents to close at $7.89/bu. CBOT corn futures jumped 32 cents to end at $7.72/bu. CBOT soybean futures gained 50 cents to close at $16.21/bu.
  • Commercial Sales: View the most recent USW Commercial Sales report here.

U.S. Drought Monitor

  • Storms across Texas brought between 2 and 10 inches of rain greatly improving soil moisture conditions. Areas of southern and eastern Oklahoma also received significant rainfall this week. The High Plains, including Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming, also welcomed rain that reduced areas of severe drought in southwestern Nebraska and northwestern Kansas. Northeastern Colorado received 2 to 4 inches of rainfall boosting soil moisture. However, extreme drought conditions expanded in the Dakotas, and Oregon, Washington and Idaho continue to see below-average rainfall.

Industry Updates
MN Farm Bureau Federation IMPACT

Stepped-Up Basis

  • Representatives Michelle Fischbach (MN-07) and Adrian Smith (NE-03) today led more than 130 of their Republican House of Representatives colleagues, including Minnesota Representatives Hagedorn, Emmer and Stauber, in sending a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy opposing the Biden Administration’s proposal to repeal stepped-up basis from the tax code and require payment of capital gains taxes at death. Read the full letter here. 
  • In addition, Minnesota Representative Angie Craig and 12 other Democrats representing heavily agricultural districts are also urging House leaders to fully exempt family-owned farms from President Joe Biden’s plan to tax appreciated assets at death. Read the full letter here. 
  • If you have not yet reached out to your member of Congress using the Minnesota Farm Bureau Action Alert Center to tell them about the importance of preserving stepped-up basis, please do so now. You can easily send an email by clicking here. 

30X30

The Biden Administration released its long-awaited 30×30 report today. Titled Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful, it outlines 8 principles and 6 initial recommendations to the National Climate Change Task Force.

The report outlines 8 principles that “reflect a broad consensus of views and recommendations among the many stakeholders, agencies, and Tribes consulted in developing this report.”

  • Pursue a Collaborative and Inclusive Approach to Conservation
  • Conserve America’s Lands and Waters for the Benefit of All People
  • Support Locally Led and Locally Designed Conservation Efforts
  • Honor Tribal Sovereignty and Support the Priorities of Tribal Nations
  • Pursue Conservation and Restoration Approaches that Create Jobs and Support Healthy Communities
  • Honor Private Property Rights and Support the Voluntary Stewardship Efforts of Private Landowners and Fishers
  • Use Science as a Guide
  • Build on Existing Tools and Strategies with an Emphasis on Flexibility and Adaptive Approaches

The report concludes with six initial recommendations.

  • Create More Parks and Safe Outdoor Opportunities in Nature-Deprived Communities
  • Support Tribally Led Conservation and Restoration Priorities.
  • Expand Collaborative Conservation of Fish and Wildlife Habitats and Corridors.
  • Increase Access for Outdoor Recreation.
  • Incentivize and Reward the Voluntary Conservation Efforts of Fishers, Ranchers, Farmers
  • Create Jobs by Investing in Restoration and Resilience.
  • Read the statement from American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall here.

State Legislative Update
Joint Budget Targets Expected Tomorrow

On Friday, Majority Leader Gazelka (R-Nisswa) and Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park), the leaders of the majority caucuses of the Minnesota legislature, are expected to announce joint budget targets. 

The agreement would provide Conference committees with the budget structure necessary to reach possible agreement on the respective conference reports that could ultimately make up the state’s next fiscal budget. The reports would include compromise language between the House and Senate conferees then be placed before the full body of each chamber for a vote. Conference Reports are not amendable.

Agriculture Conference Committee Update

Senators and Representatives met four times this week in virtual meetings to walkthrough language put forth in the House and Senate versions of the Omnibus Agriculture legislation. Discussion included overviews of same and similar language as well as the differences both in policy and spending.

The conferees are close to agreement on three sets of provisions where the language from the House and Senate versions is similar. The compromise language could be adopted as early as Monday.

  • Clarification on certain uses of hand sanitizer 
  • Modifications to cottage food law
  • License exemptions for certain wild game processors

MFBF continues to closely monitor conference committee discussion for progress as it relates to our 2021 Priority Issues and the grassroots policy set by MFBF members, including:

  • Broadband funding
  • Biofuels infrastructure funding
  • Continuation of Farm Safety funding and awareness
  • Continuation of mental health resources for farmers and rural communities
  • Creation of a meat cutting and butchery program and increased processing capacity across the state
  • Changes to MPCA NPDES permits
  • Modifications to the Board of Animal Health membership
  • Language that would require neonicotinoid-treated seed label use and disposal regulation.