appreciation for ag teachers

A Cattleman's Prayer

The Cowman's Prayer

Don't know the author's name. Heard it sung in a cowcamp
near Fort Sumner,

on the Pecos River, New Mexico.

Now, O Lord, please lend me thine ear,
The prayer of a cattleman to hear;
No doubt the prayers may seem strange,
But I want you to bless our cattle range.

Bless the round-ups year by year,
And don't forget the growing steer;
Water the lands with brooks and rills
For my cattle that roam on a thousand hills.

Prairie fires, won't you please stop?
Let thunder roll, water drop.
It frightens me to see the smoke;
Unless it's stopped, I'll go dead broke.

As you, O Lord, my herd behold,
It represents a sack of gold;
I think at least five cents a pound
Will be the price of beef the year round.

One thing more and then I'm through,
Instead of one calf, give my cows two.
I may pray different from other men,
But I've had my say, and now, Amen.

Bill to extend Ethanol Tax Credit

The federal tax credit for ethanol is set to expire at the end of this year.
However, a bill recently introduced by North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy and Illinois Rep. John Shimkus would extend the ethanol credit for five years at the current level of 45 cents per gallon.

 

The Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) is known as the “blender’s credit” because it goes not to ethanol producers, but to entities that blend ethanol with gasoline as an economic incentive to get renewable fuel to the retail marketplace. This economic incentive is usually passed on to consumers in the form of lower prices at the pump. The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) points to the tax credit’s benefits to consumers and to the jobs created by the ethanol industry as key reasons the credit should be extended.
“In today’s economy, the focus must be on creating jobs, and extending the federal ethanol tax credit will not only save thousands of American jobs, but it will allow new American jobs to be created as U.S. ethanol production and use continues to expand,” said Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President of ACE, the nation’s largest ethanol advocacy association.
Thirty grassroots members of the American Coalition for Ethanol were on Capitol Hill earlier this week for the organization’s second annual DC fly-in. The ethanol advocates met with more than 60 Members of Congress and their staff, asking for the reauthorization of VEETC and for support for more flex-fuel vehicles and ethanol blender pumps.
The Pomeroy-Shimkus “Renewable Fuels Reinvestment Act” also includes a five-year extension of the ethanol Small Producer Credit, the cellulosic ethanol tax credit, and the secondary tariff of 54 cents per gallon.
A recent study by LECG, LLC found that in 2009, the U.S. ethanol industry supported nearly 400,000 jobs in all sectors of the economy, including the ongoing production of ethanol, construction of new facilities, and research and development activities. The same study found that the ethanol industry more than pays for the cost of its tax credit. The two major federal incentives for ethanol, VEETC and the Small Producer Credit, together cost an estimated $5 billion in 2009. The combination of increased Gross Domestic Product and higher household income generated an additional $8.4 billion in tax revenue for the federal government in 2009, showing that the U.S. ethanol industry generated a surplus of $3.4 billion for the federal treasury.
Ethanol benefits gas prices in two ways: by creating a larger domestic supply of fuel which exerts downward pressure on overall gas prices, and through the 45-cent tax credit which is passed along to consumers at the pump. In many areas of the country, motorists can choose the E10 blend at the pump and save 5 to 10 cents per gallon compared to standard gasoline.
“Americans deserve relief for their pocketbooks in these tough economic times, and there is no tax credit that gets to the consumer level more directly than the ethanol tax credit. Letting VEETC expire would be the equivalent of raising taxes on Americans who purchase a U.S.-made, renewable product, but keeping and extending VEETC is an economic and energy security insurance policy that more than pays for itself,” Jennings added.
According to a new report by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri, if VEETC expires U.S. ethanol production will decline and American jobs will be lost. Ethanol production would decline by an estimated 1.4 billion gallons in 2011 and 2012, and by 3.6 billion gallons by 2019. This would result in job losses at ethanol plants and at businesses that service and supply the industry.
A new study, conducted by economic consulting firm ENTRIX, found that the expiration of VEETC would result in the loss of more than 112,000 jobs in all sectors of the economy, and a reduction of domestic ethanol production by 38 percent. This would leave a void in the fuel supply likely filled by increased reliance on imported motor fuels. This study estimates a reduction in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product by $16.9 billion if VEETC is allowed to expire, the elimination of $2.7 billion in state/local tax revenues and $2.4 billion in federal tax revenues, and a reduction of U.S. household income by $4.2 billion.
The FAPRI report also found that if VEETC expires, corn prices would drop 15 cents per bushel over the 2010-2019 timeframe. Because ethanol helps create demand for corn, farmers are able to obtain a fair market price for their product; with higher prices for corn, federal counter-cyclical farm program payments are not needed to support prices. USDA estimated that in 2007, farm program payments were reduced by some $6 billion due to the higher value of a bushel of corn. If VEETC expires and corn prices drop, taxpayers will spend more on farm program payments.
The studies referenced here can be found in “Ethanol Research” under the “All About Ethanol” menu heading at http://www.ethanol.org.

Source: American Coalition for Ethanol, Delta Farm Press

Mar. 26, 2010 8:48am

Farm friends

So yesterday was a sad day for my family. My pet of many many years passed away. :(  So today in honor of my dog Shilo i wanted to write a little something about pets.



Pets can actually be a big help on a farm, especially dogs. Dogs can help with catching other animals, help keep away predators, eat annoying animals, and just really be the companion you need. They would be the one following you around even when you really do not want them to or getting into something that really just makes you laugh when they come to you with their tail in between their legs and eyes looking like "Uh Oh what did I do".

With kids around, dogs are great. They also help round up those kids and keep them out of trouble. Back when my dad was a kid, their farm dog would basically babysit him. When my dad would start to go somewhere he was not suppose to or the dog sensed there could be trouble, the dog would grab him by his pants with his teeth and drag him back to where he was suppose to be without ever harming him.

We need to remember that even though dogs are pets, they should not be taken forgranted because one day they will not be here and you will really miss what you had.

People always say that dogs are man's best friend and from experience I agree. Shilo was my best friend. Us girls like to talk our feelings and thoughts out and that dog was always there to lend a little tail wag or kiss when i needed it the most. He was always willing to do anything that I wanted him to and never hesitated. Him and I had this bond like non other. Not even the relationships with my other family members and him were as strong as his and mine. So yesterday I did not just loose a dog, but I lost one of my best friends and nothing will ever replace that.

Glenwood Peters

Wouldn’t you like to go back to the “Good Ole days?” It was the days when ice cream was 5 cents and there was penny candy.  Life seemed to be easier then, when it was small town living and everyone knew everyone and I mean everyone. There was nothing that you could do in a small town that didn’t get heard by everyone in the town.

Glenwood Peters grew up on a small farm in the 1930’s. He learned that you need to work hard to appreciate what you get out of life. He said, “If you didn’t have money, then you just didn’t go anywhere and back then there wasn’t really anywhere to go.” Glenwood grew up during the Great Depression on a farm near Benson, IL. Farming back then was a little different than it is today. There was not all the big technology that there is today or the intensive research on the genes of our crops. The information was just not available at the time.

They used horses not only for transportation but also for farming. They got their first tractor back in 1935. Their farm was very small since it was just some rented land that they could afford at the time, so he also decided to help out the neighbor for money.

Back then because there was no technology that helps out like it does today, they had to work extra hard to get all the chores done. Glenwood stayed to help his family with the farm but also worked a few nights a week to help bring money in to support his family. As technology got stronger and easier to get a hold of, things got a little easier on the farm just in the fact of the extra horse power.

Things are so different than back in the 1930’s. things have gotten better in the terms of technology and the enhancements of genes in crops. So here’s my question, do you think we could go back to no technology and only use ourselves and horses like they did back in the ole days???

Weather rant

So the weather has been super crazy! First its cold adn dreary and then it becomes totally beautiful! Then it gets cold and windy again but its totally crazy that it got wonderful again and we all were hoping for the shorts and t-shirts to be able to be kept out. Unfortunatly the weather has gotten cold once again and the long sleeve shirts have made an appearence once again. So whats the point Mr. Weather?? Can the weather just stay nice and warm or will it be one of those years where the weather is going to be totally crazy? What do you guys think???

Soybean market to shoot higher

Mike McGinnis03/26/2012 @ 8:34am

A stronger overnight trade along with a lot of bullish news items, the CME Group soybean market is set up for a sharply higher trade Monday.

The Early Calls for the commodities on Monday, March 26, 2012, are mostly higher.

Corn is seen opening 1-2 cents higher, soybeans 10-12 cents higher and wheat steady-to-higher.

In overnight trading, the July corn futures contract traded 1/2 of a cent higher at $6.45 per bushel. July soybean futures traded 12 cents higher at $13.83 3/4 per bushel, and July wheat traded steady at $6.64 1/2. For July soybean meal futures, the contract traded $3.50 per short ton higher at $377.40. July soybean oil futures traded $0.31 higher at $55.60.

The outside markets are mostly favorable for Monday's grain trade. The real factors driving the calls will be the higher soybean overnight markets.

Here are just a few supportive soybean news items from the Dow Jones Newswire Monday:

--Brazil's AgRural agency drops its Brazil 2011-12 soybean production estimate by 1.9% to 66.68 mmt.

--China 2011-12 soybean imports will be between 55-58.0 mmt, above 52.0 last year, Cofco Corp., a China state grain trader says.

--Oil World estimates global soybean output to fall by 22-23.0 mmt this year.

--China corn deficit to reach 17.0 mmt per year by 2020.

--Soybean prices are projected to go over $14 soon.