U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley still working on one of his goals: passing the farm bill, but right now it isn’t looking good
ON THE EDGE:
Stunted corn on the end of fields may be due to “the edge effect”
FAIR TIME:
Area youth put in the work with their animals to show at county fairs
Jamee
U.S. Congress allows for 1-year extension of latest farm bill until the next version can be drafted and approved in 2025
By Christopher Braunschweig Central Iowa Ag Mag
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, had a handful of goals he wanted to meet by the end of the year — like keeping prescription drug prices down and passing the updated farm bill — but so far he is not confident he will get to accomplish them. Why? Grassley pointed to the Senate majority leader.
“The only explanation I can give you for that is Sen. (Chuck) Schumer runs the agenda of the U.S. Senate, and he decides what’s coming up or not coming up — that one person,” Grassley said at a June 21 town hall in Jasper County. “If
we had a Republican majority it would be the Republican doing that.”
When it comes to reducing prescription drug prices, Grassley said it will be doing that indirectly in a bill that will affect pharmacy benefit managers, which are the middleman entities between the pharmacy and consumers. Pharmacy benefit managers decide prices and rebates. Grassley said it is a problem.
“Go to your local pharmacist and say to them, ‘What do you think of PBMs?’ And then they’ll let you know,” Grassley said. “I’ve never seen a country pharmacist have anything good to say about PBMs.”
If anyone had any questions about the farm bill at the town hall, Grassley said he was not going to get into it much that day. Though he did speculate the reason why the farm bill was not moving forward is because lawmakers from rural states think the next iteration should reflect the increased inflation since 2018.
“I think we’re going to have a one-year extension,” Grassley said.
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a group that advocates for federal policy reform that advances the farming industry and rural communities as a whole. According to the NSAC, the farm
bill is package of legislation passed about once every five years. The bill has a big impact on farming livelihoods.
Oftentimes the farm bill covers programs ranging from crop insurance for farmers to healthy food access for low-income families, NSAC said. It also helps with beginning farmer training for sustainable farming practices. NSAC said the bill sets the stage for food and farm systems in the United States.
NSAC said the original farm bills were established in the 1930s as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New
James Henry/Central Iowa Ag Mag
Mike McCarville, trait development manager at BASF, details how soybean growers have been longing for a solution to protect their fields from SCN for decades — and with the introduction of Nemasphere, they are finally getting a tool to go on the offense against this invisible threat.
By James Henry Central Iowa Ag Mag
There has not been a major trait launched to manage soybean cyst nematodes in over six decades.
Until now, that is.
BASF Agricultural Solutions has introduced the Nemasphere nematode resistance trait, the first and only biotechnology trait for SCN, the No. 1 yield-robbing pest in soybeans in the United States.
“People have been chasing this for years, and for 60 years, it’s the first time we’re going to have something really new,” said Mike McCarville, trait development manager at BASF.
It will be available for the 2028 planting season, pending regulatory approvals.
Nemasphere produces a novel Cry14 protein that is ingested by nematodes, interfering with nutrient uptake in their intestines and leading to the nematodes’ death.
“With native resistance, the plant is detecting an effector protein secreted by the
nematode. It’s sealing off the feeding site, killing it,” McCarville said.
“I like to call SCN the world’s greatest couch potato because literally if you take the food away from the sofa they won’t move to find more food — they’ll just starve to death.
“With a Cry protein, they’re actually ingesting a toxin. So, it’s an entirely different mode of action.”
BASF is the first company to develop a transgenic, or genetically modified, trait to control SCN.
“I think most big ag companies and a lot of small ag companies were trying to find a novel Cry protein that kills nematodes and get it into a soybean plant,” said Julia Daum, BASF senior program leader.
“And we found lots and lots and lots of ways to fail. And we failed for a very long time.”
But, in 2016, she and her team of agronomists, microbiologists, biochemists and molecular biologists found something — not just a tool to try and help solve the problem, but an actual solution for it.
“Over 20 years ago, we had a dream; we had a vision of a solution to a problem that growers didn’t even know they had,” said Bryan Perry, the U.S. head of seeds and traits for BASF Agricultural Solutions.
Of all the soybean varieties sold in the United States today, 98% come from four main breeding programs — and there are 160 soybean brands on the market today, Perry said.
“We’re excited to be introducing a fifth breeding program to the United States and to growers for the upcoming planting season,” he said.
Jesse Gilsinger, BASF North American soybean breeding manager, grew up on a livestock and grain farm in Indiana.
“I’ve been in soybean breeding for about 20 years, and during that time, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a lot of different traits as a soybean breeder,” he said.
“I can say that out of all the soybean traits that I’ve gotten to work with as a breeder, this Nemasphere trait is certainly the one that I am definitely most excited about working with.”
The germplasm is the vehicle that gets the trait to the marketplace, Gilsinger explained.
“So, just like a farmer wants to have really good, reliable transportation to get their crop to the terminal, soybean breeders want to have really good, reliable germplasm to get a trait to market,” he said.
“We don’t want the wheels flying off of our germplasm one or two years before a trait launch. So, it’s really important to have really good germplasm.”
BASF has been breeding soybeans for about 12 years, starting out in Champaign, Illinois, and recently expanding to Sabin, Minnesota.
“We’ve got four soybean breeding programs now that cover the entire geography of the Midwest, from Group 0s all the way to a mid-Group 4,” Gilsinger said.
“By BASF coming to the scene here, we’re bringing in some more options for farmers, and that’s a good thing.”
Harnessing a completely novel mode
From sheep to cattle, pigs and horses, area 4H and FFA kids prepare
their animals for the show ring at their upcoming county fair
By Tom C. Doran Central Iowa Ag Mag
Stunted, yellowing corn plants along field edges have been attributed to herbicide drift, insect feeding and soil compaction over the years, but research suggests it’s due to edge effect.
This effect is most pronounced when soybeans, hay or pasture are located adjacent to the cornfield. Additionally, the effect is seen more on the southern or western sides of the field.
In addressing the issue, Matt Montgomery, central and west-central Illinois Pioneer field agronomist, said it helps to understand “the dynamic nature of the environment that we tend to interact with to try to raise crops.”
“It’s a good reminder for us not to jump to conclusions,” he said.
Standing in a ditch between a cornfield and gravel road, Montgomery said there may be a notion that the yellowing leaves are due to a potash deficiency in the soil, but that’s not the case in his example.
“There may be some contributing factors here. There may have been at times a dust cloud from the gravel road sprinkling on the field and increase pH. That could move the needle around on overall nutrient availability, and maybe that’s a contributing factor,” he said.
“There have been some people from time to time say maybe we cut into some subsoil as the ditch was cut out and because of that you have inherently lower potash supplies and that’s contributing to this.
“Those could be contributing factors, but I don’t think they’re the big player. I think the big player actually is competition for water resources between corn plants, neighboring field crops or grass from the ditch. This issue only intensifies during bouts of high wind or dryness.”
Higher temperatures naturally increase crop water demand by creating a higher
vapor pressure deficit between the saturated leaf interior and the ambient air. Corn plants respond to higher VPD by closing their stomata and preserving water.
However, this reduces the rate at which plants take in carbon dioxide, lowering the rate of photosynthesis and potentially hurting yield.
Greater evaporative demand also increases soil water supply depletion, which can cause longer-term stress on the crop.
Plants on field edges may also be at greater risk for sunscald, which occurs when evaporative demand increases faster than the plant is able to respond, causing leaf tissue to die.
Nutrients are taken up into the corn plant in three main ways — directly by the roots, during water uptake and diffusion.
Drought-like conditions can result in less uptake of the necessary nutrients, as well as higher competition by grass roots next to the crops on the end rows, which can lead to yellowing of the corn leaves.
“The environment we run into day in and day out is dynamic,” Montgomery said. “Understanding that plants are constantly competing for many of the same nutrients and moisture helps explain yellowing corn and edge effect.”
While the yield impact of edge effect is often minimal, drought stressed corn — especially during grain fill — can lead to yield loss.
Iowa State University conducted edge effect field studies in corn in 2019 and 2020.
“It is often thought to be caused by herbicide drift and this is a plausible cause. However, in our experience we could not confirm herbicide drift. Our work suggests the phenomenon is caused by a combination of corn microclimate and weather patterns,” the study said.
“Air passing over and mixing into the
corn canopy is initially drier at the field edge and due to plant respiration the air collects more moisture as it passes further into the field. Thus, corn respiration rates are higher — for example, think more water use occurring — along the field edges because of the drier air. Over time, the greater water use leads to elevated drought stress along the field edges.”
In the trials across seven locations in Iowa, the edge effect yield penalty ranged from 35 to 70 bushels per acre.
However, in 2019 the number of kernel rows and kernels per ear were not affected, but at two of four sites the kernel weight was smaller along the edge of the field.
In 2020, at one of three sites, both kernels per ear and kernel weight were reduced. This suggests the timing of stress is occurring in July and August during pollination and grain fill and not during ear formation, V6 to about V14.
Montgomery said he addressed edge effect because “it helps explains something that we run into each year that generates some concern, but it also helps you and I remember that the environment we run into is dynamic.”
“Yes, these are potash deficiency symptoms, but the issue isn’t potash. The issue in this case is actually moisture availability and that’s the issue because we’ve had this combination of drought and a lot of roots nearby competing for moisture,” he said.
“It’s also a good reminder that if we looked at nothing but symptoms and had not considered all the other factors that are at play in this field, we would have jumped to some very inappropriate conclusions about what was going on here. You may have decided that is was a nutrient-related issue that needed to be corrected.
“It’s just maybe another way that we can appreciate this complex system that we try to raise a crop in.”
Deal legislation, a response to the Great Depression. Its goals were to keep food prices fair for farmers and consumers, ensure adequate food supply and protect the country’s natural resources.
Subsequent farm bills have obviously changed over time but these original goals remain the same. Today’s farming systems are confronted by new challenges.
However, the last farm bill was enacted in December 2018 and expired in September 2023. Grassley’s comments suggest a new bill will not be fully addressed or even approved this year. According to a report by Georgina Gustin of Inside Climate News, the next iteration of the farm bill is the most expensive.
So far the latest draft of the farm bill is $1.5 trillion.
In Washington, D.C., intense arguments over farm pollution and environmental regulations have stifled the already difficult-to-pass bill. Historically, the farm bill is habitually delayed or agonized over by lawmakers. Gustin’s reporting shows the disputes have more often been about divisive climate issues between parties.
Inside Climate News reported the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture had moved its version of the bill in May. The bill is officially called the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2024. It offers incentives to farmers to leave land unplanted or plant crops that capture carbon and store it in the soil.
of action, Nemasphere will be stacked with the Enlist E3 herbicide tolerance trait and available in a full range of the top-performing and best-yielding soybean seed varieties.
“Now you think about this germplasm, the yield advantage of this germplasm, and then stacking that or getting the benefit from the Nemasphere trait that is coming in and you can see the potential for a really game-changing type of product for the farmers to grow in their fields,” Gilsinger said.
Nemasphere is already helping breeders unleash the full
Originally, the proposed farm bill introduced in May also reduced funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Brandi D. Addison of the USA Today network in West Texas reported in July that this has also been a primary point of contention between Democrats and Republicans.
Republicans have proposed raising price floors for agricultural products like corn and soybeans. But in order to fund these new price floors — which would cost $50 billion over the next 10 years — the bill proposed eliminating a 2018 provision that allowed increases to SNAP benefits, Addison reported.
So what happens if newly proposed farm bill it is not approved? Well, the country will still operate under the version passed in 2018 until Sept. 30, 2025. With Republicans controlling the House and Democrats controlling the Senate, it is possibly the next election could shift seats around and distribute majorities.
Either way, it is going to take a bipartisan effort to pass one of the biggest pieces of legislation the U.S. Congress regularly passes.
The farm bill’s chapters are called titles. The numbers and the substance matter of the titles can sometimes change over time.
Here are the 12 titles in the 2018 farm bill and what they cover:
Title 1: Commodities — Price and income support for farmers, as well as agricultural disaster assistance.
Title 2: Conservation — Programs that
genetic gain potential of their diverse germplasm.
It is a single-locus trait, which enables breeders to incorporate Nemasphere into a full range of high-yielding seed varieties with no compromises to overall agronomic performance and access to use the Enlist weed control system.
“I am quite convinced that this trait will help enable the next step-change in U.S. soybean production,” Gilsinger said.
BASF is in its eighth year of advanced field testing of Nemasphere in North America, including more than 200 field trials in the United States. On average, Nemasphere boosts yield potential by 8 percent.
help farmers implement conservation efforts on pasture and cropland.
Title 3: Trade — Food export subsidy programs and international food aid programs.
Title 4: Nutrition — Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other smaller nutrition programs for low-income Americans.
Title 5: Credit — Federal loan programs designed to help farmers access financial credit.
Title 6: Rural Development — Programs that foster rural economic growth through rural business and community development.
Title 7: Research, Extension and Related Matters — Farm and food research, education and extension programs designed to support innovation.
Title 8: Forestry — Forest-specific conservation programs that help farmers and rural communities to be stewards of forest resources.
Title 9: Energy — Biofuel programs, installation of renewable energy systems and support for research related to energy.
Title 10: Horticulture — Farmers market and local food programs, funding for research and infrastructure for fruits, vegetable and other horticultural crops.
Title 11: Crop Insurance — Premium subsidies to farmers and subsides to private crop insurance companies who provide federal crop insurance.
Title 12: Miscellaneous — Oftentimes used as a catch-all.
BASF is committed to giving back to farmers, Perry said.
“It’s great to be working at an innovation-led company,” he noted.
Perry is responsible for the business management of BASF’s soybean, cotton and canola branded seed businesses, as well as trait licensing across the United States.
The fifth generation to be involved with his family farming operation, he grew up on a farm in northwest Missouri and has over 26 years of experience in the agricultural industry through various sales, marketing and business management roles.
“There’s always a new prob-
lem that emerges,” he said. “And over my 26 years, I’ve seen things from weed resistance to disease, to insects, and you name it. There’s always something new that’s coming forward.”
That is why it is so important that BASF invests 11 percent of every dollar that a grower spends back into new research and development for seed, seed treatment, chemistry and digital technology, Perry said.
“There is an entire village of people at BASF that have really brought this technology to the marketplace,” said Neil Bentley, BASF vice president of market management. “It takes collaboration among people to really bring great technologies forward.”
Wear Parts by Ihle Fabrications, LLC are made for farmers with high-quality steel options including Hardox®, Stern®, and various stainless-steel grades.
We are excited to announce a new partnership between AgriVision Equipment, and Ihle Fabrication, LLC. This partnership will allow us to offer lhle’s cutting edge wear parts as a solution to our customers and represents a significant advancement in our purpose to Lead Agriculture in Rural America with innovative and reliable solutions.
Ihle Fabrications is a farmer-built company in Polk City, IA that is a leading provider in manufacturing agriculture wear parts for combines and other equipment. Visit www.lhleFabrications.com to view all parts.
JD FEEDERHOUSE
LINER KIT3-PIECE FLOOR KIT
#IF2530000K
FITS MODELS: 9660STS, 9670STS, 9760STS, 9770STS, 9860STS, 9870STS, S660, S670, S680, S685, S690, S760, S770, S780,S785, S790
$1,657
JD BACKUP STRIP DISCHARGE ACCELERATOR BEATER KIT
#IF2H165408
FITS MODELS: 9650STS, 9660STS, 9670STS, 9760STS, 9770STS, 9860STS, 9870STS, S650, S660, S670, S680, S685, S690, S760, S770, S780,S785, S790 $32
JD DISCHARGE BEAT WEAR STRIP KIT - LONG #IF2H236284K
FITS MODELS: 9770STS, S650, $48
JOHN DEERE BUBBLE UP LINER KITS
EXTENDED LENGTH 53 1/4” X 12”
FITS MODELS: S670, S680, S690, S780, S790
LINER #IF2AXE56594K $897
AUGER #IF2AXE69563 $1,197 KIT PRICE $2,094
EXTENDED LENGTH 45” X 11”
FITS MODELS: 9550, 9560STS, 9570STS, 9650, 9650STS, 9660, 9660STS, 9670STS, 9750STS, 9760STS, 9860STS, S650, S660, S670
LINER #IF2AH219094K $482
AUGER #IF2AH218485 $907 KIT PRICE $1,389
JD FEEDER ACCELERATOR & DISCHARGE BEATER BLADE - NOTCHED, SHORT #IF2H165407K
FITS MODELS: 9470STS, 9560STS, 9570STS, 9650STS, 9660STS, 9670STS, 9770STS, 9860STS, 9870STS, S650, S660, S670, S680, $19
EXTENDED LENGTH 45” X 12”
FITS MODELS: 9770STS, 9870STS, 9880STS, S670, S680, S690, S760, S770, S780
LINER #AXE56593K $814
AUGER #IF2AH230013 $995 KIT PRICE $1,809
LINER KIT
#IF2A4135563K
FITS MODELS: 9400, 9500, 9510, 9600, 9610 $830