With plenty of issues facing farmers during the upcoming planting season, the SDSU Extension Office is offering online meetings for farmers with specialists discussing topics like plant nutrition, moldy corn, tile drainage, etc. This program will provide farmers with live expert advice from the comfort of their own homes with the ability to interact with the group and ask questions from their keyboard.

The program also allows you look back at past meetings.

The next meeting is April 1^st at 10:30 am central time, with the subject of soil compaction.

Click here to check out the website information on future meetings or to watch past presentations.

Don’t let the technology intimidate you. Follow this link for the step by step directions for set up.

Twitter has been lit up all week with tweets about High Fructose Corn Syrup. A recent Princeton study released on Monday came with a headline saying HFCS causes rats to gain more weight than table sugar. So let’s dig a little deeper into the study.

The first study included 10 males in each group for total of 8 weeks. One group was fed HFCS with food for 12 hours a day and another was fed table sugar with food for 12 hours a day. This resulted in the HFCS group weighing more.

 But a similar study had the sweeteners with food available 24 hours a day and ended with the table sugar group weighing more.

An additional study with an unknown number of female rats over a period of seven months also provided both sweeteners with food to different groups 12 hours per day resulted in the table sugar group weighing more.

A major problem with these studies is the excessive amounts of sweeteners given to the rats. Comparing it to human consumption would equal a single person drinking 20 12oz cans of pop per day.

So what do these studies tell us? Not much, but a catchy headline like, “High Fructose Corn Syrup’s Big Fat Secret” is all it takes for the Twittervesre to go crazy over something so popular to be against.

Here are some things to remember…

“Consumers should not be misled by exaggerated studies that feed astronomical amounts of one ingredient to the study subjects, in this case rats. The medical community has long dismissed results from rat dietary studies as being inapplicable to human beings,” stated Audrae Erickson, president, Corn Refiners Association.

“Consumers should rest assured that high fructose corn syrup is safe. The American Medical Association concluded that high fructose corn syrup does not appear to contribute more to obesity than sugar. The American Dietetic Association stated that these two sweeteners are indistinguishable to the human body and are metabolized equivalently,” Erickson noted.

For more information on High Fructose Corn Syrup be sure to check out SweetSurprise.com

HR 4940, the “Renewable Fuels Reinvestment Act,” was introduced yesterday by Rep’s Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) and John Shimkus’ (R-IL) which would extend the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax, the Small Ethanol Producers Tax Credit and the Secondary Tariff on imported ethanol for an additional five years. The bill was co-sponsored by, Rep. Herseth-Sandlin (D-SD) among 28 others.

VEETC provides a 45 cent per gallon tax incentive for ethanol blenders, not farmers or ethanol plants is set to expire at the end of 2010. The incentive ensures ethanol blends in the marketplace and is passed on to the consumer in the form of lower prices at the pump.

A recent study warned that if the VEETC credit is allowed to expire it would cost 112,000 jobs and reduce domestic ethanol production by 38 percent. This loss of production would be made up for with imported fuels.

“The industry has a lot at stake,” said Brian Jennings, Vice-President of the American Coalition for Ethanol.

Extending the tax credit also plays and import role in the development of domestic cellulosic ethanol.

“Extending the VEETC is the single most vitally important action Congress can take to support thousands of jobs in all sectors and allow the ethanol industry to continue bolstering the economy with domestically produced fuel,” said Gary Duffy, president of the SDCGA. 

The expiring legislation would be a terrible blow to corn farmers and rural communities.

“As corn farmers get ready to plant this spring, the assurance of a strong and growing ethanol market is critically needed for the additional bushels of corn we produce every year on the same acres,” said Duffy. “And the economic boost the industry offers throughout South Dakota communities alone is unparalleled. It is critical that the ethanol industry has the incentive to expand production to meet the demands of consumers.” 

Some people may complain about these incentives, but they work. In 2009, the tax revenue from ethanol production generated $8.4 billion back to the Federal Government earning them $3.4 Billion more than the cost of VEETC.

During the week of March 14 – 20^th, we are celebrating National Ag Week by thanking farmers for all that they do, but let’s not forget what they provide us with the other 51 weeks each year.  National Ag Week is to recognize that farmer who does his or her very best when providing for their animals and land they live off of.

South Dakota is dominated by agriculture and which is something we should all appreciate. Our farmers raise some of the best beef, pork and poultry in the world. Not to mention record corn and soybean crops in tough conditions.

What do you have to be thankful for?

How about the dairy men and women that milk their cows every morning and night

How about the farmers checking on their calves at 3 a.m. in the freezing cold

How about those grain farmers producing record crops that provide food, feed, fuel and fiber

So the next time your grilling a steak or eating that sweet corn, take a second to think about that farmer that has devoted his life to raising the animals and grains that helped produce not only the best tasting, but some of the safest and most inexpensive food in the world.

Another commodity being produced by our farmers is of course, ethanol. Ethanol truly is a homegrown fuel, starting with a seed and eventually being put in your gas tank while never leaving the state. Our farmers and ethanol producers are providing South Dakota with a clean-burning fuel alternative that is not only benefitting our environment, but also our economy by keeping those dollars in our state.

We do have a great amount to be thankful for, so if you come across a farmer not only during the next week, but any time of year say those two kind words…”Thank You.”

Below are some links to videos of events taking place during National Ag Week in South Dakota.

Thank A Farmer

Ag in the Classroom

On Thursday, South Dakota Governor, Mike Rounds, signed House Bill 1192 into law, setting aside one million dollars of federal stimulus money to be given out in $10,000 grants for each additional ethanol blender pump installed in the state.

“I’m proud that our state lawmakers and our governor are supportive of home grown, clean and renewable energy,” said Rep. Mitch Fargen, the bill’s primary sponsor. “This incentive will make it easier for our state’s gas station owners to provide higher blends of ethanol, the consumer will have a greater choice at the pump, and our farmers who grow the commodities used in the production of ethanol will have a greater market for their product.”

As many as 100 blender pumps could be added to the 40 currently in South Dakota. Gas station owners are allowed to receive more than one grant if they choose to add additional blender pumps. Each pump must have four blender hoses minimum, featuring a variety of blends consisting of E 10, E 20, E 30, E50, E 85 and regular gasoline.

 “We continue to be impressed by the excellent leadership that Rep. Mitch Fargen has shown,” said Teddi Mueller, of the South Dakota Corn Growers Assoc. “The opportunity to expand our state’s ethanol infrastructure is exciting and we look forward to working with the ethanol industry to make sure the funds are utilized.”

The grants will be available between April 1 and May 28. Even with a short time-frame, a number of grant applications are expected.

“I’ve already taken a number of calls from station owners and managers asking for details,” said Mueller.

South Dakota was the first state to install ethanol blender pumps and this bill shows the continual progress being made towards enhancing agriculture, improving our economy, environment and lessening our dependence on foreign oil.

With the additional infrastructure, more consumers will have a choice when filling their tank, and what better choice than South Dakota grown, renewable, clean-burning ethanol.

Click to listen: National Ag Week Radio Ad

On Monday, March 15, 2010 a coalition of South Dakota check-off organizations will be kicking off National Ag Week with the “Thank a Farmer” campaign by providing free dishes of Culver’s Frozen Custard at three Sioux Fall’s locations including:

2800 S. Minnesota

5601 E. Arrowhead Parkway

2509 S. Louise

Stop in to learn more about how farmers grow our food and enjoy a dish of free frozen custard.

For planting, growing and harvesting.

For raising, feeding and producing.

For starting at sunrise and finishing at sunset.

For every missed vacation.

For loving every minute of it.

Thank a Farmer

Brought to you by your South Dakota Farmers and their check-off programs.