SD Corn

The South Dakota Natural Resources Conservation Service continues to be proactive in lessening the enormous backlog of wetland determinations lying in wait in South Dakota.

According to South Dakota’s acting State Conservationist, Paul Flynn, “Producers who indicate to USDA that they will ONLY be conducting maintenance activities will be informed they can proceed without delay and without any additional evaluation or investigation by NRCS.”

While the standard AD-1026 paperwork will still need to be filled out, this alteration will relieve around 1300 current wetland determinations, which represent around 25% of the total determination backlog load.

Flynn explains “This is not a change in policy; it is a clarification of policy that has been in place since 2006. This clarification means two significant things for producers,” Flynn says, “First, producers are being given the ‘go ahead’ to determine on their own when the activity they are planning is maintenance, or not. Secondly, producers have the responsibility for ensuring that the activity they are going to do is actually maintenance.”

Flynn encourages producers with wetlands to read the maintenance fact sheet to become familiar with the rules and responsibilities.  “If there are folks out there who are still uncertain if their drainage maintenance activities on an existing system meet the requirements defined as maintenance, they should contact their local NRCS office.”

You can find the NRCS Wetland Conservation Compliance Maintenance Exemption Fact Sheet on our website at: http://www.sdcorn.org/documents/publications/DOC043012.pdf

Corn Comments Podcast with Jim Woster.

Have you seen our new newsletter, emerge? We have combined our two newsletters into one and reformatted the look with bigger pages using recycled paper and soy-based inks. Go paperless and read it online by clicking here.

Spots for the SDCGA Corn Cob Open are going fast, so be sure to call the office at 605-334-0100 and get your team(s) signed up soon.

One more thing, don’t  forget about our membership special. We will be giving away a NEW iPad to one lucky new or renewing SDCGA member who chooses to sign-up during the months of April, May or June. Stand up for corn today!

South Dakota Corn received a number of awards at this year’s National Agri-Marketing Association convention, which took place this week in Kansas City.

BEST OF SHOW – NAMA 2012:

Producer- or Company-Funded Advertising Directed to Consumers

Ag Rules: Video, Bingo, Logo, Corn Trailer

1ST PLACE AWARDS:

Producer- or Company-funded Advertising Campaign

Ag Rules/South Dakota “Amazing Corn Adventure” Trailer

Producer-funded Public Relations Program Directed to Ag Audiences

Ag Rules/South Dakota “Amazing Corn Adventure” Corn Trailer

MERIT AWARD

Exhibits Category

South Dakota “Amazing Corn Adventure” Trailer

NATIONAL FINALIST IN 3 CATEGORIES:

Producer or Company Funded PR Campaigns to Consumers

Thank A Farmer Campaign

Websites

www.TrueEnvironmentalists.com – Phase 2

Interactive Marketing Tools

“Corn on a Mission” matching game (website and corn trailer game)

“This is a tremendous honor,” said Teddi Mueller, Industry and Legislative Affairs Director with South Dakota Corn. “In my 13 years we have changed our focus and become a big-picture oriented organization. The Best of Show is the highest honor we can receive and I have to thank our team at South Dakota Corn, Paulsen Marketing and our entire organization for allowing us to grow and bust out of our shell.”

It’s always interesting to see where the money goes for the goods you buy, especially the necessities like food. As you can see from the graphic above, the money you spend on food is divided between various industries.

When breaking it down, it seems crazy to think that only 10% of that dollar goes to the people who raised the food you eat. That’s a testament to the nation’s producers who continue to become more efficient and productive. America’s farmers are not only feeding more people, but they are keeping those food prices down as we spend a lesser percentage of our income on food than any other country.

*The top graphic comes from the most recent UDSA Food Dollar update in March 2012.

The 2012 Precision Ag Conference was filled with great speakers, who concentrated their message around one task, doing more with less. Getting more from the land with fewer inputs while improving the overall environment. This idea of increasing productivity is not simply a dream, but a necessity if we plan on being able to continue feeding our world’s growing population.

The challenge is indeed real as I heard some very interesting statistics from Dr. David Clay of South Dakota State University. Dr. Clay stated that for each person born, 1 acre of space is lost to urbanization. In terms of food, he noted that in 1994 we had 1.8 acres to feed each person, but by 2050 we will need to use only .6 acres.

Dr. Clay believes that elevated productivity will not come from increased irrigation, fertilizer use or additional farmland. Our challenges will be me achieved by farming smarter, using precision tools and technology driven by new knowledge to continue our producers on a course of making more from less.

Did you know that farmers care about clean water? It’s true, and their practices prove it. They include the planting of buffer strips, cover crops, reduced tillage and the application of nutrients with precision technology.

Buffer strips or grass waterways along the edge of fields and through low spots are crucial to the removal of nitrates from running water after excess rain fall. Reduced tillage and cover crops also reduce the amount of nutrient runoff and soil erosion from fields. And famers who precisely apply their nutrients or plant food to the soil are able to apply just the right amount in exact spots needed.

Beyond that, farmers are also researching and participating in different water quality projects like saturated buffers, two-stage ditch design, proper nutrient management and organized watershed districts.

An exciting research project going on in South Dakota is the work being done on denitrifying bioreactors. These bioreactors are basically giant filters made of wood chips which are buried underground at the end of a tile line. Past research shows that these filters can capture as much as 50-70% of the nitrates carried in the water.

There are two things that all of these projects have in common: 1) They benefit our water. 2) They are all at a cost to the farmer. Whether it’s dedicating land or paying for the research, installation and upkeep, these projects are coming out of our producer’s pockets.

Why? Because they have a moral obligation to care for the land and water, which enable them to meet the growing demand for food, feed, fuel and fiber year after year that we all depend on.