Archive - 2015

posted on Thursday, December 31, 2015 Last November 30, the EPA published its final rulemaking for the 2014-2017 time period of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which was enacted in 2007. The biodiesel mandate was slightly increased compared to the preliminary proposal released on May 29, 2015. The volumetric requirements for 2014, 2015,...

posted by S. Patricia Batres-Marquez on Tuesday, December 29, 2015 The latest monthly data from USDA/ERS indicates that U.S. ethanol production in September 2015 was 1.2 billion gallons, declining 4% from the previous month, but increasing 3% from a year ago. U.S. domestic ethanol production during the first nine months of 2015 reached a volume of 11.0...

posted by S. Patricia Batres-Marquez on Monday, December 14, 2015 The latest (December 7, 2015) USDA meat trade data indicates that after five months of continued decline, U.S. pork exports experienced growth during September and October 2015 (see Figure 1). Compared to their corresponding previous month, U.S. pork muscle cut exports rose 6.7% in September and 2.5%...

posted by Spencer Parkinson on Monday, November 23, 2015 Did you know that the average cat eats about 0.8 lbs of soybean meal a year? The average dog? They're a different story – they eat about 4.98 lbs of soybean meal a year. Okay, we can all go home now, now that we know this life...

posted on Wednesday, November 4, 2015 I was looking for a reasonable definition of the word "Analytics". This term is used everywhere in business nowadays and having some background in economics and statistical analysis, I am very curious about the new knowledge that it could add to what I do. Particularly, business analytics...

posted by Decision Innovation Solutions on Monday, October 12, 2015 I am currently a part of the Master of Agribusiness program through Kansas State University. It is a program designed for working professionals, so I am able to take the courses from a distance which allows me to continue my full-time work with Decision Innovation Solutions. This...

posted on Friday, September 25, 2015 I have been working with our team on several projects that required us to learn a lot about animal nutrition for most of the species of animals raised in the US for food as well as companion animals like dogs, cats and horses. We started by developing...

posted by S. Patricia Batres-Marquez on Thursday, September 3, 2015 U.S. agricultural exports to China have increased substantially over the last fifteen years. Annual sales to China increased from $1.7 billion in 2000 to $24.2 billion in 2014. From 2012 to 2014, U.S. agricultural exports to China exceeded the sales to Canada, Mexico, and Japan (see Figure...

posted on Friday, August 7, 2015 USDA released its annual Land Values report this week (August 6, 2015). Nationwide, farm real estate value averaged $3,020 per acre for 2015 which is an increase of 2.4 percent from 2014 values. The Southern Plains region shows the sharpest increase of 6.1% while the Corn Belt...

posted by Spencer Parkinson on Thursday, July 30, 2015 Since the beginning of 2015, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has resulted in the loss of more than thirty-eight million layers and pullets in the U.S. from infection or depopulation due to exposure to the virus. Layer operations affected by HPAI are in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin,...

posted on Thursday, June 25, 2015 Do you know what the following list of acronyms have in common? AMS, APHIS, ARS, CNPP, ERS, FSA, FNS, FSIS, FAS, GIPSA, NAL, NASS, NIFA, NRCS, RMA, RD. That's right, they are all United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies. You can find out more about each...

posted by S. Patricia Batres-Marquez on Wednesday, June 10, 2015 Avian influenza (HPAI) continues to impact the poultry industry in the U.S., particularly in Iowa. Based on USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS) data as of June 3, 2015, the total number of birds affected by HPAI was over 46 million birds. More than 65%...

posted by Spencer Parkinson on Thursday, May 21, 2015 At Decision Innovation Solutions, we utilize the best tools in the market to help our clients make better informed decisions. We help our clients tell the "Story of Agriculture" in their counties, congressional districts, and states (see results here). You can also view a short video of...

posted on Friday, April 24, 2015 At present, the recent outbreak of the bird flu has been found on 58 farms across 13 states in the U.S. The majority of those are located on 31 farms in the top turkey state of Minnesota. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates total birds on...

posted by Spencer Parkinson on Wednesday, April 8, 2015 I LOVE vacuums! You see, I just passed my five-year anniversary with the company and was surprised to find out that I could pick an anniversary gift as an appreciation for my five years of service. What did I pick? A vacuum. No, not the ones you...