CALF_News_Feb_March_2019

43 CALF News • February | March 2019 • www.calfnews.net In analyzing graphs of data before 2006, natural gas and ammonia prices moved closely together, forming somewhat parallel lines. Since the peak gas price of $13.56 per thousand cubic feet, costs have stabilized and decreased, occurring as new sources of natural gas became available through the advent of fracking. A similar correlation between corn prices and ammonia occurred with corn hitting high prices in 2013-2014, and ammonia following along. Since that peak, corn prices have fallen more than 50 percent, but similar corrections in ammo- nia pricing haven’t. For the upcoming crop year, upward of $15-per-acre increases in fertilizer costs are projected for corn production since last year. One may surmise that input costs take longer to recede than that of commodity prices, but also, BEYOND THE RANCH GATE Continued from page 42 Gatherings  CALF COMMUNITY Nebraska Cattlemen Banquet A full house of smartly dressed cattlemen surfaced for the 2018 Nebraska Cattlemen Banquet in Kearney this past December. Gov. Pete Ricketts was the event’s featured speaker, and awards were presented in abundance. production of anhydrous ammonia may be monopolized with just a few producer/suppliers. The question,“Where from here?” arises, with the thought of “self-help” again? Can we produce our own anhydrous ammonia with the natural gas resources we have in place? Can we attract a partner to build a fertilizer plant to serve our member base? Only two weeks into 2019, several challenges and oppor- tunities, both in agriculture and architecture, appear on the horizon as I see my proverbial ranch gate in the rearview mirror. With my usual soundtrack of Robert Earl Keen mixed with market reports and agriculture news, driving between architectural client meetings, trips to the farm and occasional Farmer’s Gas LLC meetings, the New Year’s theme is,“Where from here?”  All-American Beef Battalion The All-American Beef Battalion’s fundraising auction at the OKC Stockyards was a rousing success, raising over $48,000 in the Steaks for Troops program. Participants included Monte Moser and Bill Harmon from Garden City, Kan., and Robert York of OKC Stockyards and Superior Livestock, and Kelli Payne, stockyard liaison. FAR RIGHT: Robert York posed with Heather Buckmaster of the Oklahoma Beef Council at the event. Photos courtesy Sam Knipp Dinner Time CALF News Sales Representative Jessica Ebert shared this photo of her cattle, who are gratefully gathered for feed after a day of freezing rain, snow and wind on the Kansas plains.