Nebraska feedlots, with capacities of 1,000 or more head, contained 2.36 million cattle on feed on January 1, according to the Agricultural Statistics Service, Nebraska Field Office. This inventory was down slightly from last year.

Placements during December totaled 320,000 head, down 7 percent from 2008.

Fed cattle marketings for the month of December totaled 350,000 head, up 3 percent from last year. Other disappearance during December 2009 totaled 20,000 head, compared with 15,000 head in 2008.

U.S. CATTLE ON FEED DOWN 2 PERCENT

Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.0 million head on January 1, 2010. The inventory was 2 percent below January 1, 2009.

Placements in feedlots during December totaled 1.55 million, 6 percent below 2008.

Marketings of fed cattle during December totaled 1.74 million, 4 percent above 2008.

Other disappearance totaled 72,000 during December, 5 percent below 2008.

A new wind integration study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has found that large amounts of wind energy can be reliably integrated into the nation’s electricity grid at low cost, said American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) CEO Denise Bode.

“This ground-breaking study demonstrates the major role wind energy can provide across the Eastern US, reducing and stabilizing electricity rates while protecting the environment,” Bode said.  “It also shows the urgency of transmission reform for both onshore and offshore wind development, because if we wait any longer we will not have the lines soon enough to tap these cost-effective domestic renewable resources.”

 The two-year NREL study, called the Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study (EWITS), examined a series of future high-penetration wind scenarios in order to analyze the economic, operational, and technical implications of shifting 20 to 30 percent of the Eastern Interconnection’s electrical load to wind energy by the year 2024.

 Among the key findings of the study, as highlighted by NREL:

• “The integration of 20 percent wind energy is technically feasible, but will require significant expansion of the transmission infrastructure and system operational changes in order for it to be realized;
• Without transmission enhancements, substantial curtailment of wind generation would be required for all 20 percent wind scenarios studied;
• The relative cost of aggressively expanding the existing transmission grid represents only a small portion of the total annualized costs in any of the scenarios studied;
• Drawing wind energy from a larger geographic area makes it both less expensive and a more reliable energy source – increasing the geographic diversity of wind power projects in a given operating pool makes the aggregated wind power output more predictable and less variable;
• Wind energy development is a highly cost-effective way to reduce carbon emissions – as more wind energy comes online, less energy from fossil-fuel burning plants is required, reducing greenhouse gas emissions;
• Carbon emissions are reduced by similar amounts in all scenarios, indicating that transmission helps to optimize the electrical system and does not result in coal power being shipped from the Midwest to New England States;
• Reduced fossil fuel expenditures more than pay for the increased costs of additional transmission in all high wind scenarios.”

AccuWeather.com reports Much of the U.S. should prepare for another round of severe cold and snowy weather, similar to the recent “December to Remember,” but focused farther east.

AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist and Long-Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi sees a ‘top-ten cold February’ in store for much of the U.S., compared to the last 50 years.

“I believe the physical drivers are all there for a major cold month, much like this December was,” Bastardi said.
He added that the rally in natural gas prices of late may be attributed to other forecasters coming around to his thinking.

Bastardi suggests that temperatures will be well below normal for much of the nation in February, with the center of the cold hovering over the Tennessee-Ohio Valley into the Central Appalachians, extending back through the Plains and perhaps the Great Basin.
An active southern storm track will contribute to above-normal snowfall in many areas that experienced above-normal snowfall in December. Parts of Florida could even have another shot at snow.

Bastardi said this February will rival the weather seen in previous Februaries known for their severity.

“It may very well turn into a blend of February ’07 and February ’03, which were the most extreme Februarys we’ve had in the last 15 years, ” said Bastardi. Joe believes that the legendary February of 1958 is not beyond reach.

The demand for heating oil may surge again as the cold weather returns and lingers.

“This upcoming cold, like December, will slap you in the face and kick you in the wallet,” Bastardi said.

The National Weather Service in Hastings has released its list of the top 10 weather events for its coverage area in south central Nebraska and north central Kansas.

Looking at the top 10 events, one can see the extreme variability of weather patterns in the Great Plains. From floods to droughts to heavy snow to tornadoes, the last decade had its choice of weather occurrences.

When considering damage to both property and agriculture, it’s not an exaggeration that these extreme weather events in our area produced more than a $1 billion in damage.

Here are the top 10. For more detailed information, click here.

10. Swath of hail. June 12, 2002.

9. Central Nebraska flooding May-June 2008.

8. Tornado outbreak, May 22-24, 2004.

7. Widespread flooding, damaging winds, hail, May 11, 2005.

6. Record setting snowfall, March 18-21, 2006.

5. Tornado outbreak, May 29, 2008.

4. Christmas blizzard, Dec. 25, 2009.

3. Prolonged drought, 1998-2006.

2. Record hail, tornadoes, flooding June 23, 2003.

1. Ice storm Dec. 29-31, 2006.