In Farm Bureau
Veach to lead SFBLIC Randy Veach of Manila has been selected as president and chairman of the board of Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company. In his eighth year as president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, Veach has served on the SFBLIC board for the past 13 years. A third-generation farmer, Veach grows cotton, soybeans, corn and wheat on farmland cleared by his father and grandfather. He farms with his son Brandon. Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company provides life insurance products in 11 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. It is headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi. Veach is the first Arkansan to serve as chairman of SFBLIC. Arkansas Farm Bureau was among five founding members of SFBLIC in 1946. He also serves as a board member of the American Farm Bureau, the nation’s largest farm advocacy
Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach (left) and state board member Tom Jones (right), along with board member teammates Joe Thrash and Caleb Plyler, were among teams that participated in the Ag Olympics during ArFB’s Young Farmers & Ranchers Conference. Held at Embassy Suites in Little Rock, Feb. 27-28, the conference drew a record 340 members for a wide variety of fun and informative sessions. See more in the enclosed insert.
organization. “I am pleased to be able to continue to help Farm Bureau members,” said Veach. “Providing products and services that improve the quality of life for our members is a key tenant of our mission statement. I appreciate the support of the SFBLIC board and will work to maintain their trust Union Co. FB hosted a Legislative Appreciation Breakfast Feb. 12 in El Dorado to recognize local representatives for their support of agriculture. Rep. Matthew Shepherd (standing) spoke to the 30 Farm Bureau members who attended, as did Sen. Bobby Pierce and Rep. John Baine. Several county officials also were recognized for their support of local farmers and ranchers.
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and confidence.” ArFB promotes Tucker, Teague The Arkansas Farm Bureau board of directors met Feb. 18 and named Chuck Tucker to the new position of senior vice president of organization and administration, which will report directly to the
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A Publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation
March 4, 2016 • Vol. 19, No. 5
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Nedra Turney (left) and Barbara Sutton (right) with Miller Co. FB assisted Carla Haley Hadley, a family and consumer sciences agent for the Cooperative Extension Service in Miller County, with a cooking program presented to the May Dale Garden Club of Texarkana at their February meeting. The trio gave demonstrations on cooking with herbs and spices.
These students in the Country Clovers 4-H Club have been working with the Garland Co. FB Women’s Committee gathering food donations for the Farmers Feeding Families Program and the Backpack Program. These initiatives aim to assist existing food programs to ensure all community members have access to healthy, nutritious food.
our organization for years to come.” ASU recognized Tucker with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2001 and the ASU College of Agriculture presented him with a Distinguished Service Award in 2004. The National FFA Organization awarded him the Honorary American FFA degree in 2007. Tucker served five years on the ASU Foundation Board and now serves on the College of Agriculture Advisory Board. “I am honored and excited to take on this new role. I look forward to working with Warren, Evan and the rest of our leadership team to continue our work on
behalf of Arkansas farmers and ranchers,” Tucker said. Tucker grew up in Des Arc and now resides in Conway. He and his wife Phyllis have three children and four grandchilTeague dren. Teague has been with Arkansas Farm Bureau since 2004. As the organization’s first full-time environmental specialist, he has been instrumental in establishing new outreach and research efforts, such as the Illinois River Watershed Partnership and the Discovery Farms Program, a program to evaluate the environmental impact of agriculture practices by conducting edge-of-field water quality monitoring on working farms. He is a native of Dumas and a graduate of Walnut Ridge High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering with a civil concentration from ASU, and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Arkansas. Teague is a registered professional engineer and a member of professional organizations such as the Arkansas Water Works and Water Environmental Federation. He was recently appointed by Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson to the Nutrient Water Quality Trading Advisory Panel. Terrell, a native and resident of Sherwood, has been with Arkansas Farm Bureau since 2002. She is a graduate of
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executive vice president. They also named Evan Teague vice president of commodity and regulatory affairs, succeeding Warren Carter who was named executive vice president of Arkansas Farm Bureau in January. In addition to these moves, Leslie Terrell has been named executive administrative assistant, where she will work directly Tucker with Carter and other team members. Tucker has served as Arkansas Farm Bureau’s vice president of Organization and Member Programs since 2005. He has been with Farm Bureau since 1985 and is a graduate of Arkansas State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in agronomy and a master’s degree in agriculture. In his new, expanded role, he will serve as second in charge of Arkansas Farm Bureau to Carter. “These moves better position Arkansas Farm Bureau for the future,” said Carter. “Chuck and Evan have years of experience and a deep understanding of the challenges Arkansas farmers and ranchers face as they work to provide a safe and abundant food supply for all of us. We believe Chuck and Evan will provide the strong and perceptive leadership we need to help guide
State Rep. Ken Bragg (standing) spoke to members of Grant Co. FB at the county’s Legislative Appreciation Breakfast Feb. 6 at the county office in Sheridan. Sens. Bruce Maloch, Bobby Pierce and Allan Clark, and Rep. Mike Holcomb, were also in attendance and visited with a group of about 25.
Washington Co. FB board members Kristi Weaver and Curtis Moore (left) judged the University of Arkansas collegiate discussion contest Feb. 16. Also pictured are (left to right) contestants Kylee Sigmon, Justin Hawkins, winner Carlee Buckner and adviser Dr. Jeff Miller. Buckner represented UA at the state collegiate discussion meet Feb. 27 in Little Rock.
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Duvall carries FB message In “Taking Ag’s Message Beyond the Fencerows,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall’s new monthly column, he provides a snapshot of the ongoing conversation he is eager to have with Farm Bureau members from across the country on the pressing issues facing agriculture. Just as his father encouraged him years ago to step outside his fencerows to make a difference in the policies affecting his farm, President Duvall invites you to make your voices heard to protect the business of farming for generations to come. “When I attended my first county Farm Bureau meeting back in 1977, I never imagined that I’d have the privilege to serve as your president one day,” Duvall wrote. “My Farm Bureau journey is truly a testament to how this organization invests in young people and gives farmers and ranchers the tools we need to protect our livelihood. One of the greatest joys of Farm Bureau leadership for me has been getting the chance to give back and pass on what I have learned to the next generation. “It has certainly been a whirlwind since we all met in Orlando,” Duvall continued, “but there’s no time to waste in keeping up the important work of our great organi-
Jeremy Baltz, (left) co-owner of Ag Headquarters Peanut Buying Point in Pocahontas, examines peanuts from the 2015 harvest. With Baltz are Luke Snyder, buying point manager, and Gordon and Kathy Drennan. Gordon Drennan is head of procurement for Golden Peanut. Baltz expects Arkansas’ peanut acreage to increase slightly to near 20,000 acres in 2016.
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Mount Saint Mary Academy in Little Rock and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from ASU.
On Feb. 24, 30 ArFB leaders were in Washington, D.C., lobbying members of the Arkansas Congressional delegation on important ag issues, including foreign trade, regulatory reform and biotechnology. Thanks go out to Sens. Tom Cotton(above) and John Boozman, and Reps. Rick Crawford, Steve Womack, French Hill and Bruce Westerman, for their support of Arkansas farmers and ranchers. zation. I’ve enjoyed meeting with many of you over the last few months, and look forward to getting out to visit more of our members across the country to hear directly from you about the issues you are facing on your farms and ranches. I’m eager to bring your stories to Capitol Hill and represent U.S. agriculture there, but I’m not the only one our lawmakers want to hear from.”
leases, livestock marketing and passing the farm to the next generation. The conference will be held 9 a.m.3:30 p.m. at the Arkansas Tech University campus in Ozark. The $35 admission fee includes lunch and materials. To register, email debbie.morelandpr@gmail.com or phone 501-682-2915. For more information, visit www.argrazinglandscoalition. org.
In Arkansas
Elsewhere
Grazing lands conference On March 11, at the Arkansas Grazing Lands Conference sponsored by the Arkansas Grazing Lands Coalition, farmers, ranchers and landowners who want to have more profitable and resource-rich operations can learn from fellow producers how to graze their cattle more and feed less hay. The featured speaker will be Jim Gerrish, owner of American GrazingLands Services in Idaho. His experience includes more than 22 years of beef-forage systems research and outreach while on the faculty of the University of Missouri (UM). UM’s Forage Systems Research Center rose to national prominence as a result of his research leadership. Also scheduled to speak is Wesley Tucker, an agriculture business specialist for the University of Missouri Extension. He specializes in financial management, forage/beef production, rotational grazing, budgeting, fence law, farm
Childers to lead poultry group Marvin Childers, president of The Poultry Federation, has been elected to lead the State Poultry Executives Association. He was selected to serve as president at the group’s recent annual meeting in Atlanta. The State Poultry Executives Association is comprised of poultry leaders from 26 poultry- and egg-producing states across the country. This Little Rock-based trade association represents the poultry and egg industry in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Childers, a former Arkansas state representative, will serve a two-year term as president of SPEA. He served as vice president in 2014 and 2015. “I am honored to be selected as the association’s president, and I look forward to working with my colleagues who are dedicated individuals working hard to promote and protect the poultry industry, not only in the U.S., but around the world,” he said. Editor Keith Sutton
keith.sutton@arfb.com
In the Market As of February 29, 2016 2016 SUPPLY AND DEMAND At the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Outlook Conference last week, the agency released its preliminary forecast for the 2016-17 crop year. The outlook remains bearish as the USDA is still forecasting low prices for next year: $3.45 for corn, $8.50 for soybeans, $11.30 for long-grain rice and $0.58 for cotton. It is important to note this outlook is based on modeling, and the first actual survey-based forecast will not be released until the Perspective Plantings Report in late March. Soybean outlook The USDA is forecasting soybean acreage will be down slightly from last year’s levels due to sharp declines in profitability. Forecast declines in both acreage and yields lead to a 120-million-bushel reduction in production for 2016, at 3.81 billion bushels. Domestic demand is expected to see marginal growth, with the bulk of the demand growth occurring in the export forecast. This was the most surprising number. Despite the strong dollar and increased competition in the global marketplace, exports are still forecast to rebound in 2016-17 to the second-highest level on record, 1.825 billion bushels. Nevertheless, this increase in exports allowed the USDA to reduce carryover in 2016-17 by 10 million bushels to 440 million bushels. One thing to keep in mind as you plant this crop: this year’s export forecast is likely to be reduced as we move through the marketing year, and if exports do not rebound in 2016-17, stock could potentially surpass 600 million bushels. This would put significant pressure on prices and likely push prices back to $8 or below.
Rice outlook The USDA is forecasting larger acreage and production for rice in 2016-17. Overall, rice acreage is forecast at 2.8 million acres planted with 2.77 million acres harvested. Total production is forecast at 211.5 million cwt. On the demand side, domestic demand and exports are both forecast to recover as total use is forecast at 14 million cwt (6.2 percent) above 201516 levels. With demand expected to increase more than production, rice stocks are reduced 1 million cwt to 40.9 million cwt, and the average price is unchanged from 2015-16. As for long-grain rice, production is forecast to increase 22 million cwt to 155 million cwt in 2016-17, but total supply is only up 18.9 million cwt from last year, due to a reduction in beginning stocks. The increase in production will be mostly offset by a 12 million cwt (13.6 percent) increase in domestic consumption, and a 5 million cwt (7.2 percent) increase in exports. The sharp increases in demand will lead to an increase of 1.9 million cwt in ending stocks to 24.9 million cwt. Overall, the USDA is forecasting a strong growth in both production and demand in 2016. If the market fails to show the robust demand growth, current forecast prices are likely to come under significant pressure. Corn outlook In their projections for 2016-17, the USDA managed to keep total stocks beneath the critical 2-billion-bushel level. A 125-million-bushel increase in domestic use to 5.425 billion bushels helped offset some of the increase in production. The USDA came in above trade estimates as they are currently forecasting a 2-million-acre increase in planted area and a 1.6-million-acre increase in harvested area. The larger area and 168-bushels-per-acre yield led to a 224-million-bushel increase in production to 13.825 billion bushels. Corn viewed this
forecast as bearish. Given the current weakness in exports, one can assume the U.S. will easily exceed the 2-billion-bushel stock level. Barring some type of adverse weather event across the Midwest, the corn market appears destined to have the second-or third-highest production in history. Given the difficulty the U.S. has seen in the export market this year, and the current weakness in oil prices, corn’s demand issues could spill over into 2016-17, adding further pressure to corn prices. Beef rebound continues Boxed beef prices mounted an impressive rally last week, with gains as high as $2.58 for Choice cuts and $1.42 for Select values adding to weekly gains. Choice cuts were up more than $3.50 for the week, while Select values were up more than $7 from week-ago levels. This paired with tighter showlist numbers has most expecting higher cash trade this week. China to cut state corn price China plans to announce its 201617 state corn price after next week’s National People’s Congress meeting but before the planting season that typically begins in April, according to Chen Xiwen, deputy director with the country’s top rural policy-making branch. The price is expected to be low enough to reduce its imports of corn. Some believe China may cut the state corn price from 2,000 yuan ($305.28) per MT in 2015-16 to 1,400 yuan ($213.69) per MT.
CONTACT • Matt King 501-228-1297, matt.king@arfb.com.
2016 YF&R CONFERENCE
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ore than 340 members from throughout the state attended Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers & Collegiate Conference Feb. 27-28 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Little Rock. Attendees participated in workshops on biosecurity, farm practices, animal nutrition, social media, ag education and more, and heard inspirational speeches by ArFB President Randy Veach and guest speakers. There were farm business sessions and a wide variety of fun children’s activities. • photos by KEITH SUTTON •
Lindsey Triplett of Damascus, a junior at Arkansas Tech, won the state collegiate discussion meet held Saturday night at the conference. She will represent Arkansas in the national competition in Feb. 2017.
Above: ArFB’s YF&R members and Collegiate Farm Bureau chapters packed more than 10,000 meals for hungry Arkansans with the assistance from The Pack Shack, a Rogers-based nonprofit supplying food and opportunities for neighbors in need. Above right: Alan Hughes with the Mitchell Law Firm gave a talk about the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule and its effect on practices like spraying. Right: On Saturday night, the big bouncy houses set up in the hotel provided fun galore for the kids. Right: Huck Plyler (left), son of Caleb and Brianna Plyler, received a trophy from YF&R Chair Trent Dabbs for winning the tractor race. Bottom right: Jimmy Curtis with Cattlemax gave a workshop on using the company’s herd management software.
Above: ArFB President Randy Veach spoke at Saturday’s luncheon, telling conference attendees that their work as Farm Bureau leaders is important to the future of the organization. Farm Bureau Press Insert — Vol. 19, No. 5
Right: ArFB’s Ross Dunn gave attendees an overview of the Patriot Mentor Project. Far right: Dr. Robert Wells with the Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Okla., presented a seminar on the foundation’s Beef Integrity Program.
2016 YF&R CONFERENCE
Left: Chase Groves on the state YF&R committee was the new emcee for the Farm Bureau Olympics Above: Mollie Dykes (left) with ArFB, UA professor Jeff Miller (center) and Art Singleton with Riceland Foods led a panel discussion about internships and job field experience.
Above: Soil scientist Trent Roberts updated guests on cover crops research being conducted by the Cooperative Extension Service. Farm Bureau Press Insert — Vol. 19, No. 5
Above: Dr. Pierre Boumtje, professor of agriculture economics at Southern Arkansas University, took a test ride in one of the Olympics wheelbarrows. Left: The tractor races provided fast-paced fun and excitement for girls and boys alike.