Farm Bureau Press - May 2, 2014

In Farm Bureau Foundation to honor Veach Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach of Manila will be honored at the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation’s fifth annual Legends Dinner Aug. 7 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.

The dinner, which starts at 6 p.m., serves as one of the primary fundraising events for the Burlsworth Foundation, and organizers hope to attract a crowd of 1,000.

“Randy Veach shares so many of the values and attributes that Brandon built his life upon,” said Marty Burlsworth, Brandon’s brother. “Randy is committed to his faith, family and hard work on his farm and on behalf of the farm families of Arkansas.”

Previous honorees include former U.S. Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt, retired University of Arkansas football coach and athletic director Frank Broyles, U.S. Sen. John Boozman and Springdale philanthropist Pat Walker.

Veach is a third-generation farmer who, along with his wife Thelma and son

Elementary school students from Van Buren watched a sheep-shearing demonstration during Crawford Co. FB’s Fun on the Farm Day April 22 in Alma. The event is held annually at the family farm of Crawford Co. FB President Randy Arnold. Hundreds of students from area schools had the opportunity to learn about raising poultry, bus safety, beekeeping, growing strawberries, nutrition and more.

Brandon, farms ground cleared by his grandfather and father.

For more information about the 2014 Legends Dinner, visit www.brandonburls worth.org.

Pitchford joins ArFB Arkansas Farm Bureau has hired Jeff Pitchford as its director of public policy for state affairs. Pitchford comes to Farm Bureau after working in governmental relaU.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe (left) and ArFB President Randy Veach visited at Farm Bureau Center in Little Rock April 17 where Ashe announced the service will reopen public comment on proposed critical habitat designations for two mussels under the Endangered Species Act. The USFWS will review more than 40 Arkansas species during the next 10 years.

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tions since 1999 at the University of Central Arkansas, the last five years as vice president for the university in that area.

“We are very pleased to have Jeff Pitchford Pitchford as a part of our lobbying team.

His diverse background and experience

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A Publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation

May 2, 2014 • Vol. 17, No. 9

Ella Mae Carroll: 1930-2014 Ella Mae Harrison Carroll, age 83, died April 6 in Brinkley. The widow of James H. “Jimmy” Carroll Jr., she was an ex-officio member of the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation state board for 26 years. Her son, Jon Carroll, is a current ArFB board member and her daughter, Carroll Janice Marsh, serves as chair of the state women’s committee.

Mrs. Carroll served on the Brinkley School Board, Leadership Arkansas for

Dr. Tom Yazwinski, an animal scientist for the UA Division of Agriculture, discussed control products and strategies for parasitic worms in cattle during the UA livestock field day April 15 at the Livestock and Forestry Research Station near Batesville. The 95 people who attended heard about division research aimed at improving cattle health, reproduction and profitability.

During a visit to the Museum of the Grand Prairie in Stuttgart, Rich Hillman (left), Arkansas Farm Bureau vice president, spoke with some of those who attended the Southern Region Presidents and Administrators Conference, which Arkansas Farm Bureau hosted April 26-28. The tour also included stops at Riceland Foods and Keo Fish Farm.

Community Development and the President’s Arkansas Advisory Council for Winrock International. She was a 70-year member of Brinkley First United Methodist Church, where she served as Sunday school teacher, pianist and member of the hand-bell choir.

Farm Bureau extends its deepest sympathies to the Carroll and Marsh families.

broadcast journalism major at Arkansas State University, is the 2014 recipient of Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Marvin Vines Memorial Scholarship. The award was announced at the University’s College of Communications Honors Banquet April 16.

Gray, 21, is the daughter of Stephanie and Leon Gray. She is on track to graduate in 2015 and hopes to pursue a career as a television or radio talk show host. She has a 4.0 overall grade-point average.

Arkansas Farm Bureau endows the scholarship, which honors the memory of Marvin Vines, farm director for more than 25 years at Little Rock radio station KAAY. Since 1980, it’s been awarded annually to a broadcast major at ASU. “Eventually I want to combine my love for radio and television and produce and host my own national program for entertainment and community service purposes,” Gray said. “My main goal is to use my skills in broadcasting to give back to the world in a productive manner by informing, educating and inspiring others.”

Gray awarded Vines Scholarship Japhanie Gray of Blytheville, a junior

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is just what we need at this time,” said Stanley Hill, ArFB’s vice president for public policy.

“The pursuit of our agenda, which is looking out for the needs and interests of agriculture and rural Arkansas as it relates to state government, is increasingly challenging, and Jeff is certainly qualified to take on this task.”

Pitchford brings a wealth of experience to the position. His resume also includes being director of Arkansas’ Department of Rural Services from 1997-99 and as public safety liaison for Gov. Mike Huckabee’s staff from 1994-96. In 2003, he was identified by Arkansas Business in its “40 Under Forty” article, a series of profiles of key individuals in the state under 40 years old making a difference in Arkansas.

(Left to right) Johnson Co. FB Political Education Chairman Richard Plugge and board member Lloyd Reynolds look on as legislative chairman John Payne organizes the county’s Measure the Candidate list. Fourteen board members and guests listened to candidates for county coroner, tax assessor, sheriff and county judge at the April 24 meeting in Clarksville.

Preschool through second-grade students from Washington County schools lined up to see a wool spinning demonstration during the 18th annual Farm Friends day April 24 at the Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Arena in Fayetteville. Washington Co. FB co-hosted the event where hundreds of area children learned about farm animals and farm activities.

Election directory online A digital version of Arkansas Farm Bureau’s 2014 Election Directory is now available for download at www.arfb.com/ legislation-regulations/election-information/ election_directory.aspx. The directory is a listing of Arkansas candidates who have filed to run for U.S. Congress, the state’s constitutional offices, contested judicial races and the Arkansas General Assembly.

It has been published every election year since 1972. More than 200 candidates appear in this year’s edition.

Hard copies of the directory are available by contacting ArFB’s public policy department.

A Day with Janet Carson The Jackson Co. FB Women’s Committee, Jackson County Cooperative Extension Service, ASU-Newport and the White River Garden Club will host a gardening seminar, “A Day with Janet Carson,” in Newport June 12 at the ASU Newport Student/Community Center. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. The program will start at 9:30 a.m. and end by 3 p.m. The cost is $15 (if paid by June 5), which includes lunch, door prizes and other goodies. For additional information and to register, call the Jackson County Extension Office at 870-523-7450 or email wbarker@uaex.edu.

Elsewhere

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Disaster assistance programs Eligible farmers and ranchers can now

Falyn Cordeiro, a Gentry Middle School sixth-grader and daughter of Mike and Brandy Cordeiro, won second place for her age group in ArFB’s safety poster contest. Falyn received her award from Benton Co. FB secretary Bobbi McDougal in a ceremony at the Siloam Springs Farm Bureau office. Dominick McBride of Gosnell won first place in the category.

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In Arkansas

Dallas Co. FB recently was recognized for its sponsorship of the Dallas County 4-H Club banquet. County extension agent Keith Gresham (camo jacket) presented plaques to agency manager Reed Camp (in tie). Also attending were (left to right) Dallas Co. FB board members Ronnie Hogg, Ted Owens, Gordon Greene, Richard Walker, Andy Taylor and Jim Barham.

sign up for U.S. Department of Agriculture disaster assistance programs restored by passage of the 2014 Farm Bill.

“We implemented these programs in record time and kept our commitment to begin sign-up April 15,” said Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack. “To ensure enrollment goes as smoothly as possible, dedicated staff in more than 2,000 Farm Service Agency offices across the country are doing everything necessary to help producers who have suffered through two and a half difficult years with no assistance because these programs were awaiting Congressional action.”

Depending on the size and type of farm or ranch operation, eligible producers can enroll in one of four programs administered by the Farm Service Agency. The Livestock Forage Disaster Program and the Livestock Indemnity Program provide payments to eligible producers for livestock deaths and grazing losses that have occurred since the expiration of the livestock disaster assistance programs in 2011, and include calendar years 2012, 2013 and 2014. The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish that have suffered losses because of disease, severe weather, blizzards and wildfires. The Tree Assistance Program provides financial assistance to qualifying orchardists and nursery tree growers to replant or rehabilitate trees, bushes and vines damaged by natural disasters.

Producers signing up for these programs are encouraged to contact their local FSA office for information on the types of records needed and to schedule an appointment. Producers have three to nine months to apply depending on the program and year of the loss. Details are available from any local FSA office.

Ag census report On May 2, the Agriculture Department’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will publish its “2012 Census of Agriculture” full report. Census data at the national, state and county levels on a range of topics, including agricultural practices, conservation, demographics and organic production, as well as traditional and specialty crops, will be released. Visit www. agcensus.usda.gov for more information.

40 under 40 Awards Vance Publishing’s 40 Under 40 Awards recognizes young leaders in agriculture who will be instrumental in meeting the “2050 challenge” of producing food for a growing world. Nominations are sought from among the most innovative people in agriculture under the age of 40 — from animal and crop production, biotechnology and university researchers to food and nutrition technology, agricultural equipment, agronomy and beyond.

Learn more and submit your nomination online at http://40under40ag.

Editor Keith Sutton

keith.sutton@arfb.com

In the Market As of May 1, 2014 Weather, weather, weather Commodity markets have been supported by cooler and wetter-than-normal conditions for the last few weeks. The U.S. Department of Agriculture progress report released last week showed plantings continue to lag behind the five-year average.

• Corn: only 19 percent planted compared to 28 percent • Rice: only 45 percent planted compared to 56 percent • Cotton: only 13 percent planted compared to 18 percent While it is still early and plantings will catch up, the market continues to worry about the effect later planting could have on the crop. While this will likely dominate the news for the next few weeks, remember last year. Everyone thought the corn crop would suffer as a result of its late planting, and many were expecting a 150-bushel-per-acre yield. However, at the end of the year, farmers were able to harvest a 158.5-bushel crop.

If improving weather forecasts hold, prices are likely to soften over the next couple of weeks as we will see plantings catch up with where they should be.

USDA prepares 2014-15 In the May Supply and Demand Report, the USDA will give the market its first official look at next year’s crops. This report will be based on the perspective planting report and will utilize trend yields for each of the commodities. These trend yields are based on historical yields. In the baseline projections released back in February, the USDA used the following trend yields: corn, 165.6 bushels;

soybeans, 45.2 bushels; cotton, 795 lbs.; and rice, 7,648 lbs.

While these are not the exact numbers they will use for the May report, they will likely be pretty close.

This means we could again see the USDA forecast record soybean supplies, near record corn supplies, and large rice and cotton supplies. If these supplies are realized, demand — particularly export demand — will need to strengthen to prevent stocks from becoming burdensome.

Cotton prices continue to rally December cotton prices, as well as nearby cotton prices, continue to strengthen. Continued strong U.S. exports this year combined with the continued drought across major growing areas in Texas are supporting prices. December cotton has climbed to more than 83 cents in recent days.

While the market is focused on U.S. supplies and worried about the abandonment rate in Texas, eventually the focus will have to turn back to the demand side. Because, as the USDA report will likely show in a couple of weeks, the United States is still building cotton stocks despite the increase in abandonment in Texas.

Additionally, there remains a cloud of uncertainty around how much cotton China will allow its mills to import. Under WTO rules, China only has to allow 4 .1 million bales of cotton in at a low 1-percent

tariff each year. Historically, China has expanded its quota and allowed more cotton to come in at a reduced rate. Cotton that is brought in outside the tariff is subject to a 40-percent tariff. With current price supports in China, some spinners have chosen to pay the additional tariff as imported cotton is still cheaper than domestic cotton. In addition to imports, watch as China adjusts its domestic program. Adjustments it makes to its domestic prices have a significant impact on the a-index and futures prices in the U.S. Peanut production continues in Arkansas Peanut acres in Arkansas remain near 20,000 as the crop remains a viable option for many producers in northeast Arkansas. With two buying points now in the state, we could see acreage grow even more over the next few years.

While producers in Arkansas do not have the protection of peanut base, which would allow them to better participate in the program, the new Farm Bill will allow a producer’s generic base (former cotton base) to be peanut base when peanuts are planted on the farm.

Producers may want to consider peanuts in the future as they have proven to be a profitable crop for many growers in the state and are one of the few crops that still have a viable safety net.

CONTACT •Brandy Carroll 501-228-1268, brandy.carroll@arfb.com.

•Bruce Tencleve 501-228-1856, bruce.tencleve@arfb.com.

•Matt King 501-228-1297, matt.king@arfb.com.