Farm Bureau Press - June 8, 2012

In Farm Bureau Upcoming events A reminder that several important Farm Bureau meetings and events will take place this summer: • June 18. Rice, Soybeans and Wheat/Feed Grains Divisions Summer Commodity Meetings, Rice Research & Extension Center, Stuttgart. Contact: Brandy Carroll, 501-228-1268, brandy.carroll@arfb. com (rice, soybeans); Matt King, 501-228-1297, matt.king@arfb.com (wheat/feed grains) • June 19. Cotton Division Summer Commodity Meeting by conference call. Contact: Gene Martin, 501-228-1330, gene.martin@arfb.com • June 21. Aquaculture Division Summer Commodity Meeting by conference call. Contact: Gene Martin, 501-228-1330, gene.martin@arfb.com

(l to r) Tommy Young, Jason Kelley and Randy Chlapecka examine Young’s winter wheat crop as it was being harvested on Young’s farm in Tuckerman May 29.

Kelley is wheat/feed grains specialist for UofA’s ag division and Chlapecka is staff chair for the Cooperative Extension Service in Jackson County. Young grew 2,200 acres of wheat this year, and, statewide, farmers are expected to harvest around 480,000 acres. Young has obtained yields of 80-100 bushels per acre the past five years.

• July 17. Statewide Policy Development Video Conference.

Contact: Michelle Kitchens, 501228-1324, michelle.kitchens@arfb.com • July 23-24. Officers & Leaders Conference, Springdale. Contact: Jody Urquhart, 501-228-1843, jody.urquhart@arfb.com • August 3-4. Statewide Young Farmers & Ranchers Conference, Embassy Suites, Little Rock.

Contact: Harry Willems, 501-2281247, harry.willems@arfb.com • August 18. Miss Arkansas Rice Contest, Brinkley Convention Center. Contact: Brandy Carroll, 501-228-1268, brandy.carroll@arfb.com

The smiles on the faces of these youngsters say it all: Farm Day in Nashville on May 8 was a fun event for the 170 sixth-graders who attended. Local 4-H and FFA students assisted in teaching the students about Arkansas agriculture and ag safety.

KEN MOORE photo

www.arfb.com

In Arkansas Help Hunters Feeding the Hungry Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry is a nonprofit organization that provides venison and other wild game to Arkansans in need. Organizations, businesses and churches have joined farmers and hunters to transform an abundant white-tailed deer population into a renewable food source for the hungry. The highly successful program has provided more than 2 million free meals to Arkansans.

Now Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry needs help. The pro-

KEITH SUTTON photo

A Publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation

June 8, 2012 • Vol. 15, No. 10

Bradley Co. FB awards two $500 scholarships each year to local students. This year’s recipients were Danielle Young (second from left) and Destiny Dyer who attend Warren High School. Scholarship Committee Chairman Ralph Coston (left) and Agency Manager Mike Zieman presented the awards.

ArFB ag education coordinator Matt Jackson teaches fourth-graders at Cutter Morning Star Elementary in Hot Springs about the dairy industry during an Ag Day event May 22. Sara Loe and Sara Beth Waller of Garland Co. FB coordinated the event with assistance from the Cooperative Extension Service, Corps of Engineers and Garland Co. 4-H.

flooding and improve bird and fish habitat. NRCS estimates that this investment will restore 11,400 acres to wetland habitat.

“These projects are great examples of USDA working with partners to improve water quality in the Mississippi River Basin,” Vilsack said.

“Through these projects, agricultural producers are voluntarily taking action to restore and protect wetlands on private lands in watersheds that USDA has identified as being critical to water quality restoration in the basin.”

Arkansas projects include work in the Boeuf River and Cache/ L’Anguille watersheds, Cache River and Lower Whit-Bayou Des Arc wet-

lands restoration, and Lower Mississippi River batture hardwood forest and wetlands restoration. Landowners interested in applying for funding should contact their local NRCS office. Signup dates may vary based on the individual project.

P.D. GRAMLICH photo

CLEBURNE CO. FB photo

NRCS funds new projects Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and its partners will invest nearly $32 million this year in financial and technical assistance for five water-quality and wetlands-improvement projects in seven Mississippi River Basin states, including Arkansas. When fully implemented, the projects will prevent sediment and nutrients from entering waterways, decrease

KEN MOORE photo

BRADLEY CO FB photo

gram’s success depends upon the generosity of hunters to donate venison and other wild game, cooperation from meat processors throughout the state and support from local food-distribution organizations.

But AHFH also requires financial contributions from businesses and citizens. The organization must raise at least $100,000 annually to run its programs.

Those who want to help can find donation information at www.arkansashunters.org. Also, you can visit www.deerhuntercarflags.com to find out how you can purchase a blaze-orange car flag letting everyone know that you are “Head’n to the Deer Woods.” Every flag purchased results in a $5 donation to AHFH. Beginning last week, sportsmen also have the option to donate $1 to AHFH when they purchase their Arkansas Game and Fish Commission licenses.

Caitlin Mae Haley (left), daughter of Dr. Sam and Susan Haley of Quitman, received congratulations from county President Gail McCord for being the 2012 recipient of Cleburne Co. FB’s $500 scholarship.

Franklin Co. Farm Bureau member Judith Armstrong (right) samples dishes prepared by (l to r) dairy contest winner Harlee Ray, county extension agent Cindy Ham and dairy winner Hailey Hennigan at the county’s recent Meet the Candidate cookout.

Elsewhere FFA names New Century Farmers The National FFA Organization has selected 50 outstanding young people to participate in the 2012 New Century Farmer program, including Adam Cloninger and Richard Nutt of Arkansas. This exclusive, highly competitive program develops young men and women committed to pursuing a career in production agriculture.

Participants representing 24 states will take part in an intensive seminar July 8-14 in Johnston, Iowa.

They will learn from each other and industry experts during a series of workshops and sessions. Topics will include the global marketplace, farm financing, demographic trends and risk management. New Century Farmers will hear from motivating and informative keynote speakers who will educate them on the risks and rewards involved with production agriculture. Students also will experience the latest developments in agricultural technology.

S. LOGAN CO. FB photo

Family farms report An update from USDA’s Economic Research Service focuses on three key features of U.S. agriculture that highlight the importance of family farms. First, small family farms (those with less than $250,000 in annual sales) make up 88 percent of all U.S. farms. Second, large-scale family farms — about 10 percent of all farms — account for a disproportionately large share of the value of production (72 percent). Third, farming is still an industry of family businesses. Nearly 98 percent of farms are family owned, and they

Thanks to South Logan Co. FB Women’s Committee members Lee Strickland, JoAnn Malena and Ruby Jackson, Booneville Elementary second-grade students learned about gardening by planting eight raised beds at the school with beans, onions, beets, squash, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes and cucumbers.

account for about 88 percent of production. Just over two percent of U.S farms are non family farms, accounting for the remaining 12 percent of production.

FFA, RMEF join forces The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has formed a new relationship with the National FFA Organization and the National FFA Alumni Association that opens the door for more than 500,000 students of agriculture to learn more about elk, habitat, hunting and conservation. Through a gift made to the National FFA Foundation, RMEF will support two major FFA events in 2012 — as an exhibitor in October’s 85th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis, Ind., and July’s National FFA Alumni Development Conference in Bozeman, Mont. Together these events offer a chance to engage thousands of young and continuing leaders in the strong connections between sustainable agriculture and sound wildlife conservation.

“A partnership between these two organizations is exciting because it has the power to help both of us serve our respective members and missions more directly, and in the near term as well as the future,” said Steve Decker, vice president of marketing for RMEF.

VAN BUREN CO FB photo

More than 100 sixth grade social studies students at Clinton Intermediate School participated in a lesson plan on population growth developed by the Van Buren Co. FB Women’s Committee.

A rope on the floor represented the Earth as the children contemplated the growing human population in the future.

a new strategy that could keep the nation’s smallest post offices open for business, while providing a framework to achieve significant cost savings as part of the plan to return the organization to financial stability. The plan would keep existing post offices in place, but with modified retail window hours to match customer use. Access to the retail lobby and to post office boxes would remain unchanged, and the town’s ZIP Code and community identity would be retained.

“Meeting the needs of postal customers is, and will always be, a top priority,” said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. “We continue to balance that by better aligning service options with customer demand and reducing the cost to serve.

With that said, we’ve listened to our customers in rural America; and we’ve heard them loud and clear; they want to keep their post office open. We believe today’s announcement will serve our customers’ needs and allow us to achieve real savings to help the Postal Service return to long-term financial stability.”

The new strategy would be implemented over a two-year, multiphased approach and would not be completed until September 2014.

Once implementation is completed, the Postal Service estimates savings of a half billion dollars annually.

Preserving our post offices The U.S. Postal Service announced Editor Keith Sutton keith.sutton@arfb.com

In the Market As of June 5, 2012:

 SOYBEANS remain in a five-week downtrend following topping action the first of May. World economic conditions continue to pressure the market with concern about several European countries firming the U.S. dollar index, which is tied closely to the Euro. Combined with weaker crude oil and equities, this has resulted in lower soybean price levels as investment funds sought safer opportunities. Dry weather has limited downside pressure. The first crop progress report put 65 percent of the crop in the good to excellent category, but the trade expected something near 70 percent. Areas of concern are Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas and Arkansas.

Technically, old crop July has support at $13.02, the 50-percent retracement objective, which is 15 cents below last week’s low.

November dipped below support at $12.57 on three occasions during the last two weeks, but never closed below that point. A lower close would suggest a move to $12.25 or lower.  CORN continues to move sideways to lower, pressured by the threat of a huge crop and generally poor world economic conditions. An added concern has been growing evidence of a slowing Chinese economy.

The lone offsetting factor has been dry conditions across the Midwest. At this point, the crop conditions report suggests dry weather is simply threatening in most areas, but could become a major problem over time. Some private forecasts are beginning to look at potentially lower yields.

Old crop July futures closed below key support at $5.75 last week, making the long-term charts look vulnerable to further losses. New crop December

dipped to $4.99 in early May but has ranged from that level to $5.50 over the last three weeks.

Rain and improving crop conditions could send the market through that support and signal further declines at any time  RICE futures hit $14 as the market dropped over a $1.50 the last two weeks. Large world stocks, particularly in Thailand and India, will weigh on the export market for the foreseeable future. This year’s smaller U.S. crop will lead to tightening U.S. stocks and eventually allow for a firmer long-term market situation. Most mills are maintaining a fairly busy schedule with domestic business and exports to Haiti. The spot market has been steady to firm despite the recent futures decline. However, upside potential remains somewhat limited.  WHEAT rally “sizzles” then “fizzles.” In a five-day period wheat rose more than $4.20 only to fade into the sunset almost as fast. Weather concerns in Kansas, Europe, and the Black Sea region precipitated the quick rise. While Kansas concerns have proven true, weather reversals in Europe and Australia dashed market hopes pushing July futures towards recent support below $6.

Increased harvest activities will likely keep the market on the defensive for the next several weeks.

 COTTON decline accelerates.

Driven to unheard of heights just two years ago, cotton has plummeted during the last month.

New Crop December has plunged more than 20 cents from near 85 cents to below 65 cents. Tight stocks in 2010 pushed the market to $2.40, that resulted in slowed use, larger world plantings and huge stocks. Poor world economic conditions never bode well for cotton and this year it is a double whammy. Long-term charts after some support near 63 cents, then near 55 cents.  Live CATTLE futures are chopping along mostly sideways.

The market is in a holding pattern waiting for fresh fundamental news. Nearby contracts are being somewhat supported by their discount to cash prices.

Tightening supplies should be supportive longer-term. August is trading between resistance at the recent high of $122.42 and support at $117.70. Feeder futures remain in a long-term uptrend.  HOG futures have recovered sharply since bottoming in early May. Packer margins remain solidly in the red, however, and that will likely limit the upside potential of the market. Lighter hog runs could be supportive, but without stronger demand and better prices, it remains unclear how willing packers will be to compete for tight supplies.

CONTACT • Gene Martin 501-228-1330, gene.martin@arfb.com.

• 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.