Farm Bureau Press - October 26, 2012

In Farm Bureau Cause for celebration Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Organization & Member Programs staff reports good news. Every county Farm Bureau in the state has conducted or is scheduled to conduct both a policy-development meeting and a county annual meeting. These meetings play an important role in strengthening the grass-roots foundation of ArFB. A big thank you goes out to county leaders for their role in making this happen.

Annual convention coming soon Arkansas Farm Bureau’s 78th Annual Convention will be held Nov. 28-30 at the Hot Springs Convention Center. This year’s theme is “Seeds of Change.”

Highlights will include President Randy Veach’s annual address, a speech by Gov. Mike Beebe (invited) and appearances by entertainer LaDonna Gatlin and AFBF public

Arkansas Farm Bureau was a major supporter of the 2012 Jr. Livestock Auction Oct. 19 at the state fair.

Representing Arkansas Farm Bureau were several state board members, including (seated, from left) Vice President Rich Hillman, President Randy Veach and board member Allen Stewart. policy economist John Anderson.

Registration starts Nov. 28 at 9:30 a.m., with the first general session at 1:00 p.m. Special awards will be presented during this session.

Leaders who are no longer with us will be honored and remembered during a memorial service.

Commodity conferences will be held Wednesday and Thursday, with the latest information from noted experts in their fields.

Special sessions also are scheduled, ArFB Vice President Rich Hillman spoke Oct. 17 at a USDA Drought Workshop at UofA–Pine Bluff. Several Farm Bureau leaders were invited to lead breakout sessions or testify at one of the sessions.

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including Environmental Issues, Local Affairs, Public Policy, Rural Health & Safety and the Young Farmer and Rancher Discussion Meet finals. Other events will include the Women’s Luncheon and the Sew with Cotton Contest.

Back again is the silent auction with proceeds benefiting Ag in the Classroom programs. Shuttle service will be provided from the Arlington, Austin and Embassy Suites hotels.

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A Publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation

October 26, 2012 • Vol. 15, No. 20

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Baltz appointed to Peanut Board U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has appointed Kyle Baltz of Pocahontas as an alternate to the National Peanut Board. Baltz was nominated for the position

by Arkansas peanut producers at an election held by the Arkansas Agriculture Department in April.

Butch Calhoun, Arkansas’ secretary of agriculture, said “I’m pleased Vilsack appointed Kyle Baltz to the National Peanut Board. Mr. Baltz is familiar with all aspects of the industry and will serve peanut producers well on this important board. The peanut industry is important to Arkansas agriculture, and it’s an honor to have an Arkansan on the board.”

Washington Co. FB secretary Porter Smith reviewed policy positions for approval at the county’s annual meeting in Fayetteville on Oct. 15, while President Gene Pharr (center) and Legislative Chairman Roger Pitts (right) looked on. More than 300 attended the meeting, which doubled as a Meet the Candidates forum.

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In Arkansas

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Forestry Conference cancelled Please note that ArFB’s Forest Product Export Conference scheduled for Oct. 30-31 in Vicksburg, Miss. has been cancelled due to the low number of registrations.

White Co. FB President Thomas Lercher (right) and Vice President Mike Fisher (left) visit with Rusty Smith of Des Arc, a member of the state board of directors, before the county’s annual meeting Oct. 9 at Bald Knob High School. More than 200 attended the event.

Rice Leadership Program The Rice Leadership Development Program’s international class members for 2012 include three Arkansans: Brandon Bauman of Stuttgart, Dan Hosman of Jonesboro and Jeff Rutledge of Newport. Other members are Leo LaGrande of Williams, Calif. and Jeffery Sylvester of Ville Platte, La. “The group of applicants was outstanding, which made the selection process very difficult but also rewarding,” said Rice Foundation Chairman Marvin Cochran, a rice producer from Avon, Miss.

This year’s international session will be held in Brazil and Uruguay, important South American riceproducing countries.

To be eligible for the international class, applicants must first have completed the traditional rice leadership program. An important factor in the selection process for the international session is how the graduate has put his or her leadership training to use in serving the rice industry, Cochran said.

Sponsors of the Rice Leadership Development Program are John Deere, RiceTec Inc. and American Commodity Company. The program is sponsored through The Rice Foundation and managed by the USA Rice Federation.

Clark Co. FB Women’s Committee co-chairs Karen Kirkpatrick (left) and Becky Baumgardner (right) presented Goza Middle School teachers Kelly Rogers and Kannesha Hall with cotton and forestry literature Oct. 15 to help promote local students’ awareness of agriculture.

Free workshop On Nov. 6, the National Agricultural Law Center will host a free workshop, “What You Should Know: Laws and Regulations Affecting Row Crop Producers,” at the Grand Prairie Center, 2709 Highway 165 South in Stuttgart.

The workshop, scheduled for 10 a.m.-12 p.m., will focus on farm bill reauthorization, federal crop insurance, environmental regulation and other topics of interest to producers. Presenters include Harrison Pittman, director of the National Agricultural Law Center, and Grant Ballard, an associate with Banks Law Firm. A free lunch by King Kat Catering will be provided.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP by Nov. 3 to Harrison Pittman at (479) 575-7640 or hmpittm@ uark.edu. For more information, visit http://nationalaglawcenter.org/ outreach/producerworkshop.

Morrill Act: 150th anniversary A century and a half ago, with America torn by civil war, Abraham Lincoln signed into law an act that would reshape higher education in the United States. The Morrill Act of 1862 opened the way for a new type of university charged with bringing to a broader public those educational opportunities only available to a privileged few.

This month, the University of

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Susan Anglin (center, back to camera) of Triple A dairy farm near Bentonville speaks to participants at the first “Moms on the Farm” tour Oct. 8. The event takes women with no agricultural ties to working farms to help them better understand food production.

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Arkansas System Division of Agriculture has been celebrating the law, which made agricultural education possible.

Under the act, states were granted a certain amount of land to sell.

The proceeds would then be used to create an endowment to support the colleges “to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts … in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life.”

Dozens of colleges were funded by these land grants, including Cornell, MIT and Arkansas Industrial University, which would later become the University of Arkansas.

“One secret to success in American enterprise, and especially agriculture, is the continual pursuit of comparative advantage and improved efficiency,” said Mark Cochran, vice president-agriculture for UofA. “Fulfilling the original mission of the land grant university to apply science to relevant problems has been our greatest accomplishment.”

In Arkansas, the land-grant mission expressed through UofA’s Division of Agriculture has two

The Arkansas rice industry recently donated more than 100,000 pounds of rice to the Arkansas Rice Depot. Arkansas Rice Council President Steve Orlicek (right) presented the rice on behalf of the industry, enough for 1.3 million servings for needy families.

channels: research done through agricultural experiment stations and informal education through the Cooperative Extension Service. For more info, visit http://aaes.uark.edu

Elsewhere Funding for rural electric service Earlier this month, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced funding to modernize and improve the efficiency of rural electric generation and transmission systems.

The announcement was made on the Secretary’s behalf by Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager.

“USDA and the Obama administration continue to make key investments in rural electric cooperatives that will modernize service and improve reliability for rural businesses and residential customers,” Tonsager said. “This also includes funding that will enable rural electric cooperatives and utilities to adopt smart-grid technologies in their operations as part of the ongoing efforts to modernize rural America’s electric grid.”

Vilsack announced in August that USDA had met its goal to finance $250 million in smart-grid technologies in fiscal year 2012.

The latest announcement includes additional support of $134 million in smart-grid technologies. In Arkansas,

Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation will receive $245 million. Funds will be used to acquire Hot Spring Generating Facility, a 660-megawatt, natural gas-fired, electric-generating plant.

Rice Outlook Conference The 2012 USA Rice Outlook Conference will be held Dec. 9-11 at the historic Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, Calif. This annual educational forum and trade show is for rice farmers and representatives from other segments of the U.S. rice industry.

Early registration runs through Nov. 9. Registrations with payment must be made online or postmarked by that date to receive the early rate of $170. Registration after Nov. 9 and onsite is $195. The registration fee provides admittance to all conference programs, the trade show, continental breakfasts, receptions and the Rice Awards luncheon. It does not include guest events and tours, which have separate fees. Advance and onsite guest registration is $95, which provides admittance to conference receptions and the Rice Awards luncheon only.

For registration and additional information, visit www.usarice.com and click on Meetings.

Editor Keith Sutton

keith.sutton@arfb.com

In the Market As of October 23, 2012:

 SOYBEANS appear to have made a seasonal low, but a November close below $14.85 brings downside objectives of $14.78 and $14.57 back into play. A close above $15.75 signals additional potential with a probable upside between $16.05 and $16.75. Fundamentals are mixed, with Chinese buying remaining exceptionally strong. The last export inspections report at 61.4 million bushels was well above expectations, and almost two thirds was headed to China. Early reports from South America indicate Brazil will surpass the U.S. in soybean production, although wet conditions are hammering planting in Argentina and southern Brazil. As you move north in Brazil, lack of moisture is a problem. This may result in some intended corn acreage going to soybeans. The current 2013 soybean/corn price ratio is 2.1, which still favors corn.  CORN completed a 50 percent retracement of the August/ September decline and continues to trade in a 35 cents consolidation phase below $7.75. The low of $7.05 was cut in late September and appears to be solid support. Demand considerations will limit upside potential over the coming months.

Export movement is down almost 50 percent from last year, while imports from South America are being seen in the southeastern U.S. Several early estimates peg 2013 U.S. plantings at 97.5 to 98 million acres, up slightly from 2012. While the Midwest has received some recent rain, drought conditions persist, raising concern about the 2013 crop.  WHEAT markets have been bolstered by reports that the Ukraine will deplete its export supply in three to four weeks. Global wheat supplies are tightening, increasing opportunities for the U.S. to gain favor in the export market.

Technically, old crop December is in a downtrending channel, with support near $8.50 and resistance around $9.00. Additional resistance is located at $9.25 and $9.50.

New crop July is in a sideway consolidation phase with support at $8.25 and resistance at $8.75 and $8.90. A move higher doesn’t appear likely without fresh export demand and/or increased drought concerns.  COTTON futures rallied above 79 cents last week on tight tenderable supplies and some new crop quality issues. However, the rally quickly ran out of steam as overall fundamentals remain negative.

World stocks are projected to be more than 79 million bales, with China holding 36.6 million bales.

While China continues to buy cotton, its use for 2013 is projected to be just 36 million bales, down 10 million bales from two years ago.

2013 world and U.S. plantings are expected to decline. U.S. acreage could dip a third or more, taking plantings below 8 million acres.

However, it will likely take at least two years to get stocks to a more manageable level.  RICE futures remain in a longterm sideways trading range. For the last year, the market has held between $13.50 and $16.00. For the last six weeks, that range has narrowed to 75 cents, with trading holding between $14.75 and $15.50.

U.S. production is below 200 million cwt. for the second year in a row, which will leave ending stocks of just 32.4 million cwt. That is down a third from 2010-11 stocks of 48.5 million cwt., despite reduced export demand. The 2013 crop could bring a third year of reduced production as farmers eye profit potential of soybeans and corn.  CATTLE futures ignored last week’s bullish cattle on feed report and worked lower to begin the week.

Placements at 81 percent of yearago levels were near expectations, as were the on-feed numbers of 97 percent. Cash cattle trade is slow as packers appear reluctant to raise bids with profit margins still in the

red. Choice beef values are near $200, which typically has reduced consumer demand. The question is whether consumers will balk at buying beef. Feeder futures have resistance around $150 until spring.  HOG futures may be topping.

The market is being pressured by this month’s cold storage report, which showed stocks of 630.6 million pounds, or about 10 million pounds above expectations. Stocks are up more than 28 percent from year-ago levels. December futures have trendline support around $77, which if broken would suggest a move to $75.  POULTRY. Shell egg demand has begun to stir in anticipation of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday demand period and has returned to above average levels. Wholesale shell egg prices have begun to firm as offerings are limited and held with confidence; supplies are moderate to heavy; trading is slow to moderate.

Breaking stock prices are steady to higher for light offerings and light to moderate supplies; trading slow to moderate; breaking schedules normal. The preliminary sample of supermarket featuring into next week indicates a doubling of activity with a slightly lower average ad price. Incentive usage is sparse at best. As this week’s features move through the pipeline, inventories have begun to build for the holiday demand season, with ads expected to hit the papers within the next two to three weeks.

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.

2012 ARKANSAS STATE FAIR & LIVESTOCK SHOW

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his year’s State Fair & Livestock Show kicked into gear Friday, Oct. 12 on the State Fairgrounds in Little Rock. ArFB and agriculture were once again well represented at the annual festivities. Take a look at some of the people and events that made the 10-day event very special.

• photos by KEITH SUTTON •

Rain kept crowds away from the Arkansas State Fair on opening day, but a single-day record of 88,769 people went through the gates on Oct. 13.

Total attendance reached 447,938.

Above: Judge Joel Cowley (background) of Houston, Texas, announced finalists in the Market Steers competition. Expert judges from throughout the U.S. are important to the livestock show’s success. Above right: The midway featured lots of special attractions, including a sword swallower! Right: Kayleu Carver of Lockesburg visited ArFB’s booth in the Hall of Industry to check out her bigger-than-life-size photo used as part of the ag display.

Right: The legendary John Philpot with Pulaski Co. FB was emcee for the Jr. Livestock Auction.

Bottom right: Visitors to the Arts & Crafts building saw dozens of winning entries in the home-canning division.

Above: Beth Wallace (second from right) of Greenbrier won Best in Show in ArFB’s Rice Cooking Contest Oct. 16 for her Crispy Coconut Pie. With Wallace are members of ArFB’s State Women’s Committee, who judged the contest.

Right: National FFA Treasurer Marion Fletcher and his grandkids Evalyn and Eli enjoyed the FFA Children’s Barnyard.Far right: Seventeen-year-old Katie McNinch of Enola exhibited the Grand Champion Market Steer at the Junior Livestock Auction.

President Randy Veach purchased the animal for ArFB.

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Left: The Grand Champion Market Lamb was shown by 15-year-old Chism Maye of Mena.

Board member Allen Stewart purchased the animal for ArFB. Above: Brave fair goers went topsy turvy on the many wild rides.

Tiffaney McCutcheon of Hector took home a plaque and blue ribbon for the biggest watermelon shown at the fair, a whopping 86-pounder.

Above: University of Central Arkansas Family Consumer Science students Shelby Waire (left) and Elizabeth Todd (right) assisted promotion coordinator Donette Stump at the Arkansas Beef Council booth.