Farm Bureau Press for Aug. 18, 2017

In Farm Bureau Incentives program County Farm Bureaus are reminded that Oct. 31 is the deadline for counties to complete activities that will help them qualify for an incentive package passed by the Arkansas Farm Bureau State board of directors in April.

Guidelines stipulate that county Farm Bureaus can qualify for bonus dollars by hosting/conducting an annual meeting, policy development meeting, legislative activity (breakfast, appreciation dinner, etc.), YF&R or women’s activity (promotional, membership, youth, etc.) and a public-relations promotional activity (County Advertising Rebate Program, etc.). Counties that complete the activities in the current membership year can qualify for an incentive of 50 cents per member or a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $5,000. A form will be provided to document the activities.

In addition, the quota award for membership year 2017 has been raised from $1,000 to $2,000 for counties

From Aug. 8-10, trade representatives from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh toured Arkansas farms and poultry facilities as guests of the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board, including Consolidated Grain and Barge in West Memphis.

The visitors were here to learn more about U.S. grain production and the grain export process. They also visited Cobb-Vantress in Siloam Springs, the Tyson Discovery Center in Springdale and UA’s Poultry Science Center. achieving their quota. Any county that meets the criteria for attaining 70 points on the quota portion of the Gold Star Program will receive $750.

In other actions, the board increased the County Advertising Rebate Program from 20 cents to 25 cents per member with a minimum of $500 available to all counties; eliminated registration fees for the YF&R and Women’s conferences, and beginning with the 2018 fiscal year, Cross Co. FB held its annual meeting Aug. 8 at the Tech Center of the Delta in Wynne.

One of the evening’s highlights was the presentation of a $1,000 scholarship to Jaren Nickerson (right). Women’s Committee chair Amy Searcy made the presentation. More than 100 people attended the event to elect new officers, approve resolutions for submission to the state and much more.

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the state office will cover the cost of the counties’ Directors & Officers Liability Policy.

“We hope the counties find these actions beneficial,” said Chuck Tucker, ArFB’s senior vice president of Organization & Administration. “A growing active membership is vital to our organization, and you and your board play an instrumental role in our success as the most influential agricultural organization

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A Publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation

August 18, 2017 • Vol. 20, No. 16

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Dr. Jeff Carroll spoke about the challenges and opportunities in managing beef cattle well-being at the Seventh Annual Symposium of Current Issues and Advances in Food Animal Well-being held Aug. 3 at the UA Center of Excellence and Poultry Science in Fayetteville.

Carroll is a research leader for the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Lubbock, Texas. benefits farm and ranch families and all Americans,” he said.

Grant applications open In honor of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture’s 50th anniversary, exciting changes have been made to its White-Reinhardt minigrants. Ag literacy projects will now be funded with $1,000 grants. This will allow applicants to explore new avenues to educate others about agriculture that they may not have been able to do with smaller grants.

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Tax reform crucial, says Duvall Congressional leaders and administration officials have released a statement on tax reform that addresses many issues of importance to America’s farm and ranch families. That’s good news, said American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall.

“America’s farmers and ranchers are encouraged to see that key congressional leaders and the administration understand how important tax reform is to all Americans,” Duvall said. “Fixing our tax system now is crucial to creating economic opportunities for farmers, ranchers and other family-owned businesses. This is especially important as farmers continue to face down tough economic challenges.

“This move sets the stage for Congress to put tax reform on its agenda,” Duvall continued. “Not only will reform strengthen our economy, but by addressing key issues like overall tax rates, capital gains taxes and enhanced expensing, it will be good for farms and other businesses.”

Duvall said farmers and ranchers face numerous challenges, and it is important to recognize this creates special circumstances in regard to taxes. “We look forward to working with Congress to move tax reform forward and do it in a way that

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in our state. If you have any questions on any of these actions, please feel free to contact me or your district director.”

Former U.S. Rep. Charlie Stenholm of Texas was the keynote speaker Aug. 4 at the Arkansas Rice Expo in Stuttgart. Stenholm, who was a member of the House Committee on Agriculture during his 26 years in the House, spoke in-depth about the developing 2018 Farm Bill. Other expo events included Rice Research Center tours, ag seminars and rice cooking demonstrations.

For the second year in a row, four Arkansans took the national title at the National 4-H Forestry Invitational. Samantha Clanton, Carolyn Morman, Curtis Sellers and Logan Williams of Hermitage, pictured here with team coach Taylor Gwin (far left), beat teams from 15 other states at the 38th annual competition held at Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Camp near Weston, West

Julie Benafield, Chief Deputy Attorney General in the state attorney general’s office, was the guest speaker Aug. 10 at the Desha Co. FB annual meeting at the Dumas Community Center. She spoke on a number of issues affecting agriculture, including Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s support for regulatory reform. County president Charles Denver is seated to her right.

Mini-grant funds cannot be used for consumable items like food or paper, transportation, wages or safety programs.

Grant payments can only be made to a state or county Farm Bureau. Applications are available at www.agfoundation.org under Projects: White-Reinhardt MiniGrants. All applications must be submitted electronically. The application period closes Oct. 15.

Dairy survey In an effort to support ongoing market research efforts, American Farm Bureau Insurance Services (AFBIS) is hosting a new online survey for dairy farmers. Dairy farmers are invited to take the survey online at www. farmbureausellscropinsurance.com/dairyrisk-survey/. Information provided in the survey will remain confidential.

In October, American Farm Bureau Federation and AFBIS will submit a final proposal to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation for a new dairy insurance policy.

In Arkansas Dicamba task force Gov. Asa Hutchinson has directed Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward and Plant Board Director Terry Walker to convene and co-chair a task force to review dicamba technology, investigate current problems with its use and application and make long

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As part of National Catfish Month in August, Glen Fleming of Dumas (right) was named Arkansas’ 2017 Catfish Farmer of the Year by The Catfish Institute, the nonprofit promotional arm of the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry. Mary Holmes (left) was Alabama’s honoree, and Chris and Missy McGlawn (center) were the honorees from Mississippi.

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term recommendations for the future.

Arkansas Farm Bureau state board member Terry Dabbs of Stuttgart is one of those selected to serve on the task force. Others include David Wildy, farmer, Northeast Arkansas; Joe Mencer, farmer, Southeast Arkansas; Shawn Peebles, farmer, Central Arkansas; A.J. Hood, Arkansas Soybean Association; Terry Dabbs, Arkansas Farm Bureau; Andrew Grobmyer, Agricultural Council of Arkansas; David Hundley, Arkansas Poultry Industry; Blake Foust, CCA, Arkansas Agricultural Consultants Association; Sterling Clifton, CCA, Arkansas Agricultural Consultants Association; Billy Maddox, Arkansas Seed Growers Association; John Petrus, Arkansas Seed Growers Association; Chad Duckworth, Arkansas Seed Dealers Association; Stacey Bruff, Arkansas Seed Dealers Association; Don Johnson, Arkansas Crop Protection Association; Brad Koen, Arkansas Crop Protection Association; Dale Reed, Arkansas Plant Food Association; Dan Gladden, Arkansas Plant Food Association; Danny Townsend, Arkansas Green Industry; and James King, Arkansas Green Industry.

The task force will be assisted by technical experts serving as non-voting advisors. Meetings will be facilitated by the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, with the first meeting was held Aug. 17. A followup meeting is planned later this month.

The task force will attempt to reach consensus on a set of recommendations for the use of dicamba products in Arkansas

According to the Cooperative Extension Service, cool summer temperatures and recent rains delayed the rice harvest for many farmers in eastern Arkansas, though harvest begun in some areas. The harvested acreage is expected to be 1.11 million acres, down from the March estimate of 1.19 million acres due to flooding in April and May. That represents an estimated crop loss of $175 million. as quickly as possible in order to provide certainty for the 2018 growing season.

Upon conclusion of the task force, findings will be provided to Gov. Hutchinson, the Arkansas Agriculture Department and the State Plant Board. Learn more at aad. arkansas.gov.

Coupled with the market, a Cooking Matters class will be held at Campus Towers. Cooking Matters is a six-week class that teaches participants how to prepare healthy meals and maximize their food budgets. For more info, contact Emily DeYmaz at 501-765-8141.

Fresh 2 You Market expands Senior and disabled tenants residing in four North Little Rock Public Housing communities and the surrounding neighborhoods will now have better access to fresh fruits and vegetables through the Fresh 2 Your Mobile Farmer’s Market beginning Aug. 9 through Nov. 30. The mobile market is a partnership among Arkansas Housing and Community Development Corporation, Humana, North Little Rock Housing Authority, and Vine and Village.

The hours of operation will be every Wednesday at the following locations: Willow House at 2500 Willow Street, 10–11:15 a.m.; Heritage House and S.W. Bowker at 2301 Division, 11:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m.; and Campus Towers at 1101 Bishop Lindsey Drive, 1-2 p.m.

The market will be stocked with wholesale and donated fresh produce leveraged from local suppliers and sold with a small markup to cover operating expenses. The market also will feature a limited supply of meat and dairy.

Launched in 2016, Fresh 2 Mobile Market is a retrofitted retired bus donated

by Rock Region Metro that is operated

by Little Rock’s Vine and Village, the nonprofit affiliate of Mosaic Church, and is supported by the City of Little Rock and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance.

Elsewhere New partnership Leaders of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture and the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization recently signed a memorandum of understanding that establishes a new partnership to strengthen collaboration between the two groups.

The two organizations will work together to encourage young Americans to pursue higher education and career opportunities in the food and agricultural sciences, in addition to providing resources to assist K-12 educators interested in integrating information about food and agriculture across curricula. They also will partner on communications and promotions as part of the agreement, in addition to collaborating on workshops and educational events.

“Farm Bureau has worked closely with National Agriculture in the Classroom for years to help students, teachers and parents learn about where food comes from and who grows it,” said foundation chairman Zippy Duvall. “We look forward to building on our success through this official partnership.”

Editor Keith Sutton

keith.sutton@arfb.com

In the Market As of August 16, 2017 Dicamba-impacted soybeans The number of dicamba-impacted soybean acres across the U.S. continues to increase and is pegged at 3.1 million as of Aug. 10, according to surveys of agricultural extension agents conducted by Kevin Bradley, an associate professor in the University of Missouri’s Division of Plant Sciences. Official dicamba-related cases currently being investigated by departments of agriculture in 17 states across the south and Midwest have also risen, from 1,411 to 2,242, Bradley reports.

Joint NAFTA statement American Farm Bureau Federation, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) and Mexico’s Consejo Nacional Agropecuario issued a joint statement this week in support of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

That could be a signal the groups do not want their country’s trade policy negotiators to use agriculture as leverage to garner other priorities.

Meanwhile, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, CFA President Ron Bonnett and Bosco de la Vega of Consejo Nacional Agropecuario were each scheduled to speak during an event Aug. 16 at the National Press Club in Washington.

Trading concessions for China?

President Donald Trump continued to signal the possibility that he may ease his rhetoric over Chinese trade practices if Beijing takes steps to help contain Pyongyang’s nuclear program.

“I think China will do a lot more,” Trump said. “If China helps us, I feel a lot differently toward trade.”

The Trump administration has twice delayed actions related to import

restrictions on China’s handling of U.S. intellectual property rights and forced technology transfers. The Commerce Department has been preparing an investigation examining whether to limit imports of Chinese steel.

“All-in” farm bill That phrase may have several meanings relative to a new farm bill. One is the call for all farm and commodity groups and farm-state lawmakers to work together for a timely, successful bill. Another is the suggestion by some to include an “allin” safety net that would combine both Ag Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) features that would mean farmers would have only one safety-net option. But the all-in safety-net program proposal would likely face opposition from some commodity groups and lawmakers who continue to favor the two different program options (ARC, PLC) that they want tweaked during the coming farm bill debate. The “all-in” safety net concept was put on the table during the 2014 farm bill negotiations that took place as part of ag panel discussions. It was rejected. No major commodity or farm group pushed it at the time, similar to the current situation.

Higher CRP acreage max The current maximum for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is 24 million acres. Some lawmakers want to raise the maximum by a few more million acres. Budget offsets for that to occur could bring some reforms to the program, such as revising CRP rental rates on a more timely basis, restricting some whole-farm or other ground program access once those current CRP acres are up for program renewal and moving some of those and other acres into the Grassland Reserve Program.

Mills on lumber agreement U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he wanted to finish a

softwood lumber agreement with Canada before talks on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement began on Aug. 16. But the owners of four lumber mills told Reuters they are “in no hurry” to reach a deal with Canada that does not limit Canadian producers’ share of the U.S. market to a strict percentage. They explained they do not want to settle for a “bad deal” just to avoid a fight in NAFTA. U.S. mill owners want a “clean quota,” with strict market share limits for Canada. They say Canada unfairly subsidizes its lumber producers through low fees for timber cut on public land. U.S. producers get most of their timber from private land where costs are higher.

China may target soybeans The Trump administration continues to mull action on China regarding intellectual property concerns. U.S. trade officials have long criticized China’s IP enforcement regime for failing to stem alleged online piracy of music, films, books, software and video games. The U.S. Trade Representative also alleged that hackers affiliated with the Chinese government and military infiltrated the computer systems of U.S. companies and stole terabytes of data to provide commercial advantages to Chinese enterprises.

China has several countermeasures it could take in any official trade spat, including legal constraints on foreign companies and import curbs on specific sectors. Under a draft plan, Bloomberg reports soybeans have been singled out as the top product that can be dialed back, according to people familiar with the matter.

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