APRIL 24, 2020 • VOLUME 23 • ISSUE 8
Farm Bureau Press A PEEK INSIDE
FARM BUREAU INSURANCE ANNOUNCES $500,000 DONATION TO SIX ARKANSAS FOODBANKS The Farm Bureau Insurance companies announced Thursday a $500,000 gift to the six foodbanks that cover the state of Arkansas, anchored by the Arkansas Foodbank, which represents 33 counties in Central Arkansas. “Farm Bureau Insurance regularly responds to the needs of our customers when storm events occur, and we think it is appropriate that Farm Bureau help all Arkansas communities during these tough economic times,” said David Moore, senior vice president and general manager of Farm Bureau’s insurance companies in Arkansas.
COVID-19 SBA & PPP Extended, page 2
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Databases Available to Pesticide Applicators to Help Avoid Sensitive Crops, Beehives, page 2
Arkansas Farmers Receive Online Support with Community Website, page 3
FOLLOW US ONLINE Foodbank Donation | ArFB President Rich Hillman (center) and AFBIC SVP & GM David Moore present a $500,000 donation check to the Rhonda Sanders, CEO of the Arkansas Foodbank, at their headquarters in Little Rock. Also in attendence, ArFB EVP Warren Carter, ArFB Vice President of Human Resources Tammy Crumley, and ArFB Vice President Mike Freeze.
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A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
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COVID-19 SBA & PPP EXTENDED DATABASES AVAILABLE This week, Congress approved the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. The bill expands farmer and rancher eligibility for the Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, provides additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and includes necessary funding for hospitals and rural health clinics.
The bill extends eligibility to agricultural enterprises that have 500 or fewer employees to participate in the EIDL, specifically providing $60 billion for the program. It will also provide $320 billion for the PPP, which ran out of funds on Thursday, April 16, 2020. We encourage producers to connect with their lenders, financial planners and tax professionals to seek guidance when applying for these programs. More information can be also be found at https://bit.ly/covid-19-small-business-guidance. Moreover, USDA announced last week the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which will provide $19 billion in economic relief for farmers and ranchers impacted by COVID-19. According to USDA, CFAP will provide producers with $16 billion in direct payments and $3 billion to purchase agricultural products including meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables. While few details have been released at this time, Arkansas Farm Bureau is working diligently to keep members informed and will provide more updates as details are made known. The American Farm Bureau applauded the $19 billion economic aid package for America’s farmers and ranchers.
FOOD BANK DONATION
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“Farm Bureau has long been supporters of the important work of the Arkansas Foodbank, and we are appreciative of the amazing benefits the foodbanks in Arkansas provide to our citizens. Foodbanks are playing an especially important role in feeding families during this unprecedented time and we are humbled and honored to provide this gift for your use. “We offer our thanks and support to the farmers and ranchers of Arkansas who provide food and fiber for so many. Hopefully, the donation today can help get that food they produce to the homes and tables where it is needed.” The $500,000 gift will be distributed amongst the six foodbanks in Arkansas, based on the number of counties each serve. “Farm Bureau’s founding mission is to support the families that put food on our tables,” said Rich Hillman, a rice farmer from Carlisle who serves as president of Arkansas Farm Bureau. “Providing relief to our communities in a time of need is a core value of the Farm Bureau. Offering a helping hand to our friends at the Arkansas Foodbank and their partners who provide similar services throughout Arkansas is critical at this time.” The donation is part of Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance’s commitment of $2.3 million to food banks across its six-state footprint, including Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. 2
A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
TO HELP AVOID SENS
Arkansas pesticide applicators working row an crops now have a powerful tool to help them b avoid unintentional spraying over herbicide-se crops and beehives.
Now in its second year of operation in Arkansa CropCheckTM, which began as a 2018 pilot pr offered in partnership between FieldWatch® a University of Arkansas System Division of Agri is one of three online databases available to growers at no cost. Arkansas is one of more th participating states.
FieldWatch is a not-for-profit company that ho online registries that map locations of pesticid sensitive crops and beehives. The registries include CropCheck, which documents row cro DriftwatchTM, which documents specialty cro BeeCheckTM, which documents beehives. Rec 17 states, including Arkansas, have opted to ad industrial hemp to their respective registry ma Saskatchewan, Canada, has also added indust hemp.
CropCheck allows row crop producers to subm site information. Pesticide applicators can use information to help determine the scope and of herbicide-sensitive crops, and plan their ap accordingly.
DriftWatch allows commercial producers of sp crops such as tomatoes, fruit trees, grapes and crops to register and map their sites online wit easy-to-use mapping tool, and to provide con information about their operation.
BeeCheck has a few additional features for beekeepers and apiaries to communicate thei location and site details to applicators.
Registered applicators can sign up to receive e notifications when new crop fields or beehives added to their designated state, county or are
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Vic Ford, associate director of Agriculture and Natural Resources for the Division of Agriculture, said the registries provide an invaluable tool for protecting a wide spectrum of agricultural endeavors throughout the state. “This is our third year with FieldWatch, and the one thing we have learned is that it is not only a row crop, specialty crop, or beekeeper program,” Ford said. “It is encompassing all three. For row crops and specialty crops, it is imperative that the applicators know where your sensitive crops are. This is the mechanism to do so. By registering hives, it helps to prevent application of bee-toxic chemicals to the hive area.”
ARKANSAS FARMERS RECEIVE ONLINE SUPPORT WITH COMMUNITY WEBSITE UpliftArkansas.com is a statewide, one-stop resource that provides a comprehensive, reliable list of information on local businesses, restaurants, services and other essential in formation for Arkansans during this pandemic. A new partnership with the Arkansas Department of Agriculture highlights specific ways that Arkansans can personally help farmers across the state.
Bob Walters, director of business development for FieldWatch, said there are now at least 283 producers and at least 147 pesticide applicators registered with the program in Arkansas. Ford said there were 166,000 acres of Arkansas cropland registered through the program in 2019. All FieldWatch registries can be accessed through laptop and desktop computers via the Internet. FieldWatch has also developed mobile apps for beekeepers and pesticide applicators that will function on both Android and iOS devices.
This new website update will provide a resource hub for Arkansans to reach farmers who provide fresh food direct to consumers, farm-to-table restaurants, and local grocery stores through online sales, farmers markets, and on-farm sales.
Producers interested in participating in CropCheck, DriftWatch or BeeCheck can register their respective fields at the following sites:
Local farmers and farmers market managers can upload real-time information and control their listings on the website as they adapt their operations to the COVID-19 situation. With this partnership, Arkansans can access the Arkansas COVID-19 Food Access Map resource on UpliftArkansas.com and find Arkansas Grown food available in their areas, as well as schools and organizations that are offering free meals while schools are closed.
• BeeCheck (apiarists): https://beecheck.org • DriftWatch (specialty crops): https://driftwatch.org • CropCheck (row crops): ar.cropcheck.org/login To register as an applicator, visit https://fieldwatch. com. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.edu.
UpliftArkansas.com is a free website dedicated to uplifting local businesses and nonprofits. The website allows users to quickly and easily claim existing listings or create new listings to keep communities informed about the efforts of local organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Claimed listings can be updated in real time, which makes this resource particularly user-friendly and an asset for local businesses and nonprofits to provide immediate updates to consumers. For more information, visit UpliftArkansas.com.
A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
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MARKET NEWS as of April 23, 2020 Contact Brandy Carroll 501-228-1268 brandy.carroll@arfb.com
Coronavirus Food Assistance Program USDA has announced a $19 billion program to help offset the devastating effects the Coronavirus has had on the agriculture sector. The program includes $16 billion for direct payments to livestock, dairy, row crop and specialty crop farmers impacted by low prices and disrupted supply chains. The remaining $3 billion is reserved for food purchases and distribution. Direct payments to producers will be coupled to actual 2019 production and based on actual losses agricultural producers experienced. To qualify for a payment, a commodity must have declined in price by at least 5% between Jan. and April. USDA has said payments will be determined using two calculations. Producers will be compensated for 85% of the price loss from January 1-mid-April (no final date has been confirmed). The second calculation will be based upon estimated losses from mid-April through the next two quarters. Producers will be compensated 30% of those expected losses. The exact prices to be used have not been announced at this time. Payments are expected to be distributed in May. Payment limits apply, set at $125,000 per commodity with an overall limit of $250,000 per individual or entity. This is a separate payment limit and will not impact participation in other FSA programs. There is concern about coverage for domestic aquaculture, as it is currently uncertain where or how domestic aquaculture will be covered. Additionally, funds are intended to cover producers who own the commodity or product, so 4
animals raised under contract are not expected to be covered. Cattle Cattle futures have declined approximately 25% since January. The monthly Cattle on Feed report is expected to show an unprecedented drop in placements, with pre-report estimates pegging March 2020 placements between 54.6%-81.1% of the March 2019 total. Pre-report estimates for the April 1 total on-feed inventory range from 90.5% to 95.4% of the 2019 total. October live futures have been confined to trading between resistance at $97.50 and support at $92.50 for the past couple of weeks. Hogs Hog futures have now lost more than 50% of their value since January. Plant closures due to Covid-19 have significantly reduced slaughter capacity in the U.S. It is estimated that current closures have reduces slaughter capacity by 58,000 head per day. This week’s slaughter total is expected to be down 86,000 head from just last week. The monthly cold storage report showed frozen pork supplies at 621.9 million pounds at the end of March, down 27% from March 2019. That decline, though, is due to increased consumer demand as lockdowns began. It does not reflect plant shutdowns, as those began occurring in April. As a result, composite pork cutout values continue to increase as do packer margins for those still in operation. Producers are reducing feed rations in order to control hog weights, and there are reports of animals being euthanized. Technically, the October contract is building support at the recent low of $48. Corn Corn futures remain under pressure despite having lost 20% of their value since January. USDA prospective plantings report estimated 2020 acreage up 8% from last year at 97 million acres. Ethanol stocks are now at a record high of 27.7 million barrels, and weekly output has been throttled down to the lowest levels since reporting began in 2010. The latest USDA supply/demand report made adjustments in usage numbers that resulted in a 200 million bushel
A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
increase in ending stocks. The average on-farm price was lowered to $3.60/ bushel. On the futures chart, December has resistance at $3.40 Âź and support at the contract low of $3.25. Soybeans Soybeans continue to be under pressure. USDA announced a 198,000-metricton sale to China this week, giving the market a temporary boost, but exports are nearly 15% below the year-to-date total needed to reach the current USDA projection, suggesting further revisions in the forecast are forthcoming. Despite declines, U.S. soybeans are still priced above Brazil beans, and the Real is now at a historic low versus the dollar. Currently, UDSA is projecting an on-farm season average price of $8.68. Both July and November have very tough resistance at the chart gap at $9, and really no obvious support above the recent contract low, which is $8.18 for July and $8.31 for November. Rice Rice, as a staple food crop around the world, has not seen the same pressure as other commodities. Old crop rice is in short supply, and prices have soared to 6-year highs. New crop futures, however, are trading at an over $3/cwt discount to the nearby contracts. The 2020 crop is expected to be significantly larger than the 2019 crop, which is limiting the upside potential. USDA says Arkansas farmers have seeded 23% of intended acres, compared with a 5-year average of 45%. Cotton Cotton futures have seen some strength this week, with futures making 5-week highs. Carryover strength from the stock market and crude oil futures helped provide support for the bounce. Cotton has been under pressure from a sharp decrease in demand due to mill closures around the world, resulting in a 90% decline in orders for U.S. cotton yarn and fabric.
EDITOR Ashley Wallace ashley.wallace@arfb.com