Farm Bureau Press | July 2

JULY 2, 2021 | VOLUME 24 | ISSUE 13

Farm Bureau Press A PEEK INSIDE

ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU HIRES TWO NEW DISTRICT DIRECTORS

Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Organization and Member Programs Department has hired Jeremy Miller of Huntsville as District Director for the Northwest District and Tanner Riggin of Beebe as District Director for the Northeast District.

Miller and Riggin will serve as liaisons between the 12 county Farm Bureaus in each of their districts and the state office and assist in the development, implementation and evaluation of programs and activities in each district.

Miller has a long history as a Farm Bureau leader.

He served as a state board member for threeand-a-half years, and was president of Madison County Farm Bureau for 10 years. He was raised on a registered Guernsey dairy farm, owned and operated Clifty General Store for 15 years and currently has a cow-calf operation. He has served as a board member with the Madison County Farm Service Agency and the Clifty Cemetery, and is president of the Clifty Volunteer Fire Department.

Jeremy Miller

Miller graduated from Arkansas State University in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture business. He and his wife Meredith Gilbert Miller have two children, Brock and Ashton.

Riggin graduated from Rose Bud High School and attended Western Oklahoma State College in Altus, where he earned an associate degree in agriculture business and management. He graduated from Arkansas State University in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in the same field.

He has worked for several companies involved in agriculture, including Bunge North America, where he served as a grain elevator manager, as

Tanner Riggin

Arkansas Farm Bureau Launches Permitting Period for Black Vulture Depredation, page 2

Virtual Field Trip: Poultry Industry Sustainability, page 3

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DISTRICT DIRECTORS Continued from page 1

well as Farm Credit Midsouth and AgHeritage Farm Credit Services.

While in school, Riggin was involved with FFA, the Arkansas High School Rodeo Association and the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. He and his wife Desiree have a two-year-old son, Myles Henry Riggin.

LONOKE BUSINESS ACADEMY RECEIVES FOUNDATION GRANT The ArFB Foundation recently presented a $25,000 donation to the Lonoke Business Academy. A portion of the funds will be designated for the naming rights to the school's Ag Mechanics Lab and the remainder will be used to purchase equipment and machinery for the Academy's agriculture programs.

The Lonoke Business Academy is a 30,000-squarefoot facility that will house five hands-on programs of study designed to prepare students for skill-based careers right out of high school or for continuing education opportunities after high school.

For more information on the Lonoke Business Academy, visit www.lonokeschools.org/Page/3559.

On hand for the presentation were (from left) Justin Reynolds, ArFB Vice President of OMP; Matt King, ArFB Senior Vice President of Administration and Advocacy; Amanda Williams, ArFB Foundation Director; Elizabeth Anderson, Lonoke School Board Member and Warren Carter, ArFB Executive Vice President.

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU LAUNCHES PERMITTING PERIOD FOR BLACK VULTURE DEPREDATION Arkansas Farm Bureau has received a limited statewide depredation permit for black vultures to aid Arkansas livestock producers.

The permits, available by application no later than Dec. 31, allow for three “takes” where black vultures are harming livestock. ArFB was granted a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) permit in May of this year that permits the “taking” of 500 black vultures.

“For many years, Farm Bureau leadership and our members have recognized the presence and impacts of black vultures on livestock farms across the state,” said John Bailey, Director of Commodity & Regulatory Affairs at Arkansas Farm Bureau. “ArFB applied for this permit through USFWS to expedite a solution for Arkansas producers in need.”

The Migratory Bird Depredation Permit is a federal permit, and all livestock producers applying for and receiving approval of an ArFB Livestock Protection Depredation Sub-Permit will be required to follow all USFWS Migratory Bird Depredation Permit rules and regulations. This program allows for “taking” of black vultures only. No other protected migratory bird species is authorized to be taken under this program.

Arkansas livestock producers interested in attaining a permit should submit an application on ArFB’s website at www.arfb.com/blackvultures. Applications must be fully completed by the livestock producer for consideration.

Applications will be reviewed within two business days of receipt.

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VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP: POULTRY INDUSTRY SUSTAINABILITY Join researchers and industry personnel on July 15 as they provide an overview of current and future efforts to build sustainability into the nation’s poultry industry.

The virtual field trip begins at 10 a.m. Participants may register online at https://uada.zoom.us/webinar/register/ WN_G_6Zs_IDQRqv1EoeWI_nQA. The event is the latest in a series of educational events hosted by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The broiler industry was valued at $28.3 billion in 2019, according to USDA. Arkansas is the No. 2 broiler state in the United States, producing more than 7.42 billion pounds of chicken valued at $3.6 billion in 2019.

“The poultry industry is a major player in both the U.S. and Arkansas economies,” said Rita Watson, extension virtual education program associate for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “With this event, we wanted to provide some insights into this key industry, as well as the sustainability efforts that are going on now, and the research that will enhance those efforts in the future.”

The agenda:

Columbia Co. | Columbia County Farm Bureau Board President John Gentry presented scholarships to Zander Taylor (top) and Kushunti Brantley on June 22. Both recipients are Magnolia High School graduates.

• Overview of Poultry Sustainability – David Caldwell, head of poultry science for the Division of Agriculture and the Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

• Tyson Foods corporate sustainability efforts and animal welfare – Jamie Burr, director-sustainability implementation, and Karen Christensen, senior director-animal welfare, Office of Animal Welfare.

• Sustainable Efforts on the Farm – Karl Vandevender, Extension engineer and professor, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

The series focuses on the conservation benefits our researchers have developed in water quality, irrigation water use, climate change, soil health, profitability and sustainability. Each event includes presentations from experts, a question-and-answer session and free 7E and GRC-3D lesson guides for Arkansas high school teachers.

Environmental Committee | The Arkansas Farm Bureau Environmental Issues Committee met June 23 in Cave Springs at the Illinois River Watershed Partnership headquarters.

Committee members discussed issues effecting agriculture across the state, including ongoing irrigation projects, defining Waters of the U.S. and phosphorus index criteria.

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MARKET NEWS as of June 30, 2021 Contact Brandy Carroll 501-228-1268 brandy.carroll@arfb.com

Economy The biggest data release this week will be Friday's U.S. jobs report for June. Economists expect it to show American employers created 675,000 more jobs than they cut, with the unemployment rate falling to 5.7%.

Employment has become a major focus for markets as investors try to determine how improvements in the labor market could influence the Fed’s policy plans. Late Tuesday, Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller told Bloomberg TV that the “unemployment rate would have to drop fairly substantially, or inflation would have to really continue at a very high rate, before we would take seriously a rate hike in 2022.” The surge in U.S. home prices during the pandemic also has been a key focus.

A report on pending home sales rose 8% in May compared with April, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had projected a 1% decrease for pending home sales in May. This could mean a more normal setting to the volatility in the market.

Corn USDA said 92.7 million acres of corn were planted in 2021, up from the March survey estimate of 91.1 ma, but less than the 93.8 ma expected by Dow Jones' survey of analysts. Iowa and Nebraska both showed reductions of a half-million acres from last year.

USDA also said there were 4.112 billion bushels of corn on hand as of June 1, 42% of which are still on farms. The lower-than-expected total meant 4

U.S. corn demand hit a record high of 12.0 bb in the first three quarters of 2021-21, thanks to large purchases from China. In the U.S., the seven-day weather forecast continues to show the northwest/southeast divide with only light in amounts expected for Iowa, Nebraska and the northern Corn Belt, while moderate to heavy amounts continue to fall south of the line. The forecast for central Brazil remains hopelessly dry with further crop damage likely from subfreezing temperatures in southern Brazil this week.

Soybeans USDA estimated soybean plantings at a lower-than-expected 87.6 ma.

It is the highest soybean planting in three years but was below Dow Jones' estimate of 89.1 ma and makes it very difficult for the U.S. to produce enough soybeans to satisfy anticipated demand in the new season. Most of the major producing states showed a small planting increase from a year ago. Drought-stricken North Dakota posted the largest increase, going from 5.75 ma last year to 7.20 ma this year. USDA also said there were 767 million bushels of soybeans on hand as of June 1, 29% of which were still on farms. With good-to-excellent soybean crop ratings at a low 60% and the seven-day forecast looking mostly dry for much of the central and northwestern Corn Belt, new-crop soybean prices are holding on to their bullish outlook.

Cotton The cotton market traded lower as USDA planted acres proved to be not bullish enough for traders. Although 2021 acres were pegged at 11.70 million, that was below the industry trade guess of 11.84 million. The U.S. dollar edged higher after data showed U.S. private payrolls increased more than expected in June by 692,000 jobs. This in turn makes our exports more expensive on the world market.

Weather for the U.S. Cotton Belt indicates below normal to abovenormal rainfall, and below-normal

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temperatures for much of the Cotton Belt.

Rice The USDA acreage report showed that rice acres would be 300,000 acres less than the 2020 crop. Arkansas rice crop is expected to be 200,000 less acres in long grain production, making up almost all the crop loss across the United States. Rough rice prices for new crop still seem to be trading in the mid $13 per hundredweight range for new crop. Rough rice stocks in the United States are up 35% from the June 1, 2020 report on rice stocks totaling 62.7 million hundredweight.

Also, milled rice stocks were higher, up 21% from a year ago. Going into a smaller crop and higher carry into the year will hold rice prices steady for the coming new crop without any export market help.

Livestock Compared to last week steers sold steady to $2.00 higher. Demand was good with several feedlots participating. Most of the cattle are coming off short summer range conditions. Some rain showers across different areas in Nebraska and Wyoming with mostly cooler temps prevailing. Some areas of Nebraska received strong winds along with damaging hail early in the week.

Cash feedlot trade has been rather slow to fully develop. On a good note, the market has had an uptick in price with live sales $1.00 to $2.00 higher at $125.00-$126.00 and dressed sales mostly $2.00 higher at $197.00. Instances $7.00 higher on high grading cattle at $202.00.

Choice/Select spread on the Friday morning box beef report is at $31.07.

This large Choice/Select spread has made packers come "cherry pick" high grading cattle from several feedlots.

EDITOR Ashley Wallace ashley.wallace@arfb.com