NOVEMBER 8, 2019 • VOLUME 22 • ISSUE 22

Farm Bureau Press A PEEK INSIDE

VETERANS 4 AG SUMMIT SET FOR RUSSELLVILLE A Veterans 4 Ag Summit will be held at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville on Nov. 14. The summit will run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Doc Bryan Student Service Center at 1605 N. Coliseum Dr. on the Arkansas Tech campus. The event will offer panel discussions and speakers that will help prepare military veterans for potential careers in the agriculture field, while educating them about employment opportunities in the agriculture industry, Arkansas’ largest business sector. The combined impact from Arkansas agriculture is more than $20 billion annually, with roughly 1 in 6 jobs in the state connected to agriculture.

Three Honorary American FFA Degrees Awarded, page 2.

“Agriculture is a fundamental industry to our state economy. It’s an industry that requires independence, hard work and innovation and that’s a natural fit for those that have served in our military – active, guard or reserve,” said Col. Nate Todd, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs. “Arkansas has a large veteran population made up of individuals that are highly trained and well-suited for careers in agriculture,” said Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward. “Our goal with the Veterans 4 Ag Summit is to ensure that every veteran in Arkansas is aware of available resources and the many career opportunities that exist within this industry.”

Vets4Ag

The Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and Arkansas Farm Bureau are jointly organizing the Veterans 4 Ag Summit. Various agriculture and veteran’s organizations will be on hand to provide attendees with networking opportunities and the chance to speak one-on-one with industry partners. For more information on Veterans 4 Agriculture, the upcoming summit and a link to free registration, visit www.Vets4Ag.com.

ArFB Promotes Burkham, page 3.

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HONORARY AMERICAN FFA DEGREES AWARDED Arkansas Farm Bureau Executive Vice President Warren Carter was awarded the Honorary American FFA Degree at the 92nd National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis. Taylor Wiseman, a University of Arkansas graduate student and ArFB Collegiate Discussion Meet winner and Chris Bacchus, program coordinator for agricultural education and state FFA advisor were both awarded the distinction as well. Each year the National FFA Organization recognizes outstanding individuals who have provided exceptional support of school-based agricultural education and FFA. Warren Carter

Taylor Wiseman

Honorary Purple Circle | Travis Justice, ArFB director of commodity and regulatory affairs, was awarded an Honorary Purple Circle Award at the 2019 awards luncheon. Arkansas Farm Bureau hosted the 2019 Purple Circle Awards on Oct. 26 in Little Rock. The Purple Circle Club is an awards program recognizing junior livestock exhibitors who earned championship honors at the Arkansas State Fair. (Top, from left) Evan Teague, Bruce Tencleve, Travis Justice, Tyle Justice, Mark Lambert. (Below, from left) Travis Justice and Tyle Justice.

Chis Bacchus

4-H State Officers | Jason Kaufman (back right) presented the Arkansas 4-H State Officers with leather bags to use during their time in office. (Back row, from left) Cody Ogden, Eva Berryhill, Sirrea Burnett and Chase Blum. (Front row, from left) Faith Fritch and Noralee Townsend. Not pictured is Brent Clark. 2

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU PROMOTES BURKHAM Jessica Clowser Burkham has been promoted to director of policy development and legislative research for Arkansas Farm Bureau. She previously served as the director of commodity activities and economics for aquaculture, forestry and specialty crops at Arkansas Farm Bureau. In her new role, Burkham will direct the organization’s policy development program and she will be responsible for researching, compiling and maintaining information and materials relating to Farm Bureau’s legislative and regulatory activities at both the state and national levels. In her previous role, Burkham addressed legislative, regulatory and economic affairs important to Farm Bureau members, helped outline topics for policy development, managed administrative functions for commodity check-off boards and assisted producers enrolling for Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+) funds. Before joining Farm Bureau, Burkham spent six years in Washington, D.C., working as a legislative assistant for

U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska, where she advised on legislative issues for the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. She also managed the senator’s legislative priorities in agriculture, energy and environment, water infrastructure, biofuels and trade policies. Burkham also worked to negotiate and advance priorities for the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills and facilitated successful discussion between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Nebraska Department of Agriculture on behalf of Fischer to open the Israeli market to Nebraska beef for the first time since 2003. Before working for Fischer, Burkham served as a legislative aide for U.S. Senator Mike Johanns of Nebraska, in his D.C. office.

HEMP INDUSTRY PROGRESSES THANKS TO USDA RULE The USDA’s hemp program, announced Oct. 29, allows the sector to move forward, according to the American Farm Bureau. Scott Bennett, congressional relations director at AFBF, explained in Newsline that the interim final rule creates much-needed standards for production, testing and licensing. “This is the long-awaited interpretation from USDA of what Congress passed in the 2018 farm bill as it relates to the legalization of hemp,” Bennett said. “This interim final rule provides clarity to producers on everything from crop insurance, THC testing methods, crop destruction protocols, to interstate commerce.”

Ever since the 2018 Farm Bill was signed, farmers, regulators, stakeholders and law enforcement have been operating in a state of uncertainty as they waited for USDA to release this guidance. Hemp production is legal in 46 states and the farm bill allows Idaho, Mississippi, New Hampshire and South Dakota to continue to ban production of the crop within their borders. Hemp producers should review the rule, which can be found on the UDSA website, and provide feedback to USDA. The public can provide comment through the Federal Register for a period of 60 days which began Oct. 31.

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MARKET NEWS as of November 7, 2019 Contact Brandy Carroll 501-228-1268 brandy.carroll@arfb.com

Cattle The steep uptrend in cattle futures continues full steam ahead. Wholesale beef prices and Plains cash prices are supporting futures as strong market fundamentals keep prices high. Choice cutouts are the highest they’ve been in October/November in five years. They were up another $6.05 last week to $231.67. The December contract is currently testing the waters above $120. A close above $120 would open the possibility of a retest of the contract high of $124. February has little resistance below the contract high of $126.30 and could be headed for a retest of that level. However, the market is technically oversold and trading at a significant premium to cash, so a downward correction is also possible. Hogs Hog futures are chopping along mostly sideways despite trading in relatively wide ranges each day. Deferred contracts are trading at much higher levels than the nearby contracts, but are looking technically weak after charting a bearish key reversal last week. The June contract continues to fail at resistance below $92, and could work lower as a result of technical selling. Nearby contracts are under pressure from weakness in cash hog prices due to record large hog supplies and continued uncertainty about U.S.-China trade 4

negotiations. Weekly exports were disappointing at 16,600 metric tons, down 45% from last week and down 82% from the prior 4-week average. Rice Rice futures have been confined to a narrow trading range in the past few days. The harvest is complete at this point, and the smaller acreage and lower yields have been built into current price levels. This market needs to see good demand news in order to jump-start buying interest. Unfortunately, that news did not come this week, with weekly export sales uninspiring at 53,300 metric tons, down from almost 85,000 metric tons each of the two weeks prior. The January contract has nearby resistance at $12.10, with support at the recent low of $11.73 ½. Cotton Cotton futures rallied to new fourmonth highs in October, but have now settled into a more sideways trading pattern. Underlying support is coming from concerns about the quality of the crop. USDA says that, as of November 3, the crop was 53% harvested nationwide. The Arkansas total was 84%. This latest round of wet weather through the mid-south could impact the quality of the remaining crop. The Texas crop was only 42% harvested in the latest report, and the market continues to worry about potential yield and quality there. Export sales last week came in at a solid 164,000 bales and included a sale of 23,500 bales to China. December has resistance at 66 cents. A move above that level could open up a move to resistance at 68 cents. Soybeans January soybeans have retreated from what looks to be a double top at $9.59, but have found

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support at $9.25 for the moment. Weekly exports were strong and will provide underlying support. USDA says 1.807 million metric tons of beans were sold for export last week, bringing total sales to only 2.1% below the year ago total. The November crop report is not expected to cut yields by much, and it is now likely the reduced size of the crop is built into prices. 75% of the crop is in the bins as of November 3, and harvest will be winding down soon. Corn Half of the national corn crop has now been harvested, according to USDA. The November crop report could show an additional reduction in yield, but it is expected to be small. Corn exports continue to be extremely disappointing and are keeping a lid on prices. Weekly export sales were only 488,000 metric tons. U.S. corn export sales for the year are now 47.2% below the year ago total, and shipments are down a whopping 62.8%. It is going to take some serious improvement in export demand in order to move the market higher. Ethanol production is trending higher, but production remains well below year-ago levels and below the rate needed to meet USDA’s projection for corn-forethanol usage on the Supply/ Demand balance sheet. December currently looks headed for a retest of support at $3.70. Failure at that level would open the possibility of a retest of the September low of $3.52, which could happen fast depending on what the November reports say on Friday.

EDITOR Ashley Wallace ashley.wallace@arfb.com