Farm Bureau Press for June 29

In Farm Bureau District farm families announced The eight district winners in the 71st annual Arkansas Farm Family of the Year Program have been selected, representing the diversity of Arkansas agriculture, the state’s largest industry.

The district winners will now be judged to determine a state winner to be announced Dec. 6 at the Farm Family of the Year luncheon in North Little Rock.

The district winners are: • Chris and Judy Isbell of England (Lonoke County) in the East Central District. The family raises rice on 3,000 acres. The Isbell’s rice production focuses on a variety of rice grown specifically for the making of sake. They have two children, Whitney and Mark.

• Jared and Lacey Standridge of Dennard (Van Buren County) in the North Central District. The Standridges operate Hartsugg Cattle Company where they raise longhorn cattle for lease, beef cattle and show

American Farm Bureau president Zippy Duvall enjoyed a glass of milk for National Dairy Month with Arkansas Farm Bureau president Randy Veach June 25 at the 2018 National Commodity Conference in Grand Rapids, Mich. During the conference, President Duvall gave ArFB delegates an update on business in Washington, D.C.

cattle. They have three children, Sydney, Sam and Shelby.

• The Mark and Michael Ahrent and families of Corning (Clay County) in the Northeast District. The Ahrent brothers have been farming for 35 years and grow rice and soybeans on 4,800 acres. Mark and his wife

On June 29, workers at Saul’s Fish Farm in DeValls Bluff seined rosyred minnows that will be loaded on a special truck for delivery to out-ofstate bait distributors.

Businesses like Saul’s, owned by James and Margie Saul, contribute to Arkansas’ No. 1 national ranking in the farming of bait and feeder fish.

The Sauls primarily raise golden shiners and fathead minnows.

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Dee are parents to Trey, Marka and Matthew. Michael and his wife Rhonda have one son, Blake, and daughter-in-law, Emily.

• Carl and Christie Campbell of Harrison (Boone County) in the Northwest District. They run a custom hay bailing and livestock

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A Publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation

June 29, 2018 • Vol. 21, No. 13

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Pulaski Co. FB Women’s Committee members Donna and Emily Bemis dropped off a load of food June 26 to the Compassion Center in Little Rock. The food that was donated was collected at the Arkansas Farm Bureau Foudnation’s trap shoot tournament that was held in May. Each team in the tournament donated non-perishable food items.

Benton Co. FB Women’s Committee held a planning meeting June 7 at Smokin’ Joes in Bentonville to discuss upcoming events, the committee’s involvment in the county and agricultural education opportunities.

Pictured around the table left to right are Amanda Patton, Susan Anglin, Brenda Patton, Nikki Crawley, Janice Shofner and Jackie Griffin.

beef, forested hogs and pastured broilers. Damon and Jana also have a small market, Olde Crow General Store, where they sell food they raised. They have four children, Luke, Olivia, Violet and Elena.

The Farm Family of the Year program begins each year with selection of the top farm families in each county and culminates with the selection of the state Farm Family of the Year who will then go on to represent

Arkansas at the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year competition in Georgia. Arkansas has had two Southeastern Farmers of the Year, Brian Kirksey of Clark County in 2008 and Wildy Family Farms of Mississippi County in 2016. All winners are judged on their farm production, efficiency, management, family life and rural/community leadership.

Sponsors of the Farm Family of the Year program are Arkansas Farm Bureau, the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas and the three Farm Credit agencies that serve Arkansas: AgHeritage Farm Credit Services, Farm Credit of Western Arkansas and Midsouth Farm Credit. Additionally, support for the program is provided by the Arkansas Agriculture Department, Arkansas Department of Career Education, Arkansas Press Association, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture and the USDA’s Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Rural Development.

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operation on 4,600 acres. The family also owns and operates Cattlemen’s Livestock Auction of Harrison. The Campbells have one daughter, Melinda Logan, son-inlaw Landon, and two grandchildren, Ladd and Larson.

• Dean and Tawana Watson of St. Charles (South Arkansas County) in the Southeast District. The Watsons grow rice, soybeans and corn on 2,450 acres. They also own a duck hunting lodge where they provide housing, meals and guided hunts during duck season. Dean and Tawana have one daughter, Ava Bliss.

• Jimmy and Crystal Hewitt of Fouke (Miller County) in the Southwest District. Jimmy and Crystal raise registered Simbrah and commercial cattle. Their operation also includes hay production. The Hewitts have two children, Kyleen and Colton.

• Travis and Valerie Sims of Center Ridge (Conway County) in the Western District. Travis and Valerie have four broiler houses and raise an average of 594,000 birds per year for Tyson. They also raise cattle. The Sims have two children, Will and Cordell.

• Damon and Jana Helton of Lonsdale (Saline County) in the West Central District. The Heltons raise grass-fed

Clark Co. FB hosted the ArFB Cow/Dairy Educational Program at Cabe Library. Over 55 students participated in a storytime hour followed by a presentation about cows and the dairy industry. The children milked “Bessie” the Cow and were treated to frozen yogurt, crayons and coloring books all donated by the Clark Co. FB Women’s Committee.

Dr. Jeffry Miller and sophmore at Southern Arkansas Univeristy Brady Gentry talked with ArFB about the agricuclture facilities and farm at SAU. The agriculture department is recruiting new students annually and future plans include a new poultry science program. Learn more from Miller and Gentry by visiting our Facebook page bit.ly/SAUagdepartment.

In Arkansas Row crop helpline Growers seeking timely information on current crop, weather and other information can sign up to receive text alerts when new audio messages are posted, relevant to specific crops of interest.

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United Soybean Board Director Jim Carroll of Moro (Monroe County) just returned from an executive committee meeting of the organization. He reports key news on items affecting soybean farmers in Arkansas and elsewhere in our latest video. To hear from Carroll, visit our youtube channel https://youtu.be/ jCZpf3r2MfM.

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Jarrod Hardke, extension rice agronomist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said Arkansas Row Crop Help represents a “meeting of the minds” among agronomists, entomologists and other experts within the agricultural extension community, who often find themselves looking for the best way to disseminate time-sensitive information.

Through the helpline’s webpage, growers can sign up for text alerts relevant to specific crops. The text messages contain a link to a recorded audio message, communicating up-to-date information for growers, wherever they connect.

“A lot of farming can be time critical, especially as it relates to weather and soil conditions,” Hardke said. “People receive a lot of information these days. It can be hard to cut through. When you have an audio report that you can listen to while you drive down the road, or do just about anything, that helps.”

The helpline first became active in May. Steven Hefner, a computer support analyst with the Division of Agriculture in Little Rock, developed the network infrastructure for the helpline program.

Hardke said he expects the helpline to produce more messages related to field work, planting, fertilization and other aspects of farming tied to the early spring in 2019. For the remainder of the 2018 growing season, however, he said many of the messages will likely be related to pest management, as Arkansas growers work

Rachel Barry of Peculiar, Mo. was recently awarded the University of Arkansas Collegiate Farm Bureau Scholarship as a testament to her passion for agriculture and Farm Bureau. Barry double majors in agribussiness and poultry science.

their way through to harvest.

To sign up to receive helpline recommendations for specific crops, visit bit.ly/RowCropHelpline. There is no charge to subcribe to the helpline.

Elsewhere Women in agribusiness award The Women in Agribusiness Demeter Award of Excellence has been modified to be more inclusive and representative of the members of the WIA community.

The new criteria for the singular Women In Agribusiness Demeter Award of Excellence recognizes women who have achieved excellence in their field and who have demonstrated an outstanding contribution to the agribusiness industry.

Nominations for individuals demonstrate the following criteria: • Women with a minimum of 10 years of experience in the ag and/or food industry • Women who are a positive example to other women in the industry • Women who break down barriers, help create opportunities and serve as a resource for others • Women who consistently exemplifies professionalism Award recipients will receive the award on stage at the Women in Agribusiness Summit in Denver, September 24-26.

Want to submit a nomination? Visit www.womeninag.com/demeter by July 20.

Senate Farm Bill The following statement regarding Senate passage of the 2018 Farm Bill may be attributed to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall.

“The Senate pushed the farm bill one big step closer to the finish line and it could not have come at a better time. America’s farmers and ranchers continue to face a challenging agricultural economy, a shaky outlook for our export markets and a dire ag labor shortage. It was time for some good news and the Senate delivered it in bipartisan fashion.

“Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow worked with other members of the Senate Agriculture Committee to deliver a bill that will continue to provide the risk management tools that America’s farmers need more than ever before. And the fact that Leader McConnell agreed this should be a legislative priority helped move this very important bill forward in the Senate.

“Of course, no bill is ever perfect, but this bipartisan effort gives us a solid framework for progress. We do have concerns about some of the provisions that were added to the bill that make it harder for farmers to manage risk, but we are confident that those issues can be satisfactorily addressed by the House/ Senate conference committee. We look forward to working with conferees from both houses to get Editor the best possible Maddison Stewart maddison.stewart@arfb.com farm bill done for rural America.”

In the Market As of June 28, 2017

Farm Bill Passes House and Senate, moves to conference On June 21, the House passed H. R. 2, The Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, by a vote of 213-211. June 28, the Senate passed its version of the farm bill, S. 3042, The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 by a margin of 86-11. A conference committee will convene after the July 4 recess to begin the process of reconciling the differences in the bills.

Amendments adopted in the Senate place further restrictions on participation by tightening the definition of who can be actively engaged in an operation and placing arbitrary limits on the number of managers a farm can have. The House language on the matter is more favorable to southern agriculture, expanding the definition of family members and exempting Marketing Loan Gains and Loan Deficiency Payments from payment limits.

Other differences include a PLC price escalator provision in the House bill that isn’t included in the Senate, and the House plan to eliminate CSP and roll that into EQIP. Discussions over the Nutrition Title could also prove contentious, with the House proposing expanded work requirements which are not included in the Senate version of the bill.

Cotton Cotton futures have plunged lower over the past two weeks as the market worries about potential retaliatory tariffs imposed on US cotton.

December has lost approximately 10 cents from the high of 94.82 charted on June 8. Crop conditions ratings improved last week, with 42 percent of the crop now rated good to excellent, up from 38 percent a week ago.

Farmers with generic base should be

looking for a letter from USDA/FSA stating your generic base and yield, and 2008-2012 production history.

Online tools will become available in July to aid in decision making for generic base reallocation and seed cotton PLC/ARC sign-up. Farmers will have options for converting generic base over to commodity specific base, and it will be important to understand and evaluate your options to make the best decision for your farm.

Soybeans Soybean futures have plummeted to new contract lows on escalating fears of a trade war. The market is oversold, though, and while a significant top has been charted, the market could begin to build on support at the contract low of $8.64 1/2 for November. The June 29 acreage report could show more soybean acres than corn, marking only the second time that has happened in the US. Pre-report estimates have pegged the crop at 89.7 million acres, up from the March intentions report bur down from last year’s record acreage of 90.1 million. Seventy-three percent of the crop is currently rated good to excellent with beneficial weather in the Midwest.

Corn Corn futures continue to trend lower, but are showing signs that a potential low has been put in for the time being. December is attempting to stabilize and build on support at the low of $3.60. Trade concerns and beneficial weather across the corn belt are adding pressure to the market.

Seventy-seven percent of the crop is in good to excellent condition. Pre-report estimates have pegged corn acreage at 87.6 million acres, down 2.6 million from last year.

Rice Rice futures have gapped higher this week after bouncing off support at the contract lows charted in mid-June.

November is back above the $11 mark for time being after trading as low as

$10.25. Turkey, an important customer for US rice, announced a new tariff on rough rice last week in retaliation for US tariffs on steel and aluminum. The market continues to focus on trade concerns, and that could limit the upside. The chart gap at $11.40 could prove to be technical resistance for any recovery. Seventy percent of the crop is currently rated good to excellent.

Livestock Cattle futures have shown strength in recent weeks, but August has this week gapped lower and will likely test the trendline drawn off the May low. With holiday buying complete, wholesale beef prices are beginning to slump. The export market for US beef has been strong, though, with total sales commitments up 21 percent from last year.

Hog futures have also seen an end to the recent rally. However, futures are trading at a sharp discount to the cash market due to trade concerns.

Deferred futures could get a boost from the quarterly inventory report, which is expected to show lower hog numbers overall. Buying interest in livestock futures will likely continue to be limited by ongoing trade concerns.

CONTACT

Brandy Carroll 501-228-1268, brandy.carroll@arfb.com