Farm Bureau Press for Nov. 16

In Farm Bureau

ArFB sets 84th convention Farmers, ranchers and agricultural leaders from across the state will come together for Arkansas Farm Bureau’s 84th annual convention set for Nov. 28-30 at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney, the Regional Administrator for EPA’s South Central Region Anne L. Idsal, comedian Ed Wiley and Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach headline the speakers for the convention. Stephanie Payne with I’m Alive 2 Thrive will serve as keynote speaker for the Women’s Leadership luncheon that is planned as part of the convention.

The event is expected to attract more than 1,000 farmers and ranchers and will include a trade show that features vendors of farm services, equipment and supplies.

The convention’s theme, “Empower Your Grassroots,” will be reinforced through workshops that include topics such as engaging the public, leadership, effective advocacy communication and

Roughly 75 farmers and ranchers gathered from across the state Nov. 7-8 for the Arkansas Farm Bureau State Resolutions meeting at the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel in North Little Rock. ArFB leaders discussed policy positions on a number of Arkansas agriculture issues.

This subcommittee discussed dicamba use by soybean and cotton farmers.

legislative session previews, along with discussions that cover management and profitability for livestock, row crop and specialty-crop producers.

Farm Bureau’s annual business session, where voting delegates define the organization’s policy positions on items of importance to Farm Bureau members, will conclude the event. The delegate body also elects the organization’s president and vice president during the business session.

Awards will be presented to county Farm Bureaus for their work in support of the organization’s agricultural

The Hempstead Co. Farm Bureau Board of Directors and Women’s Leadership Committee sponsored a community Pack Shack Feed the Funnel party Nov. 5 in Hope. One hundred fifteen community volunteers packed 21,346 meals for families in need in the Hempstead Co. area.

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advocacy and membership efforts, along with recognition for ArFB’s Ag in the Classroom Teacher of the Year, the Ag Education Instructor of the Year and the Young Farmer & Rancher Discussion Meet. The organization will recognize the recipient of the Stanley E. Reed Leadership Award.

Craig promoted at Farm Bureau Jennifer Craig has been named Director of Leadership Development for the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation. Craig previously served as Director of Rural

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A Publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation

November 16, 2018 • Vol. 21, No. 21

In Arkansas

Ozarka College hosted an Ag Preview Day with the help of Izard Co. Farm Bureau.

Close to 300 students from eight different high schools attended the event. For more information about the Ozarka College Ag program , contact Program Coordinator Casey Orr at cassey.orr@ozarka.edu. year’s meal will cost $52.93 for a family of 10, up $8.35 from last year’s average of $44.58, but still a bargain at $5.29 per person.

The statewide average is based on responses from members of the Arkansas Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee and other volunteers who surveyed food prices at eight grocery stores and supermarkets across the state.

They were asked to report the “best instore price” of 15 items included in the meal and are allowed to take advantage of advertised specials, excluding discount coupons and purchase requirements.

Arkansas food prices continue to remain more affordable than elsewhere.

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Cost of Thanksgiving feast The average cost of the traditional Thanksgiving meal this year is higher than in 2017, according to Arkansas Farm Bureau’s 33rd annual survey of food items typically included in the holiday feast.

And, for the first time, the survey includes ham, russet potatoes and green beans. This

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Health.

In her new role, Craig will continue to be responsible for the direction of the MASH programs and the Collegiate Farm Bureau programs.

Her new duties will include staff assistance to the Young Farmers & Ranchers programs as well as the President’s Leadership Council.

“Jennifer’s willingness to adapt and knowledge of Farm Craig Bureau and Arkansas agriculture is a proven asset for our organization,” said Chuck Tucker, Senior Vice President of Arkansas Farm Bureau. “Her experience will help her excel in her new role, particularly to the Young Farmers & Ranchers program and President’s Leadership Council.”

Craig received an undergraduate degree in agricultural business from Arkansas State University. She then earned a master’s degree in public health from University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Third District U.S. Congressman Steve Womack (left photo) and U.S. Senator Tom Cotton accepted the Friend of Farm Bureau award from Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach for service to the agriculture industry.

American Farm Bureau’s national survey of price trends for the holiday feast, including the three new menu items, revealed an average of $61.72.

Though unscientific, the survey is intended to be a snapshot of actual prices across Arkansas and the nation. The survey period was Oct. 26 - Nov. 6.

The average cost of a 16-pound young tom turkey was $13.88 or 87 cents per pound. That’s down from $1.08 per pound in 2017. American Farm Bureau’s national survey reported an average of $21.71 or $1.36 per pound for the whole bird. A new item on the list is a four-pound half bone-in ham at $6.59 or $1.65 per pound.

Turkey and ham are centerpiece items in most dinners and drive the cost of the meal.

Other new items in the shopping list this year are a 5-pound bag of russet potatoes, which costs $5.07 or $1.01 per pound, and a 16-ounce package of green beans, which costs $1.32. The average cost of a gallon of whole milk dropped 37 cents to $2.64.

The remaining items surveyed included a package of fresh cranberries, three pounds of sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, frozen green peas, pie shells, stuffing mix, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie mix and a ½-pint carton of whipping cream.

Elsewhere Farmers press for final Farm Bill

With less than 20 days left on the legislative calendar, farmers and ranchers

Youth in rural communities A new study illuminates factors that may support upward social mobility in rural America – the likelihood that children will grow up to achieve a higher standard of living than their parents. The “Social Mobility in Rural America” field report from National 4-H Council and The Bridgespan Group, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, provides ideas and guiding questions that other communities might build upon, as they work to expand economic opportunity for their young people.

With young people’s critical perspectives at the center, the field report surfaces six common factors that seem to support upward mobility in these 19 rural communities: 1. A high expectation that youth will “opt in” and work hard to acquire the skills to build their future.

Many of the communities infuse their young people with a sense of possibility—that if they set high goals and stay engaged, they can build a good life. As a result, there is both the expectation, and the pathways, for youth to “opt in”

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are anxious for lawmakers to finalize the farm bill before the start of the new year— and a new Congress. If the bill doesn’t get done, Congress, including a House with new leadership, will have to start from scratch.

“The leadership of both the House and Senate agriculture committees have worked overtime this year to deliver a new farm bill, and now it’s time to get it across the finish line before the clock runs out. Farmers and ranchers cannot afford that kind of delay, especially with so many struggling to hang on and unable to make plans for the next season with a massive cloud of uncertainty hovering overhead,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said in a recent column.

Farm Bureau’s Advocacy team has issued an action alert on the farm bill.

Visit www.fb.org/advocacy/action-alerts/ farm-bill to send a message letting your lawmakers know how important it is that the farm bill be ready for the president’s signature in the next few weeks.

Arkansas State University Collegiate Farm Bureau hosted its collegiate discussion meet Nov. 15. Of the five students that participated, Jenna Martin (second from right) of Cross Co. was selected as the winner and will represent ASU at the collegiate discussion meet finals at the Young Farmers & Ranchers conference in February.

and participate in skill-building activities that might help them advance. “Opting out” is far less of an acceptable alternative.

2. Strong, informal support systems, with neighbors helping neighbors.

For young people who choose to opt in, there is often a tight social fabric to support them.

Indeed, these communities’ high expectations are grounded in durable, informal support systems, deep investments in communal spaces, and celebrations of youth achievement.

3. An early focus on career pathways. When considering their future careers, young people exuded a strong sense of direction. Education is not an abstraction, but a foundation for career development. In some communities, efforts to help children build in-demand skills begin in grammar school.

4. A wealth of opportunities for youth to build life skills, regardless of the community’s size. All of the towns Bridgespan and 4-H studied – which range from populations of 600 to approximately 20,000 people – are small enough to ensure that all young people have an array of options to build skills, apart from working on a farm or in an after-school job. Although

they are small and often remote, these communities provide enough access points for kids to engage.

5. Many potential challenges to access opportunities, but creative solutions to overcome them.

These communities do not just generate youth development opportunities. Residents work to ensure that as many young people as possible can seize on those opportunities, despite multiple potential barriers: financial, cultural, psychological, logistical, or simply a lack of awareness.

6. A sense of shared fate and a deep commitment to sustaining the community. People in these small communities still recall existential threats from the past, such as the 1980s farm crisis and the oil industry’s busts. Against this backdrop, residents spoke of how their individual well-being is tied to their neighbor’s wellbeing – that their future depends on taking responsibility for sustaining their communities.

Learn more here: 4-h.org/getinvolved/supporters/bridgespanmobility-report/.

Editor Maddison Stewart

maddison.stewart@arfb.com

In the Market As of November 15, 2018 Deadline for seed cotton signup The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 made cotton producers eligible for Title I farm programs by designating seed cotton as a covered commodity.

All producers with generic base who have not already done so should contact their FSA office immediately to make an appointment. The deadline to sign up is Dec. 7.

Farmer owners with generic base acres and recent planting history of covered commodities have a one-time opportunity to allocate all the generic base acres on their farm. Farms with generic base that were planted to (or approved as a prevented planted) a covered commodity during the 20092016 crop years are eligible to allocate generic base acres using one of two options.

• Option 1: Allocate generic base acres on a farm to seed cotton base acres equal to the higher of: • 80 percent of generic base on the farm – the remaining 20 percent goes to unassigned base for which there will be no payments • Or the average of planted and prevented planted upland cotton acres on the farm in crop years 2009-2012, not to exceed the total generic base acres on the farm.

• Option 2: Allocate generic base in proportion to the four-year average acreage planted on the farm and prevented from being planted for each covered commodity, including upland cotton, in crop years 2009-2012, to the total acreage planted and considered planted for all covered commodities on the farm.

For farms without planted or

considered planted history of covered commodities, including upland cotton, curing the 2009-2016 crop years, all generic base acres will be converted to unassigned base for which no benefits will be available.

If a farm owner fails to allocate generic base by Dec. 7, the generic base will be allocated to seed cotton base under Option 1.

Current farm owners have a onetime opportunity to update the farm’s payment yield for seed cotton with either retaining the Counter-Cyclical payment yield for upland cotton, as listed on the farm record as of Sept. 3, 2013, multiplied by 2.4, or update the cotton yield to 90 percent of a simple average of the upland cotton yield per planted acres on the farm for years 2008-2012. The retained or updated yield becomes the PLC yield for the farm, effective for the 2018 crop year, and will only be used in calculating payment rates for the PLC program.

Following the generic base allocation and yield update, the current producer(s) on the farm will have a one-time opportunity to unanimously elect either ARC or PLC for seed cotton base acres resulting from the generic base allocation. Any farm that fails to make a unanimous election will be deemed to have elected PLC for acres allocated on the farm to seed cotton.

Texas A&M University has developed an online tool to help farmers with generic base make the best decisions for their individual farms, available here: www.afpc.tamu. edu/tools/cotton-base.

USDA November reports The corn production estimate, down 1 percent from the October report, would be the highest yield and second highest production on record for the United States. USDA says 81.8 million acres will be harvested for grain in 2018, with an average yield of 178.9 bushels per acre. Arkansas is expected to harvest 650,000 acres of corn with an average yield of 181 bushels per

acre. The biggest adjustment to the report, however, was a revision in production numbers for China. China’s National Bureau of Statistics revised production estimates back to 20072008, adding a cumulative 10.5 billion bushels to production. USDA added half of that amount to corn ending stocks for this year.

Soybean production is forecast to set a record, too, at 4.6 billion bushels, down 2 percent from the October report. Expected carryover was increased to 955 million bushels, up from 885 a month ago. Compare that with last year’s 438 million, and you see the seriousness of the situation for beans. The average on-farm price was estimated to be $7.60-$9.60.

Rice saw few changes in the November report, but exports were decreased which resulted in ending stocks being increased to 46.7 million.

USDA did see price improvement, though, with the estimate for on farm price increasing 30 cents on either end to $11.50-$12.50.

Livestock markets Seasonal weakness in the cash hog market has carried over into lean hog futures. Ample supplies have resulted in a 12 percent decline in cutouts since mid-October, and weekly slaughter is expected to run about 3.8 percent above last year. Import tariffs in China and Mexico continue to limit exports and the value of exports.

Live cattle futures have been under pressure from pre-holiday pressure.

Expectations for weaker cash prices ahead of Thanksgiving and weaker wholesale beef prices have carried over into futures. However, operator margins remain firm, and the cash outlook after Thanksgiving is solid.

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