Volume 31 Number 51 • April 18, 2020
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The Weekly News Source for Wyoming’s Ranchers, Farmers and AgriBusiness Community • www.wylr.net
A Look Inside
Labor and trucking woes hamper global food supply
Farmers and ranchers need to be at America’s table according to U.S. Senate Candidate Cynthia Lummis.....................Page 2
Labor and trucking woes stemming from the coronavirus pandemic are starting to pile up, hampering the flow of food that is otherwise plentiful in warehouses worldwide. Labor and trucking issues According to Millie
Spanish Flu and World War I dominate headlines.....Page 10 Self-made obituaries are made possible by Lee Pitts...... ...................................Page 15 State of affairs questioned in letter to the editor.......Page 15
Quick Bits Buy Backs The Trump administration announced USDA would buy back milk and meat products to assist farmers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue also hinted direct financial assistance for farmers will be coming soon. The announcement comes after the demand destruction of the food service industry that has impacted dairy, meat and produce growers due to the pandemic.
Munshi, Megan Durisin and Michael Hirtzer of Bloomberg News, “A union in Argentina representing about 7,000 soybean crushers is threatening to strike over contagion fears, while port workers in Brazil were set to vote on a stoppage
before suspending the assembly at the last minute.” “A Canadian trucker group is flagging an imbalance in the supply chain and there are concerns over a shortage of coffee pickers in Central and Latin America,”
Munshi, Durisin and Hirtzer continue. Jennifer Smith of Wall Street Journal points out the pandemic is also hitting trucking industry in the U.S hard. “The coronavirus panPlease see FOOD on page 14
DHS creates successful field test to detect ASF
CLOSING PLANTS
Concerns rise as processing plants close over COVID-19 EFFECTS As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many agriculture entities have stayed open for business as they have been deemed essential. However, since the end of March and first of April, many processing plants for beef, pork and poultry have been shut down over COVID-19 concerns. Plant closures As of April 12, Smithfield Foods, the largest pork
processor in the world, indefinitely closed the doors of its Sioux Falls, S.D. plant after nearly 240 workers were sickened by the virus. This plant processes about five percent of all U.S. pork. In a statement released April 12, Kenneth M. Sullivan, president and chief executive officer for Smithfield expressed concern over the market reactions. Please see CLOSURE on page 5
COVID-19 The U.S. COVID19 caseload rose by 29,979 cases on April 15 to 639,664 cases on April 16, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The death toll grew by nearly 5,000 lives, up to 30,985 deaths as of April 16 as the country endures the throes of peak virus activity level.
Stock Market Global stocks inched slightly higher as recordsetting unemployment data looms over the markets. Unemployment claims are expected to continue swelling as nearly one in 10 Americans have lost jobs in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic. Yields on the safe-haven 10-year Treasury Bond dropped in response to the uncertainty, down 0.025 points to 0.612%.
U.S. Drought For the contiguous 48 states, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed 14.53% of the area in moderate drought or worse, compared with 14.88% a week earlier. Drought now affects 38,848,351 people, compared with 42,315,270 a week earlier. For all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed 12.14% of the area in moderate drought or worse, compared with 12.43% a week earlier.
Biosecurity
WYLR photo
Recently, scientists have made progress on developing tests that could combat the deadly African swine fever (ASF) virus that has been ravaging hog herds the last few years. In fact, on March 24, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) alongside MatMaCorp of Lincoln, Neb., announced they had completed a successful evaluation of a field-deployable genetic test to detect ASF in infected pigs and pork products. African swine fever ASF is a highly contagious hemorrhagic viral disease affecting domestic and wild pigs and was first discovered nearly 100 years ago in Africa. Since then, ASF outbreaks have swept across Europe and Asia, with cases reported in China, Vietnam, Republic of Georgia, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Czech Republic, Belgium, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, MongoPlease see DHS on page 6
Study released A study released by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) estimates cattle industry losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic will reach $13.6 billion. The study was commissioned by NCBA and conducted by a team of industry-leading agricultural economists led by Derrell Peel, Breedlove Professor of Agribusiness and Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist at Oklahoma State University, to assist USDA in determining how best to allocate CARES Act relief funds to cattle producers. The study shows cow/calf producers will see the largest impact, with COVID-19-related losses totaling an estimated $3.7 billion, or $111.91 per head for each mature breeding animal in the United States. Without offsetting relief payments, those losses could increase by $135.24 per mature breeding animal, for an additional impact totaling $4.45 billion in the coming years. Stocker/backgrounder segment losses were estimated at $159.98 per head, for a total economic impact of $2.5 billion in 2020, while feeding sector losses were estimated at $3 billion or $205.96 per head. “This study confirms cattle producers have suffered massive economic damage as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and those losses will continue to mount for years to come, driving many producers to the brink of collapse and beyond if relief funds aren’t made available soon,” said NCBA CEO Colin Woodall. Woodall continued, “This study also clearly illustrates the fact that while the relief funds provided by Congress were a good first step, there remains a massive need for more fundPlease see NCBA on page 6
Succession planning is critical As the largest percentage of farmers and ranchers age, retirement and succession should be on the forefront of planning, especially for baby boomers who are nearing or already past retirement age. “In order to retire financially secure, one must have a plan in place,” says University of Wyoming Extension Farm and Ranch Management Specialist John Hewlett. Hewlett notes many people don’t know what to include in their retirement plan or how to put it together. Retirement planning “It is vital to lay out the specific
steps needed to move the present managers from day-to-day management of the farm or ranch to full-time retirement and transition the new managers to full authority, so they can begin to plan and prepare for the next successors who will carry the operation on into another generation,” Hewlett explains. “Retiring managers often must rely on the business for support during the later stages of life,” he says. “Oftentimes, so much money has been invested in the farm or ranch, that no savings, investments or retirement funds have been established for those who are at the
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Please see PLAN on page 4