Volume 32 Number 15 • August 8, 2020
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The Weekly News Source for Wyoming’s Ranchers, Farmers and AgriBusiness Community • www.wylr.net
A Look Inside UW’s project sees success as it makes its first spelt sale......... ...................................... Page 6 Ag students have a wide array of educational opportunities...... ...................................... Page 7 Grace Godfrey is recognized as Ag Teacher of the Year......... ...................................... Page 9 Dick Perue discusses the founding of the Wyoming State Fair.............................. Page 10
Quick Bits U.S. Drought For the contiguous 48 states, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed 33.47% of the area in moderate drought or worse, compared with 32.72% a week earlier. Drought now affects 52,201,221 people, compared with 52,022,393 a week earlier. For all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed 27.98% of the area in moderate drought or worse, compared with 27.41% a week earlier. Drought now affects 52,408,593 people, compared with 54,275,934 a week earlier.
Slowdown in ethanol production affects livestock industry The reduction in ethanol production caused by coronavirus-related issues has ultimately affected the cattle market through a reduction in distillers’ grains as feed, according to Dan Loy, Iowa State
University Extension beef specialist and director of the Iowa Beef Center. History of distillers’ as cattle feed Loy recalls when cattle feeders first began using ethanol co-products
in their rations. “Corn gluten came first in the 1980s, and it was used for many years or sold to Europe since there was no tariff on it like there was on corn,” Loy explains. “We first
started seeding dry distillers’ in the early 1990s, and once they started building ethanol plants, distillers’ became even more popular.” Loy further notes it Please see FEED on page 8
POLICY PASSED
NCBA adopts policy to increase cash trade levels at annual meeting After a six hour discussion during the Live Cattle Marketing Committee meeting at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) Summer Business Meeting, NCBA adopted new policy changes to support voluntary increased cash trade levels. According to NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane, “All individuals present at the meeting agreed price discovery efforts must be focused on individual regions, away from a national
level and down to a more granular level of detail.” “Proponents and opponents couldn’t be separated by state or by cow/calf producers versus feeders, which resulted in a passionate discussion,” Lane said. Final policy supports voluntary approach The final policy adopted by NCBA supports a voluntary approach, which increases frequent and transparent negotiated trade in order to achieve robust price
Please see NCBA on page 14
Corn Prices Corn prices etched out modest gains on Aug. 5, but sustained forward momentum could be hard to come by this summer as the U.S. braces for what could be a near-record crop in 2020. Prices were tilted slightly lower ahead of the Aug. 6 session.
What ranchers need – During NCBA’ s Summer Business Meeting, NCBA President Ethan Lane said the idea behind NCBA’s research and policy changes is to ensure information received by the ag industry is exactly what they need. WYLR photo
Soybean Sales Basis bids on Aug. 5 held largely steady across the central U.S. but did slide two cents lower at an Indiana processor. Analysts expect USDA to show soybean sales ranging between 29.4 million and 64.3 million bushels for the week ending July 30, expressing doubt that it can match the prior week’s immense tally of 132.4 million bushels.
Wheat Exports Japan purchased 4.8 million bushels of foodquality wheat from the United States, Canada and Australia in a regular tender that closed Aug. 6. Of the total, just over half was sourced from the United States. South Korean flour mills have purchased 2.1 million bushels of wheat from the United States in a tender that also closed Aug. 6. The grain is for shipment in November.
Sens. cosponsor SALE Act U.S. Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso (both R-WY) cosponsored bipartisan legislation to help protect cattle producers. The Securing All Livestock Equitably (SALE) Act would address the problem of dealer payment default. Quick turnaround between the purchase and resale of cattle by a dealer often leaves the rancher who originally owned the cattle with little recourse if a dealer defaults on a purchase – the livestock have often already been resold. The SALE Act would establish dealer statutory trusts, mimicking existing packer statutory trusts, for the purpose of ensuring cattle sellers receive payment should a livestock dealer become insolvent. “Many ranchers in Wyoming depend on livestock sales to survive but are left empty-handed if a dealer defaults on a sale,” Enzi said. “This legislation would provide commonsense protections for livestock producers and stability for the overall market.” “In Wyoming and throughout the West, ranching operations are the backbone of many of our communities. For too long, cattle sellers have been left financially devastated when dealers default on a purchase of livestock,” Barrasso said. “This bipartisan bill provides much needed accountability to this process and will make sure Wyoming’s ranchers are fairly compensated for their livestock.” The 2018 Farm Bill contained a provision, Section 12103, directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of establishing a livestock dealer statutory trust. The results of the study came out in December of 2019 and helped inform the senators’ ongoing effort to establish the creation of a Livestock Dealer Statutory Trust. The SALE Act is led by U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and has 18 bipartisan cosponsors including Enzi and Barrasso.
Halt issued JBS and DOJ agree to temporary standstill Lamb producers across the West can breathe easier with the news JBS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have agreed to a 30-day standstill prohibiting JBS from making changes to the newly acquired Mountain States Rosen (MSR) lamb processing facility. While the sale of the facility is final, time is in favor for the DOJ to complete an investigation and for the lamb industry to start making arrangements for fat lambs ready for processing. The bankruptcy acquisition closed on Friday, July 31 leaving the U.S. sheep industry wondering what kind of devastation would come following the loss of the MSR processing facility. The plant, located in Greeley, Colo., processed between 15 and 20 percent of the U.S. lamb market. Brazilian-owned JBS announced its plans to utilize the facility to grind hamburger and cut steaks, eliminating a fifth of the U.S. lamb processing capacity. Unclear involvement Mountain States Lamb Cooperative (MSLC) President Brad Boner, Please see JBS on page 15
Options to reduce stocking rates Drought conditions are persisting across much of the U.S., especially in the states of Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska. Although adequate soil moisture has kept some areas out of drought, portions of the Midwest and the West have received well below normal spring and summer precipitation, as well as above normal spring and summer temperatures. These drought conditions have severely impacted range and pasture production, causing cattle producers some heartache. Forage production and precipitation According to University of Nebraska-
Lincoln (UNL) Extension Beef Educator Aaron Berger and UNL Extension Beef Systems Educator Jack Arterburn, the amount of forage production on coolseason-dominated pasture and rangeland is highly correlated to precipitation and soil moisture during the months of April, May and June. “If adequate soil moisture is not present during this period, vegetation will not be able to fully express its growth potential, leading to reduced forage production and necessitating stocking rate reduction and alternative winter
periodical
periodical
Please see CATTLE on page 5