Farm Bureau Press | March 26

MARCH 26, 2021 | VOLUME 24 | ISSUE 6

Farm Bureau Press A PEEK INSIDE

ArFB LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY UPDATES

This week, the General Assembly adjourned on March 23 and will be in recess through March 26.

ArFB 2021 Legislative Priorities State Meat Inspection On Tuesday, March 23, the Governor signed HB1315 into law. It is now Act 418.

As previously mentioned, securing funding for the State Meat Inspection Program is now the next step. ArFB is strongly supportiveof a fully funded State Meat Inspection Program, which will ensure the program is a success for producers, processors and consumers. The Joint Budget Committee approved an amendment to SB164, the appropriations bill for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. The amendment simply outlined the funds, and their specific purpose, for the meat inspection program. In total, for salaries, maintenance and operations, the committee approved $743,399.

Trapping Assistance, Education to Eradicate Feral Hogs, page 2

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Arkansas Rice Now Accepting Applications for Scholarship Program, page 3

FOLLOW US ONLINE Arkansas 4-H Donation | Arkansas Farm Bureau is proud to support the future of ag and the next generation of Arkansas leaders with a $10,000 donation to the Arkansas 4-H Foundation. On hand for the check presentation were (from left) Chuck Tucker, ArFB; Dr. Angie Freel, Ark. 4-H; Warren Carter, ArFB; Dr. Martha Ray Sartor, Ark. 4-H and John Thomas, Ark. 4-H.

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A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION

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ArFB LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY UPD

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Dairy Legislation On March 15, Rep. Mary Bentley (Perryville) & Sen. Gary Stubblefield (Branch) filed HB1729, which gives the Arkansas Milk Stabilization Board jurisdiction over the base milk price paid to a producer and mandates that milk producers in the state receive Class 1 prices for milk utilized and sold; it also empowers the board to revise Class 1 prices.

High School Business Challenge | Pope County Farm Bureau made a donation to Arkansas Tech University College of Business for the High School Business Challenge. On hand for the donation were (from left) Stephen Jones, professor of management at ATU, Russell Jones Dean, College of Business, and Pope County Farm Bureau Board President Charles Metz.

On March 18 the House approved HB1729, by a vote of 89 – 0.

Tax Legislation Beginning Farmer Tax Credits • HB1778 – filed by Rep. Joe Jett (Success), this bill creates a tax credit for a percentage of the sale or lease of land to a certified beginning farmer. It also creates a tax credit for a beginning farmer’s cost of participating in a financial management program certified by the Department of Agriculture. HB1778 has been referred to the House Revenue & Taxation Committee.

TRAPPING ASSISTANCE, EDUCATIO

Farm Bureau Week | (center) Judge David Hudson signed a proclamation declaring March 15-19 Farm Bureau Week with Sebastian County Farm Bureau board members (from left) Brian Holland, Joe Silva, Ruel Holland, County Vice President Danny Dalmut, Massie Silva, County President Lynn Strang, and Agency Manager Shane Medford.

Throughout 2021, the Cooperative Extension Service, in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and other partnering organizations, is reaching out to residents to help reduce populations of feral hogs.

Luke Lewis, assistant chief of the AGFC’s Wildlife Division, said while the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted operations in multiple state agencies, the problems faced by Arkansas landowners aren’t going away.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture publication cites a “likely conservative annual estimate” of damage from feral hogs at $1.5 billion across the United States.

Feral hogs cause damage to row crops, pastures, and wildlife habitat. Most Arkansans who have experienced damage on their property understand the risk of feral hog populations getting out of control.

Calhoun Co. Garden Grant | Hampton High School FFA was presented March 10 with an ArFB Outdoor Classroom Garden Mini-Grant. On hand for the presentation were (from left) Sonya Harrell, Calhoun County Women’s Leadership Committee; Lindsey Rowland, Calhoun County FB; Lindsey Rucker, ArFB education coordinator; Carlee Hannegan, Hampton FFA member; Evan Beaver, Hampton FFA member, and Zach Hammack, Hampton FFA Sponsor/Ag Teacher.

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Protecting property A 2018 assessment conducted by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture found that only 7% of landowners who reported feral hog activity on their property were very confident in their ability to protect their lands from risks associated with them. About 30% of landowners who reported no feral hog activity on their lands said they were confident in their abilities to protect their respective lands.

Becky McPeake, extension wildlife specialist for the Division of Agriculture, said that 84% of survey respondents reported shooting feral hogs during daylight hours, with 70% reporting

A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION

DATES Section 179 • HB1817 – filed by Representative Howard Beaty (Crossett) and Sen. Ben Gilmore (Crossett), it updates state laws concerning the income tax deduction for depreciation and expensing of property to mirror changes in the U.S. Code for tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2021.

Parts & Labor Exemptions • HB1818 – filed by Rep. Howard Beaty (Crossett) and Senator Ben Gilmore (Crossett), this bill creates a sales and use tax exemption for the sale of parts purchased to repair existing agricultural and timber equipment and machinery.

• HB1820 – filed by Rep. DeAnn Vaught (Horatio) and Sen. Jonathan Dismang (Beebe), it creates a sales and use tax exemption for parts and services involving the modification, replacement or repair, either in whole or in part, of existing agricultural equipment and machinery.

ON TO ERADICATE FERAL HOGS they trapped feral hogs.

“We need to do everything we can, which means using whatever tools we have to reduce feral hogs,” McPeake said.

“However, we need to think strategically about how and when to use those tools.”

McPeake recommends landowners prepare strategies that may include shooting and other methods after trapping “sounders.”

Sounders are groups of females and their piglets, which tend to remain local. Wandering boars, in contrast, may remain in a given area for a shorter time before moving on.

Cooperative Extension Service agents throughout the state are available to teach residents how to employ cellular-equipped trapping systems, which involve the use of game cameras and remotely triggered gates to trap entire sounders. To contact your nearest extension agent, visit the Cooperative Extension Service directory of counties at www.uaex.uada.edu/counties/ default.aspx.

Help from USDA Residents with unwanted feral hogs on their property can have them removed by contacting USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services at 501-835-2318. They are leading the statewide effort at feral hog removal, one pig at a time, with partners on the Arkansas Feral Hog Eradication Task Force.

Call your local county Extension office for more information about feral hogs, or to volunteer your property as a demonstration site.

ARKANSAS RICE NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM Current high school juniors graduating in 2022 are eligible to apply for and win up to $15,000 in scholarship funding toward higher education.

Arkansas Rice’s “Rice Reps” is a five-month program to help educate students about the rice industry while equipping them to act as advocates in their communities and on social media.

Once accepted into the program, Reps actively participate from May through September in activities designed to teach students about rice production and the importance of the Arkansas rice industry at home and abroad. They are also asked to attend four different, on-site experiences during the program to better understand the reach of rice in Arkansas.

The goal of the Rice Reps program is to encourage interest in rice promotion and to publicize the importance of the Arkansas rice industry to the state’s economy. The program seeks to educate male and female students across the state with the tools and knowledge to advocate for the Arkansas rice industry. Participants will also receive an inside look on the production of rice during the growing season.

Students must be in the graduating class of 2022 to apply.

During the program, Rice Reps will not only attend premier industry experiences, but also seek other opportunities to learn and expand their knowledge individually. At the conclusion of the program, Rice Reps are able to submit a scholarship application showcasing their advocacy activities. Scholarship recipients will be recognized at a final reception during Rice Month in September.

Deadline to apply is April 16. For more information and to apply, visit www.arkansasrice.org/rice-reps.

A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION

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MARKET NEWS as of March 24, 2021 Contact Brandy Carroll 501-228-1268 brandy.carroll@arfb.com

Cattle Live cattle futures are being supported this week by strong wholesale beef demand. Prices continue to rise, and packer margins are up more than $60 in the past week. April futures are being limited by its premium to cash prices and are chopping along sideways above support at $118. June, however, set a new contract high in the process of charting a bearish key reversal on 3/18, giving the chart a negative appearance. Resistance will be at that high of $122.70, while support is building at $118. Longer-term support is at $117. May feeders have also set a new high and charted a bearish key reversal. That high of $151.27½ will likely cap the market for the time being. Support begins around $142.

Hogs Hog futures have seen strength, riding a wave of surging wholesale pork values. Nearby April futures have been in a steep uptrend since late January and continue to set a new high on a nearly daily basis. The monthly cold storage report was released this week. It showed pork stocks up from last month, but still down sharply from year-ago totals.

Cotton Cotton futures look to have confirmed a top after breaking out of a nearly year-long up-trend.

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The market is trending lower after charting a huge bearish reversal in late February. The top for December is the contract high of 89.28 cents, and support is between 80 and 81 cents. Renewed selling interest this week was sparked by a sharp drop in crude oil futures (which makes competing synthetic fiber cheaper) and a surging dollar index (which makes U.S. cotton more expensive when compared with other origins).

Weekly export sales provided a boost at the end of last week, when USDA reported net sales of 437,700 bales of 2020–21 cotton and 143,300 bales for 2021–22 delivery.

The National Cotton Council’s annual grower survey showed an expected 11.468 million acres will be planted to cotton this year, down 5.2% from 2020. Arkansas’ farmers responding to NCC say they will plant 489,000 acres this year, down 6.8% from 2020. USDA will release its first estimate based upon grower surveys on March 31, which has the potential to give the market a bit of a boost.

Rice Old crop rice futures continue to recover from recent losses. May futures have support at $12.90, but trade has been volatile. September is trading just below contract-high levels and are building support at $12.70. Weekly exports were an impressive 112,300 metric tons.

Venezuela was the largest customer.

Trading continues to be light as the market waits for the Prospective Plantings report to be released on March 31, giving traders a clearer picture of the size of the 2021 crop. The downside for futures is currently being limited by attractive prices for competing crops and ideas that rice acres will be down as a result.

A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION

Corn Old crop corn futures are being supported by strong export demand, especially from China, while new crop futures are under some pressure from prospects for larger plantings. Weekly exports for last week were 985,000 metric tons for 2020–21 and new crop sales were 240,900 metric tons.

This week’s report will be huge as USDA has reported major flash sales to China throughout the week.

Technically, May has resistance at $5.60 and support at $5.30 and prices are consolidating within that 30-cent range. New crop December has resistance at the contract high of $4.85¾, but expect weakness to be limited until we have a clearer picture of the size of the 2021 crop.

Soybeans New crop November soybeans have backed off the contract high, and the bears tested the waters around support at $12 this week. The trend remains mostly sideways for the time being. Soybean oil continues to see strength and underpin soybean futures. Weekly export sales were disappointing at 202,400 metric tons for 2020–21 and no new crop sales reported. The market is waiting on the USDA acreage report to be released on the 31st, giving a clearer picture of what farmers plan to do. It’s not the final word, of course, as an early season could encourage farmers to plant more corn, while a wet spring could delay progress and favor soybean acreage.

EDITOR Ashley Wallace ashley.wallace@arfb.com