APRIL 10, 2020 • VOLUME 23 • ISSUE 7
Farm Bureau Press A PEEK INSIDE
FARMERS CALL ON CONGRESS FOR SUPPORT As congressional leaders hammer out an agreement on a stimulus package in response to the economic devastation caused by COVID-19, farmers and ranchers are asking Congress for help that will allow them to keep planting, harvesting and raising the affordable food that’s vital to every American. Of particular importance to agriculture is an expansion of USDA’s borrowing authority under the Commodity Credit Corporation, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
#AgNeverQuits Social Media Roundup, page 2
“Farmers and ranchers will not let Americans down during this unprecedented crisis. We are asking Congress to do the same by us, because thousands of producers will need help with cash flow given the rapid and unanticipated decline in commodity prices, the likely closure of ethanol plants, and the decline in full-service restaurant and school meal demand, among other changes,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said in a statement. There is a long history of the CCC being tapped to responsibly support agriculture in times of crisis, Duvall noted, and this should be no different. The organization is asking Congress to allow USDA’s various agencies to expand the use of their tools, like providing no-or low-interest loans and other lending assistance to producers and engaging with companies to ensure farmers continue to have markets for their products. On the labor front, Farm Bureau urged Congress to ensure farmers are not further crunched by the labor shortage, either by designating the H-2A visa category as emergency or critical or through some other mechanism. Allowing workers to continue to travel between Arizona and their homes in Mexico is important too, as is automatically extending the length of H-2A visas. “American agriculture is uniquely vulnerable, particularly because of our ongoing labor shortage, the perishability of our crops, and the thin margins on which so many producers work,” Duvall wrote in a letter to House and Senate leaders. Improving access to broadband and allowing rural health care clinics to treat patients via telemedicine are especially important as efforts to contain the coronavirus are focused on social distancing, Farm Bureau also said.
Coronavirus Sends Crop and Livestock Prices into a Tailspin, page 2
Farm Corps Initiative Pairs Farmers with Unemployed Military, page 3
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ARKANSAS FARMERS STILL WORKING – #AGNEVERQUITS
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SER ESTABLISH STATEWIDE WAT The acidity, alkalinity and hardness of water used in spray applications can have a significant impact on the herbicide being used and researchers with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture are asking the help of growers in establishing a water hardness and pH database for the state. Tommy Butts, extension weed scientist and assistant professor for the Division of Agriculture, said extension agents in every county are available to help growers collect one-liter samples. In addition to testing for pH, agents will test for hardness — or the amount of dissolved calcium or magnesium — and record the water sample’s GPS coordinates. Agents will also add a short description, noting the surrounding conditions. Samples will be analyzed at Division of Agriculture facilities.
Despite the COVID-19 Virus forcing businesses to close or alter the way they function and to work from home, Arkansas farmers are will working. Arkansas Farm Bureau has been working to highlight this work by asking farmers and rachers to send in videos and help emphasis to the public that farm work does not stop. These videos, interviews and photos are being promoted through all the ArFB social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. You can also find a complete roundup on the ArFB website, https:// bit.ly/StillFarming2020, https://bit.ly/AgisEssential2020 and https://bit.ly/AgNeverQuits2020. If you would like to share what’s currently happening on your farm during the COVID-19 outbreak, please send a horizontally filed video to Director of Public Relations Rob Anderson, at rob.anderson@arfb.com.
ArFB AG YOUTH LEADERSHIP SEMINAR CANCELED Due to COVID-19 and social distancing recommendations, ArFB has made the decision to cancel the 2020 Ag Youth Leadership Seminar with plans to bring the program back in 2021.
“Primarily, we are looking at water that is used for pesticide spray applications, but this can include row crops, pastures, or anything else where this water is being used for pest control,” Butts said. “We will analyze the samples this fall, and we will make sure to share the results again with participants this winter.
DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE TO VIRTUAL FIELD WALK FOR S Strawberry growers and other specialty crop producers will have the opportunity to learn about the latest findings in strawberry cultivation research during an April 20 virtual strawberry field walk from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. In light of social distancing and other guidelines in place to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, researchers and administrators at the Division of Agriculture Fruit Research Station in Clarksville decided to move the annual public event online, rather than cancel it outright. The decision was in keeping with the Division of Agriculture’s mission to continue serving producers and other Arkansans during this time, while keeping all participants safe.
We look forward to gathering another group of exceptional students from all around the state to talk about some of the interesting and important careers in the agriculture industry at that time. 2
A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
The virtual field walk will be available as a webinar on the Zoom online platform. The tour will begin at 2 p.m. CST, and is scheduled to last about an
RVICE SEEKS TO TER QUALITY DATABASE Butts said he and his fellow researchers, as well as extension agents, had first collected samples for the database in 2019. Butts said the goal of the research is to build a database of spray water quality in Arkansas. Once the results are analyzed, researchers will conduct studies to evaluate how water quality is affecting pesticide applications, and whether external adjustments can or should be made to improve the efficacy of pesticides. Data from growers’ samples will be anonymized in the database, Butts said, and personal information will remain confidential. The GPS coordinates used to identify the location of specific samples will not be made public, but will be used to create a map depicting the general conditions of water throughout the state. Producers interested in participating in the survey should contact their local CES office, or contact Butts directly at (501) 804-7314 or tbutts@uaex.edu. A directory of county offices can be found at www.uaex.edu/counties/default.aspx.
O BROADCAST STRAWBERRY RESEARCH hour. To register for the webinar, visit https://bit.ly/StrawberryField-Walk-Webinar. There is no cost to register or participate. Amanda McWhirt, extension horticulture specialist for the Division of Agriculture, said participants in the webinar will have the opportunity to see and hear the latest developments in Arkansas-specific horticulture research. The tour will be hosted by McWhirt and Aaron Cato, extension horticulture integrated pest management specialist for the Division of Agriculture. The tour will visit strawberry research plots at both the Fruit Research Station and the Vegetable Research Station in Alma, Ark. Topics planned for the webinar include: • Strawberry variety trial • Planting date and row cover trial results • ProMax and Zap disease management trial • Pest management observations and recommendations from the season.
FARM CORPS INITIATIVE PAIRS FARMERS WITH UNEMPLOYED MILITARY Rep. Rick Crawford has launched FARM Corps, in partnership with Arkansas Farm Bureau, Arkansas Agriculture Department, Arkansas National Guard, U of A Division of Agriculture, and the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs. The purpose of the Farm and Ranch Mission (FARM) Corps is to connect willing veterans and miliatary personell who are struggling with job loss with local farmers and ranchers who are suffering labor shortages caused by COVID-19.
“Food Security is national security, and no two groups understand that better than the farmers who produce our food, and the military members who secure our nation. In this challenging environment brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, farmers across Arkansas are dealing with a labor shortage, while National Guard and Reserve soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, as well as veterans in general are struggling with job loss,” said Crawford. “I’m proud to support FARM Corps in their broad efforts to bring farmers and veterans together with the common mission of securing American agriculture.” Those who are interested can visit the following social media pages to learn more about this vital program that will ensure Arkansas ag-producers have skilled labor at a time that is critical for planting of this years crop. Facebook: Facebook.com/ArkansasFarmCorp Twitter: @corps_farm
For individuals not able to view the webinar as it is broadcast, a recording of the virtual tour will be available on the Division of Agriculture’s horticulture YouTube channel at www.youtube. com/channel/UCWzPEeCm2tCZ0yIBKA7wIsQ. A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
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MARKET NEWS as of April XX, 2020 Contact Brandy Carroll 501-228-1268 brandy.carroll@arfb.com
Dairy Restaurant and school closures nationwide have resulted in sharp declines in dairy prices. Class III milk prices have fallen 28% and are now trading in the $12.50/cwt range. Class IV milk prices have declined a whopping 34% and are now trading below $12/cwt. Dairy processers are now calling for the dumping of milk in some states as they struggle to find a market for our current levels of production. Cattle Cattle futures have declined more than 30% since mid-January. Beef is highly favored in restaurants, and that demand is all but gone. Cutout values remain strong currently, resulting in extremely strong packer margins, but futures are suffering due to uncertainty about demand in the coming months. Technically, June live futures have established tough resistance at $100. Early this week the market took out previous support at $85 to set a new low of $76.60. Hogs Hog futures charted dramatic losses last week, gapping lower several days in a row, futures have lost 40% of their value since mid-January. Monday saw June chart a bullish key reversal, however, which could signal that the market has finally found it’s bottom. Cutout values continue to decline, and traders are worried about the potential for plant closures if employees test positive for coronavirus, but packer margins remain firm. June should have support at $43.82 to build on at this 4
point, but will find resistance in the form of chart gaps left on the way to the bottom. Corn Corn futures remain under pressure. USDA prospective plantings report estimated 2020 acreage up 8% from last year at 97 million acres. Ethanol stocks are now at a record high of 25.7 million barrels, and production facilities are reportedly shutting down. This makes it very unlikely that corn demand will be able to keep up the pace needed to reach USDA’s current usage numbers and will likely result in even larger ending stocks than currently projected. May futures have support at Monday’s low of $3.25. If that support fails, then the 2016 low of $3.01 becomes the next downside objective. December futures also have nearby support at Monday’s low of $3.46. Soybeans The 2020 soybean crop is pegged at up 10% from a year ago at 83.5 million acres. Arkansas farmers reported they intend to plant 2.9 million acres, up 9%. These numbers are not a total shock to the market, but the potential for a huge crop is certainly bearish for prices. Old crop beans are under pressure from weakness in the Brazilian Real, which will result in their beans being significantly more competitive in export markets. Both July and November have very tough resistance at the chart gap at $9, and really no obvious support above the recent contract low, which is $8.30 for July and $8.36 for November. Rice Rice, as a staple food crop around the world, has not seen the same pressure as other commodities, and prices continue to test new contract high levels. USDA has pegged rice acres at 2.847 million acres, up 12% from a year ago. For Arkansas, that total was 1.19 million acres of long grain and 206,000 acres of medium/ short grain, for a total acreage of 1.396 million, up 21% from last year.
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Considering the current price of rice relative to other crops, we will likely see that number increase, with Arkansas farmers potentially seeding over 1.5 million acres. A lot will, of course, depend on the weather, and the current forecast is for a warm, wet spring. Currently, Arkansas farmers have barely gotten started, with only 1% of the crop seeded, compared with 10% a year ago and a 5-year average of 12%. New-crop September futures failed this week after rallying higher to $12.25 and have backed off that level Cotton Renewed selling has hit cotton futures, resulting in new 11-year lows. USDA has estimated 2020 planting intentions virtually unchanged from 2019 at 13.5 million acres of upland cotton (590,000 in Arkansas) and 228,000 acres of ELS. In February, the National Cotton Council survey indicated producers intended to plant only 12.8 million acres of upland cotton, and 224,000 acres of ELS. With current price levels, one would assume that the NCC estimate is closer to correct, and that it is highly likely actual planted acres will be below the estimates of both surveys. Crude oil is trading at an 18year low at this point, meaning that synthetics will remain a very cheap option for clothing manufacturers and will continue to pressure cotton prices. Shelter in place orders have resulted in mill closures around the world, which will impact demand for cotton, potentially resulting in an increase in the ending stocks number for the 19/20 marketing year. The December chart is beginning to look a little more bullish, as futures set a new low of 50.18 cents las week and then charted a bullish key reversal in Monday’s trade.
EDITOR Ashley Wallace ashley.wallace@arfb.com