MAY 7, 2021 | VOLUME 24 | ISSUE 9
Farm Bureau Press A PEEK INSIDE
FARM BUREAU’S CHUCK TUCKER RETIRING AFTER 36-YEAR CAREER Chuck Tucker, Senior Vice President of Organization and Administration with the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation, is retiring May 31 following a distinguished 36-year career with the organization. Tucker, 62, began working for Arkansas Farm Bureau in August of 1985, when he was hired as assistant safety director for the farm and ranch advocacy organization.
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“I will always be grateful to Mr. Kelly Hargis, former head of the Member Services department, now Organization and Member Programs, and Mr. Jerry Matthews, former Director of Human Resources, for giving me the opportunity to come to work for such a great organization,” Tucker said in reflecting on the early days of his career with ArFB. “They encouraged me to pursue my master’s degree first and once I obtained it, Mr. Hargis and his wife drove to Jonesboro to offer me the job. I’ll never forget that,” Tucker said. Tucker spent his entire career in the Organization and Member Programs department. He first served as safety director, then as director of the Southcentral District until 1996, when he moved to become director of the Southwest District. In 1999, he became director of the Northeast District, where he remained until he was promoted to vice president of OMP in 2007. He was named Senior Vice President of Organization and Administration in 2016. “Working for an organization like Arkansas Farm Bureau for more than three
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In a 9–to–5 vote th spray low-volatility through June 30. Th of Arkansas Division organic crops to a h one-quarter mile.
decades has meant a lot to me and my family,” Tucker said. “I’m especially proud of our efforts on behalf of the state’s farmers and ranchers and it’s been a privilege to see firsthand all of the hard work that happens at the county and local levels to keep agriculture – the state’s largest industry – growing and strong. I’ve seen the difference Farm Bureau has made in communities around the state and I’m honored to have been a part of it.” Tucker lives in Conway with his wife Phyllis. They have three adult children, Nicholas, Katie and Chase. He is a graduate of Des Arc High School and Arkansas State University. He is a life member of the ASU Alumni Association and received the school’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2001. Tucker received the National FFA Honorary Farmer Degree in 2007.
SUPREME COURT RULES ON STATE PLANT BOARD CASES The Arkansas Supreme Court this week handed down decisions on two cases related to the State Plant Board. The court has ruled that the previous makeup of the Board was an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power to a private entity and remanded the case to the circuit court with specific instructions to remove any members appointed by private organizations. This should not impact recent rulemaking decisions made related to dicamba as all nine governor appointees voted in support. Act 361 of 2021, which was supported by ArFB, requires that all members of the Board be appointed by the governor. This new law should address the constitutionality issues raised by the court. In a separate case brought by Monsanto, the Court ruled that Monsanto failed to prove that Regulation 7, which concerns research presented to the board when new products are considered for approval, ever caused harm to Monsanto. 2
XtendiMax by Baye labeled by the EPA with glyphosate wi dicamba will be pro pasture and forestr Department’s webs
ArFB PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTM Jason Brown, APR, and Steve Powell have joined the Arkansas Farm Bureau public relations team, bringing together more than 40 years of professional communications experience. It was also announced assistant director Bryan Pistole was promoted to creative director. Brown and Powell will serve as senior field communicators with a focus on telling interesting and educational agriculture stories from across Arkansas. Brown will focus on the Southeast and Southcentral regions and Powell the Northwest and Southwest regions of Arkansas. “Today we are proud to welcome to our PR team two experienced communicators with deep agriculture knowledge,” said Steve Eddington, Arkansas Farm Bureau’s vice president, public relations. “Jason and Steve are well-equipped to tell the unique stories of Arkansas farmers and ranchers in addition to the immense value they bring to our communications team.” Brown comes to ArFB from Indigo Ag, where he managed commercial PR for the Boston-based agriculture tech company. Before that, he spent more than a decade at The Communications Group, a Little Rock-based marketing and public relations firm, where he led PR work for a number of agriculture and manufacturing clients. Brown, Jason Brown an accredited public relations practitioner, earned the designation in 2017 by demonstrating the mastery of strategic communication practice, competencies and ethical standards. In 2020, he served as president of the Public Relations Society of America’s Arkansas chapter and now
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AMBA RULE D BY PLANT BOARD
his week, the State Plant Board adopted a rule to allow farmers to dicamba over the top of dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybeans he new rule kept the previous one-mile buffer around University n of Agriculture research stations, but it did shrink the buffer for half-mile and the buffer for non-tolerant soybeans and cotton to
er, Engenia by BASF, and Tavium by Syngenta are the products for use on dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton. Tank mixing ill continue to be prohibited. The use of older formulations of ohibited between April 16 and Oct. 31, with exceptions for ry uses. For more information, see the Arkansas Agriculture site, www.agriculture.arkansas.gov.
MENT HIRES AND PROMOTES
ArFB Board Fish Fry | Karl Stephens (right) caught, cooked and served crappie to the state board May 27 as a way of thanking them for their support and friendship over the 40plus years his wife MaLeta has worked at the Arkansas Farm Bureau. Pictured are ArFB President Rich Hillman (center) with Chuck Tucker (left), his wife Phyllis, and MaLeta and Karl Stephens.
sits on the organization’s board of directors as immediate past president. Powell, who spent 14 years as an anchor and feature reporter for KATV, most recently served as outreach coordinator for the Arkansas Coalition for Obesity Prevention and provided communication support for the Arkansas Farmers Market Association. Previously, Steve owned and managed his own video production company, Traveling Steve Powell Pixel. Steve earned a marketing degree from the University of Alabama and studied broadcast journalism at Troy University. Pistole has been promoted to creative director at Arkansas Farm Bureau. Bryan has more than 30 years of experience in graphic design, video production and web services. Pistole has been at ArFB for more than six years and previously served as assistant director of public relations, visual communications In his new role, Pistole will be responsible for creating and Bryan Pistole implementing brand standards across the organization and managing the Production Hub, ArFB’s in-house print, mail and fulfillment center. Additionally, he will supervise video production and manage technology for organization meetings, live shows and events.
Garden Grant | The Pangburn FFA was awarded the Farm Bureau Garden Grant for their garden and greenhouse project. On hand for the presentation were ag teacher Brian Harris (right) and White County extension agent Jan Yingling (left).
Washington Co. Meeting | Rep. Bruce Coleman visited with Washington County Farm Bureau about the recent legislative session. A breakfast meeting was held at the county office April 24.
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MARKET NEWS as of May 5, 2021 Contact Brandy Carroll 501-228-1268 brandy.carroll@arfb.com
Cattle The USDA Cattle on Feed report showed the April 1 feedlot inventory to be 105.3% of last year’s herd. That total was smaller than the trade was expecting, since the 2020 inventory was impacted by Covid-19 and was down slightly from the 2019 total. The supply of feeder cattle outside feedlots is smaller than a year ago, and placements are expected to be down as well. Supplies are adequate to meet needs currently, but will tighten by fall. Higher feed costs June futures to their lowest level in four months on Tuesday, opening the possibility of a retest of support $111.93. The trend in deferred contracts is more sideways, with support for the October contract between $120 and $121. Hogs The USDA monthly Cold Storage Report has provided a boost for hog futures after bearish chart signals suggested a potential top. March 31 frozen pork stocks were down 26.8% from a year earlier. Wholesale pork prices remain strong and hog supplies are declining due to seasonal factors. There is optimism about domestic demand as the U.S. economy continues to recover. Packer margins have fallen into the red this week, however, and that could affect the cash market. The mostactive June contract gapped higher on Monday to overcome previous resistance at $110 to set a new contract high. October has likewise moved above previous resistance at $87.80 to close above $90. 4
Corn The bull market continues in corn futures. Nearby May has now topped $7.50 as corn is in short supply in the countryside. December faces resistance at the spike high of $5.93. A downturn could send the market lower to close the gap left between $4.77½ and $4.80¾. The market has seen a lot of volatility and there is no reason to think that will change anytime soon. Traders this week were focused on Brazil and the potential for dry weather to affect the yield. Private forecasters are still expecting to see a larger crop than the current USDA estimate, with indications that farmers in the south are switching intended cotton acres to corn. Farmers have now seeded 46% of the crop, significantly outpacing the 5-year average of 36% for this date. Forecasts for cooler and wetter weather across the corn belt for the next 10 days has traders concerned about early crop development and further planting progress. Soybeans Extremely tight supplies of old-crop beans and an unexpectedly low production estimate from USDA continues to support soybean futures. Sharp gains in crude oil values have increased demand for biodiesel, sending soy oil prices sharply higher, says that 24% of the U.S. crop has been seeded, outpacing the 5-year average of 11% as farmers rush to get beans in the ground, even ahead of corn. Arkansas farmers have planted 38% of the crop here, again outpacing the 5-year average of 29% by a significant margin. Technically, the November contract high of $13.84¾ charted last week could prove to be tough resistance. The market is looking toppy at this point and should be considered as a pricing opportunity. Cotton Cotton futures have been under pressure over the past week, and prices have been working lower as
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a result. The dollar has improved relative to other currencies, which has been a negative factor. However, improvement in the U.S. economy has sparked optimism about demand at home. U.S. farmers have planted 16% of the crop, which is also the 5-year average. Arkansas farmers are just getting started at 7% planted compared with a 5-year average of 17%. Dry conditions in West Texas continue and could result in a decrease in acres or increased abandonment if the acres do get planted. New-crop December has broken out of the recent up-trend. Resistance begins at the recent high of 87.43 cents and above that, resistance at the contract high of 89.28 cents looks solid at this point. Rice USDA says 64% of the crop is in the ground across the country. Arkansas farmers planted 19% of the crop here last week, bringing the total planted to 63% of intended acres and more in line with the 5-year average of 66%. Analysts are still concerned the crop will be even smaller than projected as farmers shift acres into other crops. Last week’s export sales were uninspiring at just 32,200 metric tons. Shipments were better at 82,000 metric tons. The market is starting to consider how India’s Covid crisis will impact the global rice market. Prices there are trending lower as logistics have been disrupted. If production is impacted as well, it could be a supportive market factor. Food security in the world’s second most populous country could be a factor as the humanitarian crisis continues. Futures have surged higher this week with most-active July shattering previous resistance at $13.89 to set a new high of $14.16.
EDITOR Ashley Wallace ashley.wallace@arfb.com