JUNE 5, 2020 • VOLUME 23 • ISSUE 11
Farm Bureau Press A PEEK INSIDE
COURT OVERTURNS EPA’S APPROVAL OF DICAMBA
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has halted the sale of three in-crop dicamba formulations, according the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Use of the herbicide has been legal in Arkansas when used between Oct. 31 and May 26. The court vacated pesticide registrations that had been awarded in 2018 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Bayer’s XtendiMax with Vapor Grip, BASF’s Engenia, and Corteva’s FeXapan.
ArFB Hires Summer Interns, page 2
The court cited Arkansas in a few instances, particularly the number of complaints filed with the state Plant Board alleging damage to crops and other vegetation not tolerant of the herbicide.
Coronavirus Relief Assistance Funds Now Available, page 2
A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit said the EPA “substantially understated risks that it acknowledged” and “failed entirely to acknowledge other risks,” including the “enormous social cost to farming communities.” As a result, the court said the EPA had violated the federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. It ordered an immediate halt to the nationwide sale and use of the three dicamba formulations. The ruling didn’t cite Syngenta’s dicamba formulation. The lawsuit was filed against the EPA by a coalition of farming and environmental groups — the National Family Farm Coalition, the Center for Food Safety, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Pesticide Action Network. They alleged the EPA violated the federal pesticide law, as well as the federal Endangered Species Act.
Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Elected President of SASDA, page 3
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A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
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ArFB HIRES 2020 SUMMER INTERNS Three college students have joined Arkansas Farm Bureau for the summer as interns. The interns will assist several departments within the organization and work to advance their skills, while also learning more about Arkansas Farm Bureau’s grassroots impact within the state and across the nation. Macie Kelly, of Mountain Home, graduated in May from the University of Arkansas with a degree in agricultural communications and is preparing to begin law school in the fall. She credits her love for agriculture to growing up on a cattle farm as well as being involved in 4-H and Macie Kelly FFA. Kelly currently serves as a state representative on the Arkansas FFA Alumni board.
Caleb Swears
Future of America.
Caleb Swears from Carlisle is a junior at the University of Arkansas, studying agricultural business pre-law and crop sciences. He was raised on a six-generation rice farm and credits his interest in agricultural policy to the hard work his family has demonstrated over the years. Swears is a national ambassador for Agriculture
Both Kelly and Swears will be working with several departments within Farm Bureau. Ashlyn Ussery from North Little Rock graduated in 2019 from Southern Arkansas University with a degree in agricultural business. She is now a graduate student at the University of Arkansas, where she is studying agricultural communications. Ussery is Ashlyn Ussery a member of collegiate Farm Bureau as well as Arkansas Women in Agriculture. 2
CORONAVIRUS FOOD ASSISTA FUNDS NOW AVAILABLE
To provide immediate financial assistance to farmers and ranchers impacted by COVID-19, Congress has provided relief funds through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES act provided the Agriculture secretary with a fund of $9.5 billion and the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) with $14 billion in replenishment funds. The Secretary has combined the $9.5 billion appropriated with existing CCC funds of $6.5 billion to create the $16 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) that will provide direct payments to farmers and ranchers to partially offset COVID-19 related losses for livestock, specialty and non-specialty crop farms. The $16 billion in direct payments will financially assist producers with additional adjustment and marketing costs resulting from lost demand due to COVID-19. To qualify for a payment, a commodity must have declined in price by at least 5% between mid-January and mid-April 2020. The payments will be based upon actual production and losses in response to price declines and supply chain disruptions. Producers will receive 80% of their maximum total payment upon approval of their application. The remaining 20% that does not exceed the payment limit will be paid at a later date.
A payment limitation of $250,000 is applied to the total amount of CFAP payments made for all eligible commodities. Also, entities structured as corporations, limited liability companies and limited partnerships may receive $250,000 per shareholder, up to $750,000 for those who contribute at least 400 hours of active person management or personal active labor. This is a separate payment limit. Participation in other FSA programs will not impact your eligibility and participation in CFAP will not impact your eligibility for other programs. Livestock Producers of cattle, hogs, and sheep will receive a single payment for livestock calculated using the sum of the producer’s number of livestock sold between January 15 and April 15, multiplied by the payment rates per head, and the highest inventory number of livestock between April 16 and May 14, multiplied by the payment rate per head. For additional details of eligible livestock and payment rate, see www.farmers. gov/cfap/livestock. Dairy Dairy producers are eligible for a CFAP payment if milk production occurred in January, February, and/or March. Any dumped milk production during those months qualifies for assistance. A single payment is available for dairy producers
A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
ANCE PROGRAM based on a producer’s certification of milk production for the first quarter of the calendar year 2020 multiplied by $4.71 per hundredweight. The second part of the payment is based on a national adjustment to each producer’s production in the first quarter. For details of the program, see www.farmers.gov/cfap and click on Dairy to link to the FSA fact sheet. Specialty Crops Specialty crop producers are eligible for CFAP if they 1) had crops that suffered a 5% or greater price decline between midJanuary and mid-April as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and 2) had produce shipped but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channel, and 3) had shipments that did not leave the farm or mature crops that remained unharvested. Payment rates vary depending on the crop and loss type. Crops covered include pecans, strawberries, sweet potatoes, and many others. For detailed information about covered crops and payment rates, see www.farmers.gov/cfap/specialty. Non-Specialty Crops For non-specialty crops, including upland cotton, corn, soybeans, sorghum and several others, payments will be based upon actual 2019 production and will be based upon inventory subject to price risk held as of Jan. 15. A single payment will be made based upon 50% of a producer’s 2019 total production or the 2019 inventory as of Jan. 15, whichever is smaller, multiplied by 50% and then multiplied by the commodity’s applicable payment rates. Producers are required to provide their total 2019 production for the eligible commodity and the amount of the crop that was not sold as of Jan. 15. For detailed information about covered crops and payment rates, see www. farmers.gov/cfap/non-specialty. Sign-up Sign-up began on May 26 and will continue through Aug. 28. Eligible producers can apply for CFAP at their USDA-FSA office. It is important to note that FSA is currently open by appointment only due to COVID-19, so call before you go. A CFAP payment calculator in Microsoft Excel format is available at www.farmers.gov/cfap to assist you with the application process. The workbook allows you to input information specific to your operation to determine estimated payments and populate the application form. If you prefer to apply with paper forms, you can print those at the same link. Producers self-certify when they apply for CFAP, but you may be asked for additional information to support your certification, so you should retain the documentation used to complete your application.
ArFB RECOMENDATIONS FOR SUMMER MEETINGS As we enter the spring/summer months of our Farm Bureau year, historically these months have been used for planning and conducting activities that highlight the program of work carried out by your leadership. Today, we find these activities difficult if not impossible to plan and conduct because of the limitations placed on us by COVID-19. With this in mind, ArFB offeres some ideas as you to begin to make alternate plans for conducting yearly activities such as your county annual meeting. Below are suggestions to consider in your planning process based on current guidelines and restrictions placed on public gatherings. • No meals served • Public notification should be limited but in line with your bylaws • Meeting agendas should be limited to handling only the business required • Consider limiting guest speakers • Awards and presentations may be presented in an alternate platform such as Facebook ArFB assures that staff will continue to offer the best advice based upon the most current information to ensure that our membership is informed and most importantly safe at activities hosted and conducted by your County Farm Bureau. If you should have any questions or concerns as you enter the planning phases of any county activity, please consult with your District Director or Chuck Tucker, ArFB SVP.
ARKANSAS SECRETARY OF AG ELECTED PRESIDENT OF SASDA Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward was elected President of the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture (SASDA) for 2020-21 during its annual conference held virtually on June 1. Arkansas will host SASDA’s annual conference in Little Rock in 2021. SASDA consists of the commissioners, secretaries and directors of agriculture from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
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MARKET NEWS as of June 4, 2020 Contact Brandy Carroll 501-228-1268 brandy.carroll@arfb.com
Cattle After ending last week by pushing above previous resistance at $100, August live cattle futures have seen a new round of selling, and prices quickly retreated. Renewed concerns about the backlog of market ready cattle in feedlots, falling beef prices and renewed tensions between the U.S. and China are pressuring from a fundamental perspective. Futures are finding support from their discount to cash prices. August is currently holding above support at $95.45. August feeders have been consolidating in an increasingly narrow range over the past few days, but longer-term resistance can be found at $138.80, while support is found between $125 and $127. Hogs Summer hog contracts saw renewed weakness this week, but deferred contracts moved higher. Tensions between the U.S. and China over Hong Kong have traders worried about exports. There is still a large backlog of heavyweight hogs in the pipeline, adding pressure to futures. Hog slaughter totals are improving, though, as plants are able to reopen. The July contract doesn’t have much support above the double bottom at $49. Resistance will be at the chart gap between $58 and $58.82. October has support at the contract low of $48 and resistance at the recent high of $53.75. 4
Corn Corn futures have seen a little strength in recent days, but support is still at contract lows and the upside is limited. Expectations for a huge crop this year (currently estimated at a record high of 16 billion bushels) and record-high ethanol stocks will continue to loom over the market. The crop is off to a favorable start and is now 93% planted nation-wide, compared with a five-year average of 89%. Ethanol stocks are still somewhat burdensome, but demand is improving. Plants have begun to reopen, and basis levels are improving for farmers willing to sell their corn at these prices. Export sales this week were a disappointing 637,500 metric tons for 2020-21 and 27,500 metric tons for 2020-21, well below trade estimates. December futures are building resistance at $3.43 and support at $3.30 as they attempt to work higher. Soybeans On Thursday, soybean futures broke out of the sideways trading pattern that has contained the market for almost two months. The November contract closed at a seven-week high. The next level of resistance will be found between $8.82 and $8.87, with additional resistance at the chart gap between $9 and $9.03. Weekly export totals were 495,200 metric tons for 2019-20 and 607,400 for 2020-21. China has been a major purchaser of U.S. soybeans over the past week, and there are additional sales on the books to “unknown destinations.” A weaker U.S. dollar was also supportive for prices. The crop is now 75% planted across the U.S. Farmers in Arkansas have seeded 66% of their intended soybean acres, compared with a five-year average of 73%. Rice Rice futures continue to see wide
A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
daily trading ranges and a big divergence between old crop and new crop prices. Old-crop July has posted limit gains every day this week, and are now trading at 11-year highs, closing Thursday at $22.06½. The all-time high is not far away at $24.68. New-crop September has seen wide trading ranges in both directions this week, and are now trading at an almost $10/cwt discount to old-crop rice. For now, September has backed away from the contract high of $12.78 set on Tuesday, and the up-trend is so steep it’s hard to find chart support above the breakout gap between $11.91 and $11.94. Arkansas farmers have now seeded 90% of intended acres, compared with a five-year average of 96%. Eighty-one percent of Arkansas’ crop has now emerged, and 66% is rated good to excellent. Cotton Cotton futures are trending mostly sideways with December consolidating between resistance at 59.59 cents and support just above 54 cents. Renewed tensions between the U.S. and China as the U.S. announced that Hong Kong is no longer autonomous is bad news for cotton. The possibility of new sanctions and tariffs on China could significantly impact cotton exports. Weekly exports were non-existent. USDA reported net cancellations of 10,100 bales for 2019-20 sales, and only 12,400 bales for 2020-21. The cotton crop is now 66% planted nationwide, right in line with the average. Arkansas farmers have planted 91% of their crop. Seventysix percent of the Arkansas crop is rated good to excellent.
EDITOR Ashley Wallace ashley.wallace@arfb.com