Farm Bureau Press for July 17 by Arkansas Farm Bureau

JULY 17, 2020 • VOLUME 23 • ISSUE 14

Farm Bureau Press A PEEK INSIDE

2020 Virtual

Officers & Leaders Conference Ar k an s a s Far m Bu re au

Agriculture is

New Bills Would Help Meat Processors Meet Demand, page 2

Essential

Thursday, July 23 at 6 p.m. Featuring Presentations by ArFB President Rich Hillman & Governor Asa Hutchinson

Watch on your smart phone or computer at www.arfb.com/leaders

USDA Announces Additional Specialty Crops Eligible for CFAP, page 3

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A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION

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MADISON COUNTY’S MILLER APPOINTED TO BEEF COUNCIL

Jeremy Miller has been appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to a threeyear term on the Arkansas Beef Council. Miller was nominated for this position by Arkansas Farm Bureau to fill the expired term of Gene Pharr.

Raised on a dairy farm in the Clifty community of Madison County, Miller attended Arkansas State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business. After college, he owned and operated the Clifty General Store for 15 years. Today, he and his wife Meredith, along with their children Brock and Ashton, have a cow/calf operation near Huntsville.

Miller is the past president of the Madison County Farm Bureau and is currently serving on the state board for Arkansas Farm Bureau. He is actively involved in the community as the president of the Clifty Volunteer Fire Department Board, volunteer fire fighter, and past member of the Madison County FSA Board. The Arkansas Beef Council is a seven-member group of cattle producers who oversee the implementation of the in-state beef industry initiatives as well as govern the beef checkoff program in the state. This program, established by both state and federal laws, involves the collection of a $1 per head assessment on all cattle sold to be used for beef promotion, research and market development activities.

NEW BILLS WOULD HELP MEAT PROCESSORS MEET DEMAND American Farm Bureau is backing two recently introduced bills that would help more small meat and poultry plants sell their products in other states and better meet nationwide demand for beef, chicken and turkey. The Requiring Assistance to Meat Processors for Upgrading Plants (RAMP-UP) Act would establish a program to make facility upgrade and planning grants to existing meat and poultry processors to help them move to federal inspection, which will allow them to sell their products across state lines. The legislation would also require USDA to work with states and report on ways to improve the existing Cooperative Interstate Shipment program. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said this bill will help farmers, consumers and processors alike. “As Congress looks at ways to make our food system more resilient for farmers and ranchers and for consumers, the American Farm Bureau Federation appreciates Chairman Peterson and Reps. Lucas and Fortenberry and others for introducing this bill to increase meat and poultry processing capacity,” Duvall said. “At the same time as this bill will help more processing facilities attain federal inspection status and ensure producers have a market for their poultry and livestock, it also ensures the safety and 2

abundance of the food supply.” Also in the House, the Direct Interstate Retail Exemption for Certain Transactions (DIRECT) Act (H.R. 7425) would allow state inspected meat to be sold across state lines, but only through e-commerce. The bill would allow small producers and processors an additional option to directly market to consumers. Specifically, the bill would amend the retail exemption under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Products Inspection Act to allow processors, butchers or other retailers to sell normal retail quantities (300 lbs. of beef, 100 lbs. of pork, 27.5 lbs. of lamb) of state inspected meat online to consumers across state lines. The legislation would also maintain traceability of sales easily accessed in the event of a recall; allow retail sales to consumers, minimizing the risk for further processing in export and keeping equivalency agreements with trading partners intact; and allow states operating under the Cooperative Interstate Shipping system to ship and label as they are currently. AFBF emphasized the opportunities the legislation would create for strengthening the farmer-consumer connection, while also bolstering meat processing capacity nationwide.

A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION

USDA ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL SPECIALTY CROPS ELIGIBLE FOR CFAP The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released an initial list of additional commodities that have been added to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) and announced other adjustments to the program based on comments received from agricultural producers and organizations and review of market data. Producers will be able to submit applications that include the new commodities on July 13. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting applications for CFAP through Aug. 28. USDA expects additional eligible commodities to be announced in the coming weeks. Changes to CFAP include: • Adding the following commodities: alfalfa sprouts, anise, arugula, basil, bean sprouts, beets, blackberries, Brussels sprouts, celeriac (celery root), chives, cilantro, coconuts, collard greens, dandelion greens, greens (others not listed separately), guava, kale greens, lettuce – including Boston, green leaf, Lolla Rossa, oak leaf green, oak leaf red and red leaf – marjoram, mint, mustard, okra, oregano, parsnips, passion fruit, peas (green), pineapple, pistachios, radicchio, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, fresh sugarcane, Swiss chard, thyme and turnip top greens. • Expanding for seven currently eligible commodities – apples, blueberries, garlic, potatoes, raspberries, tangerines and taro – CARES Act funding for sales losses because USDA found these commodities had a 5 percent or greater price decline between midJanuary and mid-April as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally, these commodities were only eligible for marketing adjustments. • Determining that peaches and rhubarb no longer qualify for payment under the CARES Act sales loss category. • Correcting payment rates for apples, artichokes, asparagus, blueberries, cantaloupes, cucumbers, garlic, kiwifruit, mushrooms, papaya, peaches, potatoes, raspberries, rhubarb, tangerines and taro. Additional details can be found in the Federal Register in the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and Final Rule Correction and at www.farmers.gov/cfap. Producers have several options for applying to the CFAP program: • Using an online portal, accessible at farmers.gov/ cfap, allows producers with secure USDA login credentials — known as eAuthentication — to

certify eligible commodities online, digitally sign applications and submit directly to the local USDA Service Center. New commodities will be available in the system on July 13. • Completing the application form using our CFAP Application Generator and Payment Calculator found at farmers.gov/cfap. This Excel workbook allows customers to input information specific to their operation to determine estimated payments and populate the application form, which can be printed, then signed and submitted to their local USDA Service Center. An updated version with the new commodities will be available on the website on July 13. • Downloading the AD-3114 application form from farmers.gov/cfap and manually completing the form to submit to the local USDA Service Center by mail, electronically or by hand delivery to an office drop box. In some limited cases, the office may be open for in-person business by appointment. Visit farmers. gov/coronavirus/service-center-status to check the status of your local office. USDA Service Centers can also work with producers to complete and securely transmit digitally signed applications through two commercially available tools: Box and OneSpan. Producers who are interested in digitally signing their applications should notify their local service centers when calling to discuss the CFAP application process. You can learn more about these solutions at farmers.gov/mydocs. Getting Help from FSA New customers seeking one-on-one support with the CFAP application process can call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to offer general assistance. This is a recommended first step before a producer engages the team at the FSA county office at their local USDA Service Center. All other eligibility forms, such as those related to adjusted gross income and payment information, can be downloaded from farmers.gov/cfap. For existing FSA customers, these documents are likely already on file. All USDA Service Centers are open for business, including some that are open to visitors to conduct business in person by appointment only. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service or any other Service Center agency should call ahead and schedule an appointment. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.

A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION

MARKET NEWS as of July 16, 2020 Contact Brandy Carroll 501-228-1268 brandy.carroll@arfb.com

Economy at a Glance Mortgage rates for the 30-year loan fell to their lowest level in almost 50 years. It is the third consecutive week and the seventh time this year that rates have hit record lows. Thursday morning’s jobs report showed 1.3 million Americans filed unemployment which is a drastic drop since its initial spike in midMarch. The Dow Jones continues to gain ground on its losses from the start of the pandemic, yet it is still down 5.85% from Dec. 31. However, as Covid cases continue to rise the markets reacted to the news of a large-scale vaccine trial is moving forward. Financial markets continue to recover as the American economy very slowly restarts. Beef and Pork Supply Chain Recovering Due to COVID-19-related labor issues, slaughter facility capacity dropped sharply in April and May. At its worst in early May, cattle slaughter dropped 35% from 2019 and hog slaughter dropped 35% from the previous year. Slaughter capacity has largely recovered to near normal levels – more quickly than most in the industry anticipated. We are by no means out of the woods yet and face a large backlog of animals in the system that will remain with us through at least the early fall. Fed cattle slaughter has settled around 95% of full capacity, but this may 4

be the most that the industry can accomplish given the measures put in place at facilities to combat the spread of COVID-19. Hog slaughter has returned to above 2019 levels and is mostly in line with its pre-COVID-19 trajectory. Maintaining these higher slaughter levels will be critical to working through the backlog of animals. This is particularly true of the pork complex, as previous USDA hog and pig reports indicate a larger volume of animals in the pipeline for later in the summer, meaning there may not be much room at slaughter facilities to clear additional animals that have backed up. The breeding decisions that resulted in this larger volume were made long before the impacts of COVID-19 could be imagined. Corn Corn trade was higher at midday Thursday with trade trying to sustain buying after the struggles this week. Corn prices remain relatively low with good news in the export sector, but traders remain optimistic on the large crop. Markets reacted negatively to the large China purchase last week with corn down 8 cents to start the week at $3.28. As of midday Thursday, corn was trading four cents higher at $3.30. The forecast continues to show better rains with warmer than normal temps for most. On Wednesday China returned to buy another 5.1 million bushels (mb) of U.S. corn, bringing the monthly total up to 144 mb. U.S. corn remains severely overpriced relative to Argentina, which is a 40 cent to 50 cent discount, and Brazil, which is 10 cents to 20 cents cheaper, making the recent China purchases all the more surprising. Rains on Wednesday moved across Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, and moving forward

A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION

rains are expected to favor the drier Eastern Corn Belt, with rains moving across Illinois, Indiana and Michigan early on Thursday. The end of the week promises some hot temperatures for a few days, but expectations are that some good rain totals will fall over the next seven days, which will benefit pollinating corn. Soybeans Soybean prices continue to knock at the $9.00 a bushel however can’t seem to break into that territory. Midday Thursday soybeans were trading at a range of $8.83-$8.93 up 8.2 cents with new crop priced at $8.91. Soybean trade is seven to eight cents higher with trade working higher on expected further export business and short coming, mostly to China. After falling on Monday, November soybeans are looking for a third straight higher finish on Thursday, by the return of China on Wednesday. China was announced to have bought 389,000 metric tons (mt) (14.2 mb) of new-crop U.S. soybeans. Weather in the U.S. continues to be conducive to potential record large bean yields, especially if eastern belt rains materialize in coming days. Some weather forecasts are predicting two to four inches of rain for Illinois and Indiana over the next 10 days. The trade is fearing that political tensions between the U.S. and China could hamper efforts by China to adhere to phase-one commitments, but they continue to return to buy U.S. soybeans, even though at a snail’s pace, as U.S. beans remain attractively priced to the alternative.

EDITOR Ashley Wallace ashley.wallace@arfb.com