AUGUST 19, 2022 | VOLUME 25 | ISSUE 17
Farm Bureau Press A PEEK INSIDE
REMEMBERING A LEGEND: TROY BUCK Troy W. Buck, age 83, passed away Aug. 15. A native of Alpine, Troy was born on his family's farm in 1939 to Clarence and Audie Francis Buck. He graduated from Amity High School and earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He met Wilma Smith while attending the U of A, and they married in 1960. Troy and Wilma moved to Hope, where he began his career as the youngest agriculture teacher in the state. Troy and Wilma have owned and operated Buck's Country Store in Alpine for over 40 years. In 1979, they built a home Troy Buck in Alpine and moved their six daughters back to the family farm where Troy continued to teach agriculture in the Amity and Centerpoint School Districts, until his retirement in 2016. Mr. Buck served 14 years as a board member of Arkansas Farm Bureau, from 2003-2017. He was inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2007. During his 55 years as a vocational agriculture teacher and FFA advisor, Mr. Buck taught, led, and nurtured countless students, community members, friends and family members. The numerous awards and accolades he received throughout his career paled in comparison to the pride and joy he felt when his students and family succeeded. Troy was preceded in death by his parents and his loving wife of 59 years. Troy is survived by his six daughters and four sons-in-law, Wauleai and Mark Huckabee of Hope, Neeka and Dale Richardson of Alpine, Sandy and Randy Jester of Curtis, Chawna Buck of Springdale, Kalena Gay and Thelton Hughes of Houston, Texas, and Kay Buck of Alpine; twenty-five grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Kyle Huckabee; Erin, Chance and Jace Davlin; Brian,
Section 179 a Win for Arkansas Farmers and Ranchers, Page 2
in Ag Conference EMPOWERING TODAY ’S FARMERS FOR THE FUTURE
ArFB to Host Diversity in Ag Conference, Page 3
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SECTION 179 A WIN FOR ARKANS REMEMBERING TROY BUCK Arkansas lawmakers voted Aug. 12 to pass legislation to update
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Holly, Mallori and Mason Richardson; Preston, Laiken, Preslee, Paislee, Lillee and Layton Richardson; Jaclyn, Mike, Olivia (Farmer) and Ellison Ramer; Brandon, Mandy, Jaxon and Jordan Jester; and Josh, Heidi, Addilee (Ditgen), Maddox and Landree Jester; one brother and sister-in-law, Jerry and Betty Buck of Alpine; and an infinite number of nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and neighbors who were always like family to him. Funeral services were held Aug. 18 in the Smith Family Funeral Home Chapel in Glenwood with Bro. John McAnally officiating. Interment was in the Alpine Cemetery. Pallbearers were be Brian Richardson, Brandon Jester, Preston Richardson, Kyle Huckabee, Josh Jester, Chance Davlin, Michael Ramer and Jaxon Jester. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Troy's memory to the Arkansas Future Farmers of America Association, 301 Catherine Park Road, Hot Springs, AR 71913, the Alpine Cemetery Association, 117 Alpine Road, Amity, AR 71921 or to the SAU Troy Buck Family Scholarship, SAU Office of Financial Aid, MSC 9314, Magnolia, AR 71753.
ARKANSAS FARMER HONORED BY U.S. CATFISH INDUSTRY This year, the Catfish Farmer of the Year Awards went to three farmers: Kenny Francis of Corning; Andy Jones of Morehead, Miss.; and Ashley Kyser of Greensboro, Ala. Francis, 49, began his catfish farming journey at 10 when his parents moved to Doyle Cannady’s farm in Corning. Francis worked part-time on the farm and in a catfish restaurant until he graduated from high school. After a semester of college, he decided to work full-time on the farm. In 2005, he started managing the farm, and in 2018, bought the farm from Cannady. Since then, production has grown to around 500,000 pounds of channel catfish per year. Francis and his wife, Danielle, have two sons – Austin and Fisher. 2
Arkansas tax code to align with federal Section 179. This is a big win for Arkansas farmers and ranchers! Arkansas Farm Bureau has actively advocated for amending state tax laws to reflect the 2022 federal Section 179 depreciation schedule, which allows businesses to deduct the entire purchase price of new or used equipment up to 1.08 million dollars beginning Jan. 1, 2022, instead of taking the depreciation over its designated useful life. The state last adopted the Jan. 1, 2009, Section 179, which capped the deduction at $25,000. This brings Arkansas tax code in line with the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, making us more competitive with other states that already conformed their laws to the recent federal changes. This change should simplify tax filings for Arkansas businesses and farms, providing meaningful relief and stimulating the
ARKANSAS COUNTIES DESIGNAT Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Aug. 2 that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack has increased the number of Arkansas counties that are designated as primary natural disaster areas. As of Aug. 2, the following counties are designated primary natural disaster areas: Benton, Boone, Carroll, Clay, Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Independence, Izard, Johnson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Newton, Polk, Pope, Searcy, Stone, Van Buren and Washington. Twenty additional areas were designated as contiguous counties. Those counties include: Baxter, Craighead, Crawford, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Howard, Jackson, Logan, Lonoke, Montgomery, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Randolph, Scott, Sevier, Sharp, White and Yell. The disaster designations mean farmers in those areas can contact the Farm Service Agency and apply for assistance, including emergency loans. Farmers have until Dec. 8 to apply for assistance.
ArFB FOUNDATION CONTRIBUTIO There's still time to be a champion for agriculture and your community! Our Arkansas Farm Bureau Foundation fundraising effort started off hot in June, so our efforts are continuing through the end of summer! Keep the ArFB Foundation growing strong through
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SAS FARMERS AND RANCHERS
economy. We are very appreciative that Gov. Asa Hutchinson included this measure in the call for the special session. Please take the time to thank legislators in your district who supported this legislative action.
Washington Co. | Members of Washington County Farm Bureau met Aug. 11 to develop policy to be considered for adoption at their Washington Co. annual meeting. Presiding over the meeting was policy development chair Joe Faddis.
ED NATURAL DISASTER AREAS
District 4 Meeting | Several counties from state board district 4 met Aug. 8 to discuss issues of importance to farmers and ranchers in the district. Jarrod Yates of ArFB’s Public Affairs and Governmental Relations Department was there to answer questions from those in attendance.
ArFB TO HOST DIVERSITY IN AG CONFERENCE Arkansas Farm Bureau will host the Diversity in Agriculture Conference Sept. 14 at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Little Rock.
ON DRIVE CONTINUES August! Give today, share our donation link with friends and be on the lookout for more updates and opportunities. Donate today to support youth leadership, education initiatives, disaster recovery and more!
This will be an opportunity for agriculture producers from all backgrounds to learn about resources available to help them maximize their operations. Speakers will present on issues such as "Heirs Property", "Equity and Equality in Ag", and "State and Federal Resources." Attendees will also hear from farmers about their success stories. Registration is free and can be found here.
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MARKET NEWS as of Aug. 17, 2022 Contact Brandy Carroll 501-228-1268 brandy.carroll@arfb.com USDA released the August Crop Production and Supply/Demand report. It is the first report of the crop year to use farmer survey data in the production estimates. While it is still somewhat early in the year and USDA will continue to collect data and refine the estimates, this is the best data we have currently, and the August reports can be a market mover. Rice The rice crop continues to be in pretty good shape considering the extreme heat and drought experienced this summer throughout the mid-south. USDA pegged the average yield up 66 pounds from the previous report at 7,627 pounds per acre, for a total production of 176 million hundredweight. That is a 1.5 million cwt increase over the previous projection. That carried over into the supply/demand forecast, and more than offset a decrease in the beginning stocks estimate. Exports were unchanged, and projected ending stocks were raised to 36.5 million cwt, up one million from the previous report, but down 12% from the previous year. The global supply estimate was lowered 4.1 million metric tons to 697.3 million. USDA also raised the projected on-farm price a whopping 60 cents to $18.80 per cwt, the highest forecasted price on record. Cotton Even though we have known for some time that the Texas cotton crop was in very bad shape and both dry land and irrigated cotton was being 4
abandoned, the severity with which USDA slashed the cotton production estimate caught the market off guard. The 2022 cotton crop was pegged at only 12.57 million bales. Pre-report estimates had pegged the crop at between 14 and 15.75 million bales. Harvested acreage was reduced from 8.55 million acres to just 7.13 million, and lowered the projected yield to 846 pounds per acre, down from 870 pounds. It raised the projected on-farm average price to 97 cents per pound, up two cents from the previous report. The big news from the supply/demand report came from the 2022/23 ending stocks estimate, which was cut to only 1.8 million bales. That carryout implies a stocks-to-use ration of 12.6%, which, if realized, would be the lowest in 98 years. Futures have gapped higher two days in a row, with December in position to test resistance at $1.20. However, the market is technically overbought and we could see the market turn lower and quickly fill the gaps. Corn The corn crop is in poor condition across many parts of the U.S., and recent rains came too late to improve yields. In the August report, USDA cut its corn yield projection to 175.4 bushels per acre, down from an estimate 177 bushels in the previous report. Total production is pegged at 14.359 billion bushels, down from last month and slightly below the average trade guess. The old-crop carryout was raised to 1.53 billion bushels, up 20 million bushels from the previous report. December futures are in a mostly sideways trading pattern, with resistance in the $6.40 area. Soybeans The late planting season has benefited soybeans, as recent rains have helped boost the yield potential of the crop. USDA has pegged production at 4.53 billion bushels, up 26 million bushels on a higher yield
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estimate of 51.9 bushels per acre. That more than offset a decrease the harvested acres estimate, which was down 300,000 from last month’s report at 87.2 million bushels. Higher beginning stocks and production were partially offset by a 20 million bushel increase in the export projection. Ending stocks for 2022/23 are forecast to be 245 million bushels, up 15 million from the previous estimate. The average on-farm price was lowered five cents from the previous report and is now forecast to be $14.35. Livestock and Poultry USDA raised its red meat and poultry production estimate from last month as lower pork and turkey production estimates were offset by higher beef and broiler forecasts. Higher expected slaughter rates for the second half of the year led to an increase in the beef production estimate. The cash price estimate for steers in 2022 was raised to $142.10/ cwt. The average cash price estimate for barrows and gilts was raised to $73.80/cwt, while the estimates for broilers was lowered to $1.46/lb. Dairy The milk production forecasts for both 2022 and 2023 were raised from last month on both a larger cow inventory and higher milk-per-cow forecasts. Forecasts for 2022 butter prices were raised from last month on current price strength, but the 2022 cheese price was lowered on larger supplies and continued large stocks. The Class III price was lowered on both lower cheese and whey prices, and the Class IV price was lowered as the higher butter price was offset by the lower nonfat dry milk price. The all milk price for 2022 was lowered to $25.20/cwt.
EDITOR Ashley Wallace ashley.wallace@arfb.com