NOVEMBER 11, 2022 | VOLUME 25 | ISSUE 23
Farm Bureau Press A PEEK INSIDE
TEAGUE, BAILEY DRAW NEW ASSIGNMENTS AT ArFB
Evan Teague has been named Vice President of Environmental Issues at Arkansas Farm Bureau, where he will focus on the intersection of agricultural and environmental issues. He previously served the organization as Vice President of Commodity and Regulatory Affairs. John Bailey will assume responsibilities as Vice President of Commodity and Regulatory Affairs and will have management responsibility for the employees who direct the state’s commodity checkoff programs, Farm Bureau’s economic research, as well as state and federal regulatory analysis.
Teague joined ArFB in 2004 as the organization’s first Environmental Specialist and later became the Director of Environmental & Regulatory Affairs. He spent almost eight years as an engineering consultant before joining ArFB. He holds a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Arkansas, and a bachelor’s degree in engineering with a civil concentration from Arkansas State University.
Arkansas FireSMART App Available for Prescribed Burning, Page 2
Evan Teague
Arkansas Farm Bureau Foundation Night-In and Silent Auction, Page 3
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John Bailey
Teague was appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to the Nutrient Water Quality Trading Advisory Panel, where he chaired the Non-Point Source Subcommittee. An Arkansas registered professional engineer, Teague is also a member of professional and trade organizations such as the Arkansas Water Works
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TEAGUE, BAILEY ASSIGNMENTS Continued from page 1
& Water Environmental Association, Arkansas Environmental Federation, Water Environment Federation, American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Arkansas Society of Professional Engineers. Bailey has deep management experience. He joined Farm Bureau in 2016, and most recently served as Director of Commodity and Regulatory Affairs. Bailey also spent 16 years with the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality, ending his tenure there as senior operations manager and assistant chief, where he managed more than 50 staff members. He also worked four years as a supervisor for Baxter Healthcare in Mountain Home. Bailey holds a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Arkansas. He also holds designations as a Registered Professional Engineer and is on the board of directors for the Illinois River Watershed Partnership. He now serves on the Nutrient Water Quality Trading Advisory Panel.
2022 YF&R DISCUSSION MEET The 2022 YF&R Discussion Meet will be held during the Arkansas Farm Bureau Annual Convention, Nov. 30– Dec. 2 in Hot Springs. First place will receive $7,000 and the three runners up will each receive $500. The deadline to return applications is Nov. 15. The winner will also receive an all-expenses paid trip to the American Farm Bureau Annual Convention. The convention will be held Jan. 6 - 11, 2023 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Additional information, including discussion meet questions and resource materials, is available online. 2
ARKANSAS FIRESMART APP AVAILABLE FOR PRESCRIBED BU The Arkansas Department of Agriculture and the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment have announced the launch of the Arkansas FireSMART mobile application. The app, created with funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, offers row crop producers and forest landowners a simple, easy way to check conditions and report prescribed burns. With the new app, producers can select the area they plan to burn on a map and the application will generate real-time weather data, letting producers know if current conditions align with the state’s Voluntary Smoke
USDA PROVIDES PAYMENTS OF NE $800 MILLION IN ASSISTANCE The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that distressed borrowers with qualifying USDA farm loans have already received nearly $800 million in assistance, as part of the $3.1 billion in assistance for distressed farm loan borrowers provided through Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act. The Act directed USDA to expedite assistance to distressed borrowers of direct or guaranteed loans administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) whose operations face financial risk. The announcement kicks off a process to provide assistance to distressed farm loan borrowers using several complementary approaches, with the goal of keeping them farming, removing obstacles that currently prevent many of these borrowers from returning to farming, and improving the way that USDA approaches borrowing and servicing. Through this assistance, USDA is focused on generating long-term stability and success for distressed borrowers. Work has already started to bring some relief to distressed farmers. As of today, over 13,000 borrowers have already benefited from the resources provided under the Inflation Reduction Act as follows: · Approximately 11,000 delinquent direct and guaranteed borrowers had their accounts brought current. USDA also paid the next scheduled annual installment for these direct loan borrowers giving them peace of mind
A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
URNING Management Guidelines. Under Voluntary Smoke Management Guidelines, producers and landowners report prescribed burns to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Dispatch Center. The FireSMART app also streamlines this process, making the app a one-stop shop for reporting and information. Access the Fire Smart app at arkfiresmart.com. Read more about prescribed fire and its benefits at bit.ly/presburn. Find the Voluntary Smoke Management Guidelines at agriculture.arkansas.gov/arkansas-voluntary-smokemanagement-guidelines.
EARLY in the near term. · Approximately 2,100 borrowers who had their farms foreclosed on and still had remaining debt have had this debt resolved in order to cease debt collections and garnishment relieving that burden that has made getting a fresh start more difficult. In addition to the automatic assistance already provided, USDA has also outlined steps to administer up to an additional $500 million in payments to benefit the following distressed borrowers: · USDA will administer $66 million in separate automatic payments, using COVID-19 pandemic relief funds, to support up to 7,000 direct loan borrowers who used FSA’s disaster-set-aside option during the pandemic to move their scheduled payments to the end of their loans. · USDA is also initiating two case-by-case processes to provide additional assistance to farm loan borrowers. Under the first new process, FSA will review and assist with delinquencies from 1,600 complex cases, including cases in which borrowers are facing bankruptcy or foreclosure. The second new process will add a new option using existing direct loan servicing criteria to intervene more quickly and help an estimated 14,000 financially distressed borrowers who request assistance to avoid even becoming delinquent. More details on each of the categories of assistance, including a downloadable fact sheet, are available on the Inflation Reduction Act webpage on farmers.gov.
ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FOUNDATION NIGHT-IN The Arkansas Farm Bureau Foundation will be hosting our Foundation NightIn event during the Arkansas Farm Bureau 88th Annual Convention. The event will be held Nov. 30 at the Hot Springs Convention Center, Halls C & D, from 6 to 8 p.m. The meal will be catered by Woods Place Catering of Camden, and will include fried catfish, shrimp and chicken along with all of the fixings. The event will also include live music by Kordsmeier Music and a silent auction. This year’s event will have open seating to go along with the casual theme for the event, tickets are $60 each. To reserve tickets, please contact Amanda Williams, Director, ArFB Foundation, at amanda. williams@arfb.com or 501-228-1493 by Nov. 17.
ArFB FOUNDATION SILENT AUCTION The Arkansas Farm Bureau Foundation Silent Auction will be held at the 2022 ArFB State Convention. Greenway Equipment will be the sponsor of the auction and match proceeds from the event. County Farm Bureaus are invited to donate items to the silent auction. Donated items should have a retail value of $25 or greater. Counties wishing to donate larger items may choose to work with other county Farm Bureaus, other groups or agencies. When thinking of items to donate, consider something that is unique to your county, whether it is made locally or from a local store. Items will need to be checked in and ready for bidding in the trade show by 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 30. If your county group will not arrive by this time, or if your county would like help in getting your item to convention in a timely manner, please contact your District Director for assistance. If you need additional information, please contact Amanda Williams at 501-228-1493 or amanda. williams@arfb.com or Lindsey Rucker at 501-2281843 or lindsey.rucker@arfb.com.
A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
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MARKET NEWS as of Nov. 9, 2022 Contact Brandy Carroll 501-228-1268 brandy.carroll@arfb.com Rice Rice futures have rallied in recent days. Futures soared in reaction to Russia backing out of the Black Sea export agreement. While that doesn’t directly affect rice, it does affect wheat and the underdeveloped countries that import wheat. If they can’t get wheat, it’s possible the food security crisis will open markets for rice. Strong weekly export sales of 119,200 metric tons and shipments of 101,000 metric tons were also supportive. The Dominican Republic was the largest buyer. The U.S. harvest is virtually complete, and the market is now waiting on the November production and supply/demand reports, that will be released after this article was written. Now that the crop has been harvested, we will have a better idea of actual field yields. In the October supply/demand report, USDA pegged U.S. long grain exports at 56 million cwt and the all-rice export projection at 75 million cwt. If realized, it would be the would be the lowest U.S. exports since 1991-1992. Technically, most active January found support at $16.28 before putting almost $1.50 back on the market in three day’s time. Bulls now have a target of $18, and beyond that the contract high of $18.13. Cotton Cotton futures have broken through down-trending resistance this month. The market was extremely oversold, and after trading to a new twoyear low of 70.21 cents, December futures gapped higher and have rallied back to test resistance at 90 cents. Additional factors supporting 4
cotton are the dollar falling to a new seven-week low and the potential for China to lift its zero-Covid policy, which could improve demand. Traders are now waiting on the November production and supply/demand reports before pushing ahead, and it has limited gains this week. There are still questions about yields and the overall size of the crop. The crop is now 62% harvested nationwide, although Arkansas farmers are essentially finished thanks to an unusually dry fall. Soybeans The November soybean contract continues to consolidate in a dollar range between support at $13.50 and resistance at $14.50. The trend channel is virtually sideways and the market seems to be up one day and down the next. Open interest is now near eight-year lows due to the directionless nature of the current market. Strong soy oil prices continue to be supportive, as prices have rallied to challenge its June high. Meal prices, however, continue to lag. Forecasts for a smaller-than-expected crop are also supportive. Nationwide, the crop is 94% harvested, and trading has been limited somewhat this week as traders wait for the release of the November supply/demand and production reports in the hopes that it will give the market some direction one way or another. Corn Corn futures have been trading in a very narrow sideways channel for the past few weeks. However, this week futures have fallen below support near $6.70. Additional support is found at $6.60. The crop is 87% harvested at this point, and traders are looking forward to the supply/ demand and production reports to be released later this week. The October report cut projected yield to 171.9 bushels per acre, reducing the production forecast by 49 million bushels. A lot of the uncertainty in the market is coming from the situation
A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
in the Black Sea, which is subject to Putin’s whims regarding shipping in the region. Basis levels overall are holding firmer than expected. It seems farmers are bullish and holding onto their corn for the time being. Dairy Strong exports, especially dry whey exports, continue to support dairy prices. Federal trade data showed September exports were on a record pace for the year, with whey exports to China up 41%. The October monthly cold storage report showed that butter stocks were down 3.9% from the prior month and 17.6% from a year ago, and cheese stocks were up 0.8% from a year ago. Cattle The October rally in cattle futures has run out of steam. The most-active February contract has turned lower and looks technically weak. There doesn’t appear to be much support on the chart until you get near $150$151. Fears of a recession and what that could do to beef demand are a factor in the market, as are weaker beef exports. Longer-term, however, the market will likely find support from continued herd liquidation due in part to the lingering drought in the Plains. 2023 is expected to see sharp declines in market-ready cattle supplies and beef production. Hogs Hog futures appear to have topped for the time being. The February contract has established resistance at $91.80, failing before bulls could make a run at the contract high of $93.30. Cash hog prices are losing ground as seasonally weak pork demand takes its toll on the market. The composite pork cutout value dropped to a 9-month low last week, down 4% from a year ago.
EDITOR Ashley Wallace ashley.wallace@arfb.com