In Farm Bureau ArFB support for C&H Hog Farms The Arkansas Farm Bureau’s support for C&H Hog Farms lies firmly in the organization’s foundational support for private property rights and right-tofarm laws, as defined by its grass-roots, member-developed policy. “The Arkansas Farm Bureau believes these farmers, and all property owners, should be able to use their land in compliance with the law,” said ArFB President Randy Veach, a cotton and soybean farmer from Manila (Mississippi County). “Our position alongside C&H Hog Farms is in no shape, form or fashion a political statement.” Veach noted that Arkansas Farm Bureau is local, statewide and national in its scope, is non-partisan and does not endorse specific candidates. “Though political candidates may speak out on this issue, we see this as much more significant than a political statement,” Veach said. “This situation affecting C&H
® The 2018-2019 Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee members gathered Jan 27 at the YF&R and Collegiate Conference in Little Rock. Left to right Jamey and Sara Allen, Brandon and Amy Searcy, Dustin Cowell, Terrance Scott, Shay and Mark Morgan, Jason Cranford, Sandy and Adam Cloninger.
cuts across political boundaries, farm size and purpose. This is about doing what is right for Arkansas’ farmers and ranchers.” The organization’s support for C&H has been amplified by the recent decision by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to deny the farm’s operational permit, despite no environmental infractions during the farm’s more than four years of operation. The Pollution Control & Ecology Commission, which has oversight of ADEQ, has issued a stay that allows the farm to operate while the legal appeal is under review. “Farm Bureau’s mission is very clear,” Miller County Farm Bureau office staff and volunteer leaders, including Krystal Groves and her daughter Gentry (center) served a hamburger lunch Feb. 1 to those attending the annual Agri Expo at 4-States Fairgrounds in Texarkana.
KEITH SUTTON photo
www.arfb.com
Veach said. “We are to advocate the interests of agriculture in the public arena; disseminate information concerning the value and importance of agriculture; and provide products and services that improve the quality of life for our members. “Let me be very clear: Farm Bureau supports a clean, healthy, vibrant Buffalo River. Our farmers and ranchers, without exception, are the best caretakers of our water, soil and air, as well as the animals they raise. “And they do this to provide us with the safest, most affordable supply of food, fiber and shelter in the world. It is with
KEN MOORE photo
A Publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation
February 9, 2017 • Vol. 21, No. 3
that belief in mind that the Arkansas Farm Bureau continues to support C&H Hog Farms.”
KEITH SUTTON photo
Rachel Barry, a student at the University of Arkansas, was this year’s Arkansas Farm Bureau Collegiate Discussion Meet winner. Barry competed in the discussion meet at the Young Farmers & Ranchers and Collegiate Farm Bureau Conference Jan. 26-27 against students from across the state. To see more photos of Barry during the discussion meet and other photos from the conference, visit bit.ly/arfbyfr18. As part of the NASDA Winter Policy Conference, state agriculture officials set the following top policy priorities for the coming
KEN MOORE photo
KEN MOORE photo
Arkansas ag leaders in D.C. Agriculture leaders from across the U.S., including Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, andDirector of State-Federal Relations Katie Beck, gathered recently in Washington, D.C. for the White House Conference on Rural Prosperity, held in conjunction with theNational Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Winter Policy Conference. The White House Conference agenda included remarks from Vice President Mike Pence, as well as discussion with federal leadership including U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, and Food and Drug Administration Commission Scott Gottlieb. The conference focused on the Agriculture and Rural Prosperity Task Force, which was chaired by Secretary Perdue. The Task Force was tasked with identifying legislative, regulatory, and policy changes to achieve rural prosperity in seven areas: agriculture, economic development, job growth, infrastructure improvements, technological innovation, energy security, and quality of life.
KEITH SUTTON photo
In Arkansas
Dr. Bob Scott, an Extension weed scientist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, gives a standing room audience of farmers and ranchers an update on dicamba and drift issues associated with its use during the annual Agri Expo at 4-States Fairgrounds in Texarkana Feb. 1.
(Left to right) Lee Hammond and Stacy Janes, agents, Allen Stark, agency manager and Bruce Jackson, county president and state board member, grilled hot dogs Feb. 6 for visiting Farm Bureau members during the Sevier County Farm Bureau Membership Appreciation event in DeQueen.
More than 90 farmers and first responders attended Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Grain Bin Safety Training Jan 31at the Bevis Farm near Lonoke. Instructors from Mississippi Farm Bureau taught the course, which included a one-hour classroom portion and two-hour hands-on rescue simulation (pictured here). To watch a demonstration of the hands-on rescue, visit bit.ly/arfbgrainbindemo. year: passing a unified Farm Bill, successfully modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) – all through the lens of advancing cooperative federalism. The Washington, D.C. conference of more than 250 state, federal, and industry agriculture leaders underscores the importance of effective partnerships between states and the federal government. “Governor Hutchinson continues to be our state’s top advocate for our agriculture industry at the state, national, and international level,” says Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward. “Agriculture is our state’s largest industry and under the Governor’s leadership we look forward to continuing to build upon on our relationships with federal partners in order to provide the best possible services to our industry and our state’s farmers and ranchers.” NASDA represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries, and directors of the departments of agriculture in all fifty states and four U.S. territories.
Elsewhere
KEITH SUTTON photo
AFBF president reacted to WOTUS delay The following may be attributed to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall: “The American Farm Bureau Federation applauds today’s action by the U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to delay implementation of the hopelessly vague 2015 rule that expansively defined ‘waters of the United States.’ That rule would have put a stranglehold on ordinary farming and ranching by treating dry ditches, swales and
Jana Carroll of Moro was at Moody Elementary School in White Hall Feb. 1 with the Seed Survivor Mobile Classroom. Carroll will travel with the trailer to East Arkansas schools teaching elementary students more about the importance of agriculture and where their food comes from. This free program is sponsored by Nutrien, ArFB and Ag in the Classroom.
MADDISON STEWART photo
NASDA grows and enhances agriculture by forging partnerships and creating consensus to achieve sound policy outcomes between state departments of agriculture, the federal government, and stakeholders. The 2018 Winter Policy Conference is one of two annual meetings for NASDA. The Arkansas Agriculture Department is dedicated to the development and implementation of policies and programs for Arkansas agriculture and forestry to keep its farmers and ranchers competitive in national and international markets while ensuring safe food, fiber, and forest products for the citizens of the state and nation. Learn more: www.aad.arkansas.gov.
Arkansas Farm Bureau employees honored Jason Smedley (right center) during a reception Feb. 2 at the Farm Bureau Center in Little Rock. Smedley will soon begin training for a deployment to Jordan with the U.S. Marine Corps. Pictured are Jason’s co-workers (left to right) Zac Bradley, Stanley Hill, Michelle Kitchens, Jason Smedley, Jeff Pitchford and ArFB Executive Vice President Warren Carter. low spots on farm fields just like flowing waters. Without today’s action, countless farmers and ranchers, as well as other landowners and businesses, would risk lawsuits and huge penalties for activities as common and harmless as plowing a field. “Today’s announcement is part of a measured and thoughtful process to provide
regulatory certainty to farmers and ranchers while the agencies continue the important work of withdrawing and rewriting the unlawful 2015 WOTUS rule. America’s farmers value clean water as much as anyone, and they work hard every day to protect it. But they deserve clear rules, too.”
stay at the table to work out the issue sooner rather than later.”
In the Market As of Feb. 7, 2018 Trucker strike raise concerns Truckers in Argentina are in the midst of a strike protesting higher freight rates, slowing grain transport and cutting into stocks, says Andres Alcarez, spokesman for the export company chamber CIARA-CEC. Alcarez said that stored grains from plants or ports to embark or process are nearly depleted, detailing that most companies have just one or two days of grain supplies left. The Rosario port complex saw a 56 percent drop in truck arrivals. To the north, truckers in Paraguay launched a nationwide strike Jan. 29 in response to the government’s decision to allow larger double trailer trucks from Brazil to haul grain to the Port of Concepcion in central Paraguay as they feel the larger trucks will be able to underbid them. The trucking stoppage comes as farmers are in the midst of soybean harvest. Paraguay is expected to produce a 10 MMT bean crop this season. Brazilian corn crop estimate A USDA agricultural attaché in Brazil estimated the country’s 2017-18 corn crop at 92 MMT, 3 MMT under USDA’s official estimate, with the posting saying reduced area for both the first and second corn crops and an expected return to normal yields should draw down crop size by 6 percent from year-ago. Stopgap spending and co-op advantages House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) says it’s “too soon to tell” if stopgap spending measures will address the co-op 199A advantages. The latest continuing resolution to fund the government through March 23 does not contain 199A tax-related language. But staffers and others are working on language that would include changes to a new deduction in the tax code that gives farmers incentives to sell their crops and products to cooperatives rather than other types of companies. Brady said, “It’s really important that co-ops and the private sector
Impact of China’s sorghum probe The U.S. exported about 4.8 million tons of sorghum, worth about $1 billion, to China in 2017, according to Chinese customs data. China’s anti-dumping/anti-subsidy probe into U.S. sorghum exports could curb its imports by 1.5 million to 2 million tons in 2018, Zhang Dalong, an analyst at COFCO Futures Co., told Bloomberg. Besides supporting domestic corn prices, the probe may benefit barley imports from Ukraine and Canada due to a smaller Australian crop, Zhang said. The fear remains that if trade frictions escalate, tariffs could spread to more economically significant sectors like soybeans. Canada’s Prime Minister on NAFTA “Canada is willing to walk away from NAFTA if the U.S. proposes a bad deal. We will not be pushed around,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a town hall event in Nanaimo, British Columbia. “Canceling it would be extremely harmful and disruptive to people in the U.S.... We are going to keep negotiating in good faith, [but] we are not going to take any old deal.” Global food prices hold steady Global food prices held steady between December and January, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ food price index. It averaged 169.5 points during January, which is almost 3 percent under year-ago levels. While firmer prices were registered for cereals and vegetable oils in January, dairy and sugar values were generally weaker and meat quotations remained steady. EPA finalizes WOTUS implementation date The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized a rule to adjust the effective date of the waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule to two years after it is published in the Federal Register. Recent court decisions that lifted a stay on WOTUS accelerated efforts by EPA and the Corps to delay implementation of WOTUS until some time in 2020 via this rule. In the meantime, the agencies will continue their efforts to reconsider the 2015
CONTACT
Matt King 501-228-1297, matt.king@arfb.com
rule and to develop a new definition of what constitutes waters of the U.S.
Distributors sue poultry processors
Sysco Corp. and U.S. Foods Holding Corp., top U.S. food distributors, have joined Winn-Dixie Stores and other poultry buyers in suing the nation’s biggest chicken processors—Tyson Foods Inc., Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Sanderson Farms Inc. and Perdue Farms—for allegedly conspiring to fix prices. In recent years, customers and farmers have made similar accusations regarding pricing, production and compensation. The plaintiffs claim processors limited the supply of chickens by colluding to limit breeder birds. The lawsuit also alleges the data provider Agri Stats was involved in the conspiracy as it distributed information about chicken production that gave processors insight regarding rivals’ supplies.
Follow Us Online arfb.com Facebook: ArkansasFarmBureau Twitter: @arfb Instagram: @arfb1935 Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/arfarmbureau
Editor Maddison Stewart
maddison.stewart@arfb.com