In Farm Bureau Award nominations sought The Stanley E. Reed Leadership Award honors a Farm Bureau board member between the ages of 36-45 for outstanding leadership within their county Farm Bureau and their community. Arkansas Farm Bureau is encouraging county Farm Bureaus to identify and nominate young leaders who qualify for this prestigious recognition. The fourth recipient of the award will be named during a general session at the 80th annual convention of Arkansas Farm Bureau in Hot Springs. Previous recipients — Jeff Rutledge of Newport, Jeremy Gilliam of Judsonia and Dow Brantley of England — have been shining examples of bright, energetic leadership within Farm Bureau. Nominees must be actively serving as county Farm Bureau members and must be nominated by their county Farm Bureau. Nominations of 300 words or less must be postmarked no later than Nov. 18. Forms are available on the Farm Bureau intranet, under Organization and Member Programs-Board Forms.
In a ceremony at the state capitol Sept. 19, Gov. Mike Beebe signed a resolution declaring September to be Rice Month in Arkansas. Attending were (l to r) Bill Reed, Riceland Foods; Art Singleton, Riceland Foods; Nathan Cook, Windmill Rice; Joe Christian, Arkansas Farm Bureau; Jeff Rutledge, Arkansas Rice Council; Madison Coleman, Miss Arkansas Rice; Gov. Beebe; Steve Orlicek, Arkansas Rice Council; Cal McCastlain, Arkansas Rice Depot; and Tony Richmond, Producers Rice Mill.
New My American Farm app The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has released a new version of its popular My American Farm app for iPads, Android tablets and Kindle Fire. The app is available for download on iTunes, Google Play and Amazon. The new version of the app, My American Farm 2.0, contains six My American Farm
Ally Mrachek (left), Fayetteville School System nutrition supervisor, talks with Renee Threlfall, a research scientist in UA’s Institute of Food Science & Engineering, Sept. 9 in the Arkansas Food Innovation Center. The school system uses AFIC to process locally grown produce, like the tomato sauce being made here, for use in school meals as part of its “Seed to Student” program.
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games, including the newly added Power Up game. This game allows young learners to dive into the world of energy and agriculture and embark on problem-solving missions for the virtual community of Energyville. It also builds on the math-focused game, In My Barn, with a pre-K level to draw in new users. New badges also will be incorporated into the latest version of the app for everything from completing a game to engaging
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A Publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation
Oct. 3, 2014 • Vol. 17, No. 19
State Sen. Bruce Maloch of Emerson, a Columbia Co. FB board member, used his talent as an auctioneer to support youths at the Junior Livestock Auction Sept. 18 at the Columbia County Fair in Magnolia. Maloch is shown here auctioning the Reserve Grand Champion Commercial Heifer shown by Patrick Daniel, son of Columbia Co. FB members Chad and Jamie Daniel. citizens and in any community where a disaster strikes. Cache River forum The Cooperative Extension Service’s Public Policy Center is hosting a Cache River watershed forum where participants will have the opportunity to discuss water quality issues and will be asked to identify local priorities for reducing non-point source pol-
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64 tons of rice donated On Sept. 19, the Arkansas rice industry donated more than 128,000 pounds of rice to the Arkansas Rice Depot to help feed hungry Arkansans. Participating rice processors were Riceland Foods, Windmill Rice, Cormier Rice Milling, Producers Rice Mill, Riviana Foods and Specialty Rice. “The Arkansas rice industry is pleased to partner with the Arkansas Rice Depot to fight hunger in Arkansas,” said Steve Orlicek, president of the Arkansas Rice Council. “We are proud that today’s donation will provide 1.9 million servings of healthy and nutritious rice to hungry families across Arkansas.” Arkansas Rice Depot is the only statewide, faith-based food bank in Arkansas and one of only a handful of food banks in the nation that do not charge a fee for the food provided. In 2013, Arkansas Rice Depot distributed approximately 9 million pounds of food and supplies, working with 300 food pantries and soup kitchens, more than 600 public schools, 70 central Arkansas senior
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In Arkansas
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in virtual tasks like meeting a farmer or planting seeds. To take advantage of the free My American Farm resources, games and activities, visit www.myamericanfarm.org.
On Sept. 17, Lisa Taylor (left), a teacher at Springdale’s Willis Shaw Elementary School, received a $250 Garden Grant check from Washington Co. FB Women’s Committee member LaJoyce Duncan. The money will be used to build worm bins in the school’s outdoor learning area so the children can be taught how earthworms are beneficial in building soil quality.
Andrew Gill, son of Andy and Shannon Gill of Desha County, harvests beans near McGehee Sept. 10. The Gills are the 2013 Arkansas Farm Family of the Year. They grew 1,300 acres of corn and 1,900 acres of soybeans this year. They will represent the state in the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year competition in Moultrie, Ga. Oct. 13-14.
Boone Co. FB policy development chairman Clyde Fenton (third from left) visited with the county’s policy development committee Sept. 11 to discuss concerns of members. The committee’s resolutions on water, the EPA, high school ag programs, beef cattle issues and more will be presented to the full board at the Oct. 7 annual meeting at the Durant Center in Harrison. lution. Counties in the watershed are Clay, Craighead, Cross, Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Monroe, Poinsett, Prairie, St. Francis and Woodruff. The forum is scheduled for 5 p.m., Oct. 23, on the Arkansas State University–Newport campus. The meeting will take place in the Center for the Arts, Room 108, at 7648 Victory Blvd. in Newport. For more information, email publicpolicycenter@uaex.edu or call 501-671-2160. Garden of the Year winners The Arkansas Agriculture Department and Farm Credit have announced the winners of the 2014 Arkansas Grown School Garden of the Year Contest. The winners were chosen from Arkansas schools, grades pre-K through 12, that had a school garden open during the 2013-14 school year and provided documentation through photos or video of its uses. Entries were judged by a committee. Farm Credit provided funding for the following award categories: Overall Winning Arkansas Grown School Garden of the Year, Harp Elementary, Springdale; Arkansas Grown Best Nutrition Education Based School Garden, Asbell Elementary, Fayetteville; Arkansas Grown Best Environmental Education-Based School Garden, Magnet Cove High School, Malvern; and Arkansas Grown Best Community Collaboration School Garden, North Little Rock High School, freshman campus.
Cover crops conference There was so much interest in the first Southern Agricultural Cover Crops Conference that organizers decided to do it again. The 2014 Southern Agricultural Cover Crops Conference will be held Oct. 28-29 at the Arkansas State University Convocation Center in Jonesboro. The workshop is a forum for farmers to exchange information, discuss opportunities for collaboration and learn about new and successful practices related to cover crops. The conference begins at 9 a.m., Oct. 28, and is co-sponsored by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts. Sessions include soil management, water management, pest management, economics, cover crop management and no-till. Speakers include NRCS and Agricultural Research Service scientists, farmers, crop consultants and university researchers.
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“We are pleased to partner with Farm Credit to recognize the school garden programs that are crucial for educating students about the benefits of fresh produce,” said Butch Calhoun, Arkansas’ Secretary of Agriculture. “The life skills and nutrition lessons learned from the hands-on experience of school garden programs will serve the students well the rest of their lives. The Arkansas Agriculture Department looks forward to schools across the state participating in next year’s contest.”
Scott Co. FB recently held a Poultry Day aimed at teaching area children facts about chickens. As part of the Sept. 16 event, county Women’s Committee member Belinda Wright of Waldron took some newly hatched chicks to Giddy Up Grow Preschool in Waldron so the young students could enjoy a hands-on lesson about the importance of poultry farming in Scott County.
According to John Lee, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service state agronomist, cover crops enhance soil quality and keep nutrients in the fields. Although cover crops can be effective under conventional tillage, they also improve soil quality and ease the transition to continuous no‐till. Certified crop advisors can earn continuing education units for attending the workshop. For more information, email john. lee@ar.usda.gov or call 501-301-3173.
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Elsewhere
Dr. John Clark, a fruit breeder at the University of Arkansas Fruit Research Station in Clarksville, examined development of muscadine grapes Sept. 11. A muscadine field day and workshop at the station attracted more than 50 commercial and small-scale growers, evidence that interest in growing and marketing the southern specialty is increasing.
Sunbelt Ag Expo Often called North America’s premier farm show, the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia will be held Oct. 14-16 this year. “As always, we extend our welcome and thanks to our returning friends and look forward to the new ones who will join us this year,” said Chip Blalock, executive director of the Sunbelt Expo. “The Sunbelt Expo is an unbelievable showcase of rural living blanketed with agriculture’s newest ideas and technologies. It’s three days of fun, education and dreaming about agriculture’s future as we team together to feed, clothe and house a growing population around the world.”
Each year the Sunbelt Ag Expo has a spotlight state. This year it is Georgia with the theme, “Georgia Agriculture, Always in Season,” which highlights the state’s diversity in agriculture. “They have built us a building for future spotlight states to utilize in the coming years,” Blalock said. This Sunbelt Expo marks the 25th year of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year Award. Top farmers from each of 10 Southeastern states, including Arkansan Andy Gill of McGehee, will be vying for this year’s award. The overall winner will be announced at the annual luncheon on the opening day of the Expo. Also, the Peterson Brothers will perform their musical parodies and tell their entertaining stories about their lives in farming. The Midwestern boys became a social-media viral sensation two years ago and have since taken their family-friendly act all over the country. They will perform each day of the expo at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. And, as always, educational seminars for all major farm commodities and livestock interests will take place throughout the expo grounds all three days. For more information, visit www. sunbeltexpo. com. Editor Keith Sutton
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In the Market As of October 2, 2014 Soybeans with an 8 in front? Soybean prices are currently trading within a few cents of $9, despite getting some very bullish news this week. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated stocks at the end of the last marketing year were just 92 million bushels, which is less than a 10-day supply. In a normal year, this would have pushed prices sharply higher, as this was well below the low end of trade estimates. However, prices were only up a few cents that day and fell lower the next. The outlook for this crop remains very good, and early supplies from the South helped ease some of the supply tightness. The market expects the USDA to add additional supplies in the October report and has some private estimates for beans near $8 this winter. There is a good likelihood this could happen if South America does not have a major adverse weather event. The bad news for producers is that if prices fall this low, they will have a difficult time posting any significant gains as there will be large global supplies of soybeans. The current USDA forecast shows an increase in global soybean stocks in 2014-15 of more than 30 percent from 2013-14 levels. Demand, while strong, is not able to keep up with the large acreage of soybeans being planted around the world. The outlook for this market is for prices to continue to move lower. Producers should strongly consider pricing at least a portion of their 2015 production now as these prices can easily lose a dollar or more per bushel in the coming months.
Corn still has further to fall Corn prices continue to hold above $3, but with prospects of this crop getting bigger, prices are being pushed closer to $3 every week. The trend for this market remains negative, as 2013-14 stock estimates came in above trade estimates. This combined with slowing ethanol production has some concerned as to whether the U.S. can meet the current demand forecast by the USDA. Most will hold this judgment as they wait to see how exports perform this fall and to see if the rising hog numbers help domestic feed use as much as anticipated. The bad news for this market is that if the USDA increases yields in upcoming reports, as they are expected to do this month, most of these increases are likely to move into stocks as there is little room to increase demand further. These large supplies are likely to push corn lower as stocks above 2 billion bushels will be very bearish for prices. The good news for the corn market is that the corn/soybean price ratio remains heavily in favor of corn at 2.57:1. A balanced ratio is somewhere between 2.4 and 2.5:1. To bring the current ratio in line at current prices of $3.68 corn and $9.46 soybeans, December 2015 corn would need to be $3.94 or November 2015 soybeans would need to be $8.83. If this ratio remains strong, we are likely to see soybean acres remain near 80 million acres and corn just over 90 million acres in 2015. While this would keep corn stocks somewhat in check next year, it would likely push soybeans sharply lower as ending stocks would grow again. Cattle prices post records Cattle prices continue to post records on the futures market as lower-priced feed ingredients continue to improve feeder margins. While the market lost some of its steam in early September after a
technical sell-off and a USDA report that showed higher numbers of cattle on feed than the market expected, it quickly regained traction, putting in new contract highs September 30. This market will remain strong as supplies remain tight. We have seen little easing in the tightness of the cattle herd as high prices have prevented some of the herd rebuilding that is necessary. Look for these prices to remain strong, but volatile as we head into 2015. There remains concern about the impact these high prices could have longer term on the beef demand. U.S.-Brazil cotton case closed A U.S.-Brazil agreement to be signed this week will have the U.S. paying Brazilian cotton producers $300 million to settle a lengthy dispute over cotton subsidies. In exchange for the final payment to the Brazil Cotton Institute, Brazil agreed not to take any further trade measures against the U.S. Under the agreement, the WTO cotton case will be formally terminated in the next 21 days. The two nations also have agreed to a memorandum of understanding that includes changes to U.S. export guarantee programs, another area of dispute. Brazil’s foreign ministry said in a statement, “The deal is restricted to cotton and allows Brazil to question aspects of the U.S. Farm Bill at the WTO for other products, if necessary.�
CONTACT Matt King 501-228-1297, matt.king@arfb.com