In Farm BureauAchievement Award finalists named

The finalists in Arkansas Farm Bureau’s annual Young Farmer & Rancher Achieve-ment Award have been announced. The award honors young farmers and ranchers between the ages of 18-35 for the general excellence of their operations, their hard work and innovation.

The 2015 finalists are:• Jamey and Sara Allen of Prattsville

(Grant County). The Allens have a 1,200-head beef cattle operation in addition to Jamey’s Allen Gate and Panel company. They have two children, 4-year-old Kylee and 3-year-old Kaden;

• Derek and Shannon Haigwood of Newport (Jackson County). The Haig-woods grow corn, cotton, rice and soy-beans on 3,130 acres. They have one child, 2-year-old Judah;

• Jeremy and Tracie Kitchens of Lewis-ville (Lafayette County). The Kitchens have a cattle and farrow-to-finish swine opera-tion. They are also growing 100 acres of soybeans and irrigated corn silage and hay.

The winning couple will receive a $40,000 GM gift card to be used toward the purchase of any new 2016 General Mo-tors vehicle and receives a trip in January to the American Farm Bureau Convention in Orlando, to compete for the national award.

The winner of the state award will be announced at ArFB’s annual convention Dec. 3 at the Marriott Hotel in Little Rock.

The winner of the American Farm

Bureau Achievement Award will have their choice of a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado or 2016 GMC Sierra, courtesy of General Mo-tors. Three national finalists will receive a Farmall 65A, courtesy of Case IH, along with a $2,500 cash prize and $500 in mer-chandise, courtesy of Stihl.

New Ag MagA new beef Ag Mag, developed by the

American Farm Bureau Foundation for

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Gov. Asa Hutchinson was keynote speaker at the Arkansas Rice Expo Aug. 7 in Stuttgart. Arkansas is No. 1 in U.S. rice produc-tion and should be No. 1 in rice exports, too, Hutchinson told hundreds gathered at the Grand Prairie Center. “We have an opportunity to expand the Cuban market,” he said. “While I am very concerned about their suppression of human rights, I also recognize that agricultural products should not be used as a tool for foreign policy.”

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August 14, 2015 • Vol. 18, No. 15

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Dr. Leo Espinoza, a soil scientist with the Coopera-

tive Extension Service, spoke about fertility studies and

irrigation management at the Crop Research Field

Day held Aug. 5 at the Lon Mann Cotton Research

Center in Marianna. Almost 100 farmers attended the

event to learn about current research being by

Extension scientists.

®

Agriculture and funded in part by the Beef Check-

off, is available for purchase in classroom sets of 30 and in free eReader format.

The Ag Mag, a newspaper-style reader, features information about beef produc-tion, nutrition and related careers, and en-courages discussions about the industry in the classroom and at home. The Ag Mag is aligned to national learning standards and is written at a fourth-grade reading level, although the interest level is very broad.

“The Beef Ag Mag was designed not only for classrooms, but also to be used by families and other youth groups as they learn where their food comes from,” said Julie Tesch, executive director of the Foundation.

The Foundation’s Ag Mag series in-cludes apples, bees, corn, dairy, energy, pizza, poultry, soybeans and careers in agriculture. These educational resources, along with the beef Ag Mag, are available at www.agfoundation.org.

New immigration resourcesThe American Farm Bureau Federation

has created a collection of information resources to help users understand Farm Bureau’s position on agricultural labor and immigration reform.

Resources to help Farm Bureau mem-bers advocate for reform also are available. The web page includes information about the economic impacts of farm labor short-

ages and a short Q&A on why immigration reform matters to farmers and ranchers.

The resources can be accessed by visit-ing www.fb.org/issues/immigration/.

In ArkansasDeputy state forester named

The Arkansas Forestry Commission has

named Mark Cutrer as its new deputy state forester.

Most recently, Cutrer served as dis-trict forester for AFC District 3, which encompasses 16 coun-ties in east Arkansas. Following an inter-view process with several candidates, State Forester Joe Fox and a small interview committee invited Cu-trer to take the place of recently retired Deputy State Forester Larry Nance.

“Mark’s broad knowledge of forestry in Arkansas, his varied experience with the Arkansas Forestry Commission and his proven leadership ability will uniquely help us as we fulfill our mission for Arkansans and Arkansas forests. We expect great things from him,” Fox said.

Cutrer has been with the AFC since 1993 and has previously served in posi-tions as county forester, investigator and fire management officer. Before his 22-year career in forestry, Cutrer was a petty of-ficer with the U.S. Coast Guard. He has a bachelor’s degree in forestry/wildlife from Louisiana State University. Cutrer is a resident of Hazen, where he lives with his wife and son.

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toClark County FB Women’s Commit-tee co-chair Karen Kirkpatrick won second place with her “Karen’s Brunch Sausage Casserole” dish at the Arkan-sas Rice Expo Cook-Off in Stuttgart Aug. 7. She received a prize of $150 and an Arkansas-shaped basket of rice. The annual cooking event helps bring recognition to the health ben-efits of rice in American diets.

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Aug. 8 found Benton Co. FB Presi-dent Bob Shofner preparing the county’s petting zoo for the Benton County Fair. County board members, women’s committee members, office staff and insurance staff worked at the fair Aug. 11-15, giving children an opportunity to get up close with farm animals and providing information on the local agriculture industry.

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Joshua Lockhart, 19, of Gravette won this year’s Governor’s Award, the highest honor in Arkansas 4-H. The award was announced July 23 at 4-H’s State O-Rama. From left, Dr. Tony Windham with UA Division of Agriculture; Lockhart; Dr. Anne Sor-tor, associate director of 4-H Youth Development; Phyllis Bell with the governor’s office and state 4-H officer Boyce Cate.

Two members of the Red Hat So-ciety dropped by the Farm Bureau booth at the Arkansas Rice Expo in Stuttgart Aug. 7 to learn more about ArFB’s SavingsPlus Program from Organization and Member Programs assistant Autumn Wood. Arkansas Farm Bureau was a cooperating partner in the Rice Expo, which drew more than 500 attendees from around the state.

Cutrer

AG works to stop metal theftArkansas Attorney General Leslie

Rutledge announced at a July news confer-ence at the State Capitol a new initiative from the Attorney General’s Special Inves-tigations Division to combat the problem of metal theft. Rutledge was joined at the Capitol by Arkansas Farm Bureau Presi-dent Randy Veach and AT&T Arkansas Director of External Affairs Ronald Ded-man.

“For far too long, too many scrapyards have not been following the law and thus, allowing criminals to get away with metal theft,” said Rutledge. “As attorney general, I am launching a coordinated statewide effort to train local law enforcement to target metal theft and instructing agents of the Special Investigations Division at the attorney general’s office to begin con-trolled sales and inspections of scrapyards to ensure non-precious metal is properly registered. These crimes have gone on far too long and are harming Arkansas businesses, farms, schools, homes and churches. Enough is enough, and today, we begin a process of bringing an end to these crimes.”

In August, trained agents will begin controlled sales and inspections of scrap-yards to ensure that non-precious metal is properly registered and scrapyards are in compliance with the law. If there is proof a scrapyard is not following the law, these agents have the authority to issue warnings or citations, which are up to $1,000 for each offense.

Farm-to-School workshopThe Childhood Obesity Prevention

Research Program at Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute will host a USDA Regional Farm-to-School Work-shop in November to educate school per-sonnel, farmers and community partners on the advantages of participating in a Farm-to-School program.

The workshop will take place Nov. 12 at North Arkansas College in Harrison. The workshop will host up to 50 participants, and 10 travel scholarships are available to support participant attendance. The event is sponsored by the USDA Farm-to-School Grant Program, Arkansas Cooperative Extension Office, Arkansas GardenCorps, Arkansas Farmers’ Market Association, Krebs Brothers Restaurant Store and Ber-ries by Bill.

Workshop participants will learn how to menu, procure, market and prepare

local foods in schools; hands-on culinary skills training for school cafeteria staff; business and production planning for farmers; and food safety for farmers and schools.

To register, visit http://growhealthy.uark.edu/workshops.html . For questions, con-tact Jenna Rhodes at 501-364-3360.

ElsewhereUSA Rice-DU project

On Aug. 8, USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited officially kicked off implemen-tation of their Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) joint project, “Sustaining the Future of Rice,” that was announced in January. RCPP is funded through the 2014 Farm Bill and admin-istered by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The USA Rice-DU project matches private and federal fund-ing to help pay for conservation work completed through NRCS’s Environmental

Quality Incentives Program and Conserva-tion Stewardship Program.

USA Rice and DU were awarded $10 million in federal funding, with $6.8 million contributed by nearly 40 partner organizations and businesses.

“Our two organizations have worked very hard over the last year and a half to make sure this project is a success,” said Jeff Durand, a Louisiana rice grower and the USA Rice chairman of the USA Rice-Ducks Unlimited Stewardship Partnership. “It’s important that as many rice farmers sign up and submit applications as possible this year to make sure they get a chance to participate.”

As part of the project implementation, sign-ups are now open for EQIP applica-tions for rice lands in Arkansas and Missis-sippi. Applications are due to local NRCS offices in qualifying counties by Oct. 16 to be ranked and awarded funding.

EditorKeith Suttonkeith.sutton@arfb.com

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As part of their two-week summer education course, these junior and senior high-school M*A*S*H students from Van Buren County were able to learn about the sur-gery center at Ozark Health Medical Center in Clinton. Thirty-four M*A*S*H camps were held in Arkansas this summer, including those at new host facilities in Fordyce, Monticello and Mountain Home.

In the MarketAs of Aug. 12, 2015

USDA report shocks the marketOn Aug. 12, the United States

Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its monthly supply-and-de-mand report. Prior to the report, aver-age expectations were for the USDA to forecast corn yields around 164.5 bushels per acre for a 13.327-billion-bushel crop. For soybeans, they expect-ed a 3.724-billion-bushel crop, with an average yield of 44.7 bushels per acre on 83.271 million acres. These esti-mates were not even close. The report sent shockwaves through the market after the USDA increased national corn and soybean yields 2 bushels and 0.9 bushels per acre, respectively. The increases caught the market off guard given the stress the crop was under early in the season and the stress that could potentially be ahead as harvest time nears.

SorghumSorghum is much like other crops,

with strong production increases in this report. Production increased some 68 million bushels, with yield up almost 10 bushels per acre. After increases in exports and domestic use, stocks are forecast 12 million bushels higher to 39 million bushels. With the increase in supplies and a weakening Chinese economy, sorghum basis will likely to continue eroding in coming weeks.

SoybeansSoybeans were probably one of the

biggest shocks in the Aug. 12 report. Prices reflected this, ending the day down 66 cents. Losses were the result of the USDA increasing production 110 million bushels higher than the most bearish private estimate prior to the report. Yields were 2.2 bushels per acre higher on 230,000 more acres

than most traders expected. This, combined with the ongoing turmoil in China and lower exports forecast, is likely to push prices back below $9 in the near term. Fortunately for soybean producers, this forecast is not likely to stay this high as yields are likely to decline when harvest starts. Arkansas is an excellent example. The USDA is forecasting a record soybean yield of 53 bushels per acres, which is not a yield many would believe given the rough growing season producers faced this year.

CornIn the report, the USDA forecast

corn yields at 168.8 bushels per acre, which would be the second highest yield on record. The agency acknowl-edged somewhat lower yields in the eastern Corn Belt, but a record yield in Iowa went a long way to correct problems in other parts of the country. Arkansas is forecast to see another record yield in 2015, with a state aver-age of 195 bushels per acre. There are a number of reports out today point-ing to the fact that these will likely be the highest production numbers of the season. Today’s forecast is likely to push prices to new contract lows and provide livestock producers an opportunity to price grain. Moreover, as we approach harvest and see actual harvest data, this balance sheet is likely to tighten up.

RiceThe rice forecast in the USDA re-

port was bearish, despite reductions in 2015 production. Overall rice produc-tion was revised to 205 million cwt., down 2 million cwt. this month on smaller yield. Long-grain rice supplies were cut 3.5 million cwt., more than enough to offset the 1.5 million cwt. increase in short- and medium-grain production. Unfortunately, revisions to the 2014-15 estimates led to a 1.5 million cwt. increase in beginning stocks as a 2 million cwt. reduction in short- and medium-grain supplies was offset by a 3.5 million cwt. increase in long-grain supplies. Couple this with

reductions in exports and use, and rice saw a 4 million cwt. increase in U.S. stocks this month compared to the July forecast. Most of the increase came from long-grain rice stocks, which in-creased 3.5 million cwt. to 27.1 million cwt. This represents almost a 15-per-cent increase in ending stocks in one month. While El Niño continues to provide support for prices, we are not seeing demand for U.S. rice increase. In fact, while the USDA reduced U.S. domestic use of rice this month by 1 million cwt., they also increased U.S. imports of long-grain rice by 500,000 cwt.

CottonCotton prices were the one bright

spot in the Aug. 12 USDA report. Sharp declines in U.S. cotton pro-duction this year led to a .1 million bale reduction in stocks to 3.1 mil-lion bales. That’s almost a 25-percent reduction in stocks in just one month. The only negative from this report was the 900,000 bale reduction in demand, which came primarily from an 800,000 bale decline in exports. With contin-ued declines in the petroleum mar-ket, synthetics will continue eroding cotton share of the clothing market and prevent prices from maintaining strong gains longer term. Cotton will need to remain competitive with other fibers. However, with the collapse in the Chinese economy it doesn’t look as though oil will be coming back in the near term.

CONTACT• Matt King 501-228-1297, matt.king@arfb.com.