In Farm BureauYoung leaders wanted

Arkansas Farm Bureau is accepting applications for its second President’s Leadership Council. The council is a developmental program for men and women ages 25-45 who stand out from their peers and have a desire to grow and strengthen their leadership skills. 

Those accepted into the program — no more than 20 individuals — will attend three two-day seminars designed to

broaden their knowledge of Farm Bureau and enhance their leadership abilities. The first seminar will take place in late January or early February in Little Rock with all expenses, excluding travel, covered by ArFB. Dates for the other two meetings will be announced later.

Applications, which must be submitted by Oct. 31, are available through your county Farm Bureau office.

Murray new Fla. FB Insurance CEOSteve Murray, state claims manager for

Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company

of Arkansas, Inc., has been named president and chief executive officer of Florida Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company/Florida Farm Bureau General Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Corporation.

Headquartered in Gainesville, the Florida Farm Bureau Group specializes in writing automobile, homeowners, dwelling fire, farm and business lines of insurance for members of the Florida Farm Bureau Federation.

Murray has worked for Arkansas Farm Bureau since 1981, beginning as a claims adjuster. He has served as state claims manager for the past nine years. Additionally, he worked as a senior claims adjuster, fleet administrator/subrogation supervisor, bodily injury specialist, district claims manager and associate state claims manager.

“We wish the best to Steve and his family,” said Randy Veach, president of Arkansas Farm Bureau. “He has done outstanding work for our members. In fact, the responsiveness of the Farm Bureau claims efforts is well known, and

August 16, 2013 • Vol. 16, No. 16A

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On Aug. 10 in Brink-ley, Jenna Martin of Hickory Ridge (Cross Co.) was crowned 2013-14 Miss Arkan-sas Rice by 2012-13 Miss Arkansas Rice, Meredith Williams of Searcy. Martin, who is home schooled, is the daughter of Dennis and Jennifer Martin. Makenzie Bennett of Carlisle (Lonoke Co.) was first runner-up, and second runner-up was Savanna Bisswanger of Ethel (Arkansas Co.).

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On Aug. 1, at the Food Ani-mal Wellbeing symposium at UofA in Fayetteville, Tom Jones (second from right), ArFB’s secretary-treasurer, visited with (from left) Bruce Feinberg of McDonald’s, Dr. Jennifer Walker with Dean Foods and Sebastian Co. FB board member Dr. Lyndon Tate.

a calling card for the organization. This is a feather

in the cap for Arkansas Farm Bureau and indicates the quality of leadership we have in our insurance company.”

PD meetings are importantArkansas Farm Bureau reminds county

Farm Bureau leaders to attend their policy development meetings. 

“These meetings are important as they set the tone for policy decisions by the delegates and eventually for what we lobby for to benefit the state’s farmers and ranchers during legislative sessions,” said Stanley Hill, associate director of governmental affairs.

Leaders and members can contact their county Farm Bureau office to find out when their policy development meeting has been scheduled.

In ArkansasLeaders to serve on ag boards

Gov. Mike Beebe, on Aug 5, appointed 35 Arkansans to serve on state boards and commissions. A number of those bodies are ag-related, and a number of the appointees are ArFB leaders.

Trent Dabbs of Stuttgart, Arkansas Co. FB vice president; Tommy Young of

Tuckerman, Jackson Co. FB secretary; and David Gammill of Tyronza were reappointed to the Arkansas Corn & Grain Sorghum Promotion Board until July 1, 2015.

Herrick Norcross of Tyronza, Poinsett Co. FB board member; Jackie Prince of Biscoe, Prairie Co. FB board member; Blake Swears of Carlisle, Lonoke Co.

FB board member; Steve Tinsley of Swifton, and Barry Walls of Harrisburg were appointed to the Arkansas Wheat Promotion Board until June 30, 2015.

Internet conferenceA conference intended to discuss ways

to improve Internet access in Arkansas by bringing together business, community leaders and private citizens will be held Sept. 25-26 in Little Rock.

Registration for the “Connecting Arkansas Internet Conference,” hosted by Connect Arkansas, is now open. Connect Arkansas is a project of the Arkansas Capital Corporation Group.

Sam Walls III, president of Connect Arkansas, said the conference is intended to serve as a catalyst to enable all Arkansans to be digitally connected. Conference topics include broadband initiatives and Internet innovations in agriculture, government, higher education and broadband availability in Arkansas. The conference costs $25 per person, plus a $2.37 registration fee, and includes meals. The conference will be held at the Little Rock Marriott hotel, formerly the Peabody Little Rock.

More information is available at www.connect-arkansas.org.

New apps for Arkansas growersThe University of Arkansas Division of

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Brandy Carroll, ArFB market analyst, visited with Dr. Clar-ence Watson, UofA’s associate vice president for agriculture research, at ArFB’s Agricultural Agency Appreciation Lun-cheon on Aug. 6 in Little Rock. ArFB hosts the luncheon to thank state employees who work with agriculture.

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Karen Kirkpatrick, co-chairwoman of Clark Co. FB Women’s Com-mittee, recently presented a $250 check to the county 4-H’s Seafood Judging Team, state champions of 4-h’s great American seafood cook-off. Team members are (from left) Sierra Adams, Mason Archer, Alexandria Hunter and (not pictured) Lauren Quillin.

On Aug. 1, Ethan Branscum and Lindsey Emerson, ArFB’s summer interns, spoke before a focus group of Little Rock women. The UofA stu-dents are working on a communica-tions project, “9,000,000 chang-es everything,” which addresses consumer concerns about agriculture and modern methods farmers use to feed a growing population.

Janeé shofner, 19, a member of the Centerton 4-H Club in Benton County, has earned the 2013 Ar-kansas 4-H Governor’s Award, the highest honor accorded to Arkansas 4-H members. Seen here with Gov. Mike Beebe at the Governor’s Man-sion on July 15, Shofner accepted the honor at the State 4-H O-Rama in Fayetteville.

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Agriculture just released two free farmer-friendly apps.

“Corn Advisor,” is a pocket expert for Arkansas’ growing number of corn farmers. Among other things, the app gives recommendations for applying lime and nutrients and helps users identify and treat nutrient deficiency, diseases and pests. It was developed by UofA Extension Engineer Dharmendra Saraswat with help from Jason Kelley, Extension wheat and feed grains agronomist, and Leo Espinoza, Extension soil scientist. 

“Hort Plants,” is a comprehensive photographic plant database, covering more than 260 landscape plants for the Mid-South. It was also developed by Saraswat, with help from Jim Robbins, an Extension horticulturist.

ElsewhereCRP sign-up results

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the U.S. Department of Agriculture will accept 1.7 million acres offered under the 45th Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up. The Department received nearly 28,000 offers on more than 1.9 million acres of land, demonstrating CRP’s continuing appeal as one of our nation’s most successful voluntary programs for soil, water and wildlife conservation. USDA has enrolled nearly 12 million acres in new CRP contracts

since 2009. Currently, there are more than 26.9 million acres enrolled on 700,000 contracts.

Call for immigration reformFarmers and ranchers are counting on

the House to pass responsible immigration reform that addresses agriculture’s significant labor challenges. That’s the message producers from coast to coast will be hitting their lawmakers with during Congress’ August recess.

In June, the Senate passed the Farm Bureau-supported Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 (S. 744), a balanced immigration reform bill that includes a fair and workable farm labor provision.

Now, growers have turned their attention to the House, where, as they did with the Senate, they’ll push for passage of immigration reform legislation that includes an earned adjustment for experienced undocumented agricultural workers and a new, flexible guest worker program.

“Helping members of Congress and the public understand that farmers and ranchers depend on the workers who show up every day to tend our crops and raise livestock has been challenging at times,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman wrote in a recent

op-ed. “However, we press on because we know responsible immigration reform is imperative for the continued success of American agriculture.”

Record pork supplyAccording to the U.S. Department of

Agriculture, U.S. pork farmers are expanding herds after a surge in prices and dip in feed costs, triggering the most pork on record. About 5.9 million sows were withheld for breeding by June 1, the highest amount in four years. Record litters also were achieved, with 10.31 pigs being born per litter. Hog farmers will earn an estimated $15 a head until Sept. 30, and pork output will rise 3.1 percent to a record high next year.

Women’s summitThe second annual Women in

Agribusiness Summit will be held Oct. 22-24 at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis, Minn. The summit provides an interactive platform for women to discuss their unique experiences within the industry and hear from female leaders regarding industry trends and current topics. The conference, hosted by global food and agribusiness consultancy HighQuest Partners, is expected to attract nearly 450 attendees and is brimming with content tailored to this specialized audience. For more information, visit www.womeninag.com

EditorKeith Suttonkeith.sutton@arfb.com

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ArFb President randy veach (second from right) discussed Arkansas eco-nomic trends as part of Talk Business’ weekly television show, which airs on Fox 16, Sunday nights at 10 p.m. Other panelists included Mike Malone (left) of the Northwest Arkansas Council, Elizabeth Bowles, president of Aristotle, Inc. and host Roby Brock (right).

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Guests at the Arkansas rice expo rode in the air-conditioned comfort of tour buses to see rice research demonstrations at the Rice Re-search and Extension Center near Stuttgart. The tours were a high-light of the Aug. 2 event hosted by UofA’s Division of Agriculture.

In the MarketAs of Aug. 14, 2013

What is driving commodity markets?

During the fall of 2012, we saw tight corn supplies dominate the commodity markets, and so, as corn went, so did the other commodities. Fast forward to 2013. Now we are looking at a situation where corn supplies are expected to rebound and end the year with stocks at 1.837 billion bushels, compared to 719 million bushels in 2012. At the same time, soybean supplies remain tight, with only 220 million bushels forecast at the end of 2013-14. While corn prices led the way to higher prices last year, the question for this year is, will corn continue to drag commodity prices lower or will strength in the soybean market be able to support other commodity markets?

The USDA August Supply and Demand Report released on Aug. 12 was highly anticipated by the market as this is the first look at survey estimates for yields. Additionally, the USDA would release the data from its resurveying of soybean acreage following the June Acreage report. While the report had a number of surprises, probably the biggest surprise was the amount of decline in soybean production and a reduction in national average corn yield to 154.4 bushels per acre, both at or below pretrade estimates. After the report was released, soybean prices rocketed higher, while gains in the corn market were much less than one would expect given yields were expected to increase to 157.7 bushels, instead of decline given the favorable weather experienced the last few weeks in the Midwest.

Strength in both markets fizzled quickly, with soybean gains

becoming more modest and corn prices putting in new lows in the days following the report. The corn market, in particular, will likely continue declining in coming weeks as the market searches for a bottom. While the USDA is forecasting yield declines in their report this month, it doesn’t appear the market really believes those numbers and is still looking for a yield closer to 160 bushels per acre. Given that we are already seeing cash prices for corn at just over $4.00, if these expectations for 160 bushels per acre hold, producers will see a corn price with a 3 in front of it as harvest gets underway. If storage is an option, this will likely be a good year to use it for your corn as we are likely to see lows for this market be put in sometime in September or October, depending on when harvest gets into full steam in the Midwest.

As for soybeans, fundamentals are likely to become increasingly bullish for this crop as we move closer to harvest. The lateness of this crop is likely to impact soybeans much more than it appears to have affected corn. Additionally, soybeans face much more chance of frost damage as they will come off later than corn. With the bearish supply situation in corn, wheat and rice, these markets will need soybeans to maintain their strength to help minimize losses in these markets. The major threat to soybean prices at this time is South America. Now is the time when producers in Brazil and Argentina are beginning to make planting decisions for the 2013-14 crop. With the current weakness in corn prices, we are likely to see additional acreage go into soybeans in South America. These additional supplies from South America will alleviate U.S. production shortfalls on the global market, thus adding additional pressure on soybean prices.

In addition to tightening soybean

supplies, the USDA also raised the season average price for soybeans 60 cents to $11.35 per bushel. This compares to only a 10-cent increase in corn to $4.90, a 50-cent reduction in long-grain rice prices to $14.50, and cotton prices unchanged at 80 cents. These prices are very interesting to Arkansas agriculture as producers have the ability to plant any combination of these crops they desire. If these prices hold, that may suggest a much different crop mix in 2014.

If you are a livestock producer, today’s commodity market is offering a good opportunity to forward contract feed ingredients for this winter. Lows for all the major feed ingredients will likely be made during the next two months. While grain producers will likely try to store what they haven’t already priced, you will have a great opportunity to price feed at levels not seen since 2010. While feed prices are forecast to decline, tight cattle supplies are likely to continue to support cattle prices this fall and into the winter. Live cattle prices have continued to climb since the first of August and are poised to try and fill the gap left back in May. To fill this gap, prices need to close at $128. If this objective is met, prices will likely move toward resistance at $130. Live cattle prices maintain strong support at $120.

ContaCt• Brandy Carroll 501-228-1268,

brandy.carroll@arfb.com

• Bruce Tencleve 501-228-1856, bruce.tencleve@arfb.com

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