Cotton Council Annual Meeting News

Cindy Zimmerman

News from the National Cotton Council 2020 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.

NCC Survey Suggests U.S. Producers to Plant 13.0 Million Acres of Cotton in 2020 – U.S. cotton producers intend to plant 13.0 million cotton acres this spring, down 5.5 percent from 2019 (based on USDA’s February 2020 estimate), according to the National Cotton Council’s 39th Annual Early Season Planting Intentions Survey. Upland cotton intentions are 12.8 million acres, down 5.6 percent from 2019, while extra-long staple (ELS) intentions of 224,000 acres represent a 2.7 percent decline.

Kent Fountain to Lead NCC in 2020 – Kent Fountain, a Surrency, Ga., ginner, was elected National Cotton Council (NCC) chairman for 2020. Ted Schneider, a Lake Providence, La., producer, was elected as NCC vice chairman.

Summary of NCC 2020 Cotton Economic Outlook – The NCC prepared a summary of its 2020 Cotton Economic Outlook that was presented at the NCC’s 2020 Annual Meeting on February 15.

Cotton Achievement Award Honors Earl Sears – The late Earl Sears, a former NCC executive vice president whose core belief was that “devotion to service is fundamental to success” received the 18th Oscar Johnston Lifetime Achievement Award.

Cotton Service Award Honors Bill May – Bill May, former president of the Memphis-based American Cotton Shippers Association, received the 2019 Harry S. Baker Distinguished Service Award.

Cotton

CIRB Still Growing Together After 56 Years

Cindy Zimmerman

The 56th annual Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) ended on a high note Friday after an informative two days of presentations on important industry topics such as the farm economy, trade, climate change, and hemp.

The theme of the meeting this year was “Together we Grow” and CIRB Executive Vice President Mike Torrey says one area where the organization is really growing is the Emerging Leaders Program. “We in our fifth year, it’s a huge class, just really impressive men and women from the industry who want to be active,” said Torrey.

Listen to Torrey’s wrap up interview here:
Interview with Mike Torrey, CIRB (5:16)

All photos and audio from the CIRB Annual Meeting, including presentations, can be found here:
2020 Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau Annual Meeting Virtual Newsroom

Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance

ARC Webinar on Virtual Newsrooms

Cindy Zimmerman

The Ag Relations Council (ARC) webinar this Thursday is all about Virtual Newsrooms For Companies and Organizations with ZimmComm president Chuck Zimmerman.

In the webinar, Chuck will answer these important questions – and more!
What is a virtual newsroom?
How can it be used in marketing, communications, and PR?
What are the resources needed to run a virtual newsroom?

In 2005, ZimmComm pioneered the use of digital media to allow reporters to access multi-media content, such as photos and audio, to enhance their coverage of a news story or event. The content is aggregated and archived on AgNewsWire with a dedicated URL. This has become increasingly important as social media has provided the ability to “virtually” cover an event.

The added value of multi-media content for traditional and social media can be as simple as adding an audio file and a photo to a news release, or including additional multi-media on a content page, posting links on your own website, or using a service like AgNewsWire with on site content producers.

The webinar is this Thursday, February 20, 2020 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM (EST).

ARC, Media, Public Relations

Bayer and BASF Intend to Appeal Dicamba Decision

Cindy Zimmerman

Both Bayer and BASF intend to appeal a court decision in Missouri resulting in a total of $265 million in damages awarded to a Missouri peach farm over alleged dicamba drift.

A federal jury in Cape Girardeau awarded plaintiff Bader Farms $15 in compensatory damages and $250 in punitive damages on its claims of design defect, failure to warn, negligent design and marketing, and conspiracy against Bayer and BASF.

Bayer issued a statement standing behind the Roundup Ready® Xtend® Crop System and Xtendimax® herbicide with VaporGrip® technology saying they “do not pose any unreasonable risk of off-target movement when used according to label directions.”

Bayer clearly disagrees with the jury’s verdict and is very disappointed with this result. We will swiftly appeal the decision. While we have great empathy for any farmer who suffers from crop losses, in the case of Mr. Bader there was no competent evidence presented which showed that Monsanto’s products were present on his farm and were responsible for his losses.

The statement from BASF, which was posted on the @BASFAgProducts Twitter, said they would be looking at their “post trial options.”

The evidence revealed that we formulated our dicamba product to significantly reduce off-target movement and conducted extensive testing before receiving EPA approval to market Engenia herbicide in 2017.

Agribusiness, BASF, Bayer

CattleFax Provides Industry Outlook

Carrie Muehling

Most segments of the beef industry should be profitable in 2020, according to CattleFax.

“We’ve got plenty of supply to deal with, not only in beef, but also in pork and poultry supplies will be larger,” said Kevin Good, CattleFax Vice President of Industry Relations and Analysis. “Thankfully, demand is very strong domestically. We see that in beef in particular.”

Good said the industry is also seeing better exports developing for all three proteins, and the balance of trade has been very beneficial. He suggests prices will average higher this year. Good presented at the 2020 Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Trade Show.

CattleFax Vice President of Industry Relations and Analysis Kevin Good
CIC2020 Interview with Kevin Good, CattleFax 2:45

CIC2020 CattleFax Outlook 1:35:00

2020 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Photo Album

AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

Crop Insurance Update from USDA RMA at CIRB

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) Administrator Martin Barbre gave an update to Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) members during their annual meeting last week.

One of the big topics of discussion was the recently announced availability of two programs that protect hemp producers’ crops from natural disasters. “We’re trying to get to a level where we can insure producers’ costs and keep them coming back for next year,” said Barbre. “We don’t have a lot of data to build this thing on. As we go forward and have more data we’ll be able to refine it and make it more appropriate for each area of the country.”

Interview with Martin Barbre, Administrator, USDA Risk Management Agency
Interview with Martin Barbre, RMA (4:57)

Photos

2020 CIRB Annual Meeting Photo Album

Audio, Cannabis, CIRB, Crop Insurance, USDA

Animal Ag News 2/17

Carrie Muehling

  • The National Pork Board has opened the application period for a new series of swine research fellowships to provide a pipeline of highly skilled employees for the pork industry. The application deadline is February 25.
  • U.S. pork exports finished 2019 on a high note, setting new records for both value and volume, according to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation. For the year, 5.89 billion pounds of U.S. pork and pork variety meats valued at $6.952 billion were exported to countries around the world, up 10 percent and nine percent respectively from 2018.
  • New Holland Agriculture announced the launch of the BigBaler™ 340 High Density, now the most efficient large square baler in its segment. Attendees of World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, this week will be among the first in North America to see the new baler.
  • The Joint Poultry Industry Safety Award Program is currently accepting applications from poultry industry facilities with outstanding safety programs. Application forms can be obtained on the www.uspoultry.org website. The application deadline is April 10.
  • The 2020 World Pork Expo is back at the Iowa State Fairgrounds for its 32nd year. The expo will take place on June 3-5, providing pork professionals with three full days of education, innovation, and networking.
  • Case IH is adding a premium tractor in a compact design to its livestock portfolio with the new Vestrum™ series tractor.
  • Fifty high school students from across the country will arrive in Kansas City, Mo., and explore careers in the animal systems industry during the NextGen conference, offered by the National FFA Organization.
  • Learn how to condition calmness in both humans and animals. On Thursday, April 9, Don Höglund will lead a general session and an optional hands-on post-conference session at the 2020 Dairy Calf & Heifer Association Annual Conference about how animals respond to different handling techniques.
  • The Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative today launched a new podcast — “Dairy Stream” — that opens a door to dairy’s many dimensions. The podcast topics will range from emerging technology and customer trends to government policy and innovation in conservation.
  • Guillermo Tellez, a senior at the University of Arkansas, was named the Frank Perdue Scholarship Student of the Year during the USPOULTRY Foundation College Student Career Program, held in conjunction with the 2020 International Production & Processing Expo.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

Fake Meat Key Issue for NCBA in 2020

Carrie Muehling

At the Cattle Industry Convention, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) released survey results that show widespread consumer confusion about plant-based fake meat products.

Nearly two-thirds of the 1,800 survey respondents believed the fake meat products produced by Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and LightLife contained real beef or some form of animal byproduct. Those surveyed also showed misconceptions about key nutritional comparisons between beef and plant-based fake meat, as well as the level of processing required to produce plant-based meat.

The survey highlights the importance for both consumer education and regulation. NCBA Executive Director of Government Affairs Danielle Beck discusses fake meat policy priorities in 2020.CIC2020 Interview with Danielle Beck, NCBA Government Affairs 5:35

2020 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show Photo Album

AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

CIRB Honors Sen. Roberts for Crop Insurance Support

Cindy Zimmerman

The “Father of the Modern Crop Insurance Program” was honored today for his lifetime of service to farmers and the industry by the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB).

CIRB Chairman, Zane Vaughn of ARMtech, presented Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) with the crop insurance industry’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Chairman Roberts is the only Member of Congress to serve as Chairman of both House and Senate Agriculture Committees and most recently worked to pass the 2018 Farm Bill with the largest vote count in history.

“I’m honored to receive the crop insurance industry’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and I would be remiss if I did not dedicate it to the hard-working men and women who have always been there to remind me of the importance of the farmer’s risk management toolkit. Thank you for all you do—and will continue to do—for farmers, ranchers, growers, and rural communities,” said Roberts. “No matter where I travel across the country, the number one refrain I hear is, ‘protect crop insurance.’ That’s why I have made it a priority during my time in Congress, and I’m pleased that together we have fended off multiple attempts to cut and harm the program.”

Sen. Roberts says he has more than 50 such awards, but this is one of the most meaningful for him.

Listen to his remarks and an interview with Sen. Roberts here:
Sen. Pat Roberts remarks at CIRB Annual Meeting (27:00)

Interview with Sen. Pat Roberts at CIRB Annual Meeting (8:32)

Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance, Crop Protection

Two Receive W.D. Farr Scholarships

Carrie Muehling

During the 2020 Cattle Industry Convention last week, the National Cattlemen’s Foundation awarded $15,000 W.D. Farr Scholarships to graduate students Paige Stanley, University of California-Berkeley, and Jessica Sperber, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Linda Davis, chair of the W.D. Farr Scholarship Committee, congratulates scholarship winner Paige Stanley.

Stanley has extensive education in animal science. At Georgia College and State University she designed, conducted and published research on E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef, earning her Bachelor’s of Biology and Economics summa cum laude. She then joined the Animal Science Department at Michigan State University to earn a master’s degree, earning the Outstanding Master’s Student of the Year award for her research on the environmental impacts of beef production.

As a Ph.D. candidate at UC-Berkeley, Stanley designed a research project that combined methods from animal science and environmental science to publish the first life cycle analysis that included soil carbon sequestration as a potential greenhouse gas mitigation strategy for different cattle production systems. Her resulting article in Agricultural Systems in May 2018 was the journal’s most downloaded article with more than 44,000 views in one year and garnered significant media attention from outlets such as The New York Times, NPR and many others. Stanley’s research has shown that well-managed grazing systems can reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions from cattle production. She plans to pursue a career as a research scientist at USDA or other research institution.

Linda Davis, chair of the W.D. Farr Scholarship Committee, stands on stage with scholarship winner Jessica Sperber.

Sperber was raised on a commercial cow-calf and grain operation in Alberta, Canada, and has had an interest in the beef industry her entire life. She earned her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, and her Master’s Degree in animal science from West Texas A&M University, where she gained a better understanding of beef harvest procedures and marketing techniques. She has participated in the poster competition at the Reciprocal Meats Conference, American Society of Animal Science annual meeting and the Plains Nutrition Council conference and spent three summers as a student intern with a cattle and crop insurance company, ensuring farmers and ranchers were protected in times of environmental uncertainty.

Sperber has presented at more than 30 industry meetings and agricultural gatherings related to her research at WTAMU. Her Ph.D. work gives her the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in cattle feeding and nutrition, while allowing her to expand on her interests in international trade and gain a greater understanding of beef production on a global scale. Her future goals involve academia and extension. Sperber says the W.D. Farr Scholarship will allow her to devote necessary time to complete ongoing research projects.

2020 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Photo Album

AgWired Animal, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA