Industry Ag News 2/21

Carrie Muehling

  • Sunny skies, large crowds and optimistic attendees defined the 53rd edition of World Ag Expo. The world’s largest annual outdoor agricultural exposition came to a close on Thursday, February 13 and boasted 1,442 exhibitors on 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space. The three-day show hosted 106,357 attendees representing 46 states, the District of Columbia and 56 countries.
  • Creative Art Director Heather McKendree and Account Coordinator Marisa Miller are the newest BLNKPGers to join the Blank Page Marketing team in Indianapolis.
  • National Farmers Union hosted 75 students in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last weekend for its annual College Conference on Cooperatives. The three-day conference provides an interactive learning experience for American agriculture’s next generation on the importance, structure, and operations of various types of cooperative groups.
  • FLM Harvest – a strategic consulting, marketing and communications agency – announced Midwestern BioAg has selected the agency to build awareness and create demand for its new and innovative TerraNu products.
  • The Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska is pleased to welcome Felicia Marcus as a new member of its board of directors. Marcus is an attorney/consultant with 35 years of experience in organizational management, policy development, program implementation, and public engagement at the federal, state, and local levels.
Zimfo Bytes

Farm Credit System Optimistic for 2020

Cindy Zimmerman

2019 may have been a challenging year for many of the farmers and ranchers served by the nationwide Farm Credit System, but the recent trade agreements are generating a lot of optimism for 2020.

“We’ve been here for a hundred years in the good times and the bad and last year was kinda one of the bad times and we’re looking at the good times,” said Pat Shields with Capital Farm Credit of Texas at the recent Cattle Industry Convention in San Antonio. “We think that there’s a better propensity for profits this year with higher feeder prices and fed cattle market as well.”

CIC2020 Interview with Pat Shields, Capital Farm Credit 2:34

Marshall Hansen with Farm Credit Services of America talked about investments the system is making in rural America.

“Ultimately we hope to bring not only investment in job growth but also innovative ideas that in the long run benefit our customers,” said Hansen.

FCS of America serves farmers and ranchers in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. “Looking into 2020 a lot of our customers are more optimistic and so we’re optimistic when they’re optimistic,” Hansen says.

2020 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Photo Album

CIC2020 Interview with Marshall Hansen, Farm Credit Services 3:58

Next week at the Commodity Classic, which is coincidentally back in San Antonio, we will spend some more time with Farm Credit Services of America, and also Farm Credit Mid-America, which serves Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee to learn more about their outlook for 2020.

Audio, Cattle Industry Conference, Commodity Classic, Farm Credit

CIRB Hemp Perspectives

Cindy Zimmerman

One of the most timely sessions at the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau annual meeting last week was Hemp Perspectives, moderated by CIRB Executive VP Michael Torrey.

The session offered a look at the volatile world of the new U.S. hemp industry through the eyes of a processor, a farmer and an insurance provider.

Steve Bevan, president of GenCanna Global, which just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this month, gave the perspective of a major CBD oil processor impacted by the evolving market which is now in an oversupply situation.

Processor Perspective - Steve Bevan, GenCanna Global (25:13)

USDA recently announced the availability of a pilot hemp insurance program through Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors approved the Hemp Actual Production History (APH) Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) that was developed by AgriLogic Consulting’s AgVersity analytical team. Clif Parks of AgriLogic talked about the current market conditions and the challenges of putting together a crop insurance program for hemp.

Insurance Perspective - Clif Parks, AgriLogic (39:53)

The farmer perspective came from Ron Conyea of Conyea Farms in Kentucky who grows hemp as a rotational crop with corn and tobacco.

He talked about the benefits of hemp farming as an alternative to tobacco and the frustration of regulatory uncertainty.

Farmer Perspective - Ron Conyea, Conyea Farms (19:07)

Interview with Ron Conyea, Conyea Farms
Interview with Ron Conyea (5:51)

Audio, Cannabis, CIRB, Crop Insurance, hemp

2020 Economic Outlook

Carrie Muehling

Economist Bob Young told those attending the 2020 Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau Annual Meeting that the general economy is not in a bad place, and he expects some economic growth in the year ahead.

When it comes to the agriculture sector specifically, Young has questions about what will happen with all of the acres that were not planted in 2019. Other potential challenges to agricultural prices include disease pressure in China that could affect demand there. But Young said agriculture is persisting through some difficult times.

“The data doesn’t bear out this notion that we’re a sector clinging on by our fingernails,” said Young. “It’s doing okay.”

One example of that is the fact that agricultural lending is down, which Young views as a positive indicator.

2020 Economic Outlook
Remarks from Bob Young, Agricultural Prospects (39:53)

Interview with Bob Young, Agricultural Prospects
Interview with economist Bob Young (6:47)

2020 Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau Annual Meeting Photo Album

Audio, CIRB, Insurance

Secretary Perdue Announces New Innovation Initiative

Cindy Zimmerman

At the start of USDA’s 2020 Agriculture Outlook Forum on Thursday, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the Agriculture Innovation Agenda, a new initiative to stimulate innovation so American agriculture can achieve the goal of increasing production by 40 percent while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050.

Secretary Perdue outlined the four components of the initiative:
The first component of the Ag Innovation Agenda is to develop a U.S. ag-innovation strategy that aligns and synchronizes public and private sector research. The second component is to align the work of our customer-facing agencies and integrate innovative technologies and practices into USDA programs. The third component is to conduct a review of USDA productivity and conservation data. USDA already closely tracks data on yield, but on the environmental side, there’s some catching up to do. Finally, USDA has set benchmarks to hold us accountable. These targets will help measure progress toward meeting the food, fiber, fuel, feed, and climate demands of the future.

Listen to the secretary’s announcement here:
USDA Outlook 2020 Secretary Perdue 21:33

Audio, Sustainability, USDA

Catching up with NCGA President Kevin Ross

Cindy Zimmerman

It’s not always easy to catch up with Minden, Iowa farmer Kevin Ross who has spent a lot of time in the past few months at the White House as president of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), mostly celebrating new trade agreements beneficial to American farmers.

Most recently, Ross attended a White House ceremony last month commemorating the signing of the phase one deal between the United States and China. “One of the biggest pieces for corn is really the biotech portion of the China deal,” said Ross. Another big piece of the deal would be increased access to the Chinese market for U.S. ethanol.

Speaking of ethanol, NCGA was one of the parties in the lawsuit over Environmental Protection Agency’s small refinery exemption (SRE) program under the Renewable Fuel Standard that was recently decided in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. “Just a fabulous result for us and everybody in the industry,” says Ross. “And moving forward, they’re going to have to adjust the way they’re administering the SRE program.”

Ross discusses these topics and gives a preview of Commodity Classic in this interview from the National Ethanol Conference.
RFANEC Interview with NCGA president Kevin Ross, Iowa 5:43

Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Exports

Ag Groups Form Farmers for a Sustainable Future Coalition

Cindy Zimmerman

More than 20 farm and ranch groups representing millions of U.S. farmers and ranchers are launching Farmers for a Sustainable Future (FSF), a coalition committed to environmental and economic sustainability to serve as a primary resource for lawmakers and policymakers as they consider climate policies.

The coalition will share with elected officials, media and the public U.S. agriculture’s commitment to sustainability and the incredible strides already made to reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint. As policy proposals are developed and considered, the goal is for the coalition and its guiding principles to serve as a foundation to ensure the adoption of meaningful and constructive policies and programs affecting agriculture.

Representatives from five of the FSF founding organizations announced the new coalition in Washington, D.C. yesterday.
• Zippy Duvall, American Farm Bureau Federation
• Ethan Lane, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
• Ben Mosely, USA Rice
• Michael Formica, National Pork Producers Council
• Robbie Minnich, National Cotton Council

Learn more about the new coalition at SustainableFarming.us.
Farmers for a Sustainable Future launch 21:16

AFBF, Ag Groups, Audio, Environment, Sustainability

CIRB Emerging Leaders Class Grows

Carrie Muehling

The Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) named 13 industry professionals to its 2019-2020 Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) class. In its 5th year, this is the largest class to date, with participants selected from CIRB’s membership. The program gives the opportunity for selected professionals to increase their knowledge of advocacy and communications while providing networking experiences with industry leaders.

Most members of the current class attended the 2020 Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau Annual Meeting in Bonita Springs, Florida and we got to interview a few of them. Take a listen to these future crop insurance industry leaders:

Interview with Zach Allsup, Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance (2:03)

Interview with David Stewart, Crop Risk Servies (2:55)

Interview with Neely Phelps, American Farm Bureau Insurance Services (1:54)

Interview with Jaya Hahn, Hudson Crop Insurance Services (1:35)

Interview with Lexi Schroeder, Hudson Crop Insurance Services (2:02)

Interview with Craig Conroy, COUNTRY Financial (1:42)

2020 Crop Insurance & Reinsurance Bureau Annual Meeting Photo Album

Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance

NAMA 2020 Agribusiness Leader of the Year is Scott Druker

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) 2020 Agribusiness Leader of the Year is Scott Druker, General Manager, Arm & Hammer Animal and Food Production. Now in its 20th year, the award will be presented at the 2020 Agri-Marketing Conference, April 15-17, in San Diego, California.

Druker joined the Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition business unit of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. as senior business manager in November 2009. He was promoted to director of animal nutrition in 2012 and to his current position of general manager in 2017.

During these years, Druker led Church & Dwight through multiple acquisitions in the livestock and food safety sector, transforming the company’s focus from a primarily North American dairy feed ingredient business to a global, multi-species and multi-channel livestock production and food safety enterprise. Under his leadership, Arm & Hammer Animal and Food Production has met its business vision of becoming the only food chain partner integrating diverse technologies for animal and food production systems, providing solutions from on-farm through processing to improve the safety and reliability of the world food supply.

Today, Arm & Hammer Animal and Food Production is the industry’s only comprehensive animal nutrition, food production and food safety solutions provider, employing about 130 across the globe—and still growing—compared with 19 employees in North America before 2015.

NAMA

2020 #RFANEC is a Wrap

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) just concluded an annual meeting that will be remembered for many reasons, including an appearance by the 43rd President of the United States, and the celebration of recent significant victories for the ethanol industry as it focuses forward on the future.

RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper says there is a lot of optimism and inspiration coming out of the 25th National Ethanol Conference. “I just continue to be very bullish about the intrinsic value proposition that comes with our product,” said Cooper in a wrap-up interview.

RFANEC Geoff Cooper wrap up interview 6:18

This episode of The Ethanol Report features some of the highlights of the conference, with a particular focus on the recent 10th Circuit Court decision regarding EPA’s Small Refinery Exemption program and what it will mean for the ethanol industry.

Ethanol Report 2-14-20 (26:12)

The Ethanol Report is a podcast about the latest news and information in the ethanol industry that has been sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association since 2008.

Photos, audio and video from the 2020 National Ethanol Conference, including presentations, can be found here:
2020 National Ethanol Conference Virtual Newsroom

Audio, EPA, Ethanol, Podcasts, RFA