In Farm BureauVeach to lead SFBLIC

Randy Veach of Manila has been select-ed as president and chairman of the board of Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company. In his eighth year as president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, Veach has served on the SFBLIC board for the past 13 years.

A third-generation farmer, Veach grows cotton, soybeans, corn and wheat on farm-land cleared by his father and grandfather. He farms with his son Brandon.

Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company provides life insurance products in 11 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. It is headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi.

Veach is the first Arkansan to serve as chairman of SFBLIC. Arkansas Farm Bureau was among five founding mem-bers of SFBLIC in 1946. He also serves as a board member of the American Farm Bureau, the nation’s largest farm advocacy

organization.“I am pleased to be able to continue to

help Farm Bureau members,” said Veach. “Providing products and services that im-prove the quality of life for our members is a key tenant of our mission statement. I appreciate the support of the SFBLIC board and will work to maintain their trust

and confidence.”

ArFB promotes Tucker, TeagueThe Arkansas Farm Bureau board of

directors met Feb. 18 and named Chuck Tucker to the new position of senior vice president of organization and adminis-tration, which will report directly to the

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Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach (left) and state board member Tom Jones (right), along with board member teammates Joe Thrash and Caleb Plyler, were among teams that participated in the Ag Olympics during ArFB’s Young Farmers & Ranchers Conference. Held at Embassy Suites in Little Rock, Feb. 27-28, the con-ference drew a record 340 members for a wide variety of fun and informative sessions. See more in the enclosed insert.

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Union Co. FB hosted a Legislative Appre-

ciation Breakfast Feb. 12 in El Dorado to

recognize local rep-resentatives for their

support of agriculture. Rep. Matthew Shep-

herd (standing) spoke to the 30 Farm Bureau

members who attended, as did Sen. Bobby Pierce

and Rep. John Baine. Several county officials

also were recognized for their support of local

farmers and ranchers.

executive vice president. They also named Evan

Teague vice president of commodity and regulatory affairs, succeeding Warren

Carter who was named executive vice president of Arkan-sas Farm Bureau in January.

In addition to these moves, Leslie Ter-rell has been named executive administra-tive assistant, where she will work directly with Carter and other team members.

Tucker has served as Arkansas Farm Bureau’s vice president of Organization and Member Programs since 2005. He has been with Farm Bureau since 1985 and is a graduate of Arkansas State Univer-sity, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in agronomy and a master’s degree in agriculture. In his new, expanded role, he will serve as second in charge of Arkansas Farm Bureau to Carter.

“These moves better position Arkansas Farm Bureau for the future,” said Carter. “Chuck and Evan have years of experience and a deep understanding of the challeng-es Arkansas farmers and ranchers face as they work to provide a safe and abundant food supply for all of us. We believe Chuck and Evan will provide the strong and per-ceptive leadership we need to help guide

our organization for years to come.” ASU recognized Tucker with the

Distinguished Alumni Award in 2001 and the ASU College of Agriculture presented him with a Distinguished Service Award in 2004. The National FFA Organization awarded him the Honorary American FFA degree in 2007. Tucker served five years on the ASU Foundation Board and now serves on the College of Agriculture Advisory Board.

“I am honored and excited to take on this new role. I look forward to working with Warren, Evan and the rest of our leadership team to continue our work on

behalf of Arkansas farmers and ranchers,” Tucker said.

Tucker grew up in Des Arc and now resides in Conway. He and his wife Phyllis have three children and four grandchil-dren.

Teague has been with Arkansas Farm Bureau since 2004. As the organization’s first full-time environ-mental specialist, he has been instrumental in establishing new outreach and research efforts, such as the Illinois River Water-shed Partnership and the Discovery Farms Program, a program to evaluate the envi-ronmental impact of agriculture practices by conducting edge-of-field water quality monitoring on working farms. He is a native of Dumas and a graduate of Walnut Ridge High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering with a civil concen-tration from ASU, and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Arkansas.

Teague is a registered professional engi-neer and a member of professional organi-zations such as the Arkansas Water Works and Water Environmental Federation. He was recently appointed by Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson to the Nutrient Wa-ter Quality Trading Advisory Panel.

Terrell, a native and resident of Sher-wood, has been with Arkansas Farm Bureau since 2002. She is a graduate of

Washington Co. FB board members Kristi Weaver and Curtis Moore (left) judged the University of Arkansas collegiate discussion contest Feb. 16. Also pictured are (left to right) contestants Kylee Sigmon, Justin Hawkins, winner Carlee Buckner and adviser Dr. Jeff Miller. Buck-ner represented UA at the state collegiate discussion meet Feb. 27 in Little Rock.

Nedra Turney (left) and Barbara Sut-ton (right) with Miller Co. FB assisted Carla Haley Hadley, a family and con-sumer sciences agent for the Coopera-tive Extension Service in Miller County, with a cooking program presented to the May Dale Garden Club of Tex-arkana at their February meeting. The trio gave demonstrations on cooking with herbs and spices.

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These students in the Country Clovers 4-H Club have been working with the Garland Co. FB Women’s Committee gathering food donations for the Farmers Feeding Families Program and the Backpack Program. These initiatives aim to as-sist existing food programs to ensure all community members have access to healthy, nutritious food.

State Rep. Ken Bragg (standing) spoke to members of Grant Co. FB at the county’s Legislative Appre-ciation Breakfast Feb. 6 at the county office in Sheridan. Sens. Bruce Maloch, Bobby Pierce and Allan Clark, and Rep. Mike Holcomb, were also in attendance and visited with a group of about 25.

Tucker

Teague

Mount Saint Mary Academy in Little Rock and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from ASU.

Duvall carries FB messageIn “Taking Ag’s Message Beyond the

Fencerows,” American Farm Bureau Feder-ation President Zippy Duvall’s new month-ly column, he provides a snapshot of the ongoing conversation he is eager to have with Farm Bureau members from across the country on the pressing issues facing agriculture. Just as his father encouraged him years ago to step outside his fence-rows to make a difference in the policies affecting his farm, President Duvall invites you to make your voices heard to protect the business of farming for generations to come.

“When I attended my first county Farm Bureau meeting back in 1977, I never imagined that I’d have the privilege to serve as your president one day,” Duvall wrote. “My Farm Bureau journey is truly a testament to how this organization invests in young people and gives farmers and ranchers the tools we need to protect our livelihood. One of the greatest joys of Farm Bureau leadership for me has been getting the chance to give back and pass on what I have learned to the next generation.

“It has certainly been a whirlwind since we all met in Orlando,” Duvall continued, “but there’s no time to waste in keeping up the important work of our great organi-

zation. I’ve enjoyed meeting with many of you over the last few months, and look forward to getting out to visit more of our members across the country to hear directly from you about the issues you are facing on your farms and ranches. I’m eager to bring your stories to Capitol Hill and represent U.S. agriculture there, but I’m not the only one our lawmakers want to hear from.”

In ArkansasGrazing lands conference

On March 11, at the Arkansas Grazing Lands Conference sponsored by the Ar-kansas Grazing Lands Coalition, farmers, ranchers and landowners who want to have more profitable and resource-rich operations can learn from fellow producers how to graze their cattle more and feed less hay.

The featured speaker will be Jim Ger-rish, owner of American GrazingLands Services in Idaho. His experience includes more than 22 years of beef-forage systems research and outreach while on the faculty of the University of Missouri (UM). UM’s Forage Systems Research Center rose to national prominence as a result of his re-search leadership. Also scheduled to speak is Wesley Tucker, an agriculture business specialist for the University of Missouri Extension. He specializes in financial man-agement, forage/beef production, rota-tional grazing, budgeting, fence law, farm

leases, livestock marketing and passing the farm to the next generation.

The conference will be held 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Arkansas Tech University campus in Ozark. The $35 admission fee includes lunch and materials. To register, email debbie.morelandpr@gmail.com or phone 501-682-2915. For more informa-tion, visit www.argrazinglandscoalition.org.

ElsewhereChilders to lead poultry group

Marvin Childers, president of The Poul-try Federation, has been elected to lead the State Poultry Executives Association. He was selected to serve as president at the group’s recent annual meeting in Atlanta.

The State Poultry Executives Associa-tion is comprised of poultry leaders from 26 poultry- and egg-producing states across the country. This Little Rock-based trade association represents the poultry and egg industry in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

Childers, a former Arkansas state representative, will serve a two-year term as president of SPEA. He served as vice president in 2014 and 2015.

“I am honored to be selected as the as-sociation’s president, and I look forward to working with my colleagues who are dedi-cated individuals working hard to promote and protect the poultry industry, not only in the U.S., but around the world,” he said.

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Jeremy Baltz, (left) co-owner of Ag Headquarters Peanut Buying Point in Pocahontas, examines peanuts from the 2015 harvest. With Baltz are Luke Snyder, buying point manager, and Gordon and Kathy Drennan. Gordon Drennan is head of procurement for Golden Peanut. Baltz expects Arkansas’ peanut acreage to increase slightly to near 20,000 acres in 2016.

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EditorKeith Suttonkeith.sutton@arfb.com

On Feb. 24, 30 ArFB leaders were in Washington, D.C., lobbying members of the Arkansas Congressional delegation on important ag issues, including foreign trade, regulatory reform and biotechnology. Thanks go out to Sens. Tom Cotton(above)and John Boozman, and Reps. Rick Crawford, Steve Womack, French Hill and Bruce Westerman, for their support of Arkansas farmers and ranchers.

In the MarketAs of February 29, 2016

2016 SUPPLY AND DEMANDAt the U.S. Department of Agricul-

ture’s Outlook Conference last week, the agency released its preliminary forecast for the 2016-17 crop year. The outlook remains bearish as the USDA is still forecasting low prices for next year: $3.45 for corn, $8.50 for soybeans, $11.30 for long-grain rice and $0.58 for cotton. It is important to note this outlook is based on model-ing, and the first actual survey-based forecast will not be released until the Perspective Plantings Report in late March.

Soybean outlookThe USDA is forecasting soybean

acreage will be down slightly from last year’s levels due to sharp declines in profitability. Forecast declines in both acreage and yields lead to a 120-mil-lion-bushel reduction in production for 2016, at 3.81 billion bushels. Domestic demand is expected to see marginal growth, with the bulk of the demand growth occurring in the export forecast. This was the most surprising number. Despite the strong dollar and increased competition in the global marketplace, exports are still forecast to rebound in 2016-17 to the second-highest level on record, 1.825 billion bushels. Nevertheless, this increase in exports allowed the USDA to reduce carryover in 2016-17 by 10 million bushels to 440 million bushels. One thing to keep in mind as you plant this crop: this year’s export forecast is likely to be reduced as we move through the marketing year, and if exports do not rebound in 2016-17, stock could potentially surpass 600 million bushels. This would put sig-nificant pressure on prices and likely push prices back to $8 or below.

Rice outlookThe USDA is forecasting larger

acreage and production for rice in 2016-17. Overall, rice acreage is fore-cast at 2.8 million acres planted with 2.77 million acres harvested. Total production is forecast at 211.5 million cwt. On the demand side, domestic demand and exports are both forecast to recover as total use is forecast at 14 million cwt (6.2 percent) above 2015-16 levels. With demand expected to increase more than production, rice stocks are reduced 1 million cwt to 40.9 million cwt, and the average price is unchanged from 2015-16.

As for long-grain rice, production is forecast to increase 22 million cwt to 155 million cwt in 2016-17, but total supply is only up 18.9 million cwt from last year, due to a reduction in beginning stocks. The increase in production will be mostly offset by a 12 million cwt (13.6 percent) increase in domestic consumption, and a 5 million cwt (7.2 percent) increase in exports. The sharp increases in demand will lead to an increase of 1.9 million cwt in ending stocks to 24.9 million cwt. Overall, the USDA is forecasting a strong growth in both production and demand in 2016. If the market fails to show the robust de-mand growth, current forecast prices are likely to come under significant pressure.

Corn outlook In their projections for 2016-17, the

USDA managed to keep total stocks beneath the critical 2-billion-bushel level. A 125-million-bushel increase in domestic use to 5.425 billion bushels helped offset some of the increase in production. The USDA came in above trade estimates as they are currently forecasting a 2-million-acre increase in planted area and a 1.6-million-acre increase in harvested area. The larg-er area and 168-bushels-per-acre yield led to a 224-million-bushel increase in production to 13.825 billion bushels. Corn viewed this

forecast as bearish. Given the current weakness in exports, one can assume the U.S. will easily exceed the 2-bil-lion-bushel stock level. Barring some type of adverse weather event across the Midwest, the corn market ap-pears destined to have the second-or third-highest production in history. Given the difficulty the U.S. has seen in the export market this year, and the current weakness in oil prices, corn’s demand issues could spill over into 2016-17, adding further pressure to corn prices.

Beef rebound continuesBoxed beef prices mounted an

impressive rally last week, with gains as high as $2.58 for Choice cuts and $1.42 for Select values adding to weekly gains. Choice cuts were up more than $3.50 for the week, while Select values were up more than $7 from week-ago levels. This paired with tighter showlist numbers has most expecting higher cash trade this week.

China to cut state corn priceChina plans to announce its 2016-

17 state corn price after next week’s National People’s Congress meeting but before the planting season that typically begins in April, according to Chen Xiwen, deputy director with the country’s top rural policy-making branch. The price is expected to be low enough to reduce its imports of corn. Some believe China may cut the state corn price from 2,000 yuan ($305.28) per MT in 2015-16 to 1,400 yuan ($213.69) per MT.

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

Above: ArFB’s YF&R members and Collegiate Farm Bureau chapters packed more than 10,000 meals for hungry Arkansans with the assistance from The Pack Shack, a Rogers-based nonprofit supplying food and opportunities for neighbors in need. Above right: Alan Hughes with the Mitchell Law Firm gave a talk about the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule and its effect on practices like spraying. Right: On Saturday night, the big bouncy houses set up in the hotel provided fun galore for the kids.

Lindsey Triplett of Damascus, a junior at Arkansas Tech, won the state collegiate discussion meet held Saturday night at the conference. She will represent Arkansas in the national competition in Feb. 2017.

Right: Huck Plyler (left), son of Caleb

and Brianna Plyler, received a

trophy from YF&R Chair Trent Dabbs

for winning the tractor race.

Bottom right: Jimmy Curtis with

Cattlemax gave a workshop on us-ing the company’s

herd manage-ment software.

Above: ArFB President Randy Veach spoke at Saturday’s lun-cheon, telling conference attendees that their work as Farm Bureau leaders is important to the future of the organization.

2016 YF&R CONFERENCE

More than 340 members from throughout the state attended Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers & Collegiate Conference Feb. 27-28 at the

Embassy Suites Hotel in Little Rock. Attendees participated in workshops on biosecurity, farm practices, animal nutrition, social media, ag education and more, and heard inspirational speeches by ArFB President Randy Veach and guest speakers. There were farm business sessions and a wide variety of fun children’s activities.

• photos by KEITH SUTTON •

Farm Bureau Press Insert — Vol. 19, No. 5

Left: Chase Groves on the state YF&R committee was the new emcee for the Farm Bureau Olym-pics Above: Mollie Dykes (left) with ArFB, UA professor Jeff Miller (center) and Art Singleton with Riceland Foods led a panel discussion about internships and job field experience.

Right: ArFB’s Ross Dunn gave attend-ees an overview of the Patriot Mentor

Project.Far right: Dr. Robert Wells with the Noble

Foundation in Ard-more, Okla., present-

ed a seminar on the foundation’s Beef

Integrity Program.

Above: Soil scientist Trent Roberts updated guests on cover crops research being conducted by the Cooperative Extension Service.

2 0 1 6 Y F & R C O N F E R E N C E

Above: Dr. Pierre Boumtje, pro-fessor of agriculture economics at Southern Arkansas University, took a test ride in one of the Olympics wheelbarrows.Left: The tractor races provided fast-paced fun and excitement for girls and boys alike.

Farm Bureau Press Insert — Vol. 19, No. 5