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The Chief Executive Officer of the National Corn Growers Association, Rick Tolman, talked with us at the 2013 Ag Issues Forum, which has become a "just before" tradition ahead of the annual Commodity Classic. Ag Issues is organized and sponsored by Bayer Crop Science to expose agricultural trade media to a variety of cutting edge points of view.


Tolman was a part of the program in Orlando, discussing sustainability in agriculture with Rob Kaplan, Senior Manager of Sustainability for Walmart. Tolman contends that sustainability is often used as an exclusionary filter- often claiming that being sustainable is synonymous with organic, or natural or non GMO. He says nothing is further from the truth.

Besides sustainability- we talked with Tolman after his presentation at the Ag Issues Forum on the failure to finish the 2012 Farm Law in Congress- and how we get the job done in 2013.  One take away from our conversation that you can hear by clicking on the link below- Tolman acknowledged to us that the shallow loss program- which he says works best for the people he represents- will not be the only option in any bill developed by the Senate Ag Committee later this year- and while he did not mention Senator Thad Cochran by name- he alluded to the change in the makeup of the Senate Ag Committee leadership as one of the keys.  He bemoaned the lack of passion last fall shown by farmers- saying Congress did not feel the heat on getting a farm bill done- so it simply not a must pass piece of legislation ahead of the November elections.

Tolman hopes that Commodity Classic here in Orlando can serve as a jumping off place to find fresh "energy" among the grass roots of production agriculture that could translate into pushing Congress to get a five year farm bill done here in 2013. 

To hear our full conversation- and we plow a lot of ground with this farm leader- click here for our leadoff story from Orlando- you'll learn a lot of insights on both areas we cover- sustainability and farm bill progress.

We have also posted the audio of the entire Sustainability Panel discussion between Tolman and Kaplan- click here for that or go to our APP- we have it there in the Audio section.

Over the next couple of days- we will be posting a lot of tweets- this morning from the Ag Issues Forum and then through Friday- Commodity Classic.  Click here for our Twitter feed to follow along- and rmember you can follow us- the handle is Ron_on_RON.

Report Reveals Success of Conservation Compliance in Protecting Soils and Wetlands 

Over the last 25 years, one of the least-publicized farmland conservation efforts has actually been one of the most effective, says a new report by former USDA Deputy Secretary and Co-Chair of AGree Jim Moseley. Conservation Compliance: A 25-Year Legacy of Stewardship explains how conservation compliance, which has historically required farmers to implement conservation measures in return for federally funded farm support, helped save millions of wetland acres while keeping billions of tons of soil on farms. As a result, millions of marginal, erosion-prone lands have remained healthy and productive.

"Few conservation programs can boast the success rate of conservation compliance," said Moseley, who served as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 2001 to 2005. "This program has helped farmers save 295 million tons of soil per year and kept an estimated 1.5 million to 3.3 million acres of vulnerable wetlands from being drained. The results of this compact between farmers and taxpayers have been astounding."

The report urges Congress to reattach conservation compliance to crop insurance premium assistance in the next farm bill reauthorization. 

Click here to read more.

 

Agriculture Committee Adopts Budget Views and Estimates Letter from Lucas and Peterson

The House Agriculture Committee adopted the budget views and estimates letter which outlines the committee's budget recommendations for the agencies and programs under its jurisdiction for fiscal year 2014. The letter will be submitted to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan.

In the letter, Chairman Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Collin Peterson write:

"The Committee on Agriculture is dedicated to ensuring that the federal government continues to promote policies and risk management tools that will keep American agriculture and rural communities strong and our citizens healthy and safe. We also know that this country continues to face a fiscal crisis that, if not addressed, will not only harm the agricultural sector and rural America, but the country as a whole. The agriculture sector wants to be a part of the solution to our nation's debt crisis....

"Recognizing the dire fiscal situation this country is in, we developed a bipartisan farm bill last summer that would have contributed substantially to deficit reduction while simultaneously reforming policies and providing risk management tools for the nation's agricultural producers. The committee looks forward to continued hearings and input from Members to achieve the most fiscally responsible farm bill."

Click here to read more of this story and to find a link to the full letter.

 

Strong Veterinarian-Client Relationship Important in Judicious Use of Antibiotics, NCBA Vet Says

Antibiotic use in beef cattle and its relationship to antibiotic resistance is not very well understood among the general public says Dr. Kathy Simmons, chief veterinary officer with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. She says we need to use antibiotics, but we need to make sure the public understands we're using them responsibly, especially those antibiotics that are used both in animal agriculture and for treating humans.

"We at NCBA have long supported the judicious use of antimicrobials in cattle. Since 1987 our Beef Quality Assurance program has had guidelines for the judicious use of antimicrobials. We stress the importance to all our producers of having a strong veterinarian-client patient relationship. 

"We found on our most recent national 2012 national beef audit that it was stated that our producers, 90 percent of them, reported having a veterinarian-client patient relationship. And I think that places us in position to move forward with FDA to try to prevent antimicrobial resistance from occurring. None of us want to have that happen. I believe that we are currently working in that area and working effectively."

You can read more by clicking here.

 

USDA Releases Report on the Growing Importance of Food Hubs in Rural America

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced the release of a report which provides a comprehensive look at the economic role, challenges and opportunities for food hubs in the nation's growing local food movement. The announcement was made during a visit to Hollygrove Market and Farm, a produce market, local distributor and farm in downtown New Orleans. In operation since 2009, Hollygrove Farm and Market sources from twenty local growers across southern Louisiana and Mississippi. Hollygrove's mission includes increasing access to fresh produce for underserved New Orleans neighborhoods. The organization first began operations as part of the city's post-Hurricane Katrina rebuilding efforts.

"At USDA we are committed to food hubs because we believe that they offer strong and sound infrastructure support to producers across the country which will also help build stronger regional food systems," said Merrigan. "This report is an important addition to the ongoing research in this field and Hollygrove is an example of how it is done."

Click here for more and to find a link to the full USDA report.

 

MGEX Announces Single-Click Spread Functionality Between MGEX and KCBT Wheat Contracts

MGEX, a Designated Contract Market and Derivatives Clearing Organization, today announced a new functionality involving its North American Hard Red Spring Wheat futures contract. Single-click trading functionality between the MGEX HRSW futures and KCBT Hard Red Winter Wheat futures contracts will be available beginning March 10, 2013 for a trade date of March 11, 2013.

MGEX collaborated with the CME Group to introduce single-click trading functionality between the two products after the successful launch of single-click trading functionality between the MGEX HRSW futures and the CBOT Soft Red Winter Wheat (SRWW) futures contracts in May 2012.

Once launched, market participants will have the additional convenience of single-click spread trading between the MGEX and KCBT wheat contracts in addition to the MGEX and CBOT wheat contracts. Available on the CME Globex trading platform, the singleclick functionality addresses the inherent risk of legging the spread.

You can read more of this story by clicking here.

 

Packer Margins Critical; Current Margins Problematic

The following article is from www.DailyLivestockReport.com.

A critical leverage point in livestock and meat markets is packer margin. While producers determine long-run product supplies and the timing of those supplies with their decisions to breed animals and, in the case of cattle, place them on feed, packers make critical short-run decisions on how many animals to harvest and, consequently, how much product to put on the market given current demand and pipeline stocks. Packer margins have longer-term impact on the performance of packing companies and balancing capacity with animal numbers. And the picture for packer margins has not been good of late.

Beef packer margins were below the 2007-11 average for virtually all of 2012 and were FAR below those historical levels in Q1-2012. From August onward, gross beef margins were lower than the 5-year average every week except three and have been lower than that average every week so far in 2013. Further, the net margins since August have been, by all reports, deep in the red - a factor which, along with prospects of lower cattle numbers in coming months, contributed to Cargill's decision to close its Plainview, TX plant. It is likely, in our opinion, that another beef slaughter plant could close before cattle numbers possible increase in late 2014 or 2015,, assuming a return to normal rainfall in major grazing ares this year.

On the hog side, that sharp decline in margins the past two weeks were apparently the final straw as packers took slaughter down nearly 4% from week-earlier levels last week. Weather was a contributor to that decline but trade reports indicate that product has just not been moving at a rate to justify continued runs of 2.1 million and more. The slowdown pushed cash hogs below $80.

Click here for more.