Latest News & Updates in KC Agriculture - January 2021

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Developments 

The Kansas City Chiefs will be back to defend its Super Bowl title, QB Patrick Mahomes will be there to electrify football fans whether they’re cheering for him or rooting for his opponent. And future Hall-of-Famer Tom Brady will be playing in his tenth Super Bowl Championship game.  But something will be missing. For the first time in 37 years Budweiser won’t be advertising, and the iconic Clydesdales reportedly won’t be the stars of a heartwarming, inspiring short film. Instead, the beer company is allocating money it would have spent on a commercial (worth some $5.6 million per spot) to support Covid-19 vaccine awareness.  However, just because the Budweiser brand will be sitting on the bench doesn’t mean its Belgium-based parent Anheuser-Busch InBev will be on the sidelines, too. AB InBev, which has exclusive advertising rights to Super Bowl’s alcohol category will still be pitching its other products: Bud Light, Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade, Michelob Ultra and Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer.

Meanwhile Chipotle Mexican Grill will run its first-ever Super Bowl ad this year to highlight the farming practices of its suppliers. During the pandemic Chipotle has been one of the rare successes from the restaurant industry. The burrito chain has seen its digital sales more than triple in its last two quarters, and its stock has soared 72% in the last year, raising its market value to $41.9 billion. Chipotle’s ad aims to keep customers coming back to its restaurants by focusing on its “food with integrity” pledge and how it sources its ingredients. In the commercial, a boy asks if a burrito can change the world, from emitting less carbon to making farmers happier, while showing images of peppers and tomatoes being grown, picked and transported.

FCS Financial’s board of directors has announced the cooperative is returning more than $30.7 million to their member-owners in cash patronage for the 2020 calendar year. CEO David Janish, noted the organization had a strong year in 2020 and its patronage program allowed it to share that success with its member-owners. Since 2006, FCS Financial has returned nearly $180 million to member-owners. 

A new report from the American Farm Bureau Federation provides an in-depth examination into the USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service’s (NASS) survey collection and data reporting issues. It also provides recommendations to improve accuracy and farmer confidence in the survey results. Read the full document at AFBF USDA-NASS Working Group Report.

A new USDA report analyzing data from the 2017 Census of Agriculture Typology shows family farms comprise 96% of all U.S. farms, account for 87% of land in farms and have an 82% stake in the value of all agriculture sold. Data show that small family farms, those farms with a Gross Cash Farm Income (GCFI) of less than $350,000 per year, account for 88% of all U.S. farms, 46% of total land in farms and 19% of the value of all agricultural products sold. Large-scale family farms (GCFI of $1 million or more) make up less than 3% of all U.S. farms but produce 43% of the value of all agricultural products. Mid-size farms (GCFI between $350,000 and $999,999) are 5% of U.S. farms and produce 20% of the value of all agricultural products. Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS); www.nass.gov

In a survey conducted among its weekly newsletter subscribers earlier this month, Brakke Consulting, Inc., found that most animal health companies had a positive outlook going into 2021.  Eighty-six (86) percent of respondents felt their business would increase by more than 5%, the sort of average industry growth rate occurring over the last five years. But 41% indicated their business would increase 10-19%, and a healthy 13% responded that they expect a business increase next year of 20% or more.

Merck Animal Health has announced that Bovilis Nasalgen 3-PMH is now available to veterinarians and cattle producers to protect beef and dairy cattle from five of the most common pneumonia-causing viral and bacterial pathogens: infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), parainfluenza 3 (PI3), Mannheimia haemolytica and Pasteurella multocida. (company press release)

Nextgen Cattle Company and its partners this month launched operations at its 100,000-square-foot beef processing plant, Missouri Prime Beef Packers. The facility was previously operated as a pork processing plant under the name Moon Ridge Foods. The company said the facility is undergoing upgrades and modifications for both fed and non-fed beef cattle. Missouri Prime Beef Packers expects to process 500 head of cattle per day. 

The winner of the 2021 AFBF Farm Dog of the Year award is an Australian Shepherd owned by New York Farm Bureau member Sonja Galley. The American Farm Bureau Federation, with support from Nestlé Purina PetCare, recognized the Aussie at its Virtual Convention earlier this month. (Editor’s Note/Full Disclosure: Our family has enjoyed the companionship, intelligence and industriousness of our Aussie, Fitzpatrick, for over a dozen years. OooRah!)  

Farmer sentiment improved modestly in December as the Ag Economy Barometer rose to a reading of 174, up 7 points from November. December’s sentiment improvement still left the barometer 9 points lower than in October. The Purdue University Ag Economy Barometer is a nationwide measure of the health of the U.S. agricultural economy.

USDA’s Export Sales Report for the week ending January 7, 2021 showed strong numbers for corn and soybeans.Allendale commodities broker Greg McBride said it was a bullish week for grains with 1.437 million metric tons of corn and 1.234 million mt of soybeans shipped. “We are riding a nice wave here off of this USDA (WASDE) report,” McBride said.  Source:  Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network

2020 Farm equipment sales exceeded 2019 figures across a variety of categories, according to new data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. AEM’s Ag Tractor and Combine Report showed tractor sales for the year were up 17.7% over 2019; combine sales had a smaller increase, up 5.5%. “The year 2020 was difficult on a number of fronts. Despite uncertainty in the overall economy, the ag equipment market has been pretty strong,” Curt Blades, AEM’s senior vice president of ag services, said in a statement. “The growth we saw in farm tractors and combines was pleasant news — driven largely by smaller equipment.”   Source: Agri-Pulse Communications.

Did you know? Bill Gates, the fourth richest person in the world, (net worth of $121 billion, according to Forbes) has acquired 242,000 acres of farmland across the U.S., enough to make him the top private farmland owner in America. The Land Report says Gates has built up a massive farmland portfolio spanning 18 states. His largest holdings are in Louisiana (69,071 acres), Arkansas (47,927 acres) and Nebraska (20,588 acres). Additionally, he has a stake in 25,750 acres of transitional land on the west side of Phoenix, Arizona, which is being developed as a new suburb. The Land Report notes the acreage is held directly and through third-party entities by Cascade Investments, Gates’ personal investment vehicle. 

At the outset of 2021, the Missouri Department of Agriculture issued a list of key accomplishments in 2020:

  • The Missouri General Assembly appropriated $20 million in federal CARES ACT funding for the Department to create the Missouri Meat and Poultry Processing Grant Program. 

  • The Missouri Grown program sold and distributed more than 450 holiday gift boxes to more than 34 states across the country.

  • The Missouri Industrial Hemp State Plan was approved by the USDA.

  • The Missouri State Fair Youth Livestock Show saw a 12% increase in 4-H and FFA livestock entries.

  • The State Milk Board inspected an additional 320 dairy farms.

  • The Grain Inspection Services team designed and created a workstation shield, allowing their employees to continue working safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

  • The Meat Inspection Team worked with processors throughout the state to accommodate flexible inspection schedules, helping ensure continuity of business.

  • The Plant Industries division took in more than 1,200 reports of unsolicited mystery seeds in Missouri and helped coordinate with the USDA.

Major beef packer Cargill has announced a pair of upcoming facility shutdowns, but not due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cargill plans to temporarily idle its Dodge City, Kansas., and Schuyler, Nebraska., facilities for scheduled maintenance on refrigeration systems. Both plants will be shut down for about a week; the Dodge City maintenance is scheduled to begin Feb. 4, the work in Schuyler will start March 18. Source: Agri-Pulse Communications, January 27, 2021.

People

TechAccel LLC, a Kansas City- Missouri-based private venture development organization investing in scientific breakthroughs to help solve the global food crisis, has announced Tina Youngblood, Ph.D., has joined the company as Chief Finance & Administrative Officer. Dr. Youngblood comes to TechAccel from Pathfinder Health Innovations, a software startup in Kansas City, where she served as CEO. She has also served as CEO at Spencer Re and Cunningham Lindsey; earlier she spent 10 years in a variety of global leadership positions with Zurich Insurance Group, including as chief of staff to the chief administrative officer of the corporate center in Zurich, Switzerland, as well as CAO of the North American division in Chicago.  In addition to Dr. Youngblood’s leadership roles in finance, equity and risk management, she brings experience as a tenured associate professor of accounting at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She received undergraduate and master’s degrees from Tennessee Technological University and a Ph.D. in accounting with a minor in cognitive psychology from the University of Tennessee. 

Everett Hoekstra retired as president of Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA and has been succeeded by Randolph Legg. Legg will remain head of the company’s U.S. commercial business while serving as president. The company has also appointed Helmut Finkler as head of Regional Bio Manufacturing Americas and global manufacturing science and technology. He will oversee vaccine-production sites in the Americas. Finkler most recently served as head of global bio operations in global operations animal health.

Kevin Knoth is the new communications director for Missouri U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler. Most recently Knoth served in North Carolina’s U.S. Rep. Mark Walker’s office as communications director. 

Trey Forsyth has joined Michael Torrey Associates as director of government affairs, after serving as a policy adviser to chief agricultural negotiator Gregg Doud at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Osborn Barr Paramore president Rhonda Ries has been accepted into the Forbes Agency Council, an invitation-only group for owners and executives of successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. She was selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of her experience. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth. 

USDA has named individuals who will hold senior staff positions in Washington, D.C. during the Biden Administration: Katharine Ferguson is the new Chief of Staff in the Office of the Secretary. Most recently, Ferguson served as Associate Director of the Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group. Before joining the Aspen Institute, Ferguson served in the Obama Administration as Chief of Staff for the White House Domestic Policy Council and as Chief of Staff for Rural Development at USDA. Robert Bonnie will be Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Senior Advisor, Climate. Most recently Bonnie served as an executive in residence at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University. Previously, he served as Director of the Farm and Forests Carbon Solutions Initiative at the Bipartisan Policy Center, where worked to develop new initiatives to combat the climate crisis through agricultural innovation. Sara Bleich, PhD, is Senior Advisor. Previously, Bleich served as a Professor of Public Health Policy at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research centers on food insecurity, as well as racial injustice within the social safety net. 

The Republican Steering Committee has announced new GOP members on the House Agriculture Committee. They include Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn.; Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kan.; Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa; Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas; Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla.; Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala.; and Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill. 

Kansas’ newly elected U.S. Congressman Tracey Mann has named additional members of his D.C. staff. Laura Schlapp is Mann’s communication director. She previously worked at the Department of Defense and most recently served as regional media director for Vice President Mike Pence. Katherine Thomas is the new deputy legislative director. She previously worked on agriculture issues for former Sen. Pat Roberts, both as a legislative assistant on the Senate Ag Committee and as senior agriculture policy adviser in his personal office.  Source: Agri-Pulse Communications, January 27, 2021.

Events

All Pork Producers, Industry enthusiasts and Allied industries are invited to attend The Missouri Pork EXPO scheduled for February 2-3 at Margaritaville at the Lake of the Ozarks.  The complete EXPO Brochure, registration and Trade Show information are available at  www.MoPork.com. There will be 102 Trade Show exhibitors. Governor Mike Parson will address attendees at the banquet on Feb 2, and political analyst, Jim Wiesemeyer, with Informa Economics, will speak at the Leadership Breakfast, Feb 3. Missouri State Senator Caleb Rowden will be receiving the Outstanding Legislator award and MU Professor, Tim Safranski will be receiving the prestigious Chairman’s Award.

An opportunity is available for college students wanting to attend the 2021 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Nashville, Tennessee, August 10-13, 2021.  A team of interns – vital to the success of the largest annual meeting in the U.S. beef cattle industry – will gain first-hand experience and be able to interact with leaders of every segment of the cattle and beef industry. Up to 18 interns will be selected for this opportunity. Interested students must complete a student internship application by April 15, 2021. More information at www.ncba.org. 

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is hosting a two-day virtual event for cattlemen and women across the country to get updated on industry, trends and developments. The 2021 Cattle Industry Convention Winter Reboot, scheduled for February 23-24, is an opportunity to connect with NCBA and serves as a kickoff event for the Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show that will take place August 10-12 in Nashville, Tenn., at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. Winter Reboot attendees will receive a sneak peek into plans for the Cattle Industry Convention and the Cattlemen’s College. Register for the Winter Reboot here.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture and K-State Research and Extension will offer virtual workshops February 16 - 19, 2021, to assist farmers’ market vendors and managers, as well as those wanting to sell food products directly to consumers. The workshop series includes three online Lunch and Learn sessions, followed by a half-day virtual workshop. Registration for the February virtual workshops is now open. The cost is $5 per participant. Register here.

The Animal Agriculture Alliance (AAA) has made available to the public its session recordings from the first-ever Virtual Stakeholders Summit. The 2020 Virtual Summit, themed “Primed & Prepared,” focused on equipping food and agriculture stakeholders with the tools needed to bridge the gap between farm and fork. Session recordings from the 2020 Virtual Summit are available here. Condensed overview of insights shared at the event is available here.

The Animal Agriculture Alliance has announced its 2021 Virtual Summit “Obstacles to Opportunities” will take place May 5-6. Registration for the 2021 Virtual Summit opens February 1. For more information about the Virtual Summit, visit animalagalliance.org/initiatives/stakeholders-summit/.

Kansas State Conservation Commission will hold its regular meeting on Monday, February 1, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. using a virtual attendance format. The agenda will include a discussion of long-term planning objectives as well as updates on funding and technical assistance opportunities. The SCC consists of five elected commissioners; two ex officio members representing the Kansas State University Agriculture Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service; and two appointed members representing the Kansas Department of Agriculture and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. More information about the online meeting is available at KDA–DOC at 785-564-6620 or kda.doc@ks.gov.

At 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2, University of Missouri Extension will host a free webinar on climate change. MU Extension horticulture specialist Robert Balek and Thomas W. Blaine, Ph.D., associate extension professor at Ohio State University, will present an overview of climate change in Missouri and the economic impact it can have on agriculture. Also included in the presentation is a discussion of how the climate is currently changing in Missouri and what the next few decades are likely to bring, with a special focus on agriculture. Hosting the presentation on behalf of MU Extension Labor and Workforce Development are Amy Patillo and Matt Pezold. For more information, contact Ms. Patillo at patilloa@missouri.edu.