Latest News & Updates in KC Agriculture - June 2021 — Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City

Developments

A survey of ag producer sentiment in May reveals the lowest overall reading since September 2020 and declines in several areas, but farmers and ranchers expect farmland values to rise over the next five years. The Ag Economy Barometer, produced by Purdue University and the CME Group, showed a sharp decline of 20 points, to a reading of 158, according to the survey, conducted in May. That number was 156 in September. Overall, there has been a stark decline in the outlook for U.S. agriculture, with only 27% of respondents expecting good times in the next five years. This is the lowest reading in the history of the survey. Purdue's James Mintert pointed to "the potential for changing tax rules and rising input costs" as "primary drivers" for the month's results.

Missouri soybean farmers are funding nearly $2.5 million in soybean research, development and education projects this year. Projects selected for funding address challenges directly affecting Missouri’s soybean farmers, soybean markets and future opportunities. “Research is a cornerstone of our pursuit of innovative solutions to the challenges we face as farmers,” said Kyle Durham, a farmer and chairman of the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council board of directors. The Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council funded 31 projects, ranging in value from $16,375 to $460,000. Projects selected for funding include Missouri’s northern and southern soybean breeding programs, as well as work on soy-based golf balls, disease resistance and herbicide tolerance, and soil health. Biodiesel-focused education projects with the Rockwood Summit School District and Three Rivers College were also selected for funding.

Cargill has joined U.S. CattleTrace as an official packer member. Cargill is the second beef processor to invest in the effort formed by multiple state cattlemen’s organizations to develop a national infrastructure for animal disease traceability in the U.S. cattle industry. “Reducing the impact of disease is critical for the U.S. beef herd which is why we’re excited to join the U.S. CattleTrace program and champion its efforts to improve global competitiveness and food safety across the value chain,” said Jarrod Gillig, business operations and supply chain lead for Cargill’s North American protein business. U.S. CattleTrace will assist animal health officials by responding to events of foreign animal disease within the U.S. cattle herd to limit any impact to daily operations and help maintain access to important beef export markets.

POET finalized discussions with Flint Hills Resources to acquire the entirety of Flint Hills' biofuels and ingredients businesses. The acquisition includes six bioprocessing facilities located in Iowa and Nebraska and two terminals in Texas and Georgia. POET, headquartered in Sioux Falls, S.D., will now operate 33 bioprocessing facilities across eight states with a combined annual capacity of 3 billion gallons. “This acquisition will increase POET’s ability to bring even more high-quality, plant-based biofuels and bio products to the world—allowing us to have an even bigger impact on fighting climate change and cleaning our air,” said POET CEO Jeff Broin in a statement. Flint Hills, a refining, biofuels and petrochemical company, is based in Wichita, Kansas, and prior to the acquisition, was the fifth largest ethanol producer in the United States. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc.

Missouri’s population grew by about 11,000 people from 2019 to 2020. This 0.2% increase is half the national rate of 0.4%, though it is typical of the modest growth experienced by many other Midwestern states. But certain areas – Springfield and suburbs around St. Louis and Kansas City – have seen growth, says Mark White, University of Missouri associate extension professor and policy research professor at MU’s Truman School of Public Affairs. The Kansas City region, home to almost a fifth of the state’s population, added 85,000 new residents over the last decade. Platte and Clay counties were among the state’s fastest-growing counties. The PDF report is available here.

The National Corn Growers Association has released a report that documents past sustainability improvements by U.S. corn farmers and sets goals to reach by 2030. “Corn farmers have demonstrated their commitment to sustainability for decades through their adoption of practices to defend against soil erosion, improve water quality and water use, and management of resources through modern farming advancements,” NCGA president John Linder said in a statement. The report is meant to solidify “U.S. corn farmers’ commitment to environmental, economic and social sustainability” through demonstrating past efforts and pledging future progress, the organization noted in a www.Agri-Pulse.com June 9 release. NCGA also set environmental national efficiency targets for 2030. The report is available here.

It’s not too early for pancake, waffle and French toast lovers to stock up on a winter breakfast staple. Maple syrup production across the country is off, just under 17% in 2021. In Vermont, the nation’s top maple producer, production is off so far over 21%, according to recent USDA statistics. Poor sugaring weather (including a run of 70-degree days during prime sugaring season) has caused one of the shortest maple seasons in over a decade for producers in Vermont. “Folks were anywhere from 50 to 75% of a normal crop across the board this season,” said Allison Hope, the executive director of the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association.

USDA is soliciting public comment regarding new regulations for the movement of animals modified or produced by genetic engineering. Under the regulatory framework being contemplated, USDA would promulgate regulations using the authorities granted to USDA through the Animal Health Protection Act, the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA). Pursuant to these authorities, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) would conduct a safety assessment of organisms developed using genetic engineering that may increase an animal’s susceptibility to pests or diseases of livestock, including zoonotic diseases, or ability to transmit the same. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) would conduct a pre-slaughter food safety assessment to ensure that the slaughter and processing of animals developed using genetic engineering would not result in a product that is unsound, unhealthful, unwholesome, or otherwise unfit for human food.

A newly constructed barge terminal on the Missouri River in western Iowa should provide a new marketing option for Midwest corn and soybean producers. The facility's ability to ship millions of bushels of row crops downstream toward the Mississippi River could also increase the prices grain buyers will pay for their grain, offering more market opportunities for producers. The Port of Blencoe, operated by NEW Cooperative Inc. officially opened earlier this month in Blencoe, Iowa, between Omaha, Nebraska, and Sioux City, Iowa. The port will be served roughly seventeen times a year by about six barges and a single towboat. Access to river barges means farmers will get paid higher prices for their crops by shrinking the local basis, the difference between the local cash market and the futures price. Source; Agri-Pulse Communciations, June 23, 2021.

USDA’s Kansas City-based National Institute of Food and Agriculture announced an investment of over $19 million in 1890 Land-grant Institutions scholarships for undergraduate students to stimulate interest in food and agricultural careers. “As we work to increase the talent pipeline for the agricultural innovation workforce and the next generation of agricultural scientists, we need the brightest minds from across all areas and cultures in our society to be represented,” said NIFA director Dr. Carrie Castille.

Kansas’s largest electric company, Evergy, expects to make its first big investments in solar energy over the next three years, promising zero net carbon emissions in 2045. Evergy outlined its long-term plan in recent weeks for regulators in Kansas, where the company has about 1 million customers, and in Missouri where it has an additional 600,000. The plan has spurred a debate about climate change, electric rates and promoting social justice through energy policy. It's the first time a Kansas utility has filed such a plan with state regulators, and Evergy promises to update it every three years.

Hill's Pet Nutrition will invest more than $250 million to build a new factory in Leavenworth County, Kansas to help meet the growing demand for its veterinarian-recommended pet nutrition products. The state-of-the-art facility will be built on 80 acres in Tonganoxie Business Park in Tonganoxie, Kansas and will help Hill's Pet Nutrition meet the increasing demand for science-led pet nutrition. The new factory will feature the latest manufacturing technology and is expected to employ at least 80 people by 2025. The Tonganoxie plant will join four other Hill's manufacturing sites in the United States, including facilities in Emporia and Topeka, Kansas. Topeka is also home to Hill's global headquarters and its Pet Nutrition Center.

Global food prices rose in May at their fastest monthly rate in more than a decade, even as world cereal production is on course to reach a new record high, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported in early June. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 127.1 points in May, 4.8 percent higher than in April and 39.7 percent higher than in May 2020. A surge in the international prices of vegetable oils, sugar and cereals led the increase in the index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities. Full report available at www.fao.org.

People

Bill Northey, a Trump administration USDA undersecretary and former Iowa Ag Secretary, has joined the board of directors for Landus, a farmer-owned cooperative based in Ames. Northey joins the 12-member board as an outside director and will be asked to act as an advisor and coach on business and industry issues.

Missouri’s leading voice for soybean farmers has a new addition to its leadership team as Casey Wasser is promoted to Chief Operating Officer. Effective July 1, he will serve as COO for the Missouri Soybean Association, Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council and Foundation for Soy Innovation. Wasser has served as the director of policy for the Missouri Soybean Association and Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council since late 2016. In that role, he has guided the association through legislative work directly affecting Missouri farmers, including assessments of agricultural land values, proposed increases to on-farm regulation and taxation of disaster payments. Wasser also led the effort to secure repayment of the Missouri Qualified Biodiesel Producer Incentive Fund.

The Livestock Marketing Association, Overland Park, Kansas, honored Ellington Peek, Cottonwood, California, with its LMA Icon Award at the 2021 LMA Annual Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. LMA president Larry Schnell noted “Ellington played a significant role in paving the way for futuristic methods of buying and selling livestock, and he remains an unshakable advocate for the auction method of selling livestock.” The award is presented to individuals who have advanced the mission and ideals of LMA and its members.

Events

NAMA returns to Kansas City for its 2021 Agri-Marketing Conference, July 20-22. Registration is now open. On the agenda are discussions about how companies are moving forward in a post-COVID-19 world and how customer behaviors are shifting. Registration information is available here.

The Missouri Governor’s Conference on Agriculture is coming back to Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, Missouri, this fall for its 49th celebration of agriculture. Missouri Department of Agriculture has set the conference dates for November 18-19, 2021. Missouri farmers, ranchers, agribusiness leaders and aspiring agriculturalists are invited to enjoy the packed program that will include a commodity outlook, Missouri Agriculture Awards luncheon and nationally-recognized speaker line-up. More information available at www.agriculture.mo.gov.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture will host the state’s agriculture community in person for its sixth annual Kansas Governor’s Summit on Agricultural Growth on Thursday, August 26, in Manhattan. The 2021 Ag Growth Summit will be a blend of in-person events and online meetings. The Summit main event will be held at the Manhattan Conference Center with in-person attendance highly encouraged. For several weeks prior to the Summit, starting July 1, a series of virtual sector breakout sessions will lead up to the Summit main event. More information about the 2021 Kansas Governor’s Summit is available from Brittney Grother at Brittney.Grother@ks.gov or 785-564-6797.

Farm Journal initiatives Scoop and Trust In Food have been named exclusive media partners of the 2021 InfoAg Conference presented by The Fertilizer Institute. The event is set for August 3-4, 2021, at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel. For more than 25 years, InfoAg has been the premier conference on the practical application of precision agriculture. Now under management by The Fertilizer Institute the conference will expand to include a broader reach of tools, technologies, products and practices that crop advisers can use to advance agriculture. The conference will build on its strong history of educating crop advisors and agricultural retailers with the integration of a broader perspective of solutions to support the 4R Nutrient Stewardship framework. Farm Journal maintains offices in Lenexa, Kansas.

Dan Glickman, former vice president of the Aspen Institute, a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, and a board member of the World Food Program USA, will give an online talk and answer questions about his new memoir Laughing at Myself: My Education in Congress, on the Farm and at the Movies. The event takes place July 20 via Zoom. Glickman served 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Kansas’ 4th District and as USDA secretary from 1995 to 2001. He was chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc., from 2004 to 2010. The event will also be livestreamed on the Newton (kansas) Public Library Facebook page. Click here to register.