News Update
April 25, 2013
Q&A with Bryce Schumann
The American Angus Association is proud to announce that it will be hosting its first-ever National Angus Convention and Trade Show in November 2014. The event marks a dramatic departure from the traditional annual business meeting, which has been in Louisville, Ky., during most of the last four decades.
We recently sat down with Association CEO Bryce Schumann to find out more about the event — and what it means for the Angus breed.
Q: Why the change?
The Angus breed is bigger than just the seedstock business. People from all sectors of the industry contribute to the success of the breed, and we felt it was time to expand our annual meeting to include them. This event will attract commercial producers and feedlot operators, and will create opportunity not only to conduct the business of the Association, but also to network with others, learn about new and innovative production practices and increase the reach of the Angus breed.
Q: Does the change concur with Association bylaws?
Absolutely. The bylaws of the Association require the organization to host an Annual Convention of Delegates each year, and that this meeting shall be conducted within 180 days following the close of the Association’s fiscal year. The bylaws also state that the date and location of the meeting shall be designated by the Board of Directors. During its 130-year history, the Association has hosted its annual meetings in various locations — Chicago, Louisville and Denver. The early organizational meetings were in Kansas City and St. Louis.
Q: How will it be different?
For those of you who’ve attended the annual meeting in Louisville over the years, you'll find the same meetings and social events in Kansas City — and so much more.
We’re also planning an Angus University, seminars for feedlot operators, a trade show, entertainment and other networking opportunities. The program will have top-flight, nationally known keynote speakers combined with “break-out” educational seminars and workshops. These educational opportunities will be combined with family-friendly entertainment events throughout the three days, and great opportunities for Angus breeders to network with others from across the country.
Q: Why Kansas City?
Kansas City is near the geographical center of the United States. For many members, it's an efficient place to travel to and from, whether driving or flying. The convention center is just a short drive from the airport. The city is also a good location to draw commercial cow-calf producers and feedlot operators from some of the largest cattle states in the country. And, best of all, the American Angus Association headquarters is just a 40-minute drive away.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Trans-Pacific Partnership Offers Opportunities for Agriculture
Strong leadership by U.S. government officials in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations will yield positive results for American agriculture, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) told Congress.
Bob Hanson, president of Montana Farm Bureau and an AFBF board member, testified before the Senate Finance Committee regarding the Asia-Pacific region, which holds great promise for U.S. agriculture and its role as the food supplier for Americans and the world.
“The major issue in trade now for the Asia-Pacific region is progress on the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and the addition of Japan to these talks,” Hanson said. “The aim of the negotiations is to reach a comprehensive, high-standard agreement that will improve the conditions of trade between the participating countries, which currently include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States,” he explained.
Japan is the United States’ fourth-largest agricultural export destination, with $13.5 billion in sales in 2012.
“While Japan is a top market for U.S. agricultural exports of wheat, corn, soybeans, beef and pork it also has many restrictive policies in place that inhibit U.S. agricultural imports, such as substantial tariffs on dairy, horticulture, rice and other products, along with various sanitary and phytosanitary barriers,” Hanson said. Hanson concluded his testimony by urging Congress to take a strong leadership role in the TPP negotiations, especially regarding the addition of Japan to the talks.
More Rain Likely into May;
Time Not Crucial for Corn Crop Yet
Frequent and heavy rains have kept most Indiana farmers out of their fields during corn planting season so far this month, and the weather outlook for the next two weeks portends continued wet conditions. That doesn’t mean yields at harvest time are in danger of dropping off yet. Forecasters expect precipitation to be above normal through the first week of May, following a pattern of rain that has swelled rivers and streams and flooded fields.
“The rain over the next couple of weeks shouldn’t be as heavy as it has been, but the frequency of rewetting of topsoils is the problem,” said associate state climatologist Ken Scheeringa, based at Purdue University.
As of the week ending April 21, farmers had planted just 1% of the state’s corn crop, compared with the five-year average of 16% by the same time, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported. Last year, when an unusually dry spring was a precursor to drought, farmers had 43% of the crop in the ground by this time. Heavy rains and cool temperatures prevented most fieldwork last week, when some areas received nearly 7 inches of rain and temperatures dropped to 21° F. Temperatures finally are warming, a trend that typically would help to dry out fields so farmers could work in them, but more rain would negate that effect.
“We’re in a wet pattern that isn’t going to change in the immediate future,” Scheeringa said. State climatologist Dev Niyogi earlier this year had said planting could be delayed because of a wetter-than-normal trend and that Indiana could be in for some drying in the growing season, leading to a return to mild to moderate drought conditions across the state. He said that possibility has not changed.
“We don’t have a dominant El Niño or La Niña this year, so the patterns we are seeing from wet to dry could become the highlight of the growing season,” Niyogi said.
For more information and the full release, click here.
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
Suspending Certain Reports
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is suspending a number of statistical surveys and reports for the remainder of the fiscal year due to reduced funding caused by sequestration. Before deciding upon the program suspensions, NASS reviewed its survey programs against mission- and user-based criteria, as well as the amount of time remaining in the fiscal year to conduct the surveys with the goal of finding available cost savings and maintaining the strongest data in service to agriculture. The decision to suspend these reports was not made lightly, but it was nevertheless necessary, given the funding situation.
All Catfish and Trout Reports including Catfish Feed Deliveries and Catfish Processing:
- July Cattle Report
- Potato Stocks Reports
- All Non-Citrus Fruit, Nut and Vegetable Forecasts and Estimates
- June Rice Stocks Report
- All Hops and Hops Stocks Estimates
- Mink Report
- Milk Production Reports including Production, Disposition and Income
- June on- and off-farm stocks for Austrian Winter Peas, Chickpeas, Dry Peas and Lentils
- July acreage forecasts for Austrian Winter Peas, Dry Edible Peas and Lentils
Dry Spell in Upper Midwest Region Improves
Crop Production, Continues Land Value Increases
As much of the corn belt has been facing the challenges of drought conditions, the region directly north consisting of North Dakota, northeast South Dakota and northwest Minnesota has seen a productive year.
As a result, land values have jumped 30% to 40% above the past year and crop yields have been substantial. In contrast to drought-stricken areas, land in this region has been excessively wet, which has hampered planting in recent years. However, a dry spell over the past 18 months has actually improved this region’s situation.
“Drought is definitely a major issue farther south, but we’ve been so wet over the last several years that we’ve seen region-specific challenges with crop production,” said Terry Longtin, area vice president and area sales manager for Farmers National Co., which provides professional farm management and real estate sales services. “We had really favorable yields in 2012 due to dry conditions and an improvement of crop varieties over the past several years.”
Excessively wet land in this area in past years had led to preventative planting on parts of fields, as well as 100% unplanted fields in some areas. “In 2011 it was too wet in the northern 20% of North Dakota and many areas had no planting whatsoever,” said Longtin.
In addition to the benefit of drier land, improved crop yields in this region have come from the development of seed and crop alternatives. New varieties of crop seeds have been released that are conducive to shorter growing seasons. Land improvements, including tiling, have been prevalent and added to the ability to reach strong production levels.
“We are seeing strong yields from an extensive variety of crops, including corn, soybeans, edible beans, sugar beets, canola and potatoes,” said Longtin. “Corn, especially, has really changed our region with an increased number of varieties available to farm operators.”
For more information and the full release, click here.
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