In Farm BureauArFB promotes Bradley

Zac Bradley of Bryant has been promot-ed to director of public policy at Arkansas Farm Bureau, where he will help manage

lobbying and advoca-cy efforts.

Bradley has spent the past year and a half as ArFB’s director of national affairs, responsible for the execution of federal and state legislative action plans as well as working with policy development and political education

programs. He will maintain his focus on federal issues, while adding special issues and staff management to his role.

A native of Little Rock, Bradley joined Farm Bureau in June 2014 from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in Bentonville, where he worked in the governmental affairs arena. Bradley also worked in the Arkansas

Attorney General’s office and spent time in Washington, D.C., on the staff of Sen. Mark Pryor.

Bradley earned a bachelor’s degree in 2006 from Yale University, where he was a four-year letter winner on the Bulldogs’ baseball team. In 2012, Bradley was named to Arkansas Business’ “20 in Their 20s” list-ing based on his public service work. He is

a graduate of J.A. Fair High School. “Zac has demonstrated a great ability to

convey our legislative priorities to decision makers at both the state and federal level,” said Stanley Hill, ArFB’s vice president of public policy. “He speaks and acts with great passion and clarity, which has proven helpful to Arkansas Farm Bureau’s mission to advocate on behalf of its members in the

October 9, 2015 • Vol. 18, No. 19A

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Arkansas Farm Bureau Vice President Rich Hillman of Carlisle was guest speaker at Marion County Farm Bureau’s Sept. 28 annual meet-ing in Flippin. Hillman thanked local leaders and state board mem-bers for their service to Farm Bureau and discussed current issues threatening farmers and ranchers such as the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule and the possibility of avian influenza affecting Arkansas poultry flocks this year.

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Bradley

Clay Co. FB agency manag-er Cliff Gifford (top, left) and Women’s Committee mem-

ber Susan Hancock present-ed a $100 donation from

the Women’s Committee to the food bank established

by these gifted and talented students at Central Elemen-

tary School. School repre-sentative Candy Taylor (top,

right) accepted the check. Donations were made to two other county schools

as well.

legislative arena.“He has a

commitment to Arkansas and our

state’s farmers and ranchers, who collec-tively make up our state’s largest industry. We look forward to Zac’s expanded re-sponsibilities. We are confident he can help our team define the best path forward with our legislative and regulatory work.”

President’s Leadership CouncilNov. 9 is the deadline for receipt of

President’s Leadership Council applica-tions in the Little Rock office of Arkansas Farm Bureau. The council is a develop-mental program for men and women ages 25-45 who stand out from their peers and have a desire to grow and strengthen their leadership skills. Those accepted into the program will strengthen their knowledge of Farm Bureau and network with tomor-row’s leaders.

Class size is limited to 20 individuals, with all costs, including travel, covered by Arkansas Farm Bureau. Participants will attend three two-day sessions in 2016, with the first planned for February. Applications are available at each county Farm Bureau office.

“All About Beef” appThe American Farm Bureau Foundation

for Agriculture has released a new educa-tional app, “All About Beef,” funded in part by the Beef Checkoff.

App versions of “The Steaks are High” and “Grocery Grab” are STEM-based games funded by the Beef Checkoff Pro-gram and geared toward students in grades 3-5. In addition to teaching nutrition and environmental facts, the apps also feature kid-friendly beef recipes.

The My American Farm games are available on the iTunes store for iPhone and iPad, at Google Play for Android de-vices, on Amazon for the Kindle Fire and on www.MyAmericanFarm.org.

In ArkansasHall of Fame seeks nominations

The Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame is seeking nominations from the public for its class of 2015. The nomination deadline is Nov. 6.

The Agriculture Hall of Fame recogniz-es Arkansans who are or have contributed significantly to the state’s largest industry, while spotlighting their contributions to the state’s economic development. Since its first class was selected in 1987, 148 men and women have been inducted.

Butch Calhoun, chairman of the Arkan-sas Agriculture Hall of Fame, says anyone can nominate a person believed worthy for the honor.

“The history of Arkansas agriculture is filled with great men and women,” Calhoun said. “The role of the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame is to honor worthy individuals who made a profound impact on Arkansas agriculture.”

The Farm Bureau Center in Little Rock houses the Agriculture Hall of Fame, which is sponsored by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Arkansas Farm Bureau.

Additional information and online nomination forms are available at www.arkansasaghalloffame.org. Forms also can be requested by calling MaLeta Stephens at 501-228-1470.

The induction ceremony for the next class will be March 4, 2016, in Little Rock.

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Dr. John Jennings, a professor in the Animal Sciences Department at UA’s Cooperative Extension Service, talked to participants at the Outdoor Recre-ation Business Workshop on Sept. 24 about winter foraging. The education-al program at the Winthrop Rockefel-ler Institute on Petit Jean Mountain drew more than 60 participants and was sponsored in part by ArFB.

Pam Bredlow (left) discussed the need for a waste tire disposal and re-cycling program with Stacy Edwards, recycling program manager for the Inter-District Waste Tire Manage-ment Program, and Evan Teague, director of environmental and regulatory affairs for Arkansas Farm Bureau at Bredlow’s Pulaski County farm Sept. 27.

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Madison Co. FB held it’s annual meeting Oct. 3 in Huntsville. Seven-ty-six members and guests heard ArFB President Randy Veach address concerns facing the rural community. The membership also passed five res-olutions it will forward to Arkansas Farm Bureau that will be considered for policy by the state organization in December.

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Charles Dieffenbacher (center) of Texarkana recently was presented a plaque in appreciation for more than 50 years of service and dedication to Miller Co. FB and Arkansas Farm Bu-reau by county board members Bill Varner (left) and Duane Falls. Over the past half century, Dieffenbach-er has served in many capacities, including president of Miller Co. FB.

Farm-to-School workshopsThe Childhood Obesity Prevention

Research Program at Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute will host a series of USDA Regional Farm-to-School workshops in October and November to educate school personnel, farmers and community partners of the advantages of participating in a Farm-to-School pro-gram. The workshop will take place Oct. 15 at Southwest Research and Extension in Hope; Oct. 29 at University of Arkansas at Monticello, Nov. 5 at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Nov. 12 at North Arkansas College in Harrison and Nov. 19 at UA Cooperative Extension in Little Rock.

Up to 50 participants can attend each session, and 10 travel scholarships are available to support attendance. The events are sponsored by the USDA Farm-to-School Grant Program, Arkansas Cooperative Extension Office, Arkansas GardenCorps, Arkansas Farmers’ Market Association, Krebs Brothers Restaurant Store and Berries by Bill.

Workshop participants will learn how to procure, market and prepare local foods in schools; hands-on culinary skills training for school cafeteria staff; business and produc-tion planning for farmers; and food safety for farmers and schools.

Registration can be found by visiting archildrens.org/FarmToSchool. For questions, please contact Jenna Rhodes at 501-364-3360.

Farmer hits mark for third yearDesha County soybean farmer Matt

Miles has broken the 100-bushel-per-acre barrier for the third year in a row, despite a departure from the atypical weather conditions that helped him and four other Arkansans pass the yield milestone during the last two growing seasons.

Contest officials verified Miles’ yield at 108.77 bushels per acre from a single field that was grown and harvested specifically for the Arkansas Soybean Association’s “Grow for the Green Soybean Yield Chal-lenge” contest. Entries must be harvested from a portion of a field ranging from 5-7 acres, and the soybean weight is correct-ed for moisture and foreign matter when calculating total yield per acre.

“I made a lot of statements to the effect that it probably wouldn’t happen this year,” Miles said. “We really had no idea it would happen. But we cut a few fields we knew were pretty stout, and they were doing better than we expected. So as we got closer to the maturity of the contest field, I had an idea that it could possibly happen. But three weeks before we harvested, I would’ve told you there’s no way.”

In January, a report from the U.S. De-partment of Agriculture put the 2014 Ar-kansas average soybean yields at 50 bushels per acre, a record in the state. The average takes into account growers across the state, but yields in the Delta tend to be much higher, due in part to soils particularly well

suited for the crop.For more information about the Grow

for the Green contest, visit www.arkansas-soybean.com.

ElsewhereRice Outlook Conference

The 2015 USA Rice Outlook Confer-ence will be held Dec. 9-11 at the Sher-aton New Orleans. The conference brings together rice farmers, millers, merchants and representatives of allied businesses from all rice-producing states and be-yond. It features a trade show devoted to rice-related farm equipment, technology, products and services, and will include economic and political outlooks, the global rice outlook, a provocative look at the future of food and keynote speakers Mary Matalin and James Carville. Also on tap are state-by-state production and research reports, learning sessions, the 2016 weath-er outlook and more.

The conference hotel is on Canal Street near New Orleans’ famed French Quarter. It’s a short walk to numerous restaurants and landmarks, and just steps to the his-toric Canal Street streetcar line.

For more information, visit usarice.com or contact Jeanette Davis at jdavis@usarice.com or 703-236-1447.

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ArFB and the H.E.L.P. Committee granted a Make-A-Wish trip Oct. 1 to Hunter Linam. Hunter and his brother Archer (center) will be going to Legoland with their parents Bobby and Jessica (far right). H.E.L.P. Committee members involved in granting Hunter’s wish were (left to right) Allister Whitfield, Sarah Roberts, Kim Brown, Teresa Eslick, Cole Acklin and Shanna Mears.

Members of the University of Arkansas-Monticello Collegiate Farm Bureau joined forces with the Drew Central FFA chapter recently to sign up new members for Arkansas Farm Bureau. “Young members are the future of Farm Bureau, and their interests and enthusiasm are vital inputs for the organization,” said Dr. Bob Stark, faculty adviser for the group.

EditorKeith Suttonkeith.sutton@arfb.com

In the MarketAs of October 6, 2015

TPP agreement reachedOn Oct. 5, officials signed the Trans

Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. Negotiators have been working on the agreement since 2008, which is between the U.S. and 11 Pacific Rim countries (Aus-tralia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Vietnam, Chile, Brunei, Singapore and New Zealand). According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, these countries account for 42 percent of all U.S. agricul-tural exports, totaling $633 billion.

While the text of the agreement has been approved, all agricultural groups, including Arkansas Farm Bureau and American Farm Bureau, are in the process of analyzing the impact of this agreement on individual commodities. According to the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) that Congress granted to allow the President to negotiate TPP, the agreement will be made available for 60 days for review by the public. Congress will then have 30 days for a yes or no vote on TPP.

When the TPP agreement had been signed, Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach released the following state-ment:

“We are pleased the negotiations about the Trans Pacific Partnership have con-cluded. As a member of the USDA/USTR trade advisory committee, I know how challenging this process has been.

“TPP offers a rare opportunity to open markets around the Pacific Rim that have been previously restricted. We are hopeful the details of the agreement will bear that out.

“Almost all of the commodities we raise in Arkansas could experience some addi-tional opportunities from this agreement.”

Below are a few of the early reports from Politico on the impact the agreement will have on agricultural products pro-duced in Arkansas.

PoultryNo reports yet as to the specifics of

the agreement in regards to the Canadian market. The National Chicken Council

stated they hope to see the long-protected Canadian market finally opened.

Japan and Vietnam will eliminate tariffs on poultry, while Malaysia will establish tariff-rate quotas for live chicks, poultry meat and eggs.

RicePreliminary reports indicate rice access

would increase under a country-specific quota in which the U.S. would initial-ly receive 50,000 tons for the first three years. The quota would reach a ceiling of 70,000 tons by the thirteenth year. Japan also agreed to reallocate some of its World Trade Organization import quota to medi-um-grain rice, which is exported to Japan primarily by the U.S., eventually giving the U.S. rice industry more than 100,000 annual tons in exports.

In addition to market access into Japan, the U.S. will face increased competition in Mexico. The agreement will reduce duties on rice from Vietnam into Mexico. In 2014-15, the U.S. exported 602,100 MT of long-grain and 12,100 MT of short- and medium-grain rough rice, as well as 96,800 MT of long-grain and 5,300 MT of short- and medium-grain milled rice to Mexico.

BeefThe market was very concerned about

improved access into the Japanese market. Preliminary reports from trade ministers indicate the current 38.5-percent tariff on U.S. beef into Japan would drop to 27.5 percent once the deal is in place. By year 10, the tariff would go down to 20 percent. By year 16, it would be 9 percent.

Grains and SoybeansThe U.S. Grains Council expects the

TPP agreement to increase the output of all grain exports from the United States by 11 percent.

PorkJapan is one of the United States’ largest

trading partners for pork, and the goal of this agreement was to improve access for U.S. pork. Preliminary reports from trade ministers indicate that pork tariffs in Japan would drop from 4.3 percent to 2.2 percent. The weight-based tariff on pork would go from roughly $4 per kilogram to just over $1 per kilogram upon entry into force. By year 10, the tariff would dip to nearly 42 cents per kilogram. The Nation-al Pork Producers Council estimates the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal could lead

to the creation of more than 10,000 U.S. jobs from the expected increase in pork exports.

Bernanke on interest ratesThe case made by some that the Federal

Reserve System needs to embark on a course of four one-quarter point increases in short-term interest rates is not some-thing former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke thinks the U.S. economy could tolerate.

“That is not obvious. I don’t think everybody would agree to that,” Bernanke told CNBC, noting such a move would “kill U.S. exports with a very strong dollar.” The September Employment report was “mediocre” in Bernanke’s view and is a “negative” for the Fed’s strategy to begin raising short-term interest rates yet this year.

As for those who argue that raising rates now would allow them to be lowered later, Bernanke simply said such a plan “doesn’t make any sense. If you raised rates too early and kill the economy, that doesn’t help you.”

USDA report likely to keep market volatile

On Oct. 9, the USDA will release the October Supply and Demand Report. While the market is bullish heading into the report, the wide range of trade expectations for this report leaves the market vulnerable to a bearish reversal. 2015-16 U.S. corn stocks are expected to be 1.534 billion bushels (1.339-1.750 billion bushels), com-pared with USDA’s current forecast of 1.592 billion. There is a lot of speculation that this number could go higher given the strong yields and potential increases in production. As for soybeans, traders are expecting 414 million bushels (300-475 million bushels) of U.S. soybean stocks in 2015-16. This compares to a current forecast of 450 mil-lion bushels. This number is more likely to come in near the high end of expectations given the USDA will likely keep production strong and could even lower the export forecast if sales remain down more than 30 percent from historical levels.

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