Good morning.
Luke Bryan is bringing home the bacon—via music, of course, but also... National Pork Board ad campaigns?
The country music singer has been busy: you might remember a couple weeks ago, when we mentioned his popcorn partnership with Fendt.
Now, he's turning his attention to pigs. Or rather, pig farmers, and busting misconceptions people might have about the industry. The video he was a part of will be part of the Pork Board's Mythbusting 2.0 campaign.
That's our kinda night promo.
Stories:
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"I hear that train a-comin'. It’s rollin’ ‘round the bend…"
And for now, it looks like this train will stay on the tracks.
Crisis averted: After a marathon negotiation session between the major U.S. railroads and unions, President Biden announced yesterday they had come to a tentative labor agreement and that a looming strike expected to begin today would be avoided.
And that’s good news for everyone. Especially for agriculture.
With rail a major transporter of ag inputs and outputs, the industry was (understandably) concerned about a potential nightmare scenario.
Livestock: The American Association of Railroads reports that 1.5M carloads of grain are transported by rail annually—a lot of that destined to fill animals’ hungry bellies.
So it’s a good thing shipments are still rolling… for livestock AND our wallets. Because like Tom Super with the National Chicken Council said, "Any disruption of service could… impact production at a time when Americans are already dealing with record food inflation."
Uh… no thank you.
A strike would have been bad news bears for grain farmers as well. With the fall harvest underway, a sudden delay in shipments and a subsequent backup at grain elevators would have created the "perfect storm" of nowhere to take the grain.
Oh… and don’t forget the delayed fertilizer shipments that farmers need… like now.
Where this goes: A pay increase and better working conditions seem to be on the menu for union workers to consider as they vote for or against the tentative agreement in the coming weeks.
But for now, it looks like the immediate risk of "devastating consequences to our national and global food security" has been derailed.
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→ New are centers coming. $400M from the USDA will fund regional food business centers in high-need areas nationwide to provide coordination, technical support, and capacity-building for farmers, ranchers, and other food businesses.
→ Fowl play. Cargill Meat, Sanderson Farms, and Wayne Farms have agreed to pay a ~$85M settlement after being accused of suppressing wages; the settlement’s being reviewed by a district court.
→ Going soft(ware). The CEO of John Deere expects the company to make 10% of its revenue from software fees by the end of the decade, after extensive investment into things like self-driving tractors and smart crop sprayers.
→ Purple (tomato) eaters. The USDA approved Norfolk Plant Sciences’ genetically modified purple tomato, and home growers can purchase seeds starting in spring 2023.
→ ‘Til the cows come home. Although questions still remain about potential livestock marketing reform in the future, for now, the mandatory livestock price reporting program will likely continue.
→ Sour prices. Inflation is nothing new this year, but fresh fruit prices jumped up more than any other food category from July to August (up 5.3%), besides carbonated beverages.
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Biden's Big Biotech Boost
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Beans are getting a big-time boost. Thanks to a recently signed executive order, President Biden has started a new biotech and biomanufacturing initiative that will help create more downstream demand for soybeans.
What this means: By improving markets for biobased products and encouraging R&D in the area, soy growers can expect a more heavily supported market in the future. In short, the ag industry is pleased. Gasp!
Happy, happy, happy: The American Soybean Association issued a press release giving high praise to the executive order. Included was a list of items "appreciated by soy," including:
- The Data for the Bioeconomy Initiative, which will use data to drive breakthroughs in the bioeconomy
- Various agencies taking steps to expand domestic biomanufacturing and biobased product manufacturing
- An emphasis on federal agency procurement of biobased products, overseen by USDA
Soundbite: "This announcement puts in place steps that will help our industry continue to use soybeans to develop innovative, sustainable products that can help lower greenhouse gas emissions and create more jobs for not only agriculture but all Americans." – Brad Doyle – President of the American Soybean Association
But it's not just soy, y'all: Improved biotech could make waves through the whole food industry. Beyond soybeans, both corn and cotton have long since adopted genetically modified seeds, for example.
Meanwhile, other companies are using biotech for things like precision fermentation, and genetic modification of plants to produce proteins. More biotech could pave the way to a more sustainable food supply.
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Test your popular (or unpopular, depending on how you look at it) pest knowledge! Japanese beetles have a one-year life cycle, and can be spotted between the end of June and September. Adult beetles live a short duration of 60 days and spend them feeding, mating, and laying eggs (what a life).
Besides chomping your soybean leaves and threatening corn silks, Japanese beetles have a surprisingly diverse palate. Just how many plant species will they feast upon?
- 75
- 100
- 300
- 1,000
Answer at the bottom of the email.
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Production Down, Prices Up |
The Busman, Getty Images | DAPA Images | Sommail, Getty Images
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It’s corn! A big lump with knobs. It has the juice.
But we’re talking soybeans and cotton, too.
Each month, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) provides the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report. Yesterday, they released September’s report, and some commodities are down compared to 2021, driven by decreased production and yield. The culprit? You guessed it—drought.
By the numbers:
Production:
- Corn production is down 8% from 2021, forecast at 13.9B bushels.
- Soybean production is down 1%, forecast at 4.38B bushels.
- Cotton production is down 21%, forecast at 13.8B 480-pound bales.
Planted acres:
- Area planted to corn – estimated at 88.6M acres, down 1% from the previous estimate.
- Area planted to soybeans – estimated at 87.5M acres, down 1%.
- Area plated to cotton – estimated at 13.8M acres, up 11%.
Yield from last month’s forecast:
- National yield for corn is forecast at 172.5 bushels per acre, down 2.9 bushels or 2% from last month.
- Soybean yield is forecast at 50.5 bushels per acre, down 1.4 bushels or 3% from last month.
- Cotton yield expected to average 843 pounds per harvested acre, down 3 pounds from last month’s forecast.
What this means for prices: Less corn means a projected near-record $6.65/bushel price. Soybeans are expected to get an average $14.35/bushel—just 5 cents less than the record.
Soundbite: "If you were 50% sold going into this and if you've got bin space, this report is telling us you would want to store that grain and expect basis to be pretty strong throughout into the spring," says Bill Biedermann, co-founder of AgMarket.net. "The stocks-to-use ratios are still extremely tight on a historical basis. With these numbers, the odds are the crop will continue to get smaller."
He even added there was a 70% chance we’d see more reductions after the USDA drops the national average yield in its September report.
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C. More than 300 plant species! When they first enter a region, they usually start with the garden before heading for the fields.
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Written & Edited by Kevin Cross, Aaron Dunajeski, Sheridan Wimmer, Amelia VanLandegen, Ashley Scoby, and Travis Martin
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P.O. Box 7292
Greenwood, IN 46142-6423
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