Good morning.
The number of agricultural professionals cultivating their knowledge in academics has grown significantly over the last two decades.
Economists found that agricultural-related degrees and certifications grew 46% since 2003.
The No. 1 area of growth…veterinary/animal health technologies. That’s good news for the farmers considering the widespread veterinarian shortage, especially among large animal vets.
Stories:
- Hola, El Niño
- Potential Disease Disaster
- Mental Health on the Farm
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Devonyu from Getty Images
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One thing about El Niño is clear - it makes good summers for pool parties, so break out the donut-shaped floaties and drink umbrellas.
…outside of that, experts are split on whether this is sunny or stormy news for farmers and food prices.
Experts sounded the El Niño alarm last month. Since then, that elusive weather crystal ball has gotten clearer. Signs of El Niño are even stronger this month - reaching a 90% likelihood by summer and even higher through the following seasons.
El Niño is tied to warm ocean water that’s stirred up in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific.
Sunny side up: USDA’s crop production forecast for May is already counting on Mother Nature to hold up her end of the bargain. Extremely optimistic record national corn and soybean yields are factored in. Typically, El Niño summers create favorable crop-growing seasons in the U.S.
Not a certain thing: The timing of El Niño’s arrival will dictate the favorable conditions for crops. It also doesn’t mean that a giant greenhouse is dropping over the parts of the U.S. that grow crops. The Plains, western Corn Belt and Great Lakes regions may be warmer, but also drier.
Aaaand not everyone is excited: There’s a chance that El Niño could pile on to the drought conditions in the Central and Southern Plains. And outside of agriculture, El Niño tends to be costly in terms of droughts, floods, and heat waves around the world.
ow, watch, and look."
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→ Grain deal extended again. Turkey announced the two-month extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative after negotiations with Russia last week despite Russia allegedly delaying export inspections. The 60-day extension was the third time the initiative was extended.
→ Taking flight. Corn-based ethanol is getting a $1 billion investment in sustainable aviation fuel through Summit Agricultural Group’s latest partnership with Honeywell’s Ethanol to Jet processing technology.
→ Crisis diversion. Export groups are betting on an agreement by June between labor groups and West Coast maritime companies to keep ports running.
→ Food (name) fight. Dairy groups applauded a bill aimed at helping U.S. food exporters use common names like "parmesan and bologna" to sell to European countries.
→ On the chopping block. USDA funding could get a $9 million cut that primarily targets the USDA’s climate programs funding.
→ A flood of savings. The Army Corps of Engineers began a project to allow more efficient passage for barges in the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. Expansion in the river lock system is expected to save farmers about 1.5 cents per bushel per lock.
→ Clean cash. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, there will be $11B in grants and loans for clean energy projects across rural America.
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Potential Disease Disaster |
The battle to prevent a catastrophic livestock disease made it to Washington last week as the Foreign Animal Disease Prevention, Surveillance, and Rapid Response Act of 2023 was introduced.
The bipartisan bills would continue USDA funding for foreign animal disease response and are supported by both the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and National Pork Producers Council.
The legislation comes on the heels of a recent analysis from Iowa State economist Dermot Hayes that looked at the potential impact of U.S. livestock disease.
Sick Pigs: The study indicates that a domestic African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak could have a $79.5B hit on the pork and beef industries while taking out as many as 60,000 industry jobs.
The loss of export markets would drop pork prices as much as 60%, and they would stay there for three years, leaving behind fewer producers and a downsized industry.
But wait, there’s more: The analysis gets even darker, predicting a $231B loss for a dual outbreak of ASF and Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), using a worst-case scenario of total elimination of all U.S. exports of the affected meat for 10 years.
All about the exports: According to Hayes, as the export market collapses the domestic market would flood with cheap pork and beef, also driving poultry prices down. If a 10 year cycle can be prevented many job and rural economic losses might be avoided while vet clinics and finishing barns weather the storm.
Soundbite: "So, it's all about getting back into export markets, which in turn is about getting countries to regionalize this, which in turn depends on traceability." — Dermot Hayes
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Your Commodity Market Guide
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If you were debating a second cup of coffee this morning, here’s permission to go for it.
Research from Texas A&M University has found evidence that increased coffee consumption can lower your rate of colon/rectal cancer, plus endometrial and other cancers.
True or False: Coffee can also decrease the rate of Parkinson’s disease and Type 2 diabetes.
Answer at the bottom of the email.
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Mental Health on the Farm |
Zoran Zeremski from Getty Images
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May is Mental Health Awareness month – a reminder to check in with your farming friends and family.
It comes as no surprise that farmers and ranchers have higher stress and depression levels than those working non-farm jobs.
The hard facts: According to 2020 CDC data, farmers are twice as likely to die from suicide as people in other professions. The American Farm Bureau Federation found that 61% of farmers and farm workers are struggling with increased stress and mental health challenges vs. a year ago.
Biggest stressors: Farmers face tremendous uncertainty in their jobs each day, but some of the largest stress factors include the weather, markets, trade policies, heavy workloads, regulations, finances, isolation/loneliness, and concern about their farm’s legacy/succession planning.
During COVID lockdowns everyone experienced isolation, but farmers, ranchers, and ag workers felt their isolation multiplied in what can already be isolating work.
Adrienne DeSutter, ag mental health specialist, said being proactive and addressing loneliness by keeping in touch with good friends and family is crucial. Talking to people – seed reps, agronomists, truck drivers, neighbors, and people you encounter on the day-to-day can help, too.
DeSutter recommends using Farmstateofmind.org to find localized counseling services, hotlines, and other published information.
Additional Resources:
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Written & Edited by Kelsey Faivre, Jen Hill, Amelia VanLandegen, and Dawson Schmitt
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