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December 17, 2021

TOGETHER WITH:

Good morning.

Today’s lead story is on last weekend’s severe weather across Kentucky and surrounding states, where many ag and rural communities were some of the hardest-hit areas.

In the spirit of giving, you can donate to crisis relief efforts via these various funds or through National FFA.

Stories:

• Post-Storm Ag Outlook
• Makes Sense..ory
• New Year, New Pork Tariffs

PS - We're looking for the best ag news memes on the market. See all the details on the scroll.

DISASTER

Brett Carlsen / Getty Images

Deadly tornadoes plowed through six states late last week, killing dozens of people and destroying property and livelihoods. 

And agriculture, especially in the Bluegrass State, was not spared from the mayhem. 

Soundbite: "We have a 200-mile swath through Kentucky that has pulled-down grain systems, destroyed chicken hatcheries, and of course blown-over barns," noted Ryan Quarles, Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture.

Poultry problems: Poultry, the commonwealth’s #1 commodity, experienced major devastation. The Pilgrim’s Pride hatchery in Mayfield, KY (one of the hardest-hit communities) was utterly destroyed—a loss expected to create a "multi-month delay in the processing and raising of chickens," according to Commissioner Quarles.

At least a dozen chicken barns were also destroyed, and farmers are working with the EPA to kill the remaining chickens that lived in the barns.

More Mayhem in Mayfield: Hutson, Inc. reported that their flagship John Deere dealership in Mayfield was completely destroyed by the storm, and severe damage to grain handling facilities was reported across the area.

Located in Graves County, the largest ag-producing county in Kentucky, Mayfield will feel lasting effects from the storm—and the community’s extensive damage will certainly affect the state’s ag output.

Research stalled: In nearby Princeton, the University of Kentucky Grain and Forage Center of Excellence (UK’s premier crop research station) was nearly obliterated, with 99% of the facility’s structures now condemned. Miraculously, no one on-site was injured.

Where this goes: The ag sector’s rebuilding process is certain to take quite some time. And with more major storms sweeping across the plains over the past couple of days, more damage is expected further to the north and west.

→ JBS loves a good charcuterie board… The global meatpacker acquired Italy-based Grupo King for $92M, a move adding more high value-added and delicatessen products to its portfolio.

→ John Deere teasers. The green equipment king is highlighting some upcoming autonomous-focused announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

→ United’s first flight on crop fuel. The airline announced it had completed its first commercial flight using sustainable aviation fuel, specifically a mix of sugar and corn. 

→ Defend the blend. In response to recent changes to minimum volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard, a proposed bipartisan bill from Corn Belt senators would prevent the EPA from reducing 2020 or future finalized renewable volume obligations.

→ Brazil’s tractor frenzy. Expanded soybean acres and strong oilseed prices are two factors boosting ag equipment sales in the South American nation by 40% over 2020.

→ Holy bushels. David Hula of Charles City, Virginia topped the National Corn Yield Contest (again!) with his no-till, irrigated field, which notched 602.17 bushels per acre.

Don't hesitate to check out the Magnetic Ag Job Board before the end of the year. To our college student readers, check out this week's featured gig:

Summer Internship @ Curious Plot

• Gain an immersive experience into life at an agency. You won’t just be organizing files and taking notes. You’ll be working alongside strategic and creative talent to bring your unique skills and strengths to our expansive client roster in the agriculture and food industries. 

Want to get your open roles in front of our 9,000 readers? Post a job here.

AGTECH

Zyter

We’re sensing new agricultural companies poised to help the future of agriculture technology.

And we’re not pretending to have a sixth sense: we’re talking about AgSensor Solutions and Zyter, Inc.

Help this make sense: AgSensor Solutions doesn’t make sensors; they help creators of sensors. The new platform company is a collaboration among AGD Consulting, LogiSync, and Tallgrass Technology Partners—all aiming to help strategize and advance agriculture technologies.

Sensor development, as described by AgSensor Solutions, is "nasty, brutish, and short." Since Internet of Things (IoT) technology in sensors is rapidly growing, the company wants to create a systematic process to aid agriculture applications’ progress—from idea to prototype to commercialization.

Knocking some sense into agriculture: Zyter, Inc., a company based in Maryland, leverages the same IoT technology to help farmers make smart crop management decisions.

They announced Zyter Smart Agriculture™, a platform that uses IoT sensors to capture data, which is analyzed by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The tech uses sensors placed in the ground and throughout the farm to help gather data on soil health and weather measurements. 

Grains: Lots of green on the board as drier South American weather propped up prices.

Livestock: Strong hog sales to Mexico and Japan took prices higher.

*As of Market Close [12/16/21]

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Thanks to Tanner Burton of Illinois for today’s submitted trivia!

Can you guess which fruit has its seeds on the outside and not on the inside?

Answer at the bottom of the email.

**Win a Magnetic koozie when you submit a trivia question and it gets used in a future newsletter.

PORK

Just Super / Getty Images

You know that moment when you realize you cooked way too much food for the holidays? You look around the table and see leftovers for weeks, but you’re in too deep and there’s nothing you can do about it now? 

That’s the situation the world’s largest pork-consuming market finds itself in.

China’s in a pork supply glut. And their solution? Reinstating tariffs. 

Not China’s favorite: Currently, the U.S. competes at a 33% tariff in China. Most other countries are only facing the 8% Most Favoured Nations (MFN) rate. But China’s not letting go of the 25% retaliatory tariff imposed during the trade war between Washington and Beijing. 

Out of whack: China lowered its tariffs on frozen pork in 2020 from 12% to 8%, after a devastating African swine fever outbreak cut Chinese pork production down 33%, and domestic meat prices skyrocketed. 

Chinese imports on steroids: This tariff break and severe supply shock led to record-breaking high imports through the first half of the year. But by then, China’s hog herd had started to recover. The market was flooded with product, and prices fell below production cost by Q3. 

Getting things bacon track: October pork arrivals in China fell by 40% from year-ago levels, to 200,000 tonnes. However, customs data shows 2021 imports to date have only slipped 8% from last year, to 3.34 million tonnes.

Worse than coal for Christmas: The MFN tariff will return to 12% on Jan. 1, and U.S. pork producers will return to the 37% tariff the pork industry worked hard to decrease over the last few years. 

Magnetic’s goal is to bring you digestible ag insights with a dose of humor twice weekly. And if we don’t make you chuckle at least once, well, joke’s on us…

That said, we’re excited to launch a recurring section where you, the readers, submit memes based on past stories. Once you’ve created one, simply submit it here to be featured and win a Magnetic koozie. 

Here’s an example we tossed together from Tuesday’s story on feral hogs affecting production agriculture:

Each time someone subscribes to Magnetic using your custom referral link, you're one step closer to an exclusive Magnetic mug (10 referrals) and t-shirt (20 referrals).

Your link: 

*Curious where you stand? You can always check your referral hub and see rewards here.

Strawberries

Written by Kevin Cross, Sheridan Wimmer, Savanna Barksdale, and Travis Martin

Edited by Ashley Scoby

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