For Millennial Consumers, Useful is the New Cool 

"Why are chicken wings so popular with millennials?" asked keynote speaker Jeff Fromm of the audience at this morning's Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit in Arlington, Va. "Because they're an affordable flavor adventure!"

According to Fromm, more than 69 percent of millennials consider themselves to be adventurous, a theme that's being capitalized upon by savvy brands in, and outside of, the food industry.

Why are millennials so important? Numbers. So says Kay Johnson Smith, president and CEO of the Animal Agriculture Alliance.

"Milllennials are the largest segment of our population today. There are over 80 million folks that are considered millennials. And, so, these are the consumers today, the consumers of the next decade. They are also the people who are making policy decisions and all of that impacts agriculture."

She spoke with me as did Susan Allen of DairyMAX- one of the sponsors of the Alliance and the Summit. Click here to listen to our visit with both of these saavy ladies.  

Johnson Smith said that millennials are unique in the way they respond to marketing. They want more out of the products and services they buy and the brands they support.

Brands highlighted by Fromm during his presentation include Heineken, who's innovative participatory marketing scheme includes a "Travel Roulette" game at airports which asks travelers to spin the wheel for a chance to win a brand new vacation. The catch? Participants have to change their plans and leave immediately.

You can read the rest of this story by clicking here and you'll also find a related story from the Stakeholder Summit by clicking here.

U.S. Pork, Beef Exports Increase Pace in March 

The pace of U.S. beef and pork exports increased sharply in March, driven by double-digit increases to leading markets Mexico, the China/Hong Kong region and South Korea, according to statistics released by the USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

U.S. pork exports reached their highest monthly total since October 2012: 209,704 metric tons (mt) valued at $606.7 million, increasing 29 percent in both volume and value over March 2013.

Exports of U.S. beef rose 12 percent in volume to 93,380 mt valued at $516.2 million, an increase of 17 percent.

When measured in proportion to overall U.S. beef and pork production, March exports also showed gains. Total pork exports (muscle cuts plus variety meat) equated to 31.5 percent of total U.S. pork production in March (26 percent of muscle cuts alone) versus 28 and 23.5 percent, respectively, a year ago. Beef exports accounted for 14 percent of total production and 11 percent of muscle cuts - up from 12 and 9 percent in 2013.

Click here for the full export report from the USMEF.

RFA Asks President Obama to Reconsider EPA Proposal to Reduce Ethanol Blending Requirements

Yesterday, the Renewable Fuels Association joined with other leaders of America's renewable fuel industry in sending a letter urging President Obama to reconsider a proposal by his Administration to reduce the renewable content of gasoline and diesel fuel. Just this week, the President released the National Climate Assessment and issued a call to action on climate change - a problem that would be worsened unless the Administration changes its approach to renewable fuels.

The can read the letter online by clicking here.

Ethanol Industry Battles for Hearts and Minds of Consumers, Regulators

The ethanol industry is still waiting for the Environmental Protection Agency to make a final decision on the amount of ethanol required to be blended with the nation's gasoline supply for 2014. The agency originally indicated it wanted to lower the figure for this year and the final decision was to be made last November. Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, said the decision is still at least another month away.

He spoke with me recently and said that there is a lot of misunderstanding about the ethanol industry among the American public, fueled in no small part, by the oil industry.

"There seems to be a lot of folks who just don't understand what happens in rural America and there's a lot of folks," he said, "who don't really understand how ethanol and renewable fuels are made and what their value is."

Buis said there is a lot of disinformation making the rounds and it's hard for the public to sort through it all and come up with the facts.

You can listen to our conversation or read more of this story by clicking here.  

Kim Anderson Says Wheat Prices Have Probably Reached Their Peak

In his preview to this week's SUNUP program, Dr. Kim Anderson, Oklahoma State University Grain Marketing Specialist, says he believes wheat prices may have reached their peak.

"We've had a good $2-plus run up in prices over the last couple of months. There are signs that we are hitting the top now. Production is going to determine if prices go up from now and we're not going to know how much wheat we've produced until it rolls across the scales. But there are signs that we are getting close to the top."

He says some of those signs include U.S. and foreign stocks. Stocks are going up in the rest of the world while the U.S. is the only country projected to have lower ending stocks.

"That means that we have adequate supplies of wheat throughout the world. If the foreign countries have good harvests, then I think that is going to put a cap on how high our prices are going to go."

You can listen to more of Kim Anderson's preview and view this week's lineup for SUNUP by clicking here.

 

Rabobank Q2 Pork Report: Disease Continues to be the Focus of Global Pork Markets

Pork shortages will be a key concern in many countries in the coming months. According to the Rabobank Food & Agribusiness (FAR) Research and Advisory group Pork Quarterly Q2 report, the ongoing spread of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) in the Americas and Asia will have a material impact on pork supply both this summer and in the years to come. Exacerbating tight global supply is Russia's ban on EU pork imports after recent African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks. However, oversupply in China is expected to continue, driven by high sow liquidation.

"PEDv has been the driving force pushing up pork prices, especially in the U.S., to record highs," said Rabobank analyst Albert Vernooij. "U.S. futures climbed 30% in Q1 and are up 45% over last year, impacting pork users and consumer's ability to source enough pork for their needs."

Rabobank believes the outbreak of PEDv in the U.S., Mexico, Japan and South Korea will lead to a likely decline in global pork production in 2014 (against an earlier expected 1.3% increase). In the U.S., where the PEDv outbreak has been most severe, Rabobank estimates that pork production could decline to mid-single digits (6-7%) in 2014 due to hog losses from the virus. 

Click here to read more.  

 

Biotech Industry Seeks Federal Solution to Vermont GE Food Labeling Bill 

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed into law Thursday, H. 112, that state's GMO food labeling bill. The Vermont law is due to take effect July 1, 2016. Cathleen Enright, Executive Vice President for Food and Agriculture for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) issued the following statement in response: 

"The biotech industry is committed to providing information about how our food is grown and fully supports the voluntary labeling of products to meet specific demands of consumers in the marketplace.


"Unfortunately, when labels are mandated to promote one product over another, as this one in Vermont, the additional cost burden is placed on the state's farmers, food manufacturers, grocers and consumers. Economic studies have shown that such a program could needlessly increase food costs on the average household by as much as $400 per year.      

"State labeling laws such as the one signed into law today demonstrate that the GMO labeling discussion deserves a national solution. Such an approach has been proposed in the U.S. Congress in the form of the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act (H.R. 4432), which appropriately confirms and explicitly places the authority to require food labeling in this area with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration."   

Click here to read the text of HR 4432. Proponents of GMO labeling call the bill an affront to states' rights and an attack on consumers who wish to know what they're buying.