Momentum Remains Strong for U.S. Pork, Beef Exports

U.S. pork and beef exports maintained their strong momentum in May, with export volumes for both products exceeding last year's totals and value increasing by double digits, according to statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).


May pork exports totaled 188,030 metric tons (mt), up 4 percent from a year ago. Export value remained in the $600 million range for the third consecutive month, increasing 19 percent to $599.6 million. For January through May, pork export volume (964,631 mt) was 9 percent ahead of last year's pace, while export value was up 15 percent to $2.84 billion.


Beef exports in May were up 5 percent in volume (102,967 mt) and 15 percent in value ($589 million). For the first five months of 2014, export volume was up 9 percent to 479,344 mt and value increased 17 percent to $2.64 billion.


Beef exports largest of the year to Hong Kong, Mexico - In mid-June, U.S. beef gained full access to Hong Kong, adding key products such as ground beef and processed meats. But even with some restrictions still in place, May exports to Hong Kong surged more than 80 percent from a year ago to 13,008 mt. On a value basis, exports more than doubled to $95.2 million.


Click Here to read more highlights of growing demand for beef and pork internationally.    
 

Kim Anderson Outlines Wheat Marketing Options  

Will wheat farmers even see $7 wheat again? That was the question posed to Kim Anderson, Oklahoma State University Grain Marketing Economist on last weekend's edition of SUNUP. Anderson responds with the answer that it is impossible to predict commodity prices. With no crystal ball in hand, Anderson recommends farmers watch the volatility to see what the prices are doing.


"Right now we are bidding off the September KC contract, Anderson said. "If you look at the support prices, that price is about $6.70 - 6.75 right now".


"It's got weak support at $6.80 and stronger support at $6.40," Anderson said. "That means that it's probably going to touch those points, bounce a little bit and either go on down or turn back up."


Typically Anderson prefers marketing wheat by selling one third at harvest, one third in the September-October time frame and one third in the November-December time frame, as it provides dollar cost averaging, but there are some other options to consider this year.  

Click Here to read more about Anderson's recommendations.  

NCBA Comments on Interpretive Rule- Saying EPA Wants NRCS to Become the  'Water Police'   

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the Public Lands Council filed comments on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' "interpretive" rule. The rule will make the Natural Resource Conservation Service a regulatory compliance agency, resulting in cattle producers putting less conservation on the ground.


The interpretive rule was published in the Federal Register the same day as the agencies' proposed rule to redefine "waters of the United States" under the Clean Water Act. The rule's intent is to interpret what Congress meant when it included a statutory exemption for "normal farming, silviculture and ranching activities" under the 404 Dredge and Fill Program.


"The EPA claims they have made right with the agricultural community by interpreting their exemption to only include the 'normal' 56 NRCS practice standards, excluding all other NRCS practice standards and all voluntary conservation activities," said Ashley McDonald, NCBA environmental council. "By defining these very specific 56 practices, the interpretive rule only narrows the scope of what is considered normal farming and ranching practices. These practices, such as building a fence, or grazing cattle, never needed a permit before, but now require oversight by NRCS and mandatory compliance with its standards."   

Click Here to read more of comments made by NCBA and PLC on the 'Waters of the US proposed rule'.  

Harvest continues in Oklahoma.   In the weekly crop progress report, canola harvest reached 98 percent complete and wheat harvest was 95 percent complete Sunday.  Results of the July Ag Yield survey comes out July 11th.  Rye harvest was 75 percent complete and oats are 59 percent harvested.  First cutting of alfalfa reached 98 percent complete, while second cutting was 70 percent complete.  Row crop conditions continued to be rated mostly good to excellent due to higher than normal June rainfall totals and warm temperatures.  Corn rated 85 percent fair to excellent condition, sorghum rated 88 percent fair to excellent, 95 percent of the cotton is in fair to excellent condition while 100 percent of the peanut crop is in fair to excellent condition.  Pasture and range conditions were mostly rated good to fair.  Even with precipitation, subsoil moisture condition were not improving and soil erosion continued to be a issue in areas. Click here for the full Oklahoma report.


Winter wheat continued to be harvested throughout the state of Texas.  Harvest is 85 percent complete, which is slightly ahead of last year, but five percent behind the five year average.  Corn, soybeans, sorghum and peanuts all rated above 90 percent fair to excellent condition, while cotton rated 78 percent fair to excellent.  Eighty percent of the pasture rated fair to excellent.  Areas of the east and central continue to be green while some areas are in need of moisture.  Click Here for the full Texas report.


Kansas farmers were busy harvesting wheat, although some harvest was delayed due to application of herbicide to control weeds due to the recent rains.  Wheat harvest was 70 percent complete, behind 

Could it be this year's corn crop is continuing to improve?  That is what it looks like according to the US Department of Agriculture's weekly crop progress report.  Nationally the crop improved one point in the excellent category and otherwise held steady since last week. That's on top of the two points the crop gained a week ago in the excellent category.  USDA reports 21 percent of the nation's crop is in excellent condition, 54 percent in the good condition, 20 percent in fair, four in poor and one percent in very poor condition.  


The nation's soybean crop remains unchanged over a week ago with 15 percent in excellent condition, 57 percent in good, 23 percent in fair, four in poor and one percent in very poor condition.  


Nationally 57 percent of the winter wheat has been harvested.  That three points behind the five year average of 60.  


Pasture and range conditions dropped slightly over a week ago in gaining one point in the very poor and fair condition categories. Nationally pasture and range conditions rated 11 percent excellent, 45 percent good, 28 percent fair, 11 percent poor and five percent very poor condition.


To read the full national crop progress report Click Here.  

Record Prices, Creates Mixed Emotions for Beef Industry

Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, writes in the latest Cow/Calf Corner newsletter


The beef industry is experiencing a wide range of emotions at the current time. The level of excitement is obvious as cattle and beef prices have pushed even beyond record levels of earlier this year. Cattle prices are at values unimaginable just a few years ago. Higher cost of production and reduced herd sizes notwithstanding, many cow-calf producers will experience record returns in 2014. Coupled with the excitement, however, is a certain level of disbelief of current price levels. There is almost a "pinch me to see if I'm awake" feeling among many cattle producers. Though producers have been expecting strong prices as a result of declining cattle inventories and reduced beef production, the recent meteoric rise in cattle and beef prices is even beyond what only a few imagined and none would predict.


Coupled with disbelief is a growing level of skepticism, especially regarding beef demand. The most common question I get from producers is "when do we price ourselves out of the market?" or "when do people stop eating beef?" It's almost as if we have no confidence in our product or our consumers. There are a multitude of beef products and some adjust more than others but it is becoming more apparent that many beef products are less price-sensitive than we might have imagined. Beef wholesale prices have pushed sharply higher the past month and the impacts will be felt in retail prices in the coming weeks. It takes time for retail markets to fully adjust and, while wholesale prices may cycle lower again after Independence Day, general upward pressure on wholesale and retail prices will continue for many months. Pork prices, partly due to impacts of the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv), and poultry prices have also increased. How those industries respond in coming months will be important. Certainly we are challenging beef demand in a manner unlike ever before and we must be sensitive to how retailers and consumers respond to rising price levels but both domestic and international beef demand are proving to be quite robust so far.  

Click Here to read more of Dr. Peel's comments.  

For Your Reading Pleasure- a Really Good Overview of the Changes in the Farm Safety Net in the 2014 Farm Law

USDA's Economic Research Service has an Electronic publication called Amber Waves and in their July Issue- released yesterday- they offer a really good and detailed look at the changes in the federal farm safety net that has come out of the 2014 Farm Law- passed back in February of this year by Congress and Signed by President Obama.  

Implementation is still underway- and you won't be signing up for the 2014 Crop Year until maybe this fall- but reading this overview may help you start the process of making the decisions that are ahead for your operation as they relate to the 2014 Farm Law.

Click here for the full article- below are the first couple of paragraphs of what author Anne Effland has written:

"The 2014 Farm Act introduces a marked change in U.S. commodity policy, ending nearly 20 years of fixed annual payments to producers based on historical production. New programs offer a variety of payment structures, commodity coverage, and level of yield and/or revenue risk, but all are tied in some way to annual or multi-year fluctuations in prices, yields, or revenues. The new Farm Act continues a movement toward closer links between commodity programs and Federal crop insurance that began with the 2008 Farm Act, but producers also face increased choices that add complexity to the program enrollment decision.

"Farmers have a variety of approaches to managing risk, including savings, off-farm employment, forward contracting, and portfolio diversification. While most producers use one or more of these private tools for risk management, many also combine these with participation in Government commodity and insurance programs. Producers of eligible commodities who choose to enroll in commodity programs or purchase new insurance products have a range of new options under the Agricultural Act of 2014."