January exports of U.S. beef, pork and lamb were down sharply from a year ago, according to data released by USDA and compiled by USMEF. Shipping delays caused by the West Coast labor dispute combined with a number of economic factors to drive export volumes for beef and pork to four-year lows. However, USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng noted that the situations facing U.S. beef and pork are quite different. Global beef supplies are extremely tight again this year, while pork supplies are increasing and competition in major pork export markets continues to intensify.


"We expected January to be a difficult month, so these results are not especially surprising," Seng said, "but I see the January slowdown as a wakeup call for the U.S. industry in terms of the fiercely competitive situation we face in key markets. Conditions are now improving in the West Coast ports, but the damage caused by that impasse is still not finished, and it is clear that competitors capitalized on our inability to move product in a timely fashion. We need to win back the confidence of the valuable Asian customer base we spent many years building."


While port congestion was certainly a major factor in the sluggish January results, Seng noted that a number of other headwinds also had an impact.


"The currencies of several of our major destinations have weakened substantially against the U.S. dollar - not only in Asia, but also in the Western Hemisphere," he said. "And unfortunately the currencies of our major competitors - Australia, the European Union, Brazil and Canada, to name a few - are also in a weakened state. We saw this building throughout the latter half of 2014, and the price disadvantage is increasingly difficult to overcome."


January was the first month in which beef tariff reductions were in effect under the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA), with further reductions coming in April. Though an agreement has not yet been reached, Japan recently completed the ninth round of its economic partnership talks with the EU and is expected eventually to sign an agreement that will reduce tariffs on European pork. South Korea's new trade agreements with Australia and Canada have also narrowed the tariff rate advantage the United States holds over imports from these two countries.  

To read more about the bright spots for beef exports to Mexico, Taiwan and Caribbean, as well as details on pork export levels,

click here.  

U.S. and global stock numbers were tweaked slightly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. On Tuesday, USDA released the U.S. ending stocks report and the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate report.  Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities said there were no big surprises, as the numbers came in close to trade estimates. Leslie Smith with RON talked with Leffler shortly after the numbers were released by Uncle Sam.


The U.S. corn ending stocks came in at 1.777 billion bushels. Leffler said this was lower than what the trade was expecting and 50 million bushels lower than the February estimate and down 100 million from the January estimate. U.S. soybean ending stocks came in at 385 million bushels. Leffler said this was higher than what the traded expected, it was unchanged over February's estimate and 25 million lower than the January estimate. U. S. wheat ending stocks was estimated at 691 million bushels. Leffler said this was lower than what the trade expected and one million bushels lower than February's estimate, but four million bushels higher than the January report. In going back to the January estimate, Leffler said corn, wheat and soybeans prices are all trading lower, as there isn't a lot of changes in U.S. stock numbers.


The amount of corn necessary to make a gallon of ethanol is less than previously believed according to USDA. In lowering the projected demand by the ethanol market for U.S. corn by 50 million bushels, the agency cited "a higher rate of conversion than previously assumed" as the reasoning for the adjustment. The information upon which this analysis was based came from the National Agricultural Statistics Service's new Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production report. 

USDA also released the March WASDE report on global production.  To read more or to listen to the complete analysis from Tom Leffler, click here.   

Agriculture is Focus of the International Year of Soils for March

As part of the 2015 International Year of Soils (IYS) celebration, CropLife America (CLA) is pleased to recognize the importance of soil in agriculture. Soil provides a foundation for plant growth, yet less than 11% of the world's land surface is arable. Protecting this remaining land is vital as it can take more than 500 years to form just two centimeters of topsoil, a nutrient-filled layer crucial for crop growth. Through the use of crop protection products, farmers can practice conservation tillage to avoid soil disruption and keep topsoil healthy and productive.


"With an ever-decreasing amount of arable land, it is imperative to keep soil healthy," commented Jay Vroom, president and CEO of CLA. "Precision agriculture and the advancement of crop protection products allow farmers to properly adjust and react to varying conditions in their fields. This exactness is the basis of modern agriculture-giving farmers the ability to increase yields while reducing the environmental impact."


The Soil Science Society of America has developed unique monthly themes to showcase the diverse value of soil with March recognizing how Soils Support Agriculture. Educators can download activities as well as a PowerPoint presentation and a video, co-sponsored by the American Society of Agronomy, to help teach students about the significance of soil in agriculture. Topics include how plants obtain nutrients, the impact of erosion and the importance of practices such as precision agriculture.

For more information or resources on the importance of soil, click here.   

Cell Grazing Demands Intensive Management of Your Forage- Jim Gerrish Explains in This Beef Buzz

Jim Gerrish was a featured speaker at the recent Oklahoma No-Till Conference in Norman. He is a big advocate for cell grazing and the concept of ranching without making hay. I asked Gerrish how he got to a point where his operation didn't need hay, but rather was relying on standing forage year around.


"It's all about planning, really knowing how many animals you can carry through the winter, how many acres it's going to take," Gerrish said. "We looked at winter as basically being a third of the year, so we knew we would need to stockpile a third of the farm each year to graze through the winter, so that's what we based our cow number on, is how many head can we graze in the winter."


Depending on the weather, Gerrish said the number of cattle their farm can handle changes every year. The overall concept is about forward planning. He calls the whole process management intensive grazing, because it's the management that is being intensified, not the grazing.

To read more or to listen to my Beef Buzz feature, click here.   

CattleFax Sees Upside for Beef Sales  

Don't let beef consumption numbers get you down. CattleFax senior market analyst Kevin Good said the proof is in the numbers.


"As we think about it from a per capita supply basis consumption and production are pretty close together when you add in and subtract exports and imports," Good said. "So we've had a pretty big decline in per capita supplies over the past couple of years and that's been the engine that's drove prices higher."


But that doesn't mean people like beef any less. 2014 beef demand was strong in retail, food service, and export, Good says. Lower fuel costs help spur restaurant traffic and beef sales.


"As you think about that the average driver will save about $600 this year just because of lower gas prices," Good said. "Well there's a very strong correlation if gas prices go down the average consumer will spend more time, they will go out to eat, and that really does help that restaurant trade."


And the beef industry has done a better job of responding to consumer demand. CattleFax says that's key to building future consumption.  Good said this is part of long term demand for quality and consistency.  To read more or to watch a video news release, click here.   

Award winning broadcast journalist Jerry Bohnen has spent years learning and understanding how to cover the energy business here in the southern plains- Click here to subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.

Winfield Has New Winter Canola Varieties in the Pipeline

Canola and cotton farmers can look forward to some new technology in the near future. Croplan is among the companies that will be releasing new varieties in 2015 and 2016. This makes for an exciting time for growers. I caught up with Greg Birdwell- Retail Development Manager for Winfield at the recent Canola College and we talked about the Winfield commitment to the fledgling winter canola industry. 


The winter canola varieties from Croplan will be released on a limited basis in the fall of 2015 and by fall 2016, farmers will see a big change in winter canola varieties for Oklahoma. Birdwell said certainly after all of the weather events the past four or five years in Oklahoma, variety development has slowed as researchers have put a bigger focus on winter hardiness. After several tough years, Birdwell said it doesn't matter if a variety yields a lot, unless it can sustain the cold weather.


"We have to be able to have a stand out there, we can't harvest anything if we don't have stand," Birdwell said.


Cotton growers can also look forward to some advances in varieties. Dow will release Enlist, which has tolerance to 2,4-D and glyphosate. Monsanto will release Xtend, their dicamba-resistant cotton technology. Croplan will also have two new varieties for production in 2015.   Birdwell said both will have the Xtend technology for use with dicamba. Currently the Environmental Protection Agency is re-reviewing dicamba use, so while farmers will have genetics, Birdwell said it will be 2016 before farmers can use dicamba on the crop. Having new cotton varieties will greatly help farmers with pigweed, marestail along with the growing problem of resistant weeds. Birdwell said weed resistance is a huge issue across Oklahoma, so it will be good to get some new tools.  

To listen to my interview with Birdwell, click here.   

This N That- Big Iron Today, OYE Opens Their Gates Today and Coming Friday- It's the 74-51 Ranch Red Dirt Bull Sale

It's Wednesday- and that means the Big Iron folks will be busy closing out this week's auction items - all 793 items consigned.  Bidding will start at 10 AM central time.                 

 Click Here for the complete rundown of what is being sold on this no reserve online sale this week.