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Beef Demand Leaps 15.5 Percent in First Quarter 2015

Over the last several years, beef demand has been measured on a quarterly basis. Most quarters have shown beef demand has exceeded year ago levels. Kansas State University Agricultural Economist Glynn Tonsor said in our latest Beef Buzz that beef demand for the first quarter of 2015 was exceptionally strong compared to one year ago with demand up 15.5 percent relative to the first quarter of 2014.


"That is by far the largest year-over-year increase for any one quarter in this series that goes back to 1990," Tonsor said.


Beef demand has increased for the past four years with demand up 18 of the last 19 quarters.   Tonsor said that is an incredibly long run for the beef industry.


Per capita consumption increased ever-so-slightly during the first three months of the year, while beef prices increased nearly 13.5 percent compared to 2014 levels.


"While the change in consumption was small, it is imperative to note both prices and consumption volume increase only if beef demand improves," Tonsor said.


With the public willing to pay for beef than anticipated, Tonsor said that is half of the equation on why there are historically high cattle prices. Click here to read more or have the opportunity to listen to Tonsor talk about the factors that have come together for the strong cattle market.   

USDA Announces $235 Million Available for Innovative New Conservation Partnerships

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Monday an investment of up to $235 million to improve the nation's water quality, combat drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat and protect agricultural viability. The funding is being made available through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), the newest conservation tool of the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).


RCPP, created by the 2014 Farm Bill, empowers local leaders to work with multiple partners-such as private companies, local and tribal governments, universities, non-profit groups and other non-government partners-along with farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners to design solutions that work best for their region. Local partners and the federal government both invest funding and manpower to projects to maximize their impact. This will be the second round of projects funded through RCPP. The RCPP program helps USDA build on already-record enrollment in conservation programs, with over 500,000 producers participating to protect land and water on over 400 million acres nationwide.


"This is a new, innovative approach to conservation," said Vilsack. "This initiative allows local partners the opportunity to design and invest in conservation projects specifically tailored for their communities. These public-private partnerships can have an impact that's well beyond what the Federal government could accomplish on its own. These efforts keep our land and water clean, and promote tremendous economic growth in agriculture, construction, tourism, and other industries."


Secretary Vilsack made the announcement at a signing ceremony in Denver for the Colorado Pressurized Small Hydropower Partnership Project, a 2015-funded project that focuses on water quantity resource concerns in Colorado. Click here to read about this drought project or other projects funded by USDA.
 

Day one of the Kansas Wheat Crop Tour is in the books- and the average numbers for all stops for Day One came in slightly under the average of 2014- 34.3 bushels per acre this year versus 34.7 bushels in 2014.  This year's number is the lowest since 2001. 

A total of 92 scouts checked 284 fields in the first day of scouting that ended up last night in northwest Kanasas.

Yield-robbing diseases, particularly stripe rust, were apparent in fields in north-central Kansas. Scouts on one route of the Wheat Quality Council's tour found light to moderate stripe rust in three of the first five fields checked.

Since wet conditions tend to help diseases spread, pressure on yields may increase in some areas after heavy rains fell Monday parts of Kansas, the top U.S. winter wheat producer. The diseases may offset the moisture's benefits.

Reuters quotes Justin Gilpin of the Kansas Wheat Commission as saying "The rain is definitely going to benefit the crop, but we are seeing a lot of variability. The high-end yield potential isn't there."

However- the rains that the scouts worked around will likely benefit the crop to some extent. "I think the rain made bad wheat look not quite as bad," said Jim Shroyer, retired wheat extension specialist for K-State Research and Extension (KSRE). "This rain was easily worth millions of dollars for this year's wheat crop."

To read a full summary of Day One of the Tour across north central Kansas and a little bit of southern Nebraska- click or tap here.

American Farm Bureau Economist Provides Farm and Congressional Outlook

With cold, wet spring weather in the forecast, one leading agricultural economist isn't worried about spring planting progress. American Farm Bureau Chief Economist & Deputy Executive Director Bob Young said in looking around the country he isn't surprised that some areas are ahead of schedule while other areas are behind in planting 2015 crops.


With the uncertainty of Mother Nature, Young finds there are some producers that haven't made their final planting decisions yet. Some of that will depend on the weather. Young said farmers shouldn't be looking at farm programs in making those decisions as he doesn't find that's where the support will come from. He recommends farmers look at futures prices, pre-book their inputs and monitor their profitability expectations. Some crops are more expensive to produce than others, so he thinks all of those factors need to go into making those final planting decisions.


In looking at the outlook for cattle producers, Young anticipates prices will decline in 2015. He expects herd expansion will continue at similar levels to 2014. With increases in pork and poultry production, he said the competition will get more intense by the third and fourth quarters. Young doesn't see there will be anyway to hold last year's third and fourth quarter cattle prices, but he said it's hard to determine how low cattle and beef prices will go. 


 I recently caught up with Bob Young in Washington D.C. during the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Washington Watch.  Click here to read or have the opportunity to listen to Farm Bureau's view on Trade Promotion Authority, WOTUS and the outlook for American agriculture.  

Given Tenderness, Marbling is Key

The study of why we eat beef keeps pointing past tenderness. Given only certified tender strip steaks that varied in marbling and juiciness, a carefully chosen panel of 120 consumers said flavor is where it's at.


Sensory evaluation research, as part of a joint project among Texas Tech, Utah State and Mississippi State universities, scored the strip-loin steaks to get at the role of taste fat in consumer appeal.


Mark Miller, the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo distinguished chair in meat science at Texas Tech, helped conduct the recent study published in Meat Science last fall titled, "Sensory evaluation of tender beef strip loin steaks of varying marbling levels and quality treatments."


Since the mid-1980s, the beef industry has worked to improve overall tenderness, Miller says. Now that the 2010 National Beef Tenderness Survey found no toughness issue with 94% of rib and loin cuts, the focus rightly moves to other factors.


"We have the previous data that suggests tenderness, flavor and juiciness all affect palatability," he says. "The data suggested flavor was important but no study had isolated that component by leveling the tenderness in the samples. As the product is getting more tender, we wanted to know what are the primary drivers for consumer eating satisfaction."


The study evaluated beef consumers.  Most of them named tenderness as the top palatability trait, followed by flavor, but when it came to this test among equally tender steaks, most ranked flavor at the top.  Click here to read more about this study. 

(This article written by Katy Kemp and comes courtesy of the American Angus Assoiciation)
 

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.

Bayer CropScience Commits to Over $100,000 to Improve Pollinator and Wildlife Habitats

Bayer CropScience LP (Bayer) is investing over $100,000 in a project with Integrated Vegetation Management Partners, Inc., (IVM Partners) designed to improve and expand pollinator and wildlife habitats on public rights-of-way through integrated vegetation management.


IVM Partners, a nonprofit organization that is a liaison for industry, agency and conservation, develops programs and provides education on vegetation management and conservation best practices. The organization will work with Bayer on case study sites managed by utility or transportation rights-of-way.


The project aims to improve habitats for pollinators, birds and other wildlife in upland and wetland ecosystems in sites across eight states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Oregon, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.


"Bayer's investment in this project will bring together efforts to improve pollinator and wildlife habitat, safety and aesthetics on utility and highway rights-of-way," said Jim Blome, president and CEO of Bayer CropScience LP. "Our collaboration with IVM Partners is a model for how public-private partnerships can benefit the environment through research and implementation of best practices."


Click here to read more about integrated vegetation management practices.  

This N That - Animal Ag Alliance; Big Iron Wednesday and Rain Totals Pile Up

The 14th Annual Stakeholders Summit of the Animal Ag Alliance gets underway this morning in Kansas City- and we are in KC for today's part of the Summit. 

Lots of vital topics that are forward looking for animal agriculture will be talked about at this event- including issues like transparency, sustainability, profitability and the ability to feed nine billion people by the middle of this century. 

We will be tweeting today from the event- the hashtag if you want to look at the stream of comments coming from here is #aaa15. 

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It's Wednesday- and that means the Big Iron folks will be busy closing out this week's auction items - all 528 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.

If you'd like more information on buying and selling with Big Iron, call District Manager Mike Wolfe at 580-320-2718 and he can give you the full scoop.  You can also reach Mike via email by clicking or tapping here. 

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Rainfall totals in Oklahoma are significant across a wide band of Oklahoma- unfortunately- the Mesonet is having a major problem with the majority of their reporting stations in Oklahoma- so exact rainfall totals by location for the last day or so are not available- the few that are working show two to three inches of rain in the center part of the state- Minco reports 3.75 inches and Norman has clocked 3.89 inches in this latest set of storms that continue in eastern Oklahoma this morning. 

I am guessing that they will get their problems solved soon- so here is the two day precip graphic that shows real time rainfall totals for the state- showing a hand full of stations reporting now- and more to come.

Rainfall continues to in the cards for Oklahoma thru Mothers Day- and diminishing chances after that.