Thursday, March 28, 2024
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USDA Releases Grain Stocks and Prospective Plantings Reports

(WASHINGTON D.C.)– USDA says they expect less corn acres to be planted in 2024 with soybean and wheat acres in line with pre-report estimates.

In the latest Prospective Plantings report, USDA expects to see 90.036 million acres of corn, 86.510 million acres of soybeans and all wheat acres at 47.497 million on the March report. The corn number comes in below the average pre-report trade estimate at 91.776 million acres. Soybeans in line with expectations of 86.530 million acres and all wheat slightly higher than the estimated 47.330 million acres.

Cotton acreage came in at 10.673 million acres with sorghum at 6.395 million acres and rice at 2.932 million acres. The all cotton pre-report estimates were 10.906 million acres, sorghum at 6.985 million acres and rice at 2.931 million acres.

On the Quarterly Grain Stocks report, corn stocks came in 80 million below expectations at 1.807 billion. Soybean stocks were up 17 million at 8.347 billion. The wheat stocks number was 17 million above expectations at 1.845 billion.

Keep checking back as more information is added throughout the day.

View the Prospective Plantings here: https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/x633f100h

View the Quarterly Grain Stocks here: https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/xg94hp534

StoneX Chief Commodities Economist, Arlan Suderman, joins Jesse Allen for report recap and analysis in the Market Talk Midday Commentary below:

COMING SOON

China Farmland Purchase Tracking Imperfect No Matter What

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack told House Ag lawmakers recently that no matter how much Congress tries, USDA’s tracking of China’s farmland buys in the U.S. will always be wanting.

China’s U.S. farmland buys and its nefarious hacking, IP thefts of seed genetics, and data breaches have raised U.S. concerns to a fever pitch and prompted recent sanctions against CCP actors. But Secretary Vilsack warns there’s just so much USDA can do to track Beijing’s buys of U.S. farmland.

Vilsack says, “No matter how much money you give us, it will always be imperfect for this reason: there are over three thousand county recorder offices around the country. Every county has a recorder’s office. It would require us to have a centralized database where every real estate transaction would essentially be put into a database to look at.”

But Vilsack says USDA’s moving ahead with other efforts, including on the GAO’s recommendation to work more closely with agencies linked to the Treasury-led Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.

He says, “I made a request of the Treasury Department for us to be more engaged in issues involving agribusiness, agriculture, farmland, and we have. We’ve been engaged and involved in a number of projects. We appreciate the fact that in this 2024 budget that was recently passed, it provided resources for the first time directly assisting us to expand staffing for that purpose.”

Vilsack says the USDA is also expanding its review of loans and tax records to identify foreign land purchases. But in another cautionary note, Vilsack says Congress directed USDA to set up a web portal for data but never provided the funds to do it.

Story courtesy of NAFB News Service and Matt Kaye/Berns Bureau Washington

Baltimore Bridge Collapse Won’t Slow Commodity Exports

The Francis Scott Key Bridge at Baltimore collapsed this week. Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, says the Port of Baltimore exported over 142,000 metric tons of soybeans in 2020, the most recent data available.

“There are no reported soybean exports via bulk vessel,” he says. “The port imported 172,228 metric tons of soybeans via container and 34,000 tons of soybeans in bulk vessels.”

In contrast, the Mississippi Gulf Region, the top export region for soybeans, accounted for 35.4 million metric tons of soybeans by bulk. The top five ag products handled at the Port of Baltimore include sugar, soybeans, grain products, coffee, and grocery items.

“While it’s not a significant port region for soybeans and grain, it’s a significant resource for the broader economy,” Steenhoek adds. “It underscores the reality that the ports serving as the origins and destinations for global commerce can be vulnerable.”

First of Many Products Ahead from the Climate-Smart Commodity Program

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack traveled to Great River Organic Milling in Fountain City, Wisconsin for a big announcement. He introduced long grain rice as the first commercially available product to come to market as a result of USDA’s Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities.

Vilsack says, “This is the first commercially-produced, climate-smart product, this long grain rice. It’s a two-pound bag of rice, and it’s been produced by 30 producers in three states, as was stated, and they produce this quality product. And then it’s come up here, and it goes through an amazing process that the folks here have created for putting that rice in these bags and then getting those bags to grocery stores and opportunities throughout the United States.”

Vilsack says this is what the Climate-Smart Commodities Program was intended to accomplish. The rice is grown on 30,000 acres in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, using a combination of flooding fields and then letting them dry out. That process reduces methane and water usage by 50 percent and increases carbon capture.

Vilsack hopes this is the first of many new products to come to market. He says, “Today’s announcement, today’s opening, today’s opportunity for this product to go to market represents the first of what I suspect will be hundreds of products that are produced in the country to resolve and to respond to consumer demand for sustainably-produced food but also provide an opportunity for farmers to get a better shake.”

Columbia Grain International, owner of the Great River Facility along with AgriCapture joined forces to introduce the long-grain rice grown using climate-smart practices. The rice is available through Enrich Foods via Amazon. The company is planning on having the rice available at grocery stores by the end of the year.

Story courtesy of NAFB News Service and Brian Winnekins, WRDN, Durand, Wisconsin

AccuWeather Predicts a Risky Hurricane Season

The meteorologists at AccuWeather are warning people and businesses to start preparing now for what could be a busy tropical storm season that may have major impacts on the United States. The 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast is calling for 20 to 25 named storms. Eight to 12 of those storms are forecast to strengthen into hurricanes. Four to six storms could directly impact the U.S.

“The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is forecast to feature well above the historical average number of tropical storms, hurricanes, major hurricanes, and direct U.S. impacts,” says AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Forecaster Alex DaSilva. “All indications are pointing toward a very active and potentially explosive Atlantic hurricane season this year.”

Warmer ocean temperatures are one of the factors that can provide fuel for tropical systems to rapidly intensify into powerful hurricanes. “Sea-surface temps are well above historical averages across much of the Atlantic basin,” DaSilva explained.

USDA Seeks More Grazing Land Conservation

The USDA is investing up to $22 million in partnerships that expand access to conservation technical assistance for livestock producers and increase the use of conservation practices on grazing land. The Natural Resources Conservation Service is accepting proposals through its Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative until May 26, 2024.

“Privately owned grazing lands cover nearly 30 percent of the national landscape, which means we have a tremendous opportunity to conserve natural resources through voluntary, private lands conservation,” says NRCS Chief Terry Cosby. “NRCS enlists a wide variety of conservation practices to help livestock producers.”

He also says the partnerships will help expand the footprint of conservation on grazing lands. Project proposals for GLCI Cooperative Agreements will identify and address barriers to accessing grazing assistance for producers. Projects must address one or more of several priorities, including local natural resource concerns, climate-smart ag and forestry practices, and others. For information, go to grants.gov.

Feed Industry Supports EMIT LESS Act

The American Feed Industry Association applauded several senators for introducing the “Enteric Methane Innovation Tools for Lower Emissions and Sustainable Stock (EMIT LESS) Act.” By expanding USDA’s research and incentivizing the adoption of emissions-reducing practices on farms, the bill aims to mitigate the significant environmental impact of enteric methane emissions from American dairy and beef cattle operations.

“We thank the senators for introducing a bill that strengthens our country’s research and conservation programs while recognizing the unique role that animal nutrition and feed ingredients play in reducing on-farm enteric methane emissions,” says Constance Cullman, president and CEO of the American Feed Industry Association. “The EMIT LESS Act shows that right alongside animal food innovators, our country is willing to invest in a more sustainable future.”

AFIA also says the bill’s key provisions include integrating emissions-reduction practices into USDA’s conservation programs and providing financial incentives to farmers that voluntarily adopt them.

USDA Authorizes Emergency CRP Grazing

The USDA has authorized the release of emergency haying and grazing of Conservation Reserve Program acres nationwide to livestock producers affected by the wildfires in Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.

“Many ranchers in those states impacted by the recent wildfires are in need of grazing acres and hay resources to sustain their herds while they work during the months ahead to restore their operations,” says Kelly Adkins, Texas Farm Service Agency Director. “If you have CRP acres and want to help wildfire-impacted ranchers, please contact your local FSA office. They’ll determine available emergency and non-emergency use options.”

Although the Primary Nesting Season has already started in Texas, CRP participants can continue to donate emergency grazing authority to livestock producers in need during this period in counties eligible for the Livestock Forage Program due to drought. FSA also offers non-emergency use provisions for CRP acres as an option during the PNS in Texas.

EPA Accepts Atrazine Recommendations

The Environmental Protection Agency agreed with recommendations from its Scientific Advisory Panel on atrazine. The recommendations remove several poor-quality studies that played a role in the agency’s recommendation for an ultra-low aquatic level of concern for atrazine.

The SAP was held in 2023 at the request of agriculture groups active in the Triazine Network. The panel considered EPA’s white paper and stakeholder comments to exclude or rescore several questionable studies used to set the aquatic concentration equivalent level of concern. The panel’s scientists appreciated the farmers and agriculture representatives who testified on the real-world benefits and necessities of atrazine as well as the real-world consequences of EPA’s proposed decisions.

One of the Triazine Networks’ co-chairs says hearing directly from the people using the product was a key component of the SAP. The Triazine Network is a coalition of agriculture organizations and producers advocating for science-based decisions on Triazine herbicides like atrazine.

Properly Prepared Beef is Safe to Eat

After HPAI was found in dairy cattle, the Meat Institute says that properly prepared beef is safe to eat and not a safety risk to humans.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and USDA food safety experts say properly prepared beef is safe to eat,” says Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. “HPAI cannot be transmitted to humans by eating meat or poultry products.”

She also says the Meat Institute and its member companies will continue to be vigilant to aid in the efforts to stop the spread of the disease among animals in food production. “We will support the nation’s producers working to protect their herds,” Potts adds.

The meat and poultry industries are among the most intensely regulated in the nation. Inspectors from the Food Safety and Inspection Service are present every day in meat packing plants and are trained to detect disease before and after slaughter.