In a letter to the Department of Agriculture, the American Farm Bureau Federation asked the agency to hold a hearing on a proposal from the National Milk Producers Federation to modernize Federal Milk Marketing Orders and provide greater transparency for dairy farmers.

Roger Cryan, AFBF Chief Economist, says the proposal includes changes supported by Farm Bureau. “The National Milk Producers Federation sent a letter to USDA asking to have a hearing on Federal Milk Marketing Order pricing. They asked for some things including adjustments to Class I differentials, modest increases in the processors make allowance, updates to the component values that are embedded in the bottling milk price. And particularly, they asked to go back to using the higher of the cheese, milk or butter, powdered milk values for bottled milk. And we sent a letter to USDA asking them to go ahead and have a hearing on that request.”

While AFBF supports the NMPF proposal, Cryan says Farm Bureau would like USDA to go even further to promote a pricing system fair to all dairy farmers.

Cryan says; “One issue is on the make allowance, they are just asking for an increase. We think it’s really important that any make allowance increase should be based on a survey of processors’ costs, which should be mandatory and audited by USDA. In addition to the higher of, we have some other ideas that we’d like to add to the discussion in the hearing, and we’d also like to see increased milk check transparency so farmers know what they’re getting.”

If USDA moves forward with the hearing process, Cryan says it will take some time. “Within 30 days of National Milk’s proposal, which they sent in a couple weeks ago, the department will have to put out some plan. They will likely ask for additional proposals, and after that they may have a pre-hearing listening session. So, maybe a hearing would happen in July or August. And then, they’ll put out a recommended decision. And typically they’ll take comments on that before they put out a final decision that will then have to go to a vote of producers. A process like that, optimistically it’s eight to 12 months.”

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After recent gains, the grain markets took a negative turn on Tuesday. Joe Vaclavik, founder and president of Standard Grain, says there were a couple of key factors behind the drop.

Vaclavik; “First off, China canceled some more corn. It’s a bad look. The export program regarding U.S. corn is just not where it needs to be. So, USDA – it’s probably going to be Friday, could be in June – but they’re going to have to walk back that export projection, which means higher carry-out for the U.S. corn balance sheet. I think they have to come down at the ethanol number too. The ethanol production numbers regarding corn demand and stuff from both EIA and USDA with the grain crush are not where they need to be.”

The other big factor in the early Tuesday selloff was news about the Ukraine grain deal.

“Russia is going to come to the table and talk about this grain deal. It’s going to be a four-way meeting, going to be a two-day deal. Russia, Ukraine, the United Nations, and Turkey. And Russia is the one that reported this. It was a Russian state news agency. So, I’ve kind of thought the whole time Russia was bluffing about this grain deal thing. I think that if Russia does not renew or extend the Grain Deal, they’re going to be subject to more sanctions. There are going to be issues with Russia and China because China imports a lot of corn from Ukraine. I think Russia is going to extend this thing again. If I had a bet right now, that’s the way I’m going.”

A recent drop in corn exports is largely driven by lower Chinese demand according to Vaclavik. “Compared to the last couple of years, it’s driven by China. We had such substantial Chinese purchases. It started in 2020, right after COVID. Corn was cheap, China started buying corn, and they did so for two years straight. And this year, they bought substantially less. They now have agreements in place to buy corn from Brazil, which is a big deal. Brazil is gonna have a record crop this year. And that crop is going to be available to ship here a couple of months from now. So, if they can hold off, they’re gonna hold off because Brazilian corn’s cheaper, freight’s cheaper. They’ve also got agreements in place to do some corn with South Africa, which is not nearly as big of a deal, but still some competition. So, the U.S. is the last place China wants to buy grain or oil seeds from. They’re going to do it when it’s to their advantage, when our prices are competitive, and they can’t get it from Brazil, they’re gonna come to the U.S.”

Vaclavik says there’s a chance the U.S. might begin exporting fewer commodities and using more domestically. “It’s just going to be reduced overall. We’re going to start using more domestically. We’ve got sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel and things that are going to be able to hopefully offset some of that lost demand here domestically, which would be preferable. I’d rather use this stuff here domestically than ship it to China.”

He says U.S. weather is becoming the number one factor the markets will be watching in the weeks ahead.

As many farms and ag businesses across the U.S. struggle with labor shortages, one ag leader continues to push lawmakers on Capitol Hill to pass legislation that may offer a solution.

Chuck Conner, President and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, says; “Labor has quickly taken over as the number one challenge facing cooperatives and farmers.”

Two years ago, the U.S. House passed The Farm Workforce Modernization Act, a bipartisan bill that would have expanded the length of time that immigrant workers with H-2A visas are allowed to stay and work in the U.S. However, the Senate version of that bill—The Affordable and Secure Food Act of 2022—failed to pass late last year, which also killed the corresponding House bill.

Conner; “The legislation didn’t fail because of anything of substance. It failed because of the controversy over border issues and the whole immigration space that isn’t particularly targeted at farm labor. We were sort of caught up in all of that, so we’re going to be continuing to look for the opportunity when maybe that controversy is settled down a little bit and it gives us the opportunity to come in and fix this H-2A program.”

Conner says he’s concerned that ongoing farm labor shortages will hurt the country’s ag economy. “There aren’t very many dairy barns in America today that can operate strictly on family labor. If you’re having to hire virtually any labor today, about the only option for you is to look potentially at foreign labor coming in. With the current challenges that we face in the H-2A program—for many, that’s just not an option.”

He adds that the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives is continuing to push lawmakers on Capitol Hill to revisit and pass legislation to expand the H-2A visa work program.

Conner says; “For all practical purposes, it is the only solution for co-ops and the only solution for farmers going forward,” says Conner. “We have to figure out a way to make it an option going forward if we are to continue to provide the food and fiber for America in the manner which they become quite accustomed to.”

Story provided by NAFB News Service and C.J. Miller, Hoosier Ag Today, Greenwood, Indiana

The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects a slightly cooler summer in 2023 will lead to less demand for air conditioning than in 2022. The result will slightly reduce overall electricity demand this summer.

EIA expects that despite less electricity demand this summer, more electricity will be generated from renewable sources and natural gas throughout 2023. EIA forecasts this summer will see the second-most U.S. natural gas consumption for electricity generation on record, surpassed only by last summer. EIA continues to expect significant growth in U.S. electricity generation from wind and solar, but the wet winter in California and the western United States should also increase electricity generated from hydropower during the coming months.

EIA expects U.S. retail electricity costs will remain higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Those higher prices mean that even if households consume less electricity, their electricity bills will likely be similar to or slightly higher than last summer.

Fresh-cut flowers and plants are popular gifts for special occasions such as Mother’s Day. Many bouquets contain flowers grown in countries where cool, wet climates have historically favored production.

In 2022, the United States imported nearly $3.3 billion of cut flowers, plants, and nursery stock products from 81 countries, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service. Imports of fresh-cut roses totaled more than $800 million, while other fresh-cut flowers were valued at a combined $1.1 billion. Live plant imports were valued at nearly $860 million, and imports of other nursery stock products, such as bulbs and greenery, were valued at $492 million.

Of the many countries supplying flowers and other nursery stock, Colombia made up the largest import value at $1.2 billion. From 2018 to 2022, Colombia provided about 37 percent of U.S. cut flower and nursery stock value. Other leading suppliers in 2022 included Canada, Ecuador, and the European Union, as well as Mexico, Taiwan, and Costa Rica.

The Department of Agriculture plans to purchase various protein items to support activities to leverage American Agriculture to feed kids and families. Potential materials may include dairy, meat, fish, and poultry items.

The funds, provided through USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation, will support nearly $1 billion to purchase food for emergency food providers like food banks. The purchases are phase two of the program. Interested parties shall be responsible for ensuring that they have the most up-to-date information about this acquisition. The contract type is anticipated to be firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/definite quantity.

Commodities and the products of agricultural commodities acquired under this contract must be a product of the United States and shall be considered to be such a product if it is grown, processed, and otherwise prepared for sale or distribution exclusively in the United States.

Potential contractors must meet the AMS vendor qualification requirements to be eligible to submit offers.

The Consumer Brands Association says implementing proposed tariffs of up to 300 percent on tinplate steel imports would increase the cost of canned foods and products by up to 30 percent.

The association released two studies on the proposal, which would threaten nearly 40,000 union and non-union manufacturing jobs. The economic impact studies bolster Consumer Brands’ efforts to urge the Department of Commerce and International Trade Commission (I to deny a petition submitted by steel conglomerate Cleveland-Cliffs to impose tariffs of up to 300% on imported tinplate steel from eight countries. Because tinplate is used in hundreds of canned goods – everything from soup to shaving cream – imposing the requested tariffs would raise production costs for U.S. can manufacturers and trigger price hikes for every consumer, as supported by the research.

According to the research, the proposed tariffs will increase the cost of canned foods and products by up to 58 cents per product.

(WASHINGTON D.C.)- Farmers had ample time and a big window last week to get a lot of fieldwork done across the country.

Corn planting advanced to 49% complete as of Sunday, May 7th while soybean planting nationwide now stands at 35% done. Iowa and Illinois continue to lead the pack in terms of planting progress with Iowa corn and soybean planting 70% and 49% completed respectively while Illinois is 73% and 66% complete respectively.

Spring wheat continues to lag behind the five year average with just 24% planted nationwide as of Sunday, May 7th. The Northern Plains continue to see delays in planting of spring wheat, corn and soybeans.

Read the full report here: https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/8336h188j

President Biden and Congressional leaders are meeting today at the White House in hopes of averting a catastrophic U.S. debt default that could crush producers with sky-high interest rates.

The political environment for a deal to raise the nation’s borrowing limit and cut spending isn’t good—and the markets are nervously waiting to see if the White House and GOP can end their stalemate.

On Capitol Hill, farm leaders are concerned as a June 1st deadline to avert a possible default draws near.

Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow; “Fed Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said, no one should assume that the Fed can really protect the economy and financial systems and our reputation globally, from the damage that a U.S. default might inflict. We shouldn’t even be talking about a world in which the US doesn’t pay its bills.”

A U.S. default would drive business and consumer borrowing costs through the roof, making months of Fed interest rate tightening to slow inflation ‘child’s play’ by comparison.

Farm Credit Council witness Phillip Morgan told Senate Ag lawmakers; “Any operator we have with an annual operating loan, whether that be cattle, whether that be row crop, right now is facing interest rates that are more than two-times where they were at the beginning of last year. We also have a number of long-term real estate loans that will re-price this year as their pricing, original pricing, expires—they will be facing much higher interest rate costs.”

And Morgan says some operators will face both, but adds, Farm Credit is “well-positioned” to weather that storm.

The bigger, more pressing question is whether farm lenders and the broader economy can weather a possibly catastrophic U.S. default on its debt.

It’s a tale of two stories about the Oklahoma wheat crop as drought continues to impact the state. Oklahoma State University small grains specialist Dr. Amanda Silva provides an update on the wheat crop.

Silva says; “Oklahoma wheat production this year is a mixed bag. We have some fields that are looking good. Of course, not up to our yield potential, but looking good considering our conditions. And we have some fields where there is not even any wheat there, so very unfortunate.”

Silva says what good wheat is available may be used for hay; “There’s a lot of need for hay and that’s a point, too, because there are some good-looking wheat fields, but the need for hay is so high, and the prices of it are also good, so we may not see those fields being cut for grain, also.”

Comparing this year’s wheat to that of last year, Silva said both years have been tough years to grow winter wheat in. Silva; “Both tough years, very dry. I think the main difference is just the timing that we got the rain and where we got the rains. I would say that is the biggest shift, is just the regions of the state this year that are doing a little bit better like southwest in comparison to north-central.”

Story provided by NAFB News Service and KC Sheperd, Radio Oklahoma Network, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma