Agricultural Summary

No rain equated to 6.9 days suitable for fieldwork.  Now experiencing extreme drought, statewide topsoil moisture rated 90 percent very short, 9 percent short, and only 1 percent adequate.  Subsoil moisture was 85 percent very short, 14 percent short, and 1 percent adequate.  Grass fires continue to be a concern.  Well pumps have been lowered to account for dropping ground water levels.

 

Field Crops Report

Corn silked and beyond was 95 percent, 13 days ahead of last year and 18 days ahead of normal (5-year average).  Corn dough stage and beyond was 61 percent, 15 days ahead of last year, and 17 days ahead of normal.  Corn dented was 26 percent, 16 days ahead of last year, and 18 days ahead of normal.  Corn condition rated 48 percent very poor, 31 percent poor, 16 percent fair, 4 percent good, and 1 percent excellent.  Rain will not help most of the corn crop at this point.  Some producers cut silage and baled corn to salvage it due to low yields.  Soybeans blooming and beyond were 60 percent, 1 week ahead of last year, and 10 days ahead of normal.  Soybeans setting pods and beyond were 16 percent, 5 days ahead of last year and normal.  Soybean condition was 31 percent very poor, 37 percent poor, 24 percent fair, 7 percent good, and 1 percent excellent.  Extreme drought conditions and excessive heat prevented some soybeans from flowering, and there were several reports of soybeans not setting pods.  Cotton squaring and beyond was 98 percent, 8 days ahead of last year, and 1 week ahead of normal.  Cotton setting bolls and beyond was 31 percent, 4 days behind last year, and 9 days behind normal.  Cotton condition was 12 percent very poor, 31 percent poor, 42 percent fair, 13 percent good, and 2 percent excellent.  Rice headed was 22 percent, 16 days ahead of last year, and 3 days ahead of normal.  Rice condition was 5 percent poor, 23 percent fair, 52 percent good, and 20 percent excellent.  Sorghum headed was 47 percent, 16 days ahead of last year, and 11 days ahead of normal.  Sorghum turning color and beyond was 7 percent, 16 days ahead of last year, and 11 days ahead of normal.  Sorghum condition was 19 percent very poor, 34 percent poor, 35 percent fair, 11 percent good, and 1 percent excellent.  Alfalfa hay 3^rd cutting was 36 percent, 10 days ahead of last year, and 2 weeks ahead of normal.  Many areas were not able to have a 3^rd cutting due to the drought.

 

Pasture & Livestock

Pasture condition dropped to 74 percent very poor, 22 percent poor, and only 4 percent adequate.  Supply of hay and other roughages was 39 percent very short, 40 percent short, and 21 percent adequate.  Stock water supplies were 48 percent very short, 36 percent short, and 16 percent adequate.  Large ponds have dropped several feet, and small ponds were getting low.

 

Weather Summary

Temperatures were 4 to 8 degrees above average around the state except the southeast district was 2 to 4 degrees above average.  Precipitation averaged 0.05 of an inch.

The American Farm Bureau Federation has filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit concerning the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate poultry and livestock farms under the Clean Water Act. Farm Bureau is siding with a Virginia poultry grower who is challenging an EPA order demanding the grower obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System discharge permit. The agency’s order threatens more than 37-thousand dollars in daily fines for storm water that may come into contact with dust, feathers or dander deposited on the ground outside of poultry house ventilation fans – or small amounts of manure that may be in the farmyard as a result of normal poultry farming operations. Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman says this particular poultry grower runs an exemplary operation and has even won awards for the environmental stewardship practiced on the farm.

According to the Farm Bureau intervention papers – EPA’s order represents another attempt to regulate non-discharging farmers with an unlawful narrowing of the statutory exemption for agricultural storm water discharges. The group has defeated EPA regulations that illegally attempted to impose broad NPDES permit requirements for livestock and poultry farmers in two prior court cases. Stallman says Farm Bureau has joined this lawsuit on behalf of the thousands of other livestock and poultry farmers threatened by EPA’s extreme and unlawful restriction of the agricultural storm water exemption.

House Republican leaders have outlined the floor schedule for the week (week of July 23rd) and the farm bill is not on it. Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson notes that leaves just four legislative days to consider the bill before Congress adjourns for the August recess. He said Friday that there is no excuse not to bring the farm bill to the floor – adding that there’s no good reason to put one of the nation’s economic bright spots – the rural economy – at risk. According to Peterson – the last two weeks were wasted on political messaging bills that are going nowhere. He says the House Republican leadership would bring the farm bill to the floor if they were serious about creating jobs and growing the economy. Peterson says the bill passed by the House Agriculture Committee is a strong, bipartisan bill. He stressed the importance of continuing to move forward so differences with the Senate measure can be resolved and a final bill delivered to the President before the current bill expires on September 30th. While Peterson is still hopeful that can be accomplished – he said time is running out.

Because the nation’s reliance on foreign oil is a significant and well-recognized military vulnerability – U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus says the Navy is pursuing alternatives. A U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group was operating on advanced biofuel for two days to test the fuel’s performance in an operational setting. The demonstration took place off the coast of Hawaii as part of the Rim of the Pacific Exercise. Mabus observed operations – including fueling helicopters and jets from the deck of a nuclear-powered carrier, completing arrested landings of aircraft onto a carrier – the first ever using biofuels, refueling a destroyer while underway and air-to-air refueling. Mabus says the successful demonstration was a unique opportunity to witness the seamless integration of advanced biofuel and energy efficient technologies in some of the Navy’s most sophisticated air and sea platforms. U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the historic significance of the Navy’s operation on biofuels should not be underestimated. According to Vilsack – we can, as a nation, change the fuel production and distribution paradigm in the world if we are consistent in our efforts to increase our production and use of domestic biofuels which are important to our energy and national security as well as create jobs.

House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas hasn’t been willing to talk about floor time for the farm bill as an “if” – just as a “when.” But when that time comes – he wants a rule that requires a filing requirement the day before so Ag Committee lawyers, economists and members can see what is going to come up on the floor. If House leadership is going to allow an unlimited number of amendments – he wants to know there will be time to understand what’s in the amendments so they can be explained on the floor of the House. Ranking Member Collin Peterson would prefer a modified closed rule that would limit the number of amendments. He notes nearly 100 amendments were considered by the Agriculture Committee – some of which were redundant. If the House leadership insists on a wide-open rule – Peterson says people will offer the same amendment over and over. He says that doesn’t accomplish anything.

Peterson is optimistic he and Lucas can get the farm bill through the House, move on to conference with the Senate and get the bill done by September 30th – but Lucas has still been willing to acknowledge the possibility that an extension of existing policy might be necessary.

U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is using the circumstances surrounding the drought – which he says is the most serious situation we’ve had probably in a quarter century – to call for passage of a new farm bill that includes disaster assistance. The Secretary has noted several times that USDA is using all its administrative powers to help the farmers and ranchers impacted by the drought – but that it’s limited because the disaster programs included in the 2008 Farm Bill have already expired. National Corn Growers Association Vice President Pam Johnson says the drought is a wake-up call and a visible reminder of why the farm bill is written. She says it just needs to be done. American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman agrees. He says providing farmers with improved risk management tools is a core principle in the House and Senate versions of the pending farm bill. Stallman says both contain new tools that will assist farmers – but also restore several expired provisions that would help livestock producers manage weather-related risks.

Stallman says the widespread drought has imposed stress on people, crops and livestock – but the full impact on the nation won’t be known for several months. He says the impact on the food supply and food prices aren’t yet known. The true extent of the damage to the corn crop won’t be known until harvest is completed. Stallman says the August crop report from USDA – which will include actual in-the-field surveys – will provide a clearer picture. Yet if conditions don’t improve – he says the biggest impact will come in the next crop year. While data suggests most of the corn and other row crops in the drought-stricken regions are covered by crop insurance – Stallman says it’s often a different story for producers of other crops. He says that’s why Farm Bureau called for a strengthened federal crop insurance program. According to Stallman – Farm Bureau remains hopeful congressional leaders will expedite their work on the vital legislation called the farm bill.

A coalition of livestock and poultry groups is urging Congress to reform the Renewable Fuel Standard. They say the call for change is supported by a new economic study conducted by Dr. Thomas Elam – President of Farm Econ LLC. Elam’s study found that federal ethanol policy has increased and destabilized corn, soybean and wheat prices to the detriment of food and fuel producers and consumers. According to Elam – the increases seen in commodity prices are strongly associated with the RFS mandate. He adds that because the promised benefits on oil imports and gasoline prices haven’t been seen – Americans are paying more for food without seeing lower prices at the pump. Elam calls it a lose-lose situation.

As several aspects of the Renewable Fuel Standard are examined by a Senate Biofuels Investment and RFS Market Congressional Study Group – the coalition says the study will provide critical facts needed to reform the standard. Among the results – the study found that the higher energy cost of ethanol and its negative effect on fuel mileage added about 14.5-billion dollars – or 10-cents per gallon – to motorists’ fuel costs in 2011. It also shows that the rate of change for the Consumer Price Index for meats, poultry, fish and eggs increased by 79-percent – while it decreased by 41-percent for non-food items since the RFS was revised in 2007. Other findings highlighted by the coalition include the rise in corn prices to more than six-dollars a bushel in 2011 from two-dollars in 2005, U.S. exports of 1.2-billion gallons of ethanol in 2011 and the increase in corn used for ethanol production from 1.6-billion bushels in 2005 to five-billion in 2011.

In urging RFS reform – the coalition cited the Elam study’s conclusion that the mandate should be revised to allow automatic adjustments to reduce incentives for ethanol production when corn stocks are forecast to reach critically low levels. The coalition supports legislation sponsored by Representative Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and California Representative Jim Costa that would require a biannual review of ending corn stocks relative to their total use. The RFS could be reduced by different percentages when the ratio falls to certain percentages. According to the coalition – such relief is extremely urgent because of the recent spike in corn prices brought on by predictions the U.S. will run short of corn this summer as a result of the drought conditions. They say another short corn crop would be extremely devastating to the animal agriculture industry, food makers and foodservice providers – as well as consumers.

The Elam study was funded by the American Meat Institute, California Dairy Inc., the Milk Producers Cooperative, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the National Chicken Council, the National Pork Producers Council and the National Turkey Federation. A full copy of the study is available through the National Chicken Council website at www dot nationalchickencouncil dot org (www.nationalchickencouncil.org).