In Farm Bureau

Farm families namedCounty winners for the 69th annual Ar-

kansas Farm Family of the Year Program have been selected. The county winners will be judged June 6-8 to determine the eight district winners. The district winners will be announced June 14. They will be judged again by a different set of judges July 11-14 to determine a state winner, which will be announced Dec. 8 at the Farm Family of the Year luncheon. The county winners are:

East Central District: Lee, Ramey Stiles family, Marianna; Lonoke, Brandon and Beverly Parker family, Carlisle; Prairie, John and Kristel Petrus family, Hazen; Pu-laski, Jimmy D. Jennings, Sr. family, Sher-wood; Saline, Helmich Farms, Alexander; St. Francis, Bobby and Lisa Jackson family, Colt; White, Chris and Nesha Smith fam-ily, Rose Bud; Woodruff, Brad and Angie Burkett family, McCrory.

North Central District: Baxter, Ron-nie and Tina Grayham family, Hen-derson; Cleburne, Rob Wilson family,

Heber Springs; Fulton, David and Susan Carr family, Gepp; Independence, Fred Denison, Sr. family, Batesville; Izard, Brad Wheelis family, Melbourne; Marion, Nick and Beth Dearmore family, Yellville; Searcy, Harold Hendrix family, Marshall; Sharp, Bart and Brandi Schulz family, Cave City; Stone, Brian and Brandy Stoltze, Mountain View; Van Buren, Wade Lucas family, Shirley.

Northeast District: Clay, Randal

and Mark Coleman families, Cornng; Craighead, Josh and Melissa Cureton fam-ily, Cash; Crittenden, Bobby and Marianne Cupples family, Proctor; Cross, Bob Stacy family, Wynne; Greene, Jimmy Pat Black-burn family, Paragould; Jackson, Lweellyn Farms, Newport; Lawrence, Rickey and Virginia Goff family, Smithville; Mississippi, Hart Farms, Inc., Osceola; Poinsett, Keith and Kristine Bise family, Weiner; Randolph, A.L.L Farm, Adam Liebhaber family,

A Pu

blic

atio

n of

Ark

ansa

s Fa

rm B

urea

u Fe

dera

tion

www.arfb.com

The ArFB President’s Leadership Council gathered for a photo at the State Capitol May 13 as part of a session on government and the po-litical process. Class mem-bers include (l to r) Tyler Davis, Nathan Waldrip, Curtis Moore, Reed Storey, Jason Alexander, Kristi Weaver, Jason Murray, Terrence Scott, Sara Beth Johnson, Hannah Gray, Brad Doyle, Mary Smith, Leigh Helms Blythe, Mark Coleman, Benita Drew, Tana Henson, John Bon-ner and Jason Henson.

KEIT

H S

UTT

ON

pho

toH

EMPS

TEA

D C

O. F

B p

hoto

Landon Snell (second from left) of Blevins and John

Raulerson (third from left) of Nashville were presented

Hempstead Co. FB scholar-ships May 18 in Hope. Each was awarded $2,000 to put toward their studies in agri-cultural business. Attending

were (left to right) county Vice President Don Honea, Presi-

dent Mark Lloyd and agency manager Reed Camp.

May 27, 2016 • Vol. 19, No. 11

Pocahontas.Northwest District: Benton, Tracy

Moorman family, Gravette; Boone, Wes Parker family, Omaha; Carroll, Kirk and Lacey Powell family, Green Forest; Craw-ford, Brad Hall family, Rudy; Franklin, John Parish family, Ozark; Johnson, Peach Pickin’ Paradise, Mark and Shay Morgan family, Clarksville; Madison, Troy and Kathy Cline family, Kingston; Newton, Joe and Genevieve Villines family, Ponca; Sebastian, Samantha Phanouvong fam-ily, Mansfield; Washington, Kendall and Stephanie Pendergraft family, Nob Hill.

Southeast District: Arkansas (North), Taylor and Nikki Burdett family, Stuttgart; Arkansas (South), Scott and Karen Place family, Gillett; Ashley, Four Star Partner-ship, Jerry, Ted and Chris Selby fam-ily, Portland; Chicot, Johan and Helena Loewen family, Eudora; Desha, Chuck and Marjorie Day family, McGehee; Drew, Rusty Mitchell family, Monticello; Jeffer-son, Steve Pharr family, Pine Bluff; Lin-coln, Cody and Samantha Graham family, Star City; Phillips, Double H Farms, Jim and Dina Hubbard family, Marvell

Southwest District: Bradley, Mike Har-ton family, Warren; Calhoun, Randy and Angie Ables family, Hampton; Hempstead, Mark and Mindy Lockhart family, Hope; Lafayette, Stephen Allen family, Lewisville;

Little River, Fawcett Ranch: Brett and Teresa Fawcett family, Ashdown; Miller, Wren Land and Cattle, Brandon Wren family, Texarkana; Nevada, Steve and Renee Boeckman family, Prescott.

Western District: Conway, Lazy G

Angus Ranch: Mike and Beverly Gadberry family, Hattieville; Faulkner, Michael and Kim Dickey family, Greenbrier; Montgom-ery, Stephen Morrison family, Story; Perry, James Mann family, Bigelow; Polk, Joe and Jill Brinkley family, Grannis; Pope, Jared and Whitney Mahoney family, Russellville; Yell, Jerry, Kathy, Luke and Jeremy Jones family, Gravelly.

West Central District: Clark, Roy Gene and George Ann Britt family, Okolona; Cleveland, Jackson and Brooke Allison family, Rison; Dallas, Lamar and Judy Evans family, Fordyce; Garland, Tommy and Joy Sorrells family, Royal; Grant, Chris and Elizabeth Hale family, Sheridan; Hot Spring, Jay and Valorie Lee family, Bis-marck; Howard, Whisenhunt Farms, Joel and Amanda Whisenhunt family, Nash-ville; Sevier, Phillip and Patricia Maben family, DeQueen.

“I share the excitement of each of these families being recognized as their county Farm Family of the Year,” said ArFB President Randy Veach. “They are great examples of the work that makes Arkansas agriculture the most significant and mean-ingful industry in the state.

“These families represent the pillars of our state,” he continued. “Congratulations to each of them on this recognition, and we share our thanks with all those who have helped them succeed.”

UA

/MA

RY H

IGH

TOW

ER p

hoto

During a five-day, 12- city, 1,000-mile bus tour of Arkansas May 16-20, University of Arkansas Chancellor Dr. Joe Steinmetz (center) and his wife Sandy toured the Dale Bumpers Rice Research Center in Stuttgart. Dr. Jarrod Hardke (left), extension rice agronomist for the UA System Divi-sion of Agriculture, spoke with them about current research at the center.

MIL

LLER

CO

. FB

phot

o

Miller Co. FB helped sponsor the Genoa-Central FFA banquet May 17 at the Genoa-Central Elementary cafeteria. Four county leaders — (left to right) board member Terry Reeves and Women’s Committee members Angie Rogers, Nedra Turney and Barbara Sutton — attended the din-ner to show support for agriculture teacher Kim Leigh (right).

CLAY

CO

. FB

phot

o

In mid-April, Susan Hancock (left), repre-senting the Clay Co. FB Women’s Com-mittee, along with her granddaughter, Hattie Geswein, donated peanut butter to the Weekenders food program at Park Elementary School in Corning. Accepting was Janet Luter (right), direc-tor of the program for the school. The Women’s Committee made donations to Piggott and Rector schools as well.

ST. F

RAN

CIS

CO. F

B FB

pho

toSt. Francis Co. FB held First Respond-ers Day May 19 in Forrest City to show appreciation to all the county’s police officers, firefighters, paramedics and EMTs. Among those who attended were (left to right) Frank Adams, Teresa Herbert, Sharon Raines, fire-fighter Keith Taylor, firefighter Andrew Latham, Candice Kelso, Megan O’Neal and Holly Loewer.

In ArkansasSun Paper coming to Arkansas

Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Chairman Li, founder of Sun Paper, have signed a memorandum of agreement stating that Sun Paper will locate in Gum Springs (Clark County). This pulp mill will bring 250 direct jobs, 1,000 indirect jobs and more than 2,000 construction jobs over the next two and a half years. The company is set to break ground in early 2017.

“This announcement is exciting news for the timber and forest products com-munity in Arkansas,” said Max Braswell, Arkansas Forestry Association executive vice president. “New markets for the abun-dance of wood fiber we have in Arkansas benefit forest landowners and loggers, and can stimulate many related businesses. In addition, new infrastructure provides a real incentive for forest landowners to continue investing in sustainable forestry, which means plenty of wood fiber for our much appreciated existing industry as well.”

According to Arkansas Business, Sun Paper will generate up to $100 million for

the timber industry in south Arkansas. The plant will be Sun Paper’s first in North America.

ElsewhereGMO crop safety confirmed

The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine released a report earlier this month on GMO crops that reaffirmed what thousands of other studies have found, and what farmers, scientists and educated consumers have known all along: genetically engineered crops are safe and beneficial to agriculture, human health and the environment. In a statement issued May 19, American Farm Bureau Federation Presi-dent Zippy Duvall thanked the academies for doing a thorough, scientific review of GMOs.

Duvall also pointed out that the acad-emies found that a label is not needed for food made from genetically engineered crops because those foods are as safe to consume as any other.

“This finding is timely, as the Senate has yet to pass legislation to pre-empt state-by-state labeling mandates — mandates that are not based on science or food safety issues and would be misleading and costly for con-sumers,” Duvall said. “The study gives sena-tors all the evidence they need to support a national, voluntary labeling standard, and we urge them to do so soon — before it is too late to halt the non-science-based labeling mandate in Vermont.”

Vilsack: Larger CRP caps neededOn May 5, U.S. Department of

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that 800,000 acres will be enrolled through three different compo-nents of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Of particular note, USDA’s CRP general sign-up completed at the end of February generated more than 1.8 million acres in offers, but was only able to accept 23 percent of the 26,000 landowner applications because of the program’s 24 million acre cap. As a result, Secretary Vilsack commented on the need for a larger CRP cap to meet landowner demand and natural resource benefits.

In addition to the general CRP sign-up, Vilsack also reported 4,600 additional offers were made for 1 million acres in the new CRP Grasslands program. Only 100,000 acres were accepted for a meager 10 percent acceptance rate. Finally, an additional 330,000 acres were enrolled through continuous CRP sign-ups, which is in addition to last year’s record-setting 860,000 continuous acres enrolled.

“When Congress begins to deliberate the 2018 farm bill, they’re going to be faced, I think, with a demand to rethink the cap on CRP,” Vilsack said. “The deliberation should not begin with ‘You have to save an artificial dollar amount,’ but it should really look at what the demand and need is.” Editor

Keith Suttonkeith.sutton@arfb.com

ROBE

RT P

OTT

ER p

hoto

Paul Dorris Jr., president and founder of the Arkansas Horseshoeing School inCenterville, forges a horseshoe May 19. The Dorris family has a legacy of shoeing horses dating back to Paul Dorris Sr.’s great uncle in the 1800s. The school was established seven years ago and attracts students from across the country to meet the growing demand for farriers in the U.S.

MER

CER

UN

IVER

SITY

pho

to

Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell will be the keynote speaker July 19 for the final session of ArFB’s Officer and Leaders Conference in Spring-dale. Cantrell grew up on a farm in Warner Robins, GA. She is touring to promote her platform, Healthy Children, Strong America, encourag-ing kids to make healthy choices and stay active.

In the MarketAs of May 25, 2016

Chinese soybean buys upOfficial customs data show China

purchased 7.071 MMT of soybeans dur-ing April, a 33.2-percent increase from the year prior. Of the total, Brazil made up 4.815 MMT of the sales, while the U.S. accounted for 2.024 MMT. For the first four months of the year, China has imported more than 23.333 MMT of soybeans, an 11.42-percent increase from this period last year. The U.S. accounted for 64.8 percent of those purchases, though its sales were down 7.3 percent from the year prior. Brazil shipped China 6.963 MMT of soybeans through April, a 75.5-percent rise from the year prior.

Bayer offers to buy Monsanto German pharmaceutical and chemi-

cals firm Bayer said its bid to acquire U.S. company Monsanto is an all-cash offer. Bayer’s CEO acknowledged that the com-pany faces a potential backlash against its reputation in Europe over a deal with Monsanto, the world’s largest producer of genetically modified crops. European nations, particularly Germany, strongly oppose the use of GMOs in farming. Monsanto has rejected the $62 billion takeover bid for being too low. Bayer is reportedly confident it can overcome the seed company’s concerns about the regulatory and financing risks related to a deal that would create the world’s largest supplier of seeds and crop chemicals.

Cattle market: mixed reportsThe Cattle on Feed report was mostly

bearish for cattle prices, as placements jumped 7 percent from year-ago levels, and marketings were less than expected, up just 1 percent from year-ago levels. However, the cold-storage report showed supplies less than expected as beef stocks were 452.35 million pounds, a reduction of 14.91 million pounds from last month’s estimate of 467.26 million pounds.

Japan’s corn use upJapan’s use of corn in animal feed

stood at 46.2 percent in March, steady with the month prior and up 1.7 points

from year-ago, according to preliminary data from Japan’s farm ministry. The country’s use of wheat in feed rations also held steady with the month prior at 1.6 percent, up 0.1 point from year-ago. Japan’s sorghum and barley use are down from year-ago at 2.8 percent and 3.4 per-cent, respectively.

Soybean technologies on holdMonsanto announced May 23 that it

will suspend launching future soybean technologies in Argentina, as the com-pany has been unable to find any com-mon ground with the Argentine govern-ment regarding inspections of genetically modified soybeans. Earlier, Monsanto asked Argentine exporters to inspect bean shipments to make sure farmers are paying royalties for use of its seed. Argentina responded with a decree that said any such inspections must first be approved by the government.

NAS report on GE cropsLast week, a review released by the

National Academies of Science (NAS) stated that it “found no substantiated evidence that foods from genetically en-gineered crops were less safe than foods from non-GE crops.” While this is a win for the proponents of genetically engi-neered crops, the report went further to cite that labeling would provide a benefit to consumers.

USDA to join panelThe U.S. Department of Agriculture

has agreed to join the Committee on For-eign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) for the review of state-owned ChemChina’s planned $43 billion acquisition of Syn-genta AG, people familiar with the deal told Reuters. This comes after lawmakers wrote to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, who chairs CFIUS, asking that the USDA be involved in the review so the transac-tion’s possible impact on domestic food security could be better assessed.

New poultry ruleThe U.S. Department of Agriculture

will propose new rules to more tightly regulate the poultry industry’s use of tournament systems as soon as Sep-tember, according to the spring regula-tory agenda published last week by the White House Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs. Language has repeat-edly been included in appropriations bills since 2012 that block USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Ad-ministration from finalizing new regula-tions as the poultry industry argues such systems improve efficiency and animal welfare. Such a provision, known as a “GIPSA rider,” was left out of the fiscal 2016 appropriations bill, however, allow-ing GIPSA to resume crafting new rules.

Humane Society looks to spread Meatless Monday

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) claims success in getting 200 school districts across the country to reduce their meat offerings since 2011 through its “Meatless Monday” program. That does not include hospitals, senior homes or corporate cafeterias. Politico reports this is where HSUS plans to “strike next” after its big victories in the cage-free chicken battle. The playbook is similar, creating a demand for meat-free alterna-tives by targeting mass buyers that feed thousands of people daily. “These institu-tions have massive purchasing power,” said Kristie Middleton, the Humane Society’s senior director of food policy. “They typi-cally will market those choices to their consumers, so they are helping with that educational component and outreach as well.”

New RFS proposed by EPAThe law requires the Environmental

Protection Agency to set a Renewable Fuel Standard mandate of 15 billion gal-lons of conventional biofuel, but the 2017 standard proposed by the agency last week set it at 14.8 billion gallons — a 200 million gallon gap left in place amid what the agency calls distribution problems. “It really is an unforced error, again, on the RFS,” said Brooke Coleman, executive director of the Advanced Biofuels Business Council. Opponents think 14.8 billion gal-lons is just too much.

CONTACT• Matt King 501-228-1297,

matt.king@arfb.com.