Farm Radio

Mark Frasier of Fort Morgan, Colo., was elected 2020 president of CattleFax at the organization’s annual meeting, held in conjunction with the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 4-7.  Frasier is a cow/calf, stocker operator and cattle feeder in Eastern Colorado and is active in his community and local cattlemen’s association. He is a past president of the Colorado Livestock Association and serves on and has chaired the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Resolutions Committee.  President elect is Pono Von Holt of Kamuela, Hawaii. Von Holt is a cow/calf and stocker operator as well as a cattle feeder. He has served as president of the Hawaii Cattlemen’s Association, chair of NCBA Cow/Calf Council and president of the Ranchers Renaissance Cooperative. Pono is also active in many local boards in Hawaii.  Jeff Sternberger of Ingalls, Kan., was elected as the new Central Region director while Jerry Adams of Broken Bow, Neb., and ...

Secretary Perdue Proclaims February 16-22 as Grain Bin Safety Week (Washington D.C., February 14, 2020)  – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued a proclamation naming February 16-22 as  Grain Bin Safety Week . Earlier this week, the Secretary sat down with the Governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, to talk about the importance of grain bin safety on the farm. Governor Noem grew up on a farm in Hamlin County, South Dakota and has a personal connection to farm safety.   She has been an advocate for increased grain bin safety efforts for years. You may click  HERE  or on the image above to watch their conversation. “We hope grain operators, farmers and community leaders will join us in expanding knowledge of safe practices not just during National Grain Bin Safety Week, but year-round,”  said Secretary Perdue . “Tragedies like the one Governor Noem’s family experienced happen too frequently and call for gre...

Strong Demand, Leverage Shift Adds Optimism for Year Ahead F ocus on consumers a requirement for continued beef industry success San Antonio, Texas – (Feb. 6, 2020) - Beef demand is strong and with U.S. cattle numbers plateauing, prices are likely to be stronger in the year ahead as consumers at home and abroad support industry profitability. That was the message delivered today during the popular CattleFax outlook session, held as part of the 2020 Cattle Industry Convention in San Antonio, Texas. Weather is expected to play a supporting role for agriculture during the year ahead, according to Dr. Art Douglas, professor emeritus at Creighton University. He said that following repeated El Niño events during the past five years, the U.S. will shift to a La Niña pattern, which will shift much of the nation outside of the northwest and southeastern portions of the country toward conditions slightly warmer and drier than last year, which will be favorable for ...

The Senate Thursday morning passed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, sending it to President Donald Trump’s desk. The Senate vote, 89-10, moves the agreement ahead of the impeachment trial in the Senate. President Trump is expected to sign the agreement sometime next week during a formal ceremony, perhaps while the impeachment trial is underway. House Democrats took more than a year to make changes to the original agreement negotiated by the Trump administration. For agriculture, USMCA is expected to increase U.S. exports by $2 billion.  The vote comes just one day after the United States signed a new trade agreement with China, which promises to increase agricultural exports overseas by tens of billions of dollars.  On Twitter, President Trump proclaimed, “The farmers are really happy with the new China trade deal and the soon to be signed deal with Mexico and Canada.” The President said he hopes farmers remember he used tariff funds to “help them get through the tough times....

WASHINGTON (Jan. 15, 2020) — The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association today applauded the signing of a Phase-One trade agreement with China, saying this agreement will lay the groundwork for American-produced beef to be highly competitive in the world’s most populous market. “The Phase-One Agreement with China will be a game changer for the U.S. beef industry," said NCBA President Jennifer Houston, who joined President Trump at the White House for today's event. "For many years, Chinese consumers have been denied access to high-quality U.S. beef—the same U.S. beef we feed to our families. The removal of these massive trade barriers gives Chinese consumers access to the U.S. beef they desire, and it gives America’s cattlemen and cattlewomen the opportunity to provide U.S. beef to a growing consumer-base that represents one-fifth of the global population and a middle-class that is greater than the entire U.S. population. “We cannot begin to express our thanks to Presi...

ames Mintert and Michael Langemeier, Center for Commercial Agriculture James Mintert and gives his breakdown on the Purdue/CME Group  Ag Economy Barometer  December results at  purdue.ag/barometervideo . The  Ag Economy Barometer  drifted sideways in December, to a reading of 150 compared to 153 in November. Although the barometer changed little in December, there was a shift in producers’ perspective regarding both their farms’ and the production ag sector’s economic health. Producers expressed less confidence than a month earlier about current economic conditions as the  Index of Current Conditions  registered a reading of 141, a decline of 12 points compared to November’s index value of 153. In contrast, producers’ expectations for the future remained strong as the  Index of Future Expectations  rose slightly, to a reading of 155 compared to 153 a month earlier. This month’s  Ag Economy Barometer  survey was conducted from ...

Details Emerging on the U.S. and China Phase One Agreement Both China and the U.S. officials confirmed on Friday that they’ve reached a “Phase One” agreement. Emerging details show the agreement includes some tariff relief, increased agricultural purchases, as well as structural changes to intellectual property and technology issues. However, a CNBC report says some details of the partial accord between the world’s two largest economies remain cloudy. As Chinese officials briefed reporters of some details on Friday morning, President Trump also announced some of the terms of what he called an “amazing deal.” The U.S. does plan to eliminate tariffs on multiple Chinese goods in stages, which was a priority for Chinese negotiators. Details on when that would take place weren’t announced. Trump announced that the U.S. would cancel its next round of tariffs on Chinese goods that were scheduled to go into effect over the weekend. Via Twitter, Trump announced the White House will leave 25 ...