News Update
November 9, 2015
Predicting the Cattle Market
Any rancher knows there’s a multitude of factors influencing cattle prices every day and there’s no perfect science for precisely predicting long-term cattle markets. However, economists like Derrell Peel of Oklahoma State University, are able to read market indicators and suggest how cattle producers can build quality into their herds now to lessen the risk down the road.
“The factors that producers really have to keep an eye on is the uncertainty in global markets, the impacts that’s had in terms of impacting our futures markets and our cash markets, to some extent,” said Peel, who believes the cattle inventory will continue to grow long-term. But the level at which growth will taper off is unknown.
“It’s kind of a moving target,” he notes. Until that level is reached, Peel encourages producers to think more about risk management.
“That might mean everything from using futures and options and sort of direct risk management tools,” Peel said. “Some of it just has to do with how you position yourself in terms of when and how you sell cattle and what kinds of flexibility you have to sell them at various levels.”
Watch this week’s full The Angus Report online. You can also catch the show at 5 p.m. CST Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. CST Saturday and 7:30 a.m. CST each Monday on RFD-TV.
Farm Bureau Asks Supreme Court to Stop EPA Abuse of Clean Water Act Powers
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and a coalition of agricultural and builder groups asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 6 to review a lower court ruling that allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to manage local land use and development decisions under the federal Clean Water Act. The lower court’s ruling, according to the petition, “opens the door for a dramatic expansion of federal power” and must be overturned.
The lawsuit arose in the context of EPA’s “blueprint” for restoring the Chesapeake Bay, but Farm Bureau points out that the issue at stake is national in scope.
“It’s about whether EPA has the power to override local decisions on what land can be farmed, where homes can be built, and where schools, hospitals, roads and communities can be developed,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “This is nothing less than federal super-zoning authority. As much as we all support the goal of achieving a healthy Chesapeake Bay, we have to fight this particular process for getting there.”
Twenty-one states, 39 members of Congress and a group of counties within the Bay watershed supported AFBF’s legal challenge in the lower courts.
For more information, please view the full Farm Bureau release.
Purdue Breaks Ground for Animal Sciences Buildings
Ground was broken at Purdue University Friday, Nov. 6, for two buildings that will equip faculty, staff and students with the latest technology to help them meet increasing need for innovation in animal sciences’ research and education.
A ceremony marking the start of construction of the Hobart and Russell Creighton Hall of Animal Sciences and the Land O’Lakes Center for Experiential Learning was on the West Lafayette campus site at 270 S. Russell St. at the corner with Harrison Street. The buildings, scheduled to open in 2017, are being named in recognition of gifts of $5 million from each company.
“These two new facilities will represent an investment in the future of Purdue students to better prepare them for careers in agriculture and the biosciences,” said Alan Mathew, head of Purdue’s Department of Animal Sciences. “The state-of-the-art laboratories and classrooms will foster innovations that will significantly advance our programs that directly serve Indiana stakeholders and the animal industries nationally and globally.”
For more information, please view the full news release online.
Webinar Offers Savings When Feeding Livestock
A four-part webinar series on minimizing costs when feeding livestock is now available to view online, presented by beef experts with the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the Ohio State University (OSU).
Links to the 2015 Ohio Beef Feedlot School are now viewable at www.u.osu.edu/beefteam/resource-library/ - linkg. The webinars, which were filmed earlier this year, feature presentations by Francis Fluharty, a professor of ruminant nutrition in the college. Fluharty, who specializes in feedlot nutrition and animal growth, also has an appointment with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.
The webinars, each about two to 2.5 hours long, focus on beef feedlot nutrition and maximizing profits by increasing feed efficiency and using byproducts to reduce feed costs, said Jason Hartschuh, an OSU Extension coordinator in agriculture and natural resources and an organizer of the beef feedlot school.
The recordings are posted online now to give those who weren’t able to attend the feedlot school access to information that can help their livestock operations save money and increase profit potential, Hartschuh said.
For more information, please view the full release online.
Farm Lease Workshop set for Nov. 17 in New London
University of Missouri (MU) Extension in Ralls County will hold an agricultural lease workshop from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, at the extension office in the basement of the Ralls County Courthouse, 311 S. Main St., New London.
Karisha Devlin, MU Extension agribusiness specialist, will conduct the workshop. The training comes at a time when crop prices are forecast to be low over the next decade, she says. Many landowners, including retirees, depend on rental income, and their tenants are concerned about a decrease in farm income due to low commodity prices.
“It is important for both parties to communicate and understand the various issues each party faces in order to reach an equitable lease agreement arrangement,” she says. Negotiating the right lease is important to avoid potential misunderstandings and disputes.
Missouri has unique laws regarding leases. Devlin will cover why written leases are important and discuss common types of leases, as well as what should be outlined in leases.
For more information, view the full release online.
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