 You're listening to the Arkansas Egg Cast, where we discuss the latest news, trends, and issues impacting Arkansas farmers and ranchers. Our show is brought to you by the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation and hosted by Rob Anderson and Jason Brown. Hey, hello, hello, hello. Good afternoon. How is everyone after Robert? You feeling refreshed after a week off? Yeah, it's hard to stay refreshed very long in this heat, though. Yeah. As you say that, people probably think I'm nuts. I'm wearing a vest right now, but it is. They've cranked it in here to keep us cool. The air is on in this place. I am here to tell you. So yeah, it's, but outside, very hot. Yeah. Record setting temps, I think, this week, and next, we may have the longest streak of 100-plus days in June if I didn't misunderstand them. Well, that's something not to look forward to. I'll tell you, somewhere else it was hot this week was in Rogers. We were up there for the Southern Region Commodities Conference. This is a conference that brings commodities departments from Farm Bureau's all across the South, obviously. I think there were eight or 10 states involved and it rotates to different states each year. So generally speaking, the event goes, let's say four days and it starts, so they do a half-day of meetings and then a half-day of seeing sites and yeah, yeah. So I think some top golf was involved, but also tours like Tyson and things like that. So a little bit of fun, a lot of bit of learning and apparently they dress very casually. You were up there and there were some shorts. Yeah, here I show up and my business casual got slacks on, but not like ready for this meeting. I walk in and everybody's wearing shorts and polos. Yeah, they know how to do it. Let's just say I was looked like the guy from PR and not commodities. But anyway, I think that was, thank you, I think that was a, that was more generous than that, that little comical bit deserved. But anyway, I think everybody had a good time, learned a lot. We heard a presentation, some staff from the Senate Ag Committee came down to talk about the farm bill. We heard some things. Several other experts present on dairy and other topics like that. Also exciting this week, we had our first appearance on the vine, ATHV. ATHV 11, the vine, it was Tuesday morning. And we're going to be there on there again on June 28th, Tuesday morning. Yeah, it was a great fun little thing we're doing. And it's some education about Arkansas Farm Bureau first, who we are, what we do and why we do it. But then, you know, we're going to be doing some education on agriculture. Yeah, showing some some crops at some point, different things quizzing the host, you know, we had some fun and but Jenny was on there the other day. She introduced it. The concept showed our filthy farms videos, filthy farm job videos. She did a great job. I knew she would. I don't think I've got I don't think I must stand a chance of inching her out of that spot. I don't think you will either. No, it was a good day. You know, I mean, I think we'll we're gonna enjoy that. It's a great relationship. Yeah, those those anchors there seem to be really into it too. I know we've heard them talk a couple times about their own personal connections to agriculture. So it's good. It's good to be a part of that show. It's at nine o'clock in the morning every every weekday, what we're on there to two Tuesdays a month as it stands right now. If you want to see Jenny's appearance, see some of the scenes from the filthy farm jobs series and hear more about see see what we talked about on the show. I believe we have a link on our Facebook page with a couple photos from her appearance. That's right. It's been out there on Twitter. You can find it, I think, on the KTHV website as well. Yeah, so go check that out and see how we're sharing agriculture to the broader audience, right? I'm calling it KTHV. It's THV 11. I'm not I'm old. KTHV, you know, we've talked about our ages multiple times on this show. So I'm no one surprised. So what else you got? Well, something we'll talk about a little bit more. This is Farm Farmers Market Week. It's that time of year. Some other things going on there. So I'll talk a little bit more about that later. What else? Well, let me see convention. I was trying to get the dates on these. So one thing that came out two weeks ago while we were off the week we were off, I think American Farm Bureau has announced a 2023 conference information that the least early early information on that. And I believe that that'll be held January 6 through 11 of 2023. Okay. Always always a January meeting. Right. This time it is in sunny Puerto Rico. Okay. And so sunny Puerto Rico in the wintertime. So that's nice. Yeah, it's a nice little nice little break. So what we'll do is we'll continue sharing more. I mean, it's really early. I mean, really, what we can tell you is the dates and the location right now. But certainly, if they allow us to keep doing this podcast, we'll continue right now. We're someone else will be bringing you that information. Yeah, someone else we had in the basement, maybe they'll lock us out of our studio. But anyway, yeah, so we'll continue bringing information about that as we as we get closer. But right now, I guess, if you want to save the day January 6 through the 11th in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Alright, well, let's get rolling with some news. First up today, we've got some national agriculture policy news. According to report from brownfield ag news, a group of House Republican congressmen have signed on to a bill that would reverse regulatory burdens and reduce farm input costs. That's what they're hoping will do. It's called the reducing farm input costs and barriers to domestic production act. And it would require the Biden administration to reverse certain policies that the House Ag Committee ranking member Glenn Thompson says are barriers to sustainable ag production. Arkansas Congressman Rick Crawford says the bill would address high input costs by providing some incentives for domestic production. He says we have chosen to rely on foreign sources. We've done that with energy, but we can't afford to do that with agriculture. Because he says we don't want to create a state of food insecurity. The brownfield report says the bill would offer would offer to clarity to waters of the US regulations. I know we're very familiar with that or Arkansas farmers are rescind an SEC rule on climate related disclosures reinstate 2020 NEPA rules and requiring economic analysis of gypsa rules. Don't know gypsa. I know NEPA is National Environmental Policy Act, but yeah, this is this is important. I mean, obviously we know matter of fact, I'll give a plug here talking about input costs and things like that. If you if you go and look at talk business and politics talk business.net, I believe you'll see an article in today's or in this week's edition that is written by George Jared and their ag reporter. But he uses a ton of data and information from Mark Lambert, right? Are one of our economists here to actually quantify the impact of rising costs on farmers in Arkansas. Right. I believe that I don't have it in front of me. I believe we expect a revenue decrease profit decrease of 4% Yeah, we shared we shared that on our Twitter feed. Yeah, you can find it easy there. You can find the link there. And I think of course, you know, talk business has been pushing it out there says Arkansas farmers face 4.5% decline and profitability in 2022. Yeah, so profitability hit. We also did some work with a THV 11 separate from what we were talking about earlier this week. They were looking for some help on a story. So we we called on Arkansas County Farm Bureau president West Long to provide some data points on that and fuel costs as we're entering irrigation season. We're seeing that fuel costs really being a hindrance. So anyway, we're doing lots of coverage and glad to see some policy that is a big issue as you can see from our our analysis and the stories we've been doing and now some action at the national level. Yeah, great to see. All right. Well, moving on. You have a unique and historic opportunity to make your voice heard on the 2023 Farm Bill. We told you a few weeks ago. I think before we took a break or break about the Senate Ag Committee Field Hearing being hosted in Arkansas. Now we're asking you to get involved in that and make your voice heard. The US Senate Ag Committee on Ag Forestry and Nutrition will hold the Field Hearing in Jonesboro tomorrow Friday, June 17th. The hearing will focus on the Farm Bill. It's being hosted by the committee's ranking member, John Bozeman, Republican from Arkansas, and the hearing will be an opportunity for producers to share their priorities for the Farm Bill, which is due for reauthorization next year. Please make plans to attend tomorrow. Remember, they are asking folks to register at ar.rsvp at ag.senate.gov. I won't repeat that. We've got it all over Facebook and Twitter Farm Bureau channel, so go there. But here's the deal. This this is sort of breaking news. I heard right before we came in here. President Arkansas Farm Bureau President Rich Hillman is set to testify at the hearing tomorrow. Great. So I know we've got a lot of folks going. 20 or more folks just in board members and staff. We're asking farmers if you're there, please attend. It's in your backyard. It's an opportunity. This is a major deal. It's a rare opportunity. Well, I'll give you an example. Stanley Hill, our VP of Government Affairs, and I were talking this morning, he says, you know what, Jason? In my career, we won't talk about how long that was, but that's been. But he says, in my career, I don't think I've ever attended a field hearing before. I've attended hearings in DC and so on and so forth. Obviously, at the state level, he says, I've never had the opportunity to attend a field hearing before. So it really is. When I said it's unique and historic, it is an opportunity. And the whole purpose is to make the priorities of the Arkansas farmers known in this setting. So please make plans to attend that. On campus at Arkansas State, I should add. In Jonesboro, it's on campus at, I'm sorry, at Rison Hall at the Fowler Center in Rison Hall. If you can get to the Fowler Center, if you can get to the basketball policy, you can get to the Fowler Center and then right in the door there. Sorry. Well, again, yeah, that is just such a unique opportunity and I hope farmers and ranchers and everybody in the area who can make it because it's an important deal. Now, taking a step back from national issues for a minute, we have some exciting news for some hardworking Arkansas farm families. We have eight district farm families that have been named in the 75th annual Arkansas Farm Family of the Year program, representing the diversity of Arkansas agriculture, which of course is the state's largest industry. The district families will now be judged for the Arkansas Farm Family of the Year and that will be announced in December. The district farm families of the year are in the East Central District, the Lindsey Family of Forest City, St. Francis County, North Central District, the Hayes Family of Pleasant Plains, Independence County, Northeast District, the Smith Family of Paragool, Lund Green County, Northwest District, the Hostetler Family of Green Forest in Carroll County, Southeast District, the Young Family of Poplar Grove, Phillips County, Southwest District, the Robertson Family of Hope, Hempstead County, West Central District, the Honeycutt Family of Arcadelfia in Clark County, and Western District, the Stoball Family of Atkins in Conway County. Farm Family of the Year program begins each year with a selection of the top farm families in each county and culminates in December with a selection of the Farm Family of the Year. The Arkansas Farm Family of the Year will then go on to represent Arkansas at the Swisher Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year competition. You know, Arkansas has had two Southeast Farmer of the Farm of the Year winners, Brian and Nan Kirksey in Clark County in 2008 and the Willey Family Farms of Mississippi County in 2016. All families are judged on the farm production efficiency, management, family life, and rural community leadership. We'd be remiss if we didn't mention the sponsors of the Arkansas Farm Family of the Year program, which of course is the Arkansas Farm Bureau, the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, and the Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas. Additionally, support for the program is provided by the Arkansas Agriculture Department, Arkansas Department of Career Education, Arkansas Press Association, and the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture and the USDA's Farm Service Agency Natural Resources, Conservation Service, and Rural Development. I love long governmental agency names. Yeah, no doubt. But it's a great program and congratulations to all those families. It's a big honor. Yeah, good news and congrats. Yeah, again, congrats to those families and I know they'll certainly have a busy few months ahead as we continue that competition. Well, we know that farmers have a lot to be stressed about right now, Farm Family of the Year, being one of them if you're a finalist, but. Costs or contests. We got a lot of stressors, but Purdue has quantified those concerns and it's Ag Economy Barometer Survey. I thought we'd talk about some of those the results from that survey. Higher input costs and input availability or are the top two concerns reported by farmers in the most recent Purdue University CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Survey followed by the risk of declining crop and livestock prices. Crop producers also said that supply chain problems are still an issue across all major crop input categories and 50% of respondents to the May Barometer Survey said that tight farm machinery inventories are impacting their investment decisions. Input price and excuse me input price and availability risk were noted by more farmers as their top risk rather than the risk of declining commodity prices. It's virtually unprecedented. I'll say that again input price availability risk being noted by more farmers is their top risk rather than declining commodity cost prices is virtually unprecedented and highlights the fact that ag producers face elevated risk across the board. One of the reasons they're so worried about these commodity prices is input cost going up is a real risk. Commodity prices being up kind of helps offset that or can help offset that but when if those commodity prices start to decrease then that changes the game on them mid-game really. So that's a that's a big concern and interesting information coming out from Purdue University. This is the first time I've seen this survey so I'm hoping that we'll we'll plan to keep an eye on that thing throughout the growing season. Well on that somber note I guess we now we're going to take a quick break. Yeah we'll take a break from the news and learn how you can be a champion for your community. Something a little more upbeat. Your Arkansas Farm Bureau membership supports our work on behalf of Arkansas farmers, ranchers, and rural communities around the state. From youth leadership programs and academic scholarships to hunger relief and disaster support and much more. You can make a difference and be a champion for your community. Join today at ARFB.com. All right well a good example of how our membership helps support our mission is with the Arkansas MASH programs and MASH camps. Those are going on right now. We've we've been running out checking those out taking photos. We've supported this program for decades and continue to do so thanks to our contributions to from the Arkansas Farm Bureau Foundation. This week again our team is traveling to get those images from the camps across the state of these young people learning about the importance of you know in the job opportunities in health care and hopefully coming back to their communities later if they pursue those options to provide health care in those communities. Yeah absolutely we met somebody in Omaha last week who said he was from New York and he says hey my sister moved to Arkansas. Her husband is a doctor and decided to move to a small community in Arkansas and practice and they're still there. Yeah and then hopefully the MASH program can you know is building more of those future small community recruiters and providers. Summer means a lot of things to people. We were talking about the heat earlier. You know it can mean swimming, vacation camps, but one of the things a lot of people appreciate this time of year are farmers markets selling selling locally grown produce and food products. Earlier this week officials with the Arkansas Department of Agriculture celebrated Governor Asa Hutchinson's proclamation of Arkansas Farmers Market Week marking contributions made by farmers markets and the agriculture industry to the state's economy. At the event Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward said farmers markets made locally grown produce and food products more accessible all areas of the state including the urban areas. We continue to see these farmers markets grow and be successful. Ward said which is great for our local producers and our industry as a whole. Adding that it's it helps provide local healthy food options. Tuesday's proclamation took place at the Saint Joseph Center in North Little Rock which operates a market selling its own food and goods originally founded as an orphanage in 1908. The center now operates a 63 acre farm. It also offer classes and workshops on sustainable farming practices. On top of that Governor Hutchinson has issued a proclamation of June as dairy month in the state. He did this after a meeting with dairy farmers at the state capital yesterday. On hand for that event were Grace Pepler and her mother Ruth who run Dogwood Hills Guest Farm near the Buffalo River. We've also done a video on the Peplers and their their farm. They offer guests a hands-on experience milking and caring for cows. Grace Pepler says visitors from across the country come to their farm to experience the dairy industry up close. If you want more information on Arkansas farmers markets you can find the Arkansas Farmers Market Association on Facebook or you can visit the Arkansas Department of Agriculture website if you want. If you want to check out more on Dogwood Hills or the video I mentioned about the Peplers visit arfb.com or the Arkansas Farm Bureau YouTube channel. Awesome. Matthew was at a creamery last week I think and holding a goat in a photo I saw was a very jealous goat cheese is one of my favorite. Is it goat dairy creamery operation and it's very interesting video. This one that you're talking about Dogwood Hills or the yeah the White River creamery. There's a lot of these interesting places in Arkansas providing these. A little bit of a mix of agri-tourism and great and local food products you know. Yeah that's very cool. Well you know we've been covering planting progress moving from from dairy or goats to row crop. We've been covering planting progress each week in the state. We'll continue doing that. But we are actually we'll continue giving crop updates but we're going to call planting complete. There are a few acres left but those represent really five percent or probably less for the entire state. So we're going to turn our attention to crop progress and health. We are currently working on videos for crop progress as well. So what I'll give you is some really concise statistical information probably but if you're interested in the next few weeks look for videos from us sitting down with the likes of Jeremy Ross, Jared Harky, Bill Robertson, Jason Killett you know the crop specialist from the division and to give more in-depth sort of guidance and recommendations. But for now 75 percent of the corn and cotton crop is rated good to excellent. There are some acres reporting fair or even poor condition but both crops look good for the state on the whole. Eighty percent of the peanut crop is reported to be good to excellent condition as of this week. 75 percent of the rice crop is rated good to excellent and the soybean crop reports nearly 85 percent of that same good to excellent rating. 65 percent of the livestock population is rated as good to excellent and of no of the alfalfa hay crop rates is excellent and only 58 percent of the crop is reported as good. We talked on the last episode I think about hedging a less than quality hay crop that was one Brian hosted co-hosted and we're continuing to see challenges according to the USDA reporting that in that hay. So go back to the last episode two weeks ago and listen to some of the tips that we shared if you need to if you're concerned about your hay quality. If there's a certain metric though that you'd like to hear us report on each week that wasn't included here then please let us know in the comments. We would be happy to include that on the podcast and our weekly reminder that farmers remain incredibly busy. Please please please keep an eye out for farm equipment moving in traffic whether in the northwest part of the state or the far delta that farm equipment moves in traffic very in a very different way than our vehicles do and especially keeping out if you're on a county road or rural highway just know that sharing the road helps keep everyone safe and food on your table. That's a message we're going to be sharing for a while so you'll hear us talk about that again it's just important and for the safety of everyone and it's you know this is being in the agriculture state that it is. It's pretty common. That's right. The Arkansas Ag Department has announced the Arkansas Grown Grant pilot program which will benefit fruit and vegetable producers in northwest Arkansas. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture and the Walton Family Foundation have partnered to offer the Arkansas Grown Grant pilot program for farmers residing in Benton, Washington, Madison and Carroll counties in northwest Arkansas that's farmers residing and farming in those counties. This pilot program offers grant funding to eligible farmers who are committed to increasing capacity for wholesale fruit and vegetable production resulting in more local food. Grants up to a maximum of fifteen thousand dollars will be awarded for eligible expenses to at least 30 farmers in the four county pilot program area. Free assistance in completing the application is offered through the Arkansas small business and technology development center in Fayetteville. The application and link to this is available at arkansasgrown.org Yeah well if you're raising vegetables and fruits go that's good opportunity part of this program that'd be really helpful. Well it wouldn't be a podcast as we come to the end of the news without Mr. Pistols this day in history. Did anything as important as this podcast happen on a day in history? And or how sad? I think it was pretty and no sad news today. Okay good thing. Yeah it wouldn't be a good kickoff to summer if we didn't have a little summer related news. Okay all right I like it. June 16th 1884. Okay wow. The first roller coaster in America opened at Coney Island. Coney Island had the first roller coaster in all of America. In all of America in 1884. I don't know about you but I would not want to get on that thing. I did one time I think they called it the zip and pippin at Liberty Landing. That thing was wooden and janky. Last wood roller coaster I had not got on I swear I'd never get on it. It hurt. Today is also Phil Mickelson's birthday. Okay. Some controversy. Yeah yeah. You're throwing in a controversial figure now. You know I didn't say it wouldn't be controversial. I just said I wouldn't be a downer. The PGA has told Mr. Mickelson no thanks. There you go. All right we want to turn this into a golf call-in show because we can get some comments on it. I bet we can. I bet we can. All right well thanks for sticking around that wraps up the news for this week. As always we appreciate you tuning in to the Arkansas Adcast whether it be on video here or later on yeah in the audio version. We're grateful for you taking the time to watch and listen. Quick editorial note we've heard a few comments about the volume being kind of soft especially if you're in a piece of equipment in a field so we are working very hard to beef that up. Yes we are. Mr. Anderson. Remember you can catch the live stream every Thursday at 2pm on Facebook and YouTube. Make sure you turn on notifications to get those alerts when we go live. Listen to the audio version later on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And as always the Arkansas Adcast is brought to you by the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation and hosted by me Jason Brown. And me Rob Anderson. Our show is produced by Brian Pistol and Matthew Magdefrau. We'll see you next week.