In Farm BureauDistrict farm families named

District winners for the 68th annual Arkansas Farm Family of the Year Pro-gram have been selected. They will now be judged to determine a state winner to be announced Dec. 10 at the Farm Family of the Year luncheon at the Wyndham River-front Hotel in North Little Rock.

The district winners are:• John and Mikki Hamilton of Searcy (White County) in the East Central Dis-trict. The Hamiltons farm rice, soybeans and wheat on 880 acres. They have two young children, John David and Jim. • Allen and Melissa Glidewell of St. Joe (Searcy County) in the North Central Dis-trict. The Glidewells farm hay, beef cattle and turkeys on 1,300 acres. They have three young children, Bradyn, Brooklyn and Bryce. • Wildy Family Farms of Manila (Missis-sippi County) in the Northeast District. David and Patty, Justin and Kristi, Tab and Taylor and Hayley Wildy and Paul and Bethany Harris farm soybeans, cotton,

wheat, milo and peanuts on 9,200 acres. Justin and Kristi have two children, Blaire and Blaine, and Paul and Bethany have one child, Annalyse. • Brent and Ronda Butler of Siloam Springs (Benton County) in the Northwest District. The Butlers raise hay, beef cattle and broilers on 825 acres. They have three grown children, Dustin, Austin and Dillon, and three grandchildren. • The Fuller family of Poplar Grove

(Phillips County) in the Southeast District. Jerry and Suzie and Terry and Lisa farm wheat, milo, corn, soybeans, hay and beef cattle on 2,774 acres. They also own Fuller Seed and Supply. Jerry and Suzie have three grown children: Katherine, Kyle and Jared. Terry and Lisa have two children, Rayann and Gracie. • Phil and Lesia Hamaker of Junction City (Union County) in the Southwest District. The Hamakers raise cattle, poultry, hay,

July 17, 2015 • Vol. 18, No. 13A

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Jessica Wesson of Searcy tested her strength as she swung from rope to rope at the ExCEL high ropes course during the 42nd annual Arkansas Farm Bureau Teen Challenge Camp held June 15-18 at the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center in Ferndale. Wesson served as a coun-selor during the camp. Sixty-eight students from 28 Arkansas counties par-ticipated, sharpening their leadership and team-build-ing skills through outdoor recreation and training sessions.

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toU.S. Rep. Rick Crawford (right)

visited with David Walt (left) of Desha County Farm Bureau

and John McClendon of Lee County Farm Bureau after of

the June 30 summer com-modity division meetings

for soybeans, corn and grain sorghum. The meetings were

held at the UA Division of Agriculture Lon Mann Cotton

Research Center south of Mari-anna. Roughly 50 leaders were

in attendance.

timber and pro-duce on 490 acres. They have three

children, Tiffany, Kyle and Ashlyn. • Billy and Charlotte Wilchman of Cleve-land (Conway County) in the Western Dis-trict. The Wilchmans raise pecans, poultry, beef cattle, fresh water prawns (shrimp), tomatoes and peppers. They have four children and are currently raising their 8-year-old grandson.• Roy “Pee Wee” and Carolyn Ham of Arkadelphia (Clark County) in the West Central District. The Hams raise beef cattle, Boer goats, swine, hay and timber on 380 acres. They have two children, two grandchildren and two great grandchil-dren.

“I am amazed every year at the amount of passion Arkansas’ families have for agriculture,” said ArFB President Randy Veach. “What a great honor to recognize the men and women of agriculture, and their families, for their hard work, success and dedication. I want to congratulate those who have been named County and District Farm Families of the Year. These families have made significant efforts within our industry and exemplify the very best of what our state offers.”

The Farm Family of the Year program begins each year with selection of top farm families in each county and culmi-nates with the selection of the state Farm Family of the Year who will then go on to

represent Arkansas at the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year. All winners are judged on their farm production, efficiency, management, fami-ly life and rural/community leadership.

Veach named to USDA-USTR Committee Arkansas Farm Bureau President

Randy Veach, a cotton, soybean, sorghum and corn farmer from Manila, has been appointed to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Trade Advi-sory Committee for Tobacco, Cotton and Peanuts. The appointment was announced June 30 by USDA Sec. Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Fro-man.

Another Arkansan, Dow Brantley of Brantley Farming Company in England, was named to the Agricultural Policy Ad-visory Committee.

Veach and Brantley are among 130 appointees to the six ATACs and the Agri-cultural Policy Advisory Committee. The appointments run through 2019.

Veach is serving his seventh term as Arkansas Farm Bureau president and also served five years as the organization’s vice president. He has been on the state board of directors since December 1999.

Veach has been involved with agricul-tural trade missions to Mexico, China, Panama, South Korea, Japan, Belgium and Switzerland. A third-generation farmer, he and his wife Thelma farm on land cleared by his grandfather and father. He farms with his son Brandon.Veach serves as a member of the American Farm Bureau board of directors. He also is on the Arkansas World Trade Center board of advisors.

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Registered nurse Kathy Hall removes a cast from Kelsey Parker of Warren during M*A*S*H camp at Bradley County Medical Center June 24. Ten students from Bradley and Cleveland counties attended the two-week camp to learn about healthcare-related vocations. They were sponsored by the Arkansas MENTOR Medical Partner-ship and their county Farm Bureaus.

Janice Shofner (left) of Centerton and Linda Simpson of Cave Springs were among six Benton Co. FB Women’s Committee members who assisted with a recent “Farm to You” program at Elm Tree Elementary in Bentonville. The Benton County Extension Service sponsored the event where the ladies helped teach students about food from the farm to the store.

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toPope Co. FB Women’s Committee members read “From Cow to Ice Cream” June 11 to 24 young campers at the Potts Inn Museum Pioneer Camp, while each child made his or her own ice cream in a bag. Ida Ruth Jones (right) demonstrated, while Benita Drew read from the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agricul-ture Accurate Ag book.

On June 27, students attending M*A*S*H camp at the North Arkansas Regional Medical Center in Harrison learned about treating bone injuries from registered nurse Tom Cassilly. Par-ticipants were (l to r) Haley Robinson of Bay; Reagan Warren, Harrison; Cassilly; Trey Tkachuk, Western Grove; Taylor Willock, Harrison; Madison Wyatt, Har-rison; and Ciera Burkitt, Valley Springs.

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The advisory committee system was created by Congress in 1974 to ensure that U.S. trade policy and trade negotiating objectives adequately reflect public and private interests. The ATACs advise the Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative about a wide range of agri-cultural trade issues.

Farm Bureau Press wins awardAwards for the top communications

specialists were presented during the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2015 Strategic Policy, Advocacy, Resources and Communications Conference, held June 16-18 in Charlotte, N.C. Among the winners was Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Farm Bureau Press, which was chosen as the “Best Member/Leader Newsletter.”

“Our public relations and print shop staff work very hard to put together the best newsletter possible,” said editor Keith Sutton. “We’re proud to receive this recog-nition, which also honors the many county Farm Bureau leaders who contribute pho-tos and news items we use in every issue. Having the country’s number one member newsletter is a great honor.

In ArkansasArkansas students awarded scholarships

Eight Arkansas students were awarded a

total of $12,000 in college scholarships this spring from America’s Farmers Grow Ag Leaders, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund. The new program encourages rural youth to remain in agriculture and provides $1,500 scholarships to support their educa-tion. Farmers play a vital role by promot-ing the opportunity to local students and endorsing their applications.

Recipient Jake Lassiter of Arkansascounty, is representative of the students who are selected for Grow Ag Leaders scholarships because of his passion for ag and strong leadership qualities. Farmer Eddie Scherm, also of Hamburg, endorsed Lassiter’s application.

“I have known Jake for most of his life,” said Scherm. “He is bright, hardworking and active in school and in the local agri-culture community. I’m confident Jake will come back to his hometown and use his knowledge in an ag-related career.”

The other scholarship recipients were Amelia Chapman, White County; Travis Gentry, Prairie County; Clay Leder, Arkansas County; Jenna Martin, Cross County; Nicholas Schafer, Lonoke County; Trenton Tosh, Independence County; and Martin Walt, Desha County.

The scholarships, administered by the National FFA Organization, are available to high school seniors and college stu-dents pursuing degrees in ag-related fields. Applicants do not have to be FFA members but are required to receive endorsements from at least three local farmers. With support from the Monsanto Fund, more than $500,000 in scholarships has been

awarded this year. For more information, visit GrowAgLeader.

ElsewhereAG Rutledge to co-chair ag committee

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller will co-chair the newly formed National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Agriculture Committee. Follow-ing NAAG’s June meeting in San Diego, newly elected NAAG President Marty Jackley named Rutledge and Miller as co-chairs of the committee.

“Agriculture is vitally important to my state, adding more than $20 billion to our economy and making it the largest indus-try in Arkansas,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “It is critically important for attorneys general who share a common goal of advocating for and protecting the agriculture industry and its participants to have a venue to collaborate and share new ideas. I am honored to join my colleague and friend, Attorney General Miller, in this effort to co-chair the new Agriculture Committee, and I appreciate the confi-dence of President Jackley in both of us to lead this committee.”

NAAG was founded in 1907 to help attorneys general fulfill the responsibilities of their office and to assist in the delivery of high-quality legal services to the states and territorial jurisdictions. The Associa-tion’s members are the 56 state and terri-torial attorneys general.

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Evan Teague, Director of Environmental and Regulatory Affairs at Arkansas Farm Bu-reau, has been appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to the Nutrient Water Quality Trading Advisory Panel. Teague was sworn in on June 19 by Arkansas Supreme Court Associate Justice Courtney Hudson Goodson. His term on the panel will expire June 8, 2017.

Morgan McKay of Cabot is the 2015 recipient of the $1,000 Gordon R. Brown Scholarship presented by the Lonoke County Farm Bureau. McKay is the daughter of Nancy McKay and the late Harry McKay. She is a senior at the University of Arkansas actively pursuing a bachelor of science degree in agricultural communications, with a minor in agricultural business.

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EditorKeith Suttonkeith.sutton@arfb.com

In the MarketAs of July 14, 2015

Is $5 corn in the future?Corn prices have seen a strong

rally since the release of the acreage and stock reports at the end of June. Stronger-than-expected demand and smaller supplies led to a sharp increase in prices. These gains are likely not over. While we could see some correction in prices, corn likely has more gains before this year is over. In August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin updating yields, which means lower yields and likely increased prices. At the begin-ning year, we were forecasting more than 2 billion carryover, and now we are likely looking at stocks less than 1.5 billion. This could push prices close to $5 this fall if the wet weath-er reduces yields as much as most expect.

Can soybeans reach $11?Soybeans have tested resistance

near $10.50. However, prices have been unable to close at this level. Wet weather across parts of the grow-ing area remains the main driver of soybeans. The USDA is currently resurveying Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas soybean producers to see if additional acres were lost during the June rains. The August USDA report will set the tone for the rest of this year. Some estimates are for acreage to be down around 3 million acres and yields down one or more bush-els. If acreage is down 3 million acres that equates to 138 million bushels less stock, while a one bushel yield reduction is 84 million bushels less, for a total decline in stocks of 222 million bushels to just 203 million bushels. This would be a sharp decline from original forecasts for

2015-16 and could push prices briefly above $11. While U.S. supply con-cern remains supportive of prices, large global supplies and uncertainty surrounding China will continue to cap soybean gains.

Sorghum shipment slowdown possible

In September, China will likely slash its government support prices for new corn harvest, according to industry sources cited by Reuters. This along with freight subsidies may make Chinese corn prices compet-itive with U.S. sorghum. Therefore, some say China’s sorghum imports could decline as much as 30 percent in 2015-16. Anticipation of cheaper domestic corn is expected to slow bookings. Further, strong Chinese demand has helped lift U.S. sorghum prices so much that some Chinese buyers have shifted to barley.

Chinese soybean imports surgeChina imported 8.09 MMT of

soybeans in June, its second highest monthly import total on record. Its soybean imports for the first half of the year are up 2.8 percent from year-ago at 35.16 MMT. The availability of inexpensive South American supplies is thought to have prompted the large June shipments. Strong soy imports are expected to continue this month and the next as soymeal prices have rebounded, lifting crushing margins off an eight-year low. Some analysts expect crushers may slow imports by September when the U.S. shipping season begins.

Oil price decline may extend into 2016

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says global demand for oil will slow down next year, as it warned that crude prices could resume a recent downward spiral. “The bottom of the market may still be ahead,” the agency said in its closely watched

monthly oil-market report. In its first oil-consumption assessment for next year, the IEA said global oil demand growth is forecast to slow to 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2016. That compares with an average 1.4 million bpd this year. The agency noted the Organization of the Petro-leum Exporting Countries continued to pump at high levels, estimating OPEC crude oil output climbed by 340,000 barrels a day in June to 31.7 million barrels a day—the highest since April 2012 and 1.7 million barrels a day higher than a produc-tion target it agreed to maintain last month.

Cattle export deal coming soonAustralia’s ag minister says the

country will soon sign a new live cattle export deal, with some specu-lating the unnamed country is China, the U.S. or Papua New Guinea. China and Australia have been in talks regarding live cattle trade for more than a year. This comes a day after Indonesia announced it had slashed quarterly import quotas to 50,000 cattle in the third quarter, down 80 percent from the previous quarter. The country had been the largest buyer of Australian cattle. Indonesia cited supply needs and a drive for self-sufficiency for the reduction.

CONTACT

• Matt King 501-228-1297, matt.king@arfb.com.