Kansas Ag Report

Soybean and Commodity Infrastructure

Commodity transportation hit some bumps in May with the closure of the Interstate 40 Bridge in Memphis, which sits over the Mississippi River on May 11. Inspectors found an issue with the bridge's structural integrity and closed it for both road traffic and barge traffic on the river. In a peak time for commodity shipments, 62 vessels with a total of 1038 barges were backed up, causing delays for many agricultural products. issues were resolved in traffic resumed may 14. Any holdup in barge traffic flow compromises us agriculture's ability to deliver on worldwide demand for our product and can impact profitability for farmers when rates of other forms of transportation increase to handle the load. This situation reiterates the importance of solid infrastructure across the country. In other transportation nears the pending acquisition of the Kansas City Southern Railway Company is heating up as Canadian National and Canadian Pacific compete to acquire the company. Initially, in March Canadian Pacific won the bid before KC Southern ultimately chose a higher bid from Canadian National. The merger creates the first rail network connecting the US, Mexico, and Canada. The soy transportation coalition monitors transportation situations across the country and internationally to determine how those situations impact soybean farmers. To keep up with SDC news, check out their website at soy transportation.org and subscribe to the newsletter.

Beef Month and Hyvee

Beef month serves as an unofficial kickoff to grilling season and as such, the Kansas Beef Council has launched a library of beef recipes on Kansas beef.org. From steaks and ribs to kebabs and carnitas consumers can find numerous options to help optimize their grilling experience.

Research shows people are looking for new recipes to add to variety to add variety to their dinner tables. And one of the greatest things about beef is there is a grilling cut for every budget. The recipe library also includes a few side dishes to complete the meals making the Kansas beef website a one stop shop. In addition to providing great grilling recipes, the Kansas Beef Council is collaborating with hyvee grocery stores over the summer hyvee will feature in store signage at the meet case and disseminate a custom recipe brochure. The brochure is unique and it has eight grilled steak recipes that highlight excellent beef cuts for grilling, combined with grilling tips and a QR code that consumers can scan with our smartphone for more information about beef production. The brochure is unique and has eight grilled steak recipes that highlight excellent beef cuts for grilling combined with grilling tips and a QR code that consumers can scan with their smartphones for more information about the production. Each QR code goes to a state specific web page where shoppers can learn about cattle producers in each of the eight states where high V stores are located, including Kansas. Nationwide, Kansas ranks third for beef production with nearly 25% of the nation's steaks coming from the state. Consumers looking to purchase beef directly from a Kansas rancher can visit Kansas beef.org for a listing of those selling direct to the consumer.

Pinion Commodity Market Update

Taking a look at this week's markets. The Kansas City Royals are approximately 500. Right now with an even amount of wins and losses. They started out like a house of fire and then melted down. But now brought back just enough to make you wonder if they might still have something left in them this year. With any kind of luck, they won't be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs before the middle of July. That might be an exaggeration. But as a fan, I've seen it all too many times where they essentially were that description of the Royals season can pretty well sum up the corn market so far this year came into this current marketing season on fire out of the gates. And maybe had you believe in there was something really special in store for this year, only to melt down and crush those thoughts. We may be well off the highs of earlier, but we find ourselves still with $5 plus corn. And like the Royals having a 500 or better record. That just hasn't been the case many times in the past. There's a lot of ball and a lot of growing season to be played yet. But already this season feels different than the last couple. I would not go buying World Series tickets just yet. But hopefully you can keep watching for a while yet without thinking that the highlight of the season is going to be when they bring the minor league prospects up in August and September.

Ag News Update

There are the concerns for a tough year on Kansas farms linked to the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 ultimately alleviated by strong crop yields, dramatically improved grain prices, and COVID-19 related government payments. That according to the Kansas bar Management Association, that farm income for those members climbed to $167,894 last year, up from 108,960, the previous year, the five year average $98,282. This data reflects a string of consecutive years of increasing gains since 2015.

House Appropriations Committee back in DC we'll have action on the dozen fiscal year 2022 spending bills plan for a three week period around the Fourth of July recess that according to the roll call magazine. Now given that timeline House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer from Maryland laid out a wanting to get all the spending measures through the house by the August recess. Now that may mean several bills could be packaged together.

Find more at agview.net -https://bit.ly/3gdwWE5

Kansas Wheat Tour Review

Aaron Harries discusses the Kansas Wheat tour, what they saw, and necessary amendments being made as wheat harvest grows near.

Aaron Harries discusses the Kansas Wheat tour, what they saw, and necessary amendments being made as wheat harvest grows near.

Click here for more wheat news.

Kansas Livestock Association Update

Last year, the Kansas Beef Council shifted to an online platform and partnered with K-state beef extension veterinarian AJ Tarball to produce two educational videos. The first was a virtual shoot side cattle demonstration using both GoPro and drone technology that showcase the key principles of BGA and how to apply them in a relatable real world setting.

Follow this link to see AJ's most recent videos 

Wheat Update

Kansas elevators and Mexican flour mills have a highly interconnected supply chain. Mexico remains one of the largest destinations for Kansas hard red winter wheat each year.

Kansas Corn Update

This past year, KS Corn had 10 participants in our corn core class, and they were able to meet and do some sessions before the covid 19 pandemic and then they'll be wrapping up their year and with a trip to Kentucky this August with their domestic learning trip to learn about agriculture, in corn production in Kentucky as well as other different agricultural practices. 

 

Follow this link to find out how you can join Collegiate Academy

Pinion's Ag Market Update

The markets have been looking to find a bottom and the trade has a few different headlines to feed the bulls. China has been purchasing new crop corn at record pace, a concern of Brazil's corn crop, and we still have time to see a weather scare here in the States.

 

If you would like to talk about your grain livestock marketing plan, give us a call at 888-452-8751.

 

 

Dr. Ernie Minton Interview

In this interview Ken speaks with Dr. Earnie Minton, Dean of K-States College of Agriculture. They discuss the need of infrastructure improvements to continue leading the world in agriculture economics.