You are invited to attend the 29th Annual NC Commodities Conference of NC Small Grains, Soybeans, Corn & Cotton Producers Associations on January 10-12, 2018 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel & Convention Center. The Conference is an informative and educational conference dedicated to discussing challenges of farming in the 21st Century. Come along and find out the latest in trends and technologies, and hear from some of the leading figures in the industry today.
There is no cost for attending the conference, but pre-registration is required.
The number of rooms blocked for the Commodity Conference is limited, so make your reservations today at The Sheraton Imperial Hotel Reservation Office (919) 941-5050 or 1-800-325-3535! Reservations must be received no later than December 17th, 2017. Please mention that you are with the NC Commodities Conference so you will receive the preferred group rate $129.00. All reservations are based on availability.
**Please note, all NC Small Grain Growers Directors do not have to make hotel reservations or register for the conference, we will be taking care of that for you.**
For more information visit:http://www.nccommoditiesconference.com/index.php
Notice of NCSGGA Annual Meeting: NEXT WEEK
The NC Small Grain Growers Association will be holding its Annual Meeting during the Commodities Conference at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel on Thursday, January 11th, 2018. The meeting will begin at 2:00pm and is open to the public. Items that will be discussed include: 2017 Financials, The Presidents Year in Review, 2017 Board of Directors, and the Nominating Report.
National Association of Wheat Growers: Weekly Update
NAWG Press Release: Wheat Farmers Experience Extreme Winter Conditions Calling for Swift Reauthorization of the Farm Bill
Recent extreme winter conditions in major wheat-producing states re-affirm the need for a 2018 Farm Bill and strong federal crop insurance program. According to Radiant Solutions, a data collection and analysis company based in Herndon, Virginia, “solid snow cover in the northern Plains and Midwest gave wheat fields enough protection from the bitter cold conditions, but temperatures that dipped as low as 40 degrees below zero did plenty of damage this past week in the central and southern Plains and southern Midwest.”
NAWG Press Release: Attorneys General from Across U.S. Take Action Against California’s Flawed Prop 65 Regulation on Glyphosate
Attorneys General in Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin have filed an amicus brief in support of the preliminary injunction sought by agriculture groups against California’s flawed Prop 65 regulation. In addition, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the California Chamber of Commerce filed their own amicus brief in support of the preliminary injunction to halt the regulation.
CBO Report Suggests Cuts to Crop Insurance
Despite the lower indemnities, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is outlining ideas for Congress to cut the cost of the federal crop insurance program, reported AgriPulse. Shortly before Christmas, CBO issued a 38-page report that provides background on the program and a series of options for possible reforms.
Among the options CBO offers: Capping annual premium subsidies at $50,000 a year. CBO says that would save $3.4 billion over 10 years while having a relatively modest impact on participation. Enrollment would be reduced by 500,000 acres and producers would choose lower coverage levels on 2 million acres, CBO says. CBO currently projects that the program will cost $77 billion over the next 10 years.
“NAWG believes this study fails to take in account that the risk in the business of agriculture is different from risk in other businesses.
“In agriculture, farmers face lower rate of returns, weather related risks, and market risks due to a global market distorted by high foreign subsidies, tariffs, and non-tariff trade barriers. They are also up against unfair playing field with countries like China who aren’t hoping up to their end of the deal.
“NAWG continues to oppose any efforts that would undermine the current structure of the federal crop insurance program.”
Crop Insurance Cuts Modest in 2017
Despite the severe drought in North Dakota and hurricanes that damaged crops in Texas and the Southeast last year, it appears that crop insurance premiums are once again going to easily exceed the claims that will be paid, according to AgriPulse.
The latest weekly report shows that the program has paid out less than $3.7 billion in indemnities so far, compared to premiums of more than $10.1 billion. That works out to a loss ratio of 0.37. Economists say payments will rise in coming weeks as claims continue to be paid but indemnities should still be well under 1.0 for the fourth year in a row.
USDA’s chief economist, Rob Johansson says “they will likely wind up in the range of $6 billion to $7 billion on premiums of $10.1 billion.” That would put the loss ratio around 0.60 to 0.70. The last time losses exceeded total premiums was in 2013 when $12.1 billion in indemnities were paid out on $11.8 billion in premiums. Texas leads the nation in indemnities paid so far on 2016 crops at $529 million, followed by North Dakota at $487 million.
Study: Millennials Favor Veggies Over Meat
A recent study by the Economic Research Service (ERS), shows that Millennials are demanding healthier and fresher food and spending less of their expenditures on food at home (FAH). The
report “focuses on associations between generation and food purchasing decisions using 2014 as a representative year.” Among all generations, millennials spend the smallest share of their food budgets on grains, white meat and read meat.
Millennials do spend more on red meat as their income rises. However, economists found a clear trend: There are “consistent generational differences in meat consumption; each expenditure trend for white and red meat decreases with each younger generation.” Visit the ERS USDA site here: https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=86400 for more information.
NCSGGA Upcoming Events
January 10th, 2018 / 2:00pm
NCSGGA Board Meeting
Sheraton Imperial Hotel
4700 Emperor Blvd.
Durham, NC 27703
January 11th – 12th, 2018
Annual Commodity Conference
Sheraton Imperial Hotel
4700 Emperor Blvd.
Durham, NC 27703
January 31st – February 2nd, 2018
Southern Farm Show
NC State Fairgrounds Raleigh, NC
9:00am – 4:00pm Daily
February 6th – 10th, 2018
Wheat Industry Winter Conference (NAWG)
Grand Hyatt Washington – 400 New Jersey Ave NW Washington, D.C. 20001
February 21st, 2018 / 9:00am – 12:00 noon
Northeast Ag Expo Small Grain Field Day
Cherry Hill Farms
631 NC HWY 343 S
Camden, NC 27921
Feb. 26th – March 2nd, 2018
Commodity Classic
Anaheim, California
March 6th, 2018 / 12:00 noon – 3:00pm
Central Piedmont Small Grains Field Day
Piedmont Research Station
8350 Sherrills Ford Rd.
Salisbury, NC 28147
March 13th, 2018
Union County Small Grains Field Day
(Time & Location TBD)
July 12th, 2018 / 9:00am
NCSGGA Research & Education Meeting
NCSGGA Office
3822 Bland Road
Raleigh, NC 27609
August 8th – 10th, 2018
NCSGGA Summer Board Meeting
Hampton Inn
1956 13th Avenue Drive SE
Hickory, NC 28602
For more information, please click website below.
http://scagribizexpo.com/