Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2016)
October 7, 2016 CapitalPress.com 19 Cow-calf returns continue to plummet By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press Cow-calf producers are facing their lowest returns since 2009 after two years of record-high returns. While returns can vary widely by operation, the Livestock Marketing Information Center estimates per-cow returns on cost of production, includ- ing pasture rents, will drop to about $15 this year. That’s a decrease of about $285 per cow from last year and an even more dramatic decrease of about $515 per cow from 2015. LMIC estimates the cost per cow at $806.25 and returns at $821.22. Every operation has different re- sources and costs, and margins can vary greatly. Year-over-year changes in LMIC’s calculated returns are more insightful than the speciic numeric levels, said Jessica Sampson, agricul- ture economist with LMIC. The price of calves is a key factor in this year’s equation, and those pric- es have been dropping signiicantly all year, she said. For example, prices on 750-pound steer calves at Oklahoma City last week were $140 a hundredweight, compared with $193 a year ago. LMIC is forecasting fourth-quarter calf pric- es to be down 25 percent from a year ago, she said. After record-high prices in 2014 and the irst half of 2015, calf prices fell in August of last year. They recov- ered slightly, but they’ve been falling all year, she said. “The hard part this year was they got a lot lower a lot faster than people expected,” she said. The simple answer to the fall in prices is more available animals. Re- cord prices across the cattle and beef sectors in 2014 and 2015 encouraged producers to hold back cows and heif- ers. That resulted in a 3.5 percent year- over-year increase in total cattle inven- tories on Jan. 1, she said. A bigger cattle supply, lower fed cattle prices and losses at feedlots are all inluencing calf prices, she said. Production costs were down in 2016 due to cheaper feed and fuel and a slight decrease in pasture rents, but they didn’t offset lower calf prices, she said. John Nalivka, owner of Sterling Marketing in Vale, Ore., said he’s a lit- tle surprised LMIC thinks returns are going to be so low. “We’ve seen a pretty signiicant drop in prices, but it’s not that bad,” he said. In general, he expects returns to run $100 to $125 per cow, he said. His calculations don’t include pas- ture rental costs, and that’s probably the key difference between his estimates and LMIC’s. But Western producers had a lot of grass this year and likely didn’t rent as much pasture, he said. With total cattle inventories expect- ed to be up again by 2.5 to 3.5 percent on Jan. 1, LMIC isn’t expecting an in- crease in calf prices in 2017. In fact, they could go slightly lower, Sampson said. While Nalivka pegs the increase at 2 percent, he thinks returns will be down again next year — to about $50 per cow. Beef production will be up 5 percent both this year and next. Pork will be up about 1.5 percent and poultry will be up about 3 percent this year and next, and there’s already some pushback in retail beef prices from consumers, he said. Food Producers of Idaho to end Ag Pavilion By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press BOISE — Food Producers of Idaho has announced it is ending a long-standing pro- gram involving agricultural organizations that coopera- tively staff educational booths at two Idaho fairs. Rick Waitley, executive director of Food Producers, said the program, called the Agricultural Pavilion, has been a “tremendous success” since its inception 22 years ago at the Western Idaho Fair in Boise, but the organization wants to invest its resources into new areas. Members made the de- cision to end the program during a Sept. 28 meeting and subsequently sent out letters alerting groups that partici- pated in the Ag Pavilion of the decision. “We’re looking for oth- er opportunities — several things that might be good things for us to look at,” Wait- ley said, adding the organiza- tion might participate in four or ive smaller venues. Agricultural groups that participate in Food Produc- ers meet regularly during the legislative session, and less frequently during the rest of Sean Ellis/Capital Press Tom and Terry Riemenapp learn about farming and Idaho agriculture Aug. 23 in the Agriculture Pavilion at the Western Idaho Fair in Boise. Food Producers of Idaho recently decided to discontinue hosting the Agricultural Pavilion. the year, to discuss issues of importance to their industry. The Ag Pavilion includes several booths from agricul- tural groups — 51 groups had booths in the most recent pa- vilion — in a common area focused on educating visitors about Idaho agriculture. It also includes games and ac- tivities for children. The second pavilion ini- tially alternated between the Twin Falls County Fair and the Eastern Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot but pulled out of Eastern Idaho. It has re- mained a ixture for the past decade in Twin Falls, where Farm Bureau and Food Pro- ducers inanced construction of a permanent building to host it. “We feel the investment we’ve made in these two fairs has been very valuable,” Waitley said. “At the same time, because of the invest- ment we’ve made, we maybe haven’t explored some other things.” John Pitz, manager of the Twin Falls County Fair, vowed to maintain an agri- cultural theme in the building where the pavilion has been hosted. “I can work with Farm Bu- reau and igure out what to put in there that would be ag-re- lated,” Pitz said. Waitley estimated the an- nual cost of organizing the Ag Pavilion at $30,000, but said Food Producers netted a near- ly $10,000 average proit, af- ter accounting for individual booth fees and other revenue, such as sales from a country store in the pavilion. The pa- vilion’s proits have enabled Food Producers to hold the line on dues, Waitley said. However, Wyatt Prescott, president of Food Producers and former executive vice president with Idaho Cattle Association, said is was get- ting tougher to ind volunteers to staff the Ag Pavilion, which required a lot of work to host. “I don’t think anybody was thrilled about being done with it,” Prescott said. Prescott anticipates Food Producers will now increase its focus on educating state policymakers about agricul- tural issues. Mark Dufin, executive director of Idaho Sugarbeet Growers Association and co-chairman of Food Produc- ers’ subcommittee governing Ag Pavilion, added, “Some- times it’s good to change and take a new approach to reach some new people.” Schools strive to offer healthful food that students like By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Most students in the Twin Falls School District depend on the National School Lunch Program to deliver healthful, satisfying meals — and the district takes that responsibili- ty seriously. Three years ago, the dis- trict debuted its revamped school nutrition program with the higher national standards for child nutrition. It con- tinues to focus on healthful foods that children will eat, said Lori Rieth, the district food service supervisor. “We believe nutrition plays a crucial role in physical and academic achievement,” she said, kicking off an ad- vance celebration of National School Lunch week at Pillar Falls Elementary School on Monday. The event included about 100 ifth-graders who were thrilled with the extra-curric- ular activity complete with dairy snacks from United Dairymen of Idaho, Chobani and Glanbia Nutritionals. Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press Fifth-graders Camille Carter, left, and Avery Baldwin enjoy cheese from Glanbia Nutritionals during an advance celebration of National School Lunch Week at Pillar Falls Elementary School in Twin Falls, Idaho, on Oct. 3. Jesus Mendoza, western regional administrator for USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, rear left, talks with Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, in the background. The celebration also in- cluded a visit from Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, USDA Re- gional Administrator Jesus Mendoza and Idaho Dairy Council nutrition consultant April Bruns. With an enrollment of 9,900 in 16 schools, the dis- trict serves 6,200 free or re- duced-cost lunches a day through the National School Lunch Program, 2,550 break- fasts through the School Breakfast Program and 2,000 lunches through the Summer Food Service Program, Rieth said. It’s important to provide healthful meals the students like, she said. The district surveys the children every year and gets lot of feedback on such things as their favorite and least-fa- vorite foods and school offer- ings and where they like to eat around town. “We do listen. We try to in- corporate what we hear,” she said. Children’s tastes vary, but the district changes recipes and offerings if it sees trends in the feedback. It’s added la- vor through herbs to make up for less salt in dishes and has gotten creative with fruit to appeal to children’s desire for more deserts, she said. “The School Lunch Pro- gram is a long-term program because we learned a long time ago that young people learn a lot better and do a lot better if they’re well-fed,” Crapo said. Congress is working to reauthorize and strengthen the program, and that’s good for children and Idaho, which produces much of the food used in the program, he said. “A tremendous amount of food is grown, prepared and delivered for the National School Program right here,” he said. That provides critical nutrition to school children and supports the communi- ty, jobs and the economy, he said. Mendoza, of the USDA, said the program focuses on healthful meals with more fruit and vegetables, whole grains and dairy and encour- ages local sourcing. His favorite part of his job with USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service is visiting schools to see what children need and what they like, Men- doza said.. Bruns engaged the ifth-graders in a lively Q&A on fueling their bodies with good nutrition, including three servings of dairy a day, to help them learn and play and the importance of daily exercise. Children spend 2,000 hours at school during the year, so good nutrition and ac- tive play time has to be a part of the environment, she said. Our freezers runneth over: Explaining the U.S. food surplus By DAVID PITT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa — Warehouses, distribution cen- ters and grocery stores are overlowing with some food staples, such as milk, eggs and frozen fruits and vegeta- bles, the result of increased production and decreased exports. Take dairy, for example: With the most milk ever pro- duced in the U.S. — about 24 billion gallons — that means there are record amounts of butter and cheese. The glut of food means lower prices for consumers. Here’s a short explanation of how the surplus came about and where it all goes: Why is there so much ex- tra food? Two years ago, high prices for milk, pork, poul- try and eggs encouraged farmers to expand livestock operations. Plus, U.S. consumers were opening their wallets and trade partners were willing to keep buying our products. Add to that the cheap cost of animal feed that encouraged farmers to boost livestock’s weight before taking them to market. But agriculture is a cy- clical business: The rela- tive high value of the dollar makes U.S. products more expensive to importers, so they’ve slowed their buying. Last year’s bird lu crisis also caused many trade partners to stop taking eggs and tur- key and chicken meat, and while production of eggs has returned, demand isn’t fully restored. Those factors and others have depressed demand, but the cows keep pumping out milk and veggies continue to grow, resulting in a surplus of certain types of food. Where does it all go? Step into the freezer. The 1.24 billion pounds of cheese in refrigerated warehouses is the highest for the month of August since records began in 1921, and includes nearly 770 million pounds of Amer- ican cheese and 25.7 million pounds of Swiss. Other stock- piles include: • 322 million pounds of butter (up 52 percent from a year ago). • 1.52 billion pounds of frozen fruit, including 377 million pounds of strawber- ries and 313 million pounds of blueberries. • 1.31 billion pounds of frozen poultry (chicken and turkey), up 4 percent from a year ago. But not everything is being stored. The USDA announced in August it was buying 11 million pounds of cheese for $20 million and sending it to food banks and food pantries through a government nutri- tion assistance program. Farm organizations also are boosting their efforts to improve U.S. exports and move some of the glut out of the country. How long will prices stay low? Food prices depend on factors beyond just supply, such as weather and oil pric- es. Given those unpredictable factors, the USDA expects supermarket prices overall to rise between 1 and 2 percent next year for beef, veal, pork, eggs, poultry and fresh fruit. Matthew Weaver/Capital Press Washington State University Provost Dan Bernardo’s ofice is leading the search for a new dean for the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences. WSU begins search for CAHNRS dean By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press Washington State Univer- sity will soon begin its nation- wide search for the next dean of the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences, a top university of- icial says. “We expect this position to be highly desirable,” said Dan Bernardo, WSU provost and executive vice president. “What has gone on in Wash- ington State over the last decade is very well-known across the higher education community, in terms of the fundraising and relationships with agricultural stakeholder groups.” Bernardo was the CAHNRS dean from 2005 to 2013 before taking his current position. The current dean is Ron Mittelhammer. He was ap- pointed to a two-year term. The new dean will have to establish his or her own rela- tionship with agriculture, Ber- nardo said. “A major portion of this job is to engage what is a very complex food and agriculture industry,” he said. “This per- son needs to be very active engaging with agriculture, to really deine the priorities in terms of research and educa- tion outcomes the industry needs and desires.” The industry will be repre- sented on the search commit- tee for the new dean. “Obviously we’re not go- ing to be able to have repre- sentatives from every sector of agriculture on this search committee, but we do plan to have an industry advisory group,” Bernardo said. The university will have listening sessions for the in- dustry and public forums with inalists. “We’re going to be asking the industry what opportuni- ties they see in the future to engage in the college, what are the challenges they see in the research and education arena and what are the char- acteristics of a leader they think are important,” Bernar- do said. “There will be plenty of opportunity for the industry and the public to engage in the process.” Stakeholder feedback will be used in writing WSU’s de- scription of the job, Bernardo said. Bernardo hopes to have someone slated to take over as dean before the end of the school year, with inter- views likely next February or March. Based on his experience, what is Bernardo’s advice for the new dean? “Assess the opportunities and deine their own strategy to accomplish the ends we have in mind for the college,” he said. “I don’t think the way I did it is necessarily the way somebody else would come in, and I don’t think that my formula is necessarily the for- mula that’s required today.” Bernardo said he advises people to “do it their way and use their own creativity.” “Certainly I would tell (the new dean) they should active- ly engage with industry, that’s really a given,” he said. “But how they go about doing that is certainly up to them.”
