Brownfield

A visit from Bunceton High School

A group of students from Bunceton High School spent the morning visiting Learfield Communications, Brownfield’sparent company, finding out a little more about what we do here and visiting with some of our employees.  Clyde Lear, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Learfield, gave the students a tour of our offices including our Information Technology (IT) Department, News Division, Sports Division, and Technical Services offices.  Once the tour concluded the students heard from Charlie Peters, Vice President, Technical Services; Tom Boman, Broadcast Manager, Learfield Sports; Phil Atkinson, Vice President, Information Technology; Cyndi Young, Farm Director, Brownfield; Tom Steever, Brownfield Farm Broadcaster; Anita Vanderwert,  Account Executive, News Division; and Jeff Martin, Director of Human Resources.  Each one of the guest speakers spoke to the students about a variety of topics ranging from what they liked about their job to internships and interviewing tips for the students. After the guest speakers, the students were off to grab some lunch and then back to school. It was great to have the students visit the office and I really hope they enjoyed their time with us!

-Kari McKinney

They call the thing rodeo

I've interviewed presidents, congressman, foreign dignitaries, country music stars and famous athletes.  Today, I interviewed my first professional bull rider!

The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) Built Ford Tough Series tour heads to Iowa’s Wells Fargo Arena May 8 and 9.  The 2009 Genuity Invitational marks stop no. 21 on the PBR’s elite tour.  For two action-packed performances, the top 40 bull riders in the world will take on their animal counterparts.

I caught up with J.B. Mauney (pronounced Moo-ney) on his way to the airport headed for western Massachusetts.  J.B. just happens to be ranked 3rd in the series and is PBR's version of a rock star.  The 22-year old from Mooresville, North Carolina confessed that his mom still covers her eyes when she watches him ride.  He's been riding pro for 4 years but had his first riding experience on a sheep when he was 3 years old.  Although his dad didn't ride bulls, he did rodeo.

J.B. is a left-handed rider. His first season was in 2006 where he finished 25th in the world standings and also won the Daisy Rookie of the Year award. He finished in 3rd place in the 2007 BFTS World Standings. Mauney received the highest score in the Championship Round of the PBR World Finals, scoring 92.75 on the bull “Copperhead Slinger."

Mauney finished the 2008 season in second place, riding 59% of his bulls for the season and winning nearly $500,000.

I also caught up with Dion McBay, U.S. Traits Marketing Lead for Monsanto, to get an update on Genuity, to talk PBR and to learn why Genuity and PBR are a good fit.

-Cyndi Young

Cyndi Young's interview with J.B. Mauney (9:14 min., mp3)

 
Cyndi Young's interview with Dion McBay (8:41 min., mp3)

Visiting the United States Department of Agriculture

While in Washington, D.C. this week for National Association of Farm Broadcasting Washington Watch, Ken Anderson had the opportunity to see the People's Garden at USDA. 

He also found himself in the midst of a protest on his way in to the USDA building Monday morning.  About 200 black farmers, mostly from Southern states, protested Tuesday in front of the Department of Agriculture, calling on lawmakers, President Barack Obama and federal agriculture officials to live up to a promise last year to pay black farmers $100 million for years of discrimination by the agency.

Observations from D.C.

 Brownfield's Ken Anderson is in Washington, D.C. this week participating in the annual National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Washington Watch program.  He's been very busy:

There’s certainly no shortage of issues to discuss here in Washington.  Of course, the H1N1 flu virus has become the number one topic, but several others are close behind, including animal rights, climate, ethanol and animal ID, just to name a few.

On Monday night, we heard from Wayne Pacelle, head of the HSUS.  He was just as advertised—articulate, smooth and a bit evasive on HSUS’s real objectives.  Pacelle bemoaned what he considers unfair ag media coverage of HSUS.  He says his group wants to work with agriculture to find solutions to animal welfare and animal abuse issues, and he thinks it’s a mistake for the livestock industry to “draw a line in the sand” on negotiations with HSUS.  It’s obvious that Pacelle and HSUS are feeling their oats after their ballot initiative victories in California and Arizona, and Pacelle make it clear that they plan to go state-by-state with their reforms.

We spent Wednesday morning at the USDA.  Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack spent 30 minutes with us, followed by a parade of other top USDA officials.  Vilsack addressed the flu virus issue, but we were told that other officials would not be commenting on the topic.  It was clear that Washington officials are carefully controlling what is being said about it.  Vilsack covered many other issues with us, which we look forward to sharing with our listeners and web visitors over the next few days.

Tomorrow we head to Capitol Hill, where we will hear from several key Senator and Representatives, including the heads of the Senate (Harkin) and House (Peterson) Agriculture Committees.

Stepping up to the plate

The vast majority of the members of the Brownfield Ag News team come from farms or farm communities.  Our experiences milking cows, raking hay, and giving baby pigs iron shots help us relate to those we interview and help us do a better job of telling the story of agriculture to those on the farm as well as those several generations removed from the farm. 

We also know the value of community because we have seen it and lived it.  Bob Meyer and his wife Coni are a part of a community in Loyal, Wisconsin, that came together over the week-end to help one of their own:

On Saturday night, Coni and I worked a benefit for the family of a little 3-year-old boy in Loyal who is in the midst of his second battle with cancer.  A group of friends and relatives put together a steak feed at the Loyal American Legion Hall.  We served over 1,000 steaks!!  They were running 50-50 raffles each hour and the jackpots were in the $500 range each hour!  Businesses donated gift packages for a sweepstakes….50 tickets for $20.  I haven’t heard the final $$$ raised yet but it was phenomenal.  It is just amazing what small towns and rural communities can do to help each other.

-Bob Meyer

Please, share your story of how your community has come together.  Just click on the word comments below and type about your experience.

County Loan Rates

I know you'll find this information in other places on the Brownfield website, but it is important info and just released today from USDA.  Here's a copy of the complete release:

USDA Announces 2009 County Loan Rates for Wheat, Feed Grains and Oilseeds
 
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 24, 2009 - The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) today announced county loan rates for 2009 crops of wheat, corn, grain sorghum, barley, oats, soybeans and other oilseeds (sunflower seed, flaxseed, canola, rapeseed, safflower, mustard seed, crambe and sesame seed). The rates are posted on the Farm Service Agency (FSA) Web site.

The 2008 Farm Bill authorizes the national loan rates for the 2009 crops of wheat, feed grains and oilseeds at these levels:

Wheat $2.75 per bushel
Corn $1.95 per bushel
Grain Sorghum $1.95 per bushel
Barley $1.85 per bushel
Oats $1.33 per bushel
Soybeans $5.00 per bushel
Other Oilseeds $9.30 per hundredweight for each "other oilseed"

As required by the 2008 Farm Bill, these 2009 national loan rates are established at the same levels as those established for the 2008 crop.

Other Rates

Peanut loan rates by type will be announced separately. Other commodity loan rates were announced previously are: cotton loan rate premiums and discounts, April 15, 2009; pulse regional loan rates, April 8, 2009; rice loan rates by class, March 10, 2009; and wool and mohair loan rates, December 2, 2008.

Note: In a change to the FSA release dated April 10, 2009, regarding Marketing Assistance Loan (MAL) repayment rates for pulse MALs, the loan repayment rate will be based on U.S. Grade Number 2 or better instead of the originally indicated U.S. Grade Number 1. Also, in a change to the FSA release dated April 8, 2009, in regards to MAL loan rates by region for pulse MALs, the base loan rate to determine discounts will be U.S. Grade Number 2 or better instead of the originally indicated U.S. Grade Number 1. With respect to dry peas, the MAL loan and repayment rates are based on U.S. Grade Number 2 or better food grade.
 

-Cyndi Young

Cattle driving. . .or driving to see cattle

Tom Steever is on the road this week.  He checked in with these comments early this morning:

The American Hereford Association, staff and board members are hosting members of the ag media on the Herefords, Heterosis and Headlines Tour.  The tour stopped at the 50,000 head Ford County Feed Yard, Sandhill Farms and the historic CK Ranch on Thursday.  The tour includes stops at National Beef Packing Co. as well as the Hen House, establishments that process and retail Certified Hereford Beef (CHB).  The tour has kept us on the road (the bus), reaching into the southwest corner of Kansas and wending our way back to AHA’s Kansas City Headquarters.  Not only have we had the pleasure of getting an up-close look at Kansas, but we’ve been able to visit some top notch cattle operations in the Sunflower State.



 

(Pictured are just a few of the 38,000 critters that currently occupy Ford County Feed Yard)

Onions in the sand

Using an article on the AgriMarketing website as a resource, Brownfield's Ken Anderson wrote this story this morning: 

Saudi Arabia has abandoned its own domestic wheat production program and is investing heavily in foreign agricultural production projects—many in Africa.  The country’s goal is to ensure its food security and help stabilize domestic food prices.

Citing The Brock Report as its source, the article says the Saudis are urging companies to invest in farm projects abroad after dropping their own 30-year old domestic wheat program to reduce water usage.  One private Saudi firm is reportedly planning to spend 400 million dollars by 2011 to produce wheat and corn in Egypt and Sudan.

Brownfield's Jerry Passer added some personal comments after reading Ken's piece:

Interesting, I visited one of the Bedouin farms where wheat was being grown in Saudi Arabia.  As I remember, the U.S. Foreign Ag Service was heavily involved in this project. The program was in its infancy and they were optimistic at that time (about 25 years ago) they could become self- sufficient in wheat production. Seemed strange to see wheat growing out of the sand.

The Bedouin farmer had hired a U.S. farmer to come in and run the operation. I believe he was from Ohio.

It doesn’t surprise me that the Saudis are investing in crop production in Egypt.   We also visited there on the same trip with Agriculture Secretary Block. The Egyptians had several areas where they were growing onions and edible beans. I have a slide of the biggest onions I have ever seen growing out of the sand.

No apologies for stand on ethanol

Brownfield's Rural Issues program today focuses on a divisive topic in agriculture today.  Ken Anderson produced and anchors the program.

It's no secret that ethanol has created tension between the livestock and corn industries in the U.S. It can be a sticky issue for general farm organizations like Farm Bureau and Farmers Union, but the leaders of those two groups don't apologize for their support of increased ethanol production and usage.

-Ken Andreson

Ken is in Des Moines, Iowa covering the annual distillers grains symposium for Brownfield Ag News and sister network Waitt Agribusiness today.

Farmers on YouTube

Kansas Farm Bureau has done an excellent job of telling the story of how farmers care and respect their livestock with a series of videos.  You can view the videos on YouTube. 

Here's the "introduction" to the videos:

Farmers and ranchers care deeply about the health, well-being and safety of our animals, and we ensure our animals' well-being through proper management and shelter.

Healthy animals mean healthy food for you and your family. Without healthy and content animals, farmers and ranchers would not be in business.

Standards for animal care should be based on the expertise of veterinarians, farmers, ranchers and animal scientists -- the people who work with farm animals daily.

As the people who work with livestock 24/7, farmers and ranchers, as well as veterinarians and animal care scientists, provide the voices of experience and reason in addressing animal welfare issues.

Dr. Kelly Deewall is a veterinarian in Ashland, Kansas and president of the Clark County Farm Bureau.

Visit the Kansas Farm Bureau website to learn more.