Heroes in the heartland

On Sept. 18, MFA presented the University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute with grants totaling $26,000 from the MFA Charitable Foundation and CoBank. The money will be used to train and equip volunteer fire departments in rural areas to save lives and protect property.

“While no fire department has all the funding necessary, rural departments often struggle the most,” said Kevin Zumwaldt, MU FRTI director. “Even the smallest amount can make a big difference. Over 80% of Missouri’s firefighters are volunteer, and many do not have a dedicated funding source, depending solely on donations.”

The MFA Charitable Foundation has a long history of fulfilling donation requests made by fire departments across Missouri but lacks the expertise to determine their true needs. In this first-of-its-kind program, MFA and CoBank will provide the funding and allow MU FRTI to manage the program.

The goal is to award grants in each of the nine Fire Mutual Aid Regions in Missouri. Each award recipient must provide a 50% match. More than 30 proposals had been submitted by mid-October, with the application period closing Oct. 31.
Proposed rules for the Missouri Industrial Hemp Program have been posted, and applications for interested producers are expected to be available in early December.

The rules will amend existing regulations and transition the legal growth of industrial hemp in the Show-Me State from a pilot research program to a commercially regulated industry. A public comment period will be available on the Missouri Department of Agriculture website until Dec. 1. Missouri’s final rules will incorporate citizen feedback from this process as well as federal regulatory guidance from the USDA.

Department officials anticipate that applications for the program will be made available as a fillable PDF in early December, after the comment period closes. The program is structured in two parts: registration for those who want to produce hemp and permits for those who want to sell or distribute hemp plant materials or seed to registered producers or other permit holders.

The proposed rules, additional resources and frequently asked questions are online at Agriculture.Mo.Gov/plants/industrial-hemp.
Concerns over trade policy, weather and African swine fever dominated agricultural markets last quarter, causing greater uncertainty among producers, supply chains and end users, according to the latest Quarterly Rural Economic Review from the CoBank Knowledge Exchange division.

Trade negotiation breakthroughs have largely remained elusive and the U.S. agricultural sector is in the midst of its second consecutive harvest under the shadow of hefty tariffs. Lower feed prices, however, are aiding animal protein and dairy margins.

“Global trade tensions are ratcheting up as world economic growth slows,” said Dan Kowalski, vice president of the Knowledge Exchange. “However, the new trade deal struck between the U.S. and Japan is a bright spot and will bolster U.S. agriculture’s competitiveness into a key export destination.”

The historically late planting of the corn crop cast a long shadow through the quarter with extremely volatile cash corn prices. End users such as ethanol producers and livestock feeders bid old-crop corn supplies higher in anticipation of a short harvest this fall, with prices falling back to levels seen prior to spring planting.

Farmers continue to hold on to old-crop corn supplies in hopes that prices will recover in the months ahead on local supply shortages. But globally, grain stocks remain ample and are widely expected to dull any significant rallies in corn if harvest reports confirm a smaller-than-expected U.S. crop.

Soybean prices surged late last quarter based on fears of delayed maturity of the U.S. soybean crop and hopes of resuming China market access. In a sign of good faith ahead of negotiations, which resumed in October, China exempted U.S. soybeans from additional tariffs.

The already volatile U.S. animal protein markets have gotten even more so in the third quarter. The impact of African swine fever on global pork supplies is just beginning to be felt in the United States. Trade volume is expanding and will begin to yield benefits to producers across the meat and poultry industries. The new trade deal with Japan also lifts hopes of renewed exports, particularly for U.S. beef and pork.

Fertilizer prices have stabilized after falling throughout the summer. Warehouse fertilizer inventories in the Corn Belt remain oversupplied following this year’s unseasonably wet weather that caused a sharp reduction in planted acreage.

The full report is available at cobank.com.
This is the third in a series of interviews with MFA Incorporated’s board of directors to help members get to better know their cooperative’s leadership. In this edition, we’re featuring Carlton Spencer, District 4 director from Faucett, Mo., located between Kansas City and St. Joseph. He and his son, Casey, operate a row-crop and beef cattle farm.

When you look at MFA’s values statement, which one means the most to you and why?

Honesty and integrity have to be first. Without them, you can’t have any of the other values, like team spirit or customer partnering. If you’re not honest, the customer’s not going to deal with you. You lie to him one time, he’s not going to be back.

You’re one of the longest-tenured members on the MFA board with a total of 28 years, serving from 1979 to 1995 and then re-elected in 2008. What are some of the most notable changes for MFA since you were first elected?

The bylaws change in 1983 where the board hires the president and chief executive officer was the best move we ever made. Before that, the president was elected at the annual meeting, and it made lenders uneasy because they could have a new person to work with every year. There’s a lot more consistency now. The bylaws change that put in director term limits is also a plus. Without term limits, you can end up with directors who have been on the board for so long that they’re more of a hindrance than a help. New directors bring new ideas and perspectives, and that’s good for the company.

What would you say are some of MFA’s greatest achievements during your time on the board?

MFA has been a leader in introducing new technology and innovations in both livestock and field crop production. We have improved our feeds and developed new corn and soybean varieties. MFA was on the forefront of precision technology, such as grid sampling and variable-rate fertilizing, and that’s been a big plus for our company and the farmer.

As your term ends in 2020, new directors will be coming on board. What advice would you give to those who will lead our cooperative in the future?

Look beyond your local Exchange. You have to make decisions for good of the whole system, and some of those decisions won’t sit well at home. Just about every location needs some upgrades and new equipment, and it all takes money. You just try to divide it up and make everyone happy. The new directors will find out we’ve got a good board and executive team to work with. You may not agree on everything, but you need to be willing to discuss the issue and walk out the door in agreement at the end of the meeting.

October is Co-op Month. Do you think co-ops like MFA are still relevant to farmers today?

I think farmers need MFA just as much as ever—or even more than ever—especially during the past few years. We’ve had some tough times in agriculture. Farmers can be sure MFA has their best interests in mind, whether it’s putting out information to help them farm more efficiently and stay in business or keeping elected officials in Jefferson City and Washington, D.C., informed about our needs and problems.

What have you learned about MFA during your tenure as director that you might not have learned without the closer involvement?

MFA is a lot bigger than I ever dreamed it was when I first started. There’s no limit to the amount of money we could spend to update facilities and equipment, and it’s our job as a board to make sure it’s spent in all the right places. Being a director has given me the chance to work with some great people, and I have friends all over the state. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.
The third annual FFA Food Insecurity Service Day was held Aug. 13 at the Missouri State Fair as part of the 2019 Drive to Feed Kids campaign. Together, more than 750 FFA members and agricultural leaders packed 128,460 meals.For the third year in a row, agriculture groups in Missouri partnered to raise awareness of childhood food insecurity and support food banks across the state through the Missouri Farmers Care (MFC) Drive to Feed Kids. This summer-long effort raised $175,000, which was presented Aug. 17 at the Missouri State Fair to Feeding Missouri, the association of Missouri’s six regional food banks.

“Farmers labor each day to provide food, feed and fuel for people throughout our nation,” said Dan Cassidy, MFC secretary and chair of the Drive to Feed Kids. “Through the Drive to Feed Kids, a broad coalition of the state’s agricultural groups works to provide a safety net for those in need. We are extremely grateful to those who made this year the largest yet.”

MFA Incorporated CEO Ernie Verslues was among the agricultural leaders and elected officials who helped assemble backpack meals for students.On Tuesday, Aug. 13,MFC joined the Missouri FFA Association for its Food Insecurity Service Day. More than 750 FFA members and agricultural leaders spent the day packing 128,460 meals to feed families of up to six people. The meals were distributed statewide to Missouri’s regional food banks. Feeding Missouri estimates that food insecurity affects one in five children in the state. That number increases to one in three young people in rural areas.

Gov. Mike Parson and First Lady Teresa Parson, along with Missouri elected officials and agricultural leaders such as MFA Incorporated CEO Ernie Verslues, joined the cause on Thursday, Aug. 15. Together, they packed 1,740 backpacks with food to provide weekend meals through the first month of school for students in Pettis, Benton and Cooper counties.

Fairgoers participated by bringing non-perishable food donations on Missouri Farmers Care Food Drive Tuesday. Through these activities and a generous canned food donation by Woods Supermarket, more than 15,000 pounds of food were donated to local pantries. In addition, Missouri FFA donated fresh produce from FFA student projects on display at the fair.

The campaign culminated with a check presentation to Feeding Missouri at the fair’s Brothers Osborne concert on Saturday night, Aug. 17.“Missouri farmers are stepping up and saying, ‘not in our state’ when it comes to childhood hunger,” said Scott Baker, state director for Feeding Missouri. “Thousands of children will have something to eat this year because of Missouri Farmers Care and their partners. The pairing of expertise with compassion shows exactly what can be done to address hunger when we work together.”

MFA Incorporated is among the many organizations, agribusinesses and individuals sponsoring the Drive to Feed Kids. For more information, visit www.mofarmerscare.com.
A cereal rye cover crop provides early grazing on the Martin farm near Thompson, Mo. Cover crops are known to protect soil and water quality, but they also can offer valuable livestock feed, according to Iowa State University research. Cover crops are known to protect soil and water quality, but they also can offer valuable livestock feed, according to Iowa State University research.

Five plots at three Iowa State research farms were selected for the study to reflect weather and soil conditions around the state. Plot treatments include grazed cover crops of cereal rye and oats interseeded into standing corn or soybeans, ungrazed cover crop and no cover crop. Researchers are evaluating forage yield and quality, cattle performance and soil health.

The early findings confirm that forage yields vary widely from year to year due to field location, weather patterns and planting dates. Spring biomass yields of cereal rye for 2016-2018 ranged from an average of about 800 to almost 2,900 pounds of dry matter per acre at different plots. While in some years the forage yield per acre was nearly 4 tons (dry matter) per acre following corn silage, in other years, the forage yield was less than 200 pounds of dry matter per acre when following full-season corn and beans.

On a good year, at stocking rates of about 1.5 head of cattle per acre, the cereal rye offered 20 to 27 days of spring grazing. In the fall, the cereal rye and oat cover crop mix provided suitable grazing for eight to 13 days. Other years, such as 2018, the spring weather conditions were unfavorable for grazing.

Preliminary data on cattle performance suggests that weight gain is similar for stocker cattle grazed on cover crops compared to cattle grazing on pasture.

For livestock producers who are uncertain about adding new water and fencing for grazing, cover crops can be harvested as silage or hay to extend winter feed supplies or to market to other producers. Farmers without cattle might sell rights to custom graze or harvest in the late fall or spring.

The study is also looking at how grazing cover crops affects soil health and compaction. Preliminary bulk density tests that measure compaction levels are encouraging. To avoid problems, researchers recommend that producers take livestock off fields during especially wet periods when the cattle will cause more compaction issues that could hamper planting next year’s cash crop—especially corn, which is more sensitive to planting depth.

The project continues through spring 2020. When completed, the researchers plan to highlight their findings in a fact sheet.