October 17, 2025

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Valley, This is aglife. My name is Bob Quinn,
with you for the next hour talking about agricultural production
here in the valley, in all across the country, weather
and fall colors. Rod Bain starts us off.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
The start of autumn and the start of the fall
colors season. For those who love a road trip to
their national forest or hometown park to see the changing
of leaf colors in the autumn butts and there perhaps
no more known representation of this phenomenon than in the
forest of New England.

Speaker 3 (00:29):
You can see widespread swaths of these hardwood trees such
as sugar maple, American beach, yellow birch, paper birch ash.
They're all churning color as the fall season.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Progresses, revealing various shades of gold, red, and orange. According
to Aby Bailey, a US Forest Service technician in New Hampshire,
yet have you considered that perhaps the weather of the
spriging and suburb plays a key role in the winds
and hows of changing leaf colors and times to view
such Bailey takes her home region as an example.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Usually, what makes really brilliant color is a summer that's
been somewhat moist so the trees are healthy and the
nights are getting longer and are getting colder, and then
a sunny day it's going to allow the leaf to
still make some sugars, and the sugars are going to
help keep the leaf on the tree and expressing these
colors that are now available.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yet regarding weather, earlier this year in New England.

Speaker 3 (01:26):
We got approximately twenty four into the rain in April,
May and June, which is twice what you usually get.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
And because foliage began to develop during this wet period.

Speaker 3 (01:36):
There was a lot of little fungal spores in the
atmosphere being splashed off the soil that we're landing on
these newly unfurling leaves, and insects were hatching and so
many of our treestiss were attacked by fungal and insect
problems which caused the leaves to be burnt and shriveled
and rolled and not their full leaf size.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
This year, that was followed by an extreme heat event
way since July, producing drought conditions.

Speaker 3 (02:02):
These trees are just kind of completely stressed and maxed
by this heat and drought.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
The result regarding fall colors, it depends on the tree
species and the landscape. Subtrees are undergogg a premature transition
to the reds, yellows, and oranges. Others, especially those either
with fungal or pest damage or rooted in shallow soils,
reveal a brown color.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
We haven't had any below freezing temperatures yet, but we
have a lot of color change on the landscape, and
this has to do with the drought and the poor
conditions that the trees have had. Based on the early
spring conditions broad.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Bane reporting for the US Department of Agriculture in Washington
d C.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
Farm US Ahead, you're listening to wag Life, Bob Quinnuvers
and farm us this morning. Friends. Well, if it hasn't already,
the Northwest pear harvest should be wrapping up soon, with
forecast calling for sixty percent increases over last year's disaster
crop hit by untimely freezing temperatures. John Devaney, president of
the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, says this is great news, but.

Speaker 4 (03:04):
It doesn't mean that was without some hiccups though, a
lot of our pair growers were impacted by the unfortunate
closure of one of the remaining canneries, the del Monte
pear cannery here just before the start of the season,
and that caused a fair bit of disruption.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
The timing of the closure, de Vanni says, was not ideal.

Speaker 4 (03:22):
Some growers that were thinking that they had some of
their fruit contracted to go to that facility were then
having to pivot fairly quickly to finding an alternate market.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
In reality, though Devanny says this has been coming.

Speaker 4 (03:34):
It's been a change in the industry that a lot
of consumers are moving away from canned product towards fresh,
which is a longer term trend that folks have been watching.

Speaker 1 (03:44):
Dvani says USDA has provided some help.

Speaker 4 (03:47):
They have resources aa able to help cushion market shocks
like that, and they did commit twenty million dollars to
do additional both canned and fresh pair purchases, which will
help smooth out that transition as some growers maybe it
away from having as much of their fruit plan for
the cannery market.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
Devany says many growers had already incurred costs of growing
and cultivating that fruit throughout the season well. Friends. Record
high cattle prices offer a significant financial opportunity for those
producers who leverage smart marketing and risk management strategies. That's
according to doctor James Mitchell, a livestock economist at the
University of Arkansas.

Speaker 5 (04:24):
Prices are really high.

Speaker 6 (04:25):
We looked at kind of volatility in the market and
how there are still some pretty big swings in the
market neither direction plus fifteen dollars a hundredweight and minus
fifteen dollars a hundredweight depending on the week in the
location you're talking about, and so maybe taking some of
that risk off the table is still an important consideration.
Lots of ways to do that, Like you mentioned livestock
risk protection, there's teachers' markets, options, forward contracting, or are

(04:45):
all available.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
He talked about the Livestock Risk Protection Program with LRP.

Speaker 6 (04:51):
In the past couple of years they've increased the subsidies
on it to make the primes a little bit more
affordable for producers, which is good. But again, catle prices
are really really high, and so the on doing some
of these risk management is going to be more expensive.
And I think that's an important consideration as well. With
where the cattle market currently is, the futures market's pricing
in seasonality and so being aware that if you're going

(05:11):
to market some cattle in the spring and looking at
what LARP is currently offering, it might not match up
exactly just because of how strong of a CAF market
that we're currently in.

Speaker 1 (05:19):
It's a great time to be cattle producers with the
high prices. But Mitchell says there are important things to remember.

Speaker 6 (05:26):
With risk management. If that's something that you're considering doing
for the first time, my advice is always just to
take it slow and make sure that you're aware of
how the product works and set reasonable expectations for what
that product can do to your bottom line. Again, I
like to compare risk management products to buying insurance on
your house. Right, you don't jump up and down excited
when your house burns down and you get a payment

(05:48):
from your insurance, right, it's there to protect you in
case something like that does happen. Same thing with risk management.
The best scenario is still for the market to improve,
but you have that product in place in case something
adverse does happen. So I think that's kind of the
a I tell people.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
It's also important to think about the long term.

Speaker 6 (06:03):
With CALO prices really really high light now, what are
some ways that you can invest that money back into
your operation to kind of set yourself up for success
in the future. What type of improvements can you make
in terms of productivity and efficiency and kind of setting
yourself up for success in the next couple of years,
I think is another thing to be thinking about right
now as well.

Speaker 1 (06:21):
Again, Doctor James Mitchell, University of Arkansas, this morning, Well, friends,
the potato industry has struggled the past couple of years,
with lighter consumer demand resulting in some contracts getting reduced
or terminated all together. Is that going to be an
issue during the rest of twenty twenty five and into
the future. Chris Voight, executive director of the Washington State

(06:41):
Potato Commission, says statewide growers reduced the acres planet in
an effort to correct this balance problem. But despite that effort,
he noted, there is still concern that there could be
too many potatoes thanks to perfect growing weather, not only
in the Northwest but nationwide.

Speaker 7 (06:56):
So that can be actually devastating for our fresh potato growers,
you know, the ones who are selling potatoes to grocery
stores and restaurants food service.

Speaker 8 (07:06):
That is for the most part, I mean, some of.

Speaker 7 (07:07):
It's done on contracts, but a significant portion is done
just kind of on the open market, and when you
have strong yields and good growing conditions all across the country,
that could point the towards and over supply over production
of potatoes.

Speaker 1 (07:22):
Chris Voight, Washington State Potato commissioned this morning, farm US,
you're listening to wag life.

Speaker 5 (07:29):
Interest rates are falling, freight costs shifting, exports, rural housing
showing resilience, and dairy markets are softening. More after this,
you're going to need meat.

Speaker 1 (07:40):
You're going to need us, all of us.

Speaker 8 (07:43):
You're going to need our help with your water, your air,
your food.

Speaker 2 (07:47):
You're going to need our determination, fucking passion.

Speaker 9 (07:51):
You're going to need the next generation of leaders to
face the challenges the future will break, and.

Speaker 10 (07:56):
We promise we'll be there when.

Speaker 1 (07:58):
You need us. Today. Four H is growing the next
generation of leaders.

Speaker 8 (08:04):
Support us at.

Speaker 9 (08:05):
Fourh dot org.

Speaker 5 (08:07):
In their first move of twenty twenty five, Federal Reserve
cut its benchmarkal ending rate by a quarter percentage point,
aiming to ease borrowing cost while inflation remained stubborn. Farmers
may see slightly lower interest on operating loans and landnotes,
though high input costs continued. A weigh lower transportation costs, though,

(08:28):
are helping corn and soybean exports move, USDA reporting Gulf
corn inspection surge forty three percent year over year. Pacific
Northwest volumes also climbing, but soybeing demand remains weaker, especially
without China in the market. Housing data showing rural areas
gaining share. While large metro single family construction fell nearly

(08:51):
four percent last quarter, rural micro counties grew almost two percent,
marking five straight quarters of gains. Multi family construction also
expanding in smaller markets and in dairy, butter prices dropped
to their lowest since twenty twenty one, with cheese also
slipping on strong supply. Eggs are holding steady, but USDA

(09:15):
confirmed eight new bird flu cases. Milk output continues strong,
up three point four percent from last year. It's another
Agnews update.

Speaker 11 (09:25):
If this were just any door, and this were just
any ignition connected to just any transmission in just any vehicle,
then perhaps it would be okay to buy it from
just anyone. But this is not just any car. It's
a certified Prio and Mercedes Benz. Every detail has been
inspected and road tested by highly skilled Mercedes Benz technicians

(09:45):
and it's all backed by an unlimited mileage warranty for
up to five years, which makes the decision of where
to buy one simple. You authorized re Safes Benz Dealer.

Speaker 5 (09:54):
American Cattle News Brazil has become a major exporter of
beef to the US until now more after this.

Speaker 11 (10:03):
If this were just any door, and this were just
any ignition connected to just any transmission in just any vehicle,
then perhaps it would be okay to buy it from
just anyone. But this is not just any car. It's
a certified Prio and Mercedes Benz. Every detail has been
inspected and road tested by highly skilled Mercedes Benz technicians,

(10:24):
and it's all backed by an unlimited mileage warranty for
up to five years, which makes the decision of where
to buy one simple if you authorized mer Sades Benz Dealer.

Speaker 5 (10:32):
Brazil's been a major exporter of beef to the US.
Kept Beachus is with the National Cattleman's Beef Association. He explains, we.

Speaker 12 (10:42):
Raised these comments back in March when we submitted a
whole sweep of outstanding issues and recommendations to the US
Trade Representative's office. We know that is something they've been
looking at very closely. We've had multiple meetings with USDA
as well, and then going back into the buy administration,
we had numerous communications to Secretary of Vilsack, who chose

(11:04):
not to take action on this, So you know, this
is something we repeatedly bring up. I think the latest
development with President Trump increasing the reciprocal tariff from ten
to fifty percent, I think that's a very that's a
very positive step forward. We think that, you know, when
you combine that fifty percent tariff with the other tariff
that Brazil faces for beef that puts them at a

(11:26):
seventy six point four percent tariff through the rest of
the year, we think that's a good start. We think that,
you know, ultimately to get Brazil to to improve their
behaviors into to gain that consumer trust that is needed
here in the US, and we need to suspend their access.
We need to have a thorough audit and investigation process

(11:47):
to improve our inspections and make sure that you know
that they are being held to the same standards as
everyone else. Clearly, there is going to be a demand
for beef in the United States. We are going to
fill the vast majority of that, but any country that
wants to participate here in any country that wants to
try to develop a presence in the US market, they

(12:08):
need to be held accountable without exception. This is a
it's not a right to sell in the US, it's
a privilege and they.

Speaker 8 (12:16):
Need to earn that.

Speaker 5 (12:17):
American Cattle News, this is Dairy Radio.

Speaker 13 (12:24):
Now it's time for our feed for on Friday with
doctor Mike Hutchins, Professor Emeritus from the University of Illinois.

Speaker 14 (12:31):
Hello, Mike, Well, welcome to today's speed form and our
topic is going to be an update on age five
and one in dairy cattle. And those numbers initials may
be foreign to our listeners, but basically this is bird
fluid that has transitioned into dairy herds here in the
United States. Recently, doctor Jason Lombard from Colorado State brought
us up to speed in terms of what's happening here

(12:53):
in the US. Well, first of all, we look at
at the bird side of it. There has been one
hundred and seventy four plus million birds that have been
affected with bird flu and of course those are then
destroyed and most consumers are well aware of the impacts
that it's had on especially egg prices here in the
United States will also that besides dairy cattle, domestic cats

(13:14):
can be affected with bird flu as well, so consumers
should just be aware of that as well. So let's
get down bills to our dairy situation here Colorado, which
just updated US and they were looking at different strains.
In fact, there are four different types of influenza that
can happen. He used dairy use head the form D
as a dog and humans form A and B, and

(13:34):
so hit some strains identification of Colorado and found some
fourteen different strains of the influence in Colorado, and they
had one thousand and seventy seven cows affected. But there
were no new herds in the last thirty days in Colorado,
and this report was given about two or three weeks
ago as well. Certainly milk is a big factor here
because the utter itself has receptors for the influenza. Therefore

(13:58):
it appears in milk as well. And therefore the USDA
now in FDA is screening milk all milk here in
the United States for evidence of bird flu and then
traces back to the farms where it can be isolated
and found. The good news or bad news Bill is
that eighteen states has not had any cases of bird
flu here in their dairy cattle. Illinois luckily is one

(14:19):
of those states, but so is Wisconsin, and that is
just amazing. We thought with the low numbers here in
Illinois may be in a factor as well, But in Wisconsin,
there was bird flu in Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, and
so questions hot as Wisconsin avoid the bird flu. But
that is certainly good news for our neighbors to the north.
At this point, our consumers might think, well, what happens

(14:40):
when cows do you developed this influenza? And we see
about four to five degrees increased fahrenheit in temperature two
days for two days after the cows have contacted this
a decrease in rumination and water intake, and of course
that decreases feet intake, and that decreases milk production. These
cows also develop a nasal discharge and the milk appears

(15:03):
thicker and yellow in cover at the color at this
point as well, and these cows that are isolated are
no longer allowed to go into the milk supply until
lay clear. That's the good news on dairy. The cow
usually within several weeks will clear herself, will not require
any interventions, maybe some electrolytes as we go along. California
really got hit pretty hard, over six hundred herds. That's

(15:25):
over half the herds had animals in that and the
level of influenza can vary from three to six percent
in the herd as far as that goes, and colls
recover very nicely, about seventy five percent recover or farmers
dry them off depending on what stage lactation. In a
few cases there's a slight increase in death loss up
to about eight and a half percent. A normal death

(15:45):
loss on a farm be six or seven percent as well.
For some reason, bill first lactation colls seem to have
some protection as well and a lower risk as well,
And certainly we don't want cows moving between herds, especially
if there's some risk as well. Here and here ones
pick up in milking pros because people are milking cows
can be exposed to it as well. And the good
news vaccines are being developed right now by USDA may

(16:07):
be available for dairyman here in your future. So our
take on message on that dairy farmers should be aware
of this risk on dairy farms if they see anything
should contact a loocale ventinery. Well then triggers the state
national involvement here and certainly on farm hygiene and clients
is key. Well, that completes the program for today. Thanks, Hey,
I have a great day.

Speaker 5 (16:25):
Thanks Mike.

Speaker 13 (16:25):
That's doctor Mike Cutchens, Professor Emeritis from the University of Illinois,
featured every Friday here on our feed Forum Friday on
Dairy Radio Now.

Speaker 10 (16:33):
Neil Armstrong waited six hours and thirty nine minutes to
step onto the surface of the moon. Jackie Robinson waited
twenty months to play his first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers,
and even DiCaprio had to wait twenty two years to
win an oscar. You can wait until your destination. Don't
text and drive.

Speaker 9 (16:53):
Visit stop text Stop rex dot Org.

Speaker 8 (16:55):
A message brought to you by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, Project yellow Light and the ad Council.

Speaker 13 (17:01):
Coming up on Monday, we'll check the markets with Lee
Milki on our Milky Monday. I'm Bill Baker Dairy Radio.

Speaker 15 (17:07):
Now being aware of plant bugs that can wreck havoc
on almonds and pistachios. I'm Patrick Kavanaugh with the California
Tree Nut Report, part of the vastag Information Network. Kent
Dane is a professor a cooperative extension specialist focused on atomology.

Speaker 16 (17:27):
Yeah, so, from a research perspective, one of the things
we have to remember is that most of these plant bugs,
these large bugs of the stink bugs and the leaf
footed bug, are most likely from North America. They're considered
to be native insects, native species. One of the ones,
Leptoglossus and Artus, might be from further south, but certainly
a populations have been here for quite some time. That
means that either're going to be in the foothills, are

(17:48):
going to be in areas that are not product production agriculture,
and that makes them sometimes more difficult to kill because
you've always got a migrating population.

Speaker 15 (17:56):
But then you have the green stink bug.

Speaker 16 (17:59):
The green stink bug is one of the stink bugs
I find in the orchard, but I find it out
of the orchard as well. So red shouldered stinkbug, green stinkbug,
brown marmorated stinkbug, and the leaf footed bugs can be
outside of your orchard. They almost all over winter. All
that I know over winter as an adult. The adult
is the wing stage, so they're all out there someplace

(18:19):
with wings looking for food in the spring, and that's
when your almonds, your pistachios are the most susceptible.

Speaker 15 (18:25):
And that's when they want to come in and take
care of your almonds and pistachios as a food source.
So keep an eye on them. Make sure your PCA
is helping you with this. For over forty years, the
AGG Information Network has been providing news and information for
the most important industry in the world, agriculture. The Egg
Information Network gives you worldwide updates from local producers to

(18:46):
regional organizations, from major crops like wheat and corn, to
animal agriculture to specially crops like apples, almonds, and cherries.
We report on stories that mean the most to you
online at aginfo dot net. The Egg Information Network trusted
and transparent journalism lasting for the next generation. For the
last forty years, the AGG Information Network has been the

(19:07):
source of news for farmers and ranchers.

Speaker 17 (19:09):
Yet we have never seen such an assault on farming
and our food supply as we do today. From fuel
to fertilizer. Farmers are facing unprecedented economic challenges. This is
why Agriculture News that farmers receive comes from the AGG
Information Network, reaching coast to coast, deep roots and farming
in decades of reporting, the AGG Information Network trusted and

(19:30):
transparent journalism for generations.

Speaker 18 (19:32):
With the AG Information Network. I'm Patrick Cavanaugh, good morning.
I'm Dwayne Merley. You're listening to AGG Life. There's more
focus today than ever on the New World screw worm.
From mid August to through mid September, Mexican officials reported
almost thirty two percent more cases of the New World's
screwworm in their country, totally over six thousand, seven hundred cases.

(19:56):
Doctor Rosalind Biggs is an Oklahoma State Universe the Extension
beef veterinarian, and so she is concerned that beef producers
are not ready if the parasite ever does get into
the US.

Speaker 19 (20:08):
It's one of my biggest concerns frankly with New World
screwworm is access to facilities, access to be able to
treat right facilities. As far as that investment, it's got
to be something that, of course makes sense.

Speaker 18 (20:22):
We've got to be.

Speaker 19 (20:24):
Able to get those animals caught, get them handled in
the way based on what we could potentially face that
and I have concern that the vast majority of producers
don't remember it, and that includes me, right, Like, I
have to listen to my father and others that had
to deal with New World screw worm literally on a
daily basis.

Speaker 18 (20:45):
To do the daily inspectra is necessary to combat the
screw worm. Producers need to think about facilities that will
make it easier to do.

Speaker 19 (20:53):
That, especially with looming New World screw worm. We had
the announcement I saw it kind of in the middle
of the night that it's seventy miles from the border.
It looks like it's inching closer. And with that, if
there's any time to invest in facilities is probably now.
What you may find is that handling facilities will improve

(21:14):
your cattle experience if you get good ones.

Speaker 10 (21:16):
Right.

Speaker 19 (21:16):
I don't know how many times we've been just dealing
with something, dealing with something, dealing with something, and we
finally make the investment. It's like, why did we wait
so long to do that? You know that's another component too,
for that you can have your veterinarian out. It's a
new fresh set of eyes to it. Haven't facility consoles
I think is a great approach. And again, now's the
time to invest.

Speaker 18 (21:36):
Whatever facilities you have available need to work for you.

Speaker 19 (21:40):
It just needs to be safe and functional, right, safe
and functional, and it does not have to be super fancy.

Speaker 8 (21:46):
It doesn't.

Speaker 19 (21:47):
It just needs to get the job done, as you said,
and making sure we've got personnel and animal handling in mind.
I suppose to maybe now's the time with cattle prices.
If you got that one cow that is hard to
catch and you get her captured, maybe she needs to
go to the sale bar. Those are some decisions that
I think are worth considering.

Speaker 18 (22:06):
Again, of doctor Rosland Biggs from Oklahoma State University. Bag
employers took a big sigh of relief after the Department
of Labor revised the methodology for determining the H two
A programs Adverse Effect wage rate. Northwest Horticulture Council Senior
Vice President Kate Tynan says it's great news because tree

(22:27):
fruit growers are spending nearly every dollar they make on
labor costs.

Speaker 20 (22:32):
We did conduct a survey last year looking at trends
in grower costs and labor returns, and we were able
to update that this year. And I can tell you
that last year growers were actually paying eight percent more
in labor costs than they were actually receiving for the sale.

Speaker 4 (22:47):
Of their fruit.

Speaker 18 (22:48):
But sadly, Titan says, that was last year.

Speaker 20 (22:51):
This year, we're on track for growers to spend ninety
seven percent of that check that they get when they
sell their fruit only on labor costs, and that's before
they're paying for fuel or fertilizer or any of those
other costs that go along with growing harvesting fruit.

Speaker 18 (23:05):
Hopefully, Titan says, this will prevent the loss of more farmers.

Speaker 20 (23:09):
Growers cannot stay in business and continue to do what
they do under those economic conditions, and the largest regions
why we've lost fifteen percent of our tree fruit farms
in Washington State just between twenty seventeen and twenty twenty two,
and we see even higher numbers in Oregon that we've lost.

Speaker 18 (23:26):
The adverse effect wage rate calculations are in effect, but
won't impact Northwest growers until next year. Doctor Anthony Prilman,
Southern Regional director for the National Agricultural Statistics Service, says
the USDA's projection for this year's winter wheat crop production
is the highest in almost a decade.

Speaker 1 (23:46):
This year's production of one point four billion bushels is
the highest since twenty sixteen.

Speaker 18 (23:52):
He said. The increased production is fueled in part by
what is the second highest winter wheat crop yield on record.

Speaker 21 (23:58):
Average yeld for twenty twenty five is estimated at fifty
four point.

Speaker 8 (24:02):
Nine bushels per EGGA.

Speaker 12 (24:03):
That's up to tens of a percent, or just one
tenth of a bushel from our previous forecast, and of
six point two percent worth three point two bushels.

Speaker 18 (24:10):
The NASA stummer for winter wheat production comes in above
industry expectations. Now, the revised total for US wheat production
is one point ninety eight million bushels, and that's up
less than one percent compared to a year ago. I'm
Dwayne Murley and this is AG Live.

Speaker 22 (24:28):
It's time for California AGG today on the AG Information Network.
I am Hayley's ship. Ever wish choosing a cover crop
was a little easier. Well, farmers across the West now
have some help. A new online decision support tool is
taking the guesswork out of selecting cover crop species, and
it's tailored specifically to Western growers and their unique conditions.

(24:51):
Sarah light A University of California Cooperative Extension Agronomy Advisor.
Put it simply, this tool is the first of its kind,
publicly available, free to u use and validated by experts
in the Western region about Western cropping systems. Here's how
it works. Farmers enter their goals, like improving soil health
or reducing erosion. The tool then pulls in soil and

(25:13):
climate data for their location and recommends species that fit best.
It's like having a panel of experts right at your fingertips.
Quite the collaboration. The project brought together a broad group
of partners that included the Western Cover Crops Council, Precision
Sustainable Agriculture, and the usdes Natural Resources Conservation Service. Farmers, researchers,

(25:34):
and technical experts all had a hand in shaping the
final product. If you're curious and want to take a
look at that new tool, we've got a link to
it on our website that is aginfo dot net.

Speaker 23 (25:46):
Farm Work is tough, and so is staying safe on
a road. Every year, accidents happen when tractors and traffic
share the same space, whether you're behind the wheel of
a tractor or a car. Here's what you need to remember.
Tractors move slower, be patient, don't pass on hills are curves. Farmers,
make sure your slow moving vehicles, signs and lights are
visible and everyone's sailor, especially on rule roads. One moment

(26:08):
of caution can save alife. Let's work together to keep
our roads and our farm safe. This message was brought
to you by the AG Information Network.

Speaker 17 (26:16):
For the last forty years, the EGG Information Network has
been the source of news for farmers and ranchers. Yet
we have never seen such an assault on farming and
our food supply as we do today. From fuel to fertilizer.
Farmers are facing unprecedented economic challenges. This is why agriculture
news that farmers receive comes from the AGG Information Network,
reaching coast to coast, deep roots and farming. In decades

(26:39):
of reporting, the AGG Information Network trusted and transparent journalism
for generations.

Speaker 22 (26:45):
This is California AGG Today on the AG Information Network.
I am Hailey's ship. For more agnews, check us out
online at aginfo dot net.

Speaker 1 (26:54):
Bob Quinnebors and farm News This morning, friends. Well, if
it hasn't already, the Northwest pear harvest should be wrapping
up soon, with forecast calling for sixty percent increases over
last year's disaster crop hit by untimely freezing temperatures. John Devaney,
president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, says, this
is great news, but.

Speaker 4 (27:15):
It doesn't mean that was without some hiccups.

Speaker 10 (27:17):
Though.

Speaker 4 (27:17):
A lot of our pair growers were impacted by the
unfortunate closure of one of the remaining canneries, the del
Monte Pear Cannery here just before the start of the season,
and that caused a fair bit of disruption.

Speaker 1 (27:30):
The timing of the closure, de Vany says, was not ideal.

Speaker 4 (27:33):
Some growers that were thinking that they had some of
their fruit contracted to go to that facility were then
having to pivot fairly quickly to finding an alternate market.

Speaker 1 (27:42):
In reality, though Devaney says this has been coming.

Speaker 4 (27:45):
It's been a change in the industry. A lot of
consumers are moving away from canned product towards fresh, which
is a longer term trend that folks have been watching.

Speaker 1 (27:55):
Davanne says USDA has provided some help.

Speaker 4 (27:58):
They have resources availble to help cushion market shocks like that,
and they did commit twenty million dollars to new additional
both canned and fresh pair purchases which will help smooth
out that transition as some growers maybe pivot away from
having as much of their food plan for the cannery market.

Speaker 1 (28:14):
Davani says many growers had already incurred costs of growing
and cultivating that fruit throughout the season. Jay Tyler is
the chair elect of the US Meat Export Federation and
recently traveled to the United Kingdom on a trade mission
with Idaho Governor Brad Little. The group met with farmers, importers,
and trade officials to discuss the trade agreement framework recently

(28:37):
announced by President Trump.

Speaker 21 (28:38):
I was part of the delegation, went over with the
Governor of Idaho, who's the rancher himself, talked about the
new trade deal, talked a lot about the beef deal,
but we also realized that there's some opportunities for pork obviously,
if they can work out some of the details on that.
Were the UK is taking a lot of pork from
the European Union right now, so I think it's in
the range of between two and three billion dollars. So

(29:00):
there's an opportunity for pork, and certainly is an oportunity
for beef if we can get duty free access to
the British market.

Speaker 1 (29:06):
Pyder notes there is strong potential for both US beef
and pork in the UK, but lingering non tariff barriers
to US products must be addressed to provide full access.
Those barriers include excessive phyto, sanitary and labeling regulations.

Speaker 21 (29:21):
They've been aligned with the EU for so long and
they're so dependent on important export with the European Union
that we're not sure what exactly those requirements are going
to be. But there's a lot of other access issues
that are creating friction that we hope we can see
some movement on in some of the PHIDO sanitary regulations. Labeling,
I mean they label right now. Everything going to the

(29:42):
UK is still part of the EU. It's labeled in
eight languages, each individual pieces labeled. So there's a lot
of things like that that are details that make the
trade more difficult. So hopefully we can work some of
those things out now.

Speaker 1 (29:54):
In June, the UK opened a duty free tariff rate
quota for US beef with a twenty twenty five volume
of a about eighty five hundred metric tons. Well friends,
record high cattle prices offer a significant financial opportunity for
those producers who leverage smart marketing and risk management strategies.
That's according to doctor James Mitchell, a livestock economist at

(30:14):
the University of Arkansas.

Speaker 9 (30:17):
Prices are really high.

Speaker 6 (30:18):
We looked at kind of volatility in the market and
how there are still some pretty big swings in the
market neither direction plus fifteen dollars a hundredweight and minus
fifteen dollars a hundredweight depending on the week in the
location you're talking about, and so maybe taking some of
that risk off the table is still an important consideration.
Lots of ways to do that, Like you mentioned livestock
risk protection, there's futures markets, options, forward contracting, or are

(30:38):
all available.

Speaker 1 (30:39):
He talked about the Livestock Risk Protection Program with LRP.

Speaker 6 (30:44):
In the past couple of years they've increased the subsidies
on it to make the primes a little bit more
affordable for producers, which is good. But again, cattle prices
are really really high, and so the premiums on doing
some of these risk management is going to be more expensive.
And I think that's an important consideration as well with
where the cattle market currently is. The futures markets, pricing
in seasonality and so being aware that if you're going

(31:04):
to markets and cattle in the spring, and looking out
what LARP is currently offering, it might not match up
exactly just because of how strong of a CAF market
that we're currently in.

Speaker 1 (31:13):
Again, Doctor James Mitchell, University of Arkansas this morning. Well, friends,
the potato industry has struggled the past couple of years,
with lighter consumer demand resulting in some contracts getting reduced
or terminated all together. Is that going to be an
issue during the rest of twenty twenty five and into
the future. Chris Voight, executive director of the Washington State

(31:33):
Potato Commission, says statewide growers reduced the acres planted in
an effort to correct this balance problem. But despite that effort,
he noted, there is still concern that there could be
too many potatoes thanks to perfect growing weather, not only
in the Northwest but nationwide.

Speaker 7 (31:48):
So that could be actually devastating for our fresh potato growers,
you know, the ones who are selling potatoes to grocery
stores and restaurants and food service. That is for the
most part, I mean, some of it's done on contracts,
but a significant portion is non just kind of on
the open market. And when you have strong deals and
good growing conditions all across the country that could point

(32:10):
them towards and over supply. Over production of potatoes.

Speaker 1 (32:14):
Chris Voyd, Washington State Potato Commission. This morning, farm News,
you're listening to ag Life.

Speaker 9 (32:22):
From the Bag Information Network. I'm Bob Larson, and this
is your agribusiness update. The Chinese government announced it would
curb critical miner roal exports to countries like the US,
sparking an immediate response from the White House. Reuter's reports.
President Trump promised additional duties of one hundred percent on
China's US bound exports, along with new controls on any

(32:43):
critical software by November first. With regards to his meetings
scheduled with Chinese President Shijinping in a couple of weeks,
President Trump said, I haven't canceled it. Farmers across the
country are facing a difficult farm economy as crop prices
continue to decline and production expenses remain high. Agramarketing reports
strong yields provide a little relief, and imbalance in the

(33:04):
market has driven profit margins to the point where breaking
even is unachievable. As crop revenues continue to decline, expenses
remain stubbornly high, leaving farmers with very few options beyond
drawing down equity, tapping reserves, or taking on more debt.
The farmland market continued its year long search for direction
in the third quarter. Agriculture Economic Insights says, depending on

(33:26):
the survey and the timeframe, farmland prices move slightly up,
down a bit, or state flat, evidence of a market
that's plateauing and trying to find reasons for prices to
go either up or down. Factors influencing the land market
continue to be in flux, with more questions than answers.

Speaker 17 (33:42):
You've probably been told that to reach a millennial farmer
you have to go digital hmm, Facebook, Vimeo, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn,
and online publication or maybe a podcast hmm, but which one?
Oh on how receptive is this age group to your
sales pace during non work social time. Maybe the best

(34:03):
place to reach a farmer with a farming solution message
is when they are well, quite frankly farming. You know,
it's easy for us to find them during the day,
as most farmers are behind the wheel of a pickup
truck or farm equipment with the radio on. Listening to
this station for the ag Information Network of the West News.

(34:23):
If you'd like to deliver information about your terrific product
or service, give us a call and we'll connect you
directly with our community of loyal farmer listeners. Reach real
farmers right here, right now as they listen to what
is important to their farm operation. They trust us, They'll
trust you.

Speaker 9 (34:41):
Public bidding is open for the Richie Brothers Los Angeles
Sale event October twenty third and twenty fourth. This fully
unreserved auction features trucks, trailers, heavy equipment and more. Register
for free at orbauction dot com.

Speaker 1 (34:53):
Bob Quinn back to wrap up aglife for today Friends Well,
Minnesota pork producer Lorie Stevermer, the former president of the
National Pork Producer's Council, so firsthand how challenging things are
in US agriculture and the pork industry. She says, there's
no doubt that things are rough in the US farm economy.

Speaker 24 (35:10):
I would say these are some interesting and challenging times
for our farm economy. If you look at the grain sector,
obviously they've got high input costs, low market prices, so
they are feeling some losses and not profitability. It's the opposite,
I should say, for the pork industry, our inputs are low,
our market prices are good, and so we are seeing

(35:30):
some profitability. But you have to recall that back in
twenty three and twenty four we went through some pretty
severe losses too, So I think that makes it overall
a challenge for agriculture.

Speaker 1 (35:39):
Lower exports are never good for US agriculture.

Speaker 24 (35:42):
I would say all industries, whether you're crops or pork,
exports are important part of what we do, and so
having exports be down slightly this year, or certainly in
the case of SOI means or they're down significantly puts
pressure on our economy. So as we know, our farms
are the fabric of the rural communities and so on,
our our farms and our agriculture are having challenging times.

(36:03):
That's felt throughout the rest of the Royal economy.

Speaker 1 (36:05):
It's never been more important for farms to be efficient
and take advantage of resources that are there to help.

Speaker 24 (36:10):
You know, I think we all look to the future
and wonder how that's going to impact us in agriculture.
It seems like every generation, or maybe every other generation,
goes through its challenges.

Speaker 8 (36:19):
I mean, we had the eighties farm crisis. We had
really high interest rates there.

Speaker 24 (36:23):
So some of our younger farmers are experiencing these challenges,
maybe for the first time, which doesn't make it any
less important, but relying on good business practices and risk
management and resources around us is really key.

Speaker 1 (36:38):
It's also important that every segment of agriculture advocates for itself,
including pork.

Speaker 8 (36:43):
We were in Washington, d C.

Speaker 24 (36:45):
In September and we had our legislative fly and I
give credit to our producers for showing up and visiting
with their members of Congress to talk about.

Speaker 8 (36:53):
What they do, because that's key.

Speaker 24 (36:54):
And you know, once again, as we look at this
farm economy and the challenges not just with prices, but
as you alluded to, with labor, which is a concerned
of ours from number of years. I mean, we need
people to work on our farms, we need people to
work in our packing plants.

Speaker 8 (37:08):
There's just not enough labor bodies in the rural area.

Speaker 24 (37:11):
And so talking about some type of visa reform H
two A visas which are only seasonal, how can they
be year round so we can get them working.

Speaker 1 (37:19):
Conversation this morning with former NPPC president Laurie Stevermer and
With that, friends, out of time for today, Thanks for
joining us back Monday morning with another edition of Baglife