October 2, 2025

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning. My name's Duwayane Merley and for Bob Quinn.
You're listening to AG Live.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
What were some of the main takeaways associated with USDA's
latest quarterly Hogs and Pigs report issued on Thursday. Livestock
atalyst Michael McConnell says above those.

Speaker 3 (00:15):
Hawk supplies are going to be a little bit tighter
for the remainder of this year and into twenty twenty.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Six, and that expected tread is due to.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
The relatively lower amounts of farrowing as well as the
reduced pig crop from last year that we saw in
the previous quarter. The breeding herd has contracted a little
bit relative to a year ago, and that also kind
of indicates that howg supplies going forward likely to be
a little bit tighter.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
At mccaddal says, this tread appears to have somewhat begun
this summer.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
Flatter rates were relatively light relative to a year ago
for much of the summer. In fact, a couple week ago,
we've got our first year of a year increase in
hogslaughter for the first time since May.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
What potential impact expected from the tighter hog pig supplies.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
The relatively letter slaughter has been supportive of live hog prices,
and we've also seen it in relatively supportive wholesale port
prices as well. So that's something to keep an eye
on going forward to see if the tighter hog supply
continues to provide that support on prices. The hog herd
as of September one as estimated be seventy four point
four to seven million head of hogs, that's about one
percent lower than a year ago. Within that, there's about
five point nine three million thousand bores in the breeding herd,

(01:10):
which is about two percent lower than a year ago.

Speaker 4 (01:11):
And for market.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
Hogs, it's estimated be sixty eight point five four million
head of hogs, which is about one percent lower than
a year ago. The number of pigs that were born
in weeds between June and August came at thirty four
point eight million head, that was three percent lower than
a year ago. That was due to farrowings which were
two point eight eight million head three percent lower than
they ago, which is partially offset by a pig's perliterate
at eleven point eight two which is one percent higher

(01:34):
than a year ago. Looking forward, between September November, BOB
producers intended to farrow two point eight six million sous,
which is two percent lower than a year ago. And
then for the period between December twenty twenty five and
February twenty twenty six, producers indicated they were playing on
farrowing two point eight two million sALS, which is about
the same as what we did last year.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
Rod Baide reporting for the US Department of Agriculture in Washington,
d C.

Speaker 5 (02:00):
This is the Agricultural Law and Tax Report. I'm Roger Mcowen.
Earlier this year, the White House announced that all payments
to and from the government will need to be electronic
and that the government will no longer accept paper checks.
I'll be back in a moment with the details.

Speaker 6 (02:14):
Improve nutrient efficiency and maximize your valuable fertilizer investment with
research from Helena, an exclusive low dust humic granule. Visit
Helena agri dot com to learn more. For the latest
in FIM income taxation and farmer state and business planning
for your operation. Subscribe to mcowenaglawantax dot substack dot com.

(02:35):
You'll find videos, articles, and the monthly Rural Practice Digest.
That's Mcowen Aglawtax dot substack dot com.

Speaker 5 (02:44):
Beginning October first, the US government is transitioning away from
issuing most paper checks for federal payments, including tax refunds.
If you have a bank account, all income tax payments
can be made using IRS Directpay on the IRS website.
If you need to make multiple payments during the year,
a better option might be the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System.
You'll need to enroll and receive an ID, but once
you're set up, you can schedule payments up to three

(03:05):
hundred and sixty five days in advance. You can also
pay your taxes with a debit card through a third
party processor. Any financial institution can receive a direct deposit
by online or mobile banking. If you don't have a
bank account, you'll need to find an alternative electronic payment method.
About the only non bank option that will remain for
paying taxes is to use an IRS Taxpayer Assistant Center
or a participating retail store that offers cash payment services

(03:28):
for a fee. But to get a refund, you'll need
an electronic method. For farmers use to sending in paper checks,
it might take some time to get used to the
new process. The Treasury Department will be providing more guidance
and the October one. Deadline might be delayed, but the
change will happen. This has been the Agricultural Law and
Tax Report. I'm Roger Mcowen.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
The World Dairy Expo is going on through Friday. AMM Madison, Wisconsin.
Dairy Farmers Wisconsin'll have a bo that there's your show
once again, and CEO Chad Vincent says there are multiple
important topics to discuss, including exports now. Vincent said it's
not just about opening new markets, but also it's important

(04:13):
to maintain the market share US dairy already has in place.

Speaker 7 (04:17):
Absolutely.

Speaker 8 (04:18):
I mean Canada is as much consternation as we hear
in the media about Canada.

Speaker 7 (04:23):
The orders are still being filled.

Speaker 8 (04:25):
Canada is still buying cheese, They're still buying way, There's
still products flowing across Mexico. It's so important to maintain
what you have in down times and then continue to
plant seeds everywhere else.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
It takes a lot of time and energy to find
new customers for American dairy products.

Speaker 8 (04:41):
It usually takes a year or two before you get
substantial orders when you start working with international hoops. So
with some of the programs we have, we're actually getting
people that place orders at the end of the week.
You know, they've been with us for a week, and
then they're walking away with product that's going to be
on their shelf as soon as it gets there again.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
That is Dairy Farmers or Wisconsin CEO Chad Vincent. Beef
demand has remained strong despite record high prices, which has
been a remarkable trend. Doctor Charles Martinez is an assistant
professor of agricultural and Resource economics at the University of Tennessee,
and he says struggles in the overall US economy don't

(05:19):
seem to be affecting demand, at least for now.

Speaker 9 (05:22):
I think concerns no, it's more of something to watch.

Speaker 10 (05:26):
You know.

Speaker 9 (05:27):
If we think about the traffic stop a lot, we
have green for go, red for stop, and a yellow
for concern or caution. I would put us currently in
a yellow bucket in terms of there's not necessarily a
strong concern which I would consider a red light. But
it's more of a something to watch. Depending upon what
industry you're talking about, what segment of an economy you're talking.

Speaker 1 (05:46):
About, there are legitimate struggles and other economic sectors, but
despite that, beef demand is still strong.

Speaker 9 (05:54):
If we talk about different facets like housing, They're in
a totally different situation than the acts sector and they
have different situations occurring. And so if we sprinkle in,
like we talked about unemployment, credit card debt, the price
of beef, and we focus on beef in particular, I
think right now it's all market signals are showing. Yes,
prices are up, but demand is up, which is a
good thing. So that also indicates that we still have

(06:16):
some ceiling to go in terms of demand. But the
question is how do they buy that product. Is it
going to be with credit to continue to drive up
credit debt or is it going to be other forums
in terms of their actual income. So no real concerns
right now, but definitely something to.

Speaker 1 (06:29):
Watch again, that is doctor Charles Martinez of the University
of Tennessee. Consumer demand for products like cheese, butter, and
yogurt that rely on protein and butterfat content continues to
drive dairy sales growth in the United States and abroad.
Over the past decade, milk delivered the US dairy processing

(06:50):
plants has become more nutrie and dance with higher levels
of the two key components to meet rising demand. However,
the pace of growth in butterfat content far exceeded protein,
which creates challenges for US cheddar and American style cheesemakers
that rely on a more balanced ratio of the twomb.
Corey Geiger is the lead dairy economist at Cobank, and

(07:14):
he says that US dairy producers did an exceptional job
increasing butterfat levels and milk to meat demand. For ten years,
the market could not supply enough of it, and now
there's an oversupply. It's almost too much of a good thing.
Cheesemakers strive for a protein to fat ratio zero point
eight percent. Anything significantly lower than that can reduce cheese

(07:38):
quality and compromise production yields.

Speaker 11 (07:41):
It's another ragnews update. Cotton decisions or due H two A,
wages are rising, a state tax relief and feed lit placements.
More after this.

Speaker 12 (07:51):
When you look at me, you might see a person
with Parkinson's disease, But if you look closer, you'll see
a warrior mom, an endurance.

Speaker 4 (08:00):
Athlet, someone with a lot of fights.

Speaker 12 (08:02):
Every nine minutes, someone is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

Speaker 10 (08:06):
And every one of them can turn to the American
Parkinson Disease Association.

Speaker 2 (08:10):
Look closer, My spirit is on stable.

Speaker 10 (08:14):
Visit APDA Parkinson dot org to learn more and show
your support today.

Speaker 11 (08:20):
Cotton Grower's Face Affirm September thirtieth decision is late enrollment
windows for PLC or ARC clothes. Switching from stacks can
forfeit the payments and carry a sixty percent premium penalty
on misreported acres, so producers should consult local FSA offices
before committing. Labor cost rising twenty twenty five national average

(08:43):
sits at seventeen seventy four an hour in added fringe
requirements raised total H to a compensation, while a proposed
one hundred thousand dollars fee on H one B visus
could further reshape labor supply and high costs for specialty
and row crop operations. On policy, new federal tax changes

(09:06):
raise the unified credit to fifteen million per individual beginning
next year, will ease a media to state tax pressure,
but experts Warren succession planning remains larger unresolved risk, and
in livestock, USDA's cattle on feed shows tightening supplies eleven
point one million head on feed August placements down to

(09:26):
one point seven eight million Marketing's one point five to
seven million, Texasing's sharp placement declines, Nebraska and Kansas gaining ground.
It's another agnews update, Bryan.

Speaker 4 (09:39):
I don't know how else to say this, so I'll
just say it.

Speaker 11 (09:42):
What is it, Linda?

Speaker 10 (09:43):
I think we should see other people.

Speaker 2 (09:45):
Are you breaking up with me on a roller coaster?

Speaker 13 (09:47):
Well, we do have a lot of fun.

Speaker 2 (09:49):
Maybe we should see.

Speaker 11 (09:50):
Any an emotional roller coaster?

Speaker 7 (09:56):
Surprising? What's not surprising? How much you could say by
switching to I go, I just need a little means one.

Speaker 14 (10:04):
Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

Speaker 11 (10:07):
American Cattle News, what are some of the fundamentals behind
today's cattle market? More after this.

Speaker 12 (10:17):
When you look at me, you might see a person
with Parkinson's disease, But if you look closer, you'll see
a warrior mom, an endurance athlete.

Speaker 7 (10:27):
Someone with a lot of fights.

Speaker 12 (10:28):
Every nine minutes, someone is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

Speaker 10 (10:33):
And every one of them can turn to the American
Parkinson Disease Association.

Speaker 4 (10:37):
Look closer. My spirit is unshakable.

Speaker 10 (10:40):
Visit APDA Parkinson dot org to learn more and show
your support.

Speaker 11 (10:46):
Today, Bob Malware is with Manduka Trading in Chicago.

Speaker 15 (10:51):
One of the old fundamental inputs for the driver in
terms of feeder cattle is grain prices, and grain prices
today corner market only down a couple cents ors so
soybeans though down about thirteen or fourteen cents, and week
down about anywhere five and a half to about twelve.
So in terms of the input costs for feeder cattle,
that just got cheaper. Also, one other element that's helping

(11:16):
this market push up today is the fact that we
have that new case detected of the screwworm, and that
is a new outbreak that was confirmed in Nuevo Leon,
just seventy miles from the US border, So it's creeping
up closer to the US border, this screwworm issue, and

(11:38):
obviously there's gonna be some fear in the marketplace in
terms of, you know, could that make its way to
the United States, and if so, what would that do
to our cattle supply. And we're already again at a
pretty tight situation, so that would just make a tight
situation even tighter. So generally speaking, there was plenty of
ammo for those who are bullish this market. We got

(12:02):
the correction over the last couple of weeks or so.
I think some were looking for that just in general.
And then also we've got a couple fundamental stories that
are helping to push this market higher.

Speaker 11 (12:13):
That's Bob malwur Manduka trading in Chicago now. The live
cattle market up twenty two percent, that's year today, Feeder
cattle up thirty seven percent year today, and Hoggs holding
their own up twenty four percent year today. American Cattle News.

(12:35):
This is Dairy Radio Now.

Speaker 16 (12:37):
I'm John Clark, traveling in the countryside for Feedwick's USA, and.

Speaker 7 (12:40):
We were with Pennsylvania FFA State officers.

Speaker 16 (12:43):
First, Sarah Firestone, Sarah, you're president, and Jayleen Everhart you
are state chaplain. And what does a state chaplain do?

Speaker 17 (12:50):
I'm very honored to be in this position. We kind
of do everything together as a team. We do a
lot of the same activities. We go to chapters and
visit with members. We also hold conferences, but also so
I get to give invocations at some different events. It's
very fun. We get to do a lot of different
unique things, but we get to do them as a team,
which is really great.

Speaker 16 (13:08):
Sarah, back to you as president you kind of lead
the group, but they also operate with you.

Speaker 7 (13:13):
As a team.

Speaker 18 (13:14):
I have an amazing team that follows close in beside me.
You know, we travel the state together. Jaylen will actually
be able to give an invocation on the Senate floor
eventually here this year, and I'll be standing beside her
introducing the team.

Speaker 7 (13:26):
Talk just a.

Speaker 16 (13:27):
Little bit about something very special for FFA called the
opening ceremony, because that is always moving to see.

Speaker 18 (13:32):
Yes, so we have opening ceremonies at every conference and
convention that we hold. That essentially opens up the floor
for any of our members to receive degrees and awards.
I mean, for any business to happen there. So we
all have our elected positions, from the President to the
chaplain and everything in between. I mean, it's really cool
if you'd never seen it before.

Speaker 16 (13:51):
So when you say positions, it's literally different positions throughout
the room which have to do with their office.

Speaker 18 (13:56):
Is that correct, yes, sir. So we have the reporter
which is stationed by the flag, and they ensure that
the entire United States of America, from Alaska to the
Virgin Islands and from the state of Maine to Hawaii
sees exactly what FFA is and understands that everyone within
an agriculture education course can be.

Speaker 16 (14:12):
Involved and FFA in general tell us a little bit
about that thirty thousand foot view of.

Speaker 7 (14:17):
What FFA is.

Speaker 18 (14:18):
Yeah, so FFA is an intracurricular organization and any member
that is taking an AG course can be involved within
the FFA program. So, as state officers, is our goal
to help develop their potential for premier leadership, personal growth,
and career success through agricultural education.

Speaker 16 (14:33):
And with that FFA name, agriculture is first and foremost
for you.

Speaker 7 (14:37):
That really is at the heart of it.

Speaker 18 (14:38):
Absolutely, we're wanting to create better and more progressive leaders
when ones that are going to essentially lead our industry
in a positive manner and make the change and impact
that is striving forward each and every day.

Speaker 7 (14:50):
Pennsylvania has a large FFA membership.

Speaker 18 (14:52):
Yes, we have over sixteen thousand FFA members a little
bit over one hundred and sixty three chapters.

Speaker 16 (14:57):
We're here in US but in January very special program
the Midwinter Convention and tell us about what's happening with
blue and gold jackets.

Speaker 18 (15:04):
There, So we will actually be giving out over one
thousand brand new FFA jackets I think this past year
we set a record of over thirteen hundred jackets, and
so for the first time, first year FFA members will
gather around the huge New Holland arena and they will
put it on for the first time. My freshman year,
I was a recipient and it was really cool to
be able to do it, but I think it's even

(15:25):
more beautiful to come back and watch it. It gives
me goosebumps every single time.

Speaker 16 (15:28):
There's a lot of emotion about FFA, and that midwinter
convention is one of those emotional.

Speaker 18 (15:33):
Times, absolutely, because you see the first year members pull
on those jackets, and then you see our juniors and
seniors getting their highest state degree, that keystone degree. We
gave out over five hundred last year, so we're opening
stories and for some we're closing some out. So it's incredible.

Speaker 16 (15:46):
Jileene, let's come back to you for a second, because
when you go through the FFA process of being an officer,
it really must be heartening to you to look back
and think where you came from and now to be
able to live the life of a state officer.

Speaker 17 (15:58):
Ondred Percent started my sophomore year of high school and
it had always been a dream of mine to become
an FFA State officer, So throughout high school I was
able to go to different conferences really look at those
past state officers as mentors and as leaders of the
FFA and also the agriculture industry. So it's really heartening
to be able to sit here in this position and

(16:18):
be a face for FFA for others as well.

Speaker 16 (16:21):
Sarah, I have a foundation that is always looking for support.
Where can they find information about that?

Speaker 18 (16:26):
So if you go on to PFFA dot org, you
can go under tabs to find our foundation, and we
have the give FFA Day so you can give money
to the FFA program, which essentially is going to help
our members have better experiences and essentially create better leaders
for tomorrow to cure a better future in agriculture.

Speaker 16 (16:42):
Chileen, there's someone within the sound of your voice. It
is maybe thinking about joining FFA.

Speaker 17 (16:47):
If you're thinking about it or if you are not
sure if you want to join FFA, my advice to
you is to just take that step forward and take
every opportunity that comes available, because no matter where you
come from or what your background is, there's a spot
for you an FFA. And if you have the passion
to run for an FFA state officer. I say do
it because you get a great experience out of the

(17:07):
election process. But then you also get to meet the
other candidates that run as well, really start to become
friends with them.

Speaker 16 (17:13):
Jayleen Everhart, State chaplain for Pennsylvania FFA, and Sarah Firestone,
President of Pennsylvania FFAY, thank you so much for being
with us. I'm John Clark, traveling the country. Sorry for PEEDBGJSA.

Speaker 19 (17:26):
Recently, many grocery stores and several states promoted the fact
that eating almonds following a big workout helps consumers to
recover faster from that workout. However, there was an interesting
demographic that was discovered, yes new almend consumers. I'm Patrick
Cavanaugh with the California Tree naut Report, part of the
vastag Information Network. Clarice Turner is the president and CEO

(17:49):
of the almed Bord of California.

Speaker 20 (17:51):
And in fact, forty two percent of the consumers and
track through loyalty data with the supermarket chains, forty two
percent of those consumers were new to almonds. Like I
work for Starbucks for a long time and if we
got half a percent, we would be you know, high
five and in the hallways, so that's like unheard of
result and really, you know, hard to get a new audience,
so that's really exciting for us. The test that we're

(18:12):
doing is smoothie King.

Speaker 19 (18:14):
Which has a very big almin ingredient.

Speaker 20 (18:16):
Similarly, we don't have consumer information per se. We can
go buy it, but it's really expensive. That's not necessarily
the best use of the grower's money to go do that.
But doing tests like that where we can gain information
about how do consumers actually make these choices, what's important
to them health overall? Is it a certain component of it?
You know, what's their objective and how they're trying to

(18:37):
formulate what they're drinking, what they're eating, what they're buying,
those kinds of things. So it's very powerful and yes,
indeed it will drive incremental purchase, not just stealing market
share from somebody else. It's new consumers and that's the
holy grail in terms of trying to expand demand.

Speaker 14 (18:51):
You've probably been told that to reach a millennial farmer,
you have to go digital hmmm, Facebook, Vimeo, YouTube, Instagram, pinterest, LinkedIn,
an online publication or maybe a podcast hmm. But which one. Oh,
and how receptive is this age group to your sales
pitch during non work social time. Maybe the best place

(19:12):
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.

(19:32):
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 1 (19:50):
With the AG Information Network. I'm Patrick Kavanaugh. You're listening
to AG Life. I'm Dwayne Merley. Food insecurity is on
the rise, and a ignoring it will not make it
go away. In states like Iowa, hunger is growing in
each of the ninety nine counties. It's an invisible issue
to many, but your neighbor could be silently struggling to

(20:11):
find the resources to take care of their next meal.
Now this month, is Hunger Action Month, so there's no
better time to help out those neighbors and bring awareness
to the issue. On that, Hacker, chief Communications and Strategy
officer at the Food Bank of Iowa, said, food insecurity
impacts every community, even if you can't see it well.

Speaker 13 (20:31):
Hunger Action Month, it's a national effort, as you pointed out,
and it really is a time to raise awareness and
inspire action and help folks to realize that it takes
many hands to make sure every person facing hunger gets
the food they need, and wherever we are, we can
do our part by volunteering and donating and advocating for
our neighbors facing hunger. I think if nothing else, people

(20:54):
can stop and realize that food insecurity affects every community,
in every neighborhood and every county in this entire country,
including right here in Iowa, and sometimes it's kind of
an invisible problem, and more people need to know it's
a very real problem and we can we can do
a lot. We can all do our part to fight hunger.

Speaker 1 (21:16):
Hacker said. There are opportunities across every state for volunteers
to make an impact in their community.

Speaker 13 (21:22):
So there are pantries right in your own communities who
I know would appreciate your help and need your help
not only pantries, but meal sites, daycare shelters, et cetera.
And at Food Bank of Iowa, we have two distribution centers,
as you know, in Des Moines and atime what we
have volunteer shifts every day in both locations and you

(21:42):
can sign up online at Foodbankiowa dot org slash volunteer.
We're actually in the throes right now in Des Moines
of expanding our parking lot so that we can add
additional volunteer shifts and get more folks to come through
the doors and engage with us and learn what Food
Bank of Iowa is all about and help us get
more food out the door so we can in turn
feed more islands.

Speaker 1 (22:03):
Food insecurity began to rise in twenty twenty two after
the end of several pandemic Arab benefits. The problem was
made considerably worse when the Budget Reconciliation Bill, which made
the largest cut of food aid in US history, went
into effect. Hacker said, there's one thing they know for sure,
the lines of food banks and pantries are going to

(22:24):
keep growing without any additional aid.

Speaker 13 (22:26):
We've not yet seen the ceiling with the Budget Reconciliation Bill,
which was the single largest cut to food assistance in history.
We know that will only drive more people to the
pantry stucked by Food Bank of Iowa. We're already seeing
islands who have never before visited a food pantry, who
were working hard but just don't have enough money at

(22:49):
the end of every month to buy food. We see
others who are putting off other bills for basic needs
just so that they can afford groceries, and we don't
want to see people do that. So there's a lot
of uncertainty ahead, but we know the lines will get
longer and it's just really unconscionable to take food away
from families who already can't make ends meet.

Speaker 1 (23:10):
Over the next two years, approximately six billion meals will
be lost through the cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition and
Systems Program, or SNAP, and while groups like Feeding America
are working hard to fill in the gap, they cannot
compare to what SNAP can do. In fact, for every
meal that Feeding America provides, SNAP can provide at nine.

(23:31):
As a result, Hackers said it can be understated how
much food banks depend on support from the USDA, which
is far below normal levels.

Speaker 13 (23:40):
Food banks typically get food through three streams, either from USDA,
or it's donated, flash rescued, or you purchase it. USDA
right now is about ten percent of Food Bank of
Iowa's inventory in a more normal time, if there is
any such thing as normal, it's twenty five I have
to thirty percent of our inventory. During COVID it was

(24:03):
half of our inventory. So right now, with less support
from USCA and more people who need help with food
and food that costs more, we are spending as much
every single month to buy food as we did in
the entire year of twenty nineteen, and that's really not
sustainable for very long.

Speaker 1 (24:23):
While these are going to be difficult times for food
banks and pantries across the country, that does not mean
we can all give up on the battle against food insecurity.
Food donations are always appreciated, but Hacker says the best
way to get value out of your donation is to
donate money directly to food banks, as they can stretch
your dollar much further.

Speaker 21 (24:44):
It's time for California AG today on the AG Information Network,
I am Hayley's shipped well doing something I wouldn't normally
do today, and that is that I am reading an
email notice direct from my inbox because I think it
warrants this.

Speaker 22 (24:58):
It's an important.

Speaker 21 (24:59):
Topic that The title reads, Negotiations stall as Colorado River
crisis looms again, and here is how it reads. It
says time is running out for the seven states in
the Colorado River basin, as well as thirty tribes and
Mexico to reach a long term deal for managing the
overtapped river, which supplies water and hydropower to forty million

(25:22):
people in the West and irrigates more than five million
acres of farmland. Here's what's going on. The current guidelines
and drought contingency plans for the river expire at the
end of next year, and negotiators have until November eleventh
to reach a new agreement or risk intervention by the
federal government. Meanwhile, after one of the region's driest year

(25:43):
is on record, reservoir levels on the river have again declined,
prompting warnings from federal officials and hydrological experts from JP
Hanby the president of the Colorado River Commission of California,
the state's lead negotiator, says, the fundamental problem we're contending
with is declining hydrology with no end in sight, saying
how do we adapt to live with less? For more

(26:04):
on this story from the California Farm Bureau, head to
aginfok dot net.

Speaker 23 (26:09):
A large selection of over two thousand used pieces of
construction equipment and other top brand assets will be up
forbidding in the Richie Brothers Sacramento Sale event October eighth
and ninth. Registration for this absolute unreserved auction is open
to the public and completely free, so make sure to
visit urbauction dot com to view our available inventory of
truck tractors, excavators, compact trackloaders, trailers and more. This exclusive

(26:30):
auction will be conducted entirely online, but we're still happy
to welcome you on site for in person inspections. Once again,
visit rbauction dot com to learn more.

Speaker 14 (26:38):
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

(26:58):
reaching coast to coast, deep roots and farming in decades
of reporting the AG Information Network. Trusted and transparent journalism
for generations.

Speaker 21 (27:07):
On the AG Information Network, I am Hateley ship.

Speaker 1 (27:11):
The pork producers, veterinarians, and leaders involved in the Swine
Disease Research task Force evaluate industry challenges, identify gaps and knowledge,
and fund research to solve problems. Mike Davis has more.

Speaker 4 (27:27):
Marisa Rittolo, DBMPHD, Director of Swine Health with the National
Pork Board, says those conversations are essential for setting clear
research priorities. Once those priorities are defined, the task force
issues request for proposals, allowing universities, labs, and private companies
to submit projects designed to address the most pressing swine

(27:49):
health concerns.

Speaker 24 (27:50):
Where we take those priorities and we ask the industry.

Speaker 25 (27:54):
As a whole, all the researchers, all the subject matter
experts to submit proposals to address those priorities, to help
fill the gap between the producer identified challenges, trying to
find solutions to those by having these RFPs, by funding
these proposals, by getting that research out there, really focused
on helping the producer on a.

Speaker 12 (28:13):
Day to day basis.

Speaker 4 (28:14):
The Swine Disease Research Task forces diverse range of feedback
and opinions helps ensure that research priorities are grounded in
real world needs.

Speaker 24 (28:24):
You know, you have your producers, which are you know,
seeing their pigs every day, so they're going to have
their point of view from that slat level. You've got
your subject matter experts which are really focused on one topic,
whether that's pers biosecurity, transport, right, So you get people
from academia who have a lot of experience working with students,
working with producers, and then you've got, you know, your

(28:45):
veterinarians which are out there in the field every day.

Speaker 4 (28:47):
Rittolo said. The group has also been working closely with
the American Association of Swine Veterinarians Poor Sign Epidemic Diarrhea
Virus or PED Elimination Task Force to identify priorities to
manage EDGE or the realistic ability to eliminate the costly virus.
In collaboration. A recent request for proposal resulted in four

(29:08):
projects receiving funding. Those projects are now underway aimed at
using science to develop strategies to potentially reduce the threat
of PED and ultimately protect herds across the country.

Speaker 24 (29:20):
Two projects specifically focused on a in field diagnostic assay,
So that's something that came from both groups in the
sense of, you know, when you're walking walking the barns
and U see scours, it would be really helpful to
have a tool where you could very quickly identify, Hey,
is this PED or could this be something else. We
also funded two additional projects. One is focused on manure management,

(29:42):
so how long is PED going to remain infectious in manure?
We funded a project by doctor Eric Newman, which is
a literature review of all things PED.

Speaker 4 (29:52):
Subscribe to news from the Pork Checkoff to learn how
Pork Checkoff dollars are used to fund research and provide
education to a America's pig farmers. Again, that's Maurica Rittolo
from the National Pork Board. I'm Mike Davis.

Speaker 1 (30:06):
US Weed Associates welcome the announcement of a new collaboration
between Bio Series Crop Solutions and the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation.
Now this joint effort aims to develop and prepare HB
four wheat for eventual commercialization in the United States. Mike
Spear is President and CEO of US wheat, and he

(30:27):
says they recognize the opportunities that this advancement in breeding
technology will bring to the US wheat production and look
forward to seeing how the trade performs in US developed varieties.
He went on to say they're also listing closely to
US wheat farmer leaders and global customers, which is why
they especially appreciate the commitment of Bio Series and the

(30:48):
Colorado Wheat Research Foundation to the wheat industry principles of
biotechnology commercialization. He also said that continued open conversation as
HB four wheat enters the wheat raiding pipeline ensure that
customers that know their concerns are being heard and the
US Wheat Store remains open to meet their desired performances

(31:08):
for wheat purchases.

Speaker 26 (31:11):
From the Egg Information Network, this is your agribusiness update.

Speaker 24 (31:15):
Well.

Speaker 26 (31:15):
Time is running out for the seven states in the
Colorado River basin to reach a deal for managing the
overtapped river. Current guidelines and drought contingency plans for the
river expire at the end of next year, and negotiators
have until November eleventh to reach a new agreement or
risk federal intervention. The Colorado supplies water and hydropower to
forty million people and irrigates more than five million acres

(31:38):
of farmland. Ex Secretary Brook Rowlins announced the USDA is
proposing changes to strengthen the stocking requirements for retailers participating
in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The changes would protect
the program participants and taxpayers by mitigating fraud, waste, and abuse,
and ensuring healthy food options for recipient families. Rowlin says

(31:58):
the bar for stocking food as a snap retailer is
too low, allowing people to game the system and leaving
vulnerable Americans without healthy food options. And During August, the
twenty four major milk producing states produced eighteen point eight
billion pounds, up three point three percent from August of
last year. Production per cow average two thousand and sixty
eight pounds for August twenty eight pounds above last August.

(32:22):
The number of milk cows on farms in the twenty
four states was nine point oh eight million head, one
hundred and seventy two thousand more than August of twenty
four and seven thousand ahead of July of twenty five.

Speaker 23 (32:33):
A large selection of over two thousand used pieces of
construction equipment and other top brand assets will be up
forbidding in the Richie Brothers Sacramento Sale event October eighth
and ninth. Registration for this absolute unreserved auction is open
to the public and completely free, so make sure to
visit ourbauction dot com to view our available inventory of
truck tractors, excavators, compact trackloaders, trailers and more. This exclusive

(32:53):
auction will be conducted entirely online, but we're still happy
to welcome you on site for in person inspections. Once again,
visit our auction dot com to learn more.

Speaker 14 (33:02):
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 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

(33:23):
mean the most to you online at aginfo dot net.
The AGG Information Network trusted and transparent journalism lasting for
the next generation.

Speaker 26 (33:31):
From the Egg Information Network, I'm Bob Larson with today's
agribusiness update.

Speaker 1 (33:35):
With more federal assistance available for specially crop growers. Lately,
the importance of getting a new farm bill completed may
have been eased, but only for a little bit. Riley Bashu,
vice president of the Northwest Horticulture Council, says, for agriculture
as a whole, a new farm bill is very important
and shouldn't be put off any longer.

Speaker 27 (33:56):
There's been a lot of work done on getting at
least a partial farm and build done, but nothing direct
as it relates to specially crops in terms of like
direct payment programs like this. From our perspective, crop insurance
is incredibly valuable for our growers, pretty widely utilized in
our industry, and so maintaining that was a priority for
US making sure that those kind of risk management tools
are available.

Speaker 1 (34:16):
But with all the economic challenges lately, but Shoe says,
their focus has been more on what USDA can do
to help growers right now.

Speaker 27 (34:24):
To my knowledge, at this moment, I mean USD is
kind of focused on getting the rest of the masks
payments out, this disaster money out as rapidly as it can,
so that's kind of front center right now.

Speaker 1 (34:34):
As for the one big beautiful bill, and some of
the farm bill related a systems that brought but Shoe
says that was great to see.

Speaker 27 (34:42):
It's certainly good to get a good chunk of that done.
We work with folks from the potato industry and others
actually other specially crop entities through a group called the
Specially Crop Farm Bill Alliance that pursues priorities for the
specially crop industry as a whole.

Speaker 1 (34:55):
Again, that is Riley the Shoe of Highest President of
the Northwest Horticulture Council.

Speaker 2 (35:00):
A limited resource water needed to grow a wide variety
of crops in the Golden State.

Speaker 22 (35:07):
Hutter is really important out here, specifically for the agricultural community.
California is producing two thirds of fruit and nuts. I
think eighty percent of the world's almonds come from California.
It's a really big agricultural state and a lot of
that agriculture is being irrigated with our limited water resources.

Speaker 2 (35:25):
As USDA Agricultural researcher Kyle Nipper explads, irrigation water management
methods and tools in California at several instances looks something
like this.

Speaker 22 (35:36):
Historically, they've been using weather stations that are either run
by the state or they might put up their own
weather stations in some of their fields and then using
some past work with crop coefficients and using those crop
coefficients and reference et values to prescribe irrigation. But a
lot of those values they're based on point measurements. They're

(35:57):
based on historical data sets.

Speaker 2 (35:59):
That focus led Nipper and colleagues to study more efficient
ways to capture irrigation data at EVA apple transporation rates
and crops to produce greater irrigation efficiencies. The approach developed
satellite based models to better understand irrigation practices and typing.

Speaker 22 (36:17):
This research isn't terribly new. We've had incredible researchers, particularly
at ARS, developing this technology over the last few decades.
But I think what we've been able to do in
more recent years is kind of co op this cooperative
research partnership with private industry, with universities, and with the
federal government, particularly AARs.

Speaker 2 (36:37):
In the case of Nipper's research, satellite imagery.

Speaker 22 (36:40):
Specifically thermal imagery to map how much water the crop
is using in real time.

Speaker 2 (36:47):
With that tech picking up both plant and soil eve
apple transpiration.

Speaker 22 (36:51):
Once we're able to measure that now from a satellite
point of view. We can do that over then entire
field and entire ranch, and over the entire.

Speaker 2 (36:58):
State, providing real time information what Nipper calls another tool
in a grower's toolbox.

Speaker 22 (37:04):
So they can make a more informed decision when it
comes to irrigation. And understanding how much the plants need
when they need it to produce not only optimal yields,
but a high quality product is really important to the
growers out here.

Speaker 2 (37:18):
Bob Broadbain, reporting for the US Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC.

Speaker 1 (37:23):
You've been listening to ag Life. Thank you for being
with us today. I'm Dwayne Merley.