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Ag Council News & Info Brief November 23

AG COUNCIL NEWS & INFORMATION BRIEF
November 23, 2022 | HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

WASHINGTON AG UPDATE

Majorities Set for U.S. House and Senate: The November election results are settled enough to know which party will hold a majority in the U.S. House and Senate. Republicans were able to take claim to a slim majority in the House of Representatives while democrats were able to hold on to their slim majority in the Senate with one seat (Georgia) not yet resolved due to a December 6th runoff election. The election outcome and adjustments to party leaderships following the elections now sets the stage for the upcoming Congress and legislation such as the farm bill. While committee assignments for the upcoming Congress are not officially set, it's expected that Senator John Boozman (R-AR) would retain his post as Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. More...Politico | Washington Post | National Law Review

Senate Ag Committee Farm Bill Hearing Focused on Rural Development: On November 15th, the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Forestry and Nutrition Committee held a farm bill related hearing focused on rural development and energy programs. The committee, led in part by Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR), will be tasked with reauthorization of the farm bill, which is scheduled to expire following the 2023 crop year. More...Hearing Info | Agri-Pulse

Rail Strike Threat Increases as Each Day Passes: With 4 rail union groups currently holding out on signing a labor agreement, the chances of a significant strike occuring in December is on the rise. If a strike occurs, Congress may have to take action to force the unions back to work with a legislative solution that would dictate the terms of a deal per an emergency board recommended solution. More...Agri-Pulse | DTN Progressive Farmer | WSJ | Politico

Global Climate Summit Closes with New Agreements: The United Nations (UN) recently concluded its annual global climate summit (COP27) in Egypt. The meeting of 27 nations aimed to propose and consider various policies to address climate change and global warming. One of the most significant outcomes of the summit was the agreement among participating nations to create a fund for climate-related damage impacting certain developing nations. More...WSJ | Reuters

EPA Names New Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Federal Advisory Committee Members: On November 16th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the naming of new members to the agency's farm, ranch and rural communities advisory committee. The new members include Ag Council of Arkansas board member Jennifer James of Newport. She was nominated by USA Rice to serve on the committee as an industry champion on sustainability issues. More... EPA Announcement | More on EPA's FRRCC | USA Rice Announcement

ARKANSAS AG UPDATE

Governor-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders Announces Transition Plans and Website: On Thursday, November 10th, Arkansas Governor-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the launching of her transition team and a new website offering opportunities for individuals to apply for various positions in the new administration, including boards and commissions.More... Transition Website | Application Page | TalkBusiness | Gov. Elect Sanders Twitter

UofA Names Robinson as Chancellor: On November 16th, the University of Arkansas System board of trustees announced that they unanimously selected Dr. Charles Robinson to serve as the next chancellor of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Robinson, who was previously provost and executive vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, has been interim chancellor since mid-August. More... ArkansasOnline | TalkBusiness Interview | TalkBusiness Article

UofA Releases Crop Enterprise Budgets for 2023: The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture recently released its 2023 crop enterprise budgets, an important tool to help farmers plan their 2023 planting decisions. The dynamic excel spreadsheet includes some changes that reflect some of the biggest economic impactors from the current year, however the program allows users to adjust numbers as they see fit. More...UADA Crop Budgets | News Release

UofA Variety Performance Trials: The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture has begun the process of releasing variety performance trials for a range of agricultural commodities. More...UofA Variety Test Homepage | Rice Performance Trial Data | Cotton Variety Testing Update

Riceland Announces Billion Dollar Year at Annual Meeting: At Riceland Foods annual meeting in Stuttgart, the farmer owned cooperative announced that it received over $1.2 billion in revenue in fiscal 2022, which was a 20% increase over 2021. The meeting was the first led by new CEO Jason Brancel. More...Arkansas Business

Riceland Announces New Sustainability Agreement with Purina: On November 16th, Riceland Foods announced a new partnership with Nestlé Purina PetCare that will incentivize the cooperative's farmer members who grow rice utilizing certain sustainability practices beginning in 2023. The investment is aimed at helping farmers adopt new practices that will help Purina in its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the production of its pet foods products. More...TalkBusiness

Planned Cold War Museum Gets $1 Million Commitment from Steel Mills: A planned museum focused on the Cold War to be located in Blytheville announced that it has received a commitment of $500,000 from Nucor Steel Arkansas and Nucor-Yamato Steel Co. for a total of $1 million. The musuem being planned at a retired military airbase that house certain aircraft from the Cold War era is expcted to become a major Delta tourism destination. More...TalkBusiness

Arkansas Department of Agriculture Releases Smoke Management Smart Phone App for Farmers: On Monday, October 31st, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture announced the launch of a new smart phone application known as Arkansas FireSMART, which is intended to simplify the process for farmers to follow the Arkansas Voluntary Smoke Management Guidelines. The voluntary program is intended to help farmers conduct crop residue burning in optimal conditions to minimize various risks associated with the practice. The Ag Council encourages farmers to download the app and utilize the program prior to conducting prescribed burns of crop residue following harvest. More... Press Announcement | Download App | Voluntary Smoke Management Guidelines

Arkansas Cotton Industry Socials Next Week: The Ag Council of Arkansas is working with the National Cotton Council (NCC) to raise funds from Arkansas's cotton industry for the NCC's Political Action Committee (PAC), known as the Committee for the Advancement of Cotton. Four fundraisers are scheduled for the week of November 28th with "Happy Hour" events in Wilson, West Memphis, Marianna, and McGehee.

We encourage all Arkansas farms and gins to participate in this effort by attending an event and making a contribution to the PAC. Funds raised will be utilized to support candidates for federal office who back policies and positions that benefit the cotton industry. All are welcome to join the effort! More... About the Cotton Socials | Events Flyer | About the NCC PAC

Ag Council Annual Meeting: The Ag Council will hold its Annual Board of Directors Meeting December 12-13 at the Capital Hotel in Little Rock. Meeting Information | Schedule of Events & Confirmed Speakers | Sponsorship Opportunties Room reservations can be made by calling (501) 374-7474

ECONOMIC & INDUSTRY NEWS

Crop Reports:
On Monday, November 21st, USDA released an updated Crop Progress & Condition Report
Crop Progress and Condition Report: U.S. | Arkansas

UofA Summary Slides of 2022 Crop Year

Arkansas Economic Profile: 2022 Pocket Facts - News