In The News This Month – November 2021
Editorial
November is the eleventh month of the year, the last month of the Fall season, a time to honor our Veterans, and of course Thanksgiving. It’s a great reminder to take some time to reflect on the things we are most grateful for. This year my list was easy – my family, my friends, and our health. But I can also add to that list, the company I work for and my coworkers. Working for Aeros, a company that is customer-focused, allows you to build relationships with people that are directly involved with feeding the world. Helping these companies succeed is not only rewarding, but also inspiring.
Reading through the news of this month, there was still focus on concerns of rising prices and labor shortages, but there were also some positive articles centered around the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving is often thought of the holiday that kicks off the baking season. That’s reflected in the rising egg prices we saw this month. According to the USDA Egg Market News report, the Midwest wholesale price for extra-large eggs was up 35.5%. Not quite what we saw in 2020, but still steadily rising.
Unfortunately, gas prices continue to rise, contributing to fears of inflation. In an effort to help relieve the rising gas prices the White House is tapping into domestic oil reserves. Inflation is increasing at the fastest rate in 31 years sparking debates of whether it’s “Déjà vu all over again”. An article featured by AgWeb this month provided some interesting insights on today’s inflation concerns. Another concern recently plaguing consumers are the high prices on Christmas trees. We saw Thanksgiving turkeys at a higher cost and now we’ll be faced with the same issue when picking up this years Christmas tree. Drought, high gas prices, and labor shortages are the leading cause of more expensive trees.
If you decided against a turkey this year and opted for chicken, Mountaire Farms would have been thankful. They are extremely dedicated to giving back to the community and have already donated more than 70,000 pounds of chicken in Delmarva alone this season! If you do happen to pick up some chicken, be sure to catch the article featured by WattPoultry about the myth of washing your chicken. Apparently, we have been led wrong all these years. Washing raw chicken is unnecessary and spraying poultry water all over the kitchen is the bigger nightmare.
Keeping with tradition, President Biden stayed right on track during the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation and pardoning ceremony. He stayed away from typical political “rancor” and focused on being thankful for the farmers who raised the turkeys and for the many blessings in your life. Be sure to take a moment to click on the article we featured below, ‘Thank a Farmer, Today and Every Day’. Emily Smith, from Trust In Food, said it perfectly – “As Americans, we are so fortunate to have farmers who grow safe, nutritious and affordable food in every state and territory across the country.” Happy Thanksgiving!
Monica Lizar
Account Manager
Aeros, a Cultura Company
Feed and Grains:
Expensive corn brings back cereal enzyme additives
Substitution with wheat and barley requires discussion of carbohydrases. With corn prices skyrocketing, many producers are looking into wheat and barley to slightly reduce feed cost, or at least keep it within survival limits.
When we discuss wheat and barley, we must also bring up the issue of carbohydrases, that is, enzymes that help release a bit of fiber energy. These work when such cereals are rich in hemi-cellulases, but that is hard to determine or even predict. So, most producers elect to use the enzymes anyway.
There are two schools of thought regarding the selection of the right carbohydrase to use in cereal-based diets, especially those based heavily on wheat and/or barley – the latter along with some wheat, or even corn, in most cases.
Read full article here
Could the White House’s Plan to Tap Into Oil Reserves Actually Fuel Corn Prices?
The White House is tapping into oil reserves in an effort to help relieve the rising prices drivers are currently facing at the pump. The U.S. joins five other countries who say they’ll tap their domestic strategic petroleum reserves (SPR), which includes China. That’s as gasoline prices are contributing to inflation, which is increasing at the fastest rate in 31 years.
The announcement from the White House was largely expected by oil traders and industry watchers. According to Pro Farmer Washington Correspondent Jim Wiesemeyer, Energy Information Administration (EIA) Administrator Stephen Nalley told Congress just last week that releasing 15 million barrels to 48 million barrels of oil from the SPR would lower crude prices by around $2 per barrel, the equivalent of 10 cents per gallon for gasoline.
Oil prices ticked higher after the announcement, reversing the softer tone commodity prices have seen recently.
Read full article here
Eggs:
Egg Week: The Week in Review
According to the USDA Egg Market News Reports released on November 22nd, the Midwest wholesale price for Extra-large was up 35.5 percent to an average of 133.5 cents per dozen; Large was up 36.2 percent to an average of 131.5 cents per dozen; Mediums were up 26.1 percent to 101.5 cents per dozen as delivered to DCs. Prices should be compared with the USDA benchmark average 6-Region blended nest-run, (excluding provisions for packing, packaging materials and transport) cost of 66.3 cents per dozen in October 2021. The progression of prices during 2021 to date is depicted in the USDA chart reflecting three years of data, updated weekly.
The November 22nd 2021 edition of the USDA Egg Market News Report (Vol. 68: No. 47) documented a USDA Combined Region value rounded to the nearest cent, of $1.07 per dozen delivered to warehouses for the week ending November 15th 2021. This average price lags current Midwest weekly values by one week. The USDA Combined range for Large in the Midwest was $0.97 per dozen. At the high end of the range, price in the South Central Region attained $1.15 per dozen. The USDA Combined Price last week was 20 cents below the 3-year average. This past week Midwest Large was approximately the same as the corresponding week in 2020 that demonstrated a typical late-Fall upturn.
Read full article here
NRS Gender Selection Technology and Prospects
NRS Poultry Sustainability and Transformation Inc.(NRS) has developed a genetic approach to the challenge of eliminating unwanted male chicks by applying a genetic approach coupled with the application of an optogenic system. The Company was founded by Dr. Uval Cinnamon of the Volcani Institute, the leading agricultural research organization in Israel and recognized as an innovator in agriculture. The company includes specialists such as Dr. Yaarit Wainberg a molecular biologist and executives with experience in finance, technology transfer, regulatory affairs and quality assurance. The company is assisted by Dr. Neil O’Sullivan appointed as the Senior Scientific Advisor previously a senior geneticist with one of the two major primary breeders of egg-laying strains Dr. O’Sullivan is well-known to the U.S and the World’s egg industries and bridges the academic avian genetics with practical production issues. Dr. Cinnamon recently delivered a presentation in a webinar series dealing with the technology of his company and the potential to resolve a growing problem of negative public perception. He described the mechanism by which it is possible to hatch only pullet chicks at the commercial level with male embryos failing to develop at an early stage of incubation.
Read full article here
Poultry:
Americans: Stop washing your chicken!
Astonishingly, to me at least, 90% of consumers rinse their poultry before cooking it because historically – when Amelia Simmons called for a chicken to be slaughtered and plucked – rinsing the meat before cooking it was part of the prep work. People erroneously believe rinsing or washing chicken before cooking it will remove any pathogens or foreign substances on the meat.
Rinsing the bird is now an ingrained behavior in many households. From a food safety perspective, spraying poultry water all over the kitchen is a nightmare. The same FSIS study found much of the bacteria from the bird lingers even after cleaning.
The FSIS will fight an uphill battle in teaching Americans to stop washing their chicken as part of their food prep. However, I feel the industry can play a proactive role in reminding consumers that washing raw chicken is not necessary.
Read full article here
Forget the turkey. At Mountaire Farms, Thanksgiving is all about the chicken.
Mountaire Farms Distributes Thousands of Thanksgiving Meals Across Delmarva. They kicked off their Thanksgiving for Thousands Food Drive Monday to feed 10,00 families across Delmarva.
“It’s our way of giving back to the community, trying to give people in need a helping hand, a good dinner on Thanksgiving,” said Phillip Plylar, President of Mountaire Farms.
Nearly 200 volunteers spent the day packing boxes with a Thanksgiving meal for four, complete with sides, dessert, and a Mountaire roaster. They say it’s that kind of turnout from the community that allows them to pull it off.
“The same groups that benefit from the outcome other people that are here standing side-by-side, shoulder-to- shoulder with us working,” said Zach Evans, Mountaire’s Community Relations Manager.
Read full article here
Turkey:
What do a Thanksgiving turkey and a canary in a coal mine have in common?
What do a Thanksgiving turkey and a canary in a coal mine have in common? More than you might think—this year’s turkey has a warning. Like your oven, inflation is getting red hot. Your 2021 Thanksgiving meal will go in the books as the most expensive in history. American Farm Bureau estimates a meal to cost about 5% more this year.
Inflation did not suddenly sneak up on us, though. This situation has been brewing. High transportation costs and commodity prices, labor shortages and fickle trade policies all add fuel to the inflationary fire. However, some fear one factor could send food prices into the stratosphere and trigger a food crisis.
That tinderbox is fertilizer prices.
Read full article here
Biden stayed on right track during turkey pardoning
In his first National Thanksgiving Turkey ceremony, president placed more focus on the turkeys and being thankful than he did on politics.
The National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation and pardoning ceremony, I have long contended, should be free of all political rancor and instead focus on the turkeys, the farmers that raised them, and being thankful for the many blessings in your life.
In his first of such ceremonies, held on November 19, President Joe Biden mostly abided by such etiquette. I feel like he at least got a passing grade.
Biden pardoned Peanut Butter, the presidential turkey, and Jelly, the alternate, in keeping with the tradition of pardoning the turkeys, set in place more than 30 years ago by then-President George H.W. Bush.
Read full article here
Pork:
Maple Leaf to complete conversion of barns into Advanced Open Sow Housing System in 2021
Transition will make Maple Leaf Foods a North American Leader in producing pigs without gestation crates. Maple Leaf Foods Inc., a leading North American producer of high-quality, sustainable protein, has said that by the end of 2021, it will complete transitioning all breeding sows in company-owned barns to its unique, industry-leading Advanced Open Sow Housing System.
In making the announcement, the company said, this “world-class system provides optimized, open housing during pregnancy that allows sows to roam, rest, feed and socialize freely.”
Read full article here
Rabobank: Global animal protein markets to settle in 2022 China’s ongoing pig herd recovery is expected to be the largest single driver of global market growth in 2022
Global animal protein markets will begin to settle in 2022, but many drivers of change – higher input costs, transition to more sustainable protein, biosecurity and COVID-19 – will remain, according to a new Rabobank report.
Animal protein prices are expected to remain firm in 2022, with some exceptions, and expansion is expected in all major producing regions for the main species, Rabobank said in its Global Animal Protein Outlook 2022. Pork, poultry and aquaculture are expected to see the biggest growth, while beef and wild seafood are expected to contract slightly.
China’s ongoing pig herd recovery is expected to be the largest single driver of global market growth in 2022, followed by Southeast Asia, North America and Brazil. Limited growth is expected in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
Read full article here
Beef:
Rabobank: Leadership key for global meat industry to meet challenges in 2022
Animal protein firms will need to be agile to navigate another disruptive year in 2022 as input costs continue to rise. Global meat producers face a leadership test as the disruptions affecting food markets pose challenges but also bring opportunities to drive long-term growth, according to research from Rabobank.
The findings come from Rabobank’s annual Global Animal Protein Outlook, which analyses meat and seafoods markets around the world. The specialist food and agribusiness bank says that while the disruption that has permeated sectors throughout 2021 will persist next year, progressive animal protein businesses will see the changes within the market as an opportunity for growth rather than solely as a risk.
Read full article here
Alternative cattle reform bill brings major overhaul
As Congress continues to find solutions to the perplexing cattle market system leaving cattle producers losing money and consumers paying more, a new solution takes on the current cattle marketing system with a total overhaul. A new bicameral proposal would ban packers from owning cattle, mandate 50% of sales be based on the cash market, restore mandatory country of origin labeling and attempt to address the lack of competitiveness among the largest meat processors.
The cattle market reform bill – Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act – introduced by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.Y., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., was called the awaited “silver bullet” from R-CALF USA that was the only cattle group to not support a previous compromise bill offered in recent weeks by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb.
Read full article here
Dairy:
Canadian Dairy Farmers Hit Hard by Devastating ‘Atmospheric River’ Floods
Canadian dairy farmers have recently been hit hard by two days of torrential rains spanning across the Pacific Northwest portion of the U.S. and into British Columbia. Some areas of the province received 8 inches of rain on Sunday, the amount that usually falls over the course of a month. The phenomenon is known as an ‘atmospheric river.’
Abbotsford, B.C., is one of the areas hit the hardest. Dairy farmers in the area were told to evacuate on Tuesday as floodwaters washed over one of British Columbia’s prime agriculture areas. According to The Canadian Press, the flooding situation has forced farmers to lean on each other to save their animals.
“When I see calves that are underwater that they rescued and threw in the boat to save them, on one hand it breaks my heart, but on the other hand, I’m just so impressed with our community, our farming community, and how they come together and help each other. And that’s what they’re doing,” Henry Braun, Mayor of Abbotsford, told CTV News.
Read full article here
Miscellaneous:
Christmas tree prices higher this year due to drought, high gas prices, worker shortage
The average price of a natural Christmas tree has spiked significantly amid lower inventory this year, and the owner of a Santa Clarita tree farm says several other factors have contributed to the cost increase.
Frosty’s Forest in Valencia has been in business for nearly 50 years. “It’s just been a little harder this year,” said owner-manager Brent Green. “A lot of things, with the trees themselves, have just had kind of the issue of drought being a major one. It browned out a lot of the big trees — we won’t get those back in until next year when they’ve re-flushed from all the rains that they did get this last couple months.
“The shortages of labor, people just not wanting to work, has spiked all the tree prices up north, as well as gas prices have made all the freight charges, bringing trees down south, a lot more expensive,” Green said.
“So we still have great selection of trees, we still have a lot of beautiful trees. They’ve just you know gone up about 20 to 25% this year,” he said.
Read full article here
Will Fertilizer and Herbicide Prices Fall Before Spring? Why Experts Say It’s Highly Unlikely
The supply chain constraints are continuing to plague agriculture, and as farmers work to make input decisions for the 2022 season, economists expect high input prices to persist through spring. One major reason for the severe supply chain constraints is China, as nearly 75% of the active ingredients and crop protection chemicals comes from China.
Despite President Biden and China’s Xi Jinping holding a closely watched virtual meeting last week, the supply chain issues weren’t discussed. As AgWeb has reported, glyphosate prices are up anywhere from 100% to 300% in areas, and that’s if you can even get it.
Read full article here
Thank A Farmer, Today And Every Day
I’m sure I’m not the only one eagerly awaiting the Thanksgiving holiday this week. It is my very favorite. In fact, it’s my version of heaven: the daylong cooking, the delicious food, the surrounding company of loved ones and pie.
I often think about the bounty of food I can access, not only for this holiday but year-round. As Americans, we are so fortunate to have farmers who grow safe, nutritious and affordable food in every state and territory across the country.
Where do those cherished Thanksgiving meal ingredients come from? Whether we find ourselves enjoying turkey from Minnesota, potatoes from Idaho, fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts from California or cranberries from Massachusetts, let’s be grateful for their dedication to feeding our country and the world.
Read full article here
Jerry Gulke: Are We Facing Inflation Déjà Vu Again?
The inflation genie is out of the bottle and might be as difficult to get back in as it was in the 1970s. As Yogi Berra would say, “It’s Déjà vu all over again!” Or is it?
I’m not as old as Yogi, but I planted my first acre of corn in 1973. I saw high inflation and watched the unfolding of a super cycle in agriculture — and the subsequent crash of the early 1980s.
The land I purchased in 1980 for $3,200 per acre lost 60% of its value as Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker raised interest rates one full percentage point — the largest rise in decades. Former President Ronald Reagan’s farm policy slashed deficiency payments, further depressing land prices and rents.
Read full article here
The information in this newsletter is intended to update our readers of current events. Any third-party publications are presented for informational purposes only and the views presented in such publications are those of the respective authors. The views therein are not necessarily representative of Aeros or any other CULTURA company’s views on any particular topic.