Soybean Leaders Vote in New Board President
On Jan. 11, 2019, the North Carolina Soybean Producers Association Board of Directors elected new officers and executive committee members. Jeff Tyson of Nashville, N.C. was elected president of the Association. “I look forward to serving as president of the North Carolina Soybean Producers Association and putting programs in place to help soybean farmers in North Carolina achieve the highest yields possible, as well as to educate the public about the importance of agriculture,” said Tyson.
Also that day, David Heath of Dover N.C. was elected vice president and Gary Hendrix of Raeford, N.C. was elected secretary. Former board president, John Fleming of Scotland Neck, N.C., transitioned into the role of treasurer. The board elected four additional directors to the executive committee as follows: Chris Naylor, of Clinton, N.C.; Ben Moses of Conway, N.C.; Philip Sloop of Mount Ulla, N.C.; Greg Manning of Nashville, N.C.
On January 10, 2017, during the North Carolina Soybean Producers Association 52nd Annual Meeting, soybean growers from across the state elected the following to the BOard of Directors for their first term:
- Reid Gelderman: Hyde County
- Phile Gore: Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Pender Counties
- Auston Harris: Greene, Lenoir, Wayne, Wilson Counties
- Forrest Howell: Beaufort County
- Ben Long: Martin, Pitt Counties
- Duncan Malloy: Hoke, Scotland, Robeson Counties
- Wade Stanaland: Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Pender Counties
- Logan Watson: Gaston, Mecklenburg, Union Counties
During the Annual Meeting, N.C. soybean producers also re-elected the following currently serving directors for their second term:
- Curtis Furr: Anson, Cabarrus, Chatham, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Richmond, Stanly Counties
- Simmy Williams: Camden, Currituck Counties
Directors are eligible to serve two consecutive, three-year terms and are responsible for overseeing the research, marketing and communications work of the association, as well as the association’s advocacy work on behalf of soybean farmers.
Continue here to see more about the new board leadership.
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2018 Yield Contest Winners
Matthews Family Farm of Davie County won the annual NC Soybean Yield Contest for the second year in a row with an entry of 104.5 bushels per acre. Kevin Matthews received the award for the highest yield at the NC Commodities Conference of the corn, cotton, small grains and soybean associations in Durham, N.C. Marsha McGraw, NC Cooperative Extension agent in Davie County was the agent for Matthews' entry.
Johnny Moore of Iredell County was runner-up with a yield of 94 bushels per acre. The Iredell County extension agent assisting with production was Laura Elmore.
There was a tie for the third-place award between Doug and Billy Mercer of Pasquotank County and James Allen of 4Gen Farms in Washington County, both with yields of 91.5 bushels per acre. The extension agent for the Mercer’s entry was Alton Wood and the agent for Allen’s entry was Rod Gurganus.
Area winners in the yield contest were:
- Southern Coastal Plain: Locklear Brothers Farm of Robeson County, 84 bushels per acre; Mac Malloy was the agent.
- Northern Coastal Plain: Sharp Farms Inc. of Wilson County, 82.4 bushels per acre; Norman Harrell was the agent.
In the annual Most Efficient Yield Contest, Temple Family Farms of Pasquotank County placed first in the state with a per bushel cost of $4.75. Temple Family Farms received the first-place award at the NC Commodities Conference on Jan. 10. The Most Efficient Yield Contest rewards producers for achieving the lowest cost of production for soybeans on a per bushel basis.
Other area winners in the most efficient yield contest were:
- (Southern Coastal Plain) – Locklear Brothers Farm of Robeson County, $5.80 per bushel
- (Northern Coastal Plain) – Blizzard Farms Inc. of Greene County, $5.21 per bushel
- (Southern Piedmont) – Jason Starnes of Rowan County, $5.35 per bushel
- (Northern Piedmont) – Matthews Family Farm of Davie County, $5.13 per bushel.
The soybean yield contest is administered by North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension and the awards are sponsored by the North Carolina Soybean Producers Association. The winning entries were announced on Jan. 10, 2019.
All soybean growers producing a yield of 70 bushels or more per acre were recognized with a certificate by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. The contest is based on yield from a measured and verified three-acre plot. The state record entry of 107.4 bushels per acre was set in 2017 by Matthews Family Farm of Yadkin County
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FSA Office to Open During Shutdown
About half of the Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices are set to reopen as the government moves into the 27th day of the shutdown. The offices will be opened on January 17, 18 and 22 to help farmers with existing loans and tax paperwork. The furloughed employees will temporarily return to also help farmers process payments made before the end of 2018, continue expired financing statements and open mail to "identify priority items."
“We are bringing back part of our FSA team to help producers with existing farm loans. Meanwhile, we continue to examine our legal authorities to ensure we are providing services to our customers to the greatest extent possible during the shutdown,” Perdue said in a released statement.
Below is the official press release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
(Washington, D.C., January 16, 2019) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that many Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices will reopen temporarily in the coming days to perform certain limited services for farmers and ranchers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recalled about 2,500 FSA employees to open offices on Thursday, January 17 and Friday, January 18, in addition to Tuesday, January 22, during normal business hours. The offices will be closed for the federal Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, January 21.
In almost half of FSA locations, FSA staff will be available to assist agricultural producers with existing farm loans and to ensure the agency provides 1099 tax documents to borrowers by the Internal Revenue Service’s deadline.
“Until Congress sends President Trump an appropriations bill in the form that he will sign, we are doing our best to minimize the impact of the partial federal funding lapse on America’s agricultural producers,” Perdue said. “We are bringing back part of our FSA team to help producers with existing farm loans. Meanwhile, we continue to examine our legal authorities to ensure we are providing services to our customers to the greatest extent possible during the shutdown.”
Staff members will be available at certain FSA offices to help producers with specific services, including:
- Processing payments made on or before December 31, 2018.
- Continuing expiring financing statements.
- Opening mail to identify priority items.
Additionally, as an intermittent incidental duty, staff may release proceeds from the sale of loan security by signing checks jointly payable to FSA that are brought to the county office by producers.
Information on the locations of FSA offices to be open during this three-day window will be posted:
- On the USDA website.
- On Twitter at @SecretarySonny and @USDA.
- On USDA’s Facebook page.
While staff are available in person during this three-day window, most available services can be handled over the phone. Producers can begin contacting staff on January 17 here.
Additionally, farmers who have loan deadlines during the lapse in funding do not need to make payments until the government shutdown ends.
Continue here to read the press release in its entirety.
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Variety Selector Tool- 2018 Data
Proper variety selection is one of the most important steps a soybean producer can make. It is important to devote some time to selecting the proper variety as this decision is one of the first steps to maximizing yields.
If we compare the top 10% of soybean varieties grown within a single maturity group at a single location in the OVT to the bottom 10%, we can see as much as a 15 bu/ac difference in yield. Therefore, selecting the right variety for the right environment is essential.
There can be as much as a 15 bu/ac difference in different varieties grown in the same field.
But with more than 200 soybean varieties available to NC growers, this can be an overwhelming decision. To help make this job easier for you, the NC Soybean Producers Association has developed a Soybean Variety Selector Database Tool. The information available in the OVT Data has been compiled into a single database that can be filtered, searched, and sorted.
The database has been updated with results from the 2018 OVT testing and includes data that was collected in the NC OVT.
Continue through this link to use the selector tool!
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ARMS Phase III Soybean Specific Survey
Phase III of the 2018 Agricultural Resource Management Study (ARMS) is being mailed out on December 26th. This survey is conducted every year with at least two different questionnaire versions. A core version for all farms and a commodity-specific version, which this year is soybeans in NC. The survey is conducted in cooperation with Economic Research Service (USDA/ERS). The survey data collection focuses on farm finances. The results provide information for the financial analyses of farm businesses, farm households and cost associated with producing agricultural commodities. For the soybean specific questionnaire version, information will be broken out for soybean farms specifically. The survey helps determine the overall health of farming operations. For respondents that have not replied via mail or online by February 11th you will be contacted by a NASS enumerator to be personally interviewed.
Additional information can be found at:
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Ag_Resource_Management
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Ag_Resource_Management/2018_ARMS_Brochure.pdf
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