Georgia's Drought Impacts Cattle Production

If you want to see a clear sign of the effects of the 2016 drought, look no further than livestock auction receipts for the week of November 11. Georgia cattlemen took 3,600 more cattle to the sale than they did during the same period in 2015. That's an increase of over 46 percent. For the year as a whole, 5,600 more head have hit the auction, obviously a large part of that coming in the latter half of the year as pastures quickly degraded.

Chart, forage conditions, and November 22 drought map are below. Praise the Lord we've had some rain in December.

Cattle and Calves Receipts

Data from 20 Georgia auctions. Source: Georgia Cattleman, December 2016

Pasture Conditions Weed Ending 11/13/2016

Source: USDA NASS

Divergent Land Values in Midwest, Southeast

Source: USDA NASS

My little story on land values and land rents in the agricultural economic downturn is up over at Growing Georgia. It's a quick read (hint: Southeast prices are holding on). What's not there, however, are all of the supporting graphs. There are also some highly important maps that show the fundamental ways that Midwest farming and Southeast farming are structured differently. In short, farmers in the Corn Belt rent a lot more land, which — just by sheer numbers — makes them more likely to walk away from land with high cash rents. Farmers in the Southeast, particularly Georgia, have more irrigation and a lot more investment in their fields. That land is a pretty sure bet to produce and too expensive to set aside. 

Maps and data are below:

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture

Source: Changes in Southern Cotton and Peanut Producing Regions, Shelbi R. Knisley, USDA-ERS

Source: 2015 Farmland Value Survey, Iowa State University, University Extension

The Oggun Tractor

Based on the Allis Chalmers Model G, the Oggun tractor will begin manufacturing and sales in November.

My story on CleBer LLC's new Oggun tractor, an open-sourced model for small farmers, is up over on Growing America. The Oggun represents a radical business concept: The company has created a simple tractor, published the design, and outfitted it with off-the-shelf parts. The idea is to stimulate local manufacturing, free the farmer from a dependency on custom pieces, and drive down the cost of machinery for small producers. CleBer actually welcomes competition. 

““We see that’s the only way that you can get equipment to a price that small farmers around the world can afford. Eighty percent of the world’s small-scale farmers can’t afford a tractor, and 80 percent is really a conservative estimate.”

— Lucky Catron, Partner, CleBer LLC

Although it was inspired by an assessment of the needs of Cuban farmers, the Oggun will begin production in Alabama in November and be ready for shipment to U.S. customers by the end of the month.

David Wildy, Southeastern Farmer of the Year

David Wildy, a diversified row crop farmer from Manila, Arkansas, is the 2016 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year.

Wildy farms more than 12,000 acres in the rich Delta soils of northeast Arkansas. His fifth-generation farm produces cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat. This year marks his second year of growing peanuts and first growing potatoes.

In 2015, Wildly Family Farms averaged 1,180 pounds of lint for cotton, 220 bushels of corn, 65 bushels of soybeans, 6,900 pounds of peanuts, 75 bushels of wheat per acres.

Read more about Wildy's recognition at Growing Georgia and visit the farm website.