Alabama AgCast
A podcast about news and information of interest to the agriculture community of Alabama. Presented by Alabama Farmers Federation.
Alabama AgCast
Legislative Reception, Major Donation, Ag Legislation Watch, Market News and More!
Nationally, we’ll look at a new law aimed at helping dairy farmers grow their market to schools.
Statewide, we recognize farmers and ag leaders appointed to the state FSA Committee, and hear from the winner of the Alabama Nursery and Landscape Association’s Horizon Award.
Federation news features the Taste of Alabama annual event and a major donation to Children’s of Alabama.
Finally, we’ll hear report of crops with the Commodity Column, find out how ag is doing at the Alabama Legislature, and check the markets for any movement.
From the Commodity Column:
- The 31st annual Alabama Extension Beekeeping Symposium is Feb. 7 at Wallace State Community College. The cost to attend is $45. Register by Feb. 1.
- Alabama Extension has launched a new master Beef Producer training program where cattle farmers can learn the newest technologies and best management practices during 15 classroom sessions. Workshops will be in Northport and are a joint effort between Tuscaloosa County Extension and Tuscaloosa County Cattlemen’s Association. Starting March 2, classes will be every Monday and Tuesday evening until April 20. Learn more.
- Registration is still open for the Alabama Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association Annual Conference & Trade Show Feb. 4-6 in Gulf Shores. Register and view agenda.
- The Auburn University College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment’s Emmett & ViAnn Thompson Lecture in Forest Economics and Policy is Feb. 25 at The Hotel at Auburn University. The keynote speaker is Cade Warner, president and CEO of The Westervelt Co. Learn more.
- The Alabama Peanut Producers Association is hosting a series of peanut grower production meetings in conjunction with Alabama Extension and Auburn University College of Agriculture. Growers are encouraged t
Hello and welcome to the Alabama Ag Cast. I'm your host, Mike Moody. Here's the AgCast news for the week of January 26, 2026. Nationally, we'll look at a new law aimed at helping dairy farmers grow their market to schools. Statewide, we'll recognize farmers and ag leaders appointed to the state FSA Committee and hear from the winner of the Alabama Nursery and Landscape Association's Horizon Award. Federation News features the Taste of Alabama annual event and a major donation to Children's of Alabama. Finally, we'll check the fields with the commodity column, find out how ag interests are doing at the Alabama legislature, and check in with the markets for any movement. Let's begin with news from Washington. The Whole Milk and Healthy Kids Act was signed into law January 14th by President Donald Trump. The legislation will allow schools to serve whole milk and 2% milk. Our own Colton Christian explains how this law will impact dairy farmers.
Colton Christjohn:Well, Mike, it's a good day to talk about dairy in a positive light, especially in the economic crisis that the dairy industry has been in for the past several years, especially for the uh outlook in Alabama. We're not known as a very big dairy state, but but this news is good news, and so we'll take the win. This uh act is an act that's been uh in the legislature for a while now. It's nothing new, but has finally come to fruition under uh President Trump's leadership. This dates back to the Obama administration when they pulled the whole milk from these schools uh due to the saturated fat calculations that is used uh to calculate all these foods that are allowed. Basically, three and a half percent is about what fat is in whole milk, three and a half, four percent. So a big misnomer is just the marketing behind the reduced fat and whatnot, but basically whole milk, three and a half to four percent fat, you have the reduced fat, which is two percent, one percent skin milk, so on and so forth. Up until this past January, the only thing that has been allowed in schools is the one percent or fat-free. So this option will allow dairy farmers that are able to bottle their own milk. We have a few in in the state of Alabama who do have the option to bottle their own milk, they're state permitted, they can sell directly to uh their local communities who choose to put the whole milk back into in the in their schools and their cafeterias. Uh we again we are not a very big dairy state, so those dairies are few far and in between, but the few that are uh processing that do have those processing capabilities will have a little bit of more flexibility uh in their in their marketing, which is good. Overall for the rest of the dairy industry, it's just another avenue for those processors, those major processors to be able to market their milk. It's not a huge chunk of the pie, but again, it's just another avenue for these major processors who most of our dairymen sell through a cooperative and they sell to major processors who are then able to just then diversify a little bit more. And again, this act is not mandatory. Schools have the option to still stick with their fat-free or one percent options, but it allows them to now, if they would like to have two percent or whole milk into their schools, it allows them to to do so without any of the uh saturated fat restrictions.
Mike Moody:Closer to home, here are some of the ag highlights from around Alabama. Five leaders in agriculture were recently appointed to serve as the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency State Committee. They are Shep Morris, Chair from Macon County, Wallace Drury of Hale County, Billy Hickson of Pike County, Mike Reeves of Morgan County, and Dr. Mykel Taylor with the Auburn University Agricultural Economics Department in Lee County. We got this reaction about the appointment from Wallace Drury.
Wallace Drury:It's just an honor and a privilege uh to serve on this committee. Um I look forward to working with all of the other committee members and learning more about these programs and how we can uh help the farmers all across this uh great state of Alabama.
Mike Moody:Members of the FSA State Committee are responsible for oversight of farm programs and county committee operations, resolving program delivery appeals, maintaining cooperative relations, and keeping producers informed about FSA programs. Mobile County's Dillon Turk received the Alabama Nursery and Landscape Association's Horizon Award last week during the Gulf State's Horticultural Expo in Mobile. Dillon reflected on his family's history in the green industry following the announcement.
Dillon Turk:You know, this award, it really is a big honor, but I can't accept it solely on my behalf. You know, I I've got to give a lot of credit to my my dad and my grandfather who both have have kept up a long tradition of uh keeping a high standard and selling quality products, and they've instilled in me my work ethic and taught me how to do business. So, you know, this award means a lot to me, but I think it means a lot to my family as well. You know, it's an incredible honor, not just because of the award itself and what it stands for, but it it's also because of the list of folks that have received it in the past. You know, I consider many of those people to be mentors to me, and it's it's really humbling to be able to follow in their footsteps.
Mike Moody:The Horizon Award recognizes an individual for outstanding service in horticulture. Recipients must be active in the industry, younger than 36, and considered progressive, innovative horticulturists who hold active association membership. Among the attendees were Representative Paul Lee, who represents District 86 and is a resident of Dothan. While impressed with all the people he was able to be with, Representative Lee was a little biased towards one commodity in particular.
Rep. Paul Lee:Well, there's a lot of reasons, but I get to see some of my folks from back home, and then obviously the people that are up here that are making things happen. But uh, I guess one of my favorite is getting to see all the things that opportunities of why the little cities, the big cities and the regions are are doing well because of their farming activity. From the Gulf Coast to North Alabama, the honey. Uh, I saw some turnips and things. Obviously, my favorite is the peanut butter and jelly. Being from the Wiregrass and the peanut capital of the world, I'm a little bit uh selfish that I think that's probably the best. And looking at what I just saw just a few minutes ago, that was where the biggest crowd was. So I had to elbow myself in there to get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You know, there are stories that I could tell. I'm 65 years old, so I grew up on my dad was a farmer, and my grandparents were farmers, and uh I am one of those that remember the old two two-row peanut pickers, and I've I've plowed and dissed pool weeds and peanuts. Um, you know, I remember hauling peanut wagons till midnight to the dryer, trying to get them in. So I understand, of course, we raised cattle and um had soybeans. That were the three things that we did. I did it enough, actually enjoyed it. I actually had cows until I got in politics and and uh just time wouldn't allow it to do it. My wife said it was an expensive hobby, which it was. I enjoyed it, but made some dear friends, still have family members that are involved with it, and I see the struggles that they go through. Um, you know, it is a it's a challenge. If you want to be a farmer today, you want to be a farmer. There's no question about that, because it's in it's just bred into farmers today that they're gonna have struggles, they're gonna have obstacles, and I would suggest that they have a prayer line every day for the best that can happen and have God speed on them because it is a challenge, uh, not only with the weather, but the things that are that come out of the the out of DC that put obstacles in front of them. So they're they're fighting an uphill battle. I don't think that we give them the credit that they deserve. Simply because I don't know the numbers off the top of my head, but today one farmer's feeding 50 times more than they were 50 years ago. And they're so valuable to us, then we need to make sure that that uh they have the ability to do that because we don't appreciate them enough. We're just so um used to going to the store, grocery store, getting what we want. And uh we don't really a lot of people don't understand. There was a lot of work that went into that. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears that went into it to get it to that point.
Mike Moody:Also attending the annual event was Pike Road Native and State Senator for District 25, Will Barfoot. Senator Barfoot noted a variety of food and opportunities to fellowship with fellow Alabamians from around the state.
Sen. Will Barfoot:Wow, it's uh it's actually one of the greatest events that we get an opportunity to go to. Uh lots of different reasons. Uh you see some wonderful people that you don't get to uh see as often as you'd like. Number one. Number two, you get to uh you get to meet people from other parts of the state that uh are certainly enthusiastic and make a living and are proud of the ag that we have here in Alabama. And then lastly, um, you know, I love the food. It's great. I mean, you get samplings of everything from uh steak to catfish to uh quail. Um there's just so many things to enjoy, and and the fellowship is wonderful. My daddy was a farmer and a policeman. Had an uncle, his middle brother was a farmer and a policeman. Their youngest brother was a farmer and a policeman. And so um I grew up um knowing what it was like to live on a farm. And going back to 2018, um, I I told people, I said, hey, I've never been a farmer, but my family, um, my my family um were in farming and and supported their family and made a living. And my daddy said, son, stop telling people that. And I said, why, Daddy? He said, it's not true. We didn't make a living farming, we just love farming. He said, we made a living doing other things. We just love farming. And I think that's uh that's a huge thing. I mean, you know, ag for the state of Alabama is uh so important. I mean, just from a historical standpoint, family value standpoint, what what farmers and and uh what those folks represent, and and and it's just we gotta carry that on, carry it forward, and do everything we can to support our farmers.
Mike Moody:150 leaders from across state government visited the Federation office as members from all 67 counties welcomed them with all that Alabama agriculture has to offer. Alabama Farmers Federation and Alfa Insurance President Jimmy Parnell presented a $30,000 check to Children's of Alabama president and CEO Tom Shufflebarger January 20th to support the Alpha Care's Closet. They were joined with children's social workers and Federation employees who coordinated the fundraiser. The Federation's Hunter McBrare was on hand during the event.
Hunter McBrayer:Last week we had the opportunity to go up with Mr. Parnell, Matthew Durden, and Jeff Elms to visit with the folks at Children's Hospital. From their development office, their CEO, their social workers, we were able to present a $30,000 check sponsoring and then naming their care closet, the Alpha Care's Closet. The whole point behind this donation in that closet is a lot of families end up in children's hospital unexpectedly. They go in for a routine checkup and they end up having to be admitted into the hospital. And oftentimes they don't have the bare necessities, a toothbrush, deodorant, uh clothes, oftentimes, even the adults, the parents of the kids that are going in there. And nobody wants to have to leave their child in the hospital to go to the store or to go home, or oftentimes they said there's a lot of kids there that are out of state. They're traveling through, something happens, and they end up in children's hospital. So we wanted to be able to provide through the alpha care's closet the necessary resources that they need just for an overnight stay, or sometimes that ends up being a lot longer. And it's not something that people are going to have and be able to use for months at a time. But if you need an extra pair of pants or a shirt or, like I said, a toothbrush or deodorant or something like that, it provides that. And knowing that Alpha is there, Alpha is a grassroots Alabama homegrown company here that cares about people all across Alabama, not just in Jefferson County. Um, it it really is amazing to see how many people have a connection to children's hospital. And this is a no-brainer for Alpha to be able to go in and provide that. And of course, we want people to see Alpha and know that we care about them, but more importantly, we want those families to feel taken care of when they're going through something pretty difficult.
Mike Moody:This past November, students attended the Alpha Youth Leadership Conference. Event organizer McBrare recalled the youth event and how the message of service will continue.
Hunter McBrayer:The first couple of years we we partnered with Children's Hospital and we made little toys. It was nothing spectacular, little wooden toys, something that they could put in their closet at at Children's Hospital for kids to be able to go and pick up and color or paint or to play with or whatever it was. But we said, you know, we can do even more than this. We can do something that can actually make a difference in someone's lives. We talked with their their office of giving and their social workers there and said, what do you need? What can we do here at Alpha? We have a pretty captive audience at youth leadership conference and we have the ability to get something done. What do you need? And they asked for the simple things shower kits, dental kits, toothbrushes, deodorant, um, the things that you might need if you were being checked in and you didn't have all the resources that you were expecting, or if you had an unexpected visit to the hospital that kept you there for a few days. We put out a call, uh, we kind of developed a program, I guess, and then put out a letter and an email to all of our county presidents, county boards, our state board, um, and their response was simply over uh overwhelming, to be completely honest with you. Um we had enough materials donated to do 11,000 care packages. We know that it makes a difference in people's lives. We were called to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and we at Alpha and in a youth leadership conference, we're not shy about talking about that. We're not shy about um performing acts of kindness to people that we don't know and the impact that that can make, not only in their walk, as they're going through obviously something very difficult there, um, but in their walk with Jesus as well. And so we're always uh willing and able to share that message, and I think that this is something that we are going to continue to do. I told our friends at Children's Hospital they better buckle up. It was just the beginning. You give Hunter and Matthew and the rest of the team at Youth Leadership Conference a project for us to get done. You better know that it's going to be done. It's going to be done in excess, and so to open up the storage closets.
Mike Moody:After the short break with our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, we'll check out the commodity column, get the latest happenings from the State House, and see how the markets are going.
Alabama Ag Credit:I'm a lender here at Alabama Ag Credit, and I think being a lender in this role is very important to our rural communities of Alabama. I believe in providing, and I know Alabama Ag Credit, along with myself, as I'm a producer myself, takes pride in bringing great customer service as far as to the rural communities by providing tailored financing. That could be from going to the farm and seeing what the farm plans are for this operation, if they're beginning farmers, if they're existing farmers, and just seeing really what we can do at Alabama Ag Credit to make drinks come true. And that's why I'm so passionate about working here and being a lender in rural Alabama is bringing that tailored financing, seeing what the farm plan is, and just seeing that life come true for somebody. If you'd like to find out more about Alabama Ag Credit or find a local office, visit our website at AlabamaagCredit.com or call us at 334-270-8687.
Mike Moody:Here's Marley Jackson with our commodity column.
Marlee Jackson:We have some exciting commodity trends, but then also some upcoming events that we're going to cover today. First up for our poultry farmers. Global poultry production and consumption continue to grow as poultry remains affordable. That's good news. Raboban's outlook indicates poultry will lead the protein sector in 2026, with beef and pork production expected to contract. Poultry's strong market position has helped companies like Tyson Foods perform better in chicken than in beef operations. Ongoing challenges such as highly pathogenic avian influenza trade and pricing could still impact margins. Next up for our peanut farmers, the Alabama Peanut Producers Association is hosting a series of peanut grower production meetings in conjunction with Alabama Extension and Auburn University's College of Agriculture. Growers are encouraged to attend. A meal will be provided at each meeting, and you can learn more about those at alpeanuts.com. Next up, we're talking to our fruit and vegetable growers. Y'all registration is still open for the Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association annual conference and trade show coming up in Gulf Shores. Now, this is February the 4th through the 6th. You can register online and you can also view the agenda at AFVGA.org or walk up registration is available. Next up, let's talk to the bee and honey producers. The 31st annual Alabama Extension Beekeeping Symposium is February the 7th at Wallace State Community College. The cost to attend is $45, and you can register by February the 1st. That link will be available in your show notes. Switching over to Forestry and Wildlife, the Auburn University College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment's annual Emmett and Vianne Thompson Lecture in Forest Economics and Policy is February the 25th. This is at the Hotel at Auburn University in Auburn, and the keynote speaker is Cade Warner, President and CEO of Westerbelt. To round us out today, we're talking to all those beef cattle producers. Alabama Extension has excitedly launched a new master beef producer training program where cattle farmers can learn the newest technologies and best management practices during 15 classroom sessions. Workshops are in Northport and are a joint effort between Tuscaloosa County Extension and the local cattlemen's association. These classes start March the 2nd and are every Monday and Tuesday evening through April the 20th. You can also learn more in your show notes. Reporting for the Alabama Ag Cast, this is Marley Jackson.
Mike Moody:Morgan DeSell keeps us up to date on legislation affecting farmers.
Morgan Desselle:Thomas Ellis and Jomestican Parham were confirmed by the Alabama State Senate to serve on boards last week. Ellis was confirmed to the Alabama Exhibition Center Corporation Board, and Jomestican Parham was confirmed to the Alabama Forestry Commission. Congratulations to both members. Senator Clyde Chambliss recognized Americans top farm family, our very own Drew and Lauren Winland, with a Senate joint resolution celebrating their achievement award win at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Conference. State budgets have not been addressed yet. House Bill 238 by Representative Danny Garrett represents the 2027 Education Trust Fund budget, and Senate Bill 146 by Senator Greg Alberton carries the 2027 general fund budget. While the reported recommendations by the governor show level funding for the Alabama Farmers Federation priorities in the Education Trust Fund budget, state agencies receive significant decreased funding in the general fund. These decreases reflect reductions for state programs and federal funding, with state item appropriations remaining level funded. The team continues to monitor bills our members would be interested in, such as House Bill 87 by Representative Chris Sells that would exempt corn sold as deer feed from state sales taxes. This bill passed by the House is now sent to Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee. House Bill 69 by Representative Matthew Hammond related to well driller licensing passed out of the House and now awaits committee referral in the Senate. Senate Bill 85 by Senator Larry Stutz amends veterinary practice laws to define and regulate the veterinarian client-patient relationship. This bill was referred to Senate Agriculture Conservation and Forestry Committee, where it awaits action. The team has also been monitoring two environmental standards bills, House Bill 162 by Representative Choice Stubbs, and Senate Bill 71 by Senator Donnie Chesting. These bills restrict state agencies from adopting environmental protection rules that are more stringent than federal standards in specific areas, such as drinking water and air quality, ensuring the best available science is used when setting environmental standards. Senate Bill 71 passed out of committee and now awaits action in the Senate. The bills concerning utility tax, House Bill 244 by Representative Danny Crawford, and Senate Bill 159 by Senator Jack Williams still await committee action. These two bills would exempt natural gas and electricity used in commercial greenhouses, pivot irrigation systems, and poultry houses from certain utility taxes. On the rural health care front, House Bill 245 by Representative Terry Collins would amend the Alabama Rural Hospital Investment Program to enhance oversight, expand the definition of utility tax eligible for tax credits, and modify board composition and administration. The bill was passed out of the House and now awaits action in the Senate. Week three at the State House kicks off today with day seven of a possible 30. With over 500 bills dropped so far, this has been a fast-paced session. For the full report each week from our external affairs team, check the show notes to subscribe to our legislative newsletter, Capital Connection. Tune in next week for another AdCast legislative update. This is Morgan DeSell reporting for Alabama AdCast.
Mike Moody:To find out what's going on in the markets, here's Chris Provat.
Chris Prevatt:You're in the markets with Chris Provat. So this last week, nearby corn futures finished at $4.29 a bushel. Last week we were $0.00 per bushel higher. Those major lows occurred in August 2024 and 2025. And since those lows occurred in August 2025, we're up about 17%. So a good week last week for corn, up $0.00 per bushel. Moving to soybeans, uh nearby soybeans, they ended the week at $10.63 per bushel. We were 10 cents higher on soybeans, uh, for the most part, sideways to higher on soybeans since July 2024, where they made their bottom. Uh so we've got a good structure building now on soybeans. We're building a foundation. We're looking to continue to head higher into 2026. Very excited about opportunities for soybeans. Wheat was the one that made the most news this last week, so 11 cents higher on wheat. Um wheat futures closed the week at $5.22 per bushel. Uh, and that's mostly due to uh some of the damage concerns uh that would be due to wheat due to the uh cold and icy weather in those uh southern plains and Texas and Oklahoma and Kansas. Um some of that winter wheat out there can definitely get damaged uh due to these that cold weather, just depending on the growing point of the plant. And uh that's probably gonna impact our total yield when we get out to late spring, early summer 2026. So wheat overall, it's really been sideways since July 2024, building a base, uh getting ready for wheat's next bull run. It can be violent once it gets started, especially due to supply uh disruptions. Cotton, it had the it had a rough week uh just given the positive moves in corn, soybeans, and wheat. Cotton futures were down one cent per pound lower, so just sideways to lower continuing. As we mentioned last week, we really don't want to start seeing new lows on cotton. It's been trading sideways, hopefully building a base, uh, but we definitely need to see some demand come in here and hold cotton prices higher. But it's been trading at 63 cent a pound. So moving to feeder cattle futures. So nearby feeder cattle futures at 366, definitely a positive on the livestock complex. We had $3 higher on feeder cattle futures. Feeder cattle again's been hot since uh 2023. Uh in October, November 2025, we dipped down to $300 a hundred weight. And now we've bounced back $66 a hundred weight from that $81.100 weight dip that we saw. Again, the all-time high there at $381.02 $100 weight remains our target. We're gonna need to close above that if we're gonna continue this bull run and move higher. Live kettle again had a great week this last week, up uh $3.100 weight. Uh nearby futures closed at $237 a hundredweight. Beautiful chart on live kettle. Target remains that all-time high there of two hundred and forty-eight dollars and thirty cents per hundredweight. That's going to remain our target. We want to see it close above that level and just continuing to trend higher. This is Chris Provat in the markets for the Alabama Agcast.
Mike Moody:Tune in this Thursday for a special Ag Cast feature with FarmPack Endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate, Steve Marshall. Please like, rate, and promote the Alabama Agcast to your friends, family, and anyone interested in Alabama agriculture.