Pub. 5 2016 Issue 3

April/May 2016 21 l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s Pictured left to right are Jordan Holder, Conway Bank, Conway Springs, Blake Hemberger, Conway Bank, Wichita and Brad Davis, Banc Central National Association, Anthony. Stacy Mayo, Kansas Corn Commission, Garnett, Troy Soukup, Citizens State Bank & Trust, Ellsworth and Panelist Kyle Cott, Cott Family Farms, Clay Center. Doug Wareham, KBA and Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh found time to catch up before the closing session. Pat Keating had many questions from attendees following his presentation. Bruce Frost (Center), American State Bank & Trust, Great Bend, received the 2016 Pioneer Award from KAB President Doug Ray (right) Stockton National Bank, Norton. Pictured on the left is KBA Chairman Bob Leftwich, Impact Bank, Wellington. Randy Blach, CattleFax, projects a more stable year for 2016 with slow growth going forward. Dr. David Kohl opened the conference with a world economic view for ag producers and lenders. that producers need to sell in season and stop holding for a higher price. They need to work on margins that make sense and manage the operation closely. Holaday closed with the statement, “The low hanging fruit is gone. You need to get the ladder out and reach for the less tasty fruit at the top but there are still margins.” Drew Lerner, World Weather, Inc., explained what an El Nino weather pattern is and compared several weather modelsto current trends to demonstrate why he believes we will experience lower than normal precipitation in July and August 2016. Randy Blach, CattleFax, opened his outlook stating that he was surprised by the magnitude of the break in cattle pricing in December 2015. Blach showed that 2015 was the highest production of protein since 1950. The production levels were up significantly with grain costs down. There was stiff competition for beef in 2015 as pork and poultry were priced low but beef remained at $5.00 per pound. Overall the U.S. meat production will grow in 2016, beef up 3%, pork up 2% and poultry up 1.5%. The grain supply will remain ample with slim margins and low cost for protein producers. Land values and cattle prices will trend lower as margins tighten. Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh closed the conference with a political outlook on the next presidential election and current state economic shortfalls. Dr. Flinchbaugh discussed the trend of people using anger to drive them to be more politically active. He discussed his thoughts on who various presidential candidates would appoint to the secretary of agriculture seat and how their policies would affect trade, etc. The next Kansas Ag Bankers Conference will be on March 8-9, 2017 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan, Kansas.