Here’s a challenge that one of you may be interested in.
The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) Board of Directors has announced that it is seeking qualified candidates for a newly approved organizational and staff leadership position, chief executive officer. Prospective candidates may obtain information regarding USFRA and a position description by sending a confidential inquiry to CEOSearch@USFRAonline.org. Applicants are requested to submit ONLY a letter of interest, resume and compensation requirements at this time electronically, in confidence, to CEOSearch@USFRAonline.org through 4:00pm CT, Friday, June 7, 2013. The USFRA Board conducts this search with full commitment to the laws governing employment, including those relating to equal opportunity.
Dear World: Agriculture
Robert Fogarty, photographer and founder of Dear World, may not think he’s changing the world but I might disagree. He takes pictures of people who are changing the world but in the process he’s doing his part to do the same.
So who is Robert Fogarty and what is Dear World?
We aren’t changing the world, but we take pictures of people who are.
I take pictures. They started as photographic love notes to New Orleans, where people know what it’s like to nearly lose something. We learned that you can never lose your voice.
Now I ask people to share one meaningful message with family, friends and strangers.
In this week’s program I talked with Robert about how he got started on an adventure that has taken him around the world where he has met and photographed some names you’ll surely know. Hey, like me! The photo of me is from last week’s Farm Credit Idea Share. Robert was there to “do his thing” with us and that included our sharing of messages about agriculture in his unique way. You can see a number of the photos from the event in the Farm Credit Facebook page.
Robert would like to help you with your message to the world. All you have to do is contact him.
Listen to my conversation with Robert in this week’s program here: Robert Fogarty - Dear World
Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong and Monsanto, Roundup Ready Plus, for their support.
Monsanto Names 2013 Farm Mom of the Year
Betty Rosson, a Virginia grain and cattle farmer, is Monsanto’s 2013 America’s Farmers Mom of the Year.
Betty’s nomination, submitted by son Charles, was chosen by judges of American Agri-Women as regional winner for the Southeast. Online voting was conducted in early May, during which time anyone could visit AmericasFarmers.com, read regional winners’ nominations and cast a vote for one to receive the national title. Betty received the most online votes, and she was notified of her national win on Mother’s Day.
“Whether she is driving a tractor, feeding cows or caring for her family, Elizabeth (Betty) is 100 percent all-in for the job,” wrote Charles in the winning nomination. “Mom certainly doesn’t let grass grow under her feet, as she is always on the move for her family, her church, her farm and the community.”
All five regional “Farm Mom of the Year” winners will receive a $5,000 cash prize from Monsanto. As national winner, Betty will receive an additional $5,000. A check presentation ceremony is being planned in her honor for early summer.
Cotton in the Committee Farm Bills
The National Cotton Council (NCC) is pleased with the farm bills out of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees this week that make some pretty significant changes in the cotton program to hopefully provide final resolution of the longstanding Brazil WTO case.
“The focus has been to try and come up with farm policy for cotton in the new farm bill that will resolve the case,” said NCC vice president for Economics & Farm Policy Gary Adams. “We believe that STAX, which would be a new area-wide revenue insurance option for cotton, is a way to resolve the case.”
Gary says the provisions for Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) are “very similar” in both bills, while the House also includes transition payments to assist growers and their lenders until STAX can be fully implemented, “so that’s a difference that has to be worked out.”
Gary says they were some features of STAX that Brazil objected to that have now been removed, such as what was referred to as a reference price, “so we think that without having that reference price in there … we think this puts together a package that should satisfy the case.”
Bottom line, Gary says producers need a farm bill this year. “The one thing we hope is we can see Congress complete its action this summer so we can get a multi-year farm bill in place and give producers some certainty about what policy is going to be for the next few years,” he concluded.
Interview with NCC VP Gary AdamsZimfo Bytes
- Monty’s Plant Food Company has introduced Dri-Sulfur 42, a granular nutrient designed to help enhance plant development while addressing deficiencies in soil.
- The American Royal Association announced that the second annual American Royal Steak Competition Winner will be announced at their 2013 Grapes & Steaks Competition on October 9, 2013.
- The National FFA Organization has partnered with four Major League Baseball teams for FFA Day at the Ballpark events this summer.
- The winners of the Syngenta Photography Award, a new international competition to stimulate dialogue around some of our planets key challenges, have been announced.
Senate WRDA Passage Important to Corn Growers
The Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) by a wide margin on Wednesday paving the way for upgrades to the inland waterways system important for farmers.
The National Corn Growers Association Chairman Garry Niemeyer says those inland waterways, in particular the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, are an important route for moving our corn to markets worldwide. “It’s been a long time, since 2007, since we’ve had a WRDA bill and back before 2000 they used to have a WRDA bill every other year,” Garry said in an interview today. “Now we just need the funding to get these project moving forward.”
Of specific interest to corn farmers, the bill contains provisions to remove the over-budget and long-delayed Olmsted lock and dam project from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF), the remainder of the cost to be paid 100 percent by general treasury revenue and not cost-shared 50-50 through the IWTF. This action will free up around $750 million to the IWTF to complete critical priority navigation projects. An increase in the threshold for major rehabilitation, from the current $14 million to $20 million, was approved.
The bill now goes to the House for approval and Garry says they are encouraging farmers to call their representatives in Congress to tell them how important this legislation is to them.
Garry also comments on the farm bill progress this week and corn planting progress in this interview: NCGA Chairman Garry Niemeyer
The Senate WRDA bill also contains an amendment, co-sponsored by Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas, regarding on-farm fuel storage under the EPA Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures regulation. “That means there will be some relief for those farmers who have on-farm fuel storage, which is most of them,” Sen. Pryor told farm broadcasters meeting in Washington this week. “We think this is the right way to do it, we think it’s commonsense, think it’s a big win.”
Listen to or download Pryor’s comments at NAFB Washington Watch Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR)
2013 NAFB Washington Watch Photo Album
Find more NAFB Washington Watch audio on AgNewsWire.AgWired.com.com
2013 NAMA Boot Camp Dates Announced
This is a “get it on your calendar” announcement from the National Agri-Marketing Association.
The 10th Annual NAMA Boot Camp dates are August 14th – 16th at the Sheraton Crown Center in Kansas City. Whether you’ve just entered the working world or been through the NAMA Boot Camp drill before, learn more about the latest trends in the agri-marketing industry.
This year the Boot Camp will take it to a new level expanding on marketing and agriculture basics. All attendees will receive a notebook packed with agricultural terminology, facts, case studies and speaker presentations. This notebook has become one of the most popular aspects of the boot camp experience.
More details to follow. Sponsorship packages are available if interested, contact Jenny Pickett at 913-491-6500 or jennyp@nama.org.
2013 Agvocacy 2.0 Conference Application Deadline
The deadline is approaching fast for applications to the 2013 Agvocacy 2.0 Training Conference. It’s going to be in Charlotte, NC, August 22-23.
I visited with AgChat Foundation Executive Director, Emily Zweber, pictured second from right with our panel group from last week’s Farm Credit Idea Share. She told me about the application process and encourages farmer and ranchers to take a step forward in their agvocacy efforts.
Listen to my interview with Emily here: Interview with Emily Zweber
To start us off with conviction is Jay Baer, author of Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is about Help Not Hype. Jay is followed by the Beyond the Choir, Ag Conversations that will help spark your mind about agriculture, food, and consumers.
The core part of the time will be spent on sessions like Keeping up with Facebook and Trolls Under the Bridge (and what you can do to side step them). And, discover the Practical Side of Media Creation, what it takes to capture that short video or picture and share it well. Case studies will help connect you to real uses of social media in agriculture.
Jay Baer Convince and Convert When and where does this journey start? August 22 – 23, 2013 at the Embassy Suites in Charlotte, North Carolina is when and where you will be able to connect with Agvocacy 2.0 alumni and presenters. This event is your opportunity to discover and bring home some new ways to tell your farm or ranch story.
How do you sign up? Up to 75 people representing all sectors of agriculture will be invited to participate, with priority given to farmers and ranchers. Agvocacy 2.0 was completely sold out in both 2011 and 2012, so interested applicants should apply early. Selected attendees will be required to pay a $375 registration fee.
Farm Bill Now?
Last year the rallying cry of agricultural organizations for a “Farm Bill Now” fell on deaf ears in Congress, but this week’s actions by both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to pass a bill is leading to new hope that it might finally happen.
“This provides a great reason for optimism we will have a new long-term farm bill this year,” said American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman in a statement late last night after the House Ag Committee finally finished its work. “That belief is further supported by the fact that the bills are more striking in their similarities than in their differences.”
With about 100 amendments considered or withdrawn in the House Ag Committee markup on Wednesday, there was something for everyone to be pleased or disappointed with. National Corn Growers Association president Pam Johnson says they are pleased the process is moving forward but remain “extremely concerned with the Committee’s decision to adopt a fixed-target-price program that moves U.S. farm policy away from the market-oriented reforms that have made possible a robust rural economy. It is also disappointing the Committee failed to use this opportunity to ensure a Revenue Loss Coverage program that is a genuine risk management option for producers.” The American Soybean Association expressed similar concerns.
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) was pleased that the House version rejected an amendment to the Dairy Support Act. “The committee’s decision to once again reject an amendment by Reps. Bob Goodlatte and David Scott that would have undermined the House Farm Bill’s dairy safety net is gratifying to the thousands of dairy farmers across the country who support the DSA,” said NMPF president and CEO Jerry Kozak.
For the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), portions of the House farm bill included priorities important to cattlemen and women such as permanent disaster programs along with the elimination of the livestock title, maintaining of conservation programs and a strong research title.
An amendment supported by the National Pork Producers Council was adopted in the House bill to prevent the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) from doing any further work on the rulemaking that resulted from the 2008 Farm Bill, and the National Fisheries Institute is happy about an amendment repealing the duplicative USDA catfish inspection program.
The Senate bill is expected to go to the floor next week while the House bill is slated for next month.
House Ag Passes Farm Bill
The House Agriculture Committee passed the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 by a vote of 36 to 10, officially putting on their hats and adjourning at a quarter before midnight in the Eastern time Wednesday after more than ten hours of farm bill markup considering 100 amendments.
“This is an adventure that started several years ago,” said Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) at the end. “It’s taken two markups to get to this point. We have an adventure ahead of us in June.”
Speaking to farm broadcasters before the process began Wednesday morning, Lucas expected it to be a long day but not as long as last year’s markup and they did manage to cut that down by a few hours. But he knows this is just the beginning of a much longer process to get a bill passed on the floor. “Whatever we do in the committee, many of the battles – whether it is over dairy, or sugar, or the size of the nutrition reforms, will be fought out again on the floor of the United States House,” he said.
Among the battles fought in the committee was on the dairy program, but members ultimately voted to support the Dairy Security Act (DSA)and reject an amendment by Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and David Scott (D-GA) that would have removed the supply management mechanism of the act.
“Supply management is antithetical to the future growth of the dairy industry,” Goodlatte and Scott said in a statement expressing their disappointment in the vote. “A supply control program that will directly intervene in markets and increase milk prices will ultimately hurt dairy producers and consumers as well as dairy food manufacturers by stifling industry growth.”
A $20.5 billion cut to nutrition programs survived the committee markup after hours of debate and many of the ten members who voted against the final bill did so because of those cuts. The nutrition title makes up 80% of the “farm bill” spending. Cuts to the other 20% the bill amount to about $18 billion. “This is the first real reform to the nutrition title in almost 20 years,” said Lucas.