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  • 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.
Uncategorized

Senate WRDA Passage Important to Corn Growers

Cindy Zimmerman

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

Audio, Corn, Farm Bill

2013 NAMA Boot Camp Dates Announced

Chuck Zimmerman

NAMAThis 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.

NAMA

2013 Agvocacy 2.0 Conference Application Deadline

Chuck Zimmerman

AgChat FoundationThe 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.

Farm Credit Idea Share PanelI 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.

Ag Groups, Audio

Farm Bill Now?

Cindy Zimmerman

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.

Ag Groups, Farm Bill

House Ag Passes Farm Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

adjournedThe 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.

Farm Bill

Social Connections to GROWMARK

Cindy Zimmerman

GROWMARK and FS are excited to make it easier than ever to make connections on social media.

growmark-connect“We are excited to add social features to our website,” says GROWMARK Corporate Digital Strategic Development Manager Heather Thompson. “Users will now see the ability to like and follow GROWMARK and FS right on our homepage.”

That includes links to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo and Pinterest. “We launched GROWMARK.com in a redesigned version just before we started actively pursuing social media so we didn’t have the chance to incorporate a lot of social features,” said Heather, noting that instead of doing another complete redesign, they just added those features into the website.

Heather says that social media has proven to be a great tool for them to connect with the members and customers. “We really enjoy the opportunity to connect with people on a more personal level than we had in the past with traditional media,” she said.

Listen to my interview with Heather here: Heather Thompson, GROWMARK

Audio, FS System, GROWMARK, Media, Social Media

Opinions on Committee Farm Bills

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Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Are so-called “ag gag” bills fair?”

Our poll results: Fifty-two percent said No, forty-one percent said Yes and seven percent said I Don’t Know. So most of you feel that ag gag bills are not fair. Do you think answers would be different if we called them “See Something, Say Something” laws?

chart

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What’s your opinion of committee farm bills?” The Senate Agriculture Committee voted 15-5 to approve their version of a 2013 farm bill. And according to House Ag Committee Chairman, Frank D. Lucas, “The work of the Agriculture Committee, including reauthorizing the Farm Bill, affects every American; ensuring that our farmers and ranchers have the tools they need to produce an abundant and affordable food and fiber supply is as important to our country as national defense.” Let us know what you think.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by New Holland Agriculture.

ZimmPoll

Ag Committee Chairs Visit with NAFB

Chuck Zimmerman

Senator Debbie StabenowAn optimistic Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman met with farm broadcasters on Wednesday morning, the day after her committee passed a new farm bill called the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013. “This is the biggest jobs bill we will pass in any Congress,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). “It’s time to get it done.”

Stabenow says the majority of the bill they passed out of committee is virtually the same as last year and she believes they addressed the concerns of southern producers. “I think we have a strong coalition and have really produced what I think my friends down the hall should just take as the commodity title,” she said.

The senator talked about the amount of savings in the bill, concerns about the nutrition title, what they did with cotton in the bill, and conservation compliance. Overall, Senator Stabenow is optimistic about getting a farm bill soon, and that combined with new immigration policy, will be a “positive one-two punch for producers.”

Please feel free to download, listen and share: Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow

Representative Frank LucasHouse Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) met with the farm broadcasters just shortly before his committee began markup of their bill and said he was “as wound up as an 8 day clock” and expected it to be a long day but maybe not quite as long as last year’s 15 hour session. “But I would note that we had approximately 100 amendments a year ago, as of this morning we have approximately 100 amendments this time,” he said.

Lucas says the bill will go to the House floor this year “a dramatic improvement over a year ago” but he does expect it to be “a struggle we’re prepared to engage in and we’re prepared to move forward on.”

Chairman Lucas said it’s important to look long term in the farm bill. “Farm bills are not necessarily about this year or next year or year three,” he said. “Farm bills are about making provisions for year four or year five, when the wheels come off.”

Please feel free to download, listen and share: House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas

2013 NAFB Washington Watch Photo Album

Find more NAFB Washington Watch interviews on AgNewsWire.AgWired.com.com

Audio, NAFB

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