Ethics Group Questions GIPSA Boss Conflict

Cindy Zimmerman

A government ethics watchdog group thinks it might be a conflict of interest for a trial lawyer known for suing meat and poultry companies to be in charge of making new rules for regulating that industry.

The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) this week sent a letter to USDA’s general counsel expressing concerns about J. Dudley Butler’s potential ethical conflict as administrator of USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration.

“Mr. Butler stands to benefit financially once he leaves the government by exploiting a loophole he helped create,” said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan. “Whether or not this meets the legal standard of a conflict of interest, it seems wrong. The Department of Agriculture should bar Mr. Butler from continued work on these regulations and the department should consider reissuing them for further public comment.” Sloan said in the letter Butler should be disqualified from working on the regulations based on avoiding even the “appearance of any conflict or impropriety” based on his “actions prior to becoming administrator of GIPSA.”

CREW even suggests that “given the controversy” reissuing the proposed GIPSA rule would serve to “remove any taint.”

CREW is a non-profit organization “dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials — regardless of party affiliation — who sacrifice the common good to special interests.”

GIPSA

From Farm To City

Chuck Zimmerman

I only get to do this once a year and when I get lucky with a nice buck I’ve got to share. I enjoyed a great post-NAFB convention deer hunt once again. In fact, next year will be my 20th anniversary of fall Missouri deer hunting. Kind of hard to believe. My brother Paul and his sons joined me and Gary Cooper, Southeast AgNet, again this year for a fun and safe time in the woods.

It’s back on the agriblogging trail now for the kickoff of National Farm-City Week. I’ll be one of the panelists during tomorrow’s National Farm-City Week Symposium. It will take place prior to and including lunch with a live broadcast on AgriTalk. Took me a while to be a guest but my time has come.

Let’s use #FarmCityWeek as the hashtag for any of you who will be attending or following.

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NAFB Shutterbug

Cindy Zimmerman

NAFBDid we take your picture at NAFB last week?

If so, it’s probably in our NAFB convention photo album. There’s almost 800 photos in there, so if you got in the way of our cameras, check it out. Like all of our on-line photos, feel free to copy and use as you please.

We still have lots of interviews from Trade Talk to post in the coming weeks – it was another busy one. Thanks to the officers and staff of NAFB for a great convention!

NAFB

RFA Loves NAFB

Cindy Zimmerman

RFA at NAFBThere were lots of ethanol issues to discuss at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual Trade Talk event in Kansas City last week. The topics included the lame duck session of Congress, importance of renewing biofuels tax incentives, doing more to invest in cellulosic ethanol, labeling for E15 at the pump, just to name a few.

Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen says NAFB Trade Talk is one of his favorite events of the year. “I think farm broadcasters are doing a lot of hard work trying to make sure that Americans understand the important debates that are going on in DC,” Bob said. “I love these folks and I love being here.”

RFA’s Matt Hartwig (sitting in the photo) and Bob stayed busy all six and a half hours of Trade Talk doing interviews. Bob is being interviewed in this picture by past NAFB president Tom Brand (KFEQ St. Joe, MO).

Listen to my interview with Bob from NAFB here: RFA at NAFB

See more photos from the NAFB annual meeting and trade talk here:
NAFB Convention Photo Album

Audio, Ethanol, NAFB, RFA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Syngenta highlights its celebration of the company’s 10th anniversary by embarking on an ambitious program to feed 10,000 families in the United States.
  • The new DeLaval AMR will suit herds exceeding 300 cows, the first commercial rotaries will have a 90 cow/hour capacity, and up to five robots will simultaneously operate the system.
  • The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company announces that the Honorable Stephen L. Johnson, the former administrator of the U.S. EPA, has been named to its Board of Directors.
  • Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has provided funding allocations supporting more than 100 organizations’ efforts to help expand commercial markets for U.S. agricultural exports.
    Zimfo Bytes

    AgriSolutions Releasing AgManager Software Upgrade

    Cindy Zimmerman

    A popular agricultural accounting program is getting a face lift.

    AgriSolutions®, the developer of AgManager® accounting software, is announcing an exciting new release which includes many feature updates and a new, easy-to-use interface. These improvements further enhance the ability of agricultural producers to manage the demands of their modern farm businesses. The agricultural accounting experts at AgriSolutions Inc., of Brighton, Ill., will release the upgrade on the company’s website, www.agrisolutions.com, on November 17.

    AgManager®, an “old friend” to many farmers and ag accountants, is getting a new face and enhanced functionality, according to AgriSolutions Assistant Director of Operations Carolyn Roberts. The early leader in producers’ implementation of managerial accounting, this customized software comes packaged with individualized set up, technical support, live and online training, updates, and benchmarking. Expert management consultation is available to provide additional financial insight.

    “For U.S. farmers and their accountants, modern times demand modern tools. All types of ag producers today face tighter margins than in the past. Marketing techniques, from hedging to contract sales, add complexity to tracking costs and projecting potential income,” said Roberts. “It’s an ever-changing environment that calls for top-notch accounting software, and ongoing support to back it up.”

    New AgManager® features boost user-friendliness as farm accountants input transactions, monitor financial position and create reports, Roberts said. The software has a new menu structure that improves user navigation and adds “tool tips” which make it easier for new users to understand the menu options. There also are updated icons, a new calendar for easy date selection, and a new calculator that quickly updates amount fields and includes an electronic “tape.” All of these features are designed to make data entry and navigation much easier for the user.

    Read more here.

    Farming

    America’s Heartland Redesigns Website

    Cindy Zimmerman

    America’s Heartland has a new website using all the latest social networking tools.

    AmericaFor the first time since its successful launch in 2005 as the only nationally-broadcast television series celebrating American agriculture, America’s Heartland has completely re-designed its website (www.americasheartland.org) to offer easier access to streaming video, quick links to social networking sites, and other exciting new features. “This new website offers viewers an easy way to watch all of America’s Heartland content online,” said Michael Sanford, Vice-President of Content Creation at KVIE Public Television, which produces the series. “It’s a great option for viewers to enjoy and interact with the program beyond their broadcast viewing experience, and ideal for those unable to receive the series on traditional broadcast channels.”

    The new website offers visitors instant home page access to the half-hour episode airing each week in most public television markets and on the RFD-TV cable and satellite channel (www.rfdtv.com). They can also watch all other episodes produced so far this season. By clicking “Episodes” on the tool bar, every one of America’s Heartland’s 120-plus episodes can be seen dating back to season 1 (2005). Additionally, web users can find stories categorized by state or commodity.

    The site also offers home page access to social networking sites including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Flickr, where users can offer feedback, share video, or post their own images and a new comment feature that allows visitors to leave feedback directly on episode pages.

    America’s Heartland is produced by KVIE Public Television in Sacramento, with support from the Monsanto Company and the American Farm Bureau Federation. Additional production and promotion assistance is provided by the American Soybean Association, The National FFA Organization, National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Council, National Association of Wheat Growers, United Soybean Board and U.S. Grains Council.

    Media, Social Networking

    Fretwell Joins Farm Journal

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Farm Journal Media has acquired the syndicated radio show, Consumer Ag Connection from Fretwell Communications, and hired show founder and former NAFB president, Pam Fretwell, to head up the new position of Director of Industry Relations at Farm Journal Media.

    Farm Journal Media“Bringing Pam and her show into the Farm Journal Media family is a significant statement and addition to our advocacy efforts with the Farm Journal Agricultural Foundation and in kick-starting our new broadcast and Internet radio product line”, stated Andy Weber, CEO of Farm Journal Media. “Pam is an award-winning farm broadcaster and is both well-connected and well-known for her advocacy efforts on behalf of agriculture. Her values, experience and talent are a perfect fit, and she and her show lead us to a number of opportunities.”

    The Consumer Ag Connection show is distributed daily for 76 stations, providing a unique forum for exchange and a trusted communications bridge between the world of agriculture and consumers. In her new role, Fretwell will continue to host the show and tie it closely to the educational efforts of the Farm Journal Agricultural Foundation’s new initiative Farmers Feeding the World. Farm Journal Media looks to significantly expand the program’s programming and syndicated distribution. “This fits extremely well with our multi-media culture and Farm Journal’s history of advocacy for agriculture”, said Chuck Roth, Senior Vice President of Project Development at Farm Journal Media and a member of the Farm Journal Agricultural Foundation board of directors. “While Pam will report directly to me and focus on our advocacy efforts, she will also work very closely with Charlene Finck, and with our Internet and broadcast divisions to help integrate and expand radio into our portfolio.”

    Congratulations to both Pam and Farm Journal on this great partnership!

    Media

    Vilsack Non-Comments on GIPSA at NAFB

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was asked three times about some aspect of the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule during a press conference last week at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting meeting in Kansas City, and each time he said he could not comment specifically about the proposed rule during the comment period.

    But, he did make some remarks related to the proposed rule. Ron Hays of Oklahoma asked if there was a plan for evaluating the large number of comments being made on the issue – over 16,000 so far. Vilsack said that has not been discussed yet. “I didn’t think it was appropriate to have that conversation until the comment period was concluded so we know what the universe is and we can do an evaluation of the nature of the comments,” he said. “There’s a difference between 16,000 unique comments and 16,000 comments of which a substantial number of them are basically form letters.”

    In response to studies that have been released showing a significant negative economic impact if the rule is implemented, Vilsack again said he couldn’t comment, but expressed concern about the declining numbers of farmers and ranchers in the country. “In 1980, we had 660,000 pork producers. Today we have 71,000 – about a 90 percent reduction in pork producers. That same period we had 1.5 million cattle producers, today we have 950,00 – so we lost about a third. Ten years ago, we had 110,000 dairy producers – today we have about 60,000,” said Vilsack. “Is everybody satisfied with those trends?” With less than one percent of the population on the farm, Vilsack says if that trend continues, “Who are you all going to be broadcasting to?”

    The secretary says USDA has made the studies required for proposing the rule and he doesn’t want to make specific comments about anything until after the comment period ends on November 22.

    Listen to or download Vilsack’s GIPSA comments here: Vilsack GIPSA


    NAFB Convention Photo Album

    Audio, GIPSA, NAFB, USDA

    Burning The Midnight Oil

    Melissa Sandfort

    When I tell people where we live, I’ve actually had a couple folks ask if we had indoor plumbing. They picture rural Nebraska with outhouses and well water that we have to carry in with buckets. (We are on well water, but it has a pump and we have an operating sink!) We’ve come a long way since then, but it was about 1936 when southeast Nebraska got electricity and 1938 when my grandparents got rural electricity through REA.

    Until that time, Grandpa and his family used to burn kerosene (or coal oil) lanterns to do chores in the early morning hours or into the evening.

    To think, just last week my brother was harvesting corn across the road at 10 p.m. Equipped with lights and GPS, he could work through the night. I guess the combine was burning the midnight oil, so to speak, but back in the 30s, they literally had to burn oil to get any work done.

    Until we walk again…

    Uncategorized