Like peanuts? Consider taking a tour next year in Georgia. Here’s a recap of this year’s Georgia Peanut Tour.
The thirty-third annual Georgia Peanut Tour was held Sept. 17-19, 2019, in Cordele, Georgia, and the surrounding area. The tour brings the latest information on peanuts while giving a first-hand view of industry infrastructure from production and handling to processing and utilization.
You can see more about the tour on the Georgia Peanut Tour Blog.
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a hearing Thursday to hear from USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky regarding implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill.
“At the Secretary’s direction, our implementation cadence and priorities corresponded to the conditions testing the resilience of the American farmer,” Censky told the committee. He gave updates on implementation of the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Program, Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs, conservation programs and the Hemp Production Program in advance of the 2020 planting season.
Listen to his opening remarks below and read full testimony.
Senate Ag Hearing - USDA Deputy Steve Censky (5:14)The announcement out of EPA this week regarding the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) came up during the hearing. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) was first to ask about it. “I can just assure you directly from conversations with the president and the president is insistent that EPA administer this to make sure we achieve 15 billion gallons,” said Censky. Listen to that exchange:
Sen. Smith and USDA Deputy Censky - EPA RFS proposal (3:07)
During the World Food Prize activities this week in Des Moines, America’s Cultivation Corridor™ announced the launch of the Cultivo Global Ag Innovation Program™ for startup companies and entrepreneurs. The new program will bring international start-ups to Iowa for a 10-day immersion experience, training and networking.
“Iowa producers feed and fuel the world, making us the perfect host for the 2019 World Food Prize,” said Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. “We know that the solutions to global food security and sustainability challenges can only be solved by a combination of innovations, technologies and new practices developed by the best and brightest minds around the world. The Cultivo Global Ag Innovation Program is an exciting new opportunity to bring global entrepreneurs and innovators to Iowa to share their ideas and engage with world-renowned researchers, industry leaders and farmers.”
America’s Cultivation Corridor will host and coordinate the Cultivo Global Ag Innovation Program in partnership with its investors and supporting organizations.
America’s Cultivation Corridor is working to accelerate the development of new technologies to meet the challenge of feeding a growing world population in a sustainable way. Stakeholders include Iowa State University, Corteva Agriscience, Deere & Company, Greater Des Moines Partnership, Iowa Pork Producers, Kent Corporation, MidAmerican Energy Company, Ames Economic Development Corporation, Iowa Corn Promotion Board, Iowa Farm Bureau, ISG, Kemin, REG, Sukup Manufacturing, Sukup Manufacturing, Co., Summit Agriculture and Vermeer Corporation.
We couldn’t attend Sunbelt this year but thanks to their staff we’ve got this big announcement from the show this week.
Michael H. McDowell of Vernon Hill, Virginia has been selected as the overall winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award for 2019. He is a fourth generation Halifax County farmer and cattleman who grows mixed grass hay, annual hay, and alfalfa and raises award-winning registered Angus cattle. McDowell was named overall winner at the Willie B. Withers Luncheon held during the opening day of the 2019 Sunbelt Ag Expo farm show. He was chosen as Farmer of the Year over nine other state winners who were finalists for the award.
This is the thirtieth year for the Southeastern Farmer of the Year award. It recognizes excellence in agricultural production and farm management, along with leadership in farm and community organizations. The award also honors family contributions in producing safe and abundant supplies of food, fiber, and shelter products.
As the Southeastern Farmer of the Year, McDowell will receive a $15,000 cash award plus $2,500 as a state winner from Swisher International. He will also receive the use of a Massey Ferguson product for a year from Massey Ferguson North America, a $500 gift certificate from the Southern States cooperative, a Columbia jacket from Ivey’s Outdoor and Farm Supply, a smoker-grill from Hays LTI, and a Henry Repeating Arms American Farmer Tribute edition 22 rifle from Reinke Manufacturing Co., Inc., the irrigation company, through its partnership with Henry Repeating Arms.
The other state winners this year include: Hank Richardson of Centre, AL, Chris Isbell of England, AR, Charles Obern of Clewiston, FL, Robert L. Dickey of Musella, GA, Danny Cunningham of Murray, KY, Ted E. Parker of Seminary, MS, Johnny Wishon of Sparta, NC, Sidi Limehouse of Johns Island, SC, and Jerry Ray of Tullahoma, TN.
Read more in the release here.
Welcome to World Food Day 2019. This isn’t just a Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations event but they put a lot of effort into it. Let’s take for example their suggestions for farmers and agribusinesses to make diets healthier, available and affordable.
The women and men who work in agriculture play a vital role in providing nutritious, affordable food. Whether they work on small family farms or in small food enterprises, their decisions will help shape the future of food and nutrition. Their knowledge and traditional practices are vital in a world where food production faces many challenges such as climate change and limited natural resources. These actions are a starting point for farmers and agribusinesses who want to make healthy diets available and build a #ZeroHunger world.
If you have time to check it out, feel free to comment with your thoughts on their ideas. They also offer a variety of diet choices in their Take Action section. We all want to end hunger but it is a very complicated issue with no simple solution in my opinion.
Less than two weeks ago biofuels organizations and stakeholders were praising the Trump Administration agreement to promote biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Now that the details have been made public, not so much.
The notice released by EPA on Tuesday “does not change the proposed volumes for 2020 and 2021. Instead, it proposes and seeks comment on adjustments to the way that annual renewable fuel percentages are calculated.”
Specifically, the agency is seeking comment on projecting the volume of gasoline and diesel that will be exempt in 2020 due to small refinery exemptions based on a three-year average of the relief recommended by the Department of Energy (DOE), including where DOE had recommended partial exemptions. The agency intends to grant partial exemptions in appropriate circumstances when adjudicating 2020 exemption petitions. The agency proposes to use this value to adjust the way we calculate renewable fuel percentages.
“If the Oct. 4 announcement from EPA was a big step forward, today’s supplemental proposal is a step backward,” said Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Geoff Cooper. “It falls short of delivering on President Trump’s pledge to restore integrity to the Renewable Fuel Standard and leaves farmers, ethanol producers, and consumers with more questions than answers. It is baffling to us that the proposal sets the three-year average of exempted volume using the very same DOE recommendations that EPA blatantly ignored over and over.”
EPA proposal reaction from Geoff Cooper, RFAThe National Biodiesel Board (NBB) notes that the “supplemental notice contains a never-before-discussed proposal to estimate small refinery exemptions for 2020, with no assurance that the estimate will come close to actual future exemptions. The biodiesel industry does not believe the proposal meets President Donald Trump’s October 4 promise to American farmers and biodiesel producers.”
EPA proposal reaction from Kurt Kovarik, NBBAmerican Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings says the details of the plan fail to live up to the hype generated by the announcement. “The White House made it very clear on October 4 that in 2020 there would be at least 15 billion gallons of ethanol blending,” said Jennings. “This proposal and the approach they are taking to account for small refinery exemptions would absolutely NOT ensure that 15 billion gallons of ethanol gets blended in 2020.”
EPA proposal reaction from Brian Jennings, ACEEPA will hold a public hearing on Oct. 30, 2019 followed by a 30-day comment period from the date of the hearing to receive public input on these issues. The agency will finalize this action later this year.
