The American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA) is putting the finishing touches on this year’s Summer Education Week (SEW). This event, scheduled for June 22-July 2 in Des Moines, Iowa, will offer education of licensure, accreditations and continuing education for farm managers, rural appraisers, consultants and agriculture students.
In addition to professional development seminars and courses, the week will also include many opportunities for networking, as well as program for young professionals.
“Summer Education Week is a great time for new members to develop professional friendships and take the required education classes for their accreditation,” says Corey Prins, ASFMRA management and consulting education committee chairman. “For the seasoned professional, it’s an opportunity to network and learn more about the latest trends in our industry.”
This year features newly redesigned curriculum for those taking classes for accreditation. The new courses are relevant to today’s agriculture, assures Skye Root, CFA, ASFMRA instructor.
For those looking to keep current the program will offer specialized management courses and programs for appraising rural residential properties, natural resources and poultry facilities. Attendees can also expect to learn about weather outlooks, ag markets and technology and data management. It also includes a tour of Iowa State University’s biomass research facility.
To learn more about the SEW schedule and to register, please visit http://www.asfmra.org/sew.
The results of a new national poll released this week reveal that nearly 90 percent of Americans have a favorable view of farmers, and 92 percent feel it is important to provide them with federal funding. Positive marks from respondents also cut across party lines, showing that a strong farm policy is a bipartisan issue.
The public opinion poll was administered as a phone survey of 1,000 registered voters. The poll was commissioned by the National Crop Insurance Services, and was conducted April 3-7. The poll’s margin of error is 3.1 percent. The results are available online here.
“Americans overwhelmingly like farmers and support the programs that protect them,” explained Jon McHenry, vice president of North Star Opinion Research, the polling firm that explored the general public’s views on farmers, farm policy and crop insurance. “This response is not surprising when you consider that eight in 10 voters believe a vibrant agricultural industry was critical to the country’s national security.”
More than 70 percent of respondents said they believed farmers should help fund part of their own safety net. This cost-sharing structure is at the heart of America’s crop insurance policy, with farmers paying a portion of their insurance premiums and shouldering, on average, 25 percent of crop losses through deductibles.
Nearly 80 percent of respondents support giving farmers discounts on insurance premiums, and the vast majority agreed with the current premium and deductible amounts absorbed by farmers.
Support for farm policy and crop insurance continued to remain high even when poll respondents were read a misleading statement often used by farm policy’s critics.
“In a question providing both sides, the security argument in favor of protecting farms wins by a two-to-one margin over the argument used by farm policy opponents,” McHenry said.
After a brief excursion to enjoy the mountains in Georgia last year, the 2016 Southern Peanut Growers Conference is back on the Gulf Coast at a new location – Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Miramar Beach, Florida.
The 18th annual event will be held July 21-23, with sessions on peanut production, legislative issues, marketing and promotion. In addition to the conference sessions, the event focuses on the family by offering a ladies program and a golf tournament. Registration is now open – both online and by printed form.
Sponsorship opportunities for this great event are still available. If you’re looking for the best place to promote your company’s products and services to the southern peanut growing industry, this is the place to be. Join us!
Top business and industry leaders from Florida, New York, and Israel convened this week in West Palm Beach for the inaugural Palm Beach International Agricultural Summit, an event designed to raise awareness about the county’s $1.41 billion ag industry, address modern farming and its role in advancing Florida’s economy and quality of life. The Summit was presented by the Economic Council of Palm Beach County (ECPBC) and co-hosted by the Florida Chamber Foundation and Palm Beach County. More than 1000 people were in attendance.
ECPBC Chair Wendy S. Link, and Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam both gave speeches to open the event, and a series of sessions featuring an impressive roster of speakers followed immediately. Speakers included Temperince Morgan of The Nature Conservancy; Cory Reed of John Deere; Wells Fargo Chief Agricultural Economist Michael Swanson; and Shabtai Cohen, Ph.D., from the Volcani Center, who shared some of Israel’s farming innovations.
“Our key objectives were to educate the public about the county’s agriculture industry, which ranks among the top ten highest counties for agricultural revenue in the nation, and help foster a network of agricultural and non-agricultural businesses to advance the economy,” said Link. “Through this sold-out event we accomplished our goal and hopefully inspired the next gen of farmers through our engaging educational component.”
More than 300 elementary and high school students from throughout Palm Beach County were also in attendance and engaged in several different hands-on activities and breakout sessions with industry leaders. Younger students learned about the importance of agriculture through eight interactive stations on topics including hydroponics, advanced robotics, and the importance of pollinator health, and Justin Timineri, Chef for the Florida Department of Agriculture’s “Fresh from Florida” program, helped students create their own personal parfaits. A teen program called Growing our Futures addressed certification and degree requirements for various positions in the agriculture industry, including a rising demand for drone pilots.
Fabiola Brumley, chair of the summit and Palm Beach County market president for Bank of America, closed out the day with exciting news on how the bank is investing in green bonds and agtech.
“Farming is such a critically important industry for the state,” Brumley said. “It’s prudent and responsible to address the opportunities, challenges and changing technologies inherent in farming today so we can set the stage for agriculture to thrive and meet the demand for food around the world.”
Earlier this week, three Farm Bureau members testified before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry regarding the involvement of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the ongoing Chesapeake Bay cleanup. Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Richard Ebert, former Ohio Farm Bureau President Terry McClure, and Florida Farm Bureau member Kate English, all testified before the subcommittee that they believe the EPA has failed to explain its expectations in the cleanup, and stated concerns that the organization is spreading false information about farming.
“Despite my four-year degree in animal science from a well-known and respected university and 34 years of farming while implementing modern technologies, I don’t understand EPA’s science,” Ebert said. “And no farmer can legitimately comprehend and respond to the reams of academic analyses that have been produced through these meetings and continue to perform the tasks needed to run his or her farm business.”
McClure noted that Ohio farmers work hard to reduce runoff of excess phosphorous and nitrogen from their farms.
“Farmers have invested tens of millions of dollars of their own money in establishing conservation practices on their farms,” McClure said. “Between 2006 and 2012, they have voluntarily reduced phosphorous applications in the Western Lake Erie Basin by more than 13 million pounds. As farmers are stepping up to implement conservation practices now, they are committed to finding additional solutions in the future.”
The controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which was finalized last May despite vehement opposition from the agriculture industry, was also brought up during testimony.
“The rule not only expands the regulatory footprint for farming and increases the uncertainty we battle daily, but it also lacks peer-reviewed sound science,” English said. “These regulations appear instead to be based on public opinion and social media trends rather than facts and science. The result is a highly unpredictable regulatory environment and uncontrolled costs when faced with compliance based on a moving target rather than a rational, science-based goal.”
Testimony of Richard Ebert
Testimony of Terry McClure
Testimony of Kate English
Rogue Ales is celebrating all 7,140,289 of their honeybees with the release of two new products, Honey Kolsch and Marionberry Braggot. Both are made with honey foraged from Rogue Farms spring nectar sources including marionberry, cherry, jalapeño, cucumber, pumpkins and wildflower blossoms. This spring’s honey harvest brought its own unique flavor, and it is highlighted in both beer and braggot.
On a typical day, each Rogue Farms honeybee visits up to 1,500 flowers, gathering nectar and pollinating blossoms. Bees are a vital player in the pollination of Rogue’s proprietary palette of ingredients, as well as a vital player in maintaining the health of the food supply through their pollination of approximately one-third of the foods we eat.
“We wouldn’t be farmers without bees,” said Rogue Ales President Brett Joyce. “Pollinating everything from our marionberries to our pumpkins, and collecting nectar for our honey, our bees are the life force of Rogue Farms.”
Honey Kolsch and Marionberry Braggot will be available this June. Honey Kolsch was awarded the 2015 Best in Show at the National Honey Board’s Honey Beer Competition and will be available in 22 oz serigraphed bottles, in 12 oz bottles and on draft. Marionberry Braggot comes in 750 ml painted bottles and on draft. More information about Growing the Revolution is available here.
This week I visit with Mark Poeschl, incoming CEO of the National FFA Organization and Foundation. Mark officially takes over the position August 1.
Mark comes from a strong farm background and he has some significant experience in agribusiness, including on the global level. He has also been very involved in FFA.
Poeschl, a former FFA member and past state FFA president from Nebraska, brings strong business, customer service, financial, IT and global perspectives to the organization. He currently serves as vice president, group director, stakeholder engagement at Cargill, Inc., Cargill Animal Nutrition.
One of the challenges in agricultural education he sees is the need to attract and retain top quality high school ag teachers. He says there is a real shortage in that area. He wants to stress how important a role that position plays in the development of young people understanding and deciding on agricultural careers.
Learn more about Mark in this week’s ZimmCast: ZimmCast with Mark Poeschl, National FFA
Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has made $130 million available for research, education, and extension projects to support sustainable, productive and economically viable plant and animal production systems, including organic production. Funding comes through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Foundational Program and the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
“Investing in agricultural research ensures that our farmers and ranchers have innovative, safe and sustainable management practices to meet the food needs of the rising world population,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “In addition, studies have shown that every dollar invested in agricultural research now returns over $20 to our economy.”
This round of funding is offered through the AFRI Foundational Program, which funds projects that continue building a foundation of knowledge in fundamental and applied food and agricultural sciences. The Foundational Program addresses six priority areas of the 2014 Farm Bill, with various amounts of funding allocated to each priority area. Funding for 2016 is allocated as follows plant health and production and plant products, $33 million; animal health and production and animal products, $31 million; food safety, nutrition and health, $19 million; bioenergy, natural resources and environment, $14 million; agriculture systems and technology, $11 million; and agriculture economics and rural communities, $17 million.
This request for application (RFA) also includes research topics proposed to be funded equally by eligible national and state commodity boards and NIFA, as authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. Commodity board priority topics include those proposed for the plant breeding for agricultural production program area, improving the food safety program area, as well as $3 million for the Critical Agriculture Research and Extension (CARE) program area.
Additionally, $2 million in funding is available for the Exploratory Research Program (ERP) for those working to address critical and emerging issue. NIFA is also piloting a “Distributed Peer Review” process to improve peer review efficiencies.
Application submission deadlines vary by program.
Misdirection may work well for magicians, but the Agricultural Retailers Association has not been distracted by the Occupational Health Safety Administration’s latest antics. The organization is responding to OSHA’s attempt to enforce rules on farm supply retailers before the rules have even been written. On May 6 the ARA sent a letter to Congress and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to express their concern with this practice.
“Apparently, OSHA has come to the conclusion that rulemaking is necessary,” said Daren Coppock, President and CEO of the Agricultural Retailers Association. “But the agency still clearly indicates it intends to commence enforcement of the PSM standard on agricultural retailers beginning October 1, 2016, even though, by its own admission in a letter to the D.C. Circuit Court, the rulemaking may take as long as five years.”
OSHA issued a memo July 22, 2015, that reinterpreted the long-standing “retail exemption” to PSM and gave agricultural retailers just six months to comply with the complex and time-intensive regulation. Since then, OSHA has insisted — even in testimony to Congress — that rulemaking was unnecessary and it acted appropriately when the agency abruptly changed its guidance on PSM. Now, OSHA has told Congress and the Courts to look the other way as it improperly enforces PSM until rulemaking is completed.
“The agency is, in effect, hoping Congress and the federal judiciary are distracted by the rulemaking while it continues to violate the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act and the Administrative Procedures Act by imposing an unlawful regulation that has not completed rulemaking procedures,” Coppock said.
The letter asked members of Congress to hold OSHA accountable and to force them to follow proper notice-and-comment rule making procedures. “Surely the Congress does not intend to give regulatory agencies the authority to change their regulations on a whim and then complete the necessary rulemaking procedures years after commencing enforcement,” the letter states.
ARA is asking Congress to pass H.R. 5213, the recently introduced Fertilizer Access and Responsible Management (FARM) Act, or pass the 2017 fiscal appropriates bills with language which would prevent OSHA from enforcing these standards on ag retailers. ARA is hopeful Congress will see through OSHA’s misinformation and put an end to this show.
