Farm Foundation to Hold Antimicrobial Stewardship Summit

John Davis

farmfoundationlogo3Antimicrobial stewardship is of vital interest to the livestock industry. That’s why our friends at Farm Foundation will hold a free, national summit highlighting policy, education and economic issues surrounding the stewardship of antimicrobial drug use in food-producing animals Jan. 20-21, 2016, in Washington, D.C.

A collaboration of Farm Foundation, NFP, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the Association of American Veterinary Medicine Colleges (AAVMC) and USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS), this summit will highlight the diverse issues involved in antimicrobial stewardship. Targeted to livestock producers, feed suppliers, veterinarians, academics and government agency staff, the summit is an opportunity to advance the conversation on the industry’s adaptation to the changing landscape of antimicrobial drug use.

The summit will include a report of findings compiled by Farm Foundation after conducting 12 workshops across the nation on new policies issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on use of antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals. The workshops were an opportunity for livestock producers, veterinarians and feed suppliers to broaden their understanding of the new policies, and for producers, veterinarians and feed suppliers to give feedback to FDA and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on the management challenges of the policy implementation. Sessions will focus on next steps for strengthening the judicious use of antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals.

The summit will also focus on how agriculture and the animal health community can be full partners with the human medical community in a fully integrated national action plan to reduce and mitigate antibiotic resistance. The basis of these discussions is a report, Addressing Antibiotic Resistance, issued in October 2015 by a joint task force of APLU and AAVMC.

Featured speakers include several federal agencies and producer groups, including USDA and the National Pork Producers Council.

More information is available here.

Ag Groups, Animal Health, Farm Foundation, Livestock

NCGA Action Team Talks Trade and Tech

Kelly Marshall

NCGA-Logo-3National Corn Grower’s Association‘s Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team met in St. Louis this month.  During their meeting the team reviewed policy for NCGA, discussed the progress of current programs and heard about upcoming challenges from others in the industry.

Using their combined knowledge of agriculture the team made new recomendations for the Coarn Board to use when shaping new policy.  The Action Team assessed issues like supporting ag exports, refuge requirements, and communications across the value-chain.

“It can begin to feel like farmer leaders spend a large amount of time participating in meetings for a variety of agricultural groups during the winter months,” said Team Chair John Linder, a farmer from Ohio. “Yet, as I have become increasingly involved, I have come to deeply appreciate the breadth and scope of the myriad issues facing farmers today. By developing teams with specialization in major areas of opportunity and taking the time to analyze the issues in a critical, thorough manner, we are able to most effectively provide input on how, in our area, the Corn Board can shape NCGA policy and, subsequently, maximize the effectiveness of farmer-funded market development and production activities.”

The meeting, held in conjunction with meetings for the other five action teams and committees, allowed the growers to dig into the specific policies listed in the portion of the strategic plan corresponding with their team’s focus area. Carefully debating the implications of any proposed changes, team members worked diligently to carefully craft a precise, well-constructed document for presentation to the Corn Board and, eventually, Corn Congress.

In addition to Linder, team members include Vice Chair Don Duvall of Illinois, Corn Board Liaison Kevin Ross of Iowa, Mike Beard of Indiana, Chris Edgington of Iowa, Janna Fritz of Michigan, Robert Hemesath of Iowa, Wayne Humphreys of Iowa, Jon Miller of Ohio, Jim Raben of Illinois, Jay Reiners of Nebraska, Chad Wetzel of Texas, Tim Wiersma of Minnesota and Patrick Pfingsten of the Indiana Corn Growers Association. NCGA staff in attendance included Director of Biotechnology and Crop Inputs Nathan Fields, Director of Public Policy Zach Kinne and Administrative Assistant Maggie Fogerty.

Ag Groups, NCGA

USFRA and Food52 Present “Day On the Farm” Video

Kelly Marshall

USFRA1America’s farms and ranches are as diverse as the men and women who run them.  The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) is now offering an online video series to introduce consumers to the farms and farmers who grow their food.  Created in collaboration with the popular online website Food52, there are four videos now live on the USFRA’s FoodDialogues.com website.

These videos highlight a produce farm raising GMO, conventional and organic crops, a cattle ranch challenged by the Californian drought, a pork producers specializing in day-one care, and a family dairy farm working 365 days a year to produce quality milk.

“More than ever, people are interested in learning how their food is grown and raised, but most don’t have an opportunity to hear directly from farmers and ranchers or to see food production in action,” said USFRA CEO Randy Krotz. “America’s farms and ranches are as diverse as the consumers who eat their food – and our goal is to show a variety of farming and ranching practices and the people at the forefront of these practices. USFRA is excited to partner with the Food52 community to bring food production to life.”

The video series highlights farmers and ranchers who share stories about how they personally manage common food production practices like antibiotics, GMOs, sustainability, and animal welfare while growing and raising food. The videos add to the library of educational resources that USFRA launched in 2014, entitled How To Farm, and now include:

A Day on a Produce Farm – (filmed with Don Cameron at Terranova Ranch in California)
A Day on a Dairy Farm – (filmed with Jessica and Stuart Ziehm at Tiashoke Farm in New York)
A Day on a Pig Farm – (filmed with Erin Brenneman and Thomas Titus at Brenneman Pork in Iowa)
A Day on a Cattle Ranch – (filmed with Kevin and June Kester at Bear Valley Ranch in California)

Ag Groups, USFRA, Video

AFBF and NCGA Comment on Year End Legislation

John Davis

uscapitolFarm groups are reacting to the omnibus spending bill that avoided a government shutdown. Just as it’s being touted as giving some to both Republicans and Democrats, the compromise deal has its ups and downs for agriculture, and Farm Bureau and the National Corn Growers Association have both weighed in on those ag ups and downs.

Farm Bureau officials are pleased the spending and tax extender bills will bring relief to America’s farmers and ranchers, but they are disappointed the Waters of the U.S. rule was not stopped.

“This tax extender package gives farmers and ranchers critical tools to help them reinvest in their businesses,” AFBF President Bob Stallman said. “Tax provisions like Section 179 small business expensing and bonus deprecation free up cash flow for farmers and ranchers to put their money to work. New provisions will let our members make important upgrades that reduce costs, increase efficiency and help make their businesses sustainable for generations to come.”

A provision to stop the EPA’s unlawful Waters of the U.S. rule was surprisingly missing from the package, as was language that would have set a nationwide standard for labeling of food containing genetically modified ingredients. Congress’s failure to act will bring the heavy cost of a patchwork of state labeling mandates to farmers and consumers as early as next month.

“We are truly disappointed that Congress did not include legislation to stop implementation of WOTUS,” Stallman said. “The courts have already expressed serious legal concerns about the rule, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office has concluded that EPA broke the law with its covert propaganda campaign to drum up ill-informed support for it.”

AFBF also supports omnibus provisions to repeal of country-of-origin labeling requirements, which would effectively prevent Canada and Mexico from initiating retaliatory actions.

NCGA also expressed its approval of the COOL provisions, but it was also disappointed in some of the overall bill’s holes, including the GMO and WOTUS provisions.

NCGA President Chip Bowling, a farmer from Maryland, issued the following statement:

“The FY16 Omnibus Appropriations Bill certainly serves Americans by providing stable funding for the government but, in some respects, it falls short for America’s farmers.

“Notably, corn farmers are pleased the Congress included language bringing the United States back into compliance with our WTO obligation by repealing COOL for beef and pork. U.S. livestock accounted for more than 38 percent of demand for our corn in 2015, and it is important that we will avoid the negative impacts on that and other corn markets which retaliation by Mexico and Canada would have brought about.

“Yet, overall, Congress placed great importance on further bolstering Big Oil at the expense of taking up issues of great importance for America’s farm families. From failing to preempt the pending patchwork of state-level GMO labeling laws to refusing to prohibit funding of Water of the U.S. implementation, rural America will face a darker new year as the future grows even brighter for oil industry interests.”

Read Cindy’s breakdown of what’s in and out of the spending bill for ag here.

AFBF, Ag Groups, NCGA, politics, Water

Farm Bureau’s “On the Farm Authors” Selected

John Davis

agfound-logoA dozen authors have been selected to learn more about life on the farm with the hope to turn those experiences into ways to help children learn more about agriculture. The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture says the 12 will receive a $1,500 stipend plus room, meals, tour transportation, event registration and all materials to attend the Jan. 7-10 event in Orlando, Florida.

The authors are Shennen Bersani, Massachusetts; Lisl Detlefsen, Wisconsin; Susan Grigsby, Missouri; Katie Irk, Indiana; Loreen Leedy, Florida; Lela Nargi, New York; Eric Ode, Washington state; Albert Monreal Quihuis, Arizona; Lizzy Rockwell, Connecticut; Michael Spradlin, Michigan; Peggy Thomas, New York; and Sandra Neil Wallace, New Hampshire.

The focus of the training will be life on cattle ranches. Exploring ways to effectively reach children with valuable information about food and nutrition will be a highlight.

The event will provide an open dialogue, with the opportunity for exploration and enriching creative time. Authors will tour farms and ranches, engaging in conversation and discussion panels with real farmers and ranchers. The experience will also provide an excellent opportunity to connect with the men and women involved in food production from across the nation at the American Farm Bureau’s Annual Convention. Authors will learn how to enrich their storytelling with the history and heritage of food production.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to attend the Foundation’s live announcement of its 2016 Book of the Year on Sunday, Jan. 10. Participating authors will be recognized at this event, with expected attendance of more than 2,000 families, educators and state literacy coordinators from across the country. Agricultural experience is not a requirement to participate in the training.

The program is funded by the Beef Checkoff Program.

AFBF, Ag Groups

What’s In and Out for Ag in Omnibus

Cindy Zimmerman

capitol-nightThe broad spending and tax legislation compromise unveiled by House Republicans Tuesday night includes some riders important to agriculture.

Perhaps the most important, the bill repeals mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for meat to prevent more than $1 billion in trade sanctions from Mexico and Canada approved last week by the WTO. “I’m pleased American agriculture and businesses will escape these tariffs,” said Senate Agriculture Committee chair Pat Roberts (R-KS). “House Agriculture Committee Chairman Conaway swiftly led the House to approve repeal, and now I hope the Senate can pass this legislation in time to avoid devastating tariffs. With passage, American farmers, ranchers and small businesses will finally get the certainty they deserve from unnecessary trade retaliation.”

According to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), the bill also blocks EPA overreach. “The bill contains no funding for new or expanded EPA programs, holding the agency to its lowest funding levels since 2008 and its lowest staffing levels since 1989.”

One provision that did not make it into the omnibus bill was anything pertaining to a federal labeling law to prevent states from requiring special labels for foods containing genetically modified crops. “The failure of Congress to act will result in enormous costs to the agriculture and food industry who work tirelessly to feed a growing world population,” said the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food in a statement. “A patchwork of state labeling laws will prove costly and confusing for consumers.”

The tax incentive extenders package, called the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015, also has provisions in it favorable for agriculture, including a permanent extension of the Section 179 provision and a five year extension of the bonus depreciation through 2019. “The Section 179 and bonus depreciation provisions are a big deal for soybean farmers because they encourage investment in our operations in the form of new equipment, infrastructure and other capital improvements,” said American Soybean Association president Richard Wilkins.

The PATH act also includes federal tax incentive extensions for advanced biofuels, biodiesel, wind and solar. Congress is expected to vote on the legislation by Friday.

ASA, Biofuels, Energy, Farming, GMO

AgChat Expands in the Western US

Kelly Marshall

AgChatThe third Wester Regional Agvacacy Conference will by hosted by the AgChat Foundation on February 19-20 in Reno, Nevada.  This event is expanding upon the efforts of the first two, held in Portland, Oregon and Spokane, Washington.  The AgChat Foundation provides high-quality training on advocacy to farmers and ranchers.  This upcoming session will continue to focus on delivering a broad array of sessions, creating stronger online relationships and improving consumer communication.

Attendees can expect the opportunity to learn from top agvocacy experts on topics such as planning farm-to-fork events, utilizing social media channels such as Instagram, Pinterest, and Periscope. Additionally, Emmy award winning director Conrad Weaver will provide instruction on the use of video in AgVocating. Conference participants will be able to view exciting clips from the new Thirsty Land film, which addresses drought conditions in the western U.S.

Register now, the early bird discount runs until January 20th, 2016. This will be the only sale offered.

“More than ever, farmers and ranchers in the west are facing water shortages and allocation, based on public perception. Sharing their stories accurately and authentically will assist in connecting consumers to the farm and a better understanding of the challenges they face,” says Jenny Schweigert, AgChat Foundation’s Executive Director.

This is a great opportunity for those wanting to learn to use social media platforms to tell their story and interact with consumers.  The conference will also provide new ideas and networking opportunities for those already involved in the efforts.

Ag Groups, Events

Merger Leads to Executive Changes at DuPont

Cindy Zimmerman

DuPont logoDuPont has announced several executive leadership changes as a result of last week’s confirmed merger with Dow.

James C. Collins, executive vice president, will lead the DuPont Agriculture business segment. Marc Doyle has been named executive vice president and will lead the Electronics & Communications, Industrial Biosciences, Nutrition & Health, Performance Materials and Safety & Protection business segments.

Richard C. Olson has been named senior vice president – Corporate Services and will assume responsibility for the Safety, Health & Environment, Operational Excellence, Facility Services & Real Estate, Sourcing & Logistics and Information Technology functions. Douglas Muzyka, senior vice president and chief science and technology officer, adds responsibility for Engineering Technologies and the company’s regional leadership.

In addition to the leadership changes, James C. Borel, executive vice president and Gary W. Spitzer, senior vice president, Integrated Operations and Engineering have elected to retire following 36 years of service with DuPont, respectively, effective in early 2016.

Agribusiness

USDA Stops Payments to Managers Not Engaged in Farming

John Davis

USDAThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making sure farm safety-net payments are issued only to active managers of farms that operate as joint ventures or general partnerships. The move, exempting family farm operations, closes a loophole where individuals who were not actively part of farm management still received payments.

“The federal farm safety-net programs are designed to protect against unanticipated changes in the marketplace for those who actively share in the risk of that farming operation,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “To ensure that help goes to those who genuinely need it, such as America’s farm families, the Farm Bill authorized USDA to close a loophole and limit payments from those not involved on a daily basis in nonfamily farm management.”

Since 1987, the broad definition of “actively engaged” resulted in some general partnerships and joint ventures adding managers to the farming operation, qualifying for more payments, that did not substantially contribute to management. The rule applies to operations seeking more than one farm manager, and requires measureable, documented hours and key management activities each year. Some operations of certain sizes and complexity may be allowed up to three qualifying managers under limited conditions. The changes apply to payments for 2016 and subsequent crop years for Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) Programs, Loan Deficiency Payments (LDP) and Marketing Loan Gains (MLG) realized via the Marketing Assistance Loan program.

The changes go into effect for the 2016 crop year for most farms.

USDA