AFBF Young Farmer and Rancher Awards

Cindy Zimmerman January 13, 2015

Winners of the Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award, Discussion Meet and Excellence in Agriculture competitions were announced at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 96th Annual Convention Monday.

Chris and Rebekah Pierce of Kentucky won the Achievement Award, recognizes young farmers and ranchers who have excelled in their farming or ranching operations and exhibited superior leadership abilities. They are the winners of either a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado or 2015 GMC Sierra, courtesy of GM. They will also receive paid registration to attend the 2015 FUSION Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, in February.

Sean Arians of Illinois won the Discussion Meet. He will have his choice of either a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado or a 2015 GMC Sierra, courtesy of GM, plus free registration to the 2015 FUSION Conference. The Discussion Meet simulates a committee meeting in which active discussion and participation are expected. Participants are evaluated on their ability to exchange ideas and information on a predetermined topic.

Paul and Ruth Lanoue of Minnesota won the Excellence in Agriculture Award, which recognizes young farmers and ranchers who do not derive the majority of their income from an agricultural operation, but who actively contribute and grow through their involvement in agriculture, their leadership ability and participation in Farm Bureau and other organizations. They will receive their choice of either a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado or 2015 GMC Sierra, courtesy of GM, plus free registration to the 2015 FUSION Conference.

Congrats to all those who are the future of the agriculture industry!

2015 AFBF Convention photo album

AFBF

FDA Official Provides Update at AFBF

Cindy Zimmerman January 13, 2015

Food and Drug Administration Deputy Commissioner Mike Taylor provided an update on the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) at the American Farm Bureau convention this week in San Diego.

Taylor says his agency is focusing on three broad themes in implementing the 2011 law: the farm-to-table approach, practical common standards, and holding imports to the same standards as domestically produced foods. “We issued proposed regulations starting in January of 2013 and we’ll be issuing final regulations later this year and early 2016 and this will provide a common set of standards that we know work,” he said, noting that Farm Bureau has been very helpful in providing comments to help develop the regulations.

Listen to my interview with Taylor here: Interview with FDA Deputy Commissioner Mike Taylor at AFBF

2015 AFBF Convention photo album

AFBF, Audio, Food

Ag is Target for Guest Worker Audits

Cindy Zimmerman January 13, 2015

Agriculture has a target on its back when it comes to compliance with guest worker regulations, according to Eileen Scofield an immigration law attorney who held a workshop at the American Farm Bureau annual meeting this week.

“Currently there’s three agencies that focus on employers but for ag in particular there’s about five or six other separate laws which are a very big focus of the Department of Labor,” she said.

Scofield recommends that agricultural employers have a very simple, one page policy and take it very seriously. “Also, have a go-to person, a czar, so you know what is happening,” she said.

Scofield believes reform of agricultural immigration laws would be relatively easy to do compared to more comprehensive reform. “We’ve had 25 years of trying to do comprehensive which has never passed … I think it makes more sense to separate certain industries and ag is the best because it already has separate immigration laws,” she said. “To me it’s a simple carve off because it’s deemed a critical infrastructure industry but we’re not able to give it the critical workers it needs to operate.”

Listen to my interview with Eileen here: Interview with immigration attorney Eileen Scofield at AFBF

2015 AFBF Convention photo album

AFBF, Audio, labor

2015 IFAJ Congress Australian Pre-Tour

Chuck Zimmerman January 13, 2015

If you are thinking about going to this year’s International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress in New Zealand then you might want to leave a little early and stop in Australia. The Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists is joining with the Rural Press Club of Queensland to put together an enticing pre-congress tour.

There will be a welcome gathering on the evening of October 8 followed by three action packed days which will include visits to the World Heritage Daintree rainforest and the iconic Great Barrier Reef. The group will then fly to Sydney on October 12 for a leisurely evening before crossing to New Zealand the next day for the 2015 IFAJ Congress.

The Cairns organising committee is already working hard to offer delegates an unforgettable experience. The team is headed by new Australian president Genevieve McAulay and vice president Peter Lewis. Other members providing local knowledge include Gordon Collie, Carolyn Martin and Stacey Milner from Queensland, Australia’s IFAJ delegate Leigh Radford and former IFAJ delegate Liz Harfull.

Follow Cairns pre tour developments here www.acaj.org.au/Cairns.

Join our email list via the website for regular updates or email queries to ifajcairns2015(at)outlook.com.

For more information about the 2015 World Congress in New Zealand from October 14 to 18, visit www.congress2015.co.nz.

IFAJ, International, Media

Nufarm Cotton Plant Regulators

Chuck Zimmerman January 12, 2015

With a little help from Tony St. James, All Ag All Day, we get to learn more about some of the products that Nufarm is bringing to the cotton market. Tony sat down with Dr. Bob Bruss during the 2015 Beltwide Cotton Conferences.

Since they were talking cotton the subject of plant growth regulators was of primary importance. Bruss says Nufarm has quite a portfolio of cotton growth regulators which includes a number of harvest aids for the end of the season like Super Boll, CottonQuik, FreeFall, CutOut and a new product coming out this year called Terminate. You can hear about the differences and strengths of these products in Tony’s interview.

Listen to Tony’s interview with Dr. Bruss here: Interview with Dr. Bob Bruss

You can find photos from the opening day of the conferences here: 2015 Beltwide Cotton Conferences

Coverage of the Beltwide Cotton Conference is sponsored by

Agribusiness, Audio, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton, Nufarm

Agri-Pulse Names New Associate Editor

Jamie Johansen January 12, 2015

Agri-Pulse is pleased to announce the appointment of Whitney Forman-Cook as an associate editor, based in Washington, D.C., effective Jan. 5.

“We are very excited to have someone with Whitney’s education and diverse background join us full-time in Washington,” said Sara Wyant, Agri-Pulse Editor and Publisher. “Whitney’s work with farm bill implementation, conservation, environmental issues, sustainability, global affairs and community development provide a wealth of knowledge upon which she can draw in covering ag and rural policy issues on Capitol Hill.”

Forman-Cook most recently served as a conservation partnership intern with The Nature Conservancy. Previously, she researched the effects of timber harvesting regulations in New York State, and consulted as a writer for the United Nations and various international and domestic non-profits on topics related to agriculture, conservation and sustainable development.

A native of Michigan with a bachelor’s of arts from Michigan State University, Forman-Cook also earned a Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University and a Master of Science degree from The State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She currently lives in Washington, D.C.

Agri-Pulse, Agribusiness

Navy Seal Thanks Farmers and Ranchers

Cindy Zimmerman January 12, 2015

Navy Seal Commander Rorke Denver, author of “Damn Few,” drew a connection between agricultural and military warriors in his keynote address before the 96th annual American Farm Bureau convention in San Diego.

“When people are hungry, they go to war,” said Denver. “So, here’s the deal, if you do your job, I don’t have to do my job.

Denver says another connection between farmers and the military is that “everybody tries to tell us how to do our job, very few of whom actually do the job.”

The Navy Seal gave an entertaining and somewhat sobering look at the training involved to become a Seal and concluded by saying that when he travels in uniform he is frequently thanked for his service to our country, so he took the opportunity to sincerely thank farmers and ranchers for what they do.

Navy Seal Rorke Denver at AFBF

2015 AFBF Convention photo album

AFBF, Audio

AFBF President Surprises Vilsack with Branding Iron

Cindy Zimmerman January 12, 2015

American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman presented Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack with a special gift Monday to recognize his support of farmers and ranchers.

Noting that a Texas cowboy phrase denoting loyalty to the ranch is “ride for the brand,” Stallman gave Vilsack a specially-made “US AG” branding iron. “Mr. Secretary, thank you for riding for the brand for US AG,” he said.

Visibly moved by the gift, Visack said the branding iron would have a special place in his office. “I had, until today, one acknowledgement that I always valued … a Patriot’s Award given to me by the National Guard when I left the governorship of Iowa,” he said. “This brand will go right next to that Patriot Award and be in my office for as long as I live.”

Listen to the secretary’s comments at the AFBF general session here: Vilsack at AFBF on stage

Vilsack held a wide-ranging press conference after his appearance at the general session, talking first about the sign-up progress for the Dairy Margin Protection Program announced today. He was asked about trade issues, COOL, farm bill implementation, food stamps, and much more. Vilsack press conference at AFBF

2015 AFBF Convention photo album

AFBF, Audio, USDA

USTR Ag Negotiator Visits AFBF Convention

Cindy Zimmerman January 12, 2015

Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the US Trade Representative Darci Vetter made an informal appearance at the American Farm Bureau annual meeting in San Diego Sunday and stopped to answer a few trade related questions from the media.

First, Ambassador Vetter was asked about the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations and Japan’s desire to exempt a variety of agricultural products from the agreement. “We continue to work very hard with both with our Japanese partners and others to find a way forward that will bring real value to U.S. ag,” she said.

Vetter says she is hopeful that Congress will get trade promotion authority approved this year. “We’re very encouraged by statements made by both the new House and Senate leadership about moving TPA forward,” said Vetter.

She talked about what the next steps have to be for more normalized trade with Cuba. “Certain restrictions on the financing of products from Cuba have been lifted to make it easier for us to do business with them, but Congress of course has to fully lift the embargo to move forward.”

She also commented on moving U.S. beef into China and dealing with approval of biotech traits.

Listen to it here: Media gaggle with USTR Darci Vetter

2015 AFBF Convention photo album

AFBF, Audio, Trade

Farm Bureau Town Hall with Secretary Vilsack

Cindy Zimmerman January 12, 2015

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack held an informal town hall-style meeting with members of the American Farm Bureau on the floor of the IDEAg trade show Sunday in San Diego.

On a circular stage with AFBF president Bob Stallman, Vilsack took questions from members on a variety of topics, including the proposed Waters of the US rule, transportation, trade, and biofuels.

The biggest laugh of the event came when a South Dakota farmer, referring to WOTUS, asked the secretary “What can USDA do to instill some commonsense in the regulatory process?”

“This is a really important question, one that I grapple with all the time,” said Vilsack. “There’s an expectation that USDA can impose commonsense on other agencies, and that’s just not the way it works.” The best they can do is educate “sister agencies” about the impact of regulations on agriculture.

Listen to the town hall here: Secretary Vilsack at AFBF Town Hall meeting
2015 AFBF Convention photo album

AFBF, Audio, USDA

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