April 14, 2010
www.gfb.org
Vol. 28 No. 15
GEORGIA FARM BUREAU REQUESTS REFINEMENTS TO BCAP PROGRAM
Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall last week submitted comments to the Farm Service Agency (FSA) suggesting changes in the way BCAP is implemented to ensure that landowners and producers of biomass materials receive a more significant portion of the funds from the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). In a letter to Robert Stephenson, director of the USDA’s Conservation and Environmental Programs Division (CEPD), Duvall said BCAP is a valuable resource for GFB members who want to participate in the business of developing alternative fuels, but he expressed several concerns over the BCAP program, which was funded under the 2008 farm bill and intended to help agricultural and forest landowners with collection, harvest, storage and transportation of eligible material for use in biomass conversion facilities. Duvall said most landowners and agricultural producers are unaware of the BCAP program and are not receiving most of the BCAP payments issued in Georgia. To remedy this, he suggested that the FSA launch a more intensive educational program at the local level to ensure that landowners and producers are aware of BCAP options before they decide how to approach removal of eligible biomass materials. He expressed concerns that the BCAP payments are artificially reducing market prices for biomass materials, allowing providers to sell at a reduced rate, saying, “A lower market price tends to reduce landowner incentives to provide biomass materials exactly opposite from what Congress intended.” Noting reports of questionable activities involving the BCAP program, Duvall communicated GFB’s support of strong enforcement efforts to prevent abuses of the program. He also shared the concern of GFB membership over some of the items on the BCAP eligible materials list. By the program’s design, materials with higher value in other market sectors are to be excluded from BCAP payments. Duvall said that some items listed as eligible should actually be excluded under that criteria, specifically bark, a principle ingredient in potting soils and thus crucial to the horticulture industry, which was included on the eligible materials list. Duvall asked that bark be excluded from the eligible items list, arguing that extensive sales of bark for biomass use under the BCAP program might result in shortages that would cause economic harm to the horticulture industry.
Leadership Alert page 2 of 4
NORTH CAROLINA JUDGE DENIES RESTRAINING ORDER IN H-2A CASE The H-2A rules implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) effective on March 15 will remain in force after U.S. District Court Judge William Osteen denied a request by the North Carolina Growers Association (NCGA) and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) for a temporary restraining order. The NCGA and AFBF filed a lawsuit requesting the restraining order on March 12. Farm Bureau has maintained that the new H-2A rule will be too difficult and costly for growers to use as a viable tool to access the workers they need. The H-2A program allows agricultural employers to obtain visas for seasonal workers from another country when there are insufficient domestic workers. At issue are the wage and recruitment requirements employers must meet in order to use migrant workers. For example, H-2A employers were required to apply for the program before conducting their recruitment for needed workers. Producers are concerned that delays in approval might result in fewer available workers and potential crop losses. In late 2008, the Labor Department under President Bush made changes to the rules that Farm Bureau contends made them more useful to agricultural operations, but those changes lasted less than a year before the DOL under President Obama reinstated the previous set of rules. Visit http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/h-2a.cfm for more information about the H2A requirements. PEANUT BUTTER FOR HAITI SEEKS $9,000 IN DONATIONS Peanut Butter for Haiti is seeking $9,000 in donations by the end of April to completely fill an eighth truckload of peanut butter and peanut products that will be shipped to victims of the January earthquake. Tax-deductible contributions may be sent to Early County 2055, Peanut Butter for Haiti, P.O. Box 725, Blakely, GA 39823. Checks should be made payable to Early County 2055 and designated Peanut Butter for Haiti. Birdsong Peanuts Logistics Manager Sally Wells, who has coordinated procuring and distributing the peanut butter donations, recently traveled to Haiti with a delegation of Georgia peanut and agricultural experts. Upon her return she said, “I am more convinced than ever that the Peanut Butter for Haiti project is the best thing we could do to help their immediate food crisis.” Early County 2055, a non-profit organization based in Blakely, initiated Peanut Butter for Haiti. The project expanded as numerous peanut organizations including the Georgia Peanut Commission, the National Peanut Buying Points Association, Birdsong Peanuts and Golden Peanut Company offered their support. The J.M. Smucker Company and John B. Sanfilippo & Sons have donated peanut butter to the project, and cash donations are being used to buy peanut butter at cost from Tara Foods and ConAgra. Georgia Farm Bureau and its county offices donated $16,000 to Peanut Butter for Haiti, which purchased 17,777 pounds of peanut butter or 248,888 servings of peanut butter. To date, Peanut Butter for Haiti has shipped seven truckloads or about 246,000 pounds of peanut butter and peanut products to the Caribbean nation.
Leadership Alert page 3 of 4
PETERSON BEGINS WORK ON 2012 FARM BILL Changing the USDA’s crop insurance program and price supports are two major initiatives House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) said are under consideration as the committee begins work on the 2012 farm bill. With more than two years left on the 2008 farm bill, which expires in November 2012, Peterson is advancing the timeline on the development of the farm bill, which provides rules and funding for a variety of government programs related to agriculture. Peterson said he has already started because past farm bills have been late gaining approval. “I think we have to do it or someone else will do it for us, someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing,” Peterson said in published reports. “There are a lot of people out there that don’t like the farm bill, so we’re going to take a look at it. Whether we can convince people to change, we’ll see. But we’re going to try.” Peterson is proposing changing crop insurance to a whole farm program, which he said would alleviate some of the expenses in the USDA’s current crop insurance program that covers approximately 400 different crops and is expensive to implement both for growers and the government. The whole farm system, he said, would make the most of what are expected to be limited funds allocated under the 2012 farm bill. The price supports, Peterson said, are too low, and he wants to implement a system where crop losses due to natural causes and price losses due to economic factors are taken into account. Peterson intends to pitch his proposals during May and June, then start formal hearings on the 2012 farm bill by the end of 2011. FSA TO GET TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last month that the Farm Service Agency (FSA) will receive upgrades to its technology that he said will improve the delivery of the agency’s services to agricultural producers. The USDA held a series of listening sessions around the country last fall about the FSA’s program delivery system, including one in Tifton, where growers expressed frustration with the agency’s computer system and the Web site, which producers use to apply for programs. They said the Web site was a convenience, but it was not userfriendly and does not always have up-to-date account information available. The USDA awarded a $500 million contract to SRA International of Fairfax, Va., to develop the new software platform, which was given the acronym MIDAS (Modernize and Innovate the Delivery of Agricultural Systems) and will be employed at more than 2,200 FSA offices across the country. SRA is an IT consulting firm that has implemented systems in a variety of government agencies. The USDA said in a press release that the purpose of MIDAS is to streamline farm program business processes, rapidly implement new farm programs, move to modern, reliable technology platforms and improve access and convenience for producers, ranchers and farmers. The MIDAS program will be paid for in part by funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.
Leadership Alert page 4 of 4 UPCOMING EVENTS ANTIQUE TRACTOR SHOW April 17 Calhoun Produce 5075 Hawpond Rd. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Ashburn The Triple River Old Iron and Alapahoochee Historic Farm Heritage tractor clubs will display their tractors and invite anyone with an antique tractor to bring theirs. The public is invited to come see the tractors, take a wagon ride to see the farm animals or pick strawberries. Lunch and assorted strawberry desserts will be sold at the Calhoun Produce deli counter. Call 229-273-1887 for more information. GA HEIFER EVALUATION & REPRODUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT (HERD) SALE April 20 Tifton Bull Evaluation Center Irwinville Sale begins at 12:30 p.m. Contact Dr. Robert Stewart via e-mail at rstewart @uga.edu or Patsie T. Cannon by calling 229-386-3683. UGA BEEF CATTLE FIELD DAY Apr. 21 Georgia Mountain Research and Education Center Blairsville Registration starts at 9 a.m. The field day ends at 3 p.m. This free event offers Georgia cattlemen up-todate research-based information. Josh White of the Georgia Cattlemen's Association will give an update during lunch. The field day is sponsored by AgGeorgia Farm Credit and Southeastern Farmers Co-op. For information, call 706-745-2655. GA SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION COMMISSION FIELD DAY April 22 Jerry West Farm Meigs This event offers participants a look at best management practices for agricultural water quality and conservation. A variety of topics will be addressed, including use of buffer fences, irrigation and water metering, and pesticide use. For more information, contact Jonathan Hall at 912-384-4811, ext. 123 or jhall@gaswcc.org. 12TH ANNUAL GEORGIA STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL April 23 & 24 Reynolds Visitors will be able to have dinner in the park with menu selections provided by local civic clubs, live music, the strawberry parade, arts and crafts displays, a cookoff and more. For information, visit www.gastrawberry.org or call 478-847-5301. 11th ANNUAL MULE DAY April 24 Panhandle Mule Farm Reynolds The heritage of breaking land comes to life at this free event, which starts at 9 a.m. Event includes mule and tractor plowing, a display of antique farm implements and a milking demonstration by the Georgia Milk Producers Mobile Dairy Classroom. For more information, call Steve Montgomery at 478-8371044. 3RD ANNUAL UGA BULLDOG BONANZA BENEFIT HORSE SALE April 24 UGA Livestock Instructional Arena 2600 South Milledge Ave. Athens Sale begins at noon. Horses may be viewed beginning at 9 a.m. Proceeds benefit the Georgia 4-H Horse Program and UGA Equine program. For more information, contact Dr. Gary Heusner at 706-542-9092 or via e-mail at gheusner@uga.edu or Dr. Kari Turner at 706-542-8588 or via e-mail at kturner@uga.edu. 2ND ANNUAL ST. JUDE BENEFIT ANTIQUE TRACTOR RIDE May 1 Macon County This 20-mile ride is a fundraiser for the St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Riders will pay a $25 entry fee per tractor. At 10:30 a.m., the parade will leave the farm of Charles Hughes located at 3344 South St., Marshallville, Ga. 31057.
The ride will stop for lunch at Yoder’s Deitsch Haus on Hwy. 26 and return back to the Hughes farm by 3 p.m. The public is invited to join the riders for lunch to visit and take a closer look at the tractors. For a small donation, the public can vote for their favorite tractor. Anyone wishing to make a donation to the fundraiser may mail checks made payable to St. Jude Children’s Hospital to Neil Skipper at 107 Gregg Dr. Macon, Ga. 31216. The Bibb County Farm Bureau is also selling $1 raffle tickets for a handmade University of Georgia birdhouse. Tickets may be purchased individually or six for $5 or 12 for $10. Checks for the birdhouse raffle tickets can be made out to St. Judes and should be mailed to the Bibb County Farm Bureau at 100 Northside Crossing Macon, GA 31210. All proceeds from the raffle will go to St. Jude’s. For more information contact Neil Skipper at 478-747-2832 or dnskipper64@yahoo.com or call James Emory Tate at 912-375-8367.