Georgia Farm Bureau's Leadership Alert - April 21, 2010

April 21, 2010

www.gfb.org

Vol. 28 No. 16

GFB MEMBERS TAKE AG CONCERNS TO WASHINGTON Georgia Farm Bureau members from across the state traveled to Washington, D.C., April 13-15 for the organization’s annual County Presidents’ Trip to Washington. The main issues GFB members discussed as they met with the members of Georgia’s congressional delegation were the Clean Water Restoration Act, immigration reform, estate tax reform, climate change and farm animal cruelty legislation. “ Our members did a great job visiting the hill and discussing these issues that are impacting agriculture,” GFB President Zippy Duvall said. “Visiting the congressmen on the hill allows them to put a face with the issues.”

While meeting with his constituents, House Agriculture Committee member Rep. Jim Marshall warned that the next farm bill won’t be the same as the last one, saying, “We’ve been out of money for a long time, and it’s becoming more and more apparent.” Marshall added that he doesn’t anticipate any changes being made to the current farm bill before it expires saying, “There are just too many of us who would block that.”

House Appropriations Committee member Rep. Sanford Bishop told GFB members visiting him that he voted for climate change legislation late last year only after House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) secured provisions to ensure that the USDA rather than EPA would oversee regulations pertaining to greenhouse gases produced on farms. Bishop said that he would not vote for a climate change bill that includes cap and trade provisions if it comes back up again although he voted for climate change legislation in December because he felt the bill would help the United States become less dependent on foreign countries for fuel.

While speaking to GFB members, Sen. Saxby Chambliss voiced his opposition to the Clean Water Restoration Act. “I don’t think the federal government has any right to come on your farm and check a mud puddle that your irrigation system created,” Chambliss said. “Sure they need to ensure that chemicals don’t reach your waterways but this proposed legislation would stretch the original intent of the Clean Water Act to extremes and use it to regulate things the Clean Water Act was never intended to do. We’re working with AFBF and doing everything we can to fight it.”

Sen. Johnny Isakson told GFB leaders that his main priorities are working to get the national economy back on track and working to curb national spending. He said he was hopeful that Congress would reach an agreement on the estate tax issue before estate tax laws revert back to a $1 million dollar exemption at a 55 percent rate next year.

American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman thanked the GFB members for leaving their farms and taking the time to visit their legislators in Washington calling it “important work.”

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FOOD, INC., DOCUMENTARY DOESN’T ACCURATELY TELL AG’S STORY Perhaps the biggest piece of information missing from Food, Inc., a documentary that criticizes the U.S. food system, is that U.S. consumers have the most diverse, safest and nutritious food supply that is the envy of most of the world. The documentary, which originally debuted last summer in theaters across the country, is getting a second life as PBS airs it tonight at 9 p.m. as an episode of its Point of View series to celebrate Earth Day. While the film primarily attacks large multinational agricultural and food corporations including Smithfield Foods, Tyson, Perdue and Monsanto, the film negatively portrays many modern farming practices and implies that the current U.S. food production system uses practices that harm the environment and produce inferior food. The film doesn’t explain that 96 percent of all farms in America are family farms and that family farms can be large, medium or small. Nor does the film explain that no matter the size of the farm, farmers know that clean air, soil and water and healthy animals make for healthy food for their consumers and increased profitability.

According to Food, Inc., U.S. farm policies are responsible for cheap corn and soybean-based food products that are causing obesity and health problems for our society. The film fails to mention that corn and soybeans are two of the least supported crops in the U.S. farm bill. The American Medical Association and the American Dietetic Association agree that ingredients like high fructose corn syrup are not the cause of obesity but rather increased caloric intake with little or no exercise is the primary cause of obesity.

“The majority of America’s consumers have never stepped foot on a farm and have no understanding of how farmers grow their food or of how their food is produced and distributed,” Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said. “This movie deliberately exploits consumers’ lack of knowledge about agriculture and food distribution. It’s up to us, the farmers, to set the record straight. We’ve distributed talking points about this film to all of our county offices and posted them on our Web site. I encourage you to ask your county office manager for these or download these from the Web site so you can defend your livelihood to anyone who asks you about the film.”

The film concludes by recommending consumers know more about the food they eat, buy organic and show support for local businesses and farmers. While the support of farmers is appreciated, consumers should realize that regardless of the type of food they buy, the best defense against foodborne illness is properly cooking and cleaning all foods.

GEORGIA PEACH GROWERS REAFFIRM COMMISSION Georgia’s peach producers recently reaffirmed the Georgia Peach Commission for another three years with a 100 percent favorable vote during a referendum held Feb. 15 to March 16.

The commission promotes Georgia’s peach crop through research, education and promotional activities, which includes maintaining the commission’s Web site that provides consumers with recipes and tips on storing and selecting peaches at http://www.gapeaches.org.

Five grower members – Chairman Al Pearson of Peach County, Jeff Wainwright of Taylor County, Duke Lane III of Peach County, Robert Dickey of Crawford County and Howard Lawson of Brooks County and ex officio members Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin and Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall oversee the commission activities.

For more information about the commission contact Pearson at 478-825-7504 or Marcia Crowley with the Georgia Department of Agriculture at 404-656-3678.

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COGONGRASS NOW IN 38 COUNTIES IN GEORGIA While much of the attention on invasive plants has recently concentrated on palmer amaranth “pigweed,” the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) is working to educate landowners about cogongrass, hoping to prevent it from spreading on the same scale found in neighboring states.

Cogongrass has been found on 352 sites in Georgia in 38 counties. That’s almost twice as many counties with confirmed cogongrass sites as were reported for the same time in 2009.

GFC Forest Health Specialist Mark McClure said this is a result of increased awareness and not necessarily due to increased growth of the wide-bladed grass, which burns extremely hot and has serrated edges, making it worthless for wildlife forage. McClure stressed the importance of killing cogongrass before it gets established.

“It would choke out all ground cover vegetation. Over time, once it’s established, you won’t get natural tree vegetation,” McClure said. “Georgia was the first state to take a proactive approach to eradicating it. We’re spraying it as fast as we can find it.”

The GFC is urging landowners to look for cogongrass on their land, and is offering assistance in identifying the highly invasive plant, which has a distinctive light-colored midrib, and flowers between late March and early June. The flowers are between 2 inches and 8 inches long with fluffy seeds resembling those of dandelions.

The confirmed sites in Georgia have their highest concentration in the southwest portion of the state. Cogongrass has been found in nine of the 11 Georgia counties that border Florida and has developed as far north as Catoosa County and as far east as Richmond County. It is more widespread in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.

Cogongrass spreads through windblown seeds and underground creeping rhizomes. It has a very dense root system. Native to Asia, it forms exclusive colonies and displaces native vegetation. McClure said it takes as long as three years and costs about $500 an acre to eradicate cogongrass, which grows in a circular pattern. The average colony in Georgia is 0.3 acres.

Visit http://www.gatrees.org/ForestManagement/Cogongrass.cfm for more information.

PORK BOARD LAUNCHES NEW PROMOTIONAL PLAN In what could mean the end of the “Other White Meat” campaign, the pork industry has developed a strategic plan in response to changing government policies and developing legislation, increasing feedgrain and energy costs and activities of animal rights groups. It calls for social responsibility, ethical production practices, demonstrating professionalism and competence at every level of the industry and providing top-quality products at reasonable prices.

Last month at the National Pork Industry Forum, the National Pork Board hired Chicago advertising agency Schafer Condon Carter to develop the next promotional campaign under the pork board’s five-year plan, which attempts to address a variety of issues pork producers are facing.

Leadership Alert page 4 of 4 UPCOMING EVENTS 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.

4-H GIVE2VOTE CHALLENGE Through April 30 Anyone who wishes to support their state 4-H program can text CLOVER to 50555 to donate $10. The state 4-H program receiving the most donations in this national fundraiser by mobile phone or by giving online at 4-H.org will receive a bonus $5,000 provided by JCPenney. Each donation counts as one vote. Participating wireless carriers include AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and Nextel.

The state donation designation will be determined by the area code of the mobile subscriber.

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. The parade will leave the farm of Charles Hughes located at 3344 South St., Marshallville, Ga. 31057 at 10:30 a.m. 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.

45th ANNUAL GA PECAN GROWERS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE May 6 Ga National Fairgrounds Perry Event begins at 8 a.m. and runs to 5 p.m. For more information contact Janice Dees via e-mail at georgiapecan@gmail.com or 229-382-2197.