August 3, 2010
www.gfb.org
Vol. 28 No. 31
GILLIS RECOGNITION,PERDUE SPEECH HIGHLIGHTS OF GFB CONFERENCE During the lunch session of the Georgia Farm Bureau Commodity Conference July 29 at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center, retired Georgia Sen. Hugh Gillis received the Georgia Farm Bureau Commodity Award and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue challenged farmers to add value at every step in the food supply chain in order to meet customers’ changing needs. Gillis, a charter board member of Treutlen County Farm Bureau who served a total of 56 years in the Georgia Legislature, has spent his life as a champion for forestry and issues affecting rural Georgia. He is one of the state’s pioneers in the cultivation of pine forests. “I’ve always enjoyed my work in forestry,” said Gillis. “I lived through the Great Depression and I know for a fact that if it hadn’t been for forestry a lot more people would have gone broke.” Gov. Perdue encouraged agricultural producers to keep the end customer in mind when making on-farm decisions and noted that continued food-safety diligence will be required at every stop between the farm and the customer’s table. “Sometimes I think we’re naturally focused on the production, logistics and marketing of our products to some degree,” Perdue said. “We sometimes get a little myopic in that way. I believe we’re missing some opportunities if we only enjoy working hard to produce something and don’t look beyond that.” The conference, GFB’s annual kickoff of its policy development process, included meetings of all 20 of GFB’s commodity advisory committees, whose members considered potential changes and additions to the organization’s policy. It also featured tours of the research farms at the UGA-Tifton campus and an update from Dr. Joe West, assistant dean of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), who outlined cuts to the CAES budget. UGA Assistant Dean for Extension Dr. Steve Brown said that the Cooperative Extension Service is at a crossroads, with the number of agents reduced. He asked for help in deciding which direction to take the extension service. “Our ability to deliver the programs that Georgia ag is accustomed to has been compromised,” Dr. Brown said. “A lot of people in Atlanta don’t understand that things change daily. We have to have information to be on the cutting edge and be competitive. Imagine a world [where] the cooperative extension didn’t exist. Where would you get that information? We’re charged with providing information that is research-based and unbiased. Having that unbiased source of information is critical.”
Leadership Alert page 2 of 4
CRP SIGNUP DEADLINE IS AUG. 27 The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that the general sign-up for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) will last through Aug. 27. According to the USDA, CRP is designed to prevent erosion and improve the nation’s natural resources base. Agricultural landowners who enroll in the program can receive rental payments, cost sharing and technical assistance as incentives to use environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits. In 2008, the last year for which USDA enrollment statistics are available, more than 7,000 CRP contracts were awarded to Georgia landowners, including land on more than 5,500 farms. General CRP contracts encompassed 276,796 acres throughout the state. The 2008 farm bill authorized the USDA to maintain CRP enrollment for up to 32 million acres nationwide. Landowners may enroll land not currently enrolled in CRP as long as eligibility requirements are met. Current CRP participants with contracts that expire this fall are allowed to make new contract offers. The CRP program is implemented by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation. FSA uses an Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) to evaluate and rank CRP offers based on benefits to wildlife, water, soil, air and enduring benefits. Cost is also considered. Landowners should contact their local FSA office to sign up for the CRP. For more information about the CRP program, visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov. STANDARDIZED SEED TESTING GETS APPROVAL FROM NCWM Farmers will be able to get more accurate seed counts and budget their planting expenditures with greater accuracy with the verification provided in seed count methods recently approved by the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM). In a move supported by numerous agricultural organizations, including Farm Bureau, the NCWM voted to approve an amendment to Handbook 133 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Handbook 133 outlines procedures for verifying net contents of packaged goods. The amendment matches Handbook 133’s seed requirements for corn, soybeans, field beans and wheat with the standards of the Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA) for testing seed counts listed on seed-package labels. The amendment seeks to address problems associated with periodic variations in seed size and weight. According to the American Seed Trade Association, which petitioned the NCWM to make the amendment, the change will have a positive effect for both farmers and the seed companies. By purchasing seeds based on count rather than weight, farmers will be able to more accurately gauge how much they need to buy. It will also facilitate decisions on other farm input factors affected by seed quantity. The amendment will be included in the 2011 edition of Handbook 133. Georgia and other states that follow NCWM standards can enforce it beginning on Jan. 1.
Leadership Alert page 3 of 4 AG COMMITTEES SUPPORT LIVESTOCK PRICE REPORTING EXTENSION The U.S. House and Senate agriculture committees are working to reauthorize for a second time the Mandatory Price Reporting (MPR) law, which requires the United States Department of Agriculture to publish information on livestock and meat purchasing transactions. The current law is scheduled to expire on Sept. 30. The Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010 (H.R. 5852), introduced by House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn), would extend the program for another five years and include additional reporting requirements for pork wholesale cuts and exports. The House committee approved the bill last week. Senate Ag Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) have introduced S. 3656, which would also extend MPR by five years and include the additional reporting requirements for pork. The bill also instructs the secretary of agriculture to establish an electronic price reporting system for dairy products. The senate committee is expected to approve it this week. The MPR law, which originated in 1999 and was reauthorized a first time in 2006, provides market transparency in the livestock industry. “Mandatory reporting has proven to be a valuable tool for the livestock industry. The Senate Agriculture Committee worked to reauthorize the Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting Act in 2006, and I am pleased to co-sponsor this legislation with chairman Lincoln to ensure continued transparency and improve openness in the marketplace,” Chambliss said in multiple published reports. Under the MPR law, packers that annually slaughter 125,000 cattle,100,000 swine or 75,000 lambs have to report all transactions involving the purchase of those livestock. Importers of 5,000 metric tons of lamb meat are also required to make transaction reports. Packers and processors are also required to report sales data.
HONEYBEE, LIVESTOCK AND FISH PRODUCERS ELIGIBLE FOR ELAP AID More than $10 million in disaster assistance has been made available to producers of honeybees, livestock and farm-raised fish who sustained losses in 2008 because of disease, adverse weather or other conditions under the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm Raised Fish Program (ELAP). More than $6 million of that funding will be used to compensate beekeepers for 2008 losses not covered by the Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance Payment programs established by the 2008 farm bill. “American farmers, ranchers and producers should have protection from market disruptions and disaster,” Vilsack said in a release on June 30. “The assistance announced today will be particularly helpful to beekeepers whose bees suffered from Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and will also assist other producers facing economic challenges.” ELAP eligibility provisions have been amended for both honeybee and farm-raised fish producers, including the allowance of ELAP payments to producers who did not replace lost honeybees or fish for fair market value of the bees or fish that were lost. For more information about the ELAP payment programs, visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elap.
Leadership Alert page 4 of 4 UPCOMING EVENTS
UGA SOUTHEAST RESEARCH AND EDUCATION CENTER FIELD DAY August 18 UGA Southeast Research and Education Center Midville Event will highlight UGA field crop variety tests for corn, soybean and peanuts, trials to test peanut fungicides and control cotton stinkbugs and biofuel projects. Event starts at 9 a.m. followed by a provided lunch at 12:30 p.m. Call 706-542-1060 for more information. COTTON, PEANUTS AND SOYBEAN FIELD DAY August 26 Southwest Georgia Research and Educational Center Plains Event begins at 8:30 am. Lunch will be provided. Call 229-824-4375 for more information. CROP INSURANCE LISTENING SESSION Aug. 27 UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center Auditorium Tifton Sen. Saxby Chambliss has invited USDA Risk Management Agency Administrator Bill Murphy to meet with farmers to discuss their crop insurance concerns. The listening session is scheduled from 1-3 p.m. The UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center is located at 15 RDC Road (I-75, exit 64). For more information about the meetings, contact Sen. Chambliss’ Moultrie office at 229-985-2112. PROGRESSIVE AGRICULTURE SAFETY DAY Aug. 28 Habersham County Fairgrounds Clarkesville This event, which lasts from 8 a.m. to 5p.m., is open to children ages 5 – 13 and utilizes interactive activities to teach kids about farm and rural safety. Topics include snake and wildlife safety, ATV safety, chemical safety, meth awareness, and tractor/PTO safety. Children ages 9 and under must be supervised by an adult. For information or to register please contact the Habersham County Farm Bureau at 706-776-6739 or jhcanup@gfb.org. CONSERVE GEORGIA AWARDS ACCEPTING ENTRIES UNTIL AUG. 30 The Conserve Georgia Awards will recognize those creating a culture of conservation. To be eligible, achievements must have been made in the last year. There are six award categories which include: Water Conservation, Energy Conservation, Air Quality, Land Conservation, Recycling and Waste Reduction, and Natural Resource Stewardship. Deadline to enter is Aug. 30, and the winners will be recognized at the Natural Leaders Awards on Oct. 6. Award entry forms are available at Conserve Georgia’s Web site, http://www.ConserveGeorgia.org UGA COTTON AND PEANUT FIELD DAY Sept. 8 Coastal Plain Experiment Station Tifton Event begins at 8:30 a.m. and includes a sponsored lunch. Call 229-386-3328 for more information. 24TH ANNUAL GEORGIA PEANUT TOUR Sept. 14-16 Various locations Americus Coordinated by the Georgia Peanut Commission, the University of Georgia, the USDA Agricultural Research Service and the National Peanut Research Lab, this annual event begins with a “Hot Topics” seminar on Sept. 14 at 3 p.m. Lodging and registration will be held at the
Holiday Inn Express, 1611 E. Lamar St., Americus, Ga. 31709. For more information visit www.gapeanuts.com or call 229-386-3470.