December 18, 2013
www.gfb.org
Vol. 31 No. 51
HOUSE PASSES 2008 FARM BILL EXTENSION The U.S. House passed an extension on the 2008 farm bill on Dec. 12 by a voice vote. The extension, which is backdated to Sept. 30, was introduced by Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), one of the key negotiators in the farm bill conference committee. Lucas said that farmers need the certainty the extension provides while the conference committee puts the finishing touches on a new five-year farm bill. The measure addresses pricing concerns for commodities subject to public law from 1930s and 1940s, which would take effect should the 2008 farm bill lapse. The extension, Lucas said, would “allow us to finish our work without the threat that permanent law will be implemented. Having this option on the table is the responsible thing to do in light of our tight deadline.” While most provisions in the 2008 farm bill expired Sept. 30, the dairy price supports in the 2008 farm bill expire Dec. 31. “We have made great progress on the farm bill and continue to have productive meetings,” Lucas said in a statement. “There are still some outstanding issues that we are addressing. I am confident we’ll work through them and finish a farm bill in January.” Georgia Rep. Austin Scott (R-8th District), one of two conference committee members from Georgia, said that the extension was requested to allow the conference committee time to wait for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to score an agreement in the conference committee on the size of cuts to the bill’s food stamp provisions. “While there’s a framework to an agreement, the CBO scores had not been completed,” said Scott, who was in Macon on Dec. 16 for a town hall meeting. “We did a 30-day continuation and hopefully when we get back in January the CBO will have those scores, and we’ll actually be able to finish putting the final language in there. We’ll then have public votes on some of the issues [like] food stamps and some of the other things in there.” Like Lucas, Scott said he was hopeful the committee would complete its work on the farm bill by the end of the month and have the bill submitted to the House and Senate for votes in early January. The Senate passed its version of the farm bill on June 10. The House voted down a farm bill on June 20 after conflicts arose over funding levels in the bill’s nutrition title. The House passed a farm bill with no nutrition provisions on July 11 and a stand-alone nutrition bill on Sept. 19. The two House bills were combined on Sept. 28 and the conference committee convened in October.
Leadership Alert page 2 of 7 GFB DONATES $20,000 TO GEORGIA FOOD BANK ASSOCIATION Georgia Farm Bureau’s annual Harvest For All campaign is aimed at providing food to those who have struggled to put food on the table. For the fourth straight year, the campaign solicited cash donations. Georgia’s 158 county Farm Bureau chapters contributed $20,000, which was presented to Georgia Food Bank Association (GFBA) Director Danah Craft during Georgia Farm Bureau’s 76th Annual Convention on Jekyll Island. An average of more than 640,000 Georgia households, or 16.9 percent, experienced uncertainty about their access to food from 2010 to 2012, according to a report from the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS). That need, which translates to 1.64 million people statewide (based on the Census Bureau’s published average of 2.55 persons per household), continues even as reports of an improving economy abound. Nationally, 14.7 percent of households experienced food insecurity from 2010 to 2012. The GFB Young Farmer Committee coordinated the 9th Annual Harvest For All Campaign. GFBA member food banks use donated dollars to purchase high-protein, low-cost foods like chicken and peanut butter and to offset the costs of various outreach programs like mobile pantries, Manna drops and backpack programs. Because the GFBA uses bulk purchasing, it can turn $1 into more than $7 worth of food. Georgia Farm Bureau’s Harvest For All donation will have a statewide impact. The GFBA distributes the funds to America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia in Savannah, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Feeding the Valley in Columbus, the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia in Athens, Golden Harvest in Augusta, the Middle Georgia Community Food Bank in Macon and Second Harvest of South Georgia in Valdosta. Past Harvest for All campaigns have solicited direct donations of food. Since 2004, GFB has coordinated nine Harvest For All campaigns through which GFB members across the state donated about 49,000 pounds of staple food items and more than $100,000 in cash donations distributed to the food banks located throughout Georgia affiliated with Feeding America. In 2005, GFB members collected 17,000 pounds of food, which was donated to victims of Hurricane Katrina in Hancock County, Miss. The Center on Hunger and Poverty defines food insecurity as occurring “whenever the availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food, or the ability to acquire acceptable food in socially acceptable ways is limited or uncertain.” The center defines hunger as “the uneasy or painful sensation caused by a recurrent or involuntary lack of food and is a potential, although not necessary, consequence of food insecurity.” SE DAIRY CASE SETTLEMENT PAYMENTS APPROVED BY COURT Judge Ronnie Greer of the U.S. District Court of Eastern Tennessee issued an order on Dec. 11 authorizing payments to be disbursed in the final settlement of the Southeast Milk Litigation case. The case included 7,764 claims, of which the court ruled 6,086 as eligible for portions of the settlement. Alleging price fixing, dairy farmers in 14 states filed suit in 2007 against Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and other defendants. DFA is the last of the defendants to reach a settlement. DFA’s total payout fund is more than $85 million, and the average payment will be $14,072.31.
Leadership Alert page 3 of 7 TOBACCO GROWERS HEAR CASE FOR ASSESSMENT INCREASE In response to declining revenues and increasing costs for the programs it supports, the Georgia Tobacco Commission (GTC) is proposing an increase to the assessment it collects. In a Dec. 13 meeting at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center, the GTC laid out its reasons for requesting the increase. The commission supports research, education and promotional efforts for the tobacco industry. Currently, the GTC assesses tobacco growers 30 cents per hundredweight at the time of sale. GTC Chairman Fred Wetherington said the commission is asking for authorization to raise the assessment to 75 cents per hundredweight, with the intention of only collecting 50 cents per hundredweight initially. Grower feedback about the proposed increase was positive during the meeting. The next step is for the GTC to make a formal proposal to the Georgia Department of Agriculture. Then a referendum on the increase would take place in early 2014. During the meeting, GTC Chairman Fred Wetherington reviewed the commission’s financial data dating back to 2006. The commission collected $66,000 in 2013, the smallest total in seven years. UGA Tifton Tobacco Research Coordinator Stevan Lahue reviewed tobacco projects conducted on the Bowen Research Farm, including variety tests, methods of sucker control, methods of insect control and related efforts to control tomato spotted wilt virus. Lahue noted that there have been increasing challenges in accessing manpower. GTC contributions fund the Georgia Tobacco Growers Guide produced by UGA, as well as the Georgia-Florida Tobacco Tour and provide training for Georgia and Florida extension agents. GTC member Jerry Wooten talked about the commission’s contributions to Tobacco Associates Inc., which travels around the world to find buyers. Georgia Farm Bureau Commodities and Marketing Director Don McGough told the growers that the state’s commodity commission structure has served its farmers well and is a key factor in the tobacco industry’s continued success. . GFB ANNOUNCES HAY CONTEST WINNERS Walton County Farm Bureau member Neal Pannell won the 2013 Georgia Farm Bureau Quality Hay Contest. Pannell, who lives in Monroe with his wife Mary, submitted Sungrazer Bermuda for the contest. A former employee of Lithonia Lighting, he has been selling hay since 1976. He grows hay on about 40 acres and cuts hay for other area farmers. As the top prizewinner in the hay contest, Pannell receives a year’s use of a Vermeer hay baler with the option to purchase it at a reduced price at the end of the year. The contest analyzed the quality of the hay grown by entrants using the University of Georgia’s RFQ testing method, which measures nutrient content of the hay. GFB sponsors the annual contest to encourage superior hay production in the state. Entered samples had to have nitrate levels below 4,500 parts per million to be eligible for contest prizes. Pannell’s sample had an RFQ score of 121.8. The winners were announced during the 2013 GFB Annual Meeting on Jekyll Island. Tony Bennett of Tift County took second place. His sample of Tift 85 achieved an RFQ of 118.2. John Scott McRae of Bacon County was third at 118.0 with Alicia. Edward Durham of Chattooga County was fourth at 113.4 with Russell and Alan Verner of Morgan County was fifth at 111.0 with a sample of Tift 85.
Leadership Alert page 4 of 7 SEMINAR ON SELLING FARM PRODUCTS TO GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS Dec. 19 Watermelon Creek Vineyard 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Glennville Farmers with small to mid-size farms are invited to learn how to sell their products to the USDA, the Department of Defense and Georgia school systems at this seminar hosted by the Glennville Chamber of Commerce in partnership with USDA’s Food and Nutrition This is the third meeting coordinated by the Glennville Chamber in an effort to provide resources, speakers and information on how to increase production with assurance that commodities will be purchased. Speakers will address how to obtain certification required for selling Georgia Grown Products to various markets. School Nutritionists, Cooperative Extension Agents, Farm Bureau agents and small to mid-size farmers are invited. Lunch will be provided. To register for the event, please contact Linda Griffin at 912-654-1616 or via e-mail at: lindagriffin1445@gmail.com. Registration forms will be available at each of the fourteen county extension offices. GEORGIA BEEF REFERENDUM PROCESS UNDERWAY Georgia cattle producers have until Dec. 31 to sign up with the Georgia Department of Agriculture to receive a ballot to vote in a state referendum that will determine if an assessment of up to $1 per head is collected to fund the Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Beef. The proposed assessment is separate from the National Beef Checkoff (NBC). For the referendum to be valid, at least 25 percent of the total number of producers who receive ballots must vote. For the referendum to pass, two-thirds of those who vote must vote in favor of the commission. To request a ballot, visit http://agr.georgia.gov/beef-commission.aspx. Those without access to the Internet may contact their county Farm Bureau office for assistance in signing up for a ballot. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY ACCEPTING AG CDL EXEMPTION FORMS New federal highway funding legislation that went into effect on July 1 allows expanded exemptions for farmers transporting their own products, equipment or machinery, but a producer must carry a special tag or distinction on the vehicle to receive the exemption. The form may be accessed at http://gamccd.net/FarmVehicle.aspx. The form must be completed online, and the vehicle identification number (VIN) for the specific vehicle is required. Beginning January 1, 2014, no farm CDL exemptions are applicable without form TR0025 being in the vehicle. Additional information on the exemption for farm vehicles can be found at http://www.gfb.org/legislative/map21.html. NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR OUTSTANDING YOUNG PEANUT FARMER Nominations are now open for the Outstanding Georgia Young Peanut Farmer. The winner will be announced at the Georgia Peanut Farm Show on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, in Tifton. The award is sponsored by the Georgia Peanut Commission and Bayer CropScience. The Outstanding Georgia Young Peanut Farmer Award is based upon the applicant's overall farm operation; environmental and stewardship practices; and leadership, civic, church, and community service activities. The award is open for any active Georgia peanut farmer who is not over 45 years of age, as of January 16, 2014. An individual may receive the award only once. There is no limit on the number of applicants from each county in Georgia. Applications are due to the GPC office by Jan. 3, 2014. The award application is available online at the GPC Web site, www.gapeanuts.com or by contacting Joy Crosby at 229-386-3690 or joycrosby@gapeanuts.com.
Leadership Alert page 5 of 7 BLUEBERRY MEETING Jan. 8, 2014 Ga./Fla. Tobacco Exchange Warehouse 10 a.m. Alma This meeting is designed for blueberry growers, county agents, and industry representatives. Topics include sprayer coverage field day results, a spotted wing drosophilia update, current disease issues, new research and a horticulture update from UGA Blueberry Specialist Dr. Erick Smith. Lunch is sponsored by BEI International and BBC Technologies. Commercial and private pesticide credits will be given To register, call 912-632-5601 or email uge4005@uga.edu. LOW STRESS CATTLE HANDLING SEMINAR Jan. 8, 2014 Gerald Long Farms/Brimberry Farms 10 a.m./2 p.m. Bainbridge This free seminar, presented by the Safe Cattle Marketing Group, will be led by low stress cattle handling expert Curt Pate. The program qualifies for two hours of BQA continuing education credit. A noon lunch ($10) at the Decatur County Ag Center is also scheduled. For more information, contact Ernie Ford at 229-357-0703 or erniefordfarms@windstream.net. SOUTHEAST REGIONAL FRUIT & VEGETABLE CONFERENCE Jan. 9-12, 2014 International Trade and Convention Center Savannah This annual conference features 10 different crop-specific workshops plus workshops on roadside markets, business operations and food safety. Attendees will also have the chance to receive legislative updates from Washington and Atlanta. For more information or to register, visit http://www.seregionalconference.com. BOLL WEEVIL ERADICATION FOUNDATION ANNUAL MEETING Jan. 15, 2014 Ramada Conference Center Meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. Call 229-469-4038 to RSVP or for more information.
Perry
2014 GEORGIA PEANUT FARM SHOW Jan. 16, 2014 UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center Tifton This annual event, presented by the Georgia Peanut Commission, will be held in Tifton for the second straight year. The Peanut Farm Show features more than 95 free exhibits, nearly $40,000 in door prizes, a free farmer lunch and pesticide applicator certification classes. For more information, visit www.gapeanuts.com. METRO ATLANTA BEEKEEPING SHORT COURSE Jan. 18, 2014 Atlanta Botanical Garden 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Atlanta This complete beekeeping course includes presentations for beginning and experienced beekeepers. To register, visit http://www.metroatlantabeekeepers.org/sc_register.php. The registration fee is $95, which includes lunch and a parking pass. For more information send an email to shortcourse2014@gmail.com or call 678-597-8443. 2014 GEORGIA DAIRY CONFERENCE Jan. 20-22, 2014 Savannah Riverfront Marriott Savannah This annual conference will provide dairymen and managers significant and practical “takehome” information about a variety of on-farm and dairy business practices. A discounted room rate of $119 for single and double occupancy rooms is available, with no parking fees. Contact the hotel at 912-233-7722 or 800-285-0398 to make reservations and mention that you are with Georgia Milk Producers to get the discount. To register, please contact Farrah Newberry at 706310-0020 or gamilkproducers@gmail.com.
Leadership Alert page 6 of 7 GA. COTTON COMMISSION ANNUAL MEETING & COTTON WORKSHOP Jan. 22, 2014 UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center Tifton Production workshops will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. followed by the Cotton Commission Annual Meeting, presentation of the Georgia Quality Cotton Awards during lunch and more production workshops in the afternoon. For more information call 478-988-4235 or visit http://www.georgiacottoncommission.org. AG FORECAST MEETINGS Jan. 24, 2014 Georgia Farm Bureau Macon Jan. 27, 2014 Georgia Center for Continuing Education Athens Jan. 28, 2014 Toombs County Agri-Center Lyons Jan. 29, 2014 UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center Tifton Jan. 30, 2014 Cloud Livestock Facility Bainbridge Jan. 31, 2014 Clarence Brown Conference Center Cartersville Check-in begins at 9:30 a.m. Seminar runs from 10 a.m. to noon followed by a networking lunch, with the exception of the Tifton and Bainbridge meetings, which feature breakfast at 7:30 a.m. followed by the seminar from 8 to 9:30 a.m. UGA economists will give the annual ag economic outlook and guest speakers, including experts on farm succession planning. Registration fee is $30 per person for $200 for a table of eight. Advance registration is required by Jan. 22, 2014. For more information or to register, visit http://www.georgiaagforecast.com, call 706-583-0347 or send an email to carlam@uga.edu. Follow the meetings on Twitter @GaAgForecast and join the conversation with #agforecast. 2013 BAYER CROPSCIENCE COTTON BELT CHALLENGE This achievement program recognizes growers who plant a minimum of 50 acres of FiberMax or Stoneville cotton seed. Growers enter by filling out an official entry form and submitting their gin receipts. Deadline to enter is Feb 3, 2014. Entry forms are available at http://tinyurl.com/md6oscb. Winners will be recognized in two categories: highest yield and highest quality, in 12 different regions, for both irrigated and dryland cotton. All regional irrigated and dryland winners in the yield and fiber quality categories will receive 10,000 Innovation Plus points – a $500 value. From those regional winners there will be two grand prize drawings – one for irrigated and one for dryland – for a custom 4WD Bad Boy Buggies Ambush vehicle. For more information visit http://www.cottonbeltchallenge.us. UGA COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE VETCAMP 2014 July 13-19, 2014 University of Georgia Athens Registration is being accepted through Feb. 5, 2014, for this camp, which is open to current high school sophomores, juniors and seniors who would like to experience veterinary medicine as a potential career path. The on-site program offers participants opportunities for observation of and participation in the various services in the UGA Veterinary Teaching Hospital, the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center and the College’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories. Registration is $900, which includes lodging, meals, instruction and social activities. Scholarships or financial assistance are available to students with demonstrated need. The registration packet may be downloaded from the VetCAMP website at http://www.vet.uga.edu/GO/camp. For more information about the program, contact Lakecia Pettway at lpettway@uga.edu or 706-542-8411, or see the program’s website.
Leadership Alert page 7 of 7 GEFA OFFERS SECOND ROUND OF IRRIGATION MOTOR REBATES The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) is offering a second round of the Georgia Agricultural Irrigation Motor (AIM) Program, an incentive program designed to help Georgia farmers become more energy-efficient, save money on fuel costs, and reduce emissions. The Georgia AIM Program will provide farmers with a rebate to replace inefficient diesel irrigation engines with energy-efficient electric irrigation motors. The rebates will cover 25 percent of eligible project costs, with a $10,000 maximum rebate available. The application period for the program, opens online at http://www.gefa.org, ends Feb. 15, 2014. Available funding is limited and rebates will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. The first round of the program awarded 34 farmers throughout the state with rebates totaling $154,309. The new installations are projected to reduce annual diesel fuel consumption by 217,029 gallons. IFYE ACCPETING APPLICATIONS FOR EXCHANGE PROGRAM Young adults age 19 and over are encouraged to apply for the 2014 International Farm Youth Exchange (IFYE) Program. Individuals who have developed leadership skills in programs such as Young Farmers & Ranchers, 4-H, FFA or similar organizations, as well as those with a background in various agriculture related fields and consumer sciences are particularly well suited for a primarily rural living experience. Successful applicants will participate in various young adult programs abroad such as Young Farmers, Rural Youth, etc. Participating countries in 2014 may include Austria, Botswana, Costa Rica, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Jamaica, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Scotland, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Wales. Additional countries may be added. For further information, please contact Alan Lambert, National IFYE Program Director, at 605-366-6107 or by email at alanelambert@gmail.com. Completed applications are due by Feb. 15, 2014. Visit the IFYE website at www.ifyusa.org/ to learn more about the program and obtain an application. FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR VALUE-ADDED PRODUCER GRANTS The USDA has announced the availability of nearly $10.5 million in Value-Added Producer Grants, intended to help agricultural producers create new products, expand marketing opportunities, support further processing of existing products or goods, or to develop specialty and niche products. They may be used for working capital and planning activities. The maximum working capital grant is $200,000; the maximum planning grant is $75,000. Grant applications are due by Feb. 24, 2014. For more information about how to apply