December 20, 2010
www.gfb.org
Vol. 28 No. 51
UGA AG FORECAST MEETINGS KICK OFF JAN. 24 The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will begin its series of Georgia Farm Bureau-sponsored Ag Forecast meetings on Jan. 24 in Gainesville. The meetings will feature UGA agricultural economists and local speakers who will share their success stories. Participants will receive a copy of the 2011 Ag Forecast book, which gives a detailed analysis of each major agricultural product – from broilers to blueberries – produced in Georgia. The meetings will last from 10 a.m. to noon followed by a networking lunch. At the Gainesville meeting at the Georgia Mountains Center, Ken Meter will give the keynote speech, Tim Young will share his success story and UGA Extension Economist Director Dr. John McKissick will give the economic outlook. Meter, of the Crossroads Resource Center in Minneapolis, Minn., will discuss local food systems at the Gainesville meeting. Elbert County Farm Bureau member Young runs Nature’s Harmony farm and sells his products through community sponsored agriculture at local farmer’s markets. The Jan. 25 meeting at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center will also feature Meter. Bill Brim of Lewis Taylor Farms in Tifton will provide the local success story, while UGA Professor of Agricultural Economics Dr. Nathan Smith will give the economic outlook. The Jan. 27 meeting, to be held at the Nessmith Lane Center in Statesboro, will feature Kirk Farquharson, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Southeast Regional Office Farm to School coordinator with the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. He’ll discuss local food systems in Statesboro. Dr. George Shumaker, professor emeritus at the UGA Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development, will give the economic outlook. In Carrollton on Feb. 9 at the Carroll County Ag Center, Faquharson will discuss local food systems and Will Harris of White Oak Pastures, the largest certified organic farm in Georgia, will talk about his family’s livestock operation. UGA Extension Economist Dr. Curt Lacy will give the economic outlook. The final meeting will be held Feb. 10 at the Georgia Farm Bureau home office. Farquharson will discuss local food systems, and Russell Johnston of Johnston Dairy Farm in Newborn will discuss his family’s milking operation. Dr. Don Shurley, UGA professor of agricultural economics, will give the economic outlook. Registration at each meeting will open at 9:30 a.m. Registration is $30 per individual or $200 for a table of eight. For more information and to register, visit www.georgiaagforecast.com.
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BERRY NAMED GCTA PRESIDENT, GROWERS CONSIDERING CHECKOFF Newton County Farm Bureau Director Chuck Berry has been elected to a two-year term as president of the Georgia Christmas Tree Association (GCTA). Berry and his family are owners of Berry’s Christmas Tree Farm in Covington. Berry steps into the presidency of the organization as growers nationwide are considering establishing a Christmas tree checkoff. A proposed Christmas Tree Promotion, Research, and Information Order was published in the Federal Register on Nov. 8, and the United States Department of Agriculture is accepting public comments through Feb. 7, 2011. “The Georgia Christmas Tree Association is in support of a national checkoff program to help promote the fresh-cut Christmas tree industry,” Berry said, citing a 6 percent decline in sales of fresh-cut Christmas trees nationwide between 1965 and 2008. “In the past, the Christmas tree industry as a whole has lacked the ability to fund a largescale research and marketing program. This proposed program will hopefully provide the industry with the necessary funding to develop and implement a more powerful campaign to combat the influx of artificial trees which has occurred over the past several years.” Under the proposed rule, an initial assessment would be 15 cents per tree sold or imported into the U.S. Those who produce or import fewer than 500 trees per year would be exempt. The use of checkoff funds would be administered by a 12-member board comprised of 11 domestic producers and one importer. For full details on the proposed Christmas tree checkoff program, visit www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#docketDetail?R=AMS-FV-10-0008. To submit a comment on the proposed program, visit http:// www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=0900006480b8409c. BANKS COUNTY’S GRIFFIN WINS GFB HAY CONTEST Banks County Farm Bureau member William A. Griffin III won the 2010 Georgia Farm Bureau Quality Hay Contest. Griffin, who runs Griffin Brothers farm with his brother Westly, submitted Russell Bermuda grass for the contest and earned a relative forage quality (RFQ) score of 113.1. Griffin lives in Maysville with his wife Leigh and sons Will, age 13, Cole, 12, and Bret, 5. He and Wesley grow hay on 90 acres and they also have a herd of approximately 200 beef cattle along with corn they grow for silage. Garren Hall of Franklin County finished second, achieving an RFQ score of 108.3 with his submission of coastal Bermuda grass. Farrell Roberts of Tift County submitted Tift 85 Bermuda grass and was third with an RFQ score of 104.3. Neal Pannell of Walton County, the 2009 winner, finished fourth with an RFQ score of 103, also with Tift 85, and Russell Elliot of Bibb County was fifth with an RFQ score of 100 for his coastal Bermuda grass. The contest drew 40 entries from 19 counties across the state and consisted of quality analysis of hay grown by entrants, using the University of Georgia’s RFQ testing method, which measures nutrient content of the hay. Georgia Farm Bureau sponsors the annual contest to encourage superior hay production in the state. The winners were announced Dec. 6 during the 72nd GFB Convention on Jekyll Island.
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SCOTT RECEIVES HOUSE AG COMMITTEE APPOINTMENT Representative-elect Austin Scott (R-Ga.) has been appointed to the U.S. House Agriculture Committee. Scott, who defeated Jim Marshall in the race for Georgia’s 8th District seat, is one of 16 new Republicans on the Ag Committee. The committee will also have a new chairman in Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), who succeeds Minnesota Democrat Collin Peterson. “I am pleased to welcome our new members to the Agriculture Committee. They represent a broad slice of the country and will bring that perspective as we address the issues facing production agriculture and rural economies. The work of our committee affects the lives of every American. We must work to ensure that there is proper oversight of the administration, that rural America has opportunities for job growth, and that our farmers and ranchers have the necessary tools and certainty they need to provide us with a safe, affordable, and abundant food, fiber, feed, and fuel supply,” Lucas said. In addition to Scott, other new Republican members on the Agriculture Committee are Rick Crawford (Ark.), Scott DesJarlais (Tenn.), Renee Elmers (N.C.), Stephen Fincher (Tenn.), Bob Gibbs (OH), Chris Gibson (N.Y.), Vicky Hartzler (Mo.), Tim Huelskamp (Kan), Randy Hultgren (Ill.), Reid Ribble (Wisc.), Martha Roby (Ala.), Bobby Schilling (Ill.), Steve Southerland (Fla.), Marlin Stutzman (Ind.) and Scott Tipton (Colo.) According to published reports, Lucas plans to work in 2011 on educating the newer members on the House Ag Committee about farming and ranching so they’ll be prepared to write a bipartisan farm bill early in 2012. Scott was also appointed to the House Armed Services Committee. OBAMA SIGNS CHILD NUTRITION BILL INTO LAW Following House passage of the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act, (S. 3307) President Obama signed it into law Dec. 13. The law increases federal reimbursement for free school lunches by 6 cents per meal, expands access to free lunch programs and after-school nutrition programs. The bill reauthorizes child nutrition programs for five years and includes $4.5 billion in new funding for these programs over the next 10 years. According to a White House fact sheet, the law gives the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) the authority to set nutritional standards for foods routinely sold in schools during the school day, including vending machines, a la carte lunch lines and school stores. Additional funding is provided to schools that meet updated nutritional standards for federally subsidized lunches, which according to the fact sheet is the first real increase in reimbursement rates for the school lunch program in more than 30 years. S. 3307 includes measures to help communities establish local farm-to-school networks and assist schools in creating school gardens. The bill builds on USDA work to improve nutritional quality of commodity foods that schools receive from USDA for use in their breakfast and lunch programs and expands access to drinking water in schools, particularly during meal times. It also sets standards for school wellness policies, promotes nutrition and wellness in childcare settings and expands support for breast feeding through the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. The White House says an additional 115,000 students nationwide will be eligible to enroll in school nutrition programs under the bill.
Leadership Alert page 4 of 4 DEADLINE TO APPLY FOR MONSANTO DONATION PROGRAM IS DEC. 31 Farmers in 25 Georgia counties have until Dec. 31 to register a community charity as a candidate for a $2,500 donation from the Monsanto Fund through the America’s Farmers Grow Communities program. Winning farmers and their recipient organizations will be announced in February 2011. To apply, call 1877-267-3332 or visit www.growcommunities.com. SOUTHEAST REGIONAL FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CONFERENCE Jan. 6-9, 2011 International Trade and Convention Center Savannah Conference workshops will cover a variety of topics including organic production, food safety and roadside markets. More than 85 hours of commodity-specific training will be offered. The North American Raspberry & Blackberry Association will also hold its annual meeting in conjunction with this conference. For information or to register visit http://www.gfvga.org or call 706-845-8200. “OUTSIDE THE BOX” FARMING WORKSHOP Jan. 13, 2011 Macon State Farmer’s Market 8:30 a.m. Macon The goal of this workshop is to educate farmers, ranchers, and land owners about alternative farming techniques and the support offered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Topics include permaculture, aquaculture, diverse small fruit orchards, high tunnels and biotecture. Debby Waugh of Salamander Springs Farm will discuss permaculture, Dr. Patricia Duncan of Fort Valley State University will discuss aquaponics and Tom Beckman of the USDA will discuss developing small fruit orchards in a sustainable environment. Their panel discussion will take place in the morning and farm tours will be conducted in the afternoon. The workshop is free but registration is required. Space is limited, call or email Naomi Davis, 478-836-4564, davisfarmscsa@aol.com. GEORGIA/FLORIDA SMALL GRAIN/SOYBEAN EXPO Jan. 13, 2011 Georgia National Fairgrounds/Agricenter Perry Program topics will include the 2011 world outlook for southern commodities, soybean pest and disease issues and small grain production. For more information contact Terry Hollifield at 706-542-2351. GEORGIA PEANUT FARM SHOW Jan. 20, 2011 Albany Civic Center 8:30 a.m. Albany More than 65 exhibitors will display the latest in peanut equipment and technology. Event includes production and seed seminars and numerous door prizes. For more information call Rebecca Whitehead at 229-386-3502 or E-mail at: Rebecca@gapeanuts.com. The Georgia Peanut Commission is accepting nominations for the Outstanding Georgia Young Peanut Farmer Award, to be announced at the show. Any active Georgia peanut farmer who is 45 years of age or younger, as of the end of 2011, is eligible to apply. The award is based on an applicant’s overall farm operation, environmental and stewardship practices, leadership, civic, church and community service activities. The award application is available at the GPC Web site www.gapeanuts.com or by contacting Joy Carter at 229-386-3690 or joycarter@gapeanuts.com. The deadline to apply is Jan. 3, 2011. GEORGIA COTTON COMMISSION ANNUAL MEETING Jan. 26, 2011 UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center 8 a.m. Tifton The Commission’s annual meeting program is scheduled from 10 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. and includes lunch. Scheduled speakers are: Allen McLaurin, Southern Cotton Growers president, Allen Terhaar, Cotton Council International executive director, John Maguire, National Cotton Council senior vp, Zippy Duvall, Georgia Farm Bureau president and Gary Black, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner-elect. Workshops covering up-to-date technical production strategies and current industry information will begin at 8 a.m. and will be repeated after lunch. For more information or to register, visit http://www.georgiacottoncommission.org.