Georgia Farm Bureau's May 20 Field Notes

May 20, 2020

www.gfb.org

Vol. 2 No. 10

USDA ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF CORONAVIRUS FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Beginning May 26, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through its Farm Service Agency (FSA), will begin accepting applications from farmers and ranchers whose markets have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The USDA will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to eligible producers through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).

CFAP provides vital financial assistance to producers of ag commodities that have suffered a 5% or greater price decline due to COVID-19 and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production, and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities.

Farmers and ranchers will receive direct support, drawn from two possible funding sources. The first source of funding is $9.5 billion in funds appropriated in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act to compensate farmers for losses due to price declines that occurred between mid-January 2020, and mid-April 2020. This funding provides support for specialty crops that had been shipped from the farm between the same time period but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channels. The second funding source uses the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to compensate producers for $6.5 billion in losses due to on-going market disruptions.

How payments will be determined: • Non-Specialty Crops and Wool - Non-specialty crops eligible for CFAP payments include upland cotton, corn, soybeans, canola, oats, sorghum, durum wheat, hard red spring wheat, malting barley, millet and sunflowers. Wool is also eligible. Producers will be paid based on inventory subject to price risk held as of January 15, 2020. A payment will be made based on 50% of a producer’s 2019 total production or the 2019 inventory as of January 15, 2020, whichever is smaller, multiplied by the commodity’s applicable payment rates.

• Livestock - Livestock eligible for CFAP include cattle, yearlings, hogs and lambs. The total payment will be calculated using the sum of the producer’s number of livestock sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020, multiplied by the payment rates per head, and the highest inventory number of livestock between April 16 and May 14, 2020, multiplied by the payment rate per head.

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GFB Field Notes page 2 of 12 Continued from previous page • Dairy - For dairy, the total payment will be calculated based on a producer’s certification of milk production for the first quarter of calendar year 2020 multiplied by a national price decline during the same quarter. The second part of the payment is based on a national adjustment to each producer’s production in the first quarter.

• Specialty Crops - For eligible specialty crops, the total payment will be based on the volume of production sold between Jan. 15 and April 15, 2020; the volume of production shipped, but unpaid; and the number of acres for which harvested production did not leave the farm or mature product destroyed or not harvested during that same time period, and which have not and will not be sold. Specialty crops include, but are not limited to: almonds, beans, broccoli, sweet corn, lemons, iceberg lettuce, spinach, squash, strawberries and tomatoes. A full list of eligible crops can be found on www.farmers.gov/cfap. Additional crops may be deemed eligible at a later date.

There is a payment limit of $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined.

Applicants who are corporations, limited liability companies or limited partnerships may qualify for additional payment limits where members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation. Producers will also have to certify they meet the Adjusted Gross Income limitation of $900,000 unless at least 75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching or forestry-related activities. Producers must also be in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions.

Additional information and application forms can be found at www.farmers.gov/cfap. Producers of all eligible commodities will apply through their local FSA office. Documentation to support the producer’s application and certification may be requested. FSA has streamlined the signup process to not require an acreage report at the time of application and a USDA farm number may not be immediately needed. Applications will be accepted through August 28.

To ensure the availability of funding throughout the application period, producers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date as funds remain available.

USDA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment only; field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. More information can be found at www.farmers.gov/coronavirus.

In addition to the application form, farmers may be required to complete portions of Form CCC902 (Farm Operating Plant). The following forms will be needed for CFAP; for existing customer FSA customers, this information is likely on file at their local service center: • CCC-901 (Also Available in Spanish) – Identifies members of a farm or ranch that is a legal entity. Member information will be completed by legal entities and joint operations to collect member names, addresses, and Tax Identification Numbers, and citizenship status; • CCC-941 (Also Available in Spanish) – Reports average adjusted gross income for programs where income restrictions apply; • CCC-942 – If applicable, this certification reports income from farming, ranching and forestry, for those exceeding the adjusted gross income limitation; • AD-1026 (Also Available in Spanish) – Ensures compliance with highly erodible land conservation and wetland conservation; -continued on next page

GFB Field Notes page 3 of 12 Continued from previous page • AD-2047 – Provides basic customer contact information; • SF-3881 – Collects banking information to allow USDA to make payments via direct deposit.

FSA does not require an acreage report at the time of application and a USDA farm number may not be immediately needed.

In addition to this direct support to farmers and ranchers, USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box program is partnering with regional and local distributors, whose workforces have been significantly impacted by the closure of many restaurants, hotels, and other food service entities, to purchase $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy, and meat and deliver boxes to Americans in need.

GEORGIA FOUNDATION FOR AGRICULTURE ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECTORS The Georgia Foundation for Agriculture (GFA) announces the election of five new members to its board of directors. Will Bentley, Joel L. McKie, Abit Massey, Christa Steinkamp and Bill Verner are the foundation’s newly elected directors. Each director will serve a three-year term and is eligible for one additional three-year term.

“I am pleased to welcome our five newest members to the Georgia Foundation for Agriculture’s Board of Directors. They each have a strong background rooted in Georgia agriculture while bringing unique perspectives to the table from their diverse experiences in different sectors of Georgia agriculture,” said GFA Executive Director Lily Baucom.

Baucom began leading GFA as executive director in October 2019. The foundation has drafted a five-year strategic plan intended to develop a broader network of supporters and deepen the impact the foundation has on the lives of Georgia farmers and agricultural students and teachers.

The GFA is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to preparing the next generation of Georgia agricultural leaders for success.

To achieve its mission, the GFA is developing a pipeline for Georgia’s next generation of farmers and agricultural leaders. GFA programs provide a structured path that fosters growth and sparks passion in agriculture during a student’s educational journey through early exposure to agriculture, classroom learning, higher education, farm-based mentorship and professional learning.

Meet the foundation’s new directors Will Bentley is president of the Georgia Agribusiness Council, which works to advance agriculture through economic development, environmental stewardship and education programs that enhance the quality of life for all Georgians. Prior to joining GAC, Bentley served as executive vice president of the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association and the Georgia Beef Board. Bentley is from Thomaston, Ga., where he and his family own and operate Bentley Farms, an Angus-based commercial cow-calf farm. He serves on the Advancing Georgia’s Leaders in Ag & Forestry Board of Directors, UGA College of Veterinary Medicine Advisory Council, Georgia 4-H Foundation Board and is the Upson County Farm Bureau vice president. He and his wife, Ember, live in Macon with their daughter.

Joel L. McKie is a partner at Hall Booth Smith, P.C. (HBS), where he leads the law firm’s food and agriculture group and is a member of the firm’s management and executive committees.

McKie grew up on a diversified farm in Abbeville, Ga. He is a member of Georgia Farm Bureau, -continued on next page

GFB Field Notes page 4 of 12 Continued from previous page the Georgia Agribusiness Council, the National FFA Alumni Association, the American Agricultural Law Association and the Agriculture Law Section of the Georgia Bar Association.

He is a past president of the UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences Alumni Association, a former Georgia FFA state president and National FFA vice president and a Master 4-Her. He and his wife live in Decatur, Ga., with their two children where they are members of Oak Grove United Methodist Church.

Abit Massey is president emeritus of the Georgia Poultry Federation (GPF), for which he served as executive director from 1960 until 2009. His name is synonymous with Georgia’s poultry sector for which he represented in legislative arenas along overseeing with promotion efforts and securing research for the industry. Prior to joining the GPF, he led the Georgia Department of Commerce, now Economic Development and oversaw the creation of the tourist division and the building of Georgia’s first welcome center. He was inducted into the American Poultry Historical Society’s Hall of Fame in 2019. He and his wife live in Gainesville where he is a deacon and trustee of the Gainesville First Baptist Church. The couple has two adult children and four grandchildren.

Christa Steinkamp is curriculum and technology director for the Georgia Agricultural Education program. She provides curriculum support to ag education teachers statewide, including the 26 elementary ag education pilot programs, and technology support to Georgia FFA chapters by managing multiple FFA websites and social media accounts. She began her career managing sow farms and later selling pork for Seaboard Farms from 2002 to 2005 in Kansas and Colorado before returning to Georgia in 2005 to serve as an ag ed teacher/FFA advisor for two years. She then served as the North Region FFA Area livestock teacher from 2007-2013 until moving into her current role. Steinkamp and her husband and two children live in Bogart where they are members of Briarwood Baptist Church.

Bill Verner is executive vice president of Georgia EMC. He joined Georgia EMC in 1984. In his current role, Verner coordinates the representation of EMCs’ interests in the Georgia General Assembly, Congress and state and federal agencies. Verner also oversees publication of the EMCs’ GEORGIA Magazine. He has more than 30 years of expertise in public policy and communications. He also currently serves on the Georgia Broadband Deployment Initiative Advisory Committee, Georgia Tech Agricultural Technology Research Program and the UGA J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development. Verner lives in Atlanta with his wife and two children where they are members of Northside United Methodist Church.

The Georgia Foundation for Agriculture 2020 Board of Directors: Officers – Chairman Gerald Long, Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) president; Treasurer & Financial Committee Chairman Wayne Daniel; Secretary Matt Greer, Truist Greater Georgia Region market president; Governance Committee Chairman Robert Fountain Jr.; GFB Middle Georgia vice president.

Directors – Jon Huffmaster, GFB chief administrative officer & corporate secretary; David Jolley, GFB chief financial officer & corporate treasurer; Daniel Johnson, GFB 1st vice president & South Georgia vice president; Bernard Sims, GFB North Georgia vice president; Will Bentley, Georgia Agribusiness Council president; Will Hileman, Farm Bureau Bank president & CEO; Joel L. McKie, Hall, Smith & Booth partner; Abit Massey, Georgia Poultry Federation president emeritus; Christa Steinkamp, Ga. Agricultural Education/FFA curriculum & technology director; Bill Verner, Georgia EMC executive vice president.

GFB Field Notes page 5 of 12 GEORGIA DAIRY FARMERS, DFA & KROGER GIVE MILK TO COVID-19 HEROES Heroes are strong and selflessly help others. These are traits healthcare workers, first responders and dairy farmers share.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, health care workers and first responders have been courageously working to care for the sick and keep Georgia residents safe.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s 130 dairy farmers continue caring for their cows and producing delicious, healthy milk for consumers despite daunting circumstances. The pandemic disrupted the U.S. dairy supply by reducing demand for dairy products as restaurants and other food service sectors were shuttered from mid-March to late April.

Reduced demand made it necessary for Georgia farmers to dispose of 100 tanker loads of milk through the end of April with a total value of about $1 million, according to Georgia Milk Producers Inc. Rather than see milk needlessly go to waste, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) - a farmer-owned co-op through which most of Georgia’s dairy producers market their milk - Kroger Atlanta Division and the Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Milk (ACCM) teamed up to deliver a total of 24,000 half-gallons of Georgia milk to healthcare workers and first responders across the state.

“Our Georgia dairy farmers are on the front lines producing milk and dairy foods. In parallel they appreciate the work being done by our healthcare and first responders and want to give back,” said Paul Johnson, a Georgia dairy farmer and Georgia ACCM board chairman. “We appreciate our partners DFA and Kroger for making this contribution possible and extend a thank you to Nicole Duvall with the Georgia Mobile Classroom for delivering the donations on dairy farmers’ behalf.”

The four-week philanthropic campaign was appropriately named the Great Georgia Give. DFA, Kroger Atlanta Division and Kroger’s Centennial Farms donated the milk and the ACCM delivered the milk to recipients in Atlanta on April 24, Macon on May 1, Augusta on May 8 and Savannah on May 15.

“Now more than ever, preventing waste in the food chain is crucial,” said Kroger Atlanta Division President Tim Brown. “The Great Georgia Give aligns with Kroger’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social impact plan to end hunger and eliminate waste in our communities by connecting a great product with great heroes. Milk is one of Georgia’s most important agricultural commodities and the Great Georgia Give is ensuring that it is nourishing those who need it.”

MENTAL HEALTH MONTH PROVIDES FOCUS ON TOOLS 2 THRIVE During a time of unprecedented anxiety about a world pandemic, Mental Health America (MHA) is emphasizing “Tools 2 Thrive” to address the mental health needs of everyone.

MHA started May is Mental Health Month in 1949, and since then has led the observance by reaching millions of people through the media, local events and online mental health screenings.

Over the past 71 years, it has become the most widely recognized mental health awareness effort in the world.

While one in five people will experience a mental illness during their lifetime, everyone faces challenges in life that can impact their mental health. In 2020, the Tools 2 Thrive campaign will provide practical tools that everyone can use to improve their mental health and increase resiliency -continued on next page

GFB Field Notes page 6 of 12 Continued from previous page regardless of the situations they are dealing with. In this uncertain and troubling time, these tools - even those that may need to be adapted for the short term because of COVID-19 and social distancing – will be more useful than ever.

As part of Mental Health Month, MHA is also conducting the #MillionInMay campaign, designed to get one million mental health screens for MHA’s Online Screening Program. www.Mhascreening.org is home to nine verified mental health screens, that offer individuals a quick, free and private way to assess their mental health and recognize signs of any problem before crisis occurs. MHA is asking people to share its #MillionInMay campaign to their friends and colleagues, to their community, and on social media - and help direct people to the screening program throughout the month of May. Learn more about Mental Health Month and download MHA’s 2020 toolkit by going to www.mhanational.org/may.

U.S. CENSUS SELF-RESPONSE DEADLINE EXTENDED The self-response phase of the 2020 U.S. Census, originally scheduled to run through July 31, has been extended to Oct. 31, one of several adjustments to the Census calendar in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a Census Bureau press release.

Participating in the 2020 Census is critically important. The U.S. Census Bureau needs an accurate count of the number of people living in Georgia and where they live because federal, state and local governments use these numbers to determine funding for education, health, nutrition assistance and transportation programs. The numbers also determine how many representatives Georgia has in Congress.

The self-response phase, during which households can participate in the Census online, by mail or by phone, was originally planned for March 12-July 31.

Census takers were scheduled to conduct non-response follow-up interviews, which are done in person, May 13 – July 31. The non-response follow-up timeline has been moved back to Aug. 11 – Oct. 31.

Census Bureau processing of data after completion of the count activities was to run July 31 to Dec. 31. This work has been rescheduled for Oct. 31 – April 30, 2021.

Delivery of states’ population totals, which determine how many seats states have in the House of Representatives, will be delivered to the president by April 30, 2021.

For more information, visit https://census.georgia.gov/.

GFB Field Notes page 7 of 12 UGA RESEARCHERS DEVELOPING CORONAVIRUS VACCINE A team of researchers at the University of Georgia are developing and testing new vaccines and immunotherapies to combat the novel coronavirus that has infected hundreds of thousands across the world.

The team is led by Ted M. Ross, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar and director of UGA’s Center for Vaccines and Immunology. He has partnered with other laboratories and biotechnology companies to create new vaccines that could one day provide protection against the virus that causes COVID-19.

Scientists in his lab have already begun analyzing the viral genome to find the right targets that will prompt the immune system to create protective antibodies, and they will examine how effective those targets are in small-scale lab tests soon.

Ross has spent most of his career studying viruses and developing new vaccines and treatments to combat them, but he is perhaps best known for his efforts to develop a universal influenza vaccine that could protect against all forms of the virus and eliminate the need for seasonal flu shots.

While the lessons learned from his work on influenza and other viruses will inform his work, the coronavirus presents a unique set of challenges.

“Most people already have some immunity to influenza, but nobody has immunity to this coronavirus, which is one reason it has spread so quickly,” Ross said. “The scientific community is hard at work, but there’s still so much we don’t know about this virus, and it will take time to gather quality data.”

A successful vaccine could, however, turn the tide in the fight against the coronavirus in humanity’s favor. Widespread distribution of a vaccine would create enough herd immunity to protect most people and prevent another outbreak.

Shutdowns, travel restrictions and sheltering in place could halt the spread of COVID-19, but those actions may not be enough to eradicate the disease completely.

“It’s possible that public health interventions will help slow the spread, but we just don’t know for sure,” Ross said. “It’s also possible that this virus could circulate continuously in human populations, and that’s where a vaccine would become an essential tool.”

There is a profound sense of urgency within the scientific community to find new solutions, and many researchers are sharing data as soon as it becomes available to hasten the development of diagnostics and treatments, Ross said.

But he cautions that creating, testing and manufacturing a vaccine will take time, so it’s important for people to heed the advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and their state and local governments.

“Even when processes have been expedited, vaccines must go through a series of rigorous tests to prove that they are safe and effective, and that could take many months,” Ross said. “In the meantime, the best thing we can do is to follow basic preventative guidelines outlined by the CDC, because those are the best weapons we have right now.”

For more information about what you can do to protect yourself and others, visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

GFB Field Notes page 8 of 12 GA BEEF PRODUCERS TO VOTE ON CONTINUATION OF STATE CHECK-OFF Georgia beef producers will vote in a mail referendum scheduled for June 1-30 on whether they will renew the assessment they currently pay to fund the Georgia Agriculture Commodity Commission for Beef established by the Georgia legislature at the request of Georgia cattlemen in 2014.

Georgia Beef producers approved by vote a marketing order that established a $1 per head assessment on all cattle sold in Georgia for beef with a value over $100. This includes beef breeds as well as dairy breeds sold to be used for beef.

By law, beef producers must vote every three years to determine if they want to continue the market order. Georgia beef producers re-affirmed the market order in 2017.

Funds from the assessments are used to fund research, education, and promotion projects for the Georgia cattle producers. In the five years since the assessment began, more than $2.5 million has been committed to research projects with the University of Georgia that help producers with production issues and for state education and promotion programs which benefit Georgia beef producers.

Beef producers should receive a ballot in the mail, but if they do not by June 10, they can call 404-656-3680 or go to www.GABeefBallot.com. Ballots and the back of the return envelope must be filled out for the ballot to be considered as eligible. Ballots must also be postmarked by June 30.

GFB, AG PARTNERS ASK FARMERS TO TAKE COVID-19 IMPACT SURVEY Georgia Farm Bureau is partnering with the Georgia Foundation for Agriculture, the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the UGA Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development to gather information on the impact COVID-19 is having on Georgia agriculture. The deadline for completing the survey has been extended to May 22.

GFB and its survey partners developed a survey to reveal the ways and to what extent producers are being affected.

If you are a farmer in Georgia, please take 10 minutes to provide feedback.

The survey is to be completed only once for each farm/ranch operation. Participants’ names will not be recorded. All information will be kept strictly confidential. The Qualtrics survey system uses data encryption, so there is minimal risk that security of any online data collected may be breached.

Participants may choose to withdraw from the survey at any point during the survey. There is no personal compensation provided for participation.

For more information or to participate in the survey, visit https://gfb.ag/SurveyPreview.

U.S. DOT UPDATES HOURS OF SERVICE RULES FOR TRUCKERS On May 14, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a final rule updating hours of service (HOS) rules to increase safety on America’s roadways by updating existing regulations for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.

First adopted in 1937, FMCSA’s hours of service rules specify the permitted operating hours of -continued on next page

GFB Field Notes page 9 of 12 Continued from previous page commercial drivers. In 2018, FMCSA authored an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to receive public comment on portions of the HOS rules to alleviate unnecessary burdens placed on drivers while maintaining safety on our nation’s highways and roads.

Subsequently, in August 2019, the agency published a detailed proposed rule which received an additional 2,800 public comments.

Based on the public comments, FMCSA’s final rule on hours of service offers four key revisions to the existing HOS rules: • FMCSA will increase safety and flexibility for the 30-minute break rule by requiring a break after 8 hours of consecutive driving and allowing the break to be satisfied by a driver using onduty, not driving status, rather than off-duty status.

• FMCSA will modify the sleeper-berth exception to allow drivers to split their required 10 hours off duty into two periods: an 8/2 split, or a 7/3 split—with neither period counting against the driver’s 14 hour driving window.

• FMCSA will modify the adverse driving conditions exception by extending by two hours the maximum window during which driving is permitted.

• FMCSA will change the short-haul exception available to certain commercial drivers by lengthening the drivers’ maximum on duty period from 12 to 14 hours and extending the distance limit within which the driver may operate from 100 air miles to 150 air miles.

FMCSA’s final rule is crafted to improve safety on the nation’s roadways. The rule changes do not increase driving time and will continue to prevent CMV operators from driving for more than eight consecutive hours without at least a 30-minute break.

In addition, FMCSA’s rule modernizing hours of service regulations is estimated to provide nearly $274 million in annualized cost savings for the U.S. economy and American consumers.

The trucking industry is a key component of the national economy, employing more than seven million people and moving 70 percent of the nation’s domestic freight.

The new hours of service rule will take effect 120 days after publication in the Federal Register.

The final rule is available at www.gfb.ag/2020DOTHOSrule.

GFB Field Notes page 10 of 12 STAY AT HOME BEEKEEPING SERIES May 28 UF’s Jamie Ellis/What’s killing honeybees 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. online June 11 UF’s Cameron Jack/Varroa mite biology 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. online June 25 Dr. Jim Tew, Ala. Ext./Honey production 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. online The Alabama Cooperative Extension System is offering members of beekeeping clubs the opportunity to attend these free online meetings, each of which will bring participants up to date on timely beekeeping topics. Time for Q&A is included. Watch with Zoom at https://auburn.zoom.us/j/904522838 stream via Facebook live at www.facebook.com/LawrenceCountyextension/. For more information, visit Allyson Shabel at ams0137@aces.edu.

GEORGIA PECAN GROWERS TO VOTE ON ASSESSMENT RENEWAL Voting takes place through May 30 Georgia pecan growers of 30 acres or more are voting in May on the renewal of a one-cent per pound assessment on pecans for the Georgia Agriculture Commodity Commission for Pecans.

Under Georgia law, producers are required to vote every three years to renew the assessment. All ballots must be postmarked by May 30. The back of the return envelope must be completed for the ballot to be valid. The commodity commission utilizes assessment funds for research, education, and promotion of Georgia pecans. Growers of 30 or more acres who have not received a ballot should contact Andy Harrison, at andy.harrison@agr.georgia.gov.

GEORGIA FFA VIRTUAL CONVENTION May 28-29 online The 92nd Georgia FFA Convention will be held in an online virtual format in response to accepted health practices to combat COVID-19. The virtual convention will still have elections, award announcements and much more! For more information about the FFA Convention, visit www.georgiaffa.org/page.aspx?ID=45.

USDA STATE CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANTS May 30 Deadline to apply The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has up to $150,000 of funding available in Georgia for eligible individuals, local and state governments, non-governmental organizations and tribes through Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG). CIG awards are intended to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies (in conjunction with agricultural production) while leveraging federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection. Projects must be carried out entirely within Georgia and may be statewide in scope or focus on a smaller region or watershed. Applicants submitting proposals may request up to $75,000 of matching federal funds. Applicants must match the Federal award at least 1:1. Matching funds can be cash, in-kind or a combination of both. For more information, visit www.gfb.ag/2020CIGGa.

GFB Field Notes page 11 of 12 2020 PICTURE AGRICULTURE IN GEORGIA PHOTO CONTEST June 1 Deadline to enter The GFB YF&R Committee is again sponsoring the annual ‘Picture Agriculture’ photo contest.

The contest rules, minor release form, and submission information can be found at www.gfb.ag/yfrphoto. Any GFB member can enter, and cash prizes will be awarded. The top 12 photos will be featured in the 2021 YF&R Calendar, with the statewide winner as the cover photo.

The deadline to submit photos is June 1. For more information, contact Erin Nessmith at ennessmith@gfb.org.

NORTH GEORGIA PRESCRIBED FIRE VIRTUAL MEETING June 4 10 a.m.

Online The Georgia Prescribed Fire Council, a statewide coalition of land managers, landowners, forestry consultants, conservation organizations, universities, and state and federal agencies promotes the safe use of prescribed fire as an essential natural resource management tool to ensure ecosystem health and reduce wildfire risk. The council will hold this virtual meeting using ZOOM technology. with a full agenda of speakers with live interaction from the audience available for questions and comments. The 5-hour meeting, with breaks, will address critical issues for prescribed fire practitioners and advocates, with a special emphasis on north Georgia and its unique terrain, population, and forest types. Meeting attendees will hear from prescribed fire experts on a variety of topics, which can be viewed on the meeting agenda at https://gfb.ag/20RXfiremtg.

SOUTHERN PINE BEETLE COST SHARE PROGRAM June 5 Deadline to apply The Georgia Forestry Commission’s cost share program for Southern Pine Beetle is accepting applications. The purpose of the SPB cost share program is to help landowners implement various silvicultural practices that will prevent (or minimize) impacts of southern pine beetle infestations, restore healthy, more beetle-resistant forests and suppress current beetle infestations. Visit https://gfb.ag/20SPBcostshare for more information or apply.

INVASIVE PLANT CONTROL COST SHARE PROGRAM June 5 Deadline to apply The Georgia Forestry Commission’s cost share program for invasive plant control is accepting applications. The purpose of the program is to promote healthy forests by eliminating nonnative, invasive plants. If left unchecked, lands occupied by these plants become unproductive and native flora (and fauna) can be completely displaced. Visit https://gfb.ag/20IPCPcostshare for more information or to apply.

USDA NATIONAL CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANTS June 29 Deadline to apply The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting proposals for national Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG). CIG projects inspire creative problem-solving solutions that boost production on farms, ranches and private forests and improve natural resources. This year’s priorities are water reuse, water quality, air quality, energy and wildlife habitat. For more information, visit www.gfb.ag/20NationalCIG.

GFB Field Notes page 12 of 12 CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM June 30 extended deadline to apply for 2020 funding Through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) helps farmers, ranchers and forest landowners earn payments for expanding conservation activities while maintaining agricultural production on their land. CSP also encourages adoption of new technologies and management techniques. Changes in the 2018 Farm Bill authorize NRCS to accept new CSP enrollments until 2023 and makes some improvements to the program. For additional information about CSP, contact your local service center. To find your local USDA service Center, visit www.farmers.gov/service-center-locator.

SOUTHERN PEANUT GROWERS CONFERENCE July 16-18 Edgewater Beach and Golf Resort Panama City Beach, Florida Registration is open for the 2020 Southern Peanut Growers Conference. The three-day event provides farmers with information about peanut production, legislative issues, marketing and promotions. To register, visit https://gfb.ag/20spgcregistration. To view the full schedule, visit https://gfb.ag/20spgcsked. Resort reservations can be made by calling 1-800-874-8686 and ask for the “Southern Peanut Growers Conference Rate” or use the Booking ID 11578. Visit www.edgewaterbeachresort.com to book rooms online.

GEORGIA PECAN GROWERS ANNUAL CONFERENCE Originally scheduled for March 24-25, The Georgia Pecan Growers Association annual conference is postponed to Sept. 10-11. The conference will remain in Tifton for the fall event and will essentially combine with GPGA’s annual fall field day. The GPGA uses the conference as its primary fundraiser to offset operating costs throughout the year. Registration will remain open online until the event occurs in September. All planned events will proceed at the fall event, including the golf tournament, orchard tour, welcome reception, and annual awards luncheon.

DAIRY VOLUNTEERS LEND A LISTENING EAR FOR THOSE IN STRESS Are you a dairy farmer who would like to talk to a fellow farmer or industry friend about the stress you’re experiencing? Georgia Milk Producers has partnered with dairy groups in other Southeastern states to compile a list of dairy producers who are volunteering to talk with fellow farmers & dairy industry employees as the dairy sector navigates these difficult times.

Click here to access the list of volunteers & other tips/suggestions for dealing with stress.