July 6, 2011
www.gfb.org
Vol. 29 No. 27
CONCERNS OVER LABOR AIRED AT LISTENING SESSION WITH KINGSTON South Georgia farmers expressed frustrations over limited access to farm laborers during a listening session with Rep. Jack Kingston (R-1st Dist.) on June 30 at the Homerville City Auditorium, voicing concerns over government bureaucracy, the effects of Georgia’s new immigration law and the viability of the H-2A guest worker visa program. Similar concerns were shared with Georgia Reps. Jason Shaw (R-Lakeland) and Ellis Black (R-Valdosta) during a separate meeting the same day at the Lanier County Farm Bureau office. Kingston took a straw poll of the crowd of more than 100 people, asking questions about their experiences using H-2A and E-Verify, the federal government’s online work authorization verification program. Kingston said the agriculture industry has opportunities to form coalitions with the hotel/motel industry and the construction industry to create a larger voice on immigration issues. He also stressed that immigration reform should be accompanied by welfare reform. “If you’re on welfare right now it’s probably a $20,000 package,” Kingston said. “For somebody to go out in a hot field versus sitting around and getting free medication, food, housing and medical assistance, why would you want to do the work?” Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall spoke during the session with Kingston, saying farmers need help in the form of federal legislation to reform the H-2A program, which many farmers feel is too cumbersome to provide them with the workers they need. Duvall outlined points for improvement of the guest worker program, saying it should accommodate all agricultural producers, addressing needs for those that use seasonal help and those that need workers year-round. He also stressed that the guest worker program should be simple, placed under the supervision of one government department and include a program so workers currently in the U.S. can apply for work visas. Shaw also spoke at the Homerville meeting, outlining efforts in the Georgia General Assembly to minimize HB 87’s effects on agriculture. Dan Bremer of Agworks Inc. reviewed the requirements of the current H-2A program, noting that the use of undocumented workers is a declining option in states where E-Verify laws are in effect, leaving those states at a competitive disadvantage with states lacking such laws. “You have a responsibility to tell your elected officials what you want to have done,” Bremer said.
Leadership Alert page 2 of 5 USDA TO ISSUE PARTIAL COUNTER-CYCLICAL PAYMENTS FOR PEANUTS Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on June 9 that the United States Department of Agriculture will issue approximately $10 million in partial 2010 crop counter-cyclical payments to producers with peanut base acres enrolled in the USDA’s Direct and CounterCyclical Payment (DCP) program. The program is provided under the 2008 farm bill, which allows one partial countercyclical payment per marketing year in an amount up to 40 percent of the projected countercyclical rate. The payment may be issued after 180 days of the marketing year but not later than 30 days prior to the end of the marketing year. The projected counter-cyclical payment rate is the amount by which the target price, specified by the 2008 farm bill, exceeds the effective price. The partial payment for the 2010 peanut crop is $5.20 per ton, equal to 40 percent of the difference between the target price of $495 per ton and an effective price of $482 per ton. The effective price is equal to the projected average market price of $446 per ton plus the direct payment rate of $36 per ton. Producers are required to repay any amount by which the partial payment exceeds the actual counter-cyclical payments determined after the end of the marketing year. For more information on the DCP program, visit a local FSA office or the FSA DCP website at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/dcp. SURE APPLICATION DEADLINE APPROACHING FOR 2009 CROP LOSSES Farmers have until July 29 to apply for assistance for crop losses sustained in 2009 under the Supplemental Revenue Assurance Payments (SURE) program. The program provides crop disaster assistance payments to eligible producers on farms that experienced crop production or quality losses due to natural disasters. The USDA designated 98 counties in Georgia as primary disaster areas and an additional 58 counties as contiguous disaster area due to flooding that occurred in the fall of 2009. Only Catoosa, Columbia and Whitfield counties did not receive secretarial disaster designation. To be eligible for the SURE program, farmers must have suffered at least a 10 percent production loss on a crop of economic significance and obtained a policy or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. Some payment limits apply. For more information about the USDA’s disaster assistance programs, visit a local Farm Service Agency office or http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov. GEORGIA POULTRY FEDERATION ELECTS OFFICERS Cagle’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mark Ham was elected chairman of the Georgia Poultry Federation during the organization's recent annual meeting. He succeeds Barry Cronic of Columbia Farms in Franklin County. Ken Long of Pilgrim's Pride, Clay Banks of Equity Group in Camilla, and Donnie Wilburn of Harrison Poultry in Barrow County were installed as vice chairmen of the GPF board.
Leadership Alert page 3 of 5 GFB SUBMITS COMMENTS ON CLEAN WATER ACT GUIDANCE On July 1, Georgia Farm Bureau submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on proposed guidance regarding identification of waters protected by the Clean Water Act (CWA). In a letter to the EPA, GFB President Zippy Duvall expressed opposition to the proposed guidance because it would broadly expand the jurisdiction of both the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the CWA. “It will have a material impact on CWA permitting and enforcement, and we believe the Guidance violates the Administrative Procedures Act and the express views of the U.S. Supreme Court by issuing guidance on this topic as opposed to rulemaking,” Duvall wrote. Currently, the CWA applies to “traditional navigable waters,” generally those capable of supporting interstate commerce. The proposed guidance expands that definition to cover any body of water that can support “one-time recreational use,” and applies new standards to determine which waters are subject to jurisdiction under all CWA permitting programs. Farm Bureau maintains that this would result in greater permit requirements, meaning delays for farmers seeking permits for access to water to be used for irrigation. Duvall noted that the proposed guidance could undo the work done by Georgia’s 10 regional water councils on the issue of water management and appears to be an attempt by the EPA and the Corps of Engineers to gain jurisdictional expansion they were unable to achieve through Congress. The comment period has been extended and the EPA and Corps of Engineers will accept comments through July 31. To submit a comment, visit http://www.regulations.gov and search for docket EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0409. PORK PRODUCERS BRIEFED ON RULE CHANGES At its annual meeting on June 22, the Georgia Pork Producers Council learned of possible rules changes concerning Consolidated Animal Feeding Operations and they received research updates and budget news from University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. UGA Extension Engineer Dr. John Worley talked about a recent court ruling in which it was determined that the EPA has no right to require a permit unless a spill has occurred. Worley said that pork producers who have a manure spill will only be subjected to penalties for having a spill. The penalties for failure to apply for a permit, which he said are generally more severe than those for a spill, would no longer apply according to the court’s ruling, though Georgia’s large producers will probably still need to obtain a permit from the state once the Georgia Environmental Protection Division develops its rules. Worley told the participants that the EPA is now allowing flexibility in nutrient management plan (NMP) practices. Under new EPA rules, NMPs can be in either linear form, where a producer declares how much manure will be used and what crops will be grown, or narrative form, which allows producers to change crops on land where manure is applied without having to completely recreate the NMP. “One thing we’ve tried to encourage people to do is keep better records to show what they’re doing,” Worley said. “They’ve really been doing nutrient management for some time, but when the neighbors complain or questions come up, they need to be able to show when questions come up that they are doing a good job.”
Leadership Alert page 4 of 5 WOMEN, HISPANIC FARMERS CAN APPLY FOR USDA CLAIMS PACKAGE The United States Department of Agriculture recently announced the establishment of a process to resolve the claims of Hispanic and women farmers who assert that they were discriminated against when seeking USDA farm loans. To register for a claims package or for more information visit http://www.farmerclaims.gov or call 1-888-508-4429. 2011 SUNBELT EXPO FIELD DAY July 7 Spence Field 8:30 a.m. Moultrie This free event gives farmers and the public a chance to see research projects in progress and talk with the researchers involved in the experiments. But it also provides the opportunity to view the latest in modern agriculture. Topics include GPS navigation, irrigation technology, test plots for switchgrass and miscanthus, organics and peanuts, variety tests on cotton, corn and soybeans and tractor technology. Lunch is included and each attendee will receive an Expo cap. For more information, call 229-985-1968 or visit http://www.sunbeltexpo.com. GEORGIA FORESTRY ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING July 16-18 Westin and Savannah Trade Center Savannah This event includes sessions on timber industry financing, bioenergy, emerging timber trade markets and more. There are opportunities for networking and specialized family and children programs for attendees. Registration is $500 for members and $600 for nonmembers. Visit http://www.gfagrow.org/annualmeeting.asp for more information. FSA TAKING NOMINATIONS FOR COUNTY COMMITTEES The nomination period for Farm Service Agency county committees runs through Aug. 1 To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee, a person must participate or cooperate in a program administered by FSA, be eligible to vote in a county committee election and reside in the local administrative area in which the person is a candidate. For more information visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. GRAZING SCHOOL SEEKING INPUT FROM PARTICIPANTS University of Georgia Extension Forage Specialist Dr. Dennis Hancock is conducting a survey of participants of the Georgia Grazing School to evaluate the impact of the school's programs. It will gauge which practices are frequently adopted in producers' operations and which aspects of the grazing school approach are most successful. The information will be combined with evaluations of grazing schools in other states to identify which elements have the greatest impact. Hancock said the evaluation will enhance understanding how farm operations have changed after participation in the Georgia Grazing School. The results will be presented at the 2011 Georgia Grazing School and at the October meeting of the Crop Science Society of America Crop Science meeting in October. The deadline to participate in the survey is Sept. 1. The survey can be found at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22CLBRJANUS. Survey participants will receive a gift as a token of thanks.
Leadership Alert page 5 of 5 NATIONAL ANGUS CONFERENCE & TOUR Sept. 6-8 The Classic Center Athens Sponsored by Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC, this tour includes two days of visits at ranches in central and northeast Georgia as well as presentations from industry representatives, researchers and Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black. Registration fee is $150 before Aug. 1 and $175 after. For more information, visit http://www.nationalangusconference.com, call 816-383-5100 or email sstannard@angus.org. GEORGIA PECAN GROWERS ASSOCIATION FALL FIELD DAY Sept. 8 UGA Tifton Campus 8 a.m. Tifton This free event will feature a review of the latest insect, disease, fertilizer, and breeding research by UGA pecan researchers including Jim Dutcher, Tim Brenneman, Lenny Wells, and Patrick Conner. Lunch will be provided. For more information, contact Janice Dees at georgiapecan@gmail.com. 25TH ANNUAL GEORGIA PEANUT TOUR Sept. 27-29 Holiday Inn Express
3 p.m.
Bainbridge
An Early Bird Hot Topics’ Seminar will also be held Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 3:00 p.m.at the Holiday Inn Express in Bainbridge, Ga. The tour spotlights the southwest part of Georgia's peanut production area and includes a cross section of field conditions, peanut harvest clinics, production research at the University of Georgia Attapulgus Research Farm, peanut handling and grading facilities on-farm demonstrations and equipment manufacturing. The tour also includes a special private performance of the local annual production of Swamp Gravy, a community play with local citizens about the life, events and antics of their forefathers and families who settled the area. The registration fee before Aug. 8 is $60 per person, which includes all meals and reserved transportation during the tour. After Aug. 8 the registration fee is $70. For more information about the 25th Annual Georgia Peanut Tour contact the Georgia Peanut Commission at 229-386-3470 or rebecca@gapeanuts.com. SOUTHERN WOODLAND OWNERS CONFERENCE & SOLUTIONS FAIR Nov. 1-2 UGA Tifton Campus Tifton This two-day event will feature a variety of topics to address challenges in forest management in the southern U.S., including timber security, intergenerational transfers, the latest in seedling development, timberland value trends, forest certification and conservation easements. Pre-conference field trips to an area wood products mill and a longleaf plantation also will be offered. Registration details will be available in early August. For more information or to be placed on a mailing list for more information, contact Michele Lawson at michele@gfagrow.org. INSECT UPDATES Check the Cotton Insect Hotline (1-800-851-2847) for updates on current insect conditions. The Cotton Pest Management Newsletter and additional cotton production information is also posted on the UGA Cotton Homepage at: http://www.ugacotton.com