June 29, 2011
www.gfb.org
Vol. 29 No. 26
SENATE AG COMMITTEE PASSES BILL CLARIFYING NPDES REQUIREMENTS The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry approved H.R. 872, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2011 on June 21. The bill clarifies that National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits are not required when applying pesticides approved under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). After clearing the Senate Ag Committee it was placed on the Senate legislative calendar. House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) issued a statement urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to bring the bill to a vote on the floor of the Senate. Companion legislation, S. 718, was introduced in the Senate by Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), ranking member of the Senate Ag Committee and cosponsored by 12 senators, including Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.). A 2007 EPA rule allowed pesticides approved under FIFRA to be exempted from Clean Water Act (CWA) permitting requirements, but under a 2009 ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of National Cotton Council vs. EPA, pesticide applicators would have to apply for an NPDES permit if the chemical reaches a body of water, which could include ditches and culverts. Without passage of H.R. 872, an estimated 35,000 pesticide applicators will need permits to cover about 500,000 applications per year, and under the CWA, unlawful discharges are subject to fines. Farm Bureau has maintained that the NPDES permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act duplicate the permitting requirements under FIFRA and, in addition to exposing farmers to potential lawsuits, imposed unnecessary and costly administrative requirements. Further, while NPDES permits will not provide any additional environmental benefits, the complex new requirements would expose farmers to potential citizen action suits for something as simple as paperwork violations. H.R. 872 would reinstate the exemptions to the regulatory framework in use under the 2007 rule. Sponsored by Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio), H.R. 872 passed the House on March 31 by a 292130 vote and received bipartisan support. It was supported by Farm Bureau and voted for by Georgia Reps. John Barrow (D-12th Dist.), Sanford Bishop (D-2nd Dist.), Paul Broun (R-10th Dist.), Phil Gingrey (R-11th Dist.), Tom Graves (R-9th Dist.), Jack Kingston (R-1st Dist.), Tom Price (R-6th Dist.), Austin Scott (R-8th Dist.), David Scott (D-13th Dist.), Lynn Westmoreland (R-3rd Dist.) and Rob Woodall (R-7th Dist.).
Leadership Alert page 2 of 5 USDA ISSUES DISASTER DECLARATION FOR 22 GEORGIA COUNTIES On June 28, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued disaster declarations for 22 Georgia counties suffering crop losses documented in April loss assessment reports. An additional 26 counties bordering those were named contiguous disaster counties A Farm Service Agency (FSA) official explained that the number of counties had to do with the timing of loss assessments and predicted that more counties would receive disaster declarations after additional assessments are performed this summer. “It was all a timing issue,” said Clark Weaver, the FSA’s Georgia section chief for price support, conservation and compliance. “We did the loss assessment reports back in the middle of April, and at that point in time we only had so many counties that were in that drought situation, not like it is today. So that’s why we only had 22 counties.” The 22 counties declared primary disaster areas are Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Chatham, Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Dodge, Effingham, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Lanier, Lowndes, Pierce, Telfair, Thomas, Wayne and Wheeler. The 26 contiguous counties are Berrien, Bleckley, Bulloch, Camden, Charlton, Clinch, Echols, Evans, Glynn, Grady, Laurens, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Mitchell, Montgomery, Pulaski, Screven, Tattnall, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Turner, Ware, Wilcox and Worth. Producers in counties under secretarial disaster declaration may be eligible for loans and other assistance from the federal government. Weaver indicated that another round of loss assessment reports (LARs) will be done beginning in July and he expects many more to qualify for disaster declaration. He said the agency was aware of drought monitoring data in April and asked counties in the southern half of the state to conduct LARs. A county is eligible for disaster designation when it has a 30 percent loss in one crop, and procedure calls for the governor to request disaster declaration from the secretary of agriculture. He urged farmers to report crop losses to the county FSA office for consideration in the next set of LARs. CHAMBLISS REVIEWS DAMAGE FROM FOREST FIRES IN SE GEORGIA Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss received a briefing and a tour of the forest fires in and around the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge on June 25, reviewing some of the damage from what State Forester Robert Farris called a historic fire season in Georgia. Multiple fires have charred more than 300,000 acres, including approximately 50,000 on private land, much of which was awaiting timber harvest. Farris said this season would likely exceed the damage caused by the Okefenokee fires in 2007, but because fires have been widespread across the the south the manpower and firefighting resources available then are not all available now. The 2011 fires, compounded by severe drought conditions, are being combated by personnel from the Georgia Forestry Commission, its equivalent agency in Florida, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others. Given the difficult federal budget environment, Chambliss said the prospect of aid to private landowners affected by the fires is difficult to predict. “There’s going to be significant private property loss,” Chambliss said. “How we’re going to deal with that going forward is going to be very very difficult, because we’re out of money in Washington right now. I’m not sure what the answer is going to be.”
Leadership Alert page 3 of 5 LONG-TIME FARM BUREAU VOLUNTEERS MARTIN AND CAGLE DIE Georgia Farm Bureau is mourning the losses of former Butts County Farm Bureau President Mary Lee Martin and former GFB Women’s Committee member Bernese Cagle. Martin, who was 93, died on June 20. She was preceded in death by her husband George Noah Martin Jr., who died in1989. She is survived by daughter Mary Ruth Watson and her husband Ralph, granddaughter Leonora Clarkson and her husband Colin, grandson Corley Watson and his wife Beth, granddaughter Christie Watson, grandson Dennis Conners and three greatgrandchildren. Mrs. Martin served as president of BCFB from 1989 to 2010 and at the time of her death was the BCFB vice president. She was the second civilian employee at the Atlanta Army Depot and was a charter member of the Jackson Business and Professional Women’s Organization. She was inducted into the Butts County Hall of Fame by the Butts County Chamber of Commerce in 1997. Those wishing to honor her may make donations to the Butts County Farm Bureau Scholarship Fund. Bernese Cagle of Bartow County, a former member of the Georgia Farm Bureau Women’s Committee, died on June 22. She was 71. Cagle played a leading role in the organization of the Centennial Farm Heritage Program in Georgia and served on the board of the North American Farmers Direct Marketing Association. She is survived by her husband of 53 years, Albert Cagle, son Albert Scot Cagle and his wife Laurie, son Mark Dennis Cagle, son Gary Len Cagle and his wife Teresa, son David Clayton Cagle and his wife Angela, brother Hugh Gerry Haynes and his wife Patsy, 11 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. JUDGE GRANTS INJUNCTION ON PORTIONS OF GA. IMMIGRATION LAW Some provisions of Georgia’s new immigration law, HB 87, were blocked under a judge’s ruling on June 27 in a lawsuit by a group of civil rights organizations . U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Thrash issued injunctions against the provision calling for police to investigate immigration status of certain suspects and a measure allowing punishment for those who knowingly transport or harbor illegal immigrants. Much of the law was to become effective July 1. Gov. Nathan Deal’s office issued a statement saying the state would appeal the ruling. The ruling left intact the law’s requirements relating to E-Verify use by employers. Those requirements become effective in phases beginning Jan. 1, 2012. COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF GEORGIA IN TRI-STATE WATER DISPUTE The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on June 28 ruled that one of the intended purposes of Lake Lanier was to supply water to the metro Atlanta region, overturning a 2009 U.S. District Court ruling by Judge Paul Magnuson in an ongoing legal battle between Georgia, Alabama and Florida over access to the water from the lake. According to published reports, Alabama plans to appeal the Circuit Court ruling. Magnuson’s ruling gave the states until July 2012 to reach a water-sharing agreement. Without an agreement, metro Atlanta’s access to water from Lake Lanier was to revert to 1970s levels.
Leadership Alert page 4 of 5 FSA TAKING NOMINATIONS FOR COUNTY COMMITTEES The nomination period for Farm Service Agency county committees opened June 15 and 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. Farmers and ranchers may nominate themselves or others, and organizations representing minorities and women also may nominate candidates. To become a candidate, an eligible individual must sign the nomination form, FSA-669A. For more information visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. FSA will mail ballots beginning Nov. 4. The ballots are due back to the local county office by Dec. 5. Newly elected committee members and alternates take office on Jan. 2, 2012. 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 non-members. For information and to register, visit http://www.gfagrow.org/annualmeeting.asp. 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. 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. 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 816-3835100 or email sstannard@angus.org.
Leadership Alert page 5 of 5 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 November 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. Preconference 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.