Georgia Farm Bureau's Leadership Alert October 5, 2011

October 5, 2011

www.gfb.org

Vol. 29 No. 40

GFVGA RELEASES PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF LABOR IMPACT STUDY On Oct. 4 the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) released preliminary findings from the economic impact study which a group of ag organizations, including Georgia Farm Bureau, commissioned to analyze production data from the spring and summer harvest and how it was affected by limited access to labor. Assuming the grower responses in the study are representative of all growers, the total yearly economic impact would be approximately $391 million and the job loss would be about 3,260 statewide.

The study analyzed data from blueberries, blackberries, Vidalia onions, bell peppers, squash, cucumbers and watermelons, crops that represented more than 46.4 percent of the acreage available for harvest this spring. The crops studied represented a total farm gate value of more than $578 million in the 2009 UGA Farm Gate Survey. Combined, the survey respondents sustained losses of $74.98 million directly attributed to harvest or packing labor shortages. Assuming the grower responses in the study are representative of all growers, the total loss attributed to labor shortage for the seven crops studied would be about $140 million.

The data showed the growers responding to the survey would need 12,930 harvesters in a normal year. For the spring of 2011 they reported a shortage of 5,244 harvesters to meet the 12,930 target.

The researchers also estimated the impacts of the reported losses on the local communities and the state as a whole. Calculated on an annual basis, the spring 2011 berry and vegetable production resulted in an additional $106.5 million lost in other goods and services in Georgia’s economy, putting the combined impact at about $181.5 million dollars.

The study also surveyed growers on how access to labor would impact their plans for 2012. Of berry growers who responded, 65 percent said they would maintain their current acreage due to significant investments they have made in their orchards and vineyards, though many blueberry growers indicated they would make more use of mechanical harvesters and 20 percent said they would decrease harvested acreage.

For the vegetable growers, 53 percent who answered the acreage plan questions said they would be decreasing their acreage in 2012, including some who plan to eliminate vegetable production altogether.

Most growers said they plan to decrease their acreage between 25 and 50 percent, while 45 percent of the respondents said they would maintain their current acreage for 2012. Only 2 percent said they plan to increasing their acreage.

Leadership Alert page 2 of 5 OBAMA SENDS FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS TO CONGRESS President Barack Obama on Oct. 3 sent free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea to Congress for approval. The agreements are expected to increase export markets for a variety of Georgia-grown commodities, including poultry, beef, pecans, peanuts, fruits and vegetables. According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, the trade agreements are expected to increase direct exports from Georgia by $44.5 million per year.

Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall sent a letter to members of the Georgia congressional delegation on Oct. 4 asking for their support for the agreements. American Farm Bureau has also asked Congress to move quickly to pass the agreements.

Duvall noted that the Korean agreement in particular is important for Georgia’s livestock industry. “Korea has recently reached a new trade agreement with the European Union, and the U.S. stands to lose its competitive advantage without the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement. U.S. poultry exported to Colombia are subject to tariffs, some of which are as high as 209 percent.

Brazil and Argentina, countries with which Colombia has trade agreements, have taken market share in Colombia while U.S. poultry exports to Colombia dropped by nearly half between 2008 and 2009,” Duvall wrote.

“Without these agreements, over the last four years, Korea, Colombia and Panama have opened their doors to our competitors,” American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman said. “A further delay will provide more benefits to our competitors at the expense of our economy.”

Imports from Panama enter the United States duty-free, and the trade agreement with that country would provide U.S. products entering that country the same access.

PETERSON BILL WOULD MAKE CHANGES TO NATIONAL DAIRY POLICY House Agriculture committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) introduced the Dairy Security Act of 2011 on Sept. 23. The bill is based on the 2010 proposal “Foundation For The Future” from the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF).

The bill includes provisions for the Dairy Producer Margin Protection Program (DPMPP) and the Dairy Market Stabilization Program (DMSP). The DPMPP is a government-funded catastrophic loss safety net intended to protect dairy producers against periods of low milk prices, high feed costs or a combination of the two. Participation in DPMPP is voluntary. The DMSP is intended to reduce market volatility by discouraging new milk production during periods of compressed margins, and would be mandatory for producers participating in DPMPP. Georgia Milk Producers Inc. has expressed opposition to the legislation, noting that it creates regional disparities and ignores regional differences in meeting market demands. In a letter to NMPF President Jerry Kozak, GMP Executive Director Farrah Newberry expressed concern that the bill, if enacted, would financially devastate the Southeastern dairy industry. Newberry maintained that the DMSP would accelerate the decline in numbers of Southeastern dairy farms, which would be subjected to penalties for overproduction while striving to meet market demand.

GMP recommended the inclusion of regional provisions and having Federal Milk Order Reform take place through the USDA administrative hearing process rather than through legislation.

Leadership Alert page 3 of 5 AG ORGANIZATIONS MAKE 2012 FARM BILL RECOMMENDATIONS Multiple agricultural organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, have made recommendations to Congress on what should be included in the 2012 farm bill.

Acknowledging that the nation’s agriculture industry, like other sectors, will have less federal funding to work with as Congress wrestles with severe budget restraints, the National Cotton Council, the National Corn Growers Association and the American Soybean Association have all made proposals that would eliminate some or all of the direct payment, countercyclical payment, SURE and ACRE programs.

American Farm Bureau advocates keeping the programs from the 2008 farm bill in place but would consider supporting modifications to those programs to make them more effective in a reduced-budget environment.

The AFBF policy recommendations for the 2012 farm bill include making 30 percent of the share of total cuts from each of three program areas: commodity programs, conservation programs and nutrition programs.

The organization recommended that the other 10 percent cut come from crop insurance funding. Those four areas make up 99 percent of the funding authorized in the farm bill. The recommended cuts in the nutrition programs could be made through administrative reductions rather than program benefit cuts.

EPA DRAWS CRITICISM FOR MOVES ON GREENHOUSE GASES, FUMIGANTS The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Inspector General has found that the technical support document that accompanied the EPA’s greenhouse gas endangerment finding is a “a highly influential scientific assessment and thus required a more rigorous EPA peer review than occurred.”

While no determination was made on the validity of the science used, EPA Inspector General Arthur A. Elkins Jr., said in a statement that the EPA failed to certify whether it complied with its own peer review policies or those established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

“While it may be debatable what impact, if any, this had on EPA’s finding, it is clear that the EPA did not follow all required steps for a highly influential scientific assessment. We also noted that documentation of events and analyses could be improved,” Elkins said.

The EPA disputed the finding.

Meanwhile, the Senate Agriculture Committee and American Farm Bureau have written the EPA in response to the agency’s proposal to eliminate use of the fumigant sulfuryl fluoride (SF) by 2014 to limit public exposure to fluoride. SF is a fumigant used to prevent pest contamination in foods made from wheat, rice, corn, oats, oilseeds, cocoa, nuts and dried fruit as well as seeds and other commodities.

Farmers are transitioning to its use as an alternative to methyl bromide, which is being phased out. The EPA’s own assessment noted that SF accounts for a tiny fraction of aggregate fluoride exposure and its elimination would not solve or significantly decrease exposure.

Both AFBF and the Senate Ag Committee requested that the EPA consider administrative options that would allow for continued SF use.

Leadership Alert page 4 of 5 GEORGIA FARM BUREAU DISTRICT ANNUAL MEETINGS Oct. 11 9th District Mitchell County Ag Center 7 p.m.

Camilla Oct. 13 7th District First Baptist Church 7 p.m.

Statesboro Nov. 3 8th District South Georgia Technical College 7 p.m.

Americus Nov. 8 4th District Greene County High School 7 p.m.

Greensboro Nov. 10 6th District Poplar Springs North Bapt. Ch. 7 p.m.

Dublin Contact your county Farm Bureau office for more information. Note: These meetings are for Farm Bureau members only and not open to the general public.

LUKE BRYAN FARM TOUR Oct. 6 Coffee Weed Plantation Valdosta Oct. 7 VFW Fairgrounds Carrollton Country music artist and Lee County Farm Bureau member Luke Bryan embarks on his Farm Tour, sponsored by Southern Ag Carriers, the National Peanut Buying Points Association and the American Peanut Shellers Association. Each venue is near a university, and Bryan’s organization is sponsoring a college scholarship at each of them for a student from a farm family.

A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will fund the scholarships. To order tickets, visit http://www.lukebryan.com/farmtour.

GEORGIA NATIONAL FAIR Oct. 6–16 Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter Perry The award-winning Georgia National Fair features livestock and horse shows, youth exhibits, home and fine arts competitions, family entertainment, midway rides and games, fair food, and major concerts that includes Blake Shelton and the JaneDear Girls. For more information, visit www.georgianationalfair.com.

UGA HORTICULTURE FIELD DAY Oct. 7 UGA Horticulture Farm Watkinsville Experts will highlight the latest information on a range of topics from honeybee management to organic vegetable productionUGA faculty from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will be stationed throughout the farm to discuss current research projects. Registration is $25 per person and includes lunch. Participation is limited to the first 250 registrants. For more information, see the event's website at http://www.areg.caes.uga.edu/#hortfieldday.

AGRICULTURAL SUMMIT OF NORTHEAST GEORGIA Oct. 11 Athens Technical College 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Athens State agricultural leaders, University of Georgia experts will talk about business financing, economic development, research and workforce development. Dr. Steve Stice, a Georgia Research Alliance eminent scholar in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, will give the keynote address and Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black will moderate a panel discussion with Georgia departments and agencies that assist industry in retention and expansion. CAES leaders will share information about UGA research. The Agricultural Summit is hosted by the Joint Development Authority of Northeast Georgia to promote the growth, expansion and recruitment of agricultural related business in northeast Georgia. For more information, visit the website at http://www.northeastgeorgiaworks.com.

Leadership Alert page 5 of 5 POLO & PALS EQUESTRIAN EXTRAVAGANZA Oct. 15 Champion Oak Farm (off Bethany Road) 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Madison Horse enthusiasts will enjoy this afternoon of “horsing around” that will include demonstrations by the UGA 5-time National Champion Equestrian Team, La Ferme de Cheval’s Nichole Mesik riding her elegant Friesian and costumed Arabians and local horse competitors demonstrating their barrel racing and showmanship skills. Events will include a round of Polf (polo golf) with polo pros and celebrity guests competing and a “half-horsed” polo match played by area mule enthusiasts. Admission is $20/person, $30/couple or $50/car for ringside parking/viewing (includes admission for all occupants). Children 10 and under will be admitted free. Dogs on leashes are welcome. Soft drinks and snacks will be available all day followed by a barbecue supper for $15 at 7 p.m. For more information contact Maybe Ortiz at cmaybeortiz@yahoo.com or call 706-453-7484. This event is raising funds for the Polo Players Support Group that helps injured polo players with their medical bills.

SOUTHERN WOODLAND OWNERS CONFERENCE & SOLUTIONS FAIR Oct. 31-Nov. 2 UGA Tifton Campus Tifton Two optional preconference field trips will be offered Oct. 31 to Norbid Mill (cost of $20), a wood products mill in Cordele, and Oakridge Farms (cost of $45), a longleaf plantation. The two-day conference 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. Full conference participation earns attendees up to 9 CFE credits and 10 CLE credits. Registration without CFE/CLE credits is $90 per person before Oct. 14 and $110 after Oct. 14. Registration with CFE/CLE credits is $130 per person before Oct. 14 and $150 after. For more information visit or contact Michele Lawson at michele@gfagrow.org or 478-992-8110.

FARM TO FORK CONFERENCE Nov. 1-2 UGA Tifton Campus Tifton This conference, sponsored by the UGA Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development and the Georgia Center of Innovation for Agribusiness, will cover the basics of developing a business to make and sell a food product. Workshops will cover developing a business plan, securing financing, legal issues, food quality and safety regulations, packaging, sales techniques, food products reviews and much more. Business owners who are successfully operating businesses selling food products they created will also speak. Registration cost is $39. Visit http://www.areg.caes.uga.edu to register. For more information contact Sarah Cook at smcook@uga.edu or 229-391-6882.