Georgia Farm Bureau's Leadership Alert - March 31, 2010

March 31, 2010

www.gfb.org

Vol. 28 No. 13

PRODUCERS SEEKING CLEAR, CROP-SPECIFIC FDA RULES Agricultural producers told Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials that one size will not fit all in the agency’s on-farm food safety rules at the Produce Safety Project’s Stakeholders’ Discussion Series, held March 25 in Tifton. The growers want rules that are based on level of risk, sound science and address all segments in the food supply chain - before and after harvest. The rules, producers said, should also vary by commodity.

In what was billed as a departure from previous FDA practice, the discussion series gave producers a chance to communicate their concerns about the food safety rules for the farm, which the FDA is developing and could put into effect by the end of the year.

Officials said the FDA in the past has implemented rules on other issues and adjusted to stakeholder feedback after the fact, but FDA Associate Commissioner for Food Protection Jeff Farrar said the agency wanted to get the input first before proceeding with its food safety regulations.

The meeting, held at UGA-Tifton’s Rural Development Center, was one of four such town hall-style meetings staged by the Produce Safety Project at Georgetown University.

It included breakout sessions on irrigation and foliar contact water quality, composting animal waste, worker health and hygiene, and wildlife and environmental concerns. It was attended by more than 100 stakeholders ranging from small farming operations to UGA researchers to multiple government agencies.

Most agreed that more information is needed and that cost sharing should be implemented.

“There just isn’t enough research out there,” said Scott Horsfall of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement. “We’re putting way too big a burden on growers for testing.”

The sessions on irrigation water quality underscored the complexity of issues related to on-farm food safety.

Discussions centered on where water samples should be collected, what those samples would be tested for and ways to achieve affordability in the testing program. Currently, producers pay for water testing, which often costs more than $20 per test.

Producers also pointed out that while construction codes are in place for wells supplying drinking water, there are currently no clear standards for wells to be used for agricultural purposes.The FDA is accepting public comments through May 24. For more information or to offer a comment, visit www.producesafetyproject.org.

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BOLL WEEVIL ASSESSMENT SET FOR 2010 The Georgia Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation Board met March 24 to approve their operational budget and set the 2010 assessment for the Georgia Boll Weevil Eradication Program (BWEP) at 65 cents per bale. The new assessment was based on a projection of roughly a million acres of cotton being grown in Georgia this year. The change to a per bale assessment became necessary after the Farm Service Agency announced in 2008 that it would no longer collect the assessment beginning this year.

“The Georgia Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation Board is to be commended for their management of the program,” Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said. “The eradication of the boll weevil contributed greatly to cotton’s resurgence as one of Georgia’s leading crops, which has strengthened the economies of many rural Georgia communities.”

Cotton farmers will now pay an assessment on a per bale basis rather than per acre as in previous years. The assessment will be collected by a grower’s cotton gin, just as it collects the assessment for the Georgia Cotton Commission. The new assessment actually figures to be less than the $2 per acre paid last year, according to Georgia BWEP Director Jim Wilson.

Realizing there was a strong possibility that FSA would no longer collect the BWEP assessment beginning this year, the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation last year that established a mechanism to continue collecting the BWEP assessment so that Georgia’s cotton industry was not jeopardized.

The legislation stipulated that in the event the FSA did stop collecting the assessment and the assessment changed to a per bale basis, that the first handler of cotton is the ginner and that the ginner is responsible for collecting the assessment from the cotton grower. The funds will then be remitted to the Georgia Department of Agriculture. SB 43 did not require a change to a per bale assessment but merely set up the collection mechanism if it became necessary.

The BWEP has been a success for Georgia growers allowing better management of insect pests with the use of fewer pesticides. The BWEP began in Georgia in the mid1980s, and the boll weevil was officially declared eradicated in Georgia in 1994. From 1983 to 1994, Georgia’s cotton acreage increased from 120,000 acres to 885,000 acres.

The BWEP has continued to expand westward to Texas where they have an active eradication program and buffer zone.

WILLIAMS NAMED TO FORESTRY COMMISSION BOARD OF DIRECTORS Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed Charles E. “Chuck” Williams to the Board of Directors for the Georgia Forestry Commission last week. Williams, who is president and CEO of North Georgia Bank in Watkinsville, is a forest landowner and is a member of the Georgia Forestry Association and Forest Stewardship Steering Committee.

A member of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Advisory Council, Williams was named Georgia’s Tree Farmer of the Year in 2005 and is a member of the Georgia Tree Farm Advisory Committee.

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UN GREENHOUSE GAS RESEARCH PRODUCED ERRONEOUS STATISTICS An extension researcher with the University of California, Davis Campus said last week that a 2006 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) study produced flawed statistics that have been used to advance the idea of livestock production as a key emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs).

The study, “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” is often cited in arguments that livestock agriculture should be scaled back to reduce GHG emissions. It concluded that livestock operations account for 18 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, a greater percentage than was attributed to transportation, and it prompted movements to reduce consumption of meat as a means of reducing greenhouse gases.

However, last week in San Francisco, UC Davis Associate Professor and Air Quality Specialist Dr. Frank Mitloehner presented a paper at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in which he deconstructed the FAO’s research accounting.

Mitloehner noted that how the study defined the livestock sector was significantly more comprehensive than how transportation was defined.

Livestock calculation in the study, Mitloehner pointed out, is based on a sum of all GHGs produced throughout the animal's life cycle, such as that produced by the growing of feed, while transportation's contribution calculated in the same study was not similarly life cycle-inclusive.

Mitloehner, who co-authored the paper with two other researchers, concluded that reducing consumption of meat will not reduce greenhouse gas emissions and would only generate more hunger in underdeveloped nations.

The FAO has said in published reports it would revisit the study and release a more detailed analysis of emissions generated through food production by the end of the year.

GFB ACCEPTING RECIPES FOR COOKBOOK Some of the best cooks in the world live here in Georgia, and Georgia Farm Bureau is preparing to publish a cookbook to honor them and promote Georgia agriculture. The cookbook will make its debut at the GFB Convention in December.

Send us your favorite recipe whether it’s an original you’ve created yourself, a traditional dish passed down for generations or your own unique spin on a classic.

Whatever it is, we want it! Recipe categories include: appetizers, beverages, breads, soups, salads, dressings, poultry and eggs, beef, pork, lamb and game, shellfish and fish, vegetables and side dishes, slow cooker recipes and desserts.

Cooking and eating are about sharing, community and friendship. If there is a special memory associated with your recipe, please share that, too, so we can include that with your recipe.

Recipes will be accepted until May 14. You must be a Farm Bureau member to submit a recipe and there is a limit of two recipes per person. To submit a recipe visit http//:www.gfb.org and click on the “Recipes Needed” icon near the top of the web page.

If you don’t have access to a computer, take your recipe to your county Farm Bureau office for assistance in having it submitted.

Leadership Alert page 4 of 4 UPCOMING EVENTS GEORGIA CATTLEMEN'S ASSOCIATION CONVENTION & BEEF EXPO April 1 - 3 Georgia National Agricenter & Fairgrounds Perry Event includes a variety of breeds on display, several cattle sales, a trade show with vendors and educational information. For more information, contact the Georgia Cattlemen's Association office at 478-474-6560 or visit www.gabeef.org.

DEEP SOUTH POULTRY CONFERENCE April 7 UGA Tifton Campus Tifton This conference is intended to provide educational programming for South Georgia poultry producers with an emphasis on broiler and breeder management. For more information, contact Claudia Dunkley at 229 386-3363 or by e-mail at cdunkley@uga.edu.

UGA HAY PRODUCTION SCHOOL April 8-9 Sunbelt Ag Expo Site Moultrie This event will provide A to Z coverage of growing and selling quality hay in the Southeast. School begins at 8:30 a.m. on April 8 and ends with lunch on April 9. Registration is $75 per person and $35 for each extra person from the same farm. The registration fee includes the Hay Production School book, a weed indentification book, many other reference materials and lunch on both days. Visit www.georgiaforages.com for more information and to register or call your local Extension office at 1800-ASK-UGA1.

FORAGE FIELD DAY April 10 Joe. B. Harris Pond House 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Odum Topics to be covered in this workshop include ryegrass variety and fertilization trial results, forage storage methods, seeding rates, nutrient applications, harvesting methods and USDA forage programs.

Register by April 5 by contacting Shanda Thompson via e-mail at Shanda.Thompson@ga.usda.gov or at 912-427-2502.

FORT VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY’S 28TH HAM AND EGG BREAKFAST April 13 C.W. Pettigrew Farm and Community Life Center Fort Valley The public is invited to meet with state and national elected officials who have been invited to discuss current topics affecting their constituents. Cost is $6. Contact Jean Willis at 478-825-6268, or willise@fvsu.edu, to pre-register.

ANTIQUE TRACTOR SHOW April 17 Calhoun Produce 5075 Hawpond Rd. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Ashburn The Triple River Old Iron and Alapahoochee Historic Farm Heritage tractor clubs will display their tractors and invite anyone with an antique tractor to bring theirs. Lunch and assorted strawberry desserts will be sold at the Calhoun Produce deli counter. Call 229-273-1887 for more information.

GA HEIFER EVALUATION & REPRODUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT (HERD) SALE April 20 Tifton Bull Evaluation Center Irwinville Sale begins at 12:30 p.m. Contact Dr. Robert Stewart via e-mail at rstewart @uga.edu or Patsie T. Cannon by calling 229-386-3683.

3RD ANNUAL UGA BULLDOG BONANZA BENEFIT HORSE SALE April 24 UGA Livestock Instructional Arena 2600 South Milledge Ave. Athens Sale begins at noon. Horses may be viewed beginning at 9 a.m. Proceeds benefit the Georgia 4-H HorseProgram and UGA Equine program. For more information, contact Dr. Gary Heusner at 706-5429092 or via e-mail at gheusner@uga.edu or Dr. Kari Turner at 706-542-8588 or via e-mail at kturner@uga.edu.