MAY 12, 2010
www.gfb.org
Vol. 28 No. 19
PILGRIM’S PRIDE TO RESTART PRODUCTION AT DOUGLAS PLANT Believing that consumer demand for chicken is increasing, Pilgrim’s Pride announced last week that it will reopen its plant in Douglas by January 2011, a move expected to create more than 1,000 jobs. The Douglas operation was one of three plants shut down as part of Pilgrim’s Pride’s reorganization under bankruptcy in February 2009. Plans call for two other plants to be reopened by spring 2012. The company also shut down plants in El Dorado, Ark., and Farmerville, La., last year, a collection of moves that reduced the company’s chicken production by 10 percent and eliminated 3,000 jobs. At a time when Georgia’s revenues continue to plummet and lost jobs seem slow to return, the company’s decision to add jobs was welcome news in Atlanta. In addition to the 1,000 jobs in Douglas, 3,000 jobs will be supported by the move, according to a statement from Gov. Sonny Perdue. Now a subsidiary of Brazilian meat producing conglomerate JBS SA, Pilgrim’s Pride reported first-quarter losses of $45.5 million. But with increased chicken use in the foodservice sector, Chief Executive Officer Don Jackson foresees growing demand for chicken. He said in published reports that the plan to reopen the Douglas facility is consistent with the company’s strategy to plan its production in response to forecasted demand. “Although production is slightly higher than a year ago, supplies remain fairly tight,” Jackson said. “Feed costs appear to have stabilized and there are growing signs that the economy is improving. With many retailers and foodservice operators planning to feature chicken in the months ahead, demand is strengthening.” Pilgrim’s entered bankruptcy in 2008 while facing soaring feed and fuel costs combined with declining demand in both restaurant sales and export markets and a high debt load related in part to its purchase of Goldkist. JBS SA paid $800 million for 64 percent of Pilgrim’s stocks in December 2009 and quickly moved to install a new board of directors, with former chairman Lonnie “Bo” Pilgrim the lone holdover on the board. Pilgrim’s used the cash from the sale to pay down its debt. The remaining 36 percent of its stock was distributed to existing shareholders. In January 2010, the company cut 230 corporate positions, including some in Atlanta, in a move designed to streamline administrative operations.
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GFB ANNOUNCES ESSAY, ART CONTEST WINNERS Richmond County’s Grace Halverson won the 16th Annual Georgia Farm Bureau Art Contest and Rachael Childers of Tift County won the GFB Middle School Essay Contest. Halverson, an 11th-grade student at Westminster School of Augusta, won the top state prize of $250 and $75 for winning the GFB 4th District contest with her pen drawing of a farm dog and a basket of Vidalia Onions. The contest was open to all high school students in Georgia and drew 57 entries statewide. The other district winners were: 1st District, Ginger Odum, Cherokee County; 2nd District, Rachel Watson, Stephens County; 3rd District, Anthony Lee, Clayton County; 5th District, Thao Huynh, Monroe County; 6th District, Paige McDaniel, Jones County; 7th District, Ty Gilmore, Emanuel County; 8th District, Aimey Chun, Lee County; 9th District, Jay Jones, Decatur County and 10th District, Kelsey Graham, Irwin County. Childers, a 7th-grade student at Tiftarea Academy, claimed a $150 cash prize for winning the state contest and also received $75 for winning in the GFB 9th District. The essay contest was open to all Georgia students in grades 6 through 8 and drew 53 entries statewide. Using the theme, “How many hats does a farmer wear?” students were asked to address the importance of Georgia agriculture to them personally, their community, the state and the world. The essays were judged on clarity of thought and creativity. The other district winners were: 1st District, Makayla Holmes, Gordon County; 2nd District, Randi Slizewski, Jackson County; 3rd District, Jacob Few, Carroll County; 4th District, David Peterman II, Taliaferro County; 5th District, Katie Ann Sanders, Monroe County; 6th District, Carli Dennis, Dodge County; 7th District, Lauren Rhoney, Candler County; 8th District, Meghan Hogan, Lee County and 10th District, Charley Elizabeth Mayfield, Cook County. DEADLINE APPROACHING FOR DCP PAYMENTS PROGRAM Agricultural producers have until June 1 to enroll in the 2010 Direct and Counter Cyclical Payments Program (DCP). The contracts must be recorded in the applicable county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office, and all persons sharing in the payments generated from the contract must have signed it by the deadline in order for the contract to be approved. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) computes DCP program payments using base acres and payment yields established for each farm. Eligible producers receive direct payments at rates established by statute regardless of market prices. For 2010, eligible producers may request advance direct payments based on 22 percent of the direct payment. Authorized under the 2008 farm bill, direct payments will be made for 83.3 percent of eligible producers’ base acres. Countercyclical payments will be made for 85 percent of the farm’s base acres. For information about the DCP program, contact David Forbes in the FSA state office in Athens at 706-546-2262.
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GEORGIA CELEBRATES NRCS’ 75TH ANNIVERSARY Representatives from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) visited Georgia last week as a part of the agency’s 75th anniversary celebration. NRCS chief Dave White was originally scheduled to visit Georgia but canceled his plans in order to coordinate efforts in response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. In his place, NRCS East Region Assistant Chief Leonard Jordan toured the Range Fuels biomass conversion facility in Soperton and attended a reception honoring Jim L. Gillis Jr. for his more than 70 years of conservation service. He also spent a day and a half in north and middle Georgia touring farms enrolled in NRCS programs. Gillis, 93, is the longest-serving conservation district supervisor in the nation. Jordan presented him the Legacy of Conservation Award. “[Gillis] is an example of what a true conservationist is all about,” Jordan said. “He has been with the conservation movement for some time and he still has a passion to make a difference.” A group of representatives from various government agencies, including Georgia NRCS, the Georgia Forestry Commission, the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission and the National Wildlife Turkey Federation, along with a handful of Georgia owners of forested land toured Earl and Wanda Barrs’ Gully Branch, the 2009 National Tree Farm of the Year, in Bleckley County. Jordan and Georgia State Conservationist James Tillman urged the landowners to get involved in the policy-making process to ensure that their concerns are heard. FOOD PRODUCERS FIGHT MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT AGRICULTURE Defenders of production agriculture are becoming more assertive in telling their side of the food story. A story in the San Francisco Chronicle last week detailed some of those efforts, noting that the defenders come from a variety of sectors. They included a point-bypoint rebuttal by American Agri-Women (AAW) to information broadcast in the documentary “Food, Inc.”, blogs that panned FDA food safety chief Michael Taylor and a letter from Republican Sens. Saxby Chambliss (Ga.) and John McCain (Ariz.) to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in which the senators criticized the USDA’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” program. In the letter to Vilsack, Sens. Chambliss and McCain complained that the Know Your Farmer program places inordinate emphasis on “locavore markets,” where small hobbyist and organic producers sell their crops mainly to urban customers at local farmers markets. “American families and rural farmers are hurting in today's economy,” the senators wrote, “and it’s unclear to us how propping up the urban locavore markets addresses their needs.” AAW, which last week launched a show on “In Country Television” featuring issues important to farm and ranch women, issued a fact sheet debunking the organic practices espoused by “Food, Inc.” One example from the fact sheet indicated that the locally grown model isn’t feasible on a large-enough scale to feed the entire U.S. population. “Americans purchase 35 billion pounds of chicken per year,” it said. “To suggest that this tremendous demand could be met by small-scale farming with labor- and energy-intensive methods is simply a fantasy.”
Leadership Alert page 4 of 4 UPCOMING EVENTS U.S. HOUSE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE FARM BILL HEARING May 14 Clayton State University 1:30 p.m. Morrow This is one in a series of field hearings being held across the country by the House Agriculture Committee regarding U.S. farm policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill. Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall and GFB Peanut Advisory Committee member Andy Bell will be among those testifying. Live video coverage of each hearing can be found on the committee's Web site: http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/audio.html. The committee will also collect public comments on its Web site: http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/feedbackform.html. All comments received online by June 14 will be included in the committee's farm bill field hearing record. DEADLINE TO SUBMIT RECIPES FOR GFB COOKBOOK May 14 Georgia Farm Bureau is preparing to publish a cookbook to honor promote Georgia agriculture. 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. If there is a special memory associated with your recipe, please share that, too, so we can include it with your recipe. 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. MILK QUALITY & MASTITIS CONTROL WORKSHOP May 19 Greene County Extension Office & Stewart Dairy 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Greensboro Workshop will cover how mastitis develops, quality milk standards, mastitis detection and control of mastitis. Training will be available for both English and Spanish speaking producers and employees. The $20 registration fee covers the cost of the book Winning the Fight Against Mastitis, which is available in English and Spanish. THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS MAY 14. Please call 706-453-2083 to register or for more information. ANIMAL SCIENCE IN ACTION June 1-2 University of Georgia Athens This two-day event introduces students to the fields of animal and dairy science. Participants engage in a series of experiments and visit each of the college's main teaching farms for hands-on activities with animals. THE DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS MAY 14 and the registration cost is $75. To register visit the www.ads.uga.edu/academics/ and follow the ASA link. AVIAN ADVENTURES CAMP Jun. 23-25 University of Georgia Athens This three-day camp for rising high school juniors and seniors provides a personal introduction to the world of avian science, including bird reproduction, bird watching and avian surgery. T H E REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS MAY 15 and registration cost is $50. For information, contact Evonne Jones at 706-542-9153 or visit www.caes.uga.edu/departments/poultry/schprogram. GFB YOUNG FARMER FAMILY CONFERENCE & DISCUSSION MEET July 24-25 Lake Blackshear Cordele Conference will include the preliminary rounds of the Discussion Meet, YF workshops and child-oriented activities. The Discussion Meet is open to Young Farmers ages 18-35. The four finalists will compete during the GFB Annual Convention on Dec. 5. Registration is $75 for adults and $40 for children ages 412. To register, contact the GFB Field Services Department at 478-474-0679, ext. 5224 or yf@gfb.org.
Deadline to enter the discussion meet or register for the conference is JUNE 4.