Georgia Farm Bureau's Leadership Alert - November 9, 2011

November 9, 2011

www.gfb.org

Vol. 29 No. 45

GFB POLICY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETS, CONSIDERS RESOLUTIONS The Georgia Farm Bureau Policy Development Committee met at the headquarters in Macon on Oct. 10 and Nov. 1 to consider changes to the policy that guides GFB’s legislative initiatives. The committee consists of 30 county presidents, 20 commodity advisory committee chairmen, and 25 GFB board members.

The task of the committee is to go through existing Farm Bureau policy and submitted resolutions and make recommendations for consideration by the voting delegates at the annual convention in December. More than 300 resolutions were submitted by 75 different county Farm Bureaus. The 20 GFB commodity advisory committees also offered resolutions for consideration.

“The main subjects on the minds of our members this year were our positions on ethanol subsidies, taxes, commercial driver’s license (CDL) requirements, immigration and metal theft,” said GFB President Zippy Duvall. “You are charged with giving serious attention to all these resolutions and putting them into a usable document for our voting delegates to consider.”

More than 50 county resolutions were submitted on the subject of Farm Bureau’s ethanol position. The policy development committee recommended that Farm Bureau continue to call for government incentives to increase production and utilization of domestically produced ethanol.

The committee reiterated Farm Bureau’s stance that farm inputs not be subject to state and local sales taxes. As farmers buy local production inputs, rural economies are strengthened, and government should promote such business activity.

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently invited public comment about whether farmers should have a CDL before driving farm equipment on a public road. The DOT decided not to change the current requirements, but the issue was still fresh on the minds of Farm Bureau members. The committee restated its opposition to increased CDL requirements for farmers.

The committee recommended that Georgia Farm Bureau create a new policy section dealing with immigration issues. While the organization remains committed to comprehensive immigration reform at the national level, there was agreement that state involvement might be required in order to obtain a stable work force for agriculture.

There was broad consensus about curbing metal theft. Farmers have been hit hard by this crime. The committee recommended that Farm Bureau support all reasonable means to control metal theft by stricter enforcement of existing laws, additional laws to strengthen existing law, and increased penalties for metal thieves and for those who purchase stolen contraband.

The committee will meet again on Dec. 4 for open policy development during the GFB Convention on Jekyll Island and the voting delegates will consider the final document on Dec. 6.

Leadership Alert page 2 of 5 EPA RELEASES PESTICIDE GENERAL PERMIT UNDER NPDES On Oct. 31 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) final pesticide general permit (PGP) for pesticide applications. The rules went into effect on Nov. 1.

According to an EPA fact sheet, the final PGP covers operators who apply pesticides that result in discharges from the following use patterns: (1) mosquito and other flying insect pest control; (2) weed and algae control; (3) animal pest control; and (4) forest canopy pest control. The permit requires permit holders to minimize pesticide discharges through the use of pest management measures and monitor for and report any adverse incidents. The entire fact sheet is available at http://cfpub2.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=410.

The NPDES rule stemmed from a decision by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of National Cotton Council v. EPA, in which the court ruled that point source discharges of biological pesticides, and chemical pesticides that leave a residue, are pollutants under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

Agricultural groups, including Farm Bureau, and some members of Congress have argued that pesticide application permits are already administered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and that the PGP program is unnecessary.

In March, the U.S. House passed H.R. 872 in a bi-partisan vote, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, which would amend the CWA and FIFRA to clarify that CWA permits are not needed when a pesticide is applied in accordance with a FIFRA label.

The Senate has yet to vote on it as a stand-alone bill. In April, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), with Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss as a co-sponsor, introduced S. 718, a bill similar to H.R. 872.

Roberts has also made several attempts to attach H.R. 872 as an amendment to other bills being considered in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have suggested a two-year delay in the implementation of the PGP, and negotiations in the Senate are continuing despite the rule having already gone into effect.

PILOT TRUCKING PROGRAM BETWEEN U.S. AND MEXICO BEGINS A pilot program that allows Mexican trucks to move freight into the U.S. beyond a 25-mile buffer zone and ship products directly to locations in the U.S. began earlier in October. Two Mexican companies are currently authorized to bring products into the U.S. and 10 others are seeking certification from the U.S. to participate.

Under the terms of a trucking agreement signed by the U.S. and Mexico, $2 billion in tariffs on 99 U.S. products including Christmas trees, apples, oranges, juice concentrates and onions were eliminated, paving the way for the program. Mexico had imposed duties ranging from 5 percent to 25 percent on processed U.S. agricultural products, in retaliation for the U.S. not dropping a ban on Mexican trucks as required under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

U.S. and Mexican officials signed a memorandum in July, bringing an end to the longrunning dispute over Mexican truck access north of the border.

Leadership Alert page 3 of 5 USDA OFFICIALS MEET WITH GFB BOARD IN WHITE HOUSE ROUNDTABLE At the request of USDA, Georgia Farm Bureau hosted a White House roundtable Nov. 2 at the organization’s Macon office for USDA officials to meet with the GFB Board of Directors and middle Georgia agricultural leaders. The roundtable was one in a series of meetings the Obama Administration is holding nationwide to let rural residents discuss ag concerns directly with government leaders and share ideas on how to grow the economy.

Georgia Farm Service Agency Director Hobby Stripling accompanied USDA FSA Administrator Bruce Nelson and USDA Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Acting Deputy Under Secretary Karis Gutter to the meeting.

GFB directors voiced their concerns about a number of issues including immigration and various EPA regulations that stifle job creation. GFB leaders also expressed fear that the Department of Labor’s proposal to change child labor rules may prevent high school ag students from participating in jobs that provide valuable training and work ethic.

Additionally, GFB directors expressed the importance of farmers having continued access to global positioning satellite airwaves so they can continue to use GPS to lower production costs and protect the environment by precisely applying fertilizer and pest control. Another concern expressed was farmers’ need for permanent estate tax reform indexed for inflation that allows them to pass their farms on to their children.

After the meeting, Nelson said, “The biggest issue they talked about was the need for workers in the field for the vegetable and fruit crops that are perishable commodities. I’m looking forward to taking the concerns that were expressed here today about the various programs they're working with and the difficulties they’re having with some of the programs to try to make sure that they’ve got the work force they need to get those crops to a processing plant in a timely way.”

In light of the dwindling budget, Gutter said the USDA will rely more on technology to cut costs and deliver programs efficiently.

USDA SENDS PROPOSED GIPSA RULE TO OMB On Nov. 4, the USDA sent modified sections of the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Act (GIPSA) rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.

The USDA sent two drafts to OMB, one as a final rule and another as an interim final rule.

OMB has 45 days to review them and send them back to the USDA. The final rule contains provisions required under the 2008 farm bill concerning producers being given prior notice before suspension of delivery of birds, additional capital investment criteria for facility upgrades, breach of contract and resolution of disputes through arbitration. The interim final rule contains a modified version of the section on poultry tournament systems and would be open to additional public comment for 60 days. There are several provisions from the original proposal that USDA is no longer pursuing including the section on packer-to-packer sales, a section dealing with exclusive arrangements between packers and dealers, and a requirement that packers must retain records.

The initial proposed rule was published on June 22, 2010. Georgia Farm Bureau submitted comments on the rule in November 2010 expressing its stance on a number of issues in the rule based on GFB policy.

Leadership Alert page 4 of 5 CONDOLENCES Georgia Farm Bureau wishes to convey heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Screven County Farm Bureau Office Manager Shelby Scott, who died suddenly on Nov. 4. She had worked for SCFB for 37 years.

GFVGA LABOR SEMINARS Nov. 21 Colquitt County Ag Complex 9 a.m.

Moultrie Nov. 22 Weir Center 9 a.m.

Douglas The Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association will host these labor seminars (approximately 3 hours in length) that will be led by labor consultant and expert Dan Bremer.

Seminar topics include: Georgia’s Immigration Act, current labor laws applicable to agriculture and current H2A laws. Registration is not required.

NOV. 30 IS DEADLINE TO APPLY FOR MONSANTO CHARITY PROGRAM Farmers in 31 south Georgia counties have until Nov. 30 to register to win $2,500 for a charity of their choice in the 2nd Annual America’s Farmers Grow Communities Program sponsored by Monsanto. Eligible counties are: Appling, Baker, Berrien, Bleckley, Brooks, Bulloch, Burke, Calhoun, Coffee, Cook, Colquitt, Crisp, Decatur, Dooly, Early, Grady, Irwin, Jefferson, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Screven, Seminole, Sumter, Tattnall, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Turner, Wilcox and Worth. The winning farmers and charities will be announced in January 2012. Visit http://www.growcommunities.com or call 1-877-267-3332 for eligibility rules and to apply.

GEORGIA FARM BUREAU 73RD ANNUAL MEETING Dec. 4-6 Jekyll’s Historic District Convention Campus Jekyll Island This annual event includes the address from GFB President Zippy Duvall, the organization’s policy development session, commodity conferences, the final round of the Young Farmer Discussion Meet, announcement of 2011 state award winners and a trade show. For more information, contact your county Farm Bureau office.

FSA ACCEPTING BALLOTS IN COUNTY ELECTIONS UNTIL DEC. 5 The 2011 FSA county committee elections began Nov. 4 and the deadline to return the ballots to local FSA offices is Dec. 5. Eligible voters who do not receive ballots in the coming week can obtain ballots from their local USDA Service Center. Ballots returned by mail must also be postmarked no later than Dec. 5. More information on county committees can be found on the FSA website at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elections.

CALHOUN PERFORMANCE TESTED BULL SALE Dec. 9 NW GA Research & Education Center Livestock Pavilion Calhoun Sale begins at 12:30 p.m. For more information contact Ted Dyer at 706-624-1403 or tgdyer@uga.edu or Phil Worley at 706-624-1398 or pworley@uga.edu.

UGA CONDUCTING EQUINE ECONOMIC IMPACT SURVEY The University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development is conducting an economic impact study of the equine industry in the state. All Georgia horse owners are strongly encouraged to participate in this survey. All individual survey responses will be kept confidential. To participate in the survey, visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Equine2011.