Georgia Farm Bureau's Leadership Alert - October 19, 2011

October 19, 2011

www.gfb.org

Vol. 29 No. 42

GEORGIA AGRICULTURE BUILDING UNVEILED AT SUNBELT EXPO The new Georgia Agriculture Building, a joint venture between Georgia Farm Bureau and the Georgia Department of Agriculture, was unveiled in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday during the first day of the 2011 Sunbelt Agricultural Expo. The 34th annual event featured 1,211 exhibitors and allowed visitors a look at new agricultural products. During the Willie B. Withers Luncheon, North Carolina farmer Tommy Porter Jr. won the 2011 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year. Porter, who grows hay and raises livestock, won over eight other state winners, including Georgia’s Carlos Vickers, a diversified row-crop farmer from Berrien County.

Attendees at the luncheon also heard speeches from Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-2nd District) and FSA Administrator Bruce Nelson. They both emphasized the importance of maintaining a farm safety net in the federal budget.

“In these tough times we see how vital agriculture is, not only to our economy, but to the economy of the whole world,” Nelson said. “The ag safety net isn’t just for individual farmers and ranchers. The ag safety net is a safety net under the Main Street businesses you support, our rural communities and the food security of the nation.”

The Georgia Agriculture Building features a rough-cut lumber interior intended to resemble the inside of a barn, a test kitchen, a My American Farm kiosk for the interactive video game produced by American Farm Bureau, and more than 5,000 square feet of exhibit space. It was the product of discussions between GFB President Zippy Duvall, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black and Sunbelt Expo Executive Director Chip Blalock.

“This new building is giving Farm Bureau the chance to greet Expo visitors as they enter one of the main gates,” said GFB President Zippy Duvall. “It’s also giving us the chance to hold seminars on the 2012 farm bill, farmland preservation, our certified farm market program and GFB member benefits to let folks know more about the work Farm Bureau does on behalf of Georgia’s farmers.”

The test kitchen, which features an overhead camera and monitor providing a cook’s-eye view of dishes being prepared, was put to immediate use by the Houston County Career Academy culinary arts class, led by teacher Sharon Allday, whose students prepared sweet potato crème brulee.

Sunbelt also unveiled the new Priefert Horse Arena, a joint project between Sunbelt and the Colquitt County Saddle Club, celebrated Arkansas as the 2011 Spotlight State, held a cakecutting ceremony to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Georgia Peanut Commission, and unveiled a new eight-tower irrigation pivot provided by Reinke.

Leadership Alert page 2 of 5 REPORTS OF RECORD PEANUT PRICES DON'T TELL THE WHOLE STORY Recent media reports heralding record high peanut prices don’t tell the whole story, Georgia peanut experts say. Although prices paid to farmers for uncontracted peanuts have run $800 to $1,000 a ton this fall, most farmers contracted their peanuts in advance last spring for much less in order to secure financing to plant the crop.

“The feeling among shellers is that 75 to 80 percent of Georgia’s farmers contracted their peanuts last spring with buyers between $550 to $600 a ton,” said Tyron Spearman, executive director of the National Peanut Buying Points Association and editor of the Peanut Farm Market News.

Using this estimate, only 20 to 25 percent of the peanuts farmers are harvesting this fall will be sold at the higher prices. Meanwhile, farmers are facing higher production costs.

“This will be one of the more costly crops that we had in terms of production costs due to higher fuel, fertilizer and seed costs,” said Nathan Smith, a peanut economist with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service.

Smith estimates it cost Georgia peanut growers $525 an acre last year to produce peanuts on dry land and $600 an acre to produce irrigated peanuts. Based on reports he is hearing from growers, Smith estimates cost of production could rise to $625 an acre for dry land peanuts and up to $775 an acre for irrigated peanuts.

“Thank goodness we are seeing some good prices because all of our input costs are rising,” said Tift County peanut grower Wes Shannon, who chairs the Georgia Farm Bureau Peanut Advisory Committee. “Fuel by itself is $3.50 a gallon and that’s the type of money we have spent to run our irrigation systems and equipment all season.”

The national posted price (NPP) for peanuts, released weekly by the USDA, has further contributed to the misperception of prices growers are getting. On Oct. 12, the USDA reported that the price of runner peanuts, the type of peanuts used to make peanut butter, was right at $1,200 a ton. Meanwhile, farmers were being offered $950 to $1,000 a ton, Spearman said.

“The USDA National Posted Price is believed to be based on the international markets and shelled peanut prices. It rides higher than what’s being offered at buying points. It’s similar to the sticker price on a truck,“ Spearman said.

Growers have repeatedly expressed frustration that the NPP doesn’t mirror the price peanut buyers offer growers and have asked the USDA to make public the “black box” formula it uses to calculate the NPP. “The frustration is not knowing how the price is derived. A consumer sees that price and thinks that’s the price we’re receiving for our peanuts and we’re not,” Shannon said.

U.S. peanut growers are expected to produce 1.8 million tons of peanuts, down 13 percent from last year, according to the USDA October crop forecast. The smaller crop is due to growers planting fewer peanut acres due to higher cotton and corn prices and production lost due to drought conditions.

This tight supply is what is driving up the price of peanuts, which is likely to result in higher prices for consumers. Earlier this month the Dow Jones reported peanut butter manufacturers plan to raise peanut butter prices between 22 to 30 percent depending on the brand.

Leadership Alert page 3 of 5 CONGRESS PASSES FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS The U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 12 passed pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, and the Senate passed the agreements on Oct. 13. President Barack Obama was expected to sign the agreements this week.

Once signed, U.S. exporters, including agricultural producers, can begin the implementation process for shipping goods to Colombia and Panama. The agreement with South Korea awaits passage by that country’s government.

Farm Bureau supported the passage of the FTAs. On Oct. 4 Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall sent a letter to members of Georgia’s Congressional delegation asking for their support of the FTAs. Duvall pointed out that the three agreements benefit Georgia farmers by eliminating tariffs on Georgia commodities going into those countries. 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’s livestock producers will benefit from the agreement with South Korea, which recently completed a new trade agreement with the European Union. Without a U.S.-South Korea agreement, the U.S. stood to lose its competitive advantage; with an agreement in place, Georgia’s exports of beef and poultry are projected to increase by more than $9 million annually.

Tariffs as high as 209 percent will be removed on poultry exported to Colombia. Those tariffs reduced U.S. exports to Colombia by nearly 50 percent between 2008 and 2009, and portions of the market share previously occupied by the U.S. have been taken over by Argentina and Brazil.

In a companion move, the House also passed trade adjustment assistance (TAA), allowing farmers and some U.S. workers who have been harmed by imports to receive financial support to offset some of their losses and give them time to make adjustments if necessary.

Members of Georgia’s Congressional delegation voted along party lines with Republicans favoring the FTAs and voting against the TAA. Georgia Democrats voted against the FTAs and for the TAA with two exceptions; Democrats Sanford Bishop (2nd District) and David Scott (13th District) voted in favor of the FTA with Panama.

AG COMMITTEES RECOMMEND $23 BILLION IN FARM PROGRAM CUTS The House and Senate Agriculture Committees recommended a $23 billion overall reduction to mandatory spending on agriculture programs to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction on Oct. 17. The recommendation was made in a joint letter from House Ag Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Ranking Member Pat Roberts (R-Kan.). The specific cuts had not been made public at press time, but published reports by The Associated Press and Reuters indicated that direct payments would be eliminated.

In the letter, the committees emphasized that crop insurance spending has been reduced by $14 billion since 2000, conservation spending has been cut by more than $3 billion in the last five years and funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was cut during the last Congress by $12 billion to offset other spending.

Leadership Alert page 4 of 5 GEORGIA FARM BUREAU DISTRICT ANNUAL MEETINGS 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.

GEORGIA SUSTAINABLE AG COALITION KICK-OFF MEETING Oct. 27 Georgia Center for Continuing Education 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m Athens This free event, titled “Food Hubs for the Future: Growing Georgia’s Mid-size Farms,” is designed to create awareness among stakeholders, policymakers, farmers, businesses and others interested in the future of Georgia agriculture. Jim Barham of the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service will be the featured speaker, and a panel discussion will include Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, Fort Valley State University Shool of Agriculture Dean Govind Kannan, UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Dean Scott Angle, Alice Rolls of Georgia Organics and Georgia Farm Bureau Commodities and Marketing Director Don McGough. For information contact Julia Gaskin at jgaskin@engr.uga.edu or Kate MundenDixon at katemd@uga.edu or visit http://extension.uga.edu/calendar/event.cfm?pk_id=928.

HOUSTON EXTENSION OFFICE PRUNING CLASS FOR HOMEHOWNER Oct. 27 Old courthouse 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Perry The Houston County Extension Office is offering a pruning class—Cutting Up: The Three T’s of Pruning—to area homeowners who want to know how and when to prune. The class will be taught in the Extension Office Multipurpose Room located on the top floor of the old courthouse in Perry. Cost for the class is $10 per person. Jeff Cook, UGA Extension agent, will be discussing the proper tools for the job, the correct techniques to use to achieve your goals, and the importance time of year plays in pruning. For a registration form, visit http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/houston/news.html or email mg@uga.edu.

GEORGIA SWEET POTATO FESTIVAL Oct. 29 Downtown area Ocilla The 51st Annual Georgia Sweet Potato Festival features a parade, arts and crafts show, cooking contest, pageant, classic car and tractor show, and much more. Proceeds from this year's car show will benefit the Irwin County High School Marching Big Red Band for their trip to the Sugar Bowl in January 2012. For more information, visit http://www.gasweetpotatofestival.com.

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.

Leadership Alert page 5 of 5 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.

BIBB COUNTY FARM BUREAU 100TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Nov. 2 Bibb County Farm Bureau Office Macon Join members of the Bibb County Farm Bureau as they celebrate the 100th anniversary of their organization with a drop-in reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall will speak at 6 p.m. Door prizes will be awarded to commemorate the event.

Everyone is invited to attend but please RSVP to Pat Steed at 478-477-5740 or pgsteed@gfb.org

by Oct. 28 to help with food preparation.

SOUTHEAST DAIRY HERD MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE Nov. 2 Georgia Farm Bureau Home Office 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Macon This one-day conference will feature a PCDART workshop beginning at 9:30 a.m. and afternoon sessions will cover approaches to milk fat depression, heat-related fertility issues, environmental and economic concerns and much more. The registration fee of $50 per person covers admission, meals and a copy of informational materials. For more information, contact Dr. Steve Nickerson at 706-542-0658 or scn@uga.edu.

TECHNICAL LARGE ANIMAL EMERGENCY RESCUE TRAINING Dec. 7-9 TLAER Facility Gray This event will provide certification training in operations and awareness on large animal rescue topics. For more information visit http://www.tlaer.org/.