Georgia Farm Bureau's Leadership Alert - September 8, 2010

September 8, 2010

www.gfb.org

Vol. 28 No. 36

GFB TO PUBLISH HAY/POULTRY LITTER & POLLINATION DIRECTORIES

Georgia Farm Bureau is accepting applications from farmers to be listed in its 2011 Georgia Farm Bureau Quality Hay & Poultry Litter Directory and its 2011 Georgia Farm Bureau Pollination Directory.

GFB invites all of its members with hay, poultry litter or bee pollination services to submit applications to be included in these directories.

“Some parts of Georgia have had an excellent year to grow hay while many areas have been too hot and dry. The hay directory gives hay producers the opportunity to list the hay they have available and advertise it statewide. This also helps people that need hay by giving them an avenue to find it,” GFB Hay Advisory Committee Chairman Larry Haley said. “The directory also lists poultry litter that is available and serves to connect poultry growers with landowners that want to fertilize their fields with chicken litter.”

GFB is publishing the pollination directory for the first time this year at the recommendation of the GFB Honeybee Advisory Committee.

“The GFB Honeybee Advisory Committee felt this would be a beneficial tool to connect farmers who need pollination services with beekeepers,” said Bobby Rowell, GFB Honeybee committee chairman.

The directories are scheduled to be printed in late November and will be distributed statewide through county Farm Bureau offices, county Cooperative Extension offices, the Georgia Cattlemen's Association and the annual Georgia Farm Bureau Convention.

The directories will also be posted on the GFB Web site.

The 2010 Hay Directory included the listings of 37 farms from 27 counties, covering all areas of the state.

The directory can be viewed at http://www.gfb.org/commodities/hay.html.

Application forms for both directories are available at each county Farm Bureau office. Oct. 29 is the deadline to submit an application for each directory. Producers should complete the form and send it to the Georgia Farm Bureau office in Macon with a check for $10 for each listing. Checks should be made payable to Georgia Farm Bureau. For more information contact your county Farm Bureau office.

The directories are coordinated by the GFB Commodities Department, which works to improve the net farm income of Georgia farmers and ranchers while promoting dozens of commodities produced in Georgia.

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OKEFENOKEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE ADDS 1,046 ACRES The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (ONWR) recently grew by 1,046 acres after a land donation from The Nature Conservancy. The land will be used in part to re-establish longleaf pine forest.

Using parts of two grants that totaled $1 million, The Nature Conservancy purchased the land from forest products company Rayonier Inc., and then donated it to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

The grants included federal funding awarded to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. In addition to buying the land, the funds will also be used to restore an estimated 500 acres from industrial timberland to longleaf pine forest over the next three years.

The FWS, which manages ONWR, plans to develop 200 acres of that area as habitat for threatened and endangered species, including the red cockaded woodpecker and the Eastern indigo snake. It will also allow the FWS extra room to maneuver while fighting wildfires; in 2007 more than 564,450 acres in Georgia and Florida burned, including virtually all of the Okefenokee Swamp.

“We are so pleased to have played a role in adding these critical acres to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, a storied landscape that is a local and national treasure,” said Shelly Lakly, state director for TNC in Georgia.

The ONWR, established by executive order in 1936, is home to 621 species of plants, 233 species of birds, 49 species of mammals, 64 species of reptiles, 37 species of amphibians and 39 species of fish. Endangered species found on the refuge include the red cockaded woodpecker, American bald eagle and the wood stork.

It is open to the public year-round and draws an estimated 400,000 visitors per year.

Native Americans occupied the Okefenokee Swamp as early as 2,500 B.C. McDONALD’S SHAREHOLDERS REJECT EGG PROPOSAL FROM HSUS Shareholders of McDonald’s Corporation voted against a proposal from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) that the fast-food chain adopt a policy of buying at least five percent of the eggs it serves from cage-free egg producers.

HSUS, which owns 101 McDonald’s shares, continues to claim that cages for laying hens are inhumane and attempted to sway shareholders by pointing out that the company’s European operations are moving toward purchasing cage-free eggs.

According to published reports, the McDonald’s board of directors said there was insufficient scientific evidence to support a claim of inhumane treatments and urged shareholders to vote down the resolution, which was sponsored by HSUS. The board also pointed out that the company is part of the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply, a group of egg industry stakeholders conducting research on the effects of various laying hen housing systems on a sustainable egg supply. The group includes food and restaurant companies like Bob Evans and Cracker Barrel as well as researchers from Michigan State University, Purdue University, Iowa State University and the University of California at Davis.

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EPA NAMES REGION 4 ADMINISTRATOR Gwen Keyes Fleming, district attorney for the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit, has been named regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Region 4, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and six tribal nations.

Regional administrators are responsible for managing the agency’s regional activities under the direction of the EPA administrator and serve as a liaison to state and local government officials. Keyes Fleming, who holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Rutgers University and a law degree from the Emory University School of Law, has served as a prosecutor and administrator for 15 years. She stepped down as district attorney last week to begin her duties with the EPA. EPA SEEKS VOLUNTEERS FOR PESTICIDE LABELING PILOT PROGAM The EPA is seeking volunteers for a pilot program to test a new initiative that would require farmers to obtain pesticide labels over the Internet. The new approach would replace the paper-based system and would rely on all users contacting either the official pesticide labeling Web site or a toll-free telephone number for detailed use instructions that previously were attached to the product container.

EPA published a notice in the Aug. 18 Federal Register to identify parties potentially interested in participating in the User Acceptance Pilot, which consists of the development of a web-distributed labeling Web site. Those interested in participating in the pilot program should respond in writing to the EPA by Sept. 17.

Farm Bureau has expressed concerns about putting labels on the Internet as opposed to on the container, citing high-speed Internet accessibility issues, the culture change that would be required and the liability associated with expiration dates and older products.

For more information about the pilot program, visit http://epa.gov/pesticides/ppdc/distrlabeling/index.html.

NET FARM INCOME FORECAST AT $77.1 BILLION NATIONWIDE Net farm income is predicted to be $77.1 billion in 2010, up $14.9 billion (24 percent) from 2009. The 2010 forecast is $12.3 billion above the average of $64.8 billion in net farm income earned in the previous 10 years, according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) 2010 Farm Income Forecast.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the farm income rebound could be attributed in part to the provisions in the 2008 farm bill and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, as well as increased income from exports. Vilsack said the farm income levels are sustainable because of more anticipated growth in exports.

“Increased agricultural exports – especially of grains and meat – have helped drive this rebound. It helps create important income opportunities for producers as well as the offfarm jobs that are so critical for strengthening economies in rural America,” Vilsack said.

The $77.1 billion forecast for 2010 is the fourth-largest amount of income earned in U.S. farming, according to ERS. The average family farm household income is expected to grow by 5.8 percent in 2010 to $81,670.

Leadership Alert page 4 of 4 UPCOMING EVENTS GFB DISTRICT ANNUAL MEETINGS Sept. 14 3rd District The Center at Arbor Connection Sept. 16 10th District Jamestown Baptist Church Sept. 21 2nd District North Ga. Tech. College Sept. 28 5th District Thomaston Civic Center Contact your county Farm Bureau office for more information.

7 p.m.

7 p.m.

7 p.m.

7 p.m.

Douglasville Waycross Avalon Thomaston

UGA AGRIBUSINESS CONFERENCE Sept. 14-15 Athens Technical College Athens This conference, which begins at 9 a.m. on Sept. 14 and ends at noon on Sept. 15, offers cutting-edge information and networking for agribusiness owners. Registration is $65 per person and includes lunch, breaks, informational materials and optional post-workshop interviews or tours. For more information or to register, visit the Web site http://www.areg.caes.uga.edu.

24th ANNUAL GEORGIA PEANUT TOUR Sept. 14-16 This annual event begins with a “Hot Topics” seminar on Sept. 14 at 3 p.m. Tour starts Sept.15 and will conclude on Sept. 16. For more information visit www.gapeanuts.com or call 229-386-3470.

DAWSON COUNTY FFA ANTIQUE TRACTOR SHOW Sept. 25 Tractor Supply Company 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Dawsonville Antique tractor enthusiasts are invited to bring their tractors for this free show. Anyone interested in participating should contact Dawson County Farm Bureau Young Farmer Committee Member Seth Stowers by Sept. 20 at 706-429-6469. Event will also include a “slow-boy” race and a “blind driver” race. Event is a fundraiser to send Dawson County FFA students to the national convention in October.

The Dawsonville Tractor Supply Company is located at 6921 Hwy. 53 E, Dawsonville, Ga. 30534.

2010 GEORGIA GRAZING SCHOOL Sept. 21-22 Houston County Extension Office Perry This two-day workshop will focus on soil fertility, forage crop establishment, plant growth, animal nutrient requirements, and management-intensive grazing. Training will take place in both classroom and field settings. Cost of the two-day program is $150 and includes lunches, a grazing school handbook, a forage and weed ID handbook, and a 4th Edition copy of the Southern Forages textbook.

Participants are responsible for lodging. Registration is limited to 35 participants on a first-come, firstserve basis. Visit http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/forages/events/GS10/GS10.html for more information or to register.

TEAM AG GEORGIA FALL WORKSHOP Sept. 28 Krannert Center, Berry College Mt. Berry This free workshop for small, beginning and limited-resource farmers, begins with registration at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. Workshop topics include forestry and wildlife management, farmers markets, organics, financing small farms, value-added products, farm succession planning, cost-share opportunities and a tour of the Berry College livestock facilities and longleaf orchard. For more information, contact Lauren Bush at 770-254-7374 or lbush@gfc.state.ga.us or visit http://www.teamaggeorgia.com.

SOUTHEASTERN BARN CONFERENCE Sept. 30 – Oct. 2 The Historic Rock Barn Canton Participants in this conference, sponsored in part by Cherokee County Farm Bureau, will learn about barn adaptive reuse, land conservation and urban farms. Registration is $75 before Sept. 10 and $95 after. Register online at http://www.rockbarn.org or call 770-345-3288 for more information.