S P E C I A L
R E P O R T
‘PR Awards’
Farm Bureau public relations pros honored for great work | 4 July 2, 2012 Vol. 91
‘Faces of Farming & Ranching’ The search is on | 2
‘Stop the Flood’ Farmers work to rein in EPA overreach | 3
‘Sawyers’
Kansas farm transitions to next generation | 8
No. 12 fbnews.org
Supreme Court upholds health care law, individual mandate 5-4 The Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling on June 28 upheld most of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the health care law enacted in 2010, including the controversial “individual mandate” requiring that most Americans obtain health insurance and that most employers offer it or else pay a tax. The American Farm Bureau Federation opposed the individual mandate. It supports passage of legislation that will lower healthcare premiums through increased competition and choice. AFBF issued the following statement:
“Farmers, ranchers and rural residents need affordable and accessible health care. We remain concerned that mandating individuals and businesses to buy insurance will impose an expense that creates economic hardship, particularly for self-employed individuals and small businesses. “We believe one of the primary goals of health care reform should be to reduce costs for participants. The plan reviewed by the Supreme Court would impose a new financial burden on our members. As the legal and political interpretation of this ruling is further analyzed and debated in the weeks
and months ahead, it is important to remember that access to affordable health care eludes many American families across the country. “Farm Bureau has always supported market-based reforms as the best way to control costs and increase options for people and small businesses that purchase insurance for themselves and their employees. Moving forward, we encourage Congress and the President to work together to address our remaining concerns on this issue that affects millions of small business owners and individuals throughout rural America.”
Farmers urge Congress to pass Russia PNTR
House Ag to take up farm bill in July With the Senate’s June 21 passage of the new farm bill, the issue now moves to the House, where the Agriculture Committee will meet July 11 to vote on its own legislation.
Continued on Page 6
IF CONGRESS FAILS TO APPROVE permanent normal trade relations for Russia, U.S. farmers and ranchers could miss out on guaranteed access to the market opening and legal commitments that are part of Russia’s bid to join the World Trade Organization, Wayne Wood, president of Michigan Farm Bureau, told the House Ways and Means Committee. See story on page 6.
n e w s p a p e r
Climate regulation will burden farmers Many of America’s farmers and ranchers will face economic challenges due to EPA’s regulation of greenhouses gases (GHGs), the American Farm Bureau Federation told a House subcommittee. Carl Shaffer, president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, testified June 19 on AFBF’s behalf before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power. The EPA regulation doesn’t yet apply directly to farms and ranches, but farmers will still pay a price.
“Costs incurred by utilities, refiners, manufacturers and other large emitters to comply with GHG regulatory requirements will be passed on to the consumers of those products, including farmers and ranchers,” Shaffer explained. “The end result is that our nation’s farmers and ranchers will be forced to contend with higher input costs to grow food, fiber and renewable fuels.” He said farmers will be hit again when the regulations are fully phased in under EPA’s “tailoring
rule,” which will apply to farms and ranches that do or could emit more than 100 tons of greenhouse gases per year. Those operations will have to obtain “Title V” operating permits. Based on EPA’s numbers, Shaffer said just the expense of getting the permits would cost farms more than $866 million, and that doesn’t count the cost of renovating their facilities if required in order to get a permit. The EPA, in a December 2009 Climate Continued on Page 6