Government doling out $20 mil to save wildlife in the Gulf

On April 20, an oil spill stemming from a sea-floor oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico caused extensive damage to wildlife habitats. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf has made acres of wetlands inhabitable for wildlife and the government is taking action to help protect those creatures affected.

Under a new program offered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), farmers, ranchers and other landowners are being given a chance to help save the wildlife affected by the oil spill.

In a recent article in the Paragould Daily Press, Nelson Childers, a biologist with the NCRS in Jonesboro, Ark., said the intent is to provide enough water, food and shelter so that migratory birds won’t have as much need to stop in the gulf region.

“[We’re] flooding fields that haven’t been flooded in the past, giving them more opportunities to have places to go to make them healthy for the journey,” said Childers. “Some of these birds are going down to South America. They’re not going to stay here; they’re going to keep going. We want to make sure they’re healthy enough to skip over that leg (gulf region) of the journey.”

The Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative (MBHI), introduced June 28, will provide $20 million in incentives to farmers, ranchers and landowners in eight states, (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas) to help improve habitat conditions and food sources for migratory birds that have been impacted by the oil spill. They are being paid to keep their rice and soybeans fields as well as crawfish and other aquaculture farms flooded for months longer than usual in hopes that the birds will visit the farms to find food and rest.

MBHI aims to utilize as much as 150,000 acres of private land to maximize migratory bird habitat and food resources. The acreage will provide critical wintering habitat for a significant number of waterfowl, wading birds and other birds.

Eligible lands include wetlands farmed under natural conditions, existing farmed wetlands and prior converted croplands. Rice fields are particularly suited for this initiative, as are aquaculture farms (catfish and crayfish) no longer in production, since they can easily be flooded to provide immediate habitat conditions.

Landowners can contact the nearest NRCS office for more information about the MBHI or visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, species may be listed as either endangered or threatened. “Endangered” means a species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

"It's an opportunity for Louisiana farmers, foresters and ranchers to help create habitat for migratory birds," said Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M. "So far, our landowners have responded in record numbers."

MBHI will be delivered through two components:

• Component 1: Agriculture lands - NRCS is offering payment incentives to farmers willing to flood their existing farmed wetlands, prior converted cropland, or other lands that can provide immediate habitat for these species.
• Component 2: Habitat priority areas - this applies to private agricultural lands within and adjacent to the Flyways that enter the Gulf of Mexico.

“This is an urgent situation,” said Keith Jackson, private land programs supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation. “Some of the affected birds arrive in Missouri as early as mid-July. Birds ranging from mallards and herons to songbirds are going to find their traditional wintering areas along the Gulf Coast severely impaired by the ongoing oil spill. One important way to help them is to make sure they come through their southward migration in good condition. Enhancing the availability of natural foods and resting areas in Missouri can help them get through the coming winter.”

However, some are not as optimistic that this initiative will work.

In a recent article in Dultuth News Tribune, Dr. Frank Rohwer, scientific director for Delta Waterfowl, based in Bismarck, N.D., questions the initiative. He claims that the program doesn’t address species that use the costal bays and the Gulf.

“In my opinion, it stands very little chance of working,” said Rohwer, who also is a professor at Louisiana State University’s School of Renewable Natural Resources in Baton Rouge, La. “It’s conceivable that it will work for a small fraction of ducks.”

Steve Cordts, waterfowl specialist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources agrees with Rohwer, stating that he doesn’t believe the initiative would shortstop ducks or even redistribute them to the flooded fields on their way south to the Gulf of Mexico.

Do you feel this initiative will work? Are there any alternative measures the government could take to save the wildlife in the Gulf?

*Photo obtained from: http://www.wtvy.com/home/headlines/99536019.html

Summit to Ignite Rural America

The federal government recognizes the power of rural America.

To harness and leverage this power, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will host The National Summit of Rural America: A Dialogue for Renewing Promise, June 3, 2010.

“This Summit will be an opportunity for rural Americans to share their vision for creating a more prosperous and promising future for rural America,” said Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack.

The campus of Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Mo., will welcome the event.

Participants include farmers, ranchers and foresters, as well as agriculture policymakers and community leaders, and features Vilsack, Agriculture Deputy Sec. Kathleen Merrigan and the full USDA sub-cabinet.

In addition to plenary topics, several breakout sessions are planned about rural issues concerning:

• Creation of new jobs
• Improvement of infrastructure
• Improvement of farm competitiveness
• Development of small businesses
• Encouragement of innovation in renewable energy

A complete itinerary of the summit is located at its Web site.

The summit’s overall goal is the development of proposals into future program and policy discussions. The summit culminates the USDA’s Rural Tour – a 22-state circuit of specific rural-development discussions.

Interest in the summit is so great; registration for it has reached capacity and has been closed. But, the USDA has utilized social-media sites to help bring the discussion to as many people as possible.

Individuals can listen to the summit live at the USDA’s media center home page, or visit its Facebook page to participate in an online chat.

However, some are not as optimistic about the administration’s rural goals.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and other members of the Senate Western Caucus, wrote a letter to President Obama stating that current rural policies are hurting rural communities across the country. They requested a meeting with Obama before the summit.

“It is past time for the administration to put its misguided policies for rural America out to pasture,” said Hatch. “Before foisting more onerous federal regulations, costs and other burdens on rural communities in Utah and other states, the administration needs to consider the damage its current policies are doing to family farms, domestic-energy production and access to public lands and make a course-correction.”

Regardless of one’s perceptions about current rural strategy, it is certain that there is significant potential for expanding the capabilities of rural America to continue to economically support and to increase its economic support of our national economy.

Do you think rural America deserves this much federal attention? How can the administration utilize feedback from the summit in the most effective manner? Do Sen. Hatch and other critics of current rural strategy have a valid opinion?

*Photo obtained from www.USDA.gov







Mother nature is farmers’ economic opportunity

Recently, our country’s first offshore wind farm was created six miles from Hyannis Port, Mass., which has renewed interest in the wind-power industry.

Wind power is the fastest-growing energy source in the world and farmers could take advantage of the weather opportunity.

An article in Distributed Energy cleverly titled, “Wind: The easiest crop to harvest,” outlines the benefits of wind farming for our country’s farmers and ranchers.

“Farming is all about maximizing profits and reducing risk. Wind energy does both,” said Patrick Pelstring, National Wind co-chair, the nation's leading utility-scale community wind developer.

For example, farmers can lease land to wind developers, use wind generated from wind turbines located on their farms to power their own farms and/or become wind-power producers to capitalize their land.

“Now we grow corn on the ground and generate power in the air—all on the same piece of property," said Delbert Watson, a farmer in Clear Lake, Iowa, in a Christian Science Monitor article.

Windustry.org outlines the land-lease process for farmers at its Web site.

According to a blog posted at the Union of Concerned Scientists:

“The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) "Wind Powering America" initiative has set a goal of producing five percent of the nation's electricity from wind by 2020. DOE projects meant to achieve this goal will provide $60 billion in capital investment to rural America, $1.2 billion in new income to farmers and rural landowners and 80,000 new jobs during the next 20 years.”

Wind farm facts (National Wind)

• Wind turbines are much quieter than most people think
• Each turbine needs a plot of about 100 acres to separate it from other turbines (the actual footprint of each turbine is less than one acre).
• Typical lease arrangements for placement of a 1.5-megawatt turbine on property run between $6,000 and $9,000 a year.

Not only can farmers use wind turbines to supplement their income, but in an industry dependent on the weather, wind farms can also serve as a buffer against unfavorable conditions.

“This allows the farmer to diversify his income and reduce risk,” said Pelstring. “After construction is complete, the practice of farming continues as it has for generations, with the bonus of added financial security.”

Farmers used to diversify their income by adding new commodity crops to their rotation. But now, depending on their wind-assessment results, they could look to wind farming as lucrative earning potential.

*Photo obtained from http://www.ucsusa.org/

Biological research advances American agriculture

Industries large and small utilize research and technology to develop and provide goods and services to society. Now, the U.S. agriculture sector can reap more technological benefits resulting from biological research under the direction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Agriculture research has produced disease testing for livestock, specialty-crop varieties and GPS technology for farm equipment to name a few.

The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), sponsored by USDA and created within the 2008 Farm Bill, established a competitive grant program to provide funding for fundamental and applied research, extension and education in food and agricultural sciences with a focus in six development areas. Grants that emphasize sustainable agriculture are preferred.

Priority Issues for Grant Applications

1. Plant health and production and plant products
2. Animal health and production and animal products
3. Food safety, nutrition and health
4. Renewable energy, natural resources and environment
5. Agriculture systems and technology
6. Agriculture economics and rural communities

"By focusing our resources on achievable and measurable outcomes, USDA's investment in science will help address some of America's – and the world's – intractable problems," said USDA chief scientist and director of USDA's Nation Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Robert Beachy.

"Today's announcement demonstrates USDA's commitment to supporting research, education and extension to bring about true change in areas like climate change, obesity and bioenergy."

In addition to the six priority issues for grant funding, the 2008 Farm Bill added conventional (classical) plant breeding, conventional (classical) animal breeding, renewable energy, domestic-marketing strategies and rural entrepreneurship as grant focal points.

There are also five designated primary challenge areas around which AFRI is structuring the grant program.

Challenge Areas

1. Keep American agriculture competitive while ending world hunger
2. Improve nutrition and end child obesity
3. Improve food safety for all Americans
4. Secure America’s energy future
5. Mitigate and adapt to climate change

Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack allotted $262 million to this effort. State agricultural experiment stations, colleges and universities, university-research foundations, other research institutions and organizations, Federal agencies, national laboratories, private organizations or corporations and individuals are eligible to apply for grants. Grants are awarded on a 10-year basis and some grants are eligible for renewal upon conclusion of the term.

The benefits of research and technology to society cannot be quantified. The USDA has stepped to the plate to motivate the sustainability, efficiency, profitability and development of one of the nation’s most economically providing sectors.

Do you agree that the selected issues and challenge areas should be addressed, or are there other issues? Should more or less money be awarded for research grants? Do you think the research will result in significant technological gains?

*Photo obtained from http://ucommphoto.nmsu.edu/newsphoto/anderson_john.jpg

Workshops to stimulate American Agriculture

A series of workshops throughout the coming months will feature discussions about competition and regulatory issues in agriculture.

These all-day forums, sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Justice (DOJ), were first announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack Aug. 5, 2009.

"In my travels across the country, I hear a consistent theme: producers are worried whether there is a future for them or their children in agriculture, and a viable market is an important factor in what that future looks like," said Vilsack. "These issues are difficult and complex, which is why this is so important and long overdue."

According to a USDA-issued news release, five workshops will promote dialogue among interested parties and foster learning with respect to the appropriate legal and economic analyses of these issues, as well as to listen to and learn from parties with experience in the agriculture sector.

Workshops involve farmers, ranchers, processors, consumer groups, agribusinesses, government officials and academics. This collection of stakeholders will create a forum for discussion and will ensure various industry perspectives.

Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock spoke about the scope of the workshops.

"Agriculture ranks as one of the top sectors of most state economies. And while the agricultural heritage of each of our states differs—sometimes dramatically—the concerns about market concentration, transparency and effective regulation cross geographical boundaries, and are shared concerns irrespective of the crops we produce and the animals we raise."

The first workshop, held March 21 in Ankeny, Iowa, focused on “issues of concern to farmers,” including seed technology, vertical integration, market transparency and buyer power.

Brownfield posted audio from the first workshop featuring its opening commentators.

All meetings are free and open to the public. There is time allotted for public testimony at the conclusion of the workshops.

Upcoming workshops:

• Poultry industry – May 2, in Normal, Ala. – Attention will be given to production contracts in the poultry industry, concentration and buyer power.
• Dairy industry: June 7, in Madison, Wis. – Specific areas of focus may include concentration, marketplace transparency and vertical integration in the dairy industry.
• Livestock industry: August 26, in Fort Collins, Colo. – Specific areas of focus will address beef, hog and other animal sectors and may include enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act and concentration.
• Margins: December 8, in Washington, D.C. – Discussions may be about discrepancies between the prices received by farmers and the prices paid by consumers; discussions from previous workshops will be incorporated into the analysis of agriculture markets nationally.
• Each workshop is designed to highlight the management issues facing a particular agriculture sector.

“According to many farmers and ranchers, the DOJ and USDA workshops are long overdue as an essential step to address concentration of ownership within agriculture,” stated the Kansas Rural Center.

Many in the industry consider the workshops the government’s renewed commitment to strengthening one of its premier industries, while others think that they are the first steps to moderating “Big Ag.” Holder noted that some farmers are “suffering from a lack of free and fair competition in the marketplace.”

Vilsack commented that insights gleaned from the workshops would be used in consideration of the 2012 Farm Bill. Lessons learned will be used to structure broad policies rather than develop a massive oversight system. Government officials were quick to note that potential anti-competitive practices are being studied and antitrust regulations will continually be further enforced.

“‘This is not just about farmers and ranchers,” Vilsack said. “It’s really about the survival of rural America.”

Is the format of the meetings conducive to change? Should other topics be addressed and discussed?

*Photo obtained from farmamerica.org










Farmers and Philanthropists – Proposed tax incentives to stimulate food donations

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is working to implement a tax code that would allow farmers to receive enhanced tax breaks for charitable donations.

The Good Samaritan Hunger Relief Tax Incentive Extension Act of 2009 was reintroduced by U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., June 22 to promote charitable food contributions by American farmers and ranchers. The current bill is set to expire in December.

"Despite the wealth of our country, affordable food prices and ongoing government food assistance programs, some people still have difficulty purchasing food for a proper diet," said AFBF President Bob Stallman in a letter to Congress.

America’s recession is further encouraging the bill’s passage, as the nation’s food banks report a 30-percent increase in need.

Only farmers and ranchers who use the accrual method of accounting may benefit from incentives for charitable donations of food. Bill supporters believe that an amended tax system with increased deductions could incite farmers to offer more of their surplus product to Americans in need. According to the California Farm Bureau Federation, the bill proposal increases the valuation to full market value of the donation and makes this provision a permanent part of the Internal Revenue Code.

"It has been my experience that farmers generally make the donation of food out of their desire to support their communities and the less fortunate, and any enhanced deduction was not the primary motivation of such a contribution," said Jim Bates, Fowler Packing Co. chief of financial operations and committee chair of Community Food Bank in Fresno, California. "The legislation does make it easier for farmers to take such an enhanced deduction and will result in increased donations of food should the bill pass."

Stallman concurs with Bates’ sentiment and notes the established benevolence of America’s farming community but believes more opportunity exists, “Many more would donate if they were able to bear the costs of harvesting, processing and transportation.”

The bill currently resides with the Committee on Finance.

Farm Share, a nonprofit organization based in Florida, recovers food that has been rejected in the retail sector because of minor imperfections and delivers excess food to social-service agencies throughout the eastern U.S. The organization asserts that its efforts “saves the farmers the added expense of disposal fees and related labor costs. In addition, field productivity is increased, sales are potentially increased as a result of product exposure, and food is donated and distributed to needy people without interfering with normal marketing channels.”

Feeding America, a nationwide network of member food banks, is America’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. The organization provides tax breaks to corporate partners and details how entities can become involved. AFBF is an industry advocate of this aid organization.

To learn more and to voice your opinion about the bill, visit http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s1313/actions_votes.

Would farmers respond to further tax breaks or is more motivation necessary? Should Congress consider similar legislation for other industry groups such as meatpacking companies and food processors and distributors? Should the federal government provide additional support to organizations such as Farm Share and Feeding America?