In Farm Bureau Farm Bureau University Farmers and ranchers know better than most that learning isn’t exclusive to classrooms or meeting venues. With that in mind, the American Farm Bureau Federation’s learning and development team created Farm Bureau University, an interactive online experience that allows Farm Bureau members to learn where and when they want. Farm Bureau University’s latest offering, Farm Bureau Board Essentials, was designed to help county Farm Bureau board members lead strong, effective organizations that meet members’ needs on all levels. The program provides resources and training for county board members in five essential pathways: Being a Board Member; Governance; Planning; Policy Development & Advocacy; and the Membership Cycle. “As a package, this is one of the most comprehensive training programs AFBF has ever provided to county Farm Bureaus,” said Kyle Perry, AFBF director of learning
On July 7, Dr. Clay Ferguson, a family practice physician, taught suturing techniques to 13 junior and senior high school students from Howard and Hempstead counties attending a Medical Applications of Science for Health (M*A*S*H) camp at Howard Memorial Hospital in Nashville. The two-week M*A*S*H camps allow students to learn about medical professions in hopes they’ll be encouraged to practice medicine in rural Arkansas cities. and development. “It runs the whole gamut, from the history of Farm Bureau, to the roles and responsibilities of county Farm Bureau board members, to the many important aspects of membership and how to lead productive policy-development discussions and implement those policies through advocacy.” To get started, go to university.fb.org. New users will need to register for a free Cooperative Extension Service agents are setting up small blackberry plots at schools, community gardens and CES offices around the state to show the public the best methods for blackberry production. The demonstrations will display adapted varieties, irrigation practices, trellising, mulching and pest management. For info, contact your county extension office.
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www.arfb.com
account using member code “arfb.”
In Arkansas Emergency dicamba ban A proposed emergency rule that places a ban on the sale and use of dicamba in Arkansas and expedites increased penalties for infractions went into effect July 11
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A Publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation
July 21, 2017 • Vol. 20, No. 14
Hempstead Co. FB fed local legislators a steak dinner recently to thank them for their work on behalf of agriculture. Among those attending were (left to right) Caleb Plyler, county and state board member; Rep. Danny Watson; Sen. Larry Teague; Sen. Jimmy Hickey; county president Mark Lloyd; county board member Ned Ray Purtle; and county treasurer Randy Hare.
A new survey has found that a majority of the state’s farmers’ markets are seeing a rise in both customers and vendors. The survey, taken in March, tapped the observations of the state’s Cooperative Extension agents. A few markets showed slight declines, but 56 percent served more customers in 2016, and 43 percent had an increased number of vendors.
competition that challenges Arkansas soybean producers to put their growing know-how to the test, is approaching. Will 2017 will be the year at least one grower hits 120 bushels per acre? The prize for clearing that lofty bar is an additional $10,000, on top of any additional prize money a grower might collect, including $7,500 for the state’s top yield. The contest, now in its seventh year, is sponsored by the Arkansas Soybean Association. Dawn Howe, the association’s
executive director, said 2017 is actually the second year the 120-bushels-per-acre bounty has been offered. “We had one grower who got awfully close last year,” she said. Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said the contest is a way for growers throughout the state and region to see the latest in agricultural technology and skill put to the test. “These contests and the production information gleaned from the producers show the continued potential of soybean production in Arkansas,” he said. “All producers should be interested in the results.” The deadline to enter is Aug. 1. Entry forms, rules and other information are available at www.arkansassoybean.com, www.themiraclebean.com or by calling the association at 501-666-1418.
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Bean contest “Grow for the Green,” the perennial
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following actions by two legislative committees July 7. At issue is a two-part rule put forward by the Arkansas State Plant Board that would ban sale and use of dicamba in Arkansas, except for forage and pasture applications, and implement a matrix that would increase penalties for infractions up to $25,000. The proposed emergency rule was approved by the Plant Board June 23. A week later, Gov. Hutchinson reviewed and sent the proposed rule to the Executive Subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council for action. The subcommittee met July 5 and voted to recess until July 7, requesting that the Joint Agriculture, Forestry, and Economic Development Committee make a recommendation for the executive subcommittee to act upon. After hearing hours of testimony from farmers, Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward, and others in the agriculture industry, the joint ag committee voted to recommend the Plant Board’s proposed ban be supported. The ALC’s executive subcommittee meeting opened with Senate President Pro Tem Jonathan Dismang outlining the available options. The subcommittee voted to take no action on the recommendation, enabling the proposed emergency rule to move forward.
Baxter Co. FB held its annual membership event June 29 in Mountain Home. Committee members (left to right) Keri Lawing, Roberta Golmon, Dave Weist and Connie Street greeted guests and explained member benefits and the importance of agriculture to Arkansas. Radio station KTLO helped with a live remote broadcast and a chance to win $500.
Of the 34 M*A*S*H camps hosted at medical facilities statewide this summer, few were as large as this group at Sparks Regional Medical Center in Fort Smith. Thirty-five junior and senior high school students from Sebastian, Perry, Logan, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson and Scott counties attended the camp June 19-30. County Farm Bureaus helped sponsor the camps.
August animal symposium Trends in housing for sows and layers, heat stress in cattle and antibiotics regulation will be among the topics covered Aug. 3 during the Center for Food Animal Wellbeing’s sixth annual symposium on Current Issues and Advances. The center is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The one-day symposium will be in the John W. Tyson Poultry Science Building on the UA campus. Registration is $25.
Elsewhere
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Bill could help ag ed The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, gives a boost to the high school career and technical agriculture education programs
The Arkansas Legislative Council executive committee met June 7 to hear input from the Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee on a proposed dicamba sales ban. The council took no official action, so the committee’s recommendation to approve the Plant Board’s proposed ban became effective July 11. Infractions could result in penalties up to $25,000.
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“This year we have something special for everyone, beginning with the basics and considering public perceptions and the impact of new regulations on everyone in animal agriculture,” said center director Yvonne Vizzier Thaxton. Speakers will include Stephanie Cottee, executive director of the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization; Tom Parsons, associate professor of swine production medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine; Candace Croney, director, Center for Animal Welfare Science, Purdue University; Jose Linares, manager of veterinarian services, CEVA Animal Health; Doug Britton, manager, agricultural technology research program, Georgia Tech Research Institute; Terry Mader, president, Mader Consulting; Susan Anglin, dairy farmer, Triple A Farms; Chris Ashworth, senior technical consultant, Elanco Animal Health; and Luke Gramlich, videographer, UA’s Center for Food Animal Wellbeing. For more information and online registration, visit http://foodanimalwellbeing. uark.edu/AnnualSymposium.
If the rice dish you prepare for the family meets their approval, it’s probably worth sharing. Doing so could win a prize and some recognition at the Arkansas Rice Expo Aug. 10 in Stuttgart. Rice must be the prominent ingredient in the recipe, and ingredients should be easily obtained at the grocery. Those are the only rules. For an entry form and info, go to uaex.edu/rice-expo.
that are so vital to developing the talent and leadership needed in the farming and agricultural services industries, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. The measure reauthorizes the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. Rural America needs a skilled workforce as much as urban and suburban communities, AFBF President Zippy Duvall noted in a letter urging House lawmakers to support the bill. “Agricultural education programs provide a well-rounded, practical approach to learning through classroom education in agricultural topics such as plant and animal sciences, horticulture, forestry, agrimarketing, etc., and hands-on supervised agricultural career experience, such as starting a business or working for an established company,” Duvall said. NAFTA reform A modernized North American Free Trade Agreement must build upon market gains for U.S. agriculture and settle remaining challenges for our nation’s farmers and ranchers in our neighboring markets, Don Shawcroft, chair of the AFBF’s Trade Advisory Committee, stated in a June 27 hearing before the U.S. Trade Representative. “NAFTA has been overwhelmingly beneficial for the vast majority of farmers and ranchers across the U.S. for decades,” said Shawcroft in testimony on behalf of the AFBF. U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico have quadrupled, from $8.9
billion in 1993 to $38.1 billion in 2016. Although the benefits from NAFTA are clear and many, there are reasons to reform and update the agreement, said Shawcroft, who also serves as the Colorado Farm Bureau president. NAFTA renegotiations present a prime opportunity to address challenges fruit and vegetable farmers have faced with Mexico, as well as a chance for dairy, row crop and wheat farmers to settle issues with Canada. “A modernized NAFTA should at best eliminate, at worst reduce, barriers to trade that keep our farmers and ranchers from having a level playing field with our neighbors,” Shawcroft said. Farm Bureau priorities for a modernized NAFTA include updated, science-based sanitary and phytosanitary rules; improved dispute settlement procedures for fresh fruits, vegetables and horticultural products; eliminated or reduced Canadian tariff barriers to dairy, poultry, eggs and wine, as well as the recently implemented barriers to ultra-filtered milk; addressing the misuse of geographical indicators; and developing a consistent, science-based approach to biotechnology. “A modernized NAFTA will not only help expand market opportunities for U.S. farmers and ranchers in the near term,” said Shawcroft. “It would also set a foundation for future trade agreements by establishing market-driven and science-based terms of trade and dispute resolution that will directly benefit the U.S. food and agriculture industry.” Editor Keith Sutton
keith.sutton@arfb.com
the biodiesel tax incentive.
In the Market As of July 19, 2017 Monsanto on dicamba Monsanto is standing by its dicamba herbicide amid reports of possible drift, a product it says was thoroughly tested for 10 years before it was granted EPA approval. Monsanto’s chief technology officer Rob Fraley told reporters many farmers and consultants he’s met with say off-label use of older dicamba products is high – up to 25 percent of applications in some places. “Many noted that the sales of these products spiked this year despite the fact that corn and wheat acres were down,” he said. H-2A visa change On July 18, the House Appropriations Committee approved a $44.3 billion fiscal 2018 spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security that includes funding for some of Trump’s key immigration enforcement policies. One approved amendment makes a major change in the H-2A agricultural guest worker program. The provision would allow H-2A visas to be used for yearround farm workers. The program is now limited to seasonal employees, which is a major problem for dairy producers. Tax credit phase-out? Reps. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) and Ron Kind (D-Wis.) introduced legislation to extend the biodiesel blenders tax credit and phase the incentive out by 2022. Under the proposed phase-out, the value for the blenders tax credit would be $1 per gallon in 2017 to 2018, 75 cents in 2019, and 50 cents in 2020 through 2021. The tax credit would sunset Dec. 31, 2021. The National Biodiesel Board does not support phasing out
China OKs crops China has approved two more genetically modified (GMO) crops for import, the country’s ag ministry announced July 19, the second such move in the past month. As part of its 100-day trade talks with the United States, China promised to speed up biotech approvals. Beijing gave the green light to Syngenta’s 5307 insectresistant corn sold under the Agrisure Duracade brand and Monsanto’s 87427 glyphosate-resistant corn, which is sold under the Roundup Ready brand. Four other products owned by Monsanto, Dupont and Dow are still awaiting approval. The decision took effect July 16 and will last three years. Dow wants answers Dow AgriScience is pressing China to clarify its position on its Enlist soybeans, the company told Reuters July 18. As part of its 100-day trade talks with the U.S., China pledged to review eight biotech crops awaiting approval. As noted above, the country approved two new biotech crops for import on July 19, after giving two other products the green light earlier. Four other biotech crops, including Dow’s Enlist beans, an insect-resistant corn from DuPont or two alfalfa products from Monsanto, are still in limbo. BSE in Alabama An 11-year-old cow in Alabama has tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, also known as mad cow disease). The cow tested positive for the atypical L-type of BSE after showing clinical signs at an Alabama livestock market, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The agency emphasized that “This animal never entered slaughter channels and at no time presented a risk to the food supply, or to human health in the United States.” It added that the atypical case won’t change
the negligible risk status of the U.S., nor should it lead to any trade issues. However, South Korea’s agriculture ministry said it will strengthen quarantine measures on U.S. beef starting July 19. Beef issues Brazilian Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi was more upbeat than USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue about his country’s chances to start exporting beef again to the U.S. The two met July 17. Maggi said he expects the U.S. to lift the ban in one or two months. Perdue seemed less optimistic than Maggi about the resumption of trade. “Open dialogue is good, but we need to see progress,” Perdue said. Maggi acknowledged that U.S. inspectors were finding bones in Brazilian shipments, with concerns that foot and mouth virus can hide in bone marrow. Leaders want role in trade talks Leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee sent a letter July 17 to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, insisting that he first consult with Congress before trying to negotiate changes to the U.S. trade pact with South Korea (KORUS). The Trump administration last week notified South Korea that it wanted a bilateral meeting to discuss altering KORUS. U.S. beef industry leaders like the existing KORUS language regarding beef trade, with the U.S. gaining market share due to lower tariffs and even lower levels ahead.
CONTACT
Matt King 501-228-1297, matt.king@arfb.com