Farm Bureau Press - November 14, 2014

In Farm Bureau Register for AFBF convention County Farm Bureaus that need to register members for the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 96th Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show should contact MaLeta Stephens at 501-228-1470 or maleta.stephens@arfb.com. The convention will be held Jan. 10-14 in San Diego.

The full Farm Bureau member registration fee is $100 and includes the IDEAg Trade Show and Young Farmer & Rancher competitive events, general sessions, workshops and the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture Silent Auction.

“The 96th Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show offers a preview of the future of agriculture,” said John Hawkins, AFBF’s senior director of conventions and events. “The IDEAg Connect Conference, thought-provoking educational workshops, and precision agriculture and technology displays will provide exciting opportunities for attendees to get a sneak peek at what’s next in agriculture.”

About 7,000 Farm Bureau members

The ArFB Women’s Committee made a $10,000 donation Oct. 30 to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas and will donate $30,000 more over the next three years. The money will fund a kitchen in the new fivestory Little Rock home RMHC plans to complete by fall 2016.

Attending were (l to r) Emily Piechocki, RMHCA’s development director; Janice Marsh, ArFB State Women’s Committee chair; Donna Csunyo, program director for RMHCA; Peggy Miller, co-chair of ArFB’s State Women’s Committee; and RMHCA Executive Director Katie Choate. from across the nation are expected to gather for the convention, where they will hear from distinguished leaders and participate in a grassroots policy setting process that will guide the American Farm Bureau Federation through 2015.

AFBF President Bob Stallman will give his annual “State of Farm Bureau” address to members at the opening general session on Jan. 11. On Jan. 12, Commander Rorke Denver will give the general session keynote address, and acclaimed late night TV Thane Stidham of Alma received seven awards from ArFB Executive Vice President Rodney Baker at the Arkansas Purple Circle Club recognition program Oct. 25 in Little Rock. The club recognizes junior livestock exhibitors who earned championship honors at the Arkansas State Fair and Livestock Show. Seventy-six youngsters received medallions at the ceremony.

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host Jay Leno will give the closing session keynote address.

Visit http://annualconvention.fb.org for news and updates.

AFBF survey results A survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation shows more farmers are reaping the benefits of the latest agricultural technologies, but most remain wary of risks involved with big data collection.

Fully 77.5 percent of farmers surveyed

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A Publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation

November 14, 2014 • Vol. 17, No. 22

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During a statewide agricultural tour Nov. 4-7, members of California FB’s Leadership Farm Bureau program visited the Conway Co. Cooperative Extension Service office in Morrilton where Dr. Mike Daniels (left) discussed Arkansas’ Discovery Farm program.

The trip will allow the group to learn more about forces affecting farmers and ranchers outside their home state.

Over the course of two months, ArFB received 2,763 comment cards from members urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to “Ditch the Rule,” a campaign organized by the American Farm Bureau Federation. Those cards were submitted Nov. 11 by Zac Bradley (right), director of national affairs, and Stanley Hill, vice president of public policy.

“Agriculture technology providers must be diligent in protecting farmers’ data and transparent in their contracts about how their data will be used,” Stallman said.

will provide an in-depth look at the new Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) and the Supplemental Coverage Option. Coverage levels, expected yields and premium rates will be covered to better equip producers with the information necessary to evaluate insurance options for 2015. The meetings also will include an update on overall farm bill implementation and a question/answer session.

There will be two meetings in Arkansas.

The first will be Nov. 19 in McGehee at 1:30 p.m. It will be held at the McGehee Men’s Club, 1 Airport Road South. The second meeting will be Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. in Blytheville. It will be held in the Governor’s Ballroom/Statehouse Hall Building on the campus of Arkansas Northeastern College, 2501 South Division Street.

In Arkansas Farm bill meetings The National Cotton Council has scheduled a series of meetings to provide its members with information regarding insurance options for cotton under the Agricultural Act of 2014. The meetings

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said they feared regulators and other government officials might gain access to their private information without their knowledge or permission. Nearly 76 percent of respondents said they were concerned others could use their information for commodity market speculation without their consent.

“We want to be sure that farmers’ and ranchers’ data are protected, and we’re asking the hard questions to make sure that happens,” AFBF President Bob Stallman said. “Farmers should know who owns their data and how they plan to use it. It’s up to companies that collect the data to make all that clear.”

Farmers overwhelmingly agree. More than 81 percent believe they retain ownership of their farm data, according to Farm Bureau. Yet, it’s still unclear to most (more than 82 percent) how companies intend to use the farmers’ data.

Farmers say they are getting positive results from using precision technologies that collect weather data, track seed varieties, analyze nutrient applications and map crop yields. Those surveyed indicated the use of precision technology has reduced the cost of seed, fertilizer and pesticides by an average of 15 percent, and increased crop yields by an average of 13 percent.

More than half of the survey respondents who are actively farming indicated they plan to invest in new or additional precision and data technology in the next year or two.

Rodney Baker (right), ArFB executive vice president, was awarded the Honorary American FFA Degree Oct. 31 in Louisville, Ky. This is the highest award a non-member can receive from the organization. The award was presented during the fourth general session of the National FFA Convention, attended by more than 55,000 members and guests.

The ArFB State Resolutions Committee met Oct. 29-30 in North Little Rock to consolidate county policy proposals into formal recommendations for consideration by voting delegates at next month’s state convention. The committee was made up of 76 county and state Farm Bureau leaders. ArFB Vice President Rich Hillman (at the podium) led the meeting’s general session.

Rice conference The USA Rice Outlook Conference, sponsored by USA Rice, will be held Dec. 7-9 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. The conference brings together rice farmers from all six riceproducing states in the industry’s largest annual forum for edtion and interaction.

It also features a trade show devoted to rice-related farm equipment, technology, products and services. The program will include outlooks on the domestic and international situation for U.S. rice, farm bill implementation, the economy, trade, state-by-state rice production, and state and national rice research. News on ricerelated equipment, technology, products

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Beware illegal seed sales In an Oct. 30 press release, the Arkansas State Plant Board issued a warning to farmers and other seed buyers to beware of illegal seed sales taking place at some Arkansas livestock auction barns.

“Drake Farms of Fairland, Ok. has been selling illegal seed again in Arkansas,” the release said. “A Plant Board inspector found his truck on a sale barn parking lot in northwest Arkansas in mid-October and confiscated the seed. For years, he has refused to get a license or label his seed according to regulations in Arkansas. Two years ago, his van or truck with bags of illegal grass seed was seen at several sale barns, and complaints from buyers and subsequent tests of his seed revealed as much as half of the contents of each bag was weed seed and inert material such as chaff and fungal bodies (ergot). The seed contained noxious weeds at the rate of more than 2000 seed per pound. At that time, he refused to come into compliance and the seed was confiscated – but now

Victoria Maloch of Emerson, an agricultural business and pre-law major at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, was elected secretary of the National FFA Nov. 1 during the youth agriculture organization’s National Convention in Louisville, Ky. Victoria’s father is State Sen. Bruce Maloch who was elected to the same national position 38 years ago.

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and services will be showcased in a special session.

For more information, and to register and pay online, visit www.usarice.com.

Click on Meetings, then 2014 USA Rice Outlook Conference.

Mark Waldrip (left) of Moro, owner of East Arkansas Seeds Inc. and Armor Seed LLC, was awarded the 2014 Distinguished Alumnus award for the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas. The award was presented Oct. 24 at UA’s Hembree Auditorium by Dr. Steve Halbrooke, professor and department head of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. he’s back again.”

Arkansas’ regulations on the sale of planting seed requires anyone who sells or advertises agricultural planting seed for sale to have a seed dealer’s license issued from the State Plant Board and to label the seed according to regulations. Neither of these conditions was met by Drake Farms.

“Buying seed without a label and/or from unlicensed dealers leaves buyers with no recourse if the seed fails to perform.

Buyer beware!” Plant Board representatives said.

For information on dealers licensed to sell seed in Arkansas, call the Plant Board Seed Division at 501-225-1598 or visit the Plant Board web page at http://plantboard. arkansas.gov.

Elsewhere Pork industry scholarships Students who intend to pursue a career in the pork industry should consider applying for the Lois Britt Memorial Pork Industry Scholarship Program sponsored

by The CME Group and the National Pork Producers Council. Four $2,500 scholarships will be awarded to talented and thoughtful students who may emerge as industry leaders someday.

Eligible applicants are undergraduate students in a two-year swine program or four-year college of agriculture. The application includes writing a brief letter indicating what role they see themselves playing in the pork industry after graduation, and submitting a 750-word essay describing an issue they see confronting the pork industry today or in the future and offering solutions.

The National Pork Producers Council will administer the program, read the essays and select the winners. Essays will be judged on the basis of clarity or expression, persuasiveness, originality and relevance of topic. Winners will be announced at the Pork Industry Forum in San Antonio, Texas, March 5-7, 2015.

Entries must be postmarked by Dec. 12.

For more detailed information, visit www. nppc.org/programs/ scholarships/.

Editor Keith Sutton

keith.sutton@arfb.com

In the Market As of November 13, 2014 REAP Savings in 2015 The USDA will be announcing funding for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) in the coming weeks.

The USDA is expected to offer around $800,000 in grant funds to Arkansas farmers, ranchers and other rural businesses.

What is REAP? REAP provides a 25 percent cost share program to implement energy efficient or renewable energy projects on a farm. REAP can be used to cover virtually any energy upgrades on your operation including but not limited to: Poultry House Upgrades • Fans • Heaters • Insulation • Roll Doors Irrigation Upgrades • Diesel to Electric • Replace old well • Pumps, casing, ect Grain System Upgrades • Fans • Dryers Rural Businesses • Air conditioners • Coolers • Insulation Renewable Energy • Solar panels • Wind • Thermal Electric REAP Facts Producers applying for the grant will need a loan to cover the full cost of the project as REAP payments are not made until after project is completed. Even if you can self-finance a project you still need a loan; otherwise, the government will want to see your checking account to prove you can pay for the project.

Projects less than $80,000 are considered small projects and the USDA has allocated a percentage of funds to

these projects. REAP is an annual grant program that producers can apply for each year to improve energy efficiency on their operation.

REAP should not encourage you to do a project you wouldn’t normally do; instead it should help make doing a project easier. If producers are planning to make upgrades to their poultry houses, irrigation, or other upgrades they should first apply for the grant then begin.

Work can begin on a project as soon as the application is received by the USDA. You do not have to wait until you are approved to start your work.

NEW for 2015 Under the new Farm Bill the USDA has changed its rules for the program and now bases the program success on BTU saved per dollar invested instead of return on investment (ROI). This has pushed interest more towards renewable energy projects as they will receive more points.

Producers may want to consider using solar panels to power poultry houses and irrigation systems. In some parts of Arkansas, net metering will allow producers to leave their house or power unit connected to the grid, and place solar panels up line. The producer would then just pay the net difference between what they put on the grid verses what they used.

To learn more about this come to the Energy Cost Share Programs Workshop December 4 at the Arkansas Farm Bureau Annual Convention.

Farm Bureau’s Role in REAP Since 2010, Farm Bureau has hosted a number of meetings covering REAP, and began helping its members take better advantage of the program. These meetings resulted in more than $2.5 million in grant funds to members.

Farm Bureau is working with Bruce Everly, a grant writer, whose company has written thousands of REAP grants and energy audits with more than 80 percent of his applications getting funded nationally, and all of the grants he has written in Arkansas receiving funding. Everly’s fees are very competitive. His company charges $600 for the energy audit and grant writing services plus a percent of the project value, if and only if your grant is awarded.

Dow sets Enlist guidelines Dow AgroSciences says it will restrict Enlist corn and soybean sales until it gets import approval from China for the GMO traits. The company said Wednesday it has decided to sell the new corn only under strict requirements that the harvested corn be fed to livestock on the farm and not sold. Farmers who grow Enlist corn will be required to maintain isolation areas around their fields to avoid contaminating other crops, and third-party audits will be conducted to make sure the restrictions are enforced.

The company’s new Enlist soybeans will only be offered to farmers as part of a non-commercial program that lets a small number of farmers try the new seeds. Dow will manage the seed production, including storage and handling after harvest.

TPP agreement includes language many U.S. farmers have called for Negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement continue, with a conclusion most now see in 2015. The pending multilateral accord includes something many U.S. farmers have called for: language dealing with sanitary and phytosanitary issues. Some countries have raised these non-tariff trade-barrier issues to block imports of U.S. farm products. The language allows countries to set their own standards, but also says regulations must be based on science. They should not arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate between countries where identical or similar conditions prevail.

CONTACT • Matt King 501-228-1297, matt.king@arfb.com.