Arkansas Agriculture - Winter 2019

WINTER 2 0 1 9

Solar Heats Up Will it work for Arkansas farmers?

Plus: Waste Feed for Farm Animals & the Latest on Law and Policy

FEATURES Farming the Sun How Solar Technology is Changing Arkansas Agriculture Keith Sutton | Page 6 Could Food Waste Help Feed Your Livestock?

Ken Moore | Page 20

COLUMNS

Farm Bureau Perspective Randy Veach | Page 3

Policy Update

Michelle Kitchens | Page 16

Ag Law Update

Harrison Pittman | Page 32

COVER DESIGN

by Bryan Pistole Aerial photo courtesy of A. J. Hood Farmer photos by Keith Sutton

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WINTER 2019

Edition 52

Farm Bureau Perspective

by Randy Veach | President, Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation

America needs a better guest-worker program to address farm labor shortage

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ost in the discord over government shutdowns and venomous commentary on both sides of the “Build a Wall” debate lies a very real problem for America’s farmers and ranchers.

Farming’s labor system is broken and we need to fix it.

U.S. agriculture faces a critical shortage of workers every year, simply because there are not enough readily available workers for these physically demanding on-farm jobs.

This situation makes our farms and ranches less competitive with other nations that have adequate labor forces. Securing a reliable and competent workforce for our nation’s farms and ranches is essential to agriculture and the ag economy, both in Arkansas and nationally.

Reforms to the immigration system can ensure that American agriculture has a legal, stable supply of workers, both in the short- and long-term, for all types of agriculture.

Recently, Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, the new chair of the House Immigration Subcommittee, proposed a way to address one aspect of this issue.

Lofgren introduced H.R. 641, the Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2019, which, if passed, would provide a pathway to legalization for agricultural workers who are already here.

But this bill isn’t enough. U.S. agriculture needs a guest-worker program that will help us replace the workers covered by the Lofgren bill as they age out or move to other sectors of the economy.

The current H-2A program, which is supposed to assist farmers and ranchers, too often falls short in meeting farmers’ or workers’ needs. Growers don’t normally employ their workers year-round.

As a result, H-2A only represents a small portion of the needed workforce.

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The guest-worker program needs to work for all growers in all states. It must grant flexibility for farmers who cannot construct housing for their guest workers, by allowing them to use a housing voucher for them.

Some claim that guest-worker programs depress U.S. wages, but the situation in agriculture clearly shows they do not. These jobs routinely pay well above minimum wage.

We welcome meaningful legislation that will help address the problems facing farmers and ranchers concerning access to guest workers. Any such effort must be built upon agreement among farmers, worker advocates, the Trump administration and Congress.

We need a 21st century solution that works for farmers and workers alike.

Only reform through legislation can solve the agricultural worker problem. In seeking a meaningful legislative solution to agriculture’s worker shortage, we believe that immigration reform must include the following two elements: Agricultural Worker Program – An uncapped Agricultural Worker Visa Program (AWP) that is open to all segments of agriculture and is flexible enough to provide for the differing needs of farmers and ranchers. Such a program would allow workers to apply for positions “at-will,” but also permit growers to contract for such labor. It would be administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, would not impose burdensome requirements on growers and would also call for a fair, economic wage structure for workers.

Current Workforce – In order to minimize the impact on current economic activity, AFBF supports an adjustment of status for experienced, but unauthorized, agricultural workers.

There is no confusion among farmers and ranchers on this issue. Farming’s labor system is broken and we need to fix it. *

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An official publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation distributed to more than 43,000 farming and ranching households in Arkansas.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Included in membership dues ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU OFFICERS:

President • Randy Veach, Manila Vice President • Rich Hillman, Carlisle Secretary/Treasurer • Joe Christian, Jonesboro Executive Vice President • Warren Carter, Little Rock DIRECTORS:

Jon Carroll, Moro Terry Dabbs, Stuttgart Sherry Felts, Joiner Mike Freeze, Little Rock Bruce Jackson, Lockesburg Tom Jones, Pottsville Terry Laster, Strong Jeremy Miller, Huntsville Gene Pharr, Lincoln Caleb Plyler, Hope Rusty Smith, Des Arc Joe Thrash, Houston Dan Wright, Waldron EX OFFICIO

Magen Allen, Bismarck Donna Bemis, Little Rock Adam Cloninger, Keo Dustin Cowell, Deer Executive Editor • Steve Eddington Editor • Rob Anderson Contributing Writers • Ken Moore, Gregg Patterson, Maddison Stewart Stone, Keith Sutton ADVERTISING

Contact Eva Bakalekos at Publishing Concepts for advertising rates ebakalekos@pcipublishing.com (501) 221-9986, Ext. 115 Fax (501) 225-3735 Arkansas Agriculture is published quarterly by the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation 10720 Kanis Rd., Little Rock, AR 72211 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Arkansas Agriculture, P.O. Box 31, Little Rock, AR 72203 Issue #52 Publisher assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

The Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation reserves the right to accept or reject all advertising requests.

Send comments to: arkansasagriculture@arfb.com

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FARMING

Arkansas County row-crop farmer Troy Hornbeck stands beside one of two solar arrays installed on his farm to help power his irrigation wells, hunting lodge and off-farm businesses. The solar additions will be paid for within a four to seven years and he’ll be putting the money he was paying electric utilities back into his businesses. Photo by Keith Sutton

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SUN

the

How Solar Technology is Changing Arkansas Agriculture

by Keith Sutton Arkansas Agriculture

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I

n years past, the hefty price tag for solar panels and the know-how needed to operate solar equipment kept this technology out of reach for most Arkansas farmers and ranchers. But now, as the technology has improved and more companies compete for market dominance, the price of solar equipment has dropped, making it a more viable energy option for those who produce our food, fiber and shelter.

As a result of these economic and technological changes, some Arkansas farmers who have been using diesel or utility-company electricity for watering livestock, irrigating crops and other agricultural tasks are now making the switch to this “green energy” source.

“I, for one, am very excited about the use of solar energy,” said Rick Cartwright, head of the Cooperative Extension Service for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “We used to talk about this when I was younger, but it just wasn’t practical. Now that it is, I’m excited.”

Cartwright said he and others plan to incorporate solar technology in the Division of Agriculture.

“Solar technology is here,” he said. “Over time we’d like to figure out how to include it in our system and learn how to advise people in using it. For farmers, home owners and communities, we’re interested in any valid approach to helping them implement not just solar technology but other energy sources as well.”

On the Farm

Troy Hornbeck of DeWitt built a solar array on his row-crop farm in 2016, after attending a local meeting with representatives from a Pulaski County solar company. He now has two solar systems — a 35-kilowatt system that provides electricity for two DeWitt businesses he and his wife own and a 65-kilowatt system that generates power for several farm irrigation wells, a hunting camp and a guide shack.

“Our primary incentive for installing the solar arrays was the economic benefit,” Hornbeck says. “Farmers and small-business owners like us have to make every dollar count, so when we learned we could save several hundred dollars each month on electricity costs, it was an easy decision to make. After six to seven years, we’ll have the solar arrays paid for, and we’ll be putting the money we were paying the utility companies back into our businesses.

The larger system, which powers our irrigation

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Current solar use on Arkansas farms often goes unnoticed because the solar panels are installed out of sight like these on the roof of a farm shop in Desha County.

Photo courtesy of A.J. Hood

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The solar arrays at Tillar & Company’s farm on the Drew-Desha County line provide electricity to run driers in the business’ grain storage facility.

Photo courtesy of A.J. Hood

wells, should actually be paid off in just four to five years because of the larger quantity of power that the wells use.”

Farther south, in Desha County, A.J. Hood has put solar to work in another way on the farm he manages. Tillar & Company dries the rice in its grain bins using electric fans powered almost entirely by a solar array built last year.

“Farming today has so many variable expenses such as chemicals, fertilizers and fuel,” Hood said.

“I began looking for a way to change some of our variable expenses to fixed. This led me to look at solar power for our grain facilities. The energy costs associated with drying grain have increased constantly year after year, but implementing the solar array allowed me to turn those everincreasing expenses into a fixed expense.

“Knowing that one of our largest variable expenses is now fixed for the next 30 years gives us peace of mind,” Hood continued. “We now know we are insulated from rising energy costs, and that’s a big deal for this type of operation. In farming, we deal with a lot of variables that are out of our control. Taking one of those off the table reduced our risk, and we like that.”

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A.J. Hood, farm manager for Tillar & Company, says “The major benefit I see to solar is that it is hands off, which allows me to take care of other farm business without worrying if I am generating power.”

Photo by Keith Sutton

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Simply put, a solar panel works by allowing photons, or particles of light, to knock electrons free from atoms, generating a flow of electricity. Solar panels are actually comprised of many, smaller units called photovoltaic cells.

Photo by Keith Sutton

Steps to Start

Hornbeck said one of the first steps to going solar is finding a reputable company you can work with.

“Do some homework on the solar companies,” he said. “There are many good and respected ones. Search those out and check reviews to select the best. Asking fellow farmers you trust to make recommendations can be very helpful, too.”

When having discussions with the solar companies, be sure to also include talks with existing utility companies.

“It’s good for the client to be involved in all steps so everyone is on the same page,” Hornbeck said. “Engineers from the utilities have to be involved in looking at the plan and approving it, and that process is simplified if the solar company makes the contacts and makes sure you’re part of the discussions.

“Early on, you’ll need to determine what your funding sources will be as well,” he said.

“Are you going to the bank to take out a loan?

Will you be able to pay for a portion of the costs up front? Will you apply for grants from the USDA and other sources? Those can offset up to 25 percent of your expenses, but you will have to complete your applications before your project is too far along.”

Hood, who chose a Little Rock solar company to work with, said he found the whole process almost effortless.

“I had the opportunity to work with a group that provided me a whole-system approach,” he told me. “Once they took my electric bills and provided me with an analysis, the process really took off. I was then able to determine what my needs were and how solar was going to help my bottom line.

“The installation and implementation of my solar array was the easiest part,” he continued. “I am able to see in real time on a phone app just what my array is producing daily. I am also able to compare that with the statement that my electrical provider sends monthly. The major benefit I see to solar is that it is hands off, which allows me to take care of other farm business without worrying if I am generating power.”

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Solar arrays are showing up on farms throughout Arkansas.

This one powers a rice irrigation well on the Rice Research and Extension Center near Stuttgart.

Problems With Multiple Utilities

While Hornbeck and Hood are positive about their experiences changing over to solar, they both say dealing with multiple utility companies can sometimes cause headaches.

“Let’s say you’re wanting to use solar to power irrigation wells,” said Hood. “If you have a large farm like we do, some wells may be in the area serviced by one utility company, and other wells may be located in a different utility company’s area. Because of that, it’s important to be aware that the rate schedule for some wells may be much more economical or less economical depending on the electric provider. You need to know that before you get started.”

Hornbeck has personal experience dealing with multiple utilities. One part of his farm is in the area serviced by First Electric Cooperative, and another area gets service through Entergy. He points out that different utility companies may have different rules for equipment usage and very different levels of customers service.

“If you deal with multiple utility companies, you’ll learn that some companies have excellent customer service and you can quickly get almost any information you need,” Hornbeck said. “With others, you can’t seem to find anyone who knows anything. That can be very frustrating.”

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A Little Land is All It Takes

One of the most important benefits of solar energy use is the fact that a landowner can take a small piece of unproductive property and make it the most valuable on the farm.

“We have approximately 150 kilowatts of solar panels that produce approximately 240,000 kWh in electricity annually,” Hood told UA writer Sarah Cato in an interview last year. “That is enough to reduce our electricity cost by over 75 percent, but our solar panels take up only a little over one acre of land. That’s the beauty of it.”

Hornbeck concurs.

“Going solar should be a very easy adaptation for the farmer because he’s a farmer,” he said. “He has always farmed crops and now he’s farming the sun.

He’s taking just a little piece of his property, something that may not be very productive, and he puts solar panels on it to make it the most productive part of his operation. My 65kw system, for example, takes up an area that’s only about 30 feet wide and 400 feet long, and I use it to power three irrigation wells and two dwellings. Almost any farmer can think of turnrows they have or high points in a field or a little corner of an old house site that’s currently unproductive but would be an ideal place to put solar panels and turn the ground into something extraordinary.”

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6 Ways Solar Energy is Used on Today’s Farms Power from the sun can be harnessed for many uses on the farm, including these: 1.

Fence chargers. The use of solar-powered fence chargers provides an ideal solution for livestock containment or exclusion fences in areas where 110-volt power is unavailable or inconvenient to obtain.

2. Greenhouses. Traditional commercial greenhouses often rely on gas or oil heaters to maintain constant temperatures. Specialized solar greenhouses, on the other hand, collect and store solar energy during sunny days, making it possible to retain the heat for use during the night and on cloudy days, thus reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

Get Involved Now

Some of the newer solar panels and equipment blend in with the environment more than equipment in the past, so it isn’t always obvious when a farmer is using the technology.

Hood uses a photo taken by a drone flying high overhead to illustrate the point. In it, the solar panels covering the roof of a friend’s shop are clearly visible, while they are generally unnoticeable at ground level.

“Many people don’t realize how many Arkansas farmers are already using solar because the panels are often out of sight like these,” he said. “But we’re starting to see more and more people using solar on their farms, and at their homes and businesses, too.

“I like to say there are only two reasons why someone would choose not to consider using solar energy today,” he said, chuckling. “First, they have no desire to take care of the environment for future generations to use and enjoy.

And second, they really hate to make money and love paying taxes and electric bills.”

“I often hear farmers say they looked into solar before and it was just too expensive or too time consuming or too difficult to understand,” Hornbeck said. “But I think the atmosphere is totally different now than it was even five or 10 years ago. Solar panels have gotten more economically feasible, and the payoff is good even on agricultural wells. It’s still not going to work for everyone, but the time is right to take another look and see if solar can help reduce costs on your farm.” *

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3. Irrigation and livestock watering. Water pumping systems powered using solar panels are becoming increasingly popular, especially for locations with no nearby powerlines.

Basic systems run pumps directly when the sun is shining, ensuring that they work hardest during the hot summer months when they are needed most.

4. Sensors. Many of today’s farmers use sensors to gather important data about precipitation, soil moisture, levels of sunlight and more. These are available as solarpowered units that provide an easy, costeffective manner of data collection, even in remote corners of the property.

5. Outdoor lighting. From small solar LED garden lights to larger units for illuminating entries, gates and outbuildings, solar lighting can be a great fit, especially for off-grid and remote locations.

6. Water heating. Water heating can account for as much as 40 percent of the energy used in a typical dairy operation. A properly -sized solar water-heating system can cut those costs in half. Solar water heating also can provide hot water for pen cleaning, equipment washing and other tasks 13

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PolicyUPDATE Michelle coordinates the policy development process for Arkansas Farm Bureau and regularly updates the membership on legislative and regulatory issues. She grew up on a cattle and poultry farm in southwest Arkansas and earned a degree in communication management from Harding University.

By Michelle Kitchens, Assistant Director, ArFB Public Affairs & Government Relations

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n December, Arkansas Farm Bureau members adopted policy to guide the organization’s 2019 priorities. Since then, Farm Bureau has been working with the 92nd General Assembly on multiple legislative items to achieve those goals.

Funding for University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture The Division of Agriculture is valuable partner in the success of Arkansas’ farm economy, leadership and youth development.

Gov. Asa Hutchison has announced an increase in the base funding of $1.1 million. Farm Bureau and our legislative allies hope to add to that number before the final budget is announced.

Advocate for our policy in regards to the proposed government reorganization The 92nd General Assembly is undertaking a massive transformation of state government.

With the goal of reducing 40 plus agencies to 15, no part of Arkansas government will be untouched and most sections of code will be changed. We have worked closely with the governor’s transformation team to secure the best outcome for agriculture and forestry agencies. Some of our top priorities are keeping special funds and regulatory bodies intact and ensuring that services are remain responsive to Arkansans. Another priority in the transformation has been agriculture and career education and maintaining its status as workforce and leadership development tool.

Transfer regulatory authority of agriculture non-point source pollution to the Department of Natural Resources With reorganization and efficiency in mind, we want to streamline the regulatory process for Arkansas farmers and ranchers. By consolidating certain permits in Arkansas Department of Natural Resources our members will have a one stop shop for permitting animal waste management. Placing these regulations under the new Department of Agriculture makes a practical change to state government.

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Reorganize Livestock & Poultry Commission membership with more industry, farmer representation This regulatory body governs one of Arkansas’ most important industries. We want to modernize the commission by adding more farmer representation.

There are opportunities to provide more farmer input and guidance on the regulations impacting their livelihoods.

Support for a highway maintenance program Farmers and ranchers must have good roads and highways to move our products to market. We believe the state is overdue in establishing a continued funding source and plan for infrastructure maintenance and improvements.

We urge the legislature to commit to adequate funds for maintenance as well as new construction.

Establish new food labeling laws/regulations Consumers frequently struggle to interpret food labels.

The state’s protein and rice industries are on the forefront of these marketing wars. We feel it is important to protect these products by prohibiting the use of certain terms when labeling lab cultured protein or fake meat and shaved vegetables mimicking the shape of Arkansas’ favorite grain and other similar agriculture products. Our goal is to establish some state level guidelines for labeling.

We believe it is important to continue to improve right to farm protections in Arkansas. Our goal this session will be to include a real estate disclosure of the state’s right to farm law when property is purchased in rural areas. There is continued urbanization of many productive agriculture areas. Property owners appreciate the natural beauty of productive agriculture land but are often uninformed about production practices and the protections extended to those practices under the law. A real estate disclosure will raise awareness and add weight to the state’s existing right to farm laws.

Expand the state’s “lemon law” to include motorized farm equipment Farm equipment requires a significant investment and its operational is imperative to the business success of Arkansas farms. While most equipment is sound, we would like to extend “lemon law” protection to encompass agriculture equipment. Many states provide this safety net for producers.

A fair and balanced law is needed in our state. * Arkansas Agriculture

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Could Food Waste help

livesto

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feed your

ck?

by Ken Moore Photos by Gregg Patterson and Keith Sutton

T

hanks to the hard work and productivity of

American farmers and ranchers, food is abundant, not scarce.

That means we are fortunate, but it also means we have more food than we can consume and food waste has become a critical social and environmental issue. As efforts have sprung up to attack the problem, one method has gained traction among those

Jeremy Allen looks over part of his mixed breed cattle herd on his farm near Bismarck in Hot Spring County. Allen has a small cow-calf operation in addition to his J.A. Farms Feed business where he sells and delivers bulk livestock feed to producers across the state.

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in agriculture – turning this food waste into feed for livestock.

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According to a report titled Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste, approximately 160 billion pounds of food are wasted each year. The report was produced by ReFED, a nonprofit collaborative of business and government leaders focused on the food waste problem, and it also cited the high cost — close to $218 billion – associated with producing, transporting and disposing of this wasted food.

To address this growing issue, the University of Arkansas School of Law Agricultural and Food Law program developed the Food Recovery Project in 2012, through a grant from the Women’s Giving Circle. Together with the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, the institutions compiled the document Leftovers for Livestock, which provides guidelines for animal agriculture producers interested in understanding state and federal laws surrounding the use of waste food as feed in animal production.

“In partnership with my colleagues at the Harvard Food Law and Policy Center, we spent the better part of two years researching the regulations on the use of leftover food as livestock feed on the federal level and in all 50 states,” said Nicole Civita, affiliated professor with the UA School of Law and director of the Food Recovery Project, adding that a key focus of the effort was to reduce the amount of waste food going to landfills.

Arkansas allows the feeding of animal-derived and vegetable waste to swine, provided that it has been properly heat-treated and fed by a licensed facility.

A billboard near Little Rock featuring a message from the Ad Council about the problem of food waste.

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Allen adjusts settings on a machine used to bag different types of blended feed at his operation in Bismarck.

“When you think about the pre-industrial ways in which animals were fed on farms, they were scrap feeders. Livestock veterinarians and large animal experts will tell you scrap feeding can be a very healthy way to raise animals,” Civita said.

She explains that in large, commercial cattle, poultry or swine operations producers are probably, not going to get the same speed to grow (their animals) because of the way their business model is structured. However, she notes, “as we’ve seen a resurgence of small-scale animal agriculture, this starts to become a viable way to be feeding or supplementing the feed of a variety of animals, particularly hogs and chickens. But we’ve always got to maintain our strong focus on food safety.”

Shane Gadberry, professor of Ruminant Nutrition with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, said the cattle industry has historically relied heavily on grain and oilseed byproducts, keeping them out of landfills. These can be such things as soybean hulls, distillers grains, corn gluten pellets and syrup, brewers grains and rice bran.

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“One of the challenges we face today in addressing the problem of food waste is how do we reduce the volume going to landfills and the resultant contribution to greenhouse gases by making waste food a renewable resource,” Gadberry said.

“What we’re talking about now is just a different scale of that original idea. So, we do consider some of the opportunities and challenges that are involved when we start thinking about how we can integrate food waste into an animal’s diet and the impacts that scale on both sides have to be. How many livestock are we talking about needing to feed, versus how much actual food waste or produce is available for their use.”

Gadberry said livestock producers must know the source of waste food they are considering including in their feed

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mix. “We know there are restrictions on feeding beef back to a beef animal. That’s illegal.”

But he adds when products exceed their freshness date at the supermarket, certain produce and confectionary items could “work well into the right animal feed situation.”

Jeremy Allen owns J.A. Farms Feed Company in Bismarck. He has been selling blends of raw, out-of-date and waste food byproducts to livestock producers across the state since 2006.

“Our byproducts – like the cereal byproduct we have included for more than 10 years – originate from cereal factories (such as Kellogg’s or General Mills),” he said.

“Even chocolate – we’ll have everything from Reese’s to marshmallows to any type of candy you can think of that comes in a Valentine candy box,”

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Jeremy Allen holds a bag of outdated “Frosted Flakes,” one of the many dry cereals included in the blended feed behind him, which he bags and sells to livestock farmers from his J.A. Farms Feed business in Bismarck.

Allen obtains blended dry cereal in bulk from thirdparty vendors. These vendors create the feed products using various foods pulled from grocery store shelves after expiration. He notes that cattle get excited about eating older food products, whether blended or not.

“I’ve actually had cattle that will jump a fence if you shake a bag of bread in front of them,” he says.

Gadberry said he knows of cattlemen who have bought pickup truck loads of bread.

“If it’s an opportunity for a small-scale operation to pick up outdated bread, I’ve known of producers get a pickup load piled high with loaves of bread that are beyond their freshness date and being disposed of by the retailer,” he said. “They take those packages to the farm and use as a supplement for their cattle.”

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Likely one of the oldest byproduct feeds for livestock, brewers grains are used in all segments of cattle production as a highly digestible protein and energy source. Brewers grains have the advantage of year-round production and availability, making it an economical alternative for many in the industry.

“We’ve used brewers grains for many years in ruminant diets,” Gadberry said. “Our microbreweries here in Arkansas – a lot of their brewers grains are making it onto ranches. I think brewers grains is an example that’s really positive in terms of its potential nutritive value.”

However, Gadberry said the moisture content of brewers grains is very high, so producers must take into consideration the cost and logistics of hauling something

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“People don’t realize how much waste food is collected...

People are being paid to gather up these byproducts after they are removed from store shelves. There’s a purpose for everything they throw away if they can keep it separate.”

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that is 80 percent water over a long distance in order to get it to their farms.

“We’ve got to make sure the balance between the shipping costs and what it costs to acquire that ingredient makes it justifiable to include in a diet,” he said.

Allen said livestock producers have been utilizing waste food in animal feed for years, so long as it adheres to state safety requirements.

“People don’t realize how much waste food is collected,” Allen said. “People are being paid to gather up these byproducts after they are removed from store shelves. There’s a purpose for everything they throw away if they can keep it separate.

“A lot of this is not new. When I started in 2006 they were already processing outdated waffles and blending them as a livestock feed. The stores don’t throw them away, they put them and other products into the livestock food chain. Processors have learned how to take these products from a raw stage and make them more usable.

Blend them with other products. Now all those products are being dried and further processed making them even more valuable.” *

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • WINTER 2019

What is the Food Recovery Project?

by Ken Moore Established by the University of Arkansas School of Law Agricultural and Food Law program in 2012, the Food Recovery Project, “aims to raise awareness of two fundamentally irreconcilable problems: the overwhelming waste of food and the persistent existence of hunger in America.”

“A lot of our work in the early years was focused on outlining the problem of food waste and the fact that policy was in place in all 50 states to create liability protection for food recovery and the use of excess food for feeding humans in need,” said Nicole Civita, an affiliated professor in the University of Arkansas School of Nicole Civita Law who was hired to direct the project in 2013. “I happened to be super lucky in that I fell into this work right at the moment that a lot of the country was starting to focus on the issue of food waste and its economic, environmental and social impacts,” She added that while food waste is a problem “throughout our food chain,” it is less of a problem in the manufacturing and processing stage.

“At that stage, there are often efficiencies that allow companies to see what might be treated as waste and created as another revenue stream,” Civita said. “That’s not to say there’s not a problem (with food waste) in processing, but it’s smaller than what we see in terms of on-farm produce that goes unharvested and isn’t gleaned. Then we have also a tremendous amount of food waste at the retail and consumer levels as well.”

It’s been almost seven years since the Food Recovery Project was launched. How successful has it been in fulfilling its mission?

“I’ve seen a tremendous culture shift over the last five or six years,” Civita said. “I’ve seen significant awareness raising. We’ve seen changes in individual behavior as well as important institutional moves. Restaurants are modifying their serving sizes and offering two different price points for large and small portions, allowing customers to make wiser choices about how much they want to consume. That’s just one example. School districts are addressing the issue as well.”

Civita says there is a food recovery hierarchy that prioritizes how the issue of food waste should be addressed.

“Finding a way to make sure that food doesn’t wind up in the landfill is most important,” she said. “We’ve got to reduce waste first, then when we have excess we have to feed the hungry. Then we feed livestock, then we compost, generate energy and create industrial uses and then finally we landfill as a last resort. That’s really an easier, linear way to think about it.

“We can’t rely simply on individuals to do all the work and reduce food waste themselves. Individuals are part of the problem and that must be part of the shift. But it must happen at the system level. A caution that I always keep in my mind is that we don’t want to create systems that are reliant on (totally) eliminating food waste. We will never get there.”

Civita adds that we should be on guard against the creation of “commercial systems that are fully reliant on waste that could be avoided in the first place,” but “there’s a tremendous amount of momentum over the last several years in reducing food waste and repurposing it to address the hunger issue in our country and that’s exciting.”

Arkansas Agriculture

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Arkansas Agriculture

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Arkansas Agriculture

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Ag LawUPDATE Harrison M. Pittman is director of the National Agricultural Law Center, which serves as the nation’s leading source of agricultural and food law research and information. The Center deals with legal issues around the country that impact agriculture at the state and federal levels.

by Harrison Pittman, Director, National Agricultural Law Center University of Arkansas System, Division of Agriculture

T

he National Agricultural Law Center regularly deals with legal issues around the country that are having an impact on agriculture at the federal and local level, so, in this edition, we explore a few of these key issues that will likely have a big impact in 2019.

“Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) – On February 14, the EPA and the Department of the Army issued a proposed rule designed to define “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. This action is the latest in the longrunning effort led by American Farm Bureau Federation and other groups to repeal and replace the Obama Administration’s “waters of the United States” final rule issued in June 2015. Since that time, the 2015 final has been subject to numerous legal challenges throughout the United States as well as Trump Administration efforts to terminate the 2015 rule and replace it with a new rule. The comment period for the “new” WOTUS rule ends April 15, 2019. The ultimate outcome has major implications for farmers, landowners, and others as it will establish the scope of federal jurisdiction over agricultural and other lands throughout the U.S. for years to come.

“Conduit Theory” – As if the definition of “waters of the United States” was not enough to tackle, the issue of what is known as the “conduit theory” has made its way to the doorstep of the United States Supreme Court. The conduit theory is the idea that groundwater – not simply certain surface waters – can under some circumstances be considered a “water of the United States” and therefore subject to EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers federal jurisdiction. For decades, it was commonly accepted by EPA and a handful of federal circuit courts of appeals that groundwater was not a water of the United States under the CWA. Recently, two circuit courts of appeals have issued decisions that have gone in just the opposite direction. The United States Supreme Court has been asked to decide the issue, and is now in the process of determining whether it will do so. On Jan. 3, the Court requested that the U.S. Solicitor General submit a brief to

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explain the Trump Administration’s view on the issue. This will be one of the top issues to watch in 2019 as it carries very significant implications for agriculture throughout Arkansas and the nation.

2018 Farm Bill – Farmers, lenders, and many others in the agricultural community in Arkansas and beyond entered the New Year with a gift that just a few weeks earlier looked like it might not happen: a new farm bill. On Dec. 20, President Trump signed into law the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill. After considerable political wrangling and delays – most provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill had actually expired months earlier – Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill with overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. The 2018 Farm Bill maintained much of the basic structure of the 2014 Farm Bill, with a few changes. One of the most important changes was expansion of policy to develop industrial hemp as a commercial crop.

Both USDA and the states have much work to do to implement the totality new hemp provisions, but it does mark a landmark shift in U.S. agricultural policy. Those interested in planting hemp should consult with their state department of agriculture as well as obtain competent legal advice, as the new provisions come with many requirements and other legal strings attached.

To learn more about these and other issues impacting agriculture in Arkansas and the nation, be sure to visit the Center’s website at www.nationalaglawcenter.org. * Arkansas Agriculture

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Arkansas Agriculture

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • WINTER 2019

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