State%20affairs%202012

Farm Bureau Policy Development Fact Sheet No. 3 — 2012 STATE AFFAIRS FARMERS’ MARKETS The growing trend of establishing farmers’ markets and community-supported agriculture reflects an interest in locally produced food and healthy eating nationwide.

However, government regulation can stifle this growth. The free-market should dictate whether labeling is desirable or undesirable.

Related Policy: Agri tourism 130, Horticulture 127, Marketing 132 1. Should food sold at farmers’ markets be labeled with farm or state of origin labels?

2. What can Farm Bureau do to be a resource for these farmers?

FIRE PROTECTION TAX The Arkansas Forestry Commission’s firefighting crews are obligated to fight all fires when legitimate requests come in. The commission contends that many rural fires are on pastureland and unimproved lands. The fire protection tax currently applies to forest land only. See the Forestry Fact Sheet for more detailed information.

Related Policy: Forestry 109: We support increasing the current forest fire protection tax (timber tax) from 15-cent per acre to 20-cent per acre and full collection of the current tax. Additional funds for AFC funding should come from general revenues.

Taxes 153: We support the current forested land per acre fire tax.

1. Should pastureland also be taxed to cover fire protection expenses?

ETHICS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS Ethics and transparency laws have been added at a steady pace for decades with little appreciable real effect. The cost-benefit of these laws is debatable. Certainly it costs more and more to comply with the law and the situation has become so complex that at any time the constituent or organization in question can unwittingly fail to comply. Arkansas has adopted recent changes in regards to lobbying. The state also has a new open checkbook law. Voters could see a ballot initiative on the ballot this fall that makes substantial changes to campaign and lobbying laws. This law could have an impact on Farm Bureau and other advocacy organizations. If the ballot initiative fails to certify, many legislators will be feeling pressure to draft more “ethics” reform in response.

Related Policy: Government 157 1. Are there elements of ethics or lobbying reform that are warranted?

2. Should any prohibitions or reforms adopted be applied to everyone or just lobbyists?

INCOME TAX REFORM/TAX REFORM Tax cuts are increasingly popular legislative mantra. In this vein, the Arkansas legislature instigated a study or review of all sales tax exemptions. One possible objective of the review is to look for savings that would allow the cutting of state income taxes. Agriculture benefits substantially from exemptions on input items to grow food, fiber and renewable fuels.

Related Policy: Taxes 153 1. Would farmers favor the loss of exemptions in exchange for lower income taxes?

2. Are there certain tax exemptions that are outdated (such as cotton and tomato twine) or abused (ATV) that should be stricken, updated or rewritten?

3. What tax exemptions are of most value to the farmers’ bottom line?

GREEN THINKING Sustainability in the context of economic, health, social and environmental (which includes farming) issues are having a resurgence of attention among legislators. Policy at the state level is needed to address this area of concern in the context of green energy, facilities, best management practices, jobs, etc., using our definition of “sustainability.” For us sustainable means implementing a practice or practices that generate enough income to continue farming or ranching. It also means a practice that helps producers increase food production to keep up with a growing population dependent upon producers for the aforementioned necessities without being overburdened with undue regulations. Agriculture has a single, vital responsibility: to provide food, fiber, fuel and other basics of life for our ever-growing world.

Related Policy: Forestry 109, Refuse, manure, and litter management 147, Pollution Control and Ecology (PC&E) Commission and Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) 150, Littering 171, Sustainable Agriculture N-240 1. While unfunded mandates should be avoided, are there sustainability measures that would be supported by Farm Bureau?

2. Do Farm Bureau members have enough information about the public’s definition of sustainability?

3. Could the public’s passion for green measures be translated into public funding for energy improvements for farms or cost-share for the implementation of water quality and quantity measures?

[If you need additional information on these and other issues concerning the state affairs or if you desire assistance with your county policy development meeting, contact Stanley Hill, Associate Director, State Affairs at 501-228-1564 or via e-mail at stanly.hill@arfb.com.]