Georgia Farm Bureau News Alert - December 2, 2015

December 2, 2015

www.gfb.org

Vol. 33 No. 48

GFB SET TO HOLD ANNUAL CONVENTION For the 40th straight year and the 52nd time since 1961, Georgia Farm Bureau will hold its annual convention on Jekyll Island. The 2015 GFB Convention takes place Dec. 6-8 at the Jekyll Island Convention Center.

The convention is GFB’s event to set its organizational policy for 2016, provide updates to the organization’s commodity advisory committees, elect its officers and recognize achievements of its volunteers, who as a bonus have the chance to enjoy the historic and beautiful Georgia coast and renew friendships with fellow farmers from around the state.

“The Georgia Farm Bureau Convention is always an exciting time,” said GFB President Zippy Duvall, who is presiding over his ninth convention. “It’s a prime chance for our members to engage and be part of developing our policy. It is that engagement that gives GFB its strength, and we welcome the chance to visit with our volunteers from all over the state.”

Dec. 6 activities include the annual memorial service, the GFB trade show, a drop-in reception hosted by Duvall and Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black and the GFB state awards program.

The Dec. 7 general session features a patriotic remembrance, remarks from Gov. Nathan Deal, former U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss and American Farm Bureau Federation Senior Director of Regulatory Relations Don Parrish, who will provide an updated on the Waters of the U.S. rule.

The session includes recognition of outgoing GFB Young Farmer Committee members and the Young Farmer Raffle drawing.

On Dec. 8 the GFB voting delegates will finalize changes to the organization’s policy for 2016 and district director elections will be held for GFB District 2, where Stanley London from White County is running against incumbent Bobby Gunter from Lumpkin County.

In District 5, Matt Bottoms from Pike County is running unopposed for the seat vacated by Jim Ham of Monroe County, who resigned his seat to qualify to run for Middle Georgia Vice President against Robert Fountain Jr. from Emanuel County.

GFB 1st Vice President Gerald Long is seeking redesignation.

GFB News Alert page 2 of 7 GFB SEEKS DEFUNDING, PERMANENT WITHDRAWAL OF WOTUS RULE Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) is distributing postcards asking Congress to defund the Waters of the U.S. rule finalized earlier this year by the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The postcard initiative is the latest step in the “Ditch The Rule” campaign by American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and GFB. “Defunding the rule is our best legislative option at this time,” GFB President Zippy Duvall said. “It is imperative that GFB members continue the fight to have this rule withdrawn.”

The rule, which GFB and the AFBF have opposed since it was proposed in 2014, was finalized on Aug. 28, 2015. GFB and AFBF have maintained that the WOTUS rule represents a gross regulatory overreach that is contrary to congressional intent when the Clean Water Act was passed.

The agencies are temporarily prohibited from enforcing the rule under an order from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Multiple lawsuits by states have been filed in district courts around the country, including one filed by Georgia and eight other states in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

The postcards, which are available in all county Farm Bureau offices, will be delivered to key congressional leaders in January.

For more information about the rule visit http://ditchtherule.fb.org.

U.S., SOUTH AFRICA SIGN VETERINARY TRADE AGREEMENT The United States and South Africa have signed a veterinary trade protocol as a part of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), according to published reports.

South Africa has placed prohibitive duties on imports of U.S. poultry and meat products for the past 15 years, and banned imports of U.S. poultry entirely after the outbreak of avian influenza that began in December 2014.

In a joint statement from National Chicken Council President Mike Brown and USA Poultry & Egg Export Council President Jim Sumner, the two organizations indicated the veterinary trade protocol is a positive step toward resolving the dispute with South Africa.

“We applaud the progress that has been made and support the regionalized approach to avian influenza as outlined in the Poultry Veterinary Trade Protocol,”the statement said. “Two obstacles still remain, though, one pertaining to food safety and the other is an acceptable quota allocation procedure by the South African government. While this development is certainly positive, there is still work to be done and it is our opinion that this issue becomes resolved when U.S. chicken products are being enjoyed by South African consumers.”

The AGOA provides trade benefits for countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, but requires that those countries remove barriers to trade and investment.

President Barack Obama announced on Nov. 5 his intent to suspend duty-free treatment of agricultural imports from South Africa. The suspension, an effort intended to spur South Africa toward compliance with the rules under the AGOA agreement, would be effective in early January.

GFB News Alert page 3 of 7 GFB TO HOLD PEANUT COMMISSION NOMINATION MEETINGS Nomination meetings to fill three positions on the Georgia Peanut Commission (GPC) Board of Directors will be held Dec. 21 in Cochran and Oglethorpe and on Dec. 22 in Tifton. Georgia Farm Bureau will conduct the meetings during which peanut producers will nominate peers to represent the Peanut Commission’s Districts 2, 4 and 5. The terms of the commission members who currently represent these districts expire in May 2016.

The Georgia peanut production area is divided into five districts based on acreage distribution and geographical location with one board member representing each district. Each nominee must produce peanuts and live within the district for which he or she is nominated.

The GPC District 5 nomination meeting will be held at the Macon County Extension Service Office located at 100 Sumter St., Courthouse Annex in Oglethorpe on Dec. 21 at 10 a.m. Donald Chase of Macon County is the district incumbent. Counties in District 5 include: Chattahoochee, Clay, Lee, Macon, Marion, Peach, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, Terrell and Webster.

The GPC District 4 nomination meeting will be held at the Bleckley County Farm Bureau Office located at 157 West Dykes Street in Cochran on Dec. 21, at 2 p.m. Rodney Dawson of Pulaski County is the District 4 incumbent. Counties in District 4 include: Bleckley, Crisp, Dodge, Dooly, Houston, Laurens, Pulaski, Telfair, Twiggs, Wheeler, Wilcox and Wilkinson.

The GPC District 2 nomination meeting will be held at the Tift County Farm Bureau office located at 1618 Whiddon Mill Road in Tifton at 11 a.m. on Dec. 22. Armond Morris is the incumbent in the district. Counties in District 2 include: Atkinson, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Thomas, Tift, Turner and Worth.

Any peanut producer may be nominated or make nominations at the meeting for the peanut district in which he or she lives. Incumbents are eligible for renomination.

If more than one person is nominated, an election will be conducted by mail ballot at a date to be announced. Commission by-laws state that a person must receive a majority of the votes cast for a position in order to be elected to the board. If only one person qualifies for the position, no election is required and the nominated person automatically becomes a member of the Georgia Peanut Commission Board. Commission members serve terms of three years.

BLACK, MURPHY APPOINTED TO GEORGIA EQUINE COMMISSION The ex officio committee for the Georgia Agriculture Commodity Commissions recently appointed Dr. Carter Black, D.V.M., of Chattooga County and Julie Murphy of Brooks County to three-year terms on the Georgia Agriculture Commodity Commission for Equine. Dr. Black’s appointment was a reappointment and Murphy will be serving her first term.

The Georgia Equine Commission is funded by revenue collected from Equine Industry Automobile Tags purchased by Georgia residents. The commission receives $10 from each purchase, which can be used by the Equine Commission to fund research, education and promotion of the Georgia equine Industry.

Georgia Agriculture Commodity Commissions are created by acts of the Georgia Legislature and collect assessments from the growers of the commodities under the authority of farmer approved market orders. These funds are used to support research, education and promotion projects for the commodities. The Georgia Equine Commission was created by the Georgia Legislature in 2007.

GFB News Alert page 4 of 7 APHIS SEEKING PROPOSALS FOR HPAI VACCINE The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is issuing its second request for proposals (RFP) for vaccine manufacturers with the interest and capability to supply a variety of EA H5 vaccines in sufficient numbers to add to the emergency stockpile, according to a Nov. 20 agency press release.

APHIS has not approved the use of vaccine to respond to HPAI, but the Agency is preparing to ensure that a vaccine is available should the decision be made to use it. Any decision to use vaccination in a future HPAI outbreak would require careful consideration of the efficacy of the vaccine, any impacts of using HPAI vaccine in the field and the potential trade impacts. In response to the first RFP issued in August, APHIS awarded contracts for doses of two vaccines for the Eurasian H5 (EA H5) virus strain, which became part of the National Veterinary Stockpile.

Vaccines will be carefully evaluated on a number of factors including their efficacy against EA H5 viruses, and products must meet all of APHIS’ safety, potency, and purity standards. All eligible products to be considered must be either conditionally or fully licensed or permitted at the time of submission. Vaccine manufacturers will be evaluated on their ability to produce such vaccines in a timely manner in adequate numbers to meet the needs of the response.

The RFP is available online at http://tinyurl.com/vaccinerfp.

Although no decision has been made to use vaccine in the event of a future HPAI outbreak, APHIS will continue to issue RFPs for vaccine manufacturers on a quarterly basis through September 2016, to allow additional products to be developed and considered for the stockpile should an HPAI outbreak occur.

TIFT COUNTY POULTRY JUDGING TEAM WINS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP The Tift County 4-H Poultry Judging Team won its fourth national championship in six years in competition held Nov. 19 in Louisville, Kentucky. The team of Caroline Dunn, Justin Harper, Karen Ouano and Nicole Taylor bested teams from 15 other states to secure the national title, according to a UGA press release.

Tift County won consecutive national championships in 2010 and 2011, and again in 2013. This year’s victory is particularly rewarding considering the limited poultry background of three of the four team members. The knowledge and experience the team attained during the year came from many practice sessions and 4-H competitions.

This year’s national championship contest pitted Tift County against teams from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Poultry judging involves judging live birds, ranking them in order of best producer to worst producer and providing reasons for the ranking. There are also egg candling events in which students examine and judge eggs by grading them. Other competitions involve correctly identifying the different parts of a bird and preparing the bird for cooking.

Tift County was the only team to have all four members place in the top 10 individually.

While in Kentucky, the team visited Churchill Downs Racetrack and the Louisville Slugger Museum. When they returned home to Tift County, the team was escorted into Tifton by the Tift County Sheriff’s Office in recognition of their win.

GFB News Alert page 5 of 7 FARMLAND LESSON PLANS NOW AVAILABLE The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) recently announced the launch of an allnew educational initiative designed to provide high school students a first-hand glimpse into modern agriculture.

Created in conjunction with Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, Discovering Farmland offers interactive resources that allow teachers and students to experience the industry through the eyes of six young farmers and ranchers, all while learning about food production’s connection to science, economics, technology and sustainability.

Discovering Farmland provides high school students, educators and parents with standards-aligned lesson plans and interactive activities that explore concepts critical to modern agriculture, such as sustainability, technology, and science. Designed by Discovery Education’s curriculum experts, these resources aim to stimulate thoughtful conversations between educators and students about key issues including: innovative use of technology on farms and how it has transformed the industry, challenges farmers face such as weather and growing conditions, common stereotypes around farmers and ranchers, education and market supply and demand. Additionally, Farmland will be integrated into Discovery Education Streaming Plus, a comprehensive digital library containing more than 200,000 learning assets aligned to state and national curriculum standards.

“I'm excited to show my students the connections between chemistry and agriculture through real-world examples showcased in Discovering Farmland," said Rob Lamb, a chemistry teacher with the Pattonville School District in Missouri. “This program will introduce different career paths available in today’s rapidly evolving agriculture industry while also helping to build students’ critical-thinking skills.”

Farmland was created by Academy Award-winning director James Moll to connect viewers with people who grow and raise our food. Many people have never visited a farm and do not know that 95 percent of the farms in the U.S. are family-owned. With the use of this film and accompanying resources, teachers and students will have a better understanding of where their food comes from, as well as the various career paths available in this essential industry.

The Director James Moll said, materials are available for viewing and download at www.DiscoveringFarmland.com. The film is also available on various platforms including Netflix, Walmart.com (as well as select retail outlets) and additional video-on-demand and digital download platforms. Please visit www.FarmlandFilm.com for additional information.

Produced by Moll’s Allentown Productions, FARMLAND was made with the generous support of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance, of which Georgia Farm Bureau is an affiliate.

GFB News Alert page 6 of 7 FSA COUNTY COMMITTEE ELECTIONS The USDA begin mailing ballots to eligible farmers and ranchers across the country for the 2015 FSA County Committee elections on Nov. 9. Producers must return ballots to their local FSA offices by Dec. 7 to ensure that their vote is counted. Each committee has three to 11 elected members who serve three-year terms of office. One-third of county committee seats are up for election each year. Voters who do not receive ballots can pick one up at their local FSA office.

Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than Dec. 7. Newly elected committee members and their alternates will take office Jan. 1, 2016. For more information, visit the FSA website at www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. You may also contact your local USDA Service Center or FSA office. Visit http://offices.usda.gov to find an FSA office near you.

GEORGIA FORESTRY ASSOCIATION FORESTRY FORWARD SERIES Dec. 9 Interfor Southeast Region Office Peachtree City Dec. 10 James-Bates-Brannan-Groover LLP Macon Dec. 15 TOOHOLLY Tree Farm Oliver Dec. 17 Location TBD Rome Jan. 7, 2016 Oxbow Meadows Columbus Georgia Forestry Association (GFA) members and those who depend on Georgia’s working forests are encouraged to attend the local, reception-style events to learn more about the priorities of the GFA and the challenges facing working forest landowners and the forest industry. GFA is also partnering with Dr. Dale Greene, dean of the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, for the Athens and Columbus events.

Attendees at those events will have the chance to meet Dr. Greene and learn about the future of the Warnell School. Space is limited at each event. To RSVP visit www.eventbrite.com/o/georgia-forestry-association-7811066383.

WETLANDS, AG CONSERVATION EASEMENTS The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting enrollment for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). To be considered for the fiscal year 2016 program, applications must be submitted by Dec. 18. ACEP, created through the 2014 farm bill, has two components, known as Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) and Wetlands Reserve Easements (WRE). ACEP combines NRCS’ former Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP), Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) and Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP).

The WRE applications are accepted directly from producers on eligible lands. These easements would restore and enhance wetlands and improve habitat. Applications for ALE are accepted from eligible partners. These eligible entities may submit proposals to NRCS to acquire a conservation easement on eligible agricultural land. Some examples of eligible entities include county boards of commissioners, land trusts and land conservancies. Approved ALE easements would prevent productive working lands from being converted to non-agricultural uses and maximize protection of land devoted to food production. Applications are available at your local USDA Service Center and at www.nrcs.usda.gov/GetStarted. For more information about ACEP and other farm bill programs in Georgia, visit http://www.ga.nrcs.usda.gov.

GFB News Alert page 7 of 7 GEORGIA PEANUT FARM SHOW Jan. 21, 2016 UGA Tifton Conference Center Tifton This annual event organized by the Georgia Peanut Commission runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Attendees will have the chance to view more than 100 exhibits in the trade show, attend educational sessions, earn pesticide application certification and win numerous door prizes. A free lunch will be provided. Call 229-386-3470 or visit www.gapeanuts.com for more information.

2016 AG FORECAST MEETINGS Jan. 21 Carroll County Ag Center Carrollton Jan. 22 Unicoi State Park Cleveland Jan. 25 Cloud Livestock Facility Bainbridge Jan. 26 UGA Tifton Conference Center Tifton Jan. 27 Blueberry Warehouse Alma Jan. 29 Georgia Farm Bureau Macon This annual series is supported by an endowment from Georgia Farm Bureau with support from the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Agribusiness Council. The keynote topic will be a discussion of sales tax distribution patterns and how tax reform programs, such as the Georgia Agriculture Tax Exemption (GATE) and the Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT), have affected Georgia counties. A study released by UGA earlier this year shows GATE has had little impact on most counties. UGA economists will also provide an economic outlook for 2016.

Check-in for all of the meetings, except Tifton, begins at 9 a.m. with seminars starting at 10 a.m. followed by lunch at 11:30 a.m. Check-in for the Tifton event starts at 7 a.m., breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m. followed by the seminar from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Cost is $30 per person or $200 for a table of eight. Advance registration is required. For more information or to register, visit http://www.georgiaagforecast.com, call 706-583-0347 or email carlam@uga.edu. Follow the meetings on Facebook.com/UGACAES or on Twitter @UGA_CollegeofAg and join the conversation with #AgForecast.

GA COTTON COMMISSION ANNUAL MEETING & UGA COTTON WORKSHOP Jan. 27, 2016 UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center Tifton This event begins at 8 a.m. and includes updates from state and national cotton organizations.

The annual Georgia Quality Cotton Awards will be announced after lunch. For more information call 478-988-4235 or visit http://www.georgiacottoncommission.org.