Georgia Farm Bureau's Leadership Alert - January 11, 2012

January 11, 2012

www.gfb.org

Vol. 30 No. 2

GFB MEMBERS ENJOY HAWAII, WIN AWARDS AT AFBF CONVENTION A delegation of 245 Georgia Farm Bureau members represented the organization well while attending the 93rd Annual American Farm Bureau Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii, Jan. 8-11.

Polk County Farm Bureau members Chad and Julie Carlton were one of three couples named runners-up for the AFBF Young Farmer Achievement Award.

The Carltons raise free-range hens that lay eggs sold directly to consumers and restaurants in the Atlanta area. They also raise turkeys and beef. The achievement award recognizes farmers 35 or younger who have excelled in their farm operation and exhibited strong leadership abilities.

As runners-up, the Carltons will receive a Case IH Farmall 65A, courtesy of Case IH, a $5,000 savings bond and a STIHL Farm Boss, courtesy of STIHL. Ben and Jennifer Moore of Tennessee won the award and received their choice of a 2012 Chevy Silverado or GMC Sierra truck courtesy of GM. The other runners-up in the contest were Travis and Renae Gebhart of South Dakota and Kirk and Stephanie Liefer of Illinois.

Jackson County Farm Bureau member Sara Ervin competed in the AFBF Young Farmer Discussion Meet, won by Heather Barnes of North Carolina. Ervin competed against Barnes in her second round of competition.

Georgia Farm Bureau won AFBF Awards of Excellence for its programs in the areas of Agriculture Education and Promotion, Leadership Development, Member Services and Public Relations and Information.

“This has been a tremendous convention for our organization. I’m extremely proud of both the Carltons for being named one of the top four young farm families in the country and for the way Sara represented our state in the discussion meet. With young farmers like these coming along I think the future of our organization rests in good hands,” GFB President Zippy Duvall said. “The convention has also given our members a great opportunity to see some beautiful country and have fun while learning more about issues facing us as farmers.”

While speaking at the convention’s closing session, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced USDA will close 131 Farm Service Agency offices this year as part of a departmentwide overall plan to eliminate 259 offices, facilities and labs nationwide in an effort to save $150 million annually. Vilsack said that Congress has cut the department’s budget by $3 billion over 10 years. In Georgia, Farm Service Agency offices in Baker, Morgan and Candler counties are slated for closure, along with an Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) office in Clayton County and the J. Phil Campbell Sr. Natural Resource Conservation Center in Oconee County.

Leadership Alert page 2 of 6 LABOR, AGRITOURISM HIGHLIGHT FRUIT & VEGETABLE CONFERENCE Agricultural labor was a key topic and for the first time the Georgia Agritourism Association held its annual meeting in conjunction with the 2012 Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference, held Jan. 5-8 in Savannah.

The meeting came on the heels of the release of a farm labor study conducted by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, in which the GDA recommended reforms at the federal level to address agricultural labor shortages, which the study indicated were in part due to immigration issues.

Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black spoke on Jan. 5 to participants in the conference, reviewing the results of the study. He noted that the Georgia immigration law passed last year has helped prompt dialogue at the national level.

“This meeting is mainly talking about immigration,” said Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association President Dick Minor, who noted that 2011 “was a tough year for immigration policy with the passage of House Bill 87. So that was the number one issue on everybody's mind.

It’s so critical to specialty crop producers because without the harvest labor we don’t have an industry.”

The conference offered more than 85 hours of commodity specific production training, pest management information and marketing updates. Commodities covered included peach, vegetable, Vidalia onion, watermelon, muscadine, blueberry, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, olive and pecan. In addition to the commodity production sessions, workshops covering good agricultural (GAP) food safety practices, organic production and roadside markets were held.

The agritourism conference offered seminars on marketing, the risks and rewards of running an agritourism enterprise, diversifying farm business and operating roadside markets.

“Agritourism is the fastest-growing segment of not only tourism but agriculture in the state of Georgia,” said Georgia Agritourism Association President Jeff Manley, who manages The Rock Ranch. “It has enormous potential. Georgia is working very hard toward getting organized and bringing a lot of collective efforts together and make agritourism a little bit more unified.”

SENATORS URGE APPEAL OF WTO RULING ON COOL RULES In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk, a group of 19 senators pushed for an appeal of the World Trade Organization’s ruling against the U.S. country-of-origin labeling program. The WTO ruling, announced in November, was in response to a complaint made by Mexico and Canada that U.S. COOL requirements resulted in imported livestock from those countries being treated less favorably than cattle and hogs from the U.S. and that portions of COOL constituted technical barriers to trade.

“As you are aware, included in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (farm bill) was a common sense plan for implementing a food labeling program to provide consumers with information about the origins of the food they purchase,” the senators wrote. “It was the intention of Congress in developing this provision that such labeling would be nondiscriminatory in its treatment of imported products by requiring the labeling of both domestic as well as imported products.”

The Obama administration has until March to file an appeal with the WTO.

Leadership Alert page 3 of 6 GFB BOARD OF DIRECTORS SET 2012 PRIORITY ISSUES The Georgia Farm Bureau Board of Directors approved the organization’s 2012 priority issues during the American Farm Bureau Federation convention in Hawaii. The priorities are related to water, taxes and budget, defense of animal agriculture, metal theft and farm labor, though President Zippy Duvall emphasized that GFB would not limit its agricultural advocacy work to those topics.

“Our organization will continue to be involved with any issues that affect farmers as outlined by our official policy,” Duvall said. “These priority issues have surfaced as having particular interest within our membership.”

Duvall also stressed that involvement at the local level is the key to Farm Bureau’s legislative success.

On issues related to water, GFB will work cooperatively with all aspects of agriculture to make sure agricultural water rights are protected. The organization will support efforts to conserve water while working to augment water supplies. GFB will also be engaged in efforts to resolve the ongoing water dispute between Georgia, Alabama and Florida while working to ensure that contingency plans do not adversely affect agriculture. GFB will also continue to be involved with Georgia’s regional water councils and the Metro Water District.

On taxes and budget, GFB will work to achieve meaningful tax reform in Georgia that will protect current agricultural sales tax exemptions and broaden the scope of exemptions to cover all farm input costs, protect the Conservation Use Value Assessment (CUVA) program and preserve funding for agricultural institutions, agencies and youth development programs.

On animal agriculture, GFB will work to block efforts to regulate animal agriculture at the farm level, defend against attacks from groups opposed to animal agriculture, provide positive reinforcement to consumers about animal agriculture and work with other animal agriculture groups.

The board resolved to find ways to curb the growing trend of metal theft, including working cooperatively with coalitions to combat metal thieves and educating the public about how to defend against it.

GFB will continue to push for reform at the federal level on issues affecting farm labor and remain engaged with state and federal farm labor issues.

DUVALL NAMED TO GEORGIA TREND LIST OF NOTABLE GEORGIANS Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall was named to Georgia Trend Magazine’s 2012 Notable Georgians list, which accompanied the magazine’s annual compilation of the 100 Most Influential Georgians.

UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Dean Dr. Scott Angle was also named to the Notable Georgians list.

The 100 Most Influential Georgians included a few other individuals with ties to agriculture: Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, state Sen. John Bulloch (who chairs the Georgia Senate Ag Committee) and Georgia Forestry Commission Director Robert Farris.

Leadership Alert page 4 of 6 PLANNING FOR 2020 AT UGA Jan. 12 UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center Tifton Jan. 25 UGA Griffin Campus Stuckey Auditorium Griffin Jan. 31 Rock Eagle 4-H Center Eatonton Feb. 15 Georgia Mountains Center Gainesville Feb. 21 North Metro Campus of Chattahoochee Tech Acworth Feb. 29 Vidalia Onion Research Center Lyons The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is currently planning its future and developing its official 10-year strategic plan. To get public input, the college has scheduled several regional meetings across the state. The college prepares students for jobs in Georgia's No. 1 business, agriculture, conducts cutting-edge research and educates the public through UGA Cooperative Extension offices across the state. Regional meetings have been set from 8:30 a.m. until noon. Like UGA’s current strategic plan, the CAES plan targets 2020. Participants are encouraged to register for the regional meetings at http://www.caesplan.caes.uga.edu/index.html.

CORN SHORT COURSE AND GEORGIA CORN GROWERS MEETING Jan. 17 UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center 8:15 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Tifton This annual event will feature sessions on disease and pest prevention, nutrient needs, irrigation studies, a market outlook for corn and more. Registration is $5 in advance and $10 at the door.

For information, contact your local Extension Office or call 229-386-3416.

36th ANNUAL GEORGIA PEANUT FARM SHOW Jan. 19 Albany Civic Center Albany This event offers farmers the chance to view the products and services of more than 75 exhibitors and attend marketing and production workshops with UGA peanut specialists. The show provides exhibitors with an opportunity to highlight their products or services to nearly 1,500 farmers from across the Southeast.

NOMINATIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR GA. QUALITY COTTON AWARDS Jan. 23 is the nomination deadline for the 2012 Georgia Quality Cotton Awards. The awards are designed to recognize producers and ginners of high quality cotton fiber and to identify general management practices associated with producing quality fiber. The awards will be presented on Feb. 1 during the Georgia Cotton Commission’s annual meeting at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center. More information and the nomination forms are available at http://www.ugacotton.com.

FOURTH WEEK IN JANUARY IS POULTRY WEEK Gov. Nathan Deal has proclaimed the fourth week in January as Poultry Week to coincide with the International Poultry Expo at the Georgia World Congress Center Jan. 24-26.

2012 SOYBEAN/SMALL GRAIN EXPO Jan. 26 Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter Perry The Expo will provide soybean and small grain producers with up-to-date marketing projections and the newest production techniques. The event will feature presentations from UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences professors on climate variability, maximizing yields, world outlook for southern commodities and others. Pesticide credits are available. For more information, contact the Georgia/Florida Soybean Association at 706-542-3793.

Leadership Alert page 5 of 6 2012 AG FORECAST MEETINGS Jan. 23 Georgia Farm Bureau Building Macon Jan. 24 UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center Tifton Jan. 25 Nesmith Lane Conference Center, GSU Campus Statesboro Jan. 26 Georgia Mountains Center Gainesville Jan. 27 Carroll County Ag Center Carrollton These meetings are a UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences program made possible through an endowment from Georgia Farm Bureau and support from the Georgia Department of Agriculture and Georgia Agribusiness Council. Registration begins at 9 a.m. The seminar will be held from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. followed by a luncheon. UGA ag economists will give the 2012 economic outlook for agriculture. The keynote speaker will give an update on current farm labor issues. Registration is $30 per person or $200 for a table of eight. Call 706583-0347 or visit http://www.georgiaagforecast.com for more information or to register.

GEORIGA COTTON COMMISSION 5TH ANNUAL MEETING Feb. 1 UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center Tifton This sponsored event is free but registration is requested and features morning and afternoon cotton production workshops. Guest speakers included Southern Cotton Growers President Mike Tate, Cotton Board CEO Bill Gillon, Cotton Incorporated Fiber Quality Research Vice President Mike Watson and National Cotton Council Senior Director of Governmental Relations John Maguire. Late Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. To register, visit http://www.ugatiftonconference.org between Dec. 1, 2011, and Jan. 18, 2012 or call 229-3863416.

For more information about the conference, email Richey Seaton at gactn@windstream.net or Karen Nikitopoulos at cotton@windstream.net or call 478-988-4235.

UGA 20TH ANNUAL FOCUS ON EPD'S BULL SALE Feb. 2 UGA Livestock Instructional Arena Athens Sale begins at noon. For more information contact Dr. Ronnie Silcox at 706-542-9102 or rsilcox@uga.edu.

OLD SOUTH FARM MUSEUM HOG KILLING DEMONSTRATION Feb. 4 Old South Farm Museum 8:30 a.m.

Woodland This event will demonstrate how hogs were once harvested and the products made from them.

Program includes a meat-cutting class and demonstrations on making various pork products. The fee to observe and receive free sausage is $12 per person. To participate in the workshop, gain hands-on experience and receive pork products, the fee is $35. Registration is required. For more information or to register, contact Paul Bulloch at 706-975-9136 or visit http://www.oldsouthfarm.com.

ENTRIES BEING ACCEPTED FOR 2012 FLAVOR OF GEORGIA CONTEST Product registrations are being accepted for the Flavor of Georgia Food Product Contest. The deadline for entries is Feb. 10. Semifinalists will be announced in February. Final judging and the announcement of the winners in six food categories will be announced on March 13 during Georgia Ag Awareness Day festivites at the Georgia Depot in Atlanta. Contestants can register online at http://www.flavorofgeorgia.caes.uga.edu and save $10 off registration fees. For more information contact contest director Sharon Kane at 706-542-9809 or spkane@uga.edu.

Leadership Alert page 6 of 6 TIFTON BEEF CATTLE SHORT COURSE March 6 Tifton Bull Evaluation Center Irwinville Registration starts at 9 a.m. For more information contact Dr. Lawton Stewart at 706-542-1852 or lawtons@uga.edu or Patsie T. Cannon at 229-386-3683 or ptcannon@uga.edu.

TIFTON PERFORMANCE TESTED BULL SALE March 7 Tifton Bull Evaluation Center Irwinville Sale begins at 12:30 p.m. For more information contact Dr. Ronnie Silcox at 706-542-9102 or rsilcox@uga.edu or Patsie T. Cannon at 229-386-3683 or ptcannon@uga.edu.

7TH RAY CITY OLD FASHION PLOW DAY March 17 Ray City Antique tractor show and plowing demonstration with antique tractors and mules and horses plowing in the field just like they did 100 years ago. Parade begins at 11 am and a plowing demonstration will follow. The event also features arts & crafts vendors, food vendors, fun and games for kids, bluegrass gospel concerts featuring the bluegrass gospel band, the Wauka Mountains Boys, a baking contest with prizes, frying pan toss contest, and much more. Free admission. Join us for a day of agricultural history. For more info contact Greg Harrell 229-2373223.

GA HEIFER EVALUATION &REPRODUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT (HERD) SALE April 24 Tifton Bull Evaluation Center Irwinville Sale begins at 12:30 p.m. Contact Dr. Lawton Stewart at 706-542-1852 or lawtons@uga.edu or Patsie T. Cannon at 229/386-3683 or ptcannon@uga.edu for more information.

CALHOUN BEEF CATTLE REPRODUCTIVE MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP May 29 NW GA Research & Education Center Livestock Pavilion Calhoun Sale begins at 6 p.m. Contact Ted Dyer at 706-624-1403 or tgdyer@uga.edu or Phil Worley at 706/624-1398 - pworley@uga.edu for more information.

GA HEIFER EVALUATION AND REPRODUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT (HERD) SALE May 30 NW Ga. Research & Education Center Livestock Pavilion Calhoun Sale begins at 12:30 p.m. For more information contact Ted Dyer at 706-624-1403 or tgdyer@uga.edu or Phil Worley at 706-624-1398 or pworley@uga.edu