Msfarmctry vol91no2 issuu

VOLUME 91 NO. 2

MARCH/APRIL 2015

BEST

& BRIGHTEST

YOUNG FARMER

LEADERS A PUBLICATION OF MISSISSIPPI FARM BUREAU FEDERATION • MSFB.ORG

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MISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRY

MARCH/APRIL 2015

TABLE

of

CONTENTS

march/april 2015 Volume 91 Number 2 March/April 2015

FEATURES

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Mississippi Farm Country (ISSN 1529-9600) magazine is published bimonthly by the Mississippi Farm Bureau® Federation.

Farm Bureau members receive this publication as part of their membership benefit. Periodicals postage is paid at Jackson, MS and at additional mailing offices.

Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 1972, Jackson, MS 39215 EDITORIAL AND BUSINESS OFFICES 6311 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, MS 39211 601-977-4153

ADVERTISING Angela Thompson 1-800-227-8244 ext. 4242

FARM BUREAU DIRECTORS Dr. Jim Perkins, Iuka Kevin Simpson, Ashland Tommy Swindoll, Hernando Bob Workman, Sledge Tripp Thomas, Batesville Dan Bishop, Baldwyn Herbert Word, Okolona Craig Canull, Caledonia Pepper Beard, McCarley Dott Arthur, Carthage Kenneth Thompson, Philadelphia Paul Myrick, Stringer Quinton Mills, Forest James Newman, Rolling Fork Robert Earl McGehee Jr., Brookhaven Earl Gay Edwards, Smithdale Bobby Selman, Monticello Dorothy Cole, Richton J. B. Brown, Perkinston Tom Daniels, Gulfport Betty Mills, Winona Kelly Davidson, Ruleville HONORARY VICE PRESIDENT Louis J. Breaux III

Material in this publication is based on what the editor believes to be reliable information. Neither Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation nor those individuals or organizations contributing to the MFBF publication assume any liability for errors that might go undetected in the publication — this includes statements in articles or advertisements that could lead to erroneous personal or business management decisions.

FARM BUREAU®, FB®and all Farm Bureau logos used in this magazine are registered service marks owned by the American Farm Bureau Federation. They may not be used in any commercial manner without the prior written consent of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation honored its outstanding young farmer leaders at state convention in December.

In this issue, we visit with some of these exceptional men and women.

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EDITOR — Glynda Phillips

FARM BUREAU OFFICERS President — Mike McCormick Vice President — Donald Gant Vice President — Ted Kendall IV Vice President — Reggie Magee Treasurer — Billy Davis Corporate Secretary — Ilene Sumrall

Young Farmers

Farm Facts

With this issue, we will begin featuring a Farm Families of Mississippi (FFM) column entitled “Farm Facts: Straight from a Mississippi Farmer.”

Dr. Sue Ann Hubbard, an avian veterinarian who chairs the FFM Communications Committee, talks about myths related to poultry.

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State Convention

Coverage of the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation is featured inside.

DEPARTMENTS

About The Cover

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Jeremy Graham is pictured on his Pontotoc County dairy farm. He and his wife, Beth, were named state winners of the 2014 Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award.

Photo by Greg Gibson

Member Benefits President’s Message Commodity Update: Swine Commodity Update: Rice Recipes Strolling: Sam Scott Farm Facts

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P R E S I D E N T’S M E S S A G E Mike McCormick, President, Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation

Remaining True to Our Mission I want to begin my column by thanking you for the great honor you have bestowed upon me. Your confidence in my ability to lead your organization is a trust I will never take for granted. Farm Bureau was established nearly a century ago to represent the interests of farmers and rural communities. As your president and a lifelong farmer, I intend to make sure that the voice of Mississippi agriculture remains strong in both the legislative and regulatory arenas.

Honoring Farm Bureau’s mission to serve the rural people of Mississippi will be of paramount importance.

POLICY ISSUES

As I write my column in late December, I have just returned from Washington, D.C., where I met with other state Farm Bureau presidents to talk about the policies our voting delegates will consider at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual membership meeting in January.

Among the topics we discussed were trade issues, labor reform and water issues, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed changes to the definition of “waters of the United States.”

Our nation’s long-term goal of balancing the budget and doing something about our huge debt is also of concern to farmers.

Interest rates are expected to increase significantly in the next 10 years, and I wonder if 4

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we will be able to bear the burden of this in light of our already grave economic problems. In the year ahead, please continue to remember our nation in your thoughts and prayers.

A few of the priority issues identified by our Mississippi voting delegates at state convention in December include protecting animal husbandry practices that are based on sound science, maintaining all producer/agriculture tax exemptions, maintaining an adequate workforce for agriculture and opposing the dictation of which foods should and should not be eaten. The 2015 Session of the Mississippi Legislature will be well underway by the time you read my column. I plan to be there, and I hope to see you there as well.

AN OPEN DOOR

As your president, I will have an open door policy. Please feel free to discuss with me any issues that concern you or any problems you might have in your counties. I promise I will see that these are satisfactorily resolved.

I believe in teamwork. I don’t have all of the answers, and I don’t know of many people who do. In the coming year, our staff members and volunteer leaders will be working together to carry out established programs and to surface new programs that will better serve the needs of our members.

The world is rapidly changing. Our ability

to take advantage of any opportunities and to solve any challenges that might arise from these changes is of utmost importance to Mississippi agriculture.

That said, I just learned that the Mississippi State University Extension Service’s preliminary estimate of agricultural production values for 2014 is $7.9 billion. This is good news for farmers and good news for our state’s economy.

Poultry remains in first place, followed by the state’s No. 2 commodity, forestry.

Mississippi’s top row crop, soybeans, is in third place.

This issue of our membership magazine spotlights several outstanding leaders involved in our Young Farmers & Ranchers program. These men and women are among

AS YOUR PRESIDENT AND A LIFELONG FARMER, I INTEND TO MAKE SURE THAT THE VOICE OF MISSISSIPPI AGRICULTURE REMAINS STRONG IN BOTH THE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY ARENAS. HONORING FARM BUREAU’S MISSION TO SERVE THE RURAL PEOPLE OF MISSISSIPPI WILL BE OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE. our industry’s best and brightest, and I know you will enjoy reading about them. The future of Mississippi agriculture is definitely in good hands.

In conclusion, I want to ask that you please continue to remember me in your thoughts and prayers as I begin this new and important journey in my life. I look forward to working with you, and I appreciate all that you do for Farm Bureau. FB MARCH/APRIL 2015

State Discussion Meet Winner Dr. Gaea Hock of Starkville won the 2014 Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) State Discussion Meet. She received a 4-wheeler, sponsored by Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company, $500 from Southern Ag Credit and $500 from Watson Quality Ford. YF&R State Discussion Meet finalists received $350 from Southern Ag Credit. Gaea, an assistant professor of agricultural information science and education in the School of Human Sciences at Mississippi State University, made it into the Sweet Sixteen semifinals in American Farm Bureau Federation competition in January.

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Making the presentation is Bengie Goff.

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COMMODITY UPDATE: Swine

Healthy Eating for the New Year

Bob Power

MFBF Swine Commodity Advisory Committee Chair

Another new year has begun, but so many of our traditions carry on. If you had a succulent baked ham or grilled pork chops and blacked-eyed peas with fatback at your holiday celebration, you were like many others. According to www.pork.org, pork is the world’s most widely eaten meat, capturing 40 percent of market share.

Each hog, based on a 265-pound market weight, a 70-percent yield, and an 8-ounce serving, will produce 371 servings.

Ham, including lunch meat, is the leading type of pork consumed in U.S. homes.

Sausage and bacon follow closely behind as family favorites.

Here in Mississippi, there are over 400 pork producers. As seen at: www.growingmississippi.org/swine1.htm, these producers contributed a total of $102 million to Mississippi’s economy. They made this impact while contributing a great product.

Pork is termed a “high nutrient density” food because of its high ratio of nutrients to calories. At only 165 calories for a threeounce serving and 67 mg of cholesterol, pork makes a great choice for the calorieconscious consumer after the holidays.

Our family shared a fifth-generation favorite at Christmas featuring a pork product. Here it is for your enjoyment. FB

Matt Bayles

MFBF Commodity Coordinator for Swine

HANKY PANKIES • 1 lb. ground sausage, hot or mild • 1 lb. ground beef • 1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cubed • 1 package English muffins, separated Brown meats and drain. Melt cubed Velveeta into meats and spread onto muffins. Cut into quarters. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.

These can also be frozen before baking.

Magnolia Beef and Poultry Expo Make plans to attend the 12th Annual Magnolia Beef and Poultry Expo set for April 9 at the Smith County Ag Complex in Raleigh. This event offers educational seminars and a trade show featuring agricultural equipment and other valuable information for beef and poultry producers.

The Magnolia Beef and Poultry Expo is free and open to the public. Approximately 400 producers attend each year.

The Smith County Ag Complex is located on Highway 35 South. FB 6

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Ag Mags Available

Farm Bureau offers a children’s agricultural newsletter called Ag Mag. Each issue features one Mississippi commodity through facts, activities, games and more. You can order copies of the newsletter for your local classroom or ag promotion events from our

Ag in the Classroom program.

Dairy, corn, poultry, horticulture and cotton editions are now available for purchase. The cost is $5 for 20 copies. To order, contact Pam Jones at pjones@msfb.org or (601) 977-4854. FB MARCH/APRIL 2015

COMMODITY UPDATE: Rice

Normal Trade with Cuba Would Boost Ag Markets

Patrick Swindoll

MFBF Rice Commodity Advisory Committee Chair

In today’s world economy, it is critical that all market opportunities for U.S. agricultural products be fully utilized and available. Normalizing trade relations with Cuba is one market opportunity that would have an astounding impact on U.S. agricultural exports.

Farm Bureau policy supports immediate resumption of normal trading relations with Cuba. We believe all agricultural products should be exempt from all embargoes and unilateral sanctions except in case of armed conflict. U.S. trade policy toward Cuba has demonstrated that more than

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50 years of isolationism has failed to produce democratic reform.

Until passage of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSREEA) in 2000, the Cuban market was closed to U.S. agricultural exports due to U.S. sanctions imposed in 1963. Since passage of this legislation, U.S. agriculture has seen its sales to Cuba grow, and the Cuban export market has grown in importance.

However, in 2005, the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control redefined certain payment and financing provisions for businesses selling goods to Cuba. This change has been burdensome to businesses selling to Cuba and devastating to U.S. agricultural producers.

Sales of U.S. agricultural products to Cuba peaked at over $710 million in 2008, but fell to $350 million by 2013, according to the U.S.Cuba Trade and Economic Council. Frozen chicken, soybeans and soy products and corn are the main products Cuba now buys from the United States.

A recent announcement in mid-December by the Obama Administration to advance legislation in Congress to loosen trade restrictions with Cuba could now allow U.S. businesses the

Justin Ferguson

MFBF Commodity Coordinator for Rice

ability to work directly with Cuban financial institutions to facilitate the processing of authorized transactions for payment of products. With Cuba currently importing more than 80 percent of its food supply, this change in administrative policy could be a tremendous opportunity for U.S. agricultural products.

Prior to the 1963 embargo, Cuba was the top export destination for U.S.-grown rice. U.S. rice sales took off from late 2001, rising to nearly 180,000 metric tons in 2004, representing about a third of Cuba’s import needs. However, sales fell steadily from 2004 to 2008, following the administration’s decision to redefine the cash in advance purchasing rule. Sales fell to zero in 2009, where they have remained since.

The U.S. loss in market has favored Vietnam, who is now nearly the sole supplier of rice to Cuba. Cuba imported more than 400 metric tons of rice last year, mostly from Vietnam as well as Brazil. The United States could reasonably be expected to secure a quarter of the Cuban import market, or 100 metric tons, if trade restrictions are loosened. Export values could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, giving our long-grain rice industry, primarily located here in the rural Mid-South, a much-needed infusion of growth.

Maintaining our current trade and taking steps to lift the restrictions to trade that remain are needed in order to improve our bilateral relationship with Cuba. Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation and the American Farm Bureau Federation will continue to work with our congressional delegation to open this important market for U.S. farmers and ranchers. FB MISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRY

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MISSISSIPPI YOUNG FARMERS & RANCHERS

MAKING A DIFFERENCE B Y G LY N D A P H I L L I P S

The Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) Program helps young men and women, ages 18 to 35, build the skills they need to assume leadership roles within Farm Bureau or any other agricultural organization on the county, state and national levels. YF&R program participants gain access to competitive awards, great networking and media training opportunities and the excellent Farm Bureau policy development and implementation process.

“I’ve learned a lot about Farm Bureau through the Young Farmers & Ranchers program,” said Lowndes County Farm Bureau President Matt Brignac. “It gets you involved in the total Farm Bureau program, and it is a very educational experience.”

“The Young Farmers & Ranchers program is great,” said Heather Brignac. “You gain leadership skills from serving on different committees and from learning from the excellent speakers we have at our conferences. You also meet people who are interested in the same things you are interested in, and you make new friends.”

YOUNG FARMER ACTIVITIES

The Brignacs served one term on the YF&R State Committee. One of the committee’s most important responsibilities is the summer Gary Langley Memorial Fundraiser, which helps fund the YF&R Scholarship Foundation. In addition, state committee members organize the live and silent auctions at state convention, two more important scholarship fundraisers.

This year’s auctions raised a record amount of money for the foundation, which offers seven $3,000 scholarships awarded annually

contributing and growing through their involvement in Farm Bureau and agriculture. The ideal candidate (s) for this award is an individual or couple who does not have the majority of their income subject to normal production risk.

All of these contests offer excellent prize packages.

CROPDUSTER/FARMER

Matt and Heather live in Columbus, where they have cropdusting enterprises and also farm 700 acres of soybeans, corn and cotton. The Brignacs own Brignac Flyto qualifying Mississippi agricultural stu- ing Service and co-own F&M Flying Service dents attending state colleges. with cropduster/farmer Floyd Lowry. Matt Another important committee respon- worked with Floyd for eight years when he sibility is the YF&R State Leadership Con- was just starting out, and Floyd got Matt ference, which brings together hundreds of involved in Farm Bureau. The two comyoung farmers from across the state to share panies serve 200 farms and operate three ideas, listen to speakers and planes with three pilots “THE YOUNG FARMER PROGRAM IS GREAT. participate in great educa(including Matt). They have YOU GAIN LEADERSHIP SKILLS FROM tional programs. four additional employees.

Awards opportunities SERVING ON DIFFERENT COMMITTEES Heather keeps the books for AND FROM LEARNING FROM THE through the YF&R protheir farm and flying service.

EXCELLENT SPEAKERS WE HAVE AT OUR gram include the DiscusThe Brignacs have one CONFERENCES. YOU ALSO MEET PEOPLE sion Meet, Achievement son, Miles, 3.

WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THE SAME Award and Excellence in THINGS YOU ARE INTERESTED IN, AND Matt and Heather say Agriculture Award contests. they would tell any young YOU MAKE NEW FRIENDS.” The Discussion Meet has farmer who has the time and HEATHER BRIGNAC participants discussing and can fulfill the responsibilities proposing solutions to issues that currently to become involved in the Young Farmers & challenge agriculture. The Achievement Ranchers program. For more information, Award recognizes outstanding young farm- call Kirsten Johnson at (601) 977-4277. ers whose farm management practices and For more information about the many community leadership activities set a posi- benefits you gain access to with your Farm tive example for those involved in agricul- Bureau membership, see page 2 or call ture. The Excellence in Agriculture Award Member Benefits Coordinator Dedra Luke recognizes YF&R members who are actively at (601) 977-4169. FB Photos by Kelly Hayes Photography

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State Achievement Award B Y G LY N D A P H I L L I P S

Dairy farmers Jeremy and Beth Graham of Thaxton in Pontotoc County were named state winners of the 2014 Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) Achievement Award.

They were recognized for their farming innovations, leadership skills and involvement in Farm Bureau and their community.

In January, the Grahams competed for the national title at the 2015 American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting in San Diego, California.

izer. They have also helped test new types of technology through the Dairy Herd Improvement Association.

Each year, Jeremy and Beth open their farm to 500 to 2,000 schoolchildren to teach them how much work goes into the gallon of milk they buy at the grocery store. Each child has an opportunity to feed a baby calf, milk

A DAIRYING LEGACY

Jeremy and Beth carry on a dairy operation begun by his grandfather in the early 1930s. Jeremy began working at the dairy after high school and eventually bought it from his parents.

He says he would never consider doing anything else. The Grahams currently milk 171 cows and raise 162 heifers. They also grow soybeans and various forage crops.

Through the years, the Grahams have increased herd numbers and improved herd health. They’ve increased milk production through intensive grazing and made improvements to their milking parlor.

They purchased a vertical mixer that gives them the ability to mix a broader range of feed ingredients. They were approved for a cost share program through the Natural Resources Conservation Service to purchase equipment to agitate and apply lagoon waste to their pastures, which has reduced their need to purchase commercial fertil-

a cow by hand and visit the milking parlor to see how cows are milked today. A nearby display shows products made from milk.

The Grahams currently house 10 show cows for local 4-H kids who want to show a dairy cow but don’t live on a dairy.

FARM BUREAU LEADERS

Jeremy serves on the Pontotoc County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, and Beth is a member of the county Women’s Committee. The Grahams have served on the Young Farmers & Ranchers State Committee. Jeremy has served as a voting delegate to state convention and sits on the MFBF Dairy Commodity Advisory

Committee. The Grahams participate in many county and state Farm Bureau activities and meetings.

Jeremy serves on the Mid-South Dairy Herd Improvement Association Board of Directors, chairs the State Extension Advisory Committee and sits on the board of directors of the American Dairy Association.

The Grahams are involved in many agricultural activities, 4-H, their church and community.

They were selected regional YF&R Achievement Award winners in 2010.

Beth is a radiology technologist.

The Grahams have two daughters, Mary Hatley, 4, and Kendall, 1.

As state Achievement Award winners, the Grahams received a new Ford F-150, sponsored by Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company; the use of a John Deere tractor, sponsored by John Deere; the use of a Kubota tractor, sponsored by Kubota Tractor; $500 from Watson Quality Ford; and $1,800 from Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation toward the purchase of technology.

Each regional winner in this competition received $500 from Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company and $500 from Southern Ag Credit.

For more information about the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers & Ranchers Program, contact YF&R Coordinator Kirsten Johnson at (601) 977-4277. FB Photos by Greg Gibson

Each year, Jeremy and Beth open their farm to 500 to 2,000 schoolchildren to teach them how much work goes into the gallon of milk they buy at the grocery store. Each child has an opportunity to feed a baby calf, milk a cow by hand and visit the milking parlor to see how cows are milked today. A nearby display shows products made from milk.

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State Excellence in Agriculture Recipient B Y G LY N D A P H I L L I P S

Marie Rogers of Guntown was named state winner of the 2014 Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) Excellence in Agriculture Award. She was recognized for her involvement in agriculture, her leadership ability and her involvement and participation in Farm Bureau and her community.

As state winner, Marie received a zeroturn lawnmower, sponsored by Southern Ag Credit, and an expense-paid trip from Farm Bureau to the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting in San Diego, California.

TEACHING ABOUT AGRICULTURE

Marie is an Itawamba County Extension Agent with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Her responsibilities include agriculture, natural resources, 4-H and economic development. In addition, she and her husband, Joe, have a cow-calf and row crop operation. They grow soybeans and sorghum and are contract growers for the Mississippi Foundation Seed Stocks program, providing certified sorghum seed.

“With my job, I teach youth and adults to appreciate agriculture,” Marie said. “I oversee community and project clubs. I provide school enrichment programs for students in K-12 and programs for adults.

I also provide programming for our cattle-

men, row crop farmers, Master Gardeners and the county beekeepers association, just to name a few.”

Marie says one of the biggest issues today in agriculture is misinformation, especially about genetically modified commodities.

“One of the biggest problems is the abundance of unfounded research,” she said. “This can be addressed through education using real agricultural research out of land-grant universities and the United States Department of Agriculture. Also, more research from the medical community would be helpful.

“I believe showing the public the benefits of genetically modified commodities and the research that shows that the consumption of these products is not harmful to the human body would help consumers warm up to them,” she said. “We can do this B Y G LY NExtension D A P H I L L I programming PS through traditional or even a display at a grocery store or public event. Our state Farm Bureau is addressing this issue in their Farm Families campaign.

Social media outlets are always a great way to reach and educate consumers.”

VOLUNTEER LEADER

In working to strengthen agriculture, Marie serves as the resource person for the Itawamba County Farm Bureau Board of Directors. She also serves on the county

Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee and has served on the YF&R State Committee.

She has participated in numerous state and national YF&R activities. Marie and Joe were Region 2 Achievement Award recipients in 2006. She was a YF&R State Discussion Meet finalist two years in a row, and she and Joe were the YF&R Region 2 Excellence in Ag finalists in 2012.

Marie is a member of state and national Extension groups and local and state FFA groups. She received the Achievement in Service Award from the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents and the Clover Award from the Mississippi Association of Extension 4-H Agents. She is active in her church and community.

She and her husband have two children.

The Excellence in Agriculture Award is presented to those individuals or couples who do not have the majority of their income subject to normal production risk.

This year’s regional winners received an iPad, sponsored by Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company, and a Yeti cooler, sponsored by the Mississippi Farm Bureau Insurance Sales Department.

For more information about the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers & Ranchers Program, contact YF&R Coordinator Kirsten Johnson at (601) 977-4277. FB Photo by Greg Gibson

“With my job, I teach youth and adults to appreciate agriculture,” Marie said. “I oversee community and project clubs.

I provide school enrichment programs for students in K-12 and programs for adults. I also provide programming for our cattlemen, row crop farmers, Master Gardeners and the county beekeepers association, just to name a few.”

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Young Farmer Scholarships B Y G LY N D A P H I L L I P S

Young farmer scholarships help students studying agriculture, especially those young men and women who are working their way through school. Brad and Brittany Jones know this. They have been there.

“My parents didn’t pay my way through school. They couldn’t,” Brad said. “I juggled several jobs with my classes at Mississippi State University as I pursued a bachelor’s degree in animal science. The two scholarships I received through the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) Scholarship Foundation helped me tremendously.

“When you are working your way through school, every dime helps,” he said.

“The money goes to pay for your tuition or your books. Brittany worked her way through school and benefited from an ACT scholarship. I am now an Extension Agent with the Stone County Extension Service in Wiggins, and she teaches 10th-grade English at a local school. We also have our own beef cattle farm.”

GIVING BACK

Brad and Brittany earned their degrees.

They have great jobs and a promising future.

But they don’t forget. They make a point of giving back to Farm Bureau because Farm Bureau was there when Brad needed help the most.

“In 2008, I began serving as chair of the county Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee,” he said. “Our county program

works with the regional manager to build a good, strong group of young farmers. Brittany and I have also served on the Young Farmers & Ranchers State Committee.

Brittany serves on the county Women’s Committee.”

The Jones received their region’s YF&R Excellence in Agriculture Award in 2012.

“You gain great networking opportunities through the YF&R program, but you also make friends that last a lifetime,” Brad said.

“Last year’s state Achievement Award winners, Matt and Carrie Edgar of Yazoo County, are our friends. I talk to him every week.”

The Jones say their participation in the YF&R program has deepened their knowledge and appreciation of Farm Bureau and all that it does for state farmers.

“Brittany and I have been to Washington, D.C., where we met our senators and congressmen. We know that with Farm Bureau we are not alone. There are folks out there just like us fighting the same challenges we fight every day.”

In addition to their jobs off the farm, Brad and Brittany operate Bluff Creek Farms.

They annually run approximately 1,000 head of owned and contract-gain cattle on 400 acres of ryegrass and summer pasture.

THE FARMER’S STORY

Brad and Brittany believe strongly in teaching the public to appreciate agriculture. They say this is important now but will become even more critical in the years

ahead as people continue to grow generations removed from farm life and as activist groups continue to voice concerns about farming practices and new forms of technology.

Through their jobs off the farm, the Jones are able to teach students and parents about agriculture using a variety of materials, meetings and field day events. They have participated in a farm day event for kindergarten students, an eighth-grade environmental day, a farm safety day and an environmental day camp in the summer.

On their farm, the Jones often hire local youths to help out, and they strive to make a positive impression on them and provide them with a foundation to build on.

“We don’t necessarily want to push them into agriculture, but we do want to show them how hard work, honesty and integrity pay off, while hoping they too will become involved in agriculture one day,” Brad said.

“I continuously stress the importance of taking business classes because the business end of farming is just as important, if not more so, as growing a crop.”

Brad is an advisor to many associations, clubs and groups. The Jones are active members of First Baptist Church of Wiggins.

Brad and Brittany have two children, Tyler and Lauryn Bre. For more information about the MFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers Scholarship Foundation or MFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers Program, contact YF&R Coordinator Kirsten Johnson at (601) 977-4277. FB

Through their jobs off the farm, the Jones are able to teach students and parents about agriculture using a variety of materials, meetings and field day events. They have participated in a farm day event for kindergarten students, an eighth-grade environmental day, a farm safety day and an environmental day camp in the summer. On their farm, the Jones often hire local youths to help out, and they strive to make a positive impression on them and provide them with a foundation to build on.

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Spicy Pork Tenderloin

Recipese

1 T. chili powder ¼ tsp. ground ginger ¼ tsp. pepper 1 tsp. salt ¼ tsp. ground thyme 2 (1-lb.) pork tenderloins Combine the first five ingredients; rub over tenderloins. Cover and refrigerate for two to four hours. Grill over hot heat for 15 minutes on each side or until juices run clear and a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Serves eight.

Clara Bilbo Madison County

Roasted Red Potato Salad

Caramel Apple Oat Squares

2 lbs. red potatoes, cubed 4 lg. hard-boiled eggs, chopped 1 c. mayonnaise ¼ tsp. black pepper 1 med. onion, chopped 6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled ½ tsp. salt Paprika, optional

1¾ c. unsifted flour 1 c. quick-cooking oats ½ c. firmly packed brown sugar ½ tsp. baking soda ½ tsp. salt 1 c. cold margarine 1 c. chopped walnuts 20 caramels, unwrapped 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1 can apple pie filling

Place potatoes in greased baking dish. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden brown, stirring occasionally.

Cool for 15 minutes. Add other ingredients. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for several hours.

Carolyn Turner Jones County

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in margarine until crumbly.

Reserve 1½ cups of crumb mixture. Add nuts to reserved mixture. Press remaining crumbs on bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake 15 minutes. In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt caramels with condensed milk, stirring until smooth. Spoon apple pie filling over prepared crust. Top with caramel mixture then with reserved crumb mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until set. Best served warm. Can garnish with whipped cream.

Deniese Swindoll DeSoto County

COUNTRY COOKING VOLUME V These recipes are from “Country Cooking, Volume V,” now available at most county offices.

The cost is $20. If you order a cookbook from the state office, you will pay $20 plus postage. • For more information, contact Pam Jones at (601) 977-4854.

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MARCH/APRIL 2015

OLLING R ST

Eulogy and Epitaph In a virtual world, many strange things happen, or at least they seem to. In the information age and digital universe, the concepts of actual and virtual seem to march relentlessly toward each other, not as an unstoppable power approaching an immovable object but with the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention but ultimately to merge into each other.

The virtual death

by Sam Scott of the right of privacy has not been greatly exaggerated, but rather has been under-reported. The memorial service for it is yet to be held, but we may predict it as not long in coming nor being well attended. Though it had long suffered exposure and attack in its short life, the final cause of death was being hacked into oblivion by villains, both known and unknown, at home and abroad.

Conceived in 1890 by two Harvard Law School students, Samuel D. Warren and Louis Brandeis, and announced in a law review article touting a “right to be let alone,” its gestation period was both long and difficult over 75 years. Not until a Connecticut law that had been on its books since 1879 prohibiting any sale, distribution or 18

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use of birth control products was legally challenged in the early 1960s did the U.S. Supreme Court in 1965 hold that there was a right of privacy, though it was nowhere mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. With the advent of technology thereafter, this right began to slowly erode like islands in a great river, and either no one recognized what was happening or no one cared. As Thomas Hardy said in “Far from the Maddening Crowd,” The disturbance was as the first floating weed to Christopher Columbus — then contemptibly little suggesting possibilities of the infinitely great.

Commercial enterprises invited us to share information through purchases, use of credit cards, etc., and shared that information with others for a profit. When the media began to have an enormous impact on society, actions or conduct that had once been infamous became famous, scandals became sensations and people began to widely share information about themselves, which they would have once vigorously protected. With the stupendous growth of the Internet, the word private began to fade into public with a worldwide audience to the change.

Those multitudes that had this information did little, if anything, to protect it.

National and worldwide commercial enterprises were subjected to robberies of infor-

mation with the ultimate victims being customers, clients and citizens. Governments began to relentlessly and surreptitiously obtain information about private citizens, often under the guise of “national security,” a term which has no legal or legible definition. I submit that privacy is dead, and we all live in glass houses. Just read George Orwell’s “1984” with its Big Brother to get the feeling.

At privacy’s memorial service, pallbearers could be Sony, Staples, Target, Home Depot, JP Morgan Chase and others whose security was not able to withstand hackers whose abilities to steal were greater than the possessors to protect. The merciless eulogy could be delivered by the Sun Microsystems chairman, who reportedly said that privacy issues were a red herring and, “You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.” Thence, the procession to a shallow grave with an epitaph on a small stone: “Privacy 1965-2014: Gone and Forgotten.” No flowers marked the grave.

If you would care to disinter this oncevaluable right, you best act now. It’s later than you think! FB Retired attorney Sam Scott worked with Farm Bureau for many years and continues writing for Mississippi Farm Country. You may contact him by emailing kdroge@msfb.org.

MARCH/APRIL 2015

The Beeman

The 2015 Agricultural Book of the Year is “The Beeman” by Laurie Krebs and Valeria Cis. The book looks at beekeeping through the eyes of a child whose grandpa is a beekeeper. Readers learn how honey bees make honey inside a hive and about the honey extraction and bottling process. The book also includes an apple and honey muffin recipe.

Copies of “The Beeman” can be ordered by contacting Pam Jones at 1-800-227-8244, ext. 4854, or (601) 977-4854. You may also contact your county Farm Bureau office.

The cost of the book is $6 plus $2 shipping.

The Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Ag in the Classroom Program is designed to educate youth, increase their understanding of agriculture and instill in them an appreciation for our renewable food, fiber and fuel systems. FB

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“CARVING BOWLS HAS ALSO SERVED AS A REMINDER THAT APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING. YOU WILL LOOK AT A BLOCK OF WOOD, LIKE CAMPHOR, AND THINK IT IS UGLY. BUT WHEN YOU OPEN IT UP, YOU WILL SEE ALL OF THE COLORS AND BEAUTY INSIDE. IT REMINDS YOU THAT YOU CAN’T TRULY APPRECIATE PEOPLE UNTIL YOU GET TO KNOW THEM AND WHAT IS INSIDE OF THEM.” DR. DUNBAR MCCURLEY

BOWLS OF BE G IN AU V R TY A C & CHARACTER B Y G LY N D A P H I L L I P S

Rock Elm makes the prettiest bowls.

The wood has real character. Blue Poplar runs a close second with its blue, black and purplish bands of color spilling across a cream-colored background. Rock Elm and Blue Poplar are Dr. Dunbar McCurley’s favorites, and he should know. The veteran Wilkinson County craftsman has spent over two decades hand carving some 4,476 bowls from every type of wood imaginable. He says he has never grown tired of discovering what each new piece of wood has to offer.

“Some types of wood you wouldn’t dream would be pretty, like camphor or mimosa or chinaberry, are actually very pretty inside,” he said. “Sometimes a piece of wood is so old you wouldn’t think it would have much value, but it will surprise you every time.”

Dunbar recently made several strikingly beautiful bowls from a 150-year-old block of heart pine. He says it was used to support a barn built in 1870.

“A Delta dentist brought me the wood, and I think it has character. You see these dark rings?” He lifts one of the bowls for your inspection. “The woods around this tree were probably burned as a management tool when the pine was young. Fire injured the tree’s growth area, but it kept growing, and see this second dark area? The woods were burned again, and the pine was injured again. Along with the rings and patterns and colors, these are the types of things you see when you open up a piece of wood.”

MEETING CUSTOMERS

Dunbar has sold his bowls to folks from all across Mississippi and from neighboring states as well. He says he enjoys meeting and getting to know his customers.

“That has been a rewarding aspect of what I do,” he said as we visited at his “Country Things” store near Woodville on a MARCH/APRIL 2015

mild November morning. “Carving bowls has also served as a reminder that appearances can be deceiving. You will look at a block of wood, like camphor, and think it is ugly. But when you open it up, you will see all of the colors and beauty inside. It reminds you that you can’t truly appreciate people until you get to know them and what is inside of them.

“Carving bowls also reminds me that while some wood that I use has defects, like burn marks, knotholes and cracks, there are people who appreciate those defects just as much as a flawless bowl.”

MANY AWARDS

Through the years, Dunbar’s bowls have received many awards. His most prestigious, the Award of Distinction, was presented to him at an arts and crafts festival in Fairhope, Alabama. He says he appreciates the accolades, but his greatest satisfaction is the look of wonder on people’s faces when they handle a bowl for the first time and discover its unique beauty.

He also enjoys the stories attached to his bowls.

A woman who had bought a bowl from Dunbar at the Peter Anderson Arts & Crafts Festival in Ocean Springs told him that

when Hurricane Katrina was about to make landfall, she gathered up some of her favorite belongings, placed them inside the bowl and left her home near the water to stay with her mother, who lived farther inland.

Hurricane Katrina destroyed the woman’s home, and water rose inside her mother’s home, high enough to float the table upon which the bowl sat. Fortunately, the bowl and its contents were spared.

Those belongings were the only items the woman managed to salvage from her destroyed home.

APPRECIATION FOR WOOD

Dunbar worked as a veterinarian in private practice for 30 years and was employed by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce for 10 years.

He began whittling small pieces of wood then progressed to carving bowls long before he retired. Now, he is able to focus his full attention on his bowls and whatever else captures his imagination. He has also fashioned platters, chopping blocks and some stools and tables. He sells his work, along with the work of other area artisans, from his store. He no longer shows at craft fairs.

Dunbar and his wife, Mary Ann, have five children and 10 grandchildren. He says all of his family members appreciate wood.

“I let them visit my shop, and I explain to them the different types of wood and how I make something out of them. One of my grandsons has gotten pretty good at it himself.”

Dunbar’s “Country Things” store sits next door to his wife’s greenhouse, “Mary Ann’s Greenhouse,” just south of the Buffalo River on Highway 61, nine miles north of Woodville and 25 miles south of Natchez.

For more information, call (601) 888-4420. FB MISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRY

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Distinguished Service Award Dr. Gary Jackson, director of the Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service, received the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation’s Distinguished Service Award for 2014. The presentation was made at the organization’s annual membership meeting in December.

Dr. Jackson has served as director of the MSU Extension Service for four years and during that time has initiated a process of reorganization and strategic planning to reconnect the Extension Service to citizens across the state of Mississippi.

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‘‘I

felt that it was important to reorganize and restaff Extension, assess the needs of Mississippians and develop a new plan for implementing educational programs that are needed,” Dr. Jackson said. “I also felt it important to share the results of that process with business and industry partners who have provided funding for certain Extension programs and with the federal government and Mississippi Legislature, who have been very good to Extension as well.

“We’ve completed the reorganization plan. We’ve restaffed. We’ve grown our employees. We are currently finishing up an overall lesson plan for the needs-based educational programs that we will provide statewide,” he said. “For these programs, we used information from a survey we took that indicated that, among their top concerns, Mississippians want a safe and affordable food supply. Another concern is having safe and secure communities. This includes crime prevention, but it also includes wanting disaster education and management, which is an area that is new to Extension in the last 10 years. So, those are two things that came out.

“A third was that Mississippians are concerned about youth at risk. It continues to be one of the top concerns of not only Mississippians but Americans as a whole. Citizens are concerned about our young people and the activities that they have access to primarily after school. Of course, 4-H is ideal for getting young people involved in school-based and community-based programs after school to keep them on task in learning and becoming productive citizens of the future.”

When you think of Extension, what comes to mind is its work with farmers. But Extension is involved in many other areas as well.

“Agricultural producers are a huge foundational piece of the clientele that we serve and, some would say, the most important because they produce our food supply,” Dr. Jackson said. “But Extension is also very much involved in other aspects of the local community.

“Through our Community Resource MARCH/APRIL 2015

Development programs, we do a lot of pro- the Extension Service. They’ve never been fessional and staff development for local involved in 4-H, or they’ve never been government leaders, county boards of super- involved in production agriculture, or they visors, city clerks and tax assessors,” he said. were never elected to a local government “We are involved in community leadership position, so those are the Mississippians I development and community planning and, want to reach with this new plan of work. of course, in family consumer sciences. A I’m really excited about that because we have lot of our consumer education, nutrition, programs that will help them improve the health and early childhood development quality of their life, whether it’s financial programs tend to focus on literacy or consumer eduthe adult education comcation or food safety proponent, but the Extension grams. We want to get them is noted for the 4-H Cloinvolved in those so we can ver, where we do the youth make a difference.” development component A land-grant university and provide so many educahas three responsibilities: tional programs for our youth research, learning and service. through the 4-H clubs.”

“The Extension Service Farm Bureau and Extenis the main educational sion have an excellent relaoutreach arm for non-fortionship. The partnership is mal learning and service, strong and growing. and we share that with “REACHING MORE PEOPLE WITH “The Extension Service Alcorn State University,” Dr. at Mississippi State looks to QUALITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS IS Jackson said. “That puts Farm Bureau as a guiding MY GOAL AS DIRECTOR, AND IT’S Mississippi State University’s THE GOAL OF OUR LEADERSHIP light for needs,” Dr. Jackson educational programs within TEAM AND THE GOAL OF ALL OF said. “Extension is invited to 30 minutes, through the OUR EDUCATORS IN THE SYSTEM. be a part of Farm Bureau and WE’RE VERY FORTUNATE AND FEEL infrastructure of our regional its meetings, and that is where offices and county offices, of VERY PROUD TO HAVE THIS ROLE we receive so much informa- AND RESPONSIBILITY OF BEING every Mississippian. Reachtion on what we need to be CONNECTED WITH MISSISSIPPIANS.” ing more people with qualproviding to Mississippians ity education programs is my DR. GARY JACKSON — certainly, in the agriculgoal as director, and it’s the tural commodity area but also just in rural goal of our leadership team and the goal community development. Farm Bureau is of all of our educators in the system. We’re the first group of stakeholders who tell us very fortunate and feel very proud to have what we need to be teaching people. this role and responsibility of being con“I’m very proud of Farm Bureau’s efforts nected with Mississippians.” to support our state’s agricultural indusThe Mississippi State University Extentry and rural communities,” he said. “I am sion Service celebrated its 100th year of seralso impressed with how hard Farm Bureau vice to Mississippians in 2014. The Smith works to take the farmer’s story to the pub- Lever Act was signed on May 8, 1914. lic. The Farm Families campaign is great. I’m The Distinguished Service Award is the proud to be associated with it. highest honor Farm Bureau bestows on an “I’m also proud of the Extension Ser- individual, and it is reserved for someone vice’s efforts to ensure that our food sup- who has truly made a difference in the lives ply remains strong, healthy and safe and its of Mississippi farmers. FB efforts to spread the word about the importance of Extension and what it offers all Mis- The photos are by Kevin Hudson (this page) sissippians,” he said. and Kat Lawrence, MSU Extension Service.

“Those who know Extension love Exten- Dr. Jackson is pictured with Scott Cagle, sion. But we have a lot of Mississippians MSU Extension agricultural agent in Chickand Americans who are not familiar with asaw County.

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FarmFacts: S T R A I G H T F R O M A M I S S I S S I P P I FA R M E R

The Facts About Fowl by Sue Ann Hubbard – MS, DVM, ACPV The Farm Families of Mississippi (FFM) Agriculture Promotion Campaign was created to educate the public about the entire agriculture industry. A consumer who does not understand agriculture receives his or her information about farming from the mainstream media. Some information will tell them that farmers are not producing the most wholesome and healthiest products using good, science-based farming practices. The FFM campaign makes a point of addressing misconceptions about agriculture.

There are plenty of myths surrounding poultry. With this article, I will try to clear up some misconceptions, including some myths that have been circulating in the poultry world.

MYTH #1: White eggs are laid by white chickens and brown eggs are laid by brown chickens.

FACT: White eggs are laid by chickens that have white earlobes and brown eggs are laid by chickens with brown earlobes. I know, this sounds like a myth, too, but it is true.

It has to do with the breed of the chicken.

The color of the egg does not in any way affect the flavor, nutritional value or quality of the egg. Brown eggs do tend to cost more in the supermarket; however, this is probably due to people believing the myth that brown eggs are healthier.

MYTH #2: Chickens are fed hormones to make them grow bigger and faster.

FACT: No chickens are fed hormones or steroids in this country. Federal regulations strictly prohibit the use of hormones and steroids in raising poultry. If used in chickens today, in order to be effective, hormones could not be fed. They would need to be injected frequently throughout the life of 24

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a chicken. Growth hormones are proteins, like insulin, and must be injected to be effective. This would be very impractical and costly in today’s commercial industry. So, if hormones are not fed to chickens, then how do they grow so big so quickly? The fact is that several decades ago it took almost twice as long to achieve the same weight on a broiler chicken as it does today. This has been accomplished through improvements in genetics, nutrition and management conditions. The poultry industry has genetically selected for birds that produce more meat. Through research and technology, the modern industry can now produce highly nutritious meat with the most efficiency by feeding the birds with high-quality feeds and providing environmental conditions that are ideal to reduce stress and diseases.

For more references: Czarick, M., and B. Fairchild.

2012. Seven reasons why chickens are NOT fed hormones. Poultry Housing Tips 24(4):1-4 and Tabler, T., J. Wells, and W. Zhai. 2014. Chickens Do Not Receive Growth Hormones: So Why All the Confusion? MSUCares Publication 2767.

MYTH #3: Hormones must be used by some integrators. I see it advertised on TV. FACT: Sometimes the commercial poultry industry is its own worst enemy. It is illegal to use hormones in poultry, but it is not illegal to advertise that you do not use them. Thus, the perception is that, since some advertise that they do not use them, this must mean that the others do. However, the claim “no hormones added” cannot be used on the labels of any poultry products unless it is followed by a statement that says: “Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones.” So the next time you are in the grocery store and you see a poultry product labelled as “hormone free” or “no hormones used,” check the fine print. The package must legally state that the use is prohibited.

MYTH #4: Organic chickens or freerange chickens are healthier to consume than commercially grown chickens.

FACT: Organic or free-range chickens are just as susceptible to parasites, diseases and other conditions that may affect commercial chickens, if not more so. Commercial chickens are raised in a very strict all-inall-out practice, which means they are not commingled with birds of different ages, which tends to cause disease issues. In an uncontrolled open environment, chickens will scavenge and eat whatever they can find. Commercial chickens are housed in barns that do not allow them access to the outside environment, where they can ingest earthworms, snails and other creatures that may act as intermediate hosts and carry diseases and parasites. Commercial chickens are raised under controlled temperatures, have 24-hour access to fresh water and a steady, well-formulated diet. The reason the commercial industry began raising chickens in closed barns/chicken houses was to protect the birds from predators, the environment and parasites. This, in turn, translated into healthier chickens, which translates into more profits. Whether you are a farmer who raises cows or chickens, all farmers know that it is sound business sense to have healthy animals. I am not saying that organic or free-range chickens are less healthy than commercially grown chickens.

But after years of working with both sectors, I have not seen enough evidence to prove that they are healthier. FB Dr. Hubbard, an avian veterinarian, is chair of the 2015 Farm Families of Mississippi Communications Committee. She and her family farm in Jefferson Davis County, where she serves as the county Farm Bureau women’s chair. For more information about Farm Families of Mississippi, contact Greg Gibson at (601) 977-4154.

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2014 State Convention

Convention keynote speaker was Dr. Temple Grandin, a professor of ani- The Women’s Outstanding Achievement Awards for 2014 went to Covingmal science at Colorado State University who speaks around the world on ton County - Information, Organization and Government Relations; DeSoto the topics of autism and cattle handling.

County - Agriculture in the Classroom; Sunflower County - Community Service; and Leake County - Youth Safety Volunteer.

Susie McEntire, a popular country gospel singer, was featured during the Mississippi FFA state officers are pictured with their booth. They were Sunday morning worship service. also in charge of the Posting of Colors during the opening general session.

Toys and gifts were presented to the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children in Jackson. Pictured with members of the State Women’s Committee are Blair Batson representatives Julie Musgrove and Tiffany Tea. The toys and gifts, collected by volunteer leaders across the state, are distributed to kids who are in the hospital at Christmas.

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As state winner of the Young Farmers & Ranchers Excellence in Agriculture Award, Marie Rogers received a zero-turn mower, sponsored by Southern Ag Credit. Making the presentation is Joe Mallard. Regional winners received an iPad from Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company and a Yeti cooler from the Mississippi Farm Bureau Insurance Sales Department.

MARCH/APRIL 2015

2014 State Convention

Jeremy and Beth Graham, state winners of the 2014 Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award, represented Region 2 in the competition. Each regional winner received a $500 cash award from Southern Ag Credit. Making the presentation is Joe Mallard. Regional winners also received $500 from Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company.

Outstanding county Farm Bureau women’s programs in each district include: District 1 – Bolivar County; District 2 – Union County; District 3 – Scott County; District 4 – Montgomery County; District 5 – Lawrence County; District 6 – Neshoba County; District 7 – Stone County; and District 8 – Holmes County.

As state winners of the 2014 Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Jeremy and Beth Graham, state winners of the 2014 Young Farmers & Award, Jeremy and Beth Graham received 250 hours use of a Kubota trac- Ranchers Achievement Award, received 100 hours use of a John Deere tractor, sponsored by Kubota Tractor. Making the presentation is Cheri Park. tor, sponsored by John Deere.

Jeremy and Beth Graham, state winners of the Young Farmers & Ranch- As state winners of the 2014 Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement ers Achievement Award, received a $500 cash award from Watson Quality Award, Jeremy and Beth Graham received a new Ford F-150, sponsored Ford. Making the presentation is Stan Wood.

by Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company. Making the presentation is Jack Williams.

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2014 State Convention

Nick Wallace, executive chef and consultant at the Mississippi Museum of The Ag in the Classroom Roundtable offered a variety of presentations Art, gave a Farm-to-Table cooking demonstration. designed to teach schoolchildren about Mississippi agriculture.

A Mississippi Pennies donation was presented to Beacon Harbor in Greenwood. Farm Woman of the Year Carla Taylor is pictured with members of her Shown with Beacon Harbor board members are State Women’s Committee family, State Women’s Committee Chair Betty Mills and MFBF President Chair Betty Mills and MFBF President Randy Knight.

Randy Knight.

Outstanding county Farm Bureau programs in each region include: Region 1 – Dr. John Michael Riley, an Extension agricultural economist with Mississippi DeSoto County; Region 2 – Calhoun County; Region 3 – Montgomery County; State University, was the featured speaker during the Commodity Market Region 4 – Monroe County; Region 5 – Simpson County; Region 6 – Jefferson Update Conference.

Davis County; Region 7 – Marion County; and Region 8 – Jackson County.

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MARCH/APRIL 2015

2014 State Convention

Re-elected district women’s chairs include Carolyn Turner, District 7; Deniese The Women’s Program was successful again this year with their General Swindoll, District 1; Peggy McKey, District 3; and Betty Edwards, District 5. Store.

Third District Congressman Gregg Harper gave the devotional during the Winners of this year’s Mike Blankenship Outstanding County Safety Award Sunday morning worship service. are Calhoun County and Union County in North Mississippi, Rankin County in Central Mississippi, and Simpson County in South Mississippi.

Jackson County Farm Bureau received the President’s Award as the best The late Conrad Mallette was honored with the Excellence in Leadership overall county program.

Award. Members of his family accepted the award during state convention activities.

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2014 State Convention

Dr. Gary Jackson, director of the Mississippi State University Extension Mississippi Poultry Association President Mark Leggett received the 2014 Service, received the 2014 Distinguished Service Award.

Ag Ambassador Award.

James Dale with the Bureau of Plant Industry, Mississippi Department The annual Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) silent and live auctions of Agriculture and Commerce, addressed the Worker Protection Stan- help raise funds for the YF&R Scholarship Foundation. dard Conference.

Retiring county women’s chairs and vice chairs include Edie Todd, Clay Oktibbeha County Farm Bureau received the 2014 Agricultural Display County vice chair; Mary Katheryn O’Quinn, Lamar County chair; and Nita Award. Pictured are Oktibbeha County Farm Bureau President Doss BrodJackson, Monroe County chair. Not pictured are Betty Taylor, Carroll County nax and Oktibbeha County Farm Bureau Membership Secretary Pam Poe. chair; Linda Estis, George County chair; Beth Morton, Tippah County chair; and Cindy Huerkamp, Noxubee County chair.

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MARCH/APRIL 2015

Farm Bureau Ambassador 2015 Farm Bureau Ambassador Emma Jumper of Oktibbeha County will serve as a spokesperson for Farm Bureau and agriculture during the coming year. A student at Mississippi State University, Emma received a $4,000 scholarship. The contest is sponsored annually by the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Women’s Program. For more information, contact the Women’s Program at (601) 977-4854.

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Ag Mag Issues Available — See Page 6.

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Ag Values Set to Top $7 Billion Editor’s Note: The Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service’s preliminary estimate of agricultural production values for 2014, including government payments, is $7.9 billion. The following information was provided by Extension experts and the MSU Ag Communications Office.

Poultry remained solidly in first place on the list, with a $3.13 billion projected total value. At $2.88 billion, broilers showed a slight increase from 2013. Egg values were up nearly 10 percent, reflecting strong demand and price.

Forestry, the state’s No. 2 commodity, saw a 13.8 percent increase in value, driven by an improvement in housing starts. At $1.28 billion in 2014, the state’s forest harvest value has increased 48 percent since 2009, when the effects of the recession first began to hit the industry.

Soybeans, Mississippi’s top row crop, remained in third place with a preliminary

estimated value of $1.17 billion. Producers harvested about 200,000 acres more than the previous year, for a total of about 2.19 million harvested acres. The projected yield of 52 bushels per acre, if realized, would set a record.

Cotton moved up a spot in the rankings to No. 4, due to a combination of high yields and increased acreage. The estimated value for this year’s cotton crop is $403.6 million.

Mississippi producers cut back on corn planting significantly in 2014, which ultimately resulted in an interesting change in the typical ranking of the state’s commodities: cattle overtook corn to grab the No. 5 spot. The estimated production value for cattle is $396.7 million, up 33 percent from 2013. The estimated value of corn was $349.6 million.

While the catfish industry has declined for several years, production has been steady since the significant decrease in water acres in 2010-2011. Total production of catfish is down 13.4 million pounds to 156.9 million total pounds in 2014. The combined total value for catfish, stockers, fingerlings and fry is $197.3 million, up 11.1 percent, which puts catfish in the No. 7 spot.

Rice was a positive segment in the row crops sector in 2014. Prices and acres were up, which drove the value up

significantly. Producers harvested 190,000 acres with a yield of 7,200 hundredweight and a price of $13.68 per hundredweight.

Rice clinched the No. 8 spot with an estimated value of $174 million.

Hog producers saw a 21.5 percent increase this year, with an estimated production value of about $153 million. This moved hogs from No. 11 to No. 9 in 2014.

Rounding out the rankings at No. 10 is the specialty crops industry, which includes nursery and ornamental plants. This commodity moved up two spots this year in spite of a 2.3 percent decline, with a preliminary value of $113.6 million.

Hay fell three spots to No. 11, with a $105.3 million production value, down 11.4 percent. The No. 12 crop, sweet potatoes, saw increased acres and prices, resulting in a preliminary crop value of $96.2 million.

This is a 68.1 percent increase over 2013 and the highest value in five years. Other 2014 crop values and their percentage changes, compared to 2013, are wheat at $66.9 million, down 57.2 percent; milk at $44.6 million, up 10.1 percent; grain sorghum at $39.3 million, up 37.8 percent; and peanuts at $20.8 million, down 30.7 percent.

Final figures will be available in May 2015. FB

Calendar of Events MARCH 1 Ag Art Contest Deadline

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MARCH 15 Teacher of the Year Deadline

Magnolia Beef & Poultry Expo — Raleigh

APRIL 9

APRIL 17-19

Super Bulldog Weekend — MSU

APRIL 21-22

Secretaries’ Conference — Flowood

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MARCH 3 Ronald McDonald House

APRIL 24

Women’s Leadership Conference — Jackson

MAY 15

Deadline for Teacher/Volunteer AITC Workshops

JUNE 1

Scholarships Deadline

JUNE 9,10,11

Teacher/Volunteer AITC Workshops — Hernando, Jackson, Hattiesburg

JULY 27-30

Youth Safety Seminar — Gray Center, Canton MARCH/APRIL 2015

New Member Benefit Discount – Case IH Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation and Case IH have signed an agreement to give Farm Bureau members up to $500 off of selected Case IH

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Farmall Compact tractors (A & B) — $300 per unit

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Farmall Utilities – C, U, & J series — $500 per unit

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Maxxum Series and Farmall 100A series — $500 per unit

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Self-propelled windrowers — $500 per unit

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Large square balers — $500 per unit

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Round balers — $300 per unit

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Small square balers — $300 per unit

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Disc mower conditioners — $300 per unit

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Sickle mower conditioners — $300 per unit

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Case IH Scout — $300 per unit

equipment from participating dealers. The discount is stackable, which means it can be used with other discounts, promotions, rebates or offers that may be provided by Case IH or a Case IH dealership. A current Farm Bureau membership verification certificate* must be presented to the Case IH dealer in advance of product delivery to receive the incentive discount.

* To print certificates, visit: www.fbverify.com/case.

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New Cookbook

A new cookbook, “Country Cooking, Volume V,” a compilation of the “Angel’s Food” cookbooks, volumes I-XIV, is available at most county offices. The cost is $20. If you order a cookbook from the state office, you will pay $20 plus postage. For more information, contact Pam Jones at (601) 977-4854.

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