Beware of Experts

Mike Rowe of Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs imparts some words of wisdom when it comes to animal care and so-called “Experts”

Audit: NCBA Misused Checkoff Funds

***UPDATE***
The Executive Summery of the compliance review can be found here. It sums up problems that many ag groups have expressed concerns about finding. It appears those concerns are not unfounded.

The report states that “the exceptions and undetermined items reported clearly indicates that NCBA breached the financial firewall during the periods tested and that NCBA did not maintain sufficient documentation in many instances to adequately support the separation of expenditures between the policy side of NCBA and the checkoff side of NCBA.”

According to Meatingplace.com…

A routine compliance review indicated that the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has misused beef checkoff dollars, prompting further investigation, Cattlemen’s Beef Board Secretary-Treasurer Robert Fountain Jr. said today in a news release.

The review, conducted by CBB with the help of an independent accounting firm, included fiscal years 2008 and 2009 as well as the first five months of fiscal 2010, ended Feb. 28.  The review specifically tested overhead costs; employee time reporting as a basis for the allocation of salaries and benefits to the checkoff; travel expenses; costs of NCBA’s Federation of State Beef Councils division; and subcontractor selection procedures.

USDA Announces CRP Sign-up Through Aug. 27th

USDA announced Monday that a general sign-up for the Conservation Reserve Program will begin on Aug. 2 and continue through Aug. 27. During the sign-up period, farmers and ranchers may offer eligible land for CRP’s competitive general sign-up at their county or parish Farm Service Agency office.

The 2008 farm bill authorized USDA to maintain CRP enrollment up to 32 million acres.

Jim Miller, USDA undersecretary for farm and foreign agriculture services, made the announcement during a conference call with reporters. “America’s farmers and ranchers play an important role in improving our environment, and for nearly 25 years, CRP has helped this nation build sound conservation practices that preserve the soil, clean our water and restore habitat for wildlife,” said Miller.

Smith’s Strong Performance Turns to Smoke

President Alan Foutz, Executive Vice President Troy Bredemkamp and United Soybean President Keith Dunn pose with the #78 car just before the race.

For the first 100 laps in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Regan Smith was cruising in the top-20.

But as he was about to complete the 101st lap the Furniture Row Racing driver reported that smoke was filling the cockpit of his No. 78 Farm American Chevrolet. The culprit was a burned rear-end gear due to leaky fluid and the end result was a 33rd-place finish.

“Everything was going so smoothly,” said Smith. “But then I started to see that ugly white smoke and I knew then we were in trouble. I was hoping it was something minor and it would eventually burn off, but that wasn’t the case. We were making progress all weekend and truly felt we had the car to give us our best finish of the season.”

CDA Hosts “AgriCultural” Photo Contest

From an eastern plains cornfield under a stormy sky to a line of bikes parked in a western slope vineyard, Colorado agriculture is easily captured in pictures. The 13th annual “Colorado…it’s AgriCultural” photography contest is seeking entries as a way to celebrate Colorado agriculture.

“Since the contest began in 1998, we’ve received hundreds of photographs representing every aspect of agriculture in the state, and it is always exciting to see the diversity of Colorado agriculture depicted in contest entries,” said Commissioner of Agriculture John Stulp. “This annual photo contest not only celebrates the splendor of Colorado agriculture, but also its importance to the state’s economy.”

Entries must be submitted to the Colorado Department of Agriculture with an official entry form by December 31, 2010. All photographs must be taken in the 2010 calendar year and must relate to Colorado agriculture in some way. Prizes will be awarded in four subject areas: agritourism, crops, livestock and people.

Judging will be based on theme, creativity and technical quality. The photographer whose picture best depicts the “spirit” of Colorado agriculture will receive a $150 gift card, and category winners will receive a “Colorado…it’s AgriCultural” prize pack. All winning photographs will be displayed in the Beede-Hamil Agriculture Building at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo.

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Family Farms still Feed America

USDA released a new publication, America’s Diverse Family Farms, 2010 Edition this month that outlines the importance of family farming in the United States.

American farms vary widely in size and other characteristics, but farming is still an industry of family businesses. Ninety-eight percent of farms are family farms, and they account for 82 percent of farm production. Small family farms make up most of the U.S. farm count and hold the majority of farm assets, but they produce a modest share of U.S. farm output. In contrast, large-scale family farms and nonfamily farms—only 12 percent of all farms—account for 84 percent of farm production. Small farms are less profitable than large-scale farms, on average, and the households operating them tend to rely on off-farm income for their livelihood. Because small-farm households receive most of their income from off-farm work, general economic policies—such as tax policy or economic development policy—can be as important to them as traditional farm policy.

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Doubling Exports in Five Years

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), the Coalition of Service Industries (CSI) and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) put forth a comprehensive approach today to double U.S. exports in five years – a key goal of President Obama’s. Under this approach, the three organizations outline policy changes needed to improve market access and level the playing field in a competitive global market. Doubling exports in five years is an ambitious but achievable goal if major changes are enacted.

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Ag Leader Announces Fall Release of SMS Mobile PC

Ag Leader Technology, Inc., has announced the fall release of SMS Mobile PC — a new way to utilize SMS Mobile software. The software product enables the support of SMS Mobile for portable PC devices, including netbooks, tablets and laptop computers; the product can be utilized on any device running a Windows operating system — XP, Vista, or Windows 7.

SMS Mobile PC offers another way for growers to collect information in the field that can flow between their mobile device and their SMS desktop software. Utilizing SMS Mobile on a netbook, tablet or laptop gives users the ability to see more information on one screen.

“SMS Mobile PC puts SMS Mobile on a larger screen so you can adjust the size of windows and their location on the screen to match the way you want to work,” says Corey Weddle, Director of Software Solutions. “The new portable PC device support allows for higher screen resolution, larger buttons, faster processing and more memory than the traditional SMS Mobile PDA version.”

SMS Mobile PC provides five field operations in which a user can record data: Boundary, Soil Sampling, Crop Scouting, Coverage Logging and General Logging. Ag Leader Technology offers industry leading customer support, and all SMS products are backed by a software-dedicated support team.

U.S. beef sales in Korea on the rise

South Korea is currently the largest growth market for U.S. beef exports, according to statistics released last week. South Korea moved ahead of Japan and Egypt to become the No. 3 market (by volume) for U.S. beef, a 66 percent increase over last year.

Joel Haggard of the U.S. Meat Export Federation’s Asia Pacific region told Brownfield Ag News a multimedia imaging campaign that kicked off with focus group interviews with South Korean consumers is responsible for the increase in exports.

“A couple of points that came out after talking to a number of consumers and a number of focus groups: we need to abolish the negative image of BSE and the factory farm, we need to show the U.S. industry commitment preferably from the producer,” Haggard told Brownfield. South Korean consumers appear to be responding to producer-focused messages by buying more U.S. beef.

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AFBF Calls for ‘No’ Vote on DISCLOSE Act

AFBF President Bob Stallman wrote to all members of the Senate last week, urging them to oppose S. 3628, the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act, sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

The DISCLOSE Act would impose broad new disclosure requirements on corporations, unions and nonprofit groups that spend money on political advocacy campaigns. The bills were formulated in response to a landmark 5-to-4 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which allows unlimited spending by corporations and unions.

“The ability to engage in political speech is an important part of our efforts to help candidates and the public understand the issues important to the agricultural community. Several provisions in the DISCLOSE Act go too far and effectively impede free speech. These should be addressed to ensure that the reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case does not drown the legitimate free speech rights of citizens and organizations that speak on their behalf,” Stallman wrote.

(update:nerdcoregirl)

Cap-and-Trade killed in Senate

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has ended efforts to include cap-and-trade provisions in energy legislation the Senate is expected to consider. Instead, Reid plans to pass a watered down bill that will address offshore oil drilling and energy efficient buildings, natural gas vehicles and funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Reid plans to have the Senate consider the bill before the August recess. The decision to exclude a cap on greenhouse gases is seen as a major setback for the climate change bill passed by the House last year. Obama made “cap and trade” a significant element of his environmental legislative agenda but this does not mean the efforts were good legislation.

The science behind the theory of climate change, which was the driving force behind cap and trade, is facing fundamental challenges. The credibility of researchers and institutions are in question.

The House bill includes cap-and-trade provisions strongly opposed by Farm Bureau.

USDA Announces Conservation Sign Up

United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today a general sigh-up for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) will begin on August 2, 2010 and continue through August 27, 2010. During the sign-up period, farmers and ranchers may offer eligible land for CRP’s competitive general sign-up at their county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. The 2008 Farm Bill authorized USDA to maintain CRP enrollment up to 32 million acres. Jim Miller, Agriculture Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services, made the announcement on behalf of Secretary Vilsack during a conference call with reporters.

“America’s farmers and ranchers play an important role in improving our environment, and for nearly 25 years, CRP has helped this nation build sound conservation practices that preserve the soil, clean our water, and restore habitat for wildlife,” said Miller. “Today’s announcement will help us create a greener and healthier America, and I encourage all interested farmers and ranchers to contact their local FSA office to learn more how to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Land currently not enrolled in CRP may be offered in this sign-up provided all eligibility requirements are met. Additionally, current CRP participants with contracts expiring this fall covering about 4.5 million acres may make new contract offers. Contracts awarded under this sign-up are scheduled to become effective Oct. 1, 2010.

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NISP Rally a Successful Effort

Last week, CFB and other participants in the 2010 Farmers for NISP Rally recieved an email from Floyd Ciruli, noted Colorado pollster and political commentator who also works in support of the NISP project. Mr. Ciruli’s letter is below.

NISP may be the first proposed major water project in Colorado history that has taken the offensive to build support and counter distortions and misstatements.

The media coverage of the farm rally on July 16 was very strong.  The Denver Post article, in particular, told the project’s story with dramatic, lively pictures, strong writing and positive quotations.  In the first several paragraphs and the three pictures, the positive case for the project was made.

Although the Save the Poudre stickers generated some controversy, the agricultural community made the point that they want to “Save the Poudre” as much as self-proclaimed environmental advocates.  The only debate is the best way to do that – by storing the excess for Colorado’s use or by not managing the river, losing the water and depending entirely on levels of conservation that are both unrealistic and will have a negative impact in the next drought.  In fact, the NISP project not only keeps Colorado’s water for farms, recreation and jobs, but it helps manage the river’s flows and can help maintain water levels during dryer seasons.

NISP continues to be a model project that, by aggressively seeking support, such as from 13 business associations including Club 20, is maintaining public momentum during the long approval process.

For Farmers’ Sake, Lift Cuban Ban

American Farm Bureau Federation President, Bob Stallman, encourages lawmakers to lift the last ban on travel to Cuba. Lifting the bad would bring “enhanced agriculture trade,” Stallman states.

Travel to Cuba by Americans, barred for more than four decades, has a direct and indisputable connection to increasing the sale of U.S.-grown food to Cuba. If more Americans can travel to Cuba, more American products will be demanded there and that means increased trade for U.S. agriculture.

Congress in support of Roundup Ready Alfalfa

Seventy-five house members on Friday signed a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack urging the USDA to partially deregulate Roundup Ready alfalfa (RRA) in time for inventoried seed to be planted in 2010. The largely bi-partisan effort, organized by Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), is intended to make the benefits from a recent ruling of the Supreme Court available to farmers before the next planting season.

The letter from the House members cited statements from the Supreme Court, excerpts from a USDA report on RRA, and higher profits associated with the planting of the bio-technology crop to persuade Secretary Vilsack to partially deregulate RRA.

While the USDA does not have authority to completely deregulate the planting of RRA until the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service completes an EIS, the Court’s ruling does allow the Department to permit interim use of previously harvested and inventoried seed.

The Supreme Court case and the resulting re-introduction of RRA could set an important precedent for future bio-tech advances.

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#78 Qualifying Run

Farm American 22nd Quick in Qualifying

President Foutz and EVP Troy Bredenkamp get a tour of the garage at IMS

Regan Smith will start 22nd in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In Saturday morning’s qualifying session, Smith’s No. 78 Farm American Chevrolet toured the historic 2.5-mile oval in 49.987 seconds at 180.047 miles per hour.

What handicapped Smith and the Furniture Row Racing team was a late draw, which is usually good for a late-afternoon qualifying session but not for one in mid-morning.

“With the incredible heat here we all wanted an early draw when it was a little cooler in the morning,” explained Smith. “But unfortunately we drew the 35th-place spot. But considering when we took our qualifying laps our overall effort in the Farm American Chevrolet was respectable. We were also pleased with how our car performed in race-trim conditions during yesterday’s practice.

CFB staff Troy Bredenkamp, Alan Foutz, and Shawn Martini along with representatives from United Soybean Board toured the speedway media center, technical inspection stations, pit road and the fan zone. The group was also present on pit road for the qualifying run of the #78 car.

The pole winner was Juan Pablo Montoya (182.278 mph). Rounding out the top-five order were: Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman.

Sunday’s race will be televised on ESPN, beginning with a 60-minute prerace show at 10 a.m. MT.

Colorado Farm Bureau Staff Visit Indianapolis Motor Speedway

CFB staff tours pit road.

Staff and board from Colorado Farm Bureau have spent the last two days touring the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) with Furniture Row Racing in support of the #78 Farm American Chevrolet.

Communications Director Shawn Martini, President Alan Foutz, and Executive Vice President Troy Bredenkamp have been hosted by team members of Furniture Row Racing and have been shown nearly every part of the process of getting a race car from the hauler and into racing trim. They are joined by two members of the United Soybean Board who are also supporting the project.

The group has toured the garage and seen how mechanics ready the car for practice, qualifying and race day. In addition, they have been taken through the lengthy process of NASCAR’s technical inspections, the process of determining whether every car meets the strict standards to race in the league.

You can view more photos from the race on the CFB Flickr page.

Driver Regan Smith prepares for his first race in the #78 Farm American Chevrolet.

Driver Regan Smith met with the group and discussed the uniqueness of IMS.

“I say it like its simple but its really not that simple, its a tough racetrack,” explained Smith. “As a driver you can do more to mess it up than you can to fix it.”

Smith also explained that due to the size of IMS, it is very easy for drivers to “overdrive” a car and cause slower lap times.

The group was present on pit road for the team’s qualifying run on Saturday and were also taken through the extensive IMS media center where sports writers from all over the country file stories.

The program has received much attention since debuting on Monday. Both ESPN and SPEED have covered the new #78 Chevrolet and the new paint scheme and program focus have generated a large amount of online buzz. The Furniture Row Racing Facebook page has seen the most activity it has ever seen and many online publications have featured the program.

President Alan Foutz says that the program has the potential to engage consumers and agriculture on a scale never before seen by our industry.

“This is one of the best ways to help bring our message to consumers that I have ever seen,” said Foutz. “I’m really excited about this program.”

CFB has signed on to the program as a ‘communications partner’ focusing on promoting the effort within the ag community. Agribusinesses will provide the funding for the program next year when the car will race on an extended schedule. The program will also feature an interactive agriculture exhibit that will be present at the Fan Zone of every race. The interactive exhibit will also travel to local schools and grocery stores to help educate the public about agriculture.

In addition to the Brickyard 400, the Farm American Chevrolet will race in Bristol, TN and Fontana, CA this season.

Farm American on the Track

#78 Farm American Chevrolet Makes Debut Run at IMS

#78 waiting for inspections

Inspection and mock-qualifying day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway found the #78 Farm American Chevrolet on the track for the very first time. The car was a little loose in the rear but still finished 20th in pre-qualification. The design was a hit with the crews and definitely stood out against the other cars on the track.

“We just want to help reconnect rural and urban America,” said driver Regan Smith in an interview with SPEED TV.

These soy-based degreasers are used all over in the Furniture Row shop and hauler.

The car will be on the track tomorrow for its qualifying laps. It currently sits 35th in the lineup to qualify.

Colorado Farm Bureau Recognizes Top State Legislators

Colorado Farm Bureau has announced the recipients of its 2010 Pinnacle Award.  This is the highest award given recognizing one Republican and one Democrat from both the House and Senate for their support on legislation that was vital to the agriculture community, overall commitment to Colorado Agriculture, and their willingness to advocate on behalf of the Industry.

“The Pinnacle Award recognizes those legislators who go above and beyond the call of duty to protect and promote Colorado’s agricultural interests,” said Alan Foutz, Colorado Farm Bureau president. “This is evident through their sponsorship and co-sponsorship of bills, their leadership in defending and advocating on behalf of Colorado agriculture, their workability with the industry, and their voting record on Farm Bureau priority issues.”

Furniture Row Racing Introduces Agriculture Themed NASCAR

Denver based Furniture Row Racing has unveiled its new effort to help promote the importance of American agriculture and to highlight the contributions that farm and ranch families make to our nation. Known as the No. 78 Farm American Chevrolet, the multicolored car of green, yellow, blue and white will depict farm life on the hood along with the program theme on the rear quarter panel of ‘Cultivating the Future’.

Driver Regan Smith will drive the car in its inaugural race in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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Barney Visser, team owner and chief executive officer of Furniture Row Companies, compares what has happened in the furniture industry to the threats facing the American farmer and rancher.

“The number of job losses in the American furniture industry due to unfair competitive practices by international governments has been devastating,” stated Visser. “To see the same trends occurring in our food supply, leaving us subjected to possible interruptions and unequal standards is something we see as worth fighting for.

“I don’t want America to fall asleep on this issue – this is where America needs to come together,” he continued.

For Smith, driving the Farm American car is both a personal and professional honor.

“Since my mother and father both grew up on a farm (in upstate New York), it’s going to be an honor to drive a car that showcases the farm community and the worldwide contributions the American farmer makes,” stated Smith, the 2008 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year. “The American farmer/rancher and Indianapolis Motor Speedway are two icons and I can’t wait to drive the Farm American Chevrolet in the Brickyard 400.”

Mid-Summer Meeting

Busy, but fun. That sums up the first day and a half of the Colorado Farm Bureau Mid-Summer Meeting. A record number of members kicked off the meeting yesterday (Sunday) with either a tour  of San Luis Valley agriculture, or a full round of sporting clays at the Del Monte Gun Club.

Regardless of the activity they chose, everyone met back at the Gun Club for an opening night barbecue which was attended by Congressman John Salazar. Mr. Salazar took the time to meet with Farm Bureau members one on one, and to do a little shooting.

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Monday morning found members gathering for the start of the General Session which featured an appearance by candidate for Governor Dan Maes and Scot McInnis. A large number of Denver media were present at the meeting as it was the first public appearance for Scott McInnis after information implicating him for plagiarizing a research paper he wrote in 2002.

Both candidates addressed their view of agriculture and their goals for the state should they become Governor. Both candidates were well received by the membership and both showed strong support for and identification with agriculture and rural issues.

After a potato lunch members began to gather for the first session of Advisory Committee meetings.

New Beef Blog Announced

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association will be launching the organization’s first-ever blog. Beltway Beef, written by NCBA staff and invited guests, will serve as a sounding board for the U.S. beef industry. The blog will primarily cover federal policy issues affecting U.S. cattle producers and rural communities.

NCBA said the blog also represents the group’s increased efforts to connect with members of the media, who can use the blog to quickly access information

Readers will be encouraged to comment on postings, ask questions and share with friends.

EPA Calls Dust a Four Letter Word

EPA wants to control dust, and anyone that kicks it up. In the latest step in its review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the foundation for unprecedented regulation of dust. According to EPA’s Second Draft Policy Assessment for Particulate Matter (PM), issued late last week, EPA may consider regulating coarse PM at levels as low as 65-85 µg/m3, twice as stringent as the current standard.

Both the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the American Farm Bureau are raising alarms in farm and ranch country about this latest push by the EPA to actively oppose farmers and ranchers from being allowed to do their everyday work out in the country- especially in drier areas of the US.

Listen to AFBF’s Rog Gaskil on the Beef Buzz regarding the EPA’s desire to regulate “Killer Dust”

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