Will Gilmer of Gilmer Dairy Farm in Lamar County Alabama does a great job using social media and the internet to bring the message of agriculture to the masses. Take a minute to watch his latest effort, Water ‘n Poo. Great job Will! You can find Will on Twitter at Twitter.com/gilmerdairy
Archive for September, 2009
30 Sep
Boxer/Kerry Warming Bill Introduced Today
It does not have quite the ring to it that Waxman/Markey does, but you better get used to using the phrase Boxer/Kerry when referring to the Senate version of the global warming bill. Today Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) will introduce the Senate’s version of climate change legislation that seeks to achieve a 20 [...]
30 Sep
Colorado Ranked Second in U.S. Winter Wheat
USDA announced today that Colorado is ranked 2nd in U.S. winter wheat production for 2009, with estimated production of 98,000,000 bushels of winter wheat harvested, ranking only behind Kansas and moving ahead of Washington state. On a 10-year average, Colorado has been 8th in U.S. winter wheat production, and was ranked 10th last year. Darrell [...]
30 Sep
The Wheat Farmer’s Wife
Fall is finally here and at our place, that means there’s no rest for the wicked. Not even for the non-wicked. Even the dogs are tired. The past days and weeks have been a dust-filled blur of feed cutting, drilling, baling, chicken butchering and hog synchronization for us as they have been for many producers [...]
28 Sep
Western Slope Prairie Dogs Cleared for Management
Recently, the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) worked with the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) to block-clear all black-tailed prairie dog habitat in Eastern Colorado. The decision was made after concluding the affected areas are no longer occupied by any wild free-ranging black-footed ferrets. “This is good news for range conservation and management in eastern Colorado”, stated [...]
28 Sep
Restrictions Make Carbon Credits ‘Virtually Worthless’
David Miller, director of research and commodity programs for the Iowa Farm Bureau, tells the Des Moines Register that the House-passed climate change bill includes restrictions on farmers’ carbon-saving projects that could make the credits virtually worthless. The legislation also includes provisions to guarantee that most of the credits permitted by the bill would go [...]
28 Sep
Farmers for NISP Video
NCWCD has put togeather a great video that captures the comments of farmers and public officials at the recent Farmers for NISP Rally in Eaton. The rally was held to show the Ag community’s support for the NISP project.
28 Sep
China Proceeds with Poultry Probe
As promised, China is continuing with a probe into allegations by Chinese poultry producers, of U.S. exporters dumping American poultry products into Chinese markets. The move is a direct retaliation for the Obama administration’s trade protectionist policies, most recently exemplified by a 35% tariff on Chinese tires in U.S. markets. “The Ministry of Commerce believes [...]
25 Sep
Consumers Refuse to Give Up Meat
According to Meatingplace… Consumers may be shopping around and looking for value, but more say they won’t go without meat, poultry and seafood than any other items, according to a new survey. In a survey commissioned by IBM, 4,000 U.S. residents across all income levels were asked to “Please name one product that you refuse [...]
25 Sep
Senate Approves Interior Spending Bill
The Senate on Thursday approved the annual funding bill for the Interior Department and related agencies by a 77-21 vote. The bill includes an amendment by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) that would prevent unintended and unwanted consequences from regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. The amendment would [...]
24 Sep
Headliners Announced for Annual Meeting ’09
CFB is pleased to announce that Financial Expert Robert Cosgrove and Singer/Songwriter Jon Chandler have confirmed their participation at the 2009 CFB Annual Meeting in November. For the past eight years, Robert Cosgrove has been teaching thousands of people his debt reduction and budgeting strategies with his “hands on” financial seminars. His seminars are highly [...]
24 Sep
Harkin Acquiesces to EPA, Pulls ILUC Amendment
Acting on blind faith in an agency that deserves to be viewed only with suspicion, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has withdrawn his amendment to the annual Interior spending bill that would have barred the Environmental Protection Agency from considering indirect land use overseas when implementing the Renewable Fuels Standard. Harkin received a letter Wednesday from EPA Administrator [...]
23 Sep
Murkowski Moves to Block Clean Air Act Regulation
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) plans to offer an amendment to the Interior, EPA, Forest Service Appropriations bill that would prevent unintended and unwanted consequences of regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act. The bill already contains a provision that would prohibit the use of funds to implement [...]
23 Sep
Egypt Regrets Culling Swine Herd
Back in May, when fears about H1N1 influenza were spreading across the globe, policy makers in Egypt ordered that the entire Egyptian swine herd be culled. Now its causing a little bit of a trash problem. It’s piling up in the streets. Ostensibly the move to cull the swine herd was an effort to stop [...]
23 Sep
No Help for Pine Beetle Problem
It seems there is still no good news when it comes to the pine beetle epidemic that is killing millions of trees from Colorado to British Columbia. Panelists at a University of Wyoming forum agreed yesterday that there will be no way to stop the pine bark beetle epidemic spreading throughout the northern Colorado and [...]
23 Sep
New Holland Revives the Ford 8N
New Holland is building a new version of an old classic, the Ford 8N tractor. They call it the Boomer 8N and they had one on display at Husker Harvest Days in Nebraska. New Holland has put together a great website for the new model, check it out! The model really captures the nostalgia and heritage surrounding [...]
23 Sep
Harkin Floats Indirect Land Use Amendment
Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) filed an amendment on Tuesday to the annual funding bill for the Interior Department and related agencies that would bar the Environmental Protection Agency from considering indirect land use overseas when implementing provisions of the Clean Air Act for biofuels. AFBF [...]
23 Sep
Colorado Dairies File Bankruptcy
According to the Denver Post, at least six Colorado dairies have sought bankruptcy protection this year, and several more farms are planning similar actions, industry experts say. The moves are necessary to weather the twin storms of New Frontier Bank’s collapse and sinking commodity prices. Of the six filing for Chapter 11, four are past [...]
22 Sep
Mich. House Approves Farm Animal Care Standards
The Michigan House on Wednesday voted 87-20 to require farms to comply with rules that will be phased in over the next decade regarding confinement and tethering of some farm animals. The measure applies to pregnant pigs, veal calves and egg-laying hens. The rules would have exceptions but, in most cases, would allow the animals [...]
22 Sep
Stay 3 Straight Nights, Earn a FREE Night!
Offer Ends November 19th! Colorado Farm Bureau member benefits partner Choice Hotels is offering stay 3 straight nights, earn a FREE night at over 1,500 hotels. It’s easy to earn enough points for a free night at over 1,500 Choice hotels! As a Choice Privileges® member, just stay three straight nights at the same hotel [...]
22 Sep
Draft Senate Global Warming Bill Expected Next Week
According to the New York Times Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, is expected to release a draft climate change bill next week. Committee hearings are expected during the week of Oct. 5, with markup seen for the week of Oct. 12. Democratic leaders in the Senate are [...]
18 Sep
Obama Administration Pushes Tire Tariff
China has launched anti-dumping and anti-subsidies investigations into some U.S. automobile and chicken products, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Sunday. The announcement came on the heels of an Obama administration announcement Friday that the United States will increase duties on imports of tires from China for three years to remedy a market disruption from [...]
18 Sep
Beef and Pork Exports Down
U.S. pork and beef exports through July are down amid the global economic downturn and lingering effects from the H1N1 flu outbreak, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation. The most recent statistics, released by USDA and compiled by USMEF, show pork exports of 1.08 million metric tons (2.38 billion pounds) valued at $2.53 billion. [...]
18 Sep
U.S. Treasury: Cap & Tax Will Cost You $1761
According to a just-released analysis by the Treasury Department, cap-and-trade provisions of climate change legislation up for consideration by the Senate are likely to cost American households $1,761 per year. As a whole, U.S. citizens will pay up to $200 billion annually, which is equivalent to a 15 percent hike in personal income taxes. The [...]
18 Sep
Free Trade Agreements Would Boost Economy
Citing the vital importance of trade to U.S. agriculture, the American Farm Bureau is urging the Obama administration to submit the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA) and the U.S.-Korean Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) to Congress for a vote. In separate comments sent this week to the U.S. Trade Representative, AFBF said the trade pacts [...]
18 Sep
EPA Closer to GHG Reporting
The White House Office of Management and Budget has completed a review that moves the Environmental Protection Agency closer to publishing final rules requiring companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions, according to media reports. EPA’s draft proposal released in March would require reporting from facilities with direct emissions equivalent to 25,000 metric tons of [...]
15 Sep
Lincoln Says Cap and Trade Bill ‘Deeply Flawed’
Newly appointed Senate Ag committee chair Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark, made it clear today that she opposes the “deeply flawed” Waxman/Markey Cap and Trade bill. At a meeting with NCBA in Washington D.C. she told the cattlemen that her party “will have a tough time passing the legislation.” No doubt in small measure to other industries [...]
14 Sep
From My Desk
Cap and Trade Legislation is Irresponsible at Best HR 2454, the Waxman/Markey global warming bill, is a sweeping measure that will have a negative impact on agriculture as well as the U.S. economy as a whole. The international economic disadvantage inherent in this legislation poses a real threat to the stability of our nation. Agriculture is [...]
14 Sep
Latest Supply and Demand Report Released Friday
U.S. corn production is forecast at 13.0 billion bushels, 193 million higher than in August, with higher expected yields throughout most of the Corn Belt. The national average yield is projected at a record 161.9 bushels per acre. If realized, corn production would be the second-largest, behind 2007. Soybean production is forecast at 3.25 billion [...]
Shawn Martini
Chad Vorthmann
Rachel Vermillion
Garin Vorthmann
Crystal Korrey
Troy B
El Sagehorn
Brent Boydston
