ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.
Archive for May, 2010
28 May
U.S. Exports Expected to Reach Second Highest Level Ever
U.S. exports for fiscal 2010 are poised to achieve a value of $104.5 billion in sales—an $8 billion increase over last year and the second highest level in history, according to Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade released Thursday. The trade surplus in agriculture is now forecast to reach $28 billion, the second highest ever achieved. [...]
27 May
2010 Colorado Legislative Session Comes to an End
The 2nd Legislative Session of the 67th General Assembly adjourned late Wednesday night, May 12th, finishing a few hours before the midnight deadline, but clearly not days early as they had hoped. The total number of ‘introduced’ bills this session was 649 (that does not include any Resolutions). In the end, it is expected that [...]
25 May
Colorado Wheat Field Days Scheduled
The 2010 Colorado Wheat Field Days will be held June 7-16th at eleven different variety trial sites throughout eastern Colorado. Jointly hosted by the Colorado Wheat Administrative Committee (CWAC), Colorado Association of Wheat Growers (CAWG), Colorado Wheat Research Foundation (CWRF) and Colorado State University (CSU) Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Experiment Station, the days will represent [...]
25 May
China Books 1 Million Tons of Corn Imports
China, the world’s second biggest corn consumer, has booked almost 1 million metric tons of corn imports from the U.S. and will probably buy more, according to the U.S. Grains Council. The U.S. can double or triple sales to China, as the nation seeks to complement domestic supply and satisfy expanding demand, said Alvaro Cordero, [...]
25 May
Senate Vote on Murkowski Resolution Expected by June 10
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has reached an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for a vote on her resolution that essentially vetoes the Environmental Protection Agency’s scheme to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Debate and a vote is expected by June 10, after the Senate returns from its Memorial Day [...]
25 May
Judge Dismisses Nevada Wild Horse Roundup Lawsuit
A federal judge Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by horse activists that sought to halt the roundups of wild horses in Nevada and the stockpiling of the animals in Midwestern facilities. District Judge Paul L. Friedman in Washington, D.C. dismissed In Defense of Animals, Craig Downer, a Nevada wildlife ecologist, and Verdi children’s author Terri [...]
25 May
Hello Grilling Season!
Get out the charcoal. It’s time to fire up the grill. Memorial Day is the unofficial start of grilling season, which is certainly good news for livestock and poultry farmers. “Memorial Day is significant. It’s a weekend holiday where we expect people to be out going to the lake, getting in the backyard. Whatever they’re [...]
25 May
CSU to Host Beef University
Colorado State University’s Department of Animal Sciences is offering Beef University, a hands-on workshop on Thursday, June 3 and Friday, June 4 at CSU’s Agricultural Research Development and Educational Center, 4482 E. County Road 56, Fort Collins. This day-and-a-half workshop is open to all individuals seeking beef knowledge. The workshop topics include: Beef quality Cattle [...]
24 May
Frugal Food-Shopping Remains the Norm for Americans
A new survey released by ConAgra Foods shows that despite the recent improvement in the nation’s economy overall, Americans will not be changing their shopping habits any time soon. Four out of five people surveyed (79 percent) said they do like not feel like the recession is over and most (71 percent) plan to continue [...]
21 May
Foot-And-Mouth Outbreak Prompts U.S. Ban on Japanese Beef
The U.S. government recently banned shipments of beef from Japan following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in cattle in the southern prefecture of Miyazaki. USDA banned imports of boneless Japanese beef on April 21. Beef valued at $6 million was sold by Japan to the U.S. in 2009. All pigs, beef cattle and dairy cows [...]
20 May
NRC Report: Climate Change is Real, Driven by Human Activity
File this one under “Shameless ‘Scientific’ Political Pandering”… The National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, released three reports on Wednesday declaring that climate change is real and is driven mostly by human activity, chiefly the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. One of the reports, “Limiting the Magnitude of Future [...]
20 May
Kerry-Lieberman Climate and Energy Bill in Limbo
The Kerry-Lieberman climate change and energy bill appears to be in legislative limbo, with many senators questioning whether the measure will see the light of day this year. The bill by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) has not been formally introduced and there is no word on committee hearings. However, Senate Majority [...]
20 May
Farm Groups Urge Senate to Support Disapproval Measure
The American Farm Bureau Federation and 48 other farm groups have joined together in urging the Senate to adopt a resolution that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act without prior congressional approval. Virtually all of American agriculture is united in the belief that regulation of carbon [...]
20 May
NJC Collegiate Farm Bureau Hosts Ag Olympics- REDUX
***Update*** Here is come additional coverage of the 2010 NJC Ag Olympics. Make sure to watch the end. Click here if the video will not load. Last week the NJC Collegiate Farm Bureau was busy hosting the NJC Ag Olympics competition at the Sterling campus. The event, a tradition at the school, pits teams of [...]
14 May
Jackson-Shaw Grants Taylor River Rafting Companies Permission To Float
Jackson-Shaw, owner of the Wilder on the Taylor fishing reserve, announced today that it is granting the two Taylor River rafting companies, Three Rivers Outfitting and Scenic River Tours, permission to float through its property this summer. Conflicts between fishermen and commercial rafting on the Taylor River gave rise earlier this year to Colorado House [...]
13 May
Senate Climate Bill Released
The much ballyhooed Kerry/Liberman climate measure may face stiff opposition. Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) introduced their “American Power Act,” compromise climate bill Wednesday, amid concerns about the legislation’s affect on production agriculture and the nation’s energy prices. Industry groups and business are still assessing the content of the bill [...]
13 May
CFB Staff Announcement
The Colorado Farm Bureau (CFB) is pleased to announce the addition of Mr. Brent Boydston to the CFB staff team. Boydston will serve as the Colorado Farm Bureau Vice President, Public Policy and will begin his employment on June 1. As Vice President, Public Policy, Boydston will serve as the chief administrator of the Colorado [...]
12 May
Americans Buy Conventional Eggs 40:1
When it comes to eggs, choices being made in the U.S. marketplace seem pretty overwhelming. A report published by Feedstuffs Online revealed today that Americans buy conventional eggs from cage housing systems in a ratio of 40:1 compared to cage-free eggs. That information originated from Information Resources Inc. (IRI), a firm that tracks checkout scanner [...]
12 May
Failure to Move on Trade Hurts Agriculture
Three Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee—Dave Camp (Mich.), Frank Lucas (Okla.) and Kevin Brady (Texas)—issued a news release yesterday marking the third anniversary of a bipartisan compromise on a new framework designed to move America’s trade policy forward. In addition, the three announced a new report showing the harm suffered by [...]
12 May
Legislative Briefs…
Floating Bill Sinks A conference committee that was convened to work out differences between two versions of the controversial Right-to-Trespass (HB 1188 – Right-to-Float) legislation was unable to find compromise and the committee was discontinued. Rep. Kathleen Curry (I-Gunnison) made a motion to support a version of the bill that was slightly modified from the [...]
11 May
Ritter Vetoes Farm Plate Bill
Yesterday Governor Ritter vetoed his first bill of the 2010 session. The bill, HB 1101 “Concerning the registration of a vehicle used for agricultural production” offered by Rep. Baumgardner (R- Hot Sulphur Springs), would have prohibited issuers of farm truck license plates from requiring registrants to show proof of eligibility for those agricultural license plates. [...]
10 May
Crop Progress Update
According to USDA’s most recent numbers pasture and range feed conditions in Colorado improved slightly over the week and were rated in mostly good condition despite a dry week. Last year at this time they were rated mostly fair to good. Ninety-four percent of cows have calved since January 1st while 95% of ewes have lambed [...]
10 May
Administration Announcement on Mexican Trucking Program Very Close
During a hearing of the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee Thursday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the Obama Administration was “very close” to announcing a plan that would resolve the cross-border trucking dispute with Mexico. “Back in March, I urged you and the administration to move quickly to craft a plan to [...]
10 May
‘AgJobs’ Bill Needed for Temporary Workers
The Associated Press reports on the difficulty of finding temporary farm workers and the need for Congress to pass an “AgJobs” bill and a simplified temporary worker visa program. The labor shortage is impacting farms across the country. In Appleton, N.Y., Jim Bittner had to cut down a quarter of his cherry and peach trees [...]
8 May
Women’s Ag-vocates for Agriculture Conference
Richard Connell giving a safety program presentation on grain safety.
6 May
DOW Landowner Voucher Committee Seeks Comment
The Colorado Big Game Landowner Voucher Program Review Committee is seeking public comment on ways to improve the Landowner Voucher Program at an open-house meeting in Limon. The purpose of the public forum is to give Eastern Plains landowners and sportsmen the opportunity to meet with committee members to discuss the allocation of big game hunting [...]
6 May
*UPDATE* Legislative Briefs…
*Update* Today (May 6th) the Senate Ag Committee unanimously killed HB1407. Colorado Farm Bureau was the only group to testify in opposition to the measure in the Ag Committee. CFB along with the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association were the only two groups to oppose the measure. Proposed Creation of a Range Worker Advisory Council Rep. Daniel [...]
6 May
Vilsack Wants Quick EPA Decision on Ethanol Blend Rate
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack wants the Environmental Protection Agency to quickly make a decision on raising the ethanol blend rate in gasoline from the current level of 10 percent. On Wednesday, Vilsack and other USDA officials said unless the rate is increased soon, production growth ethanol could halt because demand for it won’t be able [...]
Shawn Martini
Chad Vorthmann
Rachel Vermillion
Garin Vorthmann
Crystal Korrey
Troy B
El Sagehorn
Brent Boydston
