John Peel of the Durango Herald this week sat down with State Rep. Elect J. Paul Brown, and has written a superb profile of the soon-to-be legislator.Make sure to read the whole piece. Congratulations to J. Paul! Brown, a La Plata County commissioner from 1989 to 1993, Ignacio school board member and Colorado Farm Bureau [...]
Archive for December, 2010
30 Dec
Pacelle, Vick, and the Quote of the Year
By now you will have all heard about Wayne Pacelle, CEO of HSUS, saying that convicted dog torturer Michel Vick “would do a good job as a pet owner.” HumaneWatch has followed the story and the fallout closely, first here and then here.The comment is preposterous of course and HumaneWatch wonders if Humane Wayne has [...]
29 Dec
Make Plans to Attend FarmWife Project Meeting
The first meeting of the FarmWife Project will be Saturday Jan. 15, 2011 at the Colorado Farm Bureau Center. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. and run to 3 p.m. The workshop-style meeting will focus on writing, becoming an agvocate, and building relationships with women across Colorado agriculture. If mountains stand in your way, [...]
28 Dec
Another CFB Member Appointed to AFBF Committee
Jason Vermillion, Vice President of the Lincoln County Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors, has been appointed to the AFBF Swine Commodity Advisory Committee by AFBF President Bob Stallman. Vermillion, a fifth generation farmer, will represent the interests of hog producers in the western region of the United States throughout his two year term. He [...]
27 Dec
USDA U-Turn on Roundup Ready Alfalfa
Despite the USDA’s own proposal from last year, Sec. Vilsack’s department is now reversing course on deregulating Roundup Ready Alfalfa. According to the Department’s environmental review, the alfalfa was judged substantially equivalent to other varieties without red flags for regulators. But instead of taking the news as a green light to let the alfalfa on [...]
27 Dec
Salazar Offered Ag Comissioner Job
According to the Daily Sentinel, U.S. Rep. John Salazar is close to accepting an offer from Gov.-elect John Hickenlooper to head the Colorado Department of Agriculture, two highly placed sources close to the Denver mayor’s transition team confirmed Thursday.
22 Dec
Roberts to be Ranking Member on Senate Ag
It seems that Sen. Pat Roberts (R- Kan) will take over as the ranking Republican on the Senate Ag Committee. Current ranking member, Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R- Ga.) is moving to the Senate Intelligence Committee according to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R- Iowa). According to Chris Clayton of DTN, Roberts is a strong defender of direct [...]
22 Dec
Omnibus Lands Bill Sure to Fail
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has abandoned plans to pass omnibus lands legislation but is working to pass certain pieces of the bill before the end of the session. The omnibus bill, titled “The Great Outdoors Act of 2010,” included the Rep. Polis sponsored Hidden Gems bill and more than 110 land and water [...]
22 Dec
Sugar Beet Decision Delayed Again
Genetically modified sugar beet plants that would produce seeds for the 2012 planting season can’t yet be destroyed as ordered by a judge, a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled. The U.S. Court of Appeals put on hold until Feb. 28 a judges Nov. 30 order to dig up 256 acres of sugar beet [...]
22 Dec
Bartlett to Head CAWA
Charlie Bartlett, Merino area farmer and current board member of the Colorado Corn Administrative Committee, was recently elected Chair of the Colorado Ag Water Alliance (CAWA). John Stencel, former president of Rocky Mountain Farmer’s Union, was elected Vice-Chair. Both will serve a one-year term. The CAWA is unique in that its membership is comprised of [...]
21 Dec
Food Network Host Praises U.S. Beef Processing
Ellie Krieger, a dietitian and host of Food Networks, “Healthy Appetite” was featured on the digital pages of the Huffington Post this morning praising the beef industry after touring a Cargill meat packing plant in Texas. Rather, I am stunned by how humanly the animals were treated and by the detailed attention given to food [...]
21 Dec
CRS Outlines Farm Bill Issues
FarmPolicy.com reports today on a report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) outlining the biggest issues for the next Farm Bill. The report mentions increased calls for a departure from direct payments in favor of expanded insurance and disaster programs, and linking payments to farm revenue as opposed to commodity prices. “Managing farm risk—Crop insurance [...]
20 Dec
Senate Passes Food Safety Bill
On Sunday, the Senate passed the food safety bill by unanimous consent. The bill now goes to the House where passage is expected this week. President Obama has pledged to sign the bill. The bill will overhaul the nation’s food safety laws for the first time since the Great Depression. The Senate originally approved food [...]
20 Dec
Private Insurers Offer Up Crop Insurance
Techies in California have launched an insurance service for farmers seeking insulation against the largest source of crop loss — bad weather. It’s called WeatherBill, and the company’s deep-pocketed investors are betting that they’ve caught lightning in a bottle. The San Francisco company, which already sells insurance against nasty weather to clients such as the [...]
17 Dec
Weekly Links
Today we would like to unveil a new feature, the Weekly Links. Every week, we are inundated with much more news than we can summarize and bring to you to view. There is simply just too much information out there. The Weekly Links will be posted every Friday and will contain all the information we [...]
17 Dec
By Popular Demand
Since the CFB Annual Meeting, we have has several requests to post the Service to Agriculture awards presentation given to Dr. Foutz and Mr. Barney Vissar at the Annual Banquet. As a result we have posted the presentation made to Dr. Foutz for the Inside Farm Bureau Service to Agriculture Award. The presentation given to [...]
17 Dec
CFB Praises House Passage of Tax Relief Measure
Colorado Farm Bureau is pleased that The House of Representatives voted 277-148 late Thursday night to approve the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 bill that extends the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for two years. This legislation sets the estate tax at 35 percent with a $5 million exemption [...]
16 Dec
Governor Elect ‘Inclined’ to Support NISP
According to Bill Jackson at the Greeley Tribune While the state “needs serious conservation” efforts, the needs of agriculture also have to be met when it comes to water, Hickenlooper told a crowd of close to 200 at the 2010 Colorado Ag Classic at the Embassy Suites in Loveland. The soon-to-be governor was asked where [...]
16 Dec
Nearly Half of Every Dollar Raised by HSUS Goes to Overhead
The Humane Society of the United States spends nearly half of every dollar donated on fundraising and other overhead costs, according to the Center for Consumer Freedom. The data comes from an analysis of HSUS’ 2009 federal tax return by Animal People News. Earlier this year, the American Institute of Philanthropy (which runs CharityWatch.org) downgraded [...]
15 Dec
Call Today, Tax extenders in the House!!!!
Senate Tax extenders in the House!!!!!!!!!! Today, December 15, 2010 the Senate passed the tax extenders bill by a vote of 81-19. The House is projected to begin consideration of this legislation tomorrow, December 16. The Senate version of the tax extenders bill contains reforms to the estate tax. The Senate language would tax families [...]
14 Dec
Scientists Make Foot-and-Mouth Disease Breakthrough
Scientists with the Agriculture Department’s Agriculture Research Service have identified the primary site where the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease begins infection in cattle. The discovery could lead to development of new vaccines to control and potentially eradicate FMD, a highly contagious and sometimes fatal viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals that is considered the most [...]
14 Dec
Senate Passage of Tax Cut Bill Expected Tonight
The Senate on Monday voted to invoke cloture on a bill that extends tax cuts to all Americans and includes estate tax provisions supported by Farm Bureau. This sets the stage for final Senate passage, which is expected this evening. The strong bipartisan vote to proceed with debate is seen as a sign that the [...]
14 Dec
USDA Report Shows Tight Supplies of Corn, Cotton, Soybeans
The Agriculture Department’s December crop report released Friday shows continued tight supplies of corn, cotton and soybeans that will help drive planting decisions next year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. “Grain stocks weren’t reduced as much as we had expected, with USDA only making minor adjustments to the corn, wheat and soybean balance [...]
14 Dec
CFB Members Appointed to AFBF YF&R Committee
Nathan and Nikki Weathers of Yuma County have been appointed to the AFBF YF&R Committee to represent the Western Region. In a letter informing the couple of the news AFBF President Stallman said that “It is also my hope that you will continue to develop useful leadership skills that you can take away and apply [...]
14 Dec
USDA to Move Forward with Cost-Benefit Analysis of GIPSA Rule
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told poultry and meat industry representatives on Monday that USDA will conduct a more thorough cost benefit analysis of new livestock marketing rules proposed by the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). Vilsack declined to speculate how long the review process would take, but said the rule as published [...]
13 Dec
YF&R Conference Deadline Extended!!
Attention: Colorado Farm Bureau Young Farmer & Rancher Leadership Conference reservation deadline has been extended! The deadline for reservations for the Colorado Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Leadership Conference January 21-23 at the Crowne Plaza in Colorado Springs has been extended to Friday December 31 st . Please call 888-233-9527 and say you would like [...]
10 Dec
Washington Update
There have been many moving parts in Washington, DC this week between a Continuing Resolution, Food Safety and extending the Bush tax cuts. Continuing Resolution and Food Safety Per this current fiscal year, none of the twelve FY 2011 spending bills have been enacted by Congress. As such a continuing resolution was introduced earlier this [...]
10 Dec
Nebraska governor on HSUS: ‘We’re going to beat them’
The governor of Nebraska is sending a strong message to the Humane Society of the United States—if the animal rights group goes after the state’s livestock industry, it’s in for a fight. “The Humane Society of the United States is anti-agriculture and they’re out to destroy animal agriculture—and if they want to come to Nebraska, [...]
8 Dec
Farm Bureau Members Invited to Submit ‘Work’ Videos
Farm and ranch families perform a lot of dirty, tough jobs in the process of providing food and fiber for their fellow Americans. But, the big question is—Can they compete with show host and narrator Mike Rowe, who will be the keynote speaker at AFBF’S 2011 annual meeting, Jan. 10, in Atlanta? Farm Bureau members [...]
8 Dec
Cow Bites Wolf?
ALBUQUERQUE – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says a Mexican gray wolf found dead in southwestern New Mexico in October probably died of an intestinal rupture. A preliminary report says the female wolf from the Morgart pack ingested a plastic ear tag commonly used on domestic cattle and that a rupture in the small [...]
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