Month: December 2013

Register for Legislative Day by Jan. 3rd

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Virginia Farm Bureau members will speak with state legislators about issues of interest to farmers in their community and statewide during the organization’s annual Legislative Day on Jan. 23.
Member-identified critical issues for the 2014 session of the Virginia General Assembly are:
  • adequate funding for the state’s Agriculture Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program;
  • adequate funding for operational support and technical assistance for soil and water conservation districts;
  • opposition to attempts to support mandatory labeling of genetically modified food products;
  • setting a baseline for the regulation of on-farm activities on agricultural operations;
  • including $7.6 million for Phase 2 of Virginia Tech’s dairy research in the capital expenditure authorization to enable the university to relocate the remaining parts of the dairy complex and replace six dilapidated buildings with three modern research, teaching and Virginia Cooperative Extension facilities;
  • protecting private property rights of landowners by resisting expansion of the term “navigable” to include all waters of the state; and
  • maintaining a minimal burden of proof of “Crown Grant” properties and their associated rights.

 “Emails and phone calls can be effective, but any legislator will tell you, meeting face to face with them has the biggest impact.” said Kelly Pruitt, VFBF governmental relations grassroots coordinator. “Legislative Day gives farmers from all across the state the opportunity to let their legislators know what issues are important to them face to face.”

This year, the VFBF Women’s Committee will host a legislative reception the night before Legislative Day—on Jan. 22—at which Farm Bureau leaders will be able to talk with their representatives in an informal setting.
Members will have appointments on Jan. 23 with their respective state senators and delegates.
During those appointments, members will present their representatives with copies the Agriculture Map of Virginia puzzle to encourage their participation in Agriculture Literacy Week March 23-29 at their local schools.

If you are a producer member, and interested in attending Legislative Day, please have your MSS register you by Friday, Jan. 3. 

Virginia Farmers Among Those Shaping National Farm Bureau Policies

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San Antonio River Walk
Virginia representatives will join more than 5,000 Farm Bureau members from across the nation in helping shape policies important to farmers and ranchers Jan. 12-15 at the 2014 American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention.

The theme of the event is “Our Heritage; Our Future.” The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation delegation, which includes 8 voting delegates and 2 alternates, will join farmers from across the country in formulating policies related to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations, the next federal farm bill and other issues that affect farmers nationwide.

“It’s important that Virginia representatives attend the national convention to help shape policies that affect all farmers,” said VFBF President Wayne F. Pryor. “It’s important for us to work with American Farm Bureau, because we rely on them to represent our interests in Congress.”

Farmers attending this year’s convention also will have the opportunity to attend workshops to help them improve their operations. Topics to be covered include new technologies and trends in agriculture; being a strong agriculture advocate; and economic impacts on U.S. farms.


“The national convention helps our Farm Bureau leaders stay involved in the national policymaking process and gives them a better overall understanding of current trends and issues that affect farmers all over the country,” Pryor said.

BREAKING NEWS: McAuliffe Reappoints Secretary of Ag; Names Secretary of Natural Resources

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Todd Haymore
Democratic Gov.-elect Terry McAuliffe has reappointed the state secretary of agriculture and forestry and named a new natural resources chief.

McAuliffe said today that Todd Haymore is staying on as agriculture secretary. He’s the third holdover from Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell’s Cabinet. Haymore previously served as commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services during Democrat Tim Kaine’s administration.

McAuliffe also named former Hampton Mayor Molly Joseph Ward secretary of natural resources. She stepped down as mayor last September to take a job at the White House.

USFRA Seeking Farmer and Rancher Input

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The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (www.fooddialogues.com/about-usfra) urgently needs farmer and rancher respondents for a brief market research survey the organization is conducting. 

USFRA’s goal for this research is to continue to identify ways to address people’s misconceptions about farming and ranching. The organization is asking for a short amount of time and honest opinions from farmers and ranchers. Each farmer and rancher respondent to the survey will receive a $15 honorarium for their time (estimated to be approximately 15 minutes).

The link to the survey is: https://hrgisurvey.com/survey/html.pro?ID=710

Was Your Holiday Dinner Hormone Free?

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The article “Was Your Holiday Dinner Hormone Free?” appeared in the Bristol Herald Courier the week after Thanksgiving and was written by Phil Blevins, a Washington County Extension Agent. It has also been making the rounds on Facebook, and we think Phil did a great job dispelling some of the myths about hormones. The story is below:

We hear a lot of talk about hormones and food and usually the discussion centers around meat. This causes many people to become concerned about the safety of the food they eat. Was your Thanksgiving meal or any other meal for that matter, hormone free? The short answer to that question is no. It is impossible to have a hormone free meal, because both plants and animals produce hormones as a natural part of growth and development. 
When looking at promotional statements for some turkeys, for example, they will read something like this, ‘Our turkeys are raised without the use of hormones’. Did you know that all turkeys (including Butterball, etc.) and chickens are raised without the use of supplemental hormones? It is prohibited. However, to say a turkey was raised without hormones is somewhat of a contradiction since the turkey produces its own hormones. As stated earlier, even plants produce hormones but that doesn’t mean plants are dangerous either, just that it is part of living things. 

People often criticize the beef industry because of implant use as if something sinister is involved. The products used have been tested rigorously and clearly pose no threat to human health. If you compare the beef we eat to the plant products we eat it is surprising to most how the hormone levels compare. For example, one ounce of cabbage has 1,061 times more estrogen than one ounce of beef from an implanted steer. If you compare the estrogenic activity of other common foods you find that defatted soy flour has 755 million ng/500grams, tofu has 113.5 million ng/500grams, beef from an implanted steer has only seven (7) ng/500 grams, and beef from a non-implanted steer has only five (5) ng/500 grams. 

Have these plants been altered in some way to cause these high levels? The answer again is no. It is simply a natural part of life. Does it mean that cabbage and other plants are unsafe? Absolutely not! In fact, coleslaw on a hotdog is a favorite of many, especially if it is an all-beef hotdog. 
We have a wonderful food system in this country and the technology has helped provide a safe wholesome food supply that is more economical than any other country in the world. This system also makes good nutrition more affordable to the poor, a luxury many countries only wish for. It seems we should worry less and be more thankful for the abundance we are privileged to have.

Report Shows that Farm Bill Conservation Practices Reduce Runoff of Nutrients, Sediment in Chesapeake Bay Watershed

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A record number of voluntary conservation practices adopted by Chesapeake Bay farmers since 2006 have significantly reduced the amount of nitrogen, sediment and phosphorus leaving cultivated croplands, according to a new report released today.

The report, part of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) estimates that since 2006, conservation practices applied by farmers and landowners are reducing nitrogen leaving fields by 48.6 million pounds each year, or 26 percent, and reducing phosphorus by 7.1 million pounds, or 46 percent.

The report notes that these practices have also lowered the estimated average edge-of-field losses of sediment, or eroded soil, by about 15.1 million tons a year, or 60 percent – enough soil to fill 150,000 railcars stretching more than 1,700 miles. The majority of the conservation practices in the Chesapeake Bay were made possible through Farm Bill conservation programs, which are now expired.

“This report demonstrates that voluntary conservation practices made possible through the Farm Bill can have a substantial impact on limiting nutrient and sediment runoff from farms in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and across the nation ,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “These conservation efforts help to clean our soil and water, boost outdoor recreation that adds more than $640 billion to our economy, and ensure that agriculture has the tools to remain productive in the years to come. The good work of Chesapeake Bay landowners has generated substantial progress in a short period of time, but more needs to be done – which is why it is critical that Congress act now to pass a Farm Bill that provides the full array of programs and incentives to build on these efforts.”

The Chesapeake Bay watershed touches six states and is home to 17 million people and almost 84,000 farms and ranches. Agriculture contributes about $10 billion annually to the region’s economy. Conservation practices have other environmental benefits, such as sequestering carbon and making farms more resilient to extreme weather events linked to climate change.

In order to better target conservation efforts in the region, USDA launched the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative, or CBWI, in 2008. USDA targeted CBWI funding to priority watersheds and practices that would have the biggest impact on watershed health.

Due to these efforts, the report highlights a wider acceptance of innovative conservation practices. Notably, some form of erosion control has been adopted on 97 percent of cropland acres in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. While this does not mean that all acres are fully treated to address sediment and nutrient losses, it is a positive indication of a willingness by farmers to do their part to help restore the Bay watershed. Additionally, the report shows an increased use of cover crops by Bay watershed farmers. Since 2006, land with cover crops in a cropping system increased from 12 percent of acres to 52 percent. Farmers are using a variety of other conservation practices, such as no-till, that help keep nutrients and sediment on fields and out of nearby waterways.

In October, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative expired due to the expiration of the 2008 Farm Bill, reducing the technical and financial assistance available to bay watershed producers.

The CEAP report is part of USDA’s effort to quantify the benefit of conservation efforts on private lands in major watersheds, including the Mississippi River and Great Lakes, as well as the Chesapeake Bay. The first CEAP report for the bay was released in 2011 and included data from farmer surveys conducted from 2003 to 2006. Today’s release is the first CEAP cropland report to revisit a particular region, and it includes data from an updated farmer survey in 2011.

CEAP reports combine farmer surveys, natural resource information and advanced modeling techniques to assess the effects of conservation practices on cultivated cropland, which account for 10 percent of the land in the Bay watershed. By comparing losses of sediment and nutrients from cultivated cropland to losses that would be expected if conservation practices weren’t used, CEAP reports give science-based insight into the approaches with the most benefits.

The full report, along with a fact sheet, summary and infographic, is available here. Learn more about USDA’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project.

VDACS Announces Top 20 VA Ag Commodities for 2012

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The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) has announced the state’s top twenty agricultural commodities and livestock for the 2012 production year. “This list shows the tremendous diversity of Virginia agriculture, which is just one of the reasons our products are in such demand in the global marketplace,” said Matthew J. Lohr, VDACS Commissioner. “Most of the power house commodities have retained their top rankings, but we also saw some switch-ups on the list.”

One of the biggest changes from 2011 was the movement of soybeans. In 2011, the value of the soybean was $216 million and they placed 7th in the rankings. The revised number moved soybeans to number 6 and corn down to number 7.  Cottonseed as a separate category entered at #18 with nearly $12 million in cash receipts. Cotton lint, ranking at #12, is a completely different product than cottonseed. They come off the same plant but are sold differently. The lint is what we traditionally think of as cotton; it’s white and puffy just as you’d expect. Within that boll of cotton are seeds about the size of a small pea. At the gin the cottonseed is extracted from the lint. The farmer gets paid for his lint fiber, then he or she either gets a check for his seed by weight or a credit for the seed by weight which is used against the ginning fees. Virginia sends some cotton to other states such as Pennsylvania to be used to feed dairy cows. Most of it is exported, however, to countries like Korea or Japan. Cottonseed was in high demand in 2012 due to higher grain prices, thus making it more valuable. Many farmers were able to export their 2012 production and command higher prices than selling it in the U.S.

Broilers, Virginia’s top commodity for several years, retained their first-place ranking and increased in value from $593 million in 2011 to $649 million in 2012. Cattle and calves lost about $20 million but still retained their #2 ranking.
They didn’t make the Top 20, but products immediately following show the growing importance of Virginia’s specialty crops. Peaches are #21 with $6 million in receipts; sweet corn ranks 22nd at $5 million, followed by watermelon at #23 ($3 million), cucumbers #24 with $2.3 million and range chickens at #25 with $2 million.

“Even a cursory look at Virginia’s top-ranking products gives an indication of just how diverse agriculture is here,” said Lohr. “We have never been a one-product state, and I believe a good bit of the strength of the industry lies in our diversity.”

2013 Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention starts Tuesday

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Almost 300 voting delegates representing 88 county Farm Bureaus statewide have gathered in Richmond to help shape Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s state and federal policies for the coming year.

During this year’s VFBF Annual Convention, those delegates will discuss and vote on numerous policies that affect farmers and their livelihoods.

“This is the culmination of our grassroots policy development process,” said VFBF President Wayne F. Pryor, “and whatever is decided at the annual convention directs our lobbying efforts in the new year.”

Policy development is just one part of the convention, which will run Dec. 3-5 at the Richmond Marriott. The event’s theme is “Leading Agriculture into the Future.”

The convention kicked off Tuesday with a keynote address by Mark Gold, president, CEO and managing partner of Top Third Ag Marketing and a former member of the Chicago Board of Trade. Gold will speak on “Managing Risk in an Inherently Risky Business.”

“I’m very optimistic about farming, but there will be bumps in the road and farmers need to learn how to survive the cycles and not sell their land for parking lots or subdivisions,” Gold said.

His Top Third Ag Marketing’s mission is to help farmers manage the risks associated with producing commodities such as grains, livestock, milk, cotton and energy. The company’s goal is to help its customers market their products in the top third of prices available during a market year.

Gold also led an afternoon workshop titled “Get What’s Coming to You: Risk Management for Every Farmer.” A second workshop, “Things You Need to Know About Transporting Farm Products in Virginia,” featured speakers from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and the Virginia State Police.

During the business sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, voting delegates will elect members of the VFBF board of directors to represent Districts 3, 6, 9 and 12.
Throughout the convention, members can take advantage of a “Cyber Café” to get help with any technology needs they might have.