Author: VFB Governmental Relations

Breaking News: House Action on WOTUS Regulatory Overreach Protection Act

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The U.S. House of Representatives took a firm stand with farmers and ranchers against the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory overreach by voting to put a stop to the Waters of the U.S. rule. The WOTUS Regulatory Overreach Protection Act, H.R. 5078, passed with bipartisan support yesterday.

Members of Virginia’s Congressional delegation who voted in favor of the bill were Reps. Randy J. Forbes, R-4th; Bob Goodlatte, R-6th; H. Morgan Griffith, R-9th; Robert Hurt, R-5th; E. Scott Rigell, R-2nd; Robert J. Wittman, R-1st; and Frank R. Wolf, R-10th. During floor debate, Hurt spoke in favor of H.R. 5078.

AFBF President Bob Stallman released the following statement:

“The House of Representatives today stood with farmers and ranchers and against the regulatory overreach of the EPA. Passage of H.R. 5078 isn’t just a clear rejection of the overreach that lies in the EPA’s proposed Waters of the U.S. rule. Today’s action is an unmistakable signal that the tide is turning against those who ignore the constitutional separation of powers in the United States. We will ditch this rule.”

Farm Bureau members are now urging the Senate to join with the House to ditch the rule.

This Week’s Commodity Comments: September 10, 2014

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Click here for this week’s Commodity Comments, a weekly newsletter designed to provide agricultural producers with an analysis of current market trends by Farm Bureau Market Analyst Jonah Bowles.

Note: There will be no Commodity Comments for the next two weeks. 

Virginia Companies Exhibiting at the Americas Food and Beverage Show this October

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The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) is showcasing Virginia products at the 18th Americas Food and Beverage Show, October 27-28, 2014, at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Fla. Six Virginia firms will exhibit, promoting Virginia oysters, clams, ham, peanuts and nut products, beef, naturally smoked cheeses, cheese dip, turkey sausages and bites and smoothie mixes. The Virginia exhibitors will be located in 1600 section of the U.S. Pavilion, with VDACS in booth 1612.
The Americas Food and Beverage Show is a premier food and beverage tradeshow for culinary products and services targeted to consumers in North, South and Central America. This year’s show is expected to attract more than 10,000 industry buyers.
VDACS promotes Virginia’s specialty food products through the Virginia’s Finest® trademark program. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the program, which boasts more than 400 participating Virginia businesses representing a diverse assortment of specialty food and beverage products. VDACS’ Virginia Grown® trademark program promotes the Commonwealth’s fresh, local products. Agriculture is the state’s largest industry and Virginia’s agricultural production is one of the most diverse in the nation. To learn more about these programs and discover Virginia’s Finest and Virginia Grown offerings, visit www.VaFinest.com and www.VirginiaGrown.com.
For more information on the Americas Food and Beverage Show, visit www.americasfoodandbeverage.comand follow the show’s official social media hashtag #afbshow2014. The list of Virginia exhibitors follows.

Virginia Exhibitors

2014 Americas Food and Beverage Show
S. Wallace Edwards and Sons, Inc.
Contact: Keith Roberts
Address: PO Box 25, Surry VA 23883
Phone: 757.294.3121
Email: info@edwardsvaham.com
Product(s): Award-winning traditional dry cured, hickory smoked country hams, bacon, sausage, spiral hams and Virginia peanuts
Brand Name(s): Edwards, Colonial Williamsburg, Surry Farms.
Highland Beef Farms
Contact: Lisa Jones
Address: 1317 Deep Run Lane, Reston VA 20190
Phone: 800.869.6320
Email: lisa@highlandbeeffarms.com
Product(s): Naturally smoked cheeses including Gouda, cheddar and provolone. Cheese dips, including sriracha, white cheddar and chili con queso. Maple turkey sausage links, turkey deli bites and turkey snacking slices.
Brand Name(s): Highland Beef Farms, Southern Trails, American Premium, Old South Trading Company.
                                                               
Peanut Shop of Williamsburg (The)
Contacts: Pete Booker; Michael McDonald
Address: 8012 Hankins Industrial Park Road, Toano, VA 23168
Phone: 800.831.1828
Email: sales@thepeanutshop.com
Product(s): Our famous Handcooked Virginia Peanuts—salted, salt free and salted redskins. Roasted in small batches using pure peanut oil and seasoned with 100% sea salt—nothing to alter the natural and healthful goodness. Also see us for Sweet Virginia Peanuts—butter toffee, honey roasted, honey roasted sea salted caramel, honey roasted chipotle, honey roasted apple caramel, honey roasted dark chocolate cocoa and praline glazed. Seasoned Virginia Peanuts—wasabi, jalapeno, dill pickle, honey mustard, Creole, bacon & cheddar, salt & vinegar, sea salt & pepper, habanero, crab town and spicy smoky redskins. Also: roasted in-shells, peanut butter and green boiled peanuts. Specialty Nuts—cashews (salted, honey toasted), pistachios, mixed nuts, pecans (sweet, praline, salted), apple spiced walnuts and cocoa dusted almonds. Flavors of the World Collection—marcona almonds, wasabi peanuts, yin & yang peanuts, spicy mole peanuts and Thai fried chili lime peanuts. Confections—gourmet chocolate bars, milk and dark chocolate peanuts/cashews/almonds, chocolate bridge mix, peanut clusters, peanut crunch, brittles and more. Also snack mixes, canine treats, gift boxes, seasonal/holiday collections and assortments. Various sizes from single serve to foodservice bulk bags.
Brand Name(s): The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg and Southern Shores Specialties.
H. M. Terry Company, Inc.
Contact: Wec Terry
Address: P.O. Box 87, Willis Wharf, VA 23486
Phone: 757.442.6251
E-mail: wec@hmterry.com
Product(s): Fresh and frozen farmed Sewansecott oysters and littleneck clams. Value-added clam products
Tropical Safari
Contact: Phea Ram
Address: 2545 Bellwood Road, Suite 115, Richmond, VA 23237
Phone: 804.404.5071
Email: info@tropicalsafari.com, ramp@tropicalsafari.com
Product(s): Smoothie and beverage mixes
Brand Name(s): Tropical Safari.
Virginia Marine Products Board
Contact: Mike Hutt
Address: 554 Denbigh Boulevard, Suite B, Newport News, VA 23608
Phone: 757.874.3474
E-mail:mhutt@vaseafood.org
Product(s): At this show we are excited to showcase fish and shellfish from Virginia. Stop by the booth and sample ½ shell oysters and Chesapeake Bay ray fillet.

Governor Touts New RMP Program; Funding Available

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Last week Gov. Terry McAuliffe helped kick off a campaign to encourage farmers to enroll in Virginia’s new Resource Management Plan program. Speaking at the farm of one of the first registrants, dairy farmer Gerald Garber, McAuliffe said the RMP program is a major achievement to assure the future of Virginia’s largest industry.

“This is a voluntary program, but if you look at what Gerald has done here, he’s protecting our waterways, which is also protecting his herds,” McAuliffe said. “So this is a commonsense step that we need to take here to be a leader, to make sure we have sustainability for future farmers, and to make sure that we’re encouraging our young children to go into farming.”

Enrollment is open for the Resource Management Plan program, which allows farmers and landowners to work with a private conservation consultant to document conservation improvements already in place on their farms and plan future improvements. Once a farmer’s RMP is approved, he or she is considered to be in compliance with state conservation regulations for the next nine years. The plans will feature steps farmers can take to reduce soil erosion and runoff, like intensive fertilizer management, fencing cattle out of streams, maintaining buffer strips between farmland and waterways, and using no-till cultivation. Many of those steps also can improve farm profitability, McAuliffe noted.

“This is important for our environment, it’s important for our bay, it’s important for our rivers in order to continue with tourism, which is our second-biggest industry. So it all goes hand-in-hand,” he said.

Every farm in Virginia is different, “and the RMP program gives those producers that want to use that tool a way that they can use those best management practices on their farm. And also, more importantly, verify what they have done and what they’re doing,” said Steve Hopkins, a Louisa County Farm Bureau member and president of the Virginia Cattlemen’s Association.

Being able to track farm conservation practices is important, said Scott Sink, vice president of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. “That’s one thing we in the agriculture industry have been saying for years, that a lot of best management practices that farmers have been doing just have not been counted in the system.”

The voluntary RMP program was developed with input from Virginia’s farm community. Virginia is the fifth state in the nation to have such an accountability system and the first state in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to create one. Funding to help producers implement RMPs is available through the Virginia agricultural cost-share program. Farmers can learn more about the RMP program from their local soil and water conservation district staff and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s website at dcr.virginia.gov

A total of $160,000 in Virginia Agricultural Cost-Share funding is available to farmers statewide to pay for the development of RMPs. The rate for plan development is $10 per acre with a maximum of $6,500 per plan. Multiple plans can be developed for one farming operation. Details are available from local soil and water conservation district offices.

Additionally, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation has issued a $240,000 request for proposals for RMPs to be developed in the Chesapeake Bay region of the state. Proposals that include the number of plans developers will write are due to DCR by Oct. 1. Awards will be announced on Dec. 1, and plans should be completed by Oct. 15, 2015.

Developers do not have to be certified to submit a proposal, but all plans must be developed by certified developers. DCR is currently accepting applications for certification. Individuals, corporations and businesses are eligible to submit proposals.

A copy of the RFP is available online at dcr.virginia.gov/soil_and_water/rmp.shtml.


Comment on Hunting and Trapping Regs

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VDGIF is seeking your input on potential changes to hunting and trapping regulations for the 2015-2016 seasons. They are asking for more than just a simple statement of your proposed change so that they can better understand the issue. They ask the public to inform us of values and concerns regarding hunting or trapping, or what should be accomplished. From this information, VDGIF staff can better determine a course of action, or how they can best address these issues.

In developing staff regulation recommendations VDGIF follow the following guiding principles:

  • Consider the Resource first
  • Utilize the best science in decision making
  • Achieve population objectives where appropriate
  • Consider the biological, sociological, economical, political and enforcement impacts
  • Maximize hunting recreation
  • Equitable distribution of recreation
  • Simplify regulations where possible

VDGIF is also seeking your input on potential changes to Non-Game Regulations for the 2015-2016 seasons as staff will be taking up not only game regulations but non-game regulations during this upcoming regulation cycle. Again they are looking for more than just a simple statement of your proposed change so that they can better understand the issue. We ask the public to inform us of values and concerns regarding hunting or trapping, or what should be accomplished. From this information, VDGIF staff can better determine a course of action, or how we can best address these issues.

To submit comments online, visit https://www3.dgif.virginia.gov/web/scoping/hunting-and-trapping/register.asp.

Besides the online system, if you prefer to submit comments by postal mail, you may download and print copies of the Hunting or Trapping Regulation Change or Amendment form (PDF), which may be sent to the address included with the form.

VFLEP and VCE present 38th Annual Fall Forestry and Wildlife Field Tours

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Landowners take a wagon ride to the
 back 40 to see a loblolly pine thinning operation on
the Spotsylvania County Fall Forestry & Wildlife Field Tour
 in 2011.
Join fellow forest landowners and a host of Natural Resource Professionals for a fun and exciting day in the woods learning about forest and wildlife management.

These tours, presented by the Virginia Forest Landowners Education Program and Virginia Cooperative Extension, promote wise resource management on private forestlands. You will (1) observe science-based management practices (2) become acquainted with public and private sources of technical and financial management assistance, and (3) network with fellow landowners, natural resource professionals, and others that share your interest in Virginia’s natural resources.

Each tour includes several demonstration stops on private, industry, and public lands. See inside for information on fees for individual tours, departure points and itineraries. 

Fall Forestry & Wildlife Field Tours:
  • have been offered 37 consecutive years
  • offered each October
  • involve landowners, state, federal, and forest industry natural resource professionals and representatives of environmental non-governmental agencies
  • inform participants about practical forest and wildlife management techniques which are currently being used in their area
  • share information on current cost-share programs
  • are a great opportunity for networking with other landowners and natural resource professionals

Past tours have visited seedling nurseries, timber harvesting operations, saw mills and both public and private forest lands.
Registration fee includes transportation, lunch, materials, and refreshments.
The 2014 schedule:

September 29-30 – Chesapeake Bay Bus & Boat Tour – $150/person (includes all meals, refreshments, transportation and lodging)

October 10 – Halifax County – $45/person; $75/couple (includes refreshments, lunch and transportation)

October 30 – Grayson-Carroll Counties – $30/person; $50/couple (includes refreshments, lunch and transportation)

Tour itineraries and mail in registration
On-line registration

Virginia Farm Bureau Federation AgPAC endorses Dance in Special Election for State Senate Seat

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Virginia Farm Bureau Federation AgPAC has announced its endorsement of Del. Rosalyn R. Dance, D-Petersburg, in the special election for the Virginia Senate’s 16th District seat.
“VFBF AgPAC endorsements are truly a grassroots process—relying on the county Farm Bureaus to recommend which candidates would best represent the interests of farmers and rural Virginia,” said Wayne F. Pryor, chairman of VFBF AgPAC and president of Virginia Farm Bureau. “An endorsement is recognition of a candidate who understands the needs and challenges farmers are facing. Del. Dance has a history of supporting the agriculture industry through her favorable voting record during her tenure in the General Assembly.”

The non-partisan VFBF AgPAC was created by Farm Bureau in 1999 and employs in-kind contributions to support candidates who can best support agriculture and Farm Bureau issues.

VALOR Class II Fellows Announced

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Andrew Smith
Sr. Assistant Director
On July 19, 2014 the Inaugural Class of VALOR, including myself, graduated at the Hotel Roanoke. The weekend was not only one of celebration but one of volunteering and evaluation of the program itself.

We started with the Southwest Virginia Feeding America then wrapped up classes on Saturday with a facilitated evaluation process to aid in the future development of the program to serve classes for years to come.

Fellows experience an amazing journey that take them through our industry and venture into self-realization. I highly recommend you to follow the next class via Facebook and their blog over the next two years.

Class II starts the weekend of September 5-7. I am happy to share the names of the new class here! I wish them luck!

·         Mr. Albert Reid of Petersburg, VA; 4-H Specialist and Aquaculture Agent at Virginia State University
·         Mr. Adam Shiflett of Harrisonburg, VA; Lending Team Leader with Farm Credit of the Virginias
·         Mr. Cliff Williamson of Culpeper, VA; Animal Export Consultant with TK Exports
·         Mr. Josh Stephens of Quicksburg, VA; General Manager with Southern States Cooperative
·         Mr. Joe Wilkerson of South Boston, VA; Owner of Southside Nursery and Landscape
·         Ms. Jennifer Leech of Lexington, VA; Dairy Farmer with Ingleside Dairy Farm
·         Ms. Marilyn Adams of Purcellville, VA; Branch Manager with Farm Credit of the Virginias
·         Dr. Basil Gooden of Henrico, VA; Director of Virginia Rural Development with USDAMs.
·         Shelley Barlow of Suffolk, VA; Vice-President of Cotton Plains Farm
·         Mr. Kevin Beamer of Hillsville, VA; CEO of Virginia Produce Company
·         Dr. Timothy Durham of Callaway, VA; Assistant Professor of Agronomy and Agricultural Science Program Coordinator at Ferrum College
·         Ms. Lauren Arbogast of Harrisonburg, VA; Extension Program Coordinator, Community Viability
·         Mr. M. James Faison of Richmond, VA; President of Milton’s Local Harvest
·         Mr. Melvin Atkinson of Windsor, VA; Director of Airfield 4-H Center with Virginia Cooperative Extension