Wilmer Stoneman Associate Director Governmental Relations

Last November, we requested that you contact Virginia members of the House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate and Secretary Vilsack asking them to work with Congressman Hurt in opposing sequestration cuts to the Tobacco Transition Payment Program (TTPP) which was designed to help transition tobacco producers to the free market. USDA identified TTPP, a privately-funded, temporary, contractual program, as a direct payment program and thus subject to FY2014 federal budget sequestration.

Your efforts in responding to the Action Alert were rewarded this week when it was announced that tobacco growers and quota holders will receive the full amount of their final tobacco buyout payment, as directed by a provision within the Budget Control Act.  In a letter this week to Senator Warner, Secretary Vilsack maintained that “funding for the TTPP is sequestrable” under the Budget Control Act. However, the Office of Management and Budget, in coordination with USDA, also determined that, under the Budget Control Act and authority for the program, TTPP funds sequestered in fiscal year (FY) 2013 are available for FY2014 payments. Vilsack continues, “Similarly, funds sequestered in FY2014 will become available at the beginning of FY 2015 to complete the final payment.”

The Farm Service Agency has not yet issued official instructions to state and county FSA offices concerning new revisions to the TTPP payment schedule and procedures. We cannot state for certain the actual amounts or timing of the payments at this time.  However, it is our understanding that producers and quota holders could receive up to 95% of the scheduled TTPP payment in January or February 2014 (FY2014) and receive the balance of the final scheduled TTPP payment this fall in FY2015 (ideally as close to October 1, 2014 as possible).  Financial institutions that provided lump sum payments will be paid first, most likely in January 2014, to avoid the government accruing interest.

Again, thank you making the legislative and agency contacts necessary to address this issue.  We appreciate the efforts and support of Congressmen Hurt, Griffith, Forbes, Scott and Goodlatte, Senators Warner and Kaine and Governor McDonnell in working towards a resolution on this issue.

The 2014 Virginia General Assembly starts on Wednesday, and while many issues will come up between now and March, ag education is one that is always on Farm Bureau’s mind.

Below is a story written by Clarke County FFA Student Brittany O’Meara on the swine cooperative Clarke County Farm Bureau and the Clermont Foundation will help oversee with the Clarke County FFA.

If you have any stories on things your county Farm Bureau is doing for ag education that you’d like to share on the blog, please contact Kelly Pruitt at 804-290-1293 or kelly.pruitt@vafb.com

The Clarke County Public Schools, Clermont Foundation and the Clarke County Farm Bureau will share in the oversight of FFA members in the swine cooperative. The cooperative will be used by FFA members as a means of a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE). SAE’s are hands-on educational experiences that enable not only FFA members but all students to become aware of the agriculture opportunities in the communities around them. This can be done through simple projects such as being a part of an agricultural business, finding a job related to agriculture, or by using science to experiment on agriculture based ideas.

This partnership was very beneficial in the process of the swine cooperative because it gives a basis as to how it will function. The Clermont Foundation is providing the land and means for the cooperative to function properly. They also agreed to enable students’ access to Clermont farm during the time that the cooperative is active. The Farm Bureau generously agreed to fund the cooperative with a maximum of $6,800 to the FFA chapter. In addition, they agreed to assist in helping students with day to day monitoring of the pigs at Clermont. CCPS plans to construct a checklist for students to ensure the swine and resources are appropriately monitored. Most importantly, the students will receive the proper instructions on how to fulfill SAE requirements and how to properly take care of swine. Lastly, the goal of all three of the organizations is to actively encourage student involvement in the swine cooperative.   

The swine cooperative provides the perfect means for students to gain a better understanding of how agriculture functions on a farm from day to day. It not only teaches how to appropriately care for a pig but also encourages more involvement in FFA and in the agricultural industry. Students also receive a better understanding of how a real life business functions through the hands on experience they gain by working with the pigs. It also provides a way for students to learn the economics behind a business. For instance, how much profit was made and how that relates to how much weight was gained by the pigs. Lastly, the swine cooperative is meant to demonstrate how a proper SAE is planned and carefully constructed. When the swine cooperative is completed, students will hopefully be encouraged to be more involved in the FFA association.   

The swine cooperative could not have been done without the continued support of the Clarke County School Board and the community. When asked how it will benefit Clarke County Dr. Mike Murphy says, “Education is the most important thing we do in the Clarke County Public Schools. Any time we can expose young people to new and different ways of thinking, planning, and problem solving we have really done a good job.”

Martha Moore Vice President VFBF Governmental Relations

• $28 million of new funding for agriculture best management practices cost share funding 
• No additional dollars for operational support for local soil and water conservation districts 
• $485,782 increase/ $999,500 increase respectively for the state portion of the Reforestation of Timberlands program (incentive payments to landowners to replant pine trees) which means a full match in FY16
• No cuts to the funding provided for the Coyote Damage Control Program 
• $1.23 million for 15 grain inspector positions to handle the increase inspections for exports
• No increase for purchase of development rights local matching fund
• $250,000 increase in the Agriculture Forestry Industries Development Fund
• $267,768 increase/$220,038 increase respectively for each year of the biennium in funding for the weights and measures program for 3 additional inspectors
• $220,000 for 2 regional agriculture education specialists in Virginia Cooperative Extension to support agriculture teachers

• 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.”

San Antonio River Walk

Todd Haymore

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

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.

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.