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.
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Why I Farm: Bob Harris, Pittsylvania County
“If you ever want to be close to the good Lord above, you’ve got to be a farmer cause that’s gonna teach you faith like nothing else can. You sit out here in this seat and watch a little bitty old seed come out and grow. Harvest is just miraculous. A lot of people don’t know what they’re missing. Even the hard work. There are days when it’s 105 degrees and you walk out of the house in the morning and start sweating just walking to the truck. But at the end of the day, it’s a good kind of tired. You know you put in an honest day’s work. You know you’re not going to get rich doing it, but it’s who I am. This is what I do.” – Robert Harris, first generation farmer from Chatham, Virginia
Pittsylvania County Farm Bureau member Bob Harris was featured in Beck’s Why I Farm series. Read his full #WhyIFarm story here: http://bit.ly/WhyIFarmRoadtripRobertH
STATE SUCCESS: Virginia FB Strengthens Partnership with GM Dealer Days
In an effort to better promote the Farm Bureau Chevrolet, Buick and GMC member discount, Virginia Farm Bureau Senior District Field Services Director Mark Dawson and his team led a major dealer outreach effort this spring. Virginia field staff visited 67 GM dealers across the state, distributing membership brochures and Farm Bureau window clings, answering questions about the program and encouraging dealers to participate in joint marketing opportunities with county Farm Bureaus.
“If we are really going to be partners with our dealers, they need to know who we are and feel comfortable communicating with us,” said Dawson. “When you reach out and put a face with a name, it improves relationships, and you’re more likely to get contacts and interaction between your partner and the county Farm Bureaus.”
Carroll and Smyth County Farm Bureaus Win AFBF Mini-Grants
The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has awarded 13 $500 mini-grants to communities across the nation. The grants are awarded through the Foundation’s White-Reinhardt Fund for Education program.
The grants are allocated through county and state Farm Bureaus and are used to create new agricultural literacy projects or expand existing agricultural literacy efforts.
Criteria for selecting winners included: the effectiveness of demonstrating a strong connection between agriculture and education; how successfully the project enhances learner engagement in today’s food, fiber and fuel systems; and the processes and timelines for accomplishing project goals.
New Henry County Feed Mill to Create 32 New Jobs
The new Performance Livestock and Feed Co. production facility in Henry County will create jobs and help area grain producers as well.
“We’re hoping to open a retail station there by October of this year and have storage and the rail line by January,” said Jason Pendleton, president and owner of the company, which is based in Lawsonville, N.C. “Hopefully, [we will be] manufacturing feed there by June 2017.”
Henry County was chosen as the feed company’s newest location due to its proximity to a rail line and easy access to public utilities. The site was originally a furniture plant that shut down in early 2000. Once repurposed, the facility will be able to store, mix and pelletize feed along with mixing custom feeds and pellets. It also will include a retail store. Continue reading
Virginia Poultry Farms Benefit from Successful Disease Control
Biosecurity measures on Virginia poultry farms have been important over the past year due to an avian influenza outbreak that started in 2014 in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest and California.
Virginia’s largest agricultural organization, the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, recently lifted heightened biosecurity measures that had been in place for 15 months for staff visiting poultry farms.
“Our employees were asked to not visit any poultry farms out of an abundance of precaution unless there was an urgent or emergency situation that required staff to be on the farm,” said Tony Banks, a VFBF commodity marketing specialist. “Our employees are not only conscious of farmers’ needs, but they also understand the serious threat that animal diseases like AI pose to our members’ livestock and poultry.
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This Week’s Commodity Comments: July 20, 2016
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.
What Do Presidential Candidates Know About Agriculture?
By Stewart Truelsen- http://www.fb.org/newsroom/focus/266/
It’s been almost 150 years since two men who had farmed squared off against each other in a presidential election, and it may never happen again. But candidates don’t need firsthand experience to understand the needs of farmers and ranchers or to appreciate the work they do. As President Eisenhower said, “You know, farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.”
What do the 2016 presidential candidates know about agriculture? Democrat Hillary Clinton attended school in Park Ridge, Illinois, where the general headquarters of the American Farm Bureau Federation once was located. Chances are she wasn’t aware of Farm Bureau or farm issues as a young person. Continue reading
Why I Farm: M.L. Everett, Southampton County
“You ask, ‘What keeps you going during the tough times?’ I reckon what keeps me going is working towards something that the next generation will hopefully have in order to be able to provide for their families. Because it’s a great life. It’s like any other business that has its struggles, its ups and downs. You just keep on and look for better days ahead.”
Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Board Member M.L. Everett of Southampton County was also featured earlier this week in Beck’s Why I Farm campaign. Click here to read his story: bit.ly/29P9hGo
House Passes GMO Disclosure Legislation
On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved bipartisan national legislation on the disclosure of genetically engineered (GE) ingredients in food. The bill, which the House approved on a 306-117 vote, now goes to President Barack Obama for signing. It was approved 63-30 by the Senate the prior week.
“Today’s House passage of GMO disclosure legislation means we now begin the work of putting in place a uniform, national labeling system that will provide balanced, accurate information to consumers. Genetically engineered crops have a decades-long track record of safety and benefits for agricultural productivity and our environment,” said American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall. “This legislation helps to continue those benefits by avoiding the confusion of differing and potentially misleading labeling standards from state to state. The next stop is the president’s desk. We are pleased that Congress has moved quickly to finish the job.”
Thank you to everyone for the great team effort. The vote breakdown can be found here. The legislation now heads to the president where we expect him to sign it into law.
