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Goodlatte, Griffith and Brat Question EPA’s Anti Ag Campaign

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Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Rep. Morgan Griffith, and Rep. Dave Brat were joined by 142 members on a bipartisan letter to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Administrator Gina McCarthy, raising concerns over EPA’s funding of a grassroots lobbying campaign against farmers and ranchers in Washington state.

The Members requested answers regarding EPA Region 10’s funding of the whatsupstream.com website and the associated grassroots advocacy campaign aimed at influencing Washington state legislators. The whatsupstream.com campaign is at least partially funded by a multi-million dollar EPA grant. The grassroots campaigned used these federal funds to maintain a website, run radio ads and place billboards depicting dead fish and polluted water. The campaign urges individuals to contact their state legislators and “hold the agricultural industry to the same level of responsibility as other industries.” Until very recently, a prominent section of the website directed the public “Take action! We’ve made it simple.” The public could then press a button to send a form email directly to their state legislators advocating for 100-foot stream buffer zones and other policies.

An EPA Inspector General’s report from 2014 warned EPA that it had insufficient protections in place to ensure awardees were not using funds for advocacy, propaganda, and/or lobbying efforts.

Virginia Farm Bureau Marking Myriad of Milestones

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The state’s largest farm advocacy membership organization is celebrating its 90th year.

The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation has been representing the state’s farmers since 1926, and it marked the beginning of its 90th year at the 2015 annual convention last fall.

Last year it also observed the 65th anniversary of the Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. and the 50th year of the organization’s lobbying arm.

“Fighting for Farm Bureau policy positions kept us busy throughout 2015,” said VFBF President Wayne F. Pryor. “It was a pivotal year for representing our members. Whether they were opposing the EPA’s ‘Waters of the U.S.’ regulatory over-reach or promoting common-sense immigration reform, Farm Bureau members spoke out loud and clear.”

The Virginia Farm Bureau was originally formed as a cooperative to provide discounted farm supplies for its members. It quickly branched out into providing legislative support for farmers who lacked representation at the General Assembly.

Today, Farm Bureau provides legislative representation as well as membership benefits for non-farmers, including a wide variety of insurance coverage. It also strives to keep its members informed through its membership magazines, Cultivate and Virginia Farm Bureau News.

And this February, Virginia Farm Bureau News, the organization’s publication of record, marked 75 years in print. The current magazine originally was a tabloid newspaper, first published Feb. 15, 1941.

Issues published between February 1941 and January 2000 are available online through a partnership with the Library of Virginia. To browse archived issues, go to digitalvirginianewspapers.com. Under “Browse the Collection,” click on the link to “Browse by Title,” and choose Virginia Farm Bureau News from the list of newspaper titles.

Other milestones marked over the past year include the Farm Bureau Young Farmers Program hosting a decade of summer expos. And this year was the seventh consecutive year Virginia Young Farmers received national recognition at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual convention.

2015 was the second year VFBF’s Agriculture in the Classroom Program honored Virginia teachers who successfully incorporate agriculture into their core lessons. It also was the second year Virginia’s AITC Teacher of the Year earned a national AITC Excellence in Teaching award

USDA Expands Safety Net for Dairy Operations

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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced April 12 that dairy farms participating in the Margin Protection Program can now update their production history when an eligible family member joins the operation.

The voluntary program, established by the 2014 Farm Bill, protects participating dairy producers when the margin—the difference between the price of milk and feed costs—falls below levels of protection selected by each participant.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency published a final rule making the change effective April 13. Any dairy operation already enrolled in the MPP that had an intergenerational transfer occur will have an opportunity to increase the dairy operation’s production history during the 2017 registration and annual coverage election period. The next election period begins July 1 and ends Sept. 30. For intergenerational transfers occurring on or after July 1, notification must be made to the FSA within 60 days of purchasing the additional cows.

Each participating dairy operation is authorized one intergenerational transfer at any time of its choosing until 2018.

For more information, visit fsa.usda.gov/dairy or a local FSA office.

Agriculture Literacy Project Activities Reached 35,000 students

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As many as 35,000 elementary school students learned how their favorite breakfast foods arrive on their plates during a two-week celebration of agriculture.

About 950 volunteer participants in Virginia’s sixth annual Agriculture Literacy Project visited 1,500 local classrooms and libraries between March 14 and March 31. Many of them read The Cow in Patrick O’Shanahan’s Kitchen, a children’s book by Diana Prichard that was named the 2016 Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom Book of the Year.

Some of the readings coincided with National Ag Week, which was celebrated March 14-20. That observance encourages Americans to understand how food and fiber are produced; appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products; and value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy.

Volunteers from 80 county Farm Bureaus, along with FFA chapters, 4-H club members and employees of Farm Credit, Southern States Cooperatives, soil and water conservation districts and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services read at their local schools. They also donated 1,783 copies of the Book of the Year to classrooms, schools and local libraries.

The Agriculture Literacy Project previously was known as Agriculture Literacy Week. Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom expanded the program to two weeks due to its popularity and increased demand for volunteer readers. Virginia AITC is part of a nationwide effort to help teachers and students understand and appreciate agriculture, which is Virginia’s and the nation’s largest industry.

“This project provides an opportunity for volunteers from the agriculture community to connect children to agriculture,” explained Tammy Maxey, AITC senior education manager. “The stories our volunteers share after visiting the schools show the need for agricultural education in the classrooms.”

For example, she said, Charlotte County volunteers said children asked why cows moo, and they wanted to know why there are no baby chicks in the eggs purchased at grocery stores.

Freezing Temperatures Affect Farmers Across State

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There’s risk every spring that a hard freeze will kill tender fruit blossoms. Virginia apple and peach growers are familiar with that risk; most are in mountainous areas in the western part of the state, where cold temperatures linger into spring.

But growers across Virginia saw some losses from two hard freezes the week of April 3.

“We had row covers on all our strawberries and a few blueberry bushes Tuesday night, and we irrigated on Saturday night,” reported Jay Yankey, owner of Yankey Farms, a pick-your-own operation in Prince William County. He’s also a former Virginia Farm Bureau Federation board member. “We lost about 30 percent of our strawberry blooms. We had them covered, but it got down to 22 degrees, and the row covers only offer about 4 degrees of protection. So anything below 28 degrees means you start losing blossoms.”

The April 11 crop weather report from the Virginia office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service noted concerns about cold weather throughout the state. Snow showers hit many counties, and freeze warnings went into Southeast Virginia, where the strawberry crop ripens first.

“Saturday we ran irrigation over the row covers from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m., and by doing so we were able to keep the temperature under the covers at about 33 degrees. And we didn’t suffer any additional losses,” Yankey said.

Apple, cherry, nectarine, peach, strawberry and wine grape crops were hit by freezing temperatures in Nelson County, according to the report. Fruit trees in Carroll and Patrick counties also suffered a hard freeze. The cold weather delayed corn planting for growers across the state, and winter grain farmers in Eastern Virginia may have lost some yields.

“The barley crop was about two weeks ahead of wheat, and the timing was all wrong” for the freeze, said David Moore, a Virginia Cooperative Extension agent in Essex County. “We’ll see some buggy-whipping and burnt ends, and now that the barley is starting to head out we’re seeing some empty heads.

“I expect wheat may have some white heads too when it starts to head out, but not nearly as bad as the barley crop. There’s not a whole lot you can do about it except tell your crop insurance agent.”

As frustrating as freeze losses are to growers, Yankey said he’s accustomed to hauling out his fabric row covers or setting up his sprinkler system.

“It’s probably more unusual to have a year where there’s no need to protect from freezes,” he said. “Some of the larger fruit growers have wind machines. … Elevation and just a little bit of a breeze can make a big difference on how much frost damage you get.”

Issues and Trends for Food and Agriculture in an Election Year

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In an election year, especially a presidential election year, congressional and executive branch activity slows down and often comes nearly to a complete stop. This year will be no different, although there are several important food, agriculture, trade and environmental issues that will likely receive significant attention before activity wanes after Memorial Day. These issues include normalizing relations with Cuba, approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, labeling of GMO food products, precision agriculture, use of drones and implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act.

Feed & Grain article

AFBF President Responds to Consumer Reports Column

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AFBF President
Zippy Duvall
Our nation’s food system starts with America’s farm and ranch families, who own and operate 97 percent of the farms in our country. We enjoy a food supply that is among the world’s best, one that delivers a diverse bounty of affordable, nutritious and delicious food options—a horn o’ plenty that our ancestors could only dream about. But a recent Consumer Reports column (Eric Schlosser, “A Safer Food Future, Now,” May 2016), with its numerous, random gripes lodged against today’s food system, is a little like the story of the ungrateful son who turns away from his father, even though he showers the son with riches.

Our food riches include choice. Whether America’s eaters want grassfed or grainfed beef, freerange or sheltered poultry and pork, or tofu and sprouts, America’s farmers and ranchers work to provide it all. They harness a team of workhorses that includes everything from time-honored methods used by our grandparents to new crop and data technologies that would spin the brightest heads in Silicon Valley. We can apply nutrients and crop protection products precisely when and where needed, reducing impacts to our environment and to the farmer’s balance sheet. According to the Field to Market Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, farmers are growing more with less—less land use, less labor, less water, less soil erosion, less energy use, less greenhouse gas emissions—but with more safety.

These achievements are driven by scientific advancements, but they have their roots in the farmer’s personal values—the desire to serve and a commitment to constantly improve. While others merely talk, farmers are producing plentiful, healthy food, caring for their animals and conserving natural resources. That’s a triple bottom line our society can be proud of, and I would put their performance up for comparison with anyone’s, anywhere.

So when it comes to our food system, I take issue with the naysayers. Today’s tools, seeds and methods, and the men and women who use them, make our food system healthier, safer and more affordable than it has ever been. The key to that success is our farm and ranch families, who uphold a tradition and a pledge to sustain our nation and nourish its citizens—season in and season out, all year long.