Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced that groups seeking to improve the competitiveness of specialty crops in Virginia are eligible to submit proposals for grants up to $60,000 per project. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) anticipates administering nearly $390,000 in funds for the development of specialty crops. The deadline for submitting applications is March 13, 2017.

Agricultural associations, industry and producer groups, community-based organizations, educational institutions and non-profits may submit applications to VDACS for United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service Specialty Crop Block Grants. Individual producers are not eligible for grants.

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Virginia farmers and forest landowners can apply for assistance to protect the health and productivity of their land under the federal Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

The 2014 Farm Bill program offers technical and financial assistance to plan and install conservation practices on cropland, pastureland and non-industrial private forestland. In 2016, Virginia producers received more than $21.9 million in EQUIP contracts to help improve water quality, soil health and wildlife habitat.

Interested individuals should sign up by Feb. 17. For more information, contact a local U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service office or visit www.va.nrcs.usda.gov.

Governor Terry McAuliffe will co-host the 9th Annual Governor’s Conference on Agricultural Trade on March 6-7, 2017 at the Richmond Marriott Hotel.  The two-day conference is co-hosted by Virginia Tech’s Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, and the Port of Virginia (POV).  The event will bring together producers, agribusinesses, entrepreneurs, exporters, foreign ambassadors and government ministers, land-grant university leadership, state and federal government officials, and others to discuss challenges and opportunities for global agricultural exports.

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Dairy farmers have been taking it on the chin with falling milk prices for the past year or more. USDA’s Margin Protection Program (MPP), and USDA’s Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) Insurance for Dairy Cattle offer protection on the difference between a milk price and a feed ration consisting of corn, soybean meal, and for MPP, alfalfa hay. Despite significantly lower milk prices, dairy producer premiums and fees have far exceeded any distributed program benefits.

American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and American Farm Bureau Insurance Services (AFBIS) are collaborating to develop a new dairy insurance product called “Dairy – Revenue Protection”. Similar to crop revenue protection policies this product would protect regional revenue (milk price x state-level milk yield per cow) rather than just milk price or the income-over-feed-cost margin. By protecting revenue this product that would offer regional risk management against both milk price and/or production declines.

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If it hadn’t been for state cost-share money, Ronnie Nuckols said, he wouldn’t have been able to install 14 fences to keep his cattle out of streams.

Nuckols, who farms in Goochland County, is one of countless Virginia farmers who are doing their part to protect the Chesapeake Bay and other waterways by using environment-friendly farming practices. Those systems can be costly, and Virginia farmers stand to lose the financial help they’ve been getting from the state coffers.

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Farm Bureau needs your help in contacting members of the House Agriculture Committee.  Farm Bureau supports amending HB2030 to regulate production and sale of raw milk utilizing the principles above and deleting language regarding sale of uninspected meat and reinserting the language regarding other food products. Without such amendments, we oppose the bill.

Click here to send an email to members of the House Ag Committee: https://app.muster.com/take-action/RiYbsZIT7m/

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Approximately 120 farmers from across the state attended Farm Bureau’s annual Legislative Day at the Capitol on Wednesday.

Farm Bureau members discussed critical budget amendments, farm vehicle truck weights and the sale of raw milk with legislators.

Instead of hosting a legislative reception, the VFBF Women’s Committee partnered with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on a display inside the General Assembly Building. The theme of the event was ‘Meet Virginia Agriculture’ and the ladies handed out BLTs and milk with ingredients sourced from Farm Bureau members. The BLTs were provided by Vice President Scott Sink and assembled by VFBF Board members and employees the night before.

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AFBF has endorsed bipartisan legislation in the House and Senate to repeal the federal estate tax. AFBF President Zippy Duvall said the bills are needed because farm families continue to face challenges in passing their family businesses to the next generation.

The AFBF-endorsed Death Tax Repeal Act of 2017 was introduced Tuesday in the House by Reps. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) and Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.). Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) introduced a companion bill in the Senate.

“Farmers and ranchers face a number of factors that are unpredictable and beyond their control, from changing weather to fluctuating markets,” Duvall said. “These family-run businesses need a tax code that encourages investment, rather than one that punishes their success. We believe that repeal of the estate tax offers the best solution to protect farms, ranches and all family-owned businesses from the estate tax.”

Cassidy Rasnick has been appointed Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry after Sam. T. Towell was appointed Attorney General for Civil Litigation.

Cassidy re-joins the McAuliffe team from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), where she oversaw the agency’s economic development efforts through her role as Manager of the Office of Agriculture and Forestry Development.  Prior to joining VDACS, Cassidy served as Assistant Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry for Governor McAuliffe, where she managed all economic development efforts, including oversight of the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) fund.  She previously worked for the Virginia Manufacturers Association and Virginia Craft Brewers Guild, and served for five years in the Office of U.S. Senator Mark Warner.

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President Trump withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership on Monday, administration officials said. Mr. Trump sharply criticized the partnership agreement during last year’s campaign, calling it a bad deal for American workers.

Below is a response from Zippy Duvall, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation:

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