2019–2020 Terrestrial Wildlife Regulation Review & Amendment Process: Public Scoping Period

This is an opportunity to offer ideas on changes to hunting, trapping, or other wildlife regulations that you would like to see for the 2019-2020 seasons. The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries takes public opinion into account when developing regulations, and it is critical for farmers to voice their concerns about areas that affect them, such as wildlife damage to crops and livestock.

Please take the time to complete DGIF’s survey, which can be found here. The deadline for comments is December 14, 2018.

Virginia’s Elk Management Plan

DGIF has developed an elk management plan that will guide the agency’s management of the elk population in Virginia through 2028. A public comment period is underway as part of the plan development process.

Links to the “Elk Management Plan’s Mission, Goals, Objectives, and Strategies” document and comment form can be found here.  The deadline for comments is December 5, 2018.

A wide variety of speakers at this year’s Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention will be steering the event’s Driving Agriculture Forward theme.

This year’s largest gathering of farmers in the state will take place Nov. 27-29 at The Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs. Convention participants will hear keynote remarks from best-selling author Michele Payn at Tuesday’s Farm to Table Luncheon. Payn’s latest book, Food Truths from Farm to Table, became a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon and features interviews with U.S. farmers who dispel common misconceptions about agriculture.

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The EPA has announced the new, two-year label for dicamba formulated for over-the-top (OTT) usage in soybeans and cotton, as well as guidance on air emissions from animal waste at farms. These positive announcements help provide regulatory certainty to Virginia’s row crop and livestock producers.

The EPA’s dicamba announcement provides a two-year registration for dicamba approved for over-the-top (OTT) use. As weed resistance becomes an increasing challenge for farmers, it is important for them to have tools they need to manage their crops responsibly, efficiently, and economically.

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It’s time for your Merchandiser Minute! This week we want to celebrate productive days in the field and just what to expect in your future grain marketing opportunities!

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Governor Ralph Northam today announced an award of $556,321 in grant funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for ten Virginia agriculture-related projects. The project awards resulted from a competitive grant process established by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) for the USDA’s Specialty Crop Block Grant funds.

“Agriculture is Virginia’s largest private industry, and in order to stay competitive in a global economy and sustain positive long-term growth in this sector, we must invest in quality, innovative research and technological advancements,” said Governor Northam. “These grants will support projects that improve the competitiveness of Virginia’s specialty crops and generate more economic development opportunities for growers in all parts of the Commonwealth.”

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Since becoming a VA FAIRS program in 2016, Lulus Local Food, an innovative online sales platform, has connected more than 350 Virginia farmers to 8,400 families hungry for fresh, locally grown farm products. The platform was launched by the Virginia Foundation for Agriculture, Innovation and Rural Sustainability (VA FAIRS), which provides technical services to growers who are either transitioning from commodity production to value-added or are expanding their value-added business.

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While Virginia Farm Bureau Federation AgPAC issues endorsements in state races, it does not endorse congressional candidates during federal election years. Instead, Virginia Farm Bureau sends a questionnaire to all candidates with questions regarding federal agriculture issues. Click here to view their responses.

Earlier this year, the Congressionally mandated electronic logging device (ELD) rule became effective. The rule required most Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulated motor carriers to convert their records from paper to an electronic format. While compliance with the ELD rule has reached nearly 99% across the trucking industry, it has also brought focus to hours of service (HOS) regulations, especially with regard to certain regulations having a significant impact on agriculture and other sectors of trucking.

For your reference, please visit the FMCSA webpage exclusively devoted to agricultural exceptions and exemptions to the hours of service regulations and commercial driver’s license requirements.

Livestock haulers currently have an exemption from ELDs through December 7th.  Both the House and Senate versions of the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bills have ELD prohibition language in them for next fiscal year. Those bills still need to be conferenced before that can move forward.

VAFB, AFBF and a coalition of partners worked together to develop comments to FMCSA. We will continue to work to find additional HOS and ELD regulatory relief through Congress both now and after election day.

Tony Banks, Sr. Assistant Director, Agriculture, Development & Innovation

The loss of dairy farms in Virginia and the United States is the result of a variety of economic factors affecting the dairy industry. The factors include, but are not limited to, continued milk production increases despite extended low farm milk prices, increased milk production per cow, changing consumer preferences as well as demand for fluid milk and dairy products, an increasing reliance on dairy exports, lack of effective tools for managing milk price and margin risks, shifts in farm to retail market chains, and others.

VFBF is working to identify and develop options that will help dairy farms remain in business.

The VFBF Dairy Advisory Committee and staff have worked with AFBF over the past two years to help develop Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP), a new crop insurance product designed to help dairymen manage price risk. Coverage is based on farm and market conditions within a given state, like Virginia, as opposed to national averages. DRP approval was fast-tracked by USDA and is available for purchase. DRP, which manages price risk, was developed as an alternative to the Margin Protection Program (MPP), which manages margin risk. Farm Bureau also worked with USDA and Congress to make improvements to the MPP in order that the program becomes more functional and affordable. Farm Bureau has worked similarly with USDA to include dairy as an eligible commodity under the new Market Facilitation Program, designed to provide some financial relief for producers affected by foreign retaliatory tariffs. The recent United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement includes provisions that will aid US dairy exports to Canada and Mexico.

VFBF staff continues to work with Virginia dairy farmers pursuing dairy product manufacture and retail sales as alternatives to marketing bulk milk. While these alternatives for marketing a portion or all of one’s milk may not fit with most dairy farms, staff has assisted several farms that now manufacture and sell fluid milk, cheeses, yogurt, and other consumer-ready dairy products.

The IRS is proposing changes to IRS code section 170 that would reduce the amount of the federal charitable tax deduction for a donated conservation easement by the amount of a state tax credit received.

The proposed regulation can be viewed here.

American Farm Bureau Federation has filed comments that call for the continuation of a charitable tax deduction for the full and fair value of a donated conservation easement. AFBF’s letter can be viewed here.

Virginia Farm Bureau Federation will also be submitting comments on the proposed regulation. Producers who wish to submit individual comments must do so before the October 11^th deadline.