Serving Family Farmers and Consumers Since 1934
Roger and Sandra Wise teamed up last year to announce award winners in the 2014 Poster Contest.
Just a reminder that entries for the annual OFU Poster Contest for kids grades 1-6 is December 31, 2014.
OFU will once again award winners at our Annual Convention in January. Contact your county Farmers Union chapter or Linda Borton at 800-321-3671 for poster blanks. The theme this year is Renwable Sources of Energy (such as wind or solar).
OFU leaders and other CAUV stakeholders meet with State Rep. John Patterson and Vice Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Gary Scherer in December.
This past week OFU President Joe Logan, Executive Director Linda Borton and myself spent Wednesday at the Statehouse talking to legislators and the Senate Agriculture Committee about H.B. 490. Additionally, we delivered written testimony to Senate Ag from Ashtabula/Lake/Geauga Farmers Union President Mardy Townsend on 490.
OFU continues to urge members to contact their state legislators regarding the insertion of anti-consumer telecommunications language by the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. The language would allow telephone service providers to abandon their landline (copper wire) service to Ohio residents. OFU opposes this measure due to the fact that many rural residents would not have a viable option from the standpoints of reliability and cost in place of their traditional landline telephone service. The language put into the bill does contain any guarantees regarding consumers.
As for the rest of this bill – and you can get background here – since the election, House Republicans watered down some of the regulatory measures regarding horizontal well drillers and frack water disposal, but on the whole there is still some progress in terms of greater scrutiny of frack water disposal and stiffer penalties for willful polluters. On the ag front, a ban on application of fertilizers (and manure) on frozen, snow covered or saturated ground was put in the bill in the House. This prohibition applies only to the western basin of Lake Erie.
OFU leaders also met with State Rep. John Patterson and Vice Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Gary Scherer on the problems with the CAUV or Current Agricultural Use Value, property tax system. State legislators are getting plenty of calls regarding the wild upward fluctuations in CAUV values around the state. Patterson created a task force in northeast Ohio to document the problem and propose remedies for the Kasich Administration and lawmakers. While it appears no fix will be available for 2014, legislators and others we spoke to this past week believe there will be CAUV reforms in early 2015.
*Update* Read the Pre-Convention Press Release
It’s time to save the date and start making plans to join us in Columbus for the Ohio Farmers Union Annual Convention. We will be meeting again this year at the Columbus Airport Marriott, 1375 N. Cassady Ave., Columbus.
A block of rooms has been reserved. If you’re staying with us Friday night, call 614-383-3621, ask for Nicole and request the Ohio Farmers Union room rate. Our block is being held until January 15.
If you want to forgo the phone call, you can use this link to make your reservation online.
Questions? Call Linda Borton at the Ohio Farmers Union, 800-321-3671.
As always, OFU will conclude our annual college scholarship contests at the Annual Convention. Entries must be postmarked by December 31, 2014.
OFU will once again award winners in the annual Poster Contest for kids, grades 1-6. Entries must be postmarked by December 31, 2014. Contact your county Farmers Union chapter or Linda Borton at 800-321-3671 for poster blanks. The theme this year is Renwable Sources of Energy (such as wind or solar).
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman
The Ohio Farmers Union joined eight other Ohio agricultural organizations in a recent letter urging Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, to continue to support the Renewable Fuel Standard.
The groups, including the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and the Ohio Ethanol Producers Association, cited several statistics showing the importance of Ohio’s ethanol industry to thousands of farming and working families across the state.
Since 2006, the RFS has mandated a minimum amount of renewable fuel be blended into transportation fuel in the U.S. According to stats from ethanol producers in Ohio, there are seven ethanol plants in the state producing over 500 million gallons of ethanol per year from corn purchased from 3,400 Ohio farmers. The Obama Administration has put off setting annual ethanol quotas through the U.S. EPA for more than a year. This has created uncertainty in the marketplace and may help ethanol opponents in Congress muster the political strength to roll back the RFS.
OFU and others are communicating with federal officials and elected representatives to keep up American progress in the renewable fuels arena.
National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson today called for a ‘new direction’ for the current beef checkoff program in an Agri-Pulse guest column, while also praising Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for seeking public comment on how to strengthen and modernize the outdated program.
“The checkoff program as we know it today has remained virtually unchanged for three decades while the world around it has morphed dramatically,” said Johnson. “This has raised serious doubts about the structure of the checkoff and whether it is capable of appropriately funding the much-needed research and exploring the new markets and new opportunities that the American beef industry so desperately needs. Clearly, the beef checkoff is in dire need of a major course correction.”
Johnson noted that the current checkoff’s need for change stemmed from the fact that it is both underfunded and unacceptably inflexible. Johnson offered principles to guide adequate reform of the program under the Commodity, Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996.
“The modernized beef checkoff should be a single program, modeled after the 1996 Act,” said Johnson. “It would have a clear separation of the policy organization from the non-political, promotional checkoff entity… exclude processors and importers from positions of leadership, ensuring that beef producers are always at the helm… and be precluded from allocating a single dime to any organization engaged in lobbying.”
“The idea of bringing new ideas and much-needed change to the checkoff is nothing new, and in fact, organizations like NFU met for three years discussing a new direction,” noted Johnson. “But the meetings were a bridge to nowhere, because they were largely controlled by the organization that has a vested interest in making sure the current structure never changes. That organization, of course, is the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).”
Steve Elliott, right, with Clinton County Farmers Union President Walt Streber in August 2014.
In late November, the Ohio Farmers Union lost a great member, leader and friend in Steve Elliott. Steve was president of the Marion County Farmers Union and an active member of the Ohio Farmers Union board of directors. He could always be counted on to participate in Farmers Union events and meetings. He was an organic farmer and worked his farm along with his brother. Many of us will remember Steve – in his bib overalls – quick to dispense his dry wit and often seeing a side of an issue that everyone else in the room had missed.
His obituary follows below:
Steven A. Elliott, age 57, of LaRue, died Sunday morning November 23, 2014 at his residence. He was born September 2, 1957 in Marion to the late Earl L. and Bernice Marie (Robinson) Elliott.
He is survived by one brother; Earl D. (Janet) Elliott of LaRue and one sister; Delores A. (Roy) Rinehart of Alvada, Ohio. Three nieces and five nephews.
Steve was president of the Marion County Farmers Union. He was on the Board of Directors of the International Organic Crop Improvement Assn. and was treasurer of the local chapter of that organization. Member of the LaRue Community Alliance. He was very willing to help out with anything or anyone about organic farming.
Memorial services were held November 28, 2014 at the Stofcheck-Ballinger Funeral Home in LaRue, Ohio.
Those who wish may make contributions to the LaRue Baptist Church 217 N. High St. LaRue, Ohio 43332.
Remembrances and Condolences may be expressed at www.stofcheck-ballinger.com.
from the National Farmers Union
National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson applauded today’s decision by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to appeal the recent World Trade Organization ruling on Country-of-Origin Labeling for family farmers, ranchers, and consumers. Johnson also urged Congress to leave the popular labeling law alone and allow the WTO process to run its course.
“The decision today by the USTR to appeal the WTO ruling on COOL is the right thing to do for American family farmers, ranchers and consumers,” said Johnson. “The October WTO ruling found once again that the COOL law is WTO-compliant and acknowledged that the May 2013 USDA regulations were a significant improvement in terms of providing more accurate information to consumers. Nonetheless, the WTO incorrectly found the rules were noncompliant and an appeal is the obvious course of action.”
Johnson noted that the popular sentiment towards the labeling law shared by family farmers and consumers is not echoed by large international meatpackers, who continually try to pressure Congress to repeal the law.
“The multinational meatpacking industry continues to urge Congress to repeal COOL laws before the WTO process runs its course,” said Johnson. “These are inappropriate attempts to prevent consumers from having access to basic information about their food. Congress should ignore these scare tactics and allow the WTO process to play out before acting prematurely.”
“American consumers have been crystal clear that they want to know where their food comes from and family farmers and ranchers are proud to provide it,” said Johnson. “The decision by the USTR to appeal the WTO’s erroneous finding demonstrates full support for American family farmers, ranchers and consumers.”
The following is an op-ed submitted to Ohio newspapers for the Thanksgiving holiday.
by Warren Taylor and Joe Logan
As American families prepare their Thanksgiving turkeys, they should thank local livestock farmers producing beef, pork, chicken, eggs, and dairy products. Unfortunately, politicians, lobbyists and trade negotiators in DC are working against those farmers. Shockingly, in our great country, which celebrates independent farmers and ranchers, America’s largest pork processor is Shuanghui International Holdings, a Chinese corporation. Our second largest beef company, JBS USA is a Brazilian corporation. These trans-national corporate giants show the extent of consolidation, and how globalization has played out.
These huge businesses find it profitable to shop global markets for low cost meat cuts that end up for sale in American supermarkets. Their profits soar higher as they avoid labeling the meat’s source. Customers trust American farmers and regulators to provide safe, healthy food products. Not necessarily so for Chinese or Brazilian meat.
Naturally, these meat packers oppose requirements to label the sources of meats. Country Of Origin Labeling (COOL) is that law. Although passed by Congress and signed by President Bush in 2002, foreign and trans-national food corporations have prevented implementation, and now look to repeal COOL.
It’s disappointing that they have found powerful allies in the Beef and Pork promotion organizations authorized by Congress and mostly funded by American farmers and ranchers. The National Cattlemens Beef Association (NCBA) and the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) are adamant opponents of COOL. The very livestock promotion organizations who should speak for American farmers and ranchers are working against their interests and the interests of 90% of American consumers seeking honest information about how and where their food is produced.
Impossible? Most other industrial agriculture nations require Country Of Origin Labeling for food. The American Meat Institute, The National Grocers Association, McDonalds and others shamelessly interested in sourcing the cheapest food possible, have assaulted America’s COOL laws. After passage in the 2002 Farm Bill and surviving four Federal Court suits, COOL is facing repeated World Trade Organization (WTO) challenges.
It’s bad enough when American business interests used money and influence to get their way in Washington DC, now it is multinational corporations’ agenda lobbying against COOL, clearly against America’s farmers’ best interests.
Graphic: USDA FSA
Under the new Farm Bill, the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy) provides financial assistance to participating dairy producers when the margin – the difference between the price of milk and the cost of feed – falls below the coverage level selected by the provider.
If you have not done so, visit your local county or regional USDA Farm Service Agency office with your production records by Dec. 5, 2014. When registering, paying only the $100 administrative fee provides basic $4 coverage on 90 percent of your production history. Additional coverage up to $8 margins is available with a premium.
Sign up for 2015 coverage so you will receive an automatic increase in production history for 2016.
Evaluate your options at www.fsa.usda.gov/mpptool to compare coverage levels based on future projections or look at historical data.
from the National Farmers Union
WASHINGTON – National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson called the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement today that the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volume targets would not be released before the end of the year a ‘serious disappointment.’ Johnson also noted that NFU remains hopeful the delay will allow the agency to return the RFS target levels back to the statutory targets.
“Ethanol and all biofuels have been the best thing to happen to farm country in generations, and the volume standards that are supposed to be set by EPA are a significant help in establishing the market for biofuels,” said Johnson. “Rural America and the biofuels industries rely heavily on these targets for planning and investment purposes. Any hint that the administration might not be fully behind renewable fuels is a major step back for working farmers and the biofuels industries.”
The RFS is our nation’s main policy driver for renewable fuels, and since its creation by Congress has created $184.5 billion in economic impact while supporting 852,056 jobs nationwide. Johnson noted that the biofuels industries – and the farmers who grow the grains they use – are poised for continued growth here in the U.S., but need a clear signal that the targets will remain firm. Johnson hopes that the delay will give EPA the time it needs to get the numbers right.
