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Time Running Out to “vote” on National Soybean Checkoff

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image005Soybean farmers have until the end of this month, May 30, 2014, to contact their local FSA office to essentially vote in favor of USDA holding a national referendum on the future of the Soybean Promotion and Research Program (the Soybean Checkoff).

Under the rules of the national soybean checkoff program, every five years the USDA must give farmers the opportunity to vote to continue the program. Rather than simply hold a vote where farmers could register a “yes” or “no” on the program, USDA first conducts a “request for referendum” – which is what is happening now.

What this boils down to is this:

If you are entirely happy with the soybean checkoff, do nothing. Doing nothing essentially means you don’t wish to have a vote.
If you would like the opportunity to vote on the continuation of the program, you should participate in this request for referendum by May 30.

To participate, contact your local FSA office and request information on the soybean checkoff referendum procedures. You may also find information online at www.ams.usda.gov.

You are eligible to participate if you, as the producer, corporation or other entity paid checkoff assessments on soybeans between January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2013. You will also need to one piece of documentation, such as a sales receipt,  to the form you will fill out as proof.

If you wish to go online and sort this out for yourself, USDA doesn’t make it simple. The agency’s descriptions of what’s going in news releases and elsewhere are “govspeak,” there is at least one critical broken link on a page to information and the latest press release didn’t even include direct links or concise, clear instructions on how to participate. So, here are a couple of links if you don’t want to handle matters in-person at your FSA office:

  1. Latest news release
  2. Information on Soybean Request for Referendum page
  3. Soybean Request for Referendum form – there are no instructions here, this is why going to your local office may be the best bet with limited time until the deadline. Just be sure to take a piece of documentation as described earlier in this post.
  4. USDA FAQ on the Request for Referendum

Ohio Farmers Union policy is that all checkoff programs should be voluntary at the point of sale. This means that rather than your local elevator collecting the 1/2 cent per bushel on your beans automatically, you should be asked whether you wish to participate.

With the recent passage of an increased Ohio Beef Checkoff and this request for a referendum on the soybean checkoff, several OFU members have spoken up at recent county meetings and contacted our state office requesting guidance on getting checkoff dollars refunded. Please watch the Ohio Farmers Union website and the next edition of the Ohio Country Messenger for an explainer on checkoff refunds for farmers.

Two New USDA Conservation Programs are Open for Application by Farmers

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The 2014 Farm Bill has yielded two new conservation programs at USDA which have opened their application processes to begin spending up to $368 million across the country to restore wetlands, support outdoor recreation opportunities and boost rural economies.

The new programs are Agricultural Conservation Easements Program (ACEP) and the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP).

ACEP is the consolidation of three former programs – the Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program, the Grassland Reserve Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program—into one to make conservation efforts more efficient while strengthening tools to protect land and water according to a USDA release.

ACEP contains two primary components. The first, agricultural lands, provides funds to those eligible for the purchase of agricultural land easements that protect the agricultural use and conservation value of eligible land.

Both ACEP programs have application for funding deadlines in early June 2014. Please check with your regional or county Farm Services Agency office for complete information.

The second is the wetland reserve component which provides landowners funds to purchase an easement and for restoration of wetlands and improving habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. USDA said that lands that are eligible for a wetland reserve easement include farmed or converted wetlands that can be successfully and cost-effectively restored.

VPA-HIP is a competitive grant program that enables state and tribal governments to increase opportunities for landowners of private lands to make their land available for public recreation.

Landowners may learn more from their regional or county Farm Services Agency or by visiting the Natural Resources Conservation Service online.

 

 

 

 

Final Data in 2012 U.S. Ag Census – Lots to Consider

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agcensuspostEarlier today USDA held an online event to unveil updated and final data from the agency’s census of U.S. agriculture concluded in 2012. From USDA, here are some takeaways from the updated numbers:

  • 22% of all farmers were beginning farmers in 2012. That means 1 out of every 5 farmers operated a farm for less than 10 years.
  • Young, beginning principal operators who reported their primary occupation as farming increased from 36,396 to 40,499 between 2007 and 2012. That’s an 11.3% increase in the number of young people getting into agriculture as a full-time job.
  • 969,672 farm operators were female—30% of all farm operators in the U.S.
  • The number of farms ran by Latino farmers increased from 82,462 in 2007 to 99,734 in 2012. That 21% increase reflects the changing face of America as a whole.
  • 70% of all farms in the U.S. had internet access in 2012, up from 56.5% in 2007, but there is more work to be done to expand internet access in rural America.
  • Farmers and ranchers continue to lead the charge towards a more sustainable energy future. 57,299 farms reported using a renewable energy producing system in 2012. That’s more than double the 23,451 operations that reported the same in 2007. Solar panels accounted for 63% of renewable energy producing systems on farms, with 36,331 farms reporting their use.
  • Nearly 150,000 farmers and ranchers nationwide are selling their products directly to consumers, and 50,000 are selling to local retailers. Industry estimates valued local food sales at $7 billion in 2011, reflecting the growing importance of this new market to farm and ranch businesses.
  • Total organic product sales by farms have increased by 82% since 2007, from $1.76 billion in 2007 to $3.1 billion in 2012. Organic products were a $35 billion industry in the United States in 2013.

If you want pore over the full report with lots of tables and charts covering everything from hogs to Christmas trees, click here.

If you want to explore USDA’s other Ag Census related docs, including issue specific info and tools for getting the data you want, check out their Ag Census page.

NFU: COOL, GIPSA Will Come Under Fire in Appropriations Process

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While the appropriations that routinely wind their way through Congress aren’t supposed to create – or kill – policies already passed in other bills, the National Farmers Union is warning that opponents of Country of Origin Labeling and the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration will try to harm both COOL and GIPSA by starving them of funding.

NFU President Roger Johnson testified before the US House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development and Credit. Members of the committee heard from several interested parties on the state of the U.S. livestock industry earlier this week.

Johnson reminded the committee that rural America has lost 34 percent of beef operations and 91 percent of hog farms since 1980 – a total loss of 1.1 million livestock farms. There are also fewer meatpackers and processors. Today, the top four beef packers have control over 81 percent of cattle slaughter in the U.S.,
and the top four swine processors control 65 percent of hog sales.

In meetings sponsored by the Ohio Farmers Union earlier this year, farmers, FSA and state extension officials all seemed to agree that one constraint in promoting a grass-fed beef cooperative in northwestern Ohio is the dearth of independent processing in Ohio. Speakers representing their own successful independent family farm livestock operations and cooperatives told OFU members that attempting to work with the multi-national, market-dominating processors will only lead to total dependence and the potential for ruin if a farmer runs afoul of the system and is essentially black-balled in the Big Ag marketplace.

“Fewer livestock buyers result in less competition, greater opportunity for antitrust violations, and a difficult market for the remaining farmers and ranchers,” said Johnson. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture has the authority to prohibit deceptive or fraudulent buying practices by processors and may protect farmers and ranchers if they have been harmed by unfair trade practices, but appropriations riders over the last three years have kept USDA from implementing these basic fairness rules. Future riders that impede enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act must be defeated,” Johnson said.

On COOL, Johnson told the committee, “I commend Congress for maintaining (COOL) standards in the 2014 Farm Bill. Consumers want to know more about the food they purchase, while U.S. farmers and ranchers are proud of what they produce.”

“NFU strongly opposes the use of an appropriations rider or other legislative vehicle to deny consumers access to information about their food.”

Read NFU’s Entire Testimony – Lots of Great Info

 

 

New OSHA Fact Sheet on Farm Safety

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According to the National Safety Council, agriculture is still the most dangerous work environment in the U.S. Take a few minutes and review this latest Occupational Safety and Health Administration fact sheet on farm safety. If you own a farm where you employ others or where your kids are working when they’re not in school, check out some of the Ohio Farmers Union fact sheets on specific farm safety hazards like grain bins and electrical shock hazards. These materials are great for teaching and training.

Milk Income Loss Program Extended

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On February 7, 2014 the President signed The 2014 Farm Bill into law this farm bill allows the following: The continuation of MILC program benefits from September 1, 2013, through the earlier of September 1, 2014, or the date on which the Dairy Margin Protection Program provisions take effect.

September 2013 was the last eligible month for MILC payments under the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. The payment rates determined for October 2013 through January 2014 was $0. Payments for subsequent months will be determined as data becomes available

[Read more…]

Federal Appeals Court Cool with COOL

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Two Federal Courts Have Now Swatted Down Big Biz Attempts to Thwart COOL

In another victory for independent and family U.S. livestock farmers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has rejected an appeal from an earlier district court ruling against plaintiffs in a suit to suspend  Country of Origin Labeling regulations while the plaintiff’s larger suit against COOL moves through the judicial system.

Last Friday’s decision is the latest setback for plaintiffs who filed the case in an effort to have the revised COOL regulations invalidated. The case was filed on July 8, 2013, by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Meat Institute, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Canadian Pork Council, North American Meat Association, American Association of Meat Processors, National Pork Producers Council, Southwest Meat Association and Mexico’s National Confederation of Livestock Organizations.

While that larger case is being adjudicated, plaintiffs have sought an injunction which would have prevented existing COOL regulations from remaining in effect. For now, COOL stands.

The National Farmers Union, together with the United States Cattlemen’s Association, the American Sheep Industry Association and the Consumer Federation of America, intervened to defend the COOL regulations from challenge, and they actively participated in a briefing at the District Court and the Court of Appeals, as well as the preliminary injunction hearing at the District Court.

“I am extremely pleased with today’s decision,” said Roger Johnson, NFU president. “Yet again, claims that the revised COOL regulations are unconstitutional or inconsistent with the COOL statute have been rejected in federal court.”

“Today’s decision notes that COOL advances legitimate values, including consumer information and consumer choice. The Court of Appeals also explained that COOL labels can be seen as a sign that retailers ‘take pride in identifying the source of their products.’ NFU’s family farmer- and rancher-members certainly take pride in the products they produce, and I am glad that consumers will be able to continue to identify their products at retail as a result of today’s decision.”

Johnson is currently in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the World Farmers Organization’s fourth general assembly, where many of the speakers have discussed the need for farmers to connect more directly with consumers and be more transparent to enhance consumer confidence.

Johnson said NFU will remain engaged with its allies in the courtroom battles over COOL on behalf family farmers and consumers.

 

 

 

Specialy Crop Farmers Get New Opportunities with Expanded Farm Storage and Facility Loan Program

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As part of a broader range of changes to USDA FSA Farm Loan Programs, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture has announced a major expansion in the Farm Storage and Facility program.

Storage and facility loans provide low interest financing to farmers who are wish to upgrade or expand their operations. The changes to this particular loan program include 23 new categories of eligible equipment for fruit and vegetable producers. Notably, Farm Storage and Facility loan security requirements have been eased for loans between $50,000 and $100,000.

*DOWNLOAD USDA FACT SHEET ON LOAN PROGRAM CHANGES HERE*

Previously, all loans in excess of $50,000 required a promissory note and additional security, such as a lien on real estate. Now loans up to $100,000 can be secured by only a promissory note.

USDA suggests small and mid-sized farmers check out this page for more information about specific tools and resources available to them.

For more specific information about FSA programs including the Farm Storage Facility Loan Program, visit your FSA county or regional office. You can also find FSA online.

Vilsack says farm loan program modifications will create more flexibility for new and existing farmers

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Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced several changes to USDA FSA Farm Loan Programs earlier this week. The changes come immediately as a result of passage of the 2014 Farm Bill.

Changes that will take effect immediately include:

  • Elimination of loan term limits for guaranteed operating loans.
  • Modification of the definition of beginning farmer, using the average farm size for the county as a qualifier instead of the median farm size.
  • Modification of the Joint Financing Direct Farm Ownership Interest Rate to 2 percent less than regular Direct Farm Ownership rate, with a floor of 2.5 percent. Previously, the rate was established at 5 percent.
  • Increase of the maximum loan amount for Direct Farm Ownership down payments from $225,000 to $300,000.
  • Elimination of rural residency requirement for Youth Loans, allowing urban youth to benefit.
  • Debt forgiveness on Youth Loans, which will not prevent borrowers from obtaining additional loans from the federal government.
  • Increase of the guarantee amount on Conservation Loans from 75 to 80 percent and 90 percent for socially disadvantaged borrowers and beginning farmers.
  • Microloans will not count toward loan term limits for veterans and beginning farmers.
  • Additional modifications must be implemented through the rulemaking processes.

“Our nation’s farmers and ranchers are the engine of the rural economy. These improvements to our Farm Loan Programs will help a new generation begin farming and grow existing farm operations,” said Vilsack.

“(This) announcement represents just one part of a series of investments the new Farm Bill makes in the next generation of agriculture, which is critical to economic growth in communities across the country.”

Check out this FSA fact sheet on the loan program modifications.

NATIONAL FARMERS UNION

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Ohio Farmers Union
P.O. Box 363
1011 N. Defiance Street
Ottawa, Ohio 45875
Phone: (419) 523-5300
Toll Free: (800) 321-3671