Ron Sylvester

USDA Grants Available for Smaller Farmers’ Coops

June 14, 2013 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

from the USDA

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is seeking applications from cooperatives to provide technical assistance to small, socially disadvantaged agricultural producers in rural areas. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) remains focused on carrying out its mission, despite a time of significant budget uncertainty. Today’s announcement is one part of the Department’s efforts to strengthen the rural economy.

“These grants will jump start small business hiring and help producers in areas facing economic challenges get the tools they need to succeed,” Vilsack said. “Small businesses are the engines of job growth and innovation in America.”

Funding will be made available through USDA Rural Development’s Small, Socially Disadvantaged Producer Grant program (SSDPG). The maximum grant award is $200,000.

Eligible applicants include cooperatives, groups of cooperatives, and cooperative development centers where a majority of the governing board or board of directors is comprised of individuals who are members of socially disadvantaged groups. Small, socially disadvantaged producers include farmers, ranchers, loggers, agricultural harvesters, and fishermen that have averaged $250,000 or less in annual gross sales of agricultural products in the last three years. Producers will be able to conduct market research, product and/or service improvement, feasibility studies, training, and implement business plans.

For more information or to apply check out this page.

Senate passes bipartisan Farm Bill – again

June 14, 2013 By Ron Sylvester 1 Comment

On June 10 the U.S. Senate passed this year’s version of a bipartisan Farm Bill. It looks a lot like last year’s.

Ohio’s two senators split their votes. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee voted yes. Sen. Rob Portman voted no, citing disagreement with the final bill’s language on counter-cyclical payments and his belief that the final bill does not cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps) enough.

“One in seven Ohio jobs is related to food and agriculture. By eliminating direct payments, improving crop insurance, and boosting local food production and biobased manufacturing, the Senate has taken the first step toward sending to the President a five-year farm bill,” Brown said.

[Read more…]

House Committee Makes Minor Change to Indemnity Bill

May 21, 2013 By Ron Sylvester 1 Comment

As we’ve been reporting since the beginning of the year, the Ohio General Assembly is moving this Spring to update Ohio’s Commodity Handler’s Law – aka the Grain Indemnity Fund.

S.B. 66 which was sponsored by Sen. Cliff Hite (RFindlay) who also chairs the Senate Ag Committee has moved through Chairman David Hall’s House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. Hall (R-Millersburg) is OFU’s current Legislator of the Year.

One technical amendment was accepted by Hall’s committee which states that the financial statements provided to the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture by grain elevator operators meet Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP). The amendment and the bill were approved by the committee and now we wait for House Speaker Bill Batchelder to schedule the measure for a vote in the full House.

Survey: U.S. Consumers Support COOL

May 17, 2013 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

From the Consumer Federation of America earlier this week:

Survey results, released today by the Consumer Federation of America, show that a large majority of Americans continue to strongly support mandatory country of origin labeling for fresh meat and strongly favor requiring meat to be labeled with even more specific information about where the animals were born, raised and processed.

National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson was quick to tout the survey findings.

“The survey results are a further indication of what we have known for some time: Consumers overwhelmingly want to know more about the origins of their food, and farmers and ranchers want to provide this information,” said Johnson.” These findings, coupled with the recent withdrawal of two short-sighted amendments to the Senate and House’s respective farm bills that would have negatively impacted Country-of-Origin Labeling, are promising indications that country-of-origin labeling is vitally important and here to stay.”

CFA’s survey also found that 87 percent of respondents favor USDA requiring labels on meat which state in which country or countries the animal was born, raised and processed. In some cases, animals processed for consumer food products may actually be born in one country and raised and/or processed in different nations.

Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling, also known as COOL, was passed as a part of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 and amended in the 2008 Farm Bill, going into effect in 2008, with regulations being put forward in 2009.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) recently required the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) to adjust its rules requiring American retailers to label certain foods with the country (or countries) in which the animals are born, raised, or slaughtered. The WTO said that while the United States can require meat labeling, current U.S. COOL rules do not meet WTO standards. The WTO has given the United States until May 23, 2013, to bring its COOL rules into compliance.

On March 8, USDA submitted a proposed amended rule on COOL compliance to bring the U.S. into compliance with WTO. You can follow the process and view comments which were submitted on the proposed rule here.

The telephone survey was undertaken by ORC International May 9 – 12 , 2013, using a split sample of landlines and cell phones. The margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points. The survey results are available here and the survey methodology is available here .

National Farmers Union Weighs In On Trade Negotiations

May 14, 2013 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson submitted comments today on a possible Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the European Union and sent a letter to the office of the U.S. Trade Representative in advance of the 17^th round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, to be held in Lima, Peru, from May 15 to May 24, 2013.

“NFU takes a broad approach when considering the merits of trade policy,” said Johnson. “Trade has a far-reaching effect on the structure and quality of countries’ economies; therefore, trade agreement negotiations should not simply be limited to regulating trade-specific issues like domestic support levels, export subsidies and market access. Trade agreements must also address differences in labor standards, environmental standards, health standards, the trade-distorting effect of currency manipulation, and cartelization of markets.”

In regard to the TTIP, the comments note the importance of trade balance, fair compensation for farmers and other workers, and protection from dumping and other unfair trade practices that force farmers off their land.

“The TTIP should establish minimum standards for environmental, food and product safety, and consumer information,” said Johnson. “These important considerations should not be limited, and terms of any agreement should not prohibit countries from enacting measures that protect their citizens’ safety.”

Johnson noted lingering concerns with the secrecy in which the TPP negotiation process has been conducted. He also urged caution in TPP talks, specifically as they relate to dairy policies.

“It is not in the interest of family-owned and -operated dairies to open greater access to a country with a consolidated entity controlling the dairy sector,” said Johnson. “U.S. trade negotiators should not force other countries in the TPP to dismantle supply management programs, especially as efforts are currently underway to implement a similar system in the United States. Dairy should not be part of any TPP agreement if these inconsistencies are left unresolved.”

Click to read the TTIP comments and the TPP letter.

Farm Bill Moving Again in Congress

May 13, 2013 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

From the National Farmers Union:
The 2013 Farm Bill is moving along, as both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees released drafts of the legislation this week. The Senate Ag Committee is scheduled to mark up the bill Tuesday, May 14, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, and its House counterpart is planning a markup for Wednesday, May 15, at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Both committees will broadcast the markups live on their websites, www.agriculture.senate.gov and www.agriculture.house.gov.

The deadline for Senators to file amendments to the bill was Friday, May 10^th at 5:00 p.m., and House members must file amendments by Monday at 6:00 p.m. NFU will send out additional information as we get it, or watch www.NFU.org/farmbill for updates.

Below are some important links:

Senate Ag Committee’s farm bill draft
Senate Ag Committee’s farm bill summary
NFU’s summary of Senate draft

House Ag Committee’s farm bill draft
House Ag Committee’s farm bill summary
NFU’s summary of House draft

Health & Safety Issues Around Frack Waste Injection Wells – Presentation This Week in NE Ohio

May 13, 2013 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

From the Ashtabula-Geauga-Lake Counties Farmers Union:

Teresa Mills, of the Center of Health and Environmental Justice, will be speaking on Health and Safety Issues around Frack Waste Injection Wells on May 15, 2013, at 6pm, at the Windsor Community Center, Ashtabula County. (5430 Mayfield Rd, Windsor, Ohio, 44099).

There are at least 15 active frack waste class II injection wells in Ashtabula County. There are five class II wells on one single site in Windsor. Class II injection wells accept liquid waste from unconventional, horizontally drilled, natural gas wells using the process called hydraulic fracturing. Wastewater from the fracturing process contains toxic contaminants, including unknown quantities of undisclosed chemical additives used in hydraulic fracturing fluid, as well as contaminants from sources underground. Benzene, naphthalene, formaldehyde, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, biocides, and radioactive compounds like radium, are only a few of the toxic materials found in the waste fluid.

[Read more…]

Second House Hearing for Grain Indemnity Law on Tuesday

May 12, 2013 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

Ohio Farmers Union President Roger Wise will testify before the Ohio House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday in favor of proposed changes to Ohio’s grain indemnity law.

Known as Senate Bill 66, and sponsored by Sen. Cliff Hite, R-Findlay, the measure passed the Senate unanimously in April and was presented to the House Ag Committee earlier this month with Hite’s sponsor testimony. Under the proposed changes to the indemnity law, farmers would be codified as primary lien holders (first in line) should a grain elevator where they do business fail. Ohio’s farmer-funded Grain Indemnity Fund would also see its cap raised to $15 million and the trigger which signals when farmers pay one-half cent per bushel to replenish the fund raised to $10 million.

OFU has worked with the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture, the Ohio Agricultural Commodity Advisory Commission and ag-interested stakeholders for more than two years to see the law updated and strengthened. While it sailed through the Senate, producers need to be aware that there has been some grumbling from banking interests around Capitol Square about the priority lien being codified in the farmer’s favor. This is the time to call your state representative and let them know this is legislation which protects family farmers and that the fund and ODA activities in administering the fund and regulating grain handlers is in fact paid for by producers.

At this time, we believe the Ohio Agribusiness Association will also be testifying in favor of the changes to the indemnity law. Your testimony, whether written or given on Tuesday at the Committee is encouraged. Please contact Ron Sylvester (rcs@ronsylvester.com) or Linda Borton (lborton@ohfarmersunion.org) for more information.

The committee will meet at 10 a.m. in Room 116 at the Statehouse, Tuesday, May 14.

New CRP Signup Announced

May 7, 2013 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

FSA has announced a new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) sign-up will be held beginning May 20, 2013.

This will begin a four week offer period. All offers must be signed and submitted to the FSA office by June 14, 2013.

The purpose of the CRP Program is to take environmentally sensitive acres out of crop production and to plant long-term, resource-conserving covers to improve the quality of water, control soil erosion, and enhance wildlife habitat. Producers with acres that are accepted in the sign-up can receive cost-share assistance to plant their choice of resource-conserving cover, and receive an annual rental payment for the length of the contract.

Your local Ohio FSA office may be conducting a public meeting to discuss CRP and to answer questions. Contact your local office to find out.

Legislative Alert: Ohio Grain Indemnity (SB 66) Gets First Hearing in House Ag Committee

May 7, 2013 By Ron Sylvester 1 Comment

Senate Bill 66 which would update the law behind Ohio’s grain indemnity program and fund received its first hearing in the Ohio House this morning.

In fact, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Cliff Hite, the primary sponsor of the legislation which was unanimously passed by his committee and the full Senate, was today’s entire agenda in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. Hite provided sponsor testimony for SB 66, the bill’s first step through the House committee process to get the measure to the floor for a final vote.

Hite’s testimony began with off the cuff remarks about the Ohio Farmers Union being instrumental in bringing the issue to him and working with other stakeholders to get a bill that eventually sailed through the Senate. He followed with prepared remarks recounting some of the history behind the law which was first passed in 1983 and last updated in 2004. He focused on the two issues OFU has championed – codifying farmers as primary lien holders and the increases in the indemnity fund’s cap and trigger.

[Read more…]

« Previous Page

NATIONAL FARMERS UNION

Click to Take Action

Contact