This post originally appeared on the National Farmers Union blog and was written by Zack Clark, NFU Govt. Relations Representative.

Last week, two major reports were released that further cemented what we already know – oversupply in the marketplace is driving commodity prices further and further downward, and after three years of declining prices, real estate values and credit conditions are beginning to deteriorate.

The glut of commodities highlighted by last week’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report (WASDE), which forecasted another increase in corn, soy, wheat, sorghum, barley, and oats, has the potential to continue prolonged periods of depressed prices. Continued overproduction has been failing to match actual demand, driving up supplies and straining storage capacity. Across the countryside, grain is being stored on the ground.

Equally alarming is the release of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s second quarter assessment of agricultural credit conditions. Soon after the release of the bank’s first quarter report, NFU President Roger Johnson testified to Congress about the deteriorating credit conditions. As the second quarter report highlights, the situation continues to decline. It found that farm income has continued to fall, there is increased demand for loan renewals and short-term operating loans, and there are declines in repayment rates and falling farmland values.

Over the past year, National Farmers Union (NFU) has ramped up efforts to highlight the declines in the countryside to members of Congress in Washington, D.C. NFU has also long advocated for a strong safety net that reacts to the exact situation we find ourselves in today. Members of Congress, who are currently back home for the August congressional recess, need to hear about these problems from their constituents.

Congress will only be in session for four weeks between now and the election. Yet during September, while they are in Washington, they will need to pass legislation to fund the government. Farmers Union members need to let their congressional delegations know that these spending packages need to contain assistance to combat the deteriorating agricultural economy. Congress should:

~ Increase funding for the USDA’s farm loan programs,
~ Provide emergency assistance for producers in need, and
~ Work with the USDA to provide short-term remedies for low commodity prices.

In addition, Congress needs to immediately begin working on the next Farm Bill to provide a stronger safety net that protects family farmers and ranchers from very low prices. This safety net needs to be written to focus on the needs of our nation’s producers during tough times, not written to fit a certain price tag.

The NFU annual legislative fly-in will provide opportunities for NFU members to come to the nation’s capital to press members of Congress on these important issues and advocate on behalf of the nation’s family farmers and ranchers. A heavy focus of our members’ meetings with their representatives will be the depressed farm economy, and there are concrete asks that NFU is putting forward to help aid family farmers and ranchers through these tough times. We must not miss any opportunities to highlight the growing crisis in the rural economy to members of Congress, especially when its going on in their backyard.

The National Farmers Union Board of Directors passed two policy resolutions in July regarding the worsening farm economy and continuing consolidation in the crop inputs and agriculture chemicals industries.

Ohio Farmers Union President Joe Logan, an NFU board member, attended the meeting in Healdsburg, California and voted in favor of both resolutions.

“As a farmer-led organization, we proudly advocate for the issues important to our nearly 200,000 family farm and ranch members. The farm economy and consolidation in agriculture are two timely industry topics, and these board-passed resolutions will define precise calls to action for our organization,” said NFU President Roger Johnson.

NFU has been a vocal advocate in support of a strong safety net to aid farmers as they continue to face low commodity prices and high input costs. The farm economy resolution calls for “corrective action and evaluation of price support levels” so that farm programs can serve to minimize the farm income drop.

“Research by NFU and others is showing that farm income this year is expected to be its lowest since 2002. NFU is trying mightily to sound the alarm with policy makers that family farms and rural economies are moving in the wrong direction in the greater economy,” Logan said.

The Congressional Research Service published a 2016 farm income outlook in February. It concluded in part:

• U.S. net farm income is forecast at $54.8 billion in 2016, a drop of nearly $2 billion (-3%) from 2015’s level. This represents the lowest net farm income forecast since 2002 in both nominal and inflation-adjusted dollars.
• Measured in cash terms, net cash income in 2016 is also projected lower at $90.9 billion, down $2.3 billion (-2%) from the previous year.
• Cattle prices have also turned downward from their record highs in 2014, while dairy, poultry, and hog prices have turned sharply lower. Prices for all four protein sources are projected lower in 2016.
• Government payments in 2016 are projected up sharply (31%) to $13.9 billion, the highest level since 2006. Lower commodity prices are expected to trigger payments of over $9 billion under the price-contingent PLC and ARC programs, up sharply from the $5 billion in payments under these same two programs in 2015.
• Global demand for U.S. agricultural product exports is expected to turn downward (-6%) in 2016, for a second year of decline after setting a record of $152.3 billion in 2014.

NFU is also concerned for dairy farmers. The resolution notes that milk prices are in the $12-$14 per cwt. range, a 50% drop from 2014 levels and, the average cost of production is above $17 per cwt.

The farm income resolutions calls for awareness among farmers and public officials that things are turning and that, farm programs should minimize the farm income drop and policy makers need to evaluate price support levels and take corrective actions to ensure “farm programs serve their purpose to stabilize farm income in low commodity price circles.”

Additionally, the board passed a resolution in support of more robust enforcement of antitrust laws as the agriculture inputs sector faces growing consolidation. NFU has strongly opposed further consolidation in agriculture due to the damaging effects of reduced competition on the economic viability of farmers and ranchers.

“We’ve been talking in Ohio and Washington, D.C. for many years about successive waves of mergers in agribusiness. While working farmers and consumers are always told these big businesses getting bigger will lead to so-called efficiencies, farmers continue to pay more for inputs every season and their choices in the marketplace simply decline,” Logan said.

“Family farmers and ranchers should call on their elected officials at the local, state and national levels to educate them about the economic problems facing our nation’s family farmers and ranchers,” explained Johnson, who testified on the state of the farm economy before a panel of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management earlier this year.

Both resolutions may be read in their entirety at ohfarmersunion.org – search “2016 NFU Board” on the homepage.

NFU Climate Leaders is a community of farmers, ranchers, educators, policy makers, journalists and concerned citizens that share common concern over the current and looming threats posed to agriculture and food security by climate change.

We’re encouraging all those interested in climate change and its impacts on American agriculture to get connected by joining the NFU Climate Leaders Facebook group, signing up for the mailing list, and reading the Climate Column.

In other words, NFU’s commitment to getting the good information out about the intersection of climate change and agriculture is operating on all channels. The Facebook group is self-explanatory, with the mailing list you’ll get occasional updates to your email inbox and the Climate Column is a blog with all the latest.

Another great resource is the National Farmers Union Climate Leaders homepage. Here you’ll find a quick explainer on the program as well as “static” resources like research reports and ideas for what to do on your own farm. You’ll also find that on our own Ohio Farmers Union website – www.ohfarmersunion.org – under the “Issues” menu a direct link to the NFU Climate Leaders page at nfu.org.

One document you can get started with is the 2016 NFU Convention’s Special Order of Business on climate change.

So, stay informed and stay active. There are ways to mitigate climate change in our own communities and on our own farms.

Logan: The commodity checkoffs are off the rails; Reform needed

Ohio Farmers Union President Joe Logan today said the 4,000 member Ohio family farming group is supporting a bill recently introduced in Congress to reform the nation’s commodity checkoff programs.

“The Commodity Checkoff Program Improvement Act of 2016 is a good, common sense bill, made all the better because it comes out of the gate with bipartisan support,” Logan said.

U.S. Senators Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Cory Booker, D-NJ, introduced the legislation last week.

“When checkoff programs engage in anticompetitive activity, it is a threat to a dynamic and informed free marketplace,” Booker said. “This bipartisan legislation will help increase transparency and restore trust in checkoff program practices.”

“Last year a FOIA request uncovered some troubling emails between the American Egg Board and top executives in the egg industry,” Lee said. “This was a classic case of Big Government and Big Business working together to squeeze out smaller rivals and squelch innovation.”

The bill provides a basic set of common sense provisions that all commodity checkoff programs would have to comply with. Those reforms would restrict using mandatory checkoff dollars to lobby Congress, reduce conflict of interest within programs, prevent checkoff money from being used to disparage other commodities or products, increase public transparency, and require full program audits every five years.

OFU joins the Missouri and Nebraska Farmers Unions in throwing its support behind the bill.

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by Dr. Tony Forshey, State Veterinarian, Ohio Dept. of Agriculture

Summer marks the beginning of fair season – a time when thousands of 4-H youth all across the state showcase the animal projects they have spent so much time perfecting.

 As these hard working kids gear up to show their animals, I  want to encourage all exhibitors to be aware of livestock tampering rules so they do not accidentally disqualify their market animal projects.

Some key things to keep in mind as you prepare your animal for the show ring:

• If an animal is sick, the exhibitor should contact the veterinarian.
• Prescription medications must be prescribed by a veterinarian for a valid medical purpose.
• Extra-label use of any medication must be prescribed by a veterinarian and have an extended withdrawal time.
• Over-the-counter drugs must be used according to label directions for a valid medical purpose.
• Showing any livestock which has been administered a drug that exceeds the tolerance level, or a drug for which the withdrawal period has not elapsed, is prohibited.

Other prohibited practices include: exhibiting an animal which has been tranquilized, making a false statement on a drug use notification form, failing to file or update a drug use notification form, negligently causing an unlawful substance to be present in an animal, or failing to sign a chain of custody form.

[Read more…]

The National Farmers Union is developing a series of videos to promote safety on the farm. Think about it: You have kids, grandkids or just seasonal help that will be working 0n your farm in the near future. Why not expose them to some professionally-made teaching materials that help you keep everyone safe on the farm? All you need is a computer, an internet connection and five minutes or less per video.

Here they are:

Ohio Farmers Union President Joe Logan said today that “enough is enough” with further consolidation in agricultural industries and related big business that controls more and more of the inputs farmers need to feed America and the world.

He refers to a proposed merger of Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co.

“Where are the Teddy Roosevelts and the trust busters of today?” Logan asked.

Two previous waves of mergers in the agricultural inputs sector have already created what is known at the Big Six: Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, DuPont, Dow and BASF. The current rumored or announced deals—including Dow-DuPont, ChemChina-Syngenta, and Bayer-Monsanto—would be a third wave of consolidation.

“Competition is eroding more and more with each of these mega deals. While financial markets applaud supposed efficiencies of larger businesses, customers – farmers – have fewer choices, less competition and input prices continue to go up,” Logan said.

The National Farmers Union today joined Food and Water Watch and the American Antitrust Institute in a letter to U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division urging a challenge to the Dow-DuPont merger.

The letter can be read in its entirety here.

The proposed merger would create a powerful duopoly between Dow-DuPont and Monsanto. Together, the two companies would control 76% of the market for corn and 66% of the market for soybeans, giving them the power to charge farmers higher prices and effectively decide which seeds farmers could plant.

[Read more…]