Ohio Farmers Union

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United to Grow Family Agriculture Since 1934

Ashtabula, Lake, Geauga Farmers Union Continues Speakers Series

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ofulogofbfeat

Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake Counties Farmers Union and the Henderson Memorial Library continue their speaker series for the Ashtabula Local Food Council with Sheila Calco of the Trumbull Neighborhood Project on February 22, 2105, at 2:00pm, at the Henderson Memorial Library, 54 East Jefferson St., Jefferson OH 44047.

Sheila Calco is the GROW Program Manager with Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership. GROW is an urban agriculture program that works to address the identified “food dessert” areas of Warren by providing technical support and management of community gardens; educational programming; and management of a farmers’ market. GROW partners with many organizations and community members to increase access to healthy, affordable locally grown foods. Calco lives in Warren, OH with her husband, George, and three children. She serves on the Mahoning Valley Food Policy Council and has been active in the Mahoning Valley local food movement and active urban gardener since 2009.

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Farm Solutions and Opportunities Forum, February 26

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ofulogofbfeatJoin Dr. Jeffrey Reutter, director of Ohio Sea Grant and representatives from USDA and OSU Extension as they discuss nutrient management in the Lake Erie basin on February 26 in Ottawa.

Sponsored by the Ohio Farmers Union and the Ohio Environmental Council, the Farm Solutions and Opportunities Forum will present those attending with the current science regarding Lake Erie’s harmful algal blooms, the context of agriculture in the lake region and what farmers are doing to mitigate nutrient runoff from their lands. The forum will provide opportunities for citizens in the western basin of Lake Erie to learn more about this vital watershed and farmers will get the latest information on best practices and state and federal programs that may be put to use on their farms.

Speakers include:

  • Dr. Jeffrey Reutter, Ohio Sea Grant
  • Greg LaBarge, OSU Extension
  • Jocelyn Henderson, ODNR, Division of Soil and Water
  • John Wilson, Natural Resources Conservation Program, USDA
  • Chris Gibbs, Ohio Farm Service Agency, USDA
  • Joe Logan, Ohio Farmers Union
  • Adam Rissien, Ohio Environmental Council

The event will be held Thursday, February 26 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Putnam County Educational Service Center, 124 Putnam Parkway, Ottawa, Ohio. Registration is free and open to the public. Registration for the forum may be made by contacting Linda Borton, Ohio Farmers Union at lborton@ohfarmersunion.org or at 800-321-3671. Lunch will be provided for registrants.

NFU has praise for bipartisan bill to expand exports into Cuba

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nfulogo-postWASHINGTON  – National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson praised Senators Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on today’s introduction of the Freedom to Export to Cuba Act of 2015, a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate that would modernize U.S. policy towards Cuba and boost opportunities for American family farmers, ranchers and rural communities.

“The Freedom to Export to Cuba Act of 2015 will lift the failed trade embargo and boost U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba,” said Johnson. “Breaking down trade barriers is necessary to provide U.S. family farmers with increased market access and opportunities for trade in Cuba, a market of 11 million people just 90 miles away from American shores.”

Johnson noted that the bill would also remove financial restrictions that currently create barriers to trading with Cuba, including allowing U.S. banks to extend credit to Cuban buyers.

“The financial restrictions currently in place prevent normal business relationships from developing between the U.S. and Cuba,” said Johnson. “Extending credit to Cuban buyers allows for the purchasing of American farm goods, auto parts and other products that American family farmers, ranchers and rural communities already produce and are eager to sell.”

Johnson also noted that the bill would remove restrictions on direct shipping between Cuban and American ports. “This restriction is costly and an unnecessary trade barrier,” said Johnson. “It slows down the movement of agricultural products from the U.S. to Cuba, making trade very difficult.”

“The Cuban embargo has made no sense for a long time. This bill addresses and removes the barriers and restrictions that have failed American agriculture and the Cuban people for over 50 years.”

Canadians ‘Last Act of Desperation’ on COOL

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WASHINGTON  – National Farmers Union  President Roger Johnson praised today’s dismissal of the U.S. District Court lawsuit on Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL), filed by the multinational meatpacking industry and their allies to try and stop the USDA from implementing the very popular labeling law.

“This is a clear and indisputable win for American consumers and producers, and it’s a huge relief to know that common-sense labeling laws, like COOL, can prevail in court despite the deep pockets of the multinationals,” said Johnson.

The papers ending the long and costly lawsuit were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, ending American Meat Institute (AMI) et al. v. U.S. Department of Agriculture et al., originally filed in July, 2013.

Last week a Canadian delegation comprised of the Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Gerry Ritz and members of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, the Canadian Pork Council and the Canadian Meat Council made a lobbying trip to Capital Hill on the heels of the release of a new study conducted by Auburn University Professor Robert Taylor showing that allegations that COOL depressed prices of Canadian cattle were false.

Johnson called the trip “their last act of desperation,” and pointed out that the Auburn University not only demonstrated that that fed  cattle price basis actually declined after COOL went into effect, but also that COOL had no negative impact on imports of slaughter cattle and did not significantly affect imports of those of feeder cattle.”

Johnson urged members of Congress to stand by the popular labeling law – supported by roughly 90 percent of consumers – and urged the Canadians to allow the World Trade Organization to consider the new study and the total body of information and arrive at a decision on its own.

“If the U.S. Courts are any indication of the trajectory of success of COOL, then American consumers are finally going to be permitted to know where their food comes from without intervention from our chief trade competitors and their multinational allies,” he said.

NFU Letter to Canadian Government on COOL

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The National Farmers Union isn’t just advocating in Washington, D.C. on the important issue of Country of Origin Labeling – NFU President Roger Johnson is speaking truth to power in Ottawa, seat of the Canadian national government.

Gerry Ritz, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, recently made a trip to Washington with representatives of Canada’s industrial agriculture community. (AKA some of the foreign organizations that want to kill COOL.) President Johnson sent Minister Ritz the letter below. It’s an outstanding overview of the recent study out of Auburn University that demonstrated that COOL has not harmed Canada’s ag economy.

COOL remains an important rule which allows U.S. consumers to know where there food originates. It’s about transparency and choice in a world where not all food is grown and processed under equal health and safety standards.

Read the Letter

Bill in Congress Would Destroy Renewable Fuel Standard – and Biofuels Industry – As We Know It

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WASHINGTON  – The following statement was released today following the introduction of a bill that would eliminate the corn-based ethanol mandate for biofuel production and restrict overall volume targets. The following statement should be attributed to Roger Johnson, president, National Farmers Union.

“The elimination of the corn-based ethanol mandate and blend cap will gut the nation’s biofuel production, strand existing investment in second generation biofuel production and hurt family farmers, ranchers and rural communities that have experienced much-needed reinvestment from this policy. This is not only a bad step for agriculture, but also is a major setback to the environment and our nation’s attempts to manage its carbon emissions. We urge Congress to reject this policy and continue to embrace the vision of a robust renewable fuels industry as a component of this nation’s overall energy portfolio.”

OFU 2015 Special Orders of Business

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ofulogofbfeatAdopted by delegates to the 81st Annual Ohio Farmers Union Convention

You’ll find below a link to our 2015 Special Orders of Business. Each year at the OFU Annual Convention, delegates debate a range of public policy topics they believe need attention from state or federal officials. Many of these are officially adopted as ‘special orders of business’ for OFU to pursue as an organization throughout the rest of the year. This year’s slate of special orders covers topics from taxes to money in politics to the water quality issue in the western basin of Lake Erie.

Click Here for 2015 OFU Special Orders of Business

Click Here for advisory white paper accepted by convention delegates regarding Current Agricultural Use Valuation in Ohio

Read the news release:

Ohio Farmers Union Outlines State, Federal Policy Priorities for 2015

Lake Erie, Pipelines, Taxes and Trade Among Concerns

 

COLUMBUS – Meeting in Columbus over the past weekend, Ohio’s second-largest general farm organization adopted twelve state and federal agricultural policy priorities for 2015.

Joe Logan, president of the Ohio Farmers Union, said delegates to OFU’s 81st Annual Convention focused primarily on two issues – water quality in the western basin of Lake Erie and farm real estate (CAUV) taxes.

“Most Ohioans don’t realize that many farmers’ real estate taxes on their farmland have spiked 100, 200 – even up to 300 percent in the past few years,” Logan said.

“Ohio’s program for establishing the tax value of farmland was a major issue for delegates and we approved a policy proposal that we believe would alleviate the shocking increases in tax rates farmers have experienced,” Logan said. “Farmers are being asked to shoulder an unfairly large portion of the total tax burden,” Logan added.

“This is an alarming trend that has been picking up steam in recent years.”

On Lake Erie, Logan said that the “overwhelming majority” of farmers are good stewards of the land and water. Many have adopted conservation, technological and nutrient management best practices to alleviate agricultural run-off into Lake Erie.

“The science tells us that agriculture remains a significant source of the phosphorous feeding harmful algal blooms in the lake. It appears that the legislature is choosing a more regulatory approach to nutrient management. We believe any regulations should be targeted toward those watersheds where problems are known to exist and should deal with all sources of nutrient overloads,” Logan said.

The twelve policy statements, or “special orders of business” for OFU may be found online.

They include statements on:

  1. Water Quality in Ohio
  2. Syngenta GMO Corn Litigation
  3. Current U.S. Trade Policy Concerns
  4. Private Property Rights and Private Sector-Owned Pipelines
  5. Farm Real Estate Taxes – CAUV
  6. Maintaining Guaranteed Landline Telephone Service
  7. Community Right to Know
  8. Seed Saving and Genetic Diversity
  9. A Move to Amend the U.S. Constitution
  10. Severance Taxes on Oil and Gas in Ohio
  11. Change Laws Regarding the Commodity Checkoffs
  12. Funding Claims Under the “Predator Law” in Ohio

81st OFU Convention Preview

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Here’s the press release sent statewide by the Ohio Farmers earlier today:

ofulogofbfeatWater Quality, Farmland Tax on Deck for Ohio Farmers Union 81st Convention

State Representatives Sheehy, Patterson will be honored on final day of meeting

COLUMBUS – Ohio’s educational and advocacy organization dedicated to family farming will tackle several hot button issues in Ohio during its 81st annual convention in Columbus this Friday.

“We expect 2015 to be an exceptionally important year for Ohio’s farmers in terms of state legislation and Kasich administration tax policies,” said Linda Borton, executive director of the Ohio Farmers Union.

“Farmers in Ohio are facing additional regulation with manure application and they are already feeling the effects of agricultural property taxes increasing by 50 to 300 percent in the past couple of years,” Borton said.

“Those two items – water quality and the broken CAUV formula – will be major points of emphasis for our policy committee,” Borton said.

CAUV, or Current Agricultural Use Valuation, is a state tax formula instituted in the 1970s to help protect Ohio farmland by lowering the property tax bills for farmland. The program is responsible for keeping much of Ohio’s agricultural lands in production as the lower property tax rates do not skew the farmers’ cost of production, especially in areas where rural land is threatened by urban sprawl and suburban development.

Due to changes in commodity markets and the effects of a changing larger economy, over the past two to three years, the formula used by the Ohio Dept. of Taxation for determining a farmer’s CAUV tax value has begun to wildly fluctuate. In many cases across the state, family farmers have seen their farmland property taxes rise by 300 percent or more in a single year.

Borton said that on the water quality front, OFU is expected to adopt policy for 2015 urging the Ohio General Assembly to take a “science-based and targeted” approach to new regulation. During the debate over H.B. 490 in 2014, OFU President Joe Logan and other members asked the Ohio House to limit tighter regulatory schemes to distressed watershed areas such as the Maumee River Basin in northwest Ohio.

“No one wants to see the algae problems we’ve had in Lake Erie and in other waterways,” Borton said.

“The key is for regulation to be fair, fact-based and targeted,” Borton added.

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NFU releases new data showing Canadian claims regarding Country of Origin Labeling bogus

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from the National Farmers Union

nfulogo-postContrary to arguments made by America’s trade competitors to the World Trade Organization (WTO), an economic downturn that sapped consumer demand — not Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) — caused decreased demand for cattle imports into to the U.S., according to a new study released last week.

“COOL did not cause the declines in livestock exports to the United States, which largely coincided with a substantial global economic downturn that sapped demand for more expensive meat products,” notes the study, authored by C. Robert Taylor, Ph.D., an Auburn University Alfa Eminent Scholar and Professor.

Canada and Mexico challenged COOL provisions related to muscle cuts of beef at the WTO in 2008, alleging the widely popular labeling law was a trade barrier that compromised their export opportunities and market access to the United States for live cattle and hogs. The cost of implementing COOL, they argued, discouraged U.S. meatpacking and processing companies from purchasing livestock of non-U.S. origin and, as a result, reduced the prices of these livestock exports.

But after close examination of more robust data sources to assess the impact of COOL on market access, the study found:

  • COOL has not had a significant negative effect on the price paid for imported slaughter cattle relative to comparable domestic cattle. In fact, the fed cattle price basis declined after the law went into effect. “The price basis is lower in the six years since implementation of COOL than it was the preceding four years,” the study notes;
  • COOL did not negatively impact imports of slaughter cattle. “Qualitative and econometric analysis of Mandatory Price Reporting (MPR) and monthly trade and price data cast considerable doubt on assertions that COOL negatively affected imports of slaughter cattle,” says the study. Failure to recognize the effects of imported and domestic captive supplies of slaughter cattle and beef demand uncertainty, along with other factors, played a larger role in reduced import demand than acknowledged in previous studies.
  • COOL did not significantly affect imports of feeder cattle. “USDA monthly data on imports of 400-700 lb. cattle did not show COOL having a significant negative effect of imports of feeder cattle from either Canada or Mexico relative to placements in U.S. feedlots,” the study points out.

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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