Serving Family Farmers and Consumers Since 1934
COLUMBUS—Governor John R. Kasich today announced the appointment of Sen. David Daniels (R-Greenfield) to serve as director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA).
Daniels has represented Ohio’s 17th Senate District since January 2011 and will submit his resignation to the Ohio Senate on Wednesday. He is expected to be sworn in and begin his duties as ODA director on Thursday, February 16.
WASHINGTON – Missouri Farmers Union member Steve Flick testified today in front of the Senate Committee on Agriculture on behalf of National Farmers Union. Flick, the board chairman of Show Me Energy Cooperative, discussed the importance of federal renewable energy programs such as the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), and the Biorefinery Assistance Program to his cooperative and to rural development as a whole.
The following video was recorded at the Ohio Farmers Union 2012 Convention at the end of January. President Johnson’s comments are still very relevant today …
COLUMBUS – Members of the Ohio Farmers Union found a common-sense middle ground approach to Ohio’s natural gas boom during their 2012 public policy discussion at their recent convention.
The family farmer and consumer group approved language for this year which supports a limited moratorium on the issuance of permits by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for new instances of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in the state. The OFU supported moratorium differs from those supported by some Democrats in the Ohio General Assembly and by some Ohio environmental groups in that it is tied to a preliminary U.S. EPA report due on fracking later this year – rather than the final study results due in 2014.
America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education, an initiative of the Monsanto Fund, helps farmers positively impact their communities and support local school districts. The program gives farmers in selected counties in 39 states the opportunity to nominate their public school district to compete for grants to promote science and math education.
Once nominated by a local farmer, school district administrators are eligible to submit an application for either a grant of up to $10,000 or a grant of up to $25,000 to support a science and/or math educational program. The more farmers that nominate a school district, the more it demonstrates community support and strengthens the school district’s application.
Eligibility is determined, in part, by whether or not a school district’s home county is considered rural under the program rules. The following counties in Ohio are eligible:
WASHINGTON (Feb. 13, 2012) – National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson issued the following statement after President Barack Obama unveiled his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2013:
“The president’s budget proposal for FY 2013 would cut agriculture programs by $32 billion over ten years, which is $9 billion than the agreement reached late last year in a bipartisan, bicameral manner by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees.
Whether you are truly new to the business of farming or a farm “kid” coming back to the country, getting your start in family farming can be difficult. The National Farmers Union began a program last year — that continues in 2012 — which aims to make the transition into farming easier.
At our recent Ohio Farmers Union Convention, Jeff Eschmeyer, who runs Harvest Sun Farm with his wife, Debra, gave a presentation on his experiences in the NFU’s Beginning Farmers Institute. The Institute introduced the Eschmeyers to other beginning farmers and held workshops where the group learned about the business side of agriculture and how to navigate situations like taking over for an older member of the family.
This video was taken at the convention. If you are a beginning farmer and want to know more about NFU’s program, check out this post.
National Farmers Union (NFU) encourages individuals who are contemplating starting a career in farming or ranching to apply for the Beginning Farmer Institute. The program is also open to those across the nation who have just begun farming or are in the process of transferring an operation from a parent, relative, or non-relative.
Ohio Farmers Union members, Jeff and Deb Eschmeyer of New Knoxville, were Institute participants in 2011.
COLUMBUS – State Sen. Cliff Hite, R-Findlay, was honored as the Ohio Farmers Union Legislator of the Year for 2011 at a luncheon this past weekend.
“Cliff Hite and our members don’t always agree on every issue, but he’s been a great friend to family farmers and is a respectful and willing listener when farmers or consumers come before his committee,” said Roger Wise, president of the Ohio Farmers Union.
“Sen. Hite has been responsive on issues like Ohio’s Grain Indemnity Fund – a farmer-financed way to protect our investments and grain at elevators that go bust – and has been available to OFU every single time we’ve asked for his time.”
“Sen. Hite, we believe, means what he says when he told us “Ohio will get it right” on natural gas fracking in the Marcellus and Utica Shales and we believe that issues related to natural gas development which come before his committee will get a fair hearing in a bipartisan spirit,” Wise added.
“Cliff Hite received this award for exemplifying the sort of legislator Ohioans want to see working on Capitol Square – one who is willing to work across the aisle when common sense dictates and one who understands and respects the broad range of opinion among family farmers and consumers.”
Hite was awarded a plaque by the Ohio Farmers Union on Saturday afternoon at the conclusion of OFU’s annual convention in Columbus. Hite is chairman of the Ohio Senate Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
WASHINGTON (Feb. 1, 2012) – National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Labor announced that they are reevaluating the parental portion of the proposed child labor safety regulations for agriculture and agriculture-related jobs while moving forward with the hazardous occupation portions of the proposed rules:
“NFU is pleased that the administration listened to the concerns of the agriculture community and determined that these rules would hinder the ability of young workers to learn about agriculture while doing little to make them safer.
