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Visack: Taking New Steps to Care for the Land and Water

September 13, 2013 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack’s Weekly Column:

VilsackpostNatural resource conservation is paramount to the ongoing strength of our nation. Healthy soil contributes to agricultural productivity. Healthy forests clean our water and air. Vibrant waterways are critical for our health, for transportation and for trade. Investments into conservation spur job growth and community development, particularly in rural areas.

This is an uncertain time for USDA conservation activities. Congress has not yet passed a comprehensive Food, Farm and Jobs Bill that would continue to invest in conservation efforts, while providing rural America with certainty regarding many other important programs.

As we continue urging Congress to provide a new Food, Farm and Jobs Bill, USDA this week took several new steps to strengthen conservation across the country.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Conservation, Tom Vilsack, USDA

As House takes up Farm Bill, Midwest farmers say conservation is key

July 5, 2012 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

Farmers in the U.S. ‘heartland’ value the conservation programs funded under the current Farm Bill and do not want to see cuts in conservation as Congress debates changes to this cornerstone agricultural legislation, says a poll done on behalf of the National Farmers Union and Cultivate Impact.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: 2012 Farm Bill, Conservation, Cultivate Impact, National Farmers Union, Ohio Farmers Union

Ag News Roundup – October 18, 2011 – Subsidies, Conservation, Federal Budget

October 18, 2011 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

When one farm subsidy ends, another to take its place

New York Times

…

Direct payments have come under fire, however, because farmers get them whether markets are high or low. The new subsidy, called shallow-loss protection, would act as a free insurance policy to cover commodity farmers against small drops in revenue.

Most commodity farmers already buy crop insurance to protect themselves against major losses caused by large drops in prices or damage to crops. Those policies typically guarantee 75 to 85 percent of a farmer’s revenue, with the federal government spending $6 billion a year to pay more than half the cost of farmers’ premiums. …

Read the entire article at The New York Times

Conservation Reserve Program on chopping block

Omaha World-Herald

Hunters across the Midwest have had a taste of the good old days during the past 25 years.

Habitat on millions of acres of farmland by the voluntary federal Conservation Reserve Program — which pays farmers to take marginal land out of production and return it to grassland — created ring-necked pheasants, quail, ducks, deer and wild turkeys.

Despite tough weather from drought in Kansas to hard winters in the Dakotas this year, there are still millions of ringnecks to be flushed from the grasslands, fence rows and field edges in pheasant country this fall thanks to landowners who enrolled acres in the Conservation Reserve Program years ago.

Read the rest at the Omaha World-Herald

Alternative fuel event in Orrville draws big fleets, big ideas

Farm and Dairy

Running trucks on alternative fuel and compressed natural gas is nothing new, but the infrastructure to make it practical and affordable is finally coming of age.

At an alternative fuels event held Oct. 6 in Orrville, Smith Dairy fleet manager Chuck Diehl stole the show by proposing that half of the company’s new truck funds for 2012 go toward alternative fuel vehicles, and that the company pursue the city’s first compressed natural gas refilling station to serve its own fleet, with the potential for public use at a later date.

There are more than 400 vehicles in the Smith Dairy fleet, which transport all major dairy products. If Diehl’s goal becomes a reality, then 8-10 percent of their fleet will run on alternative fuels.

“We’re suddenly asking ourselves what’s holding us back,” he said. “It’s going to sell itself.”

Read more at Farm & Dairy

Ohio Ag Law Symposium: Gray area remains in CDL law for farmers

When it comes to the need for farmers to obtain a commercial driver’s license to haul farm products or inputs, no news is good news, according to the Agricultural & Resource Law Program at Ohio State University.

“There haven’t been any changes,” said Peggy Kirk Hall, director of the Ag Law Program. “There were rumors there would be some additional federal changes to the CDL provisions, but the U.S. Department of Transportation announced there would be no changes, and provided some additional advice to clarify what was happening.”

The Ag Law Program is a research, outreach and education center supported by Ohio State University Extension.

Read the rest at the Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune

Ag Committees pick number for budget cuts

agriculture.com

Both the Senate and House agriculture committees announced Monday that they’re recommending a $23 billion reduction in farm bill spending over the next 10 years to the congressional “super committee” charged with finding more than $1 trillion in lowered federal spending.

“We are currently finalizing the policies that would achieve $23 billion in deficit reduction and will provide a complete legislative package by November 1, 2011,” the committee chairs and ranking minority party members said in a letter to the committee. “Deficit savings at this level is more than any sequestration process would achieve and should absolve the programs in our jurisdiction from any further reductions. We welcome the opportunity to explain this recommendation and the forthcoming legislative proposal upon request from the Joint Committee.”

The letter is signed by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) and the committee’s ranking Democrat, Collin Peterson of Minnesota, as well as Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and the ranking Republican, Pat Roberts of Kansas.

Read more at agriculture.com

EPA will not tighten farm dust standards

The Hill

The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it will not tighten controls on farm dust, the latest effort to quell concerns by Republicans and others that the agency will impose new regulations on the agriculture industry.

In a letter to Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said she will soon recommend to the White House Office of Management and Budget that existing regulations governing coarse particulate matter from industrial and agricultural operations — often called farm dust — remain in place.

Read the rest at The Hill

FDA boosts efforts to ensure food safety

Palm Beach Post

How much more are you willing to pay for food to ensure that it is safe to eat?

While we’d like to think the nation’s food supply is already safe enough, it’s apparent that’s not the case. We know that 23 people have died recently after eating Colorado-grown cantaloupe contaminated with listeria, a deadly bacteria. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control are still investigating the outbreak.

Read the rest at the Palm Beach Post

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Congress, Conservation, FDA, Federal Budget, Subsidies

USDA study shows conservation practices help stem movement of sediment and chemicals from farmland to Great Lakes Watershed

October 13, 2011 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

Press Release from the USDA

A new USDA study shows that farmers using combinations of erosion-control and nutrient-management practices on cultivated cropland are reducing losses of sediment, nitrogen and phosphorous from farm fields and decreasing the movement of these materials to the Great Lakes and their associated waterways.

“The Great Lakes Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) study confirms that good conservation planning and implementation have reduced loadings of sediment and nutrients to waterways throughout the region,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said today. “The Administration appreciates the actions of every farmer who is stepping up to implement conservation practices, protect vital farmlands and strengthen local economies. At the same time, we also see opportunities for even further progress.”

The CEAP study, prepared by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), estimates that the use of conservation tillage and other conservation practices has resulted in a 50 percent decline in sediment entering rivers and streams, along with 36 and 37 percent declines, respectively, in phosphorus and nitrogen loading.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Conservation, Farming Practices, Fertilizer, Great Lakes

Environmental & Agricultural Success at Marshy Meadows

August 21, 2011 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

Federal budget cutters may want to think twice about slashing USDA conservation programs

When most Americans think about federal dollars spent on agriculture, they envision big ticket (and controversial) items like ethanol subsidies and direct payments. Most of us don’t realize that the USDA – through divisions like the Natural Resources Conservation Service – also administers programs that allow family farmers and small producers to make improvements to their land helping them to build their business while protecting natural resources for the rest of us.

We know that the actions of some farm and livestock operators can have consequences outside the boundaries of the acres they plant or graze. Just ask the folks who live near Grand Lake St. Mary’s here in Ohio. The toxic algae problem at the Grand Lake is attributable, at least in part, to runoff from area farms.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Agriculture, Cattle, Conservation, EQIP, Mardy Townsend, Marshy Meadows Farm, USDA

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Latest News from the Ohio & National Farmers Union

OFU Rallies for Rural Schools

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