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Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Sunday, May 6th, 2012
In the last few days of the Indiana primary race, Senator Dick Lugar is promoting his work on rural energy development in a hope to build popular support on voting day.
On May 8, Hoosiers go to the polls to vote in the state primary. While the Republican presidential primary is all but decided, the fight for the GOP Senate nomination appears to be down to the wire. Long-term incumbent Dick Lugar, who was expected to easily win the nomination, appears to be floundering in the polls, with the most recent poll showing state treasurer Richard Mourdock in the lead.
With the campaign winding down, Lugar is hoping to appeal to Hoosier farmers by touting his efforts in passing the 2012 Farm Bill out of committee. In particular, Lugar is highlighting his bipartisan work with Democrat Kent Conrad to reinsert rural energy production funding into the bill.
“Rural energy development and conservation mean more jobs and more income for Hoosiers and more energy security for all Americans,” Lugar said.
Local Indiana energy organizations have responded favorable to Lugar’s initiatives. The CEO of Growth Energy recently stated, “I specifically want to thank Senators Conrad and Lugar for offering a solid, bipartisan amendment that will provide key resources to rural energy programs.” The president of the Alliance to Save Energy wrote, “The Conrad-Lugar Amendment will allow many rural Americans to tap into the power of energy efficiency to help grow food, build a business, or raise a family. With more financial support for energy efficiency, rural America will be stronger, and so will our nation as a whole.”
Lugar also picked up praise from the National Farmers Union, who wrote to Lugar to thank him for his efforts in protecting the rural economy.
To learn more about agricultural financing opportunities contact a Farm Plus Financial representative by calling 866-929-5585 or by visiting www.farmloans.com.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer
Tags: Dick Lugar, farm bill, rural energy
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Sunday, May 6th, 2012
The U.S. Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture recently announced that they will provide $5.3 million in federal funding to five water districts in California.
The recent announcement comes on the heels of a series of tense battles over California water rights and environmental conservation. Recent studies by the University of California at Davis suggest that agricultural production in the Central Valley has significantly contaminated local water resources. In addition to reports of environmental degradation, Central Valley water officials are planning on pushing forward policy that would better regulate pollution and conserve water resources.
The federal government is stepping in to help fund these programs in order to guarantee their long-term sustainability in the midst of budget concerns. According to officials at the Department of the Interior, “Coordinated federal actions and investments, such as this cooperative effort between Interior and USDA, are an important step toward improving water conservation and water supply sustainability in California, now and in the future.”
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan reiterated these sentiments, stating, “By working in partnership, USDA and Interior better ensure that water management efforts enhance water supplies and sustain our natural resources.”
The funds will go towards improvements in water management systems and improvement in local water infrastructure (such as canals and reservoirs) that will help limit contamination and waste.
To learn more about agricultural financing opportunities contact a Farm Plus Financial representative by calling 866-929-5585 or by visiting www.farmloans.com.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer
Tags: california, farm regulation, water conservation
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Sunday, May 6th, 2012
An audit of former Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ritchie Farmer shows a systematic abuse of power and misuse of public funds, even in the worst economic situation Kentucky has faced in years.
The investigation was prompted by reports of Farmer’s high expenditures at a conference of Southern agricultural leaders held at the end of Farmer’s second term in office. The conference, which was held at an expensive spa, lasted for over a week, yet involved only six hours of meetings and official business. In addition, Farmer purchased lavish gifts for conference attendees, who included state agricultural leaders and their families, and spent significant amounts of money on food and alcohol.
The audit of Farmer’s tenure in office was initiated by current Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, a fellow Republican who was elected to replace Farmer in 2010, and conducted by the current State Auditor.
The audit’s findings portray Farmer as a lavish spender who had no problem misusing taxpayer money. According to the audit, Farmer had state workers build a basketball court on his property (while on state time) with $900 in donated concrete that was never reported as a gift. He signed the time sheets for his girlfriend, an employee at the KDA, despite state officials reporting that she was never at the Department of Agriculture offices. He had staff reserve rooms at Kentucky hotels under false names so he could house friends and relatives on the state’s dime. There are also reports of missing KDA property, including two laptops and several rifles intended as gifts.
Farmer’s lawyer dismissed the audit as political in nature and self-serving. State Auditor Adam Edelen has turned the matter over to the attorney general’s office.
To learn more about agricultural financing opportunities contact a Farm Plus Financial representative by calling 866-929-5585 or by visiting www.farmloans.com.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer
Tags: government corruption, kentucky, Ritchie Farmer
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Sunday, May 6th, 2012
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is hinting that it might seek to regulate the agricultural use of antibiotics. While the agency did not directly threaten to regulate antibiotic use, the three-year timeline they gave farmers to review the use of antibiotics strongly hints that they might decide to eventually expand their control over agricultural medicine.
After decades of debate and pressure by food safety groups, the federal government appears to be taking the first tentative steps to regulate the agricultural use of antibiotics. A controversial topic, antibiotic use in farming has been widely condemned by safety groups and many doctors. While the judicious use of antibiotics is crucial is treating illnesses in animal herds, the non-medical use of powerful drugs can have dangerous side effects.
In the past several years, doctors and health care professionals have seen a disturbing rise in the instances of drug-resistant illnesses. A recent study showed that about 25 percent of Midwestern supermarket meat contained drug-resistant bacteria, a rise attributed to the overuse of antibiotics.
The recent FDA announcement asks farmers to be judicious in their use of antibiotics and asks them to voluntarily cease using them for non-medical purposes (adding them to animal feed to bulk up livestock, for example). While some farmers are already claiming that this request represents government over-regulation, messages within the FDA’s request could hint at a future expansion of the agency’s power.
The FDA is giving the agricultural industry three years to implement these new requests. After that three-year period, the agency will review further data and decide on future steps, if necessary, leading many experts to believe that they will push for mandated restrictions of farmers do not voluntarily change their practices.
To learn more about agricultural financing opportunities contact a Farm Plus Financial representative by calling 866-929-5585 or by visiting www.farmloans.com.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer
Tags: antibiotics, FDA, Food Safety
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Sunday, May 6th, 2012
UC Berkeley officials are asking members of the Occupy the Farm movement, the spiritual offspring of the Occupy Wall Street movement, to voluntarily leave a 10-acre tract of land owned by the university.
The occupation was sparked by university plans to transform the land and begin commercial and residential development on it. Initially zoned for agricultural research, protestors were upset at the idea of potentially valuable farmland being transformed into suburban developments.
The protestors set up a series of camps in the area and planted small fruit and vegetable gardens. The land, they believe, should be used to promote sustainable agriculture and address local hunger concerns. In addition, protestors were upset at the university’s supposed lack of communication with local community leaders.
The university, however, claims that it has been engaged in dialogue with community leaders for the past several years and resents the occupiers’ abrogation of property rights.
In an attempt to peacefully end the protest, university leaders sent a letter to the occupiers yesterday, asking them to withdraw from the land. In exchange, the university offered them a commitment to continue urban farming on the developed farmland. The protestors replied that they would take the message to their general meeting, but that only an agreement by 100 percent of the group would win approval.
To learn more about agricultural financing opportunities contact a Farm Plus Financial representative by calling 866-929-5585 or by visiting www.farmloans.com.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer
Tags: Occupy Wall Street, sustainable agriculture, UC Berkeley
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Sunday, May 6th, 2012
Earlier this week, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed an agricultural policy bill into law. The bill, which passed the Minnesota Congress last week, enjoyed broad bipartisan support in the House and Senate.
With the 2012 Farm Bill still working its way through the national House and Senate, individual states are working hard to ensure that local farmers still enjoy vital agricultural protections and safety nets. In addition, many states see their own agricultural policy bills as important ways to encourage and promote specific agricultural goals without having to rely on an increasingly dysfunctional federal Congress.
The Minnesota bill in question focuses on encouraging alternative energy use and exploring agricultural research initiatives. The bill expanded biodiesel exceptions for railroads, mining camps, and logging operations, increasing the appeal of adapting to new forms of fuel consumption. In addition, it lengthened the easement period for wind farms until 2017, giving fledgling wind farm projects a longer chance to establish themselves.
The Minnesota Farm Bureau praised Governor Dayton as well as the leaders of the Minnesota House and Senate. “We thank Governor Dayton, Chair Magnus, Chair Hamilton and members of the agricultural committees in both the House and Senate and all legislators for passing, on a bipartisan basis, the 2012 Agriculture Policy Bill,” said Minnesota Farm Bureau President Kevin Paap.
To learn more about agricultural financing opportunities contact a Farm Plus Financial representative by calling 866-929-5585 or by visiting www.farmloans.com.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer
Tags: farm bill, Mark Dayton, minnesota
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Saturday, May 5th, 2012
Citing their importance to the state and national economy, farmers in upstate New York are pressuring Albany and Washington for increased investment in rural infrastructures and rural broadband networks.
New York’s $4.5 billion agriculture industry is a major part of the state’s economy. In addition, it remains one of the few segment of the New York economy that is enjoying major economic success in the face of an ongoing global recession. High crop prices, high land values, increased demand, and aid from state and federal governmental agencies have helped create a thriving farm sector.
In the words of New York Agriculture Commissioner Darrel Aubertine, “Agriculture in this state in the last two years we’ve seen more attention paid to it as an economic driver maybe than ever before.”
However, at an agricultural development conference in Batavia, New York, Aubertine and other local agricultural leaders met with deputy undersecretary of Rural Development Doug O’Brien to address the needs of the state’s farm communities.
Of particular importance is federal investment in rural broadband internet development. Rural communities can often find it difficult to get access to high-speed internet. Many cable providers avoid rural areas that offer fewer profits and higher costs. However, access to a modern information infrastructure is necessary for farmers to continue to be profitable in a twenty-first century economy. Internet access can allow farmers to do agricultural research, quickly and cheaply order supplies, plan weather patterns and crop plantings, and can put them in contact with a wider community.
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is responding to rural demands by supporting the Broadband Connections for Rural Opportunities Program Act of 2012, which would cover up to 50 percent of broadband costs for rural communities.
To learn more about agricultural financing opportunities contact a Farm Plus Financial representative by calling 866-929-5585 or by visiting www.farmloans.com.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer
Tags: broadband internet, Kirsten Gillibrand, rural development
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Saturday, May 5th, 2012
While U.S. Department of Agriculture officials are reassuring U.S. consumers that department safeguards are working to protect the country from a mad cow epidemic some groups are arguing that the USDA’s efforts to expand trade could hurt consumer protections.
Last March, the USDA proposed adopting new import rules that were more in line with regulations adopted by the World Organization for Animal Health. The proposed rules would put U.S. trade regulations more in line with international partners and would likely increase American beef exports. However, some food safety organizations have claimed that the new rules would weaken mad cow safeguards and could lead to the United States importing beef from countries that do not have effective ruminant-to-ruminant feed bans.
Feed bans remain one of the most important tools in preventing mad cow disease from spreading. A ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban prohibits the feeding of most mammalian-derived proteins to other cattle. Before the spread of bans, cattle feed often-contained animal products, including meat and bone meal, a byproduct of the rendering industry. These feeds led to the rapid spread of mad cow and the eventual epidemic that hit countries like the United Kingdom. The ban on ruminant-to-ruminant feed had been crucial to reducing the outbreaks of mad cow.
The proposed rule change, some food safety groups argue, would do away with safeguards limiting trade with countries without these bans in place, replacing it instead with OIE guidelines that evaluate risk based on a number of factors.
USDA officials and leaders of the beef industry, however, believe that the rule change, which still allows the U.S. to block importation of beef it feels does not meet safety standards, will not weaken mad cow safeguards.
To learn more about agricultural financing opportunities contact a Farm Plus Financial representative by calling 866-929-5585 or by visiting www.farmloans.com.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer
Tags: farm imports, mad cow disease, usda
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Saturday, May 5th, 2012
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently quarantined an additional farm that may be linked to last month’s discovery of mad cow disease in California.
Mad cow disease, the colloquial name for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, is a degenerative brain disease in cows, which, over time, attacks the brain causing spongy lesions, brain damage, and death. Consumption of meat or animal products from cows suffering from the illness has been linked to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a fatal brain disorder that attacks brain tissue, causing mood swings, psychiatric and behavioral changes, motor function impairment, and, eventually, death.
The USDA’s news that a second farm is being quarantined is sure to increase worry on the part of consumers. The second farm was closely linked to the farm where the illness first presented, leading USDA investigators to quarantine it until a deeper probe can be concluded. In addition, the USDA is looking into the calf ranch where the sick cow was raised.
The news that a cow on a California farm was infected, the first case in more than half a decade, shocked consumers and has threatened U.S. beef exports. Already, international consumers are considering beef bans. South Korea, for example, is sending a fact-finding team to Washington to review USDA documents about the recent discovery.
Despite the investigations, the USDA is assuring consumers that their meat is safe. The infected cow was not intended for human consumption and posed no human health threat. In addition, USDA officials emphasized that national and international safeguards exist to limit the spread of mad cow beef (safeguards which have reduced reported cases of mad cow from over 37,000 in 1992 to only 29 last year).
To learn more about agricultural financing opportunities contact a Farm Plus Financial representative by calling 866-929-5585 or by visiting www.farmloans.com.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer
Tags: Food Safety, mad cow, usda
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Saturday, May 5th, 2012
State and local agencies have systematically failed to protect California water resources from agricultural contamination, a recent UC Davis study suggests.
Over the past several months, water fights in California have gotten heated, with state agencies pushing for tougher regulation and protection from agricultural contamination. Environmental groups say these protections are necessary to protect the health of local citizens and the local ecosystem, but farmers argue that strict control could damage their businesses.
A recent study by a hydrologist at the University of California at Davis is only intensifying these debates. A study of California’s Central Valley and the San Joaquin Valley region revealed a link between nitrate contamination in the Valley’s water supplies and the booming farm sector in the region.
Nitrate contamination in drinking water can cause serious health problems, particularly in children and infants. In particular, it has been linked to fatal birth defects and serious blood diseases in newborns.
In an annual conference hosted by Fresno State University’s International Center for Water Technology, the study’s findings were discussed, with some attendees suggesting fertilizer fees to help cleanup groundwater.
Responding to the study and the conference, the head of the Central Valley Regional Water Control Board acknowledged that the agency had dropped the ball and promised Californians that she and her colleagues were devoting their energy to protecting the state’s water resources.
To learn more about agricultural financing opportunities contact a Farm Plus Financial representative by calling 866-929-5585 or by visiting www.farmloans.com.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer
Tags: california, UC Davis, water pollution
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