Aglines
agriculture * food * energy * environment
Archive for January, 2010
Rainwater Basin Joint Venture to hold information seminar
Author: Robert8 Jan
The Rainwater Basin Joint Venture will host its 15th annual Informational Seminar on Wednesday, February 3, at the Quality Hotel and Convention Center, 2201 Osborne Drive, in Hastings, Nebraska.
The one-day seminar, from 9:00 to 4:00, is an opportunity for landowners, agriculture producers, natural resource professionals, and other interested individuals to share ideas and learn about conservation issues, research, and habitat programs in south-central Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin region.
An afternoon panel discussion will address a variety of conservation programs for private land, including the Wetlands Reserve Program, the Wetland Initiative Program, and the Working Landscapes initiative. Other sessions include discussions about the role of wetlands in protecting water quality; management of vegetation in Rainwater Basin wetlands; and the benefits of filling unused irrigation pits. In addition, throughout the day Rainwater Basin landowners who have participated in Joint Venture projects and other wetland programs will discuss their experiences.
The seminar is open to the general public. Agenda details are at www.rwbjv.org.
To register, please send an e-mail by January 26, to Shanda Weber at shanda.weber@ne.usda.gov; include name, organization, and mailing address. Or phone 402-463-6771 ext. 112. A $20 registration fee, payable at the door, covers all sessions, snacks, and a buffet lunch. Landowners and agriculture producers in the Rainwater Basin are invited to register free of charge.
The Informational Seminar is funded in part by a grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust.
The Rainwater Basin Joint Venture is a public-private partnership created through the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. It is composed of conservation agencies, local government bodies, non-profit organizations, and individuals, each contributing their expertise and resources to the protection and restoration of wetland habitat in south-central Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin region.
USDA livestock disaster payments exceed $175 million
Author: Robert7 Jan
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Thursday that USDA has already made more than $175 million in disaster payments to America’s livestock producers after implementing two new programs in 2009, demonstrating USDA’s commitment to rapidly meeting the goals of Congress and providing farmers and ranchers with timely and effective disaster assistance.
“America’s farmers and ranchers deserve efficient and effective assistance programs to help get through natural disasters,” said Vilsack. “While the previous ad hoc disaster assistance too often was too little, too late, because we were able to get these new programs up and running quickly, we are already beginning to achieve Congress’ goal of helping producers recover losses rapidly and more thoroughly.”
Under the standing provisions of the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), authorized in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill), producers are better able to recover from their losses stemming from 2008 and subsequent disasters. The 2008 Farm Bill provisions replace previous ad-hoc disaster assistance programs and are funded through the Agricultural Disaster Relief Trust Fund.
LIP provides payments to eligible livestock owners and contract growers who suffered eligible livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality as a direct result of an eligible adverse weather event including hurricanes, floods, blizzards, disease, wildfires and extreme heat and cold. Eligible livestock under LIP include beef cattle, alpacas, buffalo, beefalo, dairy cattle, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, lambs, poultry, reindeer, sheep and swine.
LFP provides payments to eligible livestock producers who have suffered livestock grazing losses due to qualifying drought or fire. Eligible livestock under LFP include beef cattle, alpacas, buffalo, beefalo, dairy cattle, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, poultry, reindeer, sheep and swine. For losses because of drought, eligible areas are determined using the U.S. Drought Monitor, which can be found at the FSA website:
To be eligible for LIP for livestock losses suffered during 2009, livestock owners and contract growers must file a notice of loss no later than 30 calendar days of when the loss of livestock is apparent to the producer and an application for payment no later than Jan. 30, 2010.
To be eligible for 2009 calendar year grazing losses under LFP, eligible livestock producers must submit a completed application for payment and required supporting documentation to their administrative county FSA office no later than Jan. 30, 2010.
For more information or to apply for LIP or LFP and other USDA Farm Service Agency disaster assistance programs, visit your FSA county office or
Johanns recognized as ‘Ag Person of the Year’
Author: Robert7 Jan
Sen. Mike Johanns has been chosen as “Ag Person of the Year” by ProFarmer, a national agriculture publication, for his stance on against health care reform and climate change legislation.
“I am humbled and appreciative to ProFarmer for this recognition,” Johanns said. “Agriculture is the backbone of Nebraska’s economy, and allows our country to feed the world. I have carried my passion for agriculture with me since growing up on a dairy farm, and this honor means a great deal to me. I look forward to continuing my work on behalf of Nebraska’s and our nation’s farmers and ranchers as a United States Senator.”
A copy of the ProFarmer announcement can be found here.
Obama reneges on ag campaign pledge
Author: Robert7 Jan
USDA will publish the final regulation to implement farm payment limits and the “actively engaged in farming” rules that determine who is eligible for subsidies in tomorrow’s Federal Register. The rule is available on the Federal Register’s Public Inspection List today.
“This proposed rule is particularly troubling because targeting farm programs payments to family size farms was the centerpiece of the rural policy statement that then candidate Obama released in Iowa in the run-up to the state’s Presidential Caucuses,” Hassebrook added.
Obama’s Rural Policy Statement reads as follows:
Obama will ensure farm programs are strong and targeted to support family farmers.
The lack of effective payment limitations has resulted in federal farm programs financing farm consolidation and the elimination of many mid-size family farms. Obama agrees with Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley that we should implement a $250,000 payment limitation. And Obama will ensure those payments go to farmers who need them – not millionaire farmers who rely on American taxpayers to protect their multimillion dollar profits.
Obama will take immediate action to close loopholes by proposing regulations to limit payments to active farmers who work the land, plus landlords who rent to active farmers. Both the Government Accountability Office and the Payment Limitation Commission have called for closing this loophole. Every president since Ronald Reagan has had the authority to close this loophole without additional action by Congress, but has failed to act.
According to Hassebrook, the new regulation is a direct contradiction of Obama’s campaign pledge as well as the recommendation of the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the USDA Payment Limitation Commission. Moreover, USDA notes that seventy-three percent of the 5,060 comments filed after publication of the proposed regulation stated that the payment eligibility rules need to be made more restrictive, particularly in the area of the requirement of “active personal management.” However, the rule does virtually nothing to heed those comments.
“Like other Administrations before, when push comes to shove, something is always more important to the White House politically than the fate of family farming, and they trade away subsidy reform in a heartbeat. Once again, principle and sound public policy have been sacrificed on the altar of political expediency,” said Ferd Hoefner of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
“In his farm and rural campaign platform, candidate Obama noted that ‘Every president since Ronald Reagan has had the authority to close this loophole without additional action by Congress, but has failed to act.’ Sadly, we can now add one more President’s name to that wall of shame,” Hoefner continued.
According to Hassbrook, the USDA regulation does fix one small, but important, problem resulting from the previously proposed farm payment limitation rules.
“To give credit where due, USDA made one important change to prevent payment limitation rules from hurting small farmers who receive payment much smaller than the limit,” added Hassebrook. A rule adopted in 2008 had cut payments to small family farm corporations with family stockholders who did not farm. “Under the new rule, small family farm corporations will no longer lose payments as long as half the stock is held by active farmers and the combined payments to all stockholders is under the limit,” Hassebrook explained.
