Murphy--Bradley Heidein and his miniture mule, Jack-Jack of Emmett was one of 214 participants at the annual Wilson Butte 4-H club Cowboy trail. The event was held Saturday on the Blackstock ranch in Owyhee county. From the ride, the club has raised over 12,000.00 dollars the last eight years that is donated to worthy causes in the area. ( Photo and text : Steve Ritter)
Monday, April 30, 2012
Just in from Owyhee County
Murphy--Bradley Heidein and his miniture mule, Jack-Jack of Emmett was one of 214 participants at the annual Wilson Butte 4-H club Cowboy trail. The event was held Saturday on the Blackstock ranch in Owyhee county. From the ride, the club has raised over 12,000.00 dollars the last eight years that is donated to worthy causes in the area. ( Photo and text : Steve Ritter)
Friday, April 27, 2012
Statement by Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Regarding Withdrawal of the Overreaching Child Labor Proposal
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Just in--
Tokyo-- A top Japanese official said Wednesday that Japan will continue to import U.S. beef, as the cow infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy was older than 30 months. South Korea also continues to accept U.S. beef imports, although two retailers have reportedly removed the product from store shelves.The Agriculture Department continues to investigate the BSE case and is working to locate any offspring of the infected cow. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack commented in more detail about trade and the BSE issue during Wednesday’s AgriTalk radio program.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
AFBF Urges Senate to repeal the 'Death Tax'
Washington--The American Farm Bureau Federation is endorsing Senate legislation that would help protect America’s farm and ranch families from potentially crippling blows of the federal estate tax following a farm owner’s death.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Boise--Idaho Farm Bureau Vice President Mark Trupp calls the 2012 State Resolution meeting to order in Boise this morning.
The group will consider resolutions from the IFBF's five districts, everything from agriculture issues of concern to state legislative budgets. When a resolution is approved it becomes IFBF policy, and included in the 2012 Idaho Farm Bureau Policy Book thats published each year and distributed to lawmakers in Boise and Capitol Hill.
"This is a vital part of grass-root politics," said Idaho Farm Bureau President Frank Priestley. "We're unique because we get guidance from members. Not many groups can say that and it starts at the county level. We've had resolutions that originated there that were later adopted by the American Farm Bureau and into the national policy book. This might be the only organization in America where the little guy counts."
Just in from Washington

Farm Bureau Urges Senate Ag Committee to Move Farm Bill Forward
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 23, 2012 – Numerous provisions of the Senate Agriculture Committee’s draft farm bill follow the American Farm Bureau Federation’s core principles for
“rational, acceptable farm policy,” but there is room for adjustments to improve the legislation.
AFBF President Bob Stallman delivered that message to Senate Agriculture Committee leaders in a letter today following a meeting of the organization’s board of directors. In the letter, AFBF urged the committee to approve the draft “as a vehicle to move the farm bill to the Senate floor in a timely manner.” While the letter said “the importance of completing a farm bill cannot be overstated,” it also said that AFBF would seek opportunities “to make adjustments and efinements to improve the legislation.”
The letter, sent to Senate
Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Ranking Member
Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), started by commending them for moving forward in a bipartisan fashion to write the 2012 farm bill.
The letter specifically outlined AFBF’s support for several points included in the Senate
farm bill, including: the decision to “stand firm on utilizing the figure of $23 billion in savings suggested to the Super Committee last fall”; the fact that the Senate bill protects and strengthens the federal crop insurance program and does not reduce funding for the program; that programs are not based on cost of production; and that it includes “a commodity title that attempts to encourage producers to follow market signals rather than make planting decisions in anticipation of government payments.”
AFBF’s letter stated that while the draft legislation addresses many of its policy priorities, the organization continues to support a single program option for the commodity title that is extended to all crops and it has concerns about the need for improved “equity across all commodities.” The letter also stated that AFBF will continue to work toward provisions in the bill for a financial safety net that includes a “catastrophic revenue loss program based on county level losses” with coverage at 80 percent of revenue levels.
“Catastrophic loss events are typically beyond any producer's control, and are events that would endanger the financial survivability of the farm,” Stallman said. “These events, in the past, have prompted enactment of ad hoc disaster programs. Having a catastrophic plan in place would protect farmers from these situations and extend program benefits only when they are needed, rather than potentially being a supplemental source of annual income.”
While AFBF will seek further refinements in the Senate farm bill, Stallman’s letter highlights
a number of the bill’s provisions supported by the organization. Included among a larger list of those provisions were:
· Support for elimination of
direct payments, countercyclical payments, the average crop revenue election
program and the SURE program;
· Maintaining the current
marketing loan program;
· Rejecting any provision
linking conservation compliance with crop insurance;
· Eliminating the dairy price
support program and the Milk Income Loss Contract program and using the funds
associated with those programs to offer a voluntary gross margin insurance
program for dairy producers;
· Mandating that USDA’s Risk
Management Agency develop by 2013 a revenue insurance product that meets the
needs of peanut producers; and
· Achieving the vast majority
of necessary reductions in conservation funding from land-retirement programs
rather than working-land programs.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Just in from Washington
Correcting the Public Record on Lean Finely Textured Beef
Washington--Thirty lawmakers on Thursday asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack what USDA has done and can do in the future to help stop “the campaign of misinformation” about lean finely textured beef, now widely known to American consumers as “pink slime.”
Describing the media coverage and subsequent consumer revolt against LFTB as “a campaign of misinformation,” the members of Congress asked USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to outline steps it has taken to correct the public record and educate consumers about the safety of LFTB.
The letter did not include specifics about what FSIS should address, but pointed out that Beef Products Inc., the manufacturer of LFTB, has an “award-winning trade record” and food safety record that have gone unnoticed by critics.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Just in from Washington
Corn Planting Continues at Record Pace
Washington--The progress of corn planting continues in the U.S. at a record pace, according to the latest report from the Agriculture Department, which provides information on the top 18 corn-producing states. About 17 percent of corn expected to be planted is now in the ground. This represents a doubling of corn planting progress by farmers for the second week in a row according to USDA. This exceptional pace makes 2012 the third-fastest year for corn planting since 1985, just slightly behind this same week in 2004 (20 percent) and 2010 (19 percent).
Tennessee is currently in the lead according to USDA, with 80 percent of the corn crop in the ground. This is an increase of 34 percentage points from last week—the largest increase reported. Kentucky also made significant gains with 59 percent of corn planted, compared to 32 percent one week ago. In Ohio, 10 percent of the corn has been planted.
Last year the national average for the percentage of corn planted did not reach 17 percent until the middle of May, due to weather issues. A Dairy Herd Network article includes a clickable map where you see how other states are progressing with corn planting.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Just in from Washington

House Ag Committee Moves Forward with Farm Bill Process
Washington--House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas has announced another series of hearings on the 2012 farm bill to begin next week in Washington, D.C. The six subcommittees will hold the hearings throughout April and May to hear from national agricultural stakeholders advocating for policy priorities.
In June, the committee held 11 audit hearings on agriculture programs to look for ways to improve programs for farmers, increase efficiency and reduce spending. Lucas then took committee members to the countryside to hear directly from producers in the field. The hearings slated for Washington will round out the information gathering in advance of writing legislation, according to a House Ag Committee news release. Witnesses for the hearings have not been announced.
The hearing schedule is as follows: April 25, Subcommittee on Rural Development, Research, Biotechnology and Foreign Agriculture—rural development programs; April 26, Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry—conservation programs; April 26, Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry—dairy programs; May 8, Subcommittee on Nutrition and Horticulture— nutrition and specialty crop programs; May 10, Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight and Credit—credit programs; May 16, Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management—commodity programs and crop insurance; May 17, Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management—commodity programs and crop insurance; May 18, Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry—energy and forestry programs.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Just in from Washington

Newsline: Food Prices May be Settling Down
Washington--The American Farm Bureau Federation’s latest Marketbasket Survey for the first quarter of 2012 shows retail prices were up about 7 percent from last year at this time and from last quarter. However, the news is not all bad, John Anderson, an AFBF economist, told Newsline.
“I think the rate of increase has slowed down,” Anderson said. “As we talked about a lot last year we expected fairly aggressive food price increases last year and we did get that. We’ve been saying for the last two or three months that we expect that to slow down in 2012 and that also seems to be happening. We’re looking for food price inflation that’s much more in line with the general level of prices, so somewhere in the 2 to 3 percent range.”
Anderson cautioned that prices at the meat counter are likely to remain high.
“When you think of cattle you think of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, places like that and they were devastated by the drought last year and that forced a lot of farmers and ranchers to really reduce their numbers,” he explained. “A lot of cattle had to be sent to market because there was just not really anything to feed them, nothing that could be fed economically. So that has reduced the productive capacity.”
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Just in

Farm Bureau Opposes Health Insurance Mandates
Washington--The American Farm Bureau Federation recently filed comments with the House Ways and Means Committee expressing opposition to the individual and employer health insurance mandates in the health care reform law enacted last year. The committee’s Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on the mandate’s impact on small businesses.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act penalizes farm and ranch businesses with 50 or more “full-time equivalent” employees if they do not provide government-prescribed health insurance, or if certain employees receive a tax credit and purchase insurance through state-regulated health insurance exchanges.
“Farm Bureau is opposed to mandates that require individuals to have health insurance and that require employers to provide it for their workers,” AFBF said in its written comments. “Most farmers and ranchers are self-employed and buy health insurance for themselves and their workers through individual and small group markets. Coverage mandates accompanied by penalties for noncompliance will only make a difficult situation worse for people already unable to afford coverage.”
There is also uncertainty about whether affordable, short-term coverage will be available for temporary or seasonal agricultural workers, AFBF said. AFBF also was one of several organizations that sent a letter in late March to the Ways and Means Committee chairman and ranking member in support of the American Job Protection Act (H.R. 1744), which would repeal the employer mandate.
The subcommittee’s hearing may inform a debate later this year over rewriting the health care law, in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the health insurance mandates. The court in late March heard oral arguments in a legal challenge brought by several states against the mandates. The court will render its decision this summer.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Just in

Meats and Cheese Drive Slight Increase in Retail Food Prices
Washington--Retail food prices at the supermarket increased slightly during the first quarter of 2012 with protein staples—meats and cheese—showing the greatest increase in price, according to the latest American Farm Bureau Federation Marketbasket Survey.
The informal survey shows the total cost of 16 food items that can be used to prepare one or more meals was $52.47, up $3.24 or about 7 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. Of the 16 items surveyed, 13 increased and three decreased in average price compared to the prior quarter. The cost for the overall basket of foods increased about 7 percent compared to one year ago.
About two-thirds of the quarter-to-quarter increase in the marketbasket of foods was due to higher retail prices for sliced deli ham, sirloin tip roast, ground chuck, bacon and cheddar cheese.
“Retail prices for meats and cheese were higher in the first quarter of the year due to generally strong demand and tight supplies, a situation that carried over from 2011,” said John Anderson, an AFBF senior economist. “According to Agriculture Department data, retail meat prices probably peaked sometime in the first quarter, and wholesale prices have declined noticeably in recent weeks. This suggests that retail meat prices may decline as 2012 progresses.”
Friday, April 13, 2012
President's Op-Ed

Thursday, April 12, 2012
Just in

‘Fabricating It’: Opponents Wrong On Antibiotics Use
Manhattan--A study conducted by Kansas State University shows that opponents of antibiotics use in livestock production wildly overestimate the amount given to food animals.
Using data from a 2006 Department of Agriculture swine survey and a 2009 survey of swine veterinarians, K-State found that annually about 1.6 million pounds of antibiotics are used in pork production for growth promotion/nutritional efficiency and disease prevention. A 2001 report, “Hogging It,” from the Union of Concerned Scientists, claimed that 10.3 million pounds a year are used.
“The UCS report should have been titled ‘Fabricating It,’” said National Pork Producers Council President R.C. Hunt.“Pork producers do not overuse antibiotics. We work with veterinarians to carefully consider if antibiotics are necessary and which ones to use.”
The KSU study, which was published in the March issue of “Foodborne Pathogens and Disease,” found that 2.8 million pounds of antibiotics were used for growth promotion/nutritional efficiency, disease prevention and disease treatment. That amount is 368 percent less than the amount asserted by UCS for just growth promotion/nutritional efficiency and disease prevention.
The study also belies the claim made by opponents of modern livestock production and some members of Congress—and repeated by much of the media—that 80 percent of all antibiotics sold are used to promote growth in livestock.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Just in from Washington

Biofuels, Energy Groups Push for Farm Bill Energy Title
Washington--The Biotechnology Industry Organization and dozens of other renewable energy, environmental and other groups last week sent a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees asking for reauthorization and funding of farm bill energy title programs.
“The U.S. is experiencing strong growth in the development and commercialization of biofuels, bioproducts, biopower, biogas, energy crops, renewable energy and energy efficiency,” the groups wrote to Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Reps. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.). “These important and growing industries all benefit agriculture and forestry and are poised to make huge contributions to our economic, environmental and national security in the coming years, provided that we maintain stable policies that support clean energy manufacturing and innovation.”
The farm bill’s energy title programs are vital components in the continued growth of these industries, the groups said. They emphasized that the programs belong nowhere in the farm bill but in the energy title and that no federal or state agency is equipped to manage them as well as the Agriculture Department.
The letter was organized by the Agriculture Energy Coalition, a broad-based membership coalition of groups that represent renewable energy and bioproducts stakeholders.
Farm bill energy title support letter
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Just in--

Monday, April 9, 2012
Just in--
AFBF: Bipartisan Support Needed to Block Child Labor Regs
Washington--The American Farm Bureau continues to urge bipartisan support for congressional legislation that would prevent the secretary of labor from finalizing or enforcing the proposed Department of Labor child labor regulations.
Early last month, Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa) introduced the Preserving America’s Family Farm Act (H.R. 4157). More recently, Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) introduced a companion bill (S. 2221), which has 44 co-sponsors.
The Labor Department is currently reviewing approximately 18,000 comments on proposed youth labor rules that would negatively affect the way families operate their farms and ranches.
Under the proposal, even routine farm chores, such as driving tractors, milking cows, cutting weeds and building or repairing fences would likely be considered illegal unless the farm on which the youth worked was wholly owned by his or her parents.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Just in--

New York--With tight world stocks of corn and other grains, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agency is concerned about a three-month trend of price hikes and global food insecurity.
An FAO index of monthly price changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar averaged 215.9 points in March, below the February 2011 peak of 237.9, but “higher than during a food price crisis in 2007-08 that raised global alarm,” according to a Reuters story.
Both tight commodity supplies and high oil prices are driving the food price trend, the article says.
Reuters article
Just in
Nebraska FFA Members Lend a Hand to Effort to Stop Child Labor Reg
Omaha--At last week’s Nebraska FFA Convention, 560 FFA members joined Nebraska Farm Bureau in opposing the U.S. Labor Department’s plan to restrict the types of farm work that young people can do. They signed their names and wrote notes to DOL on paper hands that echo NEFB’s campaign theme: “Let Me Get My Hands Dirty.” NEFB will send all of the messages to DOL.
Under a rule proposed last year and now being finalized by DOL, no one under the age of 16 would be allowed to work on a farm that isn’t owned by his or her parents, and many routine farm tasks would be off-limits. The regulation created an uproar in farm country, where it was seen as an attack on the way farm families work—training kids on how to do farm tasks properly and safely, so that they can one day take over the farm or ranch.
“This proposed rule is unbelievably restrictive and it will prevent young people from being able to get their hands dirty on farms and ranches across the state,” said Steve Nelson, NEFB president. “FFA students would not even be allowed to follow their own motto, ‘Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.’”
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Just in from Washington

Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Just in
Washington: The American Farm Bureau Federation continues to urge bipartisan support for congressional legislation that would prevent the secretary of labor from finalizing or enforcing the proposed Department of Labor child labor regulations.
Early last month, Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa) introduced the Preserving America’s Family Farm Act (H.R. 4157). More recently, Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) introduced a companion bill (S. 2221), which has 44 co-sponsors.
The Labor Department is currently reviewing approximately 18,000 comments on proposed youth labor rules that would negatively affect the way families operate their farms and ranches. Under the proposal, even routine farm chores, such as driving tractors, milking cows, cutting weeds and building or repairing fences would likely be considered illegal unless the farm on which the youth worked was wholly owned by his or her parents.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
WASHINGTON – There are still many sharp turns and bumps in the road between now and fall harvest, but a crop report issued today by the Agriculture Department indicates that farmers in the United States are preparing to plant 95.9 million acres of corn, one of the largest crops in history, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
That number was much higher than grain industry analysts had expected.“The prospective planting number of 95.9 million acres for corn really blew pre-report expectations out of the roof,” said AFBF economist John Anderson.
As unexpectedly high as the corn number was, Anderson said the soybean planting estimate was far lower than analysts had expected, coming in at 73.9 million acres.According to Anderson, if realized, this year’s corn planting would be the largest acreage since 97.2 million acres were planted in 1937. To put that into perspective, the harvested corn grain yield in 1937 was 28.9 bushels per acre, ultimately leading to approximately 2.5 billion bushels of corn that year. This year’s planting and a trend yield of 164 bushels per acre could result in a final U.S. corn yield of around 14.4 billion bushels.
Anderson said that the most recent modern era production year that comes close to this year’s corn planting outlook was 2007, when 93.5 million acres were planted. At 95.9 million acres expected this year, corn plantings would be up 4 percent from last year. Expected soybean plantings, at 73.9 million acres, are projected to be down 1 percent from last year.“As for the corn market, this planting expectation number could become a negative factor for corn market prices,” Anderson said. “This is a lot bigger number than the market had expected for corn. But we still must remember it is very early, this is a prospective number only and there is a long way to go to see how this crop ultimately turns out. For now, the market seems to be more focused on lower soybean acreage as well as pretty strong demand revealed in today’s report on grain stocks.”
“If these early planting projections are realized, it would translate into the largest feedgrain supply we have had in the last six or seven years. That should mean lower feed prices for livestock producers. And it would take some of the pressure off the ethanol sector, which is already close to hitting both its mandated level of production and the maximum gasoline blend rate.”
Overall, Anderson said that with a normal growing and harvest season, this year’s corn crop would “be more than enough to meet all of our nation’s domestic needs for feed and fuel, as well as supplies for our export channels.” From this point forward, he said the markets would begin to focus on weather and how it impacts planting and growing conditions for all crops.Anderson said acreage of other feed grains is projected to be up from last year as well, with grain sorghum, barley and oat plantings forecast to be up by 9 percent, 15 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
Wheat plantings are projected to be up 3 percent from last year. Anderson said that is still “well below market expectations of around 57.5 million acres.” He said that while winter wheat and durum plantings were up, this increase was partially offset by a decline in other spring wheat projected plantings as farmers in major spring wheat areas appear to be opting to plant feed grains instead.Cotton plantings are projected to be 13.2 million acres. Anderson said that while this is an 11 percent drop from last year, it is still on the high side of pre-report expectations.
Idaho Fuel Prices Up
Boise—Alex Reed is planting beans outside of Filer this week and he got an unpleasant surprise. When he went to fill up his truck gas pric...

