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Agriculture News

Missourians to vote on conservation tax renewal

Missouri Farmer Today | Posted on August 31, 2016

Among the many issues on the ballot this November, Missourians will vote on whether to renew the state’s tenth-of-a-cent parks, soils and water sales tax.  The sales tax was first approved in 1984 and reapproved by voters in 1988, 1996 and 2006. It is currently set up to have a renewal vote every 10 years. The tax splits its revenues 50-50, with half going to fund the state’s parks and half going to fund the Missouri Soil and Water Conservation Program, which provides cost-share money for conservation practices implemented by landowners. According to the ballot language, the sales tax would generate $90 million annually. Butler says in 2011, Missouri had 18 million visitors to its state parks and historic sites, generating an estimated $778 million for the state’s economy.

 


U.S. Farmers Risk Losing Everything Because Of Immigration Procedures

Huffington Post | Posted on August 31, 2016

Three years ago,Joshua Morgenthau found himself facing a situation that is every farmer’s nightmare.  It was time to prepare his 100-acre fruit and vegetable farm’s cherries and strawberries for harvest, but the workers he’d hired for the job weren’t there to help. His employees were many miles away in Jamaica, waiting for the green light to enter the U.S. and get to work. Without enough hands to weed and prune the delicate crop, Morgenthau’s berries were at risk of rotting on the vine. Worse, he knew there was little he could do but wait and hope he didn’t lose his whole crop in the meantime. Each year, Morgenthau employs eight seasonal migrant workers who travel to his farm in New York’s Hudson Valley through the labor department’s H-2A temporary worker program. The process of obtaining their H-2A visas had been relatively painless for the previous five years. But this time, he says the department changed the file number of his application without any warning. 


Ag retailers face tighter margins

Feedstuffs | Posted on August 31, 2016

Accounts receivable at farm supply cooperatives and other agricultural retailers are growing, and so are their challenges, according to a new report from CoBank. After an extended run of impressive financial performances, retailers are adjusting to a tougher economic environment accompanying the downward phase of the current agricultural commodity cycle.   Current headwinds are directly related to a sharp decline in commodity prices that has reduced farm income and tightened farm cash flows. A downturn in fertilizer prices and a spate of mergers and acquisitions in the seed and fertilizer industry have aligned to create adversity for agricultural retailers going forward.   “The drop in farm income over the past three years is the steepest decrease since the Depression,” said Tanner Ehmke, CoBank senior economist covering the grains, oilseeds and ethanol and farm supply sectors. “Producer incomes have fallen more than 50% from 2013 to today, and their debt-to-income ratio is on the rise. Not surprisingly, total accounts receivable for ag retailers posted an 11% gain for 2015, and that’s expected to grow in the year ahead due to ongoing farmer cash flow challenges.”


Sorghum facility would provide farmers with stable rotation crop

Capital Press | Posted on August 31, 2016

A planned $90 million sorghum processing facility will provide farmers in the region a new rotation crop that fetches a stable price every year.  The facility, Treasure Valley Renewables, will also use waste from dairies and other agricultural sources.  “This is an absolutely great project for this area,” said Neill Goodfellow, director of Agrienergy Producers Association, a 25-farmer cooperative that will grow the sorghum used by the facility. “It will give farmers a stable price for that crop year after year.”  Nyssa, Ore., farmer Charlie Barlow, one of the farmers who will grow the sorghum, said the project has been several years in the making, and it’s exciting to see it start to come together. Kurt Christensen, one of the project organizers, said the facility will handle about 1,500 acres of sorghum a year. The high-biomass sorghum was developed specifically to be high in fiber. The fiber will be pulped and molded into paper products used by the restaurant industry.


4 more wolves in Profanity Peak pack shot- Washington

Capital Press | Posted on August 31, 2016

 

Washington wildlife managers have killed four more wolves in the Profanity Peak pack, bringing the total to six as the Department of Fish and Wildlife seeks to eliminate the entire pack from Ferry County.


Minnesota Governor Restricts Neonicotinoid Use

Growing Produce | Posted on August 31, 2016

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton issued Executive Order 16-07, requiring the state to take specific actions to reverse the decline of bees and other pollinator populations that play a crucial role in agriculture and food production. The governor’s order follows the completion of a Special Registration Review of Neonicotinoid Pesticides conducted by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) that outlines action steps for minimizing the impact of pesticide use in the state.  Executive Order 16-07 requires the Department of Agriculture to immediately initiate action steps, which include requiring verification that the application of neonicotinoid pesticides is made due to an imminent threat of significant crop loss, reviewing pesticide product labels and implementing appropriate Minnesota-specific restrictions on their use, increasing enforcement of label requirements for pesticides that are acutely toxic to pollinators, and to continue developing and promoting best management practices designed to protect and enhance pollinator health in Minnesota.  The Governor’s order further requires the State Department of Administration to take immediate steps to support pollinator health on state property.


The newest challenge to family farms: low milk prices

Houston Chronicle | Posted on August 25, 2016

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the price of milk in June was about $15 per 100 pounds - more than a 40 percent drop from 2014. Meanwhile, the USDA estimated milk production costs were about $22 per 100 pounds.  Darrel Aubertine, a former commissioner of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, said many small family farms now faced a difficult decision: Sell their operations to larger dairy farms, borrow money to cover costs or diversify into other types of agriculture.


John Block: Farm Problems

OFW Law | Posted on August 25, 2016

We are looking at record crops of corn, soybeans, and wheat this year.  Dairy farmers are suffering with the lowest prices since 2009.  We have too much milk – not just here in the U.S. but in Europe also.  Members of Congress from farm districts and states want the government to help prop up a sinking farm economy.  The Farm Bureau, Farmers Union, and National Milk Producers Federation are asking for help.  Senator Moran from Kansas wants the government to buy wheat and ship it to countries that need food.  Agriculture Secretary Vilsack suggests that USDA purchase $150 million worth of cheese and give the cheese to food banks and school nutrition programs.  Taking these products off the market would raise prices.  On the plus side, our exports of soybeans are surging, thanks to China.  New crop export commitments are ahead of last year.  Corn exports are impressive.  Wheat exports are expected to surge 22%.  U.S. food production is something to brag about.  However, too much of anything will drive down prices.  You know the story – the cure for low prices is low prices.  It seems like yesterday we had $7 corn.  I am sure that the government will be able to offer some support to farmers, but I would not expect very much.


Sustainability: it’s not a bad word and it also means profit

Meatingplace (registration required) | Posted on August 25, 2016

More than a just few times this year, I’ve witnessed industry speakers who were reluctant to answer questions on sustainability. It turns many a speaker’s face red. Sustainability carries such broad implications that it’s difficult to define with a short answer. Some people in our industry have apparently come to despise the word, and seem to cringe when they hear it. Many seem to have become suspicious of the concepts it represents. Speakers know this and often avoid the subject. Sustainability simply means the ability to sustain, or put another way, theability to continue. Almost all definitions of sustainability include three central principles: economic, environmental and social. In this blog, let’s consider the economic aspect as it relates to the meat industry. Economically speaking, growers, producers, feed lots, and packers have to be able stay in business. The economic issue is the foremost element of sustainability. If you put the people out of business that supply animals, all other elements of the business are null and void. The families that raise food animals simply have to be able to turn a profit, or it’s game over. Yet many factors threaten the sustainability of turning a small profit from raising animals: increasing government regulatory creep, pressure to pay for expensive third party audits, catastrophic diseases like PEDv and Avian flu, the high cost of land, input costs, and the difficulty of finding good labor, just to name a few. It’s often difficult to make any profit, especially for small and mid-sized operations.


Idaho judge dismisses case against business tax credit

Capital Press | Posted on August 25, 2016

A district court judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the legality of a tax reimbursement credit that was passed in 2014 with the support of Idaho farm groups.  The tax incentive has already helped Idaho land Amy’s Kitchen, an organic convenience food maker, and facilitated an $82 million expansion by Glanbia Foods, a cheese manufacturer.  The tax credit will be used by a food product manufacturing company that plans to make a $15 million capital investment in Boise that will result in 80 new jobs. Idaho Department of Commerce officials have not released the name of that company yet due to a confidentiality agreement. IDC Director Megan Ronk praised the court ruling and noted the tax incentive has resulted in 4,737 new jobs and an estimated $2.1 billion in new payroll.


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