SARL Members and Alumni News
Louisiana working on new food safety law
The Voice of Louisiana | Posted on May 18, 2017During his report on the Voice of Louisiana Agriculture Radio Network, Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Mike Strain said he testified Tuesday before the Louisiana State Senate Agriculture Committee about several bills, including the Produce Safety Rule of the Food Safety Modernization Act which is now in effect. “Our department has received a multi-year federal grant of $3.6 million dollars,” Strain said, “that will go mostly to the LSU and Southern University Ag Centers where they are going to be doing outreach to make sure producers are in compliance with the produce safety rules in order to stay in the market place for commercial distribution.”The rule affects farmers who sell at least $25,000 per year over the last three years “moving into commerce,” according to Strain.
PA Lawmakers push for measures banning 'lunch shaming' in schools
Pittsburgh Post Gazette | Posted on May 12, 2017Lawmakers from Pennsylvania are introducing bills at the state and federal level to ban the practice known as “lunch shaming” — taking away school meals or using other means to single out children with unpaid lunch bills. Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, proposed legislation to end the practice, and a similar measure has since been put forth by state Reps. Dan Miller, D-Mt. Lebanon, and Donna Bullock, D-Philadelphia. Mr. Costa’s legislation, Senate Bill 709, would require school districts to serve meals to all children — even those with depleted lunch accounts or who are short on lunch money — and to reach out to those families in need. The bill also would prevent schools from “marking” or humiliating children whose “families owe money to a school.”
Vt. Legislature becomes first to approve legal marijuana
Burlington Free Press | Posted on May 11, 2017Vermont’s Legislature has become the first in the nation to approve a recreational marijuana legalization bill. Vermont's bill, which would legalize small amounts of marijuana possession in 2018 and anticipate the possibility of a taxed and regulated legal marijuana market, was approved by the Vermont House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon by a vote of 79-66. The bill has already been passed by the Senate and will go directly to Gov. Phil Scott.Other states have legalized marijuana following a voter referendum, but no state has yet legalized marijuana solely through the legislative process, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Legalization advocates said bills were pending in other state legislatures.
Ohio Senate approves CAUV reform
Farm and Dairy | Posted on May 11, 2017The Ohio Senate unanimously approved a bill May 10 that includes the reform farm groups have sought to the state’s Current Agricultural Use Formula. The Senate voted 33-0 in favor of S.B. 36, which requires CAUV to be calculated using a capitalization rate that excludes appreciation and equity buildup, and stipulates that CAUV land for certain conservation programs be valued at the lowest soil value.The reforms have been before the legislature for at least the past three years, but this week marks the most progress in both the House and Senate. On May 2, the House passed its budget bill, which included similar reforms.
California provides financial assistance for dairy digester installation
California Department of Agriculture | Posted on May 11, 2017CDFA is now accepting grant applications for the 2017 Dairy Digester Research and Development Program. CDFA received $50 million from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund in 2016 (AB 1613 Section 13. Item 8570-101-3228) for methane emissions reductions from dairy and livestock operations. CDFA will allocate $29-36 million from the total $50 million appropriation as incentives to support digester projects on California dairy operations. Remainder of the funding appropriation will incentivize development of non-digester practices to reduce methane emissions through the Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP).
Proposed Univ of Idaho livestock research center passes feasibility review
Capital Press | Posted on May 11, 2017A long-awaited livestock research facility got the go-ahead in a new feasibility study commissioned by the University of Idaho. A large focus of the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment will be sustainable milk production. It would include a 2,000-cow dairy with robotic milking machines and 1,000 acres of associate cropland and employ wastewater treatment and nutrient recovery systems.It would also allow for a food processing facility, offer laboratory space and provide housing for faculty, staff and students.“It would be the most modern and largest research dairy in the U.S. and likely in the world,” said University of Idaho President Chuck Staben.Taking into consideration land costs, capital costs of construction, production cost, milk prices and research grants and contracts, the feasibility study showed the facility could operate at a “net-zero-type cost” for the first five or six years, he said.The price tag to purchase land, build the facility and get it operating is $45 million. Gov. Butch Otter and the Legislature have committed $10 million to the project, with $5 million more in the offing. It’s up to the university to find the other $30 million, both internally and externally, he said.The study also indicated that buying land and building the dairy was a better way to go than buying an existing dairy and retrofitting it for research, he said.
No Funding for Florida Conservation Lands, Except Working Ranch Lands
WGCU | Posted on May 11, 2017The Legislature is expected to votes on an $83 billion state budget. Its only allocation for land conservation targets working ranch lands especially in central Florida. The budget puts $10 million toward the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, aimed at protecting ranch lands from future development through conservation easements. The allocation is paltry but important given the budget allocates no money for Florida Forever, the state’s land acquisition program. It once got $300 million a year.“It’s incredibly unusual to see that at zero particularly given that we passed the Land and Water Conservation Amendment in order to get that from zero to something closer to like $300 million,” said Aliki Moncrief of Florida Conservation Voters.
Alabama:Proposed bill would 'shut down' Forever Wild, conservation commissioner says
AL.com | Posted on May 11, 2017Alabama's popular Forever Wild land conservation program could be required to reimburse state and county governments for an estimated $3.6 million in lost property taxes -- plus $500,000 every year going forward -- under a proposed measure in the Alabama Legislature. The bill, HB 502, would require Forever Wild to "reimburse the amount of any ad valorem tax revenue lost as a result of property previously subject to ad valorem tax being acquired by the Forever Wild Land Trust."Gunter Guy, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said he estimates Forever Wild would have to pay approximately $500,000 each year on lands the program has already purchased, plus a significant back taxes bill."The measure also requires a one-time retroactive reimbursement related to tax years prior to enactment," Guy said in an email. "We estimate the total amount of ad valorem taxes associated with acreage dating back to creation of the program to be approximately $3.6 million. "DCNR is opposed to HB 502 and believes that it would negatively impact the Forever Wild Land Trust by creating a perpetual financial burden that will ultimately deplete funding for future acquisitions and shut down the program."
Oregon cider business bill progresses
Capital Press | Posted on May 4, 2017A proposal to expand allowable activities for cider businesses on farmland is sailing through the Oregon legislature with minimal opposition.Imitating rules established for wineries, Senate Bill 677 would permit cider businesses to produce and sell their beverages, serve food and conduct other agritourism activities on-site in farm zones.Companies generating less than 100,000 gallons of cider a year would have to be within or next to an orchard of at least 15 acres to take advantage of the provisions.The orchard size requirement would increase to 40 acres for those businesses producing more than 100,000 gallons annually, under the bill.The Senate has unanimously approved SB 677, and it’s now being considered by the House
Ohio Farm Bureau applauds CAUV reforms proposed in House budget
Circleville Herald | Posted on April 28, 2017Much needed reform of Ohio’s CAUV formula has been included in the Ohio House’s biennial budget proposal, which is good news for Ohio’s family farmers, according to the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. The budget proposal would address nonfarm influences from the formula that tend to artificially raise CAUV values. It would also ensure that farmers are not penalized for adopting conservation practices that protect water quality.