SDFB Leader Connection
April 28, 2008
Upcoming events:
FB Leadership Institute
applications due – May 1
Youth Camp applications due –
May 1
Safety & Health Network
Conference – May 13-15, Fargo
SDFB Youth Camp – June 9-11,
Chamberlain
Dakota Fest – August 19-21,
Mitchell
Century Farms recognition –
August 28, Huron
SDFB Annual Meeting – November
21-22, Sioux Falls
National Farm-City Week –
November 21-27
AFBF Annual meeting – January
11 – 14, San Antonio, TX
We need more campers!
Please remind high school
freshmen, sophomores, and juniors who want to attend
Farm Bureau Camp that the application deadline is
May 1. Dates for the camp are June 9 – 11 at
Thunderstik Lodge near Chamberlain. For more
information or an application form, log onto the
SDFB website at
http://sdfb.fb.org/.
Scholarship
Winners
Congratulations to the three
students who were each awarded a $1,000 scholarship
from the SD Farm Bureau:
Cheryl Bietz, daughter of Wayne and Tammy
Bietz from Tripp. Cheryl will be attending SDSU
this fall, majoring in pre-chiropractic
Sarah Nagel, daughter of James and Rose
Ann Nagel, Gettysburg. Sarah graduated from
Gettysburg High School in 2005 and is currently in
the pharmacy program at SDSU.
Mark Trask, son of Tom and Shelia Trask,
Wasta. Mark will be majoring in ag business at SDSU
this fall.
This is the second
year of the SDFB scholarship program. Last year two
scholarships were awarded.
The SDFB scholarship fund was started in 2005 by an
initial endowment from Richard and Agnes Ekstrum,
long-time Farm Bureau members from Kimball. The
South Dakota Community Foundation administers the
funds under the direction of the SDFB board of
directors. Earnings on the fund are used for the
scholarship awards.
Anyone interested in contributing to the scholarship
fund, to increase future awards, can make
tax-deductible contributions through the SD
Community Foundation. Contributions may be mailed
directly to the South Dakota Farm Bureau Scholarship
Fund, PO Box 296, Pierre, SD 57501. The Community
Foundation will issue a receipt for your tax recor
Calling
all Century Farms
If your farm or ranch – or a
neighbor’s – has been in the family for at least 100
years with continuous ownership, you are eligible to
apply for this year’s Century Farms recognition.
To
be eligible, there must be at least 80 acres of the
original SD farmland owned by the same family for
100 years. The present owner must be related to the
original owner. This recognition is a joint effort
with the SD Department of Agriculture and is not
limited to SDFB members.
The
ceremony will be held at the SD State Fair on
Thursday, August 28.
For
an application, or for more information, go online
to:
http://sdfb.fb.org/centuryfarm/centuryfarmapp.pdf
Safety & Health
Network Conference
Fargo, North Dakota ~ May 13 - 15, 2008
The registration deadline is Tuesday, April 29, for
the 2008 Farm Bureau Safety & Health Network
Conference. The conference, which will be held in
Fargo, ND, begins at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13,
and will conclude at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 15.
Agenda items include hearing and the rural
population, aging farmers and health care, Agri-Safe
and Certified Safe farms, and ASAP, as well as tours
and displays.
The conference registration fee is $105, which
includes tours, some meals, and breaks. Contact
Marsha Purcell
(202-406-3706 or
marshap@fb.org) or Kim Baker (202-406-3707 or
kimb@fb.org) with any questions.
FB
Day at Wegner Auto
Saturday, May 3, is going to be
Farm Bureau Day at the Wegner Auto GM dealer in
Pierre, SD. The Hughes, Stanley, and Sully county
Farm Bureau along with Todd Axthelm, Farm Bureau
Financial Services agent, and the Wegner Auto sales
team have set up an afternoon of food and giveaways.
Starting at 10 a.m. you can look through the new
inventory of 2008 GM models displayed in the Wegner
Auto showroom and also learn more about the South
Dakota Farm Bureau member benefits, including the GM
rebate program. From 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
there will be hot dogs and pop for all Farm Bureau
members that attend. There will be drawing for free
oil changes, cooler, FB apparel, and other items.
Looking
for college students!
One of the most discussed
issues within the South Dakota Farm Bureau is the
opportunity for more young people to get involved.
To encourage greater participation, SDFB is in the
early development of a collegiate program at SDSU.
This program will be set up much like a county FB.
The collegiate members will vote in a board of
directors and one person from that board will sit on
the state FB board. They will have the opportunity
to have representation at the annual meeting with
one delegate participating in the policy development
process.
If
you or someone in your county has a college student
that you think would enjoy the opportunity to be
part of a new program at SDSU please contact us. The
only way we can ensure the existence of agriculture
tomorrow is by developing the skills of young
leaders today! Please contact Kara Nagel at
605-494-0196 if you would like to get involved.
Interim Legislative Summer Study topics:
The Executive Board of
the Legislative Research Council met last Tuesday
and voted to conduct a summer study of highway
funding and needs. The seven topics to be addressed
in the study include:
1.
Projected long term state and local highway
needs
2.
Allocation and distribution of responsibility
for all highway segments in SD
3.
Future state and local highway-cost
projections compared to projected revenue
4.
Sustainability of current sources of the
state highway fund
5.
Alternative Sources of highway funding
revenue
6.
Strategies for greater efficiency in
financing state and local highways
7.
Strategies to promote development of
innovative ideas for reducing highway funding needs.
Legislators will also
conduct agency reviews of the Department of Game,
Fish & Parks and the Department of Tourism & State
Development.
In addition, the Ag Land
Assessment Advisory Task Force will be meeting this
summer to work with the Department of Revenue in
implementing the transition to a productivity-based
assessment for crop and pasture land. The task
force will consist of 14 members, appointed by
Senator Bob Gray and Representative Tom Deadrick.
So far the
following appointments have been made:
Senator Al
Hoerth, Aberdeen
Senator Dave
Knudson, Sioux Falls
Senator
Kenneth McNenny, Sturgis
Seantor Jim
Peterson, Revillo
Kirk Chaffee,
Meade County Director of Equalization
Ron Olinger,
Pierre attorney
Duane Sutton,
former State Senator from Aberdeen
Seven more
members will be appointed: four House members and
three additional “general public” members.
Vegetative Treatment
Area tour in Nebraska
If you are interested in the
Vegetative Treatment System tours being hosted by
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, you can find
more information at: http://afo.unl.edu
Carbon
Credit Prices Rebound
In the past three months, carbon credit prices have
traded sharply higher on the Chicago Climate
Exchange (CCX). After trading below $2.00/credit
this past December and January, prices in mid-April
have traded as high as $6.05/credit (2008 vintage).
These prices represent record highs on the CCX.
Previous highs were around $5.00/credit in the
spring of 2006.
Prices have trended higher on strong trading
volume. In the first three months of trading on the
CCX, trading volume reached 22 million credits which
nearly matches volume for the entire year last year.
Higher prices are likely a result of a significant
increase in carbon credit demand driven by
expectations in the market that the U.S. will be
moving towards a mandatory cap and trade greenhouse
gas emission reduction system. Carbon credit demand
started to build once the presidential candidates
were whittled down to Clinton, Obama, and McCain –
all three being pro-cap and trade candidates.
Barring surprises on the political front, we see
good carbon credit demand through 2008.
PEW
Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production
Tomorrow, April 29, starting at 10:00 a.m. Eastern
Daylight Time, the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm
Animal Production will be holding a press conference
to release their report.
The commission was formed in 2006 with the stated
goal of conducting “a comprehensive, fact-based and
balanced examination of key aspects of the farm
animal industry.” At the press event, a
comprehensive report entitled “Putting Meat on the
Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America”
will be presented. According to the commission, the
report offers “practical recommendations designed to
address public health, environmental, and animal
welfare concerns; ensure a safe, abundant food
supply; and foster sustainable and economically
viable models of animal agriculture.”
AFBF has been part of a coalition composed of
numerous other ag groups to track and respond to Pew
Commission activities. AFBF anticipates the
commission’s report and recommendations will be
critical of conventional livestock agriculture.
Further, we expect an orchestrated attack on the
current farm animal production system with emphasis
placed on public health, environment, rural
communities and animal welfare.
Additional information about the commission and
other studies it has undertaken is available at
www.pcifap.org.
Congratulations to
the Top 10!
Thanks and congratulations to
the top ten Farm Bureau Financial Services agents in
the South Dakota spring campaign:
Jon
Cochran, West River
Brian Bergeleen, Great Plains
Tom
Grieves, West River
Darrell Spielmann, The Big East
Roger Bordewyk, Great Plains
Deb
Rinehart, Great Plains
Gretchen Sitzes, West River
JoAnn Shea, West Rover
Kandee Gooch, West River
Glenn Parsons, West River
Tax
Freedom Day
April 23 was “Tax Freedom Day” – meaning that
Americans worked nearly four months of the year
before they earned enough money to pay this year's
tax obligations at the federal, state and local
levels.
Americans, as a whole, work a significant number of
days each year to pay for things other than
government, but nothing else is so expensive.
Americans will work longer to pay for government
(113 days) than they will for food, clothing and
housing combined (108 days). In fact, Americans will
work longer to afford federal taxes alone (74 days)
than they will to afford housing (60 days). As a
group, Americans will also work longer to pay state
and local taxes than they will to pay for food.
Tax
Freedom Day had arrived later for the four previous
years, but due to an expected slowdown in the
nation's economy and a massive one-time fiscal
stimulus tax cut passed earlier this year, Tax
Freedom Day is projected to arrive three days
earlier this year compared to last year.
Fast
Fact
Ag production costs increased
by $22 billion in 2007. They are expected to rise
even more this year.