In this issue: GOAC
meeting update
Canadian Beef Import rule re-opened for comment
SD Department of Transportation STIP
meetings
Interstate mowing contracts for sale
Truck weight
laws leave farmers in the lurch
OPEC Oil
Export Revenues
Wildlife Federation files suit
against haying/grazing
Nomination Deadline Nearing for FSA
County Committees
Beef Check-Off
YF&R SummerFest
Quote of the Day
July 14, 2008
Upcoming events:
Ag Land Assessment Advisory Task Force
Meeting – July 28, Pierre
GF&P legislative interim review – August 11-12,
Pierre
YF&R SummerFest – August 16, Pierre
Dakota Fest – August 19-21, Mitchell
Century Farms recognition – August 28, Huron
Highway Needs & Financing interim study –
September 24-25, Pierre
SDFB Annual Meeting – November 21-22, Sioux
Falls
National Farm-City Week – November 21-27
AFBF Annual meeting – January 11 – 14, San
Antonio, TX
Government
Operations & Audit Committee
When GOAC met last week in Pierre,
one of the discussion items was their ongoing
attempt to track down information on several
planes involving the Corn Utilization Council
and aviation fuel research at SDSU. While SDSU
was represented at the meeting, the Corn Council
was not. Many of the committee member questions
were directed at the Corn Council – so the issue
will again be on the agenda at a future meeting.
Another issue
the GOAC discussed late in the day involved
transfer of the livestock brand inspection from
the Stockgrowers Association to the State Brand
Board. According to information given at the
meeting, there will be 14 full-time inspectors
and 75 part-time inspectors. Two questions
arose out of committee discussion: Would
mileage be charged for the inspections as it was
in the past, and would the current inspection
fee support the expenses associated with
supporting the new inspection staff? The answers
to both questions were “yes.” GOAC will be
monitoring the implementation of this state
managed program.
Canadian Beef
Import rule re-opened for comment
The rule allowing Canadian cattle over 30 months
old to enter the United States must go through a
new rulemaking process including the opportunity
for public comment, a U.S. District Court judge
in South Dakota has ruled.
R-CALF argued
that USDA failed to follow its own procedures in
reopening the Canadian border last November to
cattle over 30 months old at slaughter. Because
the court found that the plaintiffs were likely
to prevail on that argument, the rule was
remanded back to USDA for a notice of rulemaking
and acceptance of public comments on the
decision. Meanwhile, the ruling will have no
effect on the flow of cattle from Canada into
the United States.
The current
rule was published in January 2005, and then
suspended when a four year-old BSE (bovine
spongiform encephalopathy) positive animal was
found in Alberta, Calgary. Judge Lawrence
Piersol said USDA needed to explain why it then
went ahead and implemented the over-30-months
rule in November 2007. He wrote: “Why the OTM
beef provisions were implemented in 2007 after
its decision not to implement them in 2005
prohibits this Court from concluding that a
reasoned basis for the decision existed in
2007.”
A group of eleven plaintiffs including R-CALF
USA brought the case and asked the court to
close the border until the pending court cases
are settled. Judge Piersol did not close the
border.
SD DOT – Statewide
Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)
Public meetings will be held
throughout South Dakota, beginning this week, to
gather public input on the DOT’s five-year plan
to preserve, renovate, and enhance the state’s
transportation system. The STIP is a list of
projects developed through the coordinated
efforts of the Department of Transportation,
Transportation Commission, state and federal
agencies, local and tribal governments,
metropolitan planning organizations, public
agencies, transportation providers, citizens and
other interested parties.
The public meetings will present Tentative STIP
and to gather public input. The meetings will be
held at the following:
**
Aberdeen
- July 15, 2008 - Ramada Inn, 7:00 p.m.
**
Sioux Falls -
July 16, 2008 - Ramkota Hotel, 7:00 p.m.
**
Mitchell - July
17, 2008 - Mitchell Technical Institute
Technology Center on the southeast corner of the
intersection of I90 and SD37 at 1800 East
Spruce, 7:00 p.m.
**
Pierre - July 29,
2008 - Pierre at the Kings Inn, 7:00 p.m.
**
Rapid City - July
30, 2008 - Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, 7:00
p.m.
A list of proposed projects
for each region is listed on the DOT website:
http://www.sddot.com/pe/projdev/planning_stip.asp
The Department
is accepting written testimony on the STIP.
Comments may be submitted to: SD Department of
Transportation
Office of Planning and Programs
700 East Broadway Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501-2586
You may also e-mail
comments, along with your address, to:
duane.heermann@state.sd.us
Interstate Mowing
Contracts for Sale
The SD Department of Transportation
is offering for sale the right to mow and remove
hay from the median of Interstate 29 from
mile-marker 179.6 to the North Dakota State
Line. All bid proposals will be opened at 10
a.m. on August 1, 2008.
Adjacent
landowners will be given first priority in the
award of the contracts. The minimum acceptable
bid is $20 per mile. The Department of
Transportation reserves the right to reject any
and all bids.
For more
information, requirements, or a bid form contact
Ron Sherman, Department of Transportation, PO
Box 1446, Watertown, SD, 57201, or call (605)
882-5166.
Truck weight
laws leave farmers in the lurch
Mike Spradling, president of the Oklahoma Farm
Bureau Federation, recently testified before the
House Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Highways and
Transit, emphasizing that farmers and ranchers
hauling their own goods and services to market
across relatively short distances should not be
held to regulations intended for commercial
long-haul drivers.
“Current weight limits imposed by the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible and Efficient
Transportation Safety Act (SAFETEA) and the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs)
burden farmers and ranchers hauling their
products to market,” testified Spradling, a Sand
Springs, Okla. cattle and pecan producer. “The
American Farm Bureau Federation recommends
changes to FMCSR’s rules regarding Commercial
Motor Vehicles that will make them more workable
for farmers and ranchers while still maintaining
the safety of rural roads.”
OPEC Oil Export
Revenues
The U.S. Energy Information
Administration estimates that members of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) earned $671 billion in net oil
export revenues in 2007, a 10 percent increase
from 2006.
Saudi Arabia earned the largest share of these
earnings, $194 billion, representing 29 percent
of total OPEC revenues. On a per-capita basis,
OPEC net oil export earnings reached $1,137, a 8
percent increase from 2006. Through June, OPEC
had earned an estimated $645 billion in net oil
export earnings in 2008.
Based on projections from the EIA July 2008
Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO), OPEC net oil
export revenues could be $1,251 billion in 2008
and $1,322 billion in 2009.
Wildlife
Federation files suit against haying/grazing
The National Wildlife Federation has filed a
lawsuit prompting a federal district judge in
Seattle, Wash., to issue a temporary restraining
order that stops grazing on Conservation Reserve
Program (CRP) land under the Critical Feed Use
Program that was announced May 27.
The injunction ordered Tuesday by U.S. District
Judge John Coughenour could affect 24 million
acres of conservation lands across the country.
Coughenour granted a temporary restraining order
that prevents USDA from approving any further
CRP contract amendments. The ruling also enjoins
all previously approved contract modifications.
The restraining order is in place pending
further consideration of the issues. The next
court date is set for July 17. The restraining
order DOES NOT stop the grazing of CRP ground in
the counties opened earlier because of flooding.
Under the Critical Feed Use Program, haying and
grazing of CRP ground would be allowed after the
primary nesting season of grass nesting birds.
The National Wildlife Federation contends USDA’s
plan to allow hazing and grazing on CRP acres
after nesting periods violates the National
Environmental Policy Act by not properly
considering environmental factors.
USDA has been carrying out this CRP plan in some
areas since July 1 through an amendment to
current contracts. This contract amendment did
not require the use of USDA’s natural disaster
related emergency authority. Farm Services
Agency approval for an amendment to CRP
contracts was required and significant
limitations were placed on eligibility.
Nomination
Deadline Nearing for FSA County Committees
Farmers, ranchers and other agricultural
producers are reminded by the USDA’s Farm
Service Agency that they have until August 1 to
nominate eligible candidates to serve on local
FSA county committees. Teresa Lasseter, who is
the FSA administrator, encourages all producers
to get involved by nominating eligible
candidates to serve on county committees. She
says the committees are important because they
help deliver federal programs for producers.
The FSA county committees help local farmers
with decisions on commodity price support loans,
conservation programs and disaster programs.
People wanting to hold office as a county
committee member must take part in FSA
administered programs, be eligible to vote in a
county committee election and reside in the area
where they are a candidate. The county
committee nomination period began June 15 and
voting takes place in the fall. Ballots will be
mailed to eligible voters in early November and
ballots must be returned to the local USDA
Service Center by December 1.
Beef Check-Off
AFBF President Bob Stallman met last week with
representatives of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB)
to discuss potential changes to the beef
check-off. USDA has asked the CBB to develop
and recommend changes to the beef check-off. The
CBB is conducting meetings with national
industry organizations to discuss suggested
improvements to the program. Their suggestions
will be provided to the Secretary of Agriculture
in early 2009.
Here is a copy of the letter AFBF
submitted to Dave Bateman, Chairman of the
Cattlemen's Beef Board Re: Beef Check-Off
Thanks for meeting with us yesterday
to discuss potential enhancements to the beef
check-off. I thought it might be useful to
review our positions in writing. We will also be
sharing these views with our state Farm Bureaus
in the next few days.
Farm Bureau supports the beef
check-off. It is an important tool to strengthen
the beef industry’s position in the marketplace
through the promotion and research of beef and
beef products. We believe it is a good time to
ascertain if the check-off can be strengthened
and what potential changes might be necessary to
attain that goal.
American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF)
policy expressly supports the beef check-off
program and an adjustment in the check-off rate,
although no specific rate is suggested. Our
members firmly believe the check-off has
succeeded in helping build beef demand and has
assisted in moving product domestically and in
the export market. Farm Bureau policy also
supports enhancements to the current program. We
will work to implement these enhancements prior
to taking a position on adjusting the current
check-off rate.
* We
believe accountability to the producer is
paramount. While some organizations support
a periodic referendum, we believe that is
unnecessarily costly for both out-of-pocket
expenses and the investment of time. A periodic
referendum pulls people from other
demand-building and consumer efforts during the
referendum period. However, we believe an
opportunity to petition for a referendum at any
time 10 percent of a representative sample of
beef, dairy and veal producers request the
referenda is critical for accountability
purposes. A referenda should be used to
consider continuation of the beef check-off
program and/or to affirm significant changes to
the Beef Promotion Act and Order.
Check-off programs for some commodities provide
producers the opportunity to petition for a
survey every five to seven years. If 10 percent
of the eligible producers sign the survey
petition requesting a referendum, USDA is
required to conduct a vote within of all
eligible producers within one year. We believe
our policy makes more sense as ten percent of
producers could request the referendum more or
less frequently than every five years.
We also
believe producer participation in a
referendum must be improved through all
available means, including mail-in or electronic
ballots.
*
The check-off should be more inclusive. The
act prohibits industry organizations created
after 1985 from becoming check-off contractors.
Any reference to the charter date of established
national non-profit industry governed
organizations in the Beef Promotion and Research
Order (Order) must be eliminated. This would
allow all interested industry organizations
established after 1985 to bid on contracts and
conduct check-off projects.
In
addition, strong consideration should be given
to eliminating the current requirement that the
Beef Board’s Operating Committee (Committee)
contract only with “established, national
nonprofit industry-governed organizations.”
Consideration should be given to allowing the
Committee to contract directly with vendors and
avoid possible conflicts of interest generated
by the policy positions of any national
organization.
*
Understanding of the Federation of State Beef
Councils must be enhanced. There is
unquestionably a lack of understanding of the
check-off structure. However, there are also
perception problems regarding the alignment of
the Federation of State Beef Councils with the
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
Enhancements to the check-off must be made to
reduce this perception or reality. A complete
separation of any ties between the State Beef
Councils and NCBA may be worth examination.
*
The check-off provisions ensuring imported
commodities are subject to check-offs on the
same basis as domestic producers should be
continued.
*
The Order’s certification procedures must be
clarified. Currently, USDA appoints 104
members to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB). CBB
members are nominated by state producer groups.
Groups are deemed eligible to nominate if their
total paid membership represents at least a
majority of the cattle producers in the state.
In addition, the association or organization
must represent a substantial number of producers
that produce a substantial number of cattle in
the state.
Twenty
state Farm Bureaus are currently certified to
nominate Beef Board members: Arizona, Arkansas,
Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New
York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota,
Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and
Wyoming.
Some
have evidently considered interpreting the
current certification requirements in a way that
would preclude nine of those states from being
recertified due to the membership numbers they
submit for the certification criteria. While all
of the 20 states have been certified to nominate
for 2009, this criteria needs to be clarified
via changes to the act to reduce potential
problems in the future.
Again,
we believe it is critical that the beef
check-off be continued and improved. The act and
order must be structured to ensure that
producers decide where the funding is allocated
and which programs are supported. An opportunity
must be provided to evaluate those results.
Without a check-off it would be difficult to
adequately address issues such as food safety,
nutrition, changing demographics, consumer
preferences and public opinion. Farm Bureau
looks forward to working with you to improve the
beef check-off. Once again, thank you for the
opportunity to meet and share our views
regarding those improvements.
Sincerely,
Bob Stallman
President
YF&R Summerfest
You are invited to the Farm Bureau
Young Farmer and Rancher SummerFest. Don’t miss
the chance to cool off and enjoy a day on the
river with good friends and great food.
Festivities
will begin August 16th at 11 a.m., with dinner
at 1 p.m. The event will be held north of
Pierre at the Oahe Downstream Park. Entry into
the park is $5 per vehicle unless you already
have a yearly parks pass. You can reserve a
camping site at
http://www.sdgfp.info/Parks/Regions/OaheSharpe/OaheDownstream.htm.
If you are not as one with nature, there are a
block of rooms at the Pierre Days Inn, 520 W
Sioux Ave. The phone number is (605) 224-0411.
The rooms are held under SDFB YF&R
Please RSVP to Kara Nagel @ 605-494-0196,
knagel@pie.midco.net. Or…if you want more
information, please contact Kara.
Hope to see you there!!!
Quote of the Day:
“Nothing is
really lost. It’s just where it doesn’t
belong.” – Suzanne Mueller