News Update
March 27, 2014
USDA Value-Added Producer Grants Deadline Extended with Veteran Priority Included
The USDA Rural Development Agency announced March 25 a two week extension for grant applications for the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program. The extension, published in the Federal Register, was made necessary by changes to the program included in the 2014 Farm Bill that was recently signed into law. The new grant deadline is April 8.
“Value-Added Producer Grants create jobs and economic growth in rural communities by increasing income and marketing opportunities for farmers and by improving the local economy through job development and retention,” said Ferd Hoefner, policy director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC). “VAPG also enhances food choices for consumers, helping farmers meet growing demand for high quality, value-added local and regional food products.”
To help farmers, farm groups, and farm coops understand the program and the current funding cycle, NSAC has re-issued its Farmers’ Guide to Value-Added Producer Grant Funding. The updated Guide provides helpful hints to improve a producer’s chances of obtaining funding from the highly competitive program and provides clear information on the program’s application requirements, including a step-by-step description of the application and ranking processes.
The two-week extension will allow groups who have already submitted funding applications to revise their proposals if the new farm bill’s addition of returning veteran farmers to the program’s priorities is applicable to their proposal.
The other program priorities include small and medium-scale family farms, beginning farmers and ranchers, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.
For more information, please view the full release here.
High Plains Ranch Practicum Taking Applications for 2014-15 Class
A national award-winning livestock extension program is again being offered for 2014-2015, beginning this June and concluding in January 2015.
The High Plains Ranch Practicum School is an in-depth ranch management school hosted jointly by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) Extension and the University of Wyoming (UW) Extension.
Enrollment is limited to 35. Participants must submit an application form by May 5.
For additional information or to obtain an application, contact UNL Extension Educator Aaron Berger at 308-235-3122 or aberger2@unl.edu, UW Extension Educator Dallas Mount at 307-322-3667 or dmount@uwyo.edu, or visit the website at http://HPRanchPracticum.com.
The High Plains Ranch Practicum is an eight-day, four-session, hands-on educational program designed to give participants the skills and application of management tools needed to be successful in today’s complex ranching industry, said Mount, an instructor in the program.
Sessions will be hosted in Laramie, Wyo., Kimball, Neb., and Riverton, Wyo., and on area ranches. The hands-on experiences combined with time in the classroom help to solidify concepts learned in the Practicum.
The course will focus on providing ranchers tools to understand and integrate four areas of ranch management: range and forage resources, integrating nutrition and reproduction, cost of production analysis and family working relationships.
“Ranchers able to integrate these four areas into decision-making will find they can use a systems approach to improve the long term profitability of the ranch operation,” said Berger, also one of the instructors.
Participants will benefit from instruction and current research in range livestock production, financial management and marketing systems.
Mount said attendees enjoy the camaraderie with other participants, instructors and facilitators throughout the three seasons of the practicum.
For more information, please view the event site here.
Subcommittee Examines Costs Associated with Lawsuits Filed Against the U.S. Forest Service
On March 26, Rep. Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry, hosted a public hearing to review the impact of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and related legislation on the U.S. Forest Service.
The ESA was signed into law in 1973 in order to preserve, protect and recover key domestic species. Since its enactment, more than 1,500 domestic species have been classified as either threatened or endangered under the Act, with only 28 of those species having been delisted as of September 2012. The Forest Service must comply with ESA before engaging in any type of management activity designed to ensure forest health.
However, the ESA contains a citizen suit provision, which allows private citizens to sue federal agencies and private landowners for allegedly failing to fully comply with the Act. A recent study in the Journal of Forestry examined 1,125 management cases filed against the Forest Service in federal court between 1989-2008. Though the costs borne by taxpayers responding to these lawsuits is likely significant, federal agencies do not track these costs, nor are any of these costs recouped, particularly in cases where the federal agency prevails.
On March 26, the subcommittee members examined the direct and indirect costs associated with the lawsuits, particularly those against the Forest Service, and how those lawsuits have diverted budgetary resources away from healthy forest management and interfered with the underlying mission of preserving, protecting, and recovering threatened and endangered species.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Session on Affordable Care Act Slated for Cattle Raisers Convention
An information session devoted to the effects of the Affordable Care Act on ranching families is scheduled for Saturday, April 5, at 8 a.m. at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in downtown San Antonio, Texas. The session is part of the 137th Annual Cattle Raisers Convention and Expo set for April 4-6.
Austin King, president of the Texas Medical Association, will talk with ranchers about the parts of the law that will affect their businesses and families, as well as take questions.
“There are so many questions surrounding the Affordable Care Act and how it affects the ranching way of life,” said Pete Bonds, rancher and TSCRA president. “Dr. King will talk us through what we can expect as small business owners and self-employed cattlemen.”
The 137th Cattle Raisers Convention is April 4-6. Highlights of the convention include the Cattle Raisers Expo, the School for Successful Ranching, and information sessions focused on a number of issues critical to the Texas cattle industry. For more information visit www.tscra.org/convention.
A complete schedule can be found on the TSCRA convention website. TSCRA will continue to update the schedule with additional events.
Multiple Research Appointments Available through Agricultural Research Service Postdoctoral Research Program
Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) and the USDA are currently seeking recent doctoral degree recipients for various appointments in the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Postdoctoral Research Program.
The ARS is the USDA’s chief scientific in-house research agency responsible for developing and transferring solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority. ARS research is organized into national programs composed of more than 800 research projects carried out by ARS in approximately 90 locations across the United States.
From research positions focused on crop production to food safety and virology to sustainable agricultural systems, this program serves as the next step in educational and professional development of scientists and engineers interested in agricultural-related research.
Postdoctoral appointments are normally for one year and can be extended for up to four additional years. The program provides allowances for health insurance and research-related expenses, as well as limited reimbursement for relocation and travel expenses, all of which vary by position.
To be eligible, an applicant must have received a doctoral degree in an appropriate discipline within five years of the desired starting date. Applicants must be able to meet necessary security requirements.
This program is available to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents or foreign nationals, depending on the needs of ARS. For more information on eligibility requirements for non-U.S. citizens, please see Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens.
Program opportunities are administered through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, which is managed by ORAU, and more information as well as a full listing of current positions is available on the program website.
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