News Update
February 27, 2013
Take Part in a Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity and
Support the Angus Foundation in ‘Building an Angus legacy!’
Leave your legacy behind in the Angus breed at the American Angus Association’s headquarters in Saint Joseph, Mo., all while supporting your Angus Foundation and its youth, education and research programs. Building an Angus legacy! is the fundraising opportunity available only for a limited time, March 1–July 1, 2013.
The American Angus Association front entrance walkway will be completely remodeled with black granite and red brick to match the historic building. Until July 1, 2013, for a tax-deductible unrestricted donation of $250, $500 or $2,500 to Building an Angus legacy!, you will be recognized on a beautiful personalized engraved granite paver.
Recognition on a 6 × 12-inch (in.) granite paver is available for a $250 donation. For $500, you can be recognized on a 12 × 12-in. paver. These two sizes will be placed in the ground at the entrance. Twenty-four 8 × 16-in. granite pavers will be laid within a brick wall leading up to the Association door. Recognition on these pavers is available at $2,500.
A limited number of each size of granite paver will be available. Submit your order form and payment to the Angus Foundation as soon as possible to ensure availability of your preference. Orders will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Only after the donation is received will engraving begin on the paver. The Angus Foundation is accepting orders via mail and online at www.angusfoundation.org. Net proceeds of the project will benefit activities supported by the Angus Foundation.
“Building an Angus legacy! provides Angus breeders, current and past, a very unique and meaningful way to leave their legacy in the Angus breed at the American Angus Association headquarters in Saint Joseph for visitors to enjoy viewing for years to come,” says Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president. “It is our hope you will want a beautiful engraved granite paver to ensure that your place in the Angus breed’s history is forever etched, literally in granite stone, at your Association.”
For more information click here.
Farm Bureau Urges New Ag Labor Guestworker Program
A new, modern guestworker program for agricultural workers is needed so that U.S. farmers and ranchers can continue growing food, tending livestock and contributing to the nation’s economy, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Bob Stallman told Congress today.
“We want to keep these jobs in America for U.S. workers, not outsource them,” Stallman testified to the House’s Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security. Farm Bureau urged lawmakers to implement a new, market-based labor program administered by the USDA.
The new program would serve as a substitute for and eventually replace the H-2A program now in place, Stallman explained. It would also provide farmers with access to a legal and stable workforce over the long-term. In addition, the new program would provide employers with greater certainty that they will have access to the workforce they need, when they need it and at a competitive cost.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Severe Weather Awareness Week is Reminder to Get Prepared
Jamie Rathbun and a team of her colleagues are on a mission to help individuals and families become as prepared as possible for severe weather that might come their way. There’s no better time, she said, than March 3-9, declared Kansas Severe Weather Awareness Week this year by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback.
By assembling an emergency kit, taking inventory of household possessions, reviewing insurance policies and other steps, the process of recovering from tornadoes, flooding and other severe weather can be eased, said Rathbun, who is a family and consumer sciences agent with K-State Research and Extension in Ellsworth County. She, along with other extension agents and specialists around the state, produced, “Get Financially Prepared — Take Steps Ahead of Disaster” available free online at the Kansas State University (K-State) Research and Extension Bookstore (Search for MF 3055).
“Last year (Kansas) had a fairly quiet year by severe weather standards, except the deadly tornado that struck Feb. 28 in Harveyville,” said Kansas climatologist Mary Knapp. “That storm was still active into Feb. 29 when it spawned a number of lethal tornadoes in states to the east.”
Knapp, who is in charge of the state’s Weather Data Library based at K-State, said it’s difficult to predict storms more than seven to 10 days in advance, but one place citizens can check is the Storm Prediction Center, a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Severe Weather Awareness Week is a good reminder that severe weather is a fact of life in Kansas,” she said. “It’s also a reminder that an emergency kit is a good thing to have not only in case of late winter and springtime severe weather, but in case there’s an emergency any time of year.”
NFU Urges Congress to Include Agriculture in the Climate Change Solution
National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson submitted comments to the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change, addressing how the federal government can effectively address climate change.
“The past year has seen extreme weather events of unusual force. Most scientists agree that these events are likely only to increase in intensity and frequency,” said Johnson. “These types of extreme weather events will continue to affect NFU members’ ability to provide food, feed, fiber and fuel to our nation. While it is unlikely that every storm that we experience can be related to climate change, the science is clear that if we do not act now to mitigate and adapt, our agricultural system and the country at large will be at risk.”
In his comments, Johnson argued that a well-constructed mandatory cap-and-trade system would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and that farmers and ranchers can make significant contributions to address climate change.
Given the right incentives, agriculture can play a significant role in such a system though carbon sequestration projects on agricultural lands, as well as capturing emissions from stored manure livestock facilities,” Johnson noted. “Any climate change legislation should be crafted using the expertise of the agriculture sector and should financially reward producers for sequestering carbon in order to offset higher energy costs.”
The Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change is co-chaired by U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and is dedicated to focusing congressional and public attention on climate change and developing effective policy responses. Responses will help inform Congress and the federal government about the menu of options available to address climate change.
Farm Poll Examines Where,
How Farmers Get Their Information
Farmers were asked to select the category of information provider that they would go to first when seeking information on crop production, nutrient management, pest and disease management, conservation, finances and marketing, J. Gordon Arbuckle Jr., a sociologist with Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach, explained. For each topic, farmers could choose fertilizer or agricultural chemical dealers; seed dealers; USDA, National Resources Conservation Services (NRCS), Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) service centers; private crop consultants; ISU Extension and Outreach; commodity associations; and “other.”
For crop production — including corn production, soybean production and seed selection — seed dealers were the first choice for a plurality of farmers. A majority of farmers selected fertilizer or agricultural chemical dealers as their primary source of crop disease, insect and weed management information. Fertilizer or agricultural chemical dealers also were selected as the preferred provider of information on fertilizer application rates and nutrient management.
USDA/NRCS/SWCD service centers were designated as the preferred resource for information for both conservation tillage and soil and water conservation in general. Responses for farm financial management and marketing showed that many farmers did not select any of the listed entities as their primary information source, with 57% selecting other.
“Extension and Outreach ranked second or third in all categories, with the highest percentages being for pest and disease management, conservation, and farm financial management. Overall, 54% of farmers indicated that they would go to Extension first for at least one category of information. That said, chances are that much of the information farmers are receiving from other sources is based to some extent on Iowa State research,” Arbuckle said.
For more information and the full release, click here.
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