News Update
April 28, 2017
President Trump Signs
Executive Orders to
Boost Rural America
President Trump is sending a clear signal this week that he is interested and engaged in helping boost rural America. With the executive order signed on Tuesday, April 25, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue will chair a newly established Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity, charged “to ensure the informed exercise of regulatory authority that impacts agriculture and rural communities.”
Craig Uden, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) president, said he is glad to see President Trump’s engagement this week.
“We are appreciative for President Trump making agriculture a high priority right out of the gate,” said Uden. “With Secretary Perdue in office and the establishment of this task force, we are in a strong position moving forward to develop policy that will bolster our rural economy rather than the continuous over-regulation we have recently faced.”
President Trump has specifically asked the task force to look at issues that have been high priority for NCBA — such as needed changes to the death tax and the protection of private property rights.
Learn more in the NCBA news release online.
Farm Bureau Applauds Regulatory Accountability Act
The following may be attributed to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall:
“American Farm Bureau Federation strongly supports the bi-partisan Regulatory Accountability Act introduced today (April 26) by Senators Portman and Heitkamp. This bipartisan effort is one that should be welcomed by all stakeholders — farmers, ranchers, policymakers, state officials, environmentalists, scientists — anyone who wants a system that is open, transparent and fair and who recognizes the current system fails to live up to our expectations.
“Reasonable people may disagree about regulatory policies, but we shouldn’t argue about how they are developed. When agencies use economic or scientific data, those facts and figures should be available for everyone to evaluate. When agencies decide on regulatory requirements, they should not make demands or impose costs that go beyond the will of Congress.”
View the complete Farm Bureau news release online.
Stuck in the Middle
It’s a sad story. It’s the true tale of a 68-year-old farmer who was concerned about the transition of management and ownership of his family’s operation. The story stems from an actual conversation between this man, whom we’ll call “Joe,” and University of Nebraska Department of Agricultural Economics Transition Specialist David Goeller. Wanting a professional opinion, the farmer had turned to Goeller, a veteran educator and consultant in farm/ranch business succession.
According to Goeller, Joe asked about the appropriate age at which a son should be allowed to share management duties with his father. Goeller wanted to know how old Joe’s son was. The farmer explained that he really wasn’t talking about his son. Joe was talking about himself and his 90-year-old father.
It seems that Joe’s dad held tightly to the reins of farm management. So absolute was the old gent’s authority that neither Joe nor Joe’s 30-something son were allowed to make any management decisions. Every morning, each of them waited until Grandpa issued their individual work assignments for the day.
Continue reading this Angus Media news release online.
Canadian Angus Association
Welcomes Breed Development Officer
The Canadian Angus Association (CAA) is pleased to welcome its newest staff member Anice Thomas who has been hired as the breed development officer.
Thomas will work with Director of Breed Development Kajal Devani to deliver the Canadian Angus Performance Program and the Commercial Angus Identification and Performance Program, as well as data entry, design and completion of research projects, member information sessions, creating member engagement and educational tools, and other similar tasks.
Thomas is from Jamaica and spent her formative years on the island appreciating, exploring and understanding tropical agriculture. She completed her undergraduate degrees in general agriculture at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education in Jamaica and The University of the West Indies, in Trinidad and Tobago.
For more information, visit the CAA website.
AgriLife Extension sets May 25
Nolan County Beef Cattle Program
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will conduct a beef cattle conference from 6-8 p.m. May 25 at the Roscoe STEM Center, 12822 N. Interstate Highway 20, Roscoe.
“With folks buying back into the beef industry, wouldn’t it be great to know how much you can afford to pay for a cow to best ensure a profit? Making that decision a bit more than a ‘horseback’ guess will be part of our program along with some other topical subjects,” said Zach Wilcox, AgriLife Extension agent in Nolan County.
“The Bid Price Estimator for Beef Cows has been around for a while, but now it’s been updated to include other items including cow management costs,” Wilcox said. “Grass insurance is another topic we’ll cover. With beef cattle profit margins tightening again, I think these and other topics will help you save money, which is often the way money is made in agriculture these days. Given these topics, I predict this program will be well worth your time.”
For more information, visit the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events.
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