“We are pleased with the passage of Sen. Udall’s amendment to the NDAA and effect it will have on ensuring the DOD can continue its work on advanced biofuels,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “The earlier proposed prohibitions that were in place in the NDAA would have been harmful to farmers, ranchers, the advanced biofuels industry and our national security. The DOD spends more than $11 billion each year on fossil fuels. Each time the price of a barrel of oil increases by $10, it costs DOD another $1.4 billion.”

The DOD, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy signed a memorandum of understanding in collaboration with the private sector to commercialize advanced biofuels in order to reduce the military’s and the country’s dependence on foreign oil in 2011. DOD has asked Congress to fund $70 million of this initiative as seed money to build or retrofit refineries to produce advanced biofuels.

including 1 in 4 children. Right now, thanks to a $50,000 matching gift from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, every dollar given through the National Farmers Union will be doubled – with all member-driven donations going back to the food banks that serve hungry people in their community.

One dollar donated to Feeding America is worth $17 in food and groceries. Thanks to the matching grant from the Buffett Foundation, $1 donated by Farmers Union members is worth $34 in food through Feeding America.

If Farmers Union reaches our goal of raising $50,000, it means that $1.7 million worth of food will reach those that need it most. The Feeding America network donates 3 billion pounds of food and grocery products every year to 37 million people facing hunger every year.

This year’s campaign concludes on Dec. 15, 2012. In the seasonal spirit of giving, please consider donating today. Click here to find out how you can help!

A Short-Term Farm Bill Extension Results in Long-Term Pain

In the event that Congress passes a short-term (one year or less) extension of the farm bill as part of the raft of legislation to avoid the “fiscal cliff,” there will be many unpleasant outcomes that will undermine the integrity of the next five-year farm bill.

Any extension of the bill will almost certainly include some cuts in order to placate ideological extremists in the House. Reductions in farm bill baseline funding as part of the extension reduces the resources available for the next farm bill.

The thirty seven farm bill programs that lost baseline funding on or before September 30, 2012, will require additional spending in order to be reinstated or continued. This affects:

– All farm bill renewable energy programs

– All farm bill disaster programs (expired in 2011), including SURE and livestock programs

– Some rural development programs, including Value-Added Agricultural Market Development program grants

– The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development program and other local and regional food system programs

It is almost assured that all of the above programs will have less funding, even in a new farm bill.

Direct payments may be eliminated in a farm bill extension, which would remove $50 million from the next farm bill. This leaves less funding for programs like Agricultural Risk Coverage (in the Senate Bill) or Price Loss Coverage and Revenue Loss Coverage (in the House version). As a result, target prices or revenue assurances will be lower compared to the current proposals.

Enrollment caps for conservation programs will be even lower. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is already slated to have a significant reduction in acreage and without a farm bill, sign-up has stopped.

The longer there isn’t a new farm bill, the less money will be available for the next. As commodity prices are generally high and counter-cyclical programs aren’t issuing payments, cost projections for existing programs will be lower, which results in a lower baseline funding level.

When it comes time to write the farm bill after an extension, there will be limited options for cuts. As a result, the two largest pots of money, crop insurance and nutrition programs, will bear the brunt of the reductions.

All of this is especially troubling given that mustering the political will to pass an extension of the farm bill is likely to be just as difficult as passing a long-term bill. NFU continues to support passage of a five-year farm bill before the end of the year.

For more information, contact Mike Stranz at mstranz@nfudc.org.

Don’t forget to check out NFU’s blog at www.nfu.org/blog. We will use this space to encourage dialogue about Farmers Union events throughout the country, education and outreach, our members, cooperative development and issues that impact U.S. family farmers, ranchers, fishermen and their communities.

Imagine that you’re 17 and feeling a little insecure. Then you attend the NFU All-States Leadership Camp and say, “Camp gave me the motivation to take the lead and learn how to work with people from all aspects of life.” Or “I am a better person today because of Farmers Union.”

Imagine you just started to farm and other beginning farmer programs don’t seem like a good fit.Then you find the NFU Beginning Farmer Institute (BFI) and say, “National Farmers Union’s ability to reach out to a broad cross section of farmers makes it different than other organizations. They teach at a level that opens eyes to a broader picture of where our farm fits into agriculture. It’s a powerful experience.”

Please enable us to keep our valuable programs sustainable by clicking here to make a tax-deductible contribution to the NFU Foundation. To learn what your donation pays for, click here. Help a child gain confidence and leadership skills. Help a person use their passion and sharpen their skills to start to farm. Your generous support does make a difference.

NFU Partners with Home Grown Cow

NFU is teaming up with Home Grown Cow to provide farmers and ranchers with an opportunity to market certain products directly to consumers. Home Grown Cow also gives consumers an opportunity to browse products by location and farming style.

Visit Home Grown Cow’s website at www.homegrowncow.com.

Current Parity % of
Commodity Price Price Parity
Crops
Barley (bushel)……………..6.50……….12.60………52
Corn (bushel)……………….6.71……….12.00………56
Cotton, Upland (lb) ……..0.688………..2.08……….33
Flaxseed (bushel)…………14.00………31.80………44
Oats (bushel)……………….3.70………..7.61……….49
Peanuts (lb)………………..0.330………0.752………44
Rice (cwt)…………………..14.70………42.20………35
Sorghum Grain (cwt)…….12.30………21.10………58
Soybeans (bushel)………..13.80………28.90……..48
Wheat (bushel)……………..8.42……..18.30………46
Livestock
Cattle (cwt)………………123.00……..292.00……..42
Hogs (cwt)…………………62.10………160.00…….39
Dairy/Poultry
Eggs, (dozen)………………1.19………..2.63………41
Milk, All (cwt)……………..21.10……….52.10……..40
*Lamb and manufacturing milk prices are one month behind all other prices in this analysis.
** Egg Prices are Mid-month in this analysis.
Taken from “Agricultural Prices,” USDA/NASS.

The webinar will address the most widely known emerging cooperative business model, the new generation cooperative, and the legal, tax, and accounting issues they face. It will also address how credit unions are currently formed from a more traditional cooperative model to a more nuanced one. Finally, the webinar will assess cooperatives through the lens of the international arena by providing a brief summary of the International Cooperative Alliance’s strategy of the “Blueprint for a Cooperative Decade.”

To register, please visit the NCBA Training & Education site here.