An informal, end-of-this-week deadline to get a Farm Bill draft approved by a team of congressional negotiators will not be met, throwing into question whether the Farm Bill can be be passed in the House by year’s end. U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says congress can act quickly “when there’s a will and there’s a way.” “We have to have a clear indication from congress that this is going to get done,” Vilsack says. “Obviously there are some who are skeptical about that given the fact that we have already seen one year with inaction.”

A Farm Bill was due to be passed by this time last year, but congress passed a one-year extension. Vilsack says inaction again this year means his agency will begin instituting the federal farm policies of the 1940s — which are far more costly.”No one wants to do that,” Vilsack says, “and the best and simplest way to avoid it having to be done — at whatever point in time — is to have congress finish its work by the end of the year.” After this week, congress will be in recess for the Thanksgiving holiday. In December, the House will be in session for just two weeks and the Senate for slightly longer before adjourning for the year. Without passage of a five-year Farm Bill, Vilsack says farmers and ranchers are delaying key decisions.

“Doesn’t know how to decide whether to expand, to buy an additional piece of equipment because he or she does not know what the programs are going to be,” Vilsack says. “There is no question that farmers have taken a ‘wait and see’ attitude to further decisions that could help spur not only their own operation, but spur the economy generally.” According to a report released Thursday by the White House Council on Economic Advisors, agriculture accounts for nearly five percent of the Gross Domestic Product and one in 12 jobs in the U.S. are in agriculture.

“A compelling report that makes the argument on a multitude of levels why it’s important for the rest of the country and all of America to see congress finish its work (on the Farm Bill),” Vilsack says. The chairman of the House Ag Committee emerged from a meeting on Thursday saying anything is possible, but it “will be challenging” for Farm Bill negotiators to wrap up their work and have a bill ready for a vote in the House by December 13th.

There are no plans for the House-Senate conference commitee working out the details of a hoped-for Farm Bill compromise to meet today (Friday). Senator Tom Harkin and Congressman Steve King serve on the committee, but neither was involved in this week’s negotiations between the four top lawmakers on the panel.

(Radio Iowa)

Andrea Farrior and Chris Parks talk about the latest information from the Atlantic Animal Shelter at 309 Sunnyside Lane in Atlantic.

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w/ Dr. Keith Leonard

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w/ Max Dirks

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Owners of construction vehicles with older diesel engines in nine Iowa counties may apply for a federal rebate to help replace the vehicles or retrofit older vehicles with new cleaner burning engines. The Environmental Protection Agency is making $2 million available for public and private owners of construction vehicles. Those in Black Hawk, Harrison, Johnson, Linn, Mills, Polk, Pottawattamie, Scott, and Woodbury counties may apply for the money. The EPA says the rebates target counties facing air quality challenges.

Since diesel engines in construction equipment can last for decades, the EPA program is geared toward replacing older less efficient engines that emit more pollutants with newer less polluting engines. EPA will accept applications until Jan. 15 and anticipates awarding the rebates in February.

w/ Kate Olson

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Twelve Iowa FFA chapters have been awarded $2,500 “Be The Seed” grants to spur innovation and progress in their communities while promoting the importance of farming. The “Be The Seed” Grant Program, providing $35,000 in community funding, is sponsored by the Iowa Food & Family Project (Iowa FFP) in cooperation with DuPont Pioneer and the Iowa Soybean Association. Among the grant recipients was the Guthrie Center and West Central Valley FFA’s.

The Guthrie Center FFA plans to establish a community orchard, working with the school’s Family and Consumer Sciences department. The chapter is inspired by the long-term potential of such a project. Establishing a community orchard creates an opportunity to teach students and the area about the importance of agriculture and how people can grow their own food. As the populations continue to grow, food production is going to become increasingly important, and the chapter would like to foster a community-focused interest in food production for local students and area food banks.

West Central Valley FFA in Stuart, will work with the Stuart Public Library to create a community reading garden. The reading garden will encourage people to become more active outdoors and to learn about plants. The reading garden will be used as a way to engage the public by providing a place for them to learn about annuals, perennials, as well as garden crops. FFA members will tend to the garden throughout the summers and will be available to the public as a resource for information.

Grant recipients will be recognized in April at the Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference in Ames. One chapter determined to have conducted the most successful activity in partnership with its community will be recognized with a $5,000 Award of Achievement. More than 40 FFA chapters applied for grant funding.

(For more information, go to: http://www.iasoybeans.com/whatnew/release/275)

The topic of estate planning and evaluation will be an all-day workshop next month in Pottawattamie County. East Pottawattamie County Extension is hosting “Evaluating Your Estate Plan, a Workshop for Farm Families” in southwest Iowa on December 9th, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Community Center in Carson. Topics include the language of estate planning, needed information, setting goals, and gift, estate, and inheritance taxes.

The program gives participants tools and the chance to use those tools to help them prepare or revise an estate plan, and has been highly successful throughout Iowa. According to evaluations within one year 69% of participants had held a family meeting. 64% of participants met with their attorney to review their estate plan within one year of the program.

Presenters are Melissa O’Rourke and Kelvin Leibold, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Farm and Agribusiness Management Specialists. O’Rourke is an attorney who has experience in agricultural law and estate and succession planning. Leibold has been helping farmers with management and business decisions for decades.

The cost is $50 per person, which includes resource materials and lunch. Advance registration by December 6 is required because the program is limited to 40 people. To register, call East Pottawattamie County Extension at 712-482-6449.

Iowans who are curious or concerned about where their food comes from might consider a trip to Ames for tonight’s (Tuesday) event, called a Food Dialogue, or they can participate via the internet. Mindy Williamson is spokeswoman for the Iowa Corn Growers Association, which is teaming up with the U-S Farmers and Ranchers Alliance to sponsor the program. Williamson says, “It’s supposed to be a conversation about food and we are focusing on organic, talking about the definition of local food and also talking about GMOs.”

The issue of genetically-modified organisms continues to be a topic of discussion for many consumers, farmers and activists, and she says it will definitely be a point for conversation at this event.  “We have an evenly-balanced panel of experts and farmers who are going to give consumers, the general public who are in attendance and also those who are live streaming the opportunity to ask questions and get answers straight from the sources.” She says they’ve assembled a panel that is very knowledgeable on an array of ag issues, the G-M-O debate in particular.

Williamson says, “We have some farmers who use conventional farming practices here in Iowa and we also have some farmers who grow organically to talk about what are the issues, what do we need to be concerned about as consumers or what do we not need to worry about as consumers.” Panelists include: Larry Cleverly, an organic farmer, supplier and farmers market vendor; Dr. Wayne Parrott, a professor with the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at the University of Georgia; Wayne Humphreys, a crop and livestock farmer; Dave Murphy, founder and executive director of Food Democracy Now!; Katie Olthoff, a Common Ground volunteer and turkey farmer; and John Schillinger, a crop researcher.

The Food Dialogue begins at 7 P-M at Iowa State University’s Scheman Building. It’s open to the public and it will be streamed live online at www.iowacorn.org.

(Radio Iowa)