12-20-11 Congressional and Senate Western Caucuses Weekly Address – Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS)

Moran: “The future of agriculture depends on stopping this vast overreach of executive authority and protecting our individual rights.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Senate Western Caucus member Jerry Moran (R-KS) delivered the Senate and Congressional Western Caucuses weekly address.  In his remarks, Senator Moran spoke about the need to halt a new U.S. Department of Labor rule that would ban youth under the age of 16 from participating in many common farm-related tasks. Watch the video below…

12-20-11 Inside NRCS-CO with Phyllis Phillipps, State Conservationist…”2012 EQIP & CSP Signups”

NRCS-CO State Conservationist Phyllis Philipps

(The BARN – Briggsdale, CO) December 20th, 2011 -The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Colorado recently named Phyllis Philipps as its new State Conservationist who began working in that capacity back in September of this year. On this month’s interview, she will be discussing the following topics:

• Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) 2012 Signup
•  Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) 2012 Signup
• DEADLINE TO APPLY IS JAN 13th, 2012 – RANKING CUTOFF DATE

To listen to the interview with NRCS-CO State Conservationist Phyllis Phillips, click the mp3 audio link…

122011_NRCS-Co_EQIP-CSP_Philipps_10m32s

For more information about NRCS-CO – CLICK HERE

12-20-11 *NCBA News* Beltway Beef…Nebraska Cattleman to Serve as President

CLICK HERE to listen to today's Beltway Beef courtesy of the NCBA...

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) Beltway Beef weekly audio is ready. When cattlemen and women gather in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 1-4, for the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, they will be welcoming J.D. Alexander as the new NCBA President. At convention, he will take the reins from Montana cattleman Bill Donald.

Alexander is a veteran cattle feeder and farmer from Pilger, Neb., with a long history as a leader in the industry and at NCBA. Alexander will be leading the organization forward at a time when the industry is faced with record-high cattle prices but also a multitude of challenges in the form of increased regulatory burdens and growing risk.

This weekly commentary features NCBA members, leaders, staff and more week after week. Click here to download this week’s segment of Beltway Beef. Click here for all previous clips.

Be sure to read about this and more on NCBA’s blog, Beltway Beef. Follow Beltway Beef on Twitter, like us on Facebook, watch video on YouTube and download pictures from Flickr.

2012 Colorado Farm Show Scholarship Winners Announced

January 24-25-26th, 2012 CLICK HERE for details!

December 15th, 2011 COLORADO FARM SHOW – GREELEY, CO- The 2012 Colorado Farm Show Scholarship Committee will be awarding seven graduating high school seniors a total of $17,500 to be utilized in helping students to reach their higher education goals.  One $1,500 Carl Luther Memorial Vo-Tec Scholarship and the Six $2,000 Chuck Urano Memorial Scholarships will be awarded at a ceremony held in their honor on Wednesday, January 25^th, 2012 in the Events Center Ballroom at Island Grove Regional Park in Greeley, Colorado.

The Chuck Urano Memorial Scholarships  started in 1992 to honor the late founder of the Colorado Farm Show.  To date, over $98,000 in scholarships have been awarded in his memory to young people pursuing careers in agriculture. The Vo-Tec Scholarship is given in memory of Carl Luther, a longtime supporter and exhibitor of the Colorado Farm Show.

Receiving the 2012 Chuck Urano Memorial Scholarships are: Kristen Lyn Schmidt of Greeley, Kathleen Emma Heupel of Weldona, Carl Douglas Martin of Genoa, Madison Leigh Andersen of Limon, Laura Cheyenne Mortensen of Dolores and Taylor LaShalle Hett of Roggen and receiving the Carl Luther Vo-Tec Scholarship is Morgan Nicole Trujillo of Ault.

To view the entire Press Release – CLICK HERE

12-20-11 US Representative Cory Gardner to Hick: Let’s work together to grow CO aerospace industry

 

COLO. – Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) is supporting efforts to grow the Colorado’s aerospace industry and applauding Gov. John Hickenlooper’s outreach to the Federal Aviation Administration seeking a spaceport designation for Colorado.

In a letter to the Governor, Gardner highlights the existing aerospace presence in Colorado’s 4^th Congressional District: the new Aerospace and Clean Energy (ACE) Manufacturing Park, the satellite imagery company DigitalGlobe, and the homes of hundreds of workers employed at Ball Aerospace in Boulder and United Launch Alliance in Denver.

Gardner also wrote, “Colorado is uniquely entwined with the space industry. Throughout the state we are home to leaders in space technology in both the private and public sectors. Over 160,000 of the best workers in America are employed in space related jobs here in Colorado, and that number is growing.”

To read the full letter, click HERE.

12-20-11 CO Governor Hickenlooper proposes more funding for education after revenue forecast comes back higher than expected

DENVER ­— Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011 — Gov. John Hickenlooper today recommended that $89 million in proposed cuts to K-12 education be restored because a higher-than-expected revenue forecast shows more money will be available for the state’s General Fund.

An amended budget request for the current and next fiscal years will also call for adding money to the State Education Fund (approximately $110 million); restoring proposed cuts to higher education financial aid programs (approximately $30 million); setting aside more money (approximately $8 million) for the existing Colorado Property Tax/Rent/Heat Rebate in 39-31-101, C.R.S., to help the neediest of seniors; and increasing local severance tax grants by $8 million, to $18 million.

“The cuts to K-12 education in next year’s budget were the last and hardest to make,” Hickenlooper said. “That’s why we want those cuts to be the first restored. The state’s neediest seniors should also benefit from the higher revenue forecast as we make more money available to help them pay property taxes. We are able to recommend all of this because the economy has shown welcome improvement in recent months.”

The General Fund revenue forecast for the current budget year (FY 2011-12) is $231 million, or 3.2 percent, higher than the September forecast. The weakening in the economy that influenced the projections in September has reversed and there is more momentum in the economy than was previously evident.

The state’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) reports:

*History Colorado-Centennial Farms Project* Meet Kidd Ranch of Sugar City in Crowley County…Gary & Rick Kidd…

Kidd Ranch, Sugar City, Crowley County (1911) CLICK HERE to listen to the interview with Gary & Rick Kidd...

CLICK HERE to listen to more interviews with 2011 Centennial Farm Inductees…

READ the NAFB’s National Ag News as heard inside the BARN for December 20th

CLICK HERE to listen to TODAY's BARN Morning Ag News with Brian Allmer...

Sponsored by the American Farm Bureau Federation

“Chinese-IBM Create Pork Traceability System”

Technology giant IBM and Shangdong Commercial Group, a major retailer in China, have teamed up to build a pork traceability system in China’s Shandong Province. The new system is aimed at improving food safety and public confidence in pork after a series of high profile scandals involving illegal feed additives rocked the industry. Pork is a “major pillar” of the Shandong Province economy.

According to Wang Guo Li, director of the National Agricultural Research Center for Modern Logistics Engineering, the research arm of Lushang Group, – when fully deployed, this system will give consumers in the Shandong Province confidence in the pork products they serve to their families. The official adds, – as an agricultural powerhouse within China, our province is committed to improving food safety and this system marks a significant step toward that goal.”

How exactly does the system work? At slaughterhouses, each pig is tagged with a bar code and a unique serial number that follows through the supply chain all the way to the packed product. On top of tagging, cameras are used to monitor the production process. Temperature and humidity sensors are used to ensure meat is transported at the right temperature and GPS technology is used to track the location of product. According to IBM, if something goes awry, the system will send an alert to prompt corrective action.

*************READ MORE NAFB AG NEWS BELOW***********************

“CPI Reports Higher Meat Prices”

Supermarket food inflation slowed last month, though retail beef prices remained on pace for the largest increase in seven years and pork was on track for the biggest jump in 15 years. According to the latest Consumer Price Index, average retail beef and veal prices last month rose 9.8 percent nationwide compared with November 2010. Retail pork rose 6.9 percent in November.