Agriculture

KBC News Farm Bill Page

Feds finalize animal traceability regulations, Capital Press, posted to KBC 12/21/12. "The federal government announced that it has finalized an animal-traceability rule that will require livestock to be deemed disease-free before crossing state lines."

The Food Stamp Bill, Families Protecting the Valley Newsletter 12/10/12. "...we just wish they would change the name to something more in line with what the farm bill has become, namely, the food stamp bill. 80% of the farm bill is related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps"

Commentary by Norman MacLeod, followed by USDA Chief: Rural America becoming less relevant, 12/9/12. "The Agriculture Department says about 50 percent of rural counties have lost population in the past four years and poverty rates are higher there than in metropolitan areas, despite the booming agricultural economy....rural voters accounted for just 14 percent of the turnout in last month's election, with 61 percent of them supporting Republican Mitt Romney and 37 percent backing President Barack Obama. Two-thirds of those rural voters said the government is doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals...'Why is it that we don't have a farm bill?' said Vilsack."
Check out KBC News Farm Bill Page.

Ranchers, farmers brace for 'death tax' impact, by William La Jeunesse, 11/16/12, Fox News

Agricultural contributions and water reallocation, Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett, Klamath Falls Dist 28, posted to KBC 10/11/12

Wage increase could cost jobs, Capital Press, posted to KBC 9/20/12.
Oregon net farm income, labor costs jumps in 2011, Capital Press, posted to KBC 9/20/12. "The cost to pay farm employees -- largely because we have so many specialty crops that require hand-harvesting -- is the single largest expense for Oregon farmers,...The average farmer in Oregon last year earned $27,000..."

Farm Bureau and state officials blast 'heavy handed' federal labor investigations, The Oregonian, posted to KBC 9/4/12. Followed by: "EXTORTION" Why did the labor department drop the hammer on Oregon farmers, The Blaze

A comprehensive valuation of agriculture; a perpetual investment in Oregon's economy and environment, Oregon Department of Agriculture, 2012, by Brent Searle, Policy Analyst/Economist. "The world population is projected to reach 9 billion in another 30-40 years, necessitating between 50-100% more food than is currently produced. Imagine – an entire additional world of food production needed from the same land (or less) than we have now! Food production capacity is a national security issue as much as anything else. The resources devoted to agriculture and food are national treasures that require preservation." (KBC NOTE: the KBRA downsizes Klamath Basin agriculture by 20-25% )

USDA announces $170M-program to "help" some livestock sellers The Westerner, posted to KBC 8/16/12. " * The government pays 417,000 farmers to not farm on 30 million acres, lessening the supply of all grains. * Government incentives result in 40% of the corn crop going into ethanol, further lessening the supply of feed grain. * These two government supply-restricting programs result in huge increases in the price of feed grains, putting livestock producers in a bind."

Agriculture touches all of our lives, Baxter Black, H&N, posted to KBC 11/26/11.

Oregon Agriculture Power Point Presentation  Thank you Brent Searle, Special Assistant to the Director, Oregon Dept. of Agriculture

   Latest edition of agriculture resource directory available, H&N 10/6/05
* Oregon pesticide use reporting system

The USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates that in 2006, there were 2 million farms, a slight decline from 2005. Total land in farms was 932 million acres last year, declined by 780,000 acres, a drop of nearly 1 percent from 2005.

* Obama's Executive Order 13575 Rural Council - Agenda 21, YouTube, posted to KBC 1/31/12

* Establishment of the White House Rural Council, Executive Order 13575 of President Obama, posted to KBC 6/16/11.

Agriculture articles

Klamath Basin crops and products, go HERE.

2012 Farm Bill Page  

USDA Ordered to Justify Claim that it Satisfied the Injunction Awarded to R-CALF USA, Consumer Groups, Other Cattle Groups and Individual Ranchers, R-CALF 6/27/12. "It's a sad state of affairs when food producers and food consumers have to fight their own government to protect the safety of our nation's food supply, but that's exactly where we find ourselves with the Obama Administration today," concluded Bullard."

Farmers use thousands of gallons of fuel annually. What do representatives including Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi, media, and our President say about the doubled cost of gas? 4:20..VIDEO

Obama seizes control over all food, farms, livestock, farm equipment, fertilizer and food production across America, Natural News 3/20/12.

California - 14 cattle trucks burned in arson at Harris Ranch, SFGate 1/11/12. (Comment sent to KBC News regarding this terrorist act: "My friend who works there) said that they are glad that no drivers were in the sleeper cabs waiting on a load. My feelings are the sheriff should hold everyone that donated to that group as accomplices and try them all together for conspiracy to arson and possible attempted murder." A comprehensive valuation of agriculture; a perpetual investment in Oregon's economy and environment, Oregon Department of Agriculture, 2012, by Brent Searle, Policy Analyst/Economist. "The world population is projected to reach 9 billion in another 30-40 years, necessitating between 50-100% more food than is currently produced. Imagine – an entire additional world of food production needed from the same land (or less) than we have now! Food production capacity is a national security issue as much as anything else. The resources devoted to agriculture and food are national treasures that require preservation." (KBC NOTE: the KBRA downsizes Klamath Basin agriculture by 20-25% )

Traceability for Livestock Moving Interstate comments due 11/9/11

Siskiyou County Ag Census Trends 1992-2007, USDA

* Traceability for Livestock Moving Interstate, Federal Register Volume 76, Number 155, posted 8/12/11. "The proposed requirements would apply to cattle and bison, sheep and goats, swine, horses and other equines, captive cervids (e.g., deer and elk), and poultry...First, animals moved interstate would have to be officially identified...Second, animals moved interstate must be accompanied by an interstate certificate of veterinary inspection...We are also proposing some associated recordkeeping requirements. ..The estimated incremental costs of the proposed rule for cattle enterprises--between $14.5 million and $34.3 million, assuming official identification is a separately performed activity..." Comments due November 9, 2011

Distrust clouds EPA, Capital Press editorial, posted to KBC 3/28/11. "The EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee has recommended that the agency set tougher restrictions on airborne dust and dirt -- "coarse particulate matter" in government speak. An EPA draft memo suggested setting allowable coarse particulate matter levels as low as 65 to 85 micrograms per cubic meter -- about half the 150 micrograms per cubic meter currently allowed under the agency's air quality standards. Such a move could cause vast areas in the West -- including parts of Idaho and California -- to violate pollution standards."

Farmer’s cut of food dollar: 11.6 cents, Delta Farm Press, posted to KBC 3/21/11

Walden, Oregon farmers fight pesticide buffer by Peter Beland, Oregon Business, posted to KBC 3/10/11." 'This crop field, which now produces $21,000 in income — if the federal government’s rules as full described here — you’d be down to $1,500... buffer zones could take 40 percent to 67 percent of Oregon’s farmland out of production...' A number of conservation groups represented by Oakland-based environmental law firm EarthJustice filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency last November...". (KBC NOTE: GEORGE SOROS helps finance Earth Justice, which provides free legal fees for "environmentalist" and ecoterrorist groups to destroy "American Capitalism." EarthJustice represents most of the environmental groups with voting power in the controversial Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement.)

(EPA) Dust talks exclude public, Capital Press 3/10/11

Fights unite ag groups, Capital Press 8/27/10

Wheat yields soar on eastside, Capital Press 8/19/10

S510: Illegal to Grow, Share, Trade, Sell Homegrown Food, posted by Toni Thayer on our discussion forum 8/12/10

Klamath County - USDA Livestock Forage Disaster Program, 6/30/10

Director Jennifer Simon: Farm Bill doesn’t fit Klamath Basin agriculture needs, H&N 5/23/10

Obama targets US public with call for climate action, Guardian News 6/16/09. "But the bill has run into strong opposition from some Democratic members of Congress, especially those from agricultural states who say that putting limits on greenhouse gas emissions will hurt farmers' economic interests. That could complicate Pelosi's plans of getting the bill passed through various committees by this Friday, 19 June, and put to a vote next week."

Biological opinion takes water from people, Capital Press editorial 6/11/09

Animal ID critics vent objections at ag meeting, Capital Press 6/9/09

Helping (Tulelake) Basin farmers try new practices, H&N 6/4/09

Bill requires all eggs sold in California to be from cage-free hens, Sac Bee 6/3/09

Back to the drawing board for NAIS, Capital Press 5/28/09. "...all but two of the 75 producers who testified opposed NAIS. These were not wild-eyed conspiracy theorists with tin foil on their heads. They included the state veterinarian, two statewide cattle organizations and other operators, large and small."

Farmers Losing Crops to Endangered Fish, FOX, posted to KBC 5/18/09

3/16: NAIS comments due on proposed amendments.

Hay growers consider water needs; Researcher discusses effects of irrigation cutoff on alfalfa, Capital Press, posted to KBC 3/13/09

EPA says farm dust requires regulation! Capital Press , posted to KBC 3/3/09.

Obama to focus on family farms, Capital Press 1/29/09

***Official Animal Identification Numbering Systems (proposed amendments), posted 1/20/09, Comments due by March 16, 2009

NAIS....The latest attempt to steal your land, posted 1/18/09

USDA issues final rule for country-of-origin label rule, Capital Press, posted 1/13/09

Amish farmer charged for not registering animals, Capital Press 12/30/08. (KBC NOTE: initially the National Animal Identification System promised to be voluntary. More articles on Agriculture Page.)

California bans conventional egg production, Capital Press, posted to KBC 11/5/08. "Many producers have said they will consider moving their operations to other states, or even to Mexico."

Good returns for farmers, but profits have dropped, Herald and News October 6, 2008
Cutting costs comes in variety of changes, Increasing organic production, cutting back on fuel a few ways farmers save, October 6, 2008, Herald and News
Economist: It’s a unique time in agriculture history, H&N 10/6/08
Farmers express uncertainty about the future, Most note that farmers are aging and young people seem uninterested, H&N 10/6/08

Interim Rule and Request for Comments (on the NAIS), deadline November 17, 2008, Citizens for Constitutional Republic 10/05/08

Fighting to Stop the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), Liberty Ark Coalition website., posted to KBC 10/5/08

American Farm Bureau Federation, Education efforts address misconceptions about agriculture, Capital Press, posted to KBC 9/26/08

Farm income, costs spiral across West, Capital Press, posted to KBC 9/12/08

Ranchers to be honored at Tulelake fair; Harold and Roger Porterfield focus of Appreciation Day dinner Friday night, H&N, posted 9/6/08

Local century farms or ranches, H&N 9/2/08

A farming legacy; Throughout the region, farming is a family affair, H&N 9/2/08

OSU Extension office working on succession planning, H&N 9/2/08

Trade Talks Crumble in Feud Over Farm Aid, Washington Post 7/30/08

ACTION ALERT: Mandatory Requirement for NAIS in School Lunch Program Put in House Agriculture Appropriations Bill.  CALL NOW! 6/23/08

Lawmakers from Western states protest proposed $70 million cut, H&N, 6/12/08.(Farm Bill $ for fishermen)

Rising costs lead farmers to go high tech, Capital Press 5/28/08

The New Economics of Hunger; A brutal convergence of events has hit an unprepared global market, and grain prices are sky high. The world's poor suffer most. Washington Post, posted to KBC 5/7/08. "For the 1 billion people living on less than a dollar a day, the world's worst food crisis in a generation is a matter of survival." (KBC NOTE: How will the Klamath Basin contribute to world hunger? After the World Wars, veterans came to the Klamath Basin to feed a hungry nation. The Klamath Basin Settlement Agreement demands downsizing off-Project irrigation by 30,000 acre feet of water, downsizing Project farming considerably, and taking out 4 Klamath River dams that provide power for 70,000 households annually. The Nature Conservancy and gov't agencies have taken 100,000 acres out of ag land and made swamps with most of it, decimating our cattle business and evaporating water that could water more farms or fish. States demand replacing oil with ethanol, already doubling and tripling the cost of corn and grains. The Humane Society forced the ban on killing sea lions which eat thousands of endangered salmon. Shortage of salmon has caused ban on Pacific Coast salmon fishing and cost billions of dollars in studies and restoration projects. People are starving to death. Enemies of the human race are among us.)

Commodity prices are rising, but so are costs, H&N 5/2/08

Local ag: A balancing Act, H&N 5/2/08

CEI Fights Sierra Club Demands for CO2, CEI posted to KBC 4/13/08. "If Sierra Club wins the litigation, potentially hundreds of thousands of previously unregulated small- to mid-sized farms, factories and buildings would have to go through the costly and time-consuming PSD permitting process, because the statutory threshold for regulation under PSD is 250 tons a year."

Paying Respect, Missouri Ruralist, posted 3/20/08

Farmers brace for costly season, Escalation in fuel, fertilizer and other input costs shows no signs of easing, Capital Press 3/14/08

NAIS, National Animal Identification System update 2/6/08

Klamath farmers face continuing water questions, AgAlert, CFBF posted 12/28/07

NAIS - National Animal Identification System, Farm Bill update - CALL YOUR SENATORS!! 11/1/07

Report: Wis. loses 30,000 acres of farmland per year, but diversity insulating fallout, Capital Press, posted to KBC 10/16/07. (KBC Note: will America wake up in time??)

Reality of farm subsidies: they're still needed, Carl Sampson, Capital Press, posted to KBC 10/8/07. "Blumenauer criticizes subsidies when it comes to farming, but encourages subsidies for enterprises like the Portland mass transit system, which has received more than $1.5 billion from the federal government."

National Animal ID System subject of legal action, Capital Press, posted to KBC 10/3/07

Farm group advocates for water protection; Family Farm Alliance says agriculture should not be 'shock absorber' for urban growth, posted 9/18/07. "California converted 1 million acres of farmland to urban use from 1988 to 1998"

Triple threat to ag, Development, restoration, climate issues mount, Capital Press, posted to KBC 9/17/07

Eat That! Mandatory NAIS forced on 12-yr-old children at county fair, Good Neighbor 8/29/07

NAIS "Opt-out" now available, but no one knows about it, Eco-Logic Powerhouse, posted to KBC 8/23/07

Signatures roll in for eminent domain initiative, AgAlert, posted 8/16/07

EPA says no special review of 2,4-D needed after years of research data prove it's not a human carcenogen, posted 8/16/07 by  Industry Task Force II

COOL Victory: R-CALF members make it happen, AZ Range News, posted to KBC 8/9/07, "Only cattle born, raised and slaughtered in the United States will qualify to receive the 'Product of the U.S' label..."

Farm group advocates for water protection; Family Farm Alliance says agriculture should not be 'shock absorber' for urban growth, posted 9/18/07. "California converted 1 million acres of farmland to urban use from 1988 to 1998"

***COOL and NAIS explanation in Farm Bill: This was sent to KBC from Congressman Walden's office 7/27/07

Action Alert: Keep Telling the House Committee on Agriculture to Take Mandatory Animal ID Out of the Farm Bill, Weston Price Foundation 7/9/07

House Agriculture Committee Unanimously Passes Groundbreaking Farm Bill, Congressman Walden, posted to KBC 7/23/07

Healthy Pets Act won't be forgotten, Press Telegram, posted 7/16/07. "Sponsored by Levine, a Democrat from Van Nuys, and promoted by an acid-tongued activist named Judie Mancuso, AB1634 was a proposal, which, among other things, would have required every California dog and cat to be spayed or neutered by the age of four months." (KBC Note: yes, this would effect your pets, ranch dogs including cow dogs and sheepdogs, poodles... Levine plans to reintroduce the bill next year.)

Forget the illegals, track the cows! by Henry Lamb, World Net Daily Commentary, posted to KBC 7/16/07. "Despite this spectacular failure – the inability to find 20 million illegal aliens – this same government is preparing to locate, monitor and control the movement of hundreds of millions of livestock animals. Every cow – as many as 100 million – must have a unique numbered identification tag, most likely a Radio Frequency Identification Device. More than 500 million chickens must be identified with a similar tag. Every horse, every pig, every goat, every sheep..."  

Basin ag product prices looking good, posted to KBC 6/18/07

Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Water and Power Committee on Energy & Natural Resources United States Senate Oversight Hearing on Climate Change and Water Supply Impacts, posted to KBC 6/ 9/07, Family Farm Alliance.
* "...from 1987-2002, Colorado lost an average of 460 acres per day of ag land. The report predicts 3.1 million more acres will be lost to development by 2022."
* "The California Department of Conservation indicates that more than 1 million acres of farmland in the state was converted between 1988 and 1998."
* "Farmers, ranchers and rural communities cannot solve the water supply problem created by the Western population boom. Nor can they be expected to sacrifice their livelihoods for the “greater good” of golf courses, strip malls and housing developments. Farmland is disappearing at a time when the U.S. needs a stable domestic food supply (just as it needs a stable energy supply)."

Family farms at risk, Dan Keppen comes to Scott Valley to bring message about farms and ranch issues, Pioneer Press, posted 5/17/07

* SB20 Pesticide bill April 10, OREGON - "it would shut down most pesticide applications across the state (the activist’s intended goal)" Call your legislator! If you are going to Salem tomorrow April 10, read HERE. SB20 HERE.

* Send ag burning testimony until April 23.

Imported Food Rarely Inspected, Washington Post, posted to KBC 4/18/07. "Just 1.3 percent of imported ... foods are inspected...Last month alone, FDA detained nearly 850 shipments of grains, fish, vegetables, nuts, spice, oils and other imported foods for issues ranging from filth to unsafe food coloring to contamination with pesticides to salmonella."

China's Food Exports Spark Fears; Dog, Cat Deaths Show Safety Woes Are Global Issue, Hartford Courant posted 4/14/07. (KBC Note: more than 100,000 acres of ag land has been converted to wetlands in the Klamath Basin. This is 100,000 acres of production that we now must import from foreign countries.)

OREGON - Grass seed farmers defend field burning practice, H&N, posted 4/8/07. "The bill would end a practice used for generations of grass seed farmers in Oregon to clear out weeds, pests and prepare their fields for the next planting....Seed industry officials said that field burning only accounts for 2 percent of particulate emissions in the Willamette Valley during the summer field burning season."