Today marks the expiration of the one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill, leaving farmers and ranchers anxious about whether Congress can secure a new, five-year reauthorization. Despite Congress giving themselves a full extra year to craft and pass a new farm bill, inaction remains the status quo in the halls of Congress.

“We are running out of time,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall. “Farmers and ranchers were told lawmakers just needed more time to pass a five-year farm bill, but once again we find ourselves in a lurch without much-needed improvements to safety net and risk management programs. Meanwhile, America has lost 141,000 farms in five years. Low commodity prices, rising supply costs, inflation and outdated farm policy provisions threaten to destroy the dreams of thousands more.

“We applaud House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson for crafting and moving a bipartisan farm bill through committee. And we appreciate Ranking Member David Scott’s commitment to achieving a full reauthorization of the farm bill instead of passing the buck with another extension. In the Senate, Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow and Ranking Member John Boozman have both released outlines and priorities.

“All of this is forward progress. But America’s farmers and ranchers need results. Food doesn’t appear on grocery store shelves because farmers put ideas on paper. Families in this country can purchase safe, nutritious and affordable food because farmers and ranchers take action every day of the year.

“Actions speak louder than words. I urge members of Congress and party leaders to put politics aside and pass a new, modernized farm bill. Show every family in America that ensuring a full pantry is the priority of those we elected to serve.”

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Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays is featuring comments from Dr. Dale Woerner, Cargill Endowed Professor in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences at Texas Tech University from a recent conversation he is featured in on the Angus at Work Podcast. Yesterday’s BeefBuzz detailed the problems with the current yield grade system, and today, Woerner gets into potential solutions.



“Technology is the key,” Woerner said. “Technology that can run at production speeds and give us the accuracy we are looking for.”

He pointed out that medical technology has generally been a good starting point for the agricultural industry to look at precision measurements. He and his team at Texas Tech have evaluated CT scanning, MRI scanning, and DEXA scanning.

“X-ray technology allows us to look into the animal – fat, muscle, bone,” Woerner continued. “Those technologies are not only accurate, but they are measurements of yield. We can use those measurements to quantify with a very high level of accuracy and confidence how much muscle, fat, and bone is in a carcass.”

Stabenow, Boozman Praise Senate Passage of Resolution Supporting the Designation of National 4-H Week

U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and John Boozman (R-AR), Co-Chairs of the Senate 4-H Caucus, Thursday applauded the adoption of their resolution designating October 7 through October 12 as “National 4-H Week.” 

Stabenow said: “As a former 4-H’er myself, I know that 4-H prepares young people to thrive in their communities and be the next generation of leaders both on and off the farm. Through hands-on experience, 6 million 4-H’ers are learning the skills they need to tackle the critical issues we face today and in the future.” 

Boozman said: “4-H is a very special organization for the Boozman family. My three daughters were active 4-H members and were state record book winners. I can’t think of any entity outside of church that played a larger role in influencing their lives. 4-H has been a positive influence on generations of young people, which is why I am proud to join Chairwoman Stabenow to lead this resolution honoring the organization. Join me in marking National 4-H Week by encouraging youth to continue participating and benefiting from this program.” 

4-H is a youth development program of the Cooperative Extension System of land-grant universities, and it is the largest youth development organization in the country. The organization provides experiences for nearly 6 million young people through hands-on projects in health, science, agriculture, and civic engagement.  

ASA this week submitted documents to EPA on its draft Insecticide Strategy, including a coalition comment letter and a grower/applicator petition, urging the agency to ensure the framework is workable for U.S. agriculture.

The coalition letter, signed by over 200 organizations, raises concerns with EPA’s denial of the request for comment period extension, highlighting that the agency received 27 request letters from more than 250 organizations and still denied the requests.

The groups underscored the importance of insecticides for farmers to avoid devastating pest damages and resistance management issues, also highlighting how insecticides are vital for maintaining certain conservation practices, such as cover crops and edge-of-field practices.

“U.S. agricultural producers stand to suffer tens of billions of dollars in crop losses and diminished conservation outcomes without continued access and meaningful use of these vital tools,” groups state in the comments. “Further, consumers may face higher costs or decreased access to foods or textile products; livestock operations may face steeper prices for animal feed; fuel and energy prices could rise due to diminished supplies of biofuels feedstocks; among numerous other irreparable harms.”

Serving on a cooperative board can be a thankless job. The pay is nominal and dissatisfied members find it easy to blame the board of directors. Despite those challenges, there is a lot of satisfaction and growth from both running for and serving on the board of directors. 

Of course, being willing to run for the board of directors does not guarantee that you will be selected. That willingness to run is also a service to your fellow producers.  As John Minton said: “They also serve who stand and wait!”  By agreeing to run for the board you contribute to the democratic process of member control. Running for the board also broadens your connections with other producers and allows you to evaluate your own leadership and communication skills. Some cooperatives have associate board positions.  Associate board members are usually appointed and serve for shorter terms.  Associate board members attend meetings and participate in discussions but do not have a voting role.  That can be a great way to get a trial view of being a board member.

Consider running for your cooperative board. You can improve your cooperative and become a better farmer!