The July/August 2015 issue of the Southeastern Peanut Farmer is now available online.
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TIFTON, Ga. (July 9, 2015) U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and United States Trade Representative Michael Froman recently announced the appointment of Brenda Morris, peanut farmer from Ocilla, Georgia, to the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee (APAC) and Don Koehler, Georgia Peanut Commission executive director, to the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Tobacco, Cotton and Peanuts (ATACs).
“The last six years have been the strongest in history for U.S. agricultural exports, with international sales of American farm and food exports totaling $771.7 billion,” says Sec. Vilsack. “Those exports now support more than a million quality American jobs. As we negotiate new trade agreements in Asia and Europe we will rely on APAC and ATAC members’ expertise and knowledge to bring home the best possible deals.”
Morris was reappointed to serve on the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee until June 15, 2019. Morris has been farming with her husband, Armond, in Ocilla, Georgia, for 52 years. The farm totals 2,500 acres of peanuts, cotton, corn and small grains.
“I feel privileged as a farmer to be able to serve on APAC and provide advice regarding trade policy and the impact of trade negotiations,” Morris says. “Trade is important to farmers as we continue to seek additional export opportunities and develop policy and trade negotiations that will benefit the American farmer.”
Koehler’s reappointment to the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC) for Trade in Tobacco, Cotton and Peanuts is effective through June 15, 2019. The Tobacco, Cotton and Peanuts ATAC provides technical advice on U.S. agricultural trade issues to the Secretary of Agriculture and the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
“I am honored to represent the peanut farmers of Georgia on the ATAC Committee,” Koehler says. “We are making great strides in the export market for peanuts and we need to continue to focus our efforts on increasing trade as our productivity continues to advance.”
Congress established the advisory committee system in 1974 to ensure a private-sector voice in establishing U.S. agricultural trade policy objectives to reflect U.S. commercial and economic interests. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative jointly manage the committees.
The APAC provides advice and information to the Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative on the administration of trade policy; including enforcement of existing trade agreements and negotiating objectives for new trade agreements. The ATACs offer technical advice and information about specific commodities and products.
AgGeorgia Farm Credit and AgSouth Farm Credit are pleased to announce that both Associations are offering AGAware® workshops this summer. AGAware is a national award-winning program whose purpose is to promote and educate the next generation of farmers. Young, beginning, small, and/or minority farmers are encouraged to sign up to attend this FREE training.
“The Farm Credit System has a mission to serve agriculture and rural America, and its been doing that for nearly a century,” said Van McCall, director of the AGAware program. In support of that mission, AgSouth Farm Credit and AgGeorgia Farm Credit provide loans and supporting services to young, beginning, small, and minority farmers in our territory. Our hope is that our council along with the support of other key agricultural entities will help ensure that future farmers will be prepared and financially strong so they may continue doing what they love and providing something so vital to our survival.”
Topics of the workshop include: Balance Sheets, Income Statements, Family Finance & Family Budgeting, Risk Management, Accrual Income, Applying for Financing, Preparing a Business Plan, Technology & Record Keeping, Marketing Assistance Available through the Department of Agriculture, FSA/SBA, and other programs. Applications for scholarships for continuing education through Farm Credit University will be available to graduates of AGAware. AGAware is certified for FSA Direct Borrower training credit.
Seminars are scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the following locations, and a free lunch is provided. Space is limited. Sign up today:
Friday, July 17
UGA Tifton Conference Center
15 RDC Rd.
Tifton, Georgia
Register for this class
Friday, August 28
University of West Georgia
The Coliseum
1601 Maple St.
Carrollton, Georgia
Register for this class
Farmers in 10 east Alabama counties may be eligible for funding to improve irrigation efficiency through a new Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The program is available in parts of Barbour, Bullock, Chambers, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee Macon, Randolph and Russell counties. Eligible farmers may apply and use funds for irrigation practices including retrofits for nozzles on irrigation systems.
The project covers 13 million acres in eastern Alabama, western Georgia and the Florida panhandle. It’s focused on the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint rivers (ACFR) basin. Applications will be accepted June 8-19. For more information, visit a local USDA Service Center.
This RCPP is a collaboration between the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, R-Alabama, recently spoke to a group of peanut growers from the Wiregrass area and reiterated her dedication to agriculture and protecting the farmers’ interests in Washington. Pictured is Carl Sanders (center), president of the Alabama Peanut Producers Association, as he and Mitt Walker (left) , director, National Legislative Programs for the Alabama Farmers Federation, talk with Roby about the future of agriculture and their concern over the growing number of regulations that affect the more than 1,000 peanut growers in Alabama.
The Florida Peanut Producers Association is pleased to announce the opening of the 2015 Scholarship Awards Program, effective April 1, 2015.
Two $1,200 scholarships will be awarded to deserving high school seniors and/or college students. The applicant or someone in the applicant’s family must be actively producing peanuts in Florida. It is the intent of the Scholarship Award Committee, however, that the award recipients attend a Florida junior college or university.
This past March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued their proposed rule to define what it means to be “actively engaged” in farming and therefore eligible to receive federal farm payments. After review by the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation (SPFF) members, there are important issues that concern Southern agriculture including, but not limited to, the limits on the number of farm managers. The SPFF joined other agricultural organizations in comments to USDA on the proposed “actively engaged” definition. The SPFF is comprised of the Alabama Peanut Producers Association, the Florida Peanut Producers Association, Mississippi Peanut Growers Association and the Georgia Peanut Commission.
View the comments submitted by the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation.
The May/June 2015 issue of the Southeastern Peanut Farmer is now available online.
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Georgia peanut farmers reaffirmed the Georgia Peanut Commission (GPC) by a vote of 92.41 percent during the recent referendum, held March 16 through April 15.
“I appreciate the farmer’s confidence in the commission and we are committed to continue earning that confidence,” says Armond Morris, peanut farmer from Ocilla, Ga., and GPC chairman. “The commission continues to work together as a partnership between Georgia’s peanut farmers, the commission board and staff, in funding research projects to assist with increasing yield, promoting peanuts and working on the farmers’ behalf in Washington, D.C.”
As required by Georgia state law, the state’s peanut farmers vote on the commission every three years. The ballots were mailed to peanut growers the week of March 16 and the Certified Public Accounting firm of Allen, Pritchett and Bassett counted the ballots returned on April 28.
“Our staff is humbled by the overwhelming support of our growers,” says Don Koehler, GPC’s executive director. “We will continue to seek opportunities through programs in research, education and promotion to enhance profit opportunities on the farm.”
Georgia peanut farmers invest $2 per ton each year to the commission that is used in the program areas of research, education, promotion and communication. For additional information on the Georgia Peanut Commission visit their website at gapeanuts.com.
The April 2015 issue of the Southeastern Peanut Farmer is now available online.
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