march 2014 nebraska farm bureau news

page B1

The

NebraskaFarm Bureau NewsMARCH 19, 2014

VOL. 32 ISSUE 3

MOREINSIDE

Taking Care of New Life

page A6

Get to Know Leadership

page A9

Engaging with Congress

page A13

Opportunities for Youth

page B3

Day @ The Farm

page B5

Hungerof

New Faces

You Can Help Too!

Nebraska Farmers Helping Out

Monthly Food Distributions Make a Difference

VOLUME 32 ISSUE 3 March 19, 2014

USPS 375-780 ISSN 0745-6522

Official publication of Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation

402-421-4400www.nefb.org

Nebraska Farm Bureau’s Mission: Strong Agriculture

...... Strong Nebraska

Yearly subscription: 50 cents of membership dues

Associate Member: Nebraska Press Association

EDITORIAL STAFFEditor/Advertising/Writer: Tina Henderson [email protected] or ext. 4446Writer: Craig Head [email protected] or ext. 4435Writer: Kassi Williams [email protected] or ext. 4730Graphic Designer/County News/Photo Contest: Tara Grell [email protected] or ext. 4494Want Ads and County Annual Meeting Notices: Kylee Planer [email protected] or ext. 4485

NEBRASKA FARM BUREAU FEDERATIONSteve Nelson, president (Axtell)Mark McHargue, first vice president (Central City)Rob Robertson, chief administrator/ secretary-treasurer (Lincoln)

BOARD OF DIRECTORSSherry Vinton, second vice president (Whitman)Nathan Bartels (Elk Creek)Don Benner (Central City)Leslie Boswell (Shickley)Andy DeVries (Ogallala)David Grimes (Raymond)Jason Kvols (Laurel)Scott Moore (Bartley)Myles Ramsey (Kenesaw)Todd Reed (Lincoln)Tanya Storer (Whitman)

NEBRASKA FARM BUREAU NEWS is published monthly, except July, by Nebraska

Farm Bureau Federation, 5225 South 16th St., Lincoln, NE 68512. Periodicals postage paid at

Lincoln, NE and additional entry offices.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:

Nebraska Farm Bureau NewsAttn: Tina Henderson

P.O. Box 80299, Lincoln, NE 68501

A2 MARCH 19, 2014 Nebraska Farm Bureau News

Top 4 Ways to Advocate

Farm Bureau’s Agri-cultural Contact Team (FB-ACT) is the Nebraska Farm Bureau Federa-tion’s grassroots action network. When we reach out to state lawmakers or Congress, we impact the decisions they make.

FB-ACT advances agri-cultural and rural interests by connecting elected officials to those people who matter most – their constituents.

Passing legislation that supports our issues is a challenging process that requires active participa-tion by our members. You can make a difference by:

SEND A LETTER As a con-stituent, your lawmakers

and political appointees know that you are the key to their understanding of issues important to you. They want and need to hear from you on issues you consider important.

MAKE A PHONE CALL When you need to get in touch with your lawmaker immedi-ately, and don’t have the time to craft a letter or email, that’s when it’s time to use the most common method of communicating with your lawmakers – make a phone call!

MEET FACE TO FACE By far, the most effec-

tive way to articulate your views to your elected of-ficials and positively affect the outcome of legislation and of policy debates is to speak with lawmakers face to face.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR You can send a letter to the editor to many news-papers via email rather than hand-writing them. Go to our online Legislative Action Center to find media outlets in your area, and send them a message. It only takes a minute.

For more information about getting involved in FB-ACT visit nefb.org or call 402-421-4409.

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You may have heard me say this before, but Farm Bureau is a unique organization. There are a lot of reasons for that, but the main one I always point to are the great people involved in our organiza-tion. Whether you’ve joined Farm Bureau to access financial services or insurance products, or because you believe in supporting farm and ranch families and the underlying mission of agriculture, the bot-tom line is we have tremendous members who are rooted in working for the betterment of their fami-lies, their communities and our state as a whole.

As I’ve traveled across Nebraska I’ve had the opportunity to meet with many Farm Bureau members. The scope and reach of our organiza-tion never ceases to amaze me. Reaching out and helping neighbors is the Nebraska way, and it’s very much ingrained in our diverse membership. It’s that same sense of responsibility and commitment to looking out for one another that makes me believe Farm Bureau and its members can be a difference

maker in one of the issues that faces Nebraska – hunger and food insecurity.

This month’s cover story touches on this very serious and sensitive issue. For someone whose whole life has involved helping raising food for oth-ers, it is hard to believe when statistics are shared about the growing need for food and assistance by food banks and food pantries in both rural and ur-ban areas of Nebraska. While there are many rea-sons for it, the one thing I know is that Farm Bureau and our members collectively have the power and ability to do something meaningful about it.

There are lots of ways in which we can make a difference in fighting hunger. Some of those are highlighted in this month’s edition. Neighbors help-ing neighbors in times of need; that sounds an awful lot like the Nebraska way of doing things and some-thing Farm Bureau members excel at.

Until next time,

The President’s MessageBy Steve Nelson, PresidentNebraska Farm Bureau Federation®

Members Can Make a Difference Fighting Hunger

Fresh produce is in high demand at food pantries in Nebraska.

Volunteers help set up food at one of the rural food distribution sites in Nebraska.

Nebraska Farm Bureau News MARCH 19, 2014 A3

COUNTY NEWS

Jefferson County Farm Bureau sponsored a young farmers and ranchers tour and social Feb. 21. Tour participants got a be-hind the scenes look at C&C Processing, an informational tour of Classic Dairy followed by a stop at Clifford Seeds. After a scenic drive by area windmills, the tour ended with a meal and presentation by the Windmill guy at the Diller Opera House.

Jefferson County Farm Bureau

Young Farmers and Ranchers Tour Area Agriculture Facilities

Otoe county became the 24th county in Nebraska to earn the Livestock Friendly County designation Feb. 25. Lt. Gov. Lavon Heidemann (third from right) presented the certificate to Otoe County Commissioners C.R. Hauptman, Rick Freshman, Carol Crook, Timothy Nelsen and Steve Lade at the Kimmel Research and Education Center in Nebraska City. The program helps recognize the positive impact that the livestock industry and agriculture has on Nebraska’s economy. The county will receive road signs bearing the program logo to display along highways. The program is co-ordinated by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. Other counties designated as Livestock Friendly through the state program include: Adams, Banner, Box Butte, Cuming, Dawes, Deuel, Dodge, Gage, Garden, Grant, Hitchcock, Holt, Jefferson, Johnson, Kimball, Keith, Lincoln, Morrill, Saline, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, Wayne and Webster counties. Additional information on the Livestock Friendly County program is available at www.nda.nebraska.gov. Several mem-bers of Otoe County Farm Bureau were on hand and sponsored the refreshments.

Otoe County Farm Bureau

Otoe County Becomes 24th Livestock Friendly County in Nebraska

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Third grade students in Karen Ashby’s classroom at Chandler Elementary School in Bellevue wel-comed their Ag Pen Pal, Darleen Tonack, to their classroom Feb. 25. Tonack is a member of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Ag Promotion Committee and a Douglas County Farm Bureau board member. This was Tonack’s second visit to the class. She said the students have had great questions about ag-riculture and were wanting to meet a farmer so she took along her husband, Fred. She said that her son will go to the next visit with the class. The students showed them a video on how the world is like an apple and the video sliced the apple to show the percents of the world’s land classified (i.e., water, mountains, desert and farmable). The video also showed the peal of the apple and how it represented the only layer of the ground that the famer can use to plant their crops. The Ag Pen Pal program is part of the Nebraska Agriculture in the Classroom program and farm/ranch families become pen pals with a classroom. They are supposed to exchange three letters throughout the school year. Some farmers/ranchers go above and beyond by visiting the class and some classes are able to visit the farm/ranch. If you are interested in helping tell the story of agriculture to a classroom next school year visit agclassroom.org/ne for more information on how to get involved.

Douglas County Farm Bureau

Students Excited to Meet a Farmer through Pen Pal Program


COUNTY NEWS

Kimball/Banner County Farm Bureau donated $5 for each three-point basket scored by the Kimball and Banner varsity basketball boys and girls teams during February home games and sub-district games. The money earned will be used for special projects within the schools. A total of $145 was sent to the schools for the Interact Club, Positive Behavior Reports and educational supplies.

Kimball/Banner County Farm Bureau

County Donates Money to Schools for 3-Point Baskets

Box Butte County Farm Bureau invited area farmers, ranchers and agriculture professionals in the 18-35 age group to dinner March 11 at the Eagles Club in Alliance, Neb., to network and have dinner. Nebraska Farm Bu-reau Director of National Affairs Jordan Dux spoke to the group about Farm Bureau policy. Box Butte County Farm Bureau members Mark and Bridgett Vaughn (left) and Joel and Corinna Robbins are pictured catching up with each other after the meeting.

Box Butte County Farm Bureau

Young Farmers and Ranchers Learn About Farm Bureau

Regan Garey of Frontier County Farm Bureau (sitting left) was selected as the winner of the Frontier County Farm Bureau’s Ag Ambassador program. As part of the program Garey visited Lincoln on March 11 to learn about state government and Nebraska Farm Bureau’s grassroots policy process. As an Ag Ambassador, Garey will also make a presentation about agriculture to an elementary class and she will receive a $500 scholarship for college. Also on the trip to Lincoln were Spencer Bierfreund and Jessa Lemon of Frontier County.

Frontier County Farm Bureau

Ag Ambassador Learns about Farm Bureau’s Grassroots Policy

Phelps County Farm Bureau hosted Nebraska Volleyball Coach John Cook as a part of their 2014 Annual Meeting March 12 at the Taste of Texas BBQ in Holdrege. Cook spoke to the group about leadership and his experiences with being a coach of a top level athletic team. Farm Bureau representatives spoke to the group on topics such as policy development and state and national issues. They also stressed why it’s important to become involved in Farm Bureau.

Phelps County Farm Bureau

Nebraska Volleyball Coach Speaks About Leadership at County Meeting

WHAT’S COOKING?If you want to submit your own recipes, and photos if you have them, send via email to [email protected].

Cinnamon Granola recipe from bakeyourday.net. Warm Fruit Compote recipe from Taste of Home’s Quick Cooking Magazine. Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake recipe from Lois Linke’s children’s late fifth grade teacher. Bacon Egg Cups recipe from fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.com. All photos from Linke.

Ingredients1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats1/4 cup brown sugar, packed1/4 cup flaked coconut1 tablespoon ground golden flax seed1 teaspoon cinnamon1/4 teaspoon sea salt3 tablespoons canola oil1 tablespoon honey1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions1. Preheat the oven to 300º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat liner.2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, coconut, flax, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.3. In a small sauce pan or microwave bowl, heat the oil, honey and vanilla until combined.4. Slowly pour liquid mixture into the oat mixture and stir until well combined.5. Spread onto a baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.6. Allow the granola to cool before storing in an air-tight container.7. Enjoy as a snack or as a compliment to your favorite yogurt.

Yield: 2 cups

Cinnamon Granola

UPCOMING MONTHSBelow are themes for the coming months! Submit your recipe to [email protected].

April – low calorie or low carbMay – master mix recipes – i.e. homemade Bisquick and recipes using it or other mixes that can be used in multiple waysJune – salads with meat and salad dressing recipes

Brunch Recipes

Ingredients1/4 cup packed brown sugar1 teaspoon cornstarch1/4 cup water1/4 cup orange juice concentrate2 tablespoons butter or margarine1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks, drained1 can (15 1/4 oz.) sliced pears, drained and cut into chunks1 can (15 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained

Topping Ingredients1 package (3 oz.) cream cheese, softened1 tablespoon sugar1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate

Directions1. In a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the water, orange juice concentrate and butter. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat.2. Add the fruit; heat through.3. In a small mixing bowl, beat the topping ingredients until smooth.4. Divide fruit mixture into 6 individual serving dishes. Dollop cream cheese mixture over the fruit. Serve warm.

Yield: 6 servings

Warm Fruit Compote

Ingredients12 slices bacon8 eggs1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheesePinch of salt1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions1. Preheat oven to 350º F.2. If you are using thick bacon, partially precook in microwave.3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs, salt, pepper and cheese.4. Spray non-stick spray in a 12-cup muffin tin or two 6-cup tins.5. Wrap each piece of bacon inside the sides of each muffin cup. (I find that cutting the strips in half vertically makes wrapping more manageable.)6. Fill each bacon-lined cup 3/4 of the way with the egg mixture.7. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the egg cups are golden brown and don’t jiggle.8. Use a knife to scoop them out of tins. Serve immediately.

Note: You can easily cut this recipe in half for 6 egg cups.

Yield: 6-12 servings

Bacon Egg CupsCoffee Cake Ingredients2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour3/4 cup sugar3/4 cup butter1/2 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt3/4 cup dairy sour cream1 egg1 teaspoon almond extract

Filling Ingredients1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened1/4 cup sugar1 egg1/2 cup raspberry jam

Topping Ingredients1/2 cup sliced almonds

Directions1. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar; cut in the butter using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Remove 1 cup crumbs for topping.2. To the remaining crumb mixture, add baking powder, soda, salt, sour cream, egg and almond extract; blend well. (This will be a very stiff batter.)3. Spread batter over the bottom and 1 1/2-2 inches up the side of a greased and floured 9-inch or 10-inch springform pan (batter should be 1/4-inch thick on sides).4. In a small bowl, prepare filling by combining cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar and egg; blend well. Pour this over the batter in the pan.5. Carefully spoon jam evenly over the cheese filling.6. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of the reserved flour mixture and almonds; sprinkle over the top.7. Bake at 350º F for 55-60 minutes or until cream cheese filling is set and crust is a deep golden brown.8. Cool 15 minutes. Remove sides of pan. Serve warm or cool. Refrigerate leftovers.

Yield: 12-16 servings

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake



Calving in the Cold; Rancher Near Farnam Takes Care of Calves and First-Time Mama’sBy Tina Henderson

At the end of January and into February, two of the coldest months of the year, a process more suited to warmer weather unfolds in ranch country. It often requires a midwife who wears boots and spurs, and who can go sleep deprived for a few months. It is called calving season.

Calving in the cold keeps ranchers like 25 year old Tyler Pieper and his wife, Heidi, very, very busy.

CHECKING CATTLE“When it’s cold we continually check

every hour to hour and a half to moni-tor the cows,” said Pieper March 5, who ranches near Farnam in southwest Ne-braska and is a member of the Frontier County Farm Bureau.

Pieper and his wife look over about 275 first calf heifers and 150 cows as they give birth to their babies in sometimes below freezing temperatures. We do what we can to keep them out of extremely cold conditions, and keep them comfortable, he said.

“When it’s cold and we see them start to deliver, we get them in the barn to make sure their calves are born out of the elements. If the weather is nice, we let them have their babies outside,” said Pieper. Of the 275 first calf heifers and 150 cows who are giving birth this sea-

son about 115 to 120 of them have gone through the barn at one stage or another because of the cold.

CATTLE COME FIRSTEverything the Pieper’s do on the ranch

revolves around the cattle. Cattle come

first, Pieper said.“As a rancher, I am responsible for

those cows and their calves. Sometimes there is a fine line between life and death. They depend on humans to take care of them, so it is my responsibility to check

on them when they are born outside and take them to the warming room in our calving shed and make sure they get dried off. It doesn’t matter if it’s 2:00 in the morning or 2:00 in the afternoon. This is not an eight to five job. There isn’t such a thing in agriculture,” he said.

KEEPING WARMA lot is done to prevent the calves

from getting too cold. It’s normal for ranchers to check a calf’s temperature. A good temperature is around 99 to 100 degrees. Anything lower and it’s into the barn for the calf. It’s important to get their temp up to normal so that they are strong enough to get their mother’s first milk, Pieper said.

The first milk is essential, it contains co-lostrum which supplies the calf with anti-bodies needed for a healthy immune sys-tem. It also allows the bond between calf and mother to begin.

“We both grew up around cattle. I would work livestock with my dad, Dr. Kent Pieper, who is the veterinarian in Farnam. My wife, Heidi, grew up in Dun-lap, Iowa, and helped her folks run both of their livestock markets, a physical place where farmers and ranchers go to buy and sell cattle. We both have the same passion for agriculture and feel blessed to do what we love,” Pieper said.

Riding horseback is a common practice when ranchers check their cattle during calving season. In late February and March, farmers and ranchers can check their cattle as often as every hour to hour and a half 24 hours a day.

Tyler Pieper carries a calf to the trailer to bring him back to his mother. Febru-ary through April is a very busy time for ranchers as they take care of their cattle.

Heidi Pieper of Frontier County Farm Bu-reau helps carry a calf with a broken leg into the barn to be fed.

The Pieper’s manage risk on their ranch by having Farm Bureau Financial Services insurance to protect their cattle investment.

“They offer a unique optional coverage with a policy that covers livestock freezing or smothering,” Tyler Pieper said. (Read article on page A7.)

I feel good knowing that we are protected and that Farm Bureau Financial Services has our back if something should go wrong during calving season or anytime, Tyler Pieper said.

How do Tyler and Heidi Pieper manage risk on their ranch?

They purchased a Farm Bureau Financial Services policy to help cover potential losses.

Heidi Pieper and their Australian Shepard, Hank, ride along with a chilled calf headed for the warmth of the barn.

Tagging calves is an important means of identification for ranchers like Tyler Pieper, who also collects vital records like birth weight.

Right after a heifer gives birth to her calf the bonding process between calf and mother begins. Tyler Pieper and his wife, Heidi, look over about 275 first calf heifers and 150 cows.

By Heather Hamilton-MaudeFor Tri-State Livestock News

Following the October 2013 Atlas blizzard, many producers were relying on insurance they believed would cover drowning and suf-focation losses to help ease the financial bur-den placed upon them. The reality for many was that their insurance companies would not pay for losses resulting from the storm, causing frustration and questions regarding what actually killed cattle in Atlas, and why insurance companies were so often unwilling to work with their rancher clients.

“My policy stated it covered drowning from external causes, and that is what hap-pened in my instance. The cows that died in the storm breathed in cold, wet rain and snow, washing away the surfactant that keeps lung tissue from sticking together, which is called ciliated epithelium. As the tissue stuck together, it reduced the area available for oxygen storage, resulting in the cattle slowly suffocating in a liquid they inhaled, which is a definition of drowning,” began Richard Perli, who ranches southeast of Rapid City, S.D., of the issue he took with his insurance company telling him the 50 cows and six calves he lost in Atlas would not be covered.

Perli, like many of his neighbors, had mul-tiple head necropsied by his veterinarian, who filed a report with his insurance claim. Within the report, Perli’s vet stated his cat-tle had lungs that were, “heavy and moist

and the cows drained water out of their na-sal cavities when moved around. I found the cows died from drowning.”

His adjustor told Perli that he heard South Dakota State Veterinarian Dustin Oedek-oven’s report stating the cattle most likely died from congestive heart failure and result-ing pulmonary edema, and that he took that to mean they succumbed to the elements.

He chose to take that report over the prac-ticing veterinarian’s diagnosis of death.

Oedekoven confirmed that was the most logical cause of death in his opinion, which was formed by South Dakota State University (SDSU) extension personnel and animal dis-ease diagnostics lab employees, most specifical-ly after studying a paper by Russ Daily in addi-tion to conversations with numerous practicing vets in the affected area. He did not see any of the cattle in person following the storm.

“I never intended the listing of one pos-sible cause of death to cut the amount of an insurance payment, and would much prefer to see the insurance companies pay out to their customers who have paid their pre-miums. I would also not dispute any vets who were in the field and made a different statement for a spe-cific animal or animals’ cause of death,” said Oedekoven.

Pulmonary edema, or left-sided heart failure, occurs follow-ing extreme physical exertion, to the point that a lack of energy leads the animal to collapse. From there other issues can arise, including hyperten-sion or increased pressure within the capil-laries of the lung tissue. As a result of that

increased pressure, some capillaries start to leak and the serum from the blood actually leaks into the lungs, filling them with fluid.

“There is a drowning event with pul-monary edema. The contentious point is whether the drowning occurred from fluid within that animal’s own body as a result of physiological fatigue from stress rather than the scenario of breathing that fluid in,” stated Oedekoven.

He added that pulmonary edema was not the only cause of death he provided in reports following the blizzard. Hypothermia, exhaustion, drowning, suffocation from be-ing buried in snow, and in some cases trau-matic injury, such as being hit by cars, were also attributed to livestock deaths in Oede-koven’s report.

“I encouraged people to work directly with their insurance companies and prac-ticing vets to make determinations. I would also suggest in any claim filing scenario to get a copy of the policy so the vet can see what it says and make their call in a truthful way that is in accordance with that policy,” continued Oedekoven.

While many producers continue to fight their insurance companies and in some cases pursue legal action, Perli among them, others were happy with their company’s re-sponse following the blizzard. In most cases, those people had policies with Farm Bureau Financial Services.

“We offer a unique optional coverage with-in the policy for freezing or smothering that not all companies do,” began Farm Bureau Financial Services spokesperson Nancy Doll.

She added that agents, adjustors and a dozen additional staff, who were brought

into the area follow-ing the storm, spent the better part of a month in the field with their customers. But, even with those additional resources, the conditions made it impossible to reach all clients with a prac-ticing veterinarian in the days following the storm.

“The vets couldn’t be everywhere so we applied common

sense to the law and allowed our adjustors to verify cause of death. Not all companies did this. The agent and adjustor rode with one client/member in his plan to locate cattle; others four-wheeled for miles on end with customers to do the same. That type of activity went on throughout the month of October,” she explained.

In total, Farm Bureau responded to 45 claims related to the storm, and to-date 44 have been settled.

“We have heard good feedback and a high degree of satisfaction from those who filed claims. Our agents work very hard to help our client/members be prepared for the un-expected. We believe that, when things go wrong, you need your insurance to go right. Regardless of who you’re insured with, you need an agent and adjustor who will deliver on that promise,” Doll continued.

For Perli, the entire experience has been incredibly disheartening. While he continues to work on his claim and pursue possible legal action, he has also switched insurance companies to ensure he does not face a similar experience in the future.

“It doesn’t say much for an insurance company that you’ve been with for a long time when they back out in any way pos-sible to prevent providing a service you pay for. I dropped my old company and switched to Farm Bureau early in 2014. I have better insurance now, with a company that worked for their customers when they needed them to,” he concluded.


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Ranchers who lost cattle in October’s storm faced opposition when they turned to their insurance companies to collect on premiums. Many veterinarians concluded the cattle drowned, but the state vet’s opinion differed.

Drowned in Mud and Snow

Photo courtesy of Heather Hamilton-Maude for Tri-State Livestock News

Good records were helpful for ranchers to determine the number of head and ages of cattle lost in the storm.

We offer a unique optional coverage within the policy for freezing or smothering that not all companies do.

— NANCY DOLL, Farm Bureau Financial Services

spokesperson“


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Leadership Academy • Feb. 27-28, 2014Grand Island, Neb. • Photos by Kerry Hoffschneider

Leadership Academy participants Amanda Fairley of Jefferson County Farm Bureau and Andrew Ward of Cherry County Farm Bureau par-ticipate in a consumer communication exercise following training by Willow Holoubek of A-FAN and Deanna Karmazin of Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. The training taught them how to talk to those who have questions about their food and how it is raised.

Leadership Academy begins session two of their experience, Influencing through Ag-Vocating, held in Grand Island Feb. 27-28. Pictured from left is Beth Fisher (left) of Harlan/Furnas County Farm Bureau talking about her family’s farm located near Beaver City as Amanda Fairley of Jefferson County Farm Bureau and Shane Daniels of Cherry County Farm Bureau listen.

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An Inside Look at the 2014 Leadership Academy ClassA Program Supported by the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture

“Why try so hard to fit in when you’re born to stand out?” said Amanda Fairley, regarding why ag leaders need to be bold!

“Responsibility, relator, empathy, discipline and belief – these five words describe who I am as an individual. They are my strengths I discovered through the StrengthsFind-er 2.0 session during Leadership Academy. Leadership Academy is an outstanding program that Nebraska Farm Bureau offers. I am honored and excited to be part of this year’s class!” Amanda said.

“For your family and for mine,” said Travis Anderson when it comes to why he is so passionate to be in the agriculture industry.

“I have already gained so much from the Leadership Academy, and we have barely started. We spent a lot of time working ‘outside the box,’ and looking for ways that one can transform things for a better outcome. We also found our leadership strengths, focusing on them and not on the weaknesses. We also talked about why we do what we do in agriculture.”

Amanda Fairley Travis Anderson Beth Fisher

Amanda Fairley and her husband, Dustin, of Fairbury are very active in Nebraska Farm Bureau’s Young Farm-ers and Ranchers Committee. The couple owns and operates a custom farming business, Fairley Fine Ag, LLC. The couple also farms on their own, helps with Dustin’s parents’ dairy and Amanda is an agricultural instructor at Southeast Community College as well as doing crop consulting.

Pictured is Travis Anderson (far right) along with other Leadership Academy participants during a team building exercise. Academy students become like family right from the start.

“Soaring Above”Below is an excerpt from Beth Fisher’s writings she be-

gan during session one of the academy about their family farm near Beaver City. Participants were encouraged to dig deep and begin to learn how to tell their “rural” story in their own, unique way.

Many layers of thought ...Uncovered one by one ...In a heartbeat of time ...As I soak in the beauty of this place, this place that draws

the eagle, this place that drew my heart, this place I now call home.

Pictured is Amanda Fairley during her formative years in FFA. Fairley said FFA played a huge role in her per-sonal and professional development. She said that be-coming involved with the Nebraska Farm Bureau Fed-eration was a natural next step to keep her passions alive in agriculture.

Travis Anderson used this family picture during the “This is Nebraska” session at Leadership Academy where class members were asked to bring an object that helped describe what they truly value about their life in agriculture. Anderson talked about why his family is the core motivator for him each day. Pictured is his wife Nancy and their children Regan (age seven), Turn-er (five months) and Anna (age three). Travis operates a cow/calf and feeder operation with forage crops. He also works for other ag operations in the area and does leather repair too.

Beth Fisher brought a simple, tiny log house to the “This is Nebraska” session of the academy, “The log house symbolizes how our family has built our small farm and cattle operation little by little from the ground up. Our children can take pride in the fact that they have helped us build what we have, even at the young ages of 10, 12 and 15. And the Bible verses written on many of the pieces of this log home reminds us that our faith has guided us through it all.”


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On March 8 the Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee met in Kearney to start planning for the upcoming year and the 2015 conference. Above, at-large committee member Stacy Nelson answers a question from the pink ball as a part of the icebreaker activity with her husband, Darren Nelson, by her side, along with Ryan Sonderup (right) of district 2 and Nancy Anderson (left) of district 8 watching.

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Register Now To Take Part in Legislative Issue UpdatesFrom the comfort of your own home or

office, you can take part in Nebraska Farm Bureau’s Legislative Issue Updates via webinar.• Date: Wed., March 26• Time: 12 p.m. CST (11 a.m. MST) Join the webinar to hear updates on issues

and legislation that are important to farmers and ranchers. There is no cost to participate.

During the webinar, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions via their computer to the presenter.

The webinar will also be recorded for Farm Bureau members to view after the event on our website at nefb.org.

Please visit nefb.org/members to register for the webinar. Space is limited to the first 95 attendees.

If you don’t have a computer and want to lis-ten via a conference call, contact Jay Ferris, direc-tor of grassroots programs, at [email protected] or 402-421-4409 for more information. Future we-binar dates will be announced soon on nefb.org.

PresentersWelcome – Steve Nelson, president of Nebraska Farm BureauGovernmental Relations Department – State Issues – Jay Rempe, Jessica Kolterman and Anthony Aerts National Issues – Jordan Dux

Farm Bureau Webinar Series

Legislative Issue Updates

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There are many upcoming events as we close in on the end of March.Below is a list of events that Nebraska Farm Bureau is involved in.

Visit nefb.org for more information on these and other upcoming events.

Upcoming Events

Gubernatorial Debate Broken Bow

Sun., March 233 p.m.

One Box Convention Center

Ag Day Fly AroundTues., March 25

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Stop 2 – Lexington – 11:30 a.m. at the County Fair Grounds

Stop 3 – Central City – 2 p.m. at the Mark McHargue Farm

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Steve Nelson (left), president, listens to Rep. Adrian Smith (second from left) answer a question concerning issues on farms and ranches. Also pictured are Leslie Boswell, district 4, and David Grimes, at-large.

Given the snow Washington, D.C., received Sen. Mike Johanns’ flight was canceled, so the Nebraska Farm Bureau board met with him via video conference in Washington, D.C., while Sen. Johanns was stuck in Omaha.

Mallory Becker of Greeley County Farm Bureau works to educate consumers at FOOD: the Exhibition at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., during American Farm Bureau Federation’s Joint Chair Conference.

Mallory Becker (left) Ag Promotion Committee member of Greeley County Farm Bureau, and Hilary Maricle Ag Promotion Committee chair of Boone County Farm Bureau, spoke with Nebraska’s Congressional delegation during the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Joint Chair Conference March 2-5.

American Farm Bureau Federation Ag Promotion Joint Chair ConferenceMarch 2-5, 2014 • Washington, D.C.

The Nebraska Farm Bureau board of directors traveled to Washington, D.C., for their annual national affairs visit March 2-5. Despite a day of closures due to winter weather, the board was able to meet with all of Nebraska’s Congressional Delegation. Pictured in front of the U.S. Capitol are front, from left: Steve Nelson, president; Sherry Vinton, second vice president; Leslie Boswell, district 4; and Jason Kvols, district 3; back row from left: Don Benner, district 2; Andy DeVries, district 8; David Grimes, at-large; and Mark McHargue, first vice president.

Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation® National Affairs VisitMarch 2-5, 2014 • Washington, D.C. • Photos by Jordan Dux

Ask Your Neighbor To Be A Farm Bureau Member ... Join Today!

Take them to nefb.org and click “Join”OR

call membership at 800-742-4016 and push 3.

Updating the nation’s out-of-date and ex-tremely complicated tax code is a task that is needed, but likely won’t be taken up by Congress anytime soon. While the leader-ship in both the Senate Finance Committee and House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee have expressed a de-sire to move tax reform legislation forward, strong partisan gridlock has put those plans on hold. However, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) hasn’t given up hope and released a tax code reform package that lowers tax rates for in-dividuals and businesses and broadens the tax base by eliminating over 220 tax credits, de-ductions and exclusions.

“Farm Bureau believes that any tax reform proposal considered by Congress must be com-prehensive and include individual as well as cor-porate tax reform,” Ne-braska Farm Bureau’s Di-rector of National Affairs Jordan Dux said Feb. 26.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman commended Chairman Camp for doing the hard work of developing a com-prehensive rewrite of our nation’s cumber-some, convoluted and complex tax code.

“The idea of lowering the top tax rates for both corporations and individuals has obvious attraction. The proposal is a strong and much-needed start to what will surely be an extensive tax reform discussion. Farm-ers and ranchers are grateful for the long-standing willingness of the chairman, as well as his colleagues, to listen to our concerns on issues like cash accounting. We look forward to continuing the conversation about mean-ingful tax reform that benefits the whole economy,” Stallman said Feb. 26.

The plan makes the following changes:

Income Tax: The proposal lowers both the top corporate income tax rate and the top individual tax rate to 25 per-cent. It also would create only two indi-vidual tax brackets; 10 and 25 percent.

Capital Gains Tax: The proposal would allow 40 percent of capital gains to be excluded from taxation. The result would be that only 60 percent of any capital gains are taxed at the taxpayer’s income tax rate. The bill does not repeal the 3.8 percent Medicare tax on capital gains imposed by the Afford-

able Care Act.Depreciation and

Expensing: Section 179 small business ex-pensing deduction limit is permanently set at $250,000 (currently only $25,000 for 2014) with the deduction phased out when investments exceed $800,000. The proposal repeals MARCS (modified accelerated cost recovery system) and replaces it with a

slower depreciation system for property placed in service after the end of 2015.

“While Farm Bureau appreciates the de-sire to set a permanent Section 179 Small Business Expensing rate, we continue to support keeping the rate at $500,000 which was law until it expired at the end of 2013. We also support the extension of the ad-ditional 50 percent bonus depreciation for the purchase of new capital assets, which also expired at the end of 2013,” Dux said.

This plan runs deep and wide and at a level of detail that will require careful anal-ysis. Farm Bureau will take a serious look at the proposal and thanks the chairman for his dedicated effort, Stallman said.


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Tax Code Overhaul Needed UNL Research: Fructose Not Culprit in Obesity Epidemic

LINCOLN, Neb. — Fructose has got-ten a bad rap in the obesity epidemic, says a University of Nebraska-Lincoln scientist whose research shows fat and other sugars are the primary culprits.

From 1970-2009, obesity rates in the U.S. increased from 13 percent of the popula-tion to 34 percent. Dietary fructose has been blamed as a possible contributor to this increase.

Nutrition Scientist Tim Carr found that’s not the case, though. While the total energy availability in Americans’ food increased 10.7 percent over that period, consumption of fructose did not increase.

Carr based his findings on the U.S. De-partment of Agriculture’s Loss-Adjusted Food Availability Database and its Nutrition Database for Standard Reference.

Those resources, rich in data about Americans’ eating patterns over the years, show that the energy available from total glucose increased 13 percent. The main source of glucose in the American diet is starch. Also, glucose availability was more than three times that for fructose. Energy available from protein, carbohydrates and fat increased 4.7 percent, 9.8 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively.

“It is a misconception that fructose is a

unique contributor to obesity,” said Carr Feb. 14. Carr chairs UNL’s Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences.

Some of that misconception may stem from the fact that the consumption of one type of fructose – high fructose corn syrup – has increased significantly over the last 40 years, but it has replaced another source of fructose – table sugar – leaving total con-sumption steady, Carr said.

“We’re focusing the spotlight in the wrong place,” Carr said. “Fructose turns out to be a relatively small contributor to the overall food supply.”

In 1970, fructose availability was 63.2 grams per day. It has fluctuated in the years since, but stood at 62.4 grams in 2009.

“We conclude that increased total energy intake, due to increased availability of foods providing glucose (primarily as a starch in grains) and fat to be a significant contributor to increased obesity in the U.S.” wrote Carr and graduate student Trevor Carden in an article outlining their findings in the Decem-ber 2013 issue of Nutrition Journal, which can be found at go.unl.edu/bt40.

The research was supported by the Uni-versity of Nebraska Agricultural Research Division with funds provided through the Hatch Act.

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Dodge 654-2882 202 N. Main St., HooperAlisa SchlueterDouglas 758-6633920 N 204th Street, Ste. 220, ElkhornTroy PerchalStaci BartelsDouglas 779-72115728 S. 144th, OmahaJon ChristensenJoe PaneAndrew PenkeDouglas 933-38503609 N. 129th St., OmahaMike PfeiferDouglas 951-93555421 N. 103rd, Ste. 406, OmahaLuper AkoughDouglas/Omaha 493-59002065 N. 120th, OmahaDon ChristensenDouglas/Omaha 339-63487733 “L” St., Omaha Celeste BundeDouglas/Omaha 390-10765726 S. 144th St., OmahaRon Randall, LUTCFDouglas/Omaha 884-441016944 Audrey St., Ste. 5, OmahaDavid Burke, LUTCFMichael JenkinsJim ThomasDouglas/Omaha 614-07077114 N. 102 Cr., OmahaMatt GuzinskiTodd Noecker, LUTCF, CLTCDouglas/Omaha 991-8200 3614 N. 163rd Plaza, OmahaMichael BaberDouglas/Omaha 614-3187 6834 S. 143rd Plaza, OmahaBrandon AveryScott DunnDouglas/Omaha 502-6959 15728 West Center Rd., OmahaJason SmithDouglas/Omaha 758-6633 4602 S. 132nd St., OmahaTroy PerchalDouglas/Omaha 779-4571 111 N. 181st, Ste. 203, OmahaTyler LangelDouglas/Omaha 934-2232 11218 Elm St., Ste. A, OmahaKevin McTaggartMarty McGuireDouglas/Omaha 218-1069 1805 N. 169th Pz., Ste. B, OmahaShane MyersDouglas/Omaha 895-8763 18111 Q St., Ste. 107, OmahaHeather RayJohn MajorDouglas/Omaha 896-3170 4610 S. 133rd, Ste. 101, OmahaDustin SearceyBrandon GlimeSoraya RahmanzaiJerry JorgensenEric Snyder

Omaha Developmental Center 895-8059 5005 S 153rd Street, Ste. 202, OmahaHeather BarnhillMichael DijakRachel HildrethMichael HansenAlisha PalagiRyan SteffenArmando VargasMike WeedDundy 423-57931303 A Street, BenkelmanJim GleasonFillmore 759-4407 960 S. 13th, GenevaSteve SchiermeyerFrontier 367-4350106 East 1st, CurtisPhil HinrichsGage 228-4232 3216 N. 6th., BeatriceCurt SpilkerDarrell SaathoffGarfield 728-3400167 S. 8th Ave., BurwellGreg DuryeaHall 382-5707 2118 Kent Ave., Grand Island Kyle Sawyers, LUTCFEdmund “Rocky” Kershaw, LUTCFHall3341 State St., Ste. C, Grand IslandLee Mohr 382-5093Stacey Rust 382-5093Hall 384-1134 710 N. Webb Rd. East Wing, Grand IslandMadonna DelucaLisa HuismannKris JerkeMelisa SalterHamilton 694-2399 211 16th, AuroraJ.J. RotherHarlan 928-2232 604 West Main, AlmaRay BunnellHitchcock 866-950-3276 312 Main Street, TrentonJim GleasonHolt-Boyd-Rock 336-1332130 S. 4th St., O’NeillBarbara HesseHolt 925-2227503 N. Hill Street, AtkinsonCarmen StauthHolt 336-3635504 W. Douglas, O'NeillCarmen StauthHoward 754-5481 904 2nd St., St. PaulTom Mortimer, LUTCFJamie KeepJefferson 729-2728505 7th St., FairburyKendall Schlake, LUTCFJohnson 335-2254185 S. 3rd St., TecumsehRyan Rohl

Kearney-Franklin 832-2290640 N. Minden Ave., MindenRandy MyersKeith-Arthur 284-3930 116 W. 6th St., OgallalaDustin Weiss Kimball-Banner 235-3085 213 S. Chestnut, KimballBailey LordKnox 373-4600 103 E. Main, BloomfieldAllen WaltonLancaster/Lincoln 420-74532455 Pine Lake Rd., Ste. 100, Lincoln Michael KastensJason SchluckebierDavid DuffLancaster/Lincoln 477-62623200 “O” Street, Suite C, LincolnTom BanderasRyan SchmeitsBrock RothLancaster/Lincoln 421-91005550 S. 59th St., Ste. 24, LincolnJack RussellMike JuradoSonny LaneLancaster/Lincoln 421-44005225 S. 16th St., LincolnChad ChristensenAdrian DiazDustin LottmanGayla MartinMatt ReilingLancaster/Lincoln 484-0303249 Cherry Hill Blvd., Ste. 2, LincolnMelissa WheelerLancaster/Lincoln 467-00441401 N. Cotner, Ste. 201, LincolnRyan RohlLancaster/Waverly 786-046513220 Callum Dr., Ste. 3, WaverlyRusty WellmanLincoln 534-4421409 E. Jeffers, North PlatteEricka AlbrechtLincoln-Logan Thomas-McPherson 532-4998410 E. Francis, Ste. 3, North PlatteJay EngelLogan 636-2305603 1st St., StapletonDavid BurkeMadison-Stanton 379-3237 504 N. 13th, NorfolkBrad BoshRick KuehnerBrandon DokeMadison-Stanton 371-1520 401 E. Norfolk Ave., NorfolkJoe Herian, CPCU, LUTCFMerrick 946-3893 1105 S. 16th St., Central CityDick Evers, LUTCFShannon HannappelMorrill 262-1740905 Main St., BridgeportMark BolesNance 536-3323330 Broadway St., FullertonJJ RotherNemaha-Richardson 274-3189 1919 “J”, AuburnLavell ClarkNuckolls 879-3377449 N. Central Ave., SuperiorNate CaseyOtoe 269-2541 429 5th St., SyracuseRyan RohlPawnee-Richardson 852-2125624 “G” St. Pawnee CityRyan RohlPerkins 352-4320228 Central Avenue, GrantDustin WeissPhelps 995-4041 411 Grant, HoldregePhil HinrichsPierce 329-6284 115 West Main, PierceScott RacePlatte 562-77772921 23rd St., ColumbusDon SterupEric Ceder

Platte 923-0292301 S. Main, HumphreyCarol WemhoffPolk 747-2351 540 Nebraska, OsceolaSteve DeyRed Willow 345-6720 802 W. B St., Ste. 104, McCookJimmy GleasonAdam PowersRed Willow 345-2234 505 W. B Street, McCookAl GuntherSaline 826-5111 915 Main Ave., Ste. 8, CreteTodd BohlmeyerSaline 243-2233 201 State Hwy. 74, TobiasDoug FrancisSaline 821-2157 113 W. 3rd, WilberDoug FrancisSarpy 332-2683 101 Enterprise Dr., Gretna Clay HeavicanWD CraigSarpy 829-54228410 S. 73rd Pz #108, PapillionAkil DavisAdrian DiazMelissa MuthsSarpy 932-0322 1256 Golden Gate Dr., Ste. 1, Papillion Joe RickleySaunders 443-3704 113 East 5th, WahooKyle CooperSaunders 944-31311408 Silver St., AshlandPatrick LiewerScottsbluff-Sioux 635-8005108 East 19th, ScottsbluffRichard BretthauerScottsbluff-Sioux 635-0900101 E. 22nd, ScottsbluffTim Jordening, LUTCFScottsbluff 633-1684222 W 27th St., Ste 200, ScottsbluffMark BolesSheridan 638-4566 109 N. Main, Hay SpringsRhonda BaseggioSheridan 282-1000 113 N. Main, GordonRhonda BaseggioThayer 768-6218 440 Lincoln Ave., Hebron Nate Casey, LUTCFThurston 385-2208 306 Main, PenderMatt BuchholzValley-Sherman- Garfield-Wheeler 728-3216 1516 L Street, OrdHarold BentonValley-Sherman- Garfield-Wheeler 728-3400 220 S. 14th St., OrdGreg DuryeaWashington 426-34401565 Washington St., BlairTroy PerchalWayne 375-3144 318 Main St., WayneLynette Krie, LUTCFYork 362-0320 611 N. Grant Ave., YorkBrett Ehmen

Life Specialists Only Douglas 334-2743 18111 Q St., Ste 107, OmahaPaul Jensen, CLU, ChFC

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The lifeblood of America.They’re the humble heroes who rise before dawn and battle

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Another way we can get involved is learn from other Nebraska farmers who have decided to step up and help out. Tim Semin is a farmer near Bee who has been moved to help his hungry neigh-bors. Semin began donating to the Food Bank of Lincoln after reading a book en-titled Trust God for Your Finances by Jack Hartman.

We contacted Semin who was appre-hensive at first to share his story. How-ever, he felt it may be God’s timing to share if it helps educate others about opportunities to get involved.

“I read the book in my mid-twenties and it has been a gift for me and helped me think about ways I could help out. I started to ask myself, ‘What’s the most practical need, where do I start?’ Then I thought, people have all kinds of issues and needs but they have to eat. It’s ri-diculous to me that in this country or in this state specifically people are missing meals and deciding what bill to pay or not pay so they can eat.”

Semin said he chose the Food Bank of Lincoln because it serves neighbors

locally and they operate their non-profit so that the majority of their funds go di-rectly to helping those in need.

Nebraska Farm Bureau News MARCH 19, 2014 B1

The New Faces of Hunger in NebraskaBy Kerry Hoffschneider

Throughout the coming months, Nebraska Farm Bureau News will be focusing on a va-riety of hunger programs. We asked the Food Bank of Lincoln and the Food Bank for the Heartland to identify counties where we can explore the hunger issue more deeply. Our County Farm Bureaus alongside their regional directors of membership will be working on projects that in real, tangible ways, begin to address and deepen the understanding of the hunger issues in these areas. Watch for these stories to unfold in the coming months.

Looking back through the annals of hu-man history, it’s clear, the hunger issue has been present with humans as long as hu-mans have been present on the planet.

However, how we address the feeding of ourselves and our neighbors has changed and can improve as diverse backgrounds and vantage points come together on this issue. As farmers and ranchers who work hard to produce healthy and nutritious food, there are many ways we can get in-volved and provide insight into the issue of hunger that we may not have thought about before. That’s why, this year, the Ne-braska Farm Bureau Federation has decided it’s time to explore hunger in Nebraska, celebrate the great work County Farm Bu-

reaus are already doing and also challenge each other to dig deep and break out of our comfort zones when it comes to this complicated issue impacting all of us.

The “face” of hunger today is a very di-verse face. An Associated Press article featured in the Jan. 2 issue of the Lincoln Journal Star entitled: “The new face of food stamps” talks about how working-age peo-

ple are now making up the majority of U.S. households that rely on food stamps. The article reports the change has to do some-what with demographics, such as the trend toward having fewer children. However they also note, “A slow economic recovery with high unemployment, stagnant wages and an increasing gulf between low-wage and high-skill jobs also plays a big role.”

“The face of hunger has changed since the Great Recession of 2008,” said Brian Barks, director of development for the Food Bank for the Heartland. “The face is now the working poor, children and seniors re-gardless of location – urban and rural. Hun-ger is a critical problem in rural communities where families in need have limited access to assistance.”

Barks said the Food Bank of Lincoln and the Food Bank for the Heartland can help support local pantries and other efforts going around food security – both entities combined support all 93 Nebraska counties.

“The Food Bank for the Heartland has trucks that travel more than 25,000 miles per month delivering to food pantries and other partner organizations. We col-lect large quantities of donated food from manufacturers, wholesalers and retail out-lets,” he said.

What’s even more significant is the fact that in the 2013 fiscal year, Barks said the Food Bank for the Heartland spent $2.2 mil-lion purchasing food because the amount of donated product received was not enough to meet demand.

“Many people are also surprised to learn the number one item distributed by the Food Bank is fresh produce,” Barks said.

Tim Semin is a farmer from outside Bee who has decided to get involved with the hunger issue in his community and the state.

Here are ways you can help neigh-bors in need.

• Get to know your local food pantry provider. Ask what their needs are and develop an on-going relationship with them and your County Farm Bureau.

• Hold a dinner for those hungry among you at your local community center or church.

• Offer your knowledge and skills in cook-ing or baking to the local school or mission. Coordinate community cooking programs with local non-profits to help busy moms and dads learn to cook on a budget.

• Fund milk, egg, fresh vegetable or

meat vouchers at your local pantry so that families can go and purchase those nutritional perishable items that are hard to keep stocked on food pantry shelves.

• Have your County Farm Bureau take a tour of the Food Bank of Lincoln or Heartland Food Bank to help connect your area to their state-wide mission in new, innovative ways.

• Plant a community garden with your local FFA, 4-H or other youth groups in your community.

• Check out the investanacre.org pro-gram and donate some of the proceeds of your bounty to those in need.

You Can Help Too!

The Food Bank for the Heartland has trucks that travel more than 25,000 miles per month making deliveries to food pantries. The number one item distributed is fresh produce.

The following is a real-life story that we heard from officials at the Food Bank of Lin-coln which serves many rural Nebraska coun-ties. The names have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved.

Carol was starting a new job as a nursing assistant in Columbus, but recently she was in line for food at the Knights of Columbus Hall in David City. Her husband is a truck driver who had to stop trucking late last summer after suffering a stroke. When he stopped driving, they stopped being able to

pay their bills. The food ran out.“Our source of income suddenly stopped

in one day,” she said.Three months without income was a

long time for the family. But now things are looking up for Carol. She has a job. There will be paychecks again. She and her hus-band needed that boost when the checks stopped. Monthly food distributions in com-munities like Carol’s are making a difference.

“If it was not for the Food Bank of Lincoln, we would not have made it,” Carol said.

Nebraska Farmers Helping Out

Monthly Food Distributions Make a Difference

Call Kerry Hoffschneider, director of membership marketing, at 402-853-4238 or email [email protected] if you want to make any of these ideas or your own creative ideas happen in your area.

Photo by Kerry Hoffschneider

The Food Bank for the Heartland’s demand for food was greater than the amount of do-nated product so they had to spend $2.2 million purchasing food in the 2013 fiscal year.

1 in 7 people in Nebraska are food insecure.

B2 MARCH 19, 2014 Nebraska Farm Bureau News

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National Ag Week is Just Around the Corner

Nebraska’s roots in agriculture are deep. Help those roots remain strong by telling agriculture’s story! Celebrate National Agri-culture Week - March 24-28, 2014. Nebras-ka Farm Bureau has compiled a resource kit for your county to make your planning, pro-motion and celebration easy. Go to nefb.org member page and click on Resources.

Nebraska Farmer Wins, OSHA Drops Case

It was a major win for Nebraska farm and ranch families when OSHA dropped its case against a Holt County farming operation. The operation faced $132,000 in fines after being illegally targeted by the agency. OSHA has statutorily been prohibited from using

funds to regulate farming operations with 10 or fewer employees since 1976 but had sought action against the farm despite fed-eral law. OSHA started the process for pull-ing back its regulatory overreach onto farms mid-February by withdrawing the regulation that prompted the agency to take action. U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns, Rep. Adrian Smith and Farm Bureau members worked to push back against the agency.

United Egg Producers and HSUS to End Joint Petition

The United Egg Producers and the Hu-mane Society of the United States (HSUS) will not extend a previous agreement reached in 2011. The agreement specified federal legislation to mandate a phased-in move to enriched cage housing for all com-mercial layers in the U.S. The estimated in-

dustry cost of this action over the next 15 to 17 years was approximately $4 billion. HSUS, in turn, had agreed to cease all state ballot ini-tiatives and undercover investigations related to the egg industry and to publicly recognize the welfare acceptability of the enriched cage system. The two groups attempted to pass legislation in both the Senate and House dur-ing the 112th and 113th Congress without success. The American Farm Bureau Fed-eration opposes any laws mandating specific farming practices in livestock production but does support the rights of individual com-modity groups to develop voluntary national production standards.

Nebraska Video Revealed Marketing Nebraska’s natural resources

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and international marketplaces. It also will be part of education exhibits in the new ag-riculture building that will open at the 2014 Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island. “Ne-braska Agriculture” can be viewed through the Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s website, YouTube, and Facebook and Twit-ter pages. It was unveiled at the Governor’s Ag Conference March 5-6. Nebraska Agri-culture Director Greg Ibach of Sumner said the video is meant to inform and create an emotional connection with consumers by capturing “the essence of what we do in agriculture.” He encourages everyone in-volved in Nebraska’s agriculture industry to share the video with others.

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Adams County: 3 $500 scholarships awarded for ag-related field; for seniors in Adams and Webster counties, preferably Farm Bureau members.

Antelope County: 2 $250 scholarships awarded; contact Antelope County Farm Bureau at 402-887-4842.

Blaine County: 2 $200 scholarships awarded; for Farm Bureau members; con-tact Margie Lloyd at 308-547-0420.

Boone County: 1 $300 scholarship awarded; applications due April 1; for Farm Bureau members in Boone County; contact Sharon Ketteler at 402-678-2574.

Buffalo County: 4 $500 scholarships awarded; ag-related field preferred and must live in Buffalo County; applications due April 1; contact Sara Everett at 308-234-2222.

Burt County: Up to 6 $500 scholarships awarded; for Farm Bureau members in Burt County; contact Larry or Kathy Mussack at 402-374-2588.

Clay County: 2 $250 scholarships award-ed; ag-related field; contact Clay County Farm Bureau at 402-469-5033.

Cuming County: 2 scholarships awarded; 1 for $500; 1 for $300; for Farm Bureau members in Cuming County; contact Den-nis Schultz at 402-529-6433.

Custer County: Up to 5 $300 scholar-ships awarded; ag or ag-related field; appli-cations due April 1; contact Ken Byam at 308-935-1820.

Dawson County: 3 $500 scholarships awarded with preference for ag-related field; Farm Bureau members only; contact Daw-son County Farm Bureau at 308-324-4000.

Dixon County: 2 $500 scholarships awarded; for Farm Bureau members in Dixon County; contact Martey Stewart at 402-584-2252.

Dodge County: 1 $500 scholarship award-ed; ag-related field; applications due May 1; contact David Saalfeld at 402-652-8678.

Douglas County: Must belong to a family that has been a Douglas County Farm Bu-reau member three years or more; graduate of a Douglas County High School; cumula-tive GPA of no less than 3.0; application submitted by March 15; contact Douglas County Farm Bureau at 402-991-1433 or [email protected].

Dundy County: 2 $250 scholarships awarded to Farm Bureau members only; given to students in second, third and fourth year of study; contact Dundy County Farm Bureau at 308-423-2223.

Frontier County: 2 $500 scholarships for Frontier County Youth Ambassador; ag-related field; residents of Frontier County only; contact Frontier County Farm Bureau at 308-367-4350.

Hayes County: 2 $100 scholarships award-ed to Farm Bureau members only; contact Hayes County Farm Bureau at 308-286-3431.

Holt County: Holt County Memo-rial Scholarship Fund; 2 $500 scholarships awarded to Farm Bureau member families; preference to applicants entering an ag-related field; contact Farm Bureau office in O’Neill or Atkinson at 402-336-1154.

Howard County: 1 $500 scholarship awarded; ag-related field and preference to Howard County members; applications due April 13; contact Margie Townsend at 308-754-5481.

Kearney/Franklin County: A total of $1,000 to Kearney/Franklin county students; ag-related field has priority; contact Kear-ney/Franklin County Farm Bureau at 308-832-2290.

Keith County: 3 $150 scholarships awarded; must be a Keith County member; contact Sherry Gies at 308-239-4497.

Kimball/Banner County: 2 $250 schol-arships awarded for ag-related field; applica-tions due April 15; contact Beverly Atkins at 308-682-5647.

Knox County: 6 $250 scholarships awarded; for Farm Bureau members in Knox County; contact Knox County office at 402-373-4600.

Lancaster County: The Lancaster County Farm Bureau Scholarships are administered by Southeast Community College and by the University of Nebraska Foundation for UNL and NCTA. Students who are residents of Lancaster county and/or who graduate from a high school in Lancaster county are eligi-ble for a scholarship. They need to pursue a course of study in agriculture at Southeast Community College or NCTA, or declare a major in the Institute of Agriculture and Nat-ural Resources at UNL. Students who are in-terested in a scholarship need to contact the school they plan to attend. Contact Herschel Staats at 402-483-5673.

Lincoln County: Kent Boyer Memorial Scholarship administered by Community Foundation to a graduating senior majoring in agriculture. Applicants must demonstrate financial need. Contact Lincoln County Farm Bureau at 308-534-9694.

Lincoln County: 2 $500 scholarships awarded; contact Lincoln County Farm Bu-reau at 308-534-9694.

Madison County: 2 $250 scholarships awarded; for Farm Bureau members in Madison County; contact the Madison County Office at 402-371-1520.

Merrick County: Up to 3 scholarships awarded; available to Farm Bureau mem-bers; contact the Merrick County office at 308-946-3893.

Morrill County: 2 $300 scholarships awarded; preference to agriculture majors; available to Morrill County members; con-tact Regina Rhodes at 308-262-0858.

Nance County: 1 $200 scholarship award-ed; ag-related field; applications due April 1; contact Bob McNeff at 308-536-2836.

Perkins County: $1,000 each year; 2 scholarships of $300 and 1 of $400; must be Farm Bureau member; studying an ag-related field; contact Perkins County Farm Bureau at 308-352-4320.

Pierce County: 2 $500 scholarships awarded; for Farm Bureau members in Pierce County; contact Pierce County office at 402-329-6284.

Platte County: 2 $500 scholarships awarded; ag-related field with preference to Platte County members; applications due April 15; contact Stan Rosendahl at 402-285-0469.

Polk County: 2 $300 scholarships awarded; contact Abbie Peterson at 402-747-2186.

Rock County: 1 scholarship awarded; 1 $100 nursing scholarship; contact Loren Ammon at 402-244-5304.

Saline County: 2 $250 scholarships awarded; ag-related field; must be a Saline County member; contact Pat Hudecek at 402-821-2157.

Scotts Bluff County: 3 $500 scholarships awarded; applications due April 14; contact Shannon Kampbell at 308-632-3082.

Sarpy County: 1 or more $500 scholarship(s) awarded; applications due July 1; ag-related field; must be a Sarpy County member; can re-apply and extend for 4 years; contact Sarpy County Farm Bureau at 402-339-8778.

Saunders County: 1 or more $250 scholarship(s) awarded; applications due April 1; ag-related field; must be a Saunders County member; contact Sharon Vermeline at 402-909-2160.

Thayer County: 1 $500 scholarship awarded; for Thayer County resident with plans to study in ag or ag-related field; due date is March 1; contact Thayer County Farm Bureau at 402-768-6218.

Thurston County: 2 $250 scholarships awarded; for Farm Bureau members in Thurston County; contact Joel Lamplot at 402-385-2452.

Washington County: 4 $1,000 schol-arships awarded; must be a Washington County member for a minimum of 2 years; due date is March 15; contact Judy Geisler at 402-654-3685.

Wayne County: 2 $1,000 scholarships awarded; contact Robert Dowling at 402-585-4504 or cell 402-360-3932.

York County: 1 $500 scholarship awarded; contact Jerry Stahr at 402-366-0602.

Apply Now for Scholarships and Education Loans

County Farm Bureau Educational Scholarships

The Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture is accepting applications for education loans and scholarships through the Charles Marshall Loan Fund and two scholar-ship programs, Cathy Day, Foundation direc-tor of events and programs, said March 17.

“We want to make our members aware of the availability of these programs and en-courage them to apply,” she said.

CHARLES MARSHALL LOANSThe Charles Marshall Loan Fund uses

funds contributed voluntarily by Farm Bu-reau members. These funds are available to worthy individuals enrolled for training in accredited institutions. The Nebraska Farm Bureau Ag Promotion Committee sponsors the loan fund program as a part of its over-

all program of work. Applicants are able to apply more than once, but new applications are required each year.

“Also there were two major changes to the loan application: the financial statement and County Farm Bureau board form are no longer required. However, the applicants answer to the question ‘to what extent is your training dependent upon this loan’ will be weighed heavily,” Day said.

Applications are due July 1, 2014 and are open to all Farm Bureau members.

KENNETH SCHWARTZ SCHOLARSHIP

The scholarship fund was established by the family of the late Kenneth E. Schwartz, who was executive vice president of Farm

Bureau Insurance Company of Nebraska at the time of his death in 1987.

The Schwartz family has established these qualifications: Applicants must be juniors or seniors at the University of Ne-braska-Lincoln who are majoring in an ag-ricultural or agricultural-related program, including agribusiness. Applications may be made during the sophomore or junior year. Applicants must have demonstrated satisfactory academic performance during their freshman and sophomore years at UNL. They must be members of a cur-rently paid Farm Bureau family in Ne-braska. Neither gender nor rural or urban status is a factor in selection. Applications are due May 31, 2014.

GREATER HORIZON SCHOLARSHIP

The Greater Horizon Scholarship is award-ed students ages 18 to 35 who is from a Farm Bureau member-family, plans to study an ag-riculture-related field full-time at a college or university, and plans to return to production agriculture. The applicant must demonstrate leadership potential through extracurricular activities and work experience. The deadline for the application is May 1, 2014. Up to two $1,000 scholarships may be awarded.

To apply for any of these programs, use the forms available on the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture website at nefbfoundation.org, or contact Cathy Day at 800-742-4016 ext. 4750.

Nebraska Farm Bureau is expanding opportunities at the 2014 Nebraska FFA Convention!

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5 Questions with Jay Rempevice president/governmental relations

With the Legislature nearly three-quarters of the way through the 2014 session, Nebraska Farm Bureau News sat down with the head of Farm Bureau’s governmental relations team to talk about Farm Bureau’s advocacy efforts and how agriculture is faring at the state Capitol.

1. Jay, heading into the 2014 legislative session there was a lot of build-up about tax relief and tax reform. At this stage it seems like the wind has dropped out of the sails a little bit on major reform. Where are things at on tax relief for agriculture?

Tax relief this year is probably going to be largely at the margins. Some of the bold efforts for reform ... there just was never any agree-ment or consensus among the body. You never know, but right now I don’t expect a major tax reform package at this stage so it doesn’t look good for the bills to lower agriculture land valuations for tax purposes.

With that said, there are some bright spots for agriculture. The bill (LB 96) to exempt replacement and repair parts on agriculture ma-chinery and equipment from sales tax is up on the final round of debate and that would provide some tax relief to farmers and ranchers ($7 million to $10 million a year). The budget working its way through the process also includes an additional $25 million for the state’s Property Tax Credit Program. We’ve supported that program because it does provide direct relief against property taxes paid. There’s also a state aid bill working its way through the Legislature that has the potential to increase state aid for rural schools which could help with the local property tax burden.

2. Finding dollars to help manage the state’s water resources was another big issue heading into the session. How are things progress-ing there?

The budget senators are working on right now includes $31 million in funding for proj-ects and programs to help manage water resources statewide. That’s less than the $50 million the state Water Funding Task Force discussed in the interim, but it’s a good starting point. There’s already a lot of local dollars being put toward water man-agement, and we’ve advocated that water management is a statewide issue and some level of financial assistance from the state is needed. It was only a few years ago that we worked hard just to get $3 million a year in state money for water projects, so the $31 mil-lion in the budget shows progress in the state working to match local dollars.

The new monies will also provide an opportunity to demonstrate there are benefits to the state investing in water management. Hopefully that will help as additional dollars are needed down the road. Again, the dollars are going for projects that will help make sure we’re managing water in a way to keep it available for all of us, agriculture included, so it feels like we’re headed in the right direction on the water right now.

3. A handful of bills targeted to growing Nebraska’s livestock indus-try were introduced both last session and then again this year. What’s the prospect of those going anywhere and what do you foresee happening in the livestock area moving forward?

Right now the bill that’s moving is the one looking at the dairy industry in the state. Sen. Ken Schilz introduced it (LB 941) as a way to explore what Nebraska needs to do to try and grow our dairy sector. States like Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa are seeing their dairy numbers grow while Nebraska is standing still. The idea is to study why that’s happening and what we could do to improve that picture.

The other two livestock bills are on a slower track. The bill that would expand opportuni-ties for custom feeding of swine is still in the Agriculture Committee. It would allow pork processors to enter into custom feeding agreements and expand opportunities for people who are looking to get started in the pork business.

The other bill related to livestock would provide resources to counties to help them with livestock expansions in their county. That bill’s not likely to move, so instead we’re having some discussions outside of the Legislature with both livestock interests and county officials to identify how we can move forward to grow livestock opportunities which we think could be very productive.

4. There’s been a lot of back and forth this session on legislation that would match Nebraska state law up with new federal regulations as it applies to Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) requirements for some farm trucks. How has that bill advanced along?

Good news on that front. The original bill (LB 249) was amended into a larger transportation bill that’s now up on the last round of floor debate, so it looks to be in a good position. The bill would have Nebraska law match relatively new federal regulations that would exempt CDL require-ments for farm covered vehicles with a gross weight rating below 26,000 pounds no matter where they travel, in addition to giving the CDL exemption for farm covered vehicles with a gross weight rating above 26,000 pounds if they stay within the state and 150 miles from their farm.

5. Overall, how would you say ag-riculture has fared so far this session as we head down the home stretch?

Given that it’s a short session, the fact we have 17 term-limited senators and several in the body that are running for other offices which adds more politics into the process, it’s been a decent session for agriculture. We certainly were wanting more on the property tax front which is disappointing, but removing sales tax on ag replacement and repair parts is a good step and more money in the property tax credit fund is a positive. If the dollars for water come to fruition and the CDL bill passes it would be hard not to say it was a good session.

Agriculture is more and more of a minority in the Legislature, so it’s always good if we can prevent anything bad from happening. We have a daily presence at the Capitol for a reason. Even though we are an agriculture state there are ideas that get introduced that wouldn’t be good for farm and ranch families – sometimes our members never even hear about them because we work hard to prevent them from gaining momentum. Anytime we close a session with some wins and no major setbacks it’s a good thing for our members.

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Day @ the Farm Video Contest Announces Three Winning ClassroomsThe Nebraska Farm Bureau and the

Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture are pleased to announce three Nebraska classrooms who were selected as grand prize winners in their Day @ the Farm video contest. The two organizations teamed up to host the Day @ the Farm video contest to promote agri-cultural literacy.

Winning classrooms will go on an all-ex-pense-paid field trip to farms or ranches near their school in April and May and also re-ceived a surprise party congratulating them. Grand prize winning classrooms are:

• Mrs. Christy Kleffman’s first grade class from St. Vin-cent de Paul in Omaha, Neb.

• Mrs. Jessica Tjaden and Mrs. Kal-ynne Breunsbach’s kindergarten classes from Southern Public Elementary in Blue Springs, Neb.

• Mrs. Ashley Mueller’s second grade class at Jefferson Elementary in Grand Island, Neb.

Agriculture is a staple of Nebraska’s economy accounting for one in four jobs across our state. But with a growing dis-connect between farmers and ranchers to teachers and students, an understanding of the impact of agriculture is becoming a major issue.

“The Day @ the Farm con-test was designed to edu-

cate students about the importance of agricul-ture in their lives no matter where they live,” said Deanna Karmazin, executive director of the Ne-braska Farm Bureau

Foundation for Agri-culture. “Through the

contest, we have pro-vided these classrooms with

hands-on educational opportu-nities that will have a lasting impact on these students.”

Teachers and their classrooms, grades K-12, were invited to submit a video an-swering the question – What would your life be like without Nebraska agriculture? Many wonderful entries were received and

the competition was tough, said Karmazin.“We are looking forward to getting these

students out to the farms and ranches. We have had several Farm Bureau members offer to host these students and are very

excited to showcase agriculture in our state to the future generation. We want to make sure these visits are memorable and posi-tive,” said Steve Nelson, Nebraska Farm Bu-reau president.

Buffalo County Farm Bureau member Steve Wolfe highlighted what the second graders from Jefferson Elementary will see on their May 6 tour of his dairy.

Shayna Meyer, youth outreach coordinator for Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, involves the winning kindergarteners from Southern Public Elementary in Blue Springs, Neb., showing them how the ingredients for the pizza they enjoyed Feb. 7 started on a farm or ranch.

Nebraska Farm Bureau staff surprised Mrs. Mueller’s class with the announce-ment they won the Day @ the Farm con-test on Feb. 5. Nebraska Farm Bureau President Steve Nelson will also host the second graders from Grand Island on his farm near Axtell, Neb., on May 6.

Jeramy Colgrove-Habluetzal of Mrs. Tjaden’s Southern Public kindergarten class enjoys his pizza during the Feb. 7 sur-prise party where Nebraska Farm Bureau staff announced the classroom won an all-expense-paid tour to Gage County Farm Bureau member Scott Spilker’s farm and Jefferson County Farm Bureau member Dean Engelman’s dairy on April 25.

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Nebraska Farm BureauFoundation for Agriculture

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Ag Day is Every Day CampaignThe Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation

for Agriculture is asking you to donate to a new campaign that will help children un-derstand where their food comes from and remind others that “Ag Day is Every Day.”

“National Agriculture Week is March 24-28 and National Agri-culture Day is March 25. Why should we celebrate agriculture only at that time? We need people to help us spread the good word about agriculture year-round,” Deanna Karmazin executive director of the Nebras-ka Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, said March 12.

Today we have people who are two, three or four generations removed from the farm. The Nebraska Farm Bureau Foun-dation for Agriculture is trying to build rela-tionship with consumers and educate teach-ers, children and their parents that food comes from a farm or ranch.

“We need dollars to provide books and resources to schools and libraries, organize farm tours, develop agriculture related muse-um and zoo exhibits and nature nights, pro-vide free resources to Nebraska classrooms and a whole lot more,” Karmazin said.

The Foundation wants to embrace the fu-ture by working with teachers and students through the Agriculture in the Classroom program, advance young farmers and ranch-ers to be spokesmen for their industry, pro-mote and educate the public about modern

agriculture, develop leaders and offer student scholar-ships. The Foundation is a non-profit, charitable orga-nization making a difference in the lives of all Nebraskans.

“Giving a positive public perception of ag-riculture today is vital! We can no longer take for granted that people know where their food comes from – they don’t! By building awareness and understanding of agriculture, the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture uses education and leadership development to tell agriculture’s story. That’s why we need your help to plant seeds of knowledge about agriculture,” Karmazin said.

If you would like donate please make your checks payable to Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture and mail them to P.O. Box 80299, Lincoln, NE 68501. Or donate online at nefbfoundation.org.

Donate today and help us educate a child on where their food comes from!

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Just wait five minutes and the weather will change in Nebraska! Wet snow was falling in Gothenburg March 18 and just 30 miles east in Lexington it was dry and overcast. The snow caused the District 44 Candidate Forum at Nebraska College of Technical Agricul-ture in Curtis (NCTA) to be cancelled March 18. The forum is being rescheduled. Visit nefb.org to find out more.

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Nebraska farmers will have a lot of dif-ferent options to consider when it comes to farm programs under the recently passed 2014 Farm Bill. To help navigate through the changes, Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation has developed a list of “Top 10 Things to Know About the 2014 Farm Bill” to aid farmers in evaluating what is included in the new bill and what it might mean for their farm or ranch.

“Farmers are going to have a lot of deci-sions to make when it comes to participa-tion in the new farm programs; and while the USDA rules for the programs aren’t expected until late 2014, it’s important farmers have a baseline of understanding of what the programs are and the type of decisions they will be asked to make if they participate. The ‘Top 10’ list provides a baseline of information to help them get started,” said Steve Nelson, Nebraska Farm Bureau president.

Farmers will have the choice of signing up for one of two versions of the new Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) com-modity program or have the ability to participate in a new Price Loss Cover-age (PLC) program that replaces direct payments and the ACRE program under the previous farm bill. Participation in the PLC program will also open the door for farmers to participate in a new crop insur-ance program known as the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO).

“In addition to the new programs, farm-ers will also find that they will have only one chance to make the decision on which pro-gram they will participate in over the life of the five-year farm bill, so it is critical they take a good look at their options and what makes the most sense for their farm opera-tion,” said Jordan Dux, Nebraska Farm Bu-reau director of national affairs.

Of specific interest to Nebraska farmers

and ranchers is the retro-active extension of numerous livestock disaster programs under the farm bill to aid those who suf-fered livestock and forage losses due to both drought and blizzard conditions go-ing back to 2012. Livestock disaster sign-up begins April 15.

“Nebraska farmers will also note that the new farm bill allows them to select differ-ent levels of protection on irrigated versus dryland crop ground under crop insurance, which was not allowed under the previous bill. While this won’t kick in until 2015, it will allow farmers to customize their level of crop insurance coverage to better meet their individual needs,” said Dux.

The farm bill has also brought change to conservation programs. While the mainstay programs of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)

remain, several of the previous land pres-ervation and easement programs are now rolled into one program. Farmers will also find the farm bill now links conservation compliance to crop insurance.

“We know there are a lot of questions about the new farm bill and what it will mean for each individual’s situation. We’re committed to helping farmers and ranch-ers as they work through this process by putting good information in their hands and helping them jump start the process. The ‘Top 10’ list is simply a starting point,” said Nelson.

Nebraska Farm Bureau has developed a 2014 Farm Bill Breakdown web page to pro-vide background information and resources related to the farm bill. The site also allows individuals to submit farm bill questions. The “Top 10 Things to Know About the 2014 Farm Bill” is below. More resources can be accessed by visiting nefb.org.

Nebraska Farm Bureau “Top 10 List” Helps Farmers Navigate Farm Bill

USDA Rules Should Be Out by Late 2014

Many of the rules governing this farm bill have yet to be written. Because there are new commodity programs, the USDA still has to work out how they will administer certain provisions, and there could be several kinks to work through. Deadlines for program sign-up also remain uncertain.

Top 10 Things to Know About the 2014 Farm BillA Farmers Guide to Get Started

For more details on each of these programs visit nefb.org for Nebraska Farm Bureau’s 2014 Farm Bill Breakdown page.

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1 There is A Lot to Chew On ...There will be a lot of options for farm-

ers to think about this time around which means communication with landlords and lenders will be very important as you con-sider which safety-net programs will work best for your operation. Key among these considerations is the fact that program pay-ments will not be issued until October of the following crop year (i.e. 2014 crop year payments will be issued in Oct. 2015).

Livestock Disaster Sign-Up Begins April 15

The much anticipated retro-active ex-tension of numerous livestock disaster programs occurred under the 2014 Farm Bill. Producers who suffered livestock and forage losses due to drought and blizzard conditions going back to 2012 will be able to begin the sign-up process at local FSA offices beginning April 15.

Conservation Program Opportunities Might be Tighter

The big three conservation programs of CRP, EQIP and CSP remain in the 2014 Farm Bill, but there are fewer dollars col-lectively for these programs this time around. Another change is that the land preservation and easement programs in the previous farm bill are now all rolled into one program.

Irrigated and Dryland Crops Can be Insured at Different Levels

Different than in previous years, the new farm bill allows farmers to select different levels of protection on irrigated versus dry-land crop ground. While it will not be avail-able until 2015, this will allow farmers to customize their level of crop insurance cov-erage to better meet their individual needs.

Conservation Compliance and Crop Insurance are Now Linked

Farmers purchasing crop insurance will have to be in compliance with conserva-tion provisions with highly erodible lands and wetlands in 2015. While farmers were obligated to meet similar requirements for commodity payments, the linkage to crop insurance is new and will provide more op-tions for complying than under the compli-ance provision for commodities.

You Get One Shot to Get It Right…Like the decision to sign up for ACRE

in the last farm bill, farmers will have one chance to make a decision as to which program (County-ARC, Individual-ARC or PLC) they will participate in through the life of the five-year farm bill. If a farmer does not choose an option, they are automatically enrolled in PLC but will receive no benefits for their 2014 crop. Also, landowners will have the one-time option to reallocate base acres. Participating in the PLC program will also offer landowners a one-time opportu-nity to update base yields.

Don’t Overlook PLC and the New Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO)

The new PLC target price program op-erates similarly to the old Counter-Cyclical payment program. Under the new program, a payment would trigger if the U.S. average market price for the crop year is less than the set reference price. While the target price program was a non-factor in recent years, USDA’s price projections for 2014 might make this attractive for farmers who worry about crop prices more than revenue.

Farmers that sign up for PLC can also uti-lize the new Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO). SCO is a crop insurance program that provides farms the option to purchase county level insurance that would cover part of the deductible under their individual yield and rev-enue loss crop insurance policies. A farmer is not eligible to participate in SCO if they are enrolled in ARC. This program would be avail-able beginning in the 2015 crop year.

Is County or Individual ARC Better for You?

Farmers will have the option to choose between two versions of the ARC program: County-ARC or Individual-ARC. The County-ARC program allows producers to par-ticipate on a crop by crop basis and protects based off of county revenue losses. The individual-ARC program provides individual farm level protec-tion, but all of a farm’s commodities must be enrolled in the program if the farmer selects this option. Early analysis indicates County-ARC might be more popular among corn and soybean producers. Individual-ARC is more complicated than its County-ARC counterpart.

Nebraska Corn and Soybean Farmers Should Start by Looking at ARC

Farmers will have a choice of sign-ing up for one of two versions of the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) program or the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program that replaces direct payments and the ACRE program. This decision will be made for each Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm. In general, ARC would pay out when actual county crop revenue is below the county ARC revenue guarantee for a crop year. Farmers will have to choose between ARC and PLC, but early indicators suggest ARC might be a better bet and a good place to start investigating farm bill options.


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UNL Rodeo Team Debunks StereotypesThe University of Nebraska-Lincoln Ro-

deo Team is a lot of things, but it might not be what you’d expect.

Not everyone on the team is an animal sci-ence major looking to go back to the ranch. In fact, only one person on the 23-person team fits that description.

Only 61 percent of the rodeo team are animal science majors and 17 percent of the team con-sists of non-ag majors.

There are more fe-males on the team than males, and 35 percent of the team is part of the Greek system.

Sophomore business management major Lindsay Adamson of Cody, Neb., says she thinks most people would be surprised to learn that.

“I think there are a lot of misconceptions about rodeo,” Adamson said Feb. 25. “We aren’t all a bunch of hicks.”

Adamson explained that in rodeo, re-lationships between opposing teams are stronger than in other sports.

“Even though we are competing against other teams, we want them to do well,” she

said. “All competitors put in hundreds of hours of preparation and all deal with the variables of their own horse, the stock they drew, the ground, you name it; when some-one successfully puts it all together, there’s encour-agement all around, no matter which team they represent.”

Bump Kraeger, one of the UNL Rodeo Team’s

coaches, said that rodeo teaches many valuable life lessons including control of one’s emotions and persever-ance.

“If you don’t try your hardest you are al-most guaranteed to fail,” Kraeger said, add-ing that rodeo gives a person permission to fail, something not found in most activities.

“Even when you are trying your hardest you may still fail, you may get bucked off

your horse,” he said, referring to bronc rid-ing, one of six men’s events.

Adamson said that in rodeo, the horse is a teammate.

“You have to get muscle memory down and be mentally and physically strong,” she said.

To learn more about the UNL rodeo club, visit casnr.unl.edu/rodeo.

Information about the next rodeo: The Great Plains Region of the National Intercol-legiate Rodeo Association will be in Lincoln April 18-19 at the Lancaster Event Center hosted by the UNL Rodeo Club.

Rodeo teaches many valuable life lessons including control of one’s emotions and perseverance.


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The intellectual war over modern agricul-ture has been won by the “cultural elite,” but agriculture’s continued commercial and technological success still bode well for its future, a political scientist said Feb. 27.

That’s not to say conventional agriculture won’t have to make adjustments in the face of ongoing challenges from its detractors, said Robert Paarlberg, who spoke at the Univer-sity of Nebraska-Lincoln as part of the Heu-ermann Lecture series. Specifically, he pre-dicted that the inroads activists already have made in the area of animal welfare will con-tinue to force change in livestock agriculture.

Paarlberg, the Betty Freyhof Johnson ‘44 Professor in the Department of Political Sci-ence at Wellesley College, is author of the book “Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know.” His lecture was titled “Our Cul-ture War Over Food and Farming.”

Conventional agriculture as practiced in states such as Nebraska “is under strong attack” from people who believe it is un-healthy, unsafe, environmentally unsus-tainable and socially unjust, Paarlberg said. These forces want a shift from large-scale, specialized, highly capitalized farming sys-tems to smaller scale systems that integrate crop and livestock production. Instead of internationally traded foods, they want local

foods and instead of genetically engineered food, they want organic food.

Paarlberg said this battle is being fought on sev-eral fronts – intellectual, commercial and policy.

Conventional ag already has lost on the first front, he added.

“As for who’s winning in this cultural are-na, I would say flat out the advocates for alternative agriculture have already won,” Paarlberg said. “Students come to my classes with their minds already made up.” They’ve taken in “Food Inc.,” Michael Pollan’s “Om-nivore’s Dilemma” and other popular media attacks on modern agriculture and “they see this as a social cause.”

Paarlberg said he’s found one risks “social ostracism” by defending conventional agri-culture in his state of Massachusetts.

In the commercial arena, detractors have made some progress in promoting changes in diets. Meat consumption and overall calo-rie consumption have dropped and a recent study shows the obesity rate among pre-schoolers is down.

“The activists’ critique of the way we eat ... is having an impact ... and I think that’s an impact we should welcome and celebrate,” Paarlberg said.

Activists’ promotion of organic agricul-ture and local marketing of food have led

to advances in those areas too, but Paarl-berg noted, they still comprise a very small percentage of conventional agriculture and international food marketing, respectively.

Meantime, most critics of conventional agriculture have ignored, perhaps as “an inconvenient truth,” the fact that their pre-dictions that conventional farming practices were unsustainable have proven untrue.

In recent years, conventional agriculture has drastically cut inputs while continuing to in-crease yields. Total fertilizer use peaked in 1981, total pesticide use in 1973, Paarlberg said.

Technological advances have led to huge reductions in land use, soil erosion, irrigation water, energy and greenhouse gases, he added.

“If only the rest of our economy had done this well, we would have something to be proud of,” Paarlberg said.

Two areas where critics of conventional agriculture have scored significant victories are animal agriculture and the use of geneti-cally modified crops for human consumption.

Ballot issues in some states, as well as decisions made by some large customers, have led to changes in how livestock are cared for, and that trend is likely to contin-ue, Paarlberg said. Activists also are making progress in challenging the use of antibiotics in livestock solely for weight gain.

While genetically modified crops are used widely for animal feed and industrial use, they have “been stopped dead in their tracks for human food use,” Paarlberg said. Ballot issues to require mandatory labeling of foods containing any genetically modified ingredient failed in Washington and Califor-nia and passed in Connecticut and Maine.

“Conventional agriculture will be obliged to make concessions,” Paarlberg concluded, but “those concessions aren’t going to push conventional agriculture away from its pre-ferred model” of highly capitalized, large, science-driven practices.

Heuermann (pronounced Hugh-er-man) Lectures in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources focus on providing and sustaining enough food, natural resources and renewable energy for the world’s peo-ple, and on securing the sustainability of rural communities where the vital work of pro-ducing food and renewable energy occurs.

The lectures are made possible through a gift from B. Keith and Norma Heuermann of Phillips, long-time university supporters with a strong commitment to Nebraska’s pro-duction agriculture, natural resources, rural areas and people.

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Tom Lundahl, Lucena Morse and Michael Shonka have some very important attri-butes in common – a love and respect for the field of agriculture, Nebraska overall and the innovation that can help both come to life in new, progressive and conservationist fashions.

The trio met due to Shonka’s exper-tise in solar energy. Morse and Lundahl are partners operating Meristem Farm & Nursery and were looking at the value of alternative energy systems in their green-house operation. They were already us-ing passive solar and hydronic heating in one of their facilities. Now, with the help of Shonka, they are building a section of their new gutter-connected greenhouse to be set up with radiant floor heat using a series of solar hot water panels mounted near the facility.

“Typical greenhouses produce sufficient solar heat during the winter day, but at night they have no way to heat up their plant beds,” Shonka explained. “So, we are install-ing 24 solar hot water panels to provide ra-diant heat to a 12 by 72 foot portion of the 72 by 44 foot greenhouse.”

Shonka said the solar panels heat up the water that is pumped into a tank. The heat-ed water then moves through tubes em-bedded in concrete on the plant benches, providing radiant heat to the plants. These benches are designed to be mobile on a track, allowing space for more plants and also creating a more versatile workplace for those caring for the crops inside – in this case aronia (also known as chokeber-ries) that are cultivated as both ornamental plants and food products.

There is a business risk to innovation, but there are significant rewards that can be shared and replicated by other farm-ers. The greenhouse project was awarded a grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust for its innovation, conservation of resources and potential economic impact in the state.

Lundahl has been an agricultural inno-

vator his entire life. Born in Wakefield, Neb. the family farmed until his father decided to enter the ministry. He still re-tained a passion for farming and since has operated three different farms – growing everything from corn and soybeans (in rotation with sweet clover, oats and al-falfa) to vegetables.

Lundahl said he did not want to go into debt during the 1980s, so he opted to be in-novative and entrepreneurial in his endeav-ors in order to continue in the agricultural field he loves. He met Shonka during a class he took at Metropolitan Community Col-lege and decided to use his skills in solar to enhance his operation.

“The current greenhouse we are working on was moved in from South Dakota. The structure was used there as a hog house,” Lundahl explained. “Now we’re growing aronia in it by Papillion. We have definitely been willing to adapt and change to make our farm continue.”

Shonka is proud to work with Lundahl and Morse to help their agricultural dreams come true. He also said that the students he teaches have a passion for solar energy, “Solar is not the only answer, but it’s one of the answers, and I want to encourage their desire to see this technology grow.

Another project that is important to Nebraska’s agriculture economy is the solar electric system installed on a pivot at the Beller family farm near Lindsay this past summer. One-hundred solar mod-ules were installed behind the meter that runs a 60 horsepower pump. The solar modules were on a rack 130 feet long and tied into the grid.

“The solar system will generate electricity all year long, but the irrigation season is only three months. This year we were fortunate to have a wet year so the solar system actu-ally produced a small surplus. We expect on a typical year that it would save 50 to 80 percent of the electrical costs, depending on the size of the pump,” Shonka said.

“We enjoy trying new things,” Lundahl said about his entrepreneurial spirit.

Morse added, “It’s really nice to see Ne-braska Farm Bureau interested in projects like this.”

Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation agrees, it’s going to take diversity, innovation and a good business plan for farmers and ranchers of all different backgrounds to be viable in the future.

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Pictured from left is Michael Shonka who specializes in solar heat and electric and also serves as an instructor at Metropolitan Community College, Creighton and a host of other educational institutions along with Tom Lundahl and Lucena Morse who operate Meristem Farm & Nursery in Papillion, Neb. The threesome is in front of a portion of the solar hot water panels installed at Meristem Farm & Nursery.

Innovator’s Spotlight


Securing adequate land to grow crops and raise livestock was the top challenge identified again this year in the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) annual outlook survey of participants in the Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) program. That challenge was identified by 22 percent of respondents, followed by economic chal-lenges, particularly profitability, which was identified by 15 percent of the respondents.

“For young people today, securing ad-equate land to begin farming or expand an established farm or ranch is a major chal-lenge,” said Jake Carter, AFBF’s national YF&R Committee chair and a farmer from Georgia, March 11. “Another major chal-lenge is figuring out how to excel – not just survive – in today’s economy,” he said.

Other issues ranked as top concerns by young farmers and ranchers included burden-some government regulations and red tape, 12 percent; availability of farm labor and re-lated regulations, 9 percent; water availability and urbanization of farm land, 7 percent each; and health care availability and cost, 6 percent.

The 22nd annual YF&R survey revealed that 91 percent of those surveyed are more opti-mistic about farming and ranching than they were five years ago. Last year, 90 percent of those surveyed said they were more optimis-tic about farming compared to five years ago.

The 2014 survey also shows 93 percent of the nation’s young farmers and ranchers say they are better off than they were five years ago. Last year, 83 percent reported being better off.

More than 91 percent considered them-selves lifetime farmers, while 88 percent would like to see their children follow in their footsteps. The informal survey reveals that 87 percent believe their children will be able to follow in their footsteps.

The majority of those surveyed – 69 per-cent – consider communicating with consum-ers a formal part of their jobs. Many use social media platforms as a tool to accomplish this. The popular social media site Facebook is used

by 74 percent of those surveyed. Twenty-two percent of respondents said they use the social networking site Twitter, 16 percent have a farm blog or webpage and 13 percent use YouTube to post videos of their farms and ranches.

“Use of technology and all the tools at our fingertips to not only improve produc-tion practices on the farm but also to interact with consumers – our customers – among young farmers continues to grow,” Carter said. “Use of social media platforms, personal outreach through farm tours, agri-tourism, farmers’ markets or a combination of these methods is where we’re at today,” he added.

High-speed Internet is used by 71 percent of those surveyed, with 28 percent relying on a satellite connection and fewer than 2 percent turning to dialup.

New this year, the young farmers and ranch-ers were asked about their rural entrepreneur-ship efforts, with 40 percent reporting they had started a new business in the last three years or plan to start one in the near future.

The survey also shows that America’s young farmers and ranchers are committed environmental caretakers, with 55 percent using conservation tillage to protect soil and reduce erosion on their farms.

AFBF President Bob Stallman said the re-sults of the YF&R survey point to the future of U.S. agriculture being in good hands.

“I am confident that the know-how and tenacity of our young farmers and ranchers will ensure that the best days are ahead for our country and agriculture,” Stallman said. “They are the future of American agricul-ture and food production.”

The informal survey of young farmers and ranchers, ages 18-35, was conducted at AFBF’s 2014 YF&R Leadership Conference in Virginia Beach, Va., in February. The pur-pose of the YF&R program is to help young-er members learn more about farming and ranching, network with other farmers and strengthen their leadership skills to assist in the growth of agriculture and Farm Bureau.

Young Farmers Remain Concerned About Land Availability

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UNL Report Outlines Potential for Livestock Expansion in Nebraska

Gov. Dave Heineman was joined by Department of Agriculture Director Greg Ibach in applauding Nebraska’s ranchers and those involved in the cattle and agriculture industry, noting the state’s new position as the nation’s top state for cattle feeding.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service has released its monthly national report, Cattle on Feed, for feedlots above 1,000 head capacity. The state of Texas traditionally has been the top cattle feeding state in the nation. However, as of Feb. 1, Nebraska surpassed Texas by 20,000 head. At the beginning of this month, Nebraska had 2.46 million head of cattle on feed in feedlots above 1,000 head, compared to Texas’ figure of 2.44 million head.

“This is a milestone for our modern and progressive agriculture industry,” Gov. Heineman said Feb. 25. “Over the past

decade, we have worked hard to develop and strengthen our corn, ethanol and cattle feeding sectors for the good of the whole.”

Ibach noted that while these figures could fluctuate over the next year, there has been an overall positive trend for cattle feeding

in Nebraska.“There are many variables in the business

of feeding cattle and Nebraska is a natural fit,” Ibach said. “Nationally, we are the sec-ond largest ethanol producer and third in corn production. We have nearly 23 million acres of range and pastureland, an excellent partnership with the University and a strong processing sector. These position Nebraska well for ongoing success.”

Gov. Heineman added, “A strong live-stock sector is critical to the state’s over-all economic well-being. When our cattle industry does well, Main Street Nebraska prospers.”

“We are the third largest agricultural state in the nation, and I don’t expect that to change,” Ibach said. “We also need to continue to encourage our young, beginning farmers and ranchers to get into the busi-ness of growing food.”

LINCOLN, Neb. — A new report from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln outlines the potential for expansion of the state’s livestock industry.

Ronnie Green, vice chancellor for the In-stitute of Agriculture and Natural Resources for the University of Nebraska, discussed the report March 6 at the Governor’s Ag Conference in Kearney.

“We all know that livestock is big busi-ness in Nebraska,” Green said. “Clearly there are opportunities to expand the in-dustry to ensure further economic success in our state.”

Greg Ibach, director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, welcomed the report.

“The report outlines exciting rural devel-opment opportunities through the livestock sector,” Ibach said. “But it also outlines the

critical role local community leaders and public policy makers still have in helping Ne-braska achieve its full potential.”

The 24-page report, prepared by facul-ty in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s agricultural economics department, notes that the “Nebraska advantage,” a refer-ence to the state’s unique mix of crop, livestock and biofuel production, has served the state well. However, the re-port notes, in some respects Nebraska’s livestock industry has fallen behind those in other states.

The report, prepared in collaboration with the Nebraska Department of Agricul-ture, outlines potential expansion scenarios in beef cattle, dairy cattle, pork and poultry. It outlines potential obstacles and benefits.

The report concludes: “At this juncture it would appear that the livestock compo-

nent of this unique system has considerable potential for further expansion. In fact, the long-term economic sustainability of the to-tal crop/livestock/biofuel system and its abil-ity to thrive in the future may hinge upon such expansion as global demand for food products, especially protein-based products, rises. The market forces, both domestic and global, are well positioned to allow invest-ment in and expansion of this state’s animal industry in the coming decade.”

“As the state’s land-grant university,” Green said, “we are hoping to use this re-port as a way to start a statewide conver-sation about this potential, understanding that all Nebraska citizens have a stake in this matter.”

The report is posted online at the agri-cultural economics department’s website, agecon.unl.edu.

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Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman received the Sower Award from all Nebraska agricul-ture organizations, including Nebraska Farm Bureau, for his work in supporting Nebras-ka agriculture as the state’s number one industry during the Governor’s Ag Conference March 6 in Kearney.

Student members of the Collegiate Farm Bureau Clubs from the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis (back row) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (front row) visited the state Capitol Feb. 18. The students met with Sens. Tom Carlson of Holdrege and Mark Christensen of Imperial. They also heard an update on the legislative session from Nebraska Farm Bureau staff. The NCTA students also had the opportunity to tour the Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center at Clay Center as part of the visit.

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FARM EQUIPMENTFOR SALE: Electronic toys-tick for newer TD tractors and loader mountings for 8000 se-ries TD; F-11 Loader with 8 ft. bucket and grapple; H-Tractor with wide front, good rubber. Call Holt, 308-348-2005.

FOR SALE: 8T Brock Holding Bin w/ 4” auger Super “C” In-ternational, new paint and wide front. Call Lincoln, 308-582-4470 or 308-530-0763.

FOR SALE: International “H” tractor, wide front, good tires, Duncan loader with seven foot snow blade. Call Platte, 402-564-4998.

FOR SALE: 5 new and 2 low mile Farm Utility Goodyear tires, tubeless nylon IILX 15.5

L, $90 each; 24 concrete feed bunks 2’6”x8’, $80 each. Call Logan, 308-636-2469 or 308-636-8494.

FOR SALE: IH 5488 trac-tor with only 5,800 hrs., 6700 white planter, very good con-dition, $3,250 obo; Full set of John Deere 55 series front weights, $1,950; Brush grill for JD loader. Call Seward, 402-534-2109.

FOR SALE: 1997 NH 555E backhoe, full cab, front wheel assist, 1.3 yard loader bucket with forks, 1585 hrs., one owner, $35,000. Call Hall, 308-384-6117.

FOR SALE: 1973 IHC Travelall, 45,000 miles. Call Hall, 308-384-6117.

VEHICLEFOR SALE: 1987 Chevy Camero IROC-Z, 305, five speed, Goodyear eagle ZR-50 16” tires, original red with black interior, 46,839 actual miles, very clean car, $10,000. Call Dodge, 402-719-4849.

MISCELLANEOUSFOR SALE: Whirlpool stove, flat top, bisque color, very clean, works good, $350 obo; Match-ing stove hood, $50; Whirl-pool microwave, 5 months old, white, like new, $80. Call Pierce, 402-649-2213.

FOR SALE: Alfalfa seed, home grown, state tested 88-92% germ, purity 99%, $2.50/lb or $125/bag. Call Boone, 308-358-0572.

FOR SALE: 1972 Glaspar Tri-Hull Boat, 15 ft., 50 HP mercury motor, $1,500. Call Lancaster, 402-520-0152.

FOR SALE: Registered Red Lowline Angus bull, yearling, make great heifer bull; Bred fall calving Lowline cow, weaned heifer calves; registered quality Lowline Angus. Call Otoe, 402-269-7019.

FOR SALE: Morgan mare, well broke; 2 younger Mor-gan fillies, ready to be started, priced to sell. Call Otoe, 402-269-2027.

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FOR SALE: 1971 Red Dale travel trailer, excellent shelter while calving, hunting or camping by the river. Call Madison, 402-634-2435.

WANTED: Topper for pickup, nothing fancy. Call Madison, 402-634-2435.

FOR SALE: Nebraska Brand, bar over lazy T, left shoulder and hip, $5,900. Call Scotts Bluff, 308-641-7100.

FOR SALE: Hay, 600-1450 lb. round bails, horse and cow hay, twine wrapped; alfalfa meadow grasses mix, 1st and 2nd cutting. Call Lincoln, 308-532-0544.

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Free Want Ads for Farm Bureau MembersFarm Bureau members may submit one free Want Ad per month. If there is more than one category mentioned with the Want Ad we will split it into multiple categories, but it must be a combined total of 30 words or less. Ads are used on a space-available basis, subject to approval. Ads exclude real property (permanent structures) such as homes, farms, ranches and businesses. Selling crops or herds of livestock also is excluded. Send typed or printed ads to Want Ads, c/o Kylee Planer, Nebraska Farm Bureau News, P.O. Box 80299, Lincoln, NE 68501 or email [email protected]. If you would like to rerun your ad you must resubmit the ad. Previously submitted ads will not be kept on file. Deadline is the 1st of each month. (No issue in July.) The Want Ad form can be found on our members website (nefb.org/members), login and click on NEWS and then Submit a Want Ad.


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