by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

For generations, Iowans have answered the call to feed the world.  That noble vocation continues today as farmers across the state haul in the fall harvest.  Their labor will help curb the pangs of hunger and malnutrition in poverty-stricken communities around the world.

Today's 21^st century stewards of the soil - from resource-rich Iowa to resource-poor India - sow the seeds of global food security thanks in part to revolutionary advances in biotechnology pioneered by Iowan's own Dr Norman Borlaug.  The late Dr. Borlaug spent a lifetime toiling in the fields of Mexico and India to unlock high-yield crop varieties by researching plant genetics.  Known as the Father of the Green Revolution, Dr. Borlaug is credited with saving a billion people from starvation.  Blending his Midwestern work ethic with an unyielding humanitarian mission to feed the hungry, Dr. Borlaug spread food security to some of the most impoverished places on Earth by advancing agricultural innovation from field to fork.  His legacy is carried on today through the World Food Prize.

Established in 1986, the World Food Prize is a prestigious international award that recognizes outstanding, measurable achievement by individuals who have improved the quality, quantity and availability of food in the world.

Thanks to the visionary leadership of Dr. Borlaug and philanthropic commitment by the John Ruan family, the World Food Prize since 1990 has been headquartered in Des Moines.  Located in the heart of America's breadbasket, Iowa serves as a global agricultural anchor all along the food chain.  The World Food Prize puts Iowa on the map as a global leader to promote scientific innovation and its application to agriculture.  This annual award helps create awareness, understanding, and appreciation for the safety and sustainability of biotechnology.  It inspires policy leaders and the next generation to join the crusade:  nourish the hungry, replace food scarcity with food security and empower resource-poor farmers with high-yield seeds.  With an eye on wiping famine off the face of the Earth, the World Food Prize serves as a catalyst to promote dialogue and acceptance for sustainable stewardship of biotechnology and natural resources.  From food and agriculture science and technology, to manufacturing, marketing, nutrition, economics, poverty alleviation, political leadership and the social sciences, the World Food Prize focuses all eyes on feeding the hungry.

All eyes will be on Iowa this month during a three-day symposium that coincides with the centennial observance of Dr. Borlaug's birth in 1913.  From Oct. 13-16, more than 1,000 scientists, policy experts, political leaders, humanitarians and business leaders from more than 65 countries will gather in Des Moines to discuss:  The Next Borlaug Century:  Biotechnology, Sustainability and Climate Volatility.

Speakers include Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Ãƒâ€œlafur Ragnar Grímsson, current President of Iceland; and Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, at the Holy See in the Vatican.

The 2013 World Food Prize Laureate Awards will honor three pioneers of agricultural biotechnology whose research conducted two continents apart has helped advance world food security, especially to those in developing countries.  Their discoveries have enabled farmers to feed more people by growing more crops with improved yields that use less water and bear resistance to disease, insects, heat and drought.

Their work should inspire policy makers in Washington to keep the pressure on the U.S. Trade Representative to give agriculture a proper seat at the negotiating table for world trade agreements, derail non-tariff trade barriers with the World Trade Organization, and expand market access for American farm exports, including GMO grain.  Biotechnology offers hope to farmers who are trying to feed their families and make a living off the land in some of the most impoverished areas on the world.

As Iowa's harvest gets underway, let's all keep our eye on the prize. Reaping the benefits of human nature's capacity to innovate and create can solve the volatile swings of Mother Nature and feed a swelling global population expected to reach 9 billion in 2050.  Let's ask ourselves, if we have solutions to nurture natural resources while harvesting more from the land to feed the hungry and raise standards of living around the world, wouldn't it be morally wrong to turn our backs on science, sustainability and food security?

MOLINE, IL - If you consider yourself a military trivia buff and you know the origin of the 21-gun salute, then put together a team for the WQPT Military-Themed Trivia Night, Friday, Nov. 1, at Fargo Lounge, Avenue of the Cities, Moline, IL.

Doors open at 6 p.m, with the event kicking off at 7 p.m.

Teams may include up to eight people per table. Admission is $80 per team. All money raised will support WQPT's educational programming and outreach in Western Illinois and Eastern Iowa.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the first, second and third place teams. Participants are encouraged to wear red, white and blue. Prizes will also be awarded for the best dressed table. In addition, a 50/50 drawing, raffles and silent auction will be held. A cash bar will be available.

The event is providing students in the WIU-QC Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration 235 class hands-on experience planning an event.

To register for the event or for more information, contact WQPT at (309) 762-2400.

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WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa today released a Government Accountability Office report showing that additional changes are needed to the eligibility requirements for being "actively involved" in farming.  The GAO also wrote in the report that the legislative language in the Senate passed farm bill would be an appropriate fix to the agency's findings.  The report can be found on Grassley's website, grassley.senate.gov.

"The report shows that there is still far too much subterfuge of the actively engaged law.  For instance, taxpayers are footing the bill for farm payments to 11 active managers of one farm, who supposedly provide significant management experience, yet perform no labor," Grassley said.  "The loophole has been allowed to stand for too long.  It's time to close it once and for all and put the issue to rest so we can maintain a safety net for the farmers who really need it."

Grassley said that the conferees to the farm bill should take notice of the report and take a hands off approach to the provisions in both the House and Senate bills

"This is just one more reason that my payment limits provisions included in the Senate and House bills -- placing a hard cap on farm payments and closing loopholes that allow non-farmers to game the system -- should stay untouched," Grassley said.

The report reviewed the Farm Service Agency's compliance reviews of farming operation members' claimed contributions of active personal management and personal labor.  The GAO report also examines the Farm Service Agency's state offices' timeliness in completing and reporting compliance reviews and the results.

Specifically, GAO recommended, "Congress should consider modifying the definition of significant contributions of management activities, either as it did in recent deliberations on reauthorizing the farm bill or in other ways designed to make contributions more clear and objective."

The legislative language in the farm bill mirrors Grassley's Farm Program Integrity Act of 2013. The bill would define clearly the scope of people who are able to qualify as actively engaged by only providing management for the farming operation.  The allows only one off-farm manager, which will help the Department of Agriculture crack down on the general partnerships that have multiple non-farmers trying to qualify for farm payments by exploiting the management loophole.

Here are several highlights of the report.  The report can also be found here.

• Farm Service Agency officials consistently said current 'actively engaged' regulations are too vague to enforce in a meaningful way.

• Farms organized as general partnerships receive the most in payments and have the highest percentage of members receiving payments based on 'active personal management only.'  General partnerships with 11 or more individual members received 84 percent of their farm payments based on members contributing 'active personal management only.'

• Operations that have members determined out of compliance at the local level for not being able to demonstrate adequate knowledge to contribute 'active personal management' have appealed the decisions to the state and federal levels and won because they have time to prepare the individual in question.  In one instance, an individual was still allowed to receive farm payments after failing two interviews with state and local USDA officials.  The individual finally persuaded a national official in the third attempt that they had adequate knowledge of the farming operation.

• A farm in the Midwest which received roughly $400,000 in payments for 2012 was organized as a general partnership with six corporations and 11 individual members of the same family who ranged in age from 18-88.  Publicly available data indicated two of the individuals, including the 88 year-old, lived in South Florida and claimed 'active personal management only' for eligibility purposes.

Children are invited to Brucemore for a festive and memorable evening of holiday tradition?Santa, Snacks, and Stories on Sunday, December 1 and Tuesday, December 3 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Mansion's holiday décor and the estate's seasonal spirit add to the evening's activities. In the Visitor Center, children will be delighted by caroling and a snack making station. In the Mansion, children will participate in a craft, listen to holiday stories, and give Santa their wish-lists. In between activities, children and parents are invited to view the first and second floors of the Mansion and to ask any questions to the available stationary guides.

Admission is $7 per child and $5 per child of a Brucemore member. One adult is free per child admission; each additional adult is $5.  Space is limited; purchase tickets online at www.brucemore.org or by calling (319) 362-7375. Santa, Snacks, and Stories is sponsored by US Bank.

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

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