INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Oct. 22, 2011 - Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke to the 84th National FFA Convention about the critical need to recruit and support the nation's next generation of farmers and ranchers.

"America's producers are the most productive and successful in the world - with a willingness to embrace change, new science and innovative technologies to fulfill the noble task of feeding a nation," said Vilsack. "To continue that success, we need organizations like FFA working creatively to build policies, structures and institutions that will ensure the next generation can continue to feed and fuel the world."

USDA's focus on developing new generations of beginning farmers and ranchers is a result of America's aging farming community.  In the last five years there has been a 20% decrease in the number of farmers under 45.  Today the average American farmer is 57 whereas five years ago it was 55.  Today, nearly 30% of American farmers are over the age of 65 - almost double what it is in the general workforce.

Secretary Vilsack highlighted USDA programs that are committed to investing more resources and energy to recruit the next generation of farmers and to finding strategies to make these beginning farmers successful.  The USDA Office of Advocacy and Outreach assists people who want to learn about USDA's efforts to support new producers. In the past two years, more than 40% of all USDA's farm loans have gone to beginning farmers and ranchers.

The Farm Service Agency provides Beginning Farmer and Rancher loans. These are direct and guaranteed loans to beginning farmers and ranchers who are unable to obtain financing from commercial credit sources. Each fiscal year, the Agency targets a portion of its direct and guaranteed farm ownership and operating loan funds to beginning farmers and ranchers.  In addition, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program provides funding to develop and offer education, training, outreach and mentoring programs to enhance the sustainability of the next generation of farmers.

USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) is working with partners to support young, motivated entrepreneurs who are looking past traditional ways of bringing products to market. Through RMA funding for the Farm Credit Council, the "Field Guide to the New American Foodshed" was developed to assist the growing numbers of direct-market farms and ranches and also the lenders, accountants and other businesses who work with them.

Additionally, the USDA Nation Agricultural Library is working in partnership with the American Farm Bureau Federation to develop a 'Curriculum and Training Clearinghouse' at Start2Farm.gov, which will serve as a national one-stop source of all beginning farmer and rancher education and training materials online.

"The future of agriculture is bright and will present the next generation with incredible opportunities to pursue," said Vilsack. "Young people should continue to engage in policy that affects them - but they shouldn't be limited by it. We need them to think big, innovate, and tackle the important challenges facing American agriculture and the nation as a whole."

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WHAT: Quad City Arts Art @ the Airport

WHEN:          October 28-December 27, 2011

WHERE:       Quad City International Airport Gallery, 2200 69^th Ave., Moline, IL 

WHO:             Paintings by Caroline England, Yale Factor and Pam Ohnemus, with Glass by Liquid Fire glass artists.

In November and December, Art @ the Airport features watercolor paintings by Caroline England, intricate oil paintings by Yale Factor and acrylic paintings by Pam Ohnemus, with blown glass works by Liquid Fire glass artists.

Davenport watercolorist, Caroline England is known for her larger than life, dramatic depictions of flowers and gardens.

DeKalb artist Yale Factor's landscape paintings have been exhibited nationally and regionally for over thirty years. The detail put into each painting goes beyond what is usually captured by camera, each leaf and blade of grass is rendered with precision. The viewer is drawn in from a distance and then keeps approaching to find a completely different world depicted upon closer examination.

Davenport artist Pam Ohnemus concentrates on the vanishing landscape of the prairie in her acrylic paintings. She incorporates newspaper articles about the tallgrass prairie into some of the paintings as collage elements to add interest and information. Exquisite panoramas and vivid close-ups of native prairies reach tantalize the viewer with their beauty and textures.

Hand-blown glass works by Liquid Fire studio artists (Rock Island) will accentuate the landscape paintings.

Don't miss this is exhibit just because you don't have a plane to catch-the lights in the gallery are always on and the airport offers free parking for the first hour. Meet a friend for lunch and enjoy the art! Quad City International airport gallery is easy to access with one hour of free parking to allow plenty of time to browse the exhibit.

Quad City Arts is a nonprofit local arts agency dedicated to the growth and vitality of the Quad City region through the presentation, development, and celebration of the arts and humanities. All Quad City Arts programs are funded in part by Festival of Trees, Quad City Arts Partners and operating grants from the Illinois Arts Council (a state agency) and the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs. This gallery and exhibit is generously sponsored by the Quad City International Airport.

Braley has long opposed program allowing Mexican trucks to enter and operate in United States 

Washington, DC - Today, Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) wrote US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, urging him to explain what steps the US Department of Transportation is taking to ensure Mexican trucks operating in the United States are doing so safely.  Mexican trucks are being allowed to operate freely in the United States for the first time starting today under an agreement announced by the US DOT in July.

"Allowing this program to continue puts US drivers at danger and threatens American jobs," Braley said.  "Mexican truck safety standards don't even compare to ours, and letting tens of thousands of potentially unsafe Mexican trucks onto our highways poses a threat to American drivers.  Allowing thousands of Mexican workers to operate trucks in the US takes jobs away from American workers.

"At the very least, Mexican trucks in this program should be held to the same standards as American trucks."

For years, Braley has worked to stop programs allowing Mexican trucks and drivers to enter the US despite not being held to the same safety standards.

Earlier this year, Braley introduced the Protecting American Roads Act to block the US Department of Transportation from allowing Mexican trucks into the United States.

2^nd annual Peace Concert in Clinton on Sunday, October 30th

Gratitude, source of peace, is the theme for this year's ecumenical Peace Concert at Zion Lutheran Church, 439-3^rd Ave. So., Clinton, on Sunday afternoon, October 30, beginning at 3 pm.

"As we approach the Thanksgiving season, we pause to give thanks for all that is and we receive peace in return," said Clinton Franciscan Sister Mary Smith, co-chair of the annual concert  sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis and Zion Lutheran Church. The concert is free and open to the public.

Ruth Blom, Associate in Ministry for Word and Service at Zion and co-chair of the Peace Concert, announced that six area congregations will be participating in this year's concert which will feature voice and bell choirs from three different churches.

Participating choirs include Zion Lutheran, St. Paul Lutheran and Faith Lutheran of Andover in addition to singers from Prince of Peace Catholic, Unity Center and the Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton.

A special feature of the 2^nd annual concert will be a solo organ performance by David Gaulrapp, organist at First United Presbyterian church, Clinton, and retired Coordinator of Instrumental and Vocal Music for the Clinton, Iowa Public Schools and Director of Bands for Clinton Senior High School.  He has also played organ recitals in Innsbruck and Vienna, Austria as well as in many area churches.

The massed choir will be directed by Dr. Michael Zemek, Assistant Professor of choral music education at Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill., where he conducts the Jenny Lind Vocal Ensemble and Ascension Singers, teaches music methods and conducting courses, supervises music education students, and advises the collegiate MENC and ACDA chapters. He came to Augustana after eight years of teaching choral music in Minnesota and Iowa. In addition to his responsibilities at Augustana, Dr. Zemek conducts the high school Youth Choir at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa.

Dr. Zemek received the Doctor of Education degree in Music Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Vocal, Instrumental, and Classroom Music Education, summa cum laude, from Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota, and a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota.

The massed choir will be featured singing "Jubilate Deo," "Peace I Give to You" and "The Lord is Beautiful."  The concert will also involve the audience in singing "This Is My Song," "Come, All You People" and "Beautiful Savior."

Promoting peace through music is not new. Song has been part of the history of change in human society from earliest time.

"Music has been part of the everyday life and struggle of people worldwide," said Janice Cebula OSF, president of the Clinton Franciscans. "It is a form of power that knows no boundaries. It has motivated individuals and nations to work together for change, freedom, equality. Music and song are often the first signs of growing community support in response to repression. And it is nonviolent."

"The unity generated by our community concert is a prime reason for our effort in presenting the annual concert," said Rev. Jennifer Henry, pastor of Zion Lutheran.

The sponsors chose October 30th for the concert because it is falls just after the international celebration of the "Spirit of Assisi" and at the beginning of the national celebration of Thanksgiving.

The "Spirit of Assisi" was the expression coined by the late Pope John Paul II to describe the October 27, 1986, gathering of leaders of all the world's religions in Assisi, Italy, home of St. Francis and St. Clare, which he convened.  According to observers, it served to unify those diverse leaders, calling all to community: a hallmark of the teaching of the 13^th century Saint Francis known also for his love of music.

"Francis was not only a preacher, he was a poet," noted Cebula. "He wrote not only prayers that were poems, some of the first to be written in the vernacular Italian, but he composed melodies to go with them. "One of his most famous compositions is 'The Canticle of Creation.'  He recognized the power of music, poetry and drama to teach and inspire and his message was always peace. He is referred to as 'The Troubadour of God.'"

"The goal of the concert is to inspire, connect, and promote peace in the world through gratitude and music," explained Ruth Blom.  "Together we can make a difference! We are delighted that so many choirs and individual singers are planning to take part in this celebration of peace through music."

Besides Blom, Pastor Henry and Sister Smith, the event planning committee includes Clinton Franciscan Sisters Marilyn Shea and Hilary Mullany and Sallyann McCarthy and Laura Anderson, co-coordinators of the Clinton Franciscan Center for Active Nonviolence and Peacemaking.

For details, call Sisters of St. Francis, 563-242-7611 or visit www.clintonfranciscans.com.    ###