"Deny the acceptance of failure."  Those are the 'fighting' words Mark Kelly hears every day from his wife, former Tucson Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D) AZ.  Giffords, who struggles to recover from a 2011 assassination attempt, is a motivating force in Kelly's life.  He shared his story as keynote speaker at the 94^th American Farm Bureau annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee.

What struck many farmers in the audience is not just Kelly's commitment to his wife's rehabilitation, but his 'pull yourself up by the bootstraps' life story.  Kelly, a retired NASA astronaut, has commanded a space shuttle, circled the globe and flown 39 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm.  He claims he wasn't a top-of-the class scholar, outstanding athlete or 'Top Gun' pilot.   Instead, Kelly says it was hard work that got him where he is today.   He's neither spoiled, nor bitter; he's motivating.  That's the same quality I see in so many Iowa farmers today.

When I was a reporter, I found that half the farmers I met would rather go out and dig post holes, than go on-camera and do an interview.  The other half wanted to throw reporters into postholes.  I'm glad to see that mindset changing.  We have more than 100 Iowa farmers in our Iowa Farm Bureau 'Speaker Corps' who are ready to share their perspectives, do interviews and engage the public and their communities.  There are many examples of this:  Justin and Jennifer Dammann, who have not only shared their perspective and their family time with Iowa radio, newspaper and TV reporters, they even hosted a German TV crew on their Essex cattle farm during the height of the drought in August.  Another great 'ag-vocate' is longtime cattle farmer Bill Couser from Nevada, who shares his story with Iowa, national and international media as well as leaders from around the globe.  Larry Sailer, a Franklin County hog farmer, engages thousands of consumers through Facebook and Twitter, and has even welcomed strangers to his farm for a 'blogger tour.'

The days are long in farming, but these farmers and so many others always make time to share their story, do a media interview, host a farm tour; these activities are the 'rocket fuel' of motivation that keeps them going and keeps the positive stories of farming and food production circling the globe.

These farmers aren't just preaching to the choir and doing the 'easy' interviews with ag reporters who understand them and will always work to put them in the best light.  They are talking to national reporters, young men and women who've never been on a farm, whose stories will shape opinions on food production for millions.  Do some of these reporters have agendas?  You bet.  But, as Mark Kelly would tell us, there is nothing to be gained by always doing what is safe; what is expected; what is easy.

We shouldn't be afraid of the hard interviews.  And we certainly shouldn't start digging postholes and ignoring the requests, either.  Consumer choices and lifestyles have evolved with the times and so have farmers and food production.  Getting out ahead of the message, understanding the factors that bring change, reading the trends, embracing innovation, is always something farmers have done.

There is a huge hunger for our perspective.  People love farmers, not just for what they raise or what they grow, but for who they are.  We will not give up telling our story.  Failure to communicate, in this day and age, is not an option.

WEST DES MOINES - January 14, 2013 -Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) received several awards at the 94^th annual national convention being held in Nashville, Tennessee, for outstanding state Farm Bureau activities.

IFBF was honored with five awards of excellence in all program areas including education and outreach, leadership development, member services, policy development and implementation, and public relations and communications.  IFBF earned a President's Award for outstanding grassroots programs and policy development.

IFBF also received special recognition this year:  the national New Horizon Award for innovation.  The AFBF New Horizon Award recognizes a new program that brings exceptional value to members through many efforts.  IFBF's New Horizon Award was granted for exceptional creation of a new membership outreach and information-gathering data tool, which helps the grassroots organization engage its increasingly diverse membership.

"We are proud to receive all of these awards because our organization works hard to show the public the value of farming today.  Farming in Iowa is diverse and in order to remain a vital part of our state's economy, we must embrace innovation.  Our organization strives to always bring these new tools of information to benefit all our members," said IFBF President Craig Hill.   "We are pleased to receive these awards because they celebrate the many ways we work to better consumer communication and policy outreach.  It's about increasing the value of Farm Bureau membership for all Iowans, while ensuring the sustainability of farming and that means every day we put our motto, 'People, Progress and Pride,' to work for Iowa."

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About Iowa Farm Bureau

The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation is a grassroots, statewide organization dedicated to enhancing the People, Progress and Pride of Iowa.  More than 153,000 families in Iowa are Farm Bureau members, working together to achieve farm and rural prosperity.  For more information about Farm Bureau and agriculture, visit the Newsroom page on the IFBF website at www.iowafarmbureau.com.

This week, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa urged the IRS to provide penalty relief to farmers who are ordinarily required to file and pay all taxes due by March 1.   Due to late action by the President and Congress on end of the year tax matters, the tax season has been delayed, and many forms necessary for farmers to complete their returns have yet to be finalized.   Today, the IRS announced it will provide penalty relief to farmers who request a waiver and complete their tax returns by April 15, 2013.  Grassley made the following comment on the announcement.

"This is good news.  Farmers shouldn't face a penalty for tax season delays that have nothing to do with them.  The IRS is right to provide relief from penalties.  I look forward to the guidance the IRS announced it will issue in the near future to help farmers file their taxes without penalty."

More information on Grassley's request to the IRS is available here.

The text of the IRS news release follows.

IRS Provides Penalty Relief to Farmers and Fishermen

IR-2013-7, Jan. 18, 2013

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service announced today that it will issue guidance in the near future to provide relief from the estimated tax penalty for farmers and fishermen unable to file and pay their 2012 taxes by the March 1 deadline due to the delayed start for filing tax returns.

The delay stems from this month's enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA). The ATRA affected several tax forms that are often filed by farmers and fishermen, including the Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization (Including Information on Listed Property).  These forms will require extensive programming and testing of IRS systems, which will delay the IRS's ability to accept and process these forms.  The IRS is providing this relief because delays in the agency's ability to accept and process these forms may affect the ability of many farmers and fishermen to file and pay their taxes by the March 1 deadline. The relief applies to all farmers and fishermen, not only those who must file late released forms.

Normally, farmers and fishermen who choose not to make quarterly estimated tax payments are not subject to a penalty if they file their returns and pay the full amount of tax due by March 1. Under the guidance to be issued, farmers or fishermen who miss the March 1 deadline will not be subject to the penalty if they file and pay by April 15, 2013. A taxpayer qualifies as a farmer or fisherman for tax-year 2012 if at least two-thirds of the taxpayer's total gross income was from farming or fishing in either 2011 or 2012.

Farmers and fishermen requesting this penalty waiver must attach Form 2210-F to their tax return. The form can be submitted electronically or on paper. The taxpayer's name and identifying number should be entered at the top of the form, the waiver box (Part I, Box A) should be checked, and the rest of the form should be left blank. Forms, instructions, and other tax assistance are available on IRS.gov.

94th Annual AFBF Meeting Concludes Jan. 15 in Nashville

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA - January 16, 2013 -Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) farmers brought forth and won national approval of several key issues during the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) national convention this week in Nashville, Tennessee.

One particular issue which won overwhelming national support was the continuation of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), an over-arching federal policy to incent development and use of renewable fuels of all types.  "Renewable fuels have been important to the continued economic growth of the Midwest for decades which include expansion and development of all kinds of green energy including cellulosic, biomass-based diesel, sugar ethanol and next-generation renewable corn ethanol," said Craig Hill, IFBF president.  "This is an opportunity for our nation because we all know we must work to end our nation's reliance on foreign fuels." AFBF approved Iowa's proposal to continue support of RFS targets as well as retaining Environmental Protect Agency (EPA) administrator authority to waive the RFS if conditions merit, such as a national drought or other unforeseen circumstances.

Another priority issue for many families in Iowa involves proposed changes in the nation's school lunch program.  IFBF policy supports a school lunch program that promotes a balanced meal containing dairy products, eggs, meat, fruit, vegetables and grains to make sure every child has their nutritional and caloric needs met for proper growth.  "But when it comes to school lunch, it's not always a case where the government knows best.  Local school districts should have authority in this, and the current guidelines are too restrictive and inflexible, especially when it comes to those who want to bring their own school lunches, such as athletes or those with dietary or health restrictions," said Hill.  Several states agreed with those points and AFBF policy was adopted.

Another food safety issue that IFBF members proposed included the headline-making issue of milk pasteurization.  "We believe in consumer food choices, but for the protection of consumer health, raw milk sales should not be permitted across state lines.  If someone wants to consume unpasteurized milk from their own supply, that's up to them, but generations of food science should be the guide on this issue," said Hill.  AFBF policy was adopted on this issue.

The 2012 Farm Bill, which recently won an extension, is still a key concern for AFBF members.   "The lack of action in Congress that led to this extension amounts to 'kicking the can down the road' and it leaves farmers and consumers with a lot of uncertainty.   Farming today is a capital intensive business that requires long-term investment decisions, not only for production and risk management, but also for conservation, investment in grain storage facilities, etc., that are frankly very difficult to make when not knowing the rules of the game. With real risks such as a continuing drought staring us down in 2013, the passage of a new Farm Bill is key.  Our farmers found national support today for the continuation of crop insurance, to cover big risks such as drought and other natural disasters."  Hill added.

For more information on AFBF-approved resolutions, leadership awards or to hear IFBF farmers discuss key issues from the AFBF annual convention, visit the media section of www.iowafarmbureau.com.

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