WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2012-TODAY, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will host a national media conference call to announce disaster assistance to help farmers, land owners, communities and others recover and rebuild after a year in which a wave of natural disasters swept across all regions of the United States. The funding will provide assistance to help rebuild and repair land damaged on account of flooding, drought, tornadoes and other natural disasters in 33 states and Puerto Rico.

A strong farm safety net is important to sustain the success of American agriculture. To help keep American agriculture profitable, USDA immediately responds to disasters across the country, ranging from record floods, droughts and tropical storms, with direct support, disaster assistance, technical assistance, and access to credit.

Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012

1:30 p.m. EST

WHAT: Agriculture Secretary Vilsack to host a national media conference call to announce disaster assistance.

DIAL IN: 800-857-5233

Passcode: SECY (Given Verbally)

Troubleshooting: 202-720-8560

All callers using the above pass code will be placed in listen only mode. To join the Q&A portion of the meeting, callers are instructed to press *1 on their touch tone phone.

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END TO DIRECT PAYMENTS, CHANGES FOR ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS FLOODWATER PLAN, AND CROP ESTIMATE TOOLS AMONG KEY ISSUES DEBATED AT 93rd ANNUAL AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION MEETING

Hill Elected to AFBF Board of Directors

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA - Jan. 11, 2012 - In a move which began with Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) voting delegates last year, the nation's largest grassroots farm organization voted to end direct payments in the 2012 Farm Bill, during the American Farm Bureau Federation's (AFBF) 93rd Annual Convention this week in Honolulu.

"Iowa Farm Bureau members took a stand a year ago and led national discussion on the importance of achieving a fiscally responsible position which acknowledged our nation's budget concerns, yet maintained a safety net for our nation's food producers," said IFBF President Craig Hill.  "This week our national delegation of farmers agreed; the time is right to take a stand."

IFBF farmers also led a national discussion on Missouri River flood control measures, the accuracy of the nation's crop reporting system and conservation.

"Iowa lost more than 350 homes and suffered more than $207 million in damage when the Missouri River went out of its banks this year.  We're pleased the national delegation recognized the need to encourage the Army Corps of Engineers to adjust their formula for retention of water for consideration of future weather events and the impact of people in these counties," said Hill, an Iowa voting delegate. "Their release of overflow created flooding in 280,000 acres, many of which were not in the floodplains. The end result was total devastation."

AFBF delegates adopted Iowa language opposing any linkage of crop insurance with conservation compliance, Hill said.  While Iowa farmers lead the nation in conservation, linking the programs could cause financial disasters for Iowa farmers, he said.  "Because of torrential weather events like we've seen in recent years, we also know that linkage of conservation to crop insurance simply risks too much at a time when the stakes have never been higher for farmers.  There are already 15 farm programs that link to the conservation title in the Farm Bill, so to deny crop insurance to farmers because of weather events beyond their control could put a farmer out of business in a single year's event."  Eighty-five percent of Iowa farmers have crop insurance.

Iowa voting delegates also led discussion to improve the way the government does crop reporting estimates, which are so influential on national and international markets.  Iowa farmers won agreement from Farm Bureau members across the nation to urge the National Ag Statistics Service (NASS) to use improved technology and methodology such as satellite imagery to estimate crop numbers, not just because it's more accurate, but also because new technologies are more cost effective.

IFBF also received several awards during the 93rd Annual AFBF meeting in Hawaii.  Iowa President Hill was elected to a one-year term on the AFBF Board of Directors, and young Page County crop and livestock farmers Justin and Jennifer Dammann won Top 10 Young Farmer Achievement award honors for their knowledge and farming achievement and commitment to sharing agriculture's message.  Iowa's largest grassroots farm organization also received national Awards of Excellence in five categories including ag education and promotion, leadership development, member services, policy implementation and public relations and information.

For more information on AFBF resolutions, leader awards and to hear IFBF leaders discuss Iowa farming priorities, visit the Media section of the IFBF website, www.iowafarmbureau.com.

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It's perfectly understandable why so many folks care how farmers care for the land; it doesn't just need to be protected because it feeds us, but because our fertile soils and watersheds always have and always will be Iowa's most valuable asset.

But there's a growing concern that some well-intentioned folks have taken efforts to be sustainable to a whole new level, calling for the sacrifice of property rights, food production and jobs for the sake of 'speciesism' (choosing plants or animals over people).  'Speciesism' seems to be 'de riguer' these days in Hollywood and national media, so that's probably why the subject packed the house this week at the 2012 American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting.

Rob Gordon, senior advisor for strategic outreach for the Heritage Foundation (http://www.heritage.org/about), says being environmentally-sustainable is important, but too often regulations are put in place which go beyond common sense. "Science has to be 'good science' which means it must follow scientific method. That means if you conduct an experiment and write down how you do it, I should be able to replicate your results.  Right now species are added to endangered lists based on 'best available data,' which doesn't mean rational, duplicated, sane or even scientific."

Gordon then went on to illustrate that point by way of the Pleistocene Snail.

The Pleistocene snail (http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/Snails/iops_fct.html) is a tiny snail that lives on rocky outcropping areas in Iowa and was declared 'endangered' in 1978.  So, the government took over land and created the National Wildlife Refuge near Dubuque to protect the snails.  But, there were snags in maintaining the tiny creature's population because, according to Gordon, the biggest threats remained: the lack of an Ice Age and humans.  It seems well-intentioned environmentalists who went out to 'count' these tiny snails were killing them by accidentally stepping on them.   Since these tiny snails thrived in glacial conditions, the government deemed that the next best 'savior' for the Pleistocene is to keep the National Wildlife Refuge near Dubuque in place, and wait for the next Ice Age.

"Clearly, this is a case of speciesism and regulation run amok.  We have to remember that environmental policy can't be good environmental policy if it doesn't take people into account," says Gordon.

In an age when snails are deemed more important than farming, feeding people or employing them, something is wrong.  That's why folks like Gordon are out there reading the fine print, calling for people to ask questions and demand conservation efforts be based on repeatable, scientific results that take human beings into account.  Waiting for the government to realize this however, could take...until the next Ice Age.

Laurie Johns is Public Relations Manager for the Iowa Farm Bureau.                        1/11/2012

PROPERTY TAXES, REGULATORY REFORM & INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING AMONG IOWA FARM BUREAU PRIORITIES FOR 2012 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA - Jan. 10, 2012 - Iowa Farm Bureau will focus on property taxes, regulatory reform and infrastructure funding in the 2012 legislative session.

"A priority in 2012 will be building on our success during the 2011 session, when Farm Bureau was instrumental in providing property tax relief by leading the effort to backfill $160 million in state money for our schools," said Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) President Craig Hill.   Farm Bureau will protect Iowa property taxpayers as new funding mechanisms are pursued for government services, including the redesign of the mental health system.  Farm Bureau will also work to ensure that commercial property tax reform measures do not create a shift to other classes of property."

IFBF, Iowa's largest grassroots farming organization, is also in support of long-term sustainable and equitable funding to help repair the state's aging infrastructure. According to a recent Iowa DOT study, maintenance and repair of Iowa's roads and bridges is falling behind. "An additional $215 million per year is needed just to address the critical repairs to Iowa's roads and bridges.  Providing and maintaining an adequate infrastructure system, such as safe roads and bridges, is a basic function of government," said Hill.

IFBF will work with lawmakers again this year to strengthen legislative oversight of the rule-making process.  "Our regulatory process needs reform.  Unwarranted regulations add unnecessary and unexpected costs to farming.  In recent years, we've seen numerous examples of rules developed by governor-appointed boards and commissions without the direction of the state legislature.  It is important that boards and commissions do not exceed their authority by creating rules beyond federal requirements.  These are decisions that should be made by the legislature," said Hill.  "Rules also need to be based on sound science to determine their need, relevance and effectiveness."

Another priority for Farm Bureau members in the 2012 legislative session is the continued support of increased funding of science-proven conservation practices that yield real results.  "Farm Bureau will continue to work for increased state funding to implement incentive-based, voluntary conservation programs.  Farmers want to do more, but these programs are currently underfunded and demand for cost-share dollars exceeds available funding by more than $15 million.  We know these conservation measures work. Thanks to buffer strips, terracing and other soil-protection measures, Iowa farmers have reduced total cropland erosion in this state by over 30 percent since 1982. Farm Bureau has always supported the efforts of the Soil & Water Conservation Districts and the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship to maintain soil conservation funding," said Hill, a Milo crop and livestock farmer.

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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 online media room at www.iowafarmbureau.com.