NFU Blog

Have you ever wondered about crop conditions around the country? Sure, you can learn about them on the news or look them up online - but now you can discover first-hand how America’s fields are doing from fellow Farmers Union members through our new Crop Conditions Blog.

What’s the catch? We need you to submit reports of how your crops are coming along. To do this:

1. Sign up for a Google account - it’s free!
2. Email your new Google username to us at nationalfarmersunion@nfudc.org
3. We’ll then activate your profile as a contributor to the blog and give you further instructions.

Good luck and happy blogging! Check out the blog today to see the first few entries.

**Thanks Minnesota Farmers Union member Tim Henning for the great idea!

From NFU Summer Intern Mike Stranz

On Monday, NFU President Tom Buis appeared on the Fox Business Channel’s Bulls and Bears to discuss commodity prices and their relation to rising grocery prices. Tyler and I got to tag along.

Fox News is in the same building as NFU, so it was only a brisk walk and an elevator ride away.

We were promptly escorted to the green room, where photos of notable politicians (John Kerry, Newt Gingrich, Howard Dean, Condoleeza Rice, Dick Cheney, Mike Huckabee and many more) adorned the walls. News anchors and other guests milled about. Hair care and make up were applied in full force and last minute facts and figures were streaming in. It was quite a scene.

A few minutes before going live, Tom was hustled into a studio with a newsy backdrop and seated before the camera. Tyler and I took up positions in a nearby cubicle with a live feed of the broadcast. The anchors in New York delivered their intro, Tom cleared his throat and we were live.

In all, the segment lasted about only two minutes. Tom fired his shots about how less than 20 cents of every dollar spent on food makes its way back to the farm, energy costs are driving up prices across the board and how farmers are responding effectively to free market pressures. He even noted that popcorn vendors at movie theatres are raising prices and citing higher corn costs – even though anyone who knows anything about agriculture can tell you that popcorn and field corn are two very different commodities. He covered a lot of ground.

If you want to be heard, you must have your sound bites ready to go – especially when you’re live on Fox News. That was today’s lesson.

Nearly everyone has wondered at least once why in the world we change our clocks twice a year to adjust for “daylight” hours. Most people will attribute it to farmers, who presumably need the extra sunlight for planting and harvesting crops. Others still will attempt to use an ancient tale of those living in nearly constant darkness to explain this strange necessity.

My intuition tells me neither is true.

Whatever the explanation may be, ABC’s 20/20 attempts to uncover the secrets behind the bi-annual tradition and debunk the myth that modern-day farmers actually need the extra daylight hours to feed and fuel America.

Watch the show, “Your Weather: Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity,” on Friday, April 18 at 10:00 p.m ET. ABC also ran a story, “What (or Who) Is Daylight-Saving Time Saving? Myths and Truths About Why We Change the Clocks,” yesterday about the time-change mystery.

National Farmers Union President Tom Buis today held a media conference call to discuss ongoing farm bill negotiations and other issues of the day. In spite of some technical difficulties that had Buis joking he needed to put more coins in the phone, it was a very interesting discussion.

Buis reiterated NFU’s position that a new farm bill needs to be written - a straight extension or a baseline bill likely won’t be able to muster enough votes to pass. Buis said he’s a confident person and is confident all sides will come to an agreement and pass a farm bill in April.

Buis also discussed the Farmers Union Carbon Credit Program. Nearly 3.5 million acres have been enrolled since the program’s start and there is continued interest across the countryside from producers looking to help solve our environmental challenges.

By Tom Buis, National Farmers Union President

The farm bill unanimously approved Oct. 25 by the Senate Agriculture Committee is a good, fiscally responsible bill that includes record investments in conservation, nutrition, renewable energy development and specialty crop programs. America’s family farmers, ranchers, rural residents and consumers stand to benefit.

The Senate farm bill also contains a permanent disaster assistance program to aid producers affected by devastating weather conditions out of their control; allows for interstate shipment of state-inspected meat so producers can sell their high-quality products to their neighbors across state lines; and, after repeated delays, includes a means to implement mandatory country-of-origin labeling, giving our nation’s consumers the right to know where their food comes from.

Continue reading Tom’s Op-Ed that appeared the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on Nov. 30.

If you have yet to read the New York Times today, I urge you now to do so. On the front page is an article that elicited many ‘woops’ and ‘hurrahs’ and sighs of relief this morning. “Labels Lack Food’s Origin Despite Law,” addresses legislation American farmers and ranchers, consumers and many members of Congress have been fighting to implement for years.

Country-of-origin labeling, also known as COOL, is currently voluntary in the United States for meats, produce and nuts even though a law was passed in 2002 to make it mandatory. COOL for farm-raised and wild-caught seafood has already been implemented. (more…)

Former Senate leaders Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Bob Dole, R-Kan., released a report on Wed May 30, 2007, calling for major changes in agricultural policy to be implimented in the 2007 Farm Bill.  Read the Policy Report. 

The proposed plan lessens farmers’ dependence on subsidies by eliminating direct subsidy payments to farmers.  Instead, the plan impliments a countercyclical payment program which only pays farmers when prices are low.

The former Senators also stressed the importance of farmers taking part in emerging markets such as renewable fuels.
 
According to the Senators, the proposal could save $4.7 billion to the U.S. Treasury.

Read the Reuters News Story, the Associated Press News Story, or the Center for American Progress News Story.

An article in this morning’s Toledo Blade on retail dairy prices is the first of many stories sure to appear this spring and summer attempting to connect the retail level prices consumers pay for milk to the amount of money dairy producers receive.

If oil is “black gold,” milk may be the “other white gold” – not quite as valuable ounce for ounce as jewelry but getting quite expensive.

The true cause of retail dairy price increases is not a result of what dairy farmers receive, but rather processors and retailers mark ups. According to USDA, non-farm costs including marketing, processing, wholesaling, distribution and retailing account for 80 cents of every food dollar spent in the United States.

Take a look at NFU’s most recent Farmers Share – milk may be $3.49 at the store, but the dairy producer receives only $1.18.

Post your comments below to let us know what you think.