May 2007 Newsletter
| The Center for Rural Affairs' May 2007 newsletter appears below. Click on each story for the full text. You can also download a PDF our May newsletter to print or read offline. |
Development Matters
Last month, in conjunction with our annual newsletter renewal, we kicked off an effort to raise $15,000 by May 15th to help provide the tools the Center for Rural Affairs needs to win the crucial battles in which we are currently engaged – fighting for farm program payment limits, meaningful community development, rural economic development that works, conservation, livestock market competition...
Outdated Water Policy a Source of Conflict
Our central challenge in updating water policy is to create a sustainable water supply
A few years ago famed oilman T. Boone Pickens went public with a plan to sell water pumped from rural aquifers to urban centers at very high prices. A general sense of outrage followed. Our precious water was going to be used for personal profit, with little regard to the environment, local water needs, or the importance of water for sustaining life.
Now, years later, the same issues still confront us. Unfortunately, public policy has not responded to the challenges we face. In many places, water policy is more suited to the Wild West of long ago rather than to the present day and the central challenge of creating a sustainable water supply for the future. Rural communities in particular have an enormous stake in this debate, as many face the export of their water for the benefit of urban areas.
A few years ago famed oilman T. Boone Pickens went public with a plan to sell water pumped from rural aquifers to urban centers at very high prices. A general sense of outrage followed. Our precious water was going to be used for personal profit, with little regard to the environment, local water needs, or the importance of water for sustaining life.
Now, years later, the same issues still confront us. Unfortunately, public policy has not responded to the challenges we face. In many places, water policy is more suited to the Wild West of long ago rather than to the present day and the central challenge of creating a sustainable water supply for the future. Rural communities in particular have an enormous stake in this debate, as many face the export of their water for the benefit of urban areas.
Give Consumers What they Want
U.S. court says ban on testing for mad cow disease is off, a good ruling for consumers and a good reminder for rural entrepreneurs
The federal court ruling that has overturned the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ban on testing for mad cow disease is welcome relief from a bad idea. The ban was based not only on bad law, but bad economics.
In a bizarre twist of the law, USDA argued its authority to protect human health empowered it to prevent Kansas meatpacker Creekstone Farms Premium Beef from testing cattle for mad cow. Creekstone was testing to gain access to foreign markets that closed after mad cow was found in the U.S.
It appears the ban was aimed less at protecting public health than at protecting big meatpackers. Big packers did not want to compete with an upstart firm that was more responsive to their consumers.
The federal court ruling that has overturned the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ban on testing for mad cow disease is welcome relief from a bad idea. The ban was based not only on bad law, but bad economics.
In a bizarre twist of the law, USDA argued its authority to protect human health empowered it to prevent Kansas meatpacker Creekstone Farms Premium Beef from testing cattle for mad cow. Creekstone was testing to gain access to foreign markets that closed after mad cow was found in the U.S.
It appears the ban was aimed less at protecting public health than at protecting big meatpackers. Big packers did not want to compete with an upstart firm that was more responsive to their consumers.
Rural Indiana’s Approach to Community Development
Seven pillars and a novel attitude comprise Indiana’s rural development philosophy, the Rural Indiana Strategy for Excellence
In community development, many approaches make sense. It is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. The best rural community development sparks creative and innovative ways to bring rural people together for a common goal. Indiana is no exception.
The state has created what is known as the Rural Indiana Strategy for Excellence, or RISE. This is a 15-year plan that was created in July 2005. It is now being implemented as RISE 2020. The Indiana Rural Development Council, using the pillar approach, has created an inclusive and sensible framework that will lay a foundation for development.
In community development, many approaches make sense. It is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. The best rural community development sparks creative and innovative ways to bring rural people together for a common goal. Indiana is no exception.
The state has created what is known as the Rural Indiana Strategy for Excellence, or RISE. This is a 15-year plan that was created in July 2005. It is now being implemented as RISE 2020. The Indiana Rural Development Council, using the pillar approach, has created an inclusive and sensible framework that will lay a foundation for development.
Congress Must Act to Define Fair Livestock Market Competition
In many rural places where livestock are raised there are only a few, or even just one, packer or processor for a given livestock species. Currently, over 80 percent of hogs are either owned outright by packers or tightly controlled through various contracting devices. Many farmers and ranchers face price discrimination and severely limited market access as a result.
The audit of the Packers and Stockyards Administration performed by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General and released in February 2006 revealed that the agency has utterly failed to enforce the very law that gives it a reason to exist.
The audit of the Packers and Stockyards Administration performed by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General and released in February 2006 revealed that the agency has utterly failed to enforce the very law that gives it a reason to exist.
Corporate Farming Regulations Enter New Phase with I-300 Decision
The refusal of the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal of the district court ruling overturning Initiative 300 – Nebraska’s anti-corporate farm law – may end one era. But it signals the start of a new phase of state efforts to regulate corporate farming and level the playing field for family farms.
The recent string of court rulings overturning the Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska corporate farm laws does not prevent state regulation of corporate farming. Corporate farm restrictions can be tough and still meet the principles laid down by the court.
CORPORATE FARMING NOTES
Iowa bill requiring meatpackers to buy from independent producers killed in subcommittee; telling Congress about vertical integration
>> Despite passage by a significant majority in the Iowa Senate, SF 504, a bill that would have required meatpackers to purchase 25 percent of the hogs they slaughter in Iowa from independent producers, died in a legislative subcommittee.
Representative Delores Mertz (D-Ottosen), chair of the House Agriculture Committee, named herself to a subcommittee to review the bill, seemingly for the purpose of blocking its passage.
State Legislatures Deliberate over School Funding
As many state legislatures come to a close, one issue that is almost always at the forefront is school funding. Each state funds public school education differently and uniquely. Here we look at what several states have been up to this session.
Nebraska Legislature Addressing Rural Issues
In the 2007 Nebraska Legislature, the Center for Rural Affairs has focused on legislation that will enhance economic opportunities in rural communities and will make existing programs work better for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and rural communities.
While legislative actions on the Center’s priorities are not complete, our priorities are receiving favorable treatment. That is due in large part because many of you who believe in the future of rural Nebraska, its people, and its communities, have become advocates for small business development, for new rural development strategies, and for real resources to make a difference. We thank you for all your efforts to build a strong and vibrant rural Nebraska.
While legislative actions on the Center’s priorities are not complete, our priorities are receiving favorable treatment. That is due in large part because many of you who believe in the future of rural Nebraska, its people, and its communities, have become advocates for small business development, for new rural development strategies, and for real resources to make a difference. We thank you for all your efforts to build a strong and vibrant rural Nebraska.
REAP Selects Women Microentrepreneurs for Cash Equity Awards
Using $10,000 in funds provided by the Women and Company® Microenterprise Boost Program, six women microentrepreneurs across rural Nebraska will receive financial support for their enterprises. Award winners were recognized in conjunction with a GROW Nebraska Spring Meeting on April 26, 2007, by the Center for Rural Affairs’ Rural Enterprise Assistance program (REAP).
Online at the Center — Blogs and Comments
The Center’s online presence continues to evolve rapidly. Just about every day brings a request or idea to do something new at www.cfra.org. One new and exciting feature we’ve added this month is comments for the online version of this newsletter. To leave comments on any of the articles in this month’s newsletter, visit www.cfra.org, and look for the newsletter button.
The front page of our site now has links to blogs that are covering our work. It is a great resource to find out what other people are saying about the Center for Rural Affairs online. Our own Blog for Rural America officially moved to our main webpage as well, and more Center staff will be pitching in to help write posts for the blog in coming months. You can visit the blog at www.cfra.org/blog.
The front page of our site now has links to blogs that are covering our work. It is a great resource to find out what other people are saying about the Center for Rural Affairs online. Our own Blog for Rural America officially moved to our main webpage as well, and more Center staff will be pitching in to help write posts for the blog in coming months. You can visit the blog at www.cfra.org/blog.
Ag Research Update: Bees and Biofuels
>> The buzz is bees are dying and scientists don’t know why. Pennsylvania State University is the lead institution conducting research on Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the massive die-off affecting an entire beehive or bee colony.
Theories abound as to why the bee die-offs are occurring. Researchers with Penn State’s Working Group are looking at stress caused by moving bees around, malnutrition from the practice of feeding bees high fructose corn syrup, unknown pathogens, mites, pesticides, disease, or genetically modified crops as potential contributors.
Theories abound as to why the bee die-offs are occurring. Researchers with Penn State’s Working Group are looking at stress caused by moving bees around, malnutrition from the practice of feeding bees high fructose corn syrup, unknown pathogens, mites, pesticides, disease, or genetically modified crops as potential contributors.
Center for Rural Affairs Holds Rural Leadership Workshops in Minnesota
The first in a series of workshops to help to build the capacity of local leaders or aspiring local leaders to understand the connection to local, state, and federal policy will be held in Minnesota in May. Workshops will run all day, and lunch will be provided.
Sustainable Agriculture Entrepreneurial Training
The Western Rural Development Center at Utah State University is holding a one-day entrepreneurial sustainable agriculture training workshop on May 29, 2007, at their campus in Logan, Utah. Lots of information on alternatives for processing, packaging, labeling, and marketing in retail and Internet environments will be provided.
NOTABLES THIS MONTH
>> Executive Director Wanted: The Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society (NSAS), a nonprofit, membership-based organization with a mission to “promote agriculture and food systems that build healthy land, people, communities, and quality of life, for present and future generations,” is looking for an executive director.
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