With the Farm Bill up for discussion in the legislature, much attention has been focused on the intricacies of the program and the price tag associated with it. However, you do not see many headlines that read that less than one-half of 1 percent of our federal budget is spent on farm programs. Did you know that today’s federal budget equals nearly $3 trillion ($2,784 billion), but that the USDA budget is about $89 billion, or 3.2 percent of the entire federal budget? Of the USDA budget, only $12.4 billion goes to farm programs. The rest pays for things like nutrition, rural development and conservation and natural resource programs. The funding for farm programs is only 14 percent of the USDA budget and less than one-half of 1 percent (0.45 percent, to be exact) of the federal budget. U.S. taxpayers spend just pennies per meal for programs that help to ensure that farmers can produce Americans’ food in America.

Did you know U.S. consumers spend just 10% of their disposable income on food each year? Consumers in other countries spend much more on food. Indonesia spends 55% of their disposable income on food, and China spends 26% while Japan spends 14%.

Of the 10% of disposable income Americans spend on food, an average of 5.8% is spent on food eaten at home and 4.1% is spent on food eaten away from home.

Americans work 36 days to pay for the food they will consume for the year. We can thank American Farmers and Ranchers for our safe and abundant food supply.

With the recent toy recalls from China, consumers are becoming more aware of American made products. Now is the time for farmers and ranchers to promote and educate consumers about where their food comes from.

While animal rights and environmental activist groups continue to go around blaming agriculture for a variety of “presumed” problems in our world, farmers are continually coming up with positive solutions. I guess our solutions are not good enough to please these so called activist groups when their ultimate goal is to eliminate animal agriculture in the U.S. and make all of us vegetarians.

Chances are that these activists have never been to a modern hog, cattle, poultry, sheep or catfish facility to see the amount of time and resources we put into caring for our animals. My guess is these activists have probably never even seen an actual corn field and been told about the conservation practices we use to protect our precious soils for the next generation of farmers. In my opinion, farmers are the true animal protectors and environmentalists in our country.

I challenge all activist groups to find a real farmer to learn first hand about how we protect the livestock and resources on our operation before spouting off to the general public about something that they don’t have the authority to speak about.

Why on earth would we want to become as dependent on foreign food as we are on foreign oil!!

Who’s Your Partner?

One of the reasons most of us enjoy farming, is because we get to be our own boss. Well, that isn’t really true. You see, we all have a partner. God. He is the creator of the land and controller of the weather. We put the seed in the ground and maintain it to the best of our ability. He does the rest. We work together to provide food, clothing, and resources for all the rest of the world. WOW! Now that’s exciting!!

As I was thinking about this last week, I realized that if our “partner” can create land and control weather, then why couldn’t He help me through it all. Sometimes, during this time of year, I can get stressed with all the extra business of the season. Extra meals, less sleep, and more running around. I even feel as though I’ve suddenly become a single parent sometimes. But, I need to remember that we are working together with our “partner” who is helping us reap what we’ve sown and grown – TOGTHER.

So, if we are partners, then we are a team. And if we are a team, then we don’t let each other down. So don’t get weary with what we’re doing. We all have a partner who’s bigger that us. All we have to do is ask for help.

By: Sarah Ver Steeg

Did you know Congress could very easily contribute to rural economic development in the U.S. without spending our own tax dollars? The only thing our congressional members have to do is vote to support free trade agreements with Columbia, Panama, Peru and South Korea. Some or all of these trade agreements may be considered this fall. We all
need to take the time to contact our legislators and tell them the importance of approving these trade agreements.

These bilateral trade agreements could result in an increase of $3 billion in annual sales to U.S. agriculture. Continuing to pass FTAs will also let the world know that we are serious about trade. U.S. farmers can compete with any farmers in the world as long as tariffs, or taxes imposed by other countries on our exported goods, are removed. As long as WTO negotiations continue to lag, FTAs are the next best thing for U.S. agriculture.

As a pork producer, I already know the importance of FTAs to my farming operation. According to Iowa State University, pork exports already add $33.60 to the price I receive for each pig I sell. The Columbia, Panama, Peru and South Korea FTA’s would add another $12.66 to the price I receive for each pig I sell.

As you can see, FTAs are important to agriculture. I would much rather be dependent on a fair and free global marketplace to the bottom line on my farm than on our government’s ability to fund the next farm bill.

American farmers are currently at a disadvantage in Peru and Colombia because U.S. products entering these countries receive tariffs, while the products they ship to the U.S. are duty free.

A pending trade agreement with Peru would increase the value of U.S. farm exports by more than $705 million per year after full implementation if Congress approves the deal.

South Carolina Farm Bureau President David Winkles testified before the Senate Finance Committee about the trade agreement’s potential for improving U.S. farmers’ and ranchers’ bottom lines. “This agreement requires the elimination of all tariffs on all agricultural products exported by the United States to Peru,” Winkles said.

Winkles urged Senate Finance Committee members and the full Senate to take prompt action on agreements with Peru, Colombia and Panama. If passed, these three agreements would increase U.S. agricultural exports by almost $1.5 billion per year once the agreements are fully implemented.

Please urge members of Congress to commit to U.S. Agriculture Trade and pass the Peru Trade Deal promptly.

Today I had the opportunity to testify before the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works. I testified on the health and environment effects confined animal feeding operations may or may not have to human health and the environment. I spoke on behalf of family farmers and ranchers all across the nation. My testimony emphasized to this committee that farmers and ranchers all across this country work diligently to protect our environment, our land and care for our animals. I told the committee how farmers and ranchers go above and beyond federal and state regulations to protect our environment. I also reinforced the many positive things U.S. agriculture does to safely provide an abundant food supply to our consumers. Farmers are a very important, yet often overlooked, part of our food chain. Finally, I asked the committee when considering implementing new rules and regulations to consider the impact these rules and regulations will have on family farmers, the communities we represent, and the other farmers we support.

The weather is beginning to cool down, kids are back in school, and Labor Day is over, that can mean only one thing: State Fair Season!! Wikipedia defines a state fair as a competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state’s population. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in their categories at the more-local county fairs.

For me the State Fair is more than a large gathering it is about the memories I created as a child and continue to build upon today. This years Kansas State Fair is only days away and my mind has been drawn back to the memories of past state fairs…

-Camping in the stock trailer (falling to sleep with the low roar of the carnival rides)
-Munching down on a Pronto pup (a corn dog for those who have never been to the Kansas State Fair)
-Purple ribbons
-Early, Early morning chores
-Livestock shows
-Taking naps on show boxes or straw bales or water buckets
-Racing to the Pride of Kansas Building to see this years Butter Sculpture and Just how large was the ‘Largest Pumpkin?’
-Spending time with my family and friends
-“Grease alley”
-Iced cold Root beer
-The Old Mill ride
-Working as a tour guide through the livestock barns

The memories!! I guess I am somewhat of a State Fair junkie and can never pass up the opportunity to take part in the festivities. Over the years I have been able to attend some great State Fairs in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Minnesota.

To borrow a line from the Kansas State Fair, take some time and come “Hang with the Hogs” at the Kansas State Fair or your own State Fair. Or share with our readers what your favorite State Fair memory might be?

I was asked recently by a friend what was the largest challenge that I faced as a young individual involved in agriculture. For me the answer was simple, the “Voice of Agriculture.”

Several years ago I was giving a group of 2nd grade students a tour of the livestock barns at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO and I remember this little bright-eyed girl asking me how a chicken had eggs.

“Does the hen go around and find the eggs in the yard?” she eagerly asked.

As the number of farmers and ranchers producing food to feed the population in the United States and the world declines, so does the number of consumers who have direct contact with a farmer or rancher. As a young farmer and rancher I ask myself on a regular basis, “How do I ensure the voice of rural America will be heard in future years?”

For me the first step in addressing this challenge is step outside of my comfort zone and work to educate the very people I sometimes fear the most, the ‘city person.’ Urban and suburban people have many stereotypes of who a farmer is and what a farmer does.

I believe if we communicate the everyday happenings of the agricultural world to the person living in the city each can begin to understand that at the end of the day both worlds really aren’t that different. Let’s humanize the farmer in that individual’s mind. I bet the image the city person has in his/her mind is vastly different from reality.

Living in an urban area, I think this education piece can take many shapes including involvement in an urban 4-H club, volunteering at a local soup kitchen or simply talking to church members about what is happening to help preserve a lifestyle that helps to feed them. Again, we have to step outside of the tractor and communicate our message in order for the voice of agriculture to remain strong.