|
Greetings!
The U.S. Farm Bill is arguably the nation's largest and most influential food policy tool written by Congress every five years. It includes programs for crop production, farmers, rural development, energy, conservation and international food aid-the largest portion going to food assistance programs.
With serious economic and political challenges at hand, the 2012 Farm Bill will set the stage for the ongoing public debate: in one corner, the industrial food system; in the other, growing public support for fair sustainable agriculture.
TACT members and services are encompassed in affected sectors. We encourage you to read what is at stake and how healthcare, too, is both indirectly and directly affected.
TACT - Dedicated Insurance Professionals you know and trust...like Family.
Sincerely,
Stoney Jackson
Executive Director
Check out our featured articles! Visit us! |
|
agriculture News
Senate Passes Farm Bill
Spending Cut by $25 Billion
Path to the 2012 Bill
Courtesy - Delta Farm Press
David Bennett
On Thursday, April 26, the Senate Agriculture Committee completed its markup and passed the 2012 farm bill. It now heads to the full Senate.
According to a committee statement, the bill - which ends direct payments to farmers -- will cut agriculture spending some $25 billion by "eliminating unnecessary subsidies, consolidating programs to end duplication, and cracking down on food assistance abuse. These reforms allow for the strengthening of key initiatives that help farmers and small businesses reach new markets and create American jobs."
To read the bill, see here.
Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, committee chairwoman, said she was proud of the bipartisan approach to the legislation. "We now look forward to continuing to work with our colleagues in a bipartisan way to ensure we enact a farm bill this year before the current one expires. Agriculture supports 16 million jobs in our country, and it is absolutely critical to provide farmers the certainty they need to plan and grow by passing a farm bill this year."
While the committee's vote was indeed bipartisan none of the three members from the South - Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran - voted for the bill. During deliberations all expressed reservations about the ability of the legislation to adequately protect some sectors of southern agriculture. Among their worries: irrigated acreage, peanuts, rice and cotton.
In a joint statement following the bill's passage, USA Rice Federation, US Rice Producers Association, Southern Peanut Farmers Federation, and Western Peanut Growers said, "While we are disappointed in the Senate package due to its lack of equitable treatment of many of the producers we represent, we appreciate the efforts of these senators in so faithfully giving voice to so many farmers locked out of an effective safety net under the bill. We remain hopeful that, as the process moves forward, rice and peanut farmers in all growing regions might be allowed to participate as equals alongside other commodities in having access to risk management tools provided by the farm bill."
National Cotton Council Chairman Chuck Coley was pleased with the bill's risk management tools "that can provide support when conditions occur that are beyond the growers' control."
Coley also was happy that the bill includes the NCC's "Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) and modified marketing assistance loan program, both designed to meet budget challenges and the resolving of the Brazil WTO case."
Even so the council expressed deep concern that the legislation does address needs of rice and peanut growers. Other areas of worry: provisions regarding new lower payment limits, a significantly lower Adjusted Gross Income eligibility test, and changes to the actively engaged in farming provisions used to determine eligibility for revenue and loan programs.
The NCC "is committed to continue to work with those growers and their organizations to successfully modify the legislation before it reaches the Senate floor vote to ensure that Sunbelt farmers get the much-needed economic benefit of an adequate safety net," said Coley. "While it is important for cotton to have a workable program, many of our growers also rely on peanuts, rice and other crops for their livelihood and need viable cropping options."
Other commodity organizations had fewer hesitations about the bill.
The legislation "not only provides important risk management tools and funding for export promotion, energy, biobased products and research, but also helps agriculture do its part to address the nation's budget deficits," said American Soybean Association President Steve Wellman.
"ASA is encouraged that the bill includes a revenue-based risk management program that is equitable between crops, and will partially offset losses incurred at either the farm level or the county level," continued Wellman. "Other key features of the bill include its consolidation of multiple conservation programs, targeting of conservation funding toward conservation measures on working lands versus land retirement, authorization and funding for the new Foundation for Food and Agriculture, full funding of the Foreign Market Development Program (Cooperator) and Market Access Program (MAP), and mandatory funding for ASA's two Energy Title priorities, the Biobased Market Program and the Biodiesel Education Program."
Commodity Groups Response:
National Cotton Council:
In a news release from the National Cotton Council Chairman Chuck Coley, he said the U.S. cotton industry also has concerns with provisions regarding new lower payment limits, a significantly lower Adjusted Gross Income eligibility test, and changes to the actively engaged in farming provisions used to determine eligibility for revenue and loan programs.
Plains Cotton Growers:
Plains Cotton Growers Executive Vice President Steve Verett said that the organization is committed to working with the Senate and the House in the continued development of the 2012 Farm Bill.
"This is by no means a perfect bill, but we appreciate the Senate Ag Committee and Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) for their work in ensuring that so many provisions for which we fought remained in this legislative package as it moved out of the Committee," Verett said.
USA Rice Federation, US Rice Producers Association, Southern Peanut Farmers Federation, and Western Peanut Growers issued the following statement in response:
"We thank Senator Chambliss, Senator Cochran, and Senator Boozman for their steadfast support of equitable treatment of all rice and peanut farmers in the farm bill. While we are disappointed in the Senate package due to its lack of equitable treatment of many of the producers we represent, we appreciate the efforts of these senators in so faithfully giving voice to so many farmers locked out of an effective safety net under the bill. We do appreciate the efforts of the Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Committee to make some accommodation for our producers and we remain hopeful that, as the process moves forward, rice and peanut farmers in all growing regions might be allowed to participate as equals alongside other commodities in having access to risk management tools provided by the Farm Bill."
Read Also:
|
Enough to Eat
Food Assistance and
the Farm Bill
 The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp program) is the nation's largest and most important food assistance program. The original Food Stamp program was created to provide both a new market for farmers' surplus crops and relief for Americans living in poverty. In 2011, at a cost of more than $75 billion (of which $71.8 billion was for benefits 1), SNAP helped almost one in six Americans put food on the table every month. The program is by far the largest expenditure in the Farm Bill. Also, economists agree that SNAP is one of the best ways to stimulate the economy, with every SNAP dollar spent resulting in $1.73 of economic activity. Click here to read more.
|
Facebook Feature
Report Lists Challenges
in Cancer Prevention
By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: April 19, 2012
Much of the cancer burden in the U.S. could be reduced with increased attention to preventing disease through lifestyle change -- reducing tobacco use, improving diet, exercising - and expanded use of established screening tests.
That's the message in the American Cancer Society's annual Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures, which called for improved collaboration between various entities interested in public health -- including government agencies, private companies, nonprofit groups, healthcare providers, policymakers, and the general population -- to reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases.
"Social, economic, and legislative factors profoundly influence individual health behaviors," wrote the authors of the report, which was issued Wednesday. "For example, the price and availability of healthy foods, the incentives and opportunities for regular physical activity in schools and communities, the content of advertising, and the availability of insurance coverage for screening tests and treatment for tobacco addiction all influence individual choices."
An estimated 577,000 people will die from cancer this year, about one-third caused by tobacco use and about one-third caused by poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and obesity.
There are some signs that the obesity rate has leveled off in recent years, but it still remains high. The smoking rate among U.S. adults trended down from 2005 to 2010, but nearly one in every five adults (19.3%) reported smoking in 2010. Smoking intensity declined during the same time period.
The report highlighted some additional smoking data:
- In 2009, 19.5% of high school students said they had smoked at least once in the past 30 days and 7.3% said they had smoked on at least 20 days of the past 30 days.
- Tobacco companies shifted marketing dollars from cigarettes to various smokeless tobacco products from 2005 to 2008.
- An analysis by the society's advocacy arm suggested that comprehensive smoke-free legislation implemented in states without such laws could prevent 624,000 deaths over the long term and save $1.32 billion in treatment costs over 5 years.
The report also touched on vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) to prevent cervical cancer. The percentage of U.S. females ages 13 to 17 who started the vaccination series increased from 25% in 2007 to 48.7% in 2010, but only about one-third completed the three-dose series.
In addition, the authors highlighted established screening tests that have been shown to reduce mortality from cancers of the colon, rectum, breast, and cervix.
The rate of mammography use has not increased since 2000, and in 2010, about two-thirds of women 40 and older reported getting one in the past year.
In 2010, three-quarters of adult women reported having a pap test in the past three years, and among adults 50 and older, 59.1% reported being screened for colon cancer within the recommended time interval.
In general, people without insurance were less likely to have been screened with an established test.
To read more health news affecting you
Like us on Facebook!
|
Stoney's 90-Day Challenge
Entering Maintenance
With 225 as his goal, Stoney is happy to report that he has been able to maintain this goal from the past week reporting 223.8 on the scale this past Tuesday!
Stoney reports that fewer inches are more important than the number on the scale, more important to his overall health. He continues to feel good, sleep good and has more energy! and accept the 90 challenge yourself to transform your life.
Follow Stoney's progress on Facebook!
Healthful Hints:

-Secrets to Willpower: Eat Breakfast! It will keep you from getting too hungry throughout the day. Eating breakfast ensures that blood sugar levels are stable and prevents binge eating or energy slumps around lunchtime.
Brush your teeth when you get a craving. Nothing tastes good with that minty taste in your mouth. Drink water! Water is the BEST appetite suppressant!
-Need Energy? It's three o'clock in the afternoon and your body is telling you it's naptime. Time to reach for the coffee or chocolate, right? WAIT! Caffeine and candy will just exacerbate the problem. Instead, try these natural energy boosters: Get moving! Just ten minutes of activity-especially outdoors-can do the trick. Stretch! Gentle stretching revitalizes the whole body. Dehydration is a major cause of low energy - continue to sip on water throughout the day. Potassium and magnesium are important minerals that the body needs in order to provide an energy boost. Fruits, especially bananas, beans, nuts and most vegetables, have potassium and magnesium that will help boost energy. Keep fruits and nuts handy to battle the mid-day energy slump and see the difference.
-Keep Up the Good Work! Reduced stress, better memory, and an increase in endorphins as well as a higher metabolism and resistance to fatigue are just some of the many benefits of exercise! Schedule some type of exercise at least 4-5 times a week. You are more likely to follow thru with it and stick to it if it is a routine. Focus on what you CAN do and then DO MORE next time. Choose a workout buddy that will keep you motivated and dedicated - it's always nice to share success! |
|
|
|
|
|
Facebook Feature
Find us on Facebook and access more detailed,
industry-related information.
Interact with us!
We're waiting to talk to you!
|
Contact Us
Texas Ag Coop Trust
1802 East 50th St., Ste. 107
Lubbock, TX 79404 806-747-7894
|
Texas Ag Coop Trust
Officers, Board of Trustees
George Reed, Chairman United Farm Industries Plainview, TX
Gregg Allen, Secretary Olton Grain Coop Olton, TX
Jim Turner Dalhart Consumers Fuel Association Dalhart, TX
Paul Wilson United Cotton Growers Levelland, TX
Cary Eubanks Slaton Coop Gin Slaton, TX
Dean Sasser Farmers Coop Elevator Levelland, TX
Bret Brown Sunray Coop Sunray, TX
|
Texas Ag Coop Trust
is endorsed by:
Texas Grain & Feed
Association
Texas Cotton Ginners Association
Texas Coop Marketing Exchange
Texas Corn Producers |
|
|
|
|
|