The Farm Post eNews

Friday eNews from the Pike and Scott County Farm Bureaus
 

MAY 13, 2016
2016 Scholarship Winners                   
Congratulations to our 2016 Scholarship Winners. Recipients of the Scott County Farm Bureau scholarships are Ashley Devlin, Bluffs HS and Rachel Sellars, Winchester HS. Winner of the Pike County Farm Bureau and the Rod Webel Memorial scholarships is Ryan Harter, Pittsfield HS. More information on the winners will be published in the June edition of The Farm Post.
IFB Calls for TTP Passage
Just to review, the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade agreement between the U.S. and eleven other Pacific Rim countries making up 40 percent of the global economy. Illinois Farm Bureau signed a U.S. Coalition for TPP support letter to Congress last week and encouraged each county Farm Bureau to sign on before Friday's deadline. The letter is meant to showcase broad agricultural and business support for TPP at the state and local level.

Meanwhile, there's no indication that either the Senate Finance Committee or the House Ways and Means Committee will begin hearings on the trade deal before Congress adjourns in mid-July for conventions and August recess. Despite the political head winds, IFB will push for a vote on TPP before the 114th Congress adjourns.
IL Pork Inst Taking Apps Now
Mark Your Calendars for IPLI 2016!

This year the Illinois Pork Leadership Institute trip will be going to Indianapolis! While there, we'll be touring the University of Illinois Agronomy Lab and Kroger Dairy. We will also be having some fun at a cooking class and Breakout Indy. Stay tuned for more details!

The trip will be June 20-23, 2016 (note the date change).Applications are due June 1 and are available on our website www.ilpork.com. You must be between the ages of 16-22 to attend.

Don't miss this great leadership opportunity to tour ag businesses and connect with other youth who love the pork industry!

Find the Application Here
FB Calls for Common Sense in DC
"Common Sense Oversight Needed to Halt Agency Advocacy," is AFBF President Zippy Duvall's guest column published by The Hill's Congress Blog. Duvall describes how Capital Press, an agricultural publication based in Salem, Oregon, recently reported that Environmental Protection Agency grant funds were used to pay for billboards in Washington State advocating greater regulation of farmers. The billboards shouted, "Unregulated agriculture is putting our waterways at risk," and directed viewers to an advocacy website blaming "unregulated agriculture" for a litany of environmental problems and urging them to "take action" through a form letter to state legislators seeking increased regulation of farm lands.

"The billboard neglected to inform the public that it was funded through an EPA grant-your tax dollars and mine," Duvall wrote.
AFBF Weighs in on TTIP
Farm Bureau participated at the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations stakeholder session held recently in New York City. Veronica Nigh, an AFBF economist, explained in Friday's Newsline that the trade deal being negotiated between the European Union and the U.S. is vital to agriculture.

"For growers we always think about reaching more customers, lowering barriers and making us more competitive, which increases demand and increases the prices that we'll receive for our goods," she said.
TODAY IN HISTORY
MAY 13, 1940
BLOOD, TOIL, TEARS AND SWEAT SPEECH

On May 10, 1940, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister. When he met his Cabinet on May 13 he told them that "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."

He repeated that phrase later in the day when he asked the House of Commons for a vote of confidence in his new all-party government. The response of Labour was heart-warming; the Conservative reaction was luke-warm. They still really wanted Neville Chamberlain.

For the first time, the people had hope but Churchill commented to General Ismay: "Poor people, poor people. They trust me, and I can give them nothing but disaster for quite a long time."
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