The National Grange

State Legislative Round Up June 2008

Archives:

Oct. 2008 | Aug 2008 | Jul.(2) 2008 | Jul.(1) 2008 | Jun. 2008 | May 2008 | Feb. 2008 |
Oct. 2007 | Sept. 2007 | Jul 2007 | Mar. 2007 | Feb. 2007 | Dec. 2006 | Oct. 2006 | Sept. 2006 | Aug. 2006 | Jul. 2006 | May 2006 | Apr. 2006 | Mar. 2006 | Feb. 2006 | Jan. 2006

New Hampshire

Grange Day at the State House -- The second annual New Hampshire Grange Legislative Day was held in the State House on Friday, June 13, 2008. Grange members met to tour the Capitol Building. Following the tour, the group met in a Legislative Office Building across the street from the State House to discuss the process of turning Grange policy into a law.

Pennsylvania

Burning Bush – the Cash Crop As recently reported in the PA Grange Advocate, opportunities to cash in on the alternative energy mandate continue to crop up for Pennsylvania’s farmers. Legislation to encourage the planting and harvesting of bioenergy crops, perennial trees or plants that can be grown to produce raw renewable biomass energy was introduced recently as the Pennsylvania Farms to Fuels Initiatives Act with a proposed $10 million price tag for administering the program. Farmers interested in growing these crops would be eligible for “transition incentive payments” over a three-year period to offset the potential loss in profitability for switching from established crops to growing these bioenergy crops at $150/acre for the first year’s harvest, $100/acre for the second year’s harvest and $50/acre for the third year’s harvest. Total reimbursement over the three-year period would be capped at $100,000. This program would be administered by the Ag Department, and the Secretary of Agriculture would determine which crops meet the definition of bioenergy crops.

California

CA Grange Helps Celebrate Ag Day At The Capitol -- The west steps of the California Capitol building took on a festive air as the Governor, Ag officials, legislators, school children and the public celebrated National Ag Day 2008. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the California Women for Agriculture created the California Ag Day event to raise awareness and appreciation of the State’s $32 Billion agricultural industry. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer, CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura and many legislators toured the various exhibits and heard from various advocacy groups and farmers on what they considered vital issues for the industry. The Grange booth featured information on the Grange and its policies, and also handed out memorabilia commemorating the event. State Legislation Would Partner Granges and Historical Societies-- A bill currently in the California Assembly Education Committee would partner Granges with local historical societies in presenting local history in classrooms throughout the state. This measure would encourage all high school social studies teachers to study independently at their local county historical society and to use the materials available there to instruct their pupils on local history, and would encourage high schools to offer instruction covering all of the most important historical events that occurred in the county in which each school is located. The bill also encourages the California State Grange to assist local educators in teaching local history to their pupils.