Nebraska State Grange Former National Grange Intern Jordan Dux Named Nebraska Farm Bureau National Affairs Coordinator
Jordan Dux, a former National Grange intern, former field director for U.S. Senator Mike Johanns’ (NE) senatorial campaign, and former staff member for U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith (NE), joined Nebraska Farm Bureau on January 5 in the new position of National Affairs Coordinator. He will direct NE Farm Bureau’s involvement in national issues relating to farm policy, renewable energy, environment, trade, taxes, livestock and other federal issues that affect farm and ranch operations. Congratulations Jordan!
California State Grange No Budget – No Pay Initiative Gathers Steam; Donations Sought To Stoke The Fire
By Randal Lewis, CA State Grange President
California State Grange is moving forward on a No Budget- No Pay initiative that would cause legislators and the Governor to forfeit their pay per diem beginning July 1st if a budget is not passed. The California Constitutional deadline for passing a budget is June 15th of each year. By taking on this challenge, the Grange is providing a great service for the people of California who overwhelmingly support the initiative. A recent survey conducted by SurveyUSA found that 67% of the public supports such an initiative. We’re taking this one step at a time,” commented President Randall Lewis. The California State Grange is asking its members to donate $10.00 or more toward the cause. They are also asking Californians to donate whatever they can to provide us the financial resources needed to move forward on this project. It is estimated that it will require gathering a million signatures to put the initiative before the voters.
New Hampshire State Grange New Hampshire State Grange Wins Expo Award By Beth Merrill, NH State Grange President
This year the New Hampshire State Grange booth wowed the judges at the State Agricultural Expo and took a first place blue ribbon in the educational category, winning a free booth space for next year’s Expo! In the minds of Anne and Marty Boisvert, Grange Farm & Forest Coordinators, the Expo theme for this year, “Growing
Opportunities: NH Agriculture and Forestry Today,” fit right in with the most recent National Grange convention theme of “Grow the Grange” and the Grange Growth Summits being conducted nationwide by National Membership Director Rusty Hunt.
Washington State Grange Bills Hope to Clarify Language in Open Space Taxation Rules
By Scott Dahlman, WA State Grange Legislative Liaison
In 1970 the Open Space Taxation Act was enacted in Washington State, allowing agricultural and open space lands to be taxed based on a “current use” rate rather than a “highest and best use” rate. This means that if a landowner qualifies for and enters the program, their property taxes will be assessed at the use value, not the value of what the land could be used for (i.e. development if your land is zoned for building).
An issue arose late last year that there is an “and” in the definition causing some counties to disqualify land previously enrolled in the Ag Open Space Program if they were not engaged in all agricultural activities. The issue became urgent when farmers in some counties began receiving notices they were being removed from the program, along with a bill for back taxes and penalties for leaving the program. This promoted the Department of Revenue (DOR) to issue an emergency rule clarifying that it is not necessary to breed animals on site in order to qualify for the exemption, but the rule did not address other concerns raised at stakeholder meetings. Since the statute is somewhat unclear, there has been a push to clarify the statute in this years’ legislative session. Companion bills HB 1232 and SB 5817 have been introduced that would add language to the statute providing some much needed clarity on the issue, and establish certainty for farmers in the program.
