William A. Steel, president of the National Grange, addressed the North Carolina Agricultural Development Forum concerning the 2007 Farm Bill. Steel shared an overview of some changing forces in society that Grange members believe will create challenges and opportunities in rural communities which can be addressed in the 2007 Farm Bill.

According to President Steel the National Grange supports the adoption of a 2007 Farm Bill that will stimulate interest and appreciation for an expanding and evolving agricultural industry. The industry faces both difficult challenges and lucrative opportunities as the nation’s population grows over the next half century. Nationwide, farmers today are a highly diverse and constantly evolving group of nearly 2.2 million entrepreneurs who differ greatly in the size and location of their operations, the products they produce, the environmental challenges they face, the marketing decisions they make and the annual revenues they derive from their farming operations. “So today,” Steel stated, “there are nearly limitless numbers of potentially successful farm business plans and rural lifestyle goals that the next two generations of farmers and ranchers will be able to deploy to capture their fair share of the market.”

The National Grange president believes the 2007 Farm Bill should set a goal of increasing the human resources in our domestic agricultural sector by encouraging the greatest participation by entrepreneurial individuals and families within the agriculture sector, as well as the broadest practical distribution of agricultural production among those participants.

President Steel concluded, “At no point in time since the Founders of the National Grange met in Washington, D.C. 140 years ago to create a voluntary grassroots organization has the impending structural shift in the nature of U.S. agriculture been more apparent. Circumstances have brought us to a seminal point in time, which calls for creative leadership to help shepherd our farming and rural communities through the rapidly changing demographic, social and economic forces sweeping our country. I am confident that by working together we can forthrightly address the major challenges facing today’s family farmers and ranchers and the rural communities that nurture them. We can do this through the adoption of innovative and progressive policies as part of the 2007 Farm Bill.”

For 140 years, the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, the oldest national agricultural organization in the United States, has set its legislative policy at conventions held throughout the country by using a grassroots generated resolutions process that starts in local Granges across the nation. From local Granges, resolutions of state or national importance are considered by the State Granges at their annual conventions. State Granges in 37 states present resolutions on agriculture, education, transportation, health, conservation, citizenship, labor, judiciary, taxation, as well as internal governance resolutions to the National Grange for consideration each year. Yet, Grange members who were not able to attend the state or national convention are not always aware of what becomes of their resolutions. That is why a look back at grassroots delegate actions throughout the past few years at the national level will provide some insight into what actually happens to these resolutions once they reach the national convention.

From 2002-2006 an average of 217 resolutions were presented to the national delegates each year. Out of those resolutions presented, the delegate body adopted an average of 73.6 with 14 being adopted as combined with other resolutions. Nearly 50 resolutions were determined to be covered by present policy, on average, and just short of 8 were referred back to the states as state issues each year. On average, 17 proposed resolutions each year were included in the committee policy statements and another nearly 27 were withdrawn by the sponsoring state. Finally, an average of 27 resolutions were reported adversely in committee while only an average of 6 resolutions per year failed final passage on the convention floor.

Since the landmark TEA 21 law, Congress has twice enacted special budget rules that guarantee multi-year funding increases of highway programs. Beginning in 1998, Congress has recognized that highway users contribute their gasoline, diesel, and heavy vehicle taxes to the Highway Trust Fund, and consequently users are entitled to the road improvements they pay for. But in January and early February, the new Congress strongly considered breaking the promise to fully fund SAFETEA-LU highway programs. The cuts would have began immediately, reducing expected 2007 funding levels by nearly 10%. In 2005, Congress enacted and President Bush signed, the SAFETEA-LU law, which guaranteed funding increases through 2009. At that time, Congress reaffirmed its commitment to America’s motorists and promised that increasing revenue from highway user fees would be returned to the public interest through “guaranteed” funding increases for surface transportation improvements until 2009. While SAFETEA-LU was far from perfect, the funding increases were a significant victory for highway users. Now, less than two years later, the proposed year-long continuing-resolution may not honor the promised highway funding guarantees and that, for the first time ever, budget rules to enforce the guarantees could be waived. In fact, Congress is threatening to cancel the promised funding increase for 2007. The cuts would reduce highway funding from $39.1 billion to $35.7 billion and lead to project slowdowns and cancellations nationwide.

In February, the National Grange teamed up with the American Highway Users Alliance (AHUA) to urge all Grange members to write or e-mail their Senators and Congressmen, asking for full funding of federal-aid highway program at $39.1 billion for fiscal year 2007. The response was terrific. AHUA President Greg Cohen reported to his board of directors recently that “The letters kept rolling in with dozens per day reaching lawmakers until full funding was restored.” National Grange President Bill Steel serves on the board of directors for the American Highway Users Alliance. Steel commented, “The success of the joint action alerts issued by the National Grange and the American Highway Users Alliance to restore funding for critical transportation infrastructure priorities demonstrates that value of partnering with diverse groups and interests to accomplish our legislative goals in Washington, DC. No advocacy organization or industry can accomplish much just on their own. But by working together, organizations that represent diverse constituencies can often convince members of congress of the broad based, popular support for vital programs such as transportation funding.”

On behalf of the National Grange, President William Steel wrote to Secretary of Agriculture Michael Johanns and offered comments on the Administration’s recently announced USDA 2007 Farm Bill proposals. The National Grange was pleased that the Administration’s 2007 Farm Bill proposals were a reform-mined and fiscally responsible approach to supporting America’s farmers and ranchers. While President Steel was in general agreement with the Administration’s concepts, he asked Secretary Johanns to consider several suggestions, which he believes, will strengthen USDA’s approach to a market driven agricultural program.

President Steel stated that he is convinced the 2007 Farm Bill must emphasize conservation programs helping farmers in an environmentally sound manner, including additional technical assistance to farmers to implement and maintain their conservation practices. He added that the National Grange also supports reauthorization of the Conservation Title of the 2007 Farm Bill. However, he noted, demand for financial and technical assistance through voluntary conservation incentive programs continues to exceed available funding. Additionally, Farm Bill conservation programs should continue to be resource-driven with sufficient flexibility to identify local priorities and concerns.

In the area of forestry President Steel stated the National Grange strongly supports the Administration’s proposals providing additional technical assistance to state forestry management agencies addressing local forestry management issues and developing appropriate additional economic activity such, as wood to energy projects, from public forest lands.

President Steel told Secretary Johanns we are concerned that the Administration’s proposal for a five year, Olympic average price for basic loan rates are not meeting the needs of family farmers as well as loan rates that are calculated and set at the average cost of production. As the drastic increase in farm related energy costs over the past three years showed us, average crop prices can take several years to begin to reflect rapidly changing production costs, especially using an Olympic average formula that would “throw out” the first good year of market based price relief. The National Grange was encouraged, however, that the Administration’s proposals for the commodity title of the 2007 Farm Bill move the calculations of payments under counter cyclical programs to a revenue based rather than a price based formula.

President Steel supported reauthorization and additional funding for the Milk Income Loss Contracts program but noted we are skeptical that the basic price formula revisions as proposed by the Administration are in the best financial interest of family sized dairy operations.

Additionally, President Steel further supported the Administration’s proposals to reform and expand participation in the Federal Crop Insurance program with the aim of increasing participation and reducing the need for future ad hoc, supplemental disaster payment programs.

National Grange applauded the Administration’s Farm Bill proposals that included more than $1.6 billion in new renewable energy funding and targets programs to increase cellulosic ethanol projects. President Steel explained Grange member support for research initiatives that promote alternative renewable energy systems and bio-fuels. National Grange also supports programs to increase our domestic bio-fuel productions such as President Bush’s call for replacing 20% of the nation’s gasoline supply with alternative fuels by 2017 and the more ambitious goal of the ’25 by ‘25 Coalition of replacing 25 percent of our nation’s total energy consumption with renewable energy by the year 2025.

Steel concluded by saying, “To assure that our rural communities are prepared for the 21 st Century, we must assure that basic infrastructure and public services are available to everyone living in rural communities. This means reinvigorating our commitment to issues such as rural health care, rural education, rural public safety, as well as transportation, energy, housing and telecommunications access.”

Each of these FTAs provides important new market access benefits which will stimulate U.S. exports, create U.S. jobs, and strengthen rural economies. The Colombia and Peru Trade Promotion Agreements are widely viewed as being the best ever negotiated on behalf of U.S. agriculture. The Panamanian agreement is unique in that modalities and implementation have been negotiated together. Many U.S. food and agricultural products will become eligible for duty-free treatment in those countries immediately upon entry into force of the agreements, and virtually all will receive duty-free treatment over specified phase-in periods.

In addition, each of these countries has taken important steps to eliminate key sanitary and phytosanitary barriers to U.S. exports, including lifting meat inspection barriers to our beef, pork, and poultry products that are tremendously important on their own, but also have a strong carryover into high-value processed products.

The Coalition urged Congress to provide to U.S. food and agriculture the same trade benefits which it already has extended to farmers and ranchers in Colombia, Panama, and Peru. They asked Congress to move forward rapidly to approve the implementing bills for the FTAs with Colombia, Panama, and Peru as soon as possible under the TPA process.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has given up trying to eradicate Snakehead fish from the Potomac River and its tributaries, and will instead try to manage their population. The good news is that so far they have not been the ecological disaster that was predicted and has not displaced bass and other fish in the area. Unfortunately, however, the Chinese mitten crab has been found in the Chesapeake Bay.

Maryland resolutions passed in 2006 call for the retention of school recess and for school employees that have contact with children to have background checks for child and sexual abuse. Maryland State Grange is calling for the state to reform health care laws to eliminate mandates for unneeded and unwanted coverage in order to make them more affordable.

The Maryland Grange also supports improvements and the expansion of MALPF, the state farmland preservation program, including installment payment options and critical farms programs and urges that the funding for programs such as these be made immune from being taken into the General Fund to balance the budget in times of deficit.

Finally, Maryland State Grange is calling for a return to the optical scan voting machines that leave a paper trail, can be recounted and quickly tabulated, and are less prone to fraud. We support a requirement that ID be shown when voting and oppose early voting. If early voting is used it must have at least the same strict guidelines as absentee voting.

Riga Michigan will soon be the home of a new ethanol plant. TLC, the construction company working on the plant, projects its completion by January 2007. Currently TLC has 253 employees, 190 of which are from the local community. Great Lakes Ethanol and TLC have made significant contributions to several local charities and community service organizations. The company has a strong commitment to be a good neighbor in the community. Local farmers have been increasing their on-farm storage capacity so that they can take advantage of stronger grain demand linked to increased local ethanol production. GLE will soon be offering another opportunity for local investors to participate in this business venture.

Michigan Biodiesel is working with all Michigan soybean crushing facilities to supply oil. Legislators were recognized for creating 10 new Agricultural Processing Renaissance zones that receive preferential tax treatment and for passing a package that reduces the gas tax by 36% on fuel that contains ethanol and by 20% on biodiesel blends.

Legislation also provides grants to service-station owners who want to renovate or expand their existing stations to make E-85 and biodiesel available. The idea of building a biodiesel plant in lower Michigan (one is also in the UP) first surfaced to discussion with Capital Area innovative farmers. To help support its own industry, the group started buying bulk biodiesel last fall to burn in their trucks and tractors. That led to even more interest. Through a partnership with Michigan Department of Agriculture, a general feasibility study and preliminary business plan for biodiesel production to Michigan was completed in March. The study concluded that with an investment of $7 million to $12 million, a stand alone 5 million to 10 million gallon biodiesel plant could be built in one several Michigan locations.

Mother Nature wasn’t kind when she threw us a curve ball, or should I say a snowball, for this year’s annual legislative reception, held at the State Capitol.  The weather slowed the reception down just a bit from our regular pace, but it was still a huge success.  Many legislators commented that our reception is their favorite event to attend, and this year was one of the best.  Legislators and Grange members love mingling with each other and the event gives everyone a chance to talk about the Grange’s legislative goals for this session. This year there were many freshmen legislators so Grange members had the privilege of talking with both old and new faces. Teaching elected leaders more about the Grange is always a fun way to get better acquainted.