The National Grange recently re-released a DVD of an address, titled the Symphony of Health Care Delivery, given by Dr. Louis Sullivan, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, to the delegates and members attending the 141st Annual Convention of the National Grange in Reno, NV in November of 2007. In that address Dr. Sullivan encouraged Grange members to continue pressing to make health care more accessible for rural residents.

Written and delivered prior to the current intense political debate over the direction of national health care reform legislation, Dr. Sullivan’s calm and thoughtful presentation draws heavily on his more than 50 years of personal experience as a health care practitioner, educator, and policy maker. In contrast to the often-acrimonious charges and counter charges in the press today leveled by proponents of various strategies of national health care reform, Dr. Sullivan avoids pointing fingers, assigning blame or unduly raising expectations regarding our current health care system or what we should expect from national health care reform. Instead, he draws a number of common sense, understandable, and logical conclusions about necessary reforms that are critical to make sure all patients, including rural patients, receive the best possible treatment.

“We have a health care system with many strengths, but also with glaring deficiencies. We have the most robust research enterprise of any nation for developing new drugs. We have a very strong medical education system. But we have a system where the costs are out of control, ” Dr. Sullivan tells the Grange delegates. He also notes that one important way to cut those costs is wider reliance upon preventive health care. “Having all of our citizens recognizing the responsibility they have in protecting their health and that of their families is extremely important,” he concludes.

As a public service, local Granges, Grange members, church, and/or local civic groups who want to view this informative and thoughtful presentation on the key issues surrounding national health care reform can receive a free copy of the National Grange’s The Symphony of Health Care Delivery DVD by e-mailing Samantha Johnson at sjohnson@nationalgrange.org.

Click Here for an introduction and brief except from Dr. Sullivan’s 40 minute presentation.

National Grange Master Ed Luttrell recently wrote to Hon. Vincent Gray, chairman of the District of Columbia City Council, strongly opposing legislation that would have given the District of Columbia government the power to take its own taxpayers to court whenever the taxpayer wins an administrative appeal of their commercial real estate tax assessment granted by the city’s own tax assessment agency. In addition, the legislation would have allowed the city to collect interest and penalty charges against these taxpayers who had successfully exercised their right to appeal their real estate tax assessments.

“This legislation is punitive, is poor policy, and is unfair to long time, loyal members of the Washington D.C. business community and commercial property owners like the National Grange,” wrote National Grange President Ed Luttrell. The National Grange has proudly owned and occupied our national headquarters building in Washington D.C. for more than 50 years. We currently pay over $114,000.00 (FY 2008) in real property taxes to the city each year. Over the years, when the National Grange has faced valuation assessments on our building that appear in excess of our property’s value or out of proportion to the assessments on comparable properties, we have dutifully exercised our administrative rights to appeal those assessments and have always abided by those decisions. In response to the outcry by the National Grange and other members of the business community in Washington D.C., the District of Columbia City Council rejected the proposal to authorize the city to take its own taxpayers to court when ever those taxpayers successfully appeal their commercial real estate tax assessments.

NJ Legislative Day 2009
By L. Claire Grissett, NJ State Grange Legislative Director

New Jersey had a very successful Legislative Day 2009. They held the event at a new location and saw an increase in attendance. They were delighted to see new faces and are already looking forward to the Legislative Day 2010. The day started with a tour of the New Jersey State Capitol, including the House and Senate chambers. After the tour, Beth Feehan from the NJ Farm to School Network, spoke to the group. Additionally, Secretary of Agriculture, Doug Fisher, stopped in to remind Grangers of the importance of the Department of Agriculture and thanked everyone for all their hard work to keep it. Senator Marcia Karrow spoke briefly to compliment the Grange on all their resolutions and continuing interest in farming; Jennifer B. Jones from the Census Center highlighted the importance of everyone filling out the Census forms when they arrived; and finally, Rich Nieuwenhuis, President of the NJ Farm Bureau also stopped in to round out the speakers.

Premises Identification is Not Evil
By Jim Miller, CO State Grange Agriculture Director

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak has been holding “Listening Sessions” on the USDA National Animal Identification System, and is he ever getting an earful! He’s hearing that it’s a nefarious plot to give control of animal agriculture over to the multi-national corporations! He’s told it’s going to drive family ranchers into bankruptcy! He’s even being told it’s the work of the Devil himself!

The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is designed to enable health officials to track livestock disease rapidly from the point of discovery all the way back to the ranch where the animal was born. This process is called “epidemiology” and it is a vital step in ensuring that livestock disease is properly traced and exposed animals are treated or destroyed so the disease does not become an epidemic.

Unfortunately, USDA has done a miserable job handling this program, but that does not diminish the wisdom behind the program itself. NAIS is a sound system that would designate a unique number to ranches, feedlots, sale-yards, and even event venues such as the National Western Stock Show, across the country. Livestock owners would record the premises number of any of these places his or her livestock entered.

There’s no doubt NAIS would involve more record keeping, but it would go a long way to assuring consumers throughout the world that their meat is safe to feed their families. NAIS deserves a better reputation.

Grange Policy on WIC Enacted
By Oliver Orton, NY State Grange President

Participants in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program can now use their monthly checks at New York farmers’ markets to purchase eligible fresh produce. New York is the first state in the nation to allow the use of WIC checks for fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets. The New York State Grange has advocated for this policy for many years.

Economic Recovery Will Take Local Community Involvement
By J.D. Hartz, California Grange News

The causes of the current “economic slowdown” can be traced to many factors. Historians will find plenty of blame to spread around. What we need are solutions.

This is where local organizations, like the Grange, are in prime positions to help find and implement solutions, helping the country to heal.

Michael Shuman, an economist and job developer, has spent the past five years preaching the gospel of economic localism. The basis of this philosophy is that locally owned businesses have an investment in community values in addition to economic self-interest. There is a strong reason for the community to support locally owned businesses that don’t outsource, and who recycle their customers’ dollars back into the community. A Grange hall may support local agriculture through a weekly farmers’ market. It may support local business through sidewalk sales or a flea market; and most importantly, it provides a community meeting place for the local citizenry to debate, create and implement a plan that is designed for the economic health of the community.

Shuman views struggling communities as untapped resources, resources like local businesses that want to expand, or entrepreneurs looking to start a new business. He explained that for years economic develop advocates have looked for new wealth from outside their communities and overlooked the huge opportunities in their own backyards. The localization movement encourages communities to take stock of their local untapped resources, particularly important as today’s economic downturn increases the pressure on every town and city to do more with less.

Ag Barbeque at State Capitol
By Phyllis Wilson, OR State Grange President

The annual Oregon Ag Barbeque at the State Capitol has become one of the top two most popular meal events for legislators, their staff members, and the public. The menu this year included 4-ounce top sirloin steaks, garlic red potatoes, green beans, tossed green salad, rolls, ice cream, and milk or coffee. Everyone ate for free, thanks to many donations from various agriculture groups. Grange members served 496 people in just over an hour. The event serves as a promotional tool for the Grange and agriculture in general.

A Win for the Farmers
By Versant Strategies, PA State Grange Legislative Consultants

A recent PA Supreme Court decision overturned a ruling by Commonwealth Court and upheld the authority of the Attorney General to challenge local ordinances, which restrict intensive agriculture regardless of when the ordinances were adopted. Upholding the ACRE law farmers are assured that an illegal ordinance restricting agriculture and which passed before the ACRE law took effect can be challenged and declared invalid by the Attorney General, even if the municipality has not taken any action to enforce it. Previously, ordinances could not be challenged unless attempts were made to enforce them. In overturning the Commonwealth Court’s ruling, the PA Supreme Court upheld the intent of the ACRE law to protect agricultural development.

Fresh California Milk in CT?
By Gordon Gibson, CT State Grange Legislative Director

Several dairy farms in Connecticut, along with dairy farmers in all northeastern states, have sold their cows in the past year due to low milk prices.  The price farmers receive for their milk as it leaves the farm is set by the federal government, but the price farmers must pay for everything they buy is set by the market. 

Every time a dairy farm shuts down we have less local milk available, so more milk must be brought in from other parts of the country.  Dairy farmers in California are already advertising fresh California milk in the Northeast, but how long does it take for the milk to travel the 3,000 miles to Connecticut?  To reduce shipping costs, some farmers are proposing to concentrate their milk before it is shipped, then reconstitute it to whole milk by adding water when it reaches New England.  Is this really fresh milk?

Besides providing high quality locally produced fresh milk, Connecticut’s dairy farms are important to the state’s economy.  According to Penn State’s Center for Dairy Excellence, 85 percent of a dairy farmer’s income is spent locally and each farm dollar circulates 2.5 times through the economy. Dairy farms also provide many full and part-time jobs. Today, dairy farmers own or lease 31 percent of the productive farmland in the Northeast.  Another 20 percent of the farmland is used to produce hay, much of which is fed to dairy cows.

Several bills have been filed in the Connecticut General Assembly and the other Northeastern state legislatures to provide subsidies to the dairy farms so they can at least break even, but there is no certainty they will be passed given the budget crises in every state. The Grange, along with other farm organizations, is lobbying Congress to provide a better financial safety net for dairy farmers through the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program. 

Idaho Legislative Report
By Don Johnson, ID State Grange Legislative Director

In January, Idaho Governor Otter outlined his proposed budget to the state’s legislators. The Idaho House of Representatives and Senate had their own ideas concerning the budget of state agencies and taxation of fuels and other concerns. There was a difference of opinion on an increase of fuel taxes, a vehicle registration increase, and funding for road maintenance. A committee will be appointed consisting of legislators and non-legislators to develop ways to increase funding for the state police and state Parks and Recreation, so these fees were transferred to another agency.

One of the major pieces of legislation that was passed by the legislators was a consolidated election bill (HB 372). A combined election date extends the terms of board members to coincide with the years of election cycles. This bill will designate that the polling place is the same place for all elections.

Annual Legislative Luncheon
Maine State Grange News

The Maine State Grange hosted its annual Legislative Luncheon on March 31. Members of the Legislative and Agriculture Committees, plus several deputies and state officers, served more than 200 legislators and their guests, making the event a huge success. Gov. John Baldacci and Commissioner of Agriculture Seth Bradstreet were in attendance and all enjoyed a varied buffet meal. Many said “thank you” along with an occasional “see you next year” as the legislators left headquarters with full stomachs to carry on the important work of governing the state of Maine.