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FEBRUARY, 2013 Volume 66 No. 2 Official Publication of the Arizona Farm Bureau

By Julie Murphree, Arizona Farm Bureau

Science Alone – Page 2 Socially Unsustainable

Agent Recruiting Program - Page 6 Earn Extra Bucks

Ag Literacy is Coming! - Page 7 Sign Up to Read!

See DAIRY Page 4

See YF&R Page 2

Last October, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service came out with its 2011 Arizona Agricultural Statistics. Full of a wealth of statistical information on Arizona’s 2011 year in agriculture, it highlights our major agriculture com-

modities. Arizona Dairy retained its top spot on the leader board listed at $871 million in cash receipts alone; versus $658 million in 2010.

A year ago Arizona Agriculture interviewed Paul Rovey, owner of Arizona’s Rovey Dairy, chair of Dairy Management, Inc. and President of United Dairymen of Arizona (UDA). “The contrast from 2009 to today is night and day,” Rovey said back then. “2009 was painful, 2010 was our climb out year and 2011 should reflect gains.”

He was correct. The 2011 numbers show gains; however, 2012 numbers won’t be revealed until this com-ing fall. But even without new numbers Arizona Dairy farmers know too well that the overall industry is hurt-ing again. So recently Arizona Agriculture reconnected with Rovey to understand the current situation.

UDA members represent approximately 90 percent of the milk produced in the state.

Arizona Agriculture: Briefly explain the current situation.

Rovey: It’s really a tough situation in the face of ex-tremely high feed prices. While milk prices have been higher, the price we’re getting for our milk is barely cov-ering our production costs. Earlier, we had about a nine-month period where prices for milk were not covering our costs to produce it especially in the southwest. While the Midwest has a tight setting too it’s not quite as bad as here.

And, if we try to predict the next twelve months, it becomes anyone’s guess. Recent tracking of the market reflects corn prices coming down. If that continues things would look a little brighter. At the same time, milk supplies are definitely strong. There is no shortage of milk. Exports are reasonable at least for 2012. Yogurts are good and cheeses are strong.

For consumption, overall dairy consumption has been reasonably good but the

challenge is we keep producing more and more product, creating more than adequate supply for the consuming market. We’re too good at what we do.

Arizona Agriculture: Why did some report that dairy prices would have a dra-matic jump if something wasn’t done to address the Farm Bill? For explanation, Con-gress approved a one-year extension of the farm bill that had expired last September 30th, heading off a government-mandated milk price increase. The extension also

preserves subsidies that even farmers call wasteful and makes plans approved by the U.S. House Agricul-ture Committee and full Senate last year “moot.” This brings stakeholders and lawmakers back to square one to negotiate in an even tougher cost-cutting climate.

Rovey: The original law [back to 1949] had milk pricing on parity. The support price was at parity. So consequently if you sold milk to support you would do that at the parity price which was at $42 a hundred weight. But the mechanics of that affecting the milk price on the street when all prices for powdered milk, cheeses, butter are aggregated the result could not have allowed milk, for example, to shoot up since in the cu-mulative it would have taken months for the price to go up. But it was used as a scare tactic to cause Congress to act.

Arizona Agriculture: What exactly did the Farm Bill Extension temporarily fix?

Rovey: It’s really detrimental in the fact that the proposed farm bill [planned farm bill for the next 5

years] was a good fix and we wish it would have been put in place. The proposed farm bill would have eliminated the support program for dairy and would have put in place an insurance program that the dairy farmers could have utilized. The old support program really doesn’t support anything but put product in the warehouse and extends the pain and agony. The old program is not a true benefit to the commercial dairy industry as we know it today. If the proposed farm bill would have passed it would have put the dairy industry in a competitive world market environment and gotten rid of the old programs

The Return of Tough Times in the Dairy Industry!Arizona Agriculture Interviews Paul Rovey, Chair of Dairy Management and President of United Dairymen of Arizona

Arizona dairy farmer and industry leader Paul Rovey pre-dicts serious challenges ahead for the industry. As a result, Rovey suggests that no margin for error exists and “we must continue to be more efficient.”

For the first time in Arizona Farm Bureau’s 91-year-old history, the organization brings home the national winner of the Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) Discussion Meet. Arizona’s Dillon Kjerstad handily won among 38 competitors in Nashville. As top winner, Kjerstad gets his choice

of either a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado or a 2013 GMC Sierra, courtesy of GM, plus free registration to the 2013 AFBF YF&R Leadership Conference to be held here in Arizona this month.

The Discussion Meet simulates a com-mittee meeting in which active discussion and participation are expected. Partici-

Arizona’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Win Big in Nashville

Arizona Farm Bureau’s Dillon Kjerstad (standing by American Farm Bu-reau President Bob Stallman) is the national winner of the YF&R Discus-sion Meet. John and Alicia Boelts of Yuma were runners-up in the YF&R Achievement Award, giving Arizona two top wins in the three YF&R Con-tests.

Two of Arizona’s YF&R Competitors take top prizes!

The Voice of Arizona Agriculture325 S. Higley Rd., Suite 210 • Gilbert, AZ 85296 • 480.635.3600 • fax 480.635.3781 • www.azfb.org

OFFICERSPresident • Kevin Rogers, Mesa

1st Vice President • Tim Dunn, Yuma2nd V. P. • Stefanie Smallhouse, Redington

Exec. Secretary • James Klinker, MesaEXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Rock Cramer • ParkerDeWayne Justice • Waddell

ARIZONA AGRICULTURE STAFFJulie Murphree, Editor

Peggy Jo Goodfellow, AdvertisingPlease send comments to:

arizonaagriculture@azfb.orgFor advertising, e-mail ads@azfb.org, call

480.635.3609 or visit www.azfb.org/publications.htm

Arizona Agricultureis published monthly, except

December, plus three special editions, (ISSN 0274-7014) by the Arizona Farm

Bureau Federation325 S Higley Rd., Suite 210

Gilbert, AZ 85296Periodicals postage paid in Higley,

Arizona and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTERSend address changes to:

Arizona Agriculture325 S Higley Rd., Suite 210

Gilbert, AZ 85296Subscriptions are included in

annual dues.

2 www.azfb.org ARIZONAAGRICULTURE•FEBRUARY,2013

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pants are evaluated on their ability to exchange ideas and information on a predetermined topic. During the competition in Nashville, Kjerstad was cheered on by his wife, Courtney, Mom, Kelly, and Grand-

mother, Patty.After being announced as part of the Final Four earlier in the competition, Grandmother Patty said, “Dillon making

the Final Four means the world to me. His Grandpa who competed on the national level in the Discussion Meet 40 years ago would be so proud of him.”

Added his Mom, Kelly, “It’s all coming together. Dillon comes from a 5th-generation South Dakota farm family. This is what this is all about; Dillon continuing the legacy. We owe a lot to Farm Bureau.”

Kjerstad’s Grandfather, Richard Kjerstad, served as South Dakota Farm Bureau President. Meanwhile, along with two other runners-up competitors in the Achievement Award contest are Arizona Farm

Bureau’s John and Alicia Boelts competing with 31 other young farmers and ranchers for top spots. The Boelts receive a Case IH Farmall 65A, courtesy of Case IH, and $3,000 in cash and STIHL merchandise, courtesy of STIHL for their achievement.

“Alicia and I want to tell all of you that we are so very thankful for all of your support, encouragement and expertise in helping us reach the top ten in the competition,” said John Boelts. “We feel that we have put our best effort into this competition and that we could not have been more prepared or had a better application or interview.”

The Achievement Award recognizes young farmers and ranchers who have excelled in their farming or ranching operations and exhibited superior leadership abilities. Participants are evaluated on a combination of their agricultural operation’s growth and financial progress, Farm Bureau leadership and leadership outside of Farm Bureau.

Winners of the Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award, Discussion Meet and Excellence in Agriculture competitions were announced last month after intense competitions at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 94th Annual Meeting in Nashville. Young farmers and ranchers from around the country competed for the awards by dem-onstrating knowledge of and achievement in agriculture, as well as commitment to promoting the agriculture industry.

The only competition Arizona YF&R did not compete in this year, The Excellence in Agriculture Award, recog-nizes young farmers and ranchers who do not derive the majority of their income from an agricultural operation.

All 18-35 year old Farm Bureau members are eligible to compete. Contact Christy Davis at 480.635.3615.

continued from page 1YF&R

Editor’s Note: This editorial originally appeared in Feedstuffs Foodlink on December 9, 2012.

I lived in a cozy world where hard work and trust in science and research alone was the key to success in our agricul-tural operations.

I believed that those who opposed today’s agricultural practices were few and far between, lacked knowledge and integrity. To me their single-minded viewpoint of the world was so disconnected with mine that it seemed impossible for their ideas to gain any momentum.

Then my world turned upside down. Due to efforts by animal rights organizations an undercover video was released about a local farmer that documented and sensationalized a few farming practices that did not align with their beliefs.

Seemingly overnight I felt like the sentiment in our community went from supporting the science behind today’s agriculture to opposing any idea that agriculture should have evolved from practices in the 1930s.

I felt lost and disconnected. I found comfort in talking to others and educating them about my viewpoint on agri-culture with high hopes that they could easily be persuaded to my beliefs.

I quickly found that online media outlets are an amazing tool to help broadcast my voice to a larger audience with-out having to leave the comforts of my tractor cab. Due to the fact that these new media outlets were social and not limited by geography I was able engage in conversations.

Again, seemingly overnight my world turned upside down as I was introduced to a whole new world of individuals that were even further disconnected from agriculture; this time however many of them were very actively taking an interest in learning more about how their food made it to their table. This presented an even larger issue as most infor-mation that was socially available to them was very biased against agriculture.

Today, I realize that relying on science alone to improve our farm’s sustainability while taking care of our soil and livestock is very socially unsustainable. Just like any other business, when we allow questions and concerns of our end consumers to linger without answers that are easily found or understood, those concerns are easily converted to fears. When we fail to address fears about our products we face more regulation developed from sensationalism. Thus, there is a large need for us not only to market our products but also to spend time sharing and explaining the ways in which those products are grown.

My single-minded viewpoint of agriculture was flawed, as agriculture flourishes in a large and diverse environ-ment that extends far beyond our fields. Today instead of trying to persuade others to my way of thinking I seek to learn more about their views on agriculture before joining the conversation and sharing my viewpoint.

Now when making plans for our farm’s future I still rely heavily on the available research that guides my farming practices, but I also have to consider what others feel is socially acceptable and be willing to openly share information about those practices transparently.

Today I am still ignorant; the difference is now I realize this. For agriculture to flourish in America we need to not only strive to improve how agribusinesses operate but how they interact and communicate with the public.

Editor’s Note: Mike Haley is passionate about sharing information about agriculture with others. He is active in online conversations and can be found at http://haley-farms.com, http://justfarmers.biz and on Twitter @farmerhaley.

Relying on Science Alone is Very Socially UnsustainableBy Mike Haley, 5th-generation Ohio Farmer

ARIZONAAGRICULTURE•FEBRUARY,2013 www.azfb.org 3

By Julie Murphree, Arizona Farm Bureau

4 www.azfb.org ARIZONAAGRICULTURE•FEBRUARY,2013

continued from page 1Dairythat no longer work in our more efficient dairy industry.

The extension did not change current farm bill law; it just kicked it down the road a ways. We’re going back to square one. It opens the door to reworking and changing it. As [congressional leaders] try to pin their personal bells or whistles onto the effort it’s not necessarily a positive thing. The proposed farm bill was more streamlined.

We were hoping they would have the foresight to plug the revised dairy section into the extension. Ultimately, we’re starting over from the beginning.

Arizona Agriculture: Last year you told me you didn’t know if the volatility in the dairy industry would ever end. What is your core advice for the industry to endure and also thrive in such an environment?

Rovey: Really, dairies that I see across the country that are surviving and thriv-ing are ones either strategically pairing up with hay/feed farmers or farming their own ground to raise their own feed. Partnerships that negotiate a win/win on price and work out volatility are working. Similarly, if you own the ground and farm your own feed you can survive high feed prices. This is a new paradigm I’m seeing where dairies are either building closer business relationships with their partners or farming to produce their own feed. The old model of plunking down my dairy on 80 acres and then dial up my order for feed because it’s cheap is no longer viable. You’re seeing more integrated models. I don’t see feed getting cheaper for a long time or for any length of time. I be-lieve feed will be inherently more expensive from here on out.

Arizona Agriculture: Where are your biggest concerns and what do we need to do to create an environment of opportunity?

Rovey: We must continue to be more efficient. The volatility is not going to go away especially because of what drives our costs. No change in volatility in oil and other commodities so this impacts everyone’s costs.

Part of our volatility is that we have new and different tools. For example, one is

“sexed semen.” Today, we can ensure an adequate supply of heifers. Consequently, we no longer come up short on cattle; production is always matching demand and often exceeding it.

Arizona Agriculture: A recent market report shared the continuing decline in milk consumption. What do we need to be doing to reverse such a trend, or at least expand consumer demand in the other mix of dairy products?

Rovey: We have seen a continual slip of fluid and to a greater extent just recently. DMI [Dairy Management, Inc.] has really been working to understand this through extensive research. And while there has been a decline in fluid milk, cheese, yogurt and our other dairy products are up. So you’re seeing a trade off. We now say people are going to chew their milk instead of drinking it.

But that doesn’t mean we’re ignoring the opportunities in the fluid category. We have a lot of opportunity in this segment. To begin, we’re looking at understanding barriers to help solve and change this paradigm. Since fluid milk has had such a tre-mendous amount of competition we’re competing for a share of the stomach. A few in-novative companies in the dairy market are taking a crack at this. The idea is to position milk as health in a bottle. We’re looking at opportunities to fortify the product. Plus, we see a great market for eliminating the lactose in milk for the lactose intolerant. With much of the research conducted, we hope to move to a development phase where we’ve got new products moving online for consumers.

We’re having a series of meetings in the next few weeks to determine our direction based on the research.

Arizona Agriculture: Some in the industry have described this next generation of dairymen to be some of the most proficient yet. Do you agree and why?

Rovey: Partly because of the toughness it takes to stay in this industry. You have to be terribly proficient to stay viable in it, you can’t be second rate. In Arizona we have really good dairymen partly because it’s so darn hard to make milk in this state. This is portrayed across the country. Our young dairymen are going to be very proficient and very competitive. It’s the only way we can be to survive. They are very capable. There is a good future for dairy; we must mind our “p’s” and “q’s.”

Arizona Agriculture: Are you encouraged? Rovey: I am if we can get the Farm Bill where we get rid of all the craziness and

allow us to get out there and make milk. It gets a bit discouraging due to ever-increasing regulations. The continuing chal-

lenges with the EPA continue to be an unknown. The agency is currently moving to try and classify the nutrient water and nutrients on our dairy as toxic. They’re not.

*** While Rovey is clearly aware of the challenges ahead because of his leadership

position with UDA, the milk-marketing cooperative owned by 70 farmers with an aver-age of 1,600 head per farm, he describes the industry’s ongoing efforts as focused on marketing for what the consumer wants and staying engaged. “As it relates to engage-ment, we’ve just hired someone at DMI for our social media efforts. Overall, we intend to really understand what’s occurring with our consumer markets in order to bring to market what the consumer wants.”

watching the next generation in his own family, Rovey is encouraged despite the existing volatility in the dairy industry. “our young dairymen are going to be very proficient and very competitive,” he says.

ARIZONAAGRICULTURE•FEBRUARY,2013 www.azfb.org 5

6 www.azfb.org ARIZONAAGRICULTURE•FEBRUARY,2013

Start planning for a little extra cash for next Christmas or for your up-coming summer vacation. If you’re a member, Farm Bureau can help through its Recruit-ing Rewards Program. All members are eligible. If you help recruit a qualified

Farm Bureau insurance agent, you could potentially earn up to $4,000 in cash within a year of your referral’s start with Farm Bureau Insurance.

Interestingly, the opportunities for a Farm Bureau Insurance agent is one of the best kept se-crets in small business. “The best way to build our agency force and support our Farm Bureau members is to recruit within the Farm Bureau family,” says Arizona Farm Bureau President Kevin Rogers. “We always find well-qualified agents when recommended by someone who knows them.”

what makes an Agent career so Ap-pealing?

Agent income is based on effort, not a timecard. Agents enjoy flexible hours and the privilege of helping people protect what matters most.

For the past 70 years, the companies of Farm Bureau Financial Services have helped Farm Bureau members protect their family, their property and their future.

No one knows your network better than you. Consider referring someone you feel has what it takes to be a Farm Bureau agent. If your referral qualifies, Farm Bureau Financial Services will reward you with $700 for the initial sign-up, plus potential earn-ings at various stages of your agent’s advancement.

Your referral might fall into one or more of these life-changing situations: • Looking to move back home; • Talking about changing careers; • Feels financially limited in their current position; • Discusses re-entering the workforce but seeks an independent, self-starting environment.To find out more about the Tier Level Qualifications, and to learn about additional

rewards available provided the successful agent remains under contract, contact Agen-cy Services at 515-453-3936 or agencyservices@fbfs.com.

By Julie Murphree, Arizona Farm Bureau

Agent Recruiting Program Can Mean Money in Your PocketFarm Bureau members can earn up to $4,000 if they help bring a qualified insurance agent into the Farm Bureau family.

Ana Kennedy joins Arizona Farm Bureau as the new Gov-ernment Relations Manager.

She will be reporting to your Govern-ment Relations Director, Joe Sigg.

Kennedy is well known to many of us as she has been in Farm Bureau vol-unteer roles since 2000. She has been a leader in the Woman’s Leadership Program, Young Farmers and Ranch-ers and served on the Pinal County board and state board of directors. She is a graduate of the American Farm Bu-reau’s Partners in Agricultural Leader-ship program and Arizona’s Project CENTRL, Class 21.

Kennedy comes to the Govern-ment Relations department with expe-rience in politics, having worked on several local and state political cam-paigns.

During college, she interned for the USDA’s Economic Research Ser-vice in Washington, D.C. She has bach-elor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural and resource economics from the University of Arizona. Since graduation, she has held a teaching and administrative position in a local charter school.

Ana is part of a family livestock feeding operation with her brother, Richie and father, Jerry, in Pinal County. Richie Kennedy is the current president of Pinal County Farm Bureau.

She said in her interview that her passion is to work in the policy and political arena for agriculture. She believes this transition from volunteer leader to staff leader furthers her opportunities to make a difference for her industry.

Please welcome Ana to your Farm Bureau staff. She can be reached via email at anakennedy@azfb.org or by telephone, 480.635.3614 (office), or 480.254.2172 (mobile).

Staff Reports

Ana Kennedy Joins Farm Bureau’s Staff

Ana Kennedy

ARIZONAAGRICULTURE•FEBRUARY,2013 www.azfb.org 7

By Katie Aikins, Arizona Farm Bureau

Corn and soybean markets continue to be filled with uncertainty due to the lasting effects of the lingering drought, but there is now a high level of certainty about the size of the crops that persevered against the long, dry summer of 2012, ac-

cording to analysts at the American Farm Bureau Federation.Those are just a few of the observations made by Todd Davis, AFBF senior econo-

mist following the Agriculture Department’s release of four major reports last month —World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, Crop Production, Grain Stocks and Winter Wheat Seedings.

“This is like Super Bowl Sunday for the grain and oil seed markets,” Davis said. “This is the last word on 2012 production. It sets the table on the supply-side for the rest of the marketing year, and it gives farmers some insight as they finalize spring cropping plans.”

According to Davis, corn and soybean markets are at tight levels, characterized by higher prices that are both curbing demand and providing competing incentives for farmers to sort through for those two crops this year.

“The lingering drought is of concern to the markets, as average or above average yields are needed in 2013 to allow the market to rebuild stocks to levels that will remove some of the uncertainty in the market,” Davis said.

The 2012-2013 corn ending stocks are projected at 602 million bushels, which equates to about 20 days of corn available on Sept. 1, 2013. Those tighter stocks are supporting a projected U.S. marketing-year average price of $7.40 per bushel. The pre-report estimates had expected ending stocks at 675 million bushels, which makes the January report of 602 million bushels bullish for the corn market, according to Davis.

The 2012 U.S. corn yield is projected at 123.4 bushels per acre which is 23.8 bush-els less than the 2011 crop, but the yield projection is up 1.1 bushels from the November 2012 projections. Davis said the increase in projected yield is tempered by a reduction in harvested acres. The January projections reduced harvested acres by 300,000, to 87.4 million harvested acres.

Overall, the 2012 corn crop is projected at 10.78 billion bushels, which is 1.578 bil-lion bushels less than the 2011 crop. Total corn use is projected at 11.267 billion bushels, down 1.26 billion bushels from the 2011-2012 marketing year. Feed demand is down 98 million bushels from 2011-2012 and is projected at 4.45 billion; exports are 950 million and are the lowest since 1971-1972. Etha-nol demand is projected at 4.5 billion and is 511 million less than 2011-2012 reflecting the ethanol market’s adjust-ment to higher corn prices.

“Ten percent of the planted corn acres were not harvested for grain, which is a relatively low level of aban-donment given the extreme damage caused by the drought,” Davis said. “But, the overall smaller crop is re-ducing demand across the board.”

On the soybean side, ending stocks are projected at 135 million bushels, for a stocks-to-use ratio of 4.4 percent, which is only a 16-day supply that would be available on Sept. 1, 2013. Those tight stock levels are supporting projected U.S. prices of $14.25 per bushel.

The 2012 soybean crop is projected at 3.015 billion bushels, 80 million bushels less than the 2011 crop. The 2012 U.S. soybean yield is projected at 39.6 bushels per acre which is 0.3 bushels less than the 2011 crop.

Davis said total soybean use is projected at 3.07 billion bushels, down 85 million bushels from the 2011-2012 marketing year. Higher prices, however, are not curbing soybean demand, according to Davis. Soybean crush levels are at 1.605 billion bushels, an increase from the December projections. Soybean exports are at 1.345 billion bush-els, just 17 million bushels less than the 2011-2012 marketing year.

AFBF Analysts: Final Crop Reports from Last Year Set Plans for Spring Planting in the New YearRead Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program of

the National Education Association that calls for every child in every commu-nity to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of renowned children’s book

author, Dr Seuss. To continue with the tradition of this event, started March 2, 1998, Arizona Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom (AITC) is offering Green Eggs and Ham,

Oh Say Can You Seed, and Mr. Brown Can Moo.

These free 30-minute presentations are being of-fered to K-2 classrooms across the state. Teachers might notice the event has changed a little this year, however. We have so much interest in the program each year that we wanted to re-structure the event to ac-commodate returning teach-ers and students.

Instead of every grade receiving the Oh Say Can You Seed Presentation, the book and presentation will depend on the grade level.

Kindergarten class-rooms will receive Green Eggs and Ham, 1st-grade classrooms will continue to

receive Oh Say Can You Seed, while 2nd-grade classrooms will receive Mr. Brown Can Moo.

Teachers who sign-up to receive the presentation will have AITC visit their class-room and experience a reading of one of these great stories and their students will par-ticipate in a poultry and swine activity, a cattle activity, or a hands-on seed dissection activity.

Presentations for Read Across America are being offered February 25th through March 8th. The first 65 teachers in each grade level to sign up for the presentation get to keep the book for their classroom library (unless received previously). So, don’t delay and contact us today. To sign-up your class for this Seussational presentation, contact Katie Aikins at katieaikins@azfb.org or 480.635.3608.

AITC Plans a Seussational Event for Read Across America

Project CENTRL, Arizona’s Center for Rural Leadership, is now accepting ap-plications for Class 22. Rural leaders, farmers, ranchers, and individuals working in businesses that serve agriculture or rural Arizona who want to improve their

leadership skills are encouraged to apply. The mission of Project CENTRL is to equip and empower leaders to meet the needs of rural Ari-zona.

Project CENTRL is now a one year program, and is free to participants. The new accelerated pro-gram has six two-day seminars held every other month in Arizona and a final five day seminar in Washington D. C. Applicants must be at least 25 years of age by June 1st and a full time resident of

Arizona. Applications are due by March 1. Detailed program information and an application

packet are available online at www.centrl.org. Contact: Karen Vanderheyden at karen@centrl.org or 520.316.0909.

Rural Leadership Program Applications Due March 1st

8 www.azfb.org ARIZONAAGRICULTURE•FEBRUARY,2013

Check out your NEW

member benefits at farmbureauchoices.com

obtain Your own Copy of the Book by going to Amazon.com and searching for the Book title, A Farmer’s Guide to Marketing the Direct Market Farm.

Summer Ag Institute (SAI) is activity-based and en-courages teachers to participate in a variety of agricul-tural activities so they can incorporate what they learn into their classroom curriculum. This five-day program will be held June 10-14 and is designed to teach K-12 teachers about food and fiber production. Imagine earn-ing 48 hours of CEU’s or 3 University credits and receive free classroom materials that align to state standards and help educate students about agriculture.

The registration application for participating in the 2013 Summer Agricultural Institute is $85 before March 1 ($125 after March 1). Applications will be accepted un-til May 1.

An application and brochure can be found at http://cals.arizona.edu/agliteracy/summer.htm

For more information, call 602.827.8200, extension 389 or email bmoak@cals.arizona.edu.

It all started when a Pennsylvania dairy producer learned that his county was looking to save money by cutting back on rural snow plow service. That was

alarming news to the farmer, because tanker trucks rely on rural roads to pick up the farm’s milk and deliver it to processors and bottlers. A snow-packed road without plowing service would certainly interrupt the farm’s op-erations.

Enter the farmer armed with accurate, timely facts.“I used the county data in the Census of Agriculture

to show our county officials the value of all that milk pro-duced and explained the need for commercial trucking for every dairy farm,” the farmer explained. “These of-ficials had no idea of the size of the dairy industry in our county and reconsidered their plan for the snow removal budget with dairy farmers in mind.”

Although Arizona does not face similar issues with snow, this case is a perfect example of the important role the Census can play in helping America’s farmers run a successful business.

Conducted only once every five years by USDA’s Na-tional Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the Census is more than just a count of U.S. farms and the people who operate them. It is a look at land use and ownership, production practices, expenditures and other things that affect the way farmers do business in the 21st Century.

Report forms for the 2012 Census of Agriculture have arrived in mailboxes. Completed forms were due by February 4, 2013 but there is still time to complete your census. Farmers can return their forms by mail, or online by visiting a secure website at www.agcensus.usda.gov. Mailing your report form or completing it online saves taxpayer dollars because the next data collection phase includes more expensive telephone and face-to-face con-tacts.

Results of the Census are published at the nation-al, state, county, Congressional District – and even zip code levels. “Census information is used by companies, cooperatives, planners and lawmakers who serve farm-ers and rural communities – including federal, state and local governments, agribusinesses, trade associations and many others,” said Steven Manheimer, director of NASS’s Arizona Field Office. “Farmers and ranchers can also use Census data to help make informed decisions about the future of their own operations.”

As proven by the story of the Pennsylvania dairy farmer, taking part in the Census is increasingly impor-tant to farmers and rural communities because it provides important information about the state of agriculture in every county of the United States. By completing your Census form you are helping shape farm programs, boost rural services, and grow your farm future.

“The Census of Agriculture gives farmers a voice to help spread the word about the value of farming”, added Manheimer. “Along with their achievements as business men and women, U.S. farmers know about the demands and obstacles they face in their community and industry. Providing accurate and timely information during the Census helps tell the story of farming today, especially among urban and non-farming neighbors.”

Federal law requires all agricultural producers to participate in the Census and requires NASS to keep all individual information confidential. For more in-formation about the Census, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov or call 1-888-4AG-STAT (1-888-424-7828). The Census of Agriculture is your voice, your future,

your responsibility.

Latest Ag Census in Full SwingComplete Your 2012 Census of Agriculture Form Today

Teachers Can Enhance What They Teach

A New Look and Feel to Arizona Farm Bureau’s Website!

Arizona Farm Bureau just re-launched azfb.org for ease of navigation and a more helpful online member experience. Now, members can renew their membership more easily. The new website provides the same up-to-date news and information as in the past with special at-tention to our social media channels. And coming soon: a member’s-only section. Come join us online at azfb.org!

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