HSUS must be stopped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nation’s Leading Anti Group Establishes a “Humane Society University”


The world of Higher Education may never be the same. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) now has plans to educate the next generation of anti-hunting, animal rights activists.
The HSUS recently announced that it had received “a license as a higher education degree-granting institution by the District of Columbia Education Licensure Commission.” The Humane Society University is not a typical university with a single central classroom. Instead, it offers both on-site and Internet based courses including those devoted to advocacy. The HSUS has even partnered with the Duquesne University's School of Leadership and Professional Advancement to provide a curriculum leading to both a Bachelor’s degree in “Humane Leadership” and a Master’s in “Community Leadership.”
Most concerning is the advocacy being offered. A potential activist can become a “Certified Advocacy Management Specialist” by completing five courses that focus on research and planning, influencing corporate behavior, message development, becoming a citizen lobbyist, and building a grassroots movement.

Indiana Ag Dept. advocates Indiana Ag - Duh

State Government Now Advocate for Agriculture
The long awaited revision in the strategic plan of the State Department of Agriculture has been unveiled. The revisions were based on feedback from industry partners and research from Purdue‘s Dept of Agriculture Economics. The plan, which will guide the activities and programs of the department for the next 4 years, has three main priorities: Advocacy, “Serve as an advocate for Indiana agriculture at the local, state and federal level;” Economic Development, “Define and nurture economic opportunity, including technology development, in the food, fuel and fiber sectors,” and Environmental Stewardship, “Enhance the stewardship of natural resources on agricultural land in a manner that creates value-added opportunity for producers and assists agriculture stakeholders with current and future regulatory challenges.“ Making the ISDA an advocate for agriculture is a new concept admits Director Anne Hazlett.

More on the Clean Water Act

Government Land-Grab Moves Forward
Jun 23, 2009 11:08 AM

The nation took a step closer to the largest federal land grab in the nation�s history last week, according to the National Cattlemen�s Beef Association (NCBA).That�s thanks to passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA) by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.In basic terms the CRWA (S. 787) would grant the federal government authority of all water � both navigable, which it now presides over, as well as non-navigable.Without defining and confining federal authority to navigable waters, an NCBA spokesman said, ��the CWRA would expand federal regulatory control to unprecedented levels � essentially putting stock tanks, drainage ditches, any puddle or water feature found on family farms and ranches � potentially even ground water � under the regulatory strong-arm of the federal government.�Though the bill was amended last week, NCBA officials explain, �The amendment is a smoke screen that allegedly takes care of agricultural concerns by exempting prior-converted croplands from federal jurisdiction. Cattle are generally not grazed on prior-converted croplands, so this amendment does nothing to mitigate the potential damage to livestock production from this legislation. The amendment is a diversion from the real issue, which is the removal of the word �navigable� from the definition of waters.�NCBA and Public Lands Council oppose the legislation because it obviously infringes on private property rights, but also because it limits the state partnerships and flexibility that have made the current Clean Water Act successful.

Clean Water Act - negative to Farming

Patti & I spoke to Legislators Ellsworth, Lugar, and Bayh last fall on a similar bill that gives EPA control of every drop of water in the country. In that bill a cow could not put manure in a grassed waterway without being subject to the clean water act.....

Clean Water Act Passes out of Committee 06/18/2009
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed the Clean Water Restoration Act by a 12 to 7 vote Thursday. Under provisions of the act, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association says farmers and ranchers would be required to obtain permits for common, everyday activities like driving a tractor near an irrigation ditch or grazing cattle near a mud hole.Tamara Thies, Chief Environmental Counsel for NCBA, says this bill has nothing to do with cleaner water. Instead, she says it reflects activists’ goals of having the federal government controlling our land use and waters. She says the bill takes away rights to use private property in ways that make environmental and economical sense. Thies called for the bill to be stopped.An amendment submitted by Senator Max Baucus received the support of the National Farmers Union Board of Directors. The board said by placing existing regulatory exemptions in legal statute and legislatively clarifying the exemptions for prior converted cropland - farmers and ranchers would be able to predict what resources are subject to Clean Water Act regulation with greater certainty.

You have got to be kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WASHINGTON - The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants the flyswatter in chief to try taking a more humane attitude the next time he's bedeviled by a fly in the White House.
PETA is sending President Barack Obama a Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher, a device that allows users to trap a house fly and then release it outside.
"We support compassion even for the most curious, smallest and least sympathetic animals," PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich said Wednesday. "We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals."

Indiana FFA Covention

80th Indiana FFA State Convention Begins Three Day Run 06/14/2009
"Live with Pride Serve with Passion" will serve as the theme for the 80th Indiana FFA State Convention to be held on the campus of Purdue University Monday through Wednesday this week. The convention is the yearly gathering of the 9,500 members of the Indiana FFA Organization.The 2009 convention is highlighted by three keynote speakers who will bring their experiences to several of the general sessions offered. Speakers scheduled to participate include Tom Zupancic, the Senior Vice President for the Indianapolis Colts Marketing and Sales, Chad Hymas, a motivational speaker, and the National FFA President, Paul Moya. Additionally, state winners in each of the 47 Supervised Agricultural Experience areas will be awarded while this year’s class of Hoosier FFA Degree recipients will be honored. FFA members who have reached the state level of their respective Career Development Events will also be credited on stage for their work.The Indiana FFA Organization was established in 1929 and today serves over 9,500 members of the Indiana FFA who are committed to creating real-world success through agricultural education and leadership development programs.

More Dairy Trivia

Hoosier Ag Today Dairy Trivia Contest

June is dairy month and Hoosier Ag Today and the American Dairy Association of Indiana want to test your dairy IQ. Here is today’s dairy trivia question:

Milk is the only food product never touched by human hands. True or False?

The answer is True!

Dairy Month Trivia

Hoosier Ag Today Dairy Trivia Contest

June is dairy month and Hoosier Ag Today and the American Dairy Association of Indiana want to test your dairy IQ. Here is today’s dairy trivia question:

How long does it take to milk a cow?

It takes about 20 minutes to milk a cow.

However, Dairymen may milk 4, 8, 16, 32 or more cows at once depending on their milking parlor setup. Milking 4 at a time we could milk 40 cows in one hour.

June is Dairy Month !

Hoosier Ag Today Dairy Trivia Contest
June is dairy month and Hoosier Ag Today and the American Dairy Association of Indiana want to test your dairy IQ. Here is today’s dairy trivia question:

How good is a Cow’s sense of smell?

On a day with a light wind, a cow can smell things 6 miles away.

Indiana Animal Agriculture wins one !!!!!!!!

Court Declares Indiana Right to Farm Act Constitutional
06/04/2009 Andy Eubank
A legal ruling in Indiana earlier this year is being called a landmark decision on right to farm act issues across the U.S. The Lindsey family of rural Huntington County filed a nuisance suit in late 2003. They claimed the nuisance included manure smells and flies from the neighboring DeGroot Dairy operation. The Indiana court of appeals rejected the Lindsey’s argument and declared the Indiana Right to Farm Act constitutional. That law was passed in 1981 to shield farmers from nuisance law suits.Attorney, and former Kansas cattle and wheat farmer, Todd Janzen, of Plews Shadley Racher & Braun in Indianapolis, litigated the case for DeGroot. He told Hoosier Ag Today, “This is one of the few cases in the whole United States where courts have examined this particular point and upheld right to farm acts on constitutional grounds. So I think it is certainly an important case for Indiana farmers, because it means if you build a farm or expand an existing farm in an established agricultural area, you cannot be judged a nuisance by a court of law just because your farm creates those smells, and sights, and sounds that are commonly associated with farming.”The Indiana case is very significant because the Iowa Supreme Court had previously invalidated the Iowa Right to Farm Act, calling it government taking without compensation. Janzen said, “The logic of the Iowa Supreme Court was that if you allow one land owner to place sounds and smells from their land onto the land of another, and then you create a statutory immunity for that person, then in essence you have taken someone’s property without compensating them.”
Janzen told HAT the Lindsey’s made the same argument against DeGroot Dairy, but fell short in the appeals court in January. “Fortunately the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected this argument and said that, we find nothing in Indiana’s law that suggests that Indiana has adopted this unique holding from the Iowa jurisdiction. And so, the Indiana Right to Farm Act is constitutional.”The litigation against DeGroot continued even after the farm had been transferred to another owner.Here more from Todd Janzen at hatchat.net, and read a portion of the Indiana Court’s opinion at the Indiana Law Blog.

Stopping HSUS in Indiana may not be enough......

California Proposition 2 Bills Moving Quickly
Jun 3, 2009 10:42 AM, Source: Hoosier Ag Today
Legislation shifts may impact farmers


The seed planted by the Humane Society of the United States in California last November is growing several new offshoots. Since voters approved Proposition 2 in November several measures have moved quickly from one chamber to the other. Others are now working through committees. In fact, the California Senate Appropriations Committee has now approved legislation that would limit the use of antibiotics by licensed veterinarians to prevent and control disease in animal agriculture.One California Senator says the legislature is undergoing a monumental shift in attitudes, saying Prop. 2 changed a thought process. And an Assembly Member that didn’t even support Proposition 2 says the voters spoke loudly and the legislators need to listen. That’s why he introduced a measure to require all eggs sold in California come from chickens able to stretch their wings without touching a wall. That measure was passed by the Assembly shortly after legislation to ban tail docking was approved in the Senate.Humane Society of the United States President Wayne Pacelle says it took 100 years to get farm animal legislation moving - but just 10 minutes to get these bills. Elsewhere in the U.S. Maine recently passed a ban on veal and gestation crates and it’s been reported HSUS will pursue a voter initiative similar to Proposition 2 in Ohio, and is pushing for one in New York.

Vilsack visit report

Vilsack Visits Indiana To Talk Stimulus Package Not Agriculture 06/02/2009
by Gary Truitt
US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack made his first visit to Indiana on Tuesday, but the purpose of this visit had very little to do with agriculture. The Secretary started his day in Terre Haute where he announced a grant of $3.3 million for the Honey Creek Watershed Project. Funding for the Honey Creek Project will be matched by $600,000 in local funding to construct approximately six miles of dikes along Thompson Ditch. Within this six miles of dike will be approximately 2,600 feet of floodwall. The project is expected to generate $1.97 million in annual benefits to 390 homes, 190 businesses, and 1,300 acres of crops and pasture. This is just one of several projects in Indiana that are part of more than $8.1 million in floodplain easements in Indiana through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The Secretary then traveled to Indianapolis where he announced additional funding for Indiana watershed projects, “The funding I‘m announcing today will help reduce the impact of future storms. This funding will not only protect rural communities, but also protect the environment in rural areas from repeated flooding." The $8.1 million investment in Indiana floodplain easements will help protect 3,016 acres of land with 13 projects in various counties throughout the state. These projects are located in Davies County, Gibson County, Knox County, Posey County, Sullivan County, Tippecanoe County, Warren County, and White County. Vilsack said the reason for his visit was to draw attention to the efforts the Obama administration was making to provide relief to states and communities hit hard by the troubles in the auto industry, "USDA is working every day to distribute resources across the nation, including funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to support our auto communities and workers as we begin to rebuild the American economy." The Secretary did not, during his visit, meet formally with State Ag leaders or Indiana farm or commodity organizations. At a town hall meeting held in Hendricks County Tuesday afternoon, Vilsack did field a number of agricultural related questions from the mostly farm-oriented audience. Questions ranged from renewable energy, to conservation, to food safety. None of the attendees at the town hall event asked about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. More coverage of the town hall meeting will be available on HAT on Thursday.

Preventing Bagworm damage on Evergreens

Bagworms survive mild winters; wreak havoc on Indiana trees
Relatively mild Indiana winters during the last several years have caused bagworm infestations to spread northward across the state, said a Purdue University entomologist."Typically, bagworms were found in the southern part of the state," said Cliff Sadof. "The last 10 winters have been somewhat mild, causing infestations to spread farther north and increase in severity throughout the state."These caterpillars, named for their habit of living in leaf-covered bags, are most commonly found in dense plantings of evergreen spruces, pines and arborvitae. They damage these trees by stripping their leaves."Homeowners who had their trees defoliated by bagworms last year should be preparing themselves and scouting their trees for this year's crop of pests," Sadof said. "There are two ways to determine whether or not a bagworm infestation has survived. The easiest way is to wait until eggs have hatched and inspect host plants for small bagworm caterpillars feeding on leaves."These insects emerged in Evansville in mid-May and will emerge in early June in central Indiana and mid-June in the northern part of the state. "The second way to determine whether or not a bagworm population survived the winter is to cut open the bags to reveal the body of the female," he said. "Break apart the female and examine the eggs. If the eggs are creamy white, they are viable and will hatch into caterpillars."Infested trees can be treated using common insecticides such as carbaryl (Sevin) or spinosad (Fertilome Borer and Bagworm Killer)."People in communities affected by bagworms have been learning just how important it is to inspect their trees in the month of June," Sadof said. "Doing so can help them identify infestations earlier and spray them with insecticides before too much defoliation occurs."For homeowners who haven't experienced bagworm issues in the past, Sadof said inspecting trees in late June for new infestations is a good idea."New infestations start in June, but symptoms won't likely start until a month has passed," he said.A Purdue Extension publication containing a complete list of pesticides available for fighting bagworms is available at http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/E-27.pdf. ###

USDA Secretary visits Indiana

USDA Secretary Visits Indiana Tuesday 06/01/2009
On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will be visiting Indiana to host several events. From 9:15 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Vilsack will be joined by Indiana Congressman Brad Ellsworth to announce that USDA will distribute millions of dollars for projects that will improve water quality, increase water supply,decrease soil erosion, and improve fish and wildlife habitat in rural communities. Thirteen states will benefit from this investment made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. That event will be held at Honey Creek Water Shed, 7th St Bridge, 4250 S. 7th Street in Terre Haute.From 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Vilsack will host a press conference to discuss Obama administration's recovery efforts for auto communities and workers. Sec. Vilsack will be joined by Congressman Baron Hill at the National FFA Center at 6060 FFA Drive in Indianapolis.Then from three until four in the afternoon the Ag Secretary will host a rural community forum where he will share information with local residents about the work USDA is doing to revitalize and rebuild rural America and ask local residents how USDA can be helpful in supporting and initiating other programs and projects to help the community participate fully and successfully in the new, 21st century economy. Vilsack will also highlight American Renewal and Reinvestment Act projects improving communities in Indiana and benefiting people throughout rural America. The forum will be at the Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds and Conference Complex, 1900 East Main Street in Danville