Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Climate bill delayed till spring

Climate Bill Put Off Until Spring (2010) Last Tuesday, leaders from the Senate announced that climate legislation will be taken up "some time next spring," said Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV). Issues taking priority over the climate bill are health care reform, overhauling of the financial markets and job creation. The midterm 2010 elections may also be a factor in setting aside climate legislation.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

State Farm Bureau Convention pictures

Re-elected Indiana Farm Bureau President Don Villwock speaks during the 2009 State Convention in Fort Wayne.
Kimmie Gauck accepts a Young Farmer award with her family. Kimmie is the daughter of Burl and Cheryl Dudley of Fillmore.

Joe Mann and his family accept top honors in another Young Farmer category, following the footsteps of his brothers in Farm Bureau recognition.



Walter Bond, former NBA Basketball player, entertained the audience with his special insights during the final session of the convention. Walter mentioned being the best you can be at what you do along with the fact of the value of smiling and being friendly. He noted that everyone buys cookies from the Girl Scouts.


Saturday, November 21, 2009

State FB Convention

Check back as I have pictures to publish as soon as I can.
Young farmers from Decatur, Putnam counties win statewide contests
The winners of two of Indiana Farm Bureau’s highest honors for young farmers are Steve and Kimmie Gauck of Decatur County and Joe and Angela Mann of Putnam County.
The Manns won the Indiana Farm Bureau Young Farmer Achievement Award, and the Gaucks are the winners of IFB’s Excellence in Agriculture Award. The announcement came Nov. 21 at IFB’s state convention in Fort Wayne.
The Young Farmer Achievement Award recognizes young farmers whose farm management techniques and commitment to their communities set a positive example for those involved in production agriculture, while the Young Farmer Excellence in Agriculture Award recognizes young farmers who are involved in agriculture in ways other than as farm owners.
The Manns and the Gaucks will represent Indiana in January at the young farmer and rancher contests at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual convention in Seattle.
The Manns are partners in White Oaks Farms with Joe’s father and two brothers. More than 7,500 crop acres are under production, producing corn, soybeans and wheat. White Oaks Farms also includes a wean-to-finish swine operation marketing 20,000 hogs per year. The couple also owns Rolling Meadows Plant Farm, a retail greenhouse business. The Manns live near Cloverdale with their three children, Brady, 6, Emily, 3, and Nathan, 2.
As winners of the Young Farmer Achievement Award, the Manns win a $6,000 cash prize from Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, $500 from Dodge, one year’s (or 350 hours’) use of a Kubota tractor, and the David Leising Award, which includes a $200 savings bond, as well as the trip to the national convention.
The Gaucks have a small cattle herd and freezer meat business, MapleWay Meats. Kimmie manages the company and is a vendor at the local farmers market. Steve works off-farm for Beck’s Hybrids and helps on the family farm, which raises corn, sod, soybeans, wheat and hogs. They live near Greensburg with their son Christopher, 6, and daughter Addie, 3.
As first-place winners, they will receive a John Deere Gator, courtesy of Farm Credit Services, a $3,000 cash prize from Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance and a $500 cash prize from Dodge. They also win a trip to the 2009 national convention.
Note Kimmie Gauck is the daughter of Burl and Cheryl Dudley of Fillmore.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

4-H Achievement Awards

Presented tonight at the Fairgrounds the following 4-H er's were awarded various honors.

Spirit of 4-H Award sponsored by Bittles & Hurt/Hopkins-Rector Funeral Homes
was presented to John Sims

Outstanding 1st Year 4-H er sponsored by Past Presidents Club of the Putnam Co. Extension Homemakers went to Angelina Becker.

"Top Notch" Jr Leaders
First Year Jr Leaders - sponsored by Jerry & Sandra Williams and Merry J's Extension Homemakers
went to Miriah Cherry & Katie McKean

Regular Top Notch winners were Tyler Heavin, Rachelle Overbay, and John Sims

Outstanding Home Economics 10 Year Member sponsored by the Extension Homemakers Council went to Shayna Wahl



Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Ohio vote

Here are the results of the vote in Ohio on the Livestock Care Commission…..It was a success for the Ohio FB and other Ag groups and supporters that worked to get this initiative on the ballot and passed….

The vote was 63.66% Yes and 36.34% No…..


Below is a statement from the Ohio group that helped organize the campaign to support the ballot initiative.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 3, 2009

COLUMBUS – The Ohioans for Livestock Care Political Action Committee (PAC)
today released the following statement in response to the passage of State
Issue 2. The statement can be attributed in part or in its entirety to
John Lumpe, president, Ohioans for Livestock Care PAC.

“Ohioans have spoken and clearly understand that a board of experts
is the appropriate entity to make decisions on behalf of animal
agriculture and food production in our state. Passage of Issue 2 is
a win for everyone who acknowledges the essential relationship
between excellent farm animal care and a safe, affordable, locally
grown food supply. Voters agree with Ohio’s farm community and our
diverse base of supporters - decisions about food and farming should
be made in Ohio, by Ohioans.

“We would like to thank Governor Strickland and our legislative
leaders for their support in getting this resolution on the ballot,
our collective farm community for their continued commitment to
responsible farm management and animal care, the more than 500 state
organizations and individual endorsers, and Ohio voters for
recognizing the need for such a board in our state. It is clear that
all Ohioans – rural and suburban, Republican and Democrat – have come
together and recognize just how important agriculture is to the
state.

“The Livestock Care Standards Board created through passage of Issue
2 will provide an effective mechanism for determining and enforcing
guidelines for the care and well-being of livestock and poultry, and
for ensuring the quality, safety and availability of locally produced
food in Ohio.

“We look forward to working with the Ohio General Assembly on the
implementing legislation.”

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Quote from HSUS President "Kind word and a gun"

Quote of the Week
Last night in Los Angeles, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) president Wayne Pacelle showed why he’s been able to turn a group that sounds as if it’s all about protecting puppies and kittens into an animal-rights lobbying force with talons. He’s looking to sink those talons into people who have the audacity to eat or sell meat, wear leather, go to circuses, or enjoy hunting and fishing – in other words, 99 percent of America.
In front of a hand-picked crowd of HSUS supporters who attended last night’s “town hall meeting” at the Ebell of Los Angeles, Pacelle rallied the troops with a fight song:
"We have to create a clamor for change ... You can get further with a kind word and a gun than a kind word alone."
He attributed the latter quote to notorious gangster Al Capone, who seems like an odd inspiration for a supposedly peaceful movement. But animal-rights extremists are far from peaceful. One of Pacelle’s own staffers, Josh Balk, told the HSUS-sponsored “Taking Action For Animals” that “there are very few instances that companies just refuse to move with a friendly conversation … The animals can’t wait for people to come to a revelation themselves. Sometimes it does take force.”
HSUS sounds more and more like PETA and the terrorist Animal Liberation Front every day.
It’s been well documented that HSUS spends only a tiny fraction – less than four percent – of its budget directly funding animal shelters. If you’re wondering how it spends the other roughly $100 million in its budget every year, you might consider the cost of renting out the posh Wilshire Ebell Theatre, providing the supporters-only crowd with a catered coffee service, and hiring four burly security guards to keep out the riff-raff.
Sorry, Wayne. We got in anyway.

Monday, November 2, 2009

New website to see

incorn.org

is a new website for Corn Growers. Please visit and check it out yourself.