• Rustem encouranges perseverance on stubborn policy points

• FSA taking nominations for county committees

• Manage your conservation programs using new website

• Top teachers earn ag foundation grants

• ... and more!

PLEASE READ!!!The LOOP is mailed via the county Farm Bureau offices.*All CAG materials are available on the Michigan Farm Bureau website. CAG Secretaries without email will only receive supply packet materials when requested from their county Farm Bureau Administrative Manager.

ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

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www.michfb.com

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UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR

REMINDERS!!!

Farm Bureau members can find more info at the click of a button at www.michfb.com. You can also find us on Facebook and YouTube as MichiganFarmBureau, LinkedIn as Michigan Farm Bureau, & Twitter as @michfarmbureau.

NEWSLETTER

AUG 2015 1-2 Connect for the Future Forum - Thompsonville, MI12 Young Farmer Golf Scramble17-23 Upper Peninsula State Fair - Escanaba

SEPT 2015 07 Labor Day Holiday (Lansing FB Center closed)17 Membership College - Boyne Highlands22 CAM Regional Training (West Region)24 CAM Regional Training (South Region)29 CAM Regional Training (SV & Thumb Regions)30 CAM Regional Training (North & U.P. Regions)

NOV 2015 26-27 (Lansing Center Closed for Holiday weekend)

DEC 2015 01-03 MFB Annual Meeting - Amway/DeVos, Grand Rapids24-25 Holidays (Lansing FB Center closed)

Target (Reg mbrs) 46,911 45,241 96.44% Goal (Total mbrs) 200,629 200,656 100.01%

MEMBERSHIP TOTAL TOTAL % Objective

Needed Current (start at 100%)

• The quarterly “FB Update” in all forms (including DVD) was discontinued, as of January 2014

• Please submit 2014/15 CAG Set-up Sheets to your county Farm Bureau office when changes occur.

• *All CAG materials are available online to view and print by visiting http://www2.michfb.com/cag.

PLEASE SEND INQUIRIES TO: Michigan Farm Bureau, 7373 W. Saginaw Hwy, PO Box 30960, Lansing, MI 48909-8460 Attn: Membership & Field Svcs Dept

1-517-323-7000

Kelly Turner - Manager Amy Pline - Admin Assistant

JULY 2015

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JULY 2015 • PAGE 2

RUSTEM ENCOURAGES PERSEVERANCE ON STUBBORN POLICY POINTS June 24, 2015

More than 150 Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) members gathered Monday at nine locations across the state to kick off the organization’s policy development (PD) season. Participants convened for an hour-long program centered around comments from MFB President Carl Bednarski, Vice President and State PD Chair Andy Hagenow, and keynote speaker Bill Rustem, former strategy director for Gov. Rick Snyder.Bednarski welcomed members with a reminder of how influential the policy they craft is.“More than just our members use our policy,” he said. “Lawmakers and regulators, including the governor and state agency leadership, reference it. So we’ve got to get the message right.”Touching on several core policy issues, Rustem emphasized the importance of perseverance in pursuing longstanding issues that may’ve seen little progress in state government.Infrastructure “In Michigan we make things and we grow things,» Rustem said. “If you make things and grow things, you have to move things. You have to have a transportation system that works-and we are on the verge of having a system that doesn›t work.»He encouraged members to continue advocating for a road funding solution that includes some responsibility for the user, which MFB’s transportation policy supports.In the same vein, Rustem emphasized the importance of expanding natural gas infrastructure to the state’s goals of increased energy efficiency. (Snyder’s energy vision gets ag’s thumbs-up).Term limits Rustem also asked Farm Bureau members engage in discussion about term limits.“Michigan has the shortest term limits in the country,” he said. “It doesn’t work, the way it’s structured today. The terms are so short they (legislators) are always looking for their next job.”With the intent of allowing elected officials to gain more experience in office, and theoretically becoming better leaders as a result, Farm Bureau policy current recommends extending term limits to six two-year terms for state representatives and three four-year terms for state senators.

Streamlining government Lastly, Rustem noted the Snyder administration’s continued efforts toward streamlining state government. But with more than 4,000 local governmental units, 400 school districts and expansive corrections spending, he reassured Farm Bureau members there’s still ample progress to be made.MFB has an entire policy dedicated to streamlining Michigan government; Rustem’s comments reminded members to assess its effectiveness to date and perhaps reevaluate next steps.Get involved In the coming months, local policy development committees will develop resolutions for adoption at county annual meetings. Once compiled, upwards of 1,000 resolutions from Michigan’s 67 county Farm Bureaus will be considered by a 21-member state-level policy development committee. The final slate of policies is then considered by voting delegates at MFB’s 2015 annual meeting, Dec. 1-3 in Grand Rapids.Want to do your part? Get involved by contacting your county Farm Bureau office. Also, visit the policy development section of our website for videos, issue briefs and more.MFB contact: Matt Smego, manager, government relations department

- See more at: https://www.michfb.com/MI/News/Policy_and_Politics/Rustem_encourages_perseverance_on_ stubborn_policy_points/#sthash.uEn5c93S.dpuf

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FSA TAKING NOMINATIONS FOR COUNTY COMMITTEES June 23, 2015

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced the nomination period for Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees is now open through August 3, 2015.

“Through the county committees, farmers and ranchers have a voice. Their opinions and ideas get to be heard on federal farm programs,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “It is important for county committees to reflect America’s diversity, so I encourage all eligible farmers and ranchers, including beginning farmers, to get involved in this year’s elections. We’ve seen an increase in the number of nominations for qualified candidates, especially among women and minorities, and I hope that trend continues.”

To be eligible to serve, a person must participate or cooperate in an agency administered program, be eligible to vote in a county committee election and reside in the local administrative area where they are nominated.

While FSA county committees do not approve or deny farm ownership or operating loans, they make decisions on disaster and conservation programs, emergency programs, commodity price support loan programs and other agricultural issues. Members serve three-year terms and each committee consist of 3 to 11 members who are elected by eligible producers. The nomination form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available at www.fsa.usda.gov/elections.

MFB Contact: Laura Campbell, manager, Agricultural Ecology Department

- See more at: https://www.michfb.com/MI/News/Farm_Business_Resources/FSA_taking_nominations_for_county_committees/#sthash.76NnTN97.dpuf

MANAGE YOUR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS USING NEW WEBSITE June , 2015

A new online service is available for farmers to do business with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The Conservation Client Gateway is intended to make it easy and convenient for farmers to work with USDA and access their personal program information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.“What used to require a trip to a USDA service center can now be done from a home computer through Conservation Client Gateway,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “USDA is committed to providing effective, efficient assistance to its clients, and Conservation Client Gateway is one way to improve customer service.”The website enables users to securely:

• Review and sign conservation plans and practice schedules;• Complete and sign an application for a conservation program;• Review, sign and submit contracts and appendices for conservation programs;• Document completed practices and request certification of completed practices;• Request and track payments for conservation programs; and• Store and retrieve technical and financial files, including documents and photographs.

Conservation Client Gateway is voluntary, giving producers a choice between conducting business online or traveling to a local USDA service center.The website is currently only available to individual landowners, but will soon be offered to business entities, such as Limited Liability Corporations.MFB Contact: Laura Campbell, manager, Agricultural Ecology Department- See more at: https://www.michfb.com/MI/News/Farm_Business_Resources/Manage_your_conservation_programs_using_new_website/#sthash.e3WdCp7s.dpuf

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TOP TEACHERS EARN AG FOUNDATION GRANTSJune 5, 2015

LANSING — The Michigan Foundation for Agriculture (MFA) has named four outstanding teachers from around the state as the recipients of its 2014-15 educational grants to help fund exemplary classroom projects that teach school children about the importance of agriculture.

Chosen from eligible applicants at the pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade levels, each of this year’s recipients were awarded $500 grants:

• Jodi B. Conley — Lapeer County• Joe Ankley — Huron County• Loretta Slocum — Missaukee County• Megan Merrill — Jackson County

Grant awards are meant to augment the integration of agricultural concepts into non-agricultural-curricula through the use of science supplies, school garden enhancements, purchase of accurate agriculture books and lessons, purchase of ag-friendly textbooks or software, nutrient testing supplies, field trips and summer programs focused on agriculture.

Jodi Conley teaches second grade at North Branch Elementary School, where she launched a project titled «Changing Lives Through Agriculture: The Life Cycle of a Chicken.” Her MFA award went toward supplies for incubating and hatching eggs in the classroom. The eventual sale of those birds makes the program self-sustaining.

At North Huron High School, Joe Ankley had students create informational displays about cash crops and livestock for use in Ag in the Classroom presentations at local elementary schools and the Huron County Fair.

Loretta Slocum, who teaches seventh grade at Lake City Middle School, used her award to bolster a cold-box project in which students learned how to plant seeds and nurture them into healthy seedlings. Eventually the project will culminate in an annual springtime plant sale, when they’ve earned enough to erect a school greenhouse.

At Springport High School, Megan Merrill used her MFA grant to purchase nutrient testing kits to continue a six-month, school-based research project to test the productivity of aquaponics versus commercial hydroponics. The program tests growth parameters in propagating lettuce without soil.

Applications for MFA grants for the 2015-16 school year will be available later this summer.

Governed by the Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) Board of Directors, the Michigan Foundation for Agriculture administers funds to support MFB’s educational leadership and charitable activities.

For more info, contact Tonia Ritter, MFB Promotion and Education manager, 517- 679-5345.

- See more at: https://www.michfb.com/MI/News/Press_Releases/Top_teachers_earn_ag_foundation_grants/#sthash.CYxNHS5e.dpuf

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