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BROWN: Fire fighting Cattle & Sheep Save Forests 14 Utah Farm Bureau News Inside: National Perspective 3 Farm Bureau at Work 11 Member Benefits 8 Baxter Black 12 Farm Safety Column 27 Classifieds 31 GRAIN continued on pg. 26 MISCONDUCT continued on pg 20 Photo by Matt Hargreaves Barrel racer and inspirational cowgirl Amberley Snyder spoke to Farm Bureau members attending Midyear Conference in Cedar City. A devastating car crash left Snyder paralyzed from the waist down, but she refused to let the incident keep her from achieving her goals. More coverage of Midyear can be found on Page 13. AUGUST 2015 VOL. 61, NO. 7 WASHINGTON, D.C. – A cache of internal memos that federal regulators intended to keep private reveals a culture of secrecy, falsehood and dysfunc- tion that permeated the Waters of the U.S. rulemaking process. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Army Corps memos reveal dysfunc- tion, secrecy and misconduct at EPA, American Farm Bureau says Reform released more than 50 pages of documents in which the Army Corps of Engineers repeatedly re- buked EPA officials for their abuse of the rulemaking pro- cess in producing the deeply controversial Waters of the United States rule. The en- tire economic analysis used to support the rule, Army Corps officials wrote, had no basis in either science or eco- nomics: https://oversight. house.gov/wp-content/up- loads/2015/07/Army-Corps- Memoranda.zip. “It is clear from the memos that there were dire concerns internally that EPA was get- ting it wrong and with a high WASHINGTON, D.C. – Grain farmers should brace for a drop in net incomes this year as the prices for corn, soybeans and wheat have fallen significantly from recent years, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. The latest Agricultural Prices report, released last week by the National Agri- cultural Statistics Service, indicated the index of prices received for crop produc- tion was down 11 percentage points from the same time last year, while the prices- paid index was unchanged. The situation for corn and soybeans is even more tell- ing, with corn prices down by more than 20 percent from last year and soybeans off nearly a third. Grain farm incomes expected to drop significantly in 2015

Utah Farm Bureau News - August 2015

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This edition of the Utah Farm Bureau News has coverage of Midyear Conference, leaked memo's on Waters of the United States to the EPA and Army Corps, and proposed tweaks to GIPSA rules.

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BROWN: Fire � ghting Cattle & Sheep Save Forests 14

Utah Farm Bureau News

Inside:National Perspective 3 Farm Bureau at Work 11Member Benefi ts 8Baxter Black 12 Farm Safety Column 27Classifi eds 31

GRAIN continued on pg. 26

MISCONDUCT continued on pg 20

Photo by Matt HargreavesBarrel racer and inspirational cowgirl Amberley Snyder spoke to Farm Bureau members attending Midyear Conference in Cedar City. A devastating car crash left Snyder paralyzed from the waist down, but she refused to let the incident keep her from achieving her goals. More coverage of Midyear can be found on Page 13.

News AUGUST 2015VOL. 61, NO. 7

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A cache of internal memos that federal regulators intended to keep private reveals a culture of secrecy, falsehood and dysfunc-tion that permeated the Waters of the U.S. rulemaking process.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government

Army Corps memos reveal dysfunc-tion, secrecy and misconduct at EPA, American Farm Bureau says

Reform released more than 50 pages of documents in which the Army Corps of Engineers repeatedly re-buked EPA officials for their abuse of the rulemaking pro-cess in producing the deeply controversial Waters of the

United States rule. The en-tire economic analysis used to support the rule, Army Corps officials wrote, had no basis in either science or eco-nomics: https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/up-loads/2015/07/Army-Corps-Memoranda.zip.

“It is clear from the memos that there were dire concerns internally that EPA was get-ting it wrong and with a high

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Grain farmers should brace for a drop in net incomes this year as the prices for corn, soybeans and wheat have fallen significantly from recent years, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The latest Agricultural Prices report, released last week by the National Agri-cultural Statistics Service, indicated the index of prices received for crop produc-tion was down 11 percentage points from the same time last year, while the prices-paid index was unchanged. The situation for corn and soybeans is even more tell-ing, with corn prices down by more than 20 percent from last year and soybeans off nearly a third.

Grain farm incomes

expected to drop

s ignifi cantly in 2015

Utah Farm Bureau News2 August 2015

Utah Farm Bureau News(ISSN 1068-5960)Matt Hargreaves, Editor9865 South StateSandy, Utah 84070-3205Phone Numbers:General Inquiries: (801) 233-3000Address Changes: (801) 233-3009Farm Bureau News: (801) 233-3003Classified Ads: ..........(801) 233-3010Fax: .............................(801) 233-3030FB News E-mail: [email protected] site: .....http://www.utahfarmbureau.orgNational Ad Rep:The Weiss Group9414 E. San Salvador Dr. #226Scottsdale, Arizona 85258(480) 860-5394 [email protected] Display Ad Information:Jennifer Dahl(775) 752-3061

Utah Farm BureauFederation OfficersChairman and PresidentLeland J. Hogan, South Rim*Vice PresidentStephen A. Osguthorpe, Park City*CEO and Secretary/TreasurerRandy N. Parker, Riverton* Denotes member of the Board of Directors

BOARD OF DIRECTORS District 1 ............................ John Ferry, CorinneDistrict 2 ...............Ron Gibson, West WeberDistrict 3 ...................Ken Patterson, SyracuseDistrict 4 ................ Rex Larsen, Spanish ForkDistrict 5 ................ .....Joël Hatch, HuntingtonDistrict 6 ...........Edwin Sunderland, ChesterDistrict 7 ..................................Craig Laub, BerylFB Women’s Chairman ...Belva Parr, LindonYoung Farmer & Rancher Chairman..

Meagher McConkie, AltamontPeriodicals Postage Paid at Sandy, Utah and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to the Utah Farm Bureau Federation, 9865 South State, Sandy, Utah 84070. Published quarterly for all Farm Bureau members (April/Spring, July/Summer, Oct./Fall, Dec./Winter). Published expressly for farmer/rancher Farm Bureau members and others who specifically request copies Feb., March, May, June, Aug., Sept., and Nov. All eleven issues published by the Utah Farm Bureau Federation in Sandy, Utah. Editorial and Business Office, 9865 South State, Sandy, Utah 84070-3205.

PARKER continued on pg 20

Thoughts: Grow food, not homes, on prime farmlandBy Randy Parker

Chief Executive OfficerUtah Farm Bureau

SITLA continued on pg 24

If Utah’s population nearly doubles in the next 35 years, as projections suggest, what do Utahns want our state to look like? That’s the question that was contemplat-ed when Envi-sion Utah under-took its massive “Your Utah, Your Future” online survey.

H e a d e d b y Robert Grow, Envision Utah pulled togeth-er several fo-cus groups consisting of more than 400 experts with broad and diverse inter-ests to frame the scenarios that would be taken to the citizens. Discussion of five different growth scenarios were aimed at understand-ing values and expectations, balancing education op-portunities and funding, housing density and build-ing standards, building or not building water projects,

transportation and infrastruc-ture, air quality, altering local food production and more.

Polling kicked off early this spring with a goal of hearing f r o m 5 0 , 0 0 0 Utahns. When t h e f i n a l r e -sponse was tal-lied, more than 52,000 Utah res-idents weighed in. It is the sin-gle largest poll-ing campaign in state history and the largest of its kind anywhere

in the country. The planners and focus groups are now hop-ing the results will provide a blueprint of public sentiment for state and local elected officials as they make future public policy discussions.

As a member of the Agricul-ture, Recreation and Public Lands Taskforce, I was pleas-antly surprised by the level of public support for Utah’s farm-ers and ranchers. Poll results tell us Utah residents believe

in self-sufficiency. In addition, there is a growing interest and expectation among Utahns in not only preserving locally pro-duced food, but also enhancing it.

By the numbers, 87 percent of the respondents said they are willing to use less water on their lawns to assure a healthy and thriving Utah food produc-tion system. And 82 percent said restraining residential and business growth was preferable to plowing under current high-quality agricultural lands. This is in sharp contrast to only 13 percent who said they are not willing to curtain water use and 17 percent who would not limit development to protect existing farmland.

Grow, a land-use planning attorney, was a founding mem-ber of Envision Utah when it was organized in 1997, and has served as chairman since 2010. In his analysis of the poll results, Grow pointed out “the numbers reflect the increasing sense of importance Utahns are

The School and Institu-tional Trust Lands Admin-istration (SITLA) Board of Trustees has approved new policy and changes to rules which will allow the Agency to publish notice of expir-ing grazing permits on the Agency website and in graz-ing industry newsletters. This should make it easier for potential permittees to locate

SITLA Board of Trustees approves changes to grazing policy and rules

areas where competing bids will be accepted.

The Board of Trustees also ap-proved new policy and changes to rules which will clarify the procedures the Agency will use in reimbursing existing permit-tees who lose the use of range improvements where the trust land is sold, exchanged, with-drawn, or which is otherwise made unavailable. In a situation

where a competing bid is being submitted, the bidder will be required to submit an amount as determined by the Agency to reimburse the holder of an authorized range improvement project, in addition to the com-peting bid.

The policy and rules regard-ing the extension of grazing permits was also changed. The

Utah Farm Bureau News 3August 2015

AgAgenda: Time to get to work with tools for tradeBy Bob StallmanAmerican Farm Bureau President

KLECKNER continued on pg 15EPA continued on pg 16

in self-sufficiency. In addition, there is a growing interest and expectation among Utahns in not only preserving locally pro-duced food, but also enhancing it.

By the numbers, 87 percent of the respondents said they are willing to use less water on their lawns to assure a healthy and thriving Utah food produc-tion system. And 82 percent said restraining residential and business growth was preferable to plowing under current high-quality agricultural lands. This is in sharp contrast to only 13 percent who said they are not willing to curtain water use and 17 percent who would not limit development to protect existing farmland.

Grow, a land-use planning attorney, was a founding mem-ber of Envision Utah when it was organized in 1997, and has served as chairman since 2010. In his analysis of the poll results, Grow pointed out “the numbers reflect the increasing sense of importance Utahns are

As farmers and ranch-ers, we know it’s tough to get the job done without the right tool. Earlier this year, Farm Bureau members spoke up to urge Congress to give U.S. trade negotiators an important tool to get the job done on trade agree-ments: Trade Promo-tion Authority. Congress listened, worked across party lines and passed TPA this summer. Now it’s time for the adminis-tration to put this tool to good use.

TPA legislation has unlocked the door to am-bitious new trade agree-ments, and America’s farmers and ranchers have a major stake in what happens next. Our ability to reach markets around the world directly boosts the economy here

at home. What we do each day on our farms and ranches creates and supports hundreds of

thousands of jobs in food production, energy and manufacturing across the country. U.S. agriculture exported a record $152 billion in food, fiber and energy products last year alone. But that number could soon drop off—by as much as $12 billion—if we can’t keep reaching new customers.

Breaking Down Bar-riers

The Trans-Pacific Part-nership is in sight now and could open new mar-kets from Asia to Canada. But the agreement can’t be a success without first breaking down some long-standing trade bar-riers to U.S. agricultural products.

Japan’s high tariffs have, for too long, limited American agricultural products like beef, pork, rice and dairy. Japan’s outrageous 770 percent tariff on rice has effec-tively shut out all com-petitors. Much closer to home, Canada’s high tar-iffs on poultry and dairy are keeping those markets closed. Canada’s 200 per-cent tariff on dairy is not in line with the goodwill and good trade relations we have long enjoyed with our close neighbors.

It’s time to open up those markets and give farmers, ranchers and consumers flexibility in buying and selling quality, healthful food.

Science-Based RulesU.S. agriculture is also

ready for serious growth in markets on the other side of the Atlantic. For too long, the European Union has let politics rather than science set trade standards. U.S. farmers and ranchers grow safe, high-quality food. But the EU has de-cided it can reject our products—products that have already met both U.S. and World Trade Organization safety stan-dards—based on the EU’s so-called “precautionary principle.” Any animal treated with antibiotics for its health or fed bio-tech grain cannot become

part of a meal in Europe, despite the proven safety of those methods—and the complete lack of proof to the contrary. Europe’s habit of ignoring science needs to stop. Last year, U.S. farmers and ranch-ers exported $12.7 billion in products to the EU, while the EU exported $18.7 billion worth of ag-ricultural products to the U.S. It’s time to even out that trade balance with scientific standards and fair labeling guidelines.

America’s farmers and ranchers are ready to get to work in new mar-kets across the globe. But Congress and the administration must con-tinue to work together to complete agreements that will keep U.S. agri-culture moving forward. The tools are in place, the roadmap is clear and it’s time to get the engine running.

W A S H I N G T O N , D.C. – The EPA abused and distorted the nor-mal rulemaking pro-cess to pre-determine t h e o u t c o m e o f i t s highly controversial “Waters of the U.S.” rule, American Farm B u r e a u F e d e r a t i o n General Counsel Ellen Steen told the Senate Judiciary Committee recently.

Instead of inviting and openly consider-ing public input, the EPA conducted an ag-

EPA abused rulemaking process, Farm Bureau tells Senate

gressive advocacy cam-paign to obscure the on-the-ground impact of the rule and to smear groups, like Farm Bu-reau, that dared to ex-plain those impacts to the public, Steen told the committee.

“ T h e n o t i c e - a n d -comment procedure for rulemaking is designed to ensure that agencies take honest account of the thoughts and con-cerns of the regulat-ed public,” Steen said. “Legitimate concerns

over how the rule would affect agriculture, in particular, were subtly twisted and then dis-missed as ‘s i l ly ’ and ‘ludicrous’ and ‘myths.’ Public statements from the agency’s highest officials made it clear that the agency was not genuinely open to con-sidering objections to the rule.”

The agency also made use of new social media tools such as “Thun-derclap” to gin up well-

F o r m e r A m e r i c a n Farm Bureau Federation President Dean Kleck-ner, 81, passed away recently. Dean l ived and farmed in north-ern Iowa, raising corn, soybeans and hogs. He was AFBF president for 14 years, from 1986 un-til 2000. Under Dean’s leadership, AFBF was a particularly impor-tant, visible influence on global trade issues. He was the only agricultural

Former American Farm Bureau Presi-

dent Kleckner passesrepresentative on a U.S. advisory team for the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade nego-tiations when they began in September 1986. He was appointed by Presi-dents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to numerous other national advisory committees and com-missions.

Pr ior to becoming AFBF president, he was,

Utah Farm Bureau News4 August 2015

The Packers and Stockyards Program (P&SP) operates under the authority of the Packers and Stockyards Act, within the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards A d m i n i s t r a t i o n (GIPSA). Its goal is to protect fair trade practices, financial integrity, and competitive markets for livestock, meat and poultry industries.

According to GIPSA, the agency’s regulatory activities include, but are not limited to checking the accuracy and repeatability of weighing livestock and feed, custodial account and prompt payment audits, procurement and marketing business practice reviews, registering market agencies, dealers, and packer buyers who operate subject to the P&S Act, assisting producers in filing bond and trust claims, analyzing bond and trust claims, and conducting orientations for new dealers, markets, and packers.

P&SP investigates complaints alleging anti-competitive behav-ior such as attempted restriction of competition, failure to com-pete, buyers acting in concert to purchase livestock, apportion-ment of territory, price discrimi-nation, price manipulation, and predatory pricing. A transaction made on false or inaccurate weights, including instances in which a dealer modifies the actual weight of the livestock or fails to pass on a shrink allow-ance, is an unfair and deceptive

Utah Farm Bureau News 5August 2015

Along the CountrysideVice President- CommunicationsMatt Hargreaves

GIPSA continued on pg 17

The Packers and Stockyards Program (P&SP) operates under the authority of the Packers and Stockyards Act, within the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards A d m i n i s t r a t i o n (GIPSA). Its goal is to protect fair trade practices, fi nancial integrity, and competitive markets for livestock, meat and poultry industries.

According to GIPSA, the agency’s regulatory activities include, but are not limited to checking the accuracy and repeatability of weighing livestock and feed, custodial account and prompt payment audits, procurement and marketing business practice reviews, registering market agencies, dealers, and packer buyers who operate subject to the P&S Act, assisting producers in fi ling bond and trust claims, analyzing bond and trust claims, and conducting orientations for new dealers, markets, and packers.

P&SP investigates complaints alleging anti-competitive behav-ior such as attempted restriction of competition, failure to com-pete, buyers acting in concert to purchase livestock, apportion-ment of territory, price discrimi-nation, price manipulation, and predatory pricing. A transaction made on false or inaccurate weights, including instances in which a dealer modifi es the actual weight of the livestock or fails to pass on a shrink allow-ance, is an unfair and deceptive

Input from Farm Bureau members needed to address reimbursement gaps for livestock sellers

practice.Livestock sellers who believe

that an action of a stockyard, market agency, or dealer caused personal loss or damage may fi le a complaint seeking reparation (damages) with P&SP within 90 days of learning of the action that caused damages. Members of the livestock and poultry industries and the public may report complaints at (800) 998-3447 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Currently, GIPSA regulations require that livestock buyers (including individual buyers, auction houses, and packers) obtain a bond that provides protection for livestock sellers in the event of buyer insolvency.

Bond requirements are based on the buyer’s volume of business, with the typical bond requirement based on the average of two days of

business (minimum $10,000). According to GIPSA, “[a]ll market agencies, dealers, and slaughtering packers purchasing over $500,000 of livestock annually are required to fi le and maintain bonds

or bond equivalents for the protection of livestock sellers.”

In practice, bonds are almost never suffi cient to cover losses when a buyer fails to make payment.

According to the most recent GIPSA

annual report, for 2010 through 2013, the average restitution to sellers with claims against a buyer bond amounted to just 22 percent of what was owed. The maximum restitution was 47 percent in 2011 and the minimum was just 5 percent in 2013. The defi ciency of bonds leaves livestock sellers to absorb signifi cant losses due to circumstances well beyond their control.

GIPSA further ads that “auction markets may be especially vulnerable to a domino eff ect from dealer failures to pay since many dealers purchase livestock from auction markets. The failure of a large dealer may impact every auction market that it failed to pay. Since 2010, bond claims closed averaged 4 auction

markets per year. Consignors received average restitution of 41 percent of amounts owed to them, with a range of 8 to 57 percent.”

Three real alternatives for fi xing the bonding problem

within the GIPSA system have been suggested. John Anderson, Deputy Chief Economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), expanded on the alternatives being talked about currently.

“One that has been talked about the most in the past is the creation of an indemnity fund, as opposed to a bond. A pool of funds would be administered by GIPSA, with claims paid out against dealers.

“A second idea focuses on the fact that there is a livestock trust already established, but it’s narrowly applied to immediate cash sales to packers. Those trust provisions could be expanded to provide additional protection to additional livestock dealers.

“A third alternative – which is quite diff erent from how we’ve approached things in the past – would be the creation of some sort of accounts receivable insurance. This kind of thing exists in some other kinds of businesses, and it’s another way to get some protection against default,” Anderson said.

It is important for farmers to recognize that since the dollar amounts being lost by the livestock industry as a whole are not astronomical, fi xing the

problem wouldn’t be either. Anderson believes $10 million would be suffi cient to cover

Utah Farm Bureau News6 August 2015

Applications are avail-able for county Farm Bu-reaus to enter the 2016 County Activities of Excel-lence (CAE) Awards pro-gram. The CAE showcases up to 24 of the top individ-ual and up to four of the top multi-county collaborative county Farm Bureau ac-tivities in the nation. These county Farm Bureaus and their award-winning ac-tivities serve as models of innovation for local pro-gram development, and display the amazing ability of local Farm Bureau vol-unteers working together to strengthen the lives of rural Americans and build strong, prosperous agricul-tural communities.

Counties will display their winning activities at the AFBF Annual Con-vention and IDEAg Trade Show, Jan. 9-11, 2016,

County Farm Bureaus may apply for County Activities of

Excellence awardsin Orlando, Florida. In addition, for each win-ning activity, county Farm Bureaus will receive up to four free registrations to the Annual Convention (cost of travel and housing not included) and a $2,250 stipend to apply toward the cost of travel and exhibi-tion.

With a focus on Farm Bureau’s priority issues, the CAE program catego-rizes county activities into the following areas: Edu-cation and Ag Promotion, Member Services, Public Relations and Information, Leadership Development and Policy Implementa-tion.

New this year, multiple county Farm Bureaus that work collaboratively to plan and carry out an ac-tivity may submit CAE applications jointly. Be the

first in the nation to receive recognition for your effort to work across county lines to advance the mission of Farm Bureau

Applications are judged based on county Farm Bu-reau membership group-ings and multi-county col-laborative efforts.

County Farm Bureau ap-plications must be received by the state Farm Bureau CAE coordinator no later than September 4, 2015, so please submit ideas to David Bailey as soon as possible.

The awards will be judged based on the fol-lowing groups of county membership numbers: Up to 1,000 members, 1,001-3,000 members, 3,001-5,000 members, 5,001+ members, and All multi-county activities together.

Winners will be an-nounced by October 19, 2015. All winners will re-ceive special instructions on convention registra-tion; housing and the trade show following the an-nouncement.

A list of rules and other information can be found at http://goo.gl/WUf3F7. You can also learn more about County Activities of Excellence by viewing the archive of past winners. To do so, visit http://www.fb.org/events/cae/.

Questions can be direct-ed to David Bailey, UFBF Vice President of Organi-zation, at 801-233-3020 or [email protected].

With the recent retire-ment of Aurline Boyack, former Vice President of Member Services and Women’s Committee co-ordinator, changes were needed to ensure Farm Bureau members main-tained the high level of service relating to their member benefits they had been receiving.

To fill those large shoes left by Boyack, Utah Farm Bureau looked just down the hall to find someone equal to the task. Susan Furner has been hired as the new Director of Member Services and Coordinator for the Utah Farm Bureau Women’s Committee, shifting over from her previous position as Executive Assistant and Meeting Planner for the Farm Bureau.

“Susan has been a tre-mendous asset to the Utah Farm Bureau, and we know she will continue to do well in her new assignment,” said Randy Parker, Chief Executive Officer for the Utah Farm Bureau Fed-eration (UFBF). “Susan’s commitment to the farm-ers and ranchers in Utah, as well as our associate members has also been evident, and she’ll bring her level of caring to a new focus. She’s already hit the ground running!”

With Furner’s reassign-ment, it created anoth-er opening in the role of

Staff changes taking shape at Utah Farm Bureau state office

Executive Assistant and Meeting Planner. Again, in learning from previous experience, UFBF brought another familiar face back into the fold, hiring Marie-sa Bergin to fill the va-cancy. Bergin previously worked for UFBF for a

numbers of years as a Pro-grams Assistant to David Bailey, VP of Organization. Bergin left Farm Bureau in 2013 to complete her schooling at Utah Valley University. Having fin-ished her studies, Bergin was working for the United Angels Foundation prior to her returning to UFBF.

“We’re happy to bring someone as qualified as Mariesa to work at the Farm Bureau, and know she’ll fit back in nicely,” Parker said. “Having the right people in the right positions helps us advo-cate for Utah’s farmers and ranchers, and we look forward to continuing this effort.”

As the event planner and assistant to Randy Parker and Sterling Brown, Mariesa can be reached at 801-233-3040 and [email protected].

Bergin Furner

Utah Farm Bureau News 7August 2015

Executive Assistant and Meeting Planner. Again, in learning from previous experience, UFBF brought another familiar face back into the fold, hiring Marie-sa Bergin to fill the va-cancy. Bergin previously worked for UFBF for a

numbers of years as a Pro-grams Assistant to David Bailey, VP of Organization. Bergin left Farm Bureau in 2013 to complete her schooling at Utah Valley University. Having fin-ished her studies, Bergin was working for the United Angels Foundation prior to her returning to UFBF.

“We’re happy to bring someone as qualified as Mariesa to work at the Farm Bureau, and know she’ll fit back in nicely,” Parker said. “Having the right people in the right positions helps us advo-cate for Utah’s farmers and ranchers, and we look forward to continuing this eff ort.”

As the event planner and assistant to Randy Parker and Sterling Brown, Mariesa can be reached at 801-233-3040 and [email protected].

Utah Farm Bureau News8 August 2015

Another PerspectiveDirector of Member Services

& Women’s Committee CoordinatorSusan Furner

We are pleased to an-nounce that the Utah Farm Bureau Board of Directors approved a county member benefits programs that will be im-plemented and directed at the county level. This provides a great opportunity for Farm Bureau county boards and Farm Bu-reau agents to work together in surfacing and promot-ing local benefits that will add value to Farm Bureau membership!

County benefits will be offered in addition to Farm Bureau national benefits such as discounts on GM vehicles, Polaris ATVs and snowmobiles, and Case IH tractors, and state benefits such as dis-count passes for Lagoon, The Bees, California Sea-

New County Member Benefits program approved

World, Universal Studios, and San Diego Zoo and Safari Parks.

County benefits must not compete with or un-dermine the value any of our state or national member benefits. For

example, no other ve-hicle manufacturer, no other ATV or snowmobile manufacturer, no other tractor manufacturer can be a benefit provider. If there is any question at all, please consult with Susan Furner, Director of Member Services at the state Farm Bureau office for permission to proceed.

Potential benefit part-

ners must agree to main-tain an annual $65 Farm Bureau membership. Other than the member-ship dues, there is no fee for the benefit partner to participate.

Randy Parker, Chief Ex-ecutive Offi-cer of Farm B u r e a u Federation said, “This new county benefits op-

portunity is a win/win situation. Farm Bureau members receive dis-counts on quality goods and services and business partners have increased traffic with the opportu-nity of gaining loyal Farm Bureau customers.”

Benefit partners and county Farm Bureau presidents enter into a contract for the period of one year, which will

automatically renew un-less either party wishes not to renew. Any liability arising from a county-implemented benefit is the responsibility of the county.

The American Farm Bureau Federation owns all rights, title and inter-est in the Farm Bureau trademarks. All use of Farm Bureau trademarks used in connection with advertising must be in accordance with the Farm Bureau “Use Manual” and approved by the county Farm Bureau president.

Contact Susan Furner at [email protected] to obtain sample cop-ies of the commercial agreement and business information forms or to submit completed agree-ments, business informa-tion and company logos.

Watch for new county benefit offerings online at www.utahfarmbureau.org/apps/benefit/ or on the Utah Farm Bureau Member Benefits phone app.

B y K a y l e n B a k e r WASHINGTON, D.C. — The digital economy is rapidly growing, and farmers and ranchers who can’t keep up are being left in the dust.

Broadband services play an integral part in the global economy, and those without access can easily fall behind in the rapidly expanding global market. Farmers and ranchers in rural Amer-ica rely on broadband service to assist in run-ning and managing their farms and businesses. However, broadband access in parts of rural America can be shaky at best, putting farmers and ranchers at an economic

Expanding broadband

access to rural America

ACCESS continued on pg 30

Utah Farm Bureau News 9August 2015

WESTERN continued on pg 15

By Matt Hargreaves, Editor, Utah Farm Bureau News

Farm Bureau Presidents and their chief administrators from 13 Western State Farm Bureaus gathered in Logan during the last week of July to talk about issues specifi c to the West, and to share best practices for keeping Farm Bureau moving in the right direc-tion on representing agriculture.

“This conference rotates among the states, so we haven’t had it here in Utah for about 14 years. We wanted to make a good impres-sion of what Utah has to off er,” said Randy Parker, Chief Executive Offi cer for the Utah Farm Bureau

Federation. “It was great to rub shoulders with these leaders – as well as our national leadership – and to focus on issues specifi c to us in the West. It’s good to know that the American Farm Bureau is paying attention to issues unique to our part of the country.”

Meeting in Logan allowed the presidents and administrators to also visit several Utah State Uni-versity (USU) and USDA facilities in the area, to get fi rst-hand expe-riences with the Poisonous Plants lab, Forage & Range Research Lab,

Utah Farm Bureau hosts Western FB Presidents

& Administratorsand the new College of Agriculture & Applied Sciences building.

Ken White, Dean of the USU College of Agriculture welcomed the attendees to Logan and talked about the opportunities at the uni-versity, especially the early success-es of the new veterinary medicine program, which is in partnership with Washington State University.

Utah Representative Ken Ivory (R-West Jordan) than addressed the guests with an update of the federal lands transfer movement in the U.S., particularly on the eff orts of western states. Of particular note, Ivory referenced the chal-lenge of harvesting timber in public

lands – especially California – and how if forests in the Sierra Nevada mountains had been harvested to sustainable levels, it would have saved an enormous of water in a state severely stricken by drought.

Kathleen Clarke, Director of Utah’s Public Lands Policy Coordi-nating Offi ce made a presentation on the state’s eff orts at conserving Sage Grouse and working to docu-ment R.S. 2477 roads. Clarke felt that the Sage Grouse is what federal land managers are using to lock up

Photo by Matt HargreavesPresidents and Administrators from 13 Western Farm Bureaus gathered in Logan during the last week of July to discuss policies issues unique to the West, as well as keys to the overall success of Farm Bureau.

Utah Farm Bureau News10 August 2015

Money Matters A special column for the Utah Farm Bureau News provided by USU Extension

$ $$

By Margie Memmott, Juab County Extension Associate Professor, Utah State University

Around the world, consumers like you are working to make a better life for their families and communities. With such busy lifestyles, even these good intentions become challenging, as financial obligations can quickly get out of hand. Having instant access to your personal debt elimination plan is a must so you can take control. This is where the new ‘PowerPay Debt Elimination’ mobile app can help.

A new mobile app for consumers: PowerPay debt elimination

The app:• Is a financial tool aimed to

help debtors become savers as they develop a personal-ized, self-directed debt elimi-nation plan while on the go.

• Allows consumers to en-ter their balances, payment amounts and interest rates for each debt, and PowerPay will calculate the best repay-ment schedule to save time and money.

• Contains the most frequently used repayment sequences to choose from (e.g., paying debts off in order of high-est interest, lowest balance, shortest term or as entered).

• Displays the payment calen-dar for each option and shows a projection of the amount of money saved in interest costs and reduced repayment time by making power payments (also referred to as snowball or rollover payments).

• Allows users to plan extra payments toward their debts (e.g., one-time, monthly or annually).

• Is unique in that it provides users the option to simulta-neously build up an emer-gency or reserve fund as they continue to follow their debt payment plan and avoid ad-ditional debt.

The PowerPay mobile app for iOS (6.1 and later) was developed in 2014, through a collaborative Extension part-nership by Margie Memmott, Dean Miner and a team at Utah State University, and Barbara Chamberlin and a team at New Mexico State University. The PowerPay app is based on the financial tool developed in 1992 by Miner and former Extension employee Judy Harris. It was first developed as a CD, then as a website, and after that, users pointed out the opportunity it had to reach the mobile audi-ence.

Don’t wait to take charge of your finances. How you pay off your debt is the key to greater savings. Let PowerPay show you how. To download the free iPhone/iPad PowerPay app, visit the iTunes app store. For a more comprehensive version of PowerPay and additional debt elimination tools, visit www.powerpay.org.

By Dale Newton, Director of Finance, Utah Farm Bureau Federation

Webster’s Ninth New Col-legiate Dictionary defines “di-versification” as follows: 1) to make diverse or give variety to [such as a course of study]; 2) to balance [as in an investment port-folio] defensively by dividing funds among securities of different industries or differ-ent classes; and 3) to increase the variety of products. I became a big believer in investment di-versification when managing significantly sized investment portfolios while working in the property and casualty insurance industry.

The concept of diversification seems to most often be used in an investment sense or perspec-tive. But perhaps diversification should be much more “diverse” and applied in various ways in our business and personal lives. We may want to diversify our financial relationships, our equipment, seed and livestock suppliers, our vacation destina-tions, our diets, and on and on. However, diversification also has its limits and we should not “diversify” our assets, crops, or suppliers just for the sake of di-versifying. There should be val-id and common sense reasons for doing so.

Today, consider your invest-ment portfolio. You might at first state “But, I don’t have an investment portfolio”. I think you do. All of your owned as-sets whether they be real estate, stocks, bonds, cash, equipment, seeds, livestock, etc. are part of your inventory of items of finan-cial value. These items/assets

WASHINGTON, D.C. – American Farm Bureau Fed-eration President Bob Stallman announced recently that he will not seek reelection in January 2016 following 16 years at the helm of the nation’s largest, most influential general farm organization. Stallman, a cattle and rice producer from Colum-bus, Texas, is the 11th president during AFBF’s almost 97-year history.

“It has been a tremendous honor to serve the nation’s Farm Bureau members and represent agriculture and rural America,” Stallman said. “After 16 years as AFBF president, six as Texas Farm Bureau president

AFBF President Stallman announces departure in January

and several more in other Farm Bureau roles, it is time to hand over the reins of leadership—a decision that is made easier by knowing the great leadership and foundation that exist to continue moving Farm Bureau forward. I am as optimistic as ever about the future of American agriculture and Farm Bureau.

“On the wall of the AFBF office is a quote by President Thomas Jefferson: ‘Agriculture is our wisest pursuit because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness.’ I couldn’t agree more, and I would add that a most rewarding pursuit is work-

ing for the men and women who make up American agriculture. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to do so.”

AFBF has thrived under Stall-man’s presidency. Farm Bureau membership nationwide has grown by more than 1 million member families. Programming has grown to include more ef-forts to build rural communities and economies and more lead-ership development programs to help farmers and ranchers become advocates for agricul-ture and citizen leaders in their communities. AFBF has grown organizationally, particularly with the acquisition of the IDE-Ag farm events and publications

business in 2013. And AFBF has grown in its effectiveness as an advocate in the courts for farmers’ and ranchers’ freedom to operate, and it remains the most visible, influential voice in the nation’s capital for farm-ers and ranchers of all types, sizes and regions.

“While the presidential gavel will change hands, what de-fines Farm Bureau will re-main the same: our grassroots strength and our commitment to strengthening America’s agricultural and rural commu-nities,” Stallman added.

In addition to his Farm Bureau roles, Stallman has served on numerous boards and federal and state com-mittees, including the White House Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations,

STALLMAN continued on pg 17

Utah Farm Bureau News 11August 2015

YOURUtah Farm Bureau

at Work

DIVERSIFICATION continued on pg 19

Utah Farm Bureau … held it’s annual Midyear Conference in Cedar City, to initiate discussion on a number of policy issues being considered in the Farm Bureau’s policy development process. Members heard from legislative panels and from industry experts in Commodity Committee breakout sessions. The next phase in policy development will include County Farm Bureau members discussing ideas and bringing policy language forward in County Annual Business meetings, beginning in late September and into October. Please contact Sterling Brown with questions about how to bring policy language forward.

Utah Farm Bureau … hosted the Western Farm Bureau Presidents & Administrators Conference in Logan in late July.

Utah Farm Bureau … participated in the Wide Hollow Reservoir Scoping meeting in Escalante. Staff also attending public lands meetings in Wayne, Emery and Wasatch Counties. Additionally, regarding sensitive species, staff filed a protest letter on the BLM Greater Sage Grouse EIS.

Utah Farm Bureau… visited with Congressman Chris Stewart regarding on a number of issues centered on public land grazing and water rights on federal lands.

Utah Farm Bureau… participated in the Executive Water Task Force meeting held at Utah’s Department of Natural Resources. Issues included: developments to streamline the adjudication process, Lake Powell Pipeline and future legislation dealing with administrative issues governing water rights.

Utah Farm Bureau… visited with Commissioner Adams, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, and leadership within the Governor’s Office of Economic Development to discuss the results of Envision Utah’s recent surveys on planning for Utah’s future. Much of these discussions are centered on preserving agriculture lands and maintaining necessary water rights.

By Dale Newton, Director of Finance, Utah Farm Bureau Federation

Webster’s Ninth New Col-legiate Dictionary defines “di-versification” as follows: 1) to make diverse or give variety to [such as a course of study]; 2) to balance [as in an investment port-folio] defensively by dividing funds among securities of different industries or differ-ent classes; and 3) to increase the variety of products. I became a big believer in investment di-versification when managing significantly sized investment portfolios while working in the property and casualty insurance industry.

The concept of diversification seems to most often be used in an investment sense or perspec-tive. But perhaps diversification should be much more “diverse” and applied in various ways in our business and personal lives. We may want to diversify our financial relationships, our equipment, seed and livestock suppliers, our vacation destina-tions, our diets, and on and on. However, diversification also has its limits and we should not “diversify” our assets, crops, or suppliers just for the sake of di-versifying. There should be val-id and common sense reasons for doing so.

Today, consider your invest-ment portfolio. You might at first state “But, I don’t have an investment portfolio”. I think you do. All of your owned as-sets whether they be real estate, stocks, bonds, cash, equipment, seeds, livestock, etc. are part of your inventory of items of finan-cial value. These items/assets

The beauty of diversification

should be diversified in a logical manner and in accordance with your risk tolerances, investment time horizon and personal and

business needs. It is also ad-visable to select asset classes that behave differently under various economic or market scenarios. You don’t want all your assets to decline in value at the same time. You ideally want to own some assets that can increase in value while others are decreasing, so that

your net losses are limited. Of course, the same offsetting prin-ciple applies to gains. And, if you are prescient enough to know in advance which assets will in-crease in value given specific unknown economic or market conditions, then you should be working on Wall Street instead of farming or ranching!

A few more thoughts on tra-ditional financial assets – and this applies whether you have a 401(k), an IRA, a traditional brokerage account, established banking relationships or mu-tual fund investments. Your investments should be appro-priately balanced between eq-uity securities [stocks], debt securities [bonds] and cash, just for starters. Further diversifi-cation would include different types of equities such as very large companies and/or related funds, small companies and/or related funds, domestic com-panies vs. foreign-based com-panies, exchange traded funds, mutual funds, etc. Similar di-versification should be consid-ered within the debt security sector – long-term bonds vs. short-term bonds vs. money market funds, for example. And, don’t forget annuities and bank

Utah Farm Bureau News12 August 2015On the edge of common senseBAXTER BLACK

Rodeo MomHis mother was glad he wasn’t hurt worse.

As it was he went out on a stretcher.She sat in the stands and swallowed a curse.

Holding her heart and trying to catch’er

Breath that was sucked from her very being. She rose like a wraith, guided by loving Eyes wide open but not really seeing. Floating, she thought, but pushing and shoving

To get to his side as others gave way. Close calls flashed through her mind as she hurried,

He’d always survived but each night she’d pray Seeking an ally. God knew she worried.

Dreams. Horns as heavy as railroad ties, Battleship hooves that smoked and tore black holes In the flesh of her babies. Terrorized She’d wake, shaking until she gained control.

She’d signed permission in his younger years. “NOTE: WE TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY”

Signed it. Released him into atmospheres Uncharted. Knowing his mortality.

She hasn’t had to sign for quite a while She thinks as she reaches the ambulance. He’s grown. She takes his hand and tries to smile. And reminds herself this is what he wants.

He squeezes her hand and grins sheepishly. “Sign this form,” the driver is declaring.Once more she signs her name. An irony

That spares not the mother of the daring.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Iowa Farm Bureau President and American Farm Bureau Federa-tion Board Member, Craig Hill, testified before the Senate Agri-culture Committee on the risks American farmers and ranchers face in light of the World Trade Organization’s ruling against mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef and pork sold in the U.S.

“Farm Bureau clearly hoped the WTO would rule in favor of the United States on the regula-tory changes made to COOL in recent years,” Hill, a grain and livestock farmer from Milo, Iowa, said. “But the writing on the pro-verbial wall is clear: that was not

Farm Bureau urges Senate to repeal COOL

requirements on beef, chicken and pork

the outcome. “We urge the Senate to act

quickly to repeal the COOL re-quirements for beef, pork and chicken and prevent Canada and Mexico from taking retaliatory actions that will impact farm-ers and ranchers all across the nation.

“American Farm Bureau sup-ports country-of-origin labeling that meets WTO requirements, and we appreciate that remain-ing COOL programs are being kept in place. The risk of retalia-tion by Canada and Mexico is too great. U.S. farmers and ranchers could suffer a serious blow if de-cisive action is not taken.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In passing the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 (H.R. 1599), the House “stood with farmers and ranchers in supporting innovation that helps the environment and keeps food prices down for every-one,” according to American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman.

The legislation will provide a federal solution to protect consum-ers from a confusing patchwork of 50-state labeling policies for foods containing genetically modified organisms, and the misinforma-tion and high food costs that would come with such policies. Specifi-cally, the measure will clarify the FDA as the nation’s foremost au-

House joins farmers in support of safe,

affordable foodthority on food safety and create a voluntary labeling program run by the USDA Agricultural Market-ing Service, the same agency that administers the USDA Organic Program.

“The American Farm Bureau Federation supports all farmers and ranchers and opposes anyone who stands in the way of safe, af-fordable food,” Stallman said in a statement. “Consumers benefit from variety in the marketplace and should be free to make choices based on facts. The facts are that many farmers are growing more food with fewer resources, reducing their environmental impact, and keeping costs down—all thanks to advances in biotechnology.”

Utah Farm Bureau News 13August 2015

MIDYEAR continued on pg 18

By Bailee Woolstenhulme, UFBF Communications Intern

The Utah Farm Bureau Federa-tion recently its Midyear Confer-ence July 16-17, 2015 at Southern Utah University in Cedar City. Members in attendance were able to demonstrate the theme Farm Bureau Proud by attending a legislative panel, round table discussions on policy topics, and breakout session regarding perti-

nent issues.On Thursday, after a welcome

message from UFBF President Leland Hogan and Iron County Commissioner, Alma Adams (a former Iron County Farm Bureau President), SUU President Scott L. Wyatt, addressed members on what local agriculture means to Iron County and Southern Utah.

Attendees were then able to participate in a legislative panel and discussion about how rural Utah is represented at the state level, compared to urban areas. As Utah is the 8th most urbanized state in the country, this is a great concern for those that live in the rural areas. Sen. Ralph Okerlund

Utah Farm Bureau hosts successful Midyear Conference in Cedar City

(R-Monroe), Sen. Evan Vickers (R-Cedar City), and Rep. John Westwood (R-Cedar City) were members of this legislative panel.

After a short break to support the Young Farmers and Ranchers at their ice cream social fundraiser, all of the members were brought back together to participate in a round table discussion with county and state leaders about access to private roads. Rep. Kay McIff

(R-Richfield) and Garfield Sheriff Danny Perkins took part in the discussion and answered questions members had about what qualifies as a public or private road. Ques-tions regarding how to designate a road as a private road were also answered.

Following the discussion, Ster-ling Brown, Vice president of Public Policy, gave a quick review of current policy that Farm Bureau is working on at the legislative level or issues that are being watched.

“The Utah Farm Bureau’s Mid-year conference is strategically placed in July so that as the mem-bers that come to the meetings are better equipped to draft policies

that will better the organization and the farming and ranching industry in the coming legislative session,” Brown said.

All attendees were invited to the UFBF BBQ dinner following the Thursday sessions. Members enjoyed great food and conversa-tion on the beautiful SUU campus. Following dinner, several members attended the Shakespearian Fes-tival, viewing either King Lear or South Pacific.

Friday’s session started bright and early, with commodity com-mittee meetings for the water, beef, sheep and goats, and equine com-mittees. Members of these com-modity groups discussed issues facing their commodities, current legislative proposals, and possibil-ity for new Farm Bureau policy to be created.

The general session began by

viewing a promotional video for AFBF Annual Convention and IdeAg Trade Show followed by a leader feature presentation for Ryan and Melanie Christensen.

Members were able to choose between a variety of breakout sessions to attend during Friday’s schedule. Topics included Author-ity of County Government, What’s new in Farm Bureau, Effective Meetings Using Robert’s Rules of Order, FBL Financial: Planning and Protecting “Your World”, Pos-sibilities of Good Agricultural Prac-tices, and Principle Based Policy.

“The breakouts are more of an informal session that allows for questions and participation from the members,” said Jeff Young, Summit County Farm Bureau Vice President.

The conference closed with a moving presentation by Amber-ley Snyder on overcoming odds to achieve what you want in life. Snyder, who has overcome great trials after being paralyzed from the

Photo by Matt HargreavesSterling Brown (left) moderates a legislative panel to talk about how rural Utah fares in the state legislature increasing represented by urban Utah. The panel included (from L to R): Brown, Sen. Ralph Okerlund (R-Monroe), Rep. John Westwood (R-Cedar City), and Sen. Evan Vickers (R-Cedar City).

the outcome. “We urge the Senate to act

quickly to repeal the COOL re-quirements for beef, pork and chicken and prevent Canada and Mexico from taking retaliatory actions that will impact farm-ers and ranchers all across the nation.

“American Farm Bureau sup-ports country-of-origin labeling that meets WTO requirements, and we appreciate that remain-ing COOL programs are being kept in place. The risk of retalia-tion by Canada and Mexico is too great. U.S. farmers and ranchers could suffer a serious blow if de-cisive action is not taken.”

thority on food safety and create a voluntary labeling program run by the USDA Agricultural Market-ing Service, the same agency that administers the USDA Organic Program.

“The American Farm Bureau Federation supports all farmers and ranchers and opposes anyone who stands in the way of safe, af-fordable food,” Stallman said in a statement. “Consumers benefit from variety in the marketplace and should be free to make choices based on facts. The facts are that many farmers are growing more food with fewer resources, reducing their environmental impact, and keeping costs down—all thanks to advances in biotechnology.”

Utah Farm Bureau News14 August 2015

Practical PolicyVice President- Public PolicySterling Brown

Because livestock production is the backbone of Utah’s agri-culture industry – contributing more than 70 percent of our state’s $1.7 billion in farm gate sales – Utah Farm Bu-reau exerts much of its resources towards public land manage-ment issues, including multiple-use access, maintaining livestock grazing allotments, wildlife populations and trans-plants and water rights. Pre-serving and maintaining healthy public and private rangeland landscapes is fundamental, even essential, to a sustainable Utah livestock industry.

For most ranchers, grazing livestock on private and public lands is simply a means to pro-duce beef and maintain a cowboy livelihood. Yet, for generations, others have come to realize that grazing livestock on Utah’s range and forestlands provides more – much more – to both the cowboy and public.

Grazing livestock is a valu-able, proven tool to reduce the risk of wildfire. Targeted grazing removes the fine fuels that easily ignite and provide an ignition source for heavier fuels. While livestock is re-ducing fuel loads, they are also creating an ideal seedbed replacement vegetation that is more fire resistant. Livestock grazing is unique. This sci-entific, historic and carefully administered cowboy prac-tice generates revenue from grazing leases while reducing the risk of catastrophic fires. Most other tools for reducing the risk of fire come with a cost to the taxpayers of Utah.

On June 27, 2015, Amy Joi O’Donoghue, of the Deseret

Minimizing catastrophic wildfires require “firefighting cattle and sheep”

News, published an article titled “Landscaping goats delivering vegetation makeover.” The ar-ticle features 100 goats, trucked in from Fielding, Utah, to graze a

steep hillside behind Washington Elementary School in Salt Lake City for purposes of “munching down the overgrown vegetation.”

Ricardo Zubiate, the Assistant Facilities Manager for the Salt Lake School District, is quoted in the article as saying; “This hill has been an issue for us for a lot of years. It gets overgrown with weeds and vegetation that grows wildly. We’ve spent a lot of money trying to remove this vegetation.”

Mark Ruff, the district ’s grounds supervisor, stated, “the goats provide an ecologically healthy alternative…” The article states the school district has

spent upwards of $8,000 for a grounds crew to come in and clear the weeds. The goats cost $2,000. After several days of the goats eating the weeds, the

school district plans to go in and plant native grasses and shrubbery that will reduce intensive management in the future.

Zubiate is again quoted in the article, “We feel like this is a win-win situation.

I think we brought the farm to the city, or at least the goats. The goats get to eat, so they’re happy, and we’re happy.”

This recent, urban, successful, win-win example of purposely using livestock to control weeds, forages and shrubs for purposes of reducing labor and risks to children, wildfire potential and costs to taxpayers is also occur-ring on a much broader scale throughout rural Utah. Instead of 100 goats, several hundred

thousand “fire-fighting cows and sheep” are annually turned out on to Utah’s range and for-estlands. History proves that generations of livestock have

reduced weeds, which in turn, reduces fuels for potential wild-fires. In addition, taxpayers save money all while a safe, affordable, domestic protein source remains under the care and stewardship of sustainable family-owned ranches.

After the catastrophic fires of 2012, Governor Herbert called on Utah government and indus-try leaders to reduce the risk of major wildfires. Leaders agreed the goal is to reduce the size, intensity and frequency of wild-fires. In time, the Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy Plan was developed. Issues de-veloped and incorporated into the plan include: aging firefight-ing resources, coordination, economic and financial con-straints, education, marketing and community involvement and fires as a management tool. Since 2012, the Utah Legislature has signed off on $4.5 million to help with nearly 45 mitiga-tion and fuel reduction projects across the state.

As of August 1, nearly 500 wildfires have occurred through-out Utah burning approximately 3,000 acres. Of the hundreds of wildfires started each year in Utah, only a very small percent-age get out of control or reach catastrophic levels. Many of the fires are the result of weather conditions, rugged terrain, and other factors that are beyond our control. Yet, many factors are within our control. Cer-tainly, “fire-fighting cows and sheep” have repeatedly proven their worth on Utah’s range and forestlands. This approach to minimizing catastrophic wild-fires is a win-win, and should be maintained going forward.

Photo courtesy of Wasden FamilyCattle graze in the mountains in Sevier County. Managed grazing has often been found to provide benefits in minimizing catastrophic wildfires.

Utah Farm Bureau News 15August 2015KLECKNERContinued from pg. 3

WOTUS continued on pg 17

for 10 years, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and a member of the AFBF board of directors, after serv-ing as Iowa Farm Bureau vice president and as president of his native Floyd County Farm Bureau.

A public memorial service will be held at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Urbandale, Iowa on Tuesday, Aug. 18. The family suggests that in lieu of flow-ers, memorial donations may be made to the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agri-culture, 600 Maryland Avenue SW, Suite 1000W, Washington, DC 20024 or The Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090-6011.

land in the west, and she shared her frustrations at working with BLM staff on state management plans, which were then disregarded in place of standardized rules from Washington.

Attorney Karen Budd-Falen spoke on the need to sure up our understanding of the Constitu-tion and how the balance of power between the government and the governed is supposed to work.

“One frustrating thing, is that most have the relationship between citizens and the federal govern-ment backwards. It’s not supposed to have power based in the bureau-cracy, it’s supposed to be based in the Constitution. Authority has to come from the Constitution or from Congress. Citizens can do whatever they want, as long as there is no law prohibiting it; but the bureaucracy can’t act unless there is a law giving them power to do so,” Budd-Falen said. “The Constitution doesn’t give citizens rights; God gives them rights. The Constitution doesn’t give rights; it guarantees the government is not going to take our rights away.”

Budd-Falen went on to speak on ways to reign in the Endangered Species Act (ESA), focusing spe-cifically on the prairie dog cases in the west. In the ruling by Judge Dee Benson in District Court, Budd-Falen claimed this was the first time the federal court has ruled that ESA had overstepped its bounds with claims that a species impacted the interstate commerce clause. The district court ruling has since been appealed to the 10th Cir-cuit court, based in Denver, though it is anticipated the case will make it’s way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Utah and Wyoming Farm Bureaus have engaged the Budd-Falen law office to offer an amicus brief to the 10th Circuit court supporting the Benson ruling.

Those attending the conference heard further reports on managing wildlife within the State of Utah from Mike Linnell, USDA/UDAF

Wildlife Services State Director, and a number of state presenta-tions regarding internal Farm Bureau practices, including grow-ing Farm Bureau membership, commodity committees, policy de-velopment conferences, and more.

American Farm Bureau (AFBF) President Bob Stallman and Ex-ecutive Vice President Julie Anna Potts also made presentations to the group on the work being done on the national level on issues of importance, as well as helping farmers and ranchers see value in their membership, and helping other farmers and ranchers under-stand why its important to belong to Farm Bureau.

The conference was successful in focusing energies of many of the Farm Bureaus on issues shared in the western region, and making sure the American Farm Bureau is able to advocate in Washington, D.C. for these interests. The confer-ence will next be held in Washing-ton State.

WESTERNContinued from pg. 9

WASHINGTON, DC. – The American Farm Bureau Federation released docu-ments outlining how the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule will give the agency sweeping pow-ers to regulate land use despite a body of law clearly prohibit-ing such overreach.

The Farm Bureau analysis, now available online, makes available to the public details the EPA has refused to address in public meetings over the past year. The documents are available as PDF attachments.

“Our analysis shows yet again how unwise, extreme and unlawful this rule is,” American Farm Bureau Fed-eration President Bob Stall-man said. “Our public affairs specialists and legal team have assembled the best analysis available anywhere, and their conclusions are sobering: De-spite months of comments and innumerable complaints, the Waters of the U.S. proposal is even worse than before.”

The WOTUS rule, first re-leased in draft form in April 2014, has garnered fierce op-position from farmers, ranch-ers and landowners of al l kinds. Dozens of states and countless municipalities op-pose the measure since it would federalize regulation already handled at the local level. Just as important is the rule’s radical view of “water” which, in its view, should

Farm Bureau releases detailed

analysis of WOTUS

Utah Farm Bureau News16 August 2015

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Tuesday, August

intended but ill-informed sup-port for the rule among the lay public. Later, agency officials pointed to the resulting emails, petition signatures, postcards and other non-substantive mass comments to contend that “the public” supported the rule, even though the vast majority of substantive com-ments—by state and local gov-ernments, business owners, and organizations representing virtually every segment of the U.S. economy—opposed the rule.

“Regardless of whether you

supported, opposed, or never heard of that rule, you should shudder to think that this is how controversial regulations will be developed in the age of social media,” Steen said. “Agencies must strive to main-tain an open mind throughout the rulemaking process—and to inform rather than indoctri-nate and obfuscate—even when policy issues have become con-troversial and politicized.”

The full text of Ellen Steen’s testimony can be found here: http://www.fb.org/tmp/up-loads/Steen_Senate_Judi-ciary_Testimony15-0610.pdf

EPAContinued from pg. 3

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acclaimed real estate mogul and “Shark Tank” investor Barbara Corcoran will give the closing session keynote address at the 97th American Farm Bureau Federa-tion Annual Conven-tion and IDEAg Trade Show in Orlando, Flor-ida, on Jan. 11, 2016.

Nearly 7,000 Farm Bureau members from across the nation are expected to gather in Orlando Jan. 10-13 to hear from distin-guished leaders and participate in a grass-roots policy-setting process that will guide AFBF through 2016.

Corcoran, one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country, turned a $1,000 loan into a $5 billion real estate business. She is cur-rently an investor on ABC’s No. 1 show on Friday night, “Shark Tank” and has helped more than 30 entrepreneurs succeed in their respective industries.

“We are excited to have Barbara Corcoran as one of our keynote speakers,” said AFBF President Bob Stall-man. “American Farm Bureau is extremely supportive of ru-ral entrepreneurs. Providing our members the opportunity to learn from one of the most successful businesswomen in the nation is a great fit with our Farm Bureau Rural En-trepreneurship Challenge.”

‘Shark Tank’ investor Barbara Corcoran to address 97th AFBF

Annual ConventionThe challenge provides an

opportunity for individuals to showcase ideas and business innovations being cultivated in rural regions of the United States. Nearly $145,000 is up

for grabs to help competitors finance their business ven-tures. Finalist teams for the 2016 competition will be an-nounced Oct. 15.

“Barbara Corcoran will make a great addition to our annual convention,” Stallman said. “Hearing about her remark-able success story will be an inspiring way to kick off a great year for the agriculture industry.”

Farm Bureau members can register for the 97th AFBF An-nual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show through their state Farm Bureaus or online through AFBF at http://annu-alconvention.fb.org starting in September.

Utah Farm Bureau News 17August 2015GIPSAContinued from pg. 5

WOTUSContinued from pg. 15

claims year in and year out.

“There would be additional market impacts, because of the additional costs to livestock buyers, but this could be expected to be relatively small,” Anderson said. “We’re selling about 40 million head of cattle per year, so to get the $10 million required would only require .25 cents/head. There would be low impacts, and the trade off would be a more resilient system.”

Ultimately, livestock sellers need to determine what they want. First, do livestock sellers need something different? Are

the inadequacies of the current system enough that an alternative needs to be created? If so, which of these (or other) alternatives make the most sense? What are the benefits to the chosen approach for a livestock seller?

The Utah Farm Bureau Federation does not currently have any policy language on the issue. AFBF policy (Policy 312, paragraph 6) states, “The bonding requirement for livestock dealers and packers should be strengthened and more stringently enforced. The requirement should be reviewed on a quarterly bases and be adjusted to reflect the volume of the maximum financial exposure to

producers and/or their brokers and then be made available to the public.”

“Do we as members of the Utah Farm Bureau think UFBF Policy should include any of these recommendations? If so, I would suggest members bring up language at their County Annual Business meetings, so we can then discuss it at our convention in November,” said Leland Hogan, President of the Utah Farm Bureau.

A video discussion of the issue with John Anderson at American Farm Bureau can be found at http://fbvideos.org/issues/p o l i c y - d i s c u s s i o n /gipsa-bonding-

the State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, the Farm Foun-dation board of trustees, the board and founding leadership of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, the board of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology and the House Agricul-ture Committee’s Com-mission on 21st Century Production Agriculture.

A new AFBF presi-dent will be elected to a two-year term at the 97th annual meeting of voting delegates, Jan. 12, 2016, as part of the AFBF Annual Convention and IDEAg Tradeshow, Jan. 10-13, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.

STALLMANContinued from pg. 10

encompass the vast majority of land in the United States since it surrounds actual wa-ter that may or may not be protected un-der the Clean Water Act.

A l a r m e d b y t h e agency’s actions, the House of Representa-tives recently voted to prohibit the EPA from enacting the rule. A similar bill is moving through the Senate and could come to a f loor vote within weeks.

Utah Farm Bureau News18 August 2015MIDYEARContinued from pg. 13

waist-down in a rollover accident when she was 18, now runs barrels and competes in breakaway roping. She gave an inspirational speech to the attendees about pulling your-self back up after getting knocked down by circumstances in life.

Members who attended the con-ference were informed on issues that will impact or are currently influencing Utah agriculture. These meetings are meant to help get the process started on policy develop-ment and members are encour-aged to continue to think and talk about policy ideas throughout the remaining summer months before the annual business meetings in October and Annual Convention in November.

“It is important that our mem-bers get together on a regular basis, not only to learn about issues but also to make sure the Farm Bureau policies are in alignment with the will of the membership,” said Ster-

ling Brown. “Midyear provides that vehicle to review policy and make sure our views are in alignment.”

Before the meeting adjourned, Leland Hogan announced that he would not be seeking reelection for next term. Hogan informed the members that after his many

years of service – including 14 years as UFBF President – he and his wife decided it was time for him to retire.

“President Hogan’s many con-tributions to better Utah Farm Bureau – and Utah agriculture in general – will be greatly missed, and we want to thank him for his dedicated service. He has been a respected leader representing Utah on numerous boards and commissions including American Farm Bureau Executive Commit-tee, Farm Bureau Insurance, Farm Bureau Bank, Mountain States Legal Foundation, and the Utah Ag Advisory Board. The position has required so much of his time and talents including extended time away from his family and farm. His commitment to excellence has helped Utah Farm Bureau attain tremendous growth, success and organizational prominence,” said Randy Parker, Chief Executive Officer for the Utah Farm Bureau Federation. “We wish President Hogan well in his future endeavors, which surely includes more time with his family. While it will be a change, Farm Bureau is looking forward to a new president who will continue our role as the Voice of Agriculture on behalf of Utah’s farmers and ranchers.”

Photo by Matt HargreavesUtah Farm Bureau President Leland Hogan is interviewed by ABC 4 on the issues being talked about at Midyear Conference in Cedar City. Hogan announced he will retire as President at the end of this term in November 2015.

By Emily Enger, Country Folks Grower Magazine

Marketing. Everyone has heard how important it is but imple-menting it can be intimidating. Carsha Lapp has devoted her career to educating business students on this very topic, work-ing as a marketing instructor at Northwest Technical College in northern Minnesota for 27 years. When it comes to marketing ad-vice, she boils it down to two basic tips: Keep your message simple and communicate it well. “Busi-nesses need to make sure they’re getting the word out and com-municating how they can benefit customers,” Lapp said. “People can’t buy what they’re not aware of. But this takes time.”

That time factor is one many businesses underestimate, ac-cording to Lapp, especially in our world of instant gratification. It’s important to recognize that marketing isn’t immediate results from one advertisement, but rath-er a long-term communication plan with one’s target audience. To make this plan an intentional one, many businesses utilize mar-keting campaigns. “A marketing campaign,” Lapp explained, “is a cohesive message or story that has a specific goal.” Businesses run ads and promote discussion or news regarding their chosen goal for the duration of the campaign, which can be anywhere from weeks to years.

What makes a good goal? Your product’s benefits to consumers. As Lapp explained, people don’t

How to set up a mar-

keting plan for your business

MARKETING continued on pg 25

Utah Farm Bureau News 19August 2015

certificates of deposits as ad-ditional financial assets that can provide a modest return along with excellent protec-tion of principal. You can also add diversified real estate ownership into a traditional investment portfolio by buy-ing an interest into a real es-tate investment trust [REIT]. Or, you can buy income pro-ducing property in addition to your residential home and/or farm or ranch.

Many professional manag-ers also employ investments into commodities as a hedge against a traditional portfo-lio of stocks, bonds and cash. These commodities can in-clude gold, silver, oil, nickel, wheat and sugar to name a few. In contrast to the U.S. eq-uity markets, oil has dropped 15 percent in 2015, nickel is down 25 percent, wheat has shed 15 percent, sugar has plunged 28 percent and coffee prices have dropped nearly 40 percent during the year. Gold is now hovering around $1,150 per ounce, down sig-nificantly from its market high in 2011. Investments in gold [and the stocks of gold mining/refining companies] might be languishing now since the U.S. equity markets are in the midst of an historic [3rd longest ever] bull mar-ket run that is now approach-ing seven years in length with the S&P closing in mid-July at 2,127, within 4 points of its all-time high set in May 2015. When this wonderful bull market turns into a bear mar-ket – and it will at some point – then perhaps commodities, including gold and silver, will rise as often is the case with a diversification hedge. In summary, there are literally thousands of options that you can employ to provide a well-

DIVERSIFICATIONContinued from pg. 11

diversified investment portfo-lio for you and your family. The key again is diversification – do not place all your eggs [assets] in one basket [your portfolio].

A few final thoughts concern-ing the most basic of financial assets – cash. In today’s U.S. economy cash seems to have a taken a backseat to other forms of payment. For example, at McDonald’s the card readers are right up front and you have to squeeze through the ma-chines and promotions to pay for your burger or soda with cash. My kids think cash is so old-fashioned and they pay for just about everything with a debit or credit card. However, not all countries are like the U.S. in this matter. Germany is the largest economy in the European Union and Germans conduct 80 percent of their fi-nancial transactions in cash. In fact, only 32 percent of Ger-mans even own a credit card. Earlier this month I noticed a gas station in Salina, Utah that was offering a reduction in price for payments made with cash. As we can see, cash still has a place in our daily financial transactions around the world.

We should also try to learn from the experiences of con-sumers in other countries. The current case in point is Greece [a small country with an economy only the size of the State of Maryland], which is essentially bankrupt. As you may know, the banks in Greece were open one day and then the next day they were closed. They remained closed for three weeks. Depositors were al-lowed to withdraw only a very limited amount of cash each day – around $70 dollars [paid in euros, of course]. These se-vere cash restrictions were ob-viously a hardship for many people – especially the poor. You may feel that such a cash availability crisis – like the one

in Greece – could never happen in the U.S., but if you feel that it could then perhaps you should keep some cash on hand. Since you are earning nothing on checking account funds and a pittance on money market funds, keeping some cash on hand will not materially affect your interest earnings. One investment advisor that I fol-low stated the following, “… the bottom line here is you ought to hold way more cash than you think.” He may be right and he may be wrong. Nevertheless, holding some cash on hand is another step in fully diversify-ing your investment portfolio. And while you’re at it, another aspect to consider is to have funds in more than one account and in more than one bank. The Greeks who had accounts

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in multiple banks were grate-ful they did as they were bet-ter able to meet their daily cash needs during their cash avail-ability crisis.

Bottom line, diversification is a beautiful thing when it comes to investments and personal and business financial portfoli-os. I urge you to consider all the investment options and then carefully, and strategically, al-locate your assets in an orderly manner. Diversify – and then get more sleep at night.

Sources:Principal Financial Group, Weekly Market Review, various weeks in 2015Various July 2015 investment newslet-tersVarious July 2015 articles in the Wall Street Journal

Utah Farm Bureau News20 August 2015MISCONDUCTContinued from pg. 1

MARKETING continued on pg 27

PARKERContinued from pg. 2

degree of arrogance,” said AFBF President Bob Sta l lman. “The flawed economic study is just the tip of the ice-berg, and it was known internally that trouble was ahead. In fact, the memos themselves were stamped ‘Litigation Sen-sitive.’ They were never intended to see the light of day.”

The Corps documents also validate American Farm Bureau Feder-ation’s own concerns that the rule makes it impossible for anyone, including the Corps, to know which features on the landscape are regulated, and which are not. The Corps even raised concern that it would be difficult to de-termine whether “a low depressional area on a farm field that ponds water after a rainstorm for ten days” would be a regulated “water” or an excluded “puddle.” EPA insisted throughout the

rulemaking process that “puddles” would not be regulated.

As the Army Corps memos clearly show, political appointees re-peatedly ignored vigor-ous objections of career agency staff in order to rush the rule through.

“The Corps documents confirm what we have been saying all along,” Stallman said. “Even the Army Corps of En-gineers concedes this rule is unworkable. The Army Corps’ name is on the rule, yet experts tasked with determin-ing its validity said they wanted the Corps’ name removed from the eco-nomic analysis used to justify it.

“U.S. Army Assistant Secretary Darcy pleaded with Congress to keep

placing on agriculture and local food produc-tion.” There is growing sentiment and support where today 74 percent of Utah residents are say-ing farming and ranching are critical to the state’s future, compared to less than one-third only seven years ago.

In announcing the “Your Utah, Your Future” results Grow was quick to point out that the re-sults of the poll reflects “two generations com-ing together.” It appears the dynamics of the baby boomers and their inter-est in self-sufficiency has combined with the local “Utah’s Own” food move-ment of the millennials reflecting the growing interest in our protect-ing farmers and ranchers which is critical to future food security.

Besides Utahns willing-ness to use less water on their lawn to sustain and expand local agricultural production, the poll says

we are willing to develop new water projects rather than taking water from food production.

This major effort by Envision Utah quantifies the value Utah residents place on their neighbor-ing farmers and ranchers. It confirms what we have seen at a growing num-ber of farmers markets across the state. At the Farm Bureau sponsored farmers markets in Mur-ray and South Jordan, we are seeing a more and more people every week looking for high quality, locally grown products and the opportunity to get acquainted with Utah food producers.

Based on “Your Utah, Your Future,” it is obvi-ous Utah residents want to connect with where their food comes and those who produce it. And they want an assur-ance from policy makers that Utah’s farmers and ranchers will be a healthy and vibrant part of the Utah landscape!

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) Commission-er, LuAnn Adams, an-nounced the appoint-ment of Wayne Brad-shaw as Director of the Division of Marketing and Economic Develop-ment. The division is responsible for devel-oping economic success for agriculture, rural Utah and the food in-dustry. It is also home to the Utah’s Own program that promotes local food

Bradshaw named Director of Marketing and Econ. Development

for UDAF

these memos from the public eye. Well, now we know what they say, and we want to know more. What other inter-nal agency documents are out there? If the Corps’ economists ob-jected so strongly, what did the EPA’s econo-mists think? What else are these agencies hid-ing from the public? As Americans, we expect better, but during the entire WOTUS rule-making process, we got worse – much, much worse.”

AFBF is calling on EPA to immediately with-draw its flawed rule, go back to the drawing board and address the concerns of farmers, ranchers and business owners across the coun-try.

and family farms.Bradshaw previously

worked in the Commis-sioner’s Office as a pol-icy analyst and social media specialist.

Bradshaw assumes the director position follow-ing the scheduled July 1st retirement of Jed Christenson who has served as Director of the Division of Marketing and Economic Develop-ment since 2005.

Raised in Wyoming and Alaska, Bradshaw

Utah Farm Bureau News 21August 2015

MARKETING continued on pg 27

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these memos from the public eye. Well, now we know what they say, and we want to know more. What other inter-nal agency documents are out there? If the Corps’ economists ob-jected so strongly, what did the EPA’s econo-mists think? What else are these agencies hid-ing from the public? As Americans, we expect better, but during the entire WOTUS rule-making process, we got worse – much, much worse.”

AFBF is calling on EPA to immediately with-draw its flawed rule, go back to the drawing board and address the concerns of farmers, ranchers and business owners across the coun-try.

and family farms.Bradshaw previously

worked in the Commis-sioner’s Office as a pol-icy analyst and social media specialist.

Bradshaw assumes the director position follow-ing the scheduled July 1st retirement of Jed Christenson who has served as Director of the Division of Marketing and Economic Develop-ment since 2005.

Raised in Wyoming and Alaska, Bradshaw

The Utah Depart-ment of Agriculture and Food is undertak-ing a major project to document the history of Utah agriculture. The agency is enlisting the help of all Utahns to contribute photos and stories that detail the progress of agriculture from early p i o n e e r settlement to today.

The Department is also looking for family history stories relating to agriculture. Written or oral histories are welcome.

“This is a major ef-fort to record the be-ginnings of our state’s agriculture industry, as well as the many accom-plishments through the decades,” said Agri-culture Commissioner LuAnn Adams.

The photo collection

UDAF also looking for historic Utah

agriculture photosand the written/oral histories will be placed on display at the Depart-ment of Agriculture and Food’s building located at 350 North Redwood Rd., Salt Lake City.

If you wish to contrib-ute photographs or fam-ily histories, send them to [email protected] or contact Larry Lewis at 801-538-7104 to arrange to make cop-ies. Photos placed on display will be accom-panied by an acknowl-edgement of your fam-ily’s contribution to the collection.

Utah Farm Bureau News22 August 2015

County ConnectionVice President- OrganizationDavid Bailey

YF&R Committee “busy as a bumble bee”Whenever I think of our Farm

Bureau state Young Farmer & Rancher (YF&R) Committee I think of primary tune my kids like to sing around the house titled “busy as a bumble be – that’s my mommy”. The state YF&R Committee has been hard at work this year leading and en-gaging young leaders and preparing them for the future. Their work started early in the year, with the FUSION conference in Nashville, Ten-nessee. More than 20 YF&R’s attended the confer-ence including several YF&R committee members and they returned armed with new ideas about how to influence consum-ers about what they do.

While it takes the entire com-mittee to accomplish the YF&R p r o g r a m o f work, the com-mittee chairs serve a v i ta l role to make the program a success. Mea-gher & Tiffany McConkie of Al-tamont, Duch-e s n e C o u n t y chair the com-mittee and find t h e m s e l v e s smack dab in the middle of their 2nd and final year as the YF&R Chairs. In the past few m o n t h s , t h e M c C o n k i e s have been busy leading a successful YF&R pro-gram. They hosted a first ever YF&R “Day on the hill” in Feb-ruary. More than 30 YF&R and Collegiate members attended.

First they heard from several legislators on the current burn-ing ag issues that most press-ing if this year’s session. They spent much of the rest of the day personally contacting their representatives and senators discussing how the issues im-pacted them personally.

Not long after the Utah YF&R legislative visit, the McConkies led the YF&R leadership con-ference to Washington, D.C. where more than 50 young farmers and ranchers attended in addition to the Fusion confer-ence in Nashville, Tennessee.

Just last month they spearheaded an effort to feed nearly 100 hun-gry FFA teachers at their annual summer teach-er’s conference in Spanish Fork. The luncheon is an opportunity to rub shoulders with the dynamic FFA teachers who work to shepherd so many young l e a d e r s a l o n g the agriculture path. It’s also an opportunity to provide a meal and say thanks to them for all the

work the teachers put in with these FFA kids.

Farm Bureau and the FFA have teamed up in recent years to engage young FFA kids in the Farm Bureau sponsored FFA

discussion meet. The McConk-ies, along with the committee, are now busy planning with their committee for next year’s YF&R activities including the YF&R Leadership Conference. The YF&R Conference will be held at Ruby’s Inn near Bryce Canyon. Speakers and present-

ers for breakout and general sessions are being sought. It takes an all in effort to pull off a successful conference.

The YF&R Committee is up to the task, even though each of them

have full-time jobs keeping their livestock and crops thriving during the hot summer months. Their commitment is unrivaled among their peers and some-times I wonder how they have time to get it all done.

The McConkies have served

nearly six years on the state YF&R Committee and have also served in their county Farm Bureau as county YF&R Chairs. Most of the couples that serve on the State Committee have also served as county YF&R Chair and now work closely with each chair in their respective districts to enhance the YF&R program.

Former State YF&R chairs John and Dusty Reese, were recently appointed to the AFBF National YF&R committee and started their term early this year, also currently serve on the state committee in an advisory role. They had their first official national committee meeting this past month in Indianapolis, Indiana. They bring a wealth of experience to the national YF&R Committee and will be a valued

A.J. Ferguson, Farm Bureau VP of Farm Safety, and YF&R Chair Mea-gher McConkie grill burgers for the FFA Teacher BBQ in Spanish Fork.

YF&R continued on pg 25

Utah Farm Bureau News 23August 2015

YF&R Focus: Jeff & Jennie ChristensenYoung Farmer & Rancher Committee ~ District 5 (Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Grand, San Juan & Uintah Counties)

TAVAPUTS continued on pg 28

Jeff and I met on a blind date in 2009. Our first dates con-sisted of gathering cattle that spring. Then, just like a cowboy fairytale, two ranch kids fell in love and we were married at Tavaputs Ranch in August 2011. In June 2012, we had our first son, Jax, and in March 2014 we welcomed our second little boy, Jett. We are very fortunate to have a life where our children can be by our side 24-hours-a-day; it is the best part of our job! From branding calves, building ponds, trailing cattle, or cater-ing to our summer guests, our children are by our side. They both have cattle with their own brand. Our boys are the seventh generation in our family to have cowboy boots planted on the same ground, making a living the same way their ancestors did.

Along with my parents – Butch and Jeanie Jensen – we own and operate T-N Ranching Company and Tavaputs Ranch located in Eastern Utah (Carbon Coun-ty). Our family’s cowherd is a cross of Gelbvieh, Angus, and Brahman cattle. We raise all of our own replacement heifers, purchase bulls and artificially inseminate heifers to introduce new bloodlines. Cows and bulls are normally not fed on our ranch, grazing instead year-round on private, state, and federal ranges. In this rough country, cattle are worked only on horseback.

Our family has two herds of cows that never mix. One herd winters on 80,000 acres of BLM’s Monument Wash Allot-ment, located near the town of Cisco in Grand County, and summers in Emma Park north of Price. Cattle placement is man-aged entirely with water place-ment using stocks ponds, drilled wells and almost daily herding

by our family. By the middle of May the cattle are gathered and shipped 120 miles with our fam-ily’s own semi-trucks and trailers to Emma Park where they are branded, vaccinated, and tagged. The pairs are then turned out on to summer range until fall when they will be once again gathered and shipped 30 miles to the family’s feedlot, where calves are weaned, vaccinated and sexed. Cows are pregnancy tested, vaccinated and turned into farm pastures until they can be shipped back to Cisco. Bull are vaccinated and tested for trichomoniasis then hauled to our Little Valley Allotment near the Green River.

The second herd winters on the Icelander Allotment, which consists of 50,000 acres of state, federal, and private land, near the town of East Carbon and summers on the Tavaputs Pla-teau. By June 10th, the herd is gathered to a set of working cor-rals where calves are vaccinated and branded. The pairs are then trailed 30 miles over a five-day period to the Tavaputs Plateau, where they graze on pastures at 7,500 feet in elevation and move up to 10,000 as the season pro-gresses. In October, cattle will be gathered on the plateau and trailed five days back to the work-ing corrals in Icelander where calves are weaned and hauled to the feedlot to join the rest of the calves. Cows will be pregnancy tested, vaccinated and turned out into different pastures in the Icelander Allotment. This herd of cattle is never hauled.

In the 1950’s, my grandparents decided to bring in extra income by offering hunting and tourism opportunities on the ranch. The side business quickly became a valuable resource for the ranch. In the late 1990s my family purchased the Tavaputs Ranch.

Starting the middle of June until the end of October, we welcome guests from around the world to experience our magnificent landscape, ranching history and our Western lifestyle. We offer scenic tours, hiking, bird watch-ing, and horseback riding. We host many retreats as well as weddings. A select number of guests have the opportunity to take part in our biannual 30-mile cattle drive. For most guests this is an eye opening experience, it shocks them that we are making a living the way our ancestors did a hundred years ago.

We have hosted visitors from

around the world including the Marlboro European Adventure Teams and celebrities like Neil Armstrong, Tug McGraw, and Roy Rogers. Along with the work-ing guest ranch and the hunting business, we are also one of only three concessions allowed to give tours into Range Creek Canyon. The canyon has been recognized as a national treasure because of the high density of virtually un-disturbed prehistoric sites. Visi-tors are allowed to access more than 200 sites that include gra-naries, rock art panels, ruins

Utah Farm Bureau News24 August 2015SITLAContinued from pg. 2

maximum term of a graz-ing permit is 15 years and no extensions of time will be allowed (of course, if no competing interest is manifested upon the expiration of a permit, the incumbent permittee qualifies for an additional 15-year term).

In addition, part of the approved rule changes complement existing board policy adopted in 2013 addressing grazing tenure of permits associ-ated with land exchanges. Those rule changes call for two-term non-com-pete protections for graz-ing permits transferring from BLM to SITLA.

Initially, draft changes to policy and accompany-ing rules called for more aggressive advertising of expiring permits beyond publishing notice on the Agency’s website and in grazing industry newslet-ters. However, negotia-tions with livestock indus-try leaders resulted in an agreement to back-off on requirements for aggres-sive advertising in trade

for increasing the assign-ment fee assessed by the Agency when permits are assigned from one party to the other through inde-pendent business trans-actions. The assignment fee is currently $1.00 per AUM. The increase is yet to be determined, and the Agency will be discuss-ing with industry leaders what an appropriate ad-justment will be.

Questions on these changes can be directed to Kim Christy, SITLA Deputy Director, at [email protected] or (801) 538-5183.

SITLA manages Utah’s 3.3 million acres of school trust lands for the pub-lic education system. It generates revenue from a diverse portfolio of oil, gas, mining, and permit-ting activities, including grazing. Revenue, which has grown from just $8.3 million in 2004 to $39.2 million this year, is depos-ited into the Permanent School Fund, which is now invested by a board of financial and invest-ment professionals led by the state treasurer.

By Bailee Woolstenhulme, UFBF Communications Intern

We’ve all see those movies. The ones where horses are talking; or the horse and its owner have some inseparable bond that allows them to find one another in unthink-able circumstances; or even a majestic love story between two wild horses. While we all love these movies and enjoy the warm feeling we get when we watch them, they are not realistic.

H o r s e s a r e u n l i k e other livestock, for the most part, because of the unique bond that owners create with them. This comes from working with them day-in and day-out and learning what makes each other tick. So, as horse owners we often feel a special con-nection with the steed that we mount on a daily basis. This is to be ex-pected. But it seems that the world’s view of the

The idealization of the American horse

horse is changing from a utilitarian based view to an idealistic one, and has been for quite some time.

Growing up on a beef cattle ranch in Summit County, it has always been a necessity to use horses when working with our cattle. Unlike many ranches in the Mid-west and Eastern United States, the terrain where we keep our cattle would not allow us to use ATV’s or other equipment. Luckily, my dad married into a family that he now refers to as being “horse poor”, a term that is used to describe someone who has a lot of horses and not a lot of money.

Having one grandpa heavily involved in the horse industry and anoth-er involved in the cattle industry, I often say that I had the best of both worlds. I was able to learn what it takes to raise and train quality horses, while still learning the down home practices of a small cattle ranch. Our horses were always loved and cherished, but my family always understood that they were given to us for a purpose; they were not just something pretty to look at.

Because of the way horses are portrayed in the media (movies, TV shows, books) and the fact that most don’t need horses for transportation or for working due to developments in tech-nology, the worldview

of horses is not what it used to be. Rather than a means of transportation, they are used for leisurely riding. Instead of being used to get a job done, horses have become lawn ornaments.

This change in the way horses are used has a greater affect on the horse industry that most would think. After attending the Equine Commodity meeting at the Utah Farm Bureau Federation’s Midyear Conference, it became apparent to me that oth-ers felt the same way I do.

The market to buy and sell young, somewhat trained, horses is nearly obsolete because horse owners can only get a few hundred dollars for them, even if they have great bloodlines. The only real market for hors-es is for the ones that are completely trained and ready to handle anything. This is because no one wants to put time and effort into these animals. They want something that they can jump on and ride without much effort. This has caused many horse ranches to go out of business.

The other issue with worldview of horses is the idea that wild horses (or rather feral horses, since there is no true wild horse any more) are ma-jestic creatures that need to be protected and kept alive strictly for viewing pleasure. Unfortunate-ly, the reality is much harsher. These horses are starving to death and barely surviving because

HORSES continued on page 26

Utah Farm Bureau News 25August 2015YF&RContinued from pg. 22

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E n j o y b e e f , l a m b , p o r k , t u r k e y , d a i r y p r o d u c t s , o n i o n r i n g s , d r i e d c h e r r i e s , c o r n a n d s a l a d

p r i o r t o t h e U t a h S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y v s . C o l o r a d o S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y f o o t b a l l g a m e o n

OR 3 1/2 HOURS PRIOR TO GAME TIME

asset back here in Utah as they relay informa-tion back and forth between the state and national committees.

Besides farming and/or ranching, each of the YF&R committee couples and leaders also participate in a variety of community functions including ro-deos, fairs, 4H, sports etc. They all also have growing families with anywhere from a cou-ple to four or fi ve kids. Many serve in their local churches and on boards of varying types. When you break it all down – these guys and gals are just plain busy as a bumblebee.

It’s truly an honor to watch them serve and to help them become great leaders among their peers. They have great passion and en-ergy for what they do and they all love their work, family, commu-nity and country. At Farm Bureau we count ourselves fortunate to work with these kinds of people - who work to feed the world.

Please let me know if you would like to get more involved in the young farmer & rancher program at ei-ther the state or coun-ty level. Beyond your YF&R years? There are still plenty of ways to stay involved. I’d be happy to let you know what opportunities are available.

own shampoo to simply own a bottle of shampoo; they own it for the benefi ts of clean hair. So shampoo companies don’t focus their marketing on defi n-ing shampoo or explaining its chemical structure; instead they spread infor-mation regarding the im-portance of clean, healthy hair.

When sitting down to plan a marketing cam-paign, decide what the marketing goal is for your business. Ask yourself questions like, what is your product’s benefi t, is it health from naturally-grown goods? Perhaps there are social benefits if your product is used to bring family and friends together. Or the economi-cal benefi ts of being a lo-cal, small business. Pick a single goal and try to build all your marketing around that concept for the dura-tion of your campaign. If that seems too intimidat-ing, Lapp recommends not over-thinking.

“Sometimes the best marketing is just the sim-plest,” she said. “It does not have to be complex.” One great example of a marketing campaign is the Got Milk campaign. The goal (benefi t) of Got Milk was to increase people’s consumption of milk,” said Lapp. “They didn’t cram health messages down our throat; instead they focused on the ab-sence of milk, which is an interesting strategy. And they did it with humor.”

Lapp also recommends using multiple variations of a campaign to target

MARKETINGContinued from pg. 18

different audiences. Got Milk featured several dif-ferent ads and celebrities to target diff erent ages and subcultures, but all the ads had the same focused message and included the Got Milk tagline.

To get one’s message out, Lapp recommends using more than one plat-form. “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” she said. “Marketing is about a variety of tools. Think of it like a recipe: you can keep it simple, but you still need a variety of ingredients to make it good.” That va-riety includes traditional marketing methods, like advertising in the local pa-per, but also branching out to new platforms, such as social media. “Make a so-cial media plan,” she said. “Have someone dedicated to keeping tabs on your pages every day. Share your own business infor-mation, but also share other items, like news. Or perhaps a Tip of the Day. Be ‘news-y’ and less ‘sell-y’ on social media.”

The social media plan could coincide with the marketing campaign. For example, your Tip of the Day could be related to the campaign goal. Or per-haps if your goal is about bringing families together, you could post photos of your employees with their respective families. Do fun things on social media, but try to connect them back to your campaign’s mes-sage. “When it comes to posting on social media,” said Lapp. “Be aware of the irritation factor to make sure you aren’t post-ing too much. However, the truth is that although

you can overdo it, that’s not usually the problem. Most often the problem is keeping it fresh and up to date. If you don’t post often enough then there’s no news from you. People check social media to see what’s happening and your site can be a resource. If you under-post then you’re under-utilizing this opportunity.” And don’t be afraid to nag a little, not only on social media but with all your marketing. “People are inundated with so many messages all day, especially with Smart Phones now, that they miss a lot,” Lapp explained. “So we need to repeat and not be afraid to repeat.”

But even as you begin new marketing strate-gies, Lapp does caution against changing it up too much at one time. Repeat customers head back to their favorite business be-cause they are comfortable

there. That comfort level is important to preserve. “Figure out what the per-sonality of your business is,” said Lapp, “and then be consistent. Consistent is more important than change, in some cases.”

Your business’ personal-ity, also known as ‘brand-ing’, helps build a loyal customer base.

However you implement marketing strategies, al-ways remember that this concept isn’t about im-mediate success. Don’t get discouraged when it takes time and give your plan the chance it needs before you throw in the towel. “Businesses need to network and build long term relationships,” Lapp stressed. “That’s the key to a business’ future – not the one-time market ex-changes but the relation-ship over time.”

Utah Farm Bureau News26 August 2015GRAINContinued from pg. 1

“Farmers will be tightening up and planning carefully to help control their costs,” said Bob Young, chief economist for AFBF. “There’s a lot less room for error at these prices.”

A report last week by the University of Illinois’ Dr. Gary Schnitkey suggested farmers will need to look at four areas

in the months and possibly years ahead. These include reducing machinery purchases, closely managing seed, fertil-izer and chemical costs, trying to negotiate lower cash rents and reducing family living withdrawals from the farm.

“With domestic demand growth relatively flat and a strong dollar giving us a chal-lenge in export markets, we

can expect prices to have a hard time moving above this level for the next couple years at least,” Young said. “Farm-ers have made equipment purchases and many are well positioned to face the chal-lenges that changing weather and fluctuating prices may bring their way, but they will need sharp pencils.”

of overpopulation. The U.S. government spends roughly $50,000 per horse throughout its lifetime to maintain them and that price is rapidly increasing.

The idea that the only purpose for these feral horses is for great wildlife watching is not work-ing. Rather than watching them waste away and die cruel deaths of starvation, why not give them a greater purpose? There are starving children all over the world that could be fed by them (outside of the U.S. where food is a luxury, horse meat is a com-mon protein source). Clothing and other necessities could be made from their byproducts. So why are we not taking advantage of this resource that is so readily available?

The human idealistic view of the horse is what stops us. It seems barbaric to even think about eating horse meat or to use a horse for any other pur-pose than our pleasure. We get caught up thinking of Spirit, the wild mustang who just wants to be free, or War Horse who found his owner through all of the dev-astation during WWI.

I do believe that horses are meant to be enjoyed and I love my horses more than most, but I also know that they were given to me to be utilized. It is barbaric to me to see a horse waste away and die from starvation or other illnesses when that horse could have been given a purpose and put down in a humane way.

God gave us animals to utilize and be stewards over. Whether that animal is a dog, cat, sheep, pig, cow, or horse; we are sup-posed to care for them not allow them to become an unutilized resource. These horses have a purpose and its time that this idea is brought back to the world.

HORSESContinued from pg. 24

Utah Farm Bureau News 27August 2015

Farm SafetyVice President- Farm SafetyA.J. Ferguson

Keep children safe on the farm BRADSHAWContinued from pg. 20

When many people imagine a farm, they get an image of a wholesome environment, free of the urban traffic and hazy atmosphere – a place with verdant green pastures and white f e n c e s , b e a u t i f u l orchards with carpet-like grass, or a red barn with all varieties of animals making it a great place to raise a family. However, most Americans are unaware of the hazards our farmers, their families and employees face daily.

Farming has always been a hazardous occupat ion, especially on family farms where family members – including children – do most of the work. Tractors are generally the prime piece of equipment on farms and are responsible for almost half of all equipment accidents. The risk of injury on a farm for family members is significantly greater than that of the employee. Since most farm families live and work on the farm, they can be exposed to hazards 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As a result, farm families tend to become complacent and lax around the farm and allow children to get involved in activities that are possibly inappropriate for their age. Children, up to age 16, are the most vulnerable. Almost one third of all fatalities in Utah have been children under 16, and the injury rate is even higher.

There are two major causes for this high incident rate among our youth:

First - We allow or ask youth to do tasks that are not always age appropriate.

Second - Allowing the youth too many liberties to play on or around equipment, like ATV’s and tractors, can lead the youth to treat it more like a toy than

a tool.U n d e r s t a n d i n g a g e -

appropriate tasks for youth is a great way to protect them from unintentional injuries or fatalities. Also, take the time to explain that the equipment being used on the farm is tool and needs to be treated like one. Discourage horseplay and inappropriate behavior on all equipment.

It’s important to remember c h i l d r e n ’ s g r o w t h a n d development l imitat ions .

• From birth to 3-years old, a child is naturally curious. T h e y a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y attracted to moving objects, noises and small spaces. A combination of limited motor skills, curiosity and an inability to recognize danger places this age group at an unusually high risk.

• Between 4- and 6-years, a child begins interacting with the world, learning by trial and error. The child is inquisitive and has an increased fascination with moving parts. They have not yet gained sufficient knowledge or body control to react quickly enough to avoid danger. Also,

kids of this age imitate or mimic a parent’s actions.

• Between 7- and 9-years old, behavior and attitudes begin

to change. The child wants to please his or her parents in order to receive attention and praise. They want to be included in the adult work activities, which may be inappropriate, based on the child’s

level of development. The child wants to prove that they can do whatever is assigned despite limited physical and mental development.

• Between 10- 16-years, a child develops physically. They now feel old enough t o h a n d l e a n y a d u l t responsibilities and often strive to perform activities t h a t h o l d a c e r t a i n amount of risk. During this period, behavioral patterns are influenced by adult examples as well as by peers. They will likely engage in risky behavior in order to impress others.

Parents need to recognize that each child may not be able to perform the required task safely, due to the child’s mental and physical developmental stage. Age-appropriate tasks, for children and young employees, need to be family farms’ top pr ior i ty . Each individual should be evaluated, trained, monitored and then assigned tasks they can handle with ease and do so safely.

For more information of what age appropriate activities are, contact me at 801-233-3006 or [email protected].

was very involved in his family’s ranch and tourism business growing up. Later he successfully managed his parent’s deep-sea fishing charter for four years. Brad-shaw came to Utah to attend Utah State University. Af-ter graduation, Bradshaw worked for Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-01) in Washington, D.C. advising on small business, econom-ic and financial issues. He returned to Utah coordinat-ing special projects and con-stituent case management for Congressman Bishop.

“I found the right person at the right time,” said Com-missioner Adams. “Wayne comes to the UDAF with a breadth of experience and knowledge that extends the important role our Market-ing and Economic Devel-opment Division plays in promoting Utah agriculture and our Utah’s Own brand, ” she added.

“I am excited for this new opportunity and look for-ward to playing a larger part in promoting Utah agricul-ture. I know the hard work Utahans put into creating quality agriculture prod-ucts, and I hope to help the rest of the nation and world know what Utah has to of-fer,” said Bradshaw.

Utah Farm Bureau News28 August 2015

and artifact scatters. Most of the sites are associated with the Fremont Indian archaeological complex, which have been de-scribed state’s earliest farmers who inhabited the region from about A.D. 300 - A.D. 1350. Re-mote and difficult to access, the canyon is filled with an amazing-ly rich and relatively untouched archaeological record.

In February 2015, we had the opportunity to travel to Wash-ington, D.C. with the state’s YF&R group for a five-day trip. It was a great and humbling ex-perience. While we were there, we had the opportunity to visit many of the national monuments and historic sights of our nation’s capital. We also had the chance to meet with our Senators and Representatives and voice our concerns about key issues, which are impacting us on our ranch every day. Each congressional member listened to our worries and concerns and let our voice be heard. We were able to share contact information with a staff member who later sent an email thanking us for our comments and has since sent updates on the important issues we are facing.

Since the D.C. trip, we have been in contact with Represen-

tative Chaffetz and his staff who are working on a wilderness bill, which will greatly affect how we graze our animals on a viable allotment. We were able take a member of his staff on a three-day pack trip into Desolation Canyon where we could show how this bill with affect us and our ranch. This issue alone has sold us on the importance of let-ting our voice be heard. Our goal is get more involved with our congressional leaders and pro-vide them with our story to share with others. We plan on getting involved starting with the policy and issue surfacing meetings at the county level, and staying involved as the process moves forward. We feel this is one of the most important and effective ways of getting our voices heard. We would like thank David Bai-ley and other Farm Bureau staff for giving us this opportunity of a lifetime and to Carbon County Farm Bureau for sponsoring our trip. We would also like to thank Joël and the late Jordan Hatch for getting us involved in the Farm Bureau. We have enjoyed meeting new people and being involved in the organization.

TAVAPUTSContinued from pg. 23

Photo courtesy of Jennie ChristensenThe Tavaputs Ranch in Carbon County has been in the family for generations.

DENVER, COLORADO – From August through November, the U.S. Department of Agri-culture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct its monthly Agricultural Yield Surveys. NASS will reach out to hundreds of producers in Arizona, Colorado, Mon-tana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming to accurately measure row crops and hay production throughout the growing season. August is also the final month small grains production data is collected in the monthly Ag Yield Survey.

All sectors of the agricultural industry rely on NASS yield and production estimates to make sound business decisions.

Producers use the estimates to develop marketing plans for their operations and determine what to produce and how and when to sell it. USDA agencies use the crop yield data to determine crop insurance and disaster aid pay-

USDA to conduct survey on crop production

ments along with other program benefits.

The initial survey asks farmers how many acres of row crops and hay they intend to harvest, and their expected yield per acre. In subsequent months, NASS asks the same farmers to update their expected yield per acre. This en-sures the information collected captures any month-to-month changes. For their convenience, survey participants will have the option to respond by phone, on-line, or by mail.

NASS will compile, analyze and publish survey results in the monthly Crop Production report. All Crop Production reports are available online at http://www.nass.usda.gov.

For more information about the Agricultural Yield Survey, visit www.nass.usda.gov and for state specific questions please contact John Hilton at 1-800-747-8522 or [email protected].

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated Wasatch County in Utah as a primary natu-ral disaster area due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought.

Farmers and ranchers in Duch-esne, Salt Lake, Summit and Utah counties also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster ar-eas on July 15, 2015, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for

USDA designates Wasatch County in Utah as a Primary

Natural Disaster Arealow interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the dec-laration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan ap-plication on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

Additional information is also available online at http://disas-ter.fsa.usda.gov.

Utah Farm Bureau News 29August 2015

A

Farming is a business of uncertainty, but here’s something you can count on.Chevrolet presents this exclusive $500 private offer1 toward the purchase or lease of an all-new Chevy Silverado — the 2014 North American Truck of the Year. From the family of the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickups2 in America, rest assured your Silverado will keep you working without skipping a beat.

1 Offer available through 4/1/17. Available on qualified 2014 and 2015 Chevrolet vehicles. This offer is not available with some other offers. Only customers who have been active members of an eligible Farm Bureau for a minimum of 30 days will be eligible to receive a certificate. Customers can obtain certificates at www.fbverify.com/gm. Farm Bureau and the FB logo are registered service marks of the American Farm Bureau Federation and are used herein under license by General Motors. 2 Dependability based on longevity: 1987–April 2013 full-size pickup registrations.

Utah Farm Bureau News30 August 2015

disadvantage. According to the Federal Com-

munications Commission, 17 percent of Americans lack ac-cess to advanced broadband service—and the majority live in rural areas. Fifty-three percent of rural Americans lack access to service reaching the broadband benchmark speed set by the FCC. In comparison, only 8 percent of urban Americans lack access to the same service.

Americans rely on farmers and ranchers to produce food for our rapidly growing population. The technology to grow more with less is readily available, but a broadband connection is neces-sary to fully implement these technologies. With broadband access, farmers and ranchers can use precision agriculture equipment, follow commodity markets, and communicate with their customers near and far. Broadband service also gives rural Americans access to impor-tant resources they may not oth-erwise have close at hand, from medical services to educational resources. In today’s world, the ability to connect online is not just a comfort, it is a necessity.

Luckily, the cry for broadband access in rural America has not been ignored. FCC Commission-er Ajit Pai, supported by 61 U.S. senators, introduced a plan that would allow government subsi-dies to be allotted to broadband carriers who want to provide stand-alone Internet access to

ACCESSContinued from pg. 8

rural communities. Currently, the Universal Service Fund only provides support to rural carriers who supply telephone service, not stand-alone broadband ac-cess. Rural carriers are not able to invest in rural broadband access for their customers be-cause funds are insufficient to implement the program. Com-missioner Pai’s plan is designed to fix this issue and increase the availability of broadband access to rural communities.

In addition, President Barack Obama recently unveiled a pi-lot program, ConnectHome, designed to provide high-speed broadband access and digital services to more families at a lower cost. This program targets low-income families, which may include low-income rural fami-lies, and recognizes the need for universal coverage.

Recognition of the need for increased broadband access is vital to economic growth and development, especially in rural communities across the nation. Current and future generations of rural Americans will be left be-hind their fellow citizens if they are without affordable, high-speed broadband service to tap into health care and educational services, government agencies and new business opportunities. Kaylen Baker, a senior at Oklahoma State University, is an intern with the communications department at the American Farm Bureau Federation.

W EST D ES M O IN ES, I o w a — T w o a f f i l i a t e d insurance companies of Farm Bureau Financial Services have been named to Ward’s 50 Top Performers lists for 2015. Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Insurance Company, and Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company have been named to the Property-Casualty Ward’s 50® and Life-Health Ward’s 50® lists, respectively, based on their outstanding financial results over the five-year period 2010-2015.

Near ly 3 ,000 property-casualty insurance companies and 800 life-health insurance companies are analyzed to identify the top performers based on criteria such as surplus, net income/adjusted net income, risk-based capital, compound annual growth in premium, and more. Each company must pass all safety and consistency screens in addition to achieving superior performance over the five years analyzed. The Property-Casualty Ward’s 50 group produced a 10.9% statutory return on average equity from 2010 to 2014 (compared to 7.8% for the property-casualty industry overall), while the

Farm Bureau Financial Services-affiliated

insurance companies recognized by

Ward’s Top 50®Life-Health Ward’s 50 group produced a 21.8% statutory return on average equity for the same time period (compared to 8.9% for the life-health industry overall).

“ W e c o n t i n u e t o f o c u s on doing the right things – protecting the livelihoods and futures of the people in the communities we serve and optimizing our operational efficiency – and the results come naturally,” says Farm Bureau Financial Services Chief Executive Officer, James P. Brannen. “Our companies have a history of outstanding service and solid financial results; our agents are passionate about what they do. Collectively, w e m a k e a m e a n i n g f u l dif ference for our cl ient/members when they need us most,” Brannen adds. “We’re honored that our companies’ superior performance has been recognized by Wards 50.”

Ward Group has conducted the Ward’s 50 analysis since 1991. It is a financial analysis of the insurance industry based on publicly available data and conducted independent ly of the Ward Group annual benchmarking programs.

Utah Farm Bureau News 31August 2015

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

Utah State FairSeptember 10-20, 2015

“DISCOVER The Utah State Fair”

BUY ONE - GET ONE FREE!(ADULT GATE ADMISSION)

Redeem this ORIGINAL coupon at any ticket gate at the Utah State Fair to receive one free admission with the purchase of one adult gate admission. Additionally, during same transaction, bring three copies of original coupon to receive up to three more free admissions. Limit four total free admissions. Not redeemable for cash or valid with any other promotions.

IMPORTANT NOTICE1. Non‑commercial ads for Utah Farm Bureau members selling items they grow or make themselves, or used machinery, household items, etc., they themselves have used in the past. Each member family is entitled to one such ad free in each three‑month period. Ads can be up to 40 words or numbers such as phone number or Zip. Words such as “For Sale” are included, initials and numbers count as a word. All words over 40 cost 25 cents each. Ads over 40 words not accompanied by the extra payment, or not meeting the above requirements, will be returned to the sender. Family memberships cannot be combined to create larger ads, nor can a membership be used for free classified ad purposes by anyone other than immediate family members. Ads run for three months.2. Commercial ads for Utah Farm Bureau members where the member is acting as an agent or dealer (real estate, machinery, handicraft items made by people outside the member family, etc.) cost 25 cents per word. Payment MUST accompany such ads or they will be returned to the sender. Members are entitled to one such ad. Ads run for one month.3. Ads for non‑Utah Farm Bureau members cost 50 cents per word. Payment MUST accompany such ads or they will be returned to the sender. Ads run for one month.In all ads, short lines requested by the advertiser, extra lines of white space, and lines with words in all caps count as 6 words per line. Ads with borders and bold headlines may be submitted and placed within the classified section, but will be charged the display advertising rate. Please contact the classified advertising department for further information. No insurance ads will be accepted.***DEADLINE: ALL ADS MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE 15TH OF THE MONTH IN ORDER TO APPEAR IN THE NEXT ISSUE. EXCEPT FOR THE JANUARY ISSUE, WHICH HAS A CLASSIFIED DEADLINE OF DEC. 5.Only free ads (Category 1 ads of 40 words or less) will be accepted by telephone at 801‑233‑3010, by fax at 801‑233‑3030 or e-mail at [email protected]. Please include your membership number. Ads must be received no later than the 15th of the monthMail ads, typed or neatly printed, with any payment due, to Utah Farm Bureau News, Classified Ad Department, 9865 South State Street, Sandy, UT 84070‑2305. Free ads must be resubmitted by mail, telephone or fax after running for three months. Ads for which there is a payment due will be run as long as payment is received in advance.

ALL CLASSIFIED ADS will be listed on the Utah Farm Bureau web page unless the Utah Farm Bureau member specifies otherwise when placing the ad. The ads on the web site will run concurrently with the classified ads in the Utah Farm Bureau News. NOTE: The appearance of any ad in the Utah Farm Bureau News does not constitute an endorsement or approval of the service or merchandise offered. While every effort is made to ensure the legitimacy of services or merchandise advertised, the Utah Farm Bureau News or the Utah Farm Bureau Federation accepts no responsibility or liability for services or products

advertised.

FARM EQUIPMENT:FOR SALE: 2009 Challenger 185SP Rotary Swather 1764 hrs. $70,000.00 OBO Hesston 956 Round baler $18000.00 OBO Kuhn Gyrorake hay turner. Used one season $5000.00 OBO Balemaster Round bale wagon hauls 7 bales $3,000.00 OBO 435‑823‑5116 in Altamont UtahFOR SALE 1982 CASE 2090, 108 Horsepower, 4971 hours, 6 cycle diesel, 540/1000 PTO Powershift Transmission, A/C does not work, well maintained. Contact Dan Stevenson 435-454-3555 or Robert Stagg 435‑724‑5688. Located in Altamont, Utah. Price $12,000.FOR SALE: Irrigation pipe 1 ½ miles aims 40 ft. 4 in. ready to use, new rubber gaskets, $8,000 includes trailer. Call 435.231.000 and ask for C. J.

LIVESTOCK:COWS – Angus & Gelbvieh x Angus Balance. Cows mostly fall bred but a few spring pairs. Price varies depending on age and breed or pairs! $2,200 – $3,000. Larry 435‑864‑7879

REAL ESTATE:DWELL REALTY GROUP, BRENT PARKER, (435)881-1000, EMAIL: [email protected] 9.25 acres in Young Ward. Build or divide. 16.75 acres in Petersboro. Great for crops or pasture. Has an existing well on one end and a spring.12.92 acres in Richmond. Excellent soil with water shares. Adjacent 9.53 acres available.60 Acres in Cache Valley. Majestic setting with incredible views of the valley. 642.94 Acres of Farm Property in Cache Valley. Price Reduced. Unique. Part in CRP. Year around spring.7.51 Acres in Cache ValleyLots at Bear Lake. Views. Two at The Reserve. 10.01 Acres in Cache Valley. Views. Horse Property. Well permit.2,414 Acres in Cove. Beautiful recreational property with cabin and campsites up High Creek Canyon. 10.23 acre feet of water.60.96 acre ranch in Morgan Valley. Could be divided. 65 shares of water and a 6 bedroom home. Great views.7.37 acre parcel in Nibley in Cache Valley. Horse property. Can be subdivided. Irrigation shares.18.75 Acres in Cache Valley. Artesian well already dug.

Secondary gravity pressure irrigation.Cabin in Logan Canyon. Beautiful setting close to river.View Lots in Mt. Sterling in Cache Valley. 4 to 5.5 acres Home sites. Horse property.Dairy Farm in Cache Valley 41 acres. Irrigated. Updated home, excellent crops. Double 5 Herringbone parlor.185.38 Acres in Cache Valley with views. Can be divided. Located in popular Maple Rise area. Borders national forest.37.91 Acres located on the foothills of the Wellsvilles. Can be divided in up to five lots. Water shares. Canal runs through.400 Acres Bordering Oneida Narrows Reservoir. Beautiful and secluded. Adjacent to campground and boat dock. Seller financing.

MISCELLANEOUS:FREE Male & Female English Bulldogs To A Good Home. If Interested Contact: ([email protected] ) For More Information.

AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES:CIRCLE FOUR FARMS OF MURPHY BROWN LLC: If you are looking for a career in a fun, rewarding team environment, Circle Four Farms is the opportunity you’ve been searching for. We’re offering quality, full time Herd Technician animal production positions with training provided. Challenge yourself with a stable company that offers a starting entry‑level wage of $10 to $11, plus a full benefit package including: medical, prescription, dental, and vision insurance, life insurance plan, short and long term disability, company paid pension plan, 401(k) savings plan with company match, bonus/incentive programs, paid holidays and vacation and education reimbursement.C4 Job Application required. For more information please call our office: Circle Four Farms, PO Box 100, 341 South Main, Milford UT 84751, Phone (435) 387‑2107, Fax (435) 387-2170. EOE / PWDNET - If you require accommodation or assistance to complete the application process, please call Lacy Davis at (435) 387-6047. When you contact Lacy, please identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. We will assist you promptly.

Utah Farm Bureau News32 August 2015

County Scenes

Salt Lake County▶ Board meetings are the first Tuesday of each month. Next meeting Sept. 1, 7 p.m. at UFBF Board Room in SandySevier County▶ Board meetings on 4th Wednesday of each month. Next meeting is August 26, 8 p.m. at the insurance office in RichfieldWashington County▶ Board meetings are the first Wednesday of each month. Next meetings are Sept. 2 & Oct. 7, 8 p.m. at Insurance office.Carbon County▶ Board meetings on 2nd Tuesday of each month. Next meeting planned for Aug. 11.▶ State Forest Stewardship Coordinating Council, Aug. 12 in Price, 11 a.m.Utah County▶ Meetings are typically held the fourth Thursday of each month. Next board meeting is August 27, 7 p.m. at Extension office in ProvoGarfield County▶ CCARM Field Tour, Aug. 6, south of PanguitchEmery County▶ Board meetings, August 19, 7:30 p.m. at County courthouseKane County▶ Buyers Breakfast, Aug. 15, North Events Center in Orderville, 7 a.m.Morgan County▶ Board meeting, August 11 in the courthouse in Morgan,North Box Elder County▶ Board meeting, August 20 Piute County▶ Board meeting, Aug. 18Beaver County▶ Board meeting, Aug. 18, at home of President David Roberts, 6 p.m.

State and Regional Activities ▶ UFBF Farmers Markets open in Murray (Fri & Sat) and South Jordan (Sat) through October 31▶ Schedule a Date for County Annual Business Meeting in Sept. & Oct.

DWR Board & RAC MeetingsNext DWR Board meeting schedule for August 26-27. Topics to be covered include:• New RAC and Board Member Orientation• Cougar hunt tables and permit numbers• Bobcat permit numbers• Fee proposals• Convention Permit Audit• Convention Permit Allocation

Visit wildlife.utah.gov for details. DWR Board meetings takes place at DNR Salt Lake Office Auditorium, 1594 West North Temple, Salt Lake City. They are typically held at 9 a.m, on the first Thursday of each month. After August meeting, next meeting is Oct. 1.

No RACs scheduled for August. Next RACs scheduled as follows:

• Northern RAC, Brigham City Community Center, Sept. 8• Central RAC, Dept. of Natural Resources in SLC, Sept. 9• Southern RAC, Snow College Admin. Building in Richfield, Sept. 15• Southeastern RAC, City Council Chambers (460 E. Main) in

Green River, Sept. 16• Northeastern RAC, Wildlife Resources NER Office in Vernal,

Sept. 17

FB County Corner

[Top] Randy Parker (left) presents the FFA Teacher of the Year award to Katie Silcox of North Summit High School. [Middle] Utah Farm Bureau President Leland Hogan (left) presents AFBF President Bob Stallman with a statue in recognition of his 14 years of service as national president. [Bottom] Richfield’s own Shantell Ogden (right), now a country music singer-songwriter based in Nashville, performs a few songs in the Farm Bureau building for employees.