Frequently, producersí grain is docked because of the presence of aflatoxin when offered for sale at the local elevator although the grain is subsequently found to be free of the fungus when samples are submitted for crop insurance reimbursement.
Policy & Politics
Farmers have been responding to climate change since they first put seed in the ground and herded livestock. Whether or not one believes the climate is changing or whether humans are the cause of that change, from a food supply standpoint, agriculture needs to be as resilient as possible.
Animal issues continue to evolve at national, state, and county levels. Ohio Farm Bureau is engaged, from traditional livestock to companion animals to wild dangerous animals. As society continues to evolve, the perception of what is or is not animal agriculture has become less clear.
Foreign animal disease outbreaks have the potential to create massive financial losses in the livestock sector through loss of access to foreign markets, a decline in meat demand by domestic consumers, and direct production losses (death loss and morbidity).
The Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV) Program says for property tax purposes, farmland devoted solely to commercial agriculture may be valued by its current use, instead of its "highest and best" potential use. CAUV usually results in a substantially lower tax bill for working farmers.
The Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV) program values have increased due to higher crop prices and lower interest rates, but continue to provide an average 67 percent reduction from fair market value.
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service regulations require all animals found to be nonambulatory at ante-mortem inspection (or those nonambulatory after the ante-mortem inspection but before processing) be condemned. There are cases where animals are non-ambulatory not because of illness.
Recently, China has rejected some vessels carrying small amounts of a corn variety approved for marketing in the United States, but not in China. The market reacted negatively and a number of grain handling companies have indicated they will no longer accept that variety at their elevators.
Last fall, a record harvest of high moisture corn increased demand for propane for drying in the Midwest. As a result, propane inventories in the Midwest were at their lowest level heading into winter since 1996.
Federal legislation has been introduced for an agreement between the Humane Society of the U.S. and the United Egg Producers dealing with cage size and other animal care standards for our nationís 280 million egg-laying hens.