Michigan Farm News -= December 15, 1994 Vol. 71, No. 20 USDA announces county office GATT passage means a closure list I nwhat out -going Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy level field for agriculture '. termed a "heads-up notice to taxpayers and farmers," USDAfinallyannounced that it will close 1,274 USDAoffices nationwide and cut the number of staff by over 11,000 to a final number of 99,000 full time staff, saving taxpayers an estimated $3.6 P assage of the GATTimplementing bill by the U.S. House and Senate "represents a vote of confidence in the ability of American farmers and American workers to compete in a global econo- The trade pact will benefit the nation as a whole and will help boost U.S. net farm income by more than S1 billion per year, while creating more than 100,000 new agriculture-related jobs, according to MFBCom- billion. my," according to MFBPresident Jack Laurie. modity Activitiesand Research Division Director Ken "Tothe taxpayers, we want to let them know The Senate gave finalapproval to H.R. 5110, the Nye. American farmers, he said, willalso see their that their government just got smalle~" Espy said. Uruguay Round General Agreement on Tariffsand competitors operate under fairer and more rational "Toour farmers, I want to let them know that the Trade (GATT).The vore on final passage was 76 to 24. trading rules that will now be enforceable. USDAand its services just got better." In a narrower, more crucial, procedural vote which oc- "It was unfortunate that all the hysteria about the Espy anticipates that the office closing and curred before final passage, the Senate approved by a World Trade Organization and U.S.sovereignty ob- consolidations, combined with structural changes margin of 68 to 32 the budget impact waiver which was scured the fact that the current playing field was tilted and operating procedures, should save producers required under Senate rules before finalconsideration. in favor of our competitors," Nye said. "The new trade over 2.5 million hours annually. Nearly 15 percent The House of Representatives had approved agreement will rectify that." of the office closings will take place immediately, GATTin a vote of 288-146 prior to the Senate vote. Nye noted that agriculture willbe one of many another 30 percent will be closed within the next President BillClinton is expected to formally sign the winners under the new trading rules. He said by four to five months, with the remainder scheduled package so the pact can go into eITectonJan. I, 1995. eliminating import taxes, world income will increase by • to close over the next three years. In Michigan, 23 USDAcounty offices will be 'J\griculture willbenefit from expanded export markets due to lower trade barriers, reduced export as much as $5 trillion in the next 10years and that higher world incomes will translate into increased closed and/or moved, with a majority bf those s'Jbsidies by our competitors and fairer trade rules," demand for American-made and grown products and export about one-third of our production and we closings occurring in counties where there are two said Laurie. "Passage of GATTis a major victory for commodities. Bythe year 2005, he said, increased will thrive with an improved trading environment. more USDAoffices within the same county, says Farm Bureau and is the culmination of many years' demand for U.S.commodities could boost U.S. agricul- We contribute the largest trade surplus of any sector Farm Service Agency Acting Director Jim Byrum. efforts by our organization. GATTwould not have tural exports by as much as $8.7 billion. of our economy, nearly $20 billion a year. A trade '.. "In cases where we have SCS in one location and ASCSin another location, we're simply combining the two," he said. Mter the closings, there will bea total of 53 offices locaced within Michigan, with 52 of them passed without strong support from the agricultural community." 'J\merican farmers already are the most produc- tive and competitive in the world," Laurie said. "We pact that expands farm exports is good news for all Americans." • See GATTvoting record-page 3 termed as USDAservice cemers, In regard to staff cuts, Byrum t1~n't anticipate any from within the USDA reorganization underway former ASCSoperation. "We knew this was coming y ou can strike ASCSand SCS from the farmer's is the transfer of the farm loan program from the Overall workload and the actual number of .. for quite some time, and we've been making plans to minimize the impact on personnel," Byrum said. Overall workload, farmer proximity to anoth- er county office, and whether a county office was vocabulary and replace them with Farm Service Agency (FSA)and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), respectively. The name changes are just the first of many changes to be implemented current Farmers' Home Administration. "Our major objective is to make sure that we don't disrupt some of the traditional or existing farmer/1oan officer relationships out there," Byrum farmers served by county offices were used as the primary consideration in determining which offices will be closed and/or consolidated, according to Byrum. co-located with other USDAoffices were the three under the USDAreform bill, according to State FSA said. "The move of the farm loan program will proba- The USDAreorganization also included reform primary factors in determining which offices would Acting Director Jim Byrum. bly be several months down the road. The biggest of the Federal Crop Insurance Program. The Crop be closed, according to Byrum. He expects four of Ultimately, the plan will also eliminate 14 USDA change farmers are going to see is just that we answer Insurance Reform Act includes nearly $1 billion for the closings to take place yet this winter, with the agencies, close 1,100field offices throughout the U.S. the phones differently." each of the next five years to replace the government's remainder closed over the next three-year period. and reduce staITby up to 11,000 over the next five Sure to be high on the list of many farmers is the ad hoc disaster assistance programs which have • ASCS County Office Closure/Move list: • Alger (will be served out of Escanaba office) years. Byrum doesn't expect recent general election results to have any impact on the reform measures. Byrum, who was head of the Michigan ASCS, county office consolidation list, although Byrum expects actual consolidation to take place over a longer period of time. (See article at left.) "Our biggest averaged $1.5 billion annually. Under the new plan, administered by FSA, producers must participate in the catastrophic crop • Charlevoix (will be served out of Petoskey says that with the exception of a few very minor concern is to make sure that producers continue to be insurance program in order to be eligible for price office) programs, everything that ASCShad been doing has serviced and that we do what we can to minimize the support or production adjustment programs, certain • Clare (will be served our of Gladwin office) been transferred to the FSA.First on the listof changes, impact on personnel," Byrum said. FHAloans and new conservation reserve contracts .• • Kalkaska (will be served out ofTraverse City office) • Leelanau (will be served out ofTraverse City office) • Mackinac (will be served out of Sault Ste. MFB annual and Ag Showcase Marie office) • Macomb (will be served out of St. Clair County office) wows 'em in Detroit • Missaukee (will be served out of Cadillac office) O ver 500 school children and 4,000 adult visitors made a trip to the farm which happened to be located at the Renaissance Center's Westin Harel, • Montcalm (Stanton office moved to thanks to the eITonsof over 100 Farm Bureau volun- Greenville Service Center) teers and the MFBState Promotion and Education continued on back page Committee, who hosted the second annual Ag Show- case during the Michigan Farm Bureau annual meeting in Detroit. Visitors to the showcase were greeted by tasty samples of various Michigan-produced commcxlities, as well as a chance to see real pigs, chickens, calves, goats and sheep. Students from the Butzell Middle School, enrolled in a summer ag program, also served as hosts and caretakers for the livestock that were on display. In other state annual action, Tuscola County dairy farmer Jack Laurie was re-elected president, Tom Guthrie of Delton, representing District 4, was re- elected vice president. Richard Leach of Saginaw, representing District 8, was re-elected third member of the Executive Committee. Newly elected to the MFBBoard of Directors were Alan Garner of Mason, representing District 5; and RickJohnson of Leroy, representing District 7. They were elected for one year to fillout the unex- pired terms of Mark Smuts of Charlotte and Larry Snider of Hart, both of whom resigned. Marlette, representing Distric( 6; Richard Leach of re-elec(ed as directors at-large. Brigelte Leach of Re-elected to the MFBBoard were Blaine Van- Saginaw, representing District 8; and Margaret Kartes Kalamazoo was elected as Promotion and Education Sickle of Marshall, representing District 2; Tom Guthrie of West Branch, representing District 10. Faye Adam representative and Andrew Hagenow of Rockford of Delton, representing District 4; \v.1yneWood of of Snover and Judith Emmons of Sheridan were was re-elected as Young Farmer representative .• • Sell products and services in the Michigan Farm News c/assifieds-Page 14 Michigan Farm News December 15,1994 From the President... In brief... meeting and overcoming challenges is what defines and makes Farm Bureau a success. Those of you who Milk production up EPA to review atrazine purchase Donna Wilber's book In the Service of the Dairy herds in Michigan produced 461 million pounds The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a Farmer, Part 11 (and I hope each and every one of you of milk during October, 18 million pounds more than a "special review" of atrazine, cyanazine and simazine. • do buy it) willfindthat ever since 1919, our Farm year ago, according to the Federal/State Michigan The use of the popular pesticides could be restricted I Bureau history has consisted of crossing one hurdle after another. Every year it's been different problems— Agricultural Statistics Service. Milk per cow averaged 1,375 pounds, up 5 percent from last year. The Michi- or even canceled "if health data warrant such action," the agency said. every year new solutions to those problems. The one gan dairy herd was estimated at 335,000 head, down The special review was launched "because it has constant, the one dependable factor, is the strength 3,000 head from October 1993. been determined that the use of each of these pesti- of member involvement that makes positive change The preliminary value of milk sold averaged cides may pose a significant risk to public health," EPA possible. $1350 per hundredweight (cwt.) in October, $0.40 said. Administrator Carol Browner said she is con- Agriculture has changed a lot in the 75 years that more than last year. Mid-October slaughter cow cerned that traces of the compounds may be found in Farm Bureau's been around. Society has changed. The prices averaged $38.20 per cwt., $10.10 less than drinking water and that her agency will determine economy has changed. What hasn't changed is the the previous year. what steps to take to guard against the potential flexibility of our Farm Bureau structure to adapt to the Milk in the 21 major states totaled 10.7 billion adverse effects to human health. times. That's why our organization is still around and pounds, 3 percent above production in these same The review, which is expected to take about one thriving after 75 years while other farm groups have states in October 1993. Production per cow averaged year to complete, will weigh the risks and benefits of fallen by the wayside. 1,330 pounds for October, 50 pounds more than atrazine use. EPA estimates up to 80 million pounds of The biggest challenge to our continued success October 1993. The number of cows on farms was 8.03 atrazine are applied to U.S. crops annually. Thirty-four is not legislative, regulatory, or economic factors out- million head, 41,000 head less than last October and companies hold registrations for atrazine products, al- side these walls. It's the challenges within, the hurdles 9,000 below September 1994. though it was first registered by the Ciba Corp. in 1958. that all of us, as leaders, must continually overcome in Dairy manufacturing plants in Michigan pro- finding new, creative ways to motivate and inspire the duced 1.5 million pounds of butter in September, member involvement that has always been the life- 4 percent more than a year ago. Ice cream output Confirmed, worms blood of Farm Bureau. It's a tough job. Our farmer totaled 1.9 million gallons, 20 percent less than members are busy people, with lots of demands on September 1993- are good for soil their time. And it's easy and comfortable for them to A U.S. Agriculture Department study confirmed that turn to staff to get the job done. earth worms help make soil healthy, contribute to Vision for the future No doubt about it, we have a top notch staff that Pest resistant plants quicker soil saturation, help plant roots get water more efficiently and even help to reduce water and Adapted from President Laurie's Annual does a great job assisting us. But they can't do every- Address at the MFB Annual Meeting thing. Our organization's credibility with lawmakers, to be regulated soil runoff. The Environmental Protection Agency announced that USDA conducted its worm study on Iowa test W hat's our vision for where we want our indus- try to go in the future, and what kind of ag programs will help us fulfill that vision? In a highly regulators and the general public depends upon real farmers like you leaving the tractor seat and using tools of persuasion, communication and commitment it plans to regulate pesticides that have been bred into plants to provide resistance to disease and insects. plots, one tilled without worms and one untilled with approximately 100 night crawlers per square yard. The competitive world market where capital and know- to cultivate a rich harvest of legislative and regulatory "They're going to be regulated not unlike other study showed the untilled, worm-filled field soaked up ledge flow easily from one country to another, do we victories. pesticides, but with different criteria," an EPA spokes- two inches of water in only 12 minutes, while it took really want to try and wall ourselves off with quotas on man said. "What we're worried about is if you take a two hours to soak up the same amount of water in the I'm confident that you'll continue to do that. production and the resulting restrictions on our toxin or a piece of bacteria and put it into a com plant, tilled, worm-free plot. business freedom? Rather than fruitlessly trying to it may be toxic to the insect, but it may also be toxic to The study also examined soil as an "ecosystem," curtail supply, isn't it far preferable to try boosting our people." finding that in order to obtain "healthy" soil, fungi, efficiency and increasing the demand for our products by aggressively pursuing worid trade opportunities?