Youth Leadership Day

Next week provides a great opportunity for high school students in Missouri to take an active part in promoting agriculture!  On Thursday, March 31st several hundred students sponsored by dozens of counties will gather on the capital building to visit with their legislators. 

In addition, these students will also have the chance to be a part of training by MFB.  Several speakers will address the students and they will learn about programs available to them through FB, such as the Ambassador Program and Collegiate Farm Bureau.

Check out photos from last year!

Deadlines

A reminder!  Scholarship applications are coming due!  If you know anyone who qualifies for these-- make sure they have applied.

The Vocational Scholarship is due March 30th.  Requirements are: • Missouri residents and they, their parent(s) or guardians must hold a current Farm Bureau membership.
• Enrolled as a full-time student.
• Enrolled for the fall semester of the year in which the scholarship is awarded.
• Pursuing an associate of applied science degree or certification in a trade related to agriculture

The Mini Grant is due May 30th.  This grant is for up to $250 for teachers to promote ag literacy.

For both of these programs visit the Promotion and Education page.

Yay!

Its ready!  The Wallendorf Log Home at the Missouri Farm Bureau Center in Jeff City is open! 

The project began more than six years ago by the MFB Foundation for Ag.  The goal?  To educate the many children who come through the Jeff City area about agriculture.  The one hour tours includes fun, hands-on activities that share life from the perspective of a farm family.  Currently the Foundation can handle groups of 24 students with at least one adult for every 8 children.

Now that its available, make sure your school is aware of the opportunity!  Check out the website or contact Melissa Smith at msmith@mofb.com or Val Dunn at vdunn@mofb.com.

News

The conference was a hit!  Farm Bureau accomplished much in the way of electing FARM-PAC officers, informing farmers, and updating committees.  Following are short summaries of four of the many speakers. 

Estil Fretwell, Director of Public Affairs at Farm Bureau gave an overview of the political state of the nation.  Using an interesting graph he showed how Missouri has changed in its make-up of Republicans and Democrats.  He also shared information about SWAT, Spokespersons Working for Agriculture Together.  This 2-3 hour training program teaches up to 6 participants how to become a better spokesperson for agriculture.  If you would like to learn more about the program or set a date, contact Estil at efretwell@mofb.com. 

Ford West, President of The Fertilizer Institute in Washington D.C. spoke about fertilizer prices and some of the issues affecting the industry.  Mr. West explained that the United States is a net importer of potassium.  We receive 90% of our potassium from Canada.   He also talked about the difficulty in obtaining permits for mining fertilizer.  Phosphorous, for instance, usually takes about seven or eight years to obtain a permit.  The underlying cause of this fertilizer difficulty lies with regulations created by the EPA and the environmentalist groups which sue the EPA to effect change. 

Dan Manternach, economist from Doane’s Ag Research, St. Louis, gave the Market Outlook.  He forecasted a "bullish" outlook for corn and soybeans, but was not as optomistic about wheat.  He backed these statements with five factors used to determine grain market, such as ending stocks.

One of the last speakers, Paul Simmons, is now from California, but grew up in Tarkio, Missouri.  He shared information about endangered species affecting water rights.  He explained how the government in CA shut down a canal, depleting all of the farmer's irrigation water.  The frustrating part of his story is the lack of scientific evidence that taking water for ag use would harm the fish.  Even proponents of the plan admit they have no true idea how much water the fish need.  It has been estimated that the loss of revenue to farmers was in excess of $1 billion dollars in 2009 alone. 

With so much going on in just a few short days this is only a glimpse of Commodity Conference/Legislative Briefing.  To learn about it all, you'll just have to attend next year!