Page 12 - MWC 4-21-2022s

The Midwest Cattleman · April 21, 2022 · P12
SENATORS OFFER PRICE DISCOVERY AND DONATIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR
TRANSPARENCY ACT REVISION RANCHERS IMPACTED BY RECENT WILDFIRES
U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer, ceding five years would be In late March,
Chuck Grassley, Jon Tester, covered by the law. Failure by wildfires tore
and Ron Wyden recently in- a covered packer to make the through portions
troduced another version of mandatory minimum pur- of Jewell and
the Cattle Price Discovery chases would result in a max- Pawnee coun-
and Transparency Act. The imum penalty of $90,000. ties, burning
revised bill would require the The bill also includes pro- nearly 10,000
secretary of agriculture to es- visions to create a publicly and 8,600 acres
tablish five to seven regions available library of market- of pastureland,
encompassing the continental ing contracts, mandate boxed respectively.
U.S., then set the minimum beef reporting, expedite the Hay, fence, and
levels of fed cattle purchases reporting of cattle carcass some equipment
that must be made through weights and require a packer also was lost.
negotiated trade within those to report the number of cattle A collection point for do- the memo line, to 6031 S.W.
regions. The formula used for scheduled to be delivered for nated hay and fencing sup- 37th, Topeka, KS 66614.
establishing the initial man- processing each day for the plies for those impacted by Producers can apply for
datory minimums would be next 14 days. the fire in Jewell County has relief funds by filling out a
no less than the average per- In accordance with policy been set up across the high- form, which asks about live-
centage of negotiated (grid set by members that oppos- way from 2920 Highway 128, stock, fence and structures
base + cash) purchases be- es government intervention Burr Oak, KS 66936. This is lost, grazing acres burned
tween January 1, 2020, and in the marketplace, neither 7 miles north of Burr Oak or and veterinary costs to treat
January 1, 2022, and no more KLA nor NCBA supports this 2 miles south of the Kansas/ sick or injured animals. Ap-
than 50%. Packers that have legislation. Nebraska state line. For un- plications are due May 15.
processed 5% or more of the KLA loading assistance, call Jar- Find the form here: https://
nation’s fed cattle in the pre- ett Yelken at (402) 746-0569. www.kla.org/resources/wild-
The Kansas Livestock fire-relief-resources
VILSACK transfer into an acre of crop Foundation, KLA’s charitable Applicants do not have to
continued from page 3 production, but closer to half arm, is accepting cash dona- be KLA members. Relief fund
market basically responds to that.” tions to assist those impact- checks will be mailed soon to
signals and farmers make the USDA's Own Guidance ed by the fires. Those who producers who applied earli-
decision,” he said. Those with land in CRP would like to donate can do er this year.
so by sending a check, with
Bringing CRP Ground with contracts expiring in the “wildfire relief” written in
Back into Production ‘Not fall have typically sought to
Feasible’ re-enroll a high percentage LIFE
Earlier this week, Vilsack of those acres back into the
said bringing CRP ground program, typically more than continued from page 5
back into production ‘not fea- 50% to 60%. USDA concluded
a general CRP signup March ice storms, and wars, I could paper is available, on-line,
sible’ and indicates less CRP 11, and Vilsack indicated that always count on sitting down, just like the big boys, and if
re-enrollments in latest gener- the trend of re-enrolling acres on Thursday evening, and I’m so obsessed with making
al signup. The calls for USDA may not be as strong this time reading The Ozark County sure I keep my Thursday rit-
to allow ground in the Con- relative to the 4 million acres Times. Even though I haven’t ual intact, I could simply log
servation Reserve Program under contracts that mature lived there in fifty years, and on, and read it on the com-
(CRP) to be brought back into September 30. have no living relatives left puter. Again, refer to para-
production does not appear While cautioning USDA is in the county, I derive great graph #1.
to be one USDA will be heed- still sorting through the CRP pleasure, from keeping up I guess I’ll just have to
ing. In a letter to the National offers, Vilsack said, “our data with the people, with whom I adapt to change, and deal
Grain and Feed Association reflect the reality that, with grew up—every Thursday. with the fact that I may have
(NGFA), USDA Secretary There is hardly a week to read the deaths, births,
Tom Vilsack said bringing higher commodity prices, pro-
ducers are not re-enrolling all that goes by, that the obit- court cases, and fascinating
CRP acres back into produc- of these acres in CRP. Instead, uary page doesn’t describe pictures from my hometown,
tion is “not feasible” in part high prices for this year’s someone I knew. If I turn to not every Thursday, like I
as land in the program is not crops will motivate producers the birth announcements, I, have my entire lifetime, but
highly productive. The 2020 to plant more acres of wheat, more often than not, know sometimes on a Friday. Last
Natural Resources Inventory soybeans, and corn, with the the child’s grandparents or week, it arrived on a Satur-
by USDA showed only 1.3% main limiting factors being great-grandparents. When day…a SATURDAY!
of prime farmland is in CRP weather and soil moisture I read the court records, the
and “more than 75% of acres” conditions.” family names still ring with
are less productive non-prime That shows that producers a familiarity of my younger
farmland. Drought in several are willing to bring acres out days. If there are pictures
parts of the US is another fac- of CRP when contracts ma- accompanying a story, I can
tor against tapping CRP acres ture during a time of higher usually identify the place,
cited by Vilsack along with without reading the caption,
facts that we have signaled — commodity prices even with and I’ve been able to do that,
higher costs involved to re-
acres coming out of CRP have every Thursday.
significant “slippage,” which turn such lands to productiv- My family reminds me that
ity.
Vilsack said means “one acre even my hometown, weekly
coming out of CRP does not