A TIME TO GIVE THANKS

Blackbuck Antelope on Edwards Plateau in Texas.

    As the northeast cleans up and assess losses in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, the unpredictability of Mother Nature is again on full display.  This severe weather event is just one recent example of the types of uncertainties our farmers face day in and day out, and it serves as a compelling argument for the importance of ensuring that our farmers have the tools they need to succeed in feeding our nation.  Locally we have been dealing with a severe drought the last two years, and we are thankful that our Ag producers have access to risk management tools like crop insurance, that can help offset major financial losses due to weather extremes.  Numbers are still being finalized but it looks like more than 69 % of our gain sorghum acres and 89 % of our cotton acres in Nueces County failed in 2012. We remain hopeful that rains will come soon, as our soil moisture conditions remain very dry and the long-range outlook does not hold much promise.
    With all of that bad news from the drought, we still have an adequate supply of food and fiber in our grocery stores and we are not standing in lines to get a loaf of bread, and yes we are all thankful for that!  As we consider the Thanksgiving of 2012, our food costs have remained very reasonable.  The retail cost of menu items for a classic Thanksgiving dinner including turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the basic trimmings increased less than 1 percent this year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).
AFBF’s 27th annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $49.48, a 28-cent price increase from last year’s average of $49.20.  U.S. consumers spend just 10% of their income on food-the lowest percentage in the world.  We all are thankful for that!
    Ask most Americans where food comes from and they'll say the grocery store. True, but where did the grocery store get its food? The vast majority of America's food and fiber is grown on farms across the country. With fewer and fewer farmers (farm and ranch families comprise just 2 percent of the U.S. population) standing in between feast and famine, America cannot afford to lose even one working farm.  With that said, we should all be thankful for the farmers and ranchers in this country, as today, the average U.S. farmer feeds 155 people. In 1960, a farmer fed just 26 people.  Moreover, today’s farmer grows twice as much food as his parents did – using less land, energy, water and fewer emissions.
    It is my hope that during this time you are able to spend quality time with family and friends and reflect on the many things you enjoy in life and be thankful for those.  Happy Thanksgiving!

STATEWIDE REFERENDUM TO ESTABLISH A GRAIN INDEMNITY FUND FOR FARMERS - VOTING OPENS NOVEMBER 19

    The Texas Grain Producers Indemnity Board is holding a referendum on the statewide establishment of a grain indemnity fund. The TGPIB referendum will be held from Nov. 19, 2012, until Dec. 7, 2012 across the state.
    The grain indemnity fund board may award up to 90 percent of the financial losses suffered by producers of corn, sorghum, soybean and wheat when grain buyers fail to pay for grain due to a financial failure. The TGPIB was established as the result of legislation passed by the 2011 Texas legislature and signed into law by the governor.  Rep. Larry Phillips of Sherman and Sen. Craig Estes of Wichita Falls introduced the legislation after a series of grain buyer financial failures in recent years resulted in millions of dollars in losses to Texas grain producers.
    Eligible voters in the referendum will vote to establish an assessment rate within a range of 0.2 percent to 0.6 percent of the final sales price of grain. The assessment, which will be set each year by the TGPIB, will be collected and remitted to the TGPIB effective Feb. 1, 2013.
    Any producer who has produced corn, sorghum, soybeans or wheat within the last 36 months is eligible to vote. This includes owners of farms on which grain is produced or an owner’s tenant or sharecropper engaged in the business of producing grain or causing grain to be produced for commercial purposes.

The referendum will be held by mail ballot. Ballots will be available at all Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service county offices during regular business hours.  For a ballot to be valid, it must be mailed to the Texas Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 12847, Austin, Texas, 78711, with a postmark date of no later than Dec. 7, 2012.

For more information regarding the referendum, please contact the Texas Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 12847, Austin, Texas, 78711 or call 512-463-3285. To learn more about TGPIB and the indemnity fund, visit www.TexasGrainIndemnity.org.