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January 11, 2013
Volume 13
Issue 6
FARM BUREAU HOLDS SUCCESSFUL LEGISLATIVE KICKOFF On Tuesday, Indiana Farm Bureau hosted its annual legislative kickoff meeting. The meeting featured a luncheon to which all legislators were invited as well as a presentation by Lt. Governor-elect Sue Ellspermann who will also serve as the state’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. Ellspermann recalled growing up as the daughter of a jeweler in the small southern Indiana town of Ferdinand and quoted her father as saying, “When the farmers do well, we all do well.” She said that she too believed that a successful farming community was a key to economically healthy rural communities in Indiana. She called upon the 300-plus Farm Bureau members in the audience to work with government at all levels to help accomplish her vision of bustling, growing and vibrant rural communities across the state by working with state and local government to attract new businesses and plentiful high wage jobs so that high achieving local school graduates will return home rather than seeking greener pastures elsewhere.
Following the lieutenant governor’s remarks, Megan Ritter – the new leader of Farm Bureau’s Public Policy Team – presented some tips on successful lobbying and relationship development techniques, and Farm Bureau staff members Justin Schneider and Katrina Hall coached members on some of the issues legislators might be interested in discussing during lunch.
The luncheon itself was attended by 95 of the state’s 150 legislators. This is an exceptionally large turnout of legislators for any event and reflects both the respect that members of the General Assembly have for Farm Bureau and their desire to connect with the thought leaders of their local farm communities.
Photos of the event are available on the IFB Facebook page.
SLOW START TO LEGISLATIVE SESSION The first week of the 2012 legislative session was marked more by social events than legislative events. This is typical of the first week of a legislative session following an election. Like Farm Bureau, other interest groups and their lobbyists host meals and receptions to introduce themselves to newly elected senators and representatives. Meanwhile, committee chairs are reviewing the bills that have been assigned to their committees to determine which they will schedule for a hearing. The filing deadline for bills is January 11 in the Senate and January 14 in the House, so the bill review will continue into next week as well.
AG TRANSPORTATION BILL CLEARS COMMITTEE One of the few committees that did meet this week was the House Roads and Transportation Committee, which heard and forwarded to the full House without amendment HB 1068, a bill authored by Rep. Bob Cherry (R-Greenfield) that will change Indiana law regarding the requirements for some agricultural transportation situations to make the law in Indiana consistent with changes in the federal law that were enacted by Congress last summer. The federal changes were included in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act known as MAP-21. If HB 1068 is enacted into law, the drivers of farm trucks during the planting and harvesting seasons will be exempt from the federal hours of service requirements if they do not travel more than 150 air miles to or from the source of the ag commodity or supply. The proposed law would also exempt the drivers of covered farm vehicles from most of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations. Farm Bureau’s Bob Kraft testified in support of the bill before the committee.
The agricultural amendments to the federal MAP-21 legislation bill resulted from the efforts of the American Farm Bureau Federation and were strongly supported in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee by Rep. Larry Bucshon of Indiana.
INDIANA AGRICULTURAL LAW FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER The Farm Bureau-affiliated Indiana Agricultural Law Foundation (IALF) has instituted a new newsletter that will contain articles about IALF activities. During its first year the newsletter will also provide information on labor law issues. After its first year of publication, the plan is to feature a series of articles on another topic which will be identified by the newsletter’s subscribers. View the current newsletter at http://bit.ly/inaglawjan; subscribe at http://bit.ly/ialfsignup.
FDA PROPOSES FOOD SAFETY RULE The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released for public comment a proposed rule to establish science-based standards for growing, harvesting, packing and holding produce on domestic and foreign farms. The proposed rule for preventive controls for human food is being published at the same time. The proposed rules build on existing voluntary industry guidelines for food safety, which many producers, growers and others currently follow. These are two of the proposed rules that are key to the preventive food safety approach established by the 2011 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. Soon, FDA will issue its proposed rule on foreign supplier verification; future proposed rules will address preventive controls for animal food, and accreditation of third-party auditors for imported food.
The proposed produce rule sets science-based standards for the safe production and harvest of fruits and vegetables to minimize the risk of serious adverse health consequences or death. FDA proposes to set standards associated with identified routes of microbial contamination of produce, including: (1) agricultural water; (2) biological soil amendments of animal origin; (3) health and hygiene; (4) animals in the growing area; and (5) equipment, tools and buildings.
The proposed produce rule covers most fruits and vegetables while they are in their raw or natural (unprocessed) state. It would not apply to raw agricultural commodities that are rarely consumed raw, those produced for personal or on-farm consumption, and (with certain documentation) those destined for commercial processing, such as canning, that will adequately reduce micro-organisms of public health concern.
Some farms would not be covered by the rule or would be eligible for a partial exemption based on factors including the monetary value of their food sales and whom they sell to. The partial exemption would still apply certain modified requirements to eligible farms, and could be withdrawn in certain circumstances.
You can find the complete rules, summaries and additional information at the FDA website, http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/default.htm. AFBF and IFB are presently evaluating the rule and its implications to producers. We will keep you abreast of the evaluation.
BRIEF FILED IN RIGHT-TO-FARM LAWSUIT The Indiana Agricultural Law Foundation was joined by several ag organizations in submitting a brief to the Indiana Court of Appeals. The brief urged the court to limit previous appellate court rulings which indicated that the right-to-farm law did not apply to lawsuits between farmers. Specifically, the IALF argued that the occupation of the plaintiff in a nuisance lawsuit is irrelevant if the alleged injury is to nonagricultural uses of the property, such as complaints of odor or dust impacting a residence.
CONFINED FEEDING OPERATION RULE UPDATE At Farm Bureau’s request, IDEM has made available draft forms which farmers who have IDEM-permitted livestock farms with less than 120 days storage can use to seek approval to apply manure to frozen or snow covered ground. Farmers who need the forms can contact Greg Slipher at gslipher@infarmbureau.org.
OBAMA IDENTIFIES IMMIGRATION REFORM AS TOP PRIORITY FOR HIS SECOND TERM In an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, President Obama indicated that a top priority for his second term will be “fixing our broken immigration system.” Indiana Farm Bureau policy states that immigration should be addressed at the federal level and that Congress should undertake comprehensive immigration reform that creates “a new employment-based preference category for agriculturally skilled persons with a guaranteed offer of employment who seek to reside as immigrants.”
NEW CONGRESS SWORN IN; GOVERNOR AND PRESIDENT TO BE INAUGURATED With the election of 2012 now history, it is time for those who were successful in November to assume their new responsibilities. Members of the Indiana General Assembly were given their oath of office on November 22, the legislature’s Organization Day. Congress was sworn in last Monday. Joe Donnelly joins incumbent Dan Coats in representing Indiana in the U.S. Senate, and incumbent Representatives Larry Bucshon, Andre Carson, Todd Rokita, Marlin Stutzman, Pete Visclosky and Todd Young are joined by newcomers Susan Brooks, Luke Messer and Jackie Walorski.
Mike Pence will be inaugurated as governor of Indiana on Monday. Because the Constitution requires the Presidential oath of office be administered on January 20, President Barak Obama will be sworn in for his second term in a private ceremony next Sunday. This will be followed by a day of public inaugural events on Monday, January 21.
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