Meet & Greet Tom Corbett at Ag Progress Days 2010

Voters listen to Tom Corbett at a Meet & Greet Tom Corbett at PA Ag Progress Days.

Tom Corbett delivers his message to the agricultural community at Ag Progress Days.

Join Tom Corbett’s Farm Families Coalition!

If you have an interest in agricultural, become part of Tom Corbett for Governor’s Farm Families Coalition! Mark J. Harris is serving on the State Farm Families Coalition as a leader for Bradford, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union counties (each county is then broken down to a leader). If you are interested and live a different county contact Mark and he will put you in touch with the leader for that area. To learn more about Tom’s agricultural message click on the link – Tom Corbett Ag Progress Flyer

PA Ag Republicans at Ag Progress Days

The Ag Republicans gave children Tom Corbett balloons!

The children enjoyed the corn box at Ag Progress Days!

The PA Ag Republicans enjoyed conversation with voters.

All are encouraged to come out and show your support for our next Governor on 8-20-2010

The annual Union County Republican Picnic is TONIGHT, 8/19/2010 at Mifflinburg Park starting at 6:30 pm. The meat and rolls, drinks and paper products are provided by the UCRC. Please bring a dish to share. Everyone is invited so bring your family and friends. Several candidates will be in attendance.

TOMORROW, 8/20/2010 – Tom Corbett, Republican candidate for PA Governor, will tour Playworld in Lewisburg (Rt 45, R onto Fairground Rd at Mifflinburg Bank) at 12:30pm and conduct a press conference at 1pm. http://www.playworldsystems.com/ All are encouraged to come out and show your support.

From Union County, Tom Corbett will then travel to Snyder County for an event at L/B Water Service, Inc. at 2:30 p.m. L/B Water is located at 540 East High Street, Selinsgrove, PA http://www.lbwaterservice.com/ Fred Keller, Candidate for the 85^th State House seat will also be in attendance. Come out and show your support of our candidates.

After leaving Snyder County, Tom Corbett will spend his evening at the Perry County Fair http://www.perrycountyfair.org/

All are encouraged to come out and show your support for our next Governor. We hope to see you there!

SHAME ON THE DAILY ITEM!

The August 12, 2010 Sunbury Daily Item Editorial states, Carney, Marino ought to get focused on the issues (http://dailyitem.com/0110_editorials/x1627561197/Carney-Marino-ought-to-get-focused-on-issues). The editorial then goes on to claim Congressman Carney is pro-life and votes that way; which is far from correct. Congressman Carney’s very first vote as c9ngressman was for using tax money to fund abortion. See Carney’s record listed below for the facts. Abortion IS an issue that is important to many of us!

1/11/07 Carney voted (roll call 19) against the National Right to Life Committee position on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act anti-cloning amendment. This bill would mandate federal funding of the type of stem cell research that requires the killing of human embryos in order to harvest their stem cells.

1/11/07 Carney voted again (roll call 20) against the National Right to Life Committee position on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act.

1/12/07 Carney voted (roll call 23) against the National Right to Life Committee position on the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act. Under the guise of lowering costs through “government negotiation”, this bill would have effectively stripped seniors of the right to use there own money to buy drugs.

6/6/07 (possible Carney defense) Carney voted (roll call 439) WITH the National Right to Life Committee position on the “The Human Cloning Prohibition Act.”. NRL opposed this deceptively named legislation because it would have allowed the creation of cloned human embryos.

6/21/07 Carney voted to send taxpayer dollars overseas (roll call 534) to fund abortion by overturning the pro-life “Mexico City” policy.

2007 NARAL rates Carney 100% pro-choice.

7/19/07 Carney voted to keep funding (roll call 684) the largest abortion provider in country, Planned Parenthood (1/3^rd of its billion $ budget is federal money). Then he voted to expand funding (roll call 1171) 5 months later. Planned Parenthood was exposed by UCLA journalism student Lila Rose for accepting donations to abort certain minorities and last year for telling a potential client to lie about her age to avoid requirements to report statutory rape.

Carney, Marino trade barbs

http://dailyitem.com/0100_news/x1189440697/Carney-Marino-trade-barbs

Susquehanna Conservatives 85th PA House Debate 8-9-2010

Candidates focus on close-to-home issues –http://dailyitem.com/0100_news/x1189440707/Candidates-focus-on-close-to-home-issues

“More Jobs, Less government” Statewide Bus Tour comes to Williamsport, PA

The Honorable Pat Toomey (US Senate Candidate) asks you join him for a rally, at the Regional Victory Center in Williamsport, PA on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 from 5:15 pm – 6:00 pm. Click on the link for more details – Invite_Lycoming Rally_8-26-2010

Farm Bureau Express

Week ending August 6, 2010

Receive FB Express by email – contact Jackie Wimberly at 717-761-2740 or jmwimberly@pfb.com

Farm Bureau-Supported Chesapeake Bay Bill Advances

Pennsylvania Farm Bureau hailed the recent advancement of H.R. 5509, the Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act, as a practical way to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay without crippling farmers, businesses and communities located within the Bay Watershed. The bill, introduced by Pennsylvania Congressman Tim Holden (D -17^th), Vice Chair of the House Agriculture Committee, was unanimously approved last week by the U.S. House Agriculture Committee. The Holden bill takes a much more constructive approach to improving water quality than Maryland Senator Ben Cardin’s legislation, which would provide the Environmental Protection Agency unbridled authority to place cost prohibitive and unnecessary regulations on all farming activities and land uses.

PFB Seeks Daily Dairy Price Reporting

Pennsylvania Farm Bureau contacted Pennsylvania U.S. Senators Casey and Specter last week urging them to support a proposal to report prices on a daily basis instead of weekly under legislation that would establish an electronic price reporting system for dairy products. However, the provision was not included during Senate Agriculture Committee markup of S. 3656 that extends mandatory livestock price reporting by USDA for five years and creates a weekly electronic price reporting system for dairy.

Environmental Coordinators Host DEP Tour

PA Farm Bureau’s County Environmental Coordinator program hosted a farm tour for the state Department of Environmental Protection’s northwestern region last week. A group of 33 people including DEP staff visited several operations in Crawford County to see the impact of some of the environmental measures being implemented by local farmers. Stops included a dairy farm operated by Don and Jack Bortnick with the first methane digester in the county, the Dave and Charlene Bish dairy farm which utilized state and federal grants to improve manure handling and water runoff and a farm operated by Sydney, Judy and Scott Martin which used federal help to plant trees for streambank erosion control. More tours are planned in other DEP regions. The tours are part of a longstanding cooperative program between DEP and PFB to improve the handling of environmental complaints involving agriculture.

PFB President Meets With Newspaper Editors

PA Farm Bureau President Carl T. Shaffer met with the editorial boards of newspapers in Williamsport, Wilkes-Barre and Scranton this week. Among topics discussed were the future of Pennsylvania agriculture and the challenges currently facing farmers including the increased pressure from the federal government to step up Chesapeake Bay clean up efforts. Afterwards, Shaffer hosted “town hall” meetings to discuss Farm Bureau programs and take questions from farmers in the area.

Farm Bureau Working for Passage of Estate Tax Amendment

Farm Bureau is backing legislation that would permanently reform the federal estate tax. H.R. 5297 would permanently set the estate tax rate at 35 percent, with a $5 million exemption phased in over 10 years and indexed for inflation. Estate taxes can hit farm families harder than other small business owners because 84 percent of farm assets are real estate-based. If Congress does not act this year, the federal estate tax is scheduled to increase to 55 percent with only a $1 million exemption at the beginning of 2011.

New Mobile Ag Lab Tours Northern PA

The Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation, a charitable organization supported by Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, took the newest Mobile Agriculture Education Science Lab on tour to four locations in northern Pennsylvania this week. Visits took place in Potter, Tioga, Wayne and Lackawanna counties to give the public and news media a chance to tour and learn more about the ag education initiative. The new Mobile Ag Lab, accompanied by a certified educator, will make visits throughout northeast PA beginning this fall to teach students about agriculture using hands-on science experiments.

Visit PFB’s Building at Ag Progress Days

PA Farm Bureau has planned numerous activities, including a learning booth for young visitors and an educational display on food myths, along with information on a wide variety of agricultural issues during Ag Progress Days, August 17-19. PFB’s exhibit building is located at East Fifth and Main Street on the Ag Progress Days grounds in Rock Springs. Representatives will be available to answer questions and provide information on the following PFB programs: Governmental Affairs and Communications, MSC Business Services, the Friends of Agriculture Foundation, the Young Farmer & Rancher, Women’s Leadership and Promotion and Education committees, Safemark, Health Services, plus a host of Member Benefits including a new opportunity to earn rewards for your electric use through programs offered by Energy Plus. In addition, Nationwide farm certified agents will be available to discuss your insurance needs. PFB Legal Service Plan attorney Gary Heim will also be at the MSC Business Services booth on Wednesday, Aug. 18 for consultations on legal issues. The PFB building will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday of the show and until 4 p.m. on Thursday. For more about Ag Progress Days, link to http://agsci.psu.edu/apd

Participation Urged at Food Safety & Quality Summit

Representatives of the food industry including agricultural growers, food processors and distributors are invited to participate at a Food Safety & Quality Summit on Wed. Aug. 11 at the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, 326 Market Street, Harrisburg. Registration and a continental breakfast begin at 7:30 a.m. The program starts at 8:15 a.m. The session will provide timely updates on pending federal food safety legislation, what the state is doing to monitor and plan for the impact of proposed requirements on Pennsylvania’s food industry. Growers and other farmers will have an opportunity to provide input during a one-hour “Breakout Session” at 10:50 a.m., which PFB has been invited chair. To encourage participation, PFB will cover the $35 registration cost for the first ten (10) PFB members who contact Brynn Kepler at bkkepler@pfb.com or (717) 761-2740 by 4:00 on Monday August 9. More information about the event is available by calling (717) 236-4300 or online at http://www.centralpennbusiness.com/events/details/35-food-safety-a-quality-summit?xref=38

House Ag Committee Approves Veterinary Investment Act

Legislation supported by Farm Bureau to relieve veterinary shortages has been unanimously approved by the U.S. House Agriculture. The Veterinary Services Investment Act (VISA) would authorize a competitive grant program to address veterinary shortage situations and support veterinary services. Grants would assist states in addressing their own unique veterinary workforce needs through a wide array of activities including recruiting and retaining practicing veterinarians and veterinary technicians to work in underserved areas and other initiatives.

Regulation to Reduce Sulfur Content of Heating Oil Advances

The Environmental Quality Board (EQB) has approved a proposed regulation that would require lowering the sulfur content of heating oil sold within the state from 500 parts per million (ppm) to 15 ppm by next May. The limit would mirror federal ultra low sulfur requirements for both on-road and off-road diesel. EQB’s low sulfur rule will be subject to three public hearings and a 60-day comment period.

EPA to Extend Spill Prevention Deadline

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a one-year extension of its deadline for requiring oil Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) plans by facilities including farms. The new deadline – which only applies to farms and ranches which have come into operation since 2002 – would be November, 2011. Farms in operation before 2002 are already under SPCC requirements and should have a plan in place or updated to comply with the new requirements. Information about the requirements can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/web/docs/oil/spcc/spccfarms.pdf and in the RegulAid insert in the July-August Country Focus.

Crop Insurance Going “Combo” For 2011

A new Common Crop Insurance Policy, also known as the Combo Policy, will be the basis for federal crop insurance coverage starting with the 2011 crop year. It combines the Actual Production History (APH), Crop Revenue Coverage (CRC), Revenue Assurance (RA), Income Protection (IP) and Indexed Income Protection (IIP) policies into a single policy. Crop provisions have been revised to provide either revenue protection or yield protection insurance for barley, canola and rapeseed, corn, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, sunflowers and wheat. For farmers with crop insurance, your policy will automatically convert to the coverage most similar to the type of policy you already had. If you do not wish to make changes to your crop insurance policy for the 2011 crop year, then no additional paperwork is required. More information is available from crop insurance agents.