House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas is rejecting the premise of a recent Government Accountability Office report that suggests crop insurance program supports should be limited for farmers. Lucas says farmers continue to express the importance of crop insurance because it forms the backbone of the safety net. He says he does not support the repeated attacks on an actuarial sound risk management program that serves as a good example of a public-private partnership where producers pay for coverage. Lucas says limiting program supports would discourage participation in the crop insurance program and endanger its integrity as a result.

A release from the House Agriculture Committee Thursday highlighted excerpts of farmer testimony on the importance of the crop insurance program in field hearings started by the committee last month. One Minnesota corn and soybean producer told committee members that Federal Crop Insurance should be preserved, protected and strengthened. A corn, soybean, wheat, hay and beef producer from Ohio expressed that crop insurance in its current form is the most effective answer to short crop years. Yet another producer said effective risk management has never been more important because of today’s environment of volatile prices and high input costs. The Alabama cotton, corn, peanut, soybean, grain sorghum and cow calf producer strongly urged that crop insurance not be weakened during this farm bill.

If Congress doesn’t pass a new farm bill by August – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says efforts to undertake the biggest overhaul of farm policy in decades will have to wait until next year. Grassley told USA Today that he believes August 5th is the deadline for getting the next farm bill done. If it’s not completed this summer – he says existing law needs to be extended so farmers know what next year’s program will look like. But that’s not to say Grassley doesn’t think Congress can put new legislation together in time. He’s optimistic the farm bill can be completed before August 5th.

According to a Government Accountability Office report requested by Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn – the federal government could potentially save one-billion dollars a year by capping crop insurance subsidies at 40-thousand dollars per farmer per year. American Soybean Association President Steve Wellman opposes the potential cuts. He says it doesn’t make sense to make changes to a program that has been successful and critical to farming operations. Wellman says farmers are willing to do their fair share to help reduce spending – and are doing that in other areas – like eliminating direct payments. Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow also disagrees with proposals to change crop insurance.

Courtesy: NAFB News

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – The Kansas Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for a revised program that gives water right holders more flexibility in managing the way they use their allocations.

Changes in the state’s multi-year flex account are aimed at conserving water and extending the life of the Ogallala Aquifer.

The new application form is available on the website of the state Division of Water Resources and at its offices.

A multi-year flex account lets water right holders pump more water in any year but restricts the total pumping over the
five-year period. The program is voluntary.

AMES, Iowa (AP) – The cold snap may have taken a toll on some of Iowa’s fruit crops.

Plant experts at Iowa State University say two nights of freezing temperatures damaged fruit blossoms at the Horticulture Research State near Gilbert.

Superintendent Nick Howell says he’ doesn’t expect much of an apple crop, and there’s damage to the station’s vineyards and strawberries. Experts say the early spring sped up blooming, which is a
sensitive stage for the plants.

Fruit specialist Paul Domoto says it’s too early to tell the extent of the damage until growers can assess the conditions in their areas. He says site conditions and development stage will
affect the outcome.

Another freeze warning was posted into Thursday morning, with temperatures in the 20s in northern and eastern Iowa.

USDA scientist in Athens, Georgia is exploring the potential for quick, easy and reliable detection of salmonella and other foodborne pathogens with a technology known as SERS – surface-enhanced Raman scattering. If the technology is proven successful – the technique might be used at public health labs around the country to rapidly identify salmonella or other pathogens that are responsible for foodborne illnesses. Foodmakers might also be able to use SERS at their in-house quality control labs. Tests have shown that SERS can differentiate between two different kinds of Salmonella. Further research could prove the superiority of SERS in finding very small quantities of bacteria in a complex, real-world background – such as a food or beverage sample.

Courtesy: NAFB News

This video from the University of Missouri Extension Office shows several familiar faces of Northwest Missouri dealing with the fields flooded from last years massive floods.