OverTime with Mike Adams
AgriTalk's Mike Adams: 'Overtime' - March 8, 2010
Mar. 08, 2010
Over 4,000 turned out last week in Anaheim, California for Commodity Classic, the joint meeting for corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum growers. This event continues to grow and the format of combining several commodity groups together for a single event has proven to be very successful. Each group of course has their individual agendas and policy sessions but several issues are common to all of them. One of them is the weather and concerns heading into this planting season. On the positive side, fewer areas are dealing with drought conditions but on the other side many areas are still covered by several inches of snow on top of already saturated soils. There was a lot of concern expressed last week about possible flooding and late planting again this spring. I talked with a couple of farmers from the deep south who said normally they would have been in the fields last week but it was still too wet. Even normal rainfall this spring will be a problem because the ground just can't absorb much more at this point.Another area of concern is trade. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spoke at Classic last week and told those in attendance about USDA's new approach to trade. Meanwhile trade deals with Panama, Columbia and South Korea still aren't moving forward, leaving many in agriculture wondering when they will see the benefits of this new trade strategy.
The soybean industry continues to take slow steps towards resolution of differences between the American Soybean Association and the United Soybean Board. Although areas of concern remain, leaders from both groups are talking and working on them. No one seems ready to declare "peace in our time" just yet but the situation has improved dramatically from one year ago. Hopefully the two sides can work things out and the industry can move forward with an united front.
Add the House of Representatives to the growing list of those trying to stop EPA from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. House Joint Resolution 76 has bipartisan support and would nullify EPA's attempt to bypass Congress and force passage of the unpopular Cap and Trade legislation.
I've mentioned before how the Humane Society of the United States benefits from the good works being done by local animal care groups across the country. Many people give money to HSUS thinking they are supporting the work of these local shelters when they are actually funding the political agenda of the national organization that uses very little of that money for the actual care of animals. A nationwide poll shows that 71% of those questioned incorrectly believe HSUS is an "umbrella group" for local humane societies. 63% wrongly think their local "humane society" is affiliated with HSUS and 59% falsely believe HSUS contributes most of its money to local organizations that care for dogs and cats. According to federal income tax returns for 2008, HSUS used less than one half of one percent of their budget for hands on pet shelters. HSUS does not run a single shelter for dogs or cats yet receives millions of dollars each year from people thinking that is how their money is being used. If you want to really help neglected animals then take the time to check out the organization you are giving to and make sure how your money is being used. Just because a group has the word "humane" as part of its name, doesn't mean they are really caring for those poor dogs and cats you see on the TV commercials! For more information on the poll and the activities of HSUS, go to the website humanewatch.org
And congratulations to NBC news for actually doing a story recently on organic farming that points out the limitations of trying to feed a growing population with this type of production.
Have a good week and be sure to join us on AgriTalk!
Those are my thoughts, what are yours? Email me at host@agritalk.com