Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Dec. 31 that USDA and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would work together to verify farmers’ and ranchers’ income and verify compliance with farm and conservation program payment limitations.
 
The limits set in the 2008 farm bill are $500,000 nonfarm adjusted gross income (AGI) for commodity and disaster programs; $750,000 farm average AGI for direct payments; and $1 million nonfarm AGI for conservation programs.
 
USDA said that written consent would be required from each producer or payment recipient for the income information sharing to occur, no actual tax data would be provided to USDA and program participants whose AGI appears to exceed the limits would be given the chance to provide third-party verification or other information to validate their income. 

American Farm Bureau Federation farm policy specialist Tara Smith said the announcement may seem scary to farmers and ranchers at first, but using reliable income data to reduce fraud is a good thing.
 
“I think everyone wants to be sure that farm program payments are going to those folks who are eligible,” she said. “No one wants to see payments go where they aren’t supposed to go and if this system helps ensure that, that’s definitely a positive thing.”
 
A silver lining, according to Smith, is also that producers won’t have to go through their local USDA office to prove their income eligibility.

The Owasso, Okla. based National Steak and Poultry voluntarily recalled 248,000 pounds of beef after the USDA linked it to an E. coli outbreak in six states that sickened 19 people. 

As with all food-borne illness outbreaks, the finger pointing will soon begin and it will likely be aimed at agriculture.  Perhaps the blame will rest on cow manure, or farming practices, or maybe even the processing company.

The American Farm Bureau Federation has honored U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) with its Golden Plow award, the highest honor the organization bestows on members of Congress.

“I believe that American farmers are the backbone of our nation – a diverse domestic supply of food and fiber is the foundation of our security, our social values and our economy,” Sen. Inhofe said. “I am deeply honored to receive the American Farm Bureau Golden Plow award, and will continue to do all I can to fight for the American farmer in Washington.”  

“Senator Inhofe is a steadfast supporter of agriculture,” said Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Mike Spradling. “His longtime record as a strong, effective advocate of farmers and ranchers makes him an excellent choice for the Golden Plow award.”

American Farm Bureau has an online petition to stop the Climate Change Bill containing the cap-and-trade provisions. 

Last week in Washington D.C., Tyler Norvell, OFB director of state affairs of Public Policy, presented Sen. Jim Inhofe with a “farm cap” OFB members signed with a message that read “Don’t Cap Our Future.”