Priority Issues in Agriculture

My friends, it is winter time on the Palouse! My greenhouse is full of plants and I have two disease trials and one seed treatment trial now. With this winter and slow work I have time to get even more active in planning and setting the scene for 2011.

These holidays are not all calm for agriculture. We have more to defend than ever and more consumers to educate, with all sorts of resources and avenues to utilize. I want to share with you the key issues that I will be putting my extra time into, aside from full-time research in the greenpea industry and full-time college. These are ranked in their priority.

Key Organizations:
-American/Idaho Farm Bureau and the Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee
-Idaho Grain Producers
-Idaho Eastern Oregon Seed Association
-Inland Northwest Partners
-Idaho Cattleman's Association
-National Cattleman's Beed Association
-National Pork Producers Association
-National FFA Organization
-Agchat Foundation
-National Farmers Union
-Idaho State Legislature
-U.S. Congress
-University of Idaho-Moscow
-Washington State University-Pullman
-Idaho/Latah County Republicans

Key Issues
1. Consumer/Producer Education
-To include Farm Bureau Events
-Consumer Workshops
-Political Leader Education
-Ag In The Classroom
-Ag In The Newsroom
-Squared Leadership
2. Agri Business/Small Business Growth and Promotion
-Young Farmers and Ranchers
-Inland Northwest Young Producers Seminar
-Education of Ownership on Resources
3. Inland-Northwest Agriculture Development
4. Proposed GIPSA Rule Change
-Education of local consumers on effects of change
-Commenting on proposal
-Working with Elected Officials to stand against anti-ag policy
5. EPA Regulation on Farm Chemicals
-To include undue regulation
-To include approval of Roundup Ready Technology
-Fight Against Nozzel Regulation
5. Giant Palouse Earthworm/Grey Wolf/ESA
-Fight Enlistment of Non-Researched Species
-Removal of Grey Wolf
-Support for States Rights in control of ESA programs
6. Farm Program Development/Improvement
-To include a call for restructure of the CRP
-Fair assesment of the SURE Program
-Due process in disaster relief
-Farm Subsidy program evaluation/restructure

The most important thing for me is that the public is educated on the truth of agriculture. We see too many people beating producers to the punch and their false statements put a big dent in Agriculture. It will take people from all parts of the country to win this fight.

Stay connected with me and we will work together for a better agriculture.

Onward...

Congratulations to all the candidates that won their elections! Though it was a tough and sometimes dirty race, the people who were elected are qualified and will do the jobs they said they would do. It will be our main goal to work side by side with each of these people and educate them on the issues and happenings in agriculture.

One thing that amazed me was the change we are seeing in America. Many officials on the Ag Committee were fired, and some new GOP candidates will fill those positions. The most amazing was the ousting of freshman Representative, Walt Minnick, who just a short month ago was awarded the 'Friend of Farm Bureau' award. It is my personal goal to call Raul Labrador on a regular basis to make sure north Idaho is represented on the Ag Committee.

Now that the rush is over look forward to articles on here. I have a guest coming up soon who is active in his league of politics and is a farmer, like us. You will see guests on here from time to time that will address their side of an issue or their operation. Guests will include students, professors, industry representatives, neighboring farms, and elected officials.

I am excited to announce that in 2011 we will be covering the family farm on here, leading you through our operation and why we do the things we do. You will meet my family, their interests, and what crops we grow and why we grow them. If you have any questions or want to see something specific, I can be reached at 509.844.8855 or on my BlackBerry email: m.friddle@live.com.

Can We Bridge The Gap?

I am sitting here at work getting ready to punch in and do some final preparation for the Fall Conference we will hold the rest of this week starting tomorrow at noon. We will have people from all over the world here, both Crites employees and some customers.

I have been thinking about the Palouse agriculture industry and have a fiew ideas. Can we market all agriculture together? Can we, as industry leaders, step up and market a balance between organic/natural and conventional farms? One would think so if we are to share this land and grow enough food to feed the world. I have an idea and hope it will work.

I hope to have plans set forth and solidified by the start of 2011 of a campaign to not only market our food products as a team of agriculturalists, but to educate the consumer on those misunderstandings of farming as a whole. I see videos like "Some Food for Thought" by Monsanto and wonder to myself, "can we promote agriculture like a business promotes itself?"

This is the time to do it. The only thing I have left to figure out: how in the world do you run the camera.