PODCAST: #ARFBGROW
Presentations from speakers at ARFB's 81st annual convention.
Heather Keenen ,Young Farmers and Ranchers 2015 Excellence in Agriculture Award winner, performs our National Anthem to kick off ArFB's 81st annual convention.
Randy Veach
President, Arkansas Farm Bureau
Kevin Murphy
Owner/Founder Food-Chain Communications, LLC
Asa Hutchinson
Governor, Arkansas
Zippy Duvall
President, Georgia Farm Bureau
Leslie Rutledge
Attorney General, Arkansas
Tim Moffett
Comedian, Dairy Farmer
WOTUS/EPA
This summer the EPA and U.S. Corp of Engineers finalized its controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, drastically changing the scope of the Clean Water Act. After a contentious public comment period and congressional action coming up short, a judge ordered a temporary injunction covering 13 states (of which Arkansas is one) to halt the immediate implementation of the rule. This workshop will delve deeper into the issues surrounding the rule, its practical implications and what a future of federal water jurisdiction could mean
to agriculture.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Terry Dabbs, Chairman
ArFB Board Member
Rebeckah Adcock
Senior Director of Government AffairsCropLife America
WHAT LEADERS NEED TO KNOW: PART2
Can you think of three things that define you better than your BRAIN, your BRAND and your BOUNDARIES? Probably not … and that’s why leaders need to know how to adjust and make improvements in all three areas. This session will teach you cutting-edge insights on how your brain works and how it can be trained to make better decisions! You’ll learn a technique for discovering your biggest problem as a leader, (your BRAND), and how to fix it. And lastly, with the art of a storyteller, you’ll be transported to the top of Whiskey Mountain in Wyoming, where one person learned a life-changing lesson about boundaries.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Dan Wright, Chairman
ArFB Board Member
Randy Frazier
Frazier Communications, Inc.
U.S. TRADE ISSUES
Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach is a representative on the USDA Trade Advisory Committee for Cotton, Peanuts and Tobacco. This designation has given him security clearance to review and provide insight to the U.S. Trade Representative on issues impacting world trade and agriculture. With the U.S. currently negotiating a trade deal with the Pacific Rim and congressional leaders poring over obstacles to lifting the half-century embargo on Cuba, many questions remain about market access for Arkansas agriculture commodities. This workshop will provide further insight into the work that has been done and that which remains.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Mike Freeze, Chairman
ArFB Board Member
ArFB President Randy Veach
Wes Ward
Secretary of Agriculture, Arkansas Agriculture Department
VETERINARY FEED DIRECTIVE
The Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) is a set of regulations adopted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that will restrict accessibility of antibiotics for use in livestock production. Details concerning the VFD and its requirements placed on producers will be discussed, along with the role veterinarians and feed distributors will have in complying with these new regulations.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Caleb Plyler, Chairman
ArFB Board Member
Dr. Heidi Ward, DVM
Extension Veterinarian, Cooperative Extension Service
NEW WEEDCONTROL TECHNOLOGY
This workshop will review new weed resistance that was discovered this year, as well as new herbicide resistance technology. Pending their approval, new technologies may offer improved control; however these cannot be viewed as a silver bullet. Results of University of Arkansas research of these new technologies, as well as the importance of multiple modes of action, will be discussed.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Joe Christian, Chairman
ArFB Secretary/Treasurer
Dr. Tom Barber
Assoc. Professor, Weed Science
UofA Division of Agriculture
HUMANE WATCH
The lies of the animal rights racket are nothing new. From creating deceptive videos that smear farmers to false accusations, there seems to be little extreme animal rights groups like PETA and the Humane Society of the United States won’t say or do to impose their vegan lifestyle on the rest of us.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Tom Jones, Chairman
ArFB Board Member
Animal Care and Oversight: ‘What are they up to now?’
Will Coggin
Director of Research Center for Consumer Freedom
Washington, D.C.
NEW MARGIN PROTECTION COVERAGE
Margin Protection (MP) is a new crop insurance coverage option that provides producers with coverage against an unexpected decrease in their operating margin. The plan provides coverage that is based on an expected margin, which is the expected area revenue minus the expected area operating costs, for each applicable crop, type and practice. MP is area-based coverage and may not necessarily reflect a producer’s individual experience. MP is offered either as a stand-alone policy or in conjunction with an individual buy-up base policy. For the 2016 crop year, the product is only available for rice in Arkansas, but pilot programs have begun in other regions of the country for soybeans, corn, and wheat.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Joe Thrash, Chairman
ArFB Board Member
Understanding the New Margin Protection Coverage
Alex Offerdahl
Watts and Associates
Crop Insurance Division Head
ANIMAL DISEASE TRACEABILITY
Animal Disease Traceability (commonly referred to as Animal ID) was implemented (for cattle) in the U.S in 2014 and currently only applies to adult cattle moving interstate. The lack of a full traceability program in the U.S. has become an emerging factor in negotiations with potential meat export customers. The traceability systems utilized by other major meat-producing (and exporting) countries will be discussed, as well as, a report on Arkansas’ current animal identification program.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Leo Sutterfield,
Chairman ArFB Board Member
“Traceability” – Its Role in the Livestock Industry
Paul ClaytonSenior Vice President - Export Services
U.S. Meat Export Federation, Denver, Colorado
Current State of Traceability (Animal ID) in Arkansas
Brandon Doss, DVM Acting State Veterinarian Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission
FB MOBILE APPS 101
Workshop attendees will learn how to navigate through the Farm Bureau Mobile Agent and Savings Plus apps and how to tailor them to fit their lifestyle. Staff will also be on hand to help with downloading and signing in to each app, so don’t forget your smart phones and/or iPads!
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Janice Marsh and Peggy Miller, Co-Chairwomen
ArFB State Board Members/State Women’s Committee
Mollie Dykes
ArFB Social Media Specialist
Autumn Wood
ArFB Membership Marketing Specialist
Dina Bates
Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Arkansas, Inc.
AMERICAN LABOR FORCE
U.S. agriculture faces a critical shortage of workers every year, as citizens are largely unwilling to engage in these rigorous activities, and guest worker programs are unable to respond to the marketplace. This situation makes our farms and ranches less competitive with foreign farmers and less reliable for the American consumer. Securing a reliable and competent workforce for our nation’s farms and ranches is essential to agriculture and the U.S. economy.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Jon Carroll, Chairman
ArFB Board Member
Labor Legislation - ‘Where are we on the Labor Front’
Kristi Boswell
AFBF Director, Congressional Relations
BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE DIGITAL WORLD
How does social media work? What’s a status update? What does it mean to re-share? How do you Tweet? This workshop will help you take your first, gentle steps into the social media world. You’ll learn step-by-step how to set up a Facebook page and a Twitter profile and how to operate them. You’ll be Facebooking and Tweeting like a pro in no time!
If you have a smart phone, laptop or iPad, please bring it with you to the workshop. We will have some extras for you to borrow, but you’ll be more comfortable using your own device.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Josh Cureton and Trent Dabbs, Co-Chairmen
ArFB Board Members/State YF&R Committee
Mollie Dykes
ArFB Social Media Specialist
Lyndsey Murphy
AFBF Digital Media Specialist
A.I./LIVESTOCK MARKET ISSUES
Many issues are invading the livestock sector; animal traceability, veterinarian availability and avian influenza to name a few. Hear the latest on emerging issues facing our livestock industry.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Gene Pharr, ChairmanArFB Board Member
Poultry Issues and Markets: ‘What now?’
H.L. Goodwin Associate Professor University of Arkansas
PUBLIC POLICY
Members of the 90th Arkansas General Assembly will lead a panel discussion on the upcoming fiscal session, ballot issues for 2016, and several other issues the legislature is studying in a very busy interim time.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
ArFB Vice President Rich Hillman, Chairman
Budgeting to Ballot Issues: The 90th General Assembly Update
Rep. Jeremy GillamSpeaker of the House, Arkansas House of Representatives
Arkansas Legislative Panel
NEW DRONE RULES
Josh Olds, from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), will define pending FAA regulations and where they feel the FAA will come down on final rules. Additionally, he will showcase potential new uses of drones. As a pilot and professor at ERAU, he has worked with producers both in the U.S. and internationally to more effectively utilize drones on farming operations.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Rusty Smith, ChairmanArFB Board Member
Josh Olds Asst. Professor and Program Coordinator, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Gaetz Institute Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
RURAL HEALTH AND THE PRIVATE OPTION
Attendees will receive an update on issues related to the Affordable Care Act and its effect on rural health services.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Bruce Jackson,
ChairmanArFB Board Member
Current Situation of the Private Option
Chantel Allbritton
Arkansas Marketplace Compliance Officer Regulatory Health Link Division, Arkansas Insurance Department
