Effective Sept 2013, beginning w/ the Oct 2013 issue, the LOOP is mailed via the county Farm Bureau offices (+ quarterly FB Update DVD).All CAG materials are available on the Michigan Farm Bureau website. County Farm Bureau Offices that would like to receive a hard copy of the quarterly FB Update DVD, to mail to CAGs, can request one from the Membership and Field Services Department. CAG Secretaries without email will only receive supply packet materials when requested from their county Farm Bureau Administrative Manager.

• Short-handed apple growers bend Huizenga’s ear

• Renewable Fuels Standard to be discussed at annual meeting

• Farm Bureau reviewing produce safety and animal food facility rules

• CAG Corner, and more!

ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

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www.michfb.com

cagCOMMUNITYACTION GROUPS

EVENTS CALENDAR

REMINDERS

Farm Bureau members can find more information at the click of a button at www.michfb.com. You can also find us on Facebook and YouTube as MichiganFarmBureau, and Twitter as @michfarmbureau).

DEC2013

NEWSLETTER

DECEMBER 02 County Leadership Conference - Amway, GR03-05 MFB State Annual Mtg - Amway/DeVos, GR 06 MFB Board Meeting - Amway, Grand Rapids 28-29 Thanksgiving Holiday (FB Center Closed)

JANUARY 2014 01 New Year’s Day Holiday (FB Center Closed)12-15 AFBF Annual Meeting - San Antonio, TX21 ProFILE Class - Farm Bureau Center22 New President’s Training - Farm Bureau Center22-23 Council of Presidents Conference - Radisson Hotel, Lansing22-23 Voice of Agriculture - Radisson/Lansing Center27-28 Campaign Management Workshop - FB Center

FEBRUARY 2014 07-10 AFBF YF&R Leadership Conference, Virginia Beach, VA12 Lansing Legislative Seminar - Lansing Center20-22 Multi-Line Marketing Convention - Motor City Casino & Hotel, DetroitFeb 28 - Mar 2 MFB Young Farmer Leaders Conference - Amway Grand Plaza, Grand Rapids

• The next quarterly “FB Update” DVD will be available Feb 2014 (Winter edition). *Mailed via CFB offices.

• Please submit 2013/14 CAG Set-up Sheets to your county Farm Bureau office when changes occur.

• All CAG materials are available online to view and print by visiting http://www2.michfb.com/cag.

• Email suggestions or ideas for future articles and discussion topics to: apline@michfb.com or contact us at:

Michigan Farm Bureau, 7373 W. Saginaw Hwy, PO Box 30960, Lansing, MI 48909-8460 Attn: Membership & Field Svcs Dept P (517) 323-7000 F (517) 323-6604

Target (Reg mbrs) 48,198 47,910 99.40%

Goal (Total mbrs) 197,906 199,455 100.78%

MEMBERSHIP TOTAL TOTAL % Objective

Needed Current (start at 100%)

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RENEWABLE FUELS STANDARD TO BE DISCUSSED AT ANNUAL MEETINGNovember 19, 2013

In mid-November the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the 2014 levels for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program which establishes the mandated use of various forms of ethanol. The 15.21 billion gallons proposed by EPA is almost three billion lower than the 18.15 billion gallons called for by Congress when they passed the RFS in 2007.Of the 15.21 billion gallons of renewable fuels, 13.01 billion gallons is to come from conventional ethanol and

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SHORT-HANDED APPLE GROWERS BEND HUIZENGA’S EARSEPTEMBER 5, 2013Contact: Ryan Findlay, 800-292-2680 ext. 2025

LANSING — Congressman Bill Huizenga got a close-up look at apple production and processing during a visit to the Fruit Ridge region northwest of Grand Rapids Sept. 3. The Zeeland Republican met with several fruit growers who shared both their enthusiasm and their concerns.While clearly enthused at the prospects of a better-than-average apple crop this year, several growers expressed concern over the availability of an adequate seasonal workforce to get all that fruit off the trees, into bins and to packing and processing facilities.“It was good to see Rep. Huizenga on the Ridge this week and listening to the concerns of his farmer constituents,” said Ryan Findlay, national legislative counsel for Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB). “We hope that interest translates into substantial progress championing comprehensive immigration reform in Washington this fall.”Last year’s unprecedented fruit crop disaster meant most seasonal workers sought—and found—work elsewhere, and even with crop production returning to normal or better levels this year, growers are reporting fewer workers returning to orchards.“I think Rep. Huizenga was surprised to see the majority of farmers in attendance—about three-quarters of them, in fact—say they feared coming up short on workers for this fall’s harvest,” Findlay said. “The 2013 apple crop on the Ridge looks great, and farmers are excited about the quality, but there is a very real concern they might not have enough labor to pick it.”Fruit and vegetable growers up and down the west coast of the Lower Peninsula have reported this year’s labor supply as anywhere from adequate to sparse. As the harvest of several mid-season commodities wraps up, apple growers are nervous there won’t be enough workers to pick the abundant 2013 apple crop, now through early November.“There’s no question Rep. Huizenga has done his homework on immigration reform, but meeting with the growers first-hand was an important step and a gesture those farmers really appreciated,” Findlay said. “He understands the challenges Michigan agriculture faces and supports moving forward with reform. Getting that input directly from growers will put him in a better position to advocate on their behalf when Congress resumes session next week in Washington.”

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2.2 billion gallons from advanced biofuels. The corn-based ethanol mandate for 2014 is proposed at 13.01 billion gallons, down from the 2013 mandate of 13.80 billion gallons. The EPA is proposing that 1.28 billion gallons of the advanced biofuel target be biodiesel.The proposed regulation will be open for a 60-day comment period once it has been published in the Federal Register.EPA explained it lowered the overall renewable fuel requirement because of limits on the volume “of ethanol that can be consumed in gasoline given practical constraints on the supply of higher ethanol blends to the vehicles that can use them and other limits on ethanol blend levels in gasoline.” This is commonly referred to as the “blend wall.” Farm Bureau policy currently supports the RFS as passed in the 2007 EISA legislation. Michigan Farm Bureau will be discussing its national Renewable Fuel policy during the morning delegate session of the organization’s state annual meeting on Thursday, December 5.MFB Contact: Ryan Findlay, national legislative council

FARM BUREAU REVIEWING PRODUCE SAFETY AND ANIMAL FOOD FACILITY RULESNovember 8, 2013

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was passed by Congress at the end of 2010 and signed into law by President Obama in early 2011. The legislation included sweeping changes to food safety protocol throughout the United States. After significant delay, 2013 has been full of regulatory proposals. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the primary agency in charge of the regulations, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has jurisdiction on some regulations. Below is an overview of five core areas of proposed regulation.

1. Hazard Prevention Controls for Human FoodThe proposed regulation would apply to many domestic and foreign firms that manufacture, process, pack, or hold human food. These firms would be required to have written plans that identify hazards, specify the steps that will be put in place to minimize or prevent those hazards, identify monitoring procedures and record monitoring results, and specify what actions will be taken to correct problems that arise.

2. Produce Safety The proposed regulation would establish standards for growing, harvesting, packing, and holding produce on domestic and foreign farms.

3. Accreditation of Third-Party Auditors The proposed rule would establish a program for accreditation of third-party auditors to conduct food safety audits and certify foreign facilities.

4. Foreign Supplier Verification Program Under the proposal, importers would be required to perform certain risk-based activities to verify that food imported into the United States has been produced in a manner that provides the same level of public health protection as that required of domestic food producers.

5. Preventive Controls for Animal Food FacilitiesUnder the proposed rule, facilities manufacturing, processing, packing, and holding animal food, both domestically and abroad, would be required to implement procedures to minimize or prevent

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Thank you for all of your responses!

hazards likely to occur and follow Current Good-Manufacturing Practices (CGMPs). Much of the rule is focused on pet food, but animal feed is also covered.

The FSMA website provides detailed information on each of the proposals and a copy of the underlying legislation. It also lists listening sessions that are scheduled to be held on various proposals.Michigan Farm Bureau continues to review the proposed rules, but will focus in on the proposed produce safety regulation and preventive controls for animal food facilities. Comments have been solicited and the deadline for comments is November 15. Michigan Farm Bureau will provide our final comments to you once they have been submitted. For general questions on the proposed rules, please contact Ryan Findlay, national legislative counsel. For questions specific to the animal food facility proposed rule, please contact Ernie Birchmeier, livestock and dairy specialist.

FEATURED MONTH: SEPTEMBER 2013 DISCUSSION TOPIC - “Food Versus Fuel”Question #: 1 What is the formula for keeping consumers fed and fueled?• There is no formula, government doesn’t want us to be self-sufficient - they want us to be dependant.• Must have a compromise / Have enough surplus on hand.• Keep producing corn and soybeans. a) Do we really need all the alternative fuels on the market? Yes = 74% No = 25% Unsure = 1%b) Which renewable fuel will succeed and which will fail in your opinion? • The fuels that are profitable will succeed (Corn & soybeans) • Ethanol & Cellulosic fuels will succeed • Cellulosic fuels will fail

Question #: 2 Which is more important: Keeping fuel and food prices low, reducing our dependencies on foreign oil, or reducing damage to the environmet? • The most important is reducing damage to the environment: Once destroyed, it cannot be replaced. • Reducing dependence on foreign oil, our country would be in trouble if they cut all oil off.• Reducing damage to the environment.

Question #: 3What can your county Farm Bureau do to promote farmers’ interests, while keeping the economy moving forward?• Let the free market work - let people grow whatever they want and not restrict it. • Help people understand the free market.• Promote renewables, keep the government out of unneeded regulations.

CAG CORNERThis section is a resource to help Community Action Groups get an idea what other groups around the state think. Each month, a few random responses from the previous month’s Discussion Topic will be featured.