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Texas Agriculture Archive

January 3, 2003

TFB backs Griffin for Railroad Commissioner

Texas Farm Bureau supports the appointment of Carlos Barton "Scooter" Griffin, Jr. of Kilgore to the commissioner's post on the Railroad Commission of Texas recently vacated by Tony Garza.

"Mr. Griffin not only has an understanding of the oil and gas industry, but also has a strong connection to the farming and ranching community," Texas Farm Bureau President Kenneth Dierschke wrote in a letter of support to the Governor's Appointments Office. "I am confident of his ability to represent the state's interest on the Railroad Commission."

The Texas oil and gas boom was in full swing when Griffin graduated from Texas A&M University with an engineering degree in 1978.

He started his career with Oilfield Service Company and soon moved to Mitchell Energy Corporation as a drilling engineer. Griffin moved back to the family ranch near Kilgore in 1987 and started GEOVEST, an independent oil operation made up of family and friends. GEOVEST currently operates 41 producing wells.

Dierschke said Griffin's understanding both of agriculture and the oil and gas business make him an ideal candidate for the open commissioner's seat.

"We appreciate the fact that Governor Perry is knowledgeable of the Railroad Commission's importance to agriculture and landowners," Diersch-ke stated. "We believe Carlos Griffin's appointment to the Commission will show positive support to the farmers, ranchers and landowners in Texas."

AFBF rolls out new web portal

American Farm Bureau Federation has announced the debut of fbcountry.com—a web portal designed exclusively for Farm Bureau members to access ag-related information and member services to help them operate successful businesses and improve their bottom-lines.

At fbcountry.com, members can review all of the information along with new features, such as an online auction where members will be able to sell their products and merchandise to anyone who visits the site worldwide.

In addition, fbcountry.com compliments the organization's "Voice of Agriculture" web site (www.fb.org) that also can be accessed through the portal.

For more information, visit www.fb.org.

Retail food prices rise in 4th quarter

Following two quarters of significant drops, retail prices for food at the supermarket rose in the fourth quarter, according to the latest American Farm Bureau Federation Marketbasket Survey.

The informal survey on the total cost of 16 basic grocery items showed an increase of 71 cents from this year's third quarter survey.

The $35.69 average paid by volunteer shoppers for the 16 items, although higher than the second and third quarter averages, is actually down 33 cents from the first quarter survey average of $36.02. While survey averages have fluctuated in 2002, food remains affordable overall. Since its inception in 1989, the AFBF Marketbasket Survey average has increased at a rate lower than other cost of living increases.

Of the 16 items surveyed, 11 increased, three decreased and two were unchanged in average price compared to the 2002 third quarter survey.

Sirloin tip roast showed the largest increase, up 27 cents to $3.12 per lb., followed closely by corn oil, up 21 cents to $2.39 per 32-oz. bottle. After falling 21 cents per pound in the third quarter, cheddar cheese rose 21 cents, back to $3.45 per lb.

Other items showing significant price increases were: oat cereal, bacon, whole fryers, vegetable oil, eggs, mayonnaise, ground chuck, and whole milk.

After being the largest gainer in price in the third quarter, russet potatoes plummeted 61 cents in the fourth quarter to $2.02 per 5-pound bag.

Two other items marked decreases in average price including all-purpose flour, down 10 cents to $1.35 per 5-pound bag; and pork chops, down 4 cents to $3 per pound.

The remaining two items, red delicious apples at 99 cents per pound and white bread at $1.22 per 20-ounce loaf, experienced no change from the third-quarter survey results.

Despite steady increases in grocery store average prices over time, the share of the average food dollar received by America’s farm and ranch families has actually dropped. According to the most recent Agriculture Department statistics, America’s farmers and ranchers receive merely 19 cents out of every dollar spent for food, down from 31 cents in 1980.

Using that across-the-board percentage, the farmer’s share of this quarter’s Marketbasket average total would be about $6.78.

AFBF conducts its informal quarterly Marketbasket Survey as a tool to reflect retail food price trends. A total of 97 volunteer shoppers in 29 states participated in this latest survey, conducted in November.

Notable Quotables

"We are going to be overwhelmed with environmental restrictions, which we already are. I would think environmentalists would want to see a vineyard instead of houses."
—Bill Stokes, president of the Lodi District Grape Growers Association, commenting on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in December that upheld fines against Borden Ranch in Sacramento County, Calif., for deep plowing without federal permission as a violation of the Clean Water Act.

The American Farm Bureau Federation filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the Borden Ranch. "As this case perfectly demonstrates, implementation of the normal farming exemption has not proceeded as Congress intended...and [has] not fulfilled Congress' aim of minimizing the interference of federal regulators in the routine decisions of farmers and ranchers," AFBF said in an earlier statement.