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Young agricultural producers will work this fall to stamp out hunger in the Lone Star State by conducting a statewide food drive for America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest charitable hunger relief organization, which distributes a billion pounds of donated food annually.
A special project of Texas Farm Bureau's Young Farmer & Rancher Program, the drive will culminate with a huge "food drop" for the San Antonio Food Bank at the association's annual convention in San Antonio.
According to statistics compiled by America's Second Harvest, Texas—with a population of nearly 21 million people—has a poverty rate of 15.2 percent, a child poverty rate of 21.1 percent, and an unemployment rate of 6.3 percent. And, some 13.9 percent of Texas families are food insecure, meaning they do not always have access to enough food to meet their basic needs.
"Everyone needs a place at the table," said Mark Sustaire, chairman of TFB's Young Farmer & Rancher Committee. "This project will demonstrate TFB members' concern for the hungry and showcase the quality, safety and affordability of food in America."
Sustaire encouraged Farm Bureau members statewide to bring non-perishable food items to their County Farm Bureau office from now until Nov. 12. That food will be picked up by a YF&R Committee member or by TFB staff to be delivered to the Texas Farm Bureau annual convention in San Antonio. Sustaire also encouraged each member attending the convention to bring "four or five" cans of food, or cash equivalent, to the convention.
"We're planning a major presentation to the Food Bank in San Antonio that will hopefully receive wide media coverage," Sustaire said.
"Most needed" food items include the following: peanut butter, cereal, tuna, beans, rice, macaroni and cheese, chili, canned stews, soups and luncheon meats, full meals in a can/box, and "pop top" food items.
Symposiums set
With dove season just around the corner, Texas Cooperative Extension has scheduled three "Dove Symposiums" during August to bring hunters up-to-date on the state's most popular game bird.
Registration for all three symposiums starts at 8 a.m. Dates and locations are: Aug. 12-13, Mpec Center in Wichita Falls; Aug. 19-20, First United Methodist Church in Coleman; and Aug. 26-27, Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde.
"These symposia are designed to summarize the science and art of dove management," said Dr. Dale Rollins, Extension wildlife specialist at San Angelo and a coordinator for the events. "They'll be of interest to anyone wanting to learn more about managing and marketing dove-related recreational opportunities.
Extension's co-sponsors for the seminars are the Texas Wildlife Association, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Dove Sports-man's Society. Co-sponsors are the Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society and Texas Farm Bureau.
For more information and
program updates, visit:
http://teamquail.tamu.edu or
contact Rollins at (325) 653-4576,
d-rollins@tamu.edu.
TFB President Kenneth Dierschke greeted a large group of County Farm Bureau leaders from across the state with special messages on the farm bill and the ongoing school finance battle in Austin during the recent Summer Commodity Conference.
The conference featured special sessions on issues ranging from livestock identification to the importance of horticulture in Texas to GMO tech fees. State Director Gary McGehee (Dist. 6) gave a special report from the TFB Natural Resources Committee, urging leaders to take the message back home during policy development to study TFB water policy to ensure it's on track to give the organization flexibility in lobbying that issue.
Dierschke told of his testimony on behalf of the American Farm Bureau Federation to the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management in mid-May. His message: "The Farm Bill is working," and needs little in way of change other than minor "fine tuning." He noted that commodity prices have improved from near historic lows, along with the farm economy since Farm Bill implementation. On the dark side, however, he noted drought is still affecting some areas and "sky high" energy costs.
His message to the subcommittee, in a nutshell, was that the Farm Bill "has performed as intended," noting that net farm income has improved by $20 billion in 2003, while actual farm bill spending is $15 billion less than projected. He projected that spending will be even less in 2005.
As far as state politics, Dierschke said the school funding issue remains unsettled, and cited Farm Bureau members' dissatisfaction with the property tax. He said, however, that TFB's goals for any future special or regular session remain as they have in the past: to protect sales tax exemptions for production inputs; protect agricultural valuation of property; and to seek an equitable solution for financing public education.
"Farm Bureau's analysis shows the agreement is expected to result in a 10-to-one gain for the U.S. agriculture sector, which already enjoys a positive trade balance with Morocco."
—AFBF President Bob Stallman commenting on passage by the U.S. House ef the U.S.-Moroccan Free Trade Agreement, which now goes to President Bush for his signature.
