New Mexico ranchers’ state grazing fees are increased by 25 percent

New Mexico ranchers’ state grazing fees are increased by 25 percent Santa Fe New Mexican By Staci Matlock As New Mexico ranchers struggle to rebound from last summer’s drop in beef prices and years of drought, and face rising federal grazing costs, the State Land Office announced Friday that they also will pay more in state fees to graze cattle on public lands. State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn said the fee for grazing on state trust lands will increase by nearly 25 percent beginning Oct. 1 — from $4.80 to $5.99 per “animal unit month” — making the cost of state grazing leases more than double that of federal leases.More: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/new-mexico-ranchers-state-grazing-fees-are-increased-by-percent/article_7c25a85a-9b26-572f-9560-330b109e6705.html

Weather-related crop damage helps push pecan prices to near record high

Weather-related crop damage helps push pecan prices to near record high Western Farm Press By Greg Northcutt “It’s like nothing I’ve seen in my 31years as a grower and buyer of pecans,” says Phil Arnold, Las Cruces, N.M. He’s referring to the 2015 North American pecan crop, which is likely to fall about 90 million pounds short of what had been expected - a 550-million pound crop. Blame a series of widespread adverse weather and the impact of disease. At the start of New Mexico’s harvest, growers were offered about $2.20 to $2.30 per pound for their pecans. By mid-December, prices had risen anywhere from another 10 to 20 cents a pound and, by the second week of January as high as $3 or more per pound. More: http://westernfarmpress.com/tree-nuts/weather-related-crop-damage-helps-push-pecan-prices-near-record-high?NL=WFP-01&Issue=WFP-01_20160215_WFP-01_573&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG02000000650003&utm_campaign=8111&utm_medium=email&elq2=f0407770eb9543528596d4d3918d438d

NMSU to host annual fruit growers’ workshop in Santa Fe

NMSU to host annual fruit growers’ workshop in Santa Fe DATE: 02/12/2016 WRITER: Jane Moorman, 505-249-0527, jmoorman@nmsu.edu CONTACT: Shengrui Yao , 505-852-4241, yaos@nmsu.edu SANTA FE – Do you have an orchard that needs some renovation? Or are you thinking of starting an orchard? Information at the annual fruit growers’ workshop could help your accomplish that goal. New Mexico State University and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture will host the free event Friday, March 4, at the Santa Fe County Fair Building, 3229 Rodeo Road, in Santa Fe. “This workshop will be good for folks wanting to learn more about starting an orchard or renovating an existing one,” said Shengrui Yao, NMSU Cooperative Extension Service fruit specialist. Registration will begin at 8 a.m., followed by presentations from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on topics that include orchard irrigation, soil fertility and cover crop management, integrated pest management for arthropods in New Mexico fruit crops, apple orchard planting and establishment, NMSU fruit research update and the Food Safety Modernization Act produce rules. Presenters will include NMSU faculty and Extension specialists Blair Stringham, John Idowu, Carol Sutherland, Richard Heerema, Nancy Flores and Yao. Lunch will be provided. Pre-registration is requested. Visit http://rsvp.nmsu.edu/rsvp/fruitgrowers2016 or call the Rio Arriba County Extension Office at 505-685-4523. For more information, contact Yao at 505-852-4241, Donald Martinez at 505-685-4523, or Tom Dominguez at 505-471-4711. - 30 - Follow NMSU News on Twitter: http://twitter.com/nmsunews Follow NMSU News on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NMSUNews

USDA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Join Forces to Promote Agriculture Jobs and Farming and Ranching to Military Veterans

USDA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Join Forces to Promote Agriculture Jobs and Farming and Ranching to Military Veterans WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced a joint agreement with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to increase employment opportunities in the agricultural sector for military veterans and their spouses. USDA Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Deputy Under Secretary Lanon Baccam signed the agreement along with Eric Eversole, vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Eversole, a Commander in the Navy Reserve, also serves as the foundation's President of Hiring Our Heroes. Baccam, a U.S. Army and Iowa National Guard veteran who served in Afghanistan, is USDA's Military Veterans Liaison. "Today's agreement opens the door for thousands of service members who participate in Hiring Our Heroes events around the world to benefit from USDA's vast array of tools and resources," said Baccam. "This new partnership strengthens USDA's ongoing efforts to help veterans pursue rewarding careers in farming, ranching, or in the fast-growing agriculture and food sectors." The agreement establishes a new partnership between USDA and Hiring Our Heroes, a program that helps military veterans, transitioning active duty personnel, and their spouses and partners with training and opportunities to find meaningful employment when entering the civilian workforce. Since 2009, USDA has provided $466.8 million in farm loans to help more than 6,868 veterans purchase farmland, buy equipment and make repairs and upgrades. Our microloans, which offer smaller amounts of support to meet the needs of small- or niche-type farm operations, have also grown in popularity among veterans. Since it was launched in January 2013, USDA's microloan program has provided more than $25.8 million in support to help veterans grow their farming businesses. Recently, USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) also expanded its collaboration with the Department of Defense to better reach the nearly 200,000 service members transitioning from military service to civilian life each year. Through a career training and counseling program, called the Transition Assistance Program, or TAP, USDA provides information on a wide variety of loans, grants, training and technical assistance available for veterans who are passionate about a career in agriculture. For more information on how USDA can help military veterans transition into agriculture as a career, visit www.usda.gov/veterans. This joint agreement between USDA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, which builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past seven years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing, and community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill. #

New Mexico Senate Bill: Don't Like The Smell Of Cow Manure? Too Bad

WOODS NOTE: you would think the broadcast unit of a Land Grant University would be more AG friendly. New Mexico Senate Bill: Don't Like The Smell Of Cow Manure? Too Bad KRWG To folks in rural areas, the smell of cow manure is the smell of money. To new neighbors, the smell might be objectionable and deemed a nuisance. Those smells, along with other sights and sound of the ag industry like crop dusters flying overhead, slow moving tractors on roads and spraying crops would be protected against nuisance claims under SB 72a, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Stuart Ingle (R), who is identified as a farmer on the New Mexico legislative website. More: http://krwg.org/post/new-mexico-senate-bill-dont-smell-cow-manure-too-bad

New Mexico official blasts EPA over Colorado mine spill

New Mexico official blasts EPA over Colorado mine spill Albuquerque Journal By Susan Montoya Bryan The head of the New Mexico Environment Department blasted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday during a legislative committee meeting in Santa Fe, saying federal officials are downplaying the long-term effects of the Gold King Mine spill. Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn told members of the House agriculture committee that the agency has been pressuring communities to get behind a proposal that calls for monitoring water quality for only a year. More: http://www.abqjournal.com/721708/news/new-mexico-official-blasts-epa-over-colorado-mine-spill.html

USDA, Partners to Invest $720 Million in Large-Scale, Targeted Conservation Projects Across the Nation

USDA, Partners to Invest $720 Million in Large-Scale, Targeted Conservation Projects Across the Nation Regional Conservation Partnership Program Pools Together $220 Million Investment from USDA, up to $500 Million from Local Partners to Improve Water Quality, Soil Health, Habitat and More SAVANNAH, Ga., Feb. 12, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and partners across the nation together will direct up to $720 million towards 84 conservation projects that will help communities improve water quality, combat drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat and protect agricultural viability. These projects make up the second round of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) created by the 2014 Farm Bill. Through the 2015 and 2016 rounds, USDA and partners are investing up to $1.5 billion in 199 strategic conservation projects. Projects are selected on a competitive basis, and local private partners must be able to at least match the USDA commitment. For this round, USDA received 265 applications requesting nearly $900 million, or four times the amount of available federal funding. The 84 projects selected for 2016 include proposed partner matches totaling over $500 million, more than tripling the federal investment alone. "The Regional Conservation Partnership Program puts local partners in the driver's seat to accomplish environmental goals that are most meaningful to that community. Joining together public and private resources also harnesses innovation that neither sector could implement alone," Vilsack said. "We have seen record enrollment of privately owned lands in USDA's conservation programs under this Administration, and the new Regional Conservation Partnership Program will be instrumental in building on those numbers and demonstrating that government and private entities can work together for greater impacts on America's communities." RCPP draws on local knowledge and networks to fuel conservation projects. Bringing together a wide variety of new partners including businesses, universities, non-profits and local and Tribal governments makes it possible to deliver innovative, landscape- and watershed-scale projects that improve water quality and quantity, wildlife habitat, soil health and other natural resource concerns on working farms, ranches and forests. Vilsack announced the launch of the 2016 projects at Fort Stewart in Georgia, where he also highlighted a RCPP partnership led by the U. S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities to accelerate and expand forest health conservation practices in longleaf pine forests around six Department of Defense facilities in the Southeast. Through the Southern Sentinel Landscapes Conservation project USDA will invest $7.5 million, matched by $10 million from 20 partners, including the U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps. This project will protect and restore working forest habitats while helping ensure military preparedness by protecting open space for training and reducing regulatory pressure on the bases by improving habitat for at-risk species on private lands. Later today, Vilsack plans to travel to Moncks Corner, S.C., to announce the launch of the African American Forest Restoration and Retention project, also led by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities. For this project, USDA is investing $1.6 million, to be matched by around $2 million from six partners. The project will support landowners through direct provision of forestry, land tenure and technical services as well as the brokering of services from other private and government providers including forestry commissions, consulting foresters, extension services and conservation organizations. "We put out a call for innovative and results-focused projects that will deliver the most conservation impact," Vilsack said. "Our partners answered with creative, locally-led approaches to help producers support their ongoing business operations and address natural resource challenges in their communities and across the nation." Water quality and drought are dominant themes in this year's RCPP project list with 45 of the 84 projects focusing on water resource concerns. "From the harmful impact of algal bloom in the Great Lakes region to the devastating effects of persistent drought in California, RCPP helps private landowners and producers develop solutions that work for them and meet the needs of their communities and local wildlife," Vilsack said. "It's encouraging to see so much interest in the program." USDA is committed to invest $1.2 billion in RCPP partnerships over the life of the 2014 Farm Bill. Today's announcement brings the current USDA commitment to almost $600 million invested in 199 partner-led projects, leveraging an additional $900 million for conservation activities in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. USDA invested $370 million in 115 high impact RCPP projects during 2015. In New Mexico, a RCPP project with the Interstate Stream Commission and an acequia—a local communal irrigation system—has addressed long-standing infrastructure failures to significantly reduce water needs by improving irrigation efficiency. In Oregon, removal of encroaching juniper was part of the West-wide private lands conservation effort that helped obviate the need to list the Greater sage-grouse on the endangered species list. See the full list of 2016 projects. Since 2009, USDA has invested more than $29 billion to help producers make conservation improvements, working with as many as 500,000 farmers, ranchers and landowners to protect over 400 million acres nationwide, boosting soil and air quality, cleaning and conserving water and enhancing wildlife habitat. For an interactive look at USDA's work in conservation and forestry over the course of this Administration, visit http://medium.com/usda-results. #