February 2014 Arizona Agriculture

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www.azfb.org

FEBRUARY, 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Official Publication of the Arizona Farm Bureau

See WATER Page 4

Big Organic – Page 2Is it bad?

Food Safety – Page 2It matters on all-size farms!

Ag in the Classroom- Page 5Moving Right Along!

See BIG WINS Page 6

By Julie Murphree, Arizona Farm Bureau

In our most recent issues, we’ve addressed the water topic on varying levels. In this issue of Arizona Agri-culture, we focus on the environmental aspect of our

water resource in this state. For insights on this we con-nect with Sharon B. Megdal, Director of The University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Our conver-sation with her will focus on her area of expertise: water resources management and policy, on which she writes and frequently speaks. She also holds the titles Professor, Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, and Distinguished Outreach Professor. She serves as Di-rector of the Water Sustainability Program and Co-Direc-tor of The University of Arizona Water, Environmental and Energy Solutions Program.

Dr. Megdal places particular emphasis on how to achieve desired policy objectives in terms of institutional structures and possible changes to them. Current projects include: comparative evaluation of water management, policy, and governance in growing, water-scarce regions; meeting the water needs of the environment; groundwater management and governance; water pricing; and trans-boundary aquifer assessment.

She is the lead editor of the book, Shared Borders, Shared Waters: Israeli-Palestinian and Colorado River Basin Water Challenges, (co-edited by Robert G. Varady and Susanna Eden, CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group, in cooperation with UNESCO-IHE, 2013). Dr. Megdal teaches the multi-disciplinary graduate course Arizona Water Policy. She serves as President-Elect of the National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR) and is a member of the board of the Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR). As an elected member of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District Board of Directors, Dr. Megdal is responsible for the policies, rates and taxes associated with delivering Colo-rado River water through the Central Arizona Project. Dr. Megdal has served on numer-ous Arizona boards and commissions, including the Arizona Corporation Commission,

the State Transportation Board and the Arizona Medi-cal Board. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics from Princeton University.

Arizona Agriculture: How would you rank Arizo-na’s water management on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest)? Please explain why you give it the ranking you do.

Megdal: I would rank Arizona’s current water man-agement as an eight. I like to use the image of the par-tially full glass. Our water glass is more than half full, but there is an unfilled part to it. Looking to the past, Ari-zona has done an excellent job of managing groundwater in the Active Management Areas (AMAs) and identify-ing and developing supplies to meet the water needs of a rapidly growing population and economy. However, we have some challenges associated with the regulations in the AMAs related to groundwater, and there are water issues in some areas that are not in AMAs. The Water Resources Development Commission identified future demand for water that outstrips identified supplies. So, going forward, our challenge is to keep the glass full.

Arizona Agriculture: I’ve heard the quote several times now that “water flows toward money.” Doesn’t this hinder a holistic approach to water management? If so, please explain.

Megdal: I think one has to clarify what is meant by a holistic approach to water management. When I use the

term “holistic,” I think in terms of the water cycle. We all know that no new water is created, though its form, quality and location may change. It’s important to understand the implications of decisions to move water from one place to

another or to improve water use efficiency. For example, how will changes in water use impact communities and/or riparian systems? Yes, money is needed for water transpor-tation and treatment infrastructure and water can flow uphill to money. The real issue is looking at the full range of implications so that they can be understood.

A Conversation with Another Water Expert: Sharon MegdalExtended discussion on water must include our environmental concerns

U of A’s Dr. Megdal is encouraged by Arizona’s past efforts in water conservation and management but also sees areas of concern as we map our state’s future and preservation of this critical resource.

State Farm Bureaus were presented awards at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 95th Annual Con-vention last month in San Antonio recognizing their excellence in membership achievement and imple-mentation of outstanding programs serving Farm Bureau members in 2013. Arizona Farm Bureau was

among the winning Farm Bureaus. The Awards for

Excellence are awarded to state Farm Bureaus that have demonstrated outstanding achieve-ments in six program areas: Education and Outreach; Leadership Development; Member Services; Membership Initiatives; Policy De-velopment and Imple-mentation; and Public Relations and Com-munications. Arizona Farm Bureau won in all six areas.

Additionally, Pres-ident’s Awards were

presented to states from each membership-size group that achieved quota and demonstrated superiority in the Awards for Excellence categories. Arizona won in Education and Outreach, Policy Development and Implementation, and Public Relations and Communications.

For the first time Arizona won a New Horizon Award, presented to states with the most innovative new program. Arizona won the New Horizon award

Arizona Farm Bureau Wins Big in San AntonioBy Julie Murphree, Arizona Farm Bureau

Arizona Farm Bureau President Kevin Rogers accepts the New Horizon Award from American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman. This is Arizona’s first time to receive the New Horizon Award, presented to states with the most innovative new program.

The Voice of Arizona Agriculture325 S. Higley Rd., Suite 210 • Gilbert, AZ 85296 • 480.635.3600 • fax 480.635.3781 • www.azfb.org

OFFICERSPresident • Kevin Rogers, Mesa

1st Vice President Stefanie Smallhouse, Redington

2nd V. P. John Boelts, Yuma

Exec. Secretary • James Klinker, MesaEXECUTIVE COMMITTEEDeWayne Justice • Waddell

ARIZONA AGRICULTURE STAFFJulie Murphree, Editor

Peggy Jo Goodfellow, AdvertisingPlease send comments to:

[email protected] advertising, e-mail [email protected], call480.635.3609 or visit www.azfb.org/publica-

tions.htm

Arizona Agriculture is published 9 months, plus two special editions annually, (ISSN 0274-7014) by the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation…

325 S Higley Rd., Suite 210Gilbert, AZ 85296

Periodicals postage paid in Higley, Arizona and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTERSend address changes to:

Arizona Agriculture325 S Higley Rd., Suite 210

Gilbert, AZ 85296Subscriptions are included in

annual dues.

2 www.azfb.org ARIZONAAGRICULTURE•FEBRUARY,2014


See FOOD SAFETY Page 7

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Last December, several news outlets reported that WhiteWave Foods Co. agreed to buy Earthbound Farm for $600 million in cash, a deal which combines the large organic dairy company with one of the biggest organic produce companies.

This acquisition comes around the same time that the Houston-based distribution company Sysco announced that it has agreed to merge with the privately-owned US Foods in a deal worth $8.2 billion. While not the exclusive indicator in healthy, competitive markets a sign that things are going well is growth and expansion.

Reading about WhiteWave’s acquisition of Earthbound Farms got me to thinking about all the bad press big com-panies get. So, I’m wondering …

It became enormously clear during 2011’s Occupy Wall Street period that “Big Busi-ness” was the major culprit to all our woes. Anger at big business isn’t new, predating the 1940 classic Citizen Kane. If you look at polls, this attitude has even gone mainstream. A majority of respondents to a Gallup survey during the Occupy Wall Street period said that most Americans believe big business has too much power. The sentiment held across party lines.

In our agriculture world, that’s why the critics of “big” rename large farms “Indus-trial farms.” They’ve got to be bad, right?

So, if big is so bad does that mean an ever expanding organic company like WhiteWave Foods Co. is also bad? Is the same standard held to the current “golden boy” in the mar-ket: organics? It’s a fair question to ask since the concept of “big” in all markets including agriculture gets beat up all the time.

Big and small businesses innovate; size does not matter on this front. As evidenced by Americans romanticizing the family farm (especially the small family farm); we celebrate small places with big ideas. Yes, Steve Jobs built the first Apple computer in his garage but today Apple employs thousands. Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in his dorm room but look at the size of Facebook today. The genius of Jobs, Zuckerberg, and so many others was in turning their ideas into highly competitive global enterprises.

Innovation in agriculture is ripe with these same stories of innovation. In Arizona, we have countless examples of not only precision technology farming and ranching, improved seed and GPS-guided equipment but of competitive and innovating farmers with turnkey best management practices in traditional farming that they’ve translated over into organic farming; more than one of them would be identified as a “big” farmer.

If big is so bad, even Arizona’s organic farms could get in trouble with the critics of “big.” According to the results of the 2008 Organic Production Survey (most recent statistics available), Arizona had 63 organic farms, covering nearly 21,000 acres of land. The average organic operation in Arizona has 350 acres of land, larger than the 285 acres for an average organic farm nationwide. These organic farms also produced sales of more than $42 million.

This same survey reported that organic farmers would continue to expand. Nearly 67% of all respondents said that they expect to increase or maintain their organic production. Nine farms in Arizona also reported cropland in transition to organic production. The next survey will most likely report more growth.

Growth; it’s a good thing.And now we have ever-growing organic food companies. For them bigger is better. A healthy company grows; just

like a plant or an animal, to tie it back to agriculture. The reality: in our diverse markets here in America we need it all, based on what various market niches want from

us. And, in agriculture we need small, medium and large, conventional and organic. We need it all (I say this so often to various audiences that I get teased about it being a Murphreeism).

Finally, and most likely contrary to popular belief, the “biggest” aspect of sustainability in our competitive markets is profitability. And in our modern-day markets, that will always depend on the right product at the right price for a demanding consumer, not the size ─ big or small ─ of the company.

An organic field of leafy greens in Arizona. Most organic farmers sur-veyed say they plan to expand production based on demand.

If Big is Bad is Big Organic Just as Bad?

Food Safety for All Size Farms MattersBy Stewart Jacobson, Food Safety Projects Coordinator, Agricultural Consultation and Training for the Arizona Department of Agriculture

You may have heard about the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) audit certification program called GHP/GAP. Good Handling Practices/Good Agricultural Practices, or GHP/GAP, is a voluntary program of written food safety procedures, methods, and plans that a farm, grower, processor, transporter, warehouse op-

erations would use to prevent microbial contamination of their crops and produce. Included in this program are fresh fruits and vegetables, and tree nuts. There are separate GHP/GAPs for tomatoes, mushrooms, sprouts. And there are other food safety auditing programs: Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA), Global Gap, Harmonized GAP, Group GAP, Primus Labs, Siliker Labs to name a few. GHP/GAP is a basic, entry level food safety program.

GHP/GAP is a written program of your operations and methods, your Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), fol-lowing the FDA’s “Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.” This guide for industry is available online at the FDA’s website. The GHP/GAP audit itself is available from USDA/AMS. Arizona Agriculture and Food Safety

GAP is the term used for procedures prior to harvest, while GHP are procedures post harvest, and I will discuss each one.

ARIZONAAGRICULTURE•FEBRUARY,2014 www.azfb.org 3


continued from page 1WaterArizona Agriculture: You point to a lack of consideration for the state’s environ-

mental water needs. What should we be considering and why?Megdal: My prior answer referred to riparian systems or, more generally, water for

nature. Arizona is known as a state of natural beauty. Residents and visitors alike enjoy what Arizona’s outdoors has to offer. Studies have shown that homes near riparian cor-ridors have higher values than those distant from greenways. Yet, as demonstrated in a paper I coauthored a few years ago, the water needs of the environment (nature) are by-and-large not recognized in Arizona law.

Water use has degraded riparian areas. I will reinforce my earlier comments regard-ing understanding the implications of our water use practices. At the Water Resources Research Center, we have a multi-faceted work program we call Water RAPIDS, Wa-ter Research and PlanningInnovations in Dryland Systems. Readers can go to wrrc.arizona.edu/waterrapids to learn more. We are working extensively with stakeholders to consider basic issues related to considering the water needs of nature, including just what words to use. Should we talk about the environment, riparian systems, natural sys-tems, etc.? Whatever the words, how should we go about incorporating these needs into water planning in the context of current law? Can voluntary programs like Conserve to Enhance (C2E) support local and regional efforts to enhance the environment? An extremely important element of our approach is what I like to call “robust” stakeholder engagement, through which we work with citizens of local communities and watersheds to assist them in developing solutions that work for them.

Arizona Agriculture: Regarding groundwater use, what are some of our most opti-mal options to guard against overdraft of groundwater?

Megdal: One obvious option is to use less water. Through water conservation, we can use less water, and thereby rely less on groundwater. But one has to keep in mind that, while groundwater pumping comprises close to 40 percent of Arizona’s statewide water extractions and diversions, some users are 100 percent reliant on groundwater, others use mostly surface water, while for many, groundwater is a portion of overall water use. Some families have their own wells, while most rely on water providers to meet their needs. So, the options will differ across communities and users. Regardless of circumstance, conservation will be a key mechanism to assist Arizona in meeting future water demands.

Also, our water storage (recharge) and recovery programs are assisting us in help-ing manage groundwater. In some AMAs, the Assured and Adequate Water Supply Rules require a significant amount of groundwater use to be replenished, but sometimes this replenishment does not occur in the same locale as the pumping, resulting in local-ized draw-down of aquifers. Use of rainwater, especially for outdoor watering through passive or active systems, can reduce the amount of groundwater that will be pumped. Grey water use by households and businesses and more re-use of treated wastewater or effluent are also options. However, it is possible that some approaches to reducing groundwater use may mean less water returning back into aquifers. For example, con-sider what I call the “conundrum of leaky agriculture.” As agriculture becomes more efficient in its consumptive use of water, less may return to aquifers through what is called incidental recharge. We return to the concept of the holistic approach, that is, understand the water cycle implications of options. I do not mean to suggest we do not do certain things because there are implications but rather understand the implications

so as to avoid surprises.Arizona Agriculture: How do we use groundwater recharge as an effective tool?Megdal: We use groundwater recharge in several ways. Importantly, the Arizona

Water Banking Authority is using groundwater recharge to store Colorado River water to meet Arizona water needs in times of shortage on the Colorado River. Water provid-ers are using groundwater recharge as a means of treating surface water and effluent to meet community water needs. Groundwater recharge of Colorado River water can help communities avoid some treatment costs. Groundwater recharge enables others to utilize surface water indirectly when they take advantage of regulatory provisions that enable them to store water in one location and recover the water in another. This flex-ibility also enables the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District to meet is statutory obligations to replenish groundwater use for its members. Recharge that leads to long-term storage credits includes a “cut to the aquifer” – water that is not recover-able in the future, which offsets groundwater depletion. Arizona is a leader in use of groundwater recharge and water banking.

Arizona Agriculture: Explain your Conserve to Enhance program.Megdal: Conserve to Enhance (C2E) is an innovative program developed at the

WRRC whereby water consumers track their water conservation and their water bill savings, and then donate a portion or all of their savings to projects that enhance the environment. This is a voluntary program in all respects and depends substantially on grassroots or local efforts to identify recipient projects. More information about the program, which has been piloted in Tucson and is under development/consideration in other communities, can be found at the Water RAPIDS web page. We are very excited to be releasing the web-based Water Use Dashboard tool, which will greatly assist in C2E implementation by providing customers with an automated tool to track water use and savings. There is a role for all, including business, in a C2E program, so we encourage anyone interested to contact us!

Arizona Agriculture: Do we have a hopeful water future in this state? Please ex-plain.

Megdal: While the water challenges are many, those responsible for managing and delivering water recognize these and are constantly working on addressing these chal-lenges. Addressing long-term needs will often involve substantial lead times and fi-nancial investments. Consider, for example, the decades and money it took to bring the Central Arizona Project to completion. More understanding of both current conditions and the future outlook would help Arizona decision makers develop and implement solutions to ensure that Arizona’s water future is bright. The need to educate is multi-faceted. We need to educate citizens and decision makers and we need to educate – and keep in Arizona – the next generations of water professionals.

Arizona Agriculture: Where does agriculture fit into all of this from your perspec-tive?

Megdal: Agriculture is a prominent part of Arizona’s economy. Arizona Depart-ment of Water Resources data show that agriculture is responsible for about 70 percent of statewide water diversions or extractions. Agriculture in western Arizona holds se-nior water rights to Colorado River water, and agriculture in central Arizona holds well-quantified groundwater rights. Agriculture in central Arizona has been utilizing a lot of

See WATER Page 8


So it’s very hard to seasonally adjust production to demand [like telling your herd or flock to slow down production during slower consumer consumption]. For example, in the summer, normal home behavior patterns change. Kids are out of school, vacations are taken, and generally it’s much warmer. As a result, we’re not cooking and baking as much.”

His key point is that eggs and milk demand is not as strong in July as it is in December. However, production is relatively stable because of the ex-cellent care of our farm animals.

So, demand swings for food products that don’t have too much of the middle man in the middle – like eggs and milk – can really be in-fluenced by our seasonal consumption habits.

Beef, that also showed an increase this last quarter marketbas-ket, has an additional consideration. To enjoy beef (or chicken, pork or turkey) our source has to

give up its life for our sustenance. So it’s as much supply as efficient production. Right now, supply of market-ready beef is tight.

In fact, last week meatpackers paid the highest cash prices on record for live, mar-ket-ready cattle. The meat industry is grappling with tight cattle supplies due in part to drought in parts of the U.S. Great Plains. Add to that consumer demand – again es-

See FOOD PRICES Page 8

McClendon

Since we’re midway through this current school year it’s a good time to provide an update on Arizona Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom (AITC) program and give a big “thank you” to those who have donated to Farm Bureau’s Educational Farm-

ing Company. We’re excited about the new year!

The Next Ag literacy eventOur Dr. Seuss Ag Literacy Event is just around the corner.

The event is filled to capacity with 400 classrooms registered for this interactive 30-minute presentation. Depending on the grade level of the classroom, students will either experience Green Eggs and Ham while learning about chickens and pigs, experience Oh Say Can You Seed while dissecting seeds first hand, or experience Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? while learning the differences between dairy and beef cattle. There are 10 FFA Chapters that have volunteered to present and have been paired with classrooms in their local elementary school for this event. AITC is excited about this growing partnership with the FFA!

our coloring Book gets a FaceliftThe very popular Arizona Grown Agriculture coloring book has been revamped.

New activities and facts will keep Arizona students informed about the agricultural industry. If your county would like to order copies of the new coloring book please contact Katie Aikins at [email protected].

Running the NumbersImpact numbers compared to last year at this time are down a bit. This can be at-

Ag in the Classroom is Cruising Right AlongStaff Reports

tributed to us not hosting the Gilbert Days Rodeo Education Days as we have in years past. The GPC wanted to host an event at the Rodeo Park instead of the schools, which required the schools to find funding for buses. As budgets continue to tighten this was

just not something the schools could provide. Hopefully next year, we can go back to the school campus

program that the schools seemed to really enjoy. Despite the fact that we’re slightly behind compared to the

past few years, we have new events and projects scheduled for spring that will still allow us to reach our goal of a 10% in-crease in program impact.

Thank you for All you Do!With our latest fundraising campaign, we’ve raised more

than $18,000 for Arizona Farm Bureau Educational Farming Company in just the last six weeks. While this 501 (c)(3) com-pany provides donations to all of our agriculture youth organi-zations including FFA and 4-H, Arizona Farm Bureau’s AITC depends on these funds too. We want to thank everyone who donated to our youth activities; one of the most important pub-

lic outreach efforts we do in order to help our Arizona families connect to our agricul-ture industry here in the state.

It’s not too late to donate to the Educational Farming Company. If you still want to donate send your checks written out to Arizona Farm Bureau Educational Farming Company and send them to 325 South Higley Road, Suite 210, Gilbert, Arizona 85296. You can also donate online at www.azfb.org.

The Constant of Food Prices: They Will ChangeBy Julie Murphree, Arizona Farm Bureau

The one constant of food prices is they will always change. This is brought home to us every time Arizona Farm Bureau does its quarterly marketbasket. With the fourth quarter of 2013 released today, we’re reminded of this truism once again.

Though a measurement of the past, our marketbasket gives us an idea of what we are currently feeling with our food purchases and what we might feel in our food shop-ping basket in the coming weeks. This should work as a budget planning strategy, cer-tainly for growing Arizona families.

To me, it’s fascinating to measure the food price market especially against what we’re doing in Arizona agriculture, right at the “farm gate” level. It makes me appreci-ate the relationship between the farmer and rancher and our Arizona families.

In this fourth quarter marketbasket, we clearly feel the rise in price in our protein purchases, especially beef and eggs. So how does that correlate with what the farmer and rancher is dealing with at the farm gate?

A few things. Let’s take eggs first. We’ve seen a precipitous rise in eggs for the last four quarters

in Arizona Farm Bureau’s marketbasket (well, down four cents in the second quarter):20131Q $1.902Q $1.863Q $1.964Q $2.14Looking at this trend, we’d default to the conclusion that this might continue. Not

so, when we get from the farmer the inside track on what’s taking place with the egg market. “The farm gate value for eggs has dropped by one third since Christmas,” ex-plains Glenn Hickman, CEO for Hickman’s Family Farms, Arizona’s only commercial egg producer. “This speaks to the demand for eggs over the long holiday season that just ended. There really isn’t a good substitute for eggs in holiday recipes, so as long as we are going to celebrate with friends and family around the holidays, we will probably get a boost in egg prices. That’s why you often see higher prices for eggs during the holidays.”

Another point about general demand of key food items like milk and eggs means we need to look at production. Adds Hickman, “Milk cows and egg-laying chickens don’t read a calendar very well, and they have productive lives spanning over a year.


Big Wins continued from page 1


for its publication series project. To meet the growing demand of our membership’s information needs in various areas, Arizona Farm Bureau planned an ongoing series of publications. These books will target specific segments of the membership, including working to appeal to non-members who may decide to join Farm Bureau.

The first book in the series was designed to inspire readers to more clearly under-stand their market niche in agriculture by providing an al l-encompassing guide to branding and marketing in A Farmer’s Guide to Marketing the Di-rect-Market Farm.

“Retail or di-rect-market farms and ranches are a small, but growing, segment in Ari-zona agriculture,” says Arizona Farm Bureau President Kevin Rogers. “But often, the business is constrained by labor and time-to-market issues and finds itself unable to effectively market its farm-to-consumer products. Our book is an effort to help our farmers and ranchers.”

To date, more than 150 guidebooks are in the hands of member and non-member retail farmers. What makes this guide special is the real-life farm and ranch stories showing what works. Plus, every chapter has quick, simple and effective tips for car-rying out branding and marketing requirements regardless of one’s marketing budget; even if non-existent. Topics discussed in the book include:

• Basic marketing primer for the farmer and rancher• Finding Your Niche• Knowing and relating to Your Customer• Selling to Your Customer• Building Your Customers Up• How Traditional Farms Are Branching Out

While Arizona Farm Bureau underwrote the cost of providing the guidebook to

member retail farmers, the book is available for sale on Amazon.com. The book has now generated a variety of different speaking engagements on marketing for retail farmers in venues at county cooperative extensions and at business meetings. Addition-ally, Local First Arizona purchased 25 books to give to their own farmer members. The guidebook has also proven to be an outreach tool to non-members and positioned AZFB as a thought-leader in the space.

All these efforts helped Arizona Farm Bureau win the Pinnacle Award for the fourth time in five years, the highest award a state can earn for program and mem-bership achievement. Pinnacle Award winners received a special pin to commemorate their achievements.

one of Arizona’s young Farmers and Ranchers makes it to the Sweet Sixteen

Once again Arizona Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer and Rancher team made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the Discussion Meet. Arizona’s discussion meet state winner Terisha Driggs met in San Antonio with more than 30 other competitors. Driggs made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen, marking several times now that Arizona has made it to this

top ranking in the Young Farmer & Rancher competi-tion.

The Discus-sion Meet simu-lates a committee meeting in which active discussion and participa-tion are expected. Participants are evaluated on their ability to exchange ideas and informa-tion on a predeter-mined topic.

Driggs suggested that while she wished she could have been in the running at least to the Final Four, the experience is well worth it for any Young Farmer & Rancher com-petitor and hopes that more Arizona competitors will come forward. “This was a great experience that I’ll never forget.”

Arizona & other State Farm Bureaus counsel that the “Mom” Demo-graphic is Key to Building Trust Among consumers

Besides winning big in San Antonio, Arizona was part of a panel from various state Farm Bureaus providing tips on building greater trust among American consum-ers. During the panel discussion on a Monday afternoon at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 95th Annual Meeting, nearly every one of the participants cited moms as the most important demographic. The panel team also told the farmers and ranchers in the room that it’s imperative they engage in conversations with consumers.

Representing Arizona, I reminded the audience of farmers and ranchers during the panel that their voice is the strongest in connecting with consumers. In fact, I suggested that our farmers and ranchers are as popular as celebrity chefs and should open up to seeing themselves as “superstars” of the agriculture industry.

“First moms, the public, need to know us, like us and then trust us,” said Rita Hechmer, marketing specialist for Ohio Farm Bureau. “It has to be in this order.” Ohio’s “Grow and Know” events through its Our Ohio program provide on-farm events, com-munity involvement and hands-on learning.

Panel facilitator Judy Rupnow of Morgan Myers, began the session with consumer research. “Researchers tell us the public has concerns about where their food comes from. They want to learn more. And while they appear to like farmers, consumers are sometimes concerned that farmers won’t act ethically.”

“Along the way, we forgot to tell the public what we were doing,” Rupnow said. “This created a trust gap but that’s changing.”

This ongoing engagement is resonating with moms on both sides of the aisle, in-cluding farm moms. Rebecca French Smith, multi-media specialist with Missouri Farm Bureau, said, “In addition to all the things we do in this area, our biggest initiative is to introduce them to farmers so we can put a face to farming. This is done in part by farm mommy bloggers.”

Chris Magnuson, executive director of operations, news and communications, Il-linois Farm Bureau, highlighted Illinois’ Farm Families program. “We’re using farmers for outreach through our website, videos and more and we’re engaged with mommy bloggers.”

Illinois Farm Bureau has also done extensive consumer research and plans to con-duct a follow-up study to determine consumer attitudes now, after several years of its own consumer outreach efforts. “We hope to measure a shift in attitudes,” explained Magnuson.

In the meantime, the panel gives a few basic tips to farmers and ranchers to help keep a conversation going with consumers. The list follows.

1. Listen. As the pundits like to say, it’s why we have two ears and one mouth.2. Share your story. We like and remember a story better than just statistics, the facts or science. People love to hear why you’re in farming or ranching. People can relate to stories; statistics can be intimidating. 3. Show you care. You can avoid being defensive if you first try to understand someone’s concern. For example, when someone asks you about pesticide use, find out in more detail what their specific concerns might be then explain how your farm prudently uses them.4. Make a new friend. Set a goal to meet someone outside your typical circle of friends. In fact, try to make a connection with someone that might even have an opposite opinion of yours on various issues related to farming.

The panel all agreed that the best advocates for agriculture are farmers and ranch-ers. The public, certainly moms, want to know how we grow their food. In many ways, they do have a right to know especially since the story of agriculture is such an exciting one!

Arizona Farm Bureau won the New Horizon award for its pub-lication series project; the first book being A Farmer’s Guide to Marketing the Direct-Market Farm.

Arizona’s Terisha Driggs made it to the Sweet Sixteen in the young Farmers & Ranchers’ Discussion Meet competition


When we think about food safety at the growing level, there are several areas that would contribute to microbial contamination: soil, water, manure, and worker hygiene and practices. If the soil is contaminated or the irrigating water has a high bacterial load,

or the ma-nure is hot with b a c t e -ria, there is a re-ally good c h a n c e that the p r o d u c e will be-come con-taminated with the bacter ia , and if that b a c t e r i a

is pathogenic (ability to

make people sick) there will be problems. If the workers themselves are sick, shedding

Staff Reports

continued from page 2Food Safety

Keeping our crops healthy and pathogen free is a concern for every-one.

Voting delegates to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 95th annual meet-ing in January approved resolutions that will provide the organization with authority from its grassroots members to push Congress toward the goal line

on unfinished issues like the farm bill and agriculture labor. Arizona Farm Bureau’s delegates this year were First Vice President Ste-fanie Smallhouse and Second Vice President John Boelts, standing in for Arizona Farm Bureau President Kevin Rogers who returned early to at-tend a memorial service for his uncle Shag Rog-ers, another well-known Arizona farmer.

“Securing victories on those issues is critical to our competitiveness as individual farmers and ranchers, and to our na-tion’s success as a food producer,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman, who was re-elected to his eighth two-year term as the organization’s president. “Farm Bureau made progress on our priorities this past year, more so than most other organizations, and this year, our delegates have provided us direction to work with Congress to complete this agenda.”

On the farm labor front, delegates reaffirmed their strong support for meaning-ful agriculture labor reforms that ensure farmers and ranchers have access to workers when they are needed. Delegates also voted to support flexibility that would allow the employment of workers by more than one farmer.

“Farmers and ranchers need a reliable supply of labor,” Stallman said. “That is a simple truth. It’s about availability and flexibility – neither of which have been hall-marks of the system our farmers, ranchers and growers have operated under for many years. We must have a workable ag labor program.”

With congressional farm bill action nearing completion, delegates reaffirmed Farm Bureau’s policy, overwhelmingly determining that now is not the time to make changes.

“Congress is still haggling over dairy policy, but for the most part, they are very close to completing a five-year farm bill,” Stallman said. “It has been a long process, but substantial reforms have been made. Crop insurance has been strengthened so that farmers can play a role in determining the level of their safety net, and how much they

Farm Bureau Delegates Set Public Policy Positions for 2014are willing to invest for that coverage.”

Specifically on dairy-related issues, delegates reaffirmed policy supporting chang-es to the dairy safety net, including margin insurance programs.

On another livestock-related issue, delegates maintained their support for coun-try of origin labeling and reiterated that it needs to be compliant with World Trade Organization rules. They also voted to sup-port efforts to lengthen the term of grazing permits from 10 years to 20 years.

On other issues, del-egates adopted new policy that supports the use of unmanned aircraft sys-tems for commercial agri-cultural, forestry and other natural resource purposes. They also supported the requirement for drone us-

ers to gain the consent of the landowners, if operating below navigable airspace. How-ever, delegates opposed federal agencies’ use of drones for regulatory enforcement, litigation or natural resource inventory surveys.

Delegates approved new policy supporting the protection of proprietary data col-lected from farmers and maintaining that such data should remain their property. Del-egates also voted to support efforts to educate farmers regarding the benefits and risks of collaborative data collection systems. They also approved policy stating that farmers should be compensated if companies market their propriety information, and that farm-ers should have the right to sell their proprietary data to another producer, such as in the case of a land sale. Delegates voted to oppose farmers’ data being held in a clearing-house or database by any entity subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

Delegates also reaffirmed their support for the renewable fuels standard and ap-proved a policy supporting renewable fuels tax incentives for the production of bio-diesel and cellulosic ethanol and installation of blender pumps.

At the AFBF Annual Meeting, 357 voting delegates, representing every crop and livestock sector in the United States, deliberated on policies affecting farmers’ and ranchers’ productivity and profitability. The policies approved at the annual meeting will guide the nation’s largest general farm organization throughout 2014.

bacteria onto the produce, then your buyers are in a potentially hazardous situation.At the packing or processing facility food safety concerns would include: condition

of incoming product, washing of the incoming product, cleaning and sanitizing of the food contact surfaces and equipment, packing house facility cleanliness, employees’ clothing, hand washing, eating, drinking, jewelry, illnesses, packaging materials and storing these materials, and of course product handling. Each part of the operation must be assessed for hazards.

On-farm, garden operations are unique to the growers. Some traditional methods include in-ground, with furrows and rows, while others may use raised beds. But these are still in ground, using soil or other growing medium. Other operations use hydropon-ics, using just fertilized water in large tanks as a growing medium or the use of fertil-ized, inert material, sphagnum moss, sand, etc, that provide a support for the roots but impart no nutrients to the plants.

Each grower has unique circumstances they employ, but common threads: plant a seed, water, nutrients, sometimes sun (sprouts may not require light) and a plant may grow and thrive. Keeping that plant healthy and pathogen free is a concern for everyone.

Editor’s Note: Stewart Jacobson is a part-time employee of the Arizona Depart-ment of Agriculture’s Agricultural Consultation and Training Program. He retired from the Meat and Poultry Inspection program after 33 years and now is a consultant with the ACT program assisting growers in developing a food safety program for the GHP/GAP program. He can be reached at 602-542-0950 or [email protected].

Arizona Farm Bureau was part of the voting block that set policy for 2014.


Check out your NEW

member benefits at azfb.org

Project CENTRL, Arizona’s Center for Rural Lead-ership, is now accepting applications for Class 23. Rural leaders, farmers, ranchers, and individuals

working in businesses that serve agriculture or rural Ari-zona who want to improve their leadership skills are en-couraged to apply.

Project CENTRL is a premier leadership develop-ment program with over 600 graduates since the first class started in 1983. Alumni are active community lead-ers and dedicated volunteers who share a common vision of making rural Arizona and agriculture more healthy, vibrant, and sustainable. The mission of Project CEN-TRL is to equip and empower leaders to meet the needs of rural Arizona.

The one year program has six two day seminars held every other month in Arizona and a five day seminar in Washington D. C. The capstone to the program is a one

day session followed by graduation that eve-ning. The first two seminars improve lead-ership and communica-tion skills and the next

three address diverse topics, emerging issues and future challenges that face agriculture and rural Arizona. The last two seminars apply the knowledge and skills gained at our state and national Capitols. The Graduation and day time session will polish leadership skills and intro-duce participants into the CENTRL network of Arizona leaders.

Project CENTRL is a partnership between the non-profit Center for Rural Leadership and Arizona Coopera-tive Extension in the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The costs for participants are underwritten with donations from alumni, sponsors, and other orga-nizations. Applicants must be at least 25 years of age by the beginning of the program and a full time resident of Arizona.

“Project CENTRL is all about cultivating leaders to be more responsive and effective in meeting the growing needs of rural Arizona,” said CENTRL Director Monica Pastor. “The program is a life changing experience that is making a difference in agriculture and rural Arizona.”

Detailed program information and an application packet are available online at www.centrl.org. Addition-al information is available by calling the Project CEN-TRL office at (520) 316-0909. Applications are due on March 1, but candidates are encouraged to complete and submit them earlier.

For more information, contact Karen Vanderheyden at [email protected].

Rural Leadership Program Applications Due March 1st

CAP water in lieu of groundwater. As the cost of CAP water continues to increase and as a shortage declaration on the Colorado River looms, agriculture will return to groundwater use and/or curtail farming activities. Farming entities with senior rights to Colorado River water know that there is interest in entering into water transactions, which I see as being voluntary. While it is beyond the scope of this interview to delve into these issues, by virtue of its water use, agriculture has been and will continue to be a major voice and player in the shaping of Arizona’s water future.

Arizona Agriculture: When you’re trying to sell the idea of an environmental water-based consideration, what do you tell your detractors?

Megdal: I hope it is evident from my responses that I see solutions emerging out of engagement, collaboration, and consultation. As a university-based center that focuses on promoting understanding of water management and policy, the WRRC engages in applied research, education and outreach programs. Because we are not regulators and we do not have a water right or use to protect, we look to work to improve understanding so that the water stakeholders can develop solutions. In the context of environmental water-based issues, we have: (1) studied the law, (2) developed a database, which is available on line, of what we know about the water “needs” of Arizona’s rivers and streams, as well as a related guidebook; and (3) worked on Conserve to Enhance as a voluntary mechanism for funding some environ-mental projects; and (4) partnered with many on several projects. We want people to know about what we are doing so that their concerns can be shared. Therefore, we invite “detractors” to talk with us so that we can learn from each other and craft solutions that address environmental as well as other water challenges.

Arizona Agriculture: What haven’t I asked you that you’d like to share with our 3,500 farm and ranch members?Megdal: I would like to thank you for this interview. The WRRC is a statewide Extension and research center of

the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. We work on local, regional and statewide projects. We have a very active web site, wrrc.arizona.edu, which contains many useful publications and information on our projects. We encourage Arizona Farm Bureau members to sign up for our weekly email, The Weekly Wave, to keep informed on what we are up to and the schedule of talk and other programs. In particular, we would very much like to have your membership join us for our one-day annual conference at the University of Arizona on Closing the Gap Between Water Supply and Demand, which is scheduled for April 8 of this year. Information about the conference can be found at wrrc.arizona.edu/conf. We at WRRC look forward to identifying additional opportunities to work with the staff and membership of the Arizona Farm Bureau!

continued from page 5Food Prices continued from page 4Waterpecially over the holidays – that’s been high and you can expect a price spike in the grocery store. Analysts sug-gest the higher cattle prices likely will be passed along to you and me in the next several months.

Whatever is going on at the “farm gate” especially with food commodities where the market sets the price, not the farmer or rancher (unless they sell at a farmer’s market; the direct-market environment where the farmer can get away with setting his own price separate from the commodity markets), the mom or dad at the grocery store feels the impact a bit later. In the food industry, they call it sticky prices … in other words there is a bit of a lag time between commodity market impacts versus re-tail pricing.

In conclusion? Based on this latest marketbasket by Arizona Farm Bureau, I plan to really watch meat prices and take advantage of any deals that emerge. I might even stock up a bit.

I’m not too worried about eggs. They are the most economical protein I can get regardless of the time in the year I purchase them. And, the prices will most likely be cheaper this spring and summer than the $2-a-dozen I spent just this last weekend. After all, the holiday baking and family gatherings are over until the next big holiday celebration!

The Arizona Farm Bureau Commodity Advosory committees will meet to surface issues for policy development at the Farm Bureau Office in Gilbert on thursday, March 13, from 10am -2pm.

Call or email Paul Brierley at 480-635-3612 or [email protected] for more information.

Mark Your Calendars:

Documents

February 2014 Arizona Agriculture