The Farmer in All of Us Recently Published
Just in time for the holiday gift-giving season, the Ram Truck brand is launching a new photography book with National Geographic titled, The Farmer in All of Us: An American Portrait. The book is available for purchase now for $45 at www.ramtrucks.com/outfitter and will be in retail stores beginning late spring 2014.
The 300-page coffee table book is a beautiful and comprehensive collection of original agriculture and farming photography, including many of the images commissioned by the Ram Truck brand for its “Farmer” Super Bowl commercial inspired by Paul Harvey’s “So God Made a Farmer” essay. Every book purchase backs a minimum contribution of $25,000 by the Ram Truck brand to the National FFA Organization’s “Give the Gift of Blue” program, which donates traditional FFA blue corduroy jackets to members who would not otherwise be able to own one.
To create the book, 10 world-class photographers were tasked with traveling throughout America’s heartland over the course of three weeks to capture the essence of the farmer. Paul Harvey’s “So God Made a Farmer” speech served as their inspiration.
2013 Regional Corn Meeting
Almost every facet of corn production will be covered during a regional meeting at the Miner Convention Center, Miner, Mo., on Dec. 11, 2013. CEUs will be applied for. Pre-registration is requested for meals and handouts. To pre-register or if you have questions, contact Anthony Ohmes at (573) 243-3581 or David Reinbott at (573) 545-3516 or via email at reinbottd@missouri.edu.
EPA Ethanol Proposal Affects Farmers, Rural Economy
The National Corn Growers Association expressed outrage in the wake of an announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will significantly weaken the Renewable Fuel Standard by reducing the volumes for corn-based ethanol for 2014.
The EPA’s proposed renewable volume obligations set the annual targets for the utilization of cellulosic, biodiesel, advanced and total renewable fuel within our transportation fuels. The proposed rule caps corn-based (or conventional) ethanol at 13 billion gallons. These proposed volume obligations are a drastic reduction from the mandated RVOs in statute. Today’s proposed rule cuts 1.4 billion gallons from the conventional ethanol cap that was set at 14.4 billion gallons.
While corn prices have returned to previous levels, the cost of production has continued to increase. In 2012, it cost $655 per acre to plant corn. Based on this year’s projected yields, a farm price of $4.25 per bushel would be required to cover production costs. The psychological impact of EPA’s proposal is anticipated to push corn prices well below the cost of production. If corn prices dropped to $3.50 a bushel, farmers and the rural economy would lose more than $10 billion.
Register For Master Marketer Program
Registration is open for the 27th Master Marketer program to be held in Vernon, Texas, beginning Jan. 22. Brochures are available on request, or you can register through Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Conference Services at https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu. Contact Mark Welch, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Economist, for more information. Call (979) 845-8011or email JMWelch@tamu.edu.