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| Ag Matters Online |
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall today emphasized the importance of the farm bill during testimony before the Senate Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade. The hearing focused on commodity programs, credit and crop insurance.
Click here for the full story, and a copy of President Duvall’s full statement.
New technology makes it nearly impossible to tell fake video or audio clips from real ones. Now, as the software used to create these “deepfakes” becomes more widespread, scammers are using it to steal money and sensitive information.
Click here to learn what a deepfake is, and how to protect yourself from deepfake scams.
On Wednesday this week, the 4 co-chairs of the NJ Forest Stewardship Task Force presented their findings to a joint committee hearing of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee and the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee. The report makes 16 recommendations that the committee feels should be taken as a whole and not cherrypicked to have the most success in helping to improve the health and sustainability of the state’s publicly-held forest lands. The first 9 of the recommendations focus on how NJDEP can better inventory and plan for forest health and climate adaptation. The remaining 7 policy recommendations focus on management and implementation. These include maintaining important fire management strategies, aggressive reductions in deer populations to match environmental carrying capacity and funding the department and to make sure the programs outlined can be implemented.
A Zoom meeting providing guidance to County Board of Agriculture leaders was held on Tuesday, January 3. The agenda included a review of Robert’s Rules of Order, expectations of officers, fostering leadership development as well as some legal guidance for counties.
A recording was made for those who could not participate live, or for those who would just like to review it. Click here for the recording.
The Gladys “Beth” Pool Memorial Scholarship was established in 2021 to honor the memory of Beth Pool. Beth was dairy farmer and an agricultural advocate from Gloucester County. Alongside her husband and family, Beth owned and operated Sebowisha Farms, a dairy farm where they milked Holsteins and raised their own crops. Beth’s passion for the agricultural industry was evident when she gave farm tours for school children to learn and experience the world of agriculture.
Aside from her hard work on the farm, Beth dedicated her time to serving others. She served on the New Jersey Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee (NJFBWLC) for 30 years for which part of that time she served as 1st chair. For 10 years, she represented the Northeast serving on the American Farm Bureau Federation Women’s Leadership Committee. Beth also participated in many school programs through the Ag Education Committee of NJFBWLC. Beth also served as a 4-H Leader in Gloucester County, teaching children how to cook and sew and was a member of the Gloucester County 4-H Fair Association, most notably running the food concession stand that served thousands of people during the Fair.
Any high school senior who has participated in New Jersey 4-H or FFA, and is interested in pursuing a career in agriculture, is eligible for this $1000 Scholarship. Students interested must submit the completed application along with an essay on how agriculture “feeds your soul” and a letter of recommendation from a 4-H Leader or FFA Advisor. The application, essay and letter are due by April 1st. The Scholarship winner will be selected and notified by April 30th. Please email your application to traced444@gmail.com.
Inflation and supply chain issue impact ag viability. How can consumers help local farmers?
