Free Republic

National Farmers Union (NFU) submitted comments to Thomas Yager of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) about a possible reinterpretation of the Motor Carrier Act of 1935, the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984, and the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986. The FMCSA is exploring the possibility of categorizing "implements of husbandry and other farm equipment" as commercial motor vehicles, thus requiring a commercial driver's license (CDL) to operate. "Most farmers have little, if any, control or knowledge of the final destination of the commodities they produce," said NFU President Roger Johnson. "As such, it is inappropriate...

Is the US government starting to implement the policies of the United Nation’s plan for global management of people and resources known as Agenda 21? The latest efforts out of the Department of Transportation (DOT) seem to indicate this is happening. And they are starting by targeting America’s farming communities with costly and oppressive regulations. In Late May, the DOT proposed a rule change for farm equipment, and if it this allowed to take effect, it will place significant regulatory pressure on small farms and family farms all across America – costing them thousands of dollars and possibly forcing many...

DOVER, N.H. – In 1632, John Tuttle arrived from England to a settlement near the Maine-New Hampshire border, using a small land grant from King Charles I to start a farm. Eleven generations and 378 years later, his field-weary descendants — arthritic from picking fruits and vegetables and battered by competition from supermarkets and pick-it-yourself farms — are selling their spread, which is among the oldest continuously operated family farms in America.

The House of Representatives on December 3rd passed House Resolution 4154, which is deceptively called the "Permanent Estate Tax Relief Act."  This bill is part of the general war by the Democratic Party on self-employed Americans, family farms, and home businesses.  Does this sound extreme?  Consider the vote on the message:  225 Democrats in the House voted for HR 4154 and 26 Democrats voted against it; not a single Republican voted for HR 4154.  No RINOs could be persuaded to support Congressman Pomeroy's attempt to freeze the estate tax emption level at $3.5 Million and then tax all estate assets...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Rural Centre County is slowly losing farmland as owners continue to sell acres of their land to developers. "Just in Centre County alone we're probably losing two acres a day to development -- which is a significant number," said Norm Lathbury, coordinator of the Centre County Agricultural Land Preservation Program and executive director of the Centre County Farmland Trust. Lathbury said that many county farmers are selling their land because it is becoming too expensive to maintain. Local farmer Cecil Irvin said he works hard to preserve his farmland. "We are...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. To most American farmers and ranchers, free trade is like motherhood, apple pie and John Deere green: it's an unquestioned core belief of the farming faith. A July report from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS), however, relates that freer ag trade over the last 20 years has allowed imported food--especially imported red meat, fruits and vegetables--to claim a larger share of the American stomach. The big picture, according to Andy Jerardo, the report's author, shows the average share of food imports consumed by Americans has climbed from...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.U.S. farmers had better prepare for major changes in their nearly new farm subsidies. The agricultural chairman of the World Trade Organization (WTO) recently made the first international attempt in a decade to rewrite the world´s farm subsidy rules—and it would radically cut farm subsidies for both U.S. and European farmers. However, the new rules drafted by Stuart Harbinson of Hong Kong would also sharply increase U.S. farmers´ opportunities for exports to Asian cities full of people with rising incomes and a desire for better diets. According to Feedstuffs magazine, Harbinson´s new...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Some environmentalists are criticizing Iowa's attempt to develop uniform rules for approving or rejecting large farm operations, saying the rules are too lax compared to those in other states. The rules — known as the ``master matrix'' — leave the door wide open to businesses that would raise thousands of hogs or millions of chickens under one roof, critics say. ``They don't have to take seriously local concerns,'' said Susan Heathcote, research director for the Iowa Environmental Council. ``The local folks don't have the right to...