Red River Valley Fair Association

receives international recognition

The Red River Valley Fair Association, West Fargo, North Dakota has received nine (9) 1st place, (1) 2nd place and (2) 3rd place Agricultural Award of Excellences from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE) headquartered in Springfield, Mo. The Awards were received for the

1. Overall Program for Competitive Agricultural Exhibitors [recap of livestock program]

2. Special or specific Event for Agricultural Exhibitors [ice cream social for exhibitors]

3. Overall Agricultural Program for the Non-Agricultural Fairgoing Public [Ag Education Center]

4. Special or Specific Agricultural Educational Event, Exhibit, or Program for the Fairgoing Public. [Ag Cab Lab]

5. Overall Program for Commercial Agricultural Vendors [RDO Equipment Display]

6. Consumer awareness in the agriculture environment [PEDv Education and Signage]

7. Program Designed to Correct an Issue or Problem Related to a Competitive or Non-Competitive Agriculture Program [program designed to resist spread of disease, vet check at Gate 4]

8. Printed Material Developed and Produced by a Fair to Promote Agriculture [Ag Educ Trivia Card]

9. Agriculture Photo – Fair Ag Series [Child showing pig]

2nd Place

1. Video of a special or unique event for exhibitors or the fairgoing public [Green Bean Planting Video]

3rd Place

1. Non-Fair Agricultural Event or Program [Big Iron Farm Show; UAS Demo]

2. Fair and sponsor/partner join exhibit program [Ag Cab Lab – ND Corn Growers and VCSU]

There are a total of 14 Agriculture Award categories, each divided into 5 divisions by attendance, that a Fair or Expo can enter. The entries are evaluated and judged by a team of industry leaders. These individuals are selected from the membership of the IAFE, which has over 1,200 members from around the globe.

The awards were presented during the Excellence in Agriculture Breakfast on Dec. 9, 2014, during the 124th Annual IAFE Convention held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Red River Valley Fair Association can take great pride in knowing that their event has been selected for this prestigious honor. These awards are sponsored by John Deere, who is an avid supporter of the Fair and Expo Industry around the world.

Landowners face 2014 Farm Bill decisions

Kevin Klair Ag News Wire

ST. PAUL, Minn.- Landowners need to be involved in 2014 Farm Bill decisions for their farms. In fact, two of the three farm bill decisions required must be made by landowners, rather than tenants.

By Feb. 27, 2015, landowners must make key decisions about updating payment yields and reallocation base acres. Current producers must choose between the price loss coverage (PLC) and agricultural risk coverage (ARC) programs by March 31, 2015. Landowners should be involved in all three decisions, though, since these choices can affect land values and future rental rates.

Yield update

Landowners have two choices:

Update payment yields to 90 percent of average yields from 2008 to 2012

Keep current payment yields

Yields can be updated on a crop-by-crop basis. This decision is simple; landowners should select the highest yield for each program crop. For most farms, updating the payment yield will be the best choice. Current payment yields either reflect average yields from 1998-2001 or from 1981-1985. Yields have increased significantly since both of those time periods. Payment yields will not be updated if the landowner does nothing.

The biggest challenge for landowners will be getting written evidence that documents the yields for 2008 to 2012. Landowners will self-certify the yield history for 2008 to 2012 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA). They will not have to provide any documentation at the time of sign-up. However, FSA can conduct audits, or spot checks, at any time from 2015 through 2018 to verify the yields submitted.

If the tenant changed during the 2008 to 2012 time period, getting yield evidence for those years may be challenging. But even if tenancy doesn’t change, it could before 2018 so getting written yield history and keeping it on file is important. If FSA conducts an audit, the agency accepts four kinds of yield evidence:

Crop insurance data from the USDA’s Risk Management Agency—specific year yields used in actual production history (APH) records

Production evidence based on quantities sold or placed in commercial storage

On-farm storage records

FSA loan records

Base acre reallocation

Landowners again have two choices:

Reallocate base acres based on program crops planted from 2009 to 2012

Retain current base acre allocation

Total base acres cannot be increased; existing base acres can only be reallocated. Reallocated acres are based on plantings from 2009 to 2012, versus the current base acres, which reflect plantings from either 1998-2001 or from 1981-1985.

The decision to reallocate base acres is not as straightforward as t