Tax-related bills for agriculture included HB12-1037, which classifies the sales of certain agricultural items used as inputs for farming and ranching as wholesale, meaning those items wouldn’t be subject to a sales tax.  Agriculture is the only industry whose inputs were not classified as wholesale and this bill rectified that issue.  This was sponsored by Rep. Becker and Sen. Tochtrop.  Another very important piece of legislation addressed the estate tax paid by farmers and ranchers.  Rep. Pace’s bill— HB12-1042—establishes an income tax credit for a person who inherits agricultural land that is equal to the portion of the Colorado estate taxes attributable to the transfer of the land.  In order to be eligible for the tax credit, the land must stay classified as agriculture for 10 years after the credit is claimed or the credit must be paid back.  This is a huge benefit for the heirs of agricultural property who want to remain on the land and in agriculture.

View the final 2012 CFB Legislative Tracking List

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Colorado agricultural groups also coordinated efforts with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on fees paid to fund an important Ag environment program.  In 2009, the General Assembly increased the maximum annual fee that the Water Quality Control Agency may impose upon concentrated animal feeding operations and housed commercial swine feeding operations dischargers under the “Colorado Water Quality Control Act” until July 1, 2012. HB12-1283 by Rep. Barker and Sen. Giron maintains the current fee structure until July 1, 2015, in order to continue the environmental agriculture program.

Immigration issues also came up late in the session.  Reps.  Looper and Swalm introduced HB12-1309 which enacted the “Colorado Mandatory E-verify Act” which would have require all employers in the state to participate in the federal electronic verification program (E-verify) for purposes of verifying the work eligibility status of all new employees hired by an employer.  Unlike previous years, the penalties associated with the bill did not include criminal charges, but instead set up a fine structure of up to $5,000 for a first offense and up to $25,000 for a second offense for failing to participate in the e-verify program. For subsequent offenses, an employer would be subject to a fine of up to $25,000 and a 6-month suspension of the employer’s business licenses.  The bill passed out of the House Business Development Committee and was sent to the House Ag Committee.  Agricultural groups came out in force against the bill which was the driving reason to send the bill to the Ag committee.  During the last week of the regular session, the bill passed out of Ag and to Appropriations and then to the floor where the clock ran out before the bill could be passed on 2^nd reading.

In other western states, the issue of disposition of federal lands has been a hot topic and it was no different in Colorado.  Rep. Sonnenberg introduced HB12-1322, which would have required the United States to sell agricultural public lands on or before December 31, 2014.  The bill required the U.S. Government to pay the State of Colorado 5% of the net proceeds of the sale of such property and specified that those revenues be deposited into an internal improvements fund, and dedicated a portion of the fund to the state education fund.  The bill died in the first committee.

Following contentious debate in 2011 on the creation of a Colorado Cottage Food Act, Sen. Schwartz and Rep. Coram reached out to agricultural groups to find compromise on legislation that would exempt small producers from licensing requirements placed on retail food establishments.  The result was SB12-048 which created the Colorado Cottage Food Act.  The bill allows a small producer to sell directly to consumers a limited range of foods that are nonpotentially hazardous and that do not require refrigeration.  The bill also exempts a person who produces and sells less than 250 dozen eggs per month on the premises at which the eggs are produced or at a farmer’s market or similar venue from the licensing requirements for sellers of eggs.  The bill is limited to producers who earn net revenues of $2500 or less per year from the sale of each eligible food product.  Important to agricultural groups was a “buyer beware” label so the bill included language requiring labels to be on each item sold – name, address, ingredient list and a disclaimer that the product was made in a kitchen that was not inspected by a governmental agency and might contain certain allergens.  The bill passed through the Senate and House with little controversy and was signed into law in March.

After multiple attempts over the past couple of years, the agricultural community was finally successful in passing legislation regarding increasing weight limits for truck and trailer combinations and still be exempt from commercial vehicle standards.  Sen. Brophy sponsored SB12-59 which specified that the following vehicles (or combinations) are exempt from commercial vehicle standards:

Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight, gross vehicle weight rating, or gross combination rating of less than 26,001 lbs; Vehicles that are not operated in interstate commerce; Vehicles not transporting hazardous materials requiring placarding; Vehicles not transporting either 16 or more passengers including the driver or 8 or more passengers for compensation; Vehicles used solely for agricultural purposes.

Governor Hickenlooper signed the bill into law on April 16, 2012.

Prices for Hogs Wallow in the Mud
Wall Street Journal
In the Chicago futures pits, prices of lean hogs are going belly up. The 26% decline in prices over the past nine months has frustrated traders, farmers and meat processors, who have long anticipated a rebound. It also has shown little benefit to consumers, who still are paying record prices for pork chops or to snack on BLTs, as retailers are reluctant to discount pork products.

TPP Talks Advance in Texas
USTR
The United States said that TPP partners – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam – made better-than-expected progress at the twelfth round of negotiations that formally concluded today outside Dallas, Texas.

Iowa governor applauds state’s schools for sticking with LFTB
Brownfield
As the controversy over Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB) raged on earlier this spring, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds sent letters to all 359 Iowa school districts, urging them to continue using LFTB in their school lunch programs.

A press release from Congressman Gardner’s office singles out WildEarth Guardians as one of the most egregious users of the EAJA.

“This abuse of taxpayer money has gone on long enough, and it’s time we put a stop to it,” Gardner said. “If radical groups like WildEarth want to clog up our justice system with frivolous lawsuits that’s their choice, but taxpayers certainly should not be footing the bill.”

Gardner’s Government Litigation Savings Act (GLSA), will institute tracking and reporting requirements on how much money the government pays out each year to reimburse attorneys under EAJA. The EAJA does not currently track its disbursements.

It also puts in place targeted reforms to prevent taxpayer funding for well-heeled environmental organizations that file hundreds of lawsuits every year.

Farm Bureau supports reform of the EAJA.

AFBF is thanking the pizza chain by having its own employee pizza party today in Washington, D.C. Continuing the domino effect, Colorado Farm Bureau and Tennessee Farm Bureau staff are enjoying Domino’s as well.

Find and “like” Ag Pizza Party on Facebook to learn more.

“Beginning today, U.S. agricultural exporters receive duty-free access on more than half of the products we currently export to Colombia and virtually all remaining tariffs will be eliminated within 15 years,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement.

Estimates show that the tariff reductions will expand total U.S. exports by more than $1.1 billion, supporting thousands of additional American jobs while increasing the U.S. global domestic product by $2.5 billion. For U.S. agriculture, the agreement with South America’s third-largest economy achieves two key trade objectives: it immediately provides vastly improved access to Colombia’s market and it levels the playing field with respect to third-country competitors.

Farm Bureau supports full implementation of the agreement.

Skin cancer is on the rise in the United States due to overexposure to ultraviolet rays of the sun. The American Cancer Society estimates that one American dies every hour from skin cancer. This year alone, ACS estimates there will be more than 76,250 new cases of malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, and more than 2 million new cases of basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers in the U.S.

“Farmers and ranchers are fortunate to be able to spend much of their working lives outdoors,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman. “The downside of prolonged exposure to the sun while on the farm or ranch is that it can lead to skin damage and cancer.”

In fact, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation, outdoor workers experience twice the amount of non-melanoma skin cancers (basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas) compared to those who work indoors.

Use that sunscreen!

“Federal crop insurance provides an effective risk management tool to farmers and ranchers when they are facing losses beyond their control; it reduces taxpayer risk exposure; it makes hedging possible to help mitigate market volatility; and it provides lenders with greater certainty that loans made to producers will be repaid,” Farm Bureau and other agricultural groups wrote.

They said that the crop insurance program already has taken $6 billion in funding cuts through the renegotiation of the Standard Reinsurance Agreement, and further reductions now would threaten producer access to the program and its response to natural disasters.

The letter was sent ahead of this Wednesday’s House Agriculture Committee hearing on risk management provisions of the farm bill.

The large corn crop, augmented by increased production and yields of other feed grains—sorghum, barley and oats, could ease feed costs. However, feed grain usage also is expected to rise due to foreign demand and increasing U.S. poultry and hog inventories. There is no projected change in feed grains used for fuel.

USDA does forecast that there will be plenty of feed grains to go around, with a projected increase in corn ending stocks to 1,030 million bushels.

The Corps last week published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that the additions to the NWPL would be effective June 1. This national list of wetland plants by species and their wetland ratings provides general botanical information about wetland plants and is used extensively by federal and state agencies, the scientific and academic communities, and the private sector in wetland delineations and the planning and monitoring of wetland mitigation and restoration site, according to the Corps.

The affected horse was imported by a private owner from Iowa through a transport company and was euthanized after showing severe neurological signs associated with the disease. There are three other facilities in Colorado that received horses from the same transport company. Those horses are isolated and are being closely monitored for any clinical signs of EHV.

Colorado was subject to a large outbreak of the disease in 2011, with 9 confirmed cases and two euthanizations. The outbreak began at an equestrian event and quickly spread to several of the horses that were present. Unlike in 2011, the current outbreak did not originate at an event that had many horses present and is not expected to spread. The Colorado State Veterinarian is not recommending equine travel restrictions like those mandated during the 2011 outbreak.

EHV-1 is not transmissible to people; it can be a serious disease of horses that can cause respiratory, neurologic disease and death. The most common way for EHV-1 to spread is by direct horse-to-horse contact. The virus can also spread through the air, contaminated equipment, clothing and hands.

Symptoms include fever, decreased coordination, nasal discharge, urine dribbling, loss of tail tone, hind limb weakness, leaning against a wall or fence to maintain balance, lethargy, and the inability to rise. While there is no cure, the symptoms of the disease may be treatable.