More than 90 percent of Iowa’s land is devoted to farming, which is the most of any state. To help showcase what makes Iowa unique, the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) has launched a fun, interactive national campaign built around the theme, “It Starts in Iowa”.

The campaign will kick off New Year’s Eve when Iowa farm families will be showcased during a video message that will air on the giant CBS Jumbotron screen in New York City’s Time Square. (I love that Iowa farms and faces will be center stage among all the excitement in Times Square! How cool is that?) The video focuses on the dedication and integrity of Iowa’s farmers and the pride they take in providing safe, nutritious food, as well as the general message of “healthy eating means healthy living.” Click here to see the video on YouTube.

You can visit the website, www.ItStartsInIowa.com to learn more about the campaign and to participate in the “Be Our Guest, Be a Farmer” contest. The winner will receive a four-day, three-night trip to Iowa in August that will include guided tours of several Iowa crop and livestock farms, an opportunity to feed cattle, drive a tractor and enjoy a home-cooked meal prepared and served by a farm family. To top it off, the winner and guests will receive red-carpet treatment to the 2011 Iowa State Fair.

Fun Iowa Farm Facts:

• Nearly 96% of Iowa farms are owned and managed by families.
• Iowa has at least 11,000 different soils that make up some of the richest, most productive land in the world!
• Around 15 billion eggs are produced each year in Iowa – enough to provide every American an egg for 47 days. If Iowa was a country, the state would rank 11^th worldwide in number of eggs produced.
• The average size of an Iowa farm is around 350 acres (an acre is about the size of a football field, less the end zones).
• Iowa produces the second most wind energy in the nation, helping generate enough electricity to power several hundred thousand homes each year.

(Source: www.ItStartsInIowa.com)

How are you “agvocating” for Iowa?

With much relief from farmers across America, the federal tax bill that addressed estate taxes was signed into law on December 17.

For the next two years, the new tax package will alleviate the pressure farmers have had to sell some of their land to help pay the estate tax. It exempts the first $5 million dollars of a farm estate, with a 35% tax rate after that. The tax package also extends the 2006 tax incentive for landowners, who donate a conservation easement on their land with the enrolled property- permanently limited to ag or other compatible uses.

Jon Scholl, president of American Farmland Trust said in a recent article in Wallaces Farmer, “We need to permanently extinguish federal taxes that cause farmers and ranchers to stop production and sell their land.” He hopes Congress will continue to look for a more permanent solution that exempts farms, ranches and forest land estate taxes for land that remains in agriculture.

To read more about the new tax package, click here.

(Source: Wallaces Farmer)

For young farmers trying to get started in the industry or those looking to retire, the USDA has established a new online resource that can get you one step closer.

The new online resource, TIP(Transition Incentives Program) Net, provided by the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), links retiring farmers who have expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts with beginning farmers who are interested in bringing the land into production. TIP also provides up to two additional CRP annual rental payments to qualified retired or retiring owner/operators with an expiring CRP contract – the extra payments come when the farmer signs an agreement to sell or lease their CRP acres to a beginning or socially disadvantaged farmer.

In a recent Iowa Farmer Today article Tom Vilsack, USDA Secretary said, “The interest in TIP during the first six months of implementation has far exceeded our expectations. The tool should make TIP even more effective in facilitating the transition of land to our next generation of farmers.”

To learn more about the TIP Net program, click here.

What are your thoughts on the new TIP Net program?

Have you “tweeted” “Facebooked” or “blogged” lately? This lingo that at one time might have seemed like a foreign language to you is now making its way into the everyday vocabulary of your average Joe. In fact, at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds, we “tweet” “Facebook” and “blog” every week day.

Seed World magazine recently featured Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds in their story about how social media tactics are helping seed companies reach growers to provide instant, relevant information. We use our blog, Facebook page, YouTube Channel and Twitter account to communicate pertinent information and industry news with our growers (and of course, a few recipes here and there).

However, we don’t see the traditional methods of communication disappearing anytime soon as others predict.  We believe combining social media with traditional media has been a great way to reach a larger audience.

A special thank you to Teresa Falk at Seed World for including us in her story.  To view the entire story, visit our website, and go to “News & Events.” Check out the “In the News” section to see this story, as well as other recent Latham news.