Tax Credits for Doctors in New Mexico

The Raton Range reports that New Mexico’s doctors will soon be eligible to receive tax credits if they serve rural and under served areas of the state. New Mexico’s Lt. Governor Diane Denish and Health Secretary Dr. Alfredo Vigil recently announced the new tax credit of $3,000 or $5,000.

The New Mexico Department of Health will begin accepting applications for the Rural Health Care Practitioner Tax Credit Program Jan. 1.

Progress Expected on Farm Bill

Prairie Farmer reports that U.S. House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) is confident that House and Senate leaders will be able to work out their differences when Congress reconvenes next month. Chairman Peterson says meetings about the bill between House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), and Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and himself have been positive.

However, the President Bush has threatened to veto the bill citing a lack of reform, particularly a cap on adjusted gross income. The Chairman is willing to work with Bush on the Farm Bill, but says the proposed cap of $200,000 is unrealistic.

According to Prairie Farmer: “Peterson says it's Congress' job to write the farm bill, and that the White House shouldn't be proposing farm bills in the first place. He says that the original White House proposal was brought before the House Ag Committee and garnered no votes.”

Senate Passes Farm Bill

The U.S. Senate passed its version of the Farm Bill on Friday by a 79-14 vote on Friday. The measure includes farm income protection, makes investments for the future in energy, conservation, nutrition and rural development initiatives and stays within strict budget limits. President Bush has indicated that he will veto the bill.

President Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin (IA-D) said: “This is a strong, bipartisan bill – evident by the fact that it passed Committee after only one day of deliberation with no negative votes voiced against it and passed the Senate today by an overwhelming majority. After months of negotiations, we were able to work within a very strict budget allocation to complete our work and pass a farm bill that is good for agriculture, good for rural areas and good for the health of Americans” said Chairman Harkin. “This is a forward-looking farm bill with greatly strengthened initiatives to support renewable energy, conservation, nutrition, rural development and to promote better diets and health for all Americans. It maintains a strong safety net for farm producers, and strengthens programs that will help agricultural producers of all kinds across our nation.”

The bill includes provisions for a new Producer Income Protection title that gives producers the option to choose to participate in a state-level revenue protection system. The Average Crop Revenue program offers producers options for managing risk on their farms in today’s uncertain, rapidly changing farm environment. Specialty crop producers will receive greater financial assistance under the bill.

A conference committee comprised of member of the House and Senate will now work out differences between the chambers’ versions of the farm bill. It is expected that the conference committee will meet after the beginning of the New Year. The Associated Press has published a comparison the House and Senate bills. (Read)

House Questions VA's Efforts to Combat Veteran Suicides

Yesterday the House Committee on Veterans Affairs held a hearing entitled Stopping Veteran Suicides: VA Not Reaching the Veterans that Need the Help. Chairman Bob Filner (CA-D) expressed frustation that the VA is not reaching those veterans who need help and concerned by the agency's lack of response to the growing rate of veteran suicide.

Testifying before the committee were Mike and Kim Bowman from Forreston, Illinois. The Bowman's son, Timothy, was a National Guardsman who served in Iraq and retured to rural Illinois with virtually no attention paid to his precarious mental health. Timothy killed himself at his family’s business on Thanksgiving Day 2005.

Last February the McClatchy Newpapers ran a report telling how Timothy's National Guard unit had returned from treacherous duty in Iraq and scattered to dozens of towns across five states. In the process, many were left to languish. (Read)

Dr. Ira Katz, the VA's deputy chief patient care service officer for mental health, defended the agency's work siting the implementation of a suicide prevention hotline. The Associated Press reported that Chairman Filner questioned the VA's decision to focus on tracking the number of suicides rather than on developing treatment programs to help prevent suicide.

Harkin Says Senate Could Pass Farm Bill Next Week

Reuters reports that Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) indicated in a telephone interview today that: "the Senate would pass the farm bill no later than next week." Harkin also said that he hopes to build a veto-proof majority for the bill.

The wire service also reports that the Senate rejected the "Fresh Act" which would have replaced U.S. farm subsidies with government-paid insurance policies. The rejected legislation would have eliminated the $5.2 billion paid annually in direct payments and replaced them with insurance policies to protect growers from a steep drops in revenue or yields.

Senate Begins Farm Bill Debate

The Senate began debating amendments to its version of a farm bill Friday after reaching a bi-partisan agreement that would limit each 20 amendments. More than 200 amendments to the bill had been previously offered.

Agriculture Online reports that it is unlikely that voting on amendments likely won't start until Tuesday and debate could last through most of next week.

North Carolina Breaks Grounds for State's First Ethanol Plant

WRAL.com reports that Cary, NC-based Clean Burn Fuels has broken ground for North Carolina's first ethanol plant. The company expects to spend $100 million to build the facility near Raeford in Hoke County. It is expected to bring 100 jobs to the rural area.

The company plans to sell ethanol to major oil companies, which will blend it into gasoline. The owners said the facility will be well suited to transport ethanol to distributors in the East.

"This is unbelievable and an opportunity none of us believed we'd ever see in this part of North Carolina in our lifetime," Bruce Andrews, a business recruiter for the state's Department of Commerce.

Hoke County is located in south-central North Carolina. It is part of the state's 8th Congressional District which has been hit hard by textile mill closures.

House Passes Broad Energy Bill, But Senate Fails to Consider Measure

Yesterday the House passed an extensive energy bill that raises fuel-efficiency standards for the first time in 32 years, requires the use of renewable fuels for electricity generation, and provides support for small businesses looking to create the innovations that will serve as the basis for our energy future. However, today the Senate failed to muster enough votes to close debate on the bill as it was passed by the House.

The Washington Post reports that the House legislation would: "raise automobile fuel-efficiency standards for the first time in 32 years and require increased use of renewable energy sources to generate electricity." The measure would require auto manufacturers' vehicle fleets to average 35 miles per gallon by 202o. Also by 2020, the nation's utilities would have to derive 15 percent of the electricity they generate from renewable energy sources, including solar, wind power, and biomass.

Additionally, the House measure includes key measures from H.R. 2389, The Small Energy Efficient Business Act (SEEBA), introduced by Congressman Heath Shuler (NC-11). The included provisions provide loans, education and investment to small businesses to help them reduce their consumption of power through the use of more efficient technology and direct capital investment to producers of renewable fuels, spurring expansion, job creation and new ideas throughout the sector.

It is expected that the Senate will reconsider the bill on Tuesday. The new version of the bill that will likely omit the requirement for electric utilities to use renewable energy.

Senate Leaders Say Amendements Imperil Farm Bill

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has warned that the Senate will not pass the Farm Bill this year unless Senators withhold amendments on controversial issues including immigration reform and war in Iraq. Reuters' Charles Abbott reported that Reid: "left open the possibility he would ask a vote next week to shut off debate on the bill and that debate might be deferred to next year."

More than 260 amendments to the bill have been proposed. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told Abbott the solution, as with other bills, would be for him and Reid to decide in private on a limited number of amendments that would be put to a vote.


Last month My Rural America urged Senators to pass the bill immediately.

A Threat to Farming and Food Supply? Looking ahead to the 2080's

In some sectors, global warming is being treated as something like a joke. In other sectors, global warming is seen as not only a serious issue but also a life-endangering threat to the world's food supply.

Only a few days ago, President George W. Bush honored Nobel prize winners at the White House. Former Vice President Al Gore , who received the Nobel for his work on global warming, was among the honorees.

In recent writings, Rick Weiss, Washington Post Staff Writer, has emphasized how climate change could mean a global threat to farming and the dependable food supplies we have come to take for granted: Facing a Threat to Farming and Food Supply.