Cotton Price Risk Management Seminar on March 1^st

Cotton Incorporated will be hosting their Cotton Price Risk Management Seminar on March 1, 2012 at Harris Ranch in Coalinga, CA.  Instructors Dr. Carl Anderson and Dr. John Robinson will discuss when and how to use a variety of option strategies including: fences, 3-ways, and calendar back spreads.  Jarral Neeper, President of Calcot and Dr. O.A. Cleveland will give their Market Outlook.  The event is a basic and intermediate workshop on using options on futures to manage price risk. The event will begin at 8:30 am and end at 3:00 pm.  There is no attendance fee and lunch will be provided.  Space is limited so please register to reserve your seat by contacting Kay Wriedt at 919-678-2271 or kwriedt@cottoninc.com. 

USDA Reminds Producers of Sign-up Dates for 2012 Direct and Counter Cyclical Program and Average Crop Revenue Election Program

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Bruce Nelson today announced that enrollment for the 2012 Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP) and the Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE) will begin on Jan. 23, 2012. The last day for producers to sign up for either program will be June 1, 2012.
USDA urges producers to make use of the electronic DCP (eDCP) automated website to sign up, or producers can visit any USDA Service Center to complete their 2012 DCP or ACRE contract. eDCP saves time, reduces paperwork and speeds up contract processing at USDA Service Centers. It is available to all producers who are eligible to participate in the DCP and ACRE programs and can be accessed at www.fsa.usda.gov/dcp. To access the service, producers must have an active USDA eAuthentication Level 2 account, which requires filling out an online registration form at www.eauth.egov.usda.gov followed by a visit to the local USDA Service Center for identity verification.
USDA computes DCP program payments using base acres and payment yields established for each farm. Eligible producers receive direct payments at rates established by statute regardless of market prices.
For 2012, advance direct payments are not authorized in accordance to the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. Counter-cyclical payment rates vary depending on market prices.
Counter-cyclical payments are issued only when the effective price for a commodity is below its target price. The effective price is the higher of the national average market price received during the 12-month marketing year for each covered commodity and the national average loan rate for a marketing assistance loan for the covered commodity.
The ACRE Program provides a safety net based on state revenue losses. When the ACRE option is chosen, it acts in place of the price-based safety net of counter-cyclical payments under DCP. USDA provides the farm a revenue guarantee. The guarantee starts with multiplying an average yield calculated using a five-year state average times the most recent two-year national price average for each eligible commodity. For the 2012 crop year, the two-year price average will be based on the 2010 and 2011 crop years. When all criteria are considered in calculating the target and the annual revenue is lower than the revenue guarantee, the farm is eligible for support under ACRE, assuming all other qualifications are met.
Since 2009, producers have had the option to participate in either DCP or ACRE. A producer who initially chose to enroll in DCP has the option to switch to ACRE during the 2012 enrollment period; however, producers who chose to enroll in ACRE cannot switch back to DCP.
An ACRE payment is issued when both the state and the farm have incurred a revenue loss. The 2012 crop year ACRE payment is based on 85 percent of the farm's planted acres times the difference between the state ACRE guarantee and the state revenue times the ratio of the farm's yield divided by the state expected yield. The total number of planted acres for which a producer may receive ACRE payments may not exceed the total base on the farm.
In exchange for participating in ACRE, in addition to not receiving counter-cyclical payments, a farm's direct payment is reduced by 20 percent, and marketing assistance loan rates are reduced by 30 percent.

AB 469 Notice to Employees
AB 469, also known as the Wage Theft Prevention Act, requires all employers to provide certain wage-related information in writing to all employees hired on or after January 1, 2012, and also written notice of any changes to the required information within seven (7) days. The new law, which adds section 2810.5 to the California Labor Code, requires employers to provide
non-exempt employees, at the time of hire, a notice that specifies certain wage related information upfront.
Wage Theft Prevention
LC - 2810.5 - Notice / LC - 2810.5 - Notice(Spanish)

NLRB Poster Requirement Delayed Until April 30, 2012
As announced several months ago, the NLRB recently issued a new notice-posting requirement, mandating that employers post an oversized (11" x 17") Notice of Employee Rights. Because of the pressure of legal actions challenging the new rule, the implementation date was first pushed back from November 9 to January 31. Now the date has been pushed back again, for the same reason, to April 30, 2012.

Forklift “Train-the-Trainer” Seminars Announced for 2012
The California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations, in conjunction with AgSafe, Cal/OSHA Consultation, Western Agricultural Processors Association, and many other agricultural organizations, insurance companies and equipment companies have announced the schedule of Forklift “Train-the-Trainer” Seminars for 2012.  These seminars will be held at 11 different locations throughout the state from Santa Paula to Rutherford.  Many of the locations will have both English and Spanish sessions!  The cost is only $35 for CCGGA members!  A copy of the schedule and the registration form can be found on the Association’s website at www.ccgga.org.  If you have any questions, please call our office at (559)252-0684.

Race 4 Fusarium Brochure Now Available
One of the most critical issues facing the cotton industry today is Race 4 Fusarium infection in California cotton fields.  In order to maintain and prevent the spread of the disease, the Associations along with cotton researchers and industry groups have an updated brochure that is now available on our website.  The brochure covers basic FOV biology, containment practices that limit the spread of FOV, how and when to scout fields for potentially infected plants, and how to manage the presence of the disease once infection is confirmed.  Printed flyers are available by contacting our office at (559) 252-0684 or PDF versions are available by clicking the link below.

Race 4 FOV in California Cotton (2011 version)

The Cotton Board has established the dates for the 2012 Cotton Incorporated Tours in Carey, NC .
February 25-28, 2012
June 23-26, 2012
As always, we fly participants in to Raleigh on that Saturday.  Sunday is a free day in the Raleigh/Durham area with an orientation dinner on Sunday night for everyone.  On Monday we have presentations from Cotton Incorporated directors representing each of the Cotton Research and Promotion Program’s divisions.   After Lunch we head to Cotton Incorporated’s world headquarters for a tour of the research facilities.  On Tuesday we tour a spinning mill outside of Raleigh. Airfare and hotel rooms are covered for producers on the tour.  Participants are responsible for Saturday dinner, Sunday breakfast and Sunday lunch.  I have included participant registration forms and a sample itinerary as attachments to this email. If you have any questions regarding the tour or the Cotton Research and Promotion Program, please don’t hesitate to call me at 602-810-1171.  Fax participant registration forms to 901-271-1351 or email to bmurphree@cottonboard.org.

USDA TO CONDUCT YEAR-END AGRICULTURAL SURVEY
Sacramento -- As the 2011 growing season officially comes to an end, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is preparing to contact producers nationwide to gather final year-end production numbers.   After months of drought, flooding and wild fires in some parts of the country, it is vital for farmers to respond to the December Agricultural Survey to ensure the impact of these natural disasters is accurately reported.  Approximately 2,300 California farmers and ranchers will be included in a national sample of producers who will be contacted.“The December Agricultural Survey is the largest and most important year-end survey conducted by NASS,” said Vic Tolomeo, Director, California Field Office.  “It is the basis for the official USDA estimates of production and harvested acres of all major agricultural commodities in the United States.”“Data from the December Agricultural Survey will benefit farmers by providing timely and accurate information to help them make critical year-end business decisions following a growing season of unprecedented weather-related challenges,” added Tolomeo.During the first two weeks of December, representatives from the USDA-NASS California Field Office will contact selected California producers by mail or telephone and ask them to provide information on their 2011 field acreage and production, crop yield per acre, on-farm storage capacity and crop storage as of December 1.  As with all NASS surveys, individual responses are kept strictly confidential and used only in combination with other responses to report California and U.S. estimates.  “This,” said Tolomeo, “assures that, regardless of size, no individual operation can be identified when the results of the study are reported.”Information will be compiled, analyzed and published in a series of USDA reports, including the annual Crop Production Summary and quarterly Grain Stocks Report, both to be released on January 12, 2012 after 5:30 a.m. PST.  All NASS reports are available at no cost at http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications.

Governor Appoints New Head of CalEPA
Governor Brown has appointed Matt Rodriquez, 58, of Castro Valley, as Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA).  Rodriquez has served with the California Department of Justice since 1987, currently serving as chief deputy attorney general and chief assistant attorney general.  As a deputy attorney general from 1987 to 1999, he represented the Attorney General and clients of the Land Law Section of the Attorney General's Office, including the California Coastal Commission, State Lands Commission, and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission.  As a senior assistant attorney general from 1999 to 2008, Rodriquez oversaw the Land Law Section of the Attorney General's Office and as a chief assistant attorney general since 2008 he has overseen the Public Rights Division of the Attorney General's Office.  Prior to joining the California Department of Justice, Rodiquez was deputy city attorney for the City of Hayward from 1985 to 1987, assistant city attorney for the City of Livermore from 1983 to 1985, associate program analyst for the Governor's Office of Planning and Research from 1981 to 1983, and graduate student assistant for the California Coastal Commission from 1979 to 1981.  This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $175,000.  Rodriquez is a Democrat.