Harrison, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, and Worth County USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Farm Loan Manager Charles Meissen reminds producers that FSA offers specially-targeted farm ownership and farm operating loans to Socially Disadvantaged (SDA) applicants.
"FSA targets a portion of its loan funds each year to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers," said Meissen. "Farming and ranching is a capital intensive business and FSA is committed to helping producers start and maintain their agricultural operations."
In fiscal year 2011, Missouri FSA obligated $17 million in direct and guaranteed loans to socially disadvantaged producers.
USDA defines socially disadvantaged applicants as a group whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice because of their identity as members of the group without regard to their individual qualities. For farm loan program purposes, SDA groups are women, African Americans, American Indians and Alaskan Natives, Hispanics and Asians and Pacific Islanders.
SDA producers who cannot obtain commercial credit from a bank can apply for either FSA direct loans or guaranteed loans. Direct loans are made to applicants by FSA. Guaranteed loans are made by lending institutions who arrange for FSA to guarantee the loan. FSA can guarantee up to 95 percent of the loss of principal and interest on a loan. The FSA guarantee allows lenders to make agricultural credit available to producers who do not meet the lender's normal underwriting criteria.
The direct and guaranteed loan program offers two types of loans: farm ownership loans and farm operating loans.
Farm ownership loan funds may be used to purchase or enlarge a farm or ranch, purchase easements or rights of way needed in the farm's operation, build or improve buildings such as a dwelling or barn, promote soil and water conservation and development and pay closing costs.
Farm operating loan funds may be used to purchase livestock, poultry, farm equipment, fertilizer, and other materials necessary to operate a successful farm. Operating loan funds can also be used for family living expenses, refinancing debts under certain conditions, paying salaries for hired farm laborers, installing or improving water systems for home, livestock, or irrigation use and other similar improvements.
Repayment terms for direct operating loans depend on the collateral securing the loan and usually run from one to seven years. Financing for direct farm ownership loans cannot exceed 40 years. Interest rates for direct loans are set periodically according to the Government's cost of borrowing. Guaranteed loan terms and interest rates are set by the lender.
For more information on FSA’s farm loan programs, please contact your farm loan Service Center at 660-425-7635.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Northeast Nodaway Breakfast Menu
Breakfast includes breakfast entree or choice of cereals daily. All breakfasts include fruit (100% fruit juice on Fridays) and milk choices. Cereal choices come with toast.
April 11th – Homestyle Breakfast Quesadilla.
April 12th – French toast sticks w/syrup.
April 13th – Fresh baked cinnamon roll.
April 16th – Breakfast pizza.
April 17th – Breakfast yogurt fruit parfait.
April 18th – Breakfast biscuit sandwich.
April 19th – Mini pancake sausage bites.
April 20th – Fresh baked cinnamon roll.
April 23rd – Cinnamon twists.
April 24th – Homestyle whole grain oat bar.
April 25th – Homestyle sausage gravy over fresh baked biscuit.
April 26th – Breakfast wrap.
April 27th – Fresh baked cinnamon roll.
April 30th – Breakfast pizza.
April 11th – Homestyle Breakfast Quesadilla.
April 12th – French toast sticks w/syrup.
April 13th – Fresh baked cinnamon roll.
April 16th – Breakfast pizza.
April 17th – Breakfast yogurt fruit parfait.
April 18th – Breakfast biscuit sandwich.
April 19th – Mini pancake sausage bites.
April 20th – Fresh baked cinnamon roll.
April 23rd – Cinnamon twists.
April 24th – Homestyle whole grain oat bar.
April 25th – Homestyle sausage gravy over fresh baked biscuit.
April 26th – Breakfast wrap.
April 27th – Fresh baked cinnamon roll.
April 30th – Breakfast pizza.
Opinion: A Tax Whose Time has Come
by Attorney General Chris Koster
Like you, I am against raising taxes in Missouri, particularly in a weak economy. But there is one exception whose time has come – Missouri’s cigarette tax. The Missouri General Assembly should give Missourians a chance to vote on a moderate cigarette tax increase.
The current situation is well-known. Missouri has the lowest cigarette tax among the 50 states, at 17 cents per pack – a rate established almost twenty years ago. The highest cigarette tax state, New York, places a levy of $4.35 on each pack. The 25th highest cigarette tax state, Iowa, places a tax of $1.36 on each pack. Even tobacco-producing states like South Carolina and Kentucky have higher cigarette taxes than Missouri.
Public policy favors a cigarette tax that places Missouri somewhere in the middle, at around 90 cents per pack. This change would create approximately $400 million annually in new revenue.
The current budget and health problems facing our state are equally well-known. Missouri spends more money under Medicaid to provide health care for smoking-related illnesses than we collect from the entire cigarette tax. In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control estimated that tobacco-related illnesses cost our state’s Medicaid program $532 million, and these costs have only skyrocketed with inflation. Yet, Missouri collected just $90 million last year in cigarette taxes.
Viewed through this lens, the General Assembly is subsidizing sick smokers more than $400 million annually. Under current tax law, Missouri has become an enterprise zone for cigarettes. I’m a strong supporter of enterprise zones, but not for cigarettes.
To our legislative leaders, I would say this: The cigarette tax is going to increase. Missouri will not remain in 50th place for very much longer.
I propose raising the cigarette tax by 73 cents per pack, placing Missouri 33rd out of 50 states. The $400 million in new revenue should be directed to building Missouri’s educational infrastructure, with particular emphasis on higher education, and addressing our state’s health care needs. Such a proposal should be placed before the people next November, so that Missourians themselves may decide.
This plan addresses two important goals:
First, the proposal addresses a serious public health issue. Missouri has the 2nd highest smoking rate per capita in the country. Many people addicted to smoking begin in their teenage years. Alarmingly, almost 19% of Missouri high school students smoke cigarettes. Using increased revenue to treat smoking-related illnesses and to promote cessation programs not only prevents premature deaths in our state, but makes compelling economic sense.
Second, it addresses the devastating funding cuts visited on Missouri’s colleges and universities over the last 10 years. Adjusted for inflation, Missouri’s higher education system has been cut by 34% since 2001.
Fifteen years ago, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office settled its landmark case against Big Tobacco. That settlement marked the turning point in public sentiment regarding smoking-related risks, and it has brought over a billion dollars into Missouri’s General Revenue fund over the last decade. Nonetheless, because Missouri’s cigarette tax is the lowest in the nation, our state’s smoking-related health challenges remain among the country’s highest.
The General Assembly should take action before the people are forced to act on their own behalf through the initiative process. Our state should utilize this money in a way that improves public health, promotes education, and provides real economic benefit for our citizens. To miss this opportunity is to fail in our responsibility as elected leaders of Missouri.
WC Emergency Services Board: 911 Emergency Call Tips
Dennis Gabbert attended the Emergency Services Board meeting as a patron to discuss last weekend’s situation in which he called the Fire Department, who had trouble finding the fire at his pasture.
Gabbert said that he was burning brush that day when the fire got to the edge of a neighbor’s CRP land and got out of hand when it caught an old evergreen tree on fire. Gabbert told the board that he gave what he thought were explicit directions to the fire, only for fire crews to have trouble locating the fire.
Personnel from the 911 Call Center in Albany were on hand at the meeting; they explained that the best way for cell phone callers to get located was to stay on their cell phones until emergency service vehicles could locate them. This is because call center personnel can now ping peoples’ phones until they can get a positive location; this technology has advanced in the last few years. This is used now to locate missing persons as well. When Worth County first put in the 911 system, it was much more difficult for dispatchers to locate cell phone callers.
The location of the fire district was within Parnell’s district and there have been overlap issues over the years. But Sheridan Fire Chief Butch Thomas said that the Sheridan Fire Department was fine with handling such calls. The other issue that Gabbert had was that his cell phone locked up when he called 911 and he could not call his wife to flag down the fire trucks and direct them to the fire. That was an issue with the phone. Some Northwest Cell phones lock up during 911 calls to free up the line for the emergency.
Gabbert was on low ground when he placed his call; that creates another issue with cell phones. Sometimes, in that case, the service can be weak and you can hear only one word out of three. Sometimes, calls cannot go through at all. Both the dispatcher and Thomas tried to call Gabbert to get his location only to get no answer.
One of the main reasons dispatchers are reluctant to give out names is because of privacy laws; people can pick up names on the radio. On the other hand, current emergency protocol states that the first unit to arrive on the scene and then the local Fire Chief is in charge of an emergency situation, meaning that he can request the name of the person calling in the emergency. Thomas said that would not have done them any good in this situation since the fire was in his pasture and not at his home.
The 911 personnel will review the incident and see how they can improve their service. But most of the time, the system works fine; Board President David Hunt said that the Grant City Fire Department arrived in 10 minutes to a corn fire in his field last year. “If all we have is one concern raised per year, we’re doing pretty good,” said board member Dick VanVactor.
And one idea floating around in the legislature to consolidate a bunch of 911 call centers into regional call centers was universally declared a bad idea by everyone present. There are 147 call centers around the state and the rationale of some people in Jefferson City was that there were underserved areas. And some places, like Nodaway County, have three different 911 dispatch centers depending on the jurisdiction. But it was felt that the loss of personal service would outweigh any cost savings that could be achieved.
A new road reopened by Hunt’s place recently. Chris Spainhower requested that a formerly abandoned road be opened so that he could access landlocked pasture. It had been closed for 60 years and fenced off, but it had never been officially closed. The road has been ditched and graveled with CART gravel and will be put on the 911 map.
Tom Trullinger joined the board as a new member; he also serves as a deputy sheriff. There are 22 signs around the county that need to be fixed at a cost of around $440. The next meeting will be July 10th.
Gabbert said that he was burning brush that day when the fire got to the edge of a neighbor’s CRP land and got out of hand when it caught an old evergreen tree on fire. Gabbert told the board that he gave what he thought were explicit directions to the fire, only for fire crews to have trouble locating the fire.
Personnel from the 911 Call Center in Albany were on hand at the meeting; they explained that the best way for cell phone callers to get located was to stay on their cell phones until emergency service vehicles could locate them. This is because call center personnel can now ping peoples’ phones until they can get a positive location; this technology has advanced in the last few years. This is used now to locate missing persons as well. When Worth County first put in the 911 system, it was much more difficult for dispatchers to locate cell phone callers.
The location of the fire district was within Parnell’s district and there have been overlap issues over the years. But Sheridan Fire Chief Butch Thomas said that the Sheridan Fire Department was fine with handling such calls. The other issue that Gabbert had was that his cell phone locked up when he called 911 and he could not call his wife to flag down the fire trucks and direct them to the fire. That was an issue with the phone. Some Northwest Cell phones lock up during 911 calls to free up the line for the emergency.
Gabbert was on low ground when he placed his call; that creates another issue with cell phones. Sometimes, in that case, the service can be weak and you can hear only one word out of three. Sometimes, calls cannot go through at all. Both the dispatcher and Thomas tried to call Gabbert to get his location only to get no answer.
One of the main reasons dispatchers are reluctant to give out names is because of privacy laws; people can pick up names on the radio. On the other hand, current emergency protocol states that the first unit to arrive on the scene and then the local Fire Chief is in charge of an emergency situation, meaning that he can request the name of the person calling in the emergency. Thomas said that would not have done them any good in this situation since the fire was in his pasture and not at his home.
The 911 personnel will review the incident and see how they can improve their service. But most of the time, the system works fine; Board President David Hunt said that the Grant City Fire Department arrived in 10 minutes to a corn fire in his field last year. “If all we have is one concern raised per year, we’re doing pretty good,” said board member Dick VanVactor.
And one idea floating around in the legislature to consolidate a bunch of 911 call centers into regional call centers was universally declared a bad idea by everyone present. There are 147 call centers around the state and the rationale of some people in Jefferson City was that there were underserved areas. And some places, like Nodaway County, have three different 911 dispatch centers depending on the jurisdiction. But it was felt that the loss of personal service would outweigh any cost savings that could be achieved.
A new road reopened by Hunt’s place recently. Chris Spainhower requested that a formerly abandoned road be opened so that he could access landlocked pasture. It had been closed for 60 years and fenced off, but it had never been officially closed. The road has been ditched and graveled with CART gravel and will be put on the 911 map.
Tom Trullinger joined the board as a new member; he also serves as a deputy sheriff. There are 22 signs around the county that need to be fixed at a cost of around $440. The next meeting will be July 10th.
Opinion: Hillary's Loose War Talk
By Sheldon Richman
Future of Freedom Foundation
When President Obama spoke before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee some weeks ago, he admonished those who engaged in “loose talk of war” about Iran. Apparently, his secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton, didn’t get the memo.
Future of Freedom Foundation
When President Obama spoke before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee some weeks ago, he admonished those who engaged in “loose talk of war” about Iran. Apparently, his secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton, didn’t get the memo.
The Associated Press reported this week,
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made clear Saturday that time is running out for diplomacy over Iran's nuclear program and said talks aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon would resume in mid-April. With speculation over a possible U.S. or Israel military attack adding urgency to the next round of discussions in Istanbul set for April 13, Clinton said Iran's “window of opportunity” for a peaceful resolution “will not remain open forever.”She also expressed doubt about whether Iran has any intention of negotiating a solution that satisfies the U.S., Israel and other countries that believe Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons.
That’s another memo Clinton seems not to have received. Both American and Israeli intelligence say that Iran has neither started to build a nuclear weapon nor even decided to do so in the future. Both also regard the Iranian government as a “rational actor.” (The American news media occasionally reports this, but then goes back to stating, as though it were uncontroversial, that Iran is building a nuclear arsenal.)
So why the conflicting signals from the U.S. government? This conflict can be seen in Obama’s own statements. While he calls for diplomacy and warns against loose war talk, he has imposed harsh economic sanctions that make the daily lives of average Iranians miserable, has rejected “containment,” and boasted that he doesn’t “bluff.”
If Iran is not building a nuclear bomb, if it has not decided to do so, and if Obama wants to use diplomacy to discuss Iran’s uranium-enrichment program (which its government says is for peaceful purposes), why is he pushing sanctions designed to bring the Iranian economy down? Wouldn’t it make more sense, if there is really something to negotiate about, for Obama to treat the Iranian regime with respect?
The saber rattlers will say that sanctions are needed to get Iran to the negotiating table. But that’s an evasion. The official experts, as well as others, say no bomb is being built. Iran is doing what it is free to do under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty — enriching uranium for medical and energy purposes. It is subjected to inspections and its uranium is under seal by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
There is no constructive purpose to the sanctions and war talk. Clinton aggravates an already dangerous situation when she talks ominously about windows closing and clocks running. She sounds bent on war, with Obama just a bit less so.
Why?
Two reasons suggest themselves. It’s an election year. The Republican presidential candidate (unless it’s Ron Paul) can be expected to portray Obama as insufficiently bloodthirsty. Mitt Romney hopes we’ll ignore Obama’s expansion of the criminal drone war in Pakistan and Somalia, his due-process-free assassination of Americans in Yemen, his autocratic intervention in Libya, his continuation of the brutal occupation of Afghanistan, and his signing legislation to codify the president’s power to detain even American citizens indefinitely without charge or trial. Romney’s foreign-policy team are some of the same people who gave us the lie-based invasion of Iraq, which was responsible for the deaths of well over a million people and the creation of more than four million refugees. Word is that the presumptive candidate plans to hammer Obama on his handling of foreign affairs. According to the Washington Post, “In his speeches, Romney has proposed a more confrontational approach to China, Russia, Iran and other countries.”
The Obama campaign may have calculated that they can’t afford to look weak on Iran. Yet this is not the only reason. Israel’s top officials appear to have decided that an attack on Iran is imperative. But without U.S. help, Israel’s air force can do no more than set Iran’s (peaceful) nuclear program back for a brief time. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues his threatening talk, supported by the Israel lobby in the United States. Israel-partisans in the U.S. media routinely channel Netanyahu’s war talk to the American public in order to build sympathy for the nonexistent Iranian threat to Israel.
Obama says he wants peace not war. When will he begin to act like it?
Sheldon Richman is senior fellow at The Future of Freedom Foundation (www.fff.org).
Worth Election Results
The following were the Worth election results from Tuesday’s election:
Nick Combs 18*
Bobbi Gladstone 13*
Adam Downing 12*
Joseph Gardner 10*
Tiffany Baker 10*
Gary Hubbard 7
Selena Gardner 6
Esther Roush 6
Sharon Dozier 6
* – Elected
The Worth Council election was the only contested election in the county last Tuesday. The top five were elected.
Nick Combs 18*
Bobbi Gladstone 13*
Adam Downing 12*
Joseph Gardner 10*
Tiffany Baker 10*
Gary Hubbard 7
Selena Gardner 6
Esther Roush 6
Sharon Dozier 6
* – Elected
The Worth Council election was the only contested election in the county last Tuesday. The top five were elected.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Miami Beach Real Estate Condos
The Miami Beach real estate condo market is on the rebound and lenders are starting to get back in after the collapse of the real estate Market in 2006 and 2007. The April 3rd Miami Herald reports that lenders have lent as much as $775 million to real estate projects in the Miami/Dade County area alone over the last six months. This is one sign that after the long recession, the economy is finally coming back to life once again.
One factor that is helping the Miami Beach real estate condo market specifically is HB 503, which would overhaul a lot of regulations and make it easier to generate real estate and land development throughout the state. It makes it easier for developers to get permits to develop land and it is broad-based enough that even some environmental groups, which normally oppose such legislation tooth and nail, are not seriously opposing this legislation. Among other things, it guts the need for approval from a government agency before getting small stormwater projects, for instance.
The Miami Beach real estate condo market is on the rebound and lenders are starting to get back in after the collapse of the real estate market in 2006 and 2007. The April 3rd Miami Herald reports that lenders have lent as much as $775 million to real estate projects in the Miami/Dade County area alone over the last six months. This is one sign that after the long recession, the economy is finally coming back to life once again.
One factor that is helping the Miami Beach real estate condo market specifically is HB 503, which would overhaul a lot of regulations and make it easier to generate real estate and land development throughout the state. It makes it easier for developers to get permits to develop land and it is broad-based enough that even some environmental groups, which normally oppose such legislation tooth and nail, are not seriously opposing this legislation. Among other things, it guts the need for approval from a government agency before getting small stormwater projects, for instance.
The Miami Beach real estate condo market is not the only thing that is on the rebound in the area. The April 1st San Francisco Chronicle reports that the arts scene is on the revival as well, noting that real estate condos, museums, galleries, and restaurants are drawing “crowds downtown from the beaches.” And the Miami Marlins have built a brand new stadium with views of the skyline, which will generate even more crowds as most brand new stadiums draw huge crowds regardless of the win-loss record of the team.
And everybody is benefitting from the Miami Beach real estate condo surge. As the March 23rd issue of the Miami Herald notes, the Wynwood revival is benefitting both major developers as well as small businesses who are just getting started in the area. Square footage of property sold expanded around sevenfold while the total value of the property sold jumped slightly over fourfold. The total number of land sales tripled in the area.
One factor that is helping the Miami Beach real estate condo market specifically is HB 503, which would overhaul a lot of regulations and make it easier to generate real estate and land development throughout the state. It makes it easier for developers to get permits to develop land and it is broad-based enough that even some environmental groups, which normally oppose such legislation tooth and nail, are not seriously opposing this legislation. Among other things, it guts the need for approval from a government agency before getting small stormwater projects, for instance.
The Miami Beach real estate condo market is on the rebound and lenders are starting to get back in after the collapse of the real estate market in 2006 and 2007. The April 3rd Miami Herald reports that lenders have lent as much as $775 million to real estate projects in the Miami/Dade County area alone over the last six months. This is one sign that after the long recession, the economy is finally coming back to life once again.
One factor that is helping the Miami Beach real estate condo market specifically is HB 503, which would overhaul a lot of regulations and make it easier to generate real estate and land development throughout the state. It makes it easier for developers to get permits to develop land and it is broad-based enough that even some environmental groups, which normally oppose such legislation tooth and nail, are not seriously opposing this legislation. Among other things, it guts the need for approval from a government agency before getting small stormwater projects, for instance.
The Miami Beach real estate condo market is not the only thing that is on the rebound in the area. The April 1st San Francisco Chronicle reports that the arts scene is on the revival as well, noting that real estate condos, museums, galleries, and restaurants are drawing “crowds downtown from the beaches.” And the Miami Marlins have built a brand new stadium with views of the skyline, which will generate even more crowds as most brand new stadiums draw huge crowds regardless of the win-loss record of the team.
And everybody is benefitting from the Miami Beach real estate condo surge. As the March 23rd issue of the Miami Herald notes, the Wynwood revival is benefitting both major developers as well as small businesses who are just getting started in the area. Square footage of property sold expanded around sevenfold while the total value of the property sold jumped slightly over fourfold. The total number of land sales tripled in the area.
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