Press Releases
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AAM CONCURS WITH NFO'S CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL FOOD RESERVES |
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AAM FOCUSES ON THE POSITIVES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY |
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Press Releases
AAM CONCURS WITH NFO'S CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL FOOD RESERVES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2010
Press Release #2
President, AAM, Inc.
Larry Matlack
(620) 727-0333
larry@stingerltd.com------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The U.S. Has No Grain Reserves
WASHINGTON (RuralWire), Jan. 27, 2010 –Larry Matlack, President of the American Agriculture Movement (AAM), commended and concurred with Gene Paul, National Farmers Organization (NFO) Agricultural Policy Analyst, and his call this week for an international grain reserve in the wake of the disaster in Haiti.
“According to the January 1, 2010 CCC inventory report, there is no wheat, corn, or any other grain left the entire CCC inventory,” warned Matlack. “The only thing left in America’s food pantry is a small amount of dry milk powder, of which two thirds is committed to domestic and international donations.
America needs a grain reserve, as does the world. We fully support the NFO initiative announced at their annual convention held last week in Coralville, Iowa.
“This lack of emergency preparedness is the fault of the 1996 farm bill, which eliminated the government’s grain reserves as well as the Farmer Owned Reserve (FOR),” explained Matlack. “We had hoped to reinstate the FOR and a Strategic Energy Grain Reserve in the 2008 bill, but the politics of food defeated our efforts. As farmers, it is our calling and purpose in life to feed our families, our communities, our nation and a good part of the world, but we need better planning and coordination if we are going to meet that purpose. AAM pledges to continue our work for better farm policy which includes a FOR, a Strategic Energy Grain Reserve and an international grain reserve.”
AAM’s support for the FOR program, which allows the grain to be stored on farms, is a key component to a safe grain reserve in that the supplies will be decentralized in the event of some unforeseen calamity which might befall the large grain storage terminals. A Strategic Energy Grain Reserve is as crucial for the nation’s domestic energy needs as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. AAM also supports full funding for the replenishment and expansion of Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust.
“There should be a reestablishment of federally owned and federally supported farmer owned strategic grain and food reserves for the nation’s national security, food security, livestock sector, renewable fuels industries and international famine relief,” said Matlack.
The CCC Inventory report may be reviewed at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/wid2a.pdf. The CCC is a federal government-owned and operated entity that was created to stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices. CCC is also supposed to maintain balanced and adequate supplies of agricultural commodities and aids in their orderly distribution.
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* AAM stands for food and fiber producer and commodity PARITY. Parity is a term that denotes a fair commodity price adjusted for inflation to the commodity prices. The Statutory Parity Index, established during the depression of the 1930s, reflects prices received in 1910-1914 (considered to be the last 5 normal years prior to the outbreak of World War I) when producers, middlemen, and consumers had a balanced income. Today, many commodities average less than PARITY. Meanwhile costs of trucks, combines, implements, tractors, and hired help have risen dramatically. AAM still demands a parity price for commodities. Go to AAM's website: http://www.aaminc.org/ for more information.
AAM FOCUSES ON THE POSITIVES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2010
Press Release #1
President, AAM, Inc.
Larry Matlack
(620) 727-0333
larry@stingerltd.com------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Renewable Energy Patriot and Pioneer Holmberg Honored as Keynote Speaker
OKLAHOMA CITY (RuralWire), Jan. 22, 2010 – Larry Matlack, President of the American Agriculture Movement (AAM), highlighted the positive impacts of the short and long term benefits of renewable energy produced in the heartland, and his organization’s dedication to those objectives at their thirty-first annual convention earlier this month in Oklahoma City. “Agriculture has received these positive impacts because of the proactive lead of many organizations such as AAM,” explained Matlack. “For more than thirty years we have dedicated ourselves in the area of American-raised energy.”
“Unlike many other farm organizations, who generally come late to the table after the visionary work has gone forward and the outcome is clear, AAM has always worked for what was best for America and America’s farmers,” said Matlack. “Even today, some farm organizations collaborate with those seeking to delay the development of additional and newer renewable fuels and power from American agriculture and forests. This is one major reason that it has taken over thirty years to bring biofuels into the picture as a major supplier of our transportation fuel.”
“AAM has always fought for programs that best serve the American farmer, rancher, and forester no matter which political party supported those advances,” explained Matlack. “Our keynote speaker at this year’s AAM convention is a testament to that effort; William Holmberg, Chairman of the Biomass Coordinating Council of the American Council on Renewable Energy, first worked with AAM in the late seventies when he was with the U.S. Department of Energy and established the federal government’s first alcohol fuels office.”
Holmberg retired from military service as a highly decorated Marine Lieutenant Colonel and served both Republican and Democratic administrations for an additional thirteen years, helping to pioneer the ethanol and biodiesel industries. “Holmberg continues to serve his country, working on behalf of sustainable renewable energy from America’s farms and forests,” stated Matlack. The AAM lauded the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) and the Biomass Coordinating Council (BCC) for their efforts in launching the American Agriculture and Forestry Movement for Sustainable New Wealth Industries (SNWIs) and declaring 2010 the Year of Biomass to increase the awareness of the American people about what farms and forests can contribute to energy self-reliance.
Matlack quoted former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director R. James Woolsey who said, “This is the only war the U.S. has ever fought where we pay for both sides. We fund and support our brave military personnel fighting terrorists, and we then fund countries supporting those terrorists by purchasing their oil. So, when we look at the problem and seek a solution, we need only to look into our own eyes in the rear view mirror when we pump fuel into our gas tanks. As fast as possible, we should be fueling our cars with alternative fuels and electricity produced right here in the United States.”
“If not for the economic prosperity for rural areas, and America in general, that results from producing our own renewable fuels, then we all certainly have a moral obligation to our troops and our country. We must all rise to this task and AAM asks farmers across the nation to avoid the shortsighted advice of those farm organizations, or others, who would weaken America by continuing our dependence on foreign energy far into the future,” charged Matlack. “AAM also asks each American to become informed, involved and dedicated to SNWIs so energy self-sufficiency becomes a reality in our lifetime.”
Larry Matlack and Bill Holmberg invite interested people involved with agriculture, ranching, and forestry in any way to a two hour workshop on SNWIs to be held at the ACORE RETECH Conference (www.RETECH2010.com) at the Washington DC Convention Center. The Agriculture and Forestry Movement side event is from 8:00AM to 10:00AM on Friday Feb. 5th. Seating is limited, so please register as soon as possible. While there is no charge for this side event on its own, you are invited to register for the entire RETECH conference in order to take full advantage of this great opportunity. Click here to register for just this side event.
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* AAM stands for food and fiber producer and commodity PARITY. Parity is a term that denotes a fair commodity price adjusted for inflation to the commodity prices. The Statutory Parity Index, established during the depression of the 1930s, reflects prices received in 1910-1914 (considered to be the last 5 normal years prior to the outbreak of World War I) when producers, middlemen, and consumers had a balanced income. Today, many commodities average less than PARITY. Meanwhile costs of trucks, combines, implements, tractors, and hired help have risen dramatically. AAM still demands a parity price for commodities. Go to AAM's website: http://www.aaminc.org/ for more information.