The nation’s average retail price of regular gasoline has risen by 45.9 cents to a record $3.069 a gallon in the week after Hurricane Katrina. Although gasoline prices are going down toward pre-Katrina levels, the nation’s energy prices were rising even before Katrina triggered the sharp increase in prices by damaging oil and natural gas wells and refineries in the Gulf coastal area.

While high fuel prices affect everyday life of all Americans, farmers are particularly having trouble during their harvest time. Family farmers rely heavily on affordable fuels as feedstock for farm chemicals, for powering farm equipment and for running irrigation pumps and grain dryers. Natural gas is also an indispensable raw material used in producing nitrogen-based fertilizer. Agriculture economists warn that U.S. agriculture’s competitive advantage will be eroded if energy prices remain high.

The National Grange addressed natural gas prices earlier this year by cosigning a letter with the Ag Energy Alliance. The letter emphasized that the farm sector depends on significant use of natural gas for food processing, irrigation, crop drying, heating farm buildings and homes, and nitrogen fertilizer production. It asked federal agencies to find ways to balance the limited supply of, and rising demand for, natural gas and to take action to ensure that new LNG terminal facilities are built and operated in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.

The National Grange supports the following practices to guard against energy supply uncertainty and unreasonable high prices: 1) retain one billion barrels of U.S. oil reserve while supplies are adequate; and 2) encourage greater use of natural resources, especially those that are renewable and non-polluting.

Sec. of the Interior, Gale Norton Addresses the 2005 White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation

On August 29-31, the White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation was held in St. Louis, MO. More than 1000 conservation leaders from conservation organizations in the private, nonprofit and government sectors were invited to attend this event. The conference was called by President George W. Bush as part of an Executive Order he signed last year that was aimed at promoting greater citizen stewardship of our nation’s natural and cultural resources as well as strengthening conservation partnerships with various federal agencies, states, tribes, and local communities. The goal of the conference was to start a new conservation dialogue for the 21 st Century that would build on the successful conservation legacy of the 20th Century that followed the first White House Conservation Conference called by then President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 and the second White House Conservation Conference called by then President John F. Kennedy in 1962. National Grange Legislative Director Leroy Watson represented the Grange at this event.

Presenters and speakers for the event highlighted the role of conservation across numerous disciplines and issues of concern. President Bush personally addressed the conference via a prerecorded message. Many members of President Bush’s Cabinet as well as other high ranking federal officials also personally addressed the conference. Speakers at the conference included: U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Michael Johanns, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Guierrez, Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality James Connaughton and the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Stephen L. Johnson. Congressional presenters included U.S. Sen. Jim Talent (MO) and U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo (ID). Other officials who spoke to the conference to highlight successful locally driven conservation initiatives included St. Louis, MO Mayor Francis Shaw; Charlotte, NC Mayor Patrick McCrory; Washington DC Mayor Anthony Williams and Newport, ME Town Manager James Ricker.

Perhaps the most important part of the conference was the ability of attendees to learn about the many important success stories that are occurring in the field of conservation that focus on community participation and public/private partnerships to achieve environmental goals. Workshop presenters highlighted a wide variety of successful cooperative conservation initiatives all across the nation from urban renewal to sustainable agriculture; from watershed management to species preservation; from forest management to prairie restoration; from coral reef protection to evolution of mountain and desert environments into productive recreational/sports resources that future generations will cherish. Each of these stories carried important lessons for future cooperative conservation efforts.

In his message to the conference, President Bush conveyed his best wishes not only for those individuals attending the conference, but for all Americans who are dedicated to cooperative conservation in their communities. “ I appreciate conference participants and all those who contribute to conservation efforts in their communities,” the President said. “By working together, the Federal government, States, Tribes local communities businesses and concerned citizens like you can help protect our public lands and conserve our environment. Your commitment to excellence and dedication is making a real difference and reflects the spirit of our Nation,” he concluded.

Grange members interested in learning more about the White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation can visit the conference website at www.conservation.ceq.gov/index.html

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the National Grange President Bill Steel has encouraged Grange members across the nation to donate to charities to help victims of the horrific disaster. He listed many available charity websites and telephone numbers in his letter on September 2, soliciting immediate support from members. The text of the letter reads as follows: 

Dear  Brothers and Sisters : Hurricane Katrina killed thousands of people and left millions of  our fellow citizens  homeless in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida. Floodwaters are still rising , forcing still more people from  their homes. Basic necessities of modern life such as electricity , food, shelter, drinking water, sanitary facilities, medical care, personal transportation, education and jobs have literally disappeared overnight  for more than 2.3 million people. It is considered one of the most catastrophic disasters in U.S. history , being  compared to  the  massive earthquake in San Francisco  in 1906 . This is the time for us as Grange members to keep all of these unfortunate individuals in our prayers, as we pray for those who have lost their lives and their families as well as for those who have lost all or most of their material possessions in this world. It's  also time to stretch out  our  helping hands. As Grange members, we voluntarily acknowledge that charity is one of the basic precepts of our Order - "In kind words and deeds, dispense charity, as freely as flowers do their perfume, and as generously as they cover all God's footstool." "And let your charity extend to all humanity." That is why I am asking all local Granges across the nation to consider making a special donation to Katrina disaster relief efforts through the charitable relief organization of their choice. A variety of agencies and organizations with experience in delivering disaster assistance  are on the way to assist Hurricane Katrina victims. Contact  the following charities  which have been listed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to  receive financial donation s for  people in need. (Click the blue title of each organization to visit their websites)   · American Red Cross, 800-HELP-NOW (435-7669) Engl., 800-257-7575 Span. · America's Second Harvest, 800-344-8070 · Adventist Community Services, 800-381-7171 · Catholic Charities USA, 800-919-9338 · Christian Disaster Response, 863-967-HELP (4357) · Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, 800-848-5818 · Church World Service, 800-297-1516 · Convoy of Hope, 417-823-8998 · Lutheran Disaster Response, 800-638-3522 · Mennonite Disaster Service, 717-859-2210 · Nazarene Disaster Response, 888-256-5886 · Operation Blessing, 800-436-6348 · Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, 800-872-3283 · Salvation Army, 800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769) · Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief, 800-462-8657, Ext. 6440 · United Methodist Committee on Relief, 800-554-8583 I am confident that Granges and Grange members across the nation will rise together to help address this national tragedy as we acknowledge that "...there is no perfume on earth fraught with such fragrance, as the flowers of good works, and the sweet-smelling savor of the pity which feels for the wants and relieves the distresses of" our fellow citizens. Fraternally, Bill Steel, National Grange Master

On September 2, Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) responded to a letter sent by the National Grange asking the Senator to consider the interests of rural over-the-air television viewers as he reviews various proposals to facilitate the nation’s transition to digital television (DTV). The Grange has urged lawmakers to extend the deadline for the mandatory transition to DTV to December 31, 2008, to provide all consumers with digital TV sets and/or digital-to-analog converter boxes regardless of their financial circumstances and to extend the current “must carry” rules that require cable and satellite services to carry locally produced programming to “multicast” broadcasts by local TV stations.

“The United States, like most of the world, is moving to replace current television technology with DTV,” Sen. Smith said in his letter. “As part of this transition, Congress is seeking to move television broadcasters out of the 700 MHz spectrum currently in use. Channels currently using 700 MHz would then be available for other uses, like public safety communication networks and commercial advanced wireless services…there is a general agreement to set a firm date for the clearing of 700 MHz spectrum.” The letter concluded, “As a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, I will have the opportunity to work closely with any legislation that would affect the transition to DTV. Rest assured, that as the process moves forward I will bear your important concerns in mind.”

Death tax repeal will be at the top of the agenda in the U.S. Senate after dealing with Hurricane Katrina. The Senate’s consideration of the death tax bill, H.R. 8, had been scheduled right after the August recess, but it has been postponed for a while in the wake of Katrina. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), however, promised to return to the bill as soon as they can.

The National Grange, an organization supporting family farmers and small rural business, has been a long time supporter of the complete repeal of death tax especially for small business and agriculture. “The death tax forces working family farmers to sell their farms to pay the tax rather than allow their successors to continue farming,” National Grange Legislative Director Leroy Watson said. “Unlike cash, securities or even personal property, the entire value of a working family farm usually depends on the ability to pass on all of the productive assets on to the next generation. The death tax is a major factor contributing to the demise of family farms and businesses.”

According to the Family Research Council, a family-owned business can lose up to 55 percent of its assets when it passes from one generation to the next. Because of the death tax, roughly 70 percent of families choose to cash out or abandon their business after just one generation. The Heritage Foundation estimates that the death tax costs the American economy between 170,000 and 250,000 jobs annually.

Under the 2001 tax law, the death tax is being gradually reduced and will disappear in 2010. However, that law is scheduled to expire at the end of 2010, sending the death tax back to its 2001 rate structure. When the 108th Congress considered the identical bill, the House passed the bill while the Senate did not. In the 109th Congress, again, the House took the step of initiating the death tax repeal earlier this year and passed bipartisan legislation, H.R. 8, to permanently kill the death tax. The National Grange will keep its eye on the Senate’s vote on death tax coming this fall.

The National Grange has recently joined the coalition of supporters for the Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act, H.R. 2048, which would require a vehicle manufacturer to disclose to the vehicle owner and/or a repair facility of their choice the information necessary to diagnose, service, or repair the vehicle. Since federal law required On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) systems in vehicles, some independent repair facilities have found it increasingly difficult to obtain the necessary information they need to repair newer vehicles because the special tools to access the OBD computer systems typically are owned by the car manufactures and provided only to their dealerships, which makes shopping around for the best prices and most convenient service locations difficult, especially for rural consumers.

“The Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act is a critical reform,” National Grange Legislative Director Leroy Watson said. “Non dealership repair options are especially important for people living in rural communities, where licensed automobile dealerships may be located more than 100 miles away from independent repair facilities.”

The Grange policy, under the heading Consumer Protection Law, reads: “The National Grange requests federal legislators to pass legislation that allows independent vehicle maintenance facilities or car dealership garages to have access to the technology/programming needed to repair all makes of vehicles so that the consumer has a choice of where to take his/her vehicle for maintenance and repair.”

The National Grange joined with 43 other agriculture and trade oriented organizations early in September to urge Congress to strike Section 2 of H.R. 3421 and S. 1582, which expands the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to authorize private entities to perform official inspections of our grain exports. “The export of agricultural products from the United States forms the cornerstone of America’s success in the global export market,” the letter said. “The Federal Grain Inspection Service, with its 30 year history of cutting-edge inspection success and the guarantee of impartial and honest trading, is the vehicle that delivers our agricultural products to the world…the proposed issuance of rubber-stamped traditional USDA certificates for inspections actually completed by industry-paid private inspectors will strike at the heart of the world’s definition of integrity and honest trading practices.” The Grange believes that the guarantee of unbiased and honest, government-backed trading is one of the most essential of our global agricultural marketing tools.