Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 2008)
SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 19, 2008 HES announces October Students of the Month Pictured are Heppner Elementary School's Students of the Month for October. Top (L-R): Rylee Bray. Tristan Coles, Reiah Waite, Jacee Currin, Kami Holtz, Mason Lehman, Hunter Nichols, and Jackson Lehman. Bottom (L-R): Cade Arbogast, Maddie Lindsay, Ryan Smith, Faith Jones, Sydney Qualls, and Tim Jaca. -Photo by David Sykes Communications minor provides more options for students C o m m u n ic a tio n skills are important to the viability o f any jo b and Eastern Oregon University is offering a new minor that will help students hone these skills. Courses began this fall under the direction of April Curtis, professor of theatre and speech, and Neil Gustafson, associate profes sor o f media arts/joumalism at EOU. “Communications is arguably the most popular major offered by American universities,” Curtis said. “EOU’s minor is a multidis ciplinary program that offers a great deal of choices. It’s exciting because students can decide what they want to pair it with.” C urtis researched 42 different colleges and universities similar in size and structure to EOU and formed a Communications Minor Task Force. The goal was to develop a program that would be o f the most benefit to students at EOU. Curtis and Gustafson believe the task force ac complished its goal. “ A pril and I had good help on the committee established to form the mi nor,” Gustafson said. “Cori Brewster from English/writ- ing, Greg Monahan from history, and David Komito, director of academic tech nology, all pitched in. We also had good cooperation from professors o f other disciplines, including Rich ard C roft from com puter science/multimediaand Bill G rigsby from sociology, who agreed to allow us to include their courses in our offerings.” The minor includes courses from speech, so ciology, m ultim edia and writing. In addition, there are elective options from the business and media arts colleges. Two-thirds of the courses are offered on cam- pus while the remainder will be delivered online. “ For th e s tu d e n t whose interest is in people, this program is ripe with skills for speakers and lead ers,” Curtis said. "It can be used in so many fields. If the student is a business major for example, this minor can help prepare him or her to work for a corporation where group presentations are common. Whether pre paring a multim edia pro duction, speaking from a lectern or in front o f a small group, or writing pieces for publication or broadcast, these courses provide the knowledge and skills neces sary for success.” To find out m ore about the communications minor, call the Admissions Office at (541) 962-3393, or at (800) 452-8639, or e- mail admissions@eou.edu. April Curtis can be reached at acurtis@eou.edu. Wheat marketing ed workshops set at OSU Extension offices A statew ide wheat m a rk e tin g e d u c a tio n workshop via Polycom video will be held this Thursday, November 13, at the Morrow County Extension Service conference room , 54173 H ighw ay 74, in Heppner beginning at 8 a.m. C o n fe re n c e s are also set at the U m atilla County Extension Service Conference Room 100 A, at Umatilla Hall, Blue Mountain Community College campus, P e n d le to n ; the G illia m County Extension Service conference room, 333 South Main Street, Condon; the G illia m C o u n ty G ra in Q u a lity Lab co n feren ce ro o m , In d u s tria l P ark , A rlington; or the Wasco County Extension Service, 400 E. Scenic Drive, The D alles. O ther w orkshops have been set up at various sites throughout the state. The OWGL. BMCC, and participating O SU E x ten sio n o ffic e s w ill once again produce and host this workshop for wheat producers throughout O reg o n w ith th e la te st information on marketing Estate By DAVID SYKES REALTOR CONVERTIBLE MORTGAGE In addition to the w e ll known adjustable and fixed rate mortgages, buyers can also choose from two new varia tions o f them. C onvertible A R M ’s are adjustable rate mortgages that can be converted into fixed rate loans. Their rates are only a lit tle higher than regular ARM's, but you can convert them into a fixed rate loan without paying high refinancing costs. Biweekly mortgages are fixed rate mortgages, but in stead o f one payment a month. you pay half as much every two weeks. So you actually pay the same as 13 monthly payments a year -thus paying off a 30 year loan in 20 years 9 months, and saving a great deal o f interest. These mortgages, not yet available everywhere, are increasing in popularity. With all the varieties o f mortgages, you should choose the type that best meets your needs. We work very closely with your mortgage lenders and can help advise you. Property listings are available at www.sykesrealestate.net 188 W. Willow • P.O. Box 337 • Heppner, OR 97836 (541) 676-9228 • Cell (541) 980-6674 Fax (541)676-9211 E-mail: david@sykesrealestate.net < trends and techniques. The special guest this month is Richard Meeks from P e n d le to n G ra in Growers who will speak on fertilizer prices, what they have done, what they may do depending on usage and exports. A question/answer period will follow Those planning to attend should call their local site to RS VP attendance and confirm their participation in the call. For more information call theOSU/MorrowCounty Extension Service, 5 4 1 -676- 9642; OSU/Umatilla County Extension Service, 5 4 1 -278- 5403; OSU/Gilliam County Extension S ervice, 541- 384-2271; Gilliam County Grain Quality Lab, 541 -454- 0227; OSU/Wasco County Extension Serv ice, 541-296- 5494; or Sally Christensen, O regon W heat G ro w ers League, 541-276-7330. USDA announces amended Farm Bill provisions and new sign-up deadline Larry Frey, execu tive d ire c to r o f U SD A ’s Farm Service Agency in Or egon announced that owners and operators o f farms with 10 or fewer base acres now have the opportunity to re ceive payments for the 2008 Direct and Counter-cyclical Payment Program (DCP). “President Bush re cently signed into law a bill that made amendments to the 2008 Farm Bill,” said Frey. "These amendments apply to farms with crop acreage bases o f 10 acres or less and to the new Supplem ental Revenue Assistance (SURE) Program. These changes and clarifications allow some producers more flexibility in farming practices and create new sign-up opportunities with new deadlines for some farms.” 10-Base Acre Limit Chang es As o rig in ally e n acted under the 2008 Farm Bill, direct and countercycli cal payments (DCP) could not be made with respect to farms with crop acreage bases o f 10 acres or less. The new law makes that provision inapplicable for the 2008 crop year. Related to this, producers on a farm with 10 acres or less o f base may now, under the new law, enroll their farms until November 26, 2008, in the 2008 DCP program. This extension o f the original September 30 deadline only applies to producers who were previously excluded because o f the minimum acreage requirement. USDA began issuing payments to producers on farms with 10 base acres or less who had already enrolled in the DCP program soon after the P resident signed the new law. USDA’s Farm Ser vice Agency (FSA) will now resume allowing reconstitu tions for farms with 10 acres o f base or less according to normal reconstitution rules and policy. Eligible produc ers may sign up for DCP at any FSA office or enroll on the FSA website at: www. fsa.usda.gov/dcp, click on Access eDCP Services. Supplemental Revenue As sistance Program (SURE) Changes Under SURE in the 2008 Farm Bill, producers seeking disaster benefits must generally have obtained crop insurance or coverage under the Non-insured crop disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for all crops on all farms. Under the new law (P.L. 110-398), producers with crops that had 2009 crop insurance sales clos ing dates before August 14, 2008, may pay a fee through January 12, 2009, to par ticipate in SURE. Produc ers may make their SURE participation fee payments to their local FSA office at this time. The SURE program fee is equal to the fee for catastrophic coverage. Pay ment o f the SURE program fee will not make the pro ducer eligible for insurance coverage. Producers also have a new minimum loss thresh old under SURE. U nder the new law, to qualify for payments, there must be a production loss o f at least 10 percent for at least one crop o f economic significance on the farm. U n d er th e SU R E program, the new law pro vides that when a second crop is planted after the first crop was prevented from be ing planted, or if such first crop failed, the second plant ing will not count toward the SURE program guarantee or total farm revenue. This is true except in areas where double-cropping is a normal practice. Producers also are not required to purchase crop insurance or a NAP policy for the second crop. By provision o f the new statute, the purchase o f insurance or a NAP policy for grazed acreage is no longer a requirement for the SURE program. However, such insurance is required as a condition for payment for the livestock feed program, tree assistance program and the em ergency livestock, honeybees and farm-related fish programs. In addition, the new law amends SURE eligibil ity so that crop insurance or NAP coverage is no longer required for crops that are not o f economic significance or those where the adminis trative fee required to buy NAP coverage exceeds 10 percent o f the value o f the coverage. Producers can con tact th e ir local FSA o f fice for more information regarding SURE program implementation. NAP (Non-Insured crop d isaster A ssistance Program) Application Dead line Changes N A P a p p lic a tio n closing dates for the 2009 crops have been extended to December 1, 2008. This extension for 2009 NAP ap plies to those crops having an application closing date prior to December 1, 2008. This extension was autho rized due to the late enact ment o f the 2008 Farm Bill and to accommodate those applicants wanting to par ticipate in disaster assistance program s under the 2008 Act’s Supplemental Agricul tural Disaster Assistance for their 2009 crops. Farm Service county committee election ballots to begin Darcy Vial, county executive director of USDA’s Farm Service A gency in Morrow County announced that the 2008 FSA county committee elections have begun, as ballots are being mailed to eligible voters. Dec. 1 is the deadline for elig ib le v oters to return ballots to their local FSA offices. “ The FSA county c o m m itte e s y s te m is unique among government agencies, because it allows producers to make important decisions concerning the local a d m in is tra tio n o f federal farm p ro g ram s,” said Vial. “ I urge all eligible fa rm e rs an d r a n c h e rs , especially m inorities and women, to get involved and make a real difference in their communities by voting in this year’s elections.” Committee members apply their knowledge and judgment to make decisions on disaster and conservation paym ents, establishm ent o f allotm ents and yields, producer appeals, employing FSA c o u n ty e x e c u tiv e directors and other local issues. FSA com m ittees o p e ra te w ith in o ffic ia l regulations designed to carry out federal laws. To be an eligible voter, farmers and ranchers must participate or cooperate in FSA programs. A person who is not of legal voting age, but supervises and conducts the farming operations o f an entire farm , can also vote. Agricultural producers in each country submitted candidate names during the nomination period held last summer. Eligible voters who do not receive ballots in the com ing week can obtain ballots at their local USDA S erv ice C en ter. B allo ts returned by mail must be postm arked no later than D ec. 1. N ew ly e lected com m ittee m em bers and alternates take office Jan. 1,2009. N e a r l y 8 ,0 0 0 FSA c o u n ty c o m m itte e m em bers m eet m o n th ly at more than 2,300 FSA offices nationwide. Each c o m m itte e c o n s is ts o f three to five members who serv e th re e -y e a r term s. Approximately one-third of county committee seats are up for election annually. For more in fo rm a tio n ab o u t FSA county committees and FSA programs, visit: http://www. fsa.usda.gov. NAP December 1 deadline approaching Darcy Vial, county executive director of USDA's Farm S e rv ic e A g e n c y in Morrow County today reminded producers that the application deadline date for the 2009 coverage on fall seeded crops under the Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) is December 1,2008. “ In o rd e r to be eligible for disaster assistance programs, like Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program or SURE, producers are required to timely purchase, at a minimum, catastrophic coverage for all insurable crons aniLor NAP coveraoe for all non-insurable crops on their entire farm,” said Vial. According to Vial, NAP was designed to reduce financial losses that occur w hen n a tu ra l d is a s te rs cause a catastrophic loss of production or prevented planting of an eligible crop by providing coverage equivalent to c a ta s tro p h ic (C A T ) insurance. Statute limits NAP to each commercial crop or agricultural commodity, except livestock, for which CAT is not available. Crops with a Decem ber 1 deadline include beets, cabbage, canola, camelina, parrots Christmas trees, flow ers, greens, herbs, onions, radish, alfalfa, asparagus, clover and legumes, grass, hops, meadowfoam, mixed forage, small grains, sugar- beets, fruit and berry crops, chestnuts, grapes, hazelnuts and walnuts. NAP provides finan cial assistance to producers of noninsurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters. NAP cov erage for 2009 costs $250 per crop, but not more than $750 per producer per county, or not more than $2250 total per producer for all counties Producers who al ready have coverage on 2008 NAP crops may choose to continue coverage on the same crop or crops for 2009, if the applicable service fee is submitted by the application closing date. A new CCC- 471, application for coverage is not required to be signed when applying for continuous coverage of the same crop or crops. For more information on NAP and other USDA programs, contact your local USDA Service Center or FSA County Office at 541-676- 9011 ext. 2.
