The Pendleton County Farm Bureau held its annual meeting and dinner August 23 at the Harold Michael Building in Circleville. Members and guests enjoyed delicious food provided by the North Fork 4-H Club. The invocation was given by Roger Dahmer.
This year’s keynote speaker was Dwayne O’Dell, director of governmental affairs for West Virginia Farm Bureau.
“What a great land we live in,” O’Dell said. “While we have problems, we also have greater opportunities than any other country in the world. During the past 250 years, approximately 1 million men and women have lost their lives in securing this liberty. Let’s make sure this generation keeps this dream alive.”
His title of government affairs really means he is a lobbyist for the WV Farm Bureau. During the past legislative session more than 2,200 bills were introduced by delegates and senators with 260 approved and sent to Governor Morrisey for signature.
Several bills were important to farm bureau including Senate Bill SB10, which eliminated the six percent tax on small meat processors. This will put close to $1 million back in the pockets of local farmers.
House Bill HB3279 requires that the board of governors of West Virginia University include at least one person with an agriculture background which has been a goal of WV Farm Bureau for more than 40 years. Morrisey signed this into law, and Charlie Wilfong, president of WV Farm Bureau, and a Preston County farmer now serve on the WVU board of governors.
HB3504 added agricultural facilities to existing law which states that facilities damaged by vandalism will impose greater fines, up to five years in jail, and listed as a felony. Previously, only oil and gas facilities were protected.
On legislative issues, sometimes it’s just as important to stop bills as it is to pass legislation. One such bill was a proposal to require a boat ramp at every bridge leading to a river or stream, regardless of it being private or public property. This bill would trash the rights of property owners and could lead to uncontrolled access to private property.
Property taxes are always a hot issue during legislative session. Agricultural land has been taxed at a farm use value, which is based on rental value of the land rather than market value of the land. This was an issue farm bureau worked on in the 1970s and has made it possible for farmers to survive in a sometimes hostile economic environment. “This issue comes to the legislature every year, and we either need to come to the table and fight for our ideas, or we will be on the table,” O’Dell said.
Some bills were introduced concerning animal welfare laws, and it was proposed to increase it to felony charges, from current misdemeanor. WV Department of Agriculture currently has a standardized animal welfare practice in place which clearly determines what constitutes abuse.
Two bills are likely headed to the Supreme Court. HB2755 states that rules passed by the board of education must be approved by the state legislature before taking affect. This is a potential constitutional issue as the board of education is listed as a separatee entity in the WV Constitution. The other bill likely to arrive at the Supreme Court relates to vaccine requirements for school-age children.
HB2014 deals the excessive amount of power required to operate large data centers. This bill gives data centers the option of either hooking on existing power lines or putting up their own power plants. With electric companies moving away from coal, which is more cost effective, power bills are already on the rise. HB25 and HB26 deals with the amount of water these same data centers require and restricts who can use the subterranean water, which will impact ground water. Both the excessive electric and water use have the potential for significant impacts to the citizens in the areas they are built.
In regards to federal issues, there are several items in the Big Beautiful Bill that are advantageous to farmers. One is the estate tax has been raised to $15 million with an index to inflation. This is another issue that farm bureau has been working on for several years because the land that WV farmers use has been bought with funds that have already been taxed. It seems unfair for heirs to be taxed again on the same property. Seventy percent of the food children eat is ultra-processed. The Make America Healthy initiative is setting guidelines to decrease ultra-processed food, vaping, marijuana and micro-plastics to improve the health of the country’s youngsters.
Another issue that farm bureau is involved in is Proposition 12 in California which sets specific guidelines on how domestic animals can be raised in confinement. California has a very large population, and due to this the California rules are often adopted by other states so that they can import foods into the California market. It seems necessary for Congress to get involved and set national guidelines for animal confinement since Proposition 12 is very restrictive and does not follow accepted best management practices.
Pesticide use, such as Round-up and other pesticides, are continually coming under greater scrutiny. More than 100 million acres are treated with some form of pesticide. There are those that want to completely ban pesticides. Farm bureau’s policy has always been to utilize scientific research to determine the safety of pesticides.
Tariffs have been in the news during the last six months. “What does a tariff on oil and gas in Russia have to do with American Agriculture?” O’Dell asked. Russia is a major supplier of urea and potash, and it can be expected to experience a price increase or a decrease in supply going forward if the tariffs take affect. Foreign ownership of land is a hot topic today. Warehouser and Smithfield are large foreign owners of land in the United States. This issue will be in the news for months to come because it is a national security problem.
“America is about to celebrate its 250th birthday. While we have made some mistakes in the past with how we treat our citizens, we have also had tremendous opportunity and have lifted more people out of poverty than any other country in the history of the world,” O’Dell said. “Forty-four percent of millennials believe that socialism is the answer. Forty-six percent of our state budget goes to fund education.”
O’Dell concluded with a quote from Abraham Lincoln, “‘What teachers teach today will be the kind of government we live under tomorrow.’ Let’s continue to invest in our land and stand up for what is good and right.”
Steve Conrad, president, presented the 39th annual Pendleton County Farm Bureau service award to Pam Sponaugle.
Sponaugle was born in Washington, DC, but came to West Virginia as quick as she could. She grew up on the Thorn and graduated from Franklin High School. In 1994, she started work as a temporary employee with United States Department of Agriculture for the Agricultural Stabilization Conservation Service, which is the predecessor of the current Farm Service Agency.
She is the program analyst and is responsible for getting all the information for the various government programs out to farmers. She goes above and beyond the requirements of the job and makes certain that “her farmers” have the opportunity to participate in all programs available whether it be normal programs or emergency programs. Protocol requires the FSA office to send out postcards for new programs, but she goes the extra mile by drafting and mailing letters to “her farmers.” If they haven’t done crop reports on time she sends emails and makes phone call to ensure their requirements are met. Government programs require a signature, so she goes the extra mile to ensure requirements are met.
During her time at ASCS and FSA, Sponaugle has had to “train” six different executive directors, including Roger Dahmer, a Pendleton County commissioner.
Her professionalism is above reproach. She has been recognized with cash awards or time-off seven times during her career. Additionally, FSA has recognized her talent, sending her to Hardy and Pocahontas counties to assist those offices in training personnel and getting them up to speed. Her performance reviews have always been top notch and her work is beyond reproach.
She is married to Kevin Sponaugle, and they have one son, Kyle, and one granddaughter, Juniper.
Lois Carr, a Potomac Valley Conservation District supervisor representing the county and West Virginia Association of Conservation District second vice president, shared information on services and programs offered by the conservation district. Services offered included the rental of equipment and materials and selling materials for water boxes. Cost-share programs include lime, hay and pasture reseeding, invasive species, urban ag, summer annual seeding, frost seeding and concrete heavy use area protection that involves installing a concrete pad to stabilize highly trafficked areas in farms.
Carr welcomed everyone to attend a conservation field day from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 15 at the Lough Farm located outside of Petersburg. Speakers for the event will be David Seymour and Matt Lough.
She recognized Charlotte Hoover, another county supervisor, and Ben Heavner, conservation specialist.
Farm Bureau Insurance Company of West Virginia agent, Tom Mathias, encouraged attendees to check out the insurance company and to recruit people to be farm bureau members. He reminded everyone of the West Virginia Farm Bureau motto, “We pull the most when we pull together.”
Three resolutions were presented and approved by members in attendance.
The first resolution related to the current West Virginia fire code violations. Currently state forestry personnel have the authority to issue violations according to the state code on private land and even levy fines without seeking judicial input. This resolution adds that all WV Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry or other state agency personnel investigating fire code violations must present probable cause evidence to the court of jurisdiction to obtain a warrant before entering or using any cameras or any surveillance technology on private property. Also, the department should not have the authority to issue a citation and levy a fine.
The second resolution requested that the requirement for annual application for farm use assessment be changed to every five years and the assessor be required to notify the landowner by mail/e-mail on the expiration of the anniversary year.
The final resolution dealt with the advent of AI technology/data centers and their use of large amounts of water and electricity. “Pendleton County Farm Bureau recommends that the local governing body of counties and cities have the final say in the location of such centers. It is further suggested that since the water is a natural resource that is in limited supply in some counties, especially ground water, that care should be used to ensure our farms are not negatively affected. In regards to the electrical power, it should be the policy of the state of West Virginia that such centers should have an independent source of electrical power so it does not negatively affect consumer bills.”
Ben Heavner took care of the nominations for offices. The group accepted the nomination of current officers in current roles with no changes: Eastern District – Steve Conrad and Brandon Mitchell; Central District – Greg Bowers and Ron Hudson; Western District – Kenneth Harper and Ben Heavner; and At Large – Mike Eye, Michael Hott and Greg Mitchell.
Membership pins and certificates were awarded to the following:
60 years – Willard Rader and Jane Wilkins;
50 years – Cletus Shreve;
40 years – Berlin Harper, Andrew Moyers and Kent and Angie Rexrode;
30 years – Winston E. “Buck” Joseph and Randal Smith; and
20 years – Roscoe Alexander, Scott Lough, William and Ann Nelson, Jon Swecker, Lynn Vandevander, Sandra Vandevander and Linda Warner.
