Our Govenor

[Boss Hawg]

I had the privilege yesterday of taking Governor Tim Pawlenty, Ron Shara & Raven, Howard Vincent(President of Pheasant's Forever)and a host of outdoor people out to our farm south of Minneapolis pheasant hunting yesterday afternoon. Good time was had by all, the weather was beautiful. Bagged a few birds and talked a little politics. There is a storm on the horizon just for your FYI 40 million acre's of CRP land is scheduled to come out in the next 3 years. Most of this is tied to the 06-07 farm bill. Also, Minnesota's legislator will be bringing up the Bounding Bill next session. Which is tied to our public hunting area's and State match money's for project's. I am not saying its time start screaming yet but its time to start humming. Its gonna be a fight like it always is. Pheasant's Forever, Ducks Ulimited, Deer Hunter's Association, Outdoor New's and local sportsman clubs are working behind the scene's on these issue's. Make sure you keep informed, it will happen fast. The last thing we need to do is go backwards on our soil and water issue's. As for Governor Tim Pawlenty he is a hunter, fisherman and is 100% behind our outdoor issue's. So next time your out hunting just keep in mind that there are people behind the scene's working 5 days a week 8 hours a day for wildlife. As sometimes we tend to forget with our busy schedule's. If any of you get the chance to hunt with Ron Shara & Raven all I can say is you better shoot fast. Thanks again for the wonderful afternoon.

[buzzsaw]

Cool report!

[Dotch]

Way kewl is right, there Boss Hawg!

Some additional info on conservation funding that is 11th hour but thought it worth passing along. From an e-mail from 3 of the societies I belong to:

Conservation Funding at Risk: Act TODAY!

Help Protect Conservation, Research and Rural Development Funding! Take Action!

Please Contact Your Senators TODAY!

Your Senators need to hear from you today if we are to save conservation, research, and rural development programs vital to our community. Click on the link and take action TODAY!

Conservation, research and rural development programs will be saved from devastating cuts made during recent ag budget reconciliation action only by passage of the Grassley-Dorgan payment limitation and agricultural conservation amendment which will be voted on by the Senate this Thursday. Briefly, the payment limitation/amendment will restore cuts that hit mid-sized farms the hardest, improve funding for the Conservation Security Program and the Conservation Reserve Program, and bring fairness to the distribution of commodity programs payments.

This is it. This is the big one. It’s now or never. Make maximum effort, and

don’t delay!

Background:

This coming Thursday (November 3), the Senate will vote on the payment limitation

reform amendment to the budget reconciliation bill to be offered by Senators

Grassley, Dorgan and many of their colleagues. The amendment will cap farm program

payments at $250,000 for farms with two actively engaged spouses or farming

partners, and it will eliminate a substantial portion of the huge cuts in the

underlying bill for the Conservation Security Program and the Conservation Reserve

Program. The amendment will also reduce the underlying bill’s across-the-board

commodity program cuts for crops years 2006 and 2007. The amendment will be

debated on the floor of the Senate for about an hour on Tuesday or Wednesday, with

the votes on this amendment and all other budget reconciliation amendments stacked

on Thursday in a congressional process known colloquially as a “vote-a-rama.”

While we believe we are still ahead, the latest vote count shows this vote tightening considerably. This is the best chance we have had in many years to pass and keep payment reform, a long, long overdue means of targeting benefits and taking the subsidy out of farm consolidation and land price inflation. It is also our last stand to save the Conservation Security Program from extinction prior to the next farm bill. So act now!

http://capwiz.com/acs/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=8188786