The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) responded to American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) concerns and affirmed that regulations intended for Wall Street should not extend to America’s family farms and ranches. The SEC voted in their March 6^th meeting on its final climate disclosure rule and removed the Scope 3 reporting requirement, which would have required public companies to report the greenhouse gas emissions of their supply chain.

Since the rule was first proposed two years ago, AFBF led the charge for the removal of Scope 3. Farm Bureau members sent almost 20,000 messages to the SEC and Capitol Hill, sharing their perspectives of how Scope 3 reporting would affect their farms and ranches. 

“AFBF thanks SEC Chair Gary Gensler and his staff for their diligence in researching the unintended consequences of an overreaching Scope 3 requirement,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. 

Duvall went on to explain that farmers and ranchers are committed to protecting the natural resources they’ve been entrusted with, and they continue to advance climate-smart agriculture, but they cannot afford to hire compliance officers just to handle SEC reporting requirements.  He specifically called attention to the impact that such a rule would have posed on small farms and ranches.  

He noted that such a burden would have likely squeezed them out of the supply chain.

“Over the past two years, our members have made their voices heard on this issue and several lawmakers and leaders really stepped up.” Duvall said.  He singled out Senators Jon Tester, Tammy Baldwin and Kyrsten Sinema, as well as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, as being very instrumental in listening to the concerns of America’s farm and ranch families. 

Farm Bureau recognizes the value of data collection and has actively contributed to responsible approaches to such efforts, including as a founding member of the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium and a leader in Field to Market.  Both organizations work to empower farmers when it comes to on-farm data collection. The proposed Scope 3 requirement, however, would have imposed additional burdens on farmers and ranchers, who provide almost every raw product that goes into the food supply chain. The onerous reporting requirements could have disqualified small, family-owned farms and ranches from doing business with public companies, putting those farms and ranches at risk of going out of business.

Now that the SEC has thoughtfully evaluated the issue, AFBF urges California to follow the SEC’s lead by withdrawing its Scope 3 reporting requirement for any company doing business in the state. Farm Bureau, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others, recently challenged that state law and its national ramifications. 

Many years ago, a friend of Julius Caesar warned him that he needed to beware of the Ides Of March (March 15^th to be exact).  While we’re not suggesting to you to avoid going to the Senate, we do know that there is way past a full-slate of things -- all happening on March 15^th.  Getting everywhere that you need to be might be a bit on the difficult side, but here’s what we know for sure to assist in planning out your calendar…

Starting at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 15^th the Nevada Board of Agriculture will be meeting at the Sparks, Nevada headquarters office (405 S. 21^st Street).  The agenda shares not only the topics to be covered, but also provides the Zoom link for those who will want to participate by using the virtual meeting marvels of our modern time.

We’re not exactly clued in on how this is going to work, but at the same time – 9 a.m. at the Department of Agriculture there will be a regulation hearing dealing with meat and poultry processing.  This is a priority that we have been stressing for the past several weeks. The hearing also has a virtual link to provide you with the chance to tune in and participate in through your Zoom connection.  The announcement provides the virtual link participate.  If you click on the link you will also have access to the full document, including the proposed regulations that will be heard.

In addition to the multiple events happening at the Nevada Department of Agriculture headquarters, the Nevada Small Agriculture Conference will be continuing at the 3C Event Complex, 227 Sheckler Road, Fallon.  We’re still working from a draft agenda for the conference, but believe that it is a workable tool to use in determining a solid idea on when different topics will be covered as well as what those topics will cover.

Registration fees of $150, covers all three days of the conference. This fee includes all sessions, an opening reception, lunches and the tradeshow.  The Nevada Small Agriculture Conference opens on Wednesday with the regenerative or meat-processing track options, followed by lunch and the opening reception. Tickets for this day only are $55.

Thursday and Friday sessions are geared more toward small-production and rural producers, and feature presenters from the University, including its Extension and Experiment Station units and the Desert Farming Initiative, as well as many others sharing their agriculture and business expertise. An optional grow-local dinner will be offered on Thursday at 6 p.m. for $60.

Register online by March 5. Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged. For more information, email Kaley Chapin ( kaleys@unr.edu ) or call her at 702-467-2668.

The Interim Legislative Subcommittee on Public Lands will hold their first meeting of the current interim.  It is scheduled for Friday, March 22, starting at 9 a.m.  This meeting will be held in the Tribal Hall Conference Room at the Walker River Paiute Tribal Administration Building (1022 Hospital Road in Shurz, NV).  There is not an agenda available at this time.

The Bee and Garden Conference will be hosted in Minden, NV at the Carson Valley Inn, 1627 U.S. Highway 395 North, March 22-24. This conference will focus on beekeeping, pollinators, and landscaping for homeowners and small acreages. There will also be hands-on classes for floral design, making medicinal products from the hive, and value-added honey products.

Registration for the main sessions of the conference, running from Friday evening through Sunday morning is $125, and offers two tracks, one on honey bee and value-added products from the hive, and the other on “NevadaScapes” and gardening. Continental breakfast on Saturday and Sunday and lunch on Saturday is included. In addition, there is an option for 10 youth, ages 9-13, to attend a Jr. Master Gardener session all day Saturday, for $80, which includes hands-on learning, continental breakfast and lunch.

Finally, there are also three other optional hands-on sessions offered for $25 per session (not included with conference registration), and limited to 30 people per session:

• Medicinal products from the hive, Saturday, 6:30 – 9 p.m.
• Shrubs, syrups and oxymels (herbal extractions of vinegar and honey), Sunday, 8:30 – 10:15 a.m.
• Apothecary (preparing and selling products for medicinal purposes), Sunday, 10:30 a.m. – noon

Register online by March 20. There are varying space limits, so early registration is encouraged. For more information, email Lindsay Chichester  lchichester@unr.edu  or Jessica Gardner email - jessicagardner@unr.edu .