November 13, 2020
Newsletter for November 13, 2020
This Issue:
  • December 1 Deadline For Nevada Department Of Agriculture Assistance Application For Farmers and Ranchers
  • Coming Week Will Include Nevada Farm Bureau Annual Meeting
  • Counting Of 2020 Election Ballots Soon To Be Completed…(we think???)
  • Survey Finds Americans Believe In Farmers and Ranchers
December 1 Deadline For Nevada Department Of Agriculture Assistance Application For Farmers and Ranchers
Last week we highlighted the program available from the Nevada Department of Agriculture, using funds provided through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).  This assistance is called the Nevada Agriculture Adaptability & Recovery Program (NAARP) to help relieve the stress food and agriculture businesses face in responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Federal CARES Act funds must be distributed by December 31, 2020, so the Department has moved the NAARP deadline up to December 1, 2020. This will allow the necessary process to be covered and still ensure all funds are expended by the deadline. 

Qualifying businesses can receive up to $15,000 in assistance for impacts to their operation in adapting to operating during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Eligible applicants include agriculture employers based in Nevada, farmers markets and food hubs, USDA-approved meat processing facilities, or breweries, wineries, and distilleries that use at least 51 percent Nevada grown product. 

To view the application requirements and apply, visit agri.nv.gov/naarp.
Coming Week Will Include Nevada Farm Bureau Annual Meeting
As we reported over the past several week, plans continue to take more formal shape for the 2020 Nevada Farm Bureau annual meeting. This link will take you to an outline of the schedule and the location for registering to participate.  The opening will consist of a dinner at the Bristlecone Convention Center on Thursday, November 19.  Friday’s schedule will include the Young Farmer and Rancher Discussion Meet Contest as well as the Voting Delegate meeting for consideration of policy positions for the upcoming Nevada Legislature in 2021.  Saturday’s half-day session will wrap up the session.

For those who are interested in watching in on your computer, without attending in person, please drop us an email with your email address to get signed up for the Zoom feed we’re going to be providing.
Counting Of 2020 Election Ballots Soon To Be Completed…(we think???)
Last week, when offering thoughts based on information that voting totals on the Secretary of State’s website, we mistakenly went off the numbers that were presented after the 2020 election was concluded.  We didn’t take into account that fact that while the voting might have been done – the counting of ballots wasn’t…

The perfect example for the error of going on the earlier reported totals is the ballot question that Nevada Farm Bureau was supporting for passage.  In last week’s newsletter, prepared a couple of days after the voting was done, stated…

           “Overall Nevada voters (based on preliminary numbers) “No” won by 31,751 votes, 
            with all counties, except in Clark County, turning out majority votes against passage 
            of Question 1.”

Since reporting that and writing this “update” a week after the election was completed…the margin of more “No” votes is now only 11,586 (with a possible further change still to come since even on November 11th, the counting continues).

The numbers that we crunched on a county-by-county basis a week ago (based on the 31,751 advantage of “No” totals) showed that every county, but Clark had tallied more “No” votes.  Clark county had an advantage of “Yes” votes of 76,903. 

Since those premature statistics were considered to be totals, revisiting the county-by-county later totals (carried out on November 11) showed that every county, but Clark still had majority votes of “No”.  Four counties (Esmeralda, Eureka, Mineral and White Pine) had the same numbers of more “No” votes as from the initial analysis.  Storey county did narrow the margins of more “No” votes by 3.  Every other county, except for Clark, increased the gap of having more “No” votes.  

Clark county increased the number of having more “Yes” votes by just under 25,000. The margin of “Yes” votes for Clark County (Nov. 11th) shows 101,804 more “Yes” votes on this question than “No” votes.
New Nevada Water Quality Plans Being Examined
With attention on lots of other state agency regulation-change that are being pressed forward, we had missed a proposal from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and their Bureau of Water Quality Planning.  We have been closely monitoring the concepts that the same division, but a different bureau is working on for implementing a proposed strategy on climate change, but the draft for “Nevada’s Antidegradation Implementation Procedures” have slipped past our attention until just this week.  This is a copy of the proposed regulations that have been submitted to the Legislative Counsel Bureau, but have not come back for further processing, including survey of small business impact and workshop.

The review that we’ve been conducting is based on a working manual for how the proposed Antidegradation procedures would be implemented.  At this point the findings appear to indicate that the regulations and operations will be aimed at those who are required to have permits for discharge into Nevada waters.  We do continue to be watchful to learn what might be considered for agency actions relating to non-point sources. 

There is anticipation that Nevada’s 2021 Legislature might take up something related to non-point sources as well as expectations that under the presumed next administration in Washington, D.C. that the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will dig in their wastebaskets to find the Waters of the US (WOTUS) approach that the Obama Administration was attempting to use for command and control activities.
Survey Finds Americans Believe In Farmers and Ranchers
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) has shared the findings of a recent survey of 2,200 U.S. adults with the main take-away that more than half (58 percent) rating the sustainability practices as being positive.

The findings of the survey were positive across the board with more than four out of five adults saying that feeding the world and farmers and ranchers being able to pass their operations on to future generations are important.

“Americans have a high level of trust in farmers, and they understand that we’re committed to protecting the soil, air and water,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “We want to leave the land better than we found it for our children and grandchildren, as well as our nation. Our survey demonstrates that Americans are impressed by advancements in climate-smart farming and we look forward to building on that success.”
Have a great weekend!