GAO's Audit report on Federal Reserve

Senator Sanders from Vermont summarized the audit report prepared by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).   The senator's two-page summary also includes a link to the GAO's full audit report, which includes detail, charts, glossary, timelines, etc.  It is all slow reading but informative.

Ciao!

Farm Bill - National Milk Producers Federation

To me, it is interesting to look one or two layers below the article in the popular press and examine the underlying data and research.  Here we are in the fall of 2011 and the USDA's Farm Bill is pending and is probably going to be impacted by the action of the "super committee".  Clearly, the preceding sentence is a monumental understatement.

The Western Farm Press published a story on 23-September-2011 entitled the "Proposed dairy legislation full of hidden costs?"  The last line of the story had a hot-link to the underlying research.  Counting the cover page and the biography of the author, it is 15 pages of commentary that includes translations of the acronyms associated with the dairy-related programs in the current Farm Bill.  For example, SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and was formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. 

Just reading the report's assumptions, comments on data availability, and description of the entity funding the research provides the reader with insight into the mechanics of formulating policy in DC.  

 For some, it is immensely interesting to examine the support data, identify the players, and agent-lobbyists. 

In closing, I would not have been motivated to spend the time, if I had not had the opportunity to learn about the mechanics of policy formulation at a recent training institute sponsored by a national professional association.

Webinar Education Model

With high-speed internet connections and the evolving acceptance of online education, the webinar appears to be business model that can deliver a desirable product:

• The cost per hour of education is easy to calculate.  My baseline is the aggregate of class fee, travel, lodging, and meals.  If  I can find an interesting course with an aggregate cost of about $20/hour, it may be an educational product that gets my attention for Continuing Education.  For residential appraisers, it is interesting to see the strides made by one of the national education providers.   I am sure there are probably other firms delivering competing products, but I happen to like the way I have been treated at their courses. 
  
• No travel costs
  
• No lodging costs
  
• No meals

It is interesting to note that one national organization,  the Appraisal Foundation, has kept its core staff size small at their headquarters, while expanding the scope of their reach by using well-known education providers to produce material for dissemination over the internet and compiling the pool of test questions for USPAP-related examinations.   It is hard to ignore the path taken by the Appraisal Foundation when the directors of the Appraisal Foundation are familiar with the operations of many different professional appraisal associations.   

For folks interested in education, it reasonable, in my opinion, to utilize the existing services and technology of specialized providers to deliver the message.  The creation of the core content and identification of the key concepts is left in the hands of the professional experts to formulate the course content and monitor quality of th presentation to the students. 

Using specialist to control costs is good management.  For example, modern agriculture is replete with custom service providers: grain harvesting, fertilizer application, and custom-crush wineries come to mind. Let's look at one segment of the wine business in California to illustrate that a custom service provider can be utilized effectively.  

• Using the services of a custom-crush wine-making facility is a business model that works well for a small and/or specialized enterprised.  The winery is largely a "virtual" business with all or some of the services provided by the custom-crush facility.  There is a check-list of individual fees for the use of the crush/press, pumps, filters, tanks, barrels, wine-making personnel, etc.  With the capital-intensive facility and machinery available on a piece-meal basis, as needed, the wine-making entrepreneur can focus on purchasing the desired quality of grapes,  perfecting product quality, and on marketing the finished product to the consumer.   In my mind the blue-sky of business value is in that last step of delivering a pleasing product to the retail customer.  Often times, the consumer is seeking a predictable quality of product.  Attaching a credible story to go with the label is part of brand development.

Hopefully, as we all approach the uncharted territory of the 21st century, it will be possible to consider business models that are outside the box and incorporate the new technology into more facets of daily life.

Ciao!

Livestock Handling Systems - Temple Grandlin

The website for Grandin Livestock Handling Systems is interesting on several levels:

1. The detailed photos are step-by-step instructions for the construction process.
2. The "plus" sign in the lower right side of each photo has commentary explaining the picture. 
3. Her personal story is equally compelling and though provoking.  Use StartPage and search for "Temple Grandlin".

Ciao!

Leadership Institute 2011 - Visiting DC

The second trip to the 2011 Leadership Institute gave me an opportunity to get a better grasp of the budgeting process and the arcane terminology.

• Budget process and agencies (OMB, CBO, GAO, & CRS).
• PAYGO
• Sequestration

For those wanting to walk in the tall grass, then check out "CHIMPS" in the glossary cited here.

On first blush, the word "baseline" conjures up a static level line, but that is not how things work inside the Beltway.  The current CBO outlook  for fiscal years 2011 to 2021 reveals many of the critical assumptions. Another glossary for budgetary government-speak is extracted from the CBO outlook.

The Tax Policy Center (Urban Institute and Brookings Institution) published a very brief summary of the CBO's projection for 2008-2018.  The four short paragraphs reveal a great deal about what was known in 2008 and the critical factors left out of the analytical process.  In retrospect, the dangers of making projections with highly constrained assumptions should have been trumpeted far and wide by the media and the leadership of all of the political parties.

The program is a fine opportunity to learn about the inner working of government, lobbying, and policy.  Many "thanks" to the financial sponsors Pioneer and DuPont and the speakers because I truly appreciate the educational opportunity.

Geography and Demographics - NewGeography

A friend sent me a story published in the NewGeography.  After reading the story about California's economic malaise, I stumbled onto "The New Geography of Population Loss and Gain".

On September 20, 2011, Adam Nagourney wrote an insightful article about the challenges facing Jerry Brown, the governor of California.  Even with a life-time of service in public service, Mr. Brown is apparently perplexed by complexities of the management and financial issues facing elected officials in Sacramento. Refer to "Political Shift in California Trips Brown".

Uniform Appraisal Dataset - UAD Form

A satirical view of the residential appraiser's latest challenge, the UAD Form.

Why the next thing you know, someone will want a replacement cost estimate on anything with two walls and a roof. In some cases that might include the dog kennel, the chicken coop, or the pen for the 4-H pig.
Ciao!

Section 2032-A IRS Revenue Ruling 2011-17

Special use valuations for the years 2010 and 2011 are covered by this ruling.   California is linked to the interest rate published by  U.S. Agbank, FCB.

Table 3 of the Revenue Ruling cites all of the Farm Credit Banks and the various chartered states.

Refer to Revenue Ruling 2011-17.

Google Docs Uploading Procedure

Posting a document online for the world or friends to see.

Using Google Docs is quick and easy. SAMPLE UPLOADING SCREEN

Once the file is uploaded, you can change the setting from private to public.  Copy to URL link, which is at the top of screen.  Just like copying a YOUTUBE link.  Bingo!! The file is online.

Ciao!

FDA's Park Doctrine - Food Safety Prosecution

On 01-September-2001, The Packer published an interesting story about food safety.  The article included insight into the new regulatory environment.  Furthermore, the reader comments also provided hints for further research.  Ultimately, I found an FDA Law Blog that cited the "Park Doctrine".

Read the seven steps for prosecution by the FDA.

Ciao!

Panoche Valley - San Benito County

There are several very large ranches in southeastern San Benito and western Fresno Counties.  One of them is the Ashurst-Silver Creek Ranch.  Over the years, there have been many owners who have each contributed in different ways to colorful history of the ranch.