Farm Bureau Executive NewsWatch

Week of April 23, 2007           Archive

23     24      25      30

April 30

MELAMINE USE IN ANIMAL FEED ‘OPEN SECRET’ IN CHINA---Chinese manufacturers have been openly adding the chemical melamine to animal feed for years to falsely inflate protein content, according to a New York Times article. The ready availability and low cost of melamine – about $1.20 per ton compared to $6 for real protein – are the primary reasons it has been used as an animal feed additive. In northeast China, feed manufactured for fish, poultry and hogs often contains leftover melamine scrap, a byproduct of charcoal production. The use of the chemical in animal feed is not regulated in China.
      Without admitting melamine-tainted wheat gluten from their country has killed and sickened U.S. pets, Chinese officials on Friday banned the use of the chemical in the production of vegetable proteins for export or domestic use. Manufacturers turned to melamine as a cheap source of fake protein because urea, another chemical rich in nitrogen, is illegal to use in pig and poultry feed. Urea is also easily detected in both China and the U.S., according to the Times..     U.S. officials have been granted permission by the Chinese government to inspect processing facilities in the provinces where it is believed melamine-tainted wheat gluten was manufactured.

HARVEST LABOR CRUNCH HITTING CALIFORNIA---As the cherry crop ripens in southern California, growers are concerned about whether they will be able to find enough workers for the harvest. Tightened border enforcement and the lure of higher-paying construction jobs have shrunk the seasonal agricultural workforce in recent years.
      About half of all fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in the U.S. come from California. That requires about 225,000 year-round workers and twice that many during the summer peak season. Last year, shortages of seasonal agricultural workers in some areas of the state left crops rotting in the fields.
      Although the booming construction industry in the state shows signs of slowing, it’s doubtful many displaced workers will return to jobs in agriculture, according to Phil Martin, a labor economist at the University of California, Davis.

PURISTS ALARMED BY PROPOSAL TO CHANGE CHOCOLATE---Chocolate lovers are alarmed by a petition from several culinary groups to change federal standards set by the Food and Drug Administration. According to the current FDA standard, products labeled chocolate must contain cacao fat (butter); the culinary groups propose changing the requirements to allow the use of other vegetable oils. Several hundred comments from chocolate purists arguing against the change in standards have been submitted to FDA.

April 25

AFBF’S STALLMAN TESTIFIES ON FARM BILL---In testimony today before the Senate Agriculture Committee, American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman outlined key provisions of the organization’s 2007 farm bill proposal. During testimony, Stallman highlighted the fact that the basic structure of the current farm bill has “worked and worked well, not only for farmers and ranchers, but also for the environment and consumers.”

Stallman emphasized the need to keep in place each leg of the so-called three-legged stool of support programs that serve as the economic safety net for America’s farmers. Stallman said the program offers farmers: a reliable, fixed, direct payment decoupled from production; counter-cyclical payments that provide support when needed most; and marketing loan payments that provide farmers more economic freedom to better market their crops.

“The track record of success for the current farm program is very good,” Stallman said. “Fixed, counter-cyclical and marketing loan payments have proved to be successful in providing farmers a dependable safety net. Overall, our current program also has led to record exports, lower-than-expected government outlays and a record low debt-to-asset ratio in farm country.”

AFBF FILES BRIEF IN ALFALFA CASE---The American Farm Bureau Federation has filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging a U.S. District Court to allow farmers to continue planting and using biotech alfalfa -- on the condition that they follow terms of an Agriculture Department order that thoroughly protect conventional and organic alfalfa producers.
AFBF filed the brief with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in the case Geertson Seed Farms v. USDA, in advance of an April 27 hearing. That hearing will help decide the fate of a permanent injunction order that calls for an outright ban on the planting of Roundup Ready alfalfa seed after March 30, 2007, while USDA conducts further environmental review.
“Increased application of advances in biotechnology like Roundup Ready alfalfa seed can improve marketability, ease environmental concerns, raise income by lowering input costs, and improve the quality and quantity of farm products,” AFBF’s brief states. “The farmers who want to share in these important benefits can and should co-exist with those farmers who choose to produce their crops without the use of biotechnology.”

FB URGES SUPPORT FOR APPROPRIATIONS ITEMS---In a letter to all members of Congress, the American Farm Bureau Federation is urging support for agricultural disaster assistance provisions of the supplemental appropriations bill (H.R. 1591). In addition, AFBF supports funding provisions for rural schools and small business expensing provisions in that same bill.

“[Agricultural disaster] aid is critical for farmers and ranchers who have suffered economic hardship directly related to national weather disasters,” AFBF’s letter stated. “Devastating hurricanes, fires, floods, excessive moisture and severe drought have affected virtually every state in the nation over the last three years.”

Farm Bureau said that expanded small business expensing also would give farmers and ranchers the ability to deduct expenses immediately instead of having to depreciate them over time, thereby improving cash flow and allowing them to better match income and expenses. Funds for the Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Act would provide assistance to rural counties that have significant federal land ownership that suffered severe economic losses due to declines in timber harvest on national forest lands.

April 24, 2007

FARM BUREAU RELEASES FARM BILL RECOMMENDATIONS---The American Farm Bureau Federation on Monday released recommendations for a 2007 farm bill that is fiscally responsible, benefits all sectors of agriculture and respects U.S. trade obligations, while continuing a reliable safety net for the nation’s farmers.

“America’s food supply is secure thanks to our productive farmers and ranchers and the support they receive from the farm bill to even out the ups and downs inherent in agriculture,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “The Farm Bureau proposal would continue that support in a balanced way, within the budget constraints we face and consistent with our international trade commitments,” Stallman said.

As opposed to a number of commodity-specific proposals that have been presented thus far, without acknowledging the impact they would have on the whole of American agriculture, the Farm Bureau proposal recognizes that Congress must develop a new farm bill that works for all farmers.

U.S./JAPAN AGREE TO MOVE FORWARD ON BEEF
"I have approved Japan's request to conduct additional audits of U.S. beef processing plants,” Johanns said. “I have invited Japan to begin the audits as soon as arrangements can be made. This is part of Japan's verification that our process will provide them with safe beef products. In response, once the verification process is complete, Japan will discontinue its requirement of inspecting 100 percent of the boxes of beef shipped from U.S. plants.”

Johanns said he has talked with his Japanese counterpart, Agriculture Minister Matsuoka, in recent days to exchange views on resolving the beef trade issue. Johanns said the lines of communication between the two nations are open.

"The United States expects Japan, as well as all of our trading partners, to implement import requirements for U.S. beef and beef products as soon as possible that are based on science and consistent with international guidelines, including those of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE),” Johanns said.

ETHANOL MIXED WITH FRUIT: A HEALTHY COMBO---A report issued this week by U.S. and Thai researchers shows that ethanol mixed with fruit has healthy advantages. Ethanol found in a variety of alcoholic beverages, that is. The study finds that when such ethanol-containing alcohols as vodka, rum and tequila are used in cocktails, antioxidant levels are boosted in the strawberries and blackberries also used in the drinks.

Colored fruit is rich in antioxidants, which are chemicals that can cancel out the cell-damaging effects of free radicals, hence reducing the risks of cancer and heart disease. According to their report, issued in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, any colored fruit might be made healthier with a splash of alcohol containing ethanol

April 23, 2007

U.S. BEEF SHIPMENT ARRIVES IN SOUTH KOREA---The first U.S. beef shipped to South Korea since 2006 has arrived there and will undergo rigorous inspection for banned bone fragments. Inspection of the 6.4 metric ton shipment of beef from a Kansas processing plant is expected to take up to 10 days.

The Korean government’s National Veterinary Research & Quarantine Service will conduct the inspections.

PRIVATE DATA WAS ACCESSIBLE BY THE PUBLIC---According to USDA officials, private identification information on 63,000 people was accessible to the public on a government Web site. Those individuals are being notified by USDA about the security breech and will be offered free credit monitoring services.

The 63,000 people were awarded funds through the Farm Service Agency or Rural Development programs. The information was removed from the Web site shortly after the potential exposure was detected. According to USDA, there is no evidence that the posted information has been misused.

A list of the FSA and RD programs involved is posted online.

USDA news release

Testing is under way at the farm. According to state agriculture officials, the evidence gathered to date suggest a minimal health risk to people who have consumed pork from hogs that may have been fed contaminated rations.