Week of August 20-24 Archive
24 23 21 20
August 24
SOUTH KOREA RESUMING U.S. BEEF INSPECTIONS---South Korean officials have announced the resumption of U.S. beef inspections. Inspections could resume as early as today, according to an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. After the discovery of a shipment of U.S. beef containing a vertebral column in August, South Korean officials stopped inspections, effectively halting trade.
South Korea will begin inspecting meat shipments from about 30 U.S. processing plants. Products from the Cargill plant where the August shipment originated are still banned. Shipments from four other facilities that earlier shipped banned items with beef to South Korea remain banned as well.
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CHINA MAY LOSE 20 PERCENT OF HOG HERD---China, the world’s largest consumer of pork, could lose 20 percent of its hog herd to blue-ear disease. More than 100 million Chinese hogs, more than the total number produced in the U.S. in one year, could be infected with the respiratory virus. Animals with the disease are not able to be used for human consumption and typically are destroyed.
Pork prices in China have increased 46 percent this year due to an earlier outbreak. The pork price increase pushed the inflation rate in China to the highest it has been in 10 years.
The porcine disaster in China could provide opportunities for the U.S. and other countries to increase pork shipments.
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---WHOLE FOODS ACQUISITION OF WILD OATS MOVES FORWARD---A merger of rival grocery chains Whole Foods and Wild Oats will be allowed to proceed. An appeals court ruled Thursday that the two operations could proceed with combining operations. The two companies are the two largest retailers of organic and so-called natural foods in the U.S.
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IOWA STATE PATROL SWITCHES TO E85 FLEET---The Iowa State Patrol is switching to a fleet of vehicles fueled by E85, the blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Ten E85-compatible patrol cars are in use, with another 119 on order. The switch to an all-E85 fleet is expected to take about three years.
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August 23
HEAVY RAIN, SEVERE DROUGHT AFFECT CORN BELT---Iowa agronomists said it is too early to tell what effect days of torrential rains will have on that state’s corn and soybean production. While the Agriculture Department on Monday reported 52 percent of Iowa’s corn crop was in good condition, with 19 percent rated excellent, large portions of northern Iowa and southern Minnesota have received up to 10 inches of rain since then. Last weekend’s flood in Minnesota appears to be the state’s second-largest in area; about 14,000 square miles of southern Minnesota received at least four inches of rain.
In Wisconsin, another state hit with heavy rains in recent days, the state Agriculture Department is assessing crop damages for its weekly crop summary, due out early next week.
Meanwhile, heat and drought continue to plague other portions of the Corn Belt. Chris Hurt, Purdue University agricultural economist, said the long string of hot, dry days may mean Hoosier farmers will start harvesting corn about a week earlier than normal—that is, if they have a crop to harvest. Moderate and severe drought has gripped much of Indiana, where only 38 percent of the corn is in good or excellent condition. Much of Kentucky is also in a severe drought, yet 52 percent of its corn is in good shape.
- · Minneapolis Star Tribune article
- · The Des Moines Register article
- · Associated Press article
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EU RELAXES BAN ON BRITISH MEAT EXPORTS---The European Union today relaxed a ban on exports of British livestock, meat and dairy products that was imposed after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in southeastern England earlier this month. The ban will remain in effect in a special zone around a few infected farms, but products from elsewhere in Britian can be exported under strict conditions beginning Aug. 25. About 600 animals were slaughtered as a result of the latest outbreak, confirmed Aug. 3.
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NATIONAL CHICKEN WING FEST BENEFITS CHARITIES---The sixth annual National Chicken Wing Fest is slated for Labor Day weekend in Buffalo, N.Y. Festival activities will include crowning of "Miss Buffalo Wing" and a chicken wing eating competition. The event has raised nearly $100,000 to date for local charities since its inception. Buffalo wings were first introduced in 1964 at the Anchor Bar Restaurant in Buffalo.
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August 21
N.Y. APPLES PLENTIFUL, WORKERS IN SHORT SUPPLY---This year’s favorable weather conditions and strong domestic demand are welcome turns of events for New York state apple producers, but new immigration enforcement measures by the Social Security Administration have sparked fears among farmers in the Empire State and elsewhere, according to an article in today’s edition of The New York Times.
Tougher immigration enforcement efforts by the Bush administration, including the issuing of “no match” letters by the Social Security Administration and occasional raids targeting agriculture, mean what should be a good harvest has many farmers on edge.
The farmers called for comprehensive immigration legislation and a workable guest-worker program, but say that in the absence of these reforms, they cannot count on having a sufficient number of seasonal workers as apple harvest approaches.
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---TYSON, WAL-MART FOCUS ON MEAT PACKAGING---Tyson Foods will discontinue its use of carbon monoxide packaging in the next few weeks. The plan was announced in a letter by Gary Sheneman, the company’s vice president of business operations, to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and its subcommittee on oversight and investigations. The reason for discontinuing the newer type of packaging is a lack of consumer demand, rather than concerns about food and consumer safety, a Tyson official said.
In related news, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is testing a return to traditional, over-wrap packaging for three of its fresh beef and pork offerings in 76 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi. The pilot program represents an alternative to the case-ready packaging Wal-Mart has used for several years. Over-wrap packaging is already familiar to consumers used to buying meat packed on shallow, foam trays with plastic wrap resting directly on the meat; case-ready meat lies in deeper containers and does not come in contact with the covering.
Meatingplace.com reported both the Tyson and Wal-Mart announcements
August 20
HOT, DRY WEATHER CONTINUES IN MUCH OF MIDWEST---The drought afflicting much of the Midwest continues to generate news coverage around the country. “Dry, hot weather has been the rule over much of the Midwest the past couple weeks — and in some spots, the whole summer,” reports the Associated Press. The weather has stalled development of large portions of this year’s corn crop and raised questions about the viability of the region’s other staple, soybeans.
While predictions of a large corn harvest remain on track because of the spring’s large planting, there is no question much of the Corn Belt has been hit hard by weeks of tough conditions. According to the Agriculture Department, one quarter of the Indiana corn crop is in poor or very poor shape, and more than half of Indiana is in the middle of a drought. Prolonged heat and lack of rain means the soybean crop may suffer next alongside already damaged corn in many areas.
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---SAFETY OF IMPORTED FOOD DRAWING CLOSER LOOK---Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said the Bush administration will provide specific recommendations on how to better ensure the safety of imported food and other imported products later this year. Leavitt, who heads a senior-level panel established by President Bush, said the panel will follow a broad-brush report due in mid-September with a more detailed set of proposals in November.
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BUFFALO MEAT MAKING A COMEBACK---Buffalo is “finally coming of age as an alternative red meat,” according to a recent article in The New York Times. The article notes that raising buffalo for meat first took off in the 1990s, but the public wasn’t ready for the meat at that time. The market declined, and producers couldn’t give away their steaks. However, “the meat is becoming popular at restaurants across the country” again, and ranchers are moving towards keeping their animals on grass, rather than supplementing them with grain as in the past.
- · The New York Times article
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ENHANCED HUNTING, CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES---The Bush administration Friday directed federal agencies, including the Agriculture and Interior Departments, to work directly with the Sporting Conservation Council to promote expanded and enhanced hunting opportunities, and the management of game species and their habitats on federal lands.
The Sporting Conservation Council, a federally chartered advisory committee, advises on wildlife conservation issues such as hunting access, education, healthy landscapes and energy development, according to a news release announcing the new level of cooperation.
- · News release
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