Week of July 16-20 Archive
20 18 17 16
July 20
HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES AG SPENDING BILL---The House Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved its version of an agriculture spending bill. The measure provides $1 billion in additional funding compared to the prior year, for a total of $18.8 billion for fiscal year 2008.
The bill provides nearly double the amount of spending for renewable energy, with $1.2 billion for bioenergy and renewable energy research and development, including loans and grants for projects in rural areas. Rural energy spending was approved at $500 million for new wind energy projects and $350 million for biomass and renewable energy projects.
The committee approved conservation spending of $979.4 million, which exceeds the amount allocated last year and President Bush’s spending request. In addition, the bill would prohibit the Agriculture Department from closing Farm Service Agency offices over the next year. It also includes a provision that expands on earlier efforts to ban horse slaughter.
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ILLINOIS HORSE SLAUGHTER PLANT TO REOPEN---A federal appeals court has ruled the country’s last plant capable of receiving horses for slaughter may reopen while it challenges a state law that has forced it to close twice in the last two months, according to a report in The Chicago Tribune.
The Cavel International Inc. plant in DeKalb “will be up and running soon,” according to its general manager, who said he will rehire some of the 55 workers laid off the last time the facility closed.
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July 18
NEW WTO TEXT NOT UP TO PAR ACCORDING TO U.S.---A new negotiating text released by World Trade Organization diplomats is far off from what the U.S. is calling for in market access. In fact, the text, which is seen as a “last chance” effort to save the struggling Doha Round of trade talks, calls for few gains in market access, while cutting U.S. domestic supports to between $13 billion and $16.4 billion. The U.S. has offered a $17 billion ceiling for farm subsidies.
“We are disappointed that this newest text is not balanced for U.S. agriculture,” said Dave Salmonsen, American Farm Bureau Federation’s senior director of congressional relations for trade issues. “The negotiating paper has U.S. producers giving up domestic supports without obtaining market access for their products to be sold overseas.”
But, said Crawford Falconer, chair of the WTO agriculture negotiations, the text is meant to urge countries to make painful compromises in order to salvage the talks. “Some of those narrow ranges or target numbers or technical draft text will be very painful, for sure. But that pain will be required to get agreement,” said Falconer.
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COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS---A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that farms cannot be sued over pollution or odors if they have entered into an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency. The 2-1 ruling came after environmental groups sued EPA over policy changes, which according to the petitioners, allowed animal feeding operations to pollute the air and harm the environment.
The ruling upheld EPA’s policy governing nearly 2,600 animal feeding operations -- mainly hog farms -- that have entered into agreements with the agency. The agreements allow the government to monitor farms and study emissions, with possible civil penalties for infractions.
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EPA HOLDS FIRST-EVER DIALOGUE WITH AG GROUPS---As part of a new and closer relationship with the farming community, the Environmental Protection Agency last week met with leaders of the agriculture industry, including American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman. Topics covered during the open dialogue included: (1) environmental issues facing agriculture in the next 10 years; (2) how the changing face of agriculture will impact the environment; and (3) how EPA can improve its relationship with agricultural producers and get them more involved in environmental protection.
During the meeting, agriculture leaders raised issues ranging from energy, to science-based decision-making, to means by which producers can have more productive interaction with the agency. The leaders also expressed enthusiasm for the role they are beginning to play in domestic energy production (ethanol, wind power, etc.) and their desire to see this opportunity develop in an environmentally sustainable manner. Finally, they expressed support for science-based, transparent and economically feasible regulations and decisions, and offered their collaboration to bring these about.
Other groups joining Farm Bureau at the meeting included: American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Cattlemen's Beef Association and Renewable Fuels Association.
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---AG SECRETARY ANNOUNCES NEW FRUIT AND VEGETABLE SCREENING--In an effort to decrease risks associated with importation of fruits and vegetables, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has announced a new risk-based process to streamline lengthy rule-making, while continuing stringent protection for U.S. agriculture from pests and disease.
The risk-based process applies to only fruit and vegetable commodities imported into the U.S. The imported commodities would be subject to one or more of five designated phytosanitary measures such as port-of-entry inspection; approved post-harvest treatment; verification of origination from a pest-free area; verification of the absence of a specified pest or pests; or that the risk associated with the commodity can be mitigated through commercial practices.
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July 17
BORLAUG HONORED WITH CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL---Dr. Norman Borlaug will receive the Congressional Gold Medal today for “bringing radical change to world agriculture and uplifting humanity.” He will be honored for his lifetime of work feeding millions of people by spearheading the “Green Revolution” and for his research on plant breeding and farming techniques.
Borlaug is one of only five people in history to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, Nobel Peace Prize and Presidential Medal of Freedom. Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Elie Wiesel and Nelson Mandela also received all three prestigious awards.
Borlaug was born in Iowa in 1914. Today, he continues his work fighting hunger, gaining support with “an army of hunger fighters” in many parts of the world.
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ENHANCED FEED BAN IMPLEMENTED IN CANADA---The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has implemented an enhanced feed ban prohibiting the use of specified risk materials for bovine spongiform encephalopathy in animal feed, pet food and fertilizer. CFIA officials announced plans for the enhanced ban one year ago.
With the new feed ban in place, Canada’s standards are aligned with the European Union, which bans SRMs from the animal food chain and tests all high-risk cattle for BSE.
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.S. BEEF HIGHLY SOUGHT IN SOUTH KOREA---U.S. beef on South Korean store shelves for the first time in three years has proven to be a hot commodity in more ways than one. According to news reports, Korean housewives fought each other last week over cuts of U.S. beef at Lotte Mart grocery stores while protestors targeted meat counters with their message. Protestors at several Lotte Mart locations reportedly bought U.S. meat and attempted to burn it outside the stores.
The company has pulled U.S. beef from the shelves at some of its 53 locations. Despite all the chaos, nearly six tons of U.S. beef were sold at Lotte Mart locations.
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July 16
FIRST FARM BILL MARKUP SET FOR TUESDAY---The House Agriculture Committee has scheduled its first markup of the farm bill for tomorrow at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Some details remain unclear, including how payment limitations will be treated in the final version considered by the full committee.
The American Farm Bureau Federation board of directors last week voted in support of the farm bill proposal issued by committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.). AFBF is concerned the final version that will be marked up this week may contain stricter payment limits provisions than the version it voted in support of last week.
Additional time for committee consideration of the farm bill is reserved for Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
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CHINA FIGHTS BACK WITH U.S. MEAT SUSPENSIONS---China suspended imports of chicken feet, pig ears and other animal products from the United States “in an apparent attempt to turn the tables on American complaints about tainted products from China,” the Associated Press reports. Tyson Foods Inc., Sanderson Farms Inc. and Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. are among the seven U.S. companies with suspended products.
China said the suspended meat was contaminated with salmonella, feed additives and veterinary drugs. The announcement by China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine came as China’s own food and drug safety record has been subjected to scrutiny and criticism in the U.S.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported China has launched a public relations offensive on Capitol Hill and elsewhere in the U.S. China has “taken the unusual step of seeking advice from outsiders, including public relations powerhouses Ogilvy and Edelman, about how to get positive messages out to Chinese and American consumers,” the article noted.
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POET DEVELOPS CELLULOSIC ETHANOL FROM CORNCOBS---The largest dry-mill ethanol producer, POET, claims to have produced cellulosic ethanol from corncobs. A POET executive said the cob has more carbohydrate content than the rest of the corn plant, which allows more ethanol to be produced from the cob. The fiber that comes from POET’s “fractionation process” will provide 40 percent of the cellulosic feedstock from the corn kernels the company is already processing. The additional fiber will come with no additional planting, harvesting, storage or transportation, allowing the amount of ethanol produced from corn crops to expand without any negative environmental impacts or damage to soil quality, executives said.
With the addition of cob fiber, the company’s dry mill plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa, will be converted to produce 125 million gallons of ethanol annually, 25 percent of which will come from cellulosic feedstock. The production facility will be jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. By adding cellulosic feedstock to the existing grain ethanol plant, POET says it will produce 11 percent more ethanol from a bushel of corn and 27 percent more from an acre of corn, while almost completely eliminating fossil fuel consumption and decreasing water usage by 24 percent. POET was formerly known as Broin.
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