Week of March 17-20, 2008 Archive
19 18 17
March 19
FARM BILL BACK-AND-FORTH CONTINUES---With Congress in the first week of a two-week recess, House and Senate staff members are trying to hammer out farm bill details. The current farm bill has been extended until April 18 to allow time for a compromise to emerge.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the sponsor of the Senate disaster provisions, said the latest proposal from Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and House Agriculture Committee Chair Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) is “dead on arrival.” Senate Budget Committee Chair Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said it’s “unacceptable.”
The Harkin-Peterson plan, proposed Tuesday, would spend $2.2 billion over 10 years on the disaster program, much less than the $5.1 billion over five years the senators support, the Associated Press reports.
Meanwhile, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) said there’s some agreement with senior staff of the House Ways and Means Committee on funding, the Brownfield Network reports.
In addition, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer told reporters that just because President Bush said he would accept a long-term extension of the current farm bill doesn’t means he sees that as a desirable outcome, the Brownfield Network reports. Schafer said a long extension would not help producers of specialty crops, and it would not provide a revenue-based countercyclical program, boost the renewable fuels industry or increase nutrition spending.
---N.Y. FRUIT GROWERS’ UNCERTAINTY GROWS---Farmers who nurture fruit trees in western New York have a lot on their minds these days. They don’t know if they’ll have a buyer for their peaches, and they are concerned about the plum pox virus, persistent labor shortages and foreign competition, the Associated Press reports. Farm diversity seems to be one saving grace for most of the fruit growers.
CanGro Foods announced earlier this year it would sell or close its fruit processing plant in St. Davids, Ontario, by March 31. The plant specialized in canning peaches under the Del Monte label. About 26 growers in western New York were contracted to send their fruit there, and now they are scrambling to find another market by harvest. New York harvested about 7,000 tons of peaches from 1,700 acres in 2006.
---EATERS WHO FOLLOW DIETARY GUIDELINES STUDIED---A new study of eating habits indicates people who follow a diet similar to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are least likely to have metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a condition occurring among people who have at least three of the following health risks: abdominal obesity, poor blood sugar control, high blood fats, low levels of HDL “good” cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Researchers also determined that of the 3,000 people studied, those with metabolic syndrome typically consumed a diet that was less consistent with the guidelines, which emphasizes balancing calories and physical activity for weight management, in addition to increasing whole grain and low-fat milk or milk-product intake, and consuming a greater variety of fruits and vegetables.
The study was funded in part by the Agriculture Department’s Agricultural Research Service. Additional details area available online in the March 2008 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
· ARS news
March 18
PROPOSED BEEF MEGA-MERGER WORRISOME TO MANY---The American Farm Bureau Federation has asked the Justice Department to review carefully the proposed $1.5 billion buy-out of three U.S. beef processors by JBS Swift of Brazil, as the move is worrisome to many farmers and ranchers.
AFBF’s Caroline Rydell addressed the issue in a “Newsline” audio report on Monday. “I
think this would have a very significant impact on the U.S. beef industry,” Rydell said. “Basically JBS is looking to acquire the third-, fourth- and fifth-largest entities in the U.S. beef industry, combining them into a significant number one, making JBS the largest national beef processor in the U.S.”
Rydell continued, “Farmers and ranchers want multiple markets. They want the opportunity to sell their product and have options as to who they sell their product to. This basically consolidates and lessens their market opportunities.”
- · Complete “Newsline” audio report and transcript
---FARMERS ABOUT TO PLANT MORE BEANS, WHEAT?---A survey by Farm Futures magazine suggests U.S. farmers are about to plant more beans and wheat this year than last. Farmers intend to plant 71.8 million acres of beans, up from 63.6 million last year, according to the survey. Spring wheat acreage will rise to 14.3 million, up 1 million from a year ago. Total wheat plantings should hit 63.9 million acres, compared to 60.4 million in 2007.
The growth in bean and wheat acres appears to come at the expense of corn. Corn acreage will drop to 87.7 million acres, down from last year’s 93.6 million.
More information is yet to come. The Agriculture Department will release its spring planting intentions report March 31.
Farm Futures arrived at its findings as a result of its survey of 974 farmers by e-mail from Feb. 28-March 14.
COBS, NOT KERNELS SOUGHT FOR NEW IOWA ETHANOL PLANT---Ethanol manufacturer Poet plans to use corn cobs supplied by Iowa farmers as a feedstock for a new cellulosic plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa. The company aspires to be a leading large-scale producer of cellulosic ethanol, according to farmer investors.
It would take an estimated 270,000 acres of corn to supply enough cobs and kernel hulls to produce 30 million gallons of ethanol. Collecting cobs efficiently while harvesting corn remains a challenge, but several farm equipment manufacturers are researching technology with Poet that can get the job done.
In other Poet news, the company recently said it will move ahead with plans to build two ethanol plants in Indiana, despite the weakening market. A plant in Alexandria, Ind., is scheduled to open next month; a North Manchester, Ind., plant should open this fall.
March 17
NEW ANIMAL HANDLING LEGISLATION PROPOSED---Three senators have proposed new animal handling legislation that would pose stiff fines and shut down slaughter facilities that repeatedly process downed animals illegally.
The bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), would give USDA additional authority to fine first-time offenders, order a one-year suspension for a second violation, and permanently shut down a facility with a third violation.
The bill also would require USDA to release the names of establishments that have received recalled product, a change the agency first broached two years ago.
---PETERSON SUGGESTS CHANGE IN HOW FARMS ARE COUNTED---House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) supports changing the way farms are counted in the Census of Agriculture. As part of the farm bill, Peterson proposes raising the dollar value in sales for a farm to be included in the Census of Agriculture. He also suggests ending some crop subsidies to landowners and farmers with fewer than 20 acres as a cost-saving measure.
Under current law, the Census of Agriculture counts all farms with annual sales of $1,000 or more. In 2005, 2.1 million farms were counted using that definition. According to Peterson, farm bill critics have used that number to calculate that only a small percentage gets subsidies. He proposes instead that the Census count farms with at least $50,000 in sales.
---DOMESTIC BIODIESEL FINDS NEW MARKET OVERSEAS---Domestic biodiesel plants are exploring new markets across the Atlantic. Exporting biodiesel to Europe has become profitable due to a combination of tax subsidies and incentives on both sides of the ocean.
Under U.S. tax rules, exporters are eligible for a $1-per-gallon tax credit by adding a small amount of diesel before shipment. In Europe, fuel-efficient diesel cars outsell gasoline models, and biodiesel blends receive tax breaks at the pump.
Imported biodiesel accounts for 15 percent to 20 percent of the European biodiesel market, which doesn’t sit well with European producers who argue the American fuel benefits unfairly from the subsidization.
Soaring soybean oil prices are causing heartburn for managers of U.S. plants, as they wait for a newly passed law setting mandates for annual biodiesel use to kick in next year. Read more about it in the Des Moines Register.
---WIND ENERGY PRODUCTION UP 45 PERCENT---According to the American Wind Energy Association, wind energy production by U.S. utility companies increased 45 percent in 2007. Production is expected to increase by the same amount this year as companies work to take advantage of federal tax credits before they expire in December. Utilities may use the credit to deduct 2 cents for every kilowatt-hour generated through renewable sources.
---PENNSYLVANIA STUDENT PENS WINNING 2008 AG DAY ESSAY---The Agriculture Council of America (ACA) has announced the national 2008 Ag Day Essay Contest winner, Katlin Wiest, an eighth-grade student at Upper Dauphin Middle School in Lykens, Pa.
ACA called upon seventh- to 12th-grade students nationwide to submit original essays of 450 words about the importance of agriculture in the United States. Under the theme “Agriculture-Bigger Than You Think,” students were encouraged to focus their essays on the broad scope of agriculture, showcasing the diversity of today’s American farms.
Read Wiest’s essay and find a list of state winners online at the National Ag Day Web site. National Ag Day is Thursday, March 20.
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