Week of Sept. 3-7 Archive
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August 6
CHINN TESTIFIES ABOUT BENEFITS OF RAISING FARM ANIMALS---Chris Chinn, an independent hog farmer from northeastern Missouri, today testified on behalf of the American Farm Bureau Federation about the opportunities and benefits her family’s found in raising farm animals. Chinn, chair of the AFBF Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee and a member of the AFBF board of directors, appeared before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, which convened the hearing to learn about modern farm animal production and confined animal feeding operations.
“Many people outside of agriculture and the livestock industry have concerns about the environmental and health impacts of livestock operations,” Chinn testified. “Some have gone so far as to demonize livestock operations, calling them factory farms and industrial livestock production. In fact, many of these livestock farms continue to be family-owned and -operated.”
“The vast majority of farmers who operate confined animal feeding operations are involved in a family-based business, are highly educated college graduates, community leaders, and experts in science and technology,” Chinn said. “Most are trained in humane animal husbandry and environmental sciences and spend great amounts of time, money and other resources ensuring that their operations do not harm the environment.”
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VIRGINIA OFFICIALS SEE SWITCHGRASS AS FUTURE FUEL---A field of switchgrass, which looks like a patch of weeds, is a prized plant at the Virginia Tech agricultural research center because it may become a major source of farm-grown fuel, researchers say.
Some researchers believe switchgrass has the potential to supplant corn as a source of ethanol, but scientists have yet to perfect the process that turns switchgrass into fuel.
Fewer than 20 Virginia farmers are thought to be growing switchgrass on less than 1,000 acres, but Virginia Tech researchers say that fuel produced from switchgrass and woodchips could provide a quarter of the state’s needs and support 68 small refineries some day.
In other ethanol news, a new study says small ethanol plants would stop being profitable by 2011 and be operating in the red by 2013 without a federally mandated increase in ethanol consumption. The study by David Peters, an agricultural economist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, also shows large ethanol plants could see profits cut in half in four years before losing millions of dollars in seven or eight years.
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---ROBOTS MAY SOLVE SOME LABOR SHORTAGES---Some farmers are turning to fruit-picking robots and high-tech tractors to help harvest everything from wine grapes to lettuce. These machines, in various stages of development, could become essential as labor shortages become more common in the absence of a workable guest worker program.
Mechanized equipment has been used to harvest lower-grade produce headed for canning for some time. But skilled labor has been essential to the harvesting of high-quality, fresh fruits and vegetables.
The new pickers rely on advances in computing power and hydraulics to handle fragile produce with human-like levels of sensitivity. Modern imaging technology also enables machines to recognize and sort produce of varying qualities.
Sept. 5
STALLMAN APPOINTED TO TRADE COMMITTEE---American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman has been appointed to the White House’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN).
Members of the ACTPN, which is administered by the U.S. Trade Representative, advise the president and Congress on the potential effects of proposed trade agreements. The ACTPN is at the top of a multi-tiered system of committees that advise the president and Congress on trade matters.
“I am pleased I have been selected to represent the interests of America’s farmers and ranchers on the president’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations,” Stallman said. “I look forward to advancing the interests of American agriculture and making the most of opportunities for agriculture in international trade. We must increase and improve our international trading relationships to ensure agricultural prosperity and future economic growth.”
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---SOME U.S. FARMS SHIFT PRODUCTION TO MEXICO---The growing labor shortage has caused an increasing number of U.S. agricultural producers to shift production to Mexico, where they do not worry about problems with immigration-related paperwork. Lower land prices and year-round growing are additional reasons cited by those who have shifted production south of the border.
A farmer from California said he has spent considerable sums of money to establish lettuce production in Mexico, where he adheres to the same regulations and food-safety procedures he would use back home.
In related news, farmers across Colorado are complaining about a worker shortage, and some farmers have planted fewer acres as a result. The shortage and increasingly strict immigration enforcement measures appear to be the reasons a record number of Colorado farmers are applying for workers through the federal H2-A guest worker program, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
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---COSTA RICA ALLOWS U.S. CATTLE IMPORTS---The Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Foreign Agricultural Service on Tuesday announced Costa Rica will allow the importation of U.S. cattle of all ages born after implementation of the 1997 ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban, a move that is consistent with international standards. Costa Rica stopped allowing the importation of U.S. cattle after bovine spongiform encephalopathy was detected in an imported Canadian cow in Washington state in December 2003. APHIS has worked closely with Costa Rica since that time to allow for market access. APHIS and FAS will continue to ensure that countries take steps to align their requirements with international standards.
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CALIF. DAIRYMEN, CHEESE MAKERS IN WHEY DISPUTE---California’s dairy farmers and cheese manufacturers disagree about the fairness of a complex formula used to determine the price that cheese manufacturers pay for milk. Whether cheese makers should continue to reimburse dairies for a portion of the value of whey is at the heart of the dispute. Growing international demand has caused whey prices to soar, according to one expert.
Cheese makers say the formula could drive smaller plants out of business because it increases the cost of making cheese in a competitive market where it is difficult to recoup expenses. But California dairy farmers, who produce 20 percent of the milk drunk in the U.S., say their financial health would be endangered if the price is decreased. The California Department of Food and Agriculture has scheduled a hearing on Oct. 10 to consider changes to the formula.
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