Fuel Costs to Skyrocket Under House Climate Bill

A crop and livestock producer from Texas on Wednesday said cap-and-trade climate change legislation could hike the cost of fuel used for farming to the point that it will have a devastating economic impact on his and similar family-owned businesses.

Speaking at a Capitol Hill news conference, Texas farmer and cattle producer Richard Cortese said increased fuel prices, on top of other energy-related costs, would deal a sharp blow to farmers and ranchers. Cortese, who farms near Little River, Texas, is a member of the Texas Farm Bureau board of directors.

The event, hosted by Sens. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), highlighted a new report the senators released showing that cap-and-trade legislation will result in a considerable fuel tax increase on Americans. The senators’ report is the first such effort to quantify climate change legislation’s effect on fuel costs.

According to the senators’ report, under House climate change legislation, America’s farmers and ranchers would be hit with $550 million in higher fuel costs in 2020 and $1.65 billion in 2050.

“Agriculture is an energy-intensive business,” Cortese told reporters. “I use diesel fuel for tillage, planting, harvesting and spraying. And I use gasoline for service vehicles for checking livestock, utility vehicles and small engines. Having a reliable and affordable supply of gasoline and diesel fuel is very important for my operation to continue to make a living for me and my family.” Cortese explained that the new statistics on fuel costs under cap-and-trade legislation, included in the senators’ report, raise enormous concerns for America’s farmers and ranchers.

“The type of gasoline and diesel fuel cost increases described in this report will make it very difficult for me to continue on the farm,” Cortese said. “As a small businessman, I cannot pass along my increased fuel costs to my customers without running the risk of losing them. That means I would have to absorb any increased costs and have it consume my bottom line.”

American Farm Bureau Backs Estate Tax Relief Bill

The American Farm Bureau Federation supports H.R. 3905, the Estate Tax Relief Act of 2009, introduced Thursday by Reps. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.), Kevin Brady (R-Texas), Artur Davis (D-Ala.) and Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). The bill increases the estate tax exemption to $5 million per person and reduces the top rate to 35 percent in equal increments over 10 years.

“We are pleased there is bipartisan support to do better than current law in the House and commend the sponsors of the bill for working to increase the exemption,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “Extending the current estate tax exemption of $3.5 million per person and the tax rate at 45 percent, is a non-starter for Farm Bureau, which supports an increase in the exemption to $10 million a person.”

With health reform legislation stalled, estate tax legislation could reach the House floor as early as next week. The legislation is expected to move independently and not be tied to other tax provisions that expire at the end of the year.

Farm Bureau continues to support estate tax repeal, but AFBF’s goal for this year is to obtain a permanent $10 million per person exemption that is indexed for inflation and is transferable to a spouse.

Corn, Soybeans Makes Big Price Gains

Corn prices made their biggest gain for the year this week, while soybean prices reached a two-month high as rains and snow delay harvests in the U.S. with optimism that higher oil prices will boost demand for biofuels.

In the meantime, speakers at Farm Bureau’s second annual commodity outlook conference held in Albuquerque, N.M., painted a “cautiously optimistic” outlook for U.S. agriculture, with crop and dairy producers likely faring better than livestock producers who will still face challenges in the year ahead.

Robert Wisner, an Extension economist with Iowa State University, told attendees clearing weather will likely mean lower prices into early November, but predicted moderate price strength into the winter for corn and soybeans due to strong exports and ethanol demand.

Summarizing the various speakers’ comments, Bob Young, AFBF chief economist, said, “What I’ve heard leaves me cautiously optimistic. We have real, serious challenges in the hog and dairy sectors, challenges that will fundamentally alter the structure of the pork industry. The picture for crop producers comes in as ‘not bad,’ certainly not ‘great,’ more of a treading water situation if we can keep input costs under control this year. If we can get the general economy to turn around enough to bring the consumer back into the market, I think we’ll see some noticeable improvement in 2010 farm income.”

USDA Sees Pork Industry Recovery

Deputy Agriculture Undersecretary Michael Scuse told a hearing of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry on Thursday that losses for the pork industry should moderate from now through 2010 as demand increases and hog supplies decline.

Scuse said it could be up to two months before USDA makes its first purchase of pork for food aid programs. He said the only pork buying USDA would be doing in the foreseeable future would be for “our traditional purchases for our various food and nutritional programs.”

The National Pork Producers Council wants USDA to buy at least $50 million of pork products to use for government food assistance programs.

“Hog producers have lost, on average, nearly $23 for each hog marketed since September 2009, and things look bleak going forward,” Don Butler, NPPC president, said at the hearing.

Fewer Americans Believe in Global Warming

A poll of 1,500 adults released Thursday by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press shows that the percentage of people who believe in global warming has declined significantly.

According to the poll, 57 percent accept global warming, down 20 points in just three years. In April 2008, 71 percent of those polled said there is strong evidence that the Earth is getting warmer. In 2006, that number stood at 77 percent in the poll.

Support also is dropping for the idea that man is causing global warming. Thirty-six percent of those polled believe that now, compared to 47 percent last year.

Obama Administration to Press Ahead on Climate Legislation

The Obama administration will continue to press ahead on climate change legislation, with an address by the president tomorrow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology seen as a key impetus for the effort.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu told the Reuters Washington Summit that he believes there is “a reasonably good possibility” Congress could deliver legislation reducing carbon dioxide emissions in time for the Copenhagen meeting.

Still, most on Capitol Hill doubt a climate change bill will even make it to a vote on the Senate floor this year. “I don’t think we’re going to have cap-and-trade” enacted this year,” Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) told the summit.

Instead of a domestic climate change bill, Grassley said there should be an international deal that would force developing countries like China and India to take carbon-reduction steps along with developed countries such as the United States.

Administration Expands Healthier U.S. Program

First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the Obama administration is expanding the Healthier U.S. School Challenge to include middle and high schools.

“With one in three children in this country being overweight or obese, we must take steps to ensure that all kids have access to nutritious meals, nutrition education and physical education so that they can lead healthy, productive lives,” Ms. Obama said. “By expanding the Healthier U.S. Schools program, more children will have access to a brighter future.”

In addition to expanding the Healthier U.S. School Challenge, USDA is also creating an “Adopt-a-School” program, so that schools that have obtained the designation can assist neighboring schools with their health and nutrition programs. A tool kit on how to become a Healthier U.S. School can be found at www.fns.usda.gov.

“Improving the nutrition, health and well-being of our children is a priority for the Obama administration, and I am proud to support the first lady on this important initiative,” said Vilsack. “The Obama administration is making a historic investment in improving our child nutrition programs and we look forward to our continued work with Congress to continue strengthening USDA programs that impact the health and nutrition of our children.”

Lincoln 'Fence Sitter' on Climate Bill

Darren Samuelsohn reported in Climate Wire at the New York Times Online that Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) is among the “fence sitters” on climate legislation the Senate is expected to consider.

Lincoln said last week that she wants to get a better grip on the effect that a climate bill would have on farmers and on the cost of food for consumers. “I don’t disagree with the objective, and I hope we’ll stay focused on the objective, which is to lower our greenhouse gases and emissions and our carbon output,” Lincoln said.

In addition to Lincoln, fellow Arkansan, Sen. Mark Pryor, also a Democrat, are seen as key votes by environmental groups for the Senate to pass the 60-vote threshold to avoid a Republican filibuster and pass a climate change bill.

According to Environment and Energy Daily, 24 senators are considered fence sitters on climate change legislation. Moreover, 67 senators are in play on the issue, which is enough to pass both climate change legislation and ratify an international climate treaty.

Cody Lyon, director of grassroots advocacy for the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the large number of fence sitters in the Senate on climate change legislation affirms the critical importance of Farm Bureau’s “Don’t Cap Our Future” campaign to kill climate change legislation in the Senate.

“There is no doubt that effective grassroots advocacy, which is the hallmark of Farm Bureau will make a difference in opposing the Boxer-Kerry bill. Now is the time to urge the fence sitters to not cap our future,” Lyon said.

Oklahoman Bashes Climate Change Bill

The lead editorial in today’s Oklahoma City Oklahoman came out strongly against climate change legislation in the Senate. The editorial said the bill would place the U.S. on the wrong path.

The editorial stressed that passage of the Kerry-Boxer bill would dramatically change life in America. “Whatever Kerry and Boxer call their bill, opponents believe it will create what amounts to a tax on any good, service or activity that involves carbon emissions—ultimately to be borne by Americans,” according to the Oklahoman.

The editorial cites studies by the American Enterprise Institute and the Congressional Budget Office that point out the negative consequences of the legislation. “The statistics suggest impact on job creation and prosperity, which necessarily would affect low- and middle-income Americans the most,” the editorial stressed.

Survey Shows Respect for Farmers, Corn and Ethanol

A nationwide survey conducted for the National Corn Growers Association found broad public respect and trust for family farmers and support for corn as food, feed and fuel. Ninety-five percent of those polled find farmers to be trusted messengers on issues such as agriculture, corn products and ethanol—and ethanol itself was supported or strongly supported as a good fuel alternative by 65 percent.

“We expected to see some pretty solid results in this polling, but the final numbers were beyond what we imagined,” said NCGA President Darrin Ihnen, a farmer in Hurley, S.D. “This high level of support is gratifying, and it is also a challenge for us to work hard to maintain the trust consumers have placed in us.”

When it comes to uses for corn, support was broad. Ninety-five percent support its use as food for people and 93 percent as livestock feed, while 67 percent support the use of corn as a sweetener and 65 percent, as noted, support corn ethanol. Other uses of corn, such as for fiber and packaging, were supported by 73 percent of those polled.

Respondents also spoke out about what they saw as the top benefits of corn-based ethanol. Thirty-four percent mentioned reduced dependence on foreign oil, 19 percent mentioned the creation of new jobs and 16 percent liked it for its environmental benefits.

255 Million Base Acres Enrolled in DCP and ACRE

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Tuesday that approximately 255 million base acres on about 1.7 million farms were enrolled in the Direct and Countercyclical Program (DCP) and in the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program. USDA will issue nearly $4 billion in 2009 final direct payments to eligible producers on approved contracts. Producers have already received advance payments of approximately $900 million.

“The sign-up numbers demonstrate that producers value having the option of two programs from which to choose the greatest benefit to their individual farming operation,” said Vilsack. “I also want to remind all producers that 2010 sign up for DCP and ACRE has already started and the deadline is June 1, 2010.”

FSIS Plans Public Meetings on Interstate Meat Shipping

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will hold two public meetings on proposed regulations to implement a new program under which state-inspected establishments with 25 or fewer employees will be eligible to ship meat and poultry products in interstate commerce.

The meetings will be held by teleconference and will provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the proposed rule published Sept.15. The first teleconference will be Oct. 27, from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT and the second will be Nov. 5, from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT.

Pre-registration is required to participate in these meetings. Information about the meetings, including how to register and the agenda will be made available for viewing on the FSIS Web site at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News/Meetings_&_Events/. Call-in information will be provided via e-mail to pre-registered participants.

CBO Releases Climate Change Cost Estimates

If cap-and-trade provisions in the House-approved climate change bill become law, U.S. gross domestic product will be reduced by 0.25 percent to 0.75 percent in 2020 and by 1 percent to 3.3 percent in 2050, according to the director of the Congressional Budget Office. Douglas Elmendorf on Wednesday testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Significant job losses in the fossil fuel industries will be likely as the U.S. shifts to renewable fuel production, Elmendorf said. In addition, he noted that although there would be growth in industries that benefit from the legislation, such as solar and wind power, disruptions will occur as people shift employment. In his testimony, Elmendorf emphasized that the estimates contained significant uncertainties.

More information can be found via the Washington Post article.

Russia Lifts Restrictions on U.S. Pork Imports

Russia has lifted all restrictions on pork imports from the U.S., according to the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance. Restrictions against several countries including the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Spain and the UK were put in place earlier this year to prevent the spread of the H1N1 influenza virus, according to Russian officials.

In May, European Commission authorities urged Russian officials to drop the import bans, pointing to its “groundlessness” and the fact that there is no risk of possible spread of the virus through meat.

$7 Million Allocated for Agricultural Research

The Agriculture Department on Wednesday announced more than $7 million in grants for research on the biology of plant processes and traits that can be used to breed crops with enhanced value and resilience to climate stress. The research will increase understanding of plant biology from the genome to the field, and provide a foundation for the development of plant varieties with increased yield, reduced production cost, and enhanced quality and nutritional value.

“At a time when disruptive climate change threatens production of some of the world's staple foods, some of the biggest gains we can make in ending world hunger will involve development of stress-resistant crops,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in announcing the funding. “Drought-tolerant, heat-tolerant and saline-resistant crops will not only offer tremendous improvements for farmers around the world, but also position American farmers competitively in the world market.”

The grants are awarded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, previously the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, under the new Agriculture and Food Research Initiative program to provide funding for fundamental and applied research, Extension and education to address food and agricultural sciences.

A list of award recipients is posted online.

Changes to Renewable Fuel Standard Bad for Farmers

Changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would impede the growth of the U.S. biofuels industry, limit opportunity for American farmers and ranchers to grow their businesses and hinder American energy independence, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

In comments submitted on proposed changes to the renewable fuel standard program, AFBF pointed out that EPA’s definition of “agricultural land” in the proposed regulations creates onerous land-use rules and record-keeping requirements that would bar many farmers from growing crops used for biofuel production, and in so doing, would reduce the value of a great deal of American farmland. The regulations could potentially prohibit farmers from converting pastureland or forestland to cropland to produce ethanol.

“This could allow the EPA to dictate how a farmer manages his or her land,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “This is unprecedented because it could give EPA the authority to regulate and redefine the uses of agricultural land. EPA clearly does not have this authority in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. This increased authority for EPA greatly worries Farm Bureau members.

“It is important to point out that EPA’s proposal redefines the land-use provisions set forth by law and imposes onerous record-keeping requirements for farmers who grow renewable fuel feedstocks. This clearly goes against the intent of Congress because these record-keeping provisions were not required by law,” Stallman said.

Boxer-Kerry Climate Bill Introduced

Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) will introduce the Senate’s version of climate change legislation today that seeks to achieve a 20 percent reduction 2005 levels in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020, compared to the 17 percent goal in the House bill.

Both the House and Senate bills feature a long-term target of an 83 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Unlike the House bill, the Boxer-Kerry bill does not contain provisions on distribution of emissions allowances among various industries and programs. Instead the bill has placeholder language that leaves those formulas up to future negotiations.

Boxer wants to have the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which she chairs, begin hearings on the 801-page bill on Oct. 20. Boxer’s committee is expected to easily pass the bill. However, the full Senate isn’t expected to consider the bill until next year. It is widely viewed on Capitol Hill that the bill still lacks the 60 votes needed to avert a filibuster threat on the Senate floor.

AFBF remains strongly opposed to proposed climate change legislation.

Thousands of Missourians Say 'No' to Cap-and-Trade

Missouri Farm Bureau President Charlie Kruse on Tuesday hand-delivered to Sens. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) more than 3,000 letters signed by Missourians opposed to climate legislation being considered in Congress.

The letters were signed by attendees of the state fair and county Farm Bureau annual meetings throughout the state.

“Cap-and-trade is basically a tax on the energy resources needed every day to power our homes, fuel our cars and run our businesses,” the letters said. They conclude: “I ask you to oppose mandatory cap-and-trade and instead support a comprehensive energy policy.”

Kruse presented the letters to the senators on Capitol Hill and spoke about how the climate bill would affect the U.S. economy in general and agriculture in particular. He said farmers and ranchers would be forced to pay more for fuel, fertilizer, natural gas, electricity and other production inputs.

Bond opposes cap-and-trade because, he said, it would impose a new tax on energy consumption and hurt the economy. McCaskill said she was not sure if the Waxman-Markey bill passed by the House in June or the Boxer-Kerry proposal was the right approach because, she said, the U.S. should not be put in an uncompetitive position with countries like China and India that would not be required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

IFPRI Says Global Warming Will Reduce Grain Yields

Global warming will reduce world grain yields and result in less food being available in the developing world in 2050, according to a report released Tuesday by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

IFPRI called for an increase of $7 billion a year in public-sector spending on agricultural research, improvements in irrigation and farm-to-market roads to offset the impact of climate change.

According to IFPRI, climate change increases child malnutrition and reduces calorie consumption dramatically. For the average consumer in a developing country, IFPRI predicts calorie availability will decline by 7 percent compared to 2000.

Farm Prices Flat in September

The Agriculture Department’s preliminary All Farm Products Index of Prices Received by Farmers in September shows average prices farmers received for their products remained flat from the August level, but are 18 percent lower than September of last year.

Prices rose for milk, onions, grapes and apples, but fell for wheat, soybeans, barley and potatoes. Increased monthly sales of soybeans, corn, apples, and peanuts offset decreased sales of cattle, broilers, wheat and grapes.

The September corn price, at $3.32 per bushel, is down 1 cent from last month and $1.69 below September 2008. The September soybean price is $9.85 per bushel, down 95 cents from August 2009 and September 2008. The September all wheat price is $4.30 per bushel, down 53 cents from August 2009 and $3.13 below September 2008.

Stallman Quoted in Current Newsweek Magazine

An article in the current issue of Newsweek claims that large quantities of carbon dioxide are emitted from farm equipment such as irrigation pumps and tractors and the magazine points to this as the main reason agricultural states are opposed to the House-passed climate change bill.

American Farm Bureau Federation Bob Stallman was interviewed for the article. “Our own analysis found that the higher cost of fuel and fertilizer would result in a net loss for most farmers. Even with the offset credits, and emission cap exemption, we would still lose,” Stallman told the magazine.

One paragraph of the article reads, “What about all those studies showing that climate change could cost farms even more in the long run? Stallman says most farmers aren’t worried. ‘We are used to dealing with extreme weather variation,’ he says, pointing out that his Texas farm has seen 20 inches of rain in a single day, in the middle of a drought. ‘We’ve learned to roll with those extremes. If it gets a little more extreme down the road, we can deal with it.’”

The article is titled: “So shall you reap—many farming communities think global warming won’t hurt them. They’re wrong.”

World Will Need 70 Percent More Food by 2050

PDavid Miller, director of research and commodity programs for the Iowa Farm Bureau, tells the Des Moines Register that the House-passed climate change bill includes restrictions on farmers’ carbon-saving projects that could make the credits virtually worthless.

The legislation also includes provisions to guarantee that most of the credits permitted by the bill would go to landowners overseas who agree not to cut down rain forests. This would primarily benefit foreign landowners who generate the credits and hedge funds and other big investors who speculate in them.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) called the proposed credit trading a “Rube Goldberg notion” that would wind up “transferring wealth out of this country to other countries around the world.”

The Des Moines Register article also includes a graphic that explains how the cap-and-trade system works.

Climate Change Began With Ancient Farming

William Ruddiman, a professor emeritus at the University of Virginia, says people began altering the climate thousands of years ago, as primitive farmers burned forests and built methane-bubbling rice paddies, according to an article in today’s Washington Post. This produced enough greenhouse gases, he says, to warm the world by a degree or more.

Other scientists, however, have said Ruddiman’s thesis is deeply flawed and might be used to dampen modern alarms over climate change, according to the Post.

Ruddiman said two events in world history—an apparent shift in the composition of the atmosphere and the first explosion of human agriculture—took place at nearly the same time.

Ruddiman and Earle Ellis, a professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, wrote in the journal Quarterly Science Reviews that early farmers did not have modern fertilizer or factory-made tools, but they did have a lot of land. They would clear an area by cutting or burning it, farm the ground until it was nearly barren and move on.

“Those tens of millions [of people] had the impact of hundreds of millions, because per person, they had 10 times the impact,” Ruddiman said. “And that’s enough to start the curve turning around.”

Senate Approves Interior-Environment Spending Bill

The Senate on Thursday approved the annual funding bill for the Interior Department and related agencies by a 77-21 vote. The bill includes an amendment that would prevent unintended and unwanted consequences from regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

Earlier this week the American Farm Bureau Federation and several other agricultural organizations told members of the Senate in a letter that it is not sound policy for EPA to extend pending regulations beyond motor vehicles into activities like the production of crops, livestock and poultry.

The $32.1 billion bill now must be worked out with a House version that has similar language in its spending provisions.

Fifth Season of 'America's Heartland' Launched

America’s Heartland, a nationally broadcast weekly program on agriculture, launched its fifth season earlier this month. The show’s producers promise this season will be even better than the last four.

This season the show offers a new, faster-paced format, a larger reporting staff and new features, such as “Off the Shelf,” which gives viewers information on the food they buy every week; “Harvesting Knowledge” that takes a look at the historical background of our favorite foods; and “Working the Land,” which takes urban viewers to various farm fields to look at the specialized and sometimes dirty, demanding jobs of people working in agriculture. Season five will also examine issues like food safety, animal welfare, urban farming, sustainability and environmental concerns.

America’s Heartland has also dramatically expanded its social networking outreach with new online features on its Web site, www.americasheartland.org, on Facebook and Twitter, and an extensive channel of exclusive video offerings on YouTube. One recent story has been viewed more than 1 million times.

America’s Heartland is produced by KVIE Public Television with support from the Monsanto Company and AFBF. Check your local public television station listing for America's Heartland broadcast times. You can also catch the show on RFD-TV on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern and Sundays at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

Global Harvest Initiative Formed

DuPont, Monsanto, Archer Daniels Midland and Deere and Company have formed a coalition called the Global Harvest Initiative. Among the goals of the coalition is to implement friendly regulations for biotech crops.

Ellen Kullman, chief executive of DuPont, said the companies share a common interest in promoting policies that will ease the way for their products to be used globally to increase crop production.

“We’re going to get further faster if we collectively create a dialogue and get the issues on the table and see where we need to work to increase research or get policies changed or work on the trade side,” Kullman said. “It’s a competitive industry and we compete vigorously. At the same time we have the same goals.”

AFBF, Others Back Murkowski Amendment

The American Farm Bureau Federation and other agricultural organizations are urging members of the Senate to support an amendment by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to the annual funding bill for the Interior Department and related agencies. The amendment would prevent unintended and unwanted consequences from regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

In a letter, the groups argue that it is not sound policy for EPA to extend pending regulations beyond motor vehicles into activities like the production of crops, livestock and poultry.

The bill already contains a provision that would prohibit the use of funds to implement rules that would require Clean Air permits for livestock.

The amendment would prevent the application of the Clean Air Act to new building or renovation permits to barns, greenhouses and other farm buildings, and also to schools, hospitals and churches that emit a certain threshold amount of carbon dioxide. It would limit EPA to regulation of new motor vehicle emissions, which was the subject of the 2007 Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA.

Pork Supplies Set Record in August

Pork supplies set a record in August due in part to a slowdown in exports, but low prices sparked U.S. consumers to buy enough pork to prevent a much larger buildup, according to a report released by the Agriculture Department on Tuesday.

The supply of chicken declined in August from July and August of last year, due to improving exports, despite comments from China and Russia that they may slow or stop such purchases.

U.S. warehouses held 517.9 million pounds of frozen pork on Aug. 31, exceeding last year's August record of 502.7 million pounds, according to USDA. It was the fourth consecutive monthly record for pork stocks.

USDA reported 642.25 million pounds of chicken were in storage at the end of August, down 6 percent from July and down 15 percent from a year earlier.

AFBF Backs Health Insurance Tax Credit

American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman told members of the Senate Finance Committee that health care reform will have a huge impact on the cost, quality and availability of the health insurance that farmers and ranchers purchase for themselves, their families and the workers they employ.

In a letter sent to committee members today, Stallman said Farm Bureau supports tax credits to help the self-employed purchase health insurance and to help farm and ranch employers afford insurance for their employees.

“We are concerned that language in the draft bill that determines eligibility for small business tax credits will disqualify agricultural operations that employ seasonal workers. Farm Bureau urges the addition of language to ensure that small farm and ranch employers who hire temporary or seasonal workers are eligible for tax incentives to help them cover health care costs,” Stallman wrote.

In the letter, Stallman stressed the importance of competition to reduce health insurance costs and said an exchange where individuals and small business can easily compare coverage would be positive for the marketplace. AFBF opposes a public option and instead supports voluntary regional health insurance cooperatives, subject to state regulation, to give individuals and small business leverage in the marketplace.

World's Hungry to Total 1 Billion

The eulogies for Dr. Norman Borlaug, who died at age 95 on Sept. 12, neglected to point out that more people are hungry today than ever, according to an article in the Sunday New York Times. The United Nations estimates that the world’s hungry will total 1 billion this year for the first time.

David Beckmann, president of the antihunger group Bread for the World, said the problem boils down to political neglect.

The Times article charged that yield gains in both developed and developing nations also led to grain surpluses and low prices that created a sense of complacency on hunger. Plus, poor nations were encouraged to buy all the excess grain rather than grow it themselves and agricultural research has been cut back in developing countries, according to the story.

'Keep Kids Away From Tractors'

The Childhood Agricultural Safety Network has chosen the theme, “Keep Kids Away from Tractors” this year in its promotion of Farm Safety Week, which began Sunday.

The campaign is being coordinated by the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety. Of the estimated 100-plus farm-related deaths to children each year, most will die in incidents involving tractors and other machinery.

Teresa Derfus, community relations and public relations manager for the center, said two incidents this spring involving four-year-olds who fell off tractors driven by their fathers—an Oklahoma boy killed in the blades of a trailing mower and an Idaho boy maimed in a rotary cultivator—have refocused commitment among safety experts to stop the practice of letting children ride tractors.

The Childhood Agricultural Safety Network has placed free safety awareness materials on its Web site at www.childagsafety.org and encourages everyone to download these campaign materials and post them prominently to help spread the message.

Utah Producers Eligible for Emergency Assistance for Fire & Drought Damage

USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Utah today announced that producers may now begin applying for benefits under the provisions of the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) of the 2008 Farm Bill.

These programs ensure that producers who have suffered agriculture losses receive the critical disaster assistance needed to remain financially solvent and help them continue on in their operations.

LFP provides payments to eligible livestock producers that have suffered livestock grazing losses due to qualifying drought or fire. More information can be found at http://www.fsa.usda.gov.

'Man Who Fed the World' Dies at 95

Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, 95, the plant pathologist who grew up on an Iowa farm and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for starting the “Green Revolution” credited for saving the lives of millions, died of cancer Saturday at his home in Dallas.

Borlaug was a tireless advocate for modern production agriculture from the 1970s until his death. He continually stressed the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides for increasing food production. He was one of the world’s strongest advocates for the critical need of high-yielding agricultural practices.

Borlaug was known as the “man who fed the world” for his groundbreaking plant breeding work in Mexico in the 1940s, Asia in the 1960s and 1970s and the savannas of Africa in the 1980s. He proved science had the capability to increase food production exponentially.

In his lecture accepting the Nobel Prize, he said an adequate supply of food is “the first component of social justice. . . . Otherwise there will be no peace.”

Grazing Management Conference Set for December

The Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) will host its 4th national conference in Reno, Nev., Dec. 13-16. The conference will focus on successful “cutting edge” grazing management technologies —especially those with environmental and/or social benefits, applied research on grazing lands, public policy implications of grazing, issues related to the agricultural-urban interface, and the economic and marketing implications of grazing.

One thing that sets GLCI apart from other conferences is its focus on ranchers as presenters. “We know experts come from academia, government, and the non-profit world and we welcome them all, but we also look for the ‘cowboy expert’ who has gained his—or her—expertise through long hours with livestock and first-hand exposure to all sorts of elements—natural, economic and political,” said Bob Drake, GLCI chairman.

In conjunction with hosting the conference in Reno, GLCI in 2009 will give increased focus to Western grazing issues. However, the conference will continue its past format of providing information along four “tracks” that also will include Eastern, Midwestern and dairy grazing issues. Some of the issues to be highlighted include the value of rotational grazing and of riparian habitat, carbon sequestration and flexibility within grazing systems.

Information on registration and/or exhibitor opportunities is at www.glci.org. Early bird registration of $260 is available through Oct. 1.

FSIS Program Allows Meat Shipments Across State Lines

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published proposed regulations today that will implement a new voluntary cooperative program under which select state-inspected establishments will be eligible to ship meat and poultry products in interstate commerce.

The new program was created in the 2008 farm bill to supplement the existing federal-state cooperative inspection program to allow state-inspected plants with 25 or fewer employees to ship products across state lines. This announcement is part of the USDA’s new “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative, which seeks to better connect consumers with local producers to help develop local and regional food systems to spur economic opportunity.

Under the proposed rule published in today’s Federal Register, selected establishments will receive inspection services from federally trained and/or supervised state inspection personnel who will verify that the establishments meet all federal food safety requirements. Meat and poultry products produced under the voluntary cooperative program will bear an official USDA mark of inspection, thereby enabling interstate shipment of the products.

“While we haven’t yet reviewed the proposed regulation, Farm Bureau is pleased the administration has completed it,” said Mary Kay Thatcher, agriculture policy director for the American Farm Bureau Federation. “Interstate shipment of state inspected meat was an important issue for us during passage of the 2008 farm bill. We believe movement of products across state lines will increase marketing opportunities and provide more of a competitive marketplace for our farmers and ranchers.”

Lincoln Vocally Opposes House-Passed Climate Bill

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) spoke out in strong opposition to the climate change bill narrowly passed by the House in June. In an address to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in Washington Tuesday, Lincoln said the “deeply-flawed” cap-and-trade bill faces a very tough fight in the upper chamber.

“It’s a deeply-flawed bill and I’m not going to support it,” Lincoln said, generating a round of applause from the cattlemen. “As chairman of the Agriculture Committee, I have a great opportunity to weigh in on this issue.”

Lincoln said the House bill fails to clean up the environment, create jobs or reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Plus, the bill puts a disproportionate share of the economic burden on family businesses in states like Arkansas and a disproportionate share of the burden on rural America.

“In my opinion it does pick winners, and losers and that’s not our job up here,” Lincoln said.

Meet a Farmer

A new Meet a Farmer profile has been posted on the Your Ag Web site. Doug and Susie Silberhorn own and operate Susie’s Garden patch in Garden Prairie, Ill., a fruit and vegetable you-pick operation.

“It would take a book to tell the complete story, so here is the short version. Doug has an agriculture degree and always wanted to farm,” said Susie Silberhorn. “When we met, we decided that was the way to go. Having discovered strawberries as a money-making crop, we thought they would pay for a farm. “After buying an abandoned farm in 1985, we opened a fruit and vegetable farm. After a great deal of struggles and droughts, we have succeeded to have many great years. Twenty-four years later, Susie’s Garden Patch is still going and growing. Three children have been raised and now grandchildren are being raised with the love of the land.”

Financial Expert on Tap for AFBF Annual Meeting

Peter Ricchiuti, assistant dean of Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business and a nationally known expert on financial markets, will speak, Jan. 11, during the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2010 annual meeting in Seattle. Ricchiuti will speak during a conference hosted by the American Agricultural Insurance Company.

Ricchiuti is described as “the business school professor you wish you had back in college.” He’s been called “half Alan Greenspan and half Robin Williams” for his unique ability to explain complex economic issues in an entertaining and enlightening manner. Ricchiuti is considered as entertaining as a stand-up comic, yet as informative as the best professor everyone had in school.

Ricchiuti founded Tulane’s highly acclaimed Burkenroad Reports stock research program. He has been featured on CNN, CNBC and in the New York Times, Barron’s, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. Prior to his work with Tulane, Ricchiuti enjoyed a successful investment career with Kidder Peabody. He also served as assistant state treasurer and chief investment officer for the state of Louisiana.

At the AAIC conference, Ricchiuti will discuss the signals the financial markets are sending and will stress how following the herd in stocks and investments rarely produces superior long-term results.

Vilsack Urges Media to Call Virus 'H1N1'

In a news conference Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack continued his quest to urge the media to use the technically correct “H1N1 influenza,” rather than “swine flu” since the virus now circulating among humans is not the same as “swine flu.”

“Since last spring and the onset of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza outbreak in humans, USDA has consistently asked that the media stop calling this ‘novel’ pandemic virus ‘swine flu.’ By continuing to mislabel the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus that is affecting human populations around the world, the media is causing undue and undeserved harm to America’s agriculture industry, especially to pork producers,” Vilsack said.

“Each time the term is used it unfairly hurts America’s farmers who are suffering severe economic losses during these challenging economic times,” Vilsack said. “And each time the media uses the phrase ‘swine flu’ a hog farmer, their workers and their families suffer. It is simply not fair or correct to associate the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza with hogs, an animal that does not play a role in the ongoing transmission of the pandemic strain.”

USDA Developing H1N1 Vaccine for Hogs

The Agriculture Department is working to speed the development of an H1N1 flu vaccine for hogs by providing two master seed viruses to five veterinary vaccine makers.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said USDA would like manufacturers to take the seed virus and refine it to the point where a vaccine can be produced. “We’re not there yet,” Vilsack said.

The USDA master seed virus is virus material that can be used to make a vaccine to prevent hogs from catching H1N1. John Clifford, USDA’s chief veterinarian, said the department is working to have the vaccine available sometime this calendar year.

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan told reporters Thursday she fully expects H1N1 to be discovered in the U.S. hog population and said she hopes that “it’s not big headlines on front pages of newspapers.” USDA officials said H1N1 has so far been discovered in hogs in Canada, Australia and Argentina.

AFBF Welcomes Sen. Blanche Lincoln Appointment

The American Farm Bureau Federation is pleased with the appointment of Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) as the new chair of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee and looks forward to working with her in her new assignment.

“Sen. Lincoln has been a longtime friend of Farm Bureau. She received the Golden Plow Award in 2008, the highest honor AFBF presents to members of Congress, for her steadfast support of America’s farmers and ranchers,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “We look forward to continuing to work with Sen. Lincoln as chairwoman of the Agriculture Committee, and we know she will continue to champion the interests of Farm Bureau families in her new assignment.”

Lincoln Doubts Climate Change Bill Will Pass Senate

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), the new chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is casting doubts on the future of climate change legislation in the upper chamber.

“I think it's a heavy lift for the Senate,” said Lincoln. “We have a tremendous amount of work to do, having been in the hearings today.”

Lincoln has been a vocal skeptic of creating a cap-and-trade system and her opposition could play a significant role in bringing the measure to defeat. AFBF looks forward to working with Lincoln to defeat climate change legislation in its current form.

Ag Panel Wants Assurances on Market Manipulation

Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee say they want assurances that a carbon trading market, to be launched under pending climate legislation, would not be susceptible to market manipulations such as those blamed for recent problems in the U.S. financial markets.

At a hearing on the climate change bill Wednesday, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Republican members called for protections against fraud and excessive speculation that could undermine efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

In testimony before the panel, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said his agency is laying the groundwork on several fronts for strong oversight of carbon markets should Congress pass a cap-and-trade bill establishing a trading system to reduce emissions.

Also testifying was David Miller, Iowa Farm Bureau’s director of research and commodity services and chief science officer for AgraGate Climate Credits Corporation. Miller said that market transparency is critical to smooth the operation of a carbon market.

“Transparency means that not only must there be a clear enumeration of what criteria are used to define offsets, but that there must be mechanisms in place so that prices (bids, offers and sales transactions) are publicly reported and readily available.” Miller told the committee.

Food Safety Web Site Launched

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the co-chairs of the Obama administration’s Food Safety Working Group, unveiled a new consumer Web site Wednesday at www.foodsafety.gov. The site is designed to help consumers get the latest information on food safety and recalls in one convenient place.

The new site features information from all the agencies across the federal government that deal with critical food and food safety information, including preventive tips about how to handle food safely, alerts on life-saving food recalls and the latest news.

Farm Groups Will Determine Fate of Climate Bill

Farm and rural constituencies are among the “two or three big groups,” along with industrial and coal states, that will determine the fate of the climate change bill in Congress, according to an article in The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) have indicated they want to wait on climate legislation and instead pass a bill promoting renewable energy development.

Former Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) says he wants changes in the legislation to ease farm fears of the climate bill, including a stronger trigger that would suspend the caps if energy costs rose too much. The Senate Agriculture Committee is holding a hearing on climate change today.

Labor Department to Revise H-2A Program

The Labor Department (DOL) published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register on Friday that would revise the H-2A temporary agricultural temporary worker program. Comments on the proposal are due by Oct. 5.

The American Farm Bureau Federation will be submitting comments on the proposed rule and encourages state Farm Bureaus to do so as well.

AFBF supported reforms to the H-2A program that were instituted by the Bush administration in a rule promulgated last December. The DOL proposal would make significant changes to the program and conceivably will undermine some of the improvements made to the program that became effective earlier this year.

In its Federal Register posting, DOL said wages for farm workers have been adversely impacted to a far more significant extent than anticipated by the 2008 Final Rule. DOL said the Bush administration reforms reduced wages by $1.44 per hour and said the department would “rectify” that adverse effect on agricultural workers.

Obama's Treatment of Rural America Incomplete

Almost eight months into his presidency, Barack Obama’s treatment of rural America is complicated—and incomplete, according to the Sioux Falls (South Dakota) Argus Leader.

Rural interests credited Obama for reaching out through a “rural listening tour” and welcomed his $787 billion economic stimulus plan that targets a number of rural priorities, such as broadband expansion and highway improvements. However, Obama’s call in his 2010 budget plan to phase out agriculture subsidies for farmers with a gross income of more than $500,000, unveiled less than a month after his inauguration, drew much criticism from rural America.

Rural interests remain cautious and are looking at what will happen in Congress this year.

“What happens next will tell the tale about whether or not the administration is a friend or foe of rural America,” said Pat Wolff, director of public policy for AFBF.

Court Decision Preserves Grazing in Wyoming

In a decision last week in Wyoming, U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Brimmer upheld the Bighorn National Forest Plan Revision, siding with defendants and ruling against an environmental group that challenged livestock grazing in the forest. The ruling preserves livestock grazing in the forest.

In the case, Western Watersheds Project (WWP) v. United States Forest Service, et al., WWP’s primary focus alleged that the Forest Service failed to consider livestock grazing alternatives in the revised Bighorn National Forest Plan.

Defendants included the counties of Bighorn, Johnson and Washakie, the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, the Muddy Creek Grazing Association and Joe Foss. Other supporters in this lawsuit were the Wyoming Association of Conservation District and Guardians of the Range.

New Study Highlights Pitfalls of Climate Change Bill

The Agriculture & Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University recently examined 98 farms in its database to understand the implications for farmers and ranchers of the House-passed American Clean Energy and Security Act. The analysis indicated 71 of the operations would be financially worse off under the bill.

The study was conducted at the request of Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Based on the findings of the study, Chambliss reiterated his call for additional hearings on comprehensive global warming legislation.

“Clearly the data outlined in the Texas A&M University study is troubling,” Chambliss said. “I have said before this bill, particularly the cap and trade program, will undoubtedly raise production costs for farmers and ranchers….We need to pursue legislation that reflects the realities of producing food, fiber, feed and fuel in the United States, and not favor one geographic region.”

Farm Bureau continues to urge improvements to pending climate change legislation so that it is as beneficial as possible for the agriculture industry.

University of California-Davis Climate Change Study Release Set for October 1

A University of California-Davis study that refutes a 2006 United Nations report on livestock operations and climate change will be published Oct. 1 in a peer-reviewed journal. UC-Davis researchers found that U.S. beef and dairy cattle production is responsible for a much lower percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions than asserted in the U.N. report.

“Clearing the Air: Livestock’s Contribution to Climate Change” draws on Environmental Protection Agency data showing that agriculture is responsible for about 5.8 percent of the nation’s GHG emissions, according to researchers. In California, home to 20 percent of the U.S. dairy herd, researchers found just 5.4 percent of GHGs were due to agriculture.

Researchers discovered the greatest source of the GHG methane on dairy farms is one of the most common feeds—fermented silage. Contrary to popular belief, storage lagoons for manure proved to be the smallest sources of GHGs on dairies, according to researchers.

EPA is preparing to issue new rules under the Clean Air Act to regulate GHGs. Clean Air Act provisions—as currently written—would likely affect about 90 percent of the livestock industry, according to AFBF analysis. Most livestock farmers and ranchers would be required to obtain permits from EPA to continue operating. Producers with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cows or 200 hogs would be required to obtain a permit.

$18 Million in Value-Added Producer Grants Available

The Agriculture Department is encouraging farmers, ranchers and other business owners to apply for $18 million in grants to help them add value to the commodities they produce. The application period for USDA Rural Development Value-Added Producer Grants closes on Nov. 30.

USDA will award planning grants of up to $100,000 and working capital grants of up to $300,000 to successful applicants. Applicants are encouraged to propose projects that use existing agricultural products in non-traditional ways or merge agricultural products with technology in creative ways. Businesses of all sizes may apply, but priority will be given to operators of small- to medium-sized farms operating as a family farm—defined as those with average annual gross sales of less than $700,000, according to USDA.

Applicants must provide matching funds equal to the amount of the grant requested. Ten percent of the funding being made available is reserved for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers. An additional 10 percent is reserved for projects involving local and regional supply networks that link independent producers with businesses and cooperatives that market value-added products.

Additional application information is available HERE.

$172 Million Announced for Rural Water Projects

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday announced the availability of an additional $172.5 million in funding for water and environmental projects in 24 states. The funding will be distributed through Rural Development’s Water and Environmental Program, which provides loans and grants to ensure that necessary investments are made in water and wastewater infrastructure to deliver safe drinking water and protect the environment in rural areas.

Vilsack also announced that USDA has met the president’s directive to fund more than 200 water and environmental projects since the 100th day of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act being signed into law. To date, USDA has announced $1.64 billion for loans and grants for similar projects. Altogether, $27.8 billion of the $28 billion appropriated to USDA for Recovery Act projects benefiting people throughout the country has been announced.

Prescription Discounts Offered to State Farm Bureaus

AFB, Inc. has introduced a new discount program that offers members of participating state Farm Bureaus an average savings of 30 percent on prescription drugs. All state Farm Bureaus, including those that currently provide prescription discounts, are eligible to participate.

Farm Bureau members and their families without insurance, as well as those who find themselves with no prescription coverage in their plan, will benefit from the Prescription Discount Program, according to AFB, Inc. Further, Farm Bureau members who have full-time, part-time or seasonal workers may provide the card as an employee benefit.

Other benefits of the program include no enrollment forms, no age restrictions, no income requirements, no waiting periods, no eligibility requirements, no exclusions, no claim forms to file, and no annual or lifetime limits.

The card is provided at no cost to participating state Farm Bureaus to offer to members.

Participating state Farm Bureaus have the option of allowing members to download a discount card from a Web site or distributing cards directly to members. The following state Farm Bureaus currently offer the program to members: Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming. To learn more, contact your state Farm Bureau office or visit www.fbcountry.com online.

Time Piece Was 'Point of View' Journalism

Bryan Walsh, the writer of the Aug. 31 Time magazine cover story “The Real Cost of Cheap Food,” acknowledged in an interview with Meatingplace that his article was “point-of-view journalism” and that opposing views were not presented.

“Looking back, there’s always the question of trying to get a story down to the proper length and get it down in a readable way. You could have had more of that side, as well. That’s one definite criticism—I can certainly understand why people would feel that way,” Walsh said, explaining why agriculture’s side of the story wasn’t told.

Walsh defended only speaking with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the National Pork Producers Council and no other industry groups.

“The story we ended up doing—and this is partially I think the result of the changes that our magazine and journalism generally is going—I think in the past we would have gone more with sort of a headline that would have come with a question mark, with an on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand [approach]. Now I think there’s a desire on our part … to look at the information you have and try to make a judgment based on the best of your understanding, so that it does come off as a way of taking a stronger point of view than stories that I would have done in the past,” Walsh said.

AFBF Granted Observer Status at Copenhagen

The American Farm Bureau Federation has been notified by the Observer Organization Liaison Office of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that it will have observer status for the upcoming climate change negotiations, Dec. 6-18, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Up to this point, AFBF has been limited to working through the business and industry non-governmental organizations group organized by the State Department. With observer status, AFBF will have the opportunity for greater participation.

As an observer, AFBF will have the opportunity to attend all negotiating sessions; have immediate access to conference reports and materials; attend all negotiating sessions; be briefed and offer input directly to the U.S. delegation headed by the State Department; and share AFBF’s position with other countries and international organizations.

New Japanese Government May Nix U.S. Beef

The newly elected Democratic Party in Japan may be less agreeable to expanding imports of U.S. beef than the previous government.

Japan was once the top export market for U.S. beef, but sales dropped sharply after December 2003 when the United States reported its first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

“There is certainly a concern that there are hard-line elements in the new ruling party that will be resistant to expanded beef access. How that translates into policy remains to be seen,” Joe Schuele, spokesman for the U.S. Meat Export Federation, told Reuters.

Farm Prices Call 3.8 Percent in August

The prices farmers received for their products in August fell 3.8 percent from the July level, according to preliminary All Farm Products Index of Prices Received by Farmers released Monday by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

The index is 19 percent lower than in August 2008, according NASS. Prices fell for broilers, wheat, corn, and grapes, but increased for milk, eggs, apples and lemons.

Increased monthly marketings of cattle, grapes, sweet corn and calves offset decreased marketings of wheat, hay, broilers and strawberries.

Column Blasts 'Lefty Social Critics, Foodie snobs'

An opinion piece by Charlotte Allen in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times tells “lefty social critics” and “foodie snobs” to “keep your self-righteous fingers off my processed food.” Allen blasts them for demanding that consumers pay more for food.

“Just in time for the worst economic downturn since the Depression, here comes a new crop of social critics to inform us that we’re actually spending too little for the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the furniture we sit on and the gasoline that runs our automobiles,” Allen wrote.

Johanns Leery of Carbon Credit Promise

In an interview with the Illinois Farm Bureau’s RFD Radio and FarmWeek, Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) says the promise of carbon credits for farmers under the House-passed climate change bill is unlikely to square with higher input costs.

Johanns said Nebraska farmers are “enormously skeptical, if not downright opposed” to proposed greenhouse emissions caps projected to impact future electrical, fuel and input costs.

“You’ll pay more for fertilizer and diesel fuel and electricity to run your irrigation pump,” Johanns said. “On the other side, I think the benefits are very, very uncertain. I think this idea that farmers are going to make money by trading credits is a very uncertain promise.

“If I were a farmer out there, I’d want the certainty of what I’m doing now, and even at that, that can be very uncertain. Add cap-and-trade to it and what you add is higher input costs with no promise of what comes out on the other end.”

Farm Bureau Disapointed in E-Verify Decision

A federal court in Maryland on Wednesday upheld a regulation requiring that federal contractors use E-Verify, the federal government’s electronic employment verification program. Farm Bureau is disappointed in the decision because it requires the verification of existing employees, not just new hires.

“AFBF supports the use of an electronic verification system as part of a comprehensive reform of the U.S. immigration system, so long as the system is easy to use, holds the employer harmless if false documents are presented by prospective employers to prove citizenship and applies to new hires only,” said Ron Gaskill, American Farm Bureau Federation labor specialist.

E-Verify currently only applies to farms that are contractors or sub-contractors with the federal government.

E-Verify was created by an executive order by President George W. Bush in June 2008. Under the final rule, E-Verify will be required for all federal contractors, starting Sept. 8, regardless of size, holding a contract with a period of performance longer than 120 days and a value above $100,000. Subcontractors will be required to participate in E-Verify if they provide services or construction with a value of more than $3,000.

A lawsuit challenging the rule was filed Dec. 23, 2008, in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland by a coalition of business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Associated Builders and Contractors, the Society for Human Resources Management, the American Council on International Personnel, and the HR Policy Association. AFBF was not part of the lawsuit but closely followed the case.

The court granted the federal government’s cross motion for summary judgment, rejecting the chamber's argument that the requirements imposed by the executive order and regulation violate the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act's prohibition against requiring participation in the program.

U.S. Dairy Industry Must Win Back World Market

The Examiner ran a Farm Bureau Focus column by dairy farmer and Wisconsin Farm Bureau President Bill Bruins emphasizing the importance of allowing supply and demand to work in the troubled dairy business and stressing the need for the U.S. to win back the world market for long-term growth.

“In the meantime, many dairy farmers are holding on as their farms lose equity. Many dairy farmers are tempted to turn to the federal government for help. Some go as far as publicly saying Depression-era prices and skyrocketing production costs will result in all dairy cows disappearing in a matter of weeks, unless the government takes control of the market,” Bruins wrote. “While Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently pledged a billion dollars of federal support, he acknowledges it will not move the needle much on prices.

“We dairy farmers must remember throughout our current dilemma, the same force that gave us the glory of $20 milk in 2008 is the same thing giving us the grumbling of $10 milk in 2009. That force is the marketplace. Yes, the government does have a role in regulating the industry, and it does set the basic price for our milk. However, that price is largely determined by the marketplace’s forces of supply and demand.”

Meat Groups Blast TIME Article

Meat industry groups are airing discontent with the Aug. 31 Time magazine cover story “The Real Cost of Cheap Food” that is loaded with inaccurate information and has no hint of objectivity.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the only meat industry group quoted in the article, lashed out with a press release outlining the steps it took to provide information to Bryan Walsh, the article’s writer. The vast majority of the information was not included in the final piece. The Cattlemen indicated they were called late in the reporting and writing process, and that the writer discussed the angle of his story only when pressed for details.

Patrick Boyle, president and CEO of the American Meat Institute, wrote a letter to the editor of Time. “In a world of 7 billion people and expanding, where malnutrition, hunger or outright famine are commonplace, it’s dumbfounding that Time magazine would take one of the great American success stories—the efficient agricultural production of an abundant variety of healthy, safe and affordable foods for consumers in the U.S. and throughout the world—and turn it into an unrecognizable story of exploitation, manipulation and greed,” Boyle wrote.

In AFBF President Bob Stallman’s letter to the editor of Time, he called the article “a vicious attack on modern farmers and the processes they use to care for the land, their animals, their neighbors and communities, all while producing safe, affordable, healthy and abundant food for consumers.”

Farm Bureau members are encouraged to write a letter to the editor by clicking HERE.

Biofuels Revolution 'Fizzling Out'

The biofuels revolution that promised to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil is “fizzling out,” according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

The National Biodiesel Board reports that two-thirds of U.S. biodiesel production capacity now sits unused. The global credit crisis, a glut of capacity, lower oil prices and delayed government rules changes on fuel mixes are threatening biodiesel and next-generation fuels derived from feedstocks.

The Journal notes that producers of next-generation biofuels—those using non-food renewable materials such as grasses, cornstalks and sugarcane stalks—are finding it tough to attract investment and ramp up production to an industrial scale.

Community-Supported Agriculture Growing

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is beginning to garner more interest, with the number of U.S. operations increasing, according to Reuters.

The CSA model traces its roots to experiments in cooperative farming in Germany and Japan in the 1960s. It arrived in the United States in 1985 when activists in western Massachusetts founded Indian Line Farm, which remains in operation today.

USDA’s 2007 Census of Agriculture shows 12,549 U.S. farms sold products through CSAs in 2007, the first time such operations were counted in the census.

Mandate Could Increase Farm Health Care Costs 100%

The Obama administration’s proposal to mandate certain kinds of health care coverage could increase the cost of health insurance for farmers and ranchers and other self-employed individuals in Nebraska and the nation by more than 100 percent, the Nebraska Farm Bureau warned Monday.

A large majority of food producers are self-employed, and many buy their own health insurance without the benefit of being part of a group, Nebraska Farm Bureau President Keith Olsen said. A 2007 survey conducted for USDA found that 46 percent of Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers purchased their health insurance on an individual basis directly from an insurer.

“If a farm or ranch family can obtain health insurance through a spouse’s off-farm job, that’s usually the route they go,” Olsen said. “But that approach isn't available to everyone. The primary issue we continue to worry about is the affordability of health insurance.”

Rushing Climate Change Bill 'Act of Folly'

In testimony before the Senate Agriculture Committee Thursday on the massive climate change bill, American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman encouraged members to analyze the issue closely, carefully and thoroughly and make sure that it is as beneficial as possible for the agriculture industry.

“On a matter that could affect our nation for literally decades to come, it would be the height of folly to rush to judgment in a matter of days or weeks,” said Stallman.

Stallman maintained that an agricultural offsets program administered by the Agriculture Department is an essential cost-containment measure, but revenues from offsets will only partially defray increased costs and not all agriculture sectors will benefit from offset opportunities.

“Inclusion of an offset program is not the complete answer,” said Stallman. “Even with a robust agricultural offset program, the bill still does not make economic sense for producers because a number of sectors will be not able to participate.”

More information can be found from the American Farm Bureau news release, HERE.

Removing 'Navigable' from CWA 'Regulatory Quicksand'

Legislation that would remove the word “navigable” from the Clean Water Act and allow the Corps of Engineers and EPA to regulate all interstate and intrastate waters could put farmers in “regulatory quicksand,” Missouri Farm Bureau President Charlie Kruse told members of the House Small Business Committee.

Kruse, and every other witness before the committee, expressed strong opposition to the Clean Water Restoration Act (S. 787) approved by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee June 18 on a party line vote. All the witnesses, who represented contracting firms and farms, testified they would be faced with increased costs and delays if current permit requirements were broadened.

Kruse noted that expanding the scope of the Clean Water Act would sweep many agricultural and forestry activities under Clean Water Act regulation simply because such activities are conducted near some isolated ditch, swale, wash, erosion feature or ephemeral stream that would newly be deemed a “water of the United States.”

According to Kruse, the Clean Water Restoration Act would give the federal government the right to regulate any body of water, from farm ponds to storm water retention basins to roadside ditches to desert washes, and even a puddle of water standing for two days after a rain.

In the question and answer period, Kruse said a great concern of removing the word “navigable” from the Clean Water Act is the risk of third-party litigation. Another major concern is the potential reduction in the value of the land. “Land is a farmer’s 401k. It is the largest and most valuable asset we have,” Kruse said.

If passed, he said, the Clean Water Restoration Act would be the largest expansion of the Clean Water Act since the law was enacted in 1972.

Pork Producers Seek Help from Vilsack

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) wrote to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Monday seeking help for pork producers facing a nearly two-year economic crisis.

Since September 2007, pork producers have lost an average of more than $21 on each hog marketed, and current hog futures prices show losses well into next year.

NPPC requested several government pork purchases—an immediate $50 million government purchase of pork, along with another $50 million buy on Oct. 1, the first day fiscal 2010 funding is available. The group also asked for an additional $50 million pork buy through USDA’s section 32 program.

NPPC also asked for a study of the economic impacts the expansion of corn-based ethanol could have on the livestock industry. In addition, the group asked Vilsack to work with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to open export markets to U.S. pork.

Climate Bill Could Add Thousands of Bureaucrats

The House-passed climate change bill, if enacted, would expand the federal government so much that it would take billions of dollars and thousands of new employees to implement, according to the Washington Times.

Federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would greatly expand in order to handle the expanded responsibilities. Congress would have to appropriate billions of dollars for more bureaucrats, much of which is not reflected in the House bill.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the government's expansion would cost $8 billion over a 10-year period. For the bill to operate effectively, nearly 1,500 regulations and mandates would have to be approved for at least 21 federal agencies. The rule-making process alone would take years.

Overall Farm Economy Strong

Ag bankers in the Federal Reserve Bank’s Kansas City district say the overall farm economy remains solid, despite continued weakness in the hog and dairy sectors.

The Fed’s quarterly survey of ag credit conditions shows little changed in the second quarter, and that lenders expect conditions to improve somewhat in the next three months. Jason Henderson with the Kansas City Fed’s Omaha branch says while loan delinquency rates have edged up slightly, they still remain at historical lows.

“So while we might get an uptick in delinquency rates going forward, they’re still low compared to historical levels and nowhere near the rise in delinquency rates on other types of loans,” said Henderson.

June Pork Exports Fall 33.4 Percent from Last Year

U.S. pork exports in June, at 102,541 metric tons, reflected the smallest monthly export volume since December 2007 and a 33.4 percent drop from June 2008.

Combined pork and variety meat exports, at 133,594 metric tons, were down 31 percent from a year ago.

Reduced pork imports by China is viewed as a major factor in the decline, due to H1N1-related reductions and a sharp recovery of hog production in China after disease-related supply reductions in recent years.

Pork Producers Hail Korean Decision

The National Pork Producers Council hailed the Republic of Korea’s decision to inspect only a sample of U.S. pork exports rather than 100 percent of them and to lift a ban on live hog imports from the United States. The restrictions were put in place in the wake of the H1N1 flu outbreak.

The U.S. pork industry since September 2007 has lost nearly $4.5 billion, and producers have lost an average of more than $21 per hog marketed since then. While high production costs—mostly feed grain prices—are the primary culprit for the industry’s economic woes, restrictions on U.S. pork and hog exports put in place in early May by a number of countries that cited fears of H1N1 exacerbated the problems.

In 2008, South Korea was the sixth largest market for U.S. pork, with exports valued at $284 million. In 2009, exports to Korea through May were down 10 percent by volume and 7 percent in value. Breeding stock exports to South Korea also are down in 2009 because of the H1N1-related ban. The country ranked as a top destination for U.S. live hogs in 2008 with exports of $1.1 million.

New Online Resources Shed Light on Food and Farming

Two recently unveiled online resources provide information on U.S. food production and farming. Both of the new resources are consumer-friendly and garnered the backing of the Center for Food Integrity.

Best Food Facts employs the “Food Integrity Index,” which was developed to provide balanced, objective information that will aid consumers in making informed choices. Experts at leading universities provide answers to common questions and explore contemporary issues related to the U.S. food system. Links are provided to source material and research.

The Farmers Feed Us site allows consumers to tour farms online, learn about farming families and see for themselves how food is grown and ends up on the table.

The American Farm Bureau Federation, Indiana Farm Bureau, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and Ohio Farm Bureau are among more than 20 organizations representing each segment of the food chain that support the CFI.

Michigan Farmers' Market Tries Drive-Thru Approach

About 10 farmers’ market vendors will sell their goods today in a parking lot at the McDonald’s restaurant in Frankenmuth, Mich. Dietrich Bronner, president of the Frankenmuth Farmers’ Market, bills the event as the “World’s First Drive-Thru Farmers’ Market” and hopes it will generate interest in the weekly market that takes place each Saturday.

Organizers believe this is the first time a drive-thru farmers’ market of this type has been attempted. Growers will sell produce to patrons of McDonald’s using windows on both sides of customers’ cars.

The idea is for people to pull through the farmers’ market and order their produce first, then proceed to the drive-through of the restaurant. After receiving their fast food meal, drivers pick up their produce and head for the highway.

Vilsack Touts Biochar Potential

In a keynote address at the first major biochar conference in the United States at the University of Colorado in Boulder on Monday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the technology potentially could help fight climate change and even create new economic opportunities for farmers.

Biochar refers to a charcoal-like compound created through the heat generated by decomposition of plant material and is viewed as promising by some as a way to capture carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and hold it in the soil. “These are the kinds of innovations I think we’re going to see all over the country,” Vilsack said.

“Farmers, ranchers and forest landowners can play a very important role in addressing climate change and creating a new energy economy,” Vilsack said. “Biochar has the potential to create opportunities for the agriculture and forestry sectors to mitigate the effects of a changing climate while creating jobs in rural communities and offering new income sources to landowners.”

Vilsack said landowners may eventually use biochar as a soil amendment to improve agricultural production and enhance carbon storage, with income potential from sale of carbon offsets.

USDA to Offer Loan Restructuring

The Agriculture Department will try to help U.S. farmers and rural businesses survive the recession by offering loan restructuring and low-interest loans as needed.

In announcing the initiative Monday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said USDA would use its authority to maximize relief to borrowers. It sent a letter to borrowers to outline options including loan rescheduling, reamortization, deferral of payments and debt reduction.

In addition, USDA encouraged lenders that use USDA loan guarantee programs to explore all options to assist struggling producers. The options are similar to those offered under land ownership and farm operating loans made by USDA.

Obama Pledges to Resolve Mexican Trucking Dispute

In a summit in Guadalajara that ended Monday, President Barack Obama told his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon that he is committed to resolving a dispute over truck access to U.S. highways.

Removing restrictions that prevent Mexican trucks from delivering goods across the border has been a top issue for Calderon since the U.S. Congress, citing safety concerns, ended a pilot program in March that allowed some trucks access. Mexico retaliated by imposing $2.4 billion in tariffs on U.S. goods after the program ended.

Terry Bradshaw to Address Farm Bureau

The keynote address at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 91st annual meeting will be given by Terry Bradshaw, four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and a Texas rancher.

Members from across the nation will gather in Seattle, Wash. Jan., 10-13, 2010, to not only hear a great speaker, but also learn more about the forces shaping agriculture today. Attendees also will have the opportunity to participate in a grassroots policy setting process that will guide AFBF through 2010.

“Terry Bradshaw is an All-American icon, recognized for his accomplishments both on and off the field,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. In addition to his professional accomplishments in NFL football and sports broadcasting he also owns an 800-acre ranch in Texas where he raises cattle and breeds horses.

In his presentations, Bradshaw takes a close look at what makes people successful and encourages audiences to think in new ways about sacrifice, pain, competition and hardship. Farm Bureau members can register for the 91st AFBF convention through their state Farm Bureaus.

National Sign-up for Conservation Program

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced that the Agriculture Department will begin continuous sign-up for the new Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) on August 10, with the first signup period cutoff scheduled for Sept., 30.

CSP is a voluntary program that encourages agricultural and forestry producers to maintain existing conservation practices, while adopting additional procedures on their operations. Congress renamed and revamped the former Conservation Security Program to improve its availability and appeal to agricultural and forestry producers.

The program will be offered to producers in all nationwide through continuous sign-ups. Eligible applicants may include individual landowners, legal entities and Indian tribes. Agricultural and forestry producers must submit applications by Sept. 30 to be considered for funding in the first ranking period. Congress capped acreage enrollment at 12,769,000 acres for each fiscal year.

Revised Version of Farm Animal Care Bill Passes

Michigan’ s House Agriculture Committee passed new versions of House Bills 5127 and 5128, bills to make streamlined standards for farm animal care state law.

Along with other revisions the Animal Care Advisory Council has been expanded from 10 members to 12 members, two of which now represent the general public.

Unlike the vocal opposition the Humane Society of the United States has expressed, the nation’s oldest humane organization, American Humane Association, supports the legislation and submitted written testimony.

American Humane Certified Director Timothy Amlaw wrote, "We believe that agricultural interests in Michigan are on the right course by being proactive and addressing animal welfare standards with an effective and economically viable plan and within a reasonable time frame.”

Michigan Farm Bureau supports science-based animal care standards and believes this legislation provides a modifiable system for ensuring that livestock farmers are caring for their animals in a manner that supports animal health and food safety.

Forestry Plan Will be Tough on Farmers

AFBF Chief Economist Bob Young warns that the plan to replace farmland with forests in the climate change bill will be tough on farmers and ranchers and potentially food prices.

USA Today reports today that about 18 million acres of new trees—roughly the size of West Virginia—would be planted by 2020, according to an Environmental Protection Agency analysis of a climate bill passed by the House in June. The forestation effort would be even larger than one carried out by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression.

Rural Broadband Leads to Greater Economic Growth

Rural communities with greater broadband Internet access had greater economic growth than areas with less access, according to a new analysis by the Agriculture Department.

The study, “Broadband Internet’s Value for Rural America,” by economists at USDA’s Economic Research Service, compared counties that had broadband access relatively early by 2000 with similarly situated counties that had little or no broadband access. Employment growth was higher and non-farm private earnings was greater in counties with a longer history of broadband availability.

By 2007, the study found, most households—82 percent—with in-home Internet access had a broadband connection. However, there was a marked difference between urban and rural broadband use. Only 70 percent of rural households with in-home Internet access had a broadband connection in 2007, compared with 84 percent of urban households.

CWT to Remove 1.8 Billion More Pounds of Milk

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has tentatively accepted 294 bids in the third herd retirement it has conducted in the last nine months. The 86,710 cows and 1.8 billion pounds of milk accepted in this round, combined with CWT’s previous two herd retirements, equal a total production capacity of 4.8 billion pounds of milk being removed since December 2008.

This is the second-largest herd retirement since the farmer-funded self-help program started in 2003. The previous retirement round completed in July removed a record 101,000 cows and 1.96 billion pounds of milk.

“These two summer 2009 herd retirements, combined with the USDA’s recent price support increases, should result in very positive movement in dairy farmers’ milk prices,” said Jerry Kozak, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, which administers CWT.

Organic Produce Not More Nutritious

A study in the United Kingdom shows there is little difference in nutritional value and no evidence of any extra health benefits from eating organic produce.

The study, which is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found no differences in most nutrients in organically or conventionally grown crops, including in vitamin C, calcium, and iron. Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine looked at all the evidence on nutrition and health benefits from the past 50 years.

Senate Climate Debate Will Focus on Food Prices

The Des Moines Register reports that debate in the Senate on the massive climate change bill will focus more on the impact on food prices, rather than the influence on energy prices.

An analysis of the House-passed bill by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) predicts there would be less cropland as a result of the bill because acreage would be converted to trees to earn carbon credits.

This worries many senators because reducing the amount of available cropland likely would raise the price of commodities such as corn and soybeans, increasing livestock feed costs and eventually food prices.

However, the analysis was based on work done at Texas A&M University and did not specify how land conversion would take place. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told the Senate committee she had no idea how many acres of cropland would be affected.

Senate Keeps Rural Electric Grants Alive

The Senate broke with President Barack Obama on Monday as it voted to retain a grant program to help people in rural areas receive reasonably priced electricity despite the president's demand to kill it.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) backed Obama’s effort to eliminate USDA’s High Energy Cost Grant Program. The program provides money for electricity generation projects in places such as Indian reservations, rural cooperatives and, especially, Alaska. The White House budget office says the $18 million program duplicates a loan guarantee program that achieves the same kind of results at no cost to taxpayers.

Farmland Value Falls for First Time in 22 Years

The value of U.S. farm land has fallen 3.2 percent this year due to the recession, the first drop for farm land since the agricultural recession of the mid-1980s, according to the Land Values and Cash Rent report by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

In an annual report based on a survey made in early June that asked about land values at the start of 2009, NASS said farm land and buildings were worth an average $2,100 an acre.

The 3.2 percent decrease from 2008 is the first decline in farm real estate value since 1987, when a sharp contraction in the farm sector cut land values by 27 percent over five years, bottoming at $599 an acre in 1987.

Vegan Group Wants Cancer Warning on Hot Dog Packages

The Cancer Project filed a lawsuit in Essex County, N.J., on Wednesday, asking the court on behalf of three state residents to compel hot dog makers to put a cancer warning label on packages, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The group, a branch of the Washington, D.C.-based activist group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, wants the label to read: “Warning: Consuming hot dogs and other processed meats increases the risk of cancer.”

The Cancer Project is seeking class-action status for the suit. Defendants include Nathan’s Famous, Kraft Foods (which owns Oscar Mayer), Sara Lee, Marathon Enterprises and ConAgra Foods (which owns Hebrew National), according to the Times.

Nutritionists said in response that the science is more complicated than the Cancer Project implies, and also that such a warning label would not be effective in regard to public health.

“If we were to evaluate each food for its naturally occurring toxins and eliminate that food, then our food plate would be empty,” said Roger Clemens, a nutrition expert at the University of Southern California Pharmacy School.

Quote of the Day

“It is no consolation to stand with one foot in the campfire, one foot in the ice bucket and say, ‘On average I’m in good shape.’ It is no consolation to say to farmers and ranchers they’re going to be in good shape on average if you don’t know the regional differences.” – Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), commenting Thursday at the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on what the hotly debated climate change bill might mean for agriculture.

CRS Report Shows $400 Million Loss to Pork Industry

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report on Tuesday titled, “Potential Farm Sector Effects of 2009 H1N1 ‘Swine Flu’: Questions and Answers,” that points out predictions by some analysts that the U.S. pork industry could lose up to $400 million in the next few months due to lower market prices. Estimates show that 25 percent to 33 percent of U.S. hog producers may be adversely impacted by the H1N1 flu.

“Reduced demand for pork could have adverse ripple effects throughout the hog sector, resulting in production changes as producers respond to lower prices,” the report states. “Hog producers may choose to curtail planned farrowing and/or decrease their demand for weaned feeder pigs; or they may choose to liquidate or reduce herd sizes, if lower prices result in low/negative meat-to-feed profit margins.”

American Farm Bureau Reiterates Opposition to House Climate Change Bill

Climate change legislation unveiled last week (H.R. 2454) “ignores the complex needs of a very diverse U.S. agricultural industry” and will draw opposition from the American Farm Bureau Federation. In a letter sent Monday letter to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, AFBF President Bob Stallman said that while the bill does not include agriculture under the greenhouse gas cap provisions, in other respects, the bill fails to include key principles Farm Bureau identified as critical to U.S. agriculture.

“We have consistently advocated that any cap-and-trade bill must: recognize and support the benefits agriculture can provide; make economic sense for agriculture; provide for a strong leadership role for USDA; and base any carbon sequestration program on sound science,” the letter stated.

According to Stallman, some sectors of the economy were accommodated as the legislation was crafted, yet the bill ignores the complex needs of American agriculture.

Committee debate on the legislation began Monday. Republicans are expected to introduce up to 400 amendments to the bill; ranking member Joe Barton (R-Texas) indicated he plans to offer a substitute for the entire bill.

American Farm Bureau Picks 5th Leader Class

The American Farm Bureau Federation has selected a group of 10 young agricultural leaders to participate in the fifth class of the Partners in Agricultural Leadership (PAL) honors program.

Farm Bureau’s PAL program is carried out with support from the Monsanto Company, the Farm Credit Foundation and AFBF. It is designed to strengthen participants’ leadership skills and put their abilities to work for the benefit of agriculture.

Selected to participate in the 2009 program are: Allen Bonthuis, Michigan; Rose Bradshaw, Virginia; Tiffany Briggs, New Hampshire; Chris Chinn, Missouri; Heath Eisele, New York; Renae Gebhart, South Dakota; Garrick Hall, Utah; Ana Kennedy, Arizona; Ben Moore, Tennessee; and Stacy Thoeny, Minnesota.

“We’re pleased to announce the members of the fifth PAL class and we look forward to the contributions they will make as individuals and collectively to strengthen American agriculture and tell the farmer’s story,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “Each of the previous PAL classes has been an outstanding success. Thanks to continued partnerships with Monsanto and the Farm Credit Foundation, we are confident this one also will prove to be a stellar experience for participants.”

Tests Confirm H1N1 Did Not Originate on Mexico Hog Farm

Officials with Mexico’s agriculture department on Thursday announced test results indicating the H1N1 influenza strain that infected 4,300 people in 33 countries did not originate from hogs at a Smithfield Foods operation in Veracruz. The hogs at the Granjas Carroll de México farm also tested negative for other viruses.

April 24 was the first day the flu outbreak received broad media coverage. At that time, pork producers were already losing approximately $17.17 on every hog marketed, according to an analysis conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Regarding Monday to Thursday of this week, Jim Sartwelle, AFBF economist, notes, “The base price for the pork market formula increased $5.06 per hundredweight (cwt.) to $61.60/cwt. The big story is that $61.60 is $1.39 cwt. higher than the base price was on April 24. The ‘real’ cash price (negotiated cash) was $1.36 higher than the market formula base. Bottom line is that after two and a half weeks, the cash market has gotten itself back above pre-H1N1 levels.”

ABC News Outlet: Where do HSUS Donations Really Go?

Where millions of dollars donated to the Humane Society of the United States end up is being investigated by WSB-TV, the ABC News affiliate in Atlanta, Ga. On Thursday the station aired an “action news” segment in which reporter Amanda Rosseter said the issue goes deeper than simple consumer misunderstanding about where donations go. HSUS intentionally misleads consumers about how funds will be used to secure donations, according to the report.

You can watch the report HERE.

Is FFA a Dying Breed?

A 77-year-old tradition at Hampshire High School in Illinois is dying. The school’s FFA chapter will likely close in the next three years.

A group of Hampshire residents asked the school board to help keep the program going.

“We would like to do whatever it takes to try to preserve this long-standing tradition, not only at Hampshire High School, but in District 300,” said Mark Drendel, father of Hampshire FFA President Matthew Drendel.

Hampshire High School still has a school-supported FFA chapter of about 20 members, but since the new school building opened in 2008, no agriculture classes have been offered, Principal Chuck Bumbales said. To become an FFA member, high school students must be enrolled in an agriculture class. Unless the membership rules change or the school begins offering agriculture classes again, the club will die out when the current members graduate.

California Bill Would Extend Cage Ban Out-of-State

A bill is moving through the California Legislature that would extend the state’s upcoming ban on small cages for egg-laying hens to out-of-state egg producers.

The bill has received support from legislators who opposed Proposition 2. They say it will help California’s egg industry compete with out-of-state egg producers who, under current law, will not need to comply with Proposition 2 when its rules take effect in 2015. California’s $648 million egg industry is neutral on the legislation, which is championed by the same groups that backed Proposition 2.

Proposition 2 mandates that pigs, calves raised for veal and egg-laying hens have enough space to lie down, stand up, turn around and fully extend their limbs. Violators can face criminal penalties.

An Assembly committee analysis of the bill raised concerns that expanding Proposition 2’s rules to out-of-state egg producers could violate the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution meant to prevent states from restricting imports from other states.

In addition, the new legislation has failed to placate California egg producers’ frustration with Proposition 2. The industry is forming a new group, the Association of California Egg Farmers, mainly to deal with Proposition 2’s implementation

H1N1 Hysteria Fades from View

William Bradley penned a column for the Huffington Post pointing out that despite the media hysteria, the H1N1 virus has already faded from view. “Remember that big, dangerous swine flu threat that the cable culture was going on about round the clock, still scaring the sweat out of people a week ago? Why, it's going to ... er, never mind,” Bradley wrote.

The H1N1 flu turned out to be much less dangerous than regular flu. “This flu didn't cause physical mayhem, it caused media mayhem, with the cable culture locking on to it around the clock,” Bradley wrote.

American Farm Bureau Opposes Veterinary Antibiotic Legislation

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) expressed strong opposition to legislation that would remove and restrict important antibiotics for veterinary and farm use. In a letter to Congress, AFBF President Bob Stallman said the bills (H.R. 1549 and S. 619) would handicap veterinarians and livestock and poultry producers in their efforts to protect the nation’s food supply and maintain the health of their farm animals.

“Farmers and ranchers and the veterinarians they work with use antibiotics carefully, judiciously and according to label instructions, primarily to treat, prevent and control disease in our flocks and herds,” Stallman said. “Antibiotics are critically important to the health and welfare of the animals and to the safety of the food produced.”

“In order to raise healthy animals, we need tools to keep them healthy – including medicines that have been approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration,” Stallman said. “Restricting access to these important tools will jeopardize animal health and compromise our ability to contribute to public health through food safety.”

Stallman said more than 40 years of antibiotic use in farm animals proves that such use does not pose a public health threat. In fact, Stallman said that “recent government data shows the potential that it might occur is declining.” Bacteria survival through food processing and handling is decreasing, food-borne illness is down, development of antibiotic resistant bacteria in animals is stable and resistant food-borne bacteria in humans are declining.

Mexican Official: Flu Genetics Are Asian, European

According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, the genetic material found in the H1N1 flu virus is of European and Asian origin, not North American origin. Mexico's top government epidemiologist, Miguel Ángel Lezana, told the WSJ that it is “highly improbable” a farm in the Mexican state of Veracruz operated by Smithfield Foods Inc. is responsible.

That word comes after a flurry of charges issued earlier this week by groups with extreme views in opposition to modern livestock production methods. Several groups made accusations directly at Smithfield and the Veracruz facility. Smithfield stock dropped 3 percent yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange. Cash hog prices dipped again at most market outlets, but there was some recovery in June and July lean hog futures contracts.

Message on Capitol Hill: 'Don't Call H1N1 Swine Flu"

According to The Hill, a newspaper published every day Congress is in session and read widely on Capitol Hill and in Washington, D.C., offices, farm-state lawmakers are urging their colleagues to stop using the term “swine flu” for the H1N1 virus and are imploring them to stop using pig graphics on congressional Web pages.

“If I could make a request, please avoid using a pig in any graphics for the current flu outbreak that you are creating for your Web site and other media,” House Agriculture Committee communications director April Demert Slayton wrote in a Wednesday e-mail to all Democratic congressional press secretaries.

“As President Obama and other administration officials have explained, the current flu outbreak is most properly called ‘H1N1 flu.’ The moniker ‘swine flu’ suggests that people are getting sick through consumption of pork products, which is not correct,” Slayton wrote. “If you could please try to refrain from using ‘swine flu’ to refer to the outbreak (and please no pig graphics), this would be extremely helpful as the U.S. tries to maintain international trade and consumer confidence in our nation’s swine industry.”

'Why Chickens Need Cages'

Dennis Avery, a senior fellow for the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., wrote a column titled, “Why chickens need cages” that points out the importance of wired cages for the safety and comfort of birds.

Higher feed efficiency with the cages is kinder to the planet, because millions of acres don’t have to be converted from wildlife habitat to grow extra feed and for chicken pastures, Avery noted.

“Activist pressure hit the European Union years ago, and the EU announced it would ban cages for laying hens pending a report from an advisory commission. In due course, the advisory commission reported that non-caged layers pecked each other to death more often, while spreading salmonella and other dangerous bacteria,” Avery wrote.

Tennessee Farm Wife Poses Good Question to Pacelle

Chuck Zimmerman, a farm broadcaster with AgWired, posed a good question from a Tennessee farm wife to Wayne Pacelle, the president of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), when he addressed the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Washington Watch Monday night in Washington, D.C. The farm wife, who follows Zimmerman on Twitter, wanted to know how Pacelle plans to help farmers he is so strongly trying to put out of business.

Zimmerman posted Pacelle’s response on the AgWired blog, noting that the animal rights activist appeared defensive and avoided a direct answer. Zimmerman said he would characterize Pacelle’s comments to the NAFB meeting as a challenge to everyone in agriculture, especially animal agriculture.

Prop. 2 Worries Cage-Free Egg Farmer

Steve Mahrt, co-owner of Petaluma Farms in California, warns that the recently passed Proposition 2 could put local egg producers out of business. And Mahrt, who has used a cage-free environment for egg-laying hens for the past 25 years, says the measure is so vague and ambiguous that he is unclear if it applies to cage-free operations such as his own.

“It’s probably going to mean the end of an era in Petaluma,” Mahrt told the Petaluma Argus-Courier.

Local egg farmers say the regulations will mean fewer eggs can be produced and will increase the cost of doing business. Mahrt said his operation faces up to a two-thirds cut in production He is concerned big out-of-state producers, who don’t have to conform to Proposition 2 will gain a competitive advantage and further undercut the prices of Petaluma’s smaller egg producers.

Farm Bureau Conversations on Care Web Site Honored

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s Conversations on Care Web site has been named a national winner in the National Agricultural Marketing Association’s Best of NAMA Awards competition. The Conversations on Care site was the first-place winner in the “Web site, Educational Focus, Directed to Consumers” category. The Web site was created as a consumer engagement tool designed to create opportunities for dialogue between livestock producers and consumers. The site includes virtual farm tours, facts about animal care by species and an opportunity for consumers to seek information from producers. The site was produced by Osborn and Barr Communications. NAMA is the nation’s largest professional association for professionals in marketing and agribusiness.

Farming Communities Feeling Economic Pain

Farming communities that were largely insulated from the recession last year by high crop prices and other factors are now feeling the nation’s economic chill more acutely as corn, wheat and soybeans become cheaper and land values fall, according to the Associated Press.

Farmers across the Midwest and Plains states are increasingly cautious about spending on new equipment and land, and that is threatening businesses that until recently had been spared serious financial hardship.

The Agriculture Department predicts farm income will fall some 20 percent, or $18.1 billion, to $71.2 billion this year. USDA predicts farmland and farm building values will still rise about 2 percent nationwide in 2009, but that is significantly less than the nearly 7 percent growth seen in 2008. If farmers borrowed heavily against inflated land values, that may create problems.

Federal Assistance Available for Young Farm Producers

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled a new federal assistance program totaling $17 million in grants designed to help beginning farmers and ranchers.

Vilsack visited the Craig Evans family farm near Lathrop, in northwestern Missouri, to make the announcement. The program, which is part of the 2008 farm bill, is for producers who have farmed for 10 years or less. Beyond the $17 million available this year, another $19 million has been mandated for 2010.

Commenting on Vilsack’s visit to his farm, Evans said, “I just wanted to try and get the point across to him that the volatility of the markets that we’re facing makes the bottom line of our operation pretty difficult to forecast.”

American Farm Bureau Urges Obama to Find Resolution to Trucking Issue

In an effort to end trade sanctions against U.S. farm products by Mexico, the American Farm Bureau Federation sent a letter today to President Barack Obama seeking quick development and implementation of a cross-border trucking program that would comply with U.S. obligations under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Expressing disappointment in Congress’ decision this week to end the Transportation Department’s Cross Border Trucking Pilot Program, AFBF President Bob Stallman said Mexico has already responded by imposing $2.4 billion in trade retaliation.

“This action by Congress has come at a cost to U.S. agriculture and our exports to one of our top markets,” Stallman said. “We urge you to find a resolution that will honor our obligations under NAFTA, eliminating any cause for Mexico to halt U.S. trade.”

CAST Releases Paper on Gestation Accomodations

The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) has released a new issue paper examining the use of individual gestation accommodations for dry sows in commercial pork production.

CAST published the paper, Scientific Assessment of the Welfare of Dry Sows Kept in Individual Accommodations, because perceptions and misconceptions of welfare issues have the potential to dramatically impact swine production. The paper provides objective, scientific information on the welfare of dry sows housed in individual gestation accommodations.

“Too few statistically adequate, scientifically controlled trials on industry farms have been conducted; many reports are not useful for critical evaluation, thus for developing public policy,” said Task Force Chair Dr. Stanley Curtis, a professor of animal science at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. “More large-scale, on-farm, multidisciplinary, scientifically robust research and development are needed before rigid regulations should be imposed.”

Dr. John Bonner, CAST executive vice president, said the issue of swine welfare related to housing accommodations remains in the forefront of conversation in production agriculture and the mainstream media. “CAST strives to provide crucial scientific information on such important issues to facilitate informed discussions and decision-making,” Bonner said.

Conyers Introduces Equine Cruelty Bill

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) has introduced H.R. 503, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009, to prohibit certain conduct relating to the use of horses for human consumption. The legislation was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) sent a letter to all members of the House strongly opposing the bill.

H.R. 503 makes it a federal criminal offense to knowingly move, sell, purchase or transport a horse for human consumption. Unlike similar legislation introduced in previous sessions of Congress to strictly ban equine processing for human consumption, this legislation establishes a precedent for criminal prosecution for slaughtering a livestock animal.

The bill requires the U.S. attorney general to care for horses confiscated as a result of this legislation. H.R. 503 will not improve horse welfare, but it will punish horse owners, further restrict property rights, and, perhaps most importantly, set a dangerous precedent for criminal prosecution of livestock processing, according to AFBF.

NYT: Organic Certification No Assurance of Food Safety

Just because some foods have organic certification does not mean that they are safer to eat than conventionally grown foods, according to an article in the New York Times.

As an example, the recent outbreak of salmonella related to peanut products has proven that federal organic certification of those products did not prevent them from being unsafe, according to today’s article. People who are paying up to 50 percent more for organic food think they should be able to rely on organic products to be safer than others, the article asserts.

“Because there are some increased health benefits with organics, people extrapolate that it’s safer in terms of pathogens,” said Urvashi Rangan, a senior scientist and policy analyst with Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. “I wouldn’t necessarily assume it is safer.”

AFBF supports the right of producers to choose among all types of production methods including organic and conventional.

Census Shows 2, 204, 792 Farms in U.S.; 16, 700 in Utah.

The 2007 Census of Agriculture released Wednesday by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service says the number of farms in the United States has grown 4 percent and the operators of those farms have become more diverse in the past five years.

The 2007 Census counted 2,204,792 farms in the United States, a net increase of 75,810. Nearly 300,000 new farms have begun operation since the last census in 2002. Compared to all farms nationwide, these new farms tend to have more diversified production, fewer acres, lower sales and younger operators who also work off the farm.

The latest census figures show a continuation in the trend toward more small and very large farms and fewer mid-sized operations. Between 2002 and 2007, the number of farms with sales of less than $2,500 increased by 74,000. The number of farms with sales of more than $500,000 grew by 46,000 during the same period, according to the report.

The census report also showed the concentration of agriculture production has increased during the last five years. In 2007, 125,000 farms were responsible for 75 percent of the value of U.S. agricultural production, compared to 144,000 farms in 2002 for the same share.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack noted the increase in small and large farms, but said he was “deeply concerned” about the drop among middle-sized operations. Operations generating income between $2,500 and $99,999 all posted declines in the number of farms compared to 2002.

Shortage of Livestock Vets Presents Problem

A 13 percent increase in the demand for veterinarians involved in the food supply chain is predicted by 2016 according to Michael San Filippo, spokesman for the American Veterinary Medical Association. However, there is a 4 percent to 5 percent shortage in the number of people willing to take those jobs.

The predicted shortage reflects the fact that future veterinarians are growing up in cities or suburbs rather than on farms. Also, San Filippo noted that small animal practices tend to be more lucrative because they offer veterinarians the opportunity to see more clients than is possible when driving from farm to farm. Only about 10 percent of all veterinary school graduates are choosing to work with livestock.

The shortage poses a threat to the safety of the nation’s food supply. “There’s a lot of concern about disease being spread, whether it’s naturally or something that might be spread maliciously. If something’s not picked up on, that can cause a lot of damage,” said San Filippo.

AFBF supports legislation that encourages veterinary school graduates to work in underserved rural areas.

Clean Water Act Ruling a Major Blow for Ag

A three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that allowed pesticides to be applied to U.S. waters without a Clean Water Act permit.

This decision is a big blow for agriculture. AFBF is evaluating the court ruling and seeking information on how EPA will implement it.

On Nov. 27, 2007, EPA issued the final rule, which states that pesticides applied in accordance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act are exempt from the Clean Water Act's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting requirements. Environmental advocates challenged the rule, and AFBF intervened in defense of EPA’s rule.

The Wednesday court ruling held that all biological pesticides are pollutants requiring NPDES permits if they reach waters of the U.S. Similarly, any residue or excess from chemical pesticide applications that reach waters of the U.S. would be considered pollutants. As a result of this ruling, many, if not most, ground and aerial pesticide applications near or into water will likely require NPDES permits.

Egg Producer Explains Operations on YouTube

Illinois Farm Bureau’s second Conversations on Animal Care video is up on YouTube. In this two-part video, Keith Mussman, Kankakee County Farm Bureau president explains his family egg operation to the Kankakee County Kiwanis Club.

Mussman explains how his family entered the egg business in the early 1950s and compares “the good old days” to today’s modern systems. Mussman received high marks for his presentation.

The YouTube video includes two parts, Mussman’s presentation and a question and answer segment.

Mussman's Presentation on YouTube

Question and Answer session on YouTube

USDA Launches Unwanted Horse Study

At the request of AFBF, the animal care division of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is leading a study to quantify the impact of unwanted and abandoned horses.

The APHIS study will characterize the type, history, ownership and health status of unwanted horses entering animal control facilities, rescue and retirement facilities, and auction markets. It will involve 15 to 20 animal control and rescue organizations throughout the United States, as well as a number of auction markets that sell horses on a weekly or monthly basis.

The study will evaluate 300 to 500 horses over a one-year period and include surveys for owners, sales personnel, and animal control and rescue personnel. The survey data will be statistically analyzed and reported in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The information also will be disseminated to the equine community through lay journals, Web site fact sheets and outreach presentations.

While there are no firm calculations on the number of unwanted horses in the United States, it’s estimated to be about 100,000 animals based on previous processing statistics, anecdotal evidence and transportation data. The results of the APHIS survey will help to quantify and validate the true extent of the unwanted horse problem.

Stallman Corrects Kristof's Misconceptions

AFBF President Bob Stallman sent a letter Thursday to the New York Times, clearing up a number of misconceptions presented by Nicholas Kristof in an op-ed in Wednesday’s edition calling for a “secretary of food.”

Stallman made it clear that America’s food production is not broken, as Kristof insinuated. “It’s simplistic to suggest that most of society’s ills stem from our current food policy. Some of those ills, such as obesity, are the result of individual behavior. Other conditions Mr. Kristof decries are the result of consumer choice and preference. In fact, the marketplace now provides consumers with myriad opportunities to purchase the types of food Mr. Kristof prefers--a far better solution than having a new ‘food czar,’” Stallman wrote.

“To lay all of society’s problems on the front porch of U.S. farmers, who are the envy of the rest of the world, performs a disservice to them and millions of others who work in the U.S. food production system,” Stallman stressed.

Benefits of Livestock Grazing Important

The Capital Press reported Tuesday that delegates to the California Farm Bureau Federation’s 90th annual meeting agreed on the environmental benefits of livestock grazing. Discussions about livestock grazing resulted in an approved resolution that came in response to negative perceptions among regulators and others about grazing.

Ken Mitchell, a member of the organization’s sheep advisory committee, said, “There are enhanced benefits from grazing.” Mitchell, who raises turkeys and sheep, said, “If a stand isn't taken . . . and the status quo stays the same, the next generation won't necessarily know anything about grazing.”

The resolution calls for efforts to educate the public and government officials about scientific data that show the benefits from well-managed livestock grazing. It also advocates incentives and monetary compensation for environmental benefits provided by producers.

YouTube Tells Pork Success Stories

The Pork Checkoff is using the popular video-sharing Web site YouTube to highlight what the pork industry is doing right through three new videos on the checkoff's YouTube channel, the National Pork Board announced.

The new videos, which run one to two minutes each, include:

“Pigs Go Green”: Randy Spronk, a Minnesota pork producer, and Brad Greenway, a South Dakota pork producer, describe how they protect the environment, from fertilizing crop ground with swine nutrients to maintaining air quality.

“Ethical Treatment of Pigs”: Greenway, along with Dale Norton, a Michigan pork producer, and Leon Sheets, an Iowa pork producer, discuss how proper animal care and modern livestock facilities help farmers supply safe, high-quality food.

“Hungry Pigs” Norton and Gene Nemechek, a swine veterinarian and National Pork Board member, explain how pigs are fed a balanced diet that provides the proper nutrition for each stage of life.

Rural Initiatives Prove Daunting for Obama

The Washington Post reports today that President-elect Barack Obama’s plans to mount new initiatives to help family farms, end childhood hunger, and upgrade roads and bridges in rural areas will prove daunting in these cash-strapped times.

Obama’s commitment to the rural and impoverished parts of America helped him secure critical victories in Midwestern Corn Belt states, such as Iowa and Minnesota, and has heightened expectations for USDA as Obama prepares to appoint an agriculture secretary.

The Post says USDA is “still battling long-running problems: subsidy programs that give huge sums to ineligible, millionaire farmers; a food inspection system that puts Americans at risk for food-borne illnesses; and nutrition programs that fail to identify more than 30 percent of Americans who live in poverty and are at risk of hunger every month.”

The most urgent change needed for the Obama USDA, according to the General Accounting Office and the Congressional Research Service, is improving the department’s food safety inspections. At present, USDA and 14 other departments and agencies administer a patchwork of food safety laws that often overlap and do not always make public safety the first priority.

Another Obama campaign pledge, to end childhood hunger by 2015, also presents immediate challenges. The nation's economic crisis has pushed the number of families relying on food stamps to 30 million, an unprecedented high expected to climb as unemployment rates continue to rise.

EPA, Corps Offer Revised 'Navigable Waters' Guidance

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued revised guidance Wednesday to help clarify the scope of Clean Water Act (CWA) protections.

The new guidance updates an earlier document released in June 2007 that sought to interpret a very high profile Supreme Court ruling. The revised guidance attempts to clarify federal jurisdiction over traditional navigable waters; wetlands adjacent to traditional navigable waters; non-navigable tributaries that are relatively permanent; tributaries that typically flow year round; tributaries that flow seasonally (typically three months); and wetlands that abut such tributaries.

The agencies will not assert jurisdiction over swales or erosional features or ditches (including roadside ditches that drain uplands).

The agencies will apply the significant nexus standard as follows when the wetland or tributary is determined to affect the biology, hydrology or ecology of a downstream traditional navigable water.

The new language attempts to clarify that “traditional navigable waters” are those used, or susceptible to being used, for commercial navigation, including commercial waterborne recreation such as boat rentals, guided fishing trips or water skiing tournaments.

The “navigable waters” issue is a Farm Bureau priority, primarily because of its potential wide ranging impact on farmland, according to Don Parrish, AFBF senior director, regulatory relations. “Farmers and ranchers understand the importance of clean water and have long advocated the need for clear jurisdictional lines and a common sense definition of wetlands,” Parrish said.

AFBF Opposes Regulating GHGs Under Clean Air Act

The American Farm Bureau Federation opposes an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs) under the Clean Air Act, asserting it would essentially result in new taxes on livestock operations.

Most livestock and dairy farmers would not be able to pass along the costs incurred under this plan. Steep fees associated with this action would force many producers out of business. The net result would likely be higher consumer costs for milk, beef and pork.

According to Agriculture Department figures, any farm or ranch with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle or 200 hogs emits more than 100 tons of carbon equivalent per year, and thus would need to obtain a permit under the proposed rules. More than 90 percent of U.S. dairy, beef and pork production would be affected by the proposal.

EPA is seeking public comments until Nov. 28. AFBF is asking state Farm Bureaus to submit comments opposing the regulation of GHGs under the Clean Air Act. State Farm Bureaus are asked to get as many of their members as possible to submit comments opposing this rulemaking.

Obama Sees Ag Sector Responsible for Several Problems

TIn an article appearing in TIME on Oct. 23, President Barack Obama said, “Our agriculture sector actually is contributing more greenhouse gases than our transportation sector. And in the meantime, it’s creating monocultures that are vulnerable to national security threats, are now vulnerable to sky-high food prices or crashes in food prices, huge swings in commodity prices, and are partly responsible for the explosion in our health care costs because they’re contributing to type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease, obesity, all the things that are driving our huge explosion in health care costs.”

Agriculture and Prosperity: Inextricably Linked

The president of the global development program for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation says a society’s prosperity is inextricably linked with its agriculture.

In a speech at the World Food Prize Celebrations in Des Moines, Sylvia Mathews Burwell said history has shown that no country or region has ever lifted itself out of poverty without sustainable agriculture. She said this is a key reason the Gates Foundation has added agriculture issues to its portfolio.

Africa is the perfect illustration of the problem. The continent was a net exporter of food but now relies on imports to sustain itself. Burwell said the Gates Foundation is focused on changing that dynamic.

More information can be found from the Chicago Tribune.

Oprah Invited to Tour Illinois Livestock Farm

A press release issued today by the Illinois Farm Bureau reports that “daytime talk show icon Oprah Winfrey has a standing offer to travel downstate, strap on some boots and visit a livestock farm in her backyard.” The offer comes only hours before today’s broadcast of Winfrey’s show which is devoted entirely to the debate over Proposition 2. That initiative will appear on next month’s California ballot and, if passed, will severely regulate poultry, veal and pork production.

Philip Nelson, a LaSalle County grain and livestock producer and president of the Illinois Farm Bureau, said, “Oprah is obviously interested in the subject of animal welfare, and we have a great story to tell. If Oprah is willing to take some time out of her busy schedule to visit a farm, she would discover that modern livestock producers are ethically committed to the well being of their animals. Our livelihoods depend on the production of healthy animals. No one understands better than a livestock producer that well cared for animals mean healthy food for Americans and the rest of the world.”

Lisa Ling, a special investigative correspondent for Winfrey, went to the Kellogg family’s grain and hog operation in Yorkville. California livestock producers were also interviewed on the program, but the discussion was dominated by Wayne Pacelle, the leader of the Humane Society of the United States, the national animal rights group that put the measure on the California ballot.

Illinois Farm Bureau’s board of directors voted last month to make a $7,000 contribution to the campaign opposed to Proposition 2.

AFBF Provides COOL Guidelines

Livestock producers must provide definitive origin information to slaughter facilities under the new country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rule that went into effect this month. To help producers comply, the American Farm Bureau Federation has prepared guidelines for providing necessary COOL documentation to buyers.

Livestock producers may use one of the following methods to comply with COOL and provide the required information to buyers:

Affidavits: Packers may rely on producer affidavits to initiate claims. Affidavits must be made by someone having first-hand knowledge and must identify animals unique to the transaction. Producer and packer affidavits are available on the AFBF Voice of Agriculture Web site and may be used to comply with COOL. Producers can access the documents at:

http://www.fb.org/newsroom/nr/nr2008/10-03-08/COOLProducerAffidavit.pdf

http://www.fb.org/newsroom/nr/nr2008/10-03-08/COOLPackerAffidavit.pdf

National Animal Identification System (NAIS): Animals that are part of a NAIS-compliant system may rely on the presence of an official ear tag and/or the presence of any accompanying animal markings, as applicable, to base origin claims.

USDA-Approved Age Verification Programs: Participation in USDA Quality System Verification Programs (QSVP), such as the USDA Process Verified Program (PVP) and the Quality Systems Assessment (QSA) Program, which contain a source verification component, is also considered acceptable evidence to substantiate COOL claims.

PETA Urges Ben & Jerry's to use Human Milk in Ice Cream

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sent a bizarre letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., urging them to replace cow's milk they use in their ice cream products with human breast milk.

The request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin purchasing breast milk from nursing mothers and substituting breast milk for 75 percent of the cow's milk in the food he serves.

A spokesperson for Ben and Jerry’s said PETA’s approach was novel, “but we believe a mother’s milk is best used for her child.”

Farm Bureau Members Speak-Up on Animal Care

A diverse collection of farmers and ranchers from across the nation are sharing their thoughts with consumers on the importance of providing care to farm animals, and how the ultimate result is healthy food for American consumers.

Hillary Maricle, a beef and swine producer in Nebraska, and Bob Power, a swine producer in Mississippi, are just two of the seven farmers who have posted testimonials to consumers on AFBF’s www.ConversationsOnCare.com Web site. The seven producers who have shared a paragraph or two on that Web site regarding their values related to animal care are among a growing group of producers who have participated in a spokesperson training and consumer engagement program sponsored by AFBF. Their testimonials can be found at http://www.conversationsoncare.com/testimonials.aspx. In addition, many of the program participants are engaging with consumers and local leaders through local speaking opportunities and through interaction with members of the news media.

Country-Of-Origin Labeling Forms Available on Web

AFBF has prepared implementation guidelines for livestock producers to comply with the new mandatory country-of-origin labeling that takes effect Tuesday. COOL requires retailers to notify their customers of the country of origin of beef (including veal), goat meat, lamb, pork, poultry, fish, pecans, peanuts, macadamia nuts and other perishable agricultural commodities. Retailers, packers and their suppliers are mutually responsible for contributing the information necessary to meet the requirements of this new law.

Because livestock producers have first-hand knowledge concerning the origin of their animals, definitive origin information must be provided to slaughter facilities so that meat products can be accurately labeled at retail. Livestock producers should be prepared to provide necessary country-of-origin documentation to their buyers.

The forms are available HERE.

U.S. Chamber Opposes Proposal to Regulate CO2

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a new study Tuesday highlighting the devastating costs that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs) under the Clean Air Act will have on farms, businesses of every size, the economy and jobs.

The study, A Regulatory Burden: The Compliance Dimension of Regulating CO2 as a Pollutant, concludes that over 1 million mid-sized to large commercial buildings in the industrial, commercial and agricultural sectors could potentially become subject to a costly and bureaucratic permitting process if EPA moves forward with its proposed rulemaking.

AFBF, along with 11 other groups, sent a letter to the House last week expressing strong support for H.R. 6666, a bill introduced by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), that would direct certain greenhouse gases not be subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act.

EPA Lacks Authority in Dust Case

The American Farm Bureau Federation on Monday told a circuit court of appeals that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not have the legal authority to regulate agricultural dust under the Clean Air Act.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard oral arguments from AFBF and other parties both challenging and defending EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter in American Farm Bureau Federation et. al v. EPA.

Monday’s proceedings were the final stage of a two-year legal battle over whether EPA’s NAAQS violated the Clean Air Act. AFBF argued that EPA’s own studies did not show that agricultural dust caused the adverse health effects that trigger Clean Air Act regulation.

In the Monday hearing, EPA defended its standards for particulate matter. Michael Myers, representing the state of New York, argued that EPA ignored evidence that exposure to fine particles at levels below 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air can cause serious health effects. However, Brian Lynk, an attorney with the Justice Department representing EPA, says the agency found the evidence of effects from short-term exposure to be weak and, therefore, it was justified in not revising the annual standard.

AFBF Backs Greenhouse Gas Bill

The American Farm Bureau Federation has joined forces with 11 other groups to support H.R. 6666, a bill introduced by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) that calls for certain greenhouse gases (GHG) not to be subject to Clean Air Act regulations.

AFBF and the other groups sent a letter to Blackburn and the full House stressing that the Clean Air Act in its current form is not suited for regulating GHGs. The Blackburn bill is in response to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed rule to regulate GHGs. The EPA notice on the rule acknowledged that the Clean Air Act was not specifically designed to regulate GHGs.

Joining AFBF in the letter to Blackburn were the American Forest & Paper Association, American Gas Association, American Petroleum Institute, Agricultural Retailers Association, Corn Refiners Association, Florida Chamber, National Automobile Association, National Oilseed Processors Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Video Tells Story of Illinois Hog Farm

Chad Leman, a Farm Bureau member and pork producer in Illinois, has opened the door to his farming operation and invited millions of consumers into his pig barns via the video-sharing site – www.YouTube.com. The video is also one of three featured producer videos that can be found at the Conversations on Animal Care Web site – www.conversationsoncare.com.

Lenman serves as Illinois Farm Bureau’s representative on the AFBF Swine Advisory Committee. He also has served for three years on IFB’s Livestock and Dairy Grass Roots Issue Team. Married with four daughters, Chad operates Leman Farms, Inc., in partnership with his father, raising corn, soybeans and hogs with two full-time and two part-time employees.

AFBF’s Conversations on Animal Care initiative is a comprehensive effort that supports farmers and ranchers who are eager to engage consumers in a positive dialogue about animal care. The initiative also helps livestock producers share positive and personal insights on the care they provide farm animals, through presentations, speeches and other efforts to engage in communication with consumers. The initiative puts the faces of farmers and ranchers on our nation’s livestock care issues as they demonstrate that the animals they care for produce safe, healthy food for Americans.

Click here to see the video Lenman and his family produced in cooperation with Illinois Farm Bureau and the Conversations on Animal Care initiative.

California Egg Producer Posts Virtual Tour of Farm

Jill Benson of Modesto, Calif., a participant in the Conversations on Animal Care spokesperson program carried out by the American Farm Bureau Federation, has opened the virtual doors of her family’s farm to show consumers how they care for hens that lay eggs. Jill, whose great-grandfather moved to California and started the family farming business in 1909, hosts a YouTube.com video tour of her family’s modern egg production farm to show what it’s like inside the poultry facility, and to explain the care and feeding of the hens.

Visitors to www.youtube.com are encouraged to sign up for a free YouTube account and post comments about the new video. Jill’s video also will be featured on the home page of the www.ConversationsonCare.com Web site. An earlier YouTube video featuring Missouri hog farmer Chris Chinn is posted in both locations. Thus far, on YouTube alone, Chris’ video has been viewed more than 3,300 times.

To view Jill Benson's egg farm video, click HERE.

To view Chris Chinn's hog farm video, click HERE.

Utahns strongly supportive of local agriculture and public lands grazing

Utah Department of Agriculture survey finds that Utahns are overwhelmingly in support of local agriculture, and specifically support livestock grazing on public lands.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, "[a]lthough nearly two-thirds of the respondents said they had never lived on a farm, 91 percent said they considered farming and ranching important and 72 percent supported livestock grazing on public lands.

'"That's an encouraging message to the thousands of farmers and ranchers in our state," said Agricultural Commissioner Leonard Blackham. "We're also pleased to see the support for livestock grazing, since cattle and sheep ranching are so important to rural Utah's economy."

The survey, conducted in June of 210 people by Dan Jones and Associates, also found that when Utahns shop at the grocery store, 96 percent look for freshness in making their selections, followed by nutrition, 85 percent, and price at 82 percent. The survey has a margin error of 7 percent."

Efforts Under Way to Aid Turkey Plant

Help may be on the way for the central Utah company that produces turkeys and turkey products, which had planned to lay off about 450 employees for about three months.

This week, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s office announced that efforts were under way to prevent a shutdown at Moroni Feed Company, a co-op of turkey growers that produces the Norbest brand.

Company officials said last week that because of skyrocketing prices of corn, a main component in turkey feed, the business had become unprofitable.

Traditional Zanjeros Focus of L.A. Times Piece

Men known as “zanjeros” have long shepherded water in the West, but there are fewer of them all the time. Automated irrigation systems are taking their place as each drop of water becomes more precious in the West.

The Los Angeles Times recently published an in-depth look at this dying way of life in certain portions of rural America. Describing one long-time zanjero, Jose Romo, and his work in the Imperial Valley, Mike Anton writes, “His job is to deliver prescribed amounts of Colorado River water to farmers served by the Imperial Irrigation District in southeastern California. It’s a job rich in tradition, one that mirrors the settlement of the West and its complicated relationship with water.

“The zanjero was once the most powerful man in any community, entrusted with overseeing its most valuable resource. In early Los Angeles, he was paid more than the mayor.”

Sheep Shearing May Become A Lost Art?

Low wool prices and high shearing costs are behind the addition of a special breed of wool-less sheep to some flocks. Sheep producers focused on the meat market are turning to Katahdin sheep, which grow hair instead of wool. The Katahdin breed originated in Maine more than 30 years ago, and there are about 100 million hair sheep around the world.

Sheep numbers have risen slightly after declining significantly over the past decade, according to the American Sheep Industry Association. The nation’s sheep numbers fell from about 8 million in 1997 to 6.1 million in 2004, then edged up to 6.2 million this year.

Read more from the Associated Press, HERE.

University of California-Davis Seeks Producers for FMD Survey

Researchers at the Center for Animal Disease Modeling and Surveillance (CADMS) at UC-Davis are seeking livestock producers to participate in an online survey about foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease. The goal of the survey is to collect information for a computer simulation model that will help predict how FMD might spread in the U.S. and identify the control strategies for containment.

The online survey was launched in 2006 and is part of a research study funded by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense. The current version of the survey consists of nine questions about animal and people movements on and off the farm and takes only about 5-10 minutes to complete, according to researchers. Dairy, swine and goat producers, in particular, are sought for the survey.

FMD is a highly contagious animal disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, swine, sheep, goats and deer. According to CADMS, producer information from the survey will be kept confidential and used only for modeling purposes.

The survey can be found HERE.

Web site counters attacks on food production

A group of 18 national food and agriculture associations launched a Web site last week dedicated to telling the real story of the U.S. food system.

The Web site, www.bestfoodnation.com, contains current factual information about the positive contributions delivered by the food system each and every day, as well as individual stories about some of the millions of men and women who are dedicated to providing safe, abundant and affordable food in the United States.

“We believe it’s important to set the record straight when critics use out-of-date or inaccurate information to attack the food system,” said Mike John, a Missouri cattle producer and president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

The new Web site was created to counter “Chew on This,” the latest book by Eric Schlosser that is critical of food production and processing. Aimed at middle-school students, the follow-up book to “Fast Food Nation” offers sensationalized misinformation about the U.S. food system.

“We welcome open dialogue about our food system,” said Janet Riley of the American Meat Institute. “There are important issues worthy of discussion. However, some of the information contained in this book is inaccurate and misleading, and Americans should know the facts so they can form their own opinions.”

Visitors to the Best Food Nation Web site can learn about efforts that directly benefit the public, including the various healthful and balanced food choices offered by restaurants and food-product manufacturers, the creation of millions of jobs offering competitive wages, the practice of good animal welfare and environmental stewardship by our nation’s farmers and ranchers, and the numerous benefits local communities derive from the food and agriculture industries.

The American Farm Bureau Federation is among the 18 organizations supporting Best Food Nations.