12-16-11 MONSANTO’S VISTIVE GOLD SOYBEANS TRAIT RECEIVES USDA DEREGULATION

ST. LOUIS, (December 16, 2011)—The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today it has deregulated the biotech trait, MON 87705, in Monsanto’s Vistive® Gold soybeans. The improved soybeans produce soybean oil with increased levels of monounsaturated fat while significantly lowering saturated fat.

“With the availability of Vistive Gold soybeans, farmers will soon be able to deliver an economical and sustainable source of nutritionally improved soybean oil to consumers and food companies,” said Joe Cornelius, Monsanto global technology lead for food quality traits. “Vistive Gold soybeans are a breakthrough innovation that represent years of collaboration across the food supply chain. Monsanto worked closely with the food industry, health and nutrition communities and agricultural sector to bring a biotechnology trait with direct consumer benefit. The result, Vistive Gold soybeans, is one step closer to reality with the recent USDA deregulation.”

12-16-11 CO Gov Hickenlooper and Lt. Gov. Garcia reaction to latest Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge decision

DENVER ­— Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 — Gov. John Hickenlooper and Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia today released these statements about the latest Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge grant announcement:

“The state’s Race to the Top application was developed through a collaborative process that brought together the state’s smartest child advocates,” Hickenlooper said. “This extensive planning helped create a clear roadmap for pursuing the best educational outcomes for our state’s kids. Colorado is a national leader when it comes to education reform and we remain committed to supporting our teachers and students in every way possible.”

“Colorado has seen so much progress already in the quality of early learning programs that help ensure every child starts school ready to learn,” Garcia said. “We will continue to build on the solid foundation already set for creating a stronger workforce, providing families with the tools and resources they need and to building community capacity to serve young children and their families.”

Colorado applied for $59.8 million in Race to the Top funds to help accelerate plans to improve school readiness by strengthening the quality of all early learning programs, increasing access to high-quality programs and developing the capacity of those people, places and programs serving children with the highest needs.

In a separate Race to the Top application focused on the K-12 system, Colorado is one of nine finalists to apply for a $17.9 million grant by updating the state’s last application submitted in June 2010.  The U.S. Dept. of Education will announce these grant recipients by the end of this month.

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12-16-11 TODAY: Acting Biomass Program Manager Dr. Valerie Reed to Host Live Twitter Q&A on Advanced Biofuels @ 11am MST

Washington, D.C. – On Friday, December 16^th, the Energy Department (@energy) will be hosting a live Twitter Q&A on biofuels with Dr. Valerie Reed, Acting Manager of the Biomass Program.

Dr. Reed holds a Ph. D. in Biochemistry from Georgetown University. In addition to her programmatic activities, Valerie is a founding member of the Metabolic Engineering Working Group, which is an interagency effort to advance metabolic engineering technologies for industrial, agricultural and human needs. She also co-chairs the Interagency Working Group on Conversion Technologies established through the Biomass R&D Board to coordinate the Federal effort on Bioenergy.

This live Q&A caps off a string of stories about the Department’s efforts to develop and commercialize advanced biofuels that have been featured throughout the past two weeks on Energy.gov.

You can submit your questions on biofuels to Dr. Valerie Reed in advance of the event by:

• Sending an email to newmedia@hq.doe.gov;
• Tweeting your question to @energy with the hashtag #biofuels; or
• Leaving a question for Dr. Reed at Facebook.com/energygov.

WHAT:          @Energy Twitter Q&A with Biofuel expert Dr. Valerie Reed

WHEN:          TODAY, Friday, December 16, 2011 @  11:00 PM MST

HOW:            Join the conversation at @Energy

To learn more about the Department’s efforts to develop and commercialize advanced biofuels, visit our biomass page:  http://energy.gov/biomass.

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12-16-11 Watch the 2012 NCBA Annual Convention & NCBA Trade Show Promo…GET REGISTERED TODAY!

12-16-11 Washington’s Beef Industry Raises $107,427 for Beef Counts

200,000 Servings of Beef Provided to Second Harvest 

Seattle, Wa. – A single 535 pound steer generated $31,832 at a fundraising auction on December 6, 2011 to benefit Washington’s Beef Counts program.  Beef Counts was created by the beef industry to provide nutritious beef to struggling Eastern Washington families through Second Harvest food banks.

The contributions from local cattle ranchers and feeders raised the total beef industry donations for the year to $107,427. The goal of the Beef Counts program is to provide the food bank with a steady supply of beef throughout the year.  Launched in 2010, over 16,500 beef roasts have already reached those in need.

One hundred percent of the tax-deductible Beef Counts donations are used to provide beef to Second Harvest. Without the beef donation, only 4% of the food Second Harvest distributes is protein, which equates to only 0.7 servings of protein per person – far below the USDA recommended 6 ounces of protein per day.

“We feel privileged to participate with the beef producers in Washington in the Beef Counts program,” said Rick Stott, Agri Beef Co. Executive Vice President. “It is very gratifying to think that from the $107,000 that was raised in 2011, our industry will be able to provide over 200,000 beef meals to neighbors that are struggling to put food on their table.  I am continually humbled by the generosity of the beef producers to those that are in need.”

The auction rounded out Beef Counts Week, a series of mobile food distributions across Eastern Washington where local farmers and ranchers personally helped hand out the beef roasts to those in need. In just four days, the beef producers distributed 60,354 pounds of beef to 1,555 families in need of food assistance. The events generated tremendous media coverage putting a positive face on Washington’s beef industry.

12-16-11 Inside Farm Service Agency – Colorado with Jenny Peterson…Upcoming Program Deadlines & Signups

CLICK HERE to visit USDA-FSA-Colorado's Website

(The BARN – Briggsdale, CO) December 16th, 2011 - Joining the BARN by telephone is Jenny Peterson, USDA-FSA-CO Farm Program Chief with an update on the on-going Sign-ups, deadlines and Upcoming Signups for Colorado’s Ag Producers. The interview includes information on the following:

• (SURE) Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program
• (LFP) Livestock Forage Disaster Program
• (LIP) Livestock Indemnity Program
• (ELAP)Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program
• (NAP) Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance 
• Discrimination Claims of Hispanic and Women Farmers
• Seasons Greeting from USDA-FSA-CO
• & MUCH MORE

To listen to the interview, click the following mp3 audio link…121611_USDA_FSA-CO_Deadlines_Peterson_6m

For more information about Colorado’s Farm Service Agency – CLICK HERE

12-16-11 *NCBA News* How to “Vitalize” Federal Lands Grazing

By Joe Guild, NCBA Federal Lands Committee chairman; and John Falen, Public Lands Council president

The U.S. beef industry is diverse, with a presence in all 50 states. Despite that diversity, we all have common goals of raising healthy beef in an environment free of overly burdensome government interference and to pass down successful operations and healthy natural resources to future generations. These goals are threatened by the growing number of laws and regulations that govern what we do. Federal lands ranchers have unique challenges. In the West, where the federal government owns roughly half the land mass, more than 22,000 ranchers have the challenge of running our operations, in part, on federal land.

Much cost and uncertainty accompanies our partnership with the federal land management agencies. They have high environmental standards and paperwork obligations to live up to—more, in fact, than they are able to handle. Environmental activists groups never miss a chance litigate especially when grazing permits are concerned.

USGC Global Update for December 15th, 2011

Council Leadership Team First to Follow Up on FTAs - Page 1
U.S. Corn Mission Sees Potential in Vietnam – Page 2
USDA’s Weekly Export Sales Highlights for December 2-8, 2011 - Page 3
Sorghum Gets a Face-Lift – Page 4
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Council Leadership Team First to Follow Up on FTAs
An elite U.S. Grains Council delegation was the first group to meet with key officials in Panama and Colombia since U.S. passage of the Colombia and Panama free trade agreements (FTA).

USGC Chairman Wendell Shauman, National Corn Growers Association Chairman Bart Schott, were accompanied by Council staff, Floyd Gaibler, director of trade policy, Chris Corry, director of international operations, and Kirk Schultz, regional director in Latin America. The team explored the outlook for FTA implementation with government officials in both countries, with private sector grain customers, and with U.S. ambassadors and USDA staff.

“The Council has been committed to regaining unfettered access to markets in both Panama and Colombia,” Shauman said. “The FTA will go far toward reversing trade flow of South American corn and soybeans moving into the Caribbean Basin.”

Schott, who spent much of his year as NCGA president working for U.S. ratification of the agreements, said, “Our purpose was to see how far those folks have gone on implementing the FTAs,” said Schott, who spent much of his year as NCGA president working for U.S. ratification of the agreements.

READ the NAFB’s National Ag News as heard inside the BARN for December 15th

CLICK HERE to listen to TODAY's BARN Morning Ag News with Brian Allmer...

Sponsored by the American Farm Bureau Federation

“Organic Dairy Farm Placed on Suspension”

An organic dairy, located southwest of Phoenix, Arizona, is poised to lose its USDA organic certification. The enforcement action against Shamrock Farms is the result of a USDA investigation into organic livestock management practices that was triggered by a formal complaint from The Cornucopia Institute. Federal organic regulations require that cows be grazed. During 2008, Shamrock employees told the Institute that some confined cows had not been grazed for weeks. Shamrock is Arizona’s first-ever certified organic dairy.

John Boerer, a Modesto, California dairy producer says – as an organic dairy farmer who believes in and follows the law, I am upset that outfits like Shamrock are allegedly cheating and deceiving organic consumers. Mark Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst for Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute, says – the good news for organic consumers is that based on our research 90 percent of all organic dairy brands are produced with high integrity. He says – scofflaws like Shamrock are unfortunate aberrations.

Shamrock’s organic certifier, Quality Assurance International, has been asked by USDA to handle the suspension.

*********READ MORE NAFB AG NEWS BELOW******************************

“Study Confirms Eating Beef is Healthy”

In a first of its kind study, researchers at The Pennsylvania State University demonstrated that eating beef everyday as part of a heart-healthy diet can improve cholesterol levels. The Beef in an Optimal Lean Diet study, funded by the Beef Checkoff, followed 36 men and women with moderately elevated cholesterol levels who consumed four diets for five weeks each to measure the impact of each diet on heart health risk factors such as LDL cholesterol levels. Subjects experienced a 10 percent decrease in LDL cholesterol from the start of the study. Further, after five weeks, there were significant reductions in total cholesterol.