READ the NAFB’s National Ag News as heard inside the BARN for Jan 24th

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“NPPC Says New Legislation Backed by UEP, HSUS Dangerous”

The United Egg Producers and Humane Society of the United States are focusing their efforts this year on Congressional passage of the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012. The legislation – introduced Monday by Representatives Kurt Schrader, Jeff Denham, Elton Gallegly and Sam Farr – will require egg producers to double the cage sizes for their laying hens – among other things. It’s part of an agreement between the UEP and HSUS that supposedly will end HSUS attacks on the egg industry.

Gene Gregory – UEP President and CEO – says egg producers shouldn’t have different, costly rules in all 50 states – which he says would happen if the legislation is opposed. Gregory says the legislation is needed for consumers and the survival of egg farmers. The National Pork Producers Council disagrees. NPPC President Doug Wolf says passage of the legislation would set a dangerous precedent for allowing the federal government – and special interest groups – to regulate how producers raise and care for their animals. He says pork producers don’t need or want the federal government and HSUS telling them how to do their jobs.

Treating farm animals humanely is an age-old principle for American farmers – Wolf says – a standard that doesn’t require an act of Congress. NPPC is urging opposition of the new legislation from lawmakers – saying a one-size-fits-all farm takeover bill is government intrusion on family farms at its worst.
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“Supreme Court Downs California ‘Downer; Law”

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a California law that bans the processing of all non-ambulatory animals. The National Pork Producers Association hailed the ruling.  The statuteprohibited the buying, selling, or receiving of non-ambulatory animals, the processing, butchering or selling of meat or products from non-ambulatory animals for human consumption and the holding of non-ambulatory animals without taking immediate action to humanely euthanize them.

NPPC President Doug Wolf, a hog farmer from Lancaster, Wisconsin, says – the Supreme Court’s ruling affirms the supremacy of the Federal Meat Inspection Act and USDA’s role in regulating meat processing plants. The court also recognized that non-ambulatory hogs with proper recovery time and veterinary oversight do not need to be condemned immediately in all cases.

The American Association of Swine Veterinarians and the National Farmers Union filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case. NFU President Roger Johnson says – these animals represent absolutely no health risk for consumers, so they should not be removed from the supply chain. Removing them only decreases the number of animals available for consumption and drives up food costs, while increasing bureaucratic red tape.

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“LightSquared Fighting Back”

LightSquared is crying foul. Saying tests of its service were “rigged”, the company has called on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to objectively re-evaluate this initial round of testing and also to evaluate mitigation proposals the company has proposed. LightSquared is charging that the process used to test GPS devices by Air Force Space Command on behalf of the Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Executive Committee was rigged by manufacturers of GPS receivers and government end users to produce bogus results.

Jeff Carlisle, LightSquared’s Executive Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy; and Geoff Stearn, LightSquared’s Vice President for Spectrum Development; charge the testing was shrouded in secrecy; the testing protocol deliberately focused on obsolete and niche market devices that were least able to withstand potential interference; and the testing standard does not reflect reality.

The company has called on the Federal Communications Commission and the NTIA to conduct the second round of tests on high-precision devices at an independent laboratory to ensure objectivity and transparency. LightSquared has agreed to meet every technical guideline requested by the Federal Aviation Administration, FCC and NTIA and will continue to work in collaboration with the federal government to resolve the GPS interference issues.

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“Grassley Reports to Senate Ethics Committee”

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley has notified the Senate ethics committee regarding questionable contacts by LightSquared concerning Grassley’s interest in the project.  Since last April, Grassley has been reviewing why the Federal Communications Commission rushed approval of the LightSquared project without adequately exploring what turned out to be widespread concerns of interference with the Global Positioning System devices widely used by the military, first responders, aviation, precision agriculture, and consumer navigation.

According to a news release from Grassley’s office, LightSquared made – a questionable contact that intimated benefits for Grassley if he softened his inquiry of government approval of the project. Grassley has written Philip Falcone of Harbinger Capital Partners, expressing concern that two separate incidents implied a desire to have Grassley “pull punches” in his investigation.

The second contact was from someone who intimated that he represented LightSquared in a call to Grassley’s staff.  The individual, Todd Ruelle, hinted that if LightSquared were allowed to proceed, Grassley’s home state of Iowa could get a “call center.” Grassley’s office advised Ruelle not to contact the office further. Grassley said he – won’t be a part of that.

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“California Appeals Injunction”

The California Air Resources Board has asked Judge Lawrence O’Neill of the U.S District Court for the Eastern District of California to stay the injunction he issued late in December that halted CARB’s implementation and enforcement of the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Judge O’Neill issued the injunction because he had determined that the LCFS violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution.  CARB has already filed an appeal of Judge’s O’Neill’s decision with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen and Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis, point out that – Judge O’Neill’s ruling clearly established that the LCFS significantly overreaches by attempting to regulate commerce in states outside of California. Both are confident the ruling will stand, particularly as the judge outlined other specific actions the state of California could take to regulate carbon emissions that would not infringe upon the business practices of entities outside of California’s borders.

In its December ruling, the District Court held that the LCFS: discriminates against interstate commerce, and attempts to regulate conduct occurring wholly outside the borders of the state of California.

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“American Ethanol NASCAR Relationship Continues”

American Ethanol will continue its relationships with Richard Childress Racing and RAB Racing for the 2012 season. Austin Dillon, 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion, will drive the iconic Number 3 Chevrolet during the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series season with American Ethanol serving as the primary sponsor for six races as well as one race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Dillon’s American Ethanol Chevrolet paint scheme was unveiled at the NASCAR Preview fan event in Charlotte, North Carolina.  

Dillon said, – I’m proud to carry the American Ethanol colors in NASCAR and representing American Ethanol, Growth Energy and the National Corn Growers Association.

In addition to American Ethanol’s partnership with Dillon, the organization will serve as an associate sponsor with the entire RCR family of drivers. Team owner Richard Childress as well as RCR’s Sprint Cup Series veterans Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Paul Menard will also serve as spokesmen for the cause.

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“RFA Annual Meeting Scheduled”

The 17th Annual National Ethanol Conference of the Renewable Fuels Association is scheduled for February 22-24 in Orlando, Florida.  Agriculture Secretary Vilsack will address the crowd of some 14-hundred attendees on February 24. The National Ethanol Conference is the preeminent conference for delivering accurate, timely information on marketing, legislative and regulatory issues facing the ethanol industry.  Information on the agenda and registration can be found at www.NationalEthanolConference.com.

RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen says – America’s ethanol industry is embarking on a new era for renewable fuels in this country.  With the continued support of the Obama Administration, Dinneen says – domestically produced ethanol will displace greater amounts of imported oil, expand the benefits of ethanol production beyond the traditional Corn Belt, and create tens of thousands of jobs all across America.

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“Researchers to Investigate E.coli”

The Department of Agriculture has awarded a research grant to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to help reduce the occurrence and public health risks from Shiga toxin-producing E. coli along the entire beef production pathway. Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, acting director of USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, presented the 25- million dollar grant to the UNL research team Monday at the university in Lincoln.

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli causes more than 265-thousand infections each year. Jacobs-Young said – as non-O157 STEC bacteria have emerged and evolved, so too must our regulatory policies to protect the public health and ensure the safety of our food supply. This research will help us to understand how these pathogens travel throughout the beef production process and how outbreaks occur. This will enable us to find ways to prevent illness and improve the safety of our nation’s food supply.

The project will focus on identifying hazards and assessing exposures that lead to STEC infections in cattle and on developing strategies to detect, characterize and control these pathogens along the beef chain.

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“Managing Herbicide-Resistant Weeds”

The Weed Science Society of America will co-sponsor an upcoming scientific summit on how to manage herbicide-resistant weeds – a costly and growing problem threatening crop production across the United States and around the globe. The May 10 event is being organized by the National Research Council, the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences, and will be held at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. 

David Shaw, a former president of WSSA and immediate past chairman of its Herbicide Resistance Education Committee, says – a significant contributing factor in the evolution of resistance is the repeated use of a single herbicide mode of action.  To counter this dangerous trend, we need to move to integrated weed management programs that incorporate a variety of other control methods.  According to Shaw, – doing so can help us preserve crop yields, herbicide effectiveness and the sustainability of vital agricultural production systems.

During one presentation, Stephen Powles, professor of weed science at the University of Western Australia, will discuss what his country is doing to combat herbicide resistance.

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“Sweet Corn Research First in Years”

In 2009, the Midwest Food Processors Association asked University of Illinois associate professor of crop sciences and USDA-ARS ecologist Marty Williams to conduct research on the relationship between plant populations and profitability in processing sweet corn. As a result of his research, Dr. Williams reports that higher yield and profitability are possible with greater plant populations of certain hybrids. This is the first research on this topic since the mid-1960s. 

Williams explains, – the priorities of processing sweet corn are quite different than fresh-market sweet corn. Unlike fresh-market sweet corn, ear size and appearance don’t really matter in processing sweet corn. What’s important is how many cases of sweet corn are produced per acre. In his research Williams said none of the hybrids came close to optimal plant populations of field corn.

According to Williams, – the sweet corn hybrid itself has a major effect on profitability. The gross profit margin to processors varied 15-hundred dollars an acre among hybrids. Williams says – if I were growing sweet corn under contract, I’d want to know the hybrid, since profit to the grower varied as much as 211 dollars per acre among the varieties tested. More research is needed.

SOURCE: NAFB News Service

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