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“HSUS Takes Another Stab at Pork Checkoff with Complaint to OIG”

In a complaint filed with USDA’s Office of Inspector General – the Humane Society of the United States is asking for an investigation into the National Pork Board’s potential use of checkoff dollars to support the National Pork Producers Council’s lobbying efforts. This follows a lawsuit filed by the group in September claiming NPPC has been financing its lobbying efforts in part through the sale of the campaign slogan “the other white meat.” At that time – NPPC CEO said it appeared there was no legal merit to the claim. He called it another desperate attempt by the group to severely curtail animal agriculture and take away consumer food choices. NPPC maintains that the claim pork checkoff funds have been misused is patently and demonstrably false. The group says this latest attack won’t scare pig farmers into abandoning practices that protect the well-being of their animals.

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“Veterans Join Lawmakers in Call for Extension of Wind Energy Incentive”

A group of lawmakers joined 40 veterans – many of whom have found post-military careers in the wind energy industry – Wednesday to urge Congress to include an extension of the production tax credit for wind energy in year-end legislation to continue expiring tax provisions. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley said the production tax credit for wind is working and should be part of the effort in Washington to help get more Americans working. He added that certainty about tax policy and affordable energy are factors for economic growth. According to Grassley – as much energy as possible should be produced at home to create jobs and strengthen economic and national security.

The Senate Finance Committee passed an amendment to extend the production tax credit for wind in August. Legislation to extend the production tax credit in the House of Representatives has 118 co-sponsors.

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“NFU Believes One-Year Farm Bill Extension Is Not a Good Idea”

There have been some reports that Congress may consider a one-year extension of the 2008 Farm Bill – which expired on September 30th. National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson says merely extending the current law may well be more difficult than passing a new five-year bill – but a short-term extension would reveal a litany of problems that won’t be easily fixed when a new farm bill eventually is signed into law. Johnson says the drought this past summer left producers unprotected because livestock and crop disaster programs had expired – yet extending the current law could leave farmers and ranchers in drought-stricken regions without the tools needed to recover. Johnson says a comprehensive, five-year farm bill just makes more sense than a temporary extension – which would be an inadequate solution that would leave U.S. farmers and ranchers – and the nation they feed – crippled by uncertainty. With the current legislative session quickly coming to an end – Johnson says it’s imperative now more than ever for Congress to act before substantial harm is done to farmers, ranchers and all Americans.

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“USDA Begins CEAP Survey”

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is conducting a survey for the 2012 National Resources Inventory Conservation Effects Assessment Project about farming and conservation practices on cultivated cropland in the Des Moines River and Western Lake Erie basins. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says this survey matters because it helps tell USDA about current farming and management activities that help protect soil and water resources. The information gathered will help USDA improve and strengthen technical and financial programs to help landowners plan and adopt on-farm conservation practices – according to Vilsack. From now through January – NASS representatives will visit more than 24-hundred farms throughout Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Minnesota – asking for information about their on-farm production practices, chemical, fertilizer and manure applications, integrated pest management and adopted conservation practices. For more information about the survey – go towww.nass.usda.gov.

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“Conservation the Focus of Upcoming USDA Virtual Office Hours”

The next live Virtual Office Hours session on Twitter will focus on USDA’s record conservation achievements and efforts to reconnect Americans to the great outdoors. USDA enrolled a record number of acres of private working lands in conservation programs in 2011 – working with more than 500-thousand farmers and ranchers to implement conservation practices. USDA Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Environment and Climate Change Robert Bonnie will host Virtual Office Hours next Thursday (November 29) at 10 o’clock Central time. He will answer Twitter queries on conservation and the importance of outdoor traditions. You can submit your conservation-related questions in advance to the @USDA Twitter account using the hashtag #AskUSDA – then tune in online next week by following @USDA and using the same hashtag.

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“USDA Heads to Russia for Second Trade Mission This Year”

From December 3rd through the 7th – USDA Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse will lead a mission to Russia – promoting U.S. ag exports to the country – with representatives from Idaho, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Kansas – and 23 American companies. Only one-percent of U.S. companies export today – even though 95-percent of the world’s consumers live outside of the U.S. – yet the U.S. ag economy is experiencing its strongest period in history with record exports and near-record income for farm families. Scuse says people around the world continue to demand U.S. food and ag products – so USDA has aggressively worked to expand export opportunities and reduce barriers to trade to ensure these successes continue. In Fiscal Year 2012 – two-way ag trade between the U.S. and Russia was valued at nearly 1.5-billion dollars – and American farm exports represented 97-percent of that total.

U.S. food and ag exports are expected to reach 143.5-billion dollars in Fiscal Year 2013 – going well above the 2011 record. USDA’s goal through this mission – the second major USDA ag trade mission this year for U.S. companies – is to provide participants with first-hand market information, access to government decision makers and one-on-one meetings with business contacts, potential agents, distributors and importers so they can enter or expand their presence in the Russian market.

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“IA’s Grassley Has Focus Area for USDA’s Scuse on Trade Mission to Russia”

During a trade mission to Russia – Senator Chuck Grassley would like USDA to focus on lowering Russian barriers to U.S. agricultural products including beef, pork and poultry. Grassley wrote to Under Secretary Michael Scuse that U.S. farmers deserve to be treated fairly by our international trading partners. According to Grassley – Scuse has an opportunity in Russia to continue advancing that case for our farmers. Grassley says the U.S. has missed key opportunities – including before the country’s accession to the World Trade Organization – to address Russia’s unscientific barriers to U.S. agricultural products. As Congress moves closer to allowing Russia to have Permanent Normal Trade Relations status – Grassley says the Obama Administration needs to keep the pressure on Russia to eliminate safety standards that aren’t supported by sound science.

USDA notes agricultural trade between the U.S. and Russia is significant. The two-way trade was valued at roughly 1.5-billion dollars in fiscal year 2012. American farm exports accounted for 97-percent of that total. U.S. beef, pork and poultry exports collectively ranked second only to aircraft engines in total U.S. export value to Russia last year. Scuse will lead the trade mission to promote U.S. agricultural exports to Russia December 3rd through the 7th. Representatives from the states of Idaho, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Kansas – as well as 23 American companies – will join Scuse.

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“USDA ARS Study Shows Cows Not Most Often the Cause of E. coli”

Scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture have identified E. coli sources that suggest pathogens in local waterways in some parts of California are carried more through runoff from urban areas instead of from animal production facilities. While most strains of the bacteria are non-pathogenic – it is monitored by public health officials as a water quality indicator. When E. coli is found in lakes, rivers and other water bodies – cows are blamed many times. Agricultural Research Service scientists collected 450 water and sediment samples from 20 different places along California’s middle Santa Ana River Watershed – including urban areas, livestock feeding areas, parks, National Forest lands and three wastewater treatment plans. The scientists extracted the bacteria from each sample – identifying 600 different E. coli isolates. Scientists found the most variety of different types of the bacteria in runoff from areas with a lot of urban development or human activities. They tested each isolate for antibiotic resistance – discovering a majority resistant to two antibiotics – rifampicin and tetracycline. They also found 24-percent of the bacteria from urban runoff was resistant to as many as seven antibiotics.

SOURCE: NAFB News Service