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Smith Named Missouri Agriculture Director
Published: May 07, 2007
Citing her successful record as a champion of Missouri agriculture, Gov. Matt Blunt has appointed Katie Smith the director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Smith grew up on a family farm in Platte County and has spent her career working to further Missouri agriculture interests and values at the nation's Capitol.
"Katie Smith was raised in the heart of Missouri agriculture and has spent her career working to promote our state's rich agriculture heritage," Blunt said. "Missourians can be pleased with the fact that Mrs. Smith has agreed to take on this important challenge and lead our state's agriculture department. Her experience in Missouri fields, our nation's legislative chambers and the executive branch of government will provide tremendous knowledge, insight and perspective to benefit Missouri agriculture and farm families."
Smith has worked in USDA, the U.S. Department of Energy, and served for federal elected officials in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Most recently she served as deputy assistant secretary in the Department of Energy's Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. At USDA, she served as special assistant to USDA Undersecretary Bill Hawks where she represented the department during the 2002 Farm Bill conference negotiations and served as the agriculture representative for the transition of agriculture border inspectors to the Department of Homeland Security.
She served for four years as the chief policy advisor on agriculture issues for Senator Jim Talent (R-Mo.). She has also worked on agriculture issues for Senator Kit Bond (R-Mo.) and Congressman Sam Graves (R-Mo.).
"Agriculture is the cornerstone of our state's economy, and I look forward to the opportunity to build on the successes in Missouri agriculture under Gov. Blunt's leadership," said Smith. "I look forward to advancing your initiatives for one of the state's largest economic engines by continuing to promote the production and use of ethanol and biodiesel, building on the branded beef initiative and increasing the number of dairies in the state."
Smith grew up on a family farm in Platte County where she was engaged in the production of corn, soybean, cattle, and tobacco. Smith holds her bachelor's in agriculture journalism from the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Smith is the first woman ever to serve as the Director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture. The department was established in 1933.
Smith and her husband, Christopher, live in Missouri with their daughter, Mary Agnes. (Contact: Rick Kirchhoff)
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NASDA and NAFTA Counterparts Set Work Plans for Accord
Published: May 07, 2007
On April 21, the secretaries, commissioners, directors, ministers and senior government officials from six Canadian provinces, 16 U.S. states and 20 Mexican states concluded the 17th annual meeting of the Tri-National Agricultural Accord in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The U.S. delegation was led by NASDA Secretary-Treasurer and Delaware Agriculture Secretary Michael Scuse. At the closing ceremony, Scuse said, "We have our differences but in the end we have achieved success because of our similarities. We continue to take steps to strengthen market integration. Those steps include recognizing how we must work together on issues that are important to our countries. These include animal and plant health, biosecurity, bioenergy, invasive species, rural development, and nutrition."
The Mexican delegation was headed by the Hon. Jorge Kondo, Sinaloa secretary of rural development and president of the Mexican Association of the States Secretaries of Rural Development (AMSDA). The Canadian delegation was headed by the Hon. Pat Bell, British Columbia minister of agriculture and lands.
The delegates conducted tri-lateral meeting sessions on rural development, harmonization, and trade remedy policy. The bi-lateral working groups met and developed work plans for the 2007-2008 year. The U.S./Mexico Accord Working Group was co-chaired by New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Miley Gonzalez and the U.S./Canada Accord Working Group was co-chaired by Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Gene Hugoson.
During the bi-lateral meetings, Constance Jackson, associate administrator of USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), provided a report on U.S./Mexico trade issues and Norval Francis, assistant deputy administrator, FAS Office of Country and Regional Affairs, reported on the actions of the Consultative Committee on Agriculture (CCA) for Canada.
The Accord communique and other meeting materials can be located on NASDA's website at http://www.nasda.org/Accord/index.htm. During the meeting, the U.S. delegation extended an invitation to its Canadian and Mexican counterparts to meet in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, for the Eighteenth Meeting of the Tri-National Agricultural Accord on August 13 to 15, 2008. (Contact: Jennifer Yezak)
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Members of Congress Push for Increased Funding for Specialty Crop Block Grants
Published: May 07, 2007
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.), and 65 of their House colleagues asked appropriators to provide the full $44.5 million in block grants to state agriculture departments in the fiscal year 2008 appropriations bill. The grants support research, improve food safety and inspection, and enhance the ability of American producers to compete internationally. In a letter sent last week to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Congressional members urged appropriators to fully fund the Specialty Crop Block Grants program which received only $7 million of the $44.5 million authorized by the Specialty Crop Competitiveness Act of 2004 for each of the past two years.
"Growers in Washington state are not only competing with farmers down the road, but around the world," said Larsen. "To help Washington farmers thrive in the face of international competition, we need to plant the seeds for success. That means investing in initiatives that work like the Specialty Crop Block grants program."
The letter states that specialty crop block grants are urgently needed to promote investment in research and targeted strategies that will enable U.S. specialty crop growers to remain competitive in global markets. It also went on to say that the specialty crop industry plays an important role in the overall agriculture trade picture, and the Specialty Crop Block Grants can provide the necessary tools needed for the industry to prosper.
In March, Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.), Putman, Larsen, Rep. John Salazar (D-Colo.), Rep. Randy Kuhl (R-N.Y.), and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) introduced the "Equitable Agriculture Today for a Healthy America Act" (EAT Healthy America Act). This bill would support specialty crop growers by increasing market access, encouraging and facilitating consumption of nutritious agricultural products, expanding funding for research programs and increasing opportunities for family farmers in conservation programs. (Contact: Jennifer Yezak)
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Coalition Urges Action on Interstate Meat Sales Legislation
Published: May 07, 2007
NASDA and a coalition of fifty agricultural and other organizations sent a letter to the Senate May 1 expressing strong support for legislation that would allow state-inspected meat and poultry to be sold in the national marketplace. Two bill have been introduced in the Senate--S. 1149 by Sens. Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.), Max Baucus (D.-Mont.), and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.); and S. 1150 by Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) which take different approaches to achieve this goal.
Current law from the 1960s prevents state-inspected meat and poultry products from being sold across state borders. The coalition letter points out that meat and poultry products from 34 foreign countries can be freely shipped and sold anywhere in the United States, but domestic processors and small businesses are denied this same market opportunity. The coalition also noted that no other state-inspected food commodities are prohibited from being shipped across state lines. A copy of the coalition letter is posted on the NASDA website.
Interest and support for interstate meat sales legislation is getting attention in Congress. Both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees held hearings on livestock competition issues last week. Both lawmakers and witnesses at the hearings expressed support for legislation. (Contact: Charlie Ingram)
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FDA Commissioner Announces New Food Protection Position
Published: May 07, 2007
Commissioner of Food and Drugs Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach has announced the creation of the position of assistant commissioner for food protection to provide advice and counsel to the commissioner on strategic and substantive food safety and food defense matters.
David Acheson, M.D., F.R.C.P. will be assigned to this new senior leadership role, effective immediately.
"The protection of America's food supply and therefore the safety of Americans eating food of domestic or international origin is of utmost importance to me as a physician, and to the mission of this agency," von Eschenbach said. "We've seen a rapid transformation of the food safety system due to advances in production technology, rapid methods of distribution, and the globalization of food sources. Acheson's wealth of experience, and knowledge of the science behind food protection, will help the agency keep pace with this transformation in order to ensure that the safety and nutritional value of our food supply is second to none."
Currently, Acheson serves as chief medical officer and director of the Office of Food Defense, Communication and Emergency Response at the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN).
In his new role, Acheson will work with individual FDA product centers, as well as the Office of Regulatory Affairs to coordinate FDA's food safety and defense assignments and commitments.
One of Acheson's first projects will be the development of an agency-wide, visionary strategy for food safety and defense. The strategy will identify and characterize changes in the global food safety and defense system, and identify current and future challenges and opportunities. It will also name potential barriers, gaps, and most critical needs in a food safety and defense system. The strategy will serve as the framework in helping the agency prioritize and address food safety and defense challenges. (Contact: Rick Kirchhoff)
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