NASDA News October 24, 2007

Compromise Reached On State Meat Inspection
Published: October 23, 2007

        A compromise has been reached on allowing interstate shipment of state-inspected meat and the provision will be included in the senate version of the farm bill, says North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson.

        NASDA President Johnson announced the compromise after a series of meetings in Washington, D.C., last week and further negotiations with consumer, labor and farm groups, and congressional leaders over the weekend.

       "The compromise creates a new, optional program within federal law that provides federal oversight of state-inspected facilities that want to ship products across state lines," Johnson said.

       Johnson noted that under the compromise, state inspection programs will continue to maintain their current cooperative agreements with the federal government which require state programs to be at least "equal to" federal requirements.

       "The goal of this new program is to ensure the safety of meat and poultry products sold in interstate commerce and to open new markets for products from smaller, state-inspected companies," Johnson said.

       Processing establishments with up to 25 employees will be eligible to participate in the program.  Companies will be required to use a federal mark, stamp, tag or label of inspection.

       Johnson has lobbied on behalf of NASDA and state-inspected processing establishments, arguing that these businesses meet or exceed all federal food safety requirements.

       "The present system is simply unfair and wrong," he said. "Meat and poultry products from nearly 40 countries can be shipped and sold anywhere in the United States, while state-inspected products are limited to their state of origin."  (Contact: Rick Kirchhoff or Charlie Ingram)

Senate to Begin Markup On 2007 Farm Bill
Published: October 24, 2007

House Agriculture Committee Holds Hearing on Structural Changes in Farm Economy
Published: October 24, 2007

        On October 18, 2007, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing regarding structural changes that are taking place in agriculture and their impacts on the farm economy. Chairman Collin Petersen (D-Minn.) called the hearing to order, stating that American farmers and ranchers are more productive than ever before.  He emphasized that farmers are eager to meet the nation's growing fuel challenges while serving new, fast-growing markets.

       Ranking Member Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) explained that indicators of U.S. performance in agriculture include crops, livestock, public health, and macroeconomics, all of which depend heavily upon renewable fuels (ethanol and biodiesel) and a secure energy supply. "Today, we heard about a number of factors that are influencing the agriculture economy including commodity prices, weather/drought, the declining dollar, and production problems domestically and abroad. It is critical that this committee understand the big picture so that we can put policies in place that allow all of our constituents to compete in an ever-changing global marketplace."

       The committee heard testimony from a panel of three economic analysts about trends in prices, farm output, rising input costs from energy prices, increasing land and labor costs, and how biofuels affect the rural economy.

        The panel of witnesses included Dr. Keith Collins, chief economist, USDA; Dr. Howard Gruenspecht, deputy administrator with the Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Department of Energy; and Dr. Pat Westhoff, research associate professor with the University of Missouri-Columbia Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI).

       Collins explained that ethanol prices have weakened since midsummer as additional plants have come on line adding to ethanol supplies and contributing to some infrastructure bottlenecks. He stated that corn planted area for 2008 is expected to fall as prices and returns for competing crops, such as wheat and soybeans, have improved relative to corn in recent months.  In order to meet the demand for corn, more is being produced per acre; therefore, farm labor needs to be insured, and infrastructure issues such as transportation to other states and a farmer's accessibility to lending facilities needs to be addressed. Transportation energy costs and the corn market can be positively affected by dispersing ethanol plants so they are not all in one concentrated area.

       In his testimony, Gruenspecht stated that crude oil prices are projected to average over $73 per barrel in 2008, up from $69 per barrel in 2007. "Assuming continued tight global supplies, slower U.S. economic growth of 1.9 percent projected for both 2007 and 2008 may be a mitigating factor for even higher crude prices." Increasing prices of gasoline and diesel oil, energy import security, and greenhouse gas emissions are all concerns related to agricultural growth. With the EIA's projections that the ethanol market will continue to grow substantially over the next 15 months, demand for ethanol blends such as E85 will also increase.

       Westhoff gave details about biofuels and U.S. agriculture. Biofuel production has been more rapid than FAPRI expected, which increases the amount of corn ethanol plants use to four billion bushels by 2009, and puts upward pressure on corn prices which encourages producers to shift acreage away from other crops such as soybeans and wheat. In effect, this increases the prices for these commodities and further encourages producers in South America to expand corn production. Other factors affecting agricultural markets include global economic growth, exchange rates, population growth, technology, supply response, land value and policy. Complete witness testimonies are located at http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/statements.html.  (Contact: Alexandra Lee)

Anderson Testifies at House Subcommittee Hearing
Published: October 24, 2007

       The Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies held a hearing on October 23 to discuss broadband Internet connections in rural America. Curtis Anderson, deputy administrator of the Rural Utilities Service, provided the subcommittee with an overview of broadband loan programs, which includes 79 loans totaling $1.35 billion to finance 40 state projects.

       "Broadband availability is rapidly becoming as basic to communities as telephone, electricity and running water, and USDA Rural Development has been committed to bringing broadband service to rural America," Anderson stated. He further noted that Rural Development is continually looking for ways to improve the deployment of broadband to unserved and underserved communities and to farmers and ranchers. The agency is currently working through comments and suggestions that will be made into a final rule, amending the Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee program that will make it more effective. This rule is expected to address the issue of limited internet connectivity in rural areas throughout the U.S., as only 25 percent of rural Americans have broadband access.

       Anderson closed his testimony by saying that local leadership is the key in moving more communication resources to farming regions, which "can be an effective complement to state, local, and industry efforts." Anderson served as NASDA's chief financial officer before he was appointed to serve at USDA.

       Others organizations and businesses testifying included: the Center for American Progress; the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District; the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation; the National Cable and Telecommunications Association; the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association; and Open Range Communications, Inc. (Contact: Alexandra Lee)

EPA Creates New Agriculture Advisory Committee
Published: October 24, 2007

       The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced October 17 the establishment of the first-ever Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Federal Advisory Committee. The committee is being formed under the guidelines of the agency's National Strategy for Agriculture, and it will advise the administrator on environmental policy issues impacting farms, ranches and rural communities.

       EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson said the committee will provide an opportunity to improve dialogue between EPA and the farming community. The committee will meet approximately twice yearly and is intended to consist of approximately 25 members representing: (1) large and small farmers, ranchers and rural communities; (2) rural suppliers, marketers and processors; (3) academics and researchers who study environmental issues impacting agriculture; (4) tribal agricultural groups; and (5) environmental and conservation groups. EPA's request for member nominations will be posted in the Federal Register. USDA and other federal agencies will also be invited to nominate members.

       Initially, EPA will ask the committee to focus on the following three issues: (1) How EPA's policies and regulations on climate change and renewable energy will affect the agriculture community; (2) An environmental strategy for livestock operations that considers regulatory and voluntary approaches and provides tools for producers to attain superior environmental performance; (3) Development of a constructive approach to advancing sustainable agriculture and protection of the environment, addressing communication between environmental and agricultural interests and urban encroachment in rural areas.  (Contact: Charlie Ingram)

Adams Named Deputy Administrator For Farm Service Agency's Commodity Operations
Published: October 24, 2007

       USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Teresa Lasseter announced last week the appointment of Larry J. Adams as FSA's Deputy Administrator for Commodity Operations (DACO). The deputy administrator for commodity operations is responsible for developing policies and regulations for the dairy price support program; the storage, handling and disposition of Commodity Credit Corporation's owned commodities; and for the export and domestic commodity donation programs. DACO produces a uniform regulatory system for the storage of agricultural products and ensures the timely provision of food products procured for domestic and international food assistance programs and market development programs. Under DACO's jurisdiction is also the administration of the U.S. Warehouse Act.

       Prior to this appointment, Adams was the assistant deputy administrator for farm programs for FSA. In this capacity, he worked on commodity price support activities, conservation and environmental programs, and emergency assistance efforts, such as the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program and county disaster declarations. In 2001, Adams was appointed state executive director (SED) for the Ohio Farm Service Agency where he served five years administering FSA commodity, conservation and farm loan programs for Ohio farmers. From 1991 to 2001, Adams was the assistant director for the Ohio Department of Agriculture.  (Contact: Jennifer Yezak)

National Livestock Emergency Response Conference
Published: October 24, 2007

      An effective emergency response to a livestock disease emergency requires preplanning and collaboration among many different stakeholders. The second annual National Livestock Emergency Response Conference is scheduled for December 5 to 7, 2007, in southern Arizona and will provide opportunities for a wide variety of emergency responders to sharpen their skills.

       The 2007 conference will feature up-to-date information on a diverse selection of livestock disease emergency response topics on day one. On days two and three of the conference, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in several different scenario-based ground training exercises. These will focus on incidents along Arizona's international border and confined animal feeding operations, and a scenario impacting food safety.

Who should attend the conference?
       * Emergency responders
       * Private veterinarians
       * Livestock producers
       * State and county public-health workers
       * State agency leaders
       * Public health officials
       * State beef council members
       * State representatives of the national cattlemen's beef association
       * State livestock emergency response organizations.

       The conference is sponsored by The Arizona Livestock Incident Response Team with support from ALIRT Cooperators.  The meeting website is http://ag.arizona.edu/ans/alirt/index.html.  (Contact: Rick Kirchhoff)