THIS WEEK IN WASHINGTON

News Date June 30, 2009

USDA-NASS RELEASES CROP ACREAGE REPORT

Total U.S. crop area is down 1.2 percent from last year, but soybean acres are up 2.3 percent and corn acres are up 1.2 percent according to the Acreage report released June 30 by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).The report is available on the NASS website at: www.nass.usda.gov.

Overall, farmers planted 320.9 million acres to principal crops in 2009. This is 3.9 million acres less than last year, but 3.9 million acres more than they indicated in the March 2009 Prospective Plantings report. The most significant acreage declines were in North Dakota, down 2.1 million, and Texas, down 570,000 acres.

Despite the overall decline in planted area, farmers sowed a record-high 77.5 million acres to soybeans, up 1.8 million acres from last year and up 1.5 million acres, or almost 2 percent, from March. Compared with 2008, soybean area is up more than 200,000 acres in five states: Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Farmers planted 87 million corn acres in 2009, up 1 million acres from last year. This is the second-largest corn acreage in more than 60 years, behind 2007. Despite wet weather in many growing areas, farmers reported that 97 percent of intended corn acreage was planted by early June, compared with the 10-year average of 98 percent.

NASS acreage estimates are based on surveys conducted during the first two weeks of June on approximately 11,000 segments of land and from a sample of approximately 73,500 farm operators across the United States. Principal crops included in the survey are corn, sorghum, oats, barley, winter wheat, rye, durum wheat, other spring wheat, rice, soybeans, peanuts, sunflower, cotton, dry edible beans, potatoes, sugar beets, canola and proso millet, as well as harvested area for all hay, tobacco and sugar cane.

The August 12 Crop Production report will contain the first 2009 estimates of corn and soybean yield and production. (Contact: Charlie Ingram)  

 WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES STATE USDA APPOINTEES

On Monday the White House announced the first in a series of appointments for Rural Development State Directors and State Executive Directors for the Farm Service Agency at USDA. Full lists of new USDA appointees are available at www.usda.gov/2009/06/0263.xml and www.usda.gov/2009/06/0264.xml. 

 USDA STUDY ON FOOD DESERTS RELEASED

The Economic Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture has released its findings following a 1-year study on food deserts. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill) directed ERS to complete a study to examine areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food and identify characteristics and causes of such areas. ERS was also directed to consider how limited access affects local populations and to outline recommendations to address the problem. 

The study findings include results from two conferences of national and international authorities on food deserts and a set of commissioned research studies done in cooperation with the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan. Also included is an existing literature review, an assessment of access to supermarkets and large grocery stores on a national level and an analysis of the economic and public health effects of limited access. In addition, the study looks at existing policy interventions.

The study uses a variety of analytical methods and data to assess the extent of limited access to affordable and nutritious food and characteristics of areas with limited access. Overall, the study found that a small percentage of consumers that lived far from a supermarket or large grocery store were impeded in their access to affordable and nutritious food. The study could not determine if limited access equated to inadequate access. 

A copy of the report can be found at: www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/AP/AP036/. (Contact: Amy Mann)

CDC INTRODUCES NEW WEBSITE TO HELP EMPLOYERS COMBAT OBESITY

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on June 25 unveiled LEANWorks!, a website designed to help businesses address obesity. LEAN stands for Leading Employees to Activity and Nutrition. The new website was announced at a National Business Group on Health meeting in Washington, D.C.

CDC LEANWorks! was developed in direct response to organizations asking CDC for help in addressing the obesity epidemic. The free Website was developed particularly for small and mid-size companies, which typically have more limited resources to devote to obesity prevention efforts. However, the tools and resources available on CDC LEANWorks! can benefit companies of any size. CDC LEANWorks! can help employers calculate the cost of obesity for their organizations and develop tailored approaches to help control these costs through interventions such as fitness classes, lunchtime health education sessions, weight management programs, and more.

To learn more about CDC LEANWorks! visit www.cdc.gov/leanworks. For more information about CDC’s efforts to combat obesity please visit www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa. (Contact: Amy Mann)

POLLINATOR WEEK CELEBRATED ON CAPITOL HILL

The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign and Partnership celebrated the National Pollinator Week on June 26 by hosting a briefing for congressional staff on the importance of bees and other pollinating animals and insects to highways and farms nationwide. The Pollinator Partnership is a group of more than 120 affiliated organizations, working to promote and encourage activities that protect the numbers and health of resident and migratory pollinating animals.

The Pollinator Partnership says that almost 90 percent of all flowering plants rely on animal pollinators for fertilization, and about 200,000 species of animals act as pollinators. Hummingbirds, bats, and small mammals such as mice account for 1,000. The rest are insects like beetles, bees, ants, wasps, butterflies and moths. The focus of the congressional education session was to enlighten listeners on the best practices to maintain highways and farms to help support the growth of these pollinators.

Literature and interactive media were provided to promote eco-regional awareness of all pollinating species tied to a multitude of ecosystems throughout the United States. More information is available at: www.nappc.org. (Contact: Amy Mann)

AGRICULTURE COALITION EXAMINES “LOCALVORES”