NASDA News - October 13, 2009

CONGRESS APPROVES FINAL FY 2010 AG SPENDING LEGISLATION
Published: October 13, 2009

Last week, the House and Senate approved the conference report for the fiscal year 2010 spending bill for the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, providing nearly 12% more funding than the previous year.  The bill allows for nearly $83 billion in spending for nutrition programs, full funding for country of origin labeling for fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and other products, as well as, $ 1billion for conservation programs – an increase of more than $100 million over the fiscal year 2009 levels.  The final report also rejected the president’s proposed cuts to the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program.  Other provisions in the bill include a $350 million relief package for dairy farmers, which will provide $290 million in direct payments and $60 million for cheese purchases, and a provision that could allow China to resume exporting poultry to the U.S.  (By Ethan Mathews, Policy Contact: David Hickey)

EPA TO CONVENE SCIENCE PANEL ON ATRAZINE
Published: October 13, 2009

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that it would convene a Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) to examine the cancer and non-cancer human health impacts of Atrazine.  Atrazine, one of the most widely used agricultural herbicides in the United States, is used on corn, sorghum and cane sugar.  EPA’s actions follow press reports in the New York Times and a Natural Resources Defense Council study that claim Atrazine is more dangerous than previously thought.  The SAP’s action could have significant impacts on agriculture.  (Contact: Nathan Bowen)

NASDA EXPRESSES CONCERN WITH EPA’S ACTIONS ON PERCHLORATE
Published: October 13, 2009

NASDA submitted comments this week on EPA’s request for comment on alternative approaches to interpreting data related to EPA’s earlier regulatory determination for perchlorate in drinking water.  NASDA is concerned that the approaches EPA outlined could lead to a much lower reference dose, which could in turn lead to food scares, trade disputes, and negative economic impacts to producers.  This is particularly important in light of the fact that the risks associated with perchlorate can be easily avoided by the consumption of sufficient iodine-rich foods or iodine supplements by a specific subset of the population.  (Contact: Nathan Bowen)   

US REQUESTS WTO DISPUTE PANEL ON EU’S POULTRY BAN
Published: October 13, 2009

The Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has requested that a dispute settlement panel at the World Trade Organization (WTO) be established to investigate the European Union's (EU) restrictions on imports of U.S. poultry.  The U.S. has asked that a panel determine whether the EU violated its WTO obligations by banning poultry meat and poultry meat products processed with pathogen reduction treatments (PRTs) that are declared safe by U.S. and European food safety agencies.  (Contact: Amy Mann).

CANADA ASKS WTO TO RULE AGAINST COOL
Published: October 13, 2009

Canada has requested that the World Trade Organization (WTO) rule against U.S. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements.  Canada claims that the U.S. COOL requirements, established by the 2008 Farm Bill, disadvantage Canadian producers.  Specifically, Canada argues that the new labeling requirements have led to a reduction in the purchases of Canadian hogs by American producers.  (Contact: Amy Mann).

FARM FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 30-YEAR CHALLENGE POLICY COMPETITION
Published: October 13, 2009

An essay that argues for a principle-based, rather than a program-based approach to public policy development has been selected as the top entry in Farm Foundation's 30-Year Challenge Policy Competition.  A total of $20,000 in prize money was awarded in the competition.

The competition sought innovative and promising public policy options to address the agriculture and food system challenges outlined in Farm Foundation's report, The 30-Year Challenge: Agriculture's Strategic Role in Feeding and Fueling a Growing World.

"It is our intent that the winning entries will contribute to constructive and deliberative debate of the policies that may be needed to meet the challenges ahead," said Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin. "However, Farm Foundation does not endorse or advocate any of the concepts presented in these entries.  Farm Foundation has a 76-year history of objectivity.  We do not lobby or advocate positions.  The competition entries are no exception."

"We encourage public and private decision makers to review these policy proposals and consider the concepts in light of the challenges facing agriculture and the food system," Conklin added.

Released in December 2008, the Foundation's 30-Year Challenge report identifies six major areas of challenges agriculture faces as it works to provide food, feed, fiber and fuel to a growing world.

The top entry in the competition, Three Decades Hence-Thinking About Global Agricultural Resource Allocation Policies, was written by William C. Motes, Ph.D.  Dr. Motes, who submitted the entry as a private individual, is chief economist at Informa Economics.  This entry, which will receive the $5,000 overall prize, also won the challenge category of global markets and recession.

Motes and the six other winners in the competition will be recognized at the Farm Foundation 30-Year Challenge Policy Conference on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C.  There is no fee for this conference but registration is required.

The seven winning entries--two entries shared the prize in the challenge category of climate change--are posted on the Farm Foundation Web site.  Category winners receive $2,500.  They are:

• Global Food Security – Jean-Phillippe Gervais of North Carolina State University:  Moving Agricultural Trade Liberalization Forward to Improve Global Food Security
• Global Energy Security – Chad Hellwinckel and Daniel De La Torre Ugarte, both of the University of Tennessee:  Peak Oil and the Necessity of Transitioning to Regenerative Agriculture
• Climate Change - Two Shared Winners – Loni Kemp, Kemp Consulting:  Greener Biofuels Tax Credits: A Policy to Drive Multiple Goals; and Tristin Brown, Dermont Hayes and Robert Brown, all of Iowa State University:  The Embedded Carbon Valuation System: A Policy Concept to Address Climate Change
• Competition for Natural Resources – Dean Lemke and Shawn Richmond, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship:  Iowa Drainage and Wetlands Landscape Systems Initiative
• Global Economic Development – Gregory Vaughan:  Integrated Policies for an Agricultural Revolution in the Sahel

The seven-member judging panel said Motes' paper "argues that policy development must first focus on critical principles....This paper is an initial cut at the principles and a more comprehensive debate on those principles is needed."

While recognizing that Motes' essay was broad in scope, rather than specific to one policy, the judges said it "best addressed the overarching criteria of contributing to the policy debate with its emphasis on the need for principles to precede policy.  Today's challenges require a rethinking of agricultural food policy worldwide.  That requires debate of wide-ranging issues, both domestic and global...To begin requires coming to grips with the basic moral and economic principles that have not been the center of recent policy debates."

The judging panel included:  Sandra Batie of Michigan State University, Vernon Eidman of the University of Minnesota, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Michael Espy, John Hardin of Hardin Farms, Chuck Hassebrook of the Center for Rural Affairs, Doug Hedley of Hedley & Associates, and James McDonald of Bread for the World.

Thirty-eight entries were submitted to the competition on topics ranging from global trade liberalization and regenerative agriculture, to new approaches for addressing biofuel tax credits and carbon valuation systems.  Entries were received from professionals working around the world in such diverse areas as economics, conservation, economic development and anthropology.  Energy security and climate change attracted the largest number of entries.

The 30-Year Challenge project is directed and led by Farm Foundation.  Contributing financial assistance to the project are: the Global Harvest Initiative, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Pork Producers Council, and the United Egg Producers.  (Contact: Amy Mann)   

OK & KS: OKLAHOMA AND KANSAS TO CONDUCT BI-STATE STOP ANIMAL MOVEMENT EXERCISE
Published: October 13, 2009

Oklahoma and Kansas officials are conducting the nation’s first emergency response exercise to test interstate coordination and the logistics of implementing a stop livestock movement order when one is issued by state animal health officials.

The real-time exercise will take place Oct. 22 in the Oklahoma and Kansas state capitals and on the Oklahoma-Kansas border.  The scenario is based on simulated outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the eastern United States. 

“Oklahoma, like many states, has conducted exercises to test its plans to respond to a highly contagious foreign animal disease within its borders, but this exercise provides the new perspective of coordinating our activities with a neighboring state to stop animal movement across a shared border,” said Terry Peach, Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture. “We have been planning our response to possible disease outbreaks for years and this exercise will be a good test for us.”

Animal health, agriculture, law enforcement, transportation and emergency management officials from both states will participate in the exercise by working as players, evaluators and actors.  The exercise will be played out as realistically as possible, in real time, and it will involve both states emergency operations centers, key decision makers and local officials.  Traffic will be screened at two border locations; one three miles north of Turpin on Highway 83 and the other at the intersection of Highways 160 and 183 near Sitka, Kansas.

In the exercise, the disease Oklahoma and Kansas officials are trying to prevent from affecting animals in their states is foot-and-mouth disease, a highly contagious disease of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, deer and other cloven-hooved animals that causes blisters on the mouth, teats and soft tissue of the feet.  Infected animals have difficulty eating and walking.  While it is painful for infected animals, it does not pose a significant threat to human health. 

The exercise, titled SAMS-KO, or Stop Animal Movement Statewide KS-OK, is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  Oklahoma and Kansas are members of the Multi-State Partnership for Security in Agriculture, a consortium of 13 states that work together to protect the food and agriculture sector by sharing information and building interstate response capabilities.  The partnership contracted with SES, inc. of Merriam, Kansas, to design and conduct the exercise to test the plans and coordination needed to successfully stop and screen livestock and livestock-related traffic involved in interstate commerce.  

Foot-and-mouth disease was last identified in the United States in 1929.  It is a primary concern for animal health officials because it could have potentially devastating economic consequences due to disrupted trade and lost investor confidence. (Contact: Jack Carson, 405-522-4575)

VA: VIRGINIA AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN FOODEX JAPAN 2010
Published: October 13, 2009

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) offers Virginia specialty producers the opportunity to introduce their products to the upscale Japanese market through a partnership with the Southern United States Trade Association (SUSTA). 

FOODEX Japan 2010 takes place March 2-5, 2010, in Tokyo.  Participating producers will have the opportunity to build new relationships with Japanese importers or expand existing relationships.  Japan is the third largest overseas market for U.S. agricultural products, with more than $15 billion in exports in 2008.  Virginia exported $234 million worth of products that same year, mostly tobacco products.

“While Japan is already an important trading partner with Virginia, we would like to expand our base to include new products,” said Todd P. Haymore, VDACS Commissioner.  “Innovative and healthy foods are in great demand by Japanese importers and food service professionals.  Japanese consumers are particularly interested in organic products, natural foods and prepared foods, and Virginia is well situated to provide those products.”

Best candidates for export to Japan include fruit juices, desserts, ready-to-eat meals, all natural or organic products, frozen fruits and vegetables, snack foods, seafood and foods that contain no genetically modified ingredients.

Producers interested in taking advantage of this opportunity to introduce their products to key buyers in Japan should contact Keith Long in VDACS’ Office of International Marketing.  Call (804) 371-8990 or e-mail keith.long@vdacs.virginia.gov.  For information on additional domestic and international trade events, go to the VDACS website. 

MD: SEAFOOD FRESH FROM THE WEB @ FOODTRADER.ORG
Published: October 13, 2009

Buying and selling local, Maryland seafood just got easier.

The University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center and the Maryland Department of Agriculture are working together to make a berth for local seafood on the Internet - at the University's virtual farmer's market, Foodtrader.org.

The website now accepts listings of local fish, crabs, oysters and similar products. This makes fresh seafood direct from watermen and aqua-farmers as easy as picking up the phone and placing an order.

A free service to buyers and sellers, Foodtrader.org provides instantaneous listings of fresh foods available only from Maryland farms. The idea is to offer consumers the freshest food at competitive prices by connecting them directly with local farmers and now the fishing industry.

Maryland Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance, says he is thrilled with this new opportunity for producers to reach consumers.

"It's a perfect example of how technology can help our agricultural and seafood industries sell their products directly to consumers," Hance says. "We encourage those with Maryland seafood for sale to list their products on Foodtrader.org and ask those seeking seafood to check it out. This is a great complement to the agency's MarylandsBest.net website which lists producers and the types of products they carry."

Foodtrader.org has been in existence for a little over a year and has more than 600 members using the site to buy and sell local produce all year long.

"I feel like I am doing my part to keep the seafood industry here sustainable," says Joanne Throwe, director of the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center and creator of the website. "Buying local should be more than just about fruits and vegetables."

Adding seafood is a natural extension of the current website, Throwe says, and predicts that her member restaurants and general consumers will love the addition of seafood.

Signing up for Foodtrader.org is free to all and acts like a Craig's List for local foods.  (Contact: Joanne Throwe, 301-405-5036).

WI: STATE VETERINARIAN EHLENFELDT: HORSE OWNERS TAKE NOTE; DANGEROUS STRAIN OF EHV-1 ON THE RISE
Published: October 13, 2009

A soon-to-be published study reports that a common virus that infects horses is increasingly taking a more dangerous form, prompting Wisconsin State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Ehlenfeldt to remind owners to protect their stock with basic biosecurity.

Equine herpes virus type 1, or EHV-1, usually causes a respiratory infection called rhino-pneumonitis. It also has a more serious, often fatal, neurologic form that strikes the horse’s central nervous system. A recent study by researchers at the University of Kentucky found that the neurologic form is increasingly prevalent.  Results of that study are to be published in the journal Veterinary Microbiology. The researchers found that only about 3 percent of EHV-1 cases were neurologic in the 1960s.  In the 1990s, over 14 percent were neurologic, and by 2006, more than 19 percent of EHV-1 cases were the more dangerous strain, they found. 

In 2006 an outbreak of this strain of the disease arrived in the United States with a shipment of horses from Germany that scattered to eight states.  Two unrelated cases were also found in a Wisconsin stable that year.

“Like a lot of viruses, this one thrives in cooler conditions, so we’re coming into EHV season,” Ehlenfeldt said.  “There’s no vaccine for this form of the disease, so biosecurity is even more important.”

EHV-1 spreads when horses in close contact cough or sneeze, and on contaminated hands, water and feed. It can cause abortion in pregnant mares and death in foals.  The neurologic strain may cause horses to be uncoordinated, unable to stand, and unable to eliminate urine and manure.  They may also have swollen, inflamed legs and hemorrhages on their gums. EHV-1 vaccines are not effective against the neurologic form.

For more information about EHV-1, visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture website.  (Contact: Donna Gilson, 608-224-5130)

KY: PROGRAM PROVIDES INCENTIVESFOR NEW LARGE/FOOD ANIMAL VETS
Published: October 13, 2009

A new program aimed at helping new large/food animal veterinarians is accepting applications, Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer has announced.

The Kentucky Large/Food Animal Veterinary Incentive Program may repay up to $6,000 a year of outstanding student loans of eligible veterinarians, veterinary technicians and veterinary technologists who practice mostly large/food animal medicine.

“This program is important to Kentucky’s animal agriculture industry and our food supply,” Commissioner Farmer said. “Veterinarians are leaving large animal practices faster than they can be replaced. Livestock account for about $3 billion a year in farm cash receipts, so it’s important to Kentucky’s economy that we have enough veterinarians to serve the large food animal industry.”

Veterinarians, veterinary technicians and technologists may apply within the first two years after they graduate. Preference will be given to Kentucky residents who are working in an area of defined need. A committee made up of representatives of livestock groups and other agricultural organizations involved in the initiative will select up to three recipients a year. Recipients may receive payments up to three years as long as they continue to practice mostly large/food animal medicine.

A completed application and supporting materials must be submitted to the Kentucky Farm Bureau State Office in Louisville for an applicant to be considered for the program. Applications must be postmarked no later than Dec. 1 or delivered to the KFB State Office by that date.

For more information, or to download an application, go to www.kyfb.com/federation.

The Kentucky Large/Food Animal Incentive Program is funded with a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund and made possible by the KADF, Kentucky Farm Bureau, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Foundation, the Kentucky Dairy Development Council, the Kentucky Pork Producers Association, the Kentucky Poultry Federation, the Kentucky Sheep & Goat Development Office, and the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association. (Contact: Bill Clary, 502- 564-1137)