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A publication of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture NASDA PREPARES FOR BUSY MIDYEAR MEETING ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORTS ON BSE BUSH SENDS FY05 BUDGET TO CONGRESS PRESIDENT ISSUES DIRECTIVE TO PROTECT AGRICULTURE AND FOOD USDA BUDGET PROPOSES FOOD AND AGRICULTURE DEFENSE INITIATIVE FDA BUDGET FOCUSES ON FOOD SECURITY State News--GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES NEW SAFEGUARD TO PREVENT ANIMAL DISEASES AND PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH Past Issues What's New on the NASDA Website
Directive to Protect Agriculture and Food Register for NASDA's Midyear Conference Survey on Renaming the APHIS/ARS Facility at Ames Information on the Agricultural Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits, and Security (AgJOBS) Act of 2003 NASDA's Specialty Crop website Comments on the "One Face at the Border" Initative The Agricultural Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits, and Security (AgJOBS) Act of 2003
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As NASDA's 2004 Midyear Conference approaches, members are preparing to address a broad spectrum of issues affecting agriculture, including homeland security, animal and plant health, food safety, farm labor, and trade policy. NASDA members will also meet with Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman, senior USDA administrators, and other top administration officials. NASDA's Food and Agriculture Security Task Force will meet on February 20 to hold discussions with officials from USDA and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The task force, chaired by New York Agriculture Commissioner Nathan Rudgers, will also review a new comprehensive policy statement on homeland security. The Natural Resources and Pesticide Management Committee will meet on February 21 under the leadership of Colorado Agriculture Commissioner Don Ament. Speakers include senior officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and USDA. The Food Regulation and Nutrition Committee, also chaired by New York Agriculture Commissioner Nathan Rudgers, will meet on February 22. The committee plans to discuss a variety of food safety and security issues with USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials. The Marketing and International Trade Committee, chaired by Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson, will meet on February 21. The committee will have discussions on the specialty crops block grant program the Tri-National Agricultural Accord. It will also hear from marketing and regulatory programs Under Secretary Bill Hawks and Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Ellen Terpstra. On February 22, the Rural Development and Financial Security Committee, chaired by North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson, plans on hearing from Farm Service Agency Administrator James Little and Allan Johnson of USDA's Rural Development mission area. The committee will also discuss dairy and federal warehouse issues. During NASDA's plenary session on February 23, Dr. Robert Brackett will speak to the group. Brackett is the director of FDA's Office of Food Safety and Security. Rep. Charlie Stenholm (D-Texas), ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee has also been invited to speak. For the afternoon plenary session, NASDA members will meet with USDA Secretary Ann Veneman and USDA Under Secretaries. (Contact: Charlie Ingram) ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORTS ON BSE An international panel released a report on February 4 regarding USDA's response and activities on the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the U.S. The report, issued by a subcommittee of the USDA Secretary's Foreign Animal and Poultry Disease Advisory Committee, makes a number of recommendations and observations. The subcommittee reviewed data and information related to the epidemiological investigations surrounding the index case of BSE and discussed policy options and measures being considered to address the BSE situation. After the report was released, some agriculture industry groups and consumer organizations offered different opinions on its findings and recommendations. The report states that USDA's epidemiological investigation conforms to international standards, but said the investigation was made more complicated by a limited cattle identification system in the U.S. It notes that trace-backs and trace-forwards were complicated by normal culling practices and have reached the point of diminishing returns. Under these circumstances, the panel recommended that the epidemiological investigations be terminated. In addition, the panel views the Washington state finding of a BSE infected cow as a "North American" BSE problem, requiring a coordinated approach among the NAFTA partners. The panel advises USDA to redirect its resources to the planning, implementation, and enforcement of an extended, targeted surveillance program to protect human and animal health. The panel also recommended a task force be established to assure that policies are developed and implemented in a consistent manner. Another recommendation is to expand the proposed ban on specified risk materials (SRM) to both human food and animal feed including pet food and supplies. Panel members said that a partial feed ban is insufficient to prevent exposure to cattle to the BSE agent. In addition, the panel acknowledged the need to provide incentives for sampling, transport, and disposal of carcasses to assure the collection of adequate samples and ensure adequate protections of human and animal health and the environment. For example, financial assistance to strengthen anti-and post-mortem inspections may contribute to the goal of developing a national surveillance system. Regardless of the difficulties involved in obtaining samples, the panel believes it is imperative to collect additional samples of compromised animals with the highest risk for BSE. The panel said that testing of all cattle slaughtered for human consumption is unjustified. During a speech to the Commodity Club, Agriculture Secretary Veneman said she was pleased with the efforts being made by the advisory committee. Veneman pointed out that USDA continues to work to improve its surveillance and other programs and said there was no specific timetable for considering the panel's recommendations. The subcommittee's report is available on the APHIS website at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse.html. (Contact: Bob Ehart) BUSH SENDS FY2005 BUDGET TO CONGRESS President Bush this week sent his FY05 budget request to Congress which proposes record total spending of $2.4 trillion with a projected deficit of $364 billion. The response from congressional lawmakers was predictable as some Republicans expressed support while Democrats called the budget irresponsible. The administration's budget would increase spending for homeland security by ten percent and defense by seven percent. It proposes to hold all discretionary spending to less than a one percent increase over FY04 spending. Overall spending for USDA and many domestic programs would be reduced. Details on the budget proposals for USDA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other departments and programs are outlined in separate stories below. (Contact: Charlie Ingram) PRESIDENT ISSUES DIRECTIVE TO PROTECT AGRICULTURE AND FOOD President George W. Bush issued a directive on February 3 establishing a national policy to defend the agriculture and food system against terrorist attack and major emergencies. The executive order is similar to a general homeland security directive issued last December which outlines procedures for federal departments to coordinate key protection activities for critical infrastructure. The Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-9) designates several federal departments as responsible for protecting the agriculture and food system USDA, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The directive calls on the departments to expand current monitoring and surveillance programs, expand vulnerability assessments, develop mitigation strategies, and enhance coordination of response planning and recovery efforts. It also asks USDA to develop a National Veterinary Stockpile and a National Plant Disease Recovery System. The directive has been posted on the NASDA website in the "What's New" section. (Contact: Charlie Ingram) USDA BUDGET PROPOSES FOOD AND AGRICULTURE DEFENSE INITIATIVE Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman this week released the details of President Bush's FY05 budget for USDA programs and services. The budget calls for a $381 million "Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative" to fund interagency homeland security and food safety activities. Overall, the FY05 budget request for USDA is $82 billion, an increase of about $4 billion or five percent over FY04 spending. Discretionary spending would be set at $20.8 billion, a reduction of three percent or $720 million below the FY04 spending level. Generally, the budget increases funding for food safety related activities while many conservation programs are funded below levels mandated by the 2002 farm bill. The USDA budget includes $381 million for a "Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative" to enhance monitoring and surveillance of pests and diseases in plants and animals; conduct research on emerging animal diseases; increase the availability of vaccines; establish a system to track select disease agents of plants; expand the unified Federal-State Diagnostic Network to all 50 states; and complete the National Centers for Animal Health in Ames, Iowa. The budget increases funding for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to $952 million, an increase of $61 million over the FY04 level. The funding will support 7,690 food safety inspectors, provide specialized training for the inspection workforce, increase microbiological testing and sampling, strengthen foreign surveillance programs, and increase public education efforts. In addition to funding to complete the National Centers for Animal Health, the USDA budget significantly increases funding for other BSE-related activities for a total of $60 million. This includes $5.0 million for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to conduct advanced research and development of BSE testing technologies; $17 million for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to continue collecting 40,000 samples to test for BSE; $33 million to accelerate the development of a National Animal Identification system; $1 million for the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) to enable rapid-response teams to deal with BSE-related complaints in the cattle market regarding contracts or lack of prompt payment; and $4 million for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to conduct monitoring and surveillance of compliance with the regulations for specified risk materials and advanced meat recovery. (Contact: Charlie Ingram) FDA BUDGET FOCUSES ON FOOD SECURITY The administration's FY05 budget for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposes a $65 million increase for the agency's food security activities. The funding is part of a the interagency "Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative" to coordinate counterterrorism activities and protect the food supply. The biggest part of the FDA budget increase is $35 million, which would be used to increase the agency's analytic surge capacity for biological, chemical and radiological threat agents by enhancing the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN). Once completed, FERN will encompass a nationwide network of federal and state laboratories capable of testing the safety of thousands of food samples, thereby enhancing the nation's ability to swiftly respond to a terrorist attack. An additional $15 million is proposed to fund research on prevention technologies, methods development and determination of infectious dose for potential terrorism agents when ingested with food, and identification of agent characteristics within specified foods. Development of these strategies is designed to shield the food supply from potential attacks and enable rapid response if needed. Another $7 million is earmarked for increased FDA inspections of domestic and imported food to reduce the risk of contaminated products entering the United States market. This year, FDA is expected to conduct 97,000 import field inspections, more than 60 percent increase over last year. FDA also intends to conduct nearly 26,000 examinations of domestic food firms, almost eleven times the number of exams in FY01. An additional $3 million of the proposed budget increase is to be used to upgrade the agency's crisis management by boosting its capacity for rapid and coordinated response to a threat to the safety of the food supply. The FY 2005 budget request also includes $5 million to finance FDA's role in the government-wide bio-surveillance effort designed to provide the earliest possible detection of the intentional release of deadly pathogens into food, water, or the environment. (Contact: Charlie Ingram) ENVIRONMENT BRIEFS ~~Agencies Issue Rules on ESA Consultation Process~~The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have issued proposed "counterpart regulations" that would make the Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation process for pesticides more efficient and effective. NASDA submitted comments on the advance rulemaking last March. NASDA and other agriculture groups have supported changes to the existing regulatory process because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing numerous lawsuits challenging the agency's compliance with the ESA. All of the lawsuits seek to dramatically restrict or eliminate pesticide use in areas where endangered or threatened species might be found. The so-called counterpart regulations would: (1) allow EPA determinations that a pesticide is "not likely to adversely affect" a species, without further consultation with the Services; (2) provide for advance coordination between EPA and the Services; and (3) provide for strict timelines for completion of formal consultation. Comments on the proposed regulations are due by March 30, 2004. ~~Toxin Scare Disrupts Capitol Hill~~The Senate was disrupted this week after the toxin ricin was identified in the mail room of Majority Leader Bill Frist's (R-Tenn.) offices on February 2. Although the Senate remained in session to work, the incident closed the Senate office buildings for several days. All Senate buildings will be reopened by next week. No illness has been reported from the incident. Senate leaders said the ricin was a bioterror attack and all congressional mail operations have been halted temporarily. The investigation is ongoing. (Contact: Charlie Ingram) TRADE BRIEFS ~~USDA Working to Open Markets for U.S. Beef~~This week, Agriculture Secretary Veneman stated that U.S. officials will visit Japan and Mexico this week; a Korean technical team will be in the U.S. soon. Veneman said that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick will be traveling next week to Japan and that he has been very engaged in these issues. "I've been very, very pleased with his willingness to work so closely with us and to engage these issues with appropriate people and will raise these issues in Japan," Veneman said. In addition, Marketing and Regulatory Programs Under Secretary Bill Hawks is in Mexico this week to discuss opening markets for U.S. beef. She also acknowledged Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Under Secretary J.B. Penn saying he has done a great job on the trade side of this and has led delegations to Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Hong Kong, and will lead a similar delegation back to Japan in mid-February. ~~Sugar Issues Stalling U.S.~~Australia Free Trade Agreement Negotiations~~News reports indicate that sugar has created a deadlock in the negotiations on an U.S.-Australia free trade agreement (FTA). The current position of the administration is to exclude sugar from the negotiation table while Australia continues to hold the position that no sector be excluded. Negotiations have been ongoing for almost three weeks in Washington, D.C. but with no agreement reached. USTR Robert Zoellick, who is leading the U.S. in the negotiations, is scheduled to leave on an extensive world trip to begin outlining a new strategy for agriculture under the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Doha Development Agenda. In related news, U.S. Senators Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Bob Dorgan (D-N.D.) sent a letter to President Bush this week requesting that beef and cattle products be excluded from the FTA. In addition, the National Milk Producer Federation (NMPF) placed a full-page ad in the Washington Times this week, urging the White House not to offer further concessions to the Australians, and in so doing, place the future of America's dairy sector in jeopardy. The ad can be found at http://www.nmpf.org/govIssues/index.cfm. (Contact: Jennifer Yezak Molen) STATE NEWS GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES NEW SAFEGUARD TO PREVENT ANIMAL DISEASES AND PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH --Permits to be required for all imported livestock Governor Rod R. Blagojevich has announced that Illinois will put in place an additional safeguard to prevent the introduction of animal diseases that might pose a threat to public health or endanger the state's livestock industry. Beginning Feb. 1, the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) will require a permit for all imported livestock into the state for production or exhibition. The requirement will give state agriculture officials advance notice of farm animals entering Illinois and the means to stop the shipment of a diseased animal before it arrives in the state. "State government has no greater responsibility than protecting the health and welfare of its citizens," Blagojevich said. "This new safeguard will strengthen our ability to prevent animal diseases that not only pose a threat to public health, but also can cause production losses that harm the financial welfare of our farmers." Illinois currently requires a health certificate to accompany imported livestock. The certificate attests that the animals show no visible signs of contagious, infectious or communicable diseases and will be a condition for obtaining a permit. The Illinois Department of Agriculture will issue the permits no more than 72 hours before the animals are transported. In addition to an approved health certificate signed by a veterinarian, applicants also must furnish the name and mailing address of the Illinois destination, the name and address of the consignor and the number and species of animals in the shipment. "The permit requirement also will improve our preparedness for an emergency," Illinois Agriculture Director Chuck Hartke said. "It will enable the department to better track the movement and location of livestock in the state, more easily identify animals that have been exposed to a disease and respond more quickly to contain an outbreak before it spreads." The permit requirement is the latest in a series of agriculture-related safety measures that have been implemented to protect Illinois consumers and farmers. Previous measures include: * The hiring of ten additional inspectors and three staff veterinarians in the department's Bureau of Meat and Poultry Inspection to maintain public confidence in Illinois' food supply. * Increasing inspections of feed mills and sampling of feed products to ensure that cattle feed does not contain prohibited byproducts that can transmit bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or "mad cow" disease. * Providing specialized training in the diagnosis of emerging foreign animal diseases to local veterinarians, who frequently are the first to respond to an animal disease outbreak. The goal of the "first responder" program is to provide the training to one veterinarian in every Illinois county. * Funding the development of an Internet-based system to track agricultural assets such as farms, grain elevators and food processing plants. Once completed, the first-of-its-kind system will contain a valuable database of information to identify sensitive resources and aid decision-making during emergencies. * Organizing meetings with neighboring states to develop regional communications plans and guidelines for tracing and controlling the movement of livestock in an emergency. Permits can be obtained by calling the Illinois Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Animal Health at 217/782-4944. The phone line is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Electronic permits also will be issued through the department's website at http://www.agr.state.il.us. Veterinarians, however, first must call the bureau to receive a passcode. (Contact: Jeff Squibb, 217/785-9272) E-HEALTH CERTIFICATES TO MAKE ANIMAL TRACE-BACKS QUICKER; TRAINING SESSIONS TO BE HELD IN FEBRUARY North Carolina is one of six states participating in a pilot program testing an electronic database that would allow state officials to track livestock more quickly using electronic health certificates. The database, maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal Plant Health Inspection Service's Veterinary Services, is a web-based application being tested by veterinarians in North Carolina, Florida, California, Colorado, Texas, and Wisconsin. Before livestock can be moved between states, all animals must be checked by a veterinarian and issued a certificate of veterinary inspection. The original certificate accompanies the animals to their destination and copies are mailed to state veterinarians in both the state of origin and state of destination. "Under the current paper system, an animal or herd may be in the state for several days or even a week or more before our office receives the paperwork," said N.C. State Veterinarian Dr. David Marshall. "With this new database, the electronic health certificates are received just moments after they are submitted. This information is stored in a searchable database that will be available 24 hours a day so tracing animals in emergency situations will be easier and faster in the future." Dr. Carol Woodlief, a veterinarian in the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Veterinary Division, has trained 37 veterinarians and veterinary technicians on the program. "Most veterinarians and technicians are happy with the system," Woodlief said. "There is no software to buy and users can log in from any computer with Internet access and a printer." Veterinarians log in at the website and fill out the necessary information and click submit to send the information to the appropriate state offices. The veterinarian then prints out a certificate to sign that will accompany the animal shipment. The site also lists each state's requirements so veterinarians can check them off before signing the health certificate. By participating in the pilot program local veterinarians have been able to provide input into the way the national system works. "In our first three training sessions we sent several suggestions back to the company that designed the software to make the process smoother," Woodlief said. Woodlief is planning three training dates in February to fill the demand from veterinarians. Training sessions will be held the following dates and locations: * Wednesday, Feb. 25 - Mitchell Community College, Statesville, 9 a.m. to noon * Thursday, Feb. 26 - Haywood County Community College, Clyde, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. * Friday, Feb. 27 - Sampson County Community College, Clinton. 9 a.m. to noon Seating is limited. Anyone interested in attending training should contact Woodlief at (919) 733-7601 or by e-mail at carol.woodlief@ncmail.net. (Contact: Dr. David Marshall, 919/733-7601) | |||