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A publication of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
CONGRESS STRUGGLES TOWARD ADJOURNMENT
SENATE TO MARK-UP CROP INSURANCE LEGISLATION
ITC RULES ON LIVE CATTLE DUMPING DISPUTE
DEBATE ON DAIRY CONTINUES IN SENATE
SENATE DEMOCRATS OUTLINE FARM AGENDA
State News--VERMONT DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE CRACKS DOWN ON LARGE FARMING OPERATION
State News--AG SECRETARY WELCOMED INTO STATE NURSERY/LANDSCAPE HALL OF FAME
State News--LONG THOMPSON, COLLINS HIGHLIGHT KENTUCKY AG CONFERENCE
State News--ARIZ. DEPARTMENT TAPS TWO PH.D.'s FOR PLANT SERVICES ROLES
What's New on the NASDA Website
Committee action plans (members only)
NASDA 99 followup (members only)
Updated WTO Ministerial schedule as of Nov. 9 (members only)
Links to daily ag news resources on the Internet (whats new)
Draft interstate shipment of state inspected meat legislation (whats new)
E. coli policy white paper (whats new)
ASTA position statement on invasive species (what's new)
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USDA SUBMITS INTERSTATE MEAT BILL TO CONGRESS At long last, USDA this week officially sent legislation to Congress that would allow the interstate shipment of state-inspected meat and poultry products. The administration's bill is almost identical to draft legislation currently being circulated by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Thomas Daschle (D-S.D.), and tracks provisions in USDA's concept paper on interstate meat shipment. USDA Secretary Dan Glickman transmitted the bill to the House and Senate, along with a letter recommending that it be enacted. In the letter, Glickman stated that the administration's bill was designed to improve consumer confidence in the safety of the food supply, increase the viability of small meat and poultry establishments, and ensure the viability of state meat and poultry inspection programs. This latest action is only a formality and does not change the status of the Hatch-Daschle legislation. The senators still plan to introduce their bill before Congress adjourns next week. Over the past weeks, NASDA has been meeting with staff from Sens. Hatch and Daschle's offices to discuss specific items contained in their legislation. NASDA approved a resolution at the annual meeting expressing support for the draft Senate bill, reserving the right to seek "adjustments" in three areas: (1) to recognize state inspection marks as "official"; (2) to require state laws to be "consistent with" rather than "identical to" federal laws; and (3) to see whether the eligibility date for interstate shipment could occur any earlier than October 1, 2001. NASDA has been working with its affiliate organization, the National Association of State Meat and Food Inspection Directors (NASMFID), to assess and refine these recommendations. NASDA's negotiations with the Senate are ongoing. Meanwhile, Sen. Hatch is seeking a bipartisan balance of Republicans and Democrats to cosponsor the bill. Copies of all documents, including USDA's official bill and Secretary Glickman's letter of transmittal, are posted on NASDA's website under the "What's New" section. (Contact: Charlie Ingram or Rick Kirchhoff) CONGRESS STRUGGLES TOWARD ADJOURNMENT Congressional and White House negotiators are continuing budget talks as they struggle to complete work on the remaining FY2000 appropriations bills. House and Senate leaders hope to adjourn for the year early next week. Some of the major budget differences were resolved after lawmakers agreed to provide an additional $2.5 billion in spending requested by the administration for education, health, and environmental programs. A number of obstacles remain that could complicate progress on the Interior Appropriations Bill. A compromise was reached to allow year-by-year renewal of grazing permits for ranchers while the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) conducts environmental reviews. Appropriators also agreed to increase funding for the President's Lands Legacy Initiative. However, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) has threatened to hold up the legislation unless it retains his amendment dealing with mountaintop coal mining and Clean Water Act standards. The outlook is further complicated because Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) has threatened to hold all funding bills in an effort to block dairy price legislation (see separate story). (Contact: Charlie Ingram) SENATE TO MARK-UP CROP INSURANCE LEGISLATION Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) has announced the committee will consider risk management/crop insurance legislation no later than March of next year. Farm-state lawmakers have been pushing to approve a bill before Congress adjourns this year. The Committee has been holding marathon sessions over the past two weeks to develop risk management legislation that includes crop insurance reform and greater incentives for farmers to manage their risk. Lugar stated that progress is being made and "as soon as there is agreement on consensus legislation, the committee will hold a mark-up on the bill." The Budget Resolution passed earlier this year includes $6 billion to reform the crop insurance program and subsidize the premium rates. (Contact: Patrick Atagi) ITC RULES ON LIVE CATTLE DUMPING DISPUTE The International Trade Commission (ITC) has ruled 5-1 in favor of Canada, finding the country of not materially injuring or threatening U.S. cattle producers. As a result of the decision, no antidumping duties will be imposed on cattle from Canada. The Commerce Department ruled last month that dumping was taking place and assigned margins of up to 15.7 percent. The department, however, dismissed a parallel subsidy investigation against Canadian cattle. Vice Chairman Marcia E. Miller and Commissioners Carol T. Crawford, Jennifer A. Hillman, Stephen Koplan, and Thelma Askey voted in the negative. Chairperson Lynn M. Bragg cast the single affirmative vote. The dumping complaint was brought by the Rancher-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF). (Contact: Patrick Atagi) DEBATE ON DAIRY CONTINUES IN SENATE In an effort to stop pending dairy legislation in the Senate which would extend the Northeast Dairy Compact by 18 months or require USDA to institute "Option One A", Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) has placed holds on all legislation in the Senate. Senator Kohl did not, however, stop the bankruptcy reform bill and stopgap appropriations bill from being discussed. As Congress winds down to the final days of the legislative year, supporters who want reform of the dairy pricing system search for bills that are moving through Congress to attach dairy reform language. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) stated that he will allow for a vote on reforming the current program. Proponents of current dairy reform believe they have the votes to if not defeat the current system to at least offer a compromise package which would extend the current program. The Northeast Dairy Compact is an agreement among the six New England states to support the farm price of milk used for fluid consumption at a higher level than under current federally mandated minimum prices in the region. Current law allows membership in the compact to expand to New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia if the prospective state is contiguous to a member state and if the compact is approved by the state legislature of the prospective state and the U.S. Congress. Under law, the compact must terminate when reform to federal milk marketing orders are implemented by USDA. (Contact: Patrick Atagi) SENATE DEMOCRATS OUTLINE FARM AGENDA Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and other farm-state Democratic senators this week outlined plans to push for congressional action on long-term agriculture policy next year. The lawmakers vowed to fight for a major overhaul of Freedom to Farm and to restore an adequate farm income safety net for producers. Daschle announced during a press conference that the Senate Democratic Policy Committee would begin hearings in January to examine the ongoing farm crisis. The committee plans to discuss proposals to improve crop insurance, slow concentration in agricultural markets, and promote trade policies that enable producers to compete abroad. Daschle said the hearings were necessary because Agriculture Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) has refused repeated requests to schedule farm policy hearings. He also said Congress had failed to address the extraordinary problems faced by the agriculture sector. Besides Daschle, Democratic Senators involved in the effort included Tom Harkin (Iowa), Byron Dorgan (N.D.), Paul Wellstone (Minn.), Dick Durbin (Ill.), Kent Conrad (N.D.), Bob Kerrey (Neb.), Tim Johnson (S.D.), Max Baucus (Mont.), and Blanche Lincoln (Ark.). Most in the group stated that Freedom to Farm was not working and new policies were urgently needed to avert another emergency farm spending package next year. Sen. Wellstone (D-Minn.) has also called on producers to protest on Capitol Hill when Congress reconvenes next year. (Contact: Charlie Ingram) FOOD SAFETY BRIEFS ~~FSIS Explores Changes to E. Coli Policy~~USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is exploring whether further changes are needed in its policy on E. Coli 0157:H7 in light of new information that is emerging about the pathogen and its relation to human health. FSIS issued a white paper outlining possible policy considerations at a recent meeting of USDA's National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI). The agency is seeking comments in six policy areas. One of the questions asks if FSIS should redesign its testing program for E.Coli samples taken in-plant and at retail. FSIS plans to hold a public meeting on this issue in the near future, but no date has scheduled. Copies of the white paper are available on NASDA's website under the "What's New" section. ~~Senators Introduce Egg Safety Bill~~Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) have introduced legislation to improve the egg safety inspection process, require warning labels and uniform expiration dates on egg cartons, and prohibit the return of unsold eggs from retail locations to plants where they may be washed and resold. The Senate held hearings last summer on a General Accounting Office (GAO) report which criticized the nation's egg safety system for shortcomings in protecting consumers from salmonella. At the same time, USDA issued new rules for egg refrigeration and said that more comprehensive egg safety plans were underway. The legislation has been endorsed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Consumers Union. No further action is expected this year. ~~FSIS Issues Refined Protocol for Listeria~~FSIS has issued its refined detection method protocol for Listeria monocytogenes. The protocol updates the Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook, Chapter 8, Revision 2, titled "Isolation and Identification of Listeria monocytogenes from red meat, poultry, egg, and environmental samples" and is available on the FSIS website at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/. (Contact: Charlie Ingram) PESTICIDE BRIEFS ~~EPA Issues Risk Assessment for Chlorpyrifos~~The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the preliminary risk assessment for the organophosphate (OP) insecticide chlorpyrifos. The agency is continuing to review all OPs under more stringent safety standards required by the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). Chlorpyrifos is one of the most widely used pesticides and is used on food crops, in termite control, and in various home and garden products. According the EPA's assessment, risks from the use of chlorpyrifos are of concern and additional studies on the potential susceptibility of children and infants are needed. Environmental groups recently launched a campaign to ban the pesticide's use, saying it is toxic to wildlife. Comments on the risk assessment are due by December 27, 1999. EPA will then publish a revised risk assessment and seek risk management proposals. ~~Senators Introduce School Pesticide Bill~~Sens. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have introduced legislation (S.1716) that would require new safety standards for the use of pesticides in or around public schools. The School Environment Protection Act would require school districts to develop plans to ensure that the least toxic pesticides possible be used, require notification to parents and school officials when pesticides are used, and ban the use of certain hazardous pesticides that cause cancer, birth defects, and immune system effects. Torricelli said that only thirty states have some type of integrated pest management (IPM) program, and many of the programs do not adequately protect children. (Contact: Charlie Ingram) USDA NEWS ~~USDA Announces Export Training Program~~A three state pilot program in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississipp to train small and minority producers in export marketing will be implemented in the spring of 2000. The goal of the pilot program is to train participants on the basics of international marketing to help them identify, research, and take advantage of potential export opportunities. About 30 farmers and members of producer cooperatives, processing firms, and other small and minority agricultural businesses will be trained as trainers for several organizations representing small and minority producers in the region. The pilot program is expected to last two years. Applications will be available for the program in December 1999. Contacts are as follows: Georgia, Fred Harrison (912) 825-6344; Alabama Miles Robinson (800) 720-8698; Mississippi, Samuel Scott, (601) 877-3948. ~~Hunt Appointed USDA's Chief Administrative Law Judge~~Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman November 9 announced the appointment of James W. Hunt as chief administrative law judge for USDA, effective Nov. 7, 1999. The Office of Administrative Law Judges consists of three judges who conduct rulemaking and adjudicatory hearings throughout the United States in proceedings subject to the Administrative Procedure Act. There areapproximately 40 statutes administered by USDA agencies that require these hearings. Prior to this appointment to the chief's position, Hunt had served as an administrative law judge with USDA since 1989. Before joining USDA, he was an administrative law judge with the Social Security Administrations's Office of Hearings and Appeals. Formerly, he was in private law practice as a partner in the firm of Barton, Lambeth and Hunt. (Contact: Patrick Atagi) STATE NEWS
VERMONT DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE CRACKS DOWN ON LARGE FARMING OPERATION |