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A publication of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture NEW YORK REPRESENTATIVE CALLS ON HOUSE LEADERSHIP TO RESOLVE AGRICULTURE EMPLOYMENT PROBLEM USDA SEEKS PROPOSALS FROM STATES FOR MARKETING IMPROVEMENT FUNDS VIETNAM'S SUCCESS AGAINST AVIAN FLU MAY OFFER BLUEPRINT FOR OTHERS THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY BAC FIGHTERS PROGRAM RECOGNITION AWARDS ANNOUNCED State News--PENNSYLVANIA'S ANIMAL HEALTH DATABASE SYSTEM OFFERED NATIONALLY State News--ODA OFFERS PREVIEW OF PESTICIDE USE REPORTING SYSTEM _________________________________________________________Past Issues What's New on the NASDA Website
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NEW YORK REPRESENTATIVE CALLS ON HOUSE LEADERSHIP TO RESOLVE AGRICULTURE EMPLOYMENT PROBLEM Rep. John R. Randy Kuhl, Jr. (R-N.Y.) sent a letter last week to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), and Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) calling on them to act immediately to resolve the labor shortage issues faced by farmers in his district. "Our farmers are in immediate need of relief from the growing problem caused by our immigration system," said Kuhl. "We have a problem. The industry relies on migrant labor to get them through the harvest season but the backlash caused by illegal immigration has made it increasingly difficult to find and sustain a legal labor force to do all of the work. We've acted to secure our borders and appropriated the right amount of money to patrol them." Kuhl points out that the current immigration system just isn't working. He is hopeful that Congress can resolve this crisis on the nation's farms as soon as Congress returns to Washington after the election by passing a stand alone guest worker program bill. The Agricultural Coalition for Immigration Reform (ACIR), co-chaired by the American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) and the National Council of Agricultural Employers, continue to take steps to encourage passage of the agricultural provisions of S. 2611, the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006" (known as AgJOBS). This bill is sponsored by Senators Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). This bipartisan legislation would achieve historic reforms to the nation's labor and immigration laws as they pertain to agriculture. (Contact: Jennifer Yezak) USDA SEEKS PROPOSALS FROM STATES FOR MARKETING IMPROVEMENT FUNDS USDA is inviting state departments of agriculture and other appropriate state agencies to submit proposals for matching grant funds under the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP). Program funds may be requested for a wide range of research projects that help to market, transport and distribute U.S. food and agricultural products domestically and internationally. Federal funds awarded to any project must be matched by non-federal funds or in-kind resources. USDA is particularly interested in proposals that involve collaboration among the states, academia, producers and other stakeholders, and in proposals that have state, regional, or national significance. USDA anticipates that approximately $1.3 million will be available for FSMIP grants in fiscal year 2007, with funds allocated on the basis of one round of competition. USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service administers the program. Guidelines, application forms and other information are posted at http://www.ams.usda.gov/tmd/fsmip.htm. Applicants may also submit applications through the federal grants website, http://www.grants.gov. The deadline for submitting applications is February 12, 2007. NASDA supports the FSMIP and seeks to increase funds for the program. Currently, on average, $1.25 million is available for projects. NASDA will ask that the annual amount be increased to $5 million. (Contact: Jennifer Yezak) VIETNAM'S SUCCESS AGAINST AVIAN FLU MAY OFFER BLUEPRINT FOR OTHERS Vietnam was one of the first countries hit by the high path avian influenza virus in the current outbreak. The first human infections in Vietnam were identified in December 2003 and its first widespread poultry outbreaks occurred in January 2004. The country was also one of the hardest hit; 66 million birds have been culled to prevent spread of the virus, and it has had more human infections than any other country to date. But it has also controlled the virus more successfully than any other country where the disease has became endemic. There have been no new human cases since November 2005 and only a handful of infected birds this year have been identified with the disease. The shift is so striking that international health authorities are asking whether Vietnam's success can be replicated elsewhere. In 2004 outbreaks were controlled mainly by culling infected flocks. In 2005 Vietnam became the first country to institute mandatory nationwide poultry vaccination. Experts have noted, however, it is actually difficult to know exactly what the success in Vietnam is due to, because of the number of different interventions initiated during the latter half of 2005. Reproducing Vietnam's efforts will first require sorting out which of its aggressive interventions actually make a difference. Nonetheless, World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologists stationed in Vietnam believe that the absence of human cases is a direct reflection of the lack of cases on the animal side. (Contact: Bob Ehart) THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY BAC FIGHTERS PROGRAM RECOGNITION AWARDS ANNOUNCED In celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Fight BAC!(R), the Partnership for Food Safety Education (Partnership) announces the first national BAC Fighters! Program Awards to recognize outstanding localized food safety education programming based on the Fight BAC!(R) campaign's four core safe food handling practices: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill. One program will be recognized in each of three categories: 1) General consumer outreach program; 2) Hospital/Clinic/Healthcare setting program; 3) Retailer /Restaurant/Food Service-developed program. General Criteria--Not-for-profit, private sector, academic and government organizations are eligible to apply. Programs submitted for consideration must have originated as a result of a workplan that clearly defines the program goals and target audience. Eligible programs must have been executed between 2001-2006 and must have utilized elements of the national Fight BAC! campaign. Award applications that are submitted incomplete may be deemed ineligible. Material submitted will not be returned to the applicants. Awards-- 1. The Partnership will recognize up to three programs one in each of the three award categories detailed above. However, the Partnership for Food Safety Education reserves the right to not make an award in any one or all of the categories. 2. Programs chosen for recognition will have the opportunity to send two (2) members of the winning program team to Washington, DC (airfare, ground transportation, hotel for two nights) for the Partnership for Food Safety Education's Fight BAC! Capitol Hill celebration in mid-September, 2007. Selected programs will be featured on www.fightbac.org and in a newsletter distributed to 4,000 BAC Fighters! and Partnership supporters nationwide. The winning team will receive $150 worth of Fight BAC! consumer education materials and will have the opportunity to meet with leading professionals in food safety in the Washington, D.C., area. 3. Entries will be judged by a panel of experts representative of the Partnership's membership from government, consumer groups, industry and health professional organizations. 4. Entries will be accepted between October 2, 2006 and May 1, 2007. 5. Winner(s) will be notified by June 8, 2007. Additional information is available is at http://www.fightbac.org/content/view/194/106/. (Contact: Rick Kirchhoff) STATE NEWS PENNSYLVANIA'S ANIMAL HEALTH DATABASE SYSTEM OFFERED NATIONALLY --USAHERDS Launched through Multi-State Partnership Pennsylvania's award-winning animal health database system has become a national model for use by other states, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture said recently. Launched this week at the U.S. Animal Health Association (USAHA) annual meeting in Minneapolis, the U.S. Animal Health Emergency Response and Diagnostic System (USAHERDS) is the national version of PAHERDS, Pennsylvania's innovative program to protect millions of livestock and poultry flocks from the outbreak of disease. Indiana and Kentucky were the first to adopt the technology and entered into a new partnership with Pennsylvania to work together to better protect the health of animals and consumers. "Once again, Pennsylvania's cutting-edge technology is helping the nation," Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff said. "Through USAHERDS, other states can monitor and contain animal diseases quickly and effectively, protecting our food supply and local economies across the nation." Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Kentucky formed a multi-state partnership called the Animal Health Information Management Consortium (AHIMC) to set a new standard for monitoring animal health incidents, investigations, licenses and regulatory events in the U.S. Participants include the Pennsylvania Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services, the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, the Kentucky Division of Animal Health, and the University of Kentucky Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center. Dr. Paul Knepley, Pennsylvania's state veterinarian, will chair the AHIMC committee. USAHERDS is a computerized data program available to state departments of agriculture, which helps to prevent, detect, contain and eradicate outbreaks of dangerous diseases among animals. Key features of the system includes premises identification, animal testing and inventory, program disease management, import and export management, licensing, and emergency response management. Consortium members are using the systems for emergency planning, daily operations, and mapping. USAHERDS will also generate cost-savings for participating states by streamlining business processes. Pennsylvania's system reduced annual costs to taxpayers by more than $75,000. Earlier this year, PAHERDS received the American Council for Technology's 2006 Intergovernmental Solutions Award. For more information on USAHERDS, contact Sean Crager at 717/705-8897 or scrager@state.pa.us. (Contact: Stephanie Meyers, 717/787-5085) ODA OFFERS PREVIEW OF PESTICIDE USE REPORTING SYSTEM A preview of the Oregon Pesticide Use Reporting System (PURS) will be available online starting this week, giving those pesticide users who will need to report in 2007 a chance to become familiar with the system. Those interested will be able to log on from November 1 through December 15 and will be able to practice filing reports in preparation for the actual reporting that will be required starting next year. The Oregon Pesticide Use Reporting System will collect, summarize, retain, and report information on pesticide use by all categories of users--from agricultural users to urban residents. Homeowner use information is being collected through a survey while other pesticide users will need to report electronically to the Oregon Department of Agriculture's website, http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/. PURS will provide information on what pesticides are being used in Oregon, in what quantities, and generally where they are being applied. The law, originally passed in 1999, requires each pesticide user to file reports at least once a year. The PURS preview will allow pesticide users to practice registering and filing reports. ODA emphasizes that registration and practice reports will not be retained when the preview ends. The purpose of the preview is to allow users to learn more about the online system. All users required to report will need to register again starting in January when the permanent system is activated. At that time, users will receive a permanent identification number and password. During the preview period, users may experience periodic interruptions in the availability of the system due to other system testing. Once the system is permanently operating in January, the same web location will have the links that allow users to register and report their pesticide use. Those required to report include any person who uses or applies a pesticide in the course of business, or for a government entity, or in a location that is intended for public use or access. Examples of pesticide users would be those in agriculture, forestry, government agencies, utility companies, pest control companies, and landlords or managers of hotels, motels, restaurants and other business properties. Pesticide users can begin to electronically report their usage for 2007 in January. All 2007 reports need to be made no later than January 31, 2008. (Contact: Sunny Jones, 503/986-6466) |