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A publication of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
NASDA TO TESTIFY AT FARM BILL HEARING
TRI-NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY FORUM HELD
SENATE PREPARES FOR REORGANIZATION
PRESIDENT SIGNS FOOT AND MOUTH BILL
CHINA FACES RENEWAL OF TRADE STATUS
CARBON TRADING MARKET EMERGING
ORGANIC PRODUCERS TO RECEIVE FEDERAL ASSISTANCE
State News--COMMISSIONER RUDGERS RECEIVES NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR AWARD
State News--JAPANESE PARTICIPATE IN VIRTUAL TASTING OF OREGON
Past Issues
What's New on the NASDA Website
2002 Farm Policy Initiative Working Documents
North Carolina Environmental Laws Guide available
NASDA's 2002 Farm Policy Briefing Book
NASDA's 2002 Farm Policy Initiative Initial Draft Working Document
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COMMISSIONERS APPROVE FARM BILL PROPOSAL NASDA's Natural Resource and Environment Committee held a conference call meeting on May 25 to finalize and approve their recommendations for the 2002 Farm Bill. The committee, chaired by Frank DuBois, director/secretary of the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, unanimously approved a detailed proposal that would establish a new "block grant" type program designed to compensate producers for implementing various conservation practices that enhance environmental goals. DuBois said that "agreement among the country's agriculture commissioners should send a strong message to Congress and the administration." Copies of the final document will be sent to all NASDA members next week and posted on NASDA's website. The new "Agricultural Stewardship Program" would provide block grants annually to state departments of agriculture as a means to provide assistance and support, cost-share payments, incentive payments, technical assistance, and education to agricultural producers and landowners for environmental enhancements, best management practices, and air and water quality improvements addressing resource needs. Director DuBois said "this bold, new initiative will give state and local governments more flexibility, tools, and resources to implement agricultural conservation priorities. DuBois emphasized that the program would build on existing delivery systems and infrastructure, not duplicate or replace existing conservation programs. The committee endorsed current USDA-managed conservation programs and recommended their continuation with increased funding, along with some modifications to make them more efficient and effective. NASDA members further recommended that the Agricultural Stewardship Program be funded with an "investment" of $8 billion annually in order to meet the country's environmental and conservation challenges and needs. The committee is continuing work on a model formula for allocating stewardship funds to states. These additional recommendations will be distributed to NASDA members in the near future for review and comment. (Contact: Charlie Ingram) NASDA TO TESTIFY AT FARM BILL HEARING NASDA will testify before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Rural Development, and Research next week on conservation provisions for the 2002 Farm Bill. Jamie Clover Adams, secretary of the Kansas Department of Agriculture, will represent NASDA at the June 6th hearing. The House Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), is interested in how current USDA-managed conservation programs are working, what changes need to be made to the programs and their funding levels, and whether current programs or new programs are needed to help producers comply with regulatory standards. Chairman Lucas plans to hold several hearings this month, then begin drafting a conservation title for the 2002 Farm Bill. In her testimony, Adams will present NASDA's new proposal for an "Agricultural Stewardship Program" and offer recommendations for changes in current conservation programs. NASDA's Natural Resource and Environment Committee approved their final recommendations for the next Farm Bill last week (see separate story). (Contact: Charlie Ingram) TRI-NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY FORUM HELD More than 100 delegates from the United States, Canada, and Mexico participated in the first "Tri-National Forum on Biotechnology in Agriculture" held in Guadalajara, Mexico, this week. The two-day forum was held under the auspices of the Tri-National Agricultural Accord (Accord) and was sponsored by the Association of Mexican Secretaries of Agricultural Development (AMSDA) with logistical support provided by the government of the state of Jalisco. The biotechnology forum was proposed at last summer's Accord meeting in Saskatoon, Canada. Its goal was to exchange views, obtain objective knowledge, communicate contrasting perspectives, and build a demystified basic foundation of information upon which to base opinion and formulate public policy on important issues which transcend national boundaries within North America. A series of speakers presented updates on advances in uses of biotechnology in the areas of transgenic plants, livestock, aquaculture, and forestry. Presenters also reviewed some of the consumer acceptance issues and reviewed the regulatory systems in each of the three countries. NASDA Vice President Sheldon R. Jones, director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture, headed a nine-state U.S. delegation. In concluding remarks during the closing sessions, Jones said, "On behalf of my colleagues in the United States, I wish to congratulate AMSDA on arranging a highly informative interchange which provided us with a thorough overview of both the scientific and regulatory issues now under discussion in our three countries." Merlyn Carlson, director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and co-chair of the Accord U.S./Mexico bilateral working group, said the conference contributed to two new outcomes. First, to allow a continued strengthening of the bilateral relationships with America's friends and counterparts from Mexico, and, second, the conference allowed the entire biotechnology issue to be elevated to a new "North American class" level. The next regular meeting of the Tri-National Agricultural Accord is scheduled for September 6 to 8, 2001, in Manzanillo, Mexico. Please see the Accord website, http://www.nasda.org/accord/, for additional information. (Contact: Rick Kirchhoff) SENATE PREPARES FOR REORGANIZATION In the wake of Sen. James Jeffords (I-Vt.) switch to become an Independent last week, Senate Democrats are preparing to take majority control of the chamber. The change means that there will be major reshuffling of committee chairmanships and ratios. Currently, the Senate is operating under a 50-50 power sharing agreement. The new make up of the Senate will be 50 Democrats, 49 Republicans, and one Independent. Democrats intent to seek a one-seat majority on all committees; but, it is uncertain whether this will be accomplished by adding a Democrat assignment, reducing a Republican position, or changing the committee size altogether. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), who will soon become majority leader, was attempting to negotiate a reorganization resolution with Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) this week. The Republicans have rejected the proposal for reorganizing the Senate. Before agreeing to the plan, Republicans want assurances that the full Senate will be allowed to vote on presidential nominations even if Democratic-controlled committees vote against those nominations and that the Democratic majority on the committees will be attained by adding one Democrat, not removing a Republican. Democratic leaders have confirmed that Sen. Jeffords (I-Vt.) will become the new chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Senator Joseph Biden (D-Del.) will chair the Foreign Relations Committee, clearing the way for Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to chair the Judiciary Committee. Biden will, however, assume chairmanship of a newly created Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs in exchange for his move to stay on the Foreign Relations committee.(Contact: Charlie Ingram) PRESIDENT SIGNS FOOT AND MOUTH BILL President George W. Bush signed a bill (S. 700) into law this week requiring Agriculture Secretary Veneman to draft a special report to Congress on the prevention of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). The measure was signed on May 26 and calls for a preliminary report to Congress within 30 days on animal disease prevention in the United States and abroad. Congress requested the report in response to recent concerns over the two diseases and is asking Veneman to list any immediate action Congress should take--appropriations or legislation. A final, full report will be due in six months. NASDA is currently leading a working group, the Animal Safeguarding Review, performing an independent review of Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS) Veterinary Services (VS). The working group is under the lead of NASDA's chair of the Animal and Plant Industries Committee, West Virginia Agriculture Commissioner Gus Douglass. Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Lester Spell, D.V.M.., is serving as vice-chair. The working group is made up of four subcommittees which will report their findings to an overall review panel. The review panel expects its subcommittees to report their findings by the end of June, with a final report due in mid-August. The Animal Safeguarding Review is composed of over 40 academians, scientists, industry representatives, state veterinarians, and NASDA members. (Contact: Patrick Atagi) HILL NEWS ~~Senator Dorgan Calls for Ban of Unsafe Mexican Trucks~~The World Trade Organization (WTO) recently ruled against the U.S. which sought to unilaterally ban trucks from Mexico unless they met U.S. safety requirements. The ruling stated that a decision on trucks entering or not entering into the United States would have to be made on a case-by-case basis. In response, Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) has introduced legislation to ban Mexican trucks from entering in to the United States on the basis that neither the trucks nor drivers from Mexico meet U.S. safety standards. Senator Harry Reid (D-N.V.) who will become majority whip when the Democrats take control of the Senate next week, cosponsored the bill with Reid. In a press release Dorgan stated, "Only about one percent of Mexico trucks entering into the U.S. are inspected by the U.S. at the border, but 36 percent of those that are inspected are turned back for serious safety violations ... Mexico does not have the same safety standards we have in the United States." He also noted that this administration and the previous administration have endangering Americans on U.S. roadways, citing evidence from California, Nevada, and other states documents that a significant number of Mexican trucks are regularly turned back at the U.S. Mexico border for serious safety violations. ~~Senator Calls for Oil Gouging Investigation~~U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) is calling for an immediate investigation into recent oil industry mergers and possible linkages to recent escalating gas prices. Levin announced his intention to pursue the matter when he becomes chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations when the Democrats take control of the Senate next week. The senator has already asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to research the matter and he may call for hearings later this year. (Contact: Patrick Atagi) NASS SURVEY UPDATE NASDA enumerators will be collecting data from farmers and ranchers during the annual National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) June Survey scheduled to take place May 30 to June 14, 2001. Publication date of acreage and grain stocks reports is June 29, 2001. The July Cattle Survey will occur from June 29 to July 10, 2001--publication date of July 20, 2001. It's important that farmers and ranchers lend their full cooperation to this effort. NASDA, in cooperation with USDA's NASS and state departments of agriculture, conducts agricultural surveys throughout the year. This information is important for policy planners at the national, state, and local level. NASDA employs about 3,300 enumerators in 49 states to collect this data--2,200 of these are field enumerators who visit farmers and ranchers on site and 1,100 are telephone/office enumerators who call farmers and ranchers from a central office. (Contact: Curtis Anderson) CHINA FACES RENEWAL OF TRADE STATUS President Bush stated his intention to pursue renewal of China's Normal Trade Relations status this year. In a message to Congress, Bush said that he would announce at the beginning of June his intention to extend normal trade relations status with China for another year. Although permanent normal trade relations for China passed last year, with the help of NASDA and its members, the authority does not take effect until China becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Until that time, a yearly congressional vote must occur on normal trade relations status for China. (Contact: Patrick Atagi) CARBON TRADING MARKET EMERGING Voluntary trading of greenhouse gas credits could help address climate change according to the results of a study announced this week by Environmental Financial Products. The firm's head, Dr. Richard Sandor, said, "our findings suggest that a voluntary pilot market, starting in the Midwest, is feasible and can be expanded over time." The notion of trading carbon emissions has long been debated, but a proposed new "Chicago Climate Exchange" offers the first test of the concept on a scale that has global potential. A group of 25 leaders from the energy, industrial, farm, and forest sectors helped design the new strategy. Credits are awarded to agriculture and forestry for absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil. Farmers could receive payments for adopting practices that help offset carbon emissions. Conservation tillage and planting cover crops are examples of practices that help store carbon in soils. This process is often called "carbon sequestration." The Midwest is considered a promising location because of its 20 percent share of the U.S. economy and greenhouse gas emissions; its mix of manufacturing, transport, energy, agriculture, and forestry sectors; and its extensive international linkages. Sandor said, "the widespread corporate interest in preparing rules and regulations for this voluntary market affirms the private sector's demand for flexible, market-based mechanisms to address climate change." (Contact: Tom Sommer) ORGANIC PRODUCERS TO RECEIVE FEDERAL ASSISTANCE Organic crop and livestock producers will receive a boost from the USDA to the amount of $1 million to help assist in defraying the cost of obtaining organic certification in 15 states. To be eligible for the assistance, producers must have been certified by a certifying agent as of December 21 of last year in the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, or Wyoming. Recipients of the funds will be eligible for up to 70 percent of the cost of certification, a maximum of $500 for each certification. The funds are specifically for the transition to the National Organic Program. However, producers cannot use the USDA organic seal on their products before October 22, 2002, as stated in the Federal Register notice announcing the rule. A meeting of the National Organic Standards Board is scheduled for June 6 to 7 in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, to update members and the public on the status of the Organic program. Further information can be found at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop. (Contact: Patrick Atagi) FOOD SAFETY BRIEFS ~~Food Safety Research Grants Available~~The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced the availability of funds to support research in the following areas: analytical detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (BSE/TSE) in FDA-regulated products; consumer refrigeration storage length practices for unopened and opened packages of ready-to-eat foods; microbial contamination of agricultural water; and transfer coefficients to describe the potential for Listeria cross contamination in retail establishments. Approximately $700,000 will be available for FY2001 and FDA expects to make up to four awards with support up to three years. Details about the research funds and application procedures are available in the May 21, 2001, Federal Register and from FDA's website at http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/052101a.htm. ~~FSIS Schedules Meetings on Meat and Poultry Issues~~USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced two public meetings regarding meat and poultry inspection issues. The National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) will hold a session June 5 to 6 to discuss egg and egg product strategy, an industry petition of proposed changes to the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) final rule, and new directions for federal, state, and local government working relationships on food safety issues. FSIS is conducting the second meeting on June 8 to describe their plans to upgrade port-of-entry reinspection of meat and poultry food products including revamping its computerized assignment and data collection system. ~~EPA Conditionally Registers New BT Corn Product~~A new Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn plant-incorporated protectant has been conditionally registered for use until September 30, 2001. The product's active pesticidal protein can help protect corn crops from insect pests such as the European corn borer, Southwestern corn borer, the fall armyworm, and the black cutworm. (Contact: Charlie Ingram) INTERNATIONAL TRADE NEWS ~~Canada and Mexico Request WTO Action Against U.S.~~Canada and Mexico requested a consultation with the United States through the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the issue of the recently passed Byrd amendment on trade. Canada and Mexico trade officials were caught off guard when senior U.S. trade officials said they would not be excluded from the controversial Byrd rule and immediately filed a complaint with the WTO. The amendment, the "Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000" which passed late last year, requires that all duties collected from antidumping and countervailing measures should go to the U.S. Treasury. Those funds could then, in turn, be given to those companies harmed by the dumping practices of foreign countries. The European Union, Australia, Brazil, Chile, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand have also asked for a consultation with the WTO in opposition to the rule, the largest joint consultation ever filed against a WTO member country. Those countries petitioning the WTO argue that companies could file frivolous anti-dumping cases in hopes of recovering funds from the treasury. The next step is for the WTO to create a formal panel to begin the dispute resolution process. ~~Congress Split on Support for Wheat Gluten Safeguard~~Eleven Democratic House members sent a letter to President Bush this week, urging the president to support and extend the safeguard on wheat gluten for an additional two years. Quantitative quotas were imposed on wheat gluten two years ago under Section 201 of the Trade Act when the International Trade Commission (ITC) found that wheat gluten was being dumped in the United States by the European Union. However, senators who have an interest in corn gluten oppose an extension or action by President Bush on extending the wheat gluten issue. The European Union has instituted a tariff on U.S. exports of corn gluten in response and retaliation to the U.S. action on wheat gluten. Senators opposing the action argue that the action would not conform to U.S. policy on reducing trade barriers for agricultural products. Senator Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), who was one of the senators opposing the action by President Bush, also argued that corn growers should not be paying the price for problems with wheat gluten. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) is also supportive of Lugar's position. The Democrats who sent the letter supporting an extension of the safeguard represent the House Ways and Means Committee Trade Subcommittee, including ranking members Charles Rangel (N.Y.) and Sander Levin (Mich.) ~~Key Trade Positions Filled~~The Senate confirmed this past week President Bush's nominations for Deputy U.S. Trade Representatives (USTR). Peter F. Allgeier will become U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, and Linnet F. Deily will be assigned to the European and Latin American affairs division in Washington, D.C. There are also two new additions at the USTR office, Jeffrey A. Bader will become assistant USTR for the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and Mongolia, and William Clatanoff will become assistant USTR for Labor. (Contact: Patrick Atagi) STATE NEWS
COMMISSIONER RUDGERS RECEIVES NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR AWARD |
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