“Oil and Natural Gas Lease Sale Announced”
The Department of the Interior will hold an oil and natural gas lease sale for the Central Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf that will offer nearly 36 million acres and could produce up to 1.3 billion barrels of oil and 5.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The sale will be March 17th. Notice is to be published in the Federal Register today (Monday).
In making the announcement Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, – as we build a comprehensive energy strategy for our nation, we are moving ahead both with environmentally-responsible renewable energy development on public lands and appropriate oil and natural gas exploration and development onshore and offshore.
Thanks to an enhanced revenue sharing program mandated by the gulf of Mexcio Energy Security Actor of 2006, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas will share 37.5 percent of all revenue from leases in that area. In addition, 12.5 percent of revenues will be deposited into the Land and Water Conservation Fund for use by all 50 states to enhance parklands and for other conservation projects.
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“Propane Supply a Concern”
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is concerned about apparent shortages of propane gas just as the weather is turning cold and farmers are in high gear working to get crops out of the fields. In a letter to the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, Jon Leibowitz, Senator Grassley asked that the commission remain vigilant in overseeing the propane market to prevent anti-competitive behavior.
Farmers are using a considerable amount of propane right now because they are harvesting a higher amount of high-moisture corn due to the unseasonably wet weather. Most corn must be sold below a certain moisture content for farmers to receive an optimal price. Grassley says propane inventories nationally remain at or above the five-year average for this time of year.
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“JBS in Financial Straits”
JBS S.A. is in an – advanced – stage of negotiations with an unnamed investor interested in committing 2.5 billion dollars to JBS’s U.S. division. Also, the company reported a steep decline in earnings in its third fiscal quarter. As a result, JBS needs to sell up to 26.3 percent of its U.S. unit to shore up its financial ratios. Until this happens, JBS S.A.’s plan to buy Brazilian rival Bertin cannot be completed.
JBS reported Friday that its net earnings for the third quarter, ending September 30, dropped 78 percent, about 87.4-million dollars, compared with the year-earlier period. At the same time revenue rose 8 percent to 4.8-billion dollars compared to one year earlier. Most of the income was from added sales from the beef unit of Smithfield Foods.
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“Banking Bill has Critics”
White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee, is critical of the plan Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd has proposed to overhaul regulation of the financial system. Goolsbee fells the plan could open regulatory gaps and sow confusion in the financial system by consolidating banking regulation in a single agency. Competing plans coming from the administration and House would actually boost the Fed’s authority over holding companies.
Dodd’s proposal would also give a council of regulators power to oversee risks to the financial system. The council could impose new rules on firms deemed threatening to the overall stability of the system, including increased capital requirements and, in extreme cases, break up large financial institutions.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin points out – the Fed’s role as lender of last resort depends importantly on its supervision of the largest, most interconnected firms. Wolin says – supervision gives it deep understanding and timely access to information about the banking sector, payments systems, and capital markets. Stripped of its supervisory role, the Fed would not have timely and complete information in a crisis.
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“Hearing on Financial Regulatory Reform Scheduled”
The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing this Wednesday on financial regulatory reform. Ag Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln will gavel the meeting to order at 9:30 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing will examine the U.S. derivatives market and the adequacy of the current regulatory structure.
The first panel has just one speaker: Gary Gensler, Chairman of the Commotidy Futures Trading commission. The second panel will feature End Users from Virginia, Michigan, Texas, Georgia and New York.
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“Meeting Set to Explore Competition and Regulatory Issues”
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Agriculture will hold five public workshops during 2010 to explore competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry. The workshops’ goals are to promote dialogue among interested parties and foster learning with respect to the appropriate legal and economic analyses of these issues, as well as to listen to and learn from parties with experience in the agriculture sector. The all-day workshops begin March 12 with the first held in Ankeny, Iowa. The remaining workshops will be held in Alabama, Colorado, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin.
The first workshop, titled issues of concern to farmers, will serve as an introduction to the series of workshops, but also will focus specifically on issues facing crop farmers. Specific areas of focus may include seed technology, vertical integration, market transparency and buyer power. According to Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, – these workshops will give farmers, consumers, and agribusinesses the opportunity to provide examples of potentially anticompetitive conduct and to discuss any concerns about the application of the antitrust laws to the agricultural sector.
Future meetings will be held May 21st in Normal,Alabama, June 7th in Madison, Wisconsin, August 26th in Fort Collins, Colorado, and December 8th in Washington, D.C. Each workshop may feature keynote speakers, general expert panels, and break-out panels that will address more narrowly-focused issues.
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“Merrigan to Chair FAO Meeting”
The 36th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Ministerial Conference begins this Wednesday in Rome, Italy. Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan will lead the U.S. delegation and serve as chairman of the Conference. The U.S. delegation will also include U.S. Department of State Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs Nerissa Cook, and others.
This will be the first time in 20 years that the United States has chaired this ministerial conference and this will be the first time that a woman has served as conference chair. Among her duties as chair, Merrigan will oversee discussions on the ongoing FAO reform effort and will officiate as heads of delegations present their country’s view of the state of food and agriculture at the conference’s plenary session.
FAO is the United Nations’ organization whose mandate is to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, improve agricultural productivity, promote rural development and, ultimately, provide all people at all times with access to the food they need for an active and healthy life.
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“Angus Programs at North American in Louisville”
Members of the American Angus Association are conducting their 126th Annual Convention in conjunction with the North American International livestock Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky. Today, (Monday) votes will be cast for president and vice president and five directors will be elected to the Association Board of Directors.
The North American International Livestock Exposition Super-Point Roll of Victory Angus show begins this morning. The bull and cow-calf pair show is scheduled for today, while the female show will take place Tuesday.
The American Angus Association is the nation’s largest beef organization, serving more than 30-thousand members across the United States and Canada. It provides programs and services to farmers, ranchers and others who rely on the power of Angus to produce quality genetics for the beef industry and quality beef for consumers.
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“Beef Checkoff Wants a Food Fight”
The Beef Checkoff’s issues and reputation management team is preparing for a food fight, just one week before Thanksgiving. The one week – food fight – is designed to activate beef producers and dairy farmers to speak up and help Americans realize what they have to be thankful for as they prepare for the Thanksgiving holidays.
Along with getting beef producers and dairy farmers to speak out about American agriculture, the Checkoff’s issues and reputation management team hopes to be filling social media sites like Facebook and Twitter with lots of good information about producers and the food they raise and we eat.
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“USGC and ASA Sell Commodities at Conference”
The U.S. Grains council partnered with the American Soybean Association – International marketing to host the Southeast Asia Grain Transportation conference held in New Orleans last week. The conference put end-users of U.S. Commodities in the same room as U.S. suppliers and they did business face-to-face. The total sales amounted to 286-thousand metric tons of U.S. products, including DDG with solubles; corn gluten; soybeans; and soybean meal.
According to the U.S. Grains Council, these sales that occurred at the conference are only the beginning. USGC Regional Director in Southeast Asia Adel Yusupov says – the relationships are made and more is sure to come. He notes, – U.S. farmers are the ultimate winners. Yusupov says, – soybeans and meal are hot commodities right now since the region is very short on feed protein.
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“Household Food Security Report to be Issued”
Today (Monday) USDA will release the 2008 findings of Household Food Security in the United States, an annual report which provides the most recent statistics on food security among U.S. households. Food security is having consistent, dependable access to enough food for active, healthy living. Food-insecure households are those that at times have difficulty in accessing enough food. The report also contains statistics on how much households spent for food in 2008, and the extent to which food-insecure households participated in Federal and community food assistance programs.
This annual report is published each November and is being released as Congress begins considering Childhood Nutrition Reauthorization legislation, which impacts the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs. Within this legislation, there is an opportunity to eliminate barriers that keep children from participating in school nutrition programs, improve the quality of school meals and the health of the school environment, and enhance program performance.
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“Survey Focuses on FDA Food Safety Oversight”
A poll taken in Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Ohio shows overwhelming support for measures that would give the Food and Drug Administration new authority to ensure the food Americans eat does not make them sick. The poll was commissioned by the Pew Health Group and conducted in October.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms millions of food-related illnesses annually with hundreds of thousands of people hospitalized and thousands dying as a result. Shelley Hearne, managing director of the Pew Health Group, says – the FDA, which is responsible for the safety of over 80 percent of the foods we eat, does not have the fundamental tools or resources it needs to sufficiently protect the public from dangers in the food supply.
This information comes at a time when the U.S. Senate is expected to consider food safety legislation that gives the FDA new oversight and enforcement powers. The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version in July, which includes stronger inspection authorities for federal officials when investigating domestic facilities and imports.
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“Hobbie Prepares to Step Down”
U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Ken Hobbie is about to close the book on his 34-year career with the organization. The Grains Council represents U.S. corn, barley and sorghum producers. Hobbie says one of the most significant changes he saw during his time with the Council was the progress U.S. farmers made to become more efficient and innovative with their land. Hobbie has been President and CEO of the U.S. Grains Council for 19 year.
Hobbie says – there is always a new challenge, that when dealt with properly, will ultimately lead to a benefit for U.S. feed grains producers. He sees one of the greatest opportunities for U.S. feed grains and their co-products in China. According to Hobbie, – the successful integration of China into the world market will present U.S. producers with the opportunity to become a significant supplier of corn, barley, sorghum and their co-products.
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“Researchers Study Climate Change and Soybean Production”
Agricultural Research Service scientists and university cooperators are looking at the effect of global climate change on crops. They especially want to project how increases in carbon dioxide and ozone will affect soybean production. To date, the scientists have found that soybean yields increase by about 12 percent at the elevated CO2 levels predicted for the year 2050 –only half of what previous studies estimated. They also found that increased ozone is quite harmful to soybean yields, reducing them by about 20 percent.
There is a bit of a saving grace. When scientists examined the combined effects of CO2 and ozone changes on soybeans, they found that elevated CO2 partially offsets
the ozone damage. Researchers admit, – there is much more to be learned about how other interacting factors that affect ozone uptake may come into play by mid-century.
Results from these studies will help breeders develop soybean varieties better adapted to the changing climate.
