“Health Care Bill Analysis Offered”
An analysis provided by Agri-Pulse provides some insight into what the health care reform bill contains. CBO says the legislation would establish a mandate for most legal residents to obtain health insurance; setup insurance exchanges through which certain individuals and families could receive federal subsidies to help pay for health insurance; expand eligibility and reduce payment rates for most Medicaid services; and impose an excise tax on insurance plans with relatively high premiums.
According to Agri-Pulse the bill would also: place an immediate ban on pre-existing condition exclusions for children; protect choice of doctors and access to emergency care; guarantee opportunity to appeal coverage denials; and it provides a multi-state option and free choice vouchers.
Agri-Pulse also reports that the health care reform bill: makes health care more affordable; increases access to quality care for seniors, children and vulnerable populations; and identifies alternatives to litigation.
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“Ag Committee Gets New Chief Counsel”
Julie Anna Potts has been selected to serve as Chief Counsel for the Senate Ag Committee. Potts, an Alabama native, most recently served as General Counsel for the American Farm Bureau Federation. The selection was announced by Ag Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln.
According to Lincoln, – Julie Anna’s experience with the American Farm Bureau Federation and her service to American agriculture will be a great asset to the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Potts says, – it is an honor to be able to serve the Senate Agriculture Committee. I am looking forward to continuing my work on issues critical to agriculture and rural America.
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“Two AG CEOs Are Tops”
Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant and Potash Corporation CEO William Doyle are among the top 15 in Harvard Business Review’s Top 50 CEOs ranking. Grant is placed at number 10 and Doyle is number 14. Number one is Apple’s Steve Grant.
In a Monsanto News Release, the company says Grant has – articulated a new direction driving to the heart of our operating philosophy. Meanwhile, the Potash Corporation web site points to Doyle’s 10 years of service as CEO. He assumed his current duties on July 1, 1999 after 12 years as a key member of the company’s senior management team.
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“WTO Director-General Supports Process”
World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy says – much work remains to be done – as negotiators work on climate change agreements. Some have criticized the process of the Copenhagen meeting as cumbersome. But, according to Lamy, procedural difficulties are inevitable when leaders confront problems which are global – while remaining accountable largely to domestic politics.
Lamy says, – we are familiar with this in the WTO. Multilateral processes involve a great many actors and this makes reaching consensus complicated. But in the end, Lamy says, it is only process through which – we can achieve results which are legitimate and credible.
According to Lamy, the Copenhagen meeting, which ended last Saturday, represents – a step forward. The Kyoto Protocol addresses about 30 percent of global carbon emissions. In contrast, the framework accord hammered out in Copenhagen last week may encompass the majority of world emissions. So far, few details are known about the Copenhagen agreement.
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“Russia Sets Pork – Poultry Quota”
Russia has lowered its import quotas for U.S. pork and poultry for next year. Reuters reports Russia set the 2010 import quota for U.S. poultry at 600-thousand tons. That’s down from 750-thousand tons in 2009. And Russia has cut the U.S. pork quota to 57,500 tons for 2010. That’s down from 100-thousand tons in 2009.
U.S. Meat Export Federation spokesman Joe Schuele says, – this announcement is not surprising, though we were hopeful of a more positive final result for the U.S. pork industry. Schuele said the beef quota is actually rising to 21,700 metric tons for 2010-2012 from the 18,500 metric ton quota of 2009.
Russia is working to become self-sufficient in meat production. The country plans to invest more than 93.6 billion rubles, or about 3-billion dollars, into developing its domestic pig breeding industry over the next two years.
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“Launch of South Korean Burger a Success”
GS25 convenience stores in South Korea are selling the “John’s Burger, a new convenience food item targeted at 20- to-30 year-old office workers in search of a quick and affordable lunch. This burger is priced about the same as a U.S. burger, 86 cents to $1.38, at current exchange rates. But that is where the similarity stops. The “John’s Burger” is made out of 100 percent U.S. Pork.
The “John’s Burger” was born following a visit to U.S. pork plants, in August 2009 by a “Pork Business Development Team” led by the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Hee-hun Han, Retail Daily Food Merchandising Team assistant manager for GS retail stores, says – since we engaged in this initiative and took an in-depth tour of U.S. pork plants, it gave me crystal-clear confidence in why we should procure pork patties from the United States.
During a recent four-day promotion the GS25 chain sold an average of 3,522 of the new sandwiches per day at a limited number of stores, even though two of the days fell on the weekend when there were fewer office workers. J.R. Lee, marketing manager for USMEF-Korea, says – we are encouraged by the reception to a premium-priced U.S. pork sandwich among customers who are typically very cost-sensitive. Lee believes that – over time, other convenience store chains will see the success of this product and it will lead to more opportunities for U.S. pork sales here.
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“Potash Prices to Rise”
A Brazilian mining company that is developing potash deposits in South America predicts prices of the fertilizer may rise as much as 25 percent next year. Vale SA blames higher food prices that are encouraging farmers to boost output. Ruben Fernandes, head of Vale’s fertilizer business, says international potash prices may climb to as high as 500-dollars a metric ton in the second half of next year. That’s up from about 400 now.
The Paris-based International Fertilizer Industry Association says farmers reduced potash use in vegetable, coffee and grain crops during 2009. The Association calls the trend – unsustainable – and predicts farmers will increase usage by 4.9 percent next year.
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“NCGA Begins Podcast Series”
The National Corn Growers Association has posted to its web site its first podcast in what will be an ongoing series. This series, called ‘ Off the Cob”, will feature interviews with grower-leaders on hot topics in agriculture and will expand media options for those wishing to further their knowledge of the industry.
The first piece looks at the history and future of the maize genome sequencing project with former Research and Business Development Action Team Chair Pam Johnson, a grower from Floyd, Iowa. Johnson shares the unique perspective that she gained on the project while working tirelessly to help NCGA find the funding necessary to complete the monumental collaborative effort.
NCGA Grower Services Action Team chair Tim Dolan points out – the Corn Board listed communications as one of its top five priorities for 2010. This decision gave us the responsibility of both improving and broadening our communications activities through the development and implementation of ideas such as ‘Off the Cob’.”
