“Commodity Classic This Week”
Corn, sorghum, soybean and wheat growers will converge on Anaheim, California this week for the 7th Annual Commodity Classic. The event – co-owned by the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and the American Soybean Association (ASA) – will feature an address by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack as well as a sorghum general session. Listen for live coverage from the event brought to you in part by: Pioneer and the United Sorghum Checkoff Program.
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“China Lifts Canadian Pork Ban”
China has lifted its ban on the importation of Canadian pork. But a ban on U.S. pork imports remains in place. Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says, – access to the Chinese market is excellent news for Canadian pork producers and underlines the importance of recognizing international science-based standards. The Canadians have touted the standards of the World Organization for Animal Health.
In spring of 2009, China suspended pork imports from H1N1-affected countries. In December, Canada successfully negotiated to have the ban lifted. Since then Canada has been working to develop supplementary certification requirements.
As for U.S. imports, last October China announced it would resume imports of U.S. pork following the H1N1-related ban, but Washington and Beijing are still working out the associated terms and conditions.
Senate Ag Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln says – it is time for China to follow through on its Commitment – with the United States. Lincoln and 21 other Senators have asked Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to do everything within their means to ensure the Chinese market is reopened as promised.
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“Hydrogen Sulfide Emissions May Be Reportable”
The Environmental Protection Agency says it is considering requiring industrial facilities, including concentrated animal feeding operations, to report releases of hydrogen sulfide. The agency says the agent is harmful to human health and the environment and must be reported to the Toxics Release Inventory under the Emergency Planning & Community Right-to-Know Act.
The reporting requirement could lead to stricter regulations on hydrogen sulfide under the Clean Air Act, including a mandate that facilities adopt new emissions mitigation technologies.
The National Pork Producers Council has challenged in a suit filed in a U.S. District Court in Wisconsin an EPA rule requiring some pork producers to report air emissions from their farms under EPCRA, which has an exemption for “agriculture.” NPPC contends EPA has failed to set up an adequate system to take emissions reports from producers.
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“Study of Land Use Theories Begins”
An expert workgroup created by the California Air Resources Board met for the first time Friday. The group is charged with refining and improving the land use and indirect effect analysis of transportation fuels, and will also evaluate key factors, such as agricultural yield improvements, co-products, land emission factors, food price elasticity and more, which “might impact” bioful’s land use values.
Mark Stowers, POET’s senior vice president of science and technology, says the low carbon fuel standard – is an important piece of energy policy, too important to rely on theories or unproven models. The workgroup is set to meet monthly through September, before preparing a draft report in October and submit its recommendations to the board by January 1, 2011.
Critics warn that the science behind ILUC is not yet mature and the state’s LCFS is under legal challenge because of the board’s application of ILUC.
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“December Domestic Ethanol Production Up”
According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. ethanol production reached yet another all time high in December of 2009 at 787-thousand barrels per day. That’s an increase of 131-thousand from one year earlier. For calendar year 2009, ethanol production exceeded 10.75 billion gallons.
The Renewable Fuels Association calculated that ethanol demand fell to 750-thousand barrels per day during December as fuel ethanol imports totaled 504-thousand gallons during the month. The United States enjoys a 22.3 day reserve of ethanol.
Despite trying economic circumstances, RFA President Bob Dinneen says – once-idled facilities are restarting and new biorefineries are coming online to ensure that the volumes of ethanol called for in the Renewable Fuels Standard are met by domestic supplies.
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“Disaster Assistance Now Jobs Bill Rider”
National Cotton Council Chairman Eddie Smith says disaster assistance will be included in the new jobs creation bill. Little is known about the proposal but some speculate it could look much like earlier offerings. Most likely the proposal would be tied to a secretarial disaster declaration with producers receiving a payment similar to a direct payment. They would have to prove an economic loss of 5 percent for a least one crop of economic significance.
As for the one-dollar a gallon biodiesel tax incentive, that extension remains unresolved. Supporters believe the incentive is crucial to the survival of the biodiesel industry.
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“Stem Rust Fight Moves Forward”
The Agricultural Research Service and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Ankara, Turkey, have established a nursery to study Winter Wheat Stem Rust Resistance. The facility is considered a key tool in the fight against the rust strain Ug99 and is the first of its kind for winter wheat. This joint effort will distribute 100 lines that have been identified by international scientists as having resistance to the deadly Ug99 stem rust and its descendants.
Thirty of the 100 lines in the nursery were developed by ARS scientists. They contain resistance to stem rust races in Kenya and the United States. The lines focus on the use of four or five resistance genes that have been incorporated into various combinations in winter wheat lines. According to ARS research leader David Marshall, multiple genes for resistance will slow the pathogen’s ability to readily overcome the new wheat varieties that breeders develop.
Winter wheat lines in the nursery are being distributed to wheat breeders and geneticists in 34 countries, including those that have been hit hardest by the disease.
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“Canadian Cattle Focus of DDGS Trial”
Five thousand Canadian cattle will be fed distiller’s dried grains with solubles as part of a U.S. Grains Council sponsored test in Alberta, Canada. In an effort to validate the quality of DDGS, the Council has joined forces with several industry parties to facilitate a DDGS demonstration at a commercial feedlot. The demonstration aims to support small scale research conducted at the University of Saskatchewan which has shown significant feed efficiency improvements due to increased corn DDGS inclusion rates of 30 percent and 40 percent.
The U.S. Grains Council believes DDGS has the potential to produce finished cattle with improved carcass quality, due to its bulk density and oil content. According to Neil Campbell, USGC consultant in Canada, the demonstration will begin in March. It will include inclusion rates of 20 percent, 30 percent and 40 percent. The Canadian feedlot industry currently utilizes inclusion rates of 15 percent to 20 percent U.S. DDGS.
Campbell points out that – Canada is the number two market for U.S. DDGS exports, importing 803,674 metric tons in 2009. The successful demonstration of these higher inclusion rates is expected to increase the demand for U.S. DDGS by 200-thousand to 300-thousand tons.
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“Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Honored”
The farm and ranch families of Farm Bureau last year raised more than 213-thousand dollars, a record, and donated more than 4.8 million pounds of food to hungry Americans as part of Farm Bureau’s “Harvest for All” program. Combined, the donations provided the equivalent of nearly 5.3 million meals through Feeding America-affiliated food banks. Also, during 2009, farmers and ranchers tallied nearly 54-hundred volunteer hours assisting hunger groups through the Harvest for All program.
During last week’s AFBF Young Farmer and Rancher Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Illinois Farm bureau was honored for raising the most funds –just over 93-thousand dollars. The New York Farm Bureau was number one in food donated at 3.65 million pounds. And the top honor for volunteer time went to Michigan Farm Bureau with nearly 3-thousand volunteer hours.
In addition, five state Young Farmer and Rancher committees received 500-dollar grants for “most innovative” programs. The winners are Indiana for “Piggy Bank Promotion;” Michigan for “Chicken Project;” New York for “Feed the Hungry;” Pennsylvania for “Lady Moon Farm Project;” and South Dakota for “Great PETA-Inspired Milk Donation.”
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“McGovern-Dole Program Receives USDA Funds”
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says USDA will donate more than 100-thousand tons of U.S. agricultural commodities valued at nearly 170-million dollars in fiscal year 2010 under the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. The program helps support education, child development and food security in low-income, food-deficit countries that are committed to universal education. It also provides financial and technical assistance for school feeding and maternal and child nutrition projects.
Vilsack says – this important program provides a healthy meal, often the only one they receive, for millions of children, mothers and infants in developing countries around the world each day. This year’s allocations will feed more than 4.8 million children in 18 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
To date, the McGovern-Dole Program has provided meals to more than 22 million children. The program is named in honor of Ambassador and former Senator George McGovern and former Senator Robert Dole for their tireless efforts to encourage a global commitment to school feeding and child nutrition.
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“Black Discrimination Settlement Clears Way for Others”
Now that black farmers have reached a new settlement in their discrimination lawsuit against the federal government, it’s up to Congress to pay the bill….1.5 billion dollars to fulfill the agreement black farmers reached last week with the Agriculture and Justice department. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid thinks the settlement is long overdue.
But, Representative Artur Davis, who supports the appropriation, says – there is certainly cause for worry – that the budget request will not be approved. Pay-as-you-go spending rules could complicate matters by forcing Congress to find ways to come up with the money without adding to the federal deficit.
If things go well we can expect other cases to surface. Earlier, other minority groups — women, Native Americans and Hispanics — sued the USDA about the same time. Each group has begun talks with the government. Lawyers in a case filed by female farmer’s hope Congress will intervene the way it did for black farmers. Hispanic farmers have had settlement meetings with USDA but are frustrated. And the lead attorney for the Native American farmers said their court proceedings have been put on hold while they negotiate with USDA.
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“Health Care Debated During Presidential Summit”
At the end of last Thursday’s seven-hour summit on health care reform, President Obama declared that the time for debate has come to an end. He indicated that if meaningful GOP cooperation does not materialize he is ready to proceed without bipartisan support and risk the political consequences.
Republicans say they share Democrats’ assessment that the health-care system is broken, but they question the fundamental elements of the approach, including whether it is appropriate for the government to set standards for coverage or require individuals to buy insurance.
Republicans also criticized Democrats for attempting to levy new fees and taxes on businesses to pay for their legislation. Democrats countered that health-care problems — whether related to rising costs or barriers to coverage — have grown so egregious that government has no choice but to intervene.
The two parties did find accord in several limited realms. People should be allowed to buy insurance across state lines, although Democrats want to set minimum standards that policies in all states would have to meet. They agreed that forming pools for uninsured people is a good way to lower premium costs. And they conceded that unless costs are contained, Medicare will be bankrupted and employers will stop offering coverage.
