“U.S. And Chinese Funds Work Toward Clean Energy”
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced the availability of 37.5-million dollars in U.S. funding over the next five years to support the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center. China will contribute an additional 75-million in funds. Research will focus on advancing technologies for building energy efficiency, clean coal including carbon capture and storage, and clean vehicles. The Clean Energy Research Center will be located in existing facilities in both the U.S. and China.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu said – cooperation between China and the United States on clean energy is crucial to confronting the global climate crisis and presents an important opportunity to create American jobs and build U.S. leadership in a growing global industry. President Obama and President Hu Jintao formally announced the establishment of the CERC during the President’s trip to Beijing last November.
The U.S. and China are the world’s top energy consumers, energy producers and greenhouse gas emitters. They will play central roles in the world’s transition to a clean energy economy in the years ahead.
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“USDA Broadband Program Enters Phase Two”
USDA has completed round one of its Recovery Act Broadband Funding program. Now, applications filed under the second and final round are under review and will be announced before the end of the 2010 fiscal year. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack said – the Recovery Act broadband projects will open up educational, job and business opportunities to hundreds of thousands of Americans living in rural areas.
Earlier this month, President Obama said – America is on the verge of a broadband-driven Internet era that will unleash innovation, create new jobs and industries, provide consumers with new powerful sources of information, enhance American safety and security, and connect communities in ways that strengthen our democracy.
To date, nearly 1.1- billion dollars has been invested by USDA through the Recovery Act for 68 broadband projects. Together, the projects will make high speed Internet available to an estimated 529-thousand households and 96-thousand rural business and public facilities across 31 states, one territory and 17 tribal lands and predominantly Alaska Native regions. Many of the areas to be served are extremely remote, sparsely populated and in some cases not connected by roads.
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“NCGA Issues Reminder on SURE Program”
The National Corn Growers Association reminds growers impacted by 2008 crop losses that they still have the opportunity to sign up for the permanent disaster assistance program, Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments. To be eligible, growers must meet a risk management purchase requirement by having either federal crop insurance or being enrolled in the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.
Requirements to receive benefits include: the farm must be located in a county covered by a qualifying natural disaster declaration and a 10 percent production loss on a crop of economic significance must have been sustained. In addition, individual producers outside designated areas can also be eligible if the overall production loss is greater than 50 percent.
SURE is expected to provide assistance to producers who suffered qualifying crop production losses, crop quality losses or both due to disaster, adverse weather or other environmental conditions beginning with the 2008 crop year and ending with losses incurred on or before September 30, 2011. NCGA points out, the SURE program helps mitigate the threats of lower-than-expected yields and prices by providing a revenue guarantee for producers’ total farming interest.
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“Safety and Research at Center of United Fresh Meeting”
United Fresh 2010, April 20-23 in Las Vegas, Nevada will feature the first ever Food Safety and Research Demo Center. This center will be the industry’s only dedicated exhibit area focused exclusively on food safety solutions for all points in the fresh and fresh-cut produce supply chain. It is designed to help attendees by answering pressing questions and feature cutting-edge research on food safety and quality assurance of produce from national and international researchers and research organizations, providing information and new technologies to the produce industry.
Also, three officers from the Food and Drug Administration will join United Fresh Produce Association members and guests at the Center to discuss regulatory policies and inspection practices at the border; what has been learned from the mandatory Reportable Food Registry; and what changes regulated facilities can expect.
Timing of this subject matter appears to be on target. With health care reform behind them, Congress is expected to move quickly on food safety legislation, which promises big changes for the fresh produce industry.
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“AVMA Sessions Educate Hill Staffers on Antibiotics”
The American Veterinary Medical Association has continued efforts to educate Congress about the complex and crucial nature of treating America’s animals – and how the health of those animals impacts human health, whether through the food supply or through direct contact with pets. The Monday briefing by the AVMA focused on the uses of antibiotics and how they help protect animal health, providing in-depth scientific information on the necessity of antibiotic use for preventing and treating disease in companion animals and livestock.
Dr. Lloyd Keck, a worldwide animal health consultant to the poultry industry and former AVMA Congressional Science Fellow, dispelled arguments related to human antibiotic-resistance risks. He told Congressional staffers that – antibiotics are necessary for veterinarians to protect the health and well-being of animals. He said, – benefits to animals and people outweigh the current risk associated with bacterial resistance.
And Dr Rene Carlson, former Wisconsin Veterinarian of the Year, said – whenever I consider using an antibiotic in any of my patients, I always look at four outcomes. First, will it successfully treat a diagnosed medical condition? The second outcome is prevention of an infection in a high-risk patient because of a particular injury or procedure. Third, I look at a decreased likelihood for development of a resistant infection or organism. And finally, I am concerned with the protection of the health of the animal and its owners who come in contact with it.
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“NAMP Speaks Out on Draft Compliance Guidelines”
The North American Meat Processors Association is speaking out against the recently announced draft compliance guidelines on the validation of HACCP systems. NAMP is concerned about the ability of plants to comply with the new requirements, especially in light of the fact there may be no food safety benefit. The association adds – the costs of the new requirements could be alarmingly high for some companies.
NAMP has been working on this issue as part of a broad industry association coalition for more than eight months. Prior to the release of the document, NAMP communicated with FSIS on numerous occasions about its concerns, especially for small processors.
FSIS has been preparing to release additional information on validation for some time now and is requesting comments on the guidelines from all interested parties.
According to attorney Dennis Johnson, a member of the NAMP College of Experts, this draft is a departure from long-standing FSIS policy in that it mandates microbiological testing in-plant as the only acceptable form of validation. This micro validation would be required at every step in the process and for every process, regardless of the historical data supporting effectiveness. Johnson says – this is a very costly proposition and there is no evidence that it will not result in any demonstrable food safety benefit.
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“Organizations Request OTM Changes”
Several dozen ag organizations have requested that USDA immediately strengthen protections against Canada’s ongoing problems with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease. The letter states: – Mr. Secretary, above all other considerations, the health and safety of the people of the United States and United States’ livestock must come first – first before trade and first before international relations.
The letter charges that current USDA policy and regulations on BSE – compromise directly this health and safety priority. We urge you to take immediate action to, at the very least, restore for the United States the protections against the introduction and spread of BSE that were in place before USDA began to systematically dismantle its BSE-related border restrictions.
R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard explained – we are asking the Administration to immediately reverse this reckless and unscientific approach to the dangers of BSE by withdrawing the Over 30-Months rule that basically eliminated the United States’ only defense against the introduction of BSE into the United States – its import restrictions that prohibited the importation of cattle old enough to have been exposed to the disease.
