The Senate Thursday afternoon confirmed Greg Ibach to the Department of Agriculture. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts announced the approval of Ibach as the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at USDA. Ibach previously served as the Nebraska Director of Agriculture.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue welcomes the approval, saying Ibach “will bring experience and integrity to his new role at USDA.” The Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing regarding Ibach’s nomination earlier this month. He was favorably reported out of the committee with a bipartisan voice vote and has the support of more than 60 farm and conservation organizations.
The North American Meat Institute today unveiled an updated version of its popular MyMeatUp app, the first-of-its-kind free mobile app aimed at helping shoppers, particularly millennials — individuals between ages 18 and 35 — become informed, confident purchasers of meat and poultry. The app includes a new “Where does my meat come from?” feature, which allows users to search the U.S. Department of Agriculture establishment database for information about where the product was produced. The new feature, which can be accessed from the home screen, provides an explanation about how to find establishment numbers on meat packages and includes a function that allows users to search plant numbers. Searches can be done using full and partial numbers, or users can choose to view the complete list of establishments. They are then directed to a page with information from USDA about the establishment. The updated app also includes several new images and more than 160 recipes. Furthermore, people interested in learning more about claims made on meat and poultry product labels can continue to use the app’s searchable glossary of common terms. The glossary presents definitions for “natural,” “grass-fed,” “antibiotic-free” and “no hormones added,” among others. In addition, consumers will recognize the app’s industry topics section that addresses antibiotic use in animal agriculture, animal welfare practices, environmental concerns and nutrition facts in succinct list formats.
(NAFB) A report by the Government Accountability Office predicts climate change will cost U.S. agriculture up to $9.2 billion between 2020 and 2039 in lost crop yields. The report also details how extreme weather events, including wildfires, has cost the government $350 billion over the last decade, when including crop and flood insurance costs. In the long term, for 2080 through 2099, the annual sector-specific economic effects varied from a range of $12 billion in benefits to $53 billion in costs for the agriculture sector. The report was made available this week by the GAO. The report anticipates various regions of the U.S. will experience crop yield losses, increased road damage and changes in water supply and demand. The GOA says the report recommends the White House uses the information to help identify significant climate risks facing the federal government and craft appropriate federal responses.
The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives is urging Congress to finish the next farm bill on time. In releasing the organization’s farm bill priorities Tuesday, President and CEO Chuck Conner noted the “challenging price environment” farmers are dealing with in explaining the need for a timely farm bill. The council’s framework outlines eight general principles to be included in the next farm bill, including a focus on promoting farm cooperatives and “their abilities to enhance competition in the agricultural marketplace by acting as bargaining agents” for cooperative members. The organization also calls for the expansion of all U.S. agriculture exports, support for a strong safety net and an assurance that farmers and ranchers will have access to needed labor. The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives has supported farmer cooperatives since 1929 and represents more than 2,000 local farmer cooperatives throughout the nation.
(NCGA) Farmers interested in using dicamba as part of their crop strategy in the 2018 growing season need to be aware only certified applicators, or those under direct supervision, will be allowed to apply the product. The label change reflects an agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency, Monsanto, BASF and DuPont on measures to further minimize the potential for drift to damage neighboring crops from the use of dicamba formulations to control weeds in genetically modified cotton and soybeans. EPA worked cooperatively with states, land-grant universities and the pesticide manufacturers to examine the underlying causes of recent crop damage in the farm belt and Southeast. Manufacturers have voluntarily agreed to label changes that impose additional requirements for “over the top” use of these products next year including: Classifying products as “restricted use,” permitting only certified applicators with special training and those under their supervision, to apply them. Dicamba-specific training for all certified applicators to reinforce proper use; requiring farmers to maintain specific records regarding the use of these products to improve compliance with label restrictions; limiting applications to when maximum wind speeds are below 10 miles per hour (from 15 miles per hour) to reduce potential spray drift. Reducing the times during the day when applications can occur, including tank clean-out language to prevent cross-contamination, and enhancing susceptible crop language and record keeping with sensitive crop registries to increase awareness of risk to especially sensitive crops nearby.
The Senate Finance Committee Tuesday advanced the nomination of Greg Doud as chief agriculture negotiator to the full Senate. The move puts Doud closer to the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations, with one vote remaining until he can take his post at the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. Chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah says of the Trump Administration that it is “essential that his administration is well-staffed and ready to get to work,” on trade in urging the Senate to act quickly to confirm Doud. Last week, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts said Doud needs to be at the negotiating table to represent U.S. agriculture as part of the NAFTA talks. Roberts and the White House agreed that agriculture exports are key to addressing the U.S. trade deficit as part of the NAFTA talks.
Syngenta ranked in the top 20 among the world’s leading biotech employers, in an annual survey conducted by Science magazine. The company placed 12 out of 20 employers listed in the survey, which garnered more than 7,000 responses worldwide.