Senator Dick Lugar and Representative Marlin Stutzman have introduced the Rural Economic Farm and Ranch Sustainability and Hunger Act or REFRESH. The bill targets 40-billion dollars in USDA cuts to help met federal deficit reduction goals. Roughly two-thirds of the savings would come from farm and conservation programs, and a third from nutrition programs, which represent three-fourths of the USDA budget.

Under the bill, funding for farm programs would be cut 16-billion dollars, a 24.5 percent reduction. Conservation programs would be updated and streamlined for a savings of 11.3-billion, a 17.6 percent reduction. And nutrition program eligibility loopholes would be closed saving 13.9-billion, only a 2 percent reduction.

Senator Lugar, who was Chairman of the Senate Ag Committee in 1996, says – we offer our bill as a thoughtful option for consideration by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, as well as the Congressional Deficit Reduction ‘Super’ Committee charged with making real federal spending cuts by the end of the year.

Representative Stutzman says – long before I came to Washington, I’ve opposed the direct payments that handcuff farmers and manipulate markets. I’m happy to introduce legislation with Senator Lugar that ends those direct payments. We’ve proposed genuine safety nets – options that give confidence and expand opportunities for farmers, not outdated systems that restrict their options.

The executive board of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives has approved a set of priorities for farmer co-ops in the next farm bill. NCFC President and CEO Chuck Conner recognizes that – when it comes to writing the next farm bill, many things are still very much up in the air from the impact that the Super Committee will have on the process, to the budgetary resources that will be available to the agriculture committees, to the timing of the bill itself.

NCFC identified four key themes to guide the organization’s policy throughout the process. They are: defend the agriculture budget baseline; promote the value of farmer cooperatives; ensure an adequate farm safety net; and promote market access and U.S. agricultural exports.

When it comes to ensuring an adequate farm safety net, NCFC says farmers, ranchers and growers must continue to have access to as many tools as possible to help them mitigate the risk inherent in production agriculture. Specific to dairy, NCFC strongly supports H.R. 3062, the Dairy Security Act of 2011 that draws on the Foundation for the Future proposal developed by the National Milk Producers Federation and their members. 

(Columbia, MO) -Inventory of old crop corn in all positions in Missouri on September 1, 2011 totaled 17.2 million bushels, down 67 percent from the level of a year earlier. On-farm stocks accounted for 5.7 million bushels, down 75 percent from a year ago, while off-farm positions totaled 11.5 million bushels, down 60 percent.

Missouri old crop soybean stocks in all positions on September 1, 2011 totaled 7.3 million bushels, up 15 percent from last year’s third quarter inventory. On-farm stocks in the state totaled 2.9 million bushels, up 123 percent from a year ago, while 4.4 million bushels were in off-farm positions, 13 percent below last year at this time.

September 1, 2011 wheat stocks in Missouri totaled 29.9 million bushels, up 12 percent from the third quarter of last year. There were 4.5 million bushels on farms, more than triple the 1.4 million bushels a year earlier.  Off-farm stocks totaled 25.4 million bushels, same as last year.

Old crop sorghum stocks in Missouri on September 1, 2011 totaled 344,000 bushels, Sorghum on farms accounted for 110,000 bushels, while 234,000 bushels were off-farm, all three are 45 percent below their respective category one year ago.

Iowa has widened its lead over North Carolina as the nation’s top hog producer.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture lists Iowa’s herd total at 19.6 million, an increase from last year’s 18.9 million. 

The hog inventory in No. 2 North Carolina dropped by 7 percent to 8.5 million. Producers blamed the decline in North Carolina on the high cost of corn, which is shipped to the state to feed the hogs. 

The USDA says the nation’s total hog inventory was 66.6 million. Producers have been seeing strong prices.

Shane Ellis of Iowa State University Extension says per-head profits were $21.33 in August. He expects those profits to drop into the single digits in September.

Missouri’s hog herd was listed at 2.8 million, according to the report released Thursday.  That’s 200,000 head lower than last years totals.

The total hog population in the United States is estimated at 64.7 million.

A study assessing the impact of traceability and animal identification programs on the international market for red meat points out that the United States and India are the only two major beef exporters that do not already have mandatory traceability systems. According to the report, released by the U.S. Meat Export Federation, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Uruguay all have animal identification/traceability programs in place.

The study – “Economic Assessment of Evolving Red Meat Export Market Access Requirements for Traceability of Livestock and Meat” – notes that competing beef exporting nations are using their industries’ mandatory traceability systems as marketing tools to enhance their sales and as a point of differentiation with the U.S. industry.

While market access and producer profitability have been important factors in exporting countries’ decisions to establish traceability systems, the report concludes that animal health management and food safety are the primary drivers behind most countries’ decisions to build animal ID and traceability into the regulatory frameworks for their livestock industries. Improved supply chain coordination and enhanced producer management opportunities are secondary motivators.

UCLA scientists have found an exact strain of human flu virus in up to 89 percent of the pigs they tested in some African villages, making that continent – ground zero for a new pandemic. The danger is the virus could again mutate within swine, infect other pigs and then jump to humans, causing widespread death for people with limited resistance to the new strain of sickness. 

The scientists say the H1N1 virus found in Cameroon is virtually identical to a virus found in people in San Diego just a year earlier, providing an astonishing example of how quickly the flu can spread all over the globe.  Thomas Smith, director of the UCLA Center for Tropical Research, says – the fact pigs in Africa are infected with the H1N1 flu virus illustrates the remarkable interconnectedness of the modern world with respect to diseases.

Researchers say the danger to industrialized countries from contagion caused by wild pigs in places like Africa is just as strong as it is to the impoverished villages where people must live amidst their foraging livestock.

The U.S. biodiesel tax incentive is working as intended to create jobs across the country and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil. That was the message in testimony submitted by the National Biodiesel Board Thursday to the House Ways and Means Committee. NBB vice president of Federal Affairs Anne Steckel says – while we understand the pressures facing Congress, this is the wrong time to pull support from a growing American industry that is a rare bright spot in this economy. The biodiesel industry is having a record year and stripping the incentive away this year would put thousands of jobs in jeopardy.

Steckel’s written testimony noted that without the incentive, production dropped dramatically last year as dozens of plants shuttered and thousands of people lost jobs. Since its reinstatement this year, biodiesel production is thriving, with plants ramping up production again and hiring new employees.

A recent economic study conducted by Cardno-Entrix states that – this year’s increased production of at least 800 million gallons will support more than 31-thousand jobs while generating at least 3-billion dollars in GDP and 628-million in federal, state and local tax revenues. Steckel says – we believe the U.S. biodiesel industry offers a clear and compelling case that strong domestic energy policy can boost this economy.