CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) – Repairs to the Birds Point levee are being temporarily halted after someone sent a protest letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The corps says it received the letter a week ago protesting the contract to reconstruct the southeast Missouri levee, which was intentionally breached last year.

The agency awarded three companies $20 million in contracts last month to repair the levee. Work now must be stopped until the corps reviews the protest and issues a decision.

The corps used explosives to blow the levee last spring in part to keep neighboring Cairo from flooding. The tactic lowered the water level on the Mississippi River but inundated 130,000 acres of farmland. Several dozen homes were also flooded.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – Federal regulators have fined National Beef Packing Co. a $32,500 civil penalty as part of a consent agreement stemming from the company’s practices with livestock sellers.

The Agriculture Department’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, or GIPSA as it is more commonly known, has also issued cease and desist orders to the Kansas City, Mo.-based company over the allegations.

GIPSA ordered the company to give livestock sellers an accurate accounting of the cattle purchased and to correct freight charge deductions. It also ordered the company to tell sellers about data errors that affect prices paid for cattle, and to stop using an inaccurate scale for determining livestock carcass weights.

National Beef did not immediately return a call for comment.

It took three years of fuel testing and regulatory scrutiny – but the Obama Administration has given its final approval for the sale of E15 under the waiver conditions set by the EPA. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says this gets us one step closer to giving the American consumer a real choice at the pump. He says the EPA has fulfilled its responsibility to the American public to ensure E15 is a safe, reliable fuel. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen says E15 is now a legal fuel for sale to cars, pickups and SUVs made since 2001 in the eyes of the federal government. USDA notes this will help break down the ethanol blend wall – potentially allowing more ethanol into the market. Iowa State University estimates blending ethanol with petroleum keeps the price per gallon at the pump down by around a dollar per gallon.

Dinneen says RFA will now focus on addressing state regulatory issues, identifying retailers wishing to offer E15 and paving the way to greater use of domestically produced ethanol. Those fuel providers and retailers that wish to offer E15 must first register with EPA. They must state their plans to adhere to the RFA’s EPA-approved misfueling mitigation plan. RFA – in cooperation with Growth Energy – has also initiated a nationwide fuel survey to ensure stations that offer E15 are adhering to misfueling mitigation requirements – including proper labeling, ethanol content and vapor pressure. Dinneen says RFA is committed to ensuring a safe and smooth introduction of E15 for consumers and retailers. He says the group will work proactively with retailers that begin to offer E15 to educate consumers on the appropriate use of E15 and the benefits of greater domestic ethanol use. RFA believes it’s possible E15 could be sold under the waiver conditions before the end of the summer.

RFA notes there are still hurdles to widespread E15 adoption. Dinneen says some in the petroleum industry and other anti-biofuel voices will work to prevent E15 from entering the market.

USDA is holding virtual office hours each month to give stakeholders a chance to directly engage with USDA leadership and subject matter experts through Twitter. Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Doug O’Brien will host the virtual office hours this month. The topic is economic development in our rural communities and the important role housing plays in creating jobs, maintaining viable rural communities and contributing to the economy. During this live Twitter chat – O’Brien will take questions from participants. Questions can be submitted in advance to the @USDA Twitter account using the hashtag #AskUSDA. June’s Virtual Office Hours begin at 12:30 Central time Tuesday, June 19th.

A coalition of agricultural organizations has sent a letter to New York Representative Louise Slaughter. Slaughter is the primary author of the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act – which would restrict antibiotic use in livestock and poultry production by banning the use of several classes of antibiotics used to prevent and control diseases – as well as promoting nutritional efficiency. Not only does the coalition point out the stringent federal approval process and regulation of antibiotics – but also the lack of human health risks associated with their judicious use in livestock production and the benefits they offer in food animal production.

The letter states that the safety assessment for animal antibiotics is more stringent than that for human antibiotics in that FDA will not approve an antibiotic for animals if there are risks to human, a food safety assessment is required to ensure meat is safe and the pharmaceutical is thoroughly studied to guarantee it doesn’t increase the risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in food. The letter goes on to explain how FDA has issued new regulations that effectively prohibit the use of medically important antibiotics in food animals for improving nutritional efficiency. The coalition also cites several assessments that show the threat to human health from antibiotic use in livestock is negligible.

The coalition is made up of the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Meat Institute, American Veterinary Medical Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council and others.

President Obama has signed an Executive Order regarding accelerating broadband infrastructure deployment. According to the Order – broadband access is essential to the nation’s global competitiveness, driving job creation, promoting innovation and expanding markets for American businesses. The President believes too many areas lack adequate access to broadband. For those areas – his Executive Order states that decisions on access to Federal property and rights of way can be essential to the deployment of wired and wireless broadband infrastructure. To ensure a coordinated and consistent approach to advancing broadband deployment – President Obama is establishing a Broadband Deployment on Federal Property Working Group that is to report to the Steering Committee on Federal Infrastructure Permitting and Review Process Improvement within one year. The Working Group will include a representative from USDA.