The American Soybean Association and eight other ag associations joined together in a letter this week to the House Appropriations Committee Chair Hal Rogers and Ranking Member Norm Dicks. The letter expressed the associations’ support for a provision in the Fiscal Year 2013 Appropriations bill that would assure biotech crops already approved by USDA can be planted and harvested under temporary stewardship conditions in case of litigation against USDA’s decision. The groups say opponents of agricultural biotechnology have repeatedly filed suits against USDA on procedural grounds in order to disrupt the regulatory process and undermine the science-based regulation of such products. The provision – introduced by Ag Subcommittee Chairman Jack Kingston – would provide growers with certainty regarding their planting decisions – according to the groups – who say it’s also a positive step in protecting U.S. farmers and the food supply.
Author: Micheal Clements
EPA Says They Told Producers About Aerial Surveillance Program
According to a spokesperson for Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns – no one responsible for the national EPA aerial surveillance program has responded to a letter from Nebraska’s Congressional delegation. But a Nebraska television station reports that EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks responded to the questions posed by the delegation. According to the EPA – the agency is using the Clean Water Act as authority to perform surveillance flights of confined animal feeding operations like feedlots. The agency claims that information was shared with producers and staff from the offices of Senator Mike Johanns and Representatives Adrian Smith and Jeff Fortenberry during a meeting in March.
According to the EPA – flyovers are an efficient and cost effective way to screen large numbers of CAFOs. The agency does not believe these flights disrupt livestock and says only photographs are taken. Senator Johanns introduced an amendment to the farm bill this week that would ban the EPA’s use of aerial surveillance. Johanns called it a trust issue. The Senator’s spokesperson says the public deserves detailed information about the use of aerial surveillance nationwide.
Before Traveling This Summer, Know How to Avoid Packing a Pest
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is asking summer travelers to join in the fight against invasive pests. Invasive pests can hitchhike on fruits, vegetables, meats, processed foods, plants and handicraft items – and APHIS says these pests could devastate urban and rural landscapes and cost billions of dollars in lost revenue and eradication efforts if they were to become established in the U.S. This is why APHIS restricts or prohibits the entry of certain agricultural products from foreign countries, Hawaii and U.S. territories.
Travelers can play an important role by not packing a pest. APHIS reminds travelers that baggage will be inspected to ensure the agricultural items carried are allowable under APHIS regulations. It is important to declare all agricultural items to Customs and Border Protection Officers or agriculture specialists at the first port of entry. Certain items in categories such as condiments, bakery items, candy, chocolate, canned goods, goods in vacuum packed jars and fish are generally allowed entry – but should be declared and presented for inspection.
Before traveling – APHIS encourages travelers to check restrictions pertaining to ag products and to use them as guidelines when purchasing souvenirs. Information related to importing agricultural items for personal use is available online at www dot aphis dot usda dot gov slash travel (www.aphis.usda.gov/travel).
NW Kansas Dairy Enters Partnership With Dannon
REXFORD, Kan. (AP) – A dairy company in northwest Kansas will be the sole supplier of milk to Dannon Co.’s yogurt factory in Fort Worth, Texas.
The agreement between Dannon and McCarty Dairy was officially announced Thursday at a ceremony in Rexford.
The McCarty family milks nearly 7,200 cows daily at dairies in Rexford, Bird City and Scott City.
Aprocessing plant in Rexford gets milk from the three dairies, pasteurizes it and strips out water. The dried milk is used by Dannon for its yogurt.
Tom McCarty told about 150 people including Gov. Sam Brownback and Dannon officials that the deal took about two years to put together.
Brownback says he hopes it’s the first step in Kansas becoming a big player in the dairy industry.
Cattle Truck rolls in South-Central Kansas
PRESTON, Kan. (AP) – Pratt County authorities say a cattle truck rolled over in south-central Kansas, killing 23 cows and closing a highway for several hours.
Sheriff Vernon Chinn says in a news release that the accident occurred in Preston early Friday when the driver of the semi-trailer truck lost control in heavy rain. The truck dropped off a shoulder of Kansas 61, went into a ditch and back on the highway before rolling.
The driver was not injured. The sheriff says 23 of the 145 cattle on board were killed.
Kansas 61 was closed from Pratt to Kansas 14 for nearly four hours before reopening about 5 a.m.
Prosecutors Seek Interview Records in Finn Case
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Jackson County prosecutors are seeking access to transcripts of interviews conducted by a Kansas City law firm investigating how the local Roman Catholic diocese handles reports of child sexual abuse.
Attorneys for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph on Friday countered that records of interviews by the law firm of former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves are protected by attorney-client privilege. The diocese had commissioned the investigation.
Bishop Robert Finn and the diocese are charged with misdemeanor failure to report suspected abuse to the state after learning of suspected child pornography on a priest’s computer. Finn has acknowledged learning about the photos in December 2010, six months before the Rev. Shawn Ratigan was arrested on state and federal porn charges.
Finn and the diocese face trial in September.
Budget Expert Delivers Finance Report to Missouri Western
A report delivered to the Missouri Western Board of Governors today suggest funds per student have declined up to 18 percent in the last four years.
The report comes from Dr. Jim McGill who is a retired financial officer from John Hopkins University and the University of Missouri system.
The report does consider inflation in the last few years as well. The report shows operating revenues increased 11 percent from 48 million to 53 million dollars.
Student enrollment has grown 19 percent. McGill says the financial picture isn’t likely to change.
“Some key functions of the university have been fiscally starved and need to be addressed, including filling some critical vacant positions, salary adjustments and facility maintenance,” McGill stated in the report.
He suggest advocacy, further operating cost reductions, new or expanded initiatives and a review of the support and governance of the university. The possibility of a 10 percent increase in tuition was also discussed.
“We’re very grateful to Dr. McGill for his analysis,” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president. “Many of his recommendations are things we’ve been working on, and it’s good to get an outside, objective opinion that we’ve been making good decisions and are headed in the right direction. He’s also suggested some new avenues that we look forward to exploring.”
Report Doubts Low-risk View of Kan. Biohazard Lab
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – The National Research Council says the federal government is still seriously underestimating the risk of dangerous animal pathogens escaping from a planned biosecurity lab in Kansas.
The council says in a report issued Friday that there are serious flaws in a Department of Homeland Security analysis from earlier this year that deemed the risk of such a release from the proposed lab to be very low.
The group also cast doubt on the government’s first assessment of the safety of the planned National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan near Kansas State University.
The council says the DHS’ latest evaluation underestimates the risk of human error causing a pathogen’s release.
The group is a branch of the National Academy of Sciences, which is a private nonprofit that advises the government.
More Iowa Counties Experiencing Moderate Drought
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The U.S. Drought Monitor map shows some southern Iowa counties are experiencing moderate drought.
A swath of north-central Iowa already was in that state. The map shows that counties on only the western edge of Iowa have normal moisture conditions.
Des Moines commodity broker Tomm Pfitzenmaier says rain is especially needed in the next couple of weeks because nearly half of the state’s corn crop is expected to be pollinating by Independence Day.
The drought map is a project shared by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Weather Service.
The map shows the Nebraska Panhandle in moderate drought and that only the northeast side of Nebraska has normal moisture. The map data were acquired before thunderstorms moved through much of the state overnight Thursday.
Union Workers to Vote a 3rd Time on Crystal Offer
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) – Locked-out workers at American Crystal Sugar Co. factories in North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa will vote on the company’s contract offer a third time.
Local union President John Riskey says the vote is Saturday, June 23. Union members overwhelmingly rejected the contract offer last July 31 and Nov. 1, saying it takes away job security and that wage increases would be offset by health insurance costs.
The decision to hold another vote came after representatives of the two sides met last week for a fourth time with a federal mediator but couldn’t end the impasse.
The dispute has lingered more than 10 months. American Crystal last Aug. 1 locked out about 1,300 union workers at sugar beet processing plants in the three states and filled their positions with replacement workers.