Saint Joseph got more rain in five hours this morning than we got in the whole month of May. The National Weather Service officially measured 1.76 inches of rain between midnight and 5 am. That compares to .40 over the first ten days of June and 1.67 inches for all of May.
This morning’s rain erases a shortfall for the month to date and puts us about a third of an inch ahead of normal. But for the year to date we’re still two inches below normal.
Today , is the start of Summer Food Service Program Week. The purpose of this special week is to promote access to healthy meals when schools close for the summer. During the June 11-15 awareness campaign, USDA and its partners will redouble efforts to emphasize the important nutrition benefits offered through the federal Summer Food Service Program and other healthy meal options available for low-income young people across the nation.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack points out that the Obama administration is focused on ending childhood hunger and tackling the summer hunger problem is central to that commitment. Thanks to the strong support of our partners from state agencies, schools, advocacy groups and faith- and community-based organizations, access to healthy meals during summer is a reality for millions of children in need.
Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon says – the nutrition gap low-income children face when school is out of session underscores the need and importance for USDA’s summer meal opportunities. We anticipate bolstering this investment by working to increase the number of sites where disadvantaged children can receive a meal in a constructive, safe environment.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service and the World Agricultural Outlook Board are reviewing release times and procedures for several major statistical reports. This follows recent changes in market hours by major commodity exchanges. The reports include: World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, Acreage, Cattle, Cattle on Feed, Crop Production, Grain Stocks, Prospective Plantings, Quarterly Hogs and Pigs, and Small Grain Summary.
Public comment is being accepted through July 9, 2012. The current USDA release times of 8:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. ET will remain in effect until further notice.
A St Joseph woman is in jail after police and hospital officials claim she raised charitable donations with a bogus cancer diagnosis.
Police say she used a forged document to claim her daughter had cancer to solicit money and other donations to help pay for cancer treatment.
Family members say the daughter is fine, and does not have cancer.
Arraignment is scheduled Tuesday in Buchanan County Court for 35-year-old Carrie Campbell, who faces one count of class-c felony forgery. She’s currently being held under $35 thousand bond.
St Joseph Police Captain Kevin Castle says the department received a call from an officials with Children’s Mercy Hospital June 1, reporting that Campbell was soliciting money and other donations to benefit her 17-year-old daughter, who she claimed was suffering from a rare form of cancer. There have been numerous fundraisers set up, and even a benefit golf tournament, which has now been cancelled.
The daughter reportedly had a hand in the scam, handing out fliers and such, but has not been charged with a crime.
Police are not releasing how much money the family received in donations, but they say they will try to return all the money.
American Farmland Trust is disappointed in the agriculture appropriations bill reported by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture. The appropriations panel cleared, by a voice vote, the fiscal year 2013 spending bill, which cuts NRCS Farm Bill conservation spending by more than 700-million dollars on the fiscal year, or approximately 20 percent.
Jon Scholl, AFT president, says – the House appropriators’ indiscriminate cuts came at the same time the Senate Agriculture Committee brought its well-considered and thoughtful conservation program reforms to be debated on the Senate floor. They stand in stark contrast. According to Scholl, – while we understand the pressures to cut spending, we believe the Senate’s effort to streamline and consolidate programs to make them more cost effective and efficient, is, at the end of the day, the more fiscally responsible course.
AFT is particularly concerned with the House agriculture appropriations subcommittee’s measure cutting 50-million dollars from the Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program – which equates to a 25 percent reduction from the 200-million dollars mandated for FY 2013 in current law.
Agricultural groups from multiple agricultural sectors are encouraging the inclusion of a provision in the Chairman’s Mark of the upcoming farm bill that would establish an Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at USDA. In a letter to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Collin Peterson, the groups wrote – the trade organizational structure at USDA has remained unchanged since it was last reorganized in 1978. Much else has changed in Agriculture.
The groups point out that over this period, the value and nature of U.S. agriculture exports has changed dramatically. In 1978, U.S. agriculture exports totaled 29-billion dollars whereas in 2011 they reached 136-billion. In 1978, grains and oilseeds amounted to 60 percent of all U.S. agriculture exports while meat and poultry accounted for 3 percent and produce 6 percent. Now grains and oilseeds account for 36 percent of all agriculture exports while meat and poultry constitute 15 percent and produce 13 percent. And there are trade barriers.
The groups believe – such a position will bring unified high level representation to key trade negotiations with senior, foreign officials and within the Executive Branch. It will also allow future Administrations to recruit an Under Secretary who has extensive experience in international trade negotiation and policy issues. The position would also help streamline management, create greater efficiencies and enhance emphasis in the Office of the Under Secretary responsible for key domestic programs.
Some unusual visitors flocked to Civic Center Park in downtown St Joe on Saturday.
Pink flamingos, dolled up by local and regional artists, were on display as part of the 13th Annual Art in the Park Visual Art Show. Some were bright and colorful, some more subdued. One was in black and white. And a couple seemed to blend in with their surroundings.
Ribbons were awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, and the works were offered for sale to benefit the Midwest Artist Association’s Senior Scholarship Award.
The Art in the Park event features many artists in many media Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Civic Center Park.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) – American Crystal Sugar leaders and union representatives failed to make progress on contract talks in a dispute that has locked out workers and dragged on for 10 months.
It was the fourth time the two sides have met with a federal mediator in an attempt to end the impasse. About 1,300 union workers are locked out at plants in North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.
The company says in a statement that the union’s proposals were not consistent with Crystal’s final offer and the “parties remain far apart.”
A union spokesman says he disappointed but not surprised at the outcome.
Unemployment payments for most of the workers who were locked out at the company’s plants in Minnesota will end in the next month. North Dakota workers were not eligible for unemployment.
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The Environmental Protection Agency is said to be using drone aircraft to spy on cattle ranchers in Iowa and Nebraska. EPA defends its right to use aerial surveillance in areas that have high numbers of impaired watersheds and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, justifying the surveillance in part by saying the aircraft used are not drones, but four-seat Cessna planes.
While private pilots are at the controls, EPA confirms that EPA staff are on board. EPA’s Chris Lancaster says the photos collected on flyovers are reviewed only by EPA staff and this is entirely an EPA initiative, not associated with any other environmental group. Since 2010, there have been 18 CAFO flyovers in Nebraska and Iowa, which have led to eight farmers receiving penalty orders, mostly in Iowa.
EPA officials say aerial surveillance has been a cost-effective measure, allowing them to eliminate the need for on-site inspections on CAFOs that are in compliance with their regulations.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court is giving the green light to a major wind energy expansion by the state’s largest public utility.
The court on Friday upheld a 2009 decision by the Iowa Utilities Board that guaranteed MidAmerican Energy could raise customers’ rates in the future to pay for a huge wind energy project set to be completed this year.
The court rejected a challenge by NextEra Energy Resources, a rival who argued MidAmerican didn’t demonstrate need for extra capacity and didn’t properly consider other alternatives.
In a 5-0 ruling, the court says the board’s decision was based on “substantial evidence” the expansion would reduce emissions, diversify the fuel supply, promote economic development and maintain reasonable prices for customers.
MidAmerican spokeswoman Ann Thelen says the company is pleased with the ruling.
