Office of Communications (202) 720-8138 AgNews Summary for USDA Executives Friday, Dec. 19, 2008 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * COPYRIGHT NOTIFICATION * * * * * * * * * * * * * * AgNews is intended for use by authorized government personnel only. Redistributing AgNews by any means to any unauthorized person violates copyright on the source material. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To access AgNews on the USDA Intranet, go to http://agnews.usda.gov FARM & FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICES MEXICO JOINS CANADA IN WTO COMPLAINT OVER COOL (101 AP 12/18) Mexico joined Canada in opposing a new U.S. law on country-of-origin labeling for fresh beef and pork by filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization on Tuesday. A WTO official said the body received Mexico’s official complaint, which starts a 60-day consultation period between Mexican and U.S. authorities. After that, Mexico can ask the WTO to set up an investigative panel. Such trade disputes can result in punitive sanctions, but usually after years of litigation. WTO DEAL WON’T HELP STARVING MILLIONS: U.N. EXPERT (102 Agence France Presse 12/17) A deal at the World Trade Organization would not help solve the global food crisis, even if rich and poor countries could iron out their differences, a United Nations expert said Wednesday. Olivier De Schutter, the special rapporteur on the right to food, said the WTO’s Doha round of trade liberalization talks did not tackle the main issue behind food inequality and shortages. In fact, “the current system of international trade has been one of the main reasons for the food crisis,” De Schutter said. He said trade has “favored a small group of producers who are amongst the most powerful in the world.” Even if Doha succeeds in two or three years, he said, “another crisis will be repeated because structural problems are not solved.” FOOD, NUTRITION AND CONSUMER SERVICES HUNGER AFFECTING MORE LOW-INCOME FAMILIES (103 USA Today 12/19) The economic downturn has left many low-income Americans struggling with hunger for the first time, a survey released Friday by Feeding America shows. The hunger relief group, formerly known as America’s Second Harvest, found that 36 percent of low-income households say they ate less or skipped meals because they didn’t have enough money for food, and 40 percent say they chose between food and paying for utilities in the past year. “We’ve never seen anything like this,” said the group’s president. “We’re seeing more people come (to food banks) who’ve never come before.” FOOD SAFETY FSIS RELIES ON GROCERY SAMPLES TO FIND MELAMINE (104 Dow Jones 12/18) The government can’t track thousands of tons of imported Chinese dairy products – possibly tainted with toxic melamine – to see if they ended up in processed meat products here, so scientists are counting on a “sampling survey” at grocery stores to find out. U.S. companies that make sausages, frozen pizzas, baby food and other meat- containing foods use dairy ingredients, and that makes them suspect, said David Goldman, head of public health science at the Food Safety and Inspection Service. But neither USDA nor the Food and Drug Administration knows which companies buy those ingredients domestically and which buy them from China. Goldman said that is why USDA, in conjunction with FDA, is performing an “exploratory assessment” to get “a quick nationwide snapshot of the extent to which – if at all – there’s a problem in our (meat) products.” He said the assessment begins this week, with USDA employees buying pizzas, baby food, hot dogs and other products in grocery stores, which will then be shipped to a laboratory in Georgia for testing. He said 45 products will be collected and tested each week for 12 weeks. IRISH FIND HIGH DIOXIN LEVELS IN BEEF, BUT NO RISK (105 wires 12/18) Lab tests on cattle at four Irish farms have found much higher levels of dioxins than initially thought, government officials said Thursday, but they stressed that the problem still poses no risk to public health. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland said tests conducted over the past week found dioxin levels 100 to 400 times higher than legal limits. That conflicted with an initial announcement last week that the contamination levels were two to three times above those limits. The government ordered a global recall of pork products on Dec. 6 after finding dioxin levels 80 to 200 times legal limits in pigs that had received contaminated feed from a single manufacturer. European food safety authorities subsequently declared that the tainted pork did not pose a health risk, and Irish officials insisted Thursday that the dioxin threat to beef products is even smaller. MARKETING & REGULATORY PROGRAMS CORN PESTS TO THRIVE AS GLOBAL CLIMATE WARMS (106 Reuters 12/16) Populations of insects that feed on corn and other crops in the U.S. may flourish and expand to new territory as global climate change brings warmer summers and milder winters in the decades ahead, according to a new study. More frequent or more severe pest infestation may cut crop yields and drive up the price of corn. “Our projections showed all of the species studied spreading into agricultural areas where they currently are not endemic,” said a Purdue University associate professor who led the study. Researchers used climate model simulations that suggest winters will be milder more often later in the 21st century, while summer growing seasons will be longer and warmer more often than they are now. The World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday that 2008 will be the coolest year since 1997, but still the tenth hottest since scientists began recording the data 150 years ago. MONTANA, FEDERAL OFFICIALS LOOSEN RULES ON YELLOWSTONE BISON (107 AP 12/18) Montana and federal officials have agreed to allow bison to migrate into parts of Montana from Yellowstone National Park – a move expected to slow but not stop an annual slaughter of the animals. The agreement carves out two areas next to Yellowstone where bison can winter, ending a long-standing stalemate on the issue. That means at least some bison leaving the park could avoid a widely criticized slaughter program meant to guard against transmissions of brucellosis to cattle. More than 3,000 migrating bison have been slaughtered or shot by hunters in recent years, including 1,601 last winter. That practice will continue for bison that migrate beyond the two newly designated areas. The plan adopted Wednesday allows an unlimited number of bison to stay during the winter on about 10,000 acres west of Yellowstone, an area known as Horse Butte. The animals would not have to be tested for brucellosis. U.N. DOWNPLAYS CHINA’S BIRD FLU OUTBREAK (108 Agence France Presse 12/17) The United Nations on Wednesday played down fears over an outbreak of bird flu in China, saying a few cases in winter are not a worry. Authorities in China announced Tuesday they had begun destroying and vaccinating poultry after the virus was detected in the eastern province of Jiangsu (AgNews 12/16 #105). “We are going to see how it evolves. If for some reason there were more outbreaks and it was spreading, then I would say I am concerned, but today not at all,” said a senior technical adviser for the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization in China. “Having a few outbreaks in the wintertime in this place is not a real concern.” RESEARCH, EDUCATION & ECONOMICS ANALYST SAYS HERD CUTS COULD REDUCE NEED FOR GRAIN ACREAGE (109 Dow Jones 12/17) Reductions in livestock mean less feed grain demand and fewer domestic acres planted to grain, Barclays Capital analysts said Wednesday. Feed for commercial farm animals accounts for more than 40 percent of domestic corn and soybean consumption, said Chris Bledsoe, agribusiness analyst at Barclays. In 2008, elevated corn and soybean costs and an oversupply of meat reduced protein profitability, said Bledsoe, who spoke at the Barclays Capital Agricultural Outlook 2009 conference call. In response, producers cut production, leading to expectations for a 5 percent to 10 percent contraction in U.S. livestock herds and flocks that will play out in spring and summer of 2009, Bledsoe said. In effect, a 7.8 percent production cut across the protein complex would translate into a 4.5 percent decrease in the number of acres needed to grow corn and soy if the production cuts annualize at a 7.5 percent decline, Bledsoe said. USDA -- MULTI-MISSION FINANCIAL TIES OF CLINTON, VILSACK SCRUTINIZED (110 Washington Times 12/19) Financial ties of two of President-elect Obama’s top appointees came under scrutiny Thursday as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s husband disclosed his extensive fundraising among foreign countries and a security contractor she must deal with. Secretary of Agriculture-designate Tom Vilsack faced questions about farm subsidies and lobbying connections. Former President Bill Clinton released 2,922 web pages listing tens of thousands of donors to the Clinton Foundation, including millions of dollars from countries and international organizations that Sen. Clinton would have to deal with if confirmed as secretary of state. Questions arose about Vilsack, who was tapped this week as agriculture secretary despite having collected agriculture subsidies – something Obama has vowed to limit. Vilsack also works for a law firm that has lobbied for clients with business before USDA. Taken together, the financial ties could become speed bumps for Obama’s nominees, which as a whole have been praised by Democrats and Republicans alike. VILSACK WAS REGISTERED LOBBYIST (111 AP 12/19) Until the end of March, President-elect Obama’s pick for agriculture secretary was registered to lobby for the country’s largest teacher union, whose issues included nutrition programs overseen by the Agriculture Department. But former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack did not lobby on nutrition matters, a spokesman for Obama’s transition team said Thursday, and therefore has no conflict of interest problem. Vilsack registered to lobby for the National Education Association through the law and lobbying firm Dorsey and Whitney in Des Moines, Iowa, where he is a partner. The NEA has included nutrition programs on its agenda for a rewrite of the No Child Left Behind education law. VILSACK GOT $42,782 IN FARM SUBSIDIES (112 Reuters 12/18) President-elect Obama’s choice for agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, received $42,782 in farm subsidies, all but $23 for idling fragile land, an environmental database said Thursday. Conservation Reserve contracts run for 10 years, so Vilsack could receive payments for a few more years on the land in Davis County in southeastern Iowa. Vilsack’s payments are around $5,000-$6,000 a year, according to data compiled by the Environmental Working Group from USDA information. See AgNews 12/18 #109. FINAL CABINET NOMINATIONS EXPECTED TODAY (113 dailies, AP 12/19) President-elect Obama has completed selections for his Cabinet, and will nominate Rep. Hilda Solis of California as his labor secretary, and Ron Kirk, a former mayor of Dallas, as his trade representative, transition aides said. The appointments are expected to be announced today at Obama’s final news conference before he leaves for a Christmas vacation in Hawaii. Obama is also expected to formally announce his nomination of Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois as his transportation secretary. The nominations will cap a flurry of appointments in the past week as Obama raced to fill his Cabinet before the holiday week. Among remaining vacancies on Obama’s team, all are non-Cabinet posts, most prominently intelligence jobs. SELECTIONS REFLECT DEMOCRATS’ SPLIT ON TRADE (114 Wall Street Journal 12/19) President-elect Obama’s appointment of Ron Kirk, a long time free trader, and Hilda Solis, a free trade opponent, reflect the split in the incoming administration over trade. During the presidential campaign, the only trade deal that the Obama camp spoke about positively was the proposed Doha global trade pact. Negotiators on that agreement have largely suspended work while they wait to see what position the new Obama administration will take. Many trade specialists think Obama will find a way to back trade liberalization. By naming Kirk, Obama nodded to the free trade wing of the Democratic Party, which is small but has important ties to business. Naming Solis sends a reassuring message to anti-free trade Democrats. The article notes that Obama has named another free trader, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, as commerce secretary. VERASUN LEAVES CORN FARMERS IN LIMBO (115 Dow Jones 12/18) For many farmers, once-lucrative corn shipments to ethanol plants run by VeraSun Energy Corp. are now in limbo. Farmers have no idea if the biofuels producer, which is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, will honor their delivery contracts. Even worse, the farmers can’t sell that corn elsewhere – at least for now. VeraSun’s plight, emblematic of the U.S. ethanol business, is hurting production and prices. The situation is likely to ripple through America’s heartland and keep corn prices at depressed levels, market sources say. This is putting financial stress on some farmers who had planned to sell most of their corn to VeraSun and plow the cash from those expensive contracts into mortgage payments or equipment. Also in jeopardy are small grain elevator operators, who buy corn from farmers, store it and contract to sell it to ethanol producers. CONSERVATIONISTS FILE SUIT TO BLOCK SALE OF DRILLING LEASES (116 AP 12/18) Conservation groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday to block the Bush administration’s last-minute sale of oil-and-gas drilling leases in Utah on spectacular scenery near national parks and ancient rock art panels. The Bureau of Land Management has scheduled an auction today to sell drilling leases covering more than 100,000 acres of wild land in eastern Utah. Actor Robert Redford, a longtime environmental activist, called the leases sale “morally criminal.” “These lands do not belong to Bush and Cheney. It’s our land -- public land — and the BLM is supposed to be protecting lands on our behalf,” Redford said via satellite from Los Angeles during a news conference in Washington. A spokeswoman for the BLM declined to comment. HOLIDAYS, COURT RULING FURTHER EXTEND MINN. SENATE RECOUNT (117 Washington Post 12/19) With the latest projections showing incumbent Norm Coleman clinging to a lead of a handful of votes, Minnesota’s Senate race headed deeper into political limbo Thursday, raising the possibility that the contest could still be undecided when the rest of the class of 2008 is sworn in on Jan. 6. Election officials say they are unlikely to finish the recount in the race between Coleman and Democrat Al Franken before Dec. 30, and the state’s Supreme Court issued a verdict mandating the inclusion of perhaps more than 1,000 absentee ballots that had been rejected, making it appear likely that the process could take even longer than envisioned. NORTH KOREA CROP YIELD UP, BUT STILL LOW ON FOOD (118 Reuters 12/18) Impoverished North Korea had one of its best harvests in years in 2008, but still did not produce enough food to feed its 23 million people, according to a report released on Thursday by an agency in the South. The South’s Rural Development Administration findings came after a United Nations agency warned this month that about 40 percent of the North’s 23 million people are going to urgently need food assistance over the next several months due to chronic shortages. A study released in November by experts on the North’s economy said North Koreans are again dying from a lack of food, but the country is not likely to return to the famine conditions of a decade ago. EDITORIAL AND OPINION FIXING AGRICULTURE (119 N.Y. Times 12/19) An editorial says Tom Vilsack “has the merit of being unsatisfactory to both extremes of the farm policy debates. Zealous advocates of sustainable agriculture question his support of biotechnology, while partisans of the status quo find him insufficiently loyal to the system of farm subsidies. That leaves him with a very large center of support. He’ll need it to move this country’s broken agricultural policy in a new direction.” The editorial says USDA “has long favored the biggest farmers,” which has promoted “a sterile landscape of factory farms, broken towns and endless miles of row crops like corn and soybeans.” Last year’s “terrible” farm bill has left the old subsidy system largely intact, it says, and it calls on Vilsack to “prepare the ground for the next one.” It urges him to endorse a “modest cap” on price supports, and it encourages him to “end the vertical integration in the packing industry that allows giant meatpackers to own the animals they process.” It also calls on him to take an “impartial look” at the advantages and disadvantages of corn ethanol; and to reaffirm the roadless rule and expand its protections to the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. VILSACK WILL BE BIG AGRICULTURE’S MAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE (120 Chicago Sun-Times 12/18) A commentary says the biotechnology industry and big agribusiness “are mighty pleased” with the prospect of Tom Vilsack as agriculture secretary. The Biotechnology Industry Organization named Vilsack “governor of the year” in 2001, the writer says, and he is well known as a big supporter of ethanol. “So if you’re a critic of biofuels...you are not going to be happy with the Vilsack nomination,” he says. Moreover, “hard-core, anti-biotech activists” are going to be disappointed – and “that’s where it gets interesting. While progressives are very quick to lean on scientific consensus on such issues as global warming, there is also distrust of scientific assertions that biotech advances offer hope for greater agricultural productivity and increase renewable energy output.” The writer says he falls somewhere in the middle of this debate, but “the appointment of Vilsack doesn’t offer much of an olive branch to my organic side.” Vilsack is “Big Ag’s man, all the way,” he says. “Biofuels and biotech are clearly going to be part of the Obama administration’s path forward, and we can expect to hear plenty of teeth-gnashing from green-thinking food activists.” BUSH’S TRADE LEGACY (121 Washington Times 12/18) A commentary by U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab says trade has been “one of the great success stories of the last eight years,” and that the U.S. “must maintain the bold pro-growth policies promoted by the Bush administration.” She notes that the U.S. now has free trade agreements in force with 14 countries, and she argues that such agreements help build prosperity, strengthen economies, improve workers’ rights, promote environmental protection and foster democracy. They also give American goods and services “a competitive edge in our partner countries by removing barriers to trade, such as tariffs.” Schwab says efforts to advance trade through the World Trade Organization “have been continuously at the forefront of U.S. trade policy,” and she credits the WTO with providing a forum to address global trade barriers and challenge unfair trade practices. She concludes that the Bush administration “will leave behind an exceptionally strong pro-trade program...that will continue to support American workers, farmers and entrepreneurs.” FOREIGN POT GROWERS ARE RUINING U.S. PARKS (122 Augusta Chronicle, Ga. 12/19) An editorial says the production of marijuana on U.S. soil by armed Mexican cartels is “just one more manifestation of our porous borders allowing potential terrorists, gang members and thugs virtually unfettered access to our country.” If that’s not bad enough, it says, the illegal drug production is taking place “in the most magnificent wilderness areas of the U.S.,” where it is doing serious environmental damage because of toxic chemicals used in the production process. Sequoia National Park in California has been hardest hit, but sites have been found in other states as well. There is a move in Congress to provide funds to clean up the environmental damage, but the editorial says it would be better “to clean out the cartels and their thug protectors before any mess is made.” It calls for use of the military against the cartels, including sealing off the borders. AGRICULTURE AND TRADE PRESS AGRICULTURE ONLINE 12/18 (123) Harkin, other Iowans in Congress welcome Vilsack BROWNFIELD 12/18 (124) Schafer’s outlook on time in office DELTA FARM PRESS 12/18 (125) Mostly praise for Vilsack, Salazar (126) How will new environmental leaders affect ag? FEEDSTUFFS 12/18 (127) Dorr says renewable energy is big opportunity for rural development (128) Department of Labor issues final H-2A rule USAGNET 12/18 (129) Farm groups comment on Vilsack appointment (130) Schafer wishes Vilsack well (131) South Dakota Farm Bureau tells governor no to farm bill’s “sod saver” DTN 2/18 (132) Southern lawmakers wary of continued Midwest influence MEATINGPLACE 12/18 (133) JBS, National Beef look to settle with DOJ on anti-trust suit (134) Mexico files COOL complaint with WTO AGRI-PULSE 12/18 (135) Sen. Lincoln blasts USDA for farm bill rules delay (136) USDA creates new tools to reap environmental benefits AND ALSO… PILOT: “FIRST COW I’VE HIT IN 22 YEARS FLYING” (137 AP 12/17) A British pilot said he ran into an unusual hazard while making an emergency landing – a cow. Rob Wooton said he was trying to landing his World War II-era plane after the engine stalled just after takeoff in September. He was about to touch down in a field when the cow wandered into his way. The cow was knocked to the ground by the plane’s wing, but was apparently uninjured. The two-seater plane was damaged, but landed safely. “I have to say, it is the first cow I have ever hit in 22 years flying,” Wooton said. FRIDAY AG HUMOR: TOP 10 REASONS FARM TRUCKS AREN'T STOLEN: #10 They have about 20 miles before they overheat, break down or run out of gas. #9 Only the owner knows how to operate the door to get in or out. #8 It is difficult to drive fast with all the fence tools, grease rags, ropes, chains, syringes, buckets, boots and loose papers in the cab. #7 It takes too long to start, and the smoke coming up through the rusted-out floorboard clouds your vision. #6 The border collie on the toolbox looks mean. #5 They're too easy to spot. The description might go something like this: The driver's side door is red, the passenger side door is green, the right front fender is yellow, etc. #4 The large round bale in the back makes it hard to see if you're being chased. You could use the mirrors if they weren't cracked and covered with duct tape. #3 Top speed is approximately 45 mph. #2 Who wants to steal a truck that needs a year's worth of maintenance, u-joints, $3,000 in body work, tail lights and windshield? #1 It is hard to commit a crime with everyone waving at you. USDA RELEASES Thursday, Dec. 18 0307 USDA ANNOUNCES NEW OFFICE OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND MARKETS To obtain a USDA release, access USDA’s Home Page at http://www.usda.gov To access AgNews on the USDA Intranet, go to http://agnews.usda.gov * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * DISCLAIMER -- AgNews content is derived from major wires, news magazines and mass distribution press. Inclusion of an item in AgNews does not imply USDA agreement; nor does USDA attest to the accuracy or completeness of the item. * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ACCESS AGNEWS ARCHIVES ON THE USDA INTRANET – AgNews archive files are available on the USDA Intranet at http://agnews.usda.gov. AgNews summary and PDF clip files for the past week can be found under the days of the week at the top of the page. Archive files for back issues of both the AgNews summary and the PDF clip files can be found under the “Archives” listing. Select a text file for the summary or a PDF file for the AgNews clippings and choose the date of the issue you want to see.