Former DFA Execs Involved in Unauthorized Payment
Two former leaders of Dairy Farmers of America allegedly were involved in an improper transfer of money. Current DFA President and CEO Rick Smith said that former CEO Gary Hanman arranged for the unauthorized transfer of $1 million to former Board Chairman Herman Brubaker. The transaction, made in 2001, was not approved by DFA's board of directors. When the company learned of the transaction, it moved quickly to get the money back, plus interest. Hanman and Brubaker returned the money within the past few weeks, according to Smith. Asked why it took seven years to discover this, Smith said the original transaction was concealed and in the course of doing due diligence and research into other matters, the issue came to light.
Kansasagconnection.com

Activists say no Cameras
Two animal rights activist groups have called on congress to resist any proposal by the USDA to install cameras in packing houses. (Guess they want the right all to themselves?)
Feedstuffs

Chicago City Council Repeals Foie Gras Ban
The Chicago City Council repealed its ban on foie gras. The Council voted 37-6 to repeal the two-year-old ban which many said made the city a national laughingstock.  Ald. Thomas Tunney (44th), a restaurant owner, forced the vote on the measure that prohibits Chicago restaurants from serving the delicacy. Mayor Richard Daley, who opposed the original measure, ran the vote.
Chicago Tribune

TN: Planting seeds for a bio future
Bioworks hopes to grow new jobs, opportunities
Imagine a future in which farmers throughout the Mid-South ship crops to Memphis, where chemical companies convert them into everything from paint to plastic bottles. That's the vision that the Memphis Bioworks Foundation is promoting. The nonprofit, which focuses on building up science-based businesses and creating highly paid jobs, is planning a big push into industrializing agriculture. They're calling the initiative AgBio.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal

Appeals court rules against peanut farmers
Peanut farmers in seven states whose crops were devastated by the 2002 drought are entitled to only a little more than half the $30 million in insurance payments ordered by a lower court, a federal appeals panel ruled Thursday. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with federal officials who claimed the 2002 Farm Bill, which eliminated the peanut quota system, allowed the farmers to collect only 17.75 cents per pound. A judgment approved in December 2006 by U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard of Greenville, N.C., awarded them 31 cents per pound.
The Macon Telegraph

U.S. rice farmers sow seeds of profitability
High global demand, price are welcome news
The greater demand and new foreign customers driving the global price hike have been a boon to American farmers, who are welcoming the reprieve after years of shouldering high fuel and fertilizer costs and weak prices for their grain. Commodity traders and economists attribute the global price increases to everything from weather — a drought in Australia, floods in Asia — to the declining value of the dollar, the jump in fuel costs and increased buying power in countries like China and India, said Nathan Childs, an economist and rice expert with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Tennessean

NC:Skeptics sound off over sludge
Biosolids are used as fertilizer
Some farmers say it has kept them in business. Others say that there's no way to know what's in it and that it should not go on fields. The state Division of Water Quality heard from people Tuesday on both sides of the controversy over sewage sludge, or "biosolids," applied to farm fields. The division held a public hearing on a permit renewal the city of Burlington applied for in 2003 to continue putting solids from its wastewater plants on farm fields.
The (Raleigh, North Carolina) News and Observer

VA:Did farms foul the water? Farmers don't think so
Farmers and others familiar with the 217-acre site on which a golf course made from fly ash now sits say they doubt that elevated boron readings from well tests nearby are linked to agricultural use. Last month, city officials released the results of water tests taken at 75 properties near the Battlefield Golf Club at Centerville. In many cases, the tests found higher levels of boron than for the other nine elements in the sampling.
The Virginian-Pilot

Colo. governor signs law to phase out veal and gestation crates
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed legislation that phases out veal crates within four years and gestation crates within 10 years. Colorado joins Arizona in outlawing veal crates and becomes the fourth state — along with Florida, Arizona and Oregon — to ban gestation crates for breeding pigs. The legislation echoes steps Colorado's pork producers were already taking to eliminate gestation crates.
Meatingplace.com

New report paints bleak picture for California agriculture
One of the advantages of living a fairly long time is that one remembers what things used to be like way back when. Belonging to the leading edge of the post-World War II baby boom and growing up in Los Angeles in the 1950s is a perfect case in point.
Western Farm Press

What Will Be Required Of Livestock Producers Under The COOL Rules This September?
Under the current rules, “a meat product from beef (including veal), pork, and lamb must bear a COOL label or is subject to labeling providing COOL information if: 1. It is sold at retail, AND,  It is a muscle cut, or  It is a ground product.  The product is EXEMPT from COOL labeling requirements if:  The meat product is sold at foodservice (e.g., restaurants, institutions, etc.), OR, The meat product is an ingredient in a processed product or, in effect, is processed.” From this we can assume that home-raised and harvested beef that is not sold at retail will not be required to be COOL labeled.  Beef served on a menu at a restaurant will be exempt, as will beef served in a cafeteria or other food service institutions.  Any person engaged in the business of supplying a covered commodity to a retailer, directly or indirectly, must maintain records to establish and identify the immediate previous source and immediate subsequent recipient of the product. The record must identify the product unique to that transaction by means of a lot number or other unique identifier, for a period of one (1) year from the date of the transaction. Since producers indirectly supply meat to packers, this means that producers will be responsible to have records to substantiate the country of origin of their livestock
Cattlenetwork.com

Large Reductions In Agricultural Chemical Use Can Still Result In High Crop Yields And Profits
Researchers investigated whether yield, weed suppression, and profit characteristics of low-external-input farming systems could match or exceed those of conventional farming systems. Yields and profits were similar or higher in the LEI systems as in the conventional system, and lower herbicide inputs did not lead to increased weed problems. The results suggest that large reductions in agrichemical use can be compatible with high crop yields and profits.
Science Daily   

IL:Petition filed to strip Illinois EPA of CAFO oversight 
A petition has been filed by the Illinois Citizens for Clean Air and Water that would strip the Illinois EPA's authority to regulate the state's Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
Brownfield Network

DC residents get a visit from lettuce-clad bikini activists
In Hartford on Tuesday morning generated all the attention you would expect of two women dressed in lettuce bikinis while handing out Tofurkey sandwiches in front of Shell Gas on Capitol Avenue. Why in front of a gas station? The two full-time employees of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals explained that, besides being good for your health, veganism is good for the environment by reducing the amount of energy needed to operate the meat industry's farms and factories. Connecticut was the third stop on their 50-state "Go Green, Go Vegan" tour. In exchange for trying the tofu-based fake turkey, takers received two free gallons of gas. At $4.05 a gallon for regular, it's hard to beat a deal like that. And most of the takers we talked to even liked the Tofurkey.
Courant.com

AVMA State Update
Kansas established a first-in-the-nation task force to study the need for a veterinary prescription monitoring program.  Minnesota adopted legislation allowing a licensed chiropractor to engage in animal chiropractic care. Nebraska  created a rural vet incentive program and passed legislation prohibiting intentional tripping, roping the legs or dragging by the tail of equines or bovines. Virginia now regulates commercial breeders.  Oklahoma, banned computer-assisted remote control hunting of wildlife. Georgia and Iowa toughened the penalties for dog fighting.  
AVMA

AG says shipping horsemeat through Texas is illegal
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott this week issued an opinion saying the state's prohibition on horsemeat for human food would almost certainly apply to the transport of horsemeat, too. The opinion was hailed by anti-slaughter activists and decried by attorneys for foreign-based slaughterhouses in Mexico, who until last year used Texas ports and airports to ship their product to Europe, where horsemeat is a delicacy in some countries. Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, who supports horse slaughter, said he requested the Attorney General's opinion after being approached last year by an attorney for a slaughterhouse in Mexico. Chisum expressed disappointment with the ruling.
Mysanantonio.com

Mo. Senate Overrules Treasurer on Lawmaker Investments
State senators in Missouri overruled an effort by the state treasure to stop businesses that have lawmaker investors from receiving tax incentives and loans. Missouri State Treasurer Sarah Steel had instituted a ban that kept ethanol or biodiesel plants in the state from receiving financial incentives, if any investor in the company is related to an elected state official or department directors.
Dtn.com

ME: Farmers meeting seeks dairy solution
State, local and federal officials sat shoulder to shoulder with dairy farmers Wednesday, trying to solve what some are calling a crisis in farming. In the end, the two-hour forum, called by a local dairy farmer, was as much about frustration at current pricing policies as it was looking ahead toward solutions. The economic realities of dairying in Maine are simple: It cost $22.07 to make 100 pounds of milk in March, according to the Maine Dairy Industry Association. Farmers were paid $17.89. Compound that dismal price differential with exploding costs for fuel, feed and fertilizer and Levant dairy farmers Joan Gibson Call and Brian Call are left wondering whether they are going under this year. To seek solutions, the couple held a solutions-based forum. Farmers were frank in their discussions, talking about many taboo subjects including dairy farms that are blackballed by processors, that milk tests are manipulated to eliminate small processors, and that most of the milk industry in this country is a monopoly. "The same frustrations I’m hearing from the farmers here, I’m hearing from state legislators," Kilkelly said. Because there is a processor monopoly — one company produces 90 percent of all milk in the U.S. — small farmers and small milk-producing states such as Maine have no leverage in the marketplace, she said.
Bangor Daily News

PETA's complaint ludicrous
Concerning animal rights legislation, I'd be more inclined to agree to its usefulness if it wasn't for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the radical organization that put a monastery and 30 monks out of the egg production business in South Carolina. It was their means of support.  Then there's the fact that in Virginia PETA slaughtered 97. 4 percent of the adoptable companion animals under its "care"in 2006. Despite raising $ 31 million and just spending $ 27 million in 2006, PETA found adoptive homes for just 12 pets.
Northwest Arkansas News

Farm, planting costs are up, so grocery costs should climb
The price of fertilizer, fuel and herbicides has taken a leap from a year ago — in some cases more than doubling in price. Farmers are glad they have strong commodity prices for milk, corn and soybeans to lean on to pay for higher planting costs. “As long as the commodity prices stay where they are we’ll be OK. If the commodity prices drop, we’ll be in worse shape than we were before,” said Dan Stokes, a rural Omro dairy farmer. “It’s nice to see the high commodity prices, but when the high input costs come along it makes it hard to see where we’re going.” Stokes said liquid fertilizer he purchased this spring is more than $1,000 a ton compared to $350 a ton last fall. He said nitrogen, which is put on corn to help it grow, has doubled in price since last fall. Herbicides, which are used to kill weeds, in some cases have also doubled in price.
Oshkosh Northwestern, WI

N.C. governor seeking funds for poultry worker protection
North Carolina Governor Mike Easly is asking state lawmakers for extra funds, staff and authorization to determine the conditions in which poultry plant employees work and how those workers are treated when injured on the job.  In his budget proposal, which will be sent to the state legislature next week, Easly is expected to request: North Carolina Poultry Federation Executive Director Bob Ford told the Observer he'd like to hear more about the proposals before forming an opinion, but added that while the industry "welcomed productive regulation," he didn't want the industry to be "overburdened with legislation that takes a lot of our time."
Meatingplace.com

Court says cancer claims against poultry companies can go forward
 The Arkansas Supreme Court has overturned a lower-court's ruling and is allowing a lawsuit to proceed against several poultry processors that alleges arsenic in chicken litter caused a child's cancer, according to the Associated Press. A judge had previously dismissed the suit against George's, Peterson Farms, Simmons Foods and Tyson Foods. The Arkansas Supreme Court, however, said that Mary and Michael Green — who claim that arsenic in poultry litter might have caused their son's leukemia — presented sufficient evidence against the processors to warrant a trial.
Meatingplace.com

Young Workers Flee Midwestern States
Upper Midwestern states are in danger of losing a precious economic commodity: young people. Many are leaving for other parts of the country after finishing school. Without young, educated workers, there's little incentive for businesses to locate in economically hard-hit states.
National Public Radio’s Day to Day

Efforts Stall to Attract More Veterinarians
This spring on his ranch in Presho, Cooper Garnos has had to haul cattle 45 miles to Winner to see a veterinarian for Caesarian sections and other procedures.  "We do have a vet here but he's probably in his mid to high 80s, and he's served the community well," Garnos said, but for complicated or emergency work, he has to leave town. 
Rapid City Journal

Rural Personal Income Falls behind the Cities
The largest drops in personal income in rural counties between 2005 and '06 were clustered in farming counties in the Great Plains. See DY's lists of rural counties with the highest and lowest incomes
Daily Yonder

Young workers flee midwestern states
Upper Midwestern states are in danger of losing a precious economic commodity: young people. Many are leaving for other parts of the country after finishing school.   
National Public Radio

"We're waging a war on fat people."
With an eye on soaring health care costs, companies are becoming more proactive about what their employees eat.  Google, Yamaha of America, Caterpillar and others are putting health food in corporate break rooms, cafeterias and vending machines, dumping doughnuts in favor of organic fresh fruit and slapping "calorie taxes" on fatty foods.
msn.com

Farm workers found living in Calif. cherry orchard
Farm labor organizers say they have discovered more than 100 migrant fruit pickers living in a Central Valley cherry orchard where they have been sleeping outdoors and bathing in drainage ditches.
United Farm Workers representatives say they found the men, women and teenagers camping in the orchards west of Shafter.
San Francisco Chronicle 

Change We Can Stomach
Farming has the potential to go through the greatest upheaval since the Green Revolution, bringing harvests that are more healthful, sustainable and more flavorful.
NYTimes.com

Ninety percent of consumers trust supermarket meat and poultry: FMI report
Ninety percent of consumers agree with the statement, "I trust the meat, poultry and fish my grocery store sells is safe," according to the Food Marketing Institute's U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2008 report. They express less trust in the government: 79 percent agree with the statement, "I trust the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure that the food I purchase is safe." Only 76 percent hold this view about the FDA, the survey says. The report also covers consumers' financial pressures and nutritional concerns. Economic worries are compelling Americans to cook at home more and eat less often at restaurants (71 percent). Consumers also are buying fewer luxury foods (67 percent) and more store-brand items (60 percent) and eating more leftovers (58 percent).Meanwhile, 41 percent of shoppers say they are "very concerned" about the nutritional content of the foods they eat. When evaluating whether a food is nutritious, shoppers focus most on the fat content listed on the Nutrition Facts label, with more than half checking saturated fat, trans fat and total fat. More than four in 10 check the calorie count, look for whole grains and focus on the salt, sugar and cholesterol levels, FMI says.
Meatingplace.com

Energy by CSG Analyst Michael Smith
On Wednesday, Congress approved legislation (H.R. 6022) that would suspend shipments of oil to the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) until December 31, 2008.  The federal government may resume shipments to the SPR in 2008 only if the weighted average price of petroleum in the United States is $75 or less per barrel.  In spite of the President’s strong opposition to the legislation, the White House indicated that the President would not veto the bill. 

Expansion of USDA BioPreferred Program
Why aren’t states following suit?
USDA Agriculture Chief Economist Joseph Glauber announced that 27 new groupings of biobased products have been designated for procurement preference under the BioPreferred Program.  This means that an additional 2,469 biobased products from 562 companies may now qualify for procurement preference by federal agencies and their contractors.  Including products qualified in the first designation, there are now a total of 2,741 products from 659 companies that may qualify for preferred procurement under the BioPreferred Program.Biobased products are commercial or industrial goods composed of biological products, forestry materials, or renewable domestic agricultural materials, including plant, animal, or marine materials. Made from renewable plant and animal sources, biobased products are generally safer for the environment than their petroleum-based counterparts. They are usually biodegradable or recyclable.
Biopreferred.gov

GA: Off-road diesel tax suspended to aid struggling farmers
Industry taking hits in other areas
Local farmers are feeling the pain of rising fuel prices, and Gov. Sonny Perdue's suspension of the tax on off-road diesel fuel only will help a little. Perdue announced Monday that the state would suspend the 4 percent tax on off-road diesel, which is used to power farm equipment such as tractors. The cost of diesel fuel is up about 50 percent from a year ago and last week reached an average price of $4.33 per gallon - up more than 18 cents in just one week, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.
The Athens Banner-Herald

MN: Legislature approves B20 bill with escape route
Minnesota's 2 percent biodiesel mandate is going up. First to 5 percent. Then 10 percent. And eventually, 20 percent of all diesel fuel sold in Minnesota must be biodiesel. But unlike last time, the new law has "offramps," in case new problems arise. The mandate eases during Minnesota's coldest months. Fuel quality must stay high. And if biodiesel prices get out of whack, the governor can change the limits. With those assurances, the Legislature on  gave final approval to raising Minnesota's tops-in-the-nation biodiesel mandate. Gov. Tim Pawlenty is likely to soon sign it into law, said spokesman Brian McClung, thereby "reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy." Supporters like Rep. Al Juhnke, DFL-Willmar, the food-fuel debate continues but doesn't really pertain so much to biodiesel," Juhnke said. "Biodiesel was originally developed because we needed a use for that (soybean) byproduct called oil. ... As far as food goes, it's used for salad oil, deep-fat frying, but mostly, it's out there in the industrial markets."
Twincities.com  

Ethanol as cause of food crisis 'flat-out wrong' 
Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer yesterday said U.N. and other international aid officials are "flat-out wrong" to call U.S. ethanol production from corn a major factor in world food shortages and riots.
The Washington Times

Congress examines Renewable Fuels Standard
Rival groups, one representing meat packers, one representing corn farmers, offered diametrically opposed testimony on the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality Tuesday. The American Meat Institute (AMI) testified strongly against government support for ethanol, while the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) vigorously defended the RFS, which mandates 15 billion gallons of ethanol use domestically by 2015. J. Patrick Boyle, AMI President and CEO, noted high corn prices have been particularly hard on the nation's livestock producers. And he repeated previous claims that that increased production of corn-based ethanol is responsible for a recent increase in food price inflation.
Brownfield Network

Food vs. fuel a global myth
Here are the facts. In the last five years, despite the nearly threefold growth of the corn ethanol industry (or actually because of it), the U.S. corn crop grew by 35 percent, the production of distillers grain (a high-value animal feed made from the protein saved from the corn used for ethanol) quadrupled and the net corn food and feed product of the U.S. increased 26 percent.
Chicago Tribune

DuPont, Danisco unit to make cellulosic ethanol 
DuPont Co and Genencor, a unit of Denmark's Danisco on Wednesday said they plan to form DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC, a 50-50 joint venture to develop and commercialize low-cost technology for producing cellulosic ethanol.
Reuters

Biofuels backlash could drive up energy costs
 the use of biofuels can help slow the acceleration of gasoline prices. So if you did have a backlash that results in the biofuels mandates being reversed, that would result in more use of petroleum-derived fuels and, theoretically, in higher (energy) prices," said Eric Wittenauer, an energy analyst at A.G. Edwards
Reuters

CBS: 'America in Disrepair'
CBS' "Early Show" highlights the sorry state of the country's infrastructure, warning that the U.S. may become a "second-rate country" if the necessary repairs aren't made
Matr.net

Bottled Water Paradox: Banned, and Required
At one end of town they have banished tap water; 18 miles away, they’ve banned bottled water.
NYTimes.com

COOL Will be Implemented During 2008
By the end of this year shoppers will learn where the meat they wish to purchase comes from by checking its the Country-of-Origin label. Under Secretary of Agriculture Bruce Knight, confirms USDA will implement Country-of-Origin labeling yet this year. Under the business plan set by the National Animal Identification System, each animal‘s 15 digit identification number begins with three digits that identify its country or origin. If the first three numbers are 840, consumers will know the meat they are purchasing is from the United States.
Hoosier Ag Today

USDA latest corn forecasts bad news for meat industry
USDA predicted that lower production, strong demand, and lower ending stocks will push U.S. corn prices to $5 to $6 a bushel in the September 2008-August 2009 period, up from an estimated average of $4.10 to $4.40 in the current year. In its World Supply and Demand report, USDA forecast 2008/2009 U.S. soybean meal prices at $280 to $340 per ton, up from an estimated average $315 per ton in 2007/2008. Globally, USDA predicted increased global coarse grain production will be more than offset by falling U.S. corn stocks, pushing world coarse grain ending stocks down 6 percent in 2008/2009. All this spells more pressure on livestock producers and meatpackers. JPMorgan analyst Pablo Zuanic in a note to investors called the report "bearish for packaged food and livestock companies," noting that USDA's forecasts, coupled with current grain futures prices, imply a 40 percent increase in corn costs, a 22 percent increase in wheat costs and a 19 percent increase in soybean costs year over year.
USDA

Commodity Hearing:
The House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a hearing on Thursday to review the source of dramatic price movements in agricultural and energy commodity markets. Representatives from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission provided testimony on market trends.  Additional testimony was provided by representatives of commodity market exchanges, farm organizations, and agricultural and energy producers and distributors.

US rice prices tumble on increased supply outlook
U.S. rice prices fell more than 3 percent in Asian trading on Wednesday, extending an overnight fall on an expected rise in global output this year.Grain prices were nearly unchanged and soybean futures were firm after firm oil prices, which hit a new record high near $127 a barrel, raised prospects for stronger demand for soy-based biodiesel and helped the grain cut its losses. In Europe, rapeseed futures were slightly higher following a rally to a three-week high on U.S. soybean futures the previous day. Milling wheat and feed wheat futures were flat and maize was almost untraded early. At the Chicago Board of Trade, U.S. rough rice futures for July delivery fell by the daily maximum limit of 75 cents to $21.49 per hundredweight and September contract also was limit-down at $18.85.
guardian.co.uk 

Subcommittee Reviews Dramatic Movements in Commodity Markets
The House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a hearing to review the source of volatile price movements in agricultural and energy commodity markets.  Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina is the Chairman of the Subcommittee.
Agriculture.house.gov

Global agricultural supply and demand: Factors contributing to the recent increase in food
commodity prices
World market prices for major food commodities such as grains and vegetable oils have risen sharply to historic highs of more than 60 percent above levels just 2 years ago. Many factors have contributed to the runup in food commodity prices. Some factors reflect trends of slower growth in production and more rapid growth in demand, which have contributed to a tightening of world balances of grains and oilseeds over the last decade. Recent factors that have further tightened world markets include increased global demand for biofuels feedstocks and adverse weather conditions in 2006 and 2007 in some major grain and oilseed producing areas. Other factors that have added to global food commodity price inflation include the declining value of the U.S. dollar, rising energy prices, increasing agricultural costs of production, growing foreign exchange holdings by major food importing countries, and policies adopted recently by some exporting and importing countries to mitigate their own food price inflation.
USDA

 Rail Transport Issues Discussed
The House Committee On Small Business held a hearing to examine the impact of rail-transport issues on rural small businesses and farms. According to the committee, over the past years, rail transit has increased considerably, and various railroad companies have consolidated with shipping rates going up by as much as 80%. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, chairwoman, said, “The nation’s rail system may be overstretched, but that doesn’t give massive transport companies license for unreliable service or price gouging. When Congress passed the Staggers Act, it did not intend for rail monopolies to develop. Clearly, it’s time we revisit how the law is being enforced by the Surface Transportation Board.”
Cow-calf Weekly

South Korea Backs Out of Beef Deal
The South Korean government has announced they won’t be resuming U.S. beef export trade on May 15th as previously agreed to. National Cattlemen's Beef Association Chief Economist Gregg Doud says the news comes as a huge surprise. “It’s really a shock because we were up and running and ready to go. There actually is a group of Korean auditors here. Those discussions went well and so this whole thing comes as quite a surprise." Public protests in South Korea have escalated recently due to consumer concern about the safety of U.S. beef due to BSE. According to Doud - the delay in implementing the new beef agreement is purely political.
Hoosier Ag Today

Additional information on the farm bill conference report  may be found on the House Agriculture Committee’s webpage: http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/FarmBill.html.
There is also a summary of the Farm Bill Tax Title that was prepared by the Senate Finance Committee.  More than two thirds of the five year bill are food stamps and other domestic food programs. 

Farm Bill goes to President
Congress Clears Farm Bill, By CSG Analyst Michael Smith
In spite of a White House veto threat, the Senate joined the House  in voting to approve the conference report on the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419 – H. Rept. 110-627).  The Senate approved the five-year, $289 billion farm policy reauthorization by a vote of 81-5, well above the two-thirds majority needed to override the President’s expected veto.  The Senate vote followed the House’s approval of the conference report on Wednesday by a 318-106 vote. 
The final conference report provides about $10.3 billion in new spending for nutrition programs, which includes increases for programs to help states stock food banks, expands and updates the food stamp program, and expands the USDA Snack Program to all fifty states.  The final report also includes funding increases for USDA conservation programs, extends the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program until 2012, allows for the interstate shipment of selected state-inspected meat and poultry, and implements mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), as well as extensive provisions related to specialty crops, energy, trade, and crop supports. 
Despite the widespread support the bill received in Congress this week, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer continued the Administration’s criticisms of the legislation, remarking in a statement  that the “bloated, earmark laden bill” is nearly $20 billion over initial costs “and continues to balance subsidy payments to the wealthy on the backs of the middle class taxpayer.”  In declaring the rationale for the President’s anticipated veto, Schafer described the legislation as “reckless spending” that is both “trade distorting and fails to provide meaningful reform to the adjusted gross income limit, beneficial interest or the international food aid program.” 
In response, House and Senate lawmakers cite that the bill would prohibit all farm subsidies from going to non-farmers earning more than $500,000 in adjusted gross income (AGI) and denies direct payments to farmers earning more than $750,000.  Supporters also highlight that the bill would cap direct and counter-cyclical payments for a single farmer at $40,000 and $65,000, respectively.  
At a news conference House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) said  that if the President vetoes the bill, Congress will vote to override the veto before the Memorial Day recess. 
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have indicated that it is unlikely the President’s expected veto would be sustained.  Supporters of the legislation point out that over one hundred House Republicans voted to approve the bill, which is more than the total number of House Republicans that voted against the bill. 
Should the President follow through on his promise to veto the legislation, it would represent only the second veto override since the President took office.  Prior to 2006, the year in which Democrats ascended to a majority in both chambers of Congress, President Bush had vetoed only one piece of legislation.  Since that time, the President has vetoed some eight bills, being overridden only once in 2007 when Congress rejected the President’s veto of the overwhelmingly popular $23.2 billion Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) (P.L. 110-114).   

SARL quick review
 The bill lays the groundwork for a shift in policy on ethanol production trimming support of corn-based ethanol and steering new benefits to biofuels made by prairie grass, wood chips and farm waste. Cellulosic ethanol would benefit from a new production tax credit and some $300 million that would be set aside for research. At the same time, the existing tax credit for corn-based ethanol would be trimmed to 45 cents a gallon, a drop of 6 cents. The measure eliminates the ability of farmers to collect triple payments. All government subsidies would be capped for individuals with nonfarm income of $500,000 or more. And the measure would limit so-called direct payments, which are designed to provide income support, for farmers with earnings of $750,000 and more. For Midwest grain farmers, the program changes include some minor adjustments in loan rates and target prices, but the biggest change includes the creation of the Average Crop Revenue Election Program, or ACRE, a counter-cyclical, revenue-assurance program. Under the ACRE, farmers who sign up would agree to give up 20 percent of their direct payments and also take a 30 percent cut in their loan rates for loan-deficiency payments. In return, farmers would be eligible for state-based revenue guarantee on acres planted, up to 90 percent of the state average yield calculated against a national average price for the crop.

Farm Bill Passes by Veto-Proof Margin
The House passed a final version of a new five-year farm bill by a vote of 318 to 106, while the senate passed it by a vote of 81-15, a margin large enough to override President Bush's promised veto of the nearly $300 billion measure. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer and Deputy Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner held a press briefing with reporters to announce that the President would veto the legislation.
Washington Post

Farm Bill Details Unveiled and USDA Says Bill Not Acceptable
Top farm bill lawmakers unveiled details of their house-senate deal Thursday but the Bush administration quickly rejected it. The 300-billion dollar bill cuts 3.5 billion in producer safety net programs alone, to help boost feeding, conservation, energy and specialty crop programs. And it sets a hard limit of 750-thousand in farm income to receive direct payments, 500-thousand in non-farm income, plus limits on conservation payments.
Hoosier Ag Today

Farm bill has little aid for needy kids abroad
A five-year farm bill in Congress this week does little to address the growing global food crisis. Instead, it diverts money that could be spent feeding poor children abroad to give more subsidies for U.S. farmers now enjoying record high crop prices and incomes. Food experts, international aid groups and the White House all complain that the $300 billion bill crafted by House and Senate negotiators focuses on the wrong priorities. The bill has widespread bipartisan support in the House and Senate, but President Bush has promised to veto it.
The (Jackson, Mississippi) Clarion-Ledger