AgClips :: a service of the regional offices of the council of state governments

::  June 27-July 4,  2008::

     
 

A Meeting of Minds on Welfare of Beef Cattle
Cattle roaming the range are the iconic image of the American West, but a recent video of abusive animal handling at a California slaughterhouse has increased public scrutiny of the lives and deaths of beef and dairy cattle.  The Beef Cattle Institute, which Kansas State University founded in August 2007, had planned the International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare as its kickoff event long before the headlines. The AVMA became a meeting sponsor because its Animal Welfare Committee recognized a paucity of forums for rational discussion of beef cattle welfare. 
AVMA

Looming Tropical Disaster Needs Urgent Action, According To New Report
A major review shows that the world is losing the battle over tropical habitat loss with potentially disastrous implications for biodiversity and human well-being. Tropical forests support more than 60% of all known species. But up to 15 million hectares of tropical rainforest are being lost every year and species are being lost at a rate of up to 10,000 times higher than would happen randomly without humans present.
Science Daily

The wet condititions bring more animal health threats 
Dr. Tom Van Dyke says the floods and standing water increase exposure to foot rot, environmental mastitis, respiratory stress, Lepto and internal parasites.
Brownfield Network

Destruction Of Greenhouse Gases Over Tropical Atlantic May Ease Global Warming
Large amounts of ozone are being destroyed in the lower atmosphere over the tropical Atlantic Ocean. The significance is that ozone in the lower atmosphere acts as a greenhouse gas and its destruction also leads to the removal of the third most abundant greenhouse gas -- methane. It should lead to improved climate predictions.
Science Daily

Food Scientists Confirm Commercial Product Effectively Kills Bacteria In Vegetable Washwater
Research conducted by food science faculty at the University of Idaho and Washington State University indicate that a commercially available fruit and vegetable wash, when used in a food-manufacturing setting, can dramatically decrease the number of disease-causing organisms in produce-processing washwater. That could reduce by manyfold the potential for cross-contamination within the water by such "gram-negative" bacteria as Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7.
Science Daily

Diversity Among Bird Populations Found To Reduce Threat Of West Nile Virus
A biologist and undergraduate student have discovered that what's good for an area's bird population is also good for people living nearby.
Science Daily

Floods will cause ripple, not ruin, across US economy
Floodwaters receding into the Mississippi River and its tributaries will suck billions of dollars out of the Midwest's economy, though probably not as much as the 1993 flooding that devastated the region.The impact on U.S. economic growth is expected to be small, but it is difficult to make accurate estimates because water still stands over farm fields, roads and in many homes. Forecasts call for more rain across the region through at least Saturday.
Forbes – NY

New Invention Effectively Kills Foodborne Pathogens In Minutes
Researchers have developed an effective technology for reducing contamination of dangerous bacteria on food. The new antimicrobial wash rapidly kills Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 on foods ranging from fragile lettuce to tomatoes, fruits, poultry products and meats. It is made from inexpensive and readily available ingredients that are recognized as safe by the USFDA.
Science Daily

Flat vegetable economy slowing debut of mechanized iceberg lettuce harvester
Frank Maconachy is biting at the bit like a thoroughbred at the starting gate; ready to hit the field with his latest prime-time invention for the vegetable industry, a mechanized iceberg lettuce harvester. Western Farm Press

Soaring production costs hit Georgia growers
Rising production costs are consuming most of the profit farmers might receive from the record prices crops like corn and soybeans are bringing.
Southeast Farm Press

Activists take aim at nonresearch colleges 
Far from the front lines of the nasty fight over laboratory-animal experiments at large research universities, activists are strategically drawing some teaching-oriented institutions into the same battle.
Amherst College, Fairfield University, Francis Marion University, and 10 other institutions, none of which are known for conducting animal experiments, recently signed a pledge not to subject any research animals to "severe" unrelieved pain or distress. The pledge was written by the Humane Society of the United States, which has sent it to a total of 301 presidents at similar institutions. Signing the pledge was easy, said officials on some of those campuses, because no such research went on there. And that is just what the advocacy group is counting on: a wave of no-fuss pledge signings that will put pressure on larger universities, which do conduct extensive animal research, to follow suit.
The Chronicle of Higher Education

Productivity and Agricultural Yields
Agricultural technology is not just about machines. One of the long-term drivers of commodity prices is productivity gains driven by technological progress. From the late 1700's until 1950, land use devoted to agriculture increased fivefold, in line with increases in population. But, since 1950, the percentage of the world's land area used for farming has increased modestly, while the world's population has more than doubled, from 2.5 billion to 6.6 billion. Today's agriculture technology means one person is fed by 2,000 square meters (1/2 acre) of farmland annually, whereas in the 1700-1800's, it took 20,000 square meters (5 acres).
Boomtown Institute

 Barack Obama Responds To BEEF Cow-Calf Weekly Article
I have read with interest your article on how the upcoming election might impact agriculture. I disagree with your contention that agriculture is “far down” on the priority list for both candidates. Agriculture is a very high priority for me. America must retain its leadership in agriculture and I am committed to working with farmers and ranchers to achieve that goal. America continues to have the safest, most abundant and cheapest food supply in the world. Even with the recent increase in the cost of food, Americans spend only 10% of their disposable income on food – the lowest in history. America’s farmers and ranchers are important to the future of our country and I intend to give agriculture a high priority in my administration.
Cow-Calf Weekly

 Packing Industry Struggles Continue

Tyson announced the sale this week of its Canadian beef operations to XL Foods Inc. for $107 million in Canadian dollars. Tyson has already closed three other plants and slipped from No. 1 to No. 3 in terms of beef-slaughter capacity in the U.S. The stocks of meatpacking plants have been taking a severe hit, but Tyson stock rose on news of the sale.
Beef Magazine

MPs Fear New Foot-and-mouth Outbreak Over Lab Security Costs
The escape of foot-and-mouth disease from a supposedly secure laboratory last year could be repeated without sweeping changes to the funding and management of facilities for handling dangerous germs, MPs said yesterday. At least two ageing and neglected laboratories need urgent investment to ensure biosecurity, according to a Commons select committee that also said it had been disturbed to learn that ministers have not yet met to consider the issue.
The Times

Changes in the Sheep Industry in the United States: Making the Transition from Tradition
The U.S. sheep industry is complex, multifaceted, and rooted in history and tradition. The dominant feature of sheep production in the United States, and, thus, the focus of much producer and policy concern, has been the steady decline in sheep and... The slowing of the long-term fall in range sheep numbers in western states and modest growth in smaller farm flocks in the East may be cause for optimism.
National Academies Press

Crops dry, prices high
Allen County farmer Dick Crowl counted his blessings as he replanted a soybean field near Fort Wayne International Airport.At least his fields weren’t underwater like cropland in central and southern Indiana and in Iowa and Illinois. Indiana’s corn and soybean farmers alone may have lost more than $800 million in revenues, said Andy Miller, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.Although heavy rains doused crops in northeast Indiana fields this year, many area farms avoided the flooding. That narrow escape could generate huge profits for local farmers. Flood-damage reports helped drive corn future prices above $7 a bushel this month.
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Ancient Oak Trees Help Reduce Global Warming
The battle to reduce carbon emissions is at the heart of many eco-friendly efforts, and researchers have discovered that nature has been lending a hand. They have discovered that trees submerged in freshwater aquatic systems store carbon for thousands of years, a significantly longer period of time than trees that fall in a forest, thus keeping carbon out of the atmosphere.
Science Daily

Sequencing Of Ancient Corn Landraces To Ensure Genetic Diversity And Resources
Because of its importance as food, the need to improve yield, and the challenges presented by changing climate, the maize genome of the B73 cultivar is being sequenced. However, because maize has a complex genome and many varieties, the genome sequence from just one variety will not be adequate to represent the diversity of maize worldwide. Mexican scientists are also sequencing and analyzing the genomes of the ancient landraces to recapture the full genetic diversity of this complex and adaptable crop.
Science Daily

Database Shows Effects Of Acid Rain On Microorganisms In Adirondack Lakes
Researchers have long known that acid rain can severely decrease the diversity of plant and animal communities in fresh water lakes and ponds. However, little is known about how microscopic bacteria, which form the foundation of freshwater ecosystems, respond to acidification.
Science Daily

For Finland, the Issue Is Selling Its Wine, Not Making It
European Union farm subsidy rules are hampering the ability of wine growers in southern Finland to sell their small-scale wine production.
NYTimes.com

Can Weeds Help Solve the Climate Crisis?
Weedy ancestors of our food crops, some scientists predict, will cope far better with coming climatic changes than their domesticated descendants.
NYTimes.com

Legal battle divides horse industry
With Weatherford being home to the state’s only licensed equine dentistry school, the results of the legal battles could have a social and economic impact ...
 Weatherford Democrat,TX,
Industry Embraces Certified Livestock Transport Training
A relatively new training program for those involved in the transportation of livestock is being well accepted by Canada’s trucking and livestock industries.
The Pig Site
There's Hope for Feed Grain Price Relief
A Winnipeg based grain market analyst says the bright light for livestock producers right now is the anticipated large global wheat crop expected to be harvested during 2008, writes Bruce Cochrane.

Discovering Hormones and Their Role in Meat Quality
A team of scientists in Iowa studied how the release of hormones in animals of agricultural importance can lead to greater efficiency of growth and meat quality. Their results could reduce the cost of animal production and enhance profitability for farmers.
The Pig Site

Hog Inventory Up Six Percent from a Year Earlier
Late Friday the USDA released it quarterly hogs and pigs report and analysts said it was hard to find any good news. There is a six percent increase in hog inventory from a year ago and the breeding inventory was just slightly off, down one percent. Dr. Ron Plain, Extension Livestock Economist at the University of Missouri said there are more hogs than the trade was looking for and that will mean a drag on prices. With prices continuing to challenge producers and feed costs increasing, how can they respond?
Hoosier Ag Today
Unintended consequences (horse slaughter ban)  

The unintended consequences of horse slaughter are beginning to show up across the U.S. since state laws shut down harvest plants earlier this year. Trent Loos points out in this segment that horse slaughter is an option that needs to be in place for horse owners and invites those that are finding horses dumped in their pastures, put in the their empty trailers or left at their places of business to let him know of their specific experiences so lawmakers can be made aware of the problems the exist and the abuse that takes place when horses become unwanted and have no value for their owners.
Loos Tales
 
Flood aid for beef producers
The National Cattlemen's Foundation, in cooperation with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), has launched a disaster relief effort to assist farm and ranch families impacted by catastrophic flooding in the Mississippi River corridor and surrounding areas.
Brownfield Network

AVMA Launches Animal Welfare Web Section
To Answer Questions, Educate, Serve the Profession and the Public
To help veterinarians and the general public understand the complexity and passion behind animal welfare issues, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) launched its first Web section devoted entirely to animal welfare information.
Animal Ag Alliance

Smithfield Foods Revamps Website
More Responsive to Needs of Investors, Customers, Consumers and Others
Smithfield Foods, Inc. revamped its corporate Web site,
www.smithfieldfoods.com, to create a new look, provide more useful and engaging information, and ease site navigation. "Our new and enhanced website responds to the needs of our customers, consumers, investors, media and other interested parties who want easy-to-find information about our company," said Dennis Treacy, Vice President, Environmental and Corporate Affairs for Smithfield Foods.
Animal Ag Alliance

Animal Rights Expert Warns of Complacency
In a recent article in Nature Biotechnology, the President of a Massachusetts-based company indicated that animal rights extremists saw his company as "a softer target" than other opportunities. He said that prior to being a victim, he considered the animal rights movement threatening to his business in an abstract way, like people consider they "might be in an auto accident one day, too."

Animal Ag Alliance

Prebiotic Potential Of Almonds
 Researchers have identified potential prebiotic properties in almonds that could help improve our digestive health by increasing levels of beneficial gut bacteria.
Science Daily

Fortified Cassava Could Provide A Day's Nutrition In A Single Meal
Scientists have determined how to fortify the cassava plant, a staple root crop in many developing countries, with enough vitamins, minerals and protein to provide the poor and malnourished with a day's worth of nutrition in a single meal. The researchers have further engineered the cassava plant so it can resist the crop's most damaging viral threats and are refining methods to reduce cyanogens, substances that yield poisonous cyanide if they are not properly removed from the food before consumption.
Science Daily

Climate Change Causing Significant Shift In Composition Of Coastal Fish Communities
A detailed analysis of data from nearly 50 years of weekly fish-trawl surveys in Narragansett Bay and adjacent Rhode Island Sound has revealed a long-term shift in species composition, which scientists attribute primarily to the effects of global warming. Invertebrates and warm-water species increase while bottom feeders decrease.
 Science Daily

Drought Tolerance In Potatoes
Scientists are studying these varieties to identify the genes and molecular mechanisms of drought tolerance in order to engineer new drought-resistant crops of potato, as well as other Solanaceous vegetables.  
Science Daily

Passports For Penguins: New Technology Lets Biologists ID Large Numbers Of Endangered Animals
Groundbreaking technology that will enable biologists to identify and monitor large numbers of endangered animals, from butterflies to whales, without being captured, is now available. .
Science Daily

Fisheries, Not Whales, To Blame For Shortage Of Fish
The argument that increasing whale populations are behind declining fish stocks is completely without scientific foundation, leading researchers and conservation organizations said as the International Whaling Commission opened its 60th meeting in Santiago, Chile.
 Science Daily

Maize (Corn) May Have Been Domesticated In Mexico As Early As 10,000 Years Ago
Scientists are using new genetic and microbotanical techniques to distinguish domesticated maize from its wild relatives as well as to identify ancient sites of maize agriculture. These new analyses suggest that maize may have been domesticated in Mexico as early as 10,000 years ago.
Science Daily

Pigs Prefer Three Square Meals A Day
Pigs raised in conventional indoor pens have different feeding patterns from those raised under more natural conditions. New research shows that while pigs in the wild spend much time searching for food and eat little and often, the preferred feeding regime for conventional raised pigs is three meals a day.
Science Daily

EU eases restrictions on South American meat imports
The European Union has relaxed restrictions on imports of fresh meat from more regions of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay after experts determined they have met regulations aimed at preventing the spread of animal diseases such as foot and mouth disease."Recently, the competent authorities of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay have made considerable efforts to improve the animal health situation in their respective countries, and in particular as regards foot and mouth disease," the European Commission said in a statement on Monday, according to Reuters. Under the revised terms, the Argentine provinces of Neuquen and Rio Negro can ship various types of meat to the EU; the Brazilian states of Parana and Sao Paolo can export boneless and "matured" beef; and Paraguayan ranchers can export the same products.

Meatingplace.com

Deal Is Struck in Montana to Preserve Forest Areas
A huge patchwork of privately owned forest in northwest Montana will be permanently protected from development.
NYTimes.com

A How-To Book for Everything From Water Filters to Fly Traps
“A Community Guide to Environmental Health,” took eight years and $1.6 million to put together, according to its authors.
NYTimes.com

Some Glimmers of Good News in Crop Forecast
Recent floods were likely to have damaged the corn and soybean harvest less than feared and farmers have planted more corn than previously expected, the government said.
NYTimes.com

Beloved companion or Parisian dinner?
Slaughter ban backfires for U.S. horses
Hugh Country News

Prioritizing Invasive Species Management
This report examined how decisions to invest in invasive species management on public lands could incorporate economic concepts to better gauge the level of social benefits generated and how optimization models could be applied to produce the maximum potential gains in ecosystem services. Findings suggested that management decisions were effectively modeled using GIS-based decision support tools, providing a means to reveal assumptions and allow greater input by the public and scientific community into the decision-making process. The optimization model results suggested that benefits achieved through invasive species treatment might be improved if multiple ecosystem service benefits were considered simultaneously when choosing sites and treatment options rather than choosing options that maximized a particular ecosystem service.
USDA.

Dry weather slowing corn in upper Southeast
Some of the South Carolina corn crop is being salvaged for silage, while a few other fields are being abandoned and harrowed. Meanwhile, in North Carolina and Virginia dry weather is slowing crop progress considerably.
Southeast Farm Press

Cost of feed delays chicken plant
Rising feed costs are forcing chicken producer Sanderson Farms to delay -- perhaps by as much as a year -- plans to build a $126.5 million plant in Kinston. The decision comes two months after the Laurel, Miss.-based company said it would build a feed mill, hatchery and plant capable of processing 1.25 million birds a week. Construction was to begin this summer and wrap up by 2010, adding 1,500 jobs to Kinston, a city in Lenoir County. But surging prices of corn and soybean meal, the primary ingredients in chicken feed, have made it increasingly difficult to predict costs, the company said. So it decided to hold off until prices stabilize.
The (Raleigh, North Carolina) News and Observer

Floods to cause ripple, not ruin, in Midwest
Billions of dollars are lost, but the impact on U.S. economic growth will likely be small. Floodwaters receding into the Mississippi River and its tributaries will suck billions of dollars out of the Midwest's economy, though probably not as much as the 1993 flooding that devastated the region. The impact on U.S. economic growth is expected to be small, but it is difficult to make accurate estimates because water still stands over farm fields, roads and in many homes. Forecasts call for more rain across the region through at least Saturday.
The Charlotte Observer

Mid-South farmers find crops thriving under ample rain, sunshine
For a nation groaning under the cost of groceries and fuel, the size of weather-related crop losses this spring is just another ominous sign. Monday, the government confirmed for the first time that 2.8 million acres of corn and soybeans were flooded out or lost in the cold, damp June in the upper Corn Belt. For the Mid-South, where the best-looking crops in the nation are thriving under adequate rain and sunshine, the report is, frankly, another positive in a year that looks so good farmers can barely believe their fortune.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal

'Buy local' effort could set a record
State Farmers Market may see its highest attendance as crops lure crowds
If you're counting on completing your July Fourth feast with a hearty helping of Carolina corn, strawberries and blueberries from the State Farmers Market, you'd better get there early. Already, this year has been one of the busiest on record for the State Farmers Market, and the Fourth of July weekend is always the busiest of the summer. The Fourth of July crunch is coming during a year when attendance at the State Farmers Market may very well reach a record.
The (Raleigh, North Carolina) News and Observer

War spending bill also aims to rebuild farm fields
Tucked into a $162 billion war funding bill passed by the Senate this week is $479 million for two emergency programs that could help farmers and landowners in the flood ravaged Midwest clear fields and rebuild terraces, grassed waterways and buffer strips. The supplemental appropriations bill includes $89 million for the Emergency Conservation Program run by USDA's Farm Service Agency and $390 million for the Emergency Watershed Program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Agriculture Onlione

Soybeans Reach Record as the U.S. May Cut Production Forecast
Soybeans rose to a record after the biggest quarterly gain in 20 years on speculation the worst Midwest flooding since 1993 will cut U.S. production. Corn fell after dropping by the daily maximum yesterday.  U.S. soybean farmers may reap 96.8 percent of the 74.533 million acres planted, down from an earlier forecast of 98.1 percent, the Department of Agriculture said yesterday in a report. The latest estimate included a poll last week of 1,200 growers in six states hit by floods. The USDA projected inventories of 175 million bushels before next year's harvest, or 21 days of usage.
Bloomberg News

Corn Rises to Record on Concern That Rain May Damage the Crop
Corn climbed to a record for a second day on concern that more rain and flooding in the U.S. Midwest may hurt crops, and as demand for commodities increased as a hedge against inflation.
Parts of northeast Missouri were drenched by more than 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain over the past three days, and more storms are forecast, according to a report yesterday by the National Weather Service.
Bloomberg News

IN: State to announce $50 million aid to farmers
State agriculture and treasury officials plan to announce a $50 million assistance program for Indiana farmers devastated by this spring's flooding.  Estimates show about 9 percent of the state's corn and soybean crops were flooded.  State Agriculture Director Andy Miller says those fields could cost farmers more than $840 million in lost revenue.
The Chicago Tribune

House Republicans urge less corn for ethanol
The Environmental Protection Agency is being urged to reduce ethanol production this year.
Almost 50 House Republicans say the energy law requiring production of 9 billion gallons of ethanol in 2008 has pushed up corn prices, hurting low-income people and livestock producers. The Agriculture Department says 30 to 35% of this year's corn crop is slated for ethanol.
Corn prices are up more than 80% in the past year. This year's crop is being hurt by flooding in the Midwest and drought in the South. The Agriculture Department says farmers will harvest 9% fewer acres of corn this year.
WOI-TV, Des Moines, Iowa

Organic acreage up 27 percent in Washington
Organic farm acreage in Washington grew 27 percent in the latest count, although such farming remains a mere blip on the agricultural landscape, the Washington State University Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources said. The 2007 estimate of certified organic land statewide was 81,472 acres, up from 64,325 acres in 2006. The number of organic acres has grown 86 percent since 2004, the center said. Organic farming is still small potatoes in Washington, with about 700 farms growing $144 million worth of products. The state has some 34,000 farms, which in 2006 grew $6.87 billion worth of raw farm products.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Company recalls beef linked to E. coli
Nebraska Beef, Ltd., is recalling more than 265 tons of ground beef that may be contaminated with the E. coli suspected as the cause of at least 40 confirmed illnesses in Michigan and Ohio, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. Legal counsel for the Omaha-based company and Kroger were not immediately available for comment today about the announcement, which was made late last night.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture has labeled the Nebraska Beef recall a Class I Recall, which means the situation carries a high health risk.
The Detroit Free Press

What's In The Meat?
Before you fire up the grill this summer, here's one more reason to make sure those burgers are well done. A new report from two consumer groups finds flaws in the government's meat-testing program. Put in place after the E. coli bacteria scares of the 1990s, the program was designed to bring modern science to meat inspection. But is it making the grade? What's at stake: In "Hamburger Hell: The Flip Side of USDA's Salmonella Testing Program," Public Citizen and the Government Accountability Project analyzed the Department of Agriculture's own testing records for salmonella bacteria at ground-beef-processing plants. The report found that 77 plants in 26 states failed at least one batch of tests. Though many large plants repeatedly flunked, they continued to ship USDA-approved beef to stores. USDA disputes the report's conclusions, saying salmonella rates have decreased and that it shuts unsafe plants.
Newsweek

Say Goodbye To The ‘Crazy Raspberry Ants’
This particular species of ant is attracted to electrical equipment, for reasons that are not well understood by scientists. Reports indicate they are notorious for ruining sewage pumps, fouled computers, and has also caused alarms to malfunction. According to a recent report, the EPA approved a crisis exemption to the Texas Department of Agriculture that allows the use of Fipronil, or Termidor SC to ward off this particular species of ants.
KBTX-TV, College Station, Texas

Georgia scientists focus on honey bee disorder
Almost half the bee colonies in the United States died last winter. Many were the result of a disorder that causes the colony to literally collapse. Using a $4.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, scientists at the University of Georgia hope to find solutions to the problem that is killing bees in 36 states. Delaplane will direct the four-year Coordinated Agriculture Project (CAP) that is part of a National Research Initiative funded through the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.
Southeast Farm Press

Bee disappearances could get worse, House panel told
A record 36 percent of U.S. commercial bee colonies have been lost to mysterious causes so far this year and worse may be yet to come, experts told a congressional panel Thursday.
The year's bee colony losses are about twice the usual seen following a typical winter, scientists warn. Despite ambitious new research efforts, the causes remain a mystery. The escalating campaign against what's generically called colony collapse disorder includes more state, federal and private funding for research. Publicity efforts are getting louder -- a costumed Mr. Bee was seen wandering around Capitol Hill this week -- and lawmakers are becoming mobilized.
The Chicago Tribune

FL: Superintendent vows to keep ag programs
Superintendent of Schools Jim Yancey said last week that agricultural programs will continue at all high schools and middle schools in the county, despite concerns they may be phased out due to the state's financial crisis.  The issue surfaced last week when it was revealed there were only six requests for agriculture program courses at West Port High School and students may be left out. Yancey told Hering, School Board members and concerned citizens that the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test is mostly to blame for the lack of students entering the program.
The Ocala, Florida Star-Banner

Farm bill details surfacing
While the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 eliminates the three-entity rule for farmers, it also makes it easier for a spouse to become eligible for payments. These changes could have a big impact on farmers, “especially when you talk about the sheer number of farmers who used the three-entity rule,” said Gary Adams, vice-president, economics and policy analysis, National Cotton Council. Adams, leading an information session on the 2008 farm bill at Agricenter International in Memphis, said another significant change is the “tightening down of means testing,” beginning with the 2009 crop. “Some of our larger farmers will feel it,” Adams said.
Southeast Farm Press

Soaring production costs hit Georgia growers
Rising production costs are consuming most of the profit farmers might receive from the record prices crops like corn and soybeans are bringing.  Higher energy prices, increased demand from China and India for agricultural production supplies and the weak value of the U.S. dollar are all factors contributing to higher production costs for farmers and ultimately higher food prices for consumers, economists say.
Southeast Farm Press

Rains cut Midwest corn by 1.2 million acres
Midwest corn producers are reporting losses of around 1.2 million acres to extensive rains and flooding in June, according to USDA’s June 30 Planted Acreage Report. USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reported the losses after re-interviewing approximately 1,200 farmers June 23-25 in the flood-affected areas. NASS says it will conduct a more extensive acreage update survey during July. Findings from this study will be incorporated in the August crop production report. Corn planted area for all purposes is estimated at 87.3 million acres, down 7 percent from last year.
Delta Farm Press

Congress provides $479 million for flood relief efforts
Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin says the supplemental spending bill passed by Congress Thursday night (June 26) includes $479 million for emergency conservation efforts for areas affected by the Midwest floods. Harkin, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, said the funding is needed to help farmers begin recovery from the flooding that continues to inundate farmland in Iowa and the upper Mississippi Valley.
Southwest Farm Press

Carbon may be a cash “crop” for producers
Agriculture producers may have a crop they can cash in on without having to plant or harvest anything extra, Texas AgriLife Extension Service specialists said. Dr. Steve Amosson, AgriLife Extension economist in Amarillo, said carbon sequestration is getting a lot of attention of late. Carbon sequestration is defined as the capture and secure storage of carbon.  It is estimated that U.S. agriculture could sequester 275-900 million tons of carbon dioxide annually through processes such as no-till or conservation tillage or rangeland improvement, as well as reducing methane gas emissions, Amosson said.
Southwest Farm Press

Fuel costs keep fishing boats at the dock
Shrimp, crab prices not keeping pace with spiraling expenses
High fuel prices have accomplished what rough weather and cheap imported seafood never could -- keeping Sheldon Daniels' trawler fleet at the dock. The soaring prices are crimping North Carolina's $82 million commercial fishing industry. Unlike recreational fishing captains, who can pass on a fuel surcharge to clients, many commercial fishermen are being squeezed by low dockside prices for catches and mounting fuel bills.
The (Raleigh, North Carolina) News and Observer

N.C. farmers grow sales after outbreak
It's customers such as Erik Will – who turned to local farms to buy his produce after a salmonella outbreak sickened more than 800 people nationwide – that has turned the crisis into a boon for N.C. tomato farmers.“First it was the spinach a few years ago, and now it's tomatoes,” said Will, 32. “It's enough to scare anyone off. I'm more than willing to pay more and make the trip to a market to know that what I'm eating is clean and safe.”With North Carolina on the federal Food and Drug Administration's “safe list,” local growers say they are profiting from a situation that forced grocery stores to pull tomatoes from the shelves and left wholesalers with nothing to sell.
The Charlotte Observer

Soaring food prices to spur agriculture investment
Soaring food prices will trigger increased investment in agricultural land, notably in eastern Europe, Brazil and Africa where there is plentiful fallow acreage, delegates at a conference said on Wednesday.
Rising demand for food as people in emerging economies, such as China, spend more on improving their diet, signalled further increases in food prices, they said."We're seeing a revolution in diet across the world," Henry Boucher, deputy chief investment officer of Sarasin AgriSar fund, told the world Agri Invest conference in London.
The Guardian (UK)

Plea for Aid to Avert Starvation
Warning that rising food and oil prices pose a crisis for the world’s poor, Robert B. Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, is calling on President Bush and other leaders convening in Japan next week in an economic summit meeting to make new aid commitments to avert starvation and instability in dozens of countries. Mr. Zoellick’s letter, obtained by The New York Times, came with a lengthy study of the impact of rising prices for food, fuel and commodities on the world’s poor. He sent the letter as Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda prepares to host Mr. Bush and six other world leaders in the Group of 8 economic summit meeting on the northern island of Hokkaido.
The New York Times

Shorter period for crop payment sign-up
The 2008 sign-up for crop payment programs is underway, but it’s a shorter period of time because of the late passage of the Farm Bill. John Johnson is deputy administrator for USDA’s Farm Service Agency, “Typically we start sign up for DCP October one, and it runs until September 30th a full year. Just shortly over a month after the farm bill’s passage we did begin sign up for 2008 contracts.” He says the usual late fee of $100 will be waived this year, “So no late fee but we do have to get all this work done by September 30th so it’s really important that producers interested in that program to get that appointment scheduled with their county office and get a date and a time to get in there and get this done before September 30th.”
Brownfield Network

Smithfield to sell 7 million shares to Chinese firm
Smithfield Foods is selling 4.95% of the company to Chinese agricultural processing company, COFCO. The actual share price for the 7 million shares is yet to be established. Smithfield says it will use the money to repay debt and for other purposes. One analyst says it will tide the company over until the expected sale to JBS Swift. As part of the deal, Smithfield will nominate COFCO chair, Ning to be a member of the Smithfield board of directors.  Smithfield will price the shares at the same time it offers $350 million in senior contingent convertible bonds to the public. That date is yet to be established.
Brownfield Network

 The Indian Summer of (Political) Love
Both Republicans and Democrats have sought out the Indian vote. It's nice to be wanted, but reservations await the details.
Daily  Yonder

For Milk, Bread and Heroes: Kansas Groceries
Most Kansas "cities" have fewer than 1500 residents, all wanting a local market when they want it. Who's minding the store and how can they hang on?
Read the story.
Daily  Yonder

At a store near you, low-mileage lettuce
The 24-year-old oversees New England's first large-scale organic farm dedicated to supplying East Coast supermarkets and restaurant chains with local greens .
Boston Globe

 Thieves target farm diesel supplies as prices soar
-The cost of farm diesel is less than the diesel used by truckers and the general public, and thieves either sell it or use it themselves.
The Associated Press

Future belongs to family-run farms
The future belongs to small, local, sustainable family-run farms. If we had any compassion for Mexico, we would be against importing cheap labor.
Arizona Republic - Phoenix, AZ 

On the Edge of a Residential Strip, Fear of Feathers
Neighbors have been protesting the arrival of a slaughterhouse, saying that it will breed disease and produce noxious smells.
NYTimes.com

Harvest of Injustice: The Oppression of Migrant Workers.
The FLCs act as coyotes or intermediaries between farm workers and greenhouses/farms, determining how workers will get to the job, how long they will work,
Center for Research on Globalization - Montreal,Quebec,Canada

Making Cheese and Ice Cream on the farm with Mobile dairy keeps farmers on right path 
With dairy farmers often receiving 24p for a litre of milk that costs 30p to produce, many are going out of business.
COOperative News

Raw Milk At Dairy Farm Contaminated
A York County dairy farm has tested positive for listeria-contaminated raw milk again. The state Department of Agriculture said customers who bought raw milk should throw it out.
WGAL - Lancaster,PA

Production Costs Prevent Dairy Price Celebrations for Farmers
Dairy farmers would like to celebrate June as dairy month by toasting near-record prices with a glass of cold milk, but they can't afford it. Bill Herndon, agricultural economist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said skyrocketing production costs have more than narrowed the gap between profit and loss; they have eliminated it. At the same time, the price of milk at the grocery story has climbed steadily, averaging near $4.50 per gallon, up from approximately $2.80 per gallon in 2003, and is expected to remain high through 2009."Thankfully, farmers are receiving near-record high prices of just under $20 per hundredweight for milk, but what they earn is more than offset by feed costs," Herndon said. "Costs for a 16% crude protein dairy ration have basically doubled from $5 per hundred-weight in the third quarter of 2006 to almost $10 per hundredweight in the second quarter of 2008."'Less money than ever' . The milk-feed price ratio is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's benchmark for determining profitability for dairy farming. Herndon said the ratio in April reached its lowest level since USDA began using that benchmark in 1985.
Redorbit.com

Hormone use may make dairy farming greener
Using bovine growth hormones to boost milk production could help the dairy industry significantly reduce its impact on the environment, U.S. researchers said. They said supplementing 1 million cows with the growth hormone recombinant bovine somatotropin or rbST would have the same effect as removing about 400,000 cars from the road or planting 300 million trees.
Reuters

Micro-loans aimed at organic dairy farms
Small dairy farmers who've been thinking about going organic may have a new incentive.  MicroCredit-NH, a program through the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, is now offering zero-interest loans for the state's 148 dairy farmers who want to convert to organic production.  Stonyfield Farm partnered with CROPP, a cooperative of family farmers, to create the Organic Conversion Fund program. They say it will help ease the up-front costs of switching to organic production, or starting up an organic dairy.
Concord Monitor,NH

Promise of Biofuel Clouded by Weather Risks
Recent storms and floods have highlighted the risks of an economy that has grown more dependent on corn for fuel.
NYTimes.com

Now health and safety cut number of holes in salt shakers
Pot-holed roads, crumbling schools, litter-strewn streets – there’s no shortage of problem areas crying out for their attention.But councils believe they have found a better use for their money: reducing the number of holes in chip shop salt shakers.Research has suggested that slashing the holes from the traditional 17 to five could cut the amount people sprinkle on their food by more than half. And so at least six councils have ordered five-hole shakers – at taxpayers’ expense – and begun giving them away to chip shops and takeaways in their areas.
Daily Mail (UK)
 

Preserving US Leadership in Science and Engineering
A new report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences identifies investment factors necessary for a competitive U.S. research base. The two factors are investment in early-career scientists and encouragement of high-risk, high-reward research. The report, Advancing Research in Science and Engineering: Investing in Early-Career Scientists and High-Risk, High-Reward Research, provides examples of obstacles facing young researchers and their potentially transformative science and technology research. One obstacle is a decline in access to grants. The average age for first-time recipients of primary research grants from the National Institutes of Health is 42.4 and rising. The success rate for first-time grant applicants has fallen from 86 percent in 1980 to 28 percent in 2007.
Amacad.org

Time limits on welfare examined
A new report by MDRC, a public policy research organization examines the effects of the time-limits that were attached to welfare benefits in the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. The report details varying state policies regarding time limits, the number and characteristics of those facing time limits, and the well-being of families affected by the limits.
MRDC.org

Energy Prices altering housing choices
The combination of rising gas and home heating fuel prices are beginning to affect Americans' long-standing preference for suburban living. Falling housing prices in many suburbs reflect this trend, and a recent survey of prospective home buyers finds that more than three-fourths intend to choose an urban location due to high energy prices. Accordingly, housing in urban areas has retained its value to a greater extent than those in the outermost suburbs.
NYTimes.com

Cluster Lessons Learned
What a difference a few years can make! Reporting on the differences between 2002 and 2008 studies by the Maine Technology Institute reveals an altered picture of Maine's cluster economy.  According to the recent report, unforeseen, "…clusters have seemingly sprouted up across the state like mushrooms." Continuous investigation and adjustment to education and training efforts are key to keeping up with the ever changing cluster economy. Read Maine's story at http://www.mainebiz.biz/news42057.html.
 Southern.org      
Harkin to USDA: Be flexible in disaster decisions
Farmers in Iowa and other states affected by flooding should not be "penalized" for having to make decisions dealing with crop losses that could come back to haunt them when USDA finishes writing regulations for the new farm bill.
Delta Farm Press

Monsanto submits SmartStax for approval by EPA
Monsanto Company has announced it has submitted documents and extensive research data for SmartStax, a new insect-protection and weed control platform in corn, to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval.
 Delta Farm Press

Vermont raises raw-milk limits
Vermont consumers may now purchase up to 50 quarts of unpasteurized milk a day, as long as they buy it directly from a dairy. Raw-milk sales across the country have jumped significantly, but 22 states ban the sale of raw milk for human consumption due to health concerns. And it is federally prohibited from crossing state lines.
Boston.com

Pa. legislators want more raw-milk products
Two state legislators in Pennsylvania would like to expand the list of raw-milk products that farmers can sell. In addition to raw milk and aged cheese, the legislators would like to include butter, soft cheese, ice cream, yogurt and other products.
Senator Brubaker

Raw milk draws customers
Soon after opening the doors of Freedom Hill Farm in Orange County, N.Y., Rick and Julie Vreeland were bombarded with people who wanted to buy raw milk. Sales grew from 13 gallons to more than 1,000 gallons last month. Half of their customer base travels more than an hour to purchase the milk. Raw-milk advocates believe a wide range of health benefits come with drinking milk raw. But studies have been controversial; scientists are skeptical, and the government divided.
NPR
 

Louisiana signs non-corn ethanol law for to promote a better biofuel 
The Advanced Biofuel Industry Development Initiative will promote high yielding non-corn crops that can be grown without excessive irrigation or application of fertilizers.
Mongabay.com

 

Fertilizer Cos Seen Boosted By Greater US Corn Plantings  
"Although the report temporarily eliminates a worst-case scenario whereby corn prices could rise further and surpass $10 per bushel, the situation for the ethanol industry remains difficult with high corn prices leading to below break- even ethanol production cash margins," wrote Citigroup.
 CNNMoney

Weather Risks Cloud Promise of Biofuel
The record storms and floods that swept through the Midwest last month struck at the heart of America's corn region, drowning fields and dashing hopes of a bumper crop.They also brought into sharp relief a new economic hazard. As America grows more reliant on corn for its fuel supply, it is becoming vulnerable to the many hazards that can damage crops, ranging from droughts to plagues to storms.The floods have helped send the price of ethanol up 19 percent in a month. They appear to have had little effect on the price of gasoline at the pump, as ethanol represents only about 6 percent of the nation's transport fuel today.
The New York Times
 

Owners Urged To Have Horses Vaccinated
45 Cases Of Eastern Equine Encephalitis Confirmed
Florida's agriculture commissioner is urging horse owners to have their animals vaccinated as the number of confirmed Eastern Equine Encephalitis cases is on the rise.
Commissioner Charles Bronson said on Wednesday that 45 cases have been confirmed in the first six months of 2008 in Florida, compared to just 11 during the same period last year.
Eastern Equine Encephalitis is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system. It's transmitted by infected mosquitoes.
Miami Herald

AFBF: Food Prices Up Slightly in 2nd Quarter
Retail food prices at the supermarket increased about 3.5% in the second quarter of 2008, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation Marketbasket Survey.
Ag Net

First 6 Months of '08 Record for Iowa Rain
The first six months of 2008 are going in the record books for Iowa as the wettest in 136 years of data keeping, according to state climate officials.
Iowaflood.com

Where Is Your Soil Water? Crop Yield Has The Answer
Crop yield is highly dependent on soil plant-available water, the portion of soil water that can be taken up by plant roots. New research has shown that measured plant-available water capacity correlated with corn yield better in dry years than in normal or wet years. Agreement between measured plant-available water and estimates was weaker in the claypan soils than well-drained soils.
Science Daily

Weather Risks Cloud Promise of Biofuel
The record storms and floods that swept through the Midwest last month struck at the heart of America’s corn region, drowning fields and dashing hopes of a bumper crop. They also brought into sharp relief a new economic hazard. As America grows more reliant on corn for its fuel supply, it is becoming vulnerable to the many hazards that can damage crops, ranging from droughts to plagues to storms.
The floods have helped send the price of ethanol up 19 percent in a month. They appear to have had little effect on the price of gasoline at the pump, as ethanol represents only about 6 percent of the nation’s transport fuel today.
The New York Times

Owners Urged To Have Horses Vaccinated
45 Cases Of Eastern Equine Encephalitis Confirmed
Florida's agriculture commissioner is urging horse owners to have their animals vaccinated as the number of confirmed Eastern Equine Encephalitis cases is on the rise. Commissioner Charles Bronson said on Wednesday that 45 cases have been confirmed in the first six months of 2008 in Florida, compared to just 11 during the same period last year. Eastern Equine Encephalitis is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system. It's transmitted by infected mosquitoes.
WKMG-TV, Daytona Beach, Florida

New Web site ranks supermarkets, labels for humanely raised foods
The World Society for the Protection of Animals has released a survey ranking 23 U.S. grocery store chains by the availability of humanely labeled food on their shelves. WSPA also launched a Web site, eathumane.org, that provides detailed survey results and explains and rates humane food labels according to their verifiable impact on animal welfare.
Meatingplace.com

Drought conditions spreading in lower Southeast
Dry weather once again seems to be settling in over the lower Southeast as area growers look to the skies for relief. Even though Florida has been blessed with rainfall over most of the state, Alabama and Georgia have not been so fortunate.
 Southeast Farm Press

 

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