**************************************************************************************************************
SPINACH HARVEST
You could call this a "hands-on" harvest. These workers, on their knees, can grasp a handful of spinach, cut it, bundle it up, tie it, and lay it on the bed, perfect every time, and then It's boxed, loaded on a trailer and sent to a cooler to be hydro-cooled to 34 degrees, and shipped to market.
*************************************************************************************
“NCBA Releases Responses to Audit”
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has released a 27-page
response to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board audit and
independent accountant’s report critical of the way NCBA expenses are
charged as beef checkoff activities. According to the report - the audit
was performed to assist the Board in determining that the salary and
wages, disbursements and other charges selected for testing are in
compliance with the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985 and the Beef
Promotion and Research Order and the contract between NCBA and the Beef
Promotion Operating Committee.
In the NCBA report - the organization’s leaders addressed each
discrepancy. Here is a sampling. One of the problems cited was expenses
for three employees to attend the NCBA Charity Golf Tournament. In
submitting their expenses neither participant charged their expenses to
the same account. The report also noted seven invoices totaling nearly
188-thousand dollars that were not paid timely. Payments ranged from two
to twelve days late.
A question that came out of the audit was spouse and family travel. The
NCBA response stated historically - an officer dinner with spouses at
the annual industry meeting has not been an issue. Currently - CBB
guidelines for contractors and NCBA policies do not prohibit spousal
travel expenses - but we will meet with CBB to establish a guideline.
“Checkoff Guidelines Needed”
Working through the NCBA response to the CBB audit - one quickly sees
that work needs to be done to address the problems identified by the
report with guidelines to address each issue. And in some cases - it
will be necessary to review existing guidelines and change them to
better address each issue. Also - guidelines for establishing a paper
trail before an event is incurred will likely be of help.
The report also addresses time reporting. Often times - trips are used
to address several issues covered by different divisions of NCBA. The
report detailed 25 instances in which auditors were unable to determine
if time was properly recorded. Once again - NCBA says the independent
accountant was unable to reach a conclusion on these items in large part
due to a lack of detailed checkoff guidelines.
“Others Watching NCBA Situation”
Several agricultural and livestock organizations are closely watching
the NCBA situation. National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson notes
an appropriate checkoff program with the right financial, operational
and governance structure is important for everyone. Johnson says his
organization commends the CBB for assisting in the audit and pushing for
further evaluation, with a more comprehensive compliance review.
In
a joint letter - five agricultural and livestock groups addressed the
CBB audit and indicators that NCBA has substantially breached the
financial firewall and did not maintain sufficient documentation
differentiating between the policy and checkoff sides of the
organization.
NFU is continuing dialogue with NCBA, CBB and other agricultural and
livestock leaders to ensure producers benefit from a revised checkoff
program.
“Estate Tax Remains Outside of Bill
Considerations”
Senate Republicans stood against Democrats Thursday by voting against a
motion to limit debate on a substitute amendment to the small business
bill. Republicans complained that they were not given a fair chance to
get votes on five amendments - including one on the estate tax.
Still - Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says we’re getting closer. He
predicted a chance of significant progress very soon. But Majority
Leader Harry Reid remains frustrated. Reid accused the Republicans of
not wanting an agreement. Democrats and President Obama continue to urge
the Senate to act quickly.
The measure pending before the Senate would create a 30-billion dollar
small business lending fund, extend 12-billion in tax breaks and enhance
federal programs designed to help small businesses.
“Lincoln's Ag Disaster Money
Dropped from Senate Bill;
Will Come from USDA Instead”
Senate Ag Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln pulled her 1.5-billion
dollar ag disaster provision from the pending Small Business Jobs bill
on Thursday after the Obama administration agreed to take money from
existing programs to fund the payments to eligible farmers and ranchers.
Lincoln told Agri-Pulse that while she firmly believes agricultural
producers are rural small businesses - it was clear the Republicans
pulled out all the stops to block her legislation.
In
exchange for pulling ag disaster from the small business bill - she says
she secured an agreement from both Majority Leader Reid and White House
Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel - and have their commitment to deliver
critical agriculture disaster assistance administratively in the next
two weeks. Lincoln declined to say where the money would be taken from.
She simply told Agri-Pulse they’re looking and will find it.
The Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation said in an email to its members
Thursday afternoon the payments for 2009 crop losses would be funded
“directly from the USDA budget.”
“Senators Lincoln, Lugar: Child Nutrition
Bill Needs Passage
Before Programs Expire”
Senate Ag Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln and Senator Richard Lugar
were joined by four other Senators Thursday in urging passage of the
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act - a bill that will reauthorize child
nutrition programs before they expire September 30th. Lincoln says the
act will put the nation on a path to end childhood hunger and obesity
and improve the health of the next generation of Americans. Lugar says
food from child nutrition programs may provide the bulk of nutrition
children from low-income homes receive during the day. Given the
nation’s economic climate - he says the moment to pass the bill should
be seized.
The legislation passed the Senate Ag Committee unanimously at the end of
March. It provides the first non-inflationary increase in the Federal
reimbursement rate for school lunch programs in nearly 40 years. The
bill includes a provision requiring the Ag Secretary to establish
national nutrition standards consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans for all foods sold on school campuses throughout the school
day.
Doctor Sandra Hassink - American Academy of Pediatrics Obesity
Leadership Workgroup Chairman - says as a pediatrician who specializes
in treating obesity – she’s pleading for the Senate to put her out of a
job. Hassink says she would like nothing more than to have an empty
clinic. If legislators miss the opportunity to pass the bill and improve
programs - Senator Lincoln says the nation’s children will pay the price
“Senators Chambliss, Brownback
Question USDA Budget”
Senate Ag Committee
Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss and Senate Appropriations
Subcommittee on Agriculture Ranking Member Sam Brownback wrote a
letter to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack Wednesday urging USDA to take
deficit reduction seriously. The Senators say they openly
question why USDA would require flexibility from the Office of
Management and Budget to cut mandatory farm safety net programs
to meet discretionary funding reductions. They say honest
budgeting requires discretionary savings come from reductions to
discretionary programs - and they believe the President’s
proposed budget for the 2012 fiscal year should be based on
honest budgeting.
In their letter - Chambliss and Brownback note
discretionary and mandatory programs in regard to USDA’s budget
increased seven and 20-percent respectively over the previous
two fiscal years. They state nutrition, feeding and food safety
programs are significant portions of outlays for mandatory and
discretionary accounts - but conservation, rural development and
other discretionary functions received an approximated
15-percent increase this fiscal year compared to the previous
one.
The Senators note farmers and ranchers need a level of certainty
to operate. They say the time to examine and make changes to
mandatory programs is during the upcoming reauthorization of the
farm bill.
“EPA Rejects Climate Science as
Flawed”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has denied 10 petitions
challenging its 2009 determination that climate change is real,
is occurring due to emissions of greenhouse gases from human
activities and threatens human health and the environment. EPA
says the petitions to reconsider EPA’s Endangerment Finding are
based on selectively edited, out-of-context data and a
manufactured controversy - therefore providing no evidence to
undermine their determination.
EPA Administrator Liza Jackson says defenders of
the status quo will try to slow EPA’s efforts to get America
running on clean energy. She says a better solution would be to
join the vast majority of the American people who want to see
more green jobs, more clean energy innovation and an end to the
oil addiction that pollutes the planet and jeopardizes our
national security.
EPA says the global warming trend over the past 100 years is
confirmed by three separate records of surface temperature - all
of which are confirmed by satellite data. Beyond this - evidence
of climate change is seen in melting ice in the Arctic, melting
glaciers around the world, increasing ocean temperatures, rising
sea levels, shifting precipitation patterns and changing
ecosystems and wildlife habitats.
“NFU Joins Ag Groups Supporting,
Urging Senate Inclusion of RES”
The Senate’s pending energy legislation doesn’t include a
Renewable Electricity Standard that would provide significant
opportunity for investment in ag and rural communities according
to National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson. NFU supports
an RES and wrote to Senate leadership with other ag groups about
the critical importance of including a 25-percent RES as the
Senate considers the energy legislation.
Johnson says the coalition is disappointed with
Majority Leader Harry Reid’s omission of an RES from the
legislation - saying including the provisions will help
America’s drive toward energy independence, reinvigorate rural
communities through job growth and income generation for ag.
Johnson states America’s farmers and ranchers support the
opportunity to increase energy production under an RES and the
Senate should have an opportunity to vote for it.
“New York Times Fails,
Mischaracterizes Fueling Freedom Plan”
Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis says Thursday’s Editorial titled
Energy Subsidies, Good and Bad in the New York Times
misrepresents the company’s proposal to open the U.S.
transportation fuels market and fails to acknowledge the
technological advancements that have made ethanol production
cleaner and more efficient. Buis says the editorial doesn’t
correctly signify Growth Energy’s Fueling Freedom Plan - which
would redirect the current blender’s tax credit to support the
build-out of the distribution infrastructure to give Americans a
true choice of fuels at the pump.
Buis states the editorial mistakenly claims
demand for ethanol will plow under more grasslands or forests.
He says U.S. farmers produced a record corn crop on
seven-million fewer acres last year than the previous record
year - proving farm efficiencies and technology are helping
produce even greater yields from fewer acres. Buis says the New
York Times opinion fails to reflect the facts about modern
American agriculture, its productivity and advancements in
technology.
“ASA’s Steps to Doubling Exports
by 2015”
The American Soybean Association announced this week key steps
it believes will help meet President Obama’s National Export
Initiative goal of doubling exports in the next five years. Some
of those key steps include approving the pending Free Trade
Agreements with Colombia, South Korea and Panama and negotiating
new FTAs with countries that have the potential to expand
imports of U.S. products - among other things. However – the
group says approving the pending deals is the most important
step. ASA President Rob Joslin says the rest of the world is
moving forward rapidly to expand bilateral trade while the U.S.
is at a virtual standstill. He says that must change quickly if
the NEI is to have a chance to succeed.
The U.S. has lost market share in Colombia and
Panama due to delays in approving the FTAs. U.S. soy and
livestock product exports declined 34-percent in Colombia and
6.9-percent in Panama. Joslin says soybeans and soybean products
are the most important U.S. export commodity - with export sales
exceeding 21-billion dollars last year. Those exports
represented more than 50-percent of U.S. soybean production and
21-percent of total U.S. ag exports in 2009.
In order to move forward on the NEI agenda - Joslin says the
Administration needs to reach consensus with Congress on the
scope of FTAs and the priority of approving the concluded
agreements as soon as possible.
“Health Care Legislation
Provisions Analyzed in Center for Rural Affairs Report”
The Center for Rural Affairs will release its second policy
report in a series of reports examining the health care reform’s
impact on rural America - titled Health Care Reform, What’s In
It - on August 4th. The report examines important,
beneficial provisions of the legislation. The report’s author -
Center for Rural Affairs Research Director Jon Bailey - says
much of the attention to the new federal health care law was
paid to the politically volatile insurance coverage provisions.
But he says an important part of the law received little
attention - the portions concerning quality health care access.
Access issues are serious health challenges in
most of rural America according to Bailey. He says the new law
provides numerous opportunities for rural areas to increase all
medical professions and stabilize their medical delivery system.
The provisions also have the potential to aid the economies of
many rural communities - Bailey says - as new and improved
medical facilities and more health care professionals in rural
communities will afford more jobs, more income and more economic
opportunity in those communities. He states rural families,
businesses and communities have a lot to gain from health care
reform as it passed both the House and Senate - and much to lose
if government fails to properly implement of Congress fails to
adequately fund the provisions crucial to improving rural health
care access.
Those provisions - highlighted in Bailey’s report - include
funding opportunities for the training and education of rural
physic8ians and expansion of other medical professionals;
recruitment of young rural students for health care careers;
expansion of medical care facilities in rural areas; improving
Emergency medical services; and healthier eating and living
initiatives and earlier access to primary care providers for
disease prevention. He says they are long-term solutions to a
significant challenge to rural health care - but they must
become priorities for the Administration, Congress, state
governments and all rural people for them to work.
DOW CHEMICAL - RALLY FUNGICIDE
http://www.dowagro.com/usag/prod/073.htm
“Pioneer Agronomists Say Look
Out for Foliar Diseases”
Pioneer Hi-Bred experts are suggesting scouting fields and
then evaluating whether a foliar fungicide application
offers benefits because of the wet, humid weather conditions
causing risk of foliar disease in fields on top of extra
disease inoculums from wet and cool conditions in 2008 and
2009. The conditions in those growing seasons allowed many
disease inoculums to survive on field residue - corn-on-corn
fields especially - and caused disease pressure to increase
this growing season. Pioneer Technical Services Manager
Brent Wilson says disease pressure varies from field to
field - but foliar diseases are conducive to wet growing
conditions.
Wilson says the window to see the greatest
return from a fungicide application is rapidly closing as
the corn crop and disease cycle progresses - and fields with
high disease pressure could still see a return on a
fungicide investment. He says hybrids with high tolerance
will likely withstand any yield impact to foliar diseases.
Fungicides potentially offer positive outcomes - but
deciding to apply fungicides should be something growers
assess on a field-by-field basis - according to Wilson. It’s
imperative to apply fungicide at the right time - and the
right time is during tasseling when spraying.
Wilson says corn planted in mid-April is near the end of the
application window - but it’s a good time to evaluate and
take note of fields impacted by foliar diseases for the crop
in the ground and assessing hybrid performance for next
year’s seed purchase decisions. For more information on
foliar fungicide applications or hybrid tolerance ratings -
contact your local agronomist or sales professional.
“New Beef Resource
Organization Formed With Purpose to Spread Facts”
Beef industry leaders at the Cattle Industry Summer
Conference learned about the Sustainable Beef Resource
Center and its goal to provide useful, science-based
information to the food chain. SBRC Chairman Paul Parker
says SBRC members see the organization’s role as that of a
go-to resource for associations, coalitions, academia and
other industry stakeholders - which allows the organization
to zero-in on research that can fill information gaps as the
industry improves its ability to produce safe, wholesome,
affordable beef while using fewer natural resources.
The SBRC was formed because beef producers
and branded-beef marketers recognized the need for a
centralized source of facts about technologies used in
sustainable beef production. Iowa Beef Industry Council
Executive Director Nancy Degner says SBRC materials are so
valuable in ongoing education about beef’s role in a
healthy, affordable diet. SBRC invites other organizations
and individuals to join its membership.
Anyone can visit www dot Sustainable Beef dot org (www.SustainableBeef.org)
for more information on the organization, beef-production
facts and talking points about the environmental and
economic benefits of beef technologies.
“Mandatory Price Reporting
Bill Passes House Ag Committee”
The House Agriculture Committee recently approved three
bills including the Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010.
The bill reauthorizes mandatory price reporting for five
years. It also adds mandatory reporting for wholesale pork
cuts and electronic reporting for dairy products. House Ag
Committee Chairman Collin Peterson says mandatory price
reporting ensures that producers have access to transparent,
accurate and timely market information that helps them make
the best decisions for their business.
The committee also passed the Veterinary
Services Investment Act which establishes a competitive
grant program to support efforts to increase access to
veterinary care in underserved areas. Chairman Peterson
points out that right now - the United States is
experiencing an alarming shortage of large animal
veterinarians who are the first line of defense against
animal disease and play an essential role in ensuring food
safety.
Also passed was the Chesapeake Bay Restoration and
Improvement Act. The bill will give farmers and ranchers in
the Chesapeake Bay region additional tools to help them meet
regulatory requirements imposed on them by the Environmental
Protection Agency. Peterson says Chesapeake Bay producers
face some of the most stringent environmental regulations in
the country - and this bill provides them with resources and
certainty as they address environmental requirements and
work to improve water quality and wildlife habitat in the
region.
“Eat Up: White Button Mushrooms Enhance Immune System”
Agricultural Research Service scientists have conducted
animal-model and cell-culture studies showing white button
mushrooms enhance the activity of critical cells in our immune
systems. The mushrooms may actually promote immune function by
increasing production of antiviral proteins released by cells
when trying to protect and repair tissue. The mushrooms enhanced
maturity of immune system cells that make important white blood
cells that can recognize and destroy antigens on invading
bacteria. Ninety-percent of the mushrooms consumed in the U.S.
are actually white button mushrooms. The study appeared in a
2008 issue of the Journal of Nutrition.
Read more by scrolling down to the first story under Research In
Agriculture:
/AG JOBS |
||||||
|
||||||
http://www.agcareers.com/newsletters/agcareers_weekly.htm
IF YOU ARE, OR YOU KNOW OF SOMEONE UNEMPLOYED AND
STRUGGLING WITH HOME PAYMENTS,
VISIT THIS WEBSITE FOR HELP FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE:
http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov
LIVESTOCK NEWS
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Hog Futures Near 5-Week High As Packers Cut Slaughter, Pork DwindlesHog futures in Chicago jumped near a five-week high amid dwindling pork supplies that have sent grocery store bacon prices to record levels. More...
Micheli's Family Ranch Received Federal Subsidies
Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron
Micheli's family ranch has received over $132,000 in
federal agricultural payments in recent years, according
to an environmental group's database. Immigration Ruling Could Send Message To States
States that had been watching Arizona's
immigration law in hopes of copying it received a rude
awakening when a judge put most of the measure on hold
and agreed with the Obama administration's core argument
that immigration enforcement is the role of the federal
government. Cow Death Prompts Call For Emergency ProtocolIn response to the tragic July 27 shooting death of a cow at the California State Fair, David Wilson is calling for a complete review of animal use and handling procedures for all animals intended for public exhibition at the state fair. More... Schwarzenegger Vetoes Farmworker Overtime Bill
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill
Wednesday that would have given California farmworkers
overtime pay after working 40 hours in a week, the same
as other non-management employees who earn
time-and-a-half after an eight-hour day or 40-hour week. Schwieterman: Downward Correction Likely For Feeder Cattle, Corn Demand RisingFeeder cattle futures closed mixed on Wednesday, with losses in the front two months and modest gains in deferred contracts. The close was considered constructive in the face of double digit gains in the corn futures. More... |
Video
Flooding Claims Dozens Of Rancher's Cows
A Starr County rancher is counting his
losses. More than half of his cattle herd drowned in
floodwaters. 
Spot Prices
Source: USDA Livestock and Grain Market News Reports Beef Sales Down 23 Percent
Net sales of 12,800 MT were down 23
percent from the previous week, but up 8 percent from
the prior 4-week average. Weather
Wildfire Threat High In West, Storms Possible On Plains
In the West, isolated showers are mostly
confined to Arizona and Utah. Cool weather prevails
along the immediate Pacific Coast, but hot weather
elsewhere in the West favors rapid crop development.
Wildfires remain a threat in parts of California and the
Great Basin.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DTN AG NEWSLINE
DAY, JULY 29th, 2010
Today marks the birthday of a man who changed the face of American industry. Henry Ford was born in 1863 in Dearborn, Michigan. He built his first automobile in 1896 and in 1908, introduced the Model T, an immediate hit which literally put America on wheels. To meet demand, Ford developed the assembly line, which cut the time to build each car from over 12 hours to just 90 minutes. At one point, half of all the cars in America were Model Ts -- all of them painted black -- which sold for as little as $300. Today, the average cost of a new car at one of the nation's 20,000 dealerships is just over $23,000. www.census.gov
****************************************************
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING U.S. AGRICULTURE.
WANT ONE OR MORE???? WE'LL SEND THEM BY MAIL, FREE. CONTACT:
WE ARE TEMPORARILY OUT OF THESE, BUT THE PRINTERS WILL SOON REFRESH US WITH A LARGE SUIPPLY.
****************************************************
RESEARCH IN AGRICULTURE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|