June 26

USDA Has New Meat Labeling Rules.  USDA has announced measures to ensure that meat products derived from advanced meat recovery (AMR) systems are labeled accurately for consumers. The Food Safety and Inspection Service is issuing a revision to an existing directive that will instruct inspectors at establishments using AMR systems to take routine regulatory samples to verify that spinal cord is not present in AMR product. 

Teens Drinking More Milk.  Milk drinking among teens last year increased for the first time in five years, according to a new report by National Family Opinion's Share of Intake Panel (SIP). According to the ongoing study, which monitors individual beverage consumption at home and away from home through a national panel of 12,000 individuals, per capita teen milk consumption in 2001 reached 22 gallons - a 3% increase from 2000. 

NFU Wants Loan Hearing.  National Farmers Union is calling for a hearing on the Agriculture Department's implementation of the commodity marketing loan provisions in the new farm law. The family farm organization is concerned that, in some regions, county loan rates for wheat and feed grains worsen inequities that existed under previous law. In a letter to Senate and House Agriculture Committee leaders Monday, NFU President Dave Frederickson requested a hearing on the rationale behind USDA's county loan rate implementation and on the impacts these decisions have had on farming operations. A copy of the letter also was sent to Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman. 

USTR Confirms Canada Ruling. U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick, responding to press reports, has confirmed that a second World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel found that Canada still illegally is subsidizing its dairy industry even after restructuring its dairy export practices. Canadian dairy export subsidies cost American farmers and dairy processors up to $35 million a year in lost sales. The U.S. dairy industry welcomed the WTO ruling. For the second time, a WTO compliance panel has found in favor of the United States and New Zealand. Last year, a WTO panel determined that Canada's provincially run two-tier pricing system provided an export subsidy that Canada used to exceed its WTO limits. Canada appealed the decision to a WTO appellate body. In January 2002, the appellate body ruled that the original panel used an incorrect price standard when determining its decision. In effect, the appellate body said the initial decision was based on the wrong set of facts given the legal issue in question. Therefore, the appellate body rendered no decision. 

EU Rules on Cheese Issue. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports from Brussels that the European Court of Justice has ruled that just because a cheese comes from the Parma region of Italy does not make it Parmesan cheese. The ruling came in a case against cheesemaker Nuova Castelli SpA of Reggio nell' Emilia, just south of Parma, Italy, an area where Parmesan cheese is produced. The company produced a dried, grated pasteurized cheese for sale outside Italy that was prominently labeled "Parmesan" even though none of the cheeses used to make it was Parmigiano Reggiano; that name is registered with the EU as a protected name. Italian authorities started criminal proceedings in 1999 for allegedly selling products with misleading labeling. 

Ethanol Again Sets Record.  The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) says the ethanol industry set a monthly production record in May of 129,000 barrels per day (b/d), according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). May's record was 21% higher than the previous May record of 107,000 b/d set in 2001. The ethanol industry is expected to produce an annual record of approximately 2.2 billion gallons in 2002. Production capacity continues to grow with 14 ethanol plants under construction constituting more than 435 million gallons of additional annual production capacity. Currently, 62 existing plants can produce more than 2.4 billion gallons per year. 

Information Sought on Acrylamide.  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that scientists from Europe, North America and Japan are trying to gather information on acrylamide, a suspected cancer-causing substance in food. As a U.N.-sponsored meeting got underway in Geneva, the U.S. consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest released findings in Washington from its own tests on a dozen popular flood brands. The tests found high levels of acrylamide in some brands of french fries and potato chips. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it has developed its own method to test precise levels of acrylamide in foods and has begun testing dozens of different products. "We're also trying to see ... why the acrylamide is developing under these various cooking processes," FDA food safety chief Janice Oliver told the AP. Understanding what makes acrylamide form could in turn lead to ways to limit, perhaps even eliminate, the substance. 

Zimbabwe Farmers File Suit.  REUTERS reports that two white Zimbabwean farmers are suing to stop a government order that would force them to abandon their farms. It's a test case that is being watched closely by 3,000 other farmers facing eviction. The order was the government's latest effort to seize white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks which the government claims is needed to redress the imbalances from the colonial era. A 45-day countdown for the white farmers to leave their land began Tuesday, but many vowed to stay put rather than watch vital crops rot in a nation short of food. 

Beef Prices Down from Weather, Poor Exports.  REUTERS reports U.S. beef prices have been declining because of drought in western states that has caused many ranchers to slaughter livestock early. At the same time there is a slump in U.S. beef exports, USDA Chief Economist Keith Collins says. As a result, USDA is forced to continue to revise its estimate of 2002 U.S. beef production, Collins said. "We're expecting that meat production will be up this year by 2.3%," he said. Earlier in June, the USDA said in its monthly world supply and demand report that U.S. beef production for all of 2002 would total 26.52 billion pounds. Six months ago, the government forecast meat production would be flat at about 25.51 billion pounds. Colorado, Montana, Nebraska and Kansas have been in the clutches of a drought for several months, making it difficult to feed animals. 

June 25

Ukraine Efficiency Blossoms in Face of Poor Crops.  Although 2002-03 grain yields likely will decline significantly from last year, due chiefly to less favorable weather, the agricultural sector in Ukraine shows signs of increasing efficiency. The next few years will be a period of adjustment, as questions regarding farm credit are resolved and smaller private farms are folded into larger, more efficient enterprises, according to USDA. Analysts from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service traveled in Ukraine during late May and early June to meet with agricultural officials, farm managers, and independent commodity analysts to assess 2002-03 grain production prospects and monitor the condition of Ukraine's former state and collective farms. 

Herculex Okayed in Japan.  Grain corn containing the Herculex™ I Insect Protection trait has received regulatory committee approvals for food, feed and import into Japan, clearing an important hurdle on the road to commercialization. Leon Corzine, chairman of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Biotech Working Group, said Herculex I provides a new option for the nation's corn growers. 

Better Tomato Developed.  USDA scientists have developed tomatoes that have higher lycopene levels, enhanced fruit juice quality, and longer vine life. Their study, conducted with researchers at Purdue University, is published in the current issue of Nature Biotechnology. The scientists, based at the Agricultural Research Service's vegetable laboratory in Beltsville, MD, genetically engineered tomatoes that contain increased levels of compounds called polyamines. 

Zimbabwean Whites Must Abandon Farms. REUTERS reports that within 45 days, 3,000 white Zimbabwean farmers must abandon their farms. Many have vowed to stay rather than watch crops rot in the fields while the nation is short of food. "Some people actually have no choice. They will farm from tomorrow morning," Jenni Williams, spokeswoman for the Commercial Farmer's Union (CFU), told REUTERS by telephone late on Monday. She said the farmers would seek a court ruling to stop the order. The farmers were given until midnight Monday to stop farming operations and a bit more than a month to leave entirely. The outcome is the result of President Robert Mugabe's government amending its land acquisition law last month. Agriculture Minister Joseph Made told Zimbabwe state radio that the government was moving to finalize the farm seizures, and agricultural officials would sub-divide the targeted farms for redistribution to blacks. 

Mexico Bans U.S. Chicken.  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports officials in Mexico have temporarily banned chicken imports from seven U.S. states where cases of poultry infected with avian flu have been reported. Mexico's action hits U.S. farmers hard who depend on export markets like Mexico to sell dark meat that is difficult to move in U.S. markets. The decision comes after authorities discovered shipments of meat with avian influenza, Department of Agriculture inspector Mauricio Mujica said Sunday. Mexico's Agriculture Department said the ban would be on imports from Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maine, Texas and California. Mujica said the temporary ban was intended to prevent the infection of Mexican farms, which are currently believed to be free of the disease. Avian influenza doesn't pose health threats to humans, but is highly contagious to poultry. 

WTO Rules Against Canada's Dairy Scheme.  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that the World Trade Organization has ruled that Canada's dairy policies are unfair to the United States and New Zealand. Those countries could be eligible to retaliate next year. Canada said it will appeal the ruling. The dispute involves dairy exports, mainly cheeses from Quebec and Ontario, that are worth more than $263 million annually. "Canada disagrees with the (WTO) panel's conclusion and will appeal this decision," said Minister of Agriculture Lyle Vanclief in a statement. The United States and New Zealand have charged that Canada provides export subsidies that permit producers to sell cheese and skim-milk powder below cost. The two countries could get permission from the global trade body to retaliate against Canada with combined sanctions worth as much as $70 million. 

Homeland Hearing Wednesday.  The House Committee on Agriculture will hold a public hearing at 10 a.m. Wednesday in 1300 Longworth Building to review the Bush administration's proposed legislation on creating a Department of Homeland Security. Specifically, the committee will focus on the proposed transfer of the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Plum Island Animal Disease Center of USDA to the new Department of Homeland Security. Representatives from the State Departments of Agriculture and livestock and plant producers are expected to testify. 

Seng Has Another Meat Secretariat Term.  U.S. Meat Export Federation President & CEO Philip Seng recently was elected to a fourth term as president of the International Meat Secretariat (IMS), an international body of meat industry leaders. Seng is the only American to serve as IMS president and was re-elected during the group's 14th World Meat Congress in Berlin. Food safety was clearly one of the most important topics of discussion during the Congress, according to Seng. 

Farm Group Support Vital to Retain APHIS.  REUTERS reports that Congress will have to have strong farm organization support to successfully modify President Bush's plan to shift USDA animal and plant protection programs to the proposed Homeland Security Department. The proposed transfer of the U.S. Agriculture Department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency (APHIS) is opposed by some farm groups who maintain the agency is necessary to the USDA's oversight of domestic crops and livestock. Many of these groups, however, say they support transferring APHIS's border-protection functions to the new department, while retaining non-security functions - such as animal disease control - within USDA. Senate and House lawmakers from farm states have said little publicly about the president's proposal. Lobbyists said Capitol Hill quietly has encouraged farm groups to study the homeland agency and to disclose any problems they find. "They need the political cover," said one agribusiness official who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said putting APHIS into the Homeland Security department could hurt U.S. trade promotion. 

June 24

Judge Rules Against Beef Checkoff.  A federal judge in South Dakota has ruled that the national beef research and promotion program is unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Charles Kornmann ruled the checkoff violates cattle producers' constitutional rights by infringing on the First Amendment. 

Meat Groups Question Chinese Policies.  U.S. meat, poultry and egg groups has expressed their concerns to U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick about new Chinese policies that they say impede imports of U.S. meat and poultry products. The American Meat Institute, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Chicken Council, National Pork Producers Council, National Turkey Federation, U.S. Meat Export Federation and U.S. Poultry and Egg Export Council wrote Zoellick on the subject. 

More FMD Pigs in Korea. South Korean officials have found three pigs with foot and mouth disease on a farm 62 miles south of Seoul, REUTERS reports. The 16 farms where pigs have tested positive this year have been within the same range from the capital. The outbreak is particularly sensitive for South Korea since it coincides with the World Cup final which it is co-hosting with Japan. European countries, including Germany which faces South Korea in the semi-final match, have warned traveling soccer fans not to return home with food from the country to avoid any risk of transmitting the disease to European livestock. 

Australia to Use Two Food Safety Entities.  Australia is going to replace its food safety regulator with a new authority that will establish standards for all foods. The Australia New Zealand Food Authority will be replaced by a new authority called Food Standards Australia New Zealand to be responsible for developing food standards in both countries, and a ministerial council, which will be responsible for policy, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 

Russia Allows Free Sale of Farm Land. It is one of the last vestiges of the Communist era in Russia, and officials now are removing it, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL reports. Russian legislators have voted to allow the free sale of agricultural land for the first time since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. But foreigners will not be allowed to buy farmland, and that, critics say, harms Russia's already poor investment climate. The vote was a major element of President Putin's drive to modernize Russia and brings to an end one of the most contentious debates in its post-Soviet history. For 10 years, communists refused to bring capitalism to agriculture, instead defending the huge and now largely bankrupt state-owned farms created by collectivization in the 1920s. 

West Kansas Still Dry.  It's been nearly a year since much of western Kansas has received much rain, even an inch. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports the southwest corner has been hardest hit. Drought conditions have devastated the wheat crop now being harvested and spurred widespread selling of cattle herds; farmers are desperate to find enough feed and water to carry them through the summer grazing season. Rural farm economies are hurting, too, and even the wildlife is struggling to survive. 

Farm Law Impedes Trade Accord.  REUTERS reports that European Union Trade Commissioner Pacal Lamy believes the new U.S. farm law will make it more difficult to reach a world trade agreement in agriculture. "This farm bill is a step in the wrong direction, and it's a bad signal for the Doha Round," Lamy told reporters at the end of two days of meetings with U.S. lawmakers and Bush administration officials. A principal objective of the international trade talks is to further liberalize agricultural trade by reducing tariffs and other market access barriers, reducing export subsidies with an eye toward phasing them out and reducing trade-distorting domestic subsidies. Lamy said the new U.S. farm law appeared to provide about as much assistance as U.S. farmers have received in recent years under emergency spending programs. 

June 21

Farm Law 'Calculator' Issued.  The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has issued a farm law "guide and calculator" for growers to use to take the guesswork out of figuring direct payments, countercyclical payments, marketing loan assistance and total program benefits for producers of corn, barley, cotton, oats, rice, sorghum, soybeans and wheat. 

Iowa Lands Scrutinized for Moisture.  Corn and soybean fields in central Iowa are being viewed from land, sky and space from June 17 through July 12 as part of a soil moisture-detection experiment that compares computer-generated meteorological models to real conditions. 

Grants Announced for New Crop Uses.  USDA is providing $33 million in grants to producer-owned processing businesses for value-added agricultural development. Priority will be given to proposals that emphasize the development of renewable energy from agricultural production and the use of innovative technologies to develop value-added products. 

New Study Finds Community Betterment with Ethanol.  A new study highlights how expanding the production and use of ethanol will benefit local communities by creating jobs, spurring economic development and improving farm income. The study, Ethanol and the Local Community, examined the local impact of a hypothetical 40 million gallon per year ethanol plant based on national averages. This size of plant is the most common under construction today and is expected to remain common as the ethanol industry grows over the next decade. 

Cattlemen Will Hear about 'Preparedness.'  The National Cattlemen's Beef Association will address the issue of industry preparedness to respond to an outbreak of a foreign animal disease at a special workshop during the 2002 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Reno, NE, July 16. The workshop, called "Development of State and Federal Emergency Response Plans for the Cattle Industry," will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p m., and be open to all meeting registrants. The workshop will provide a comprehensive look at how the industry and the government will respond in the event of a U.S. outbreak of a foreign animal disease, using foot and mouth disease as the case study. 

FTA Worthwhile to Japan, Mexico.  Kyodo NEWS reports Japanese and Mexican officials have agreed that both countries will benefit from a comprehensive economic partnership centering on a free-trade agreement . The study group reached the agreement in its sixth gathering held Wednesday to Friday in Tokyo. A report will be submitted after the seventh meeting slated for late July in Mexico, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said. The report should make it easier for the two countries to start formal FTA negotiations as early as in the fall, ministry officials said. It would be the second such agreement for Japan with a trading partner, following one it signed in January with Singapore. 

Wisconsin Counties Added to Gypsy Moth List.  USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is amending current gypsy moth regulations by adding Columbia, Florence, Forest, Green Lake, Jefferson, Langlade, Portage, Rock and Wood counties in Wisconsin to the list of generally infested areas. As a result of this amendment, the interstate movement of certain articles from those areas will be restricted. USDA took the emergency action to prevent the artificial spread of gypsy moth to noninfested areas of the United States. The gypsy moth is a destructive pest of susceptible forests and shade trees and has the potential to cause economic losses due to defoliation. Eradication of the gypsy moth in these newly designated areas is not considered feasible because the counties are immediately adjacent to areas already recognized as generally infested and would be subject to reinfestation. 

Egg Organizations Invited to Eligibility.  USDA is inviting egg producer organizations that are not already USDA-certified as eligible to nominate members and alternates to the American Egg Board to request certification by July 12. USDA will seek nominations this summer from all USDA-certified egg producer groups to fill two-year terms of nine members and their alternates, whose terms expire at the end of 2002. The board administers an egg research and promotion program, authorized by the Egg Research and Consumer Information Act. The Agricultural Marketing Service monitors the program. Organizations wishing to be certified should request an application and information from Shethir Mustafa, Poultry Programs, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 3932-S, STOP 0256, Washington, D.C. 20250, tel. (202) 720-0623, fax (202) 720-5631. 

Canada Promises Aid, Little New Cash.  REUTERS reports that Canada hasa announced a farm aid package designed not to distort trade. But the package doesn't offer farmers much additional cash. The government said the six-year program will cost C$5.2 billion (US$3.4 billion), but most of that either was going to replace existing farm subsidies or go to food safety and other projects that do not directly support farm income. Prime Minister Jean Chretien said the new "agricultural policy framework" was designed to prevent Canadian farmers from going from crisis to crisis. "Our government is committed to moving agriculture beyond crisis management to greater profitability and prosperity," he said in a statement. 

June 20

Meat Exports Will Decline for First Time Since 1985.  Total calendar 2002 U.S. meat exports are expected to decline year-to-year for the first time since 1985, according to USDA, due primarily to fewer poultry exports which currently are forecast to decline 11% from the previous year's record level. Total U.S. meat exports are anticipated to recover in 2003, but are still forecast slightly below the 2001 record level. 

Farmers Union Plans New Internet Site.  National Farmers Union is laying the groundwork for an educational Internet web site to help individuals and cooperatives enter e-business. When completed, the site will become the first in the nation to provide e-commerce planning resources specially designed to encourage and teach farmers and their cooperatives how to sell goods and services online. 

Heinz Brings Out Organic Ketchup.  Heinz has brought out what it says is the first nationally branded organic ketchup. Beginning this month, Heinz Organic Ketchup will be delivered to supermarkets and organic food stores nationwide. Heinz Organic Ketchup is made from vine-ripened tomatoes that are 100% certified organic. 

Russia May Have Three-Year Wait for WTO.  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports Russia may have to wait another three years before joining the World Trade Organization. WTO General Director Mike Moore told an economic forum that opened in St. Petersburg Wednesday Russia must "perfect its legislation system, particularly its land law." He said the biggest hurdle left for Russia was reforming its agricultural sector, as some individual WT0 member countries have demanded that Russia end export subsidies on agricultural products. Russia is the largest world economy still outside the WTO and has been trying to join for seven years. 

Midwest Operations Can't Get Affordable Insurance.  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports insurance is becoming more difficult for farm supply cooperatives and grain elevators in the Midwest to buy. They face skyrocketing premiums if they're lucky enough to find coverage. All but one of the 10 insurance companies that wrote policies for grain elevators in Kansas last year have left the state, said Tom Tunnell, president of the Kansas Grain and Feed Association, the industry group representing the state's elevators. "It is a terrible crisis," Tunnell said. Matt All, assistant insurance commissioner in Kansas, said it isn't just farmers in his state who are struggling to find property and casualty insurance. "All across the Midwest region, companies that write those policies are having a hard time making a profit," All said. "Some are pulling out of the market, some are using strict underwriting standards, and some are raising rates." 

EU May Reduce Food Grains Support.  REUTERS reports the European Commission may propose another reduction in intervention prices for food grains. The move is expected as an effort to fend off increased competition from U.S. farmers, trade sources said. The European Union executive is drafting plans for revisions to the 40 billion euro ($38.28 billion) a year Common Agricultural Policy. EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler is believed to be lobbying for a radical approach when he unveils his plans on July 10. He would not only cut intervention prices but also force more money from the farm budget into rural development, limit the amount individual farms could receive in direct aid at 300,000 euros and further reduce the link between aid and production by giving farmers a flat-rate payment. 

Japan Wants Stronger Export Controls.  KYODO NEWS says Japan wants more discipline in export controls on farm products. Japan seeks the increased discipline to enhance food security for importing countries. The pitch was made during multilateral talks on further liberalizing agricultural trade that began Monday. The four-day farm talks, part of a new round of talks launched last November by the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its ministerial meeting in Doha, almost ended substantive discussions Wednesday on farm product exports, and will close Thursday with a chairperson issuing a summary. During the talks, Japan proposed checking export controls by farming nations to stabilize imports of farm products, according to sources. Specifically, Japan is calling for tariffication instead of quantity controls by exporting countries, they said. 

June 19

Corps Delays River Statement on Alternative.  The Army Corps of Engineers is delaying its statement on the preferred alternative for operation of the Missouri River. The delay was ordered by the Bush administration because the Fish and Wildlife Service was not satisfied with the Corps' prepared alternative. The White House Council on Environmental Quality ordered the two agencies to develop a unified policy. 

U.S., Bahrain to Expand Trade, Investment.  U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick and Bahraini Minister of Finance and National Economy Abdallah Saif have signed an agreement that provides a forum for Bahrain and the United States to examine ways to expand bilateral trade and investment. 

New South Dakota Ethanol Plant Operating.  The farmer-owned Northern Lights Ethanol, LLC, has begun producing ethanol. The same day Northern Lights came on line, James Valley Ethanol broke ground on a new ethanol plant, maintaining the number under construction at 14. 

Cattlemen Want Money for Market, Price Analysis.  The National Cattlemen's Beef Association wants the House and Senate Agriculture and Appropriations Committees to fund research that would discover the reasons for volatile markets and low prices for cattle producers. 

Study Coming on Building Ethanol Plant. The Renewable Fuels Association will release a study outlining the economic impacts of building and operating an ethanol plant during the summer meeting of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB). As states move to ban MTBE and Congress considers establishing a renewable fuels standard, many communities are investigating the possibility of building an ethanol plant. The study, Ethanol and the Local Community, was conducted by John Urbanchuk of AUS Consultants and Jeff Kapell of SJH & Company. AUS is an economic and market research consulting firm that provides clients in the ethanol and agriculture industries with policy studies, outlooks, and economic impact and feasibility studies designed to support corporate decision making. SJH is a management-consulting firm specializing in food, fiber, ethanol, and worldwide agribusiness, assisting clients at every stage of procurement and production, finance and marketing, planning and acquisition. 

USDA Donates Soybeans.  USDA will donate 16,400 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to the Northwest Medical Teams International (NWMT) for use in Uzbekistan. NWMT, a private voluntary organization, will sell the donated commodity in Uzbekistan and use the proceeds from the sale to implement various agricultural and public health activities, including emergency medical services training, reforestation and drought mitigation, micro-credit lending, water supply renovation and agricultural development. The fiscal 2002 agreement with NWMT was signed on May 31, 2002. The donation will be made under USDA's Food for Progress program, administered by the Foreign Agricultural Service. The supply period for this donation is fiscal year 2002. For further information, contact Karen Uetrecht of FAS at (202) 720-0761, or send a message via the Internet to Uetrecht@fas.usda.gov. 

Evans: TPA Needed Badly.  REUTERS reports Commerce Secretary Don Evans believes the country is lagging other nations in negotiating free trade agreements. He underscored the need to approve new trade legislation now in Congress. "Free trade provides enormous benefits all around the world and in order for the United States to compete in an expanding global economy, President Bush needs trade promotion authority, which all of the last nine presidents have had," Evans told a group of U.S. businessmen at a luncheon in Mexico City. Trade promotion authority would allow the administration to negotiate trade agreements Congress could approve or reject but not amend. Supporters say without the legislation other countries would refuse to negotiate seriously with the United States because Congress could change any negotiated agreement. Members of the House and Senate are preparing to negotiate a final trade bill from bills passed earlier by each chamber. 

Virginia Destroys Chickens, Turkeys.  REUTERS reports that one of the largest U.S. poultry-producing states, has destroyed more than 4.7 million chickens and turkeys at 194 farms. The destruction in Virginia came after the outbreak of the highly contagious avian influenza was discovered in March. The disease is not dangerous to humans but has devastated Virginia's agriculture economy as foreign countries and even some U.S. states have banned its poultry products. Avian influenza is a virus that sickens poultry and other fowl, reducing weight gains in birds and slowing egg production. 

Companies Sue California's Milk Policy.  Straus Family Creamery and Horizon Organic Holding Corp., both California companies, have filed a lawsuit in federal district court in northern California against the California's Milk Stabilization & Pooling Plans they say violate their state and federal constitutional rights to equal protection and due process. The companies also want an injunction to prohibit the continued application of the Milk Stabilization & Pooling Plans to their organic dairy operations. The complaint alleges that the state imposed pooling fees require the two companies to subsidize the conventional dairy industry. 

RFA Announces Annual Conference for 2003.  The Renewable Fuels Association's 8th Annual National Ethanol Conference: Policy and Marketing will be held Feb. 17 - 19, 2003, at the Camelback Inn Marriott Resort in Scottsdale, AZ. The conference brings together ethanol producers and suppliers, petroleum marketers and refiners, government representatives, energy, environment and agriculture officials, consumer and environmental organizations, and academia to discuss public policy and marketplace considerations affecting the ethanol industry. 

June 18

Coalition Pushes for RFS in Conference.  A broad coalition of agriculture groups, renewable fuel producers, and environmental organizations has urged the energy conference committee to enact a renewable fuels standard (RFS) as part of the final measure. An RFS would require a small percentage of the nation's fuel supply to be provided by renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. Under the pending legislation, the requirement would increase from 2.3 billion gallons in 2004 to 5 billion gallons in 2012. 

Sunflowers Appear to Provide Rubber, Latex.  Sunflowers may become latex and rubber factories of the future if tests by Agricultural Research Service scientists and their university colleagues continue to provide encouraging results. The researchers joined forces to improve the quality and quantity of latex from sunflower plants. 

Koreans Enticed to Buy U.S. Meats.  Called a "Butchers Contest," a U.S. Meat Export Federation-sponsored event in South Korea is designed to bring U.S. chilled meats closer to consumers by suggesting cooking methods for easy and simple meat dishes. A final cutting contest was held to evaluate the cutting skills of the finalists and products used in the final cutting contest included U.S. boneless shortribs, chuckeye roll, pork belly, collar butt and another individual cuts selected by the representative. 

Japan Reorganization Considered. KYODO NEWS reports Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has appointed a team that will consider ways to reorganize the country's agricultural system. The action is part of a comprehensive approach that includes abolishing the Food Agency and setting up an independent panel of experts to assess risks related to food. Takehiko Endo, senior vice farm minister, will head the reorganization team. They will seek to increase the effectiveness of the risk management department that oversees food safety and protection of consumers. 

Free Trade Needed for Poor Nations. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that until the European Union and the United States fully practice free trade poor nations will be unable to get out of the cycle of poverty. The article says G-7 leaders need to confront "the hard truth" about development in Africa and the world's poorest nations. The debate on trade and poverty has made progress in recent months. The U.N. conference in Monterrey on financing of development yielded a consensus on the need for both reforms in the developing countries and increased aid to them. And there is no doubt that the swing through Africa by both U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neil and rock-star Bono has had an impact on the debate, according to this article. 

Russia Seeks to Ban Foreign Land Ownership.  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports Russia's government will support a move to prohibit foreigners from buying farmland. Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev said Monday that the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, will vote this summer on a bill to legalize the sale of farmland for the first time since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. It approved the bill on a preliminary basis in May. Gordeyev discussed the bill with representatives of the Duma's four pro-government factions and afterward said the factions would introduce an amendment banning the sale of farmland to foreigners and that the government would support it. Gordeyev said he didn't think the ban would deter investors, since foreigners would be allowed to lease farmland for 49 years. 

Senate Committee to Consider Nominations.  The Senate Agriculture Committee June 25 will consider nominations to various agriculture-related positions in the Bush administration. Among the nominations: Phillis K. Fong to be inspector general for USDA; Walter Lukken to be a commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; Douglas L. Flory to be a member of the Farm Credit Administration Board; and Sharon Brown-Hruska to be a commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in Senate Russell Building Room 328A. 

Wilderness Program Hinders Land Use.  The existing wilderness study area program is hindering effective land use, and not proving useful for its intended purpose, said Wyoming rancher Doug Thompson in testimony recently before a congressional subcommittee. Thompson, representing the National Public Lands Council (PLC) and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), stressed to the panel that H.R. 4620, the Wilderness Protection Act, currently being considered, is timely and urgently needed. Enacted in 1976, the Wilderness Study Area sets aside federal lands to be studied, to gain information on how to better manage and protect these resources. Thompson said, "Since 1976, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has placed over 26 million acres into Wilderness Study Area status. However, according to a 1993 GAO report, only 36.2% of these acres were recommended for wilderness designation, another 63.8% or 16,785,826 million acres did not receive a recommendation from the Secretary of the Interior." He said a maximum time limit must be established to prevent continuing non-action on this subject and that areas previously determined not suitable for Wilderness Study Area status should not be re-evaluated. 

EU Agrees on Agriculture Compromise.  REUTERS reports from Luxembourg that European Union foreign ministers have agreed on a compromise designed to solve the issue of whether candidate states should get farm aid. The agreement is expected to defuse for now a battle that has threatened to derail the bloc's enlargement. The agreement calls for the EUJ to defer a decision on direct payments to east European farmers until later in the year and certainly until after a September general election in Germany, which has been leading opposition to such aid. Also, it allows the EU to open negotiations on all other aspects of agriculture, one of the last three major issues to be discussed in the accession talks, diplomats said. 

Deere to Close Plants, Cut Jobs.  REUTERS reports that Deere & Co. will close two plants and reduce the work force by 300 job cuts and take a $50 million charge as part of an ongoing effort to lower costs. The moves will reduce the work force at Deere's commercial and consumer equipment division by about 7%. The unit, the company's second largest behind agriculture, makes commercial lawn mowing equipment, irrigation systems and utility vehicles. Also Deere announced the addition of Home Depot Inc., the world's largest home-improvement retailer, as a sales outlet. Deere said it will close plants in Williamsburg, VA, and Jeffersonville, IN, by Oct. 31, the end of its fiscal year. It expects to transfer some employees to other locations. 

China Joins Subsidy End Chorus.  REUTERS reports that China is supporting the United States and other farm producing countries demanding that the World Trade Organization (WTO) set a deadline to end agriculture export subsidies. Export subsidies are considered one of the most difficult issues facing the WTO where negotiators from the 144 member states began four days of closed-door talks on farm aid, part of a global round of trade negotiations. Any attempt to set a firm deadline is opposed by the European Union, which says that subsidies cannot be negotiated separately from other aspects of farm trade, including export credit programs. 

June 17

Myth and Fact on New Farm Law.  The House Agriculture Committee has issued a publication titled "The Facts on U.S. Farm Policy," an attempt to dispel reports on the expense and impacts of the new law that the committee considers erroneous. 

Alternative to Peanut Butter Coming. Children allergic to peanuts may soon have a new sandwich spread that goes great with jelly but isn't peanut butter. The new product, Sunbutter, contains sunflower seeds as its main ingredient. 

WTO Begins Agricultural Talks.  KYODO NEWS reports the World Trade Organization (WTO) has launched talks designed to provide freer agricultural markets. The negotiations are part of the new round of multilateral trade liberalization talks launched last November at the WTO ministerial meeting in Doha. This time, negotiations are expected to focus on farm product exports, including government subsidies on exports. That was the issue upon which agreement was reached in Doha. Developing economies have criticized developed counterparts for distorting fair agricultural trade by using their ample funds to subsidize farmers. The WTO is scheduled to hold a total of seven sets of talks, including the latest, on farm trade by March next year. 

School Lunch, Long a Battleground.  THE WALL STREET JOURNAL reports the school lunchroom, long a battleground for food activists and parents concerned about the nutritional quality of their children's midday meal, is again coming into focus as a venue for fattening meals. The article says that with rising unease over the fast-growing rates of obesity, criticism is escalating from legislators, researchers and consumer groups who say fast-food, vending machines and the troubled economics of school cafeterias are culprits in the alarming growth of children's waistlines. Some 14% of teenagers were overweight in 1999, almost triple the rate of the late 1970s, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among children ages six to 11, 13% were overweight, almost double the rate two decades ago. 

Food Industry Briefed on EU Plans.  USDA and the Food and Drug Administration last week briefed agriculture and food industry representatives on European Union (EU) plans to implement limits on amounts of dioxin in food and feed. Under a new EU law, restrictions will take effect July 1. Dioxins are formed as a byproduct of chemical processes -- both natural and man-made. Within humans and animals, dioxins tend to accumulate in fat. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, about 95% of the average person's exposure to dioxins comes from food, especially food containing animal fat. Studies have shown that long-term exposure to significant levels of dioxins may cause a number of adverse health effects. U.S. government agencies have done limited baseline analyses for dioxins in U.S. food and feed. Officials noted that the United States objected to the EU proposed limits during the comment period provided by the EU (under WTO rules) and remain convinced that there is insufficient scientific support for the new EU dioxin standards. The fundamental message from officials of the various regulatory agencies present was that the implementation of the new EU law may create new trade challenges for U.S. agricultural exports. In addition, the agencies made it clear that the United States is moving to establish tolerance levels for dioxins in U.S. foods and feeds. While the EU dioxin testing requirements will have a limited impact on U.S. exports of meat and poultry products -- since all of our poultry and most of our meat exports have already been eliminated by other questionable EU health restrictions -- they could have a significant impact on exports of livestock byproducts and other foods and feeds. Questions and answers on dioxins developed by U.S. agencies may be found at: http://www.epa.gov/ncea/pdfs/dioxin/dioxin%20questions%20and%20answers.pdf. 

U.S. Trade Policies Hit. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports the Canada's Finance Minister John Manley believes there are U.S. trade policies that limit the ability of developed nations to persuade others to reform their economies. Manley plans to discuss Canada's concern over U.S. policies in a meeting with Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill. AA dispute between the United States and Canada has brought U.S. punitive duties on Canadian softwood lumber and a resulting challenge by Canada before the World Trade Organization. Canada also dislikes subsidies for U.S. farmers recently approved by the Bush administration, and Manley said the American agriculture policy undermined efforts to get other countries to open markets. 

Deal Possible on Regulating Cigarettes. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports a deal could be in the making between senators on Capitol Hill who want to give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate cigarettes and lawmakers from tobacco growing states who want to pay farmers who agree to stop growing tobacco. "There is an opportunity now to solve farmers' problems and support public health," said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Myers joined by health and growers' groups Friday to endorse legislation to give the FDA authority over tobacco. The bill was introduced by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Mike DeWine (R-OH). Kennedy, who chairs the committee that oversees the FDA, pledged to hold hearings on the bill this summer and said he was optimistic it could pass this year. 

June 14

Food for Hungry Must Mean Security for Farmers. Leaders of the National Farmers Union who attended the World Food Summit in Rome say food security for the world's hungry depends on the security of the family farmers who produce the food. NFU President Dave Frederickson lamented the fact that 800 million people worldwide are malnourished while many nations have a surplus of commodities that depress farm prices. 

Meat Industry Okay on OSHA Guidelines.  The American Meat Institute is satisfied with the Bush Administration's move to develop industry-specific ergonomic guidelines for poultry processors and retail grocery stores. However, the institute questions the need for mandatory programs. 

Farm Groups Disappointed in Senate Defeat of Repeal. The American Farm Bureau Federation "is deeply disappointed" that the Senate failed to achieve the 60 votes needed for permanent repeal of the estate tax. Farmers and ranchers, more than any other group of Americans, will be disproportionately harmed if this onerous and punitive tax continues to stay on the books, AFBF President Bob Stallman said. 

U.S. 'Betrays' Australia.  Australia is accusing the United States of betrayal because of the farmer subsidies in the new farm law. THE AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION reports Australia has protested the new subsidies claiming they will harm Australian farmers who export to the United States. Prime Minister John Howard raised Australia's fears about the subsidy in his address to the U.S. Congress, saying Australia is intensely disappointed, but Agriculture Minister Warren Truss said Australia feels betrayed. "It undermines the capacity of the U.S. to provide leadership in the forthcoming round of world trade talks," Truss said. "We so much needed the U.S. to be in a position to provide leadership towards a freer and fairer trading regime. Instead they've chosen to entrench their trading relationships at home and therefore they are asking other countries to do things they weren't prepared to do themselves. That's not a good example of leadership." 

Eliminating Hunger Has Several Faces.  REUTERS reports from Rome that differences in how to solve the world's problems of hunger appear wider than ever following the U.N.-sponsored World Food Summit. The gathering at the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) committed governments to honor a 1996 pledge to cut in half the number of hungry people in the world by 2015. "Let's start the race against time now and show that together we can win the war against hunger and poverty, against scepticism and egoism," FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said in the closing session. 

Europe Finds No Cause for Major Worry.  REUTERS reports the European Commission believes the banned herbicide nitrofen in non-organic animal feed in Germany does not represent a major escalation of the food scare. Germany announced it had found traces of the carcinogen at a company making convential, or non-organic, feed. Previously, it believed the scare was confined to makers of organic feed. "As long as everything can be traced back to the same source, this does not worry the Commission," Beate Gminder, spokeswoman for EU food safety Commissioner David Byrne, said. The source of all the tainted feed has been tracked to a grain store in Malchin, which in the days of communist East Germany was used to hold pesticides and weed killer. "The situation is still contained," Gminder told the Commission's daily news briefing. Hundreds of thousands of organically raised chickens have already been slaughtered and some 93 organic farms producing chickens, eggs and other poultry have stopped production. 

Germany Searches for Risky Herbicide.  REUTERS reports that German officials are conducting a massive search for a carcinogenic herbicide by tracing produce from hundreds of farms that have used non-organic animal feed. It is the second search in recent weeks. On Thursday, about 400 cattle, pig and poultry farms were quarantined after receiving non-organic feed produced using wheat contaminated with the banned herbicide nitrofen. Farms under the quarantine cannot sell their produce or animals. The German food scare had involved feed produced with nitrofen-contaminated wheat that had been sent to organic poultry farms. But on Wednesday the government announced that 72 tons of tainted wheat also had been used to produce 50,000 tons of conventional animal feed and delivered mainly to non-organic poultry, cattle and pig farms in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. 

Farmland Flooded in Minnesota. REUTERS reports that flooding in northwest Minnesota has inundated at least 300,000 acres of farmland. "We estimate anywhere from about 300,000 to 500,000 acres are currently under water," said John Monson, director of the Minnesota office of the Farm Service Agency, a unit of the USDA. At least 1.9 million acres of farmland in an eight-county area were affected by excessive rains since last weekend. Crop losses on those acres range from 20-100%, Monson said in a telephone interview. Norman and Kittson, two of the counties most affected, were among the state's top producers of spring wheat and sugar beets in 1999 and 2000, according to the Minnesota Agricultural Statistics Service. 

Milk Requirements Amended.  USDA has amended its "Milk for Manufacturing Purposes and Its Production and Processing; Requirements for Adoption by State Regulatory Agencies (Recommended Requirements)" document. The Recommended Requirements were developed by the Agricultural Marketing Service and recommended for adoption and enforcement by the various states that regulate manufacturing grade milk. The purpose of the Recommended Requirements is to promote uniformity in state dairy laws and regulations concerning manufacturing grade milk. During their 1999 annual meeting, the Dairy Division of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture requested AMS to review the drug residue monitoring provisions of the Recommended Requirements and initiate changes to provide greater consistency with the drug residue provisions for Grade A milk. AMS reviewed the drug residue provisions of this document and identified several areas where changes could be made to provide greater consistency. Those changes have been incorporated in the amended Recommended Requirements. In addition to updating the drug residue monitoring program, AMS has incorporated other changes to provide gender neutral language, re-define certain terms, and improve the document's accuracy, clarity, and consistency. The revised Recommended Requirements will appear in today's Federal Register. Copies are available from Susan Sausville, Chief, Dairy Standardization Branch, Dairy Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 2746, South Building, Stop 0230, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456 or by accessing the AMS Home Page at www.ams.usda.gov/dairy/stand/htm. 
June 13

Conservation Programs Streamlined.  USDA has streamlined and simplified the administrative concurrence processes for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), each of which benefits people, wildlife and the environment overall, the Department said. 

Veneman Winds Up World Food Summit Involvement.  Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman Wednesday concluded participation as head of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization World Food Summit: Five Years Later. "The World Food Summit provided a forum for nations from around the world to further examine ways to reduce hunger and malnutrition," said Veneman. 

Senate Fails on 'Death Tax.' The Senate failed to approve a permanent repeal of the estate tax, or so-called death tax, by a 54-44 vote (60 votes were needed for approval). The bill was offered by Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX). Under the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act passed in 2001, the tax will be gradually phased to nothing in 2010, but a sunset provision in the bill will reinstate the tax in 2011. 

Europe's Acceptance of Biotech Slow Process. National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Tim Hume said progress is being made in regard to biotech acceptance in Europe, but it is a slow process. He and other representatives of NCGA and the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) traveled to the European Union (EU) to discuss biotechnology with European agriculture ministers and producers. "The European culture is very different than ours," said Hume. "Here in the U.S., we trust our government to monitor food safety, while consumers in the EU are more reluctant to put their confidence in their governments. "We found many ag groups support biotech and sound science," Hume continued, "and while they believe it to be safe, they are having a hard time convincing consumers of that fact and the consumer is obviously their priority." 

Environmentalists Blast U.S., U.N. REUTERS reports the Friends of the Earth sharply criticized the United States and United Nations for allegedly sending genetically modified (GM) food aid to some Latin American countries, in violation of local rules. "No one knows yet what the long-term health risks of GM foods are," Ana Lucia Bravo of Friends of the Earth told REUTERS on Thursday on the sidelines of a World Food Summit." GM food aid should be recalled," she added. "Hungry people are the most vulnerable." 

Homeland Revisions Won't Hurt Approval Biotech Process.  The Bush administration says U.S. biotechnology companies have nothing about which to worry if a USDA agency is made part of a proposed Department of Homeland Security; government approval of new genetically modified crops will not be delayed, REUTERS reports. USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service - APHIS -- responsible for protecting the nation's agriculture from pests and disease, is among several federal offices that would be transferred to the new department. APHIS regulates field testing of new biotech crops. Other agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, regulate other aspects of gene-spliced foods and plants. 

Organic Food Crisis Widens.  A scare over organic food tainted with a cancer-causing agent has widened in Germany to conventional agriculture. That information comes just a day after Germany assured the European Union that it had the situation under control. REUTERS reports German Junior Agriculture Minister Matthias Berninger told parliament that grain contaminated with the banned herbicide nitrofen had been discovered Wednesday at a company that produces conventional, or non-organic, animal feed. "In one of 10 official tests, increased levels of nitrofen were measured," Berninger told parliament. 

Militant French Oppose GM Crops.  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ROME says militant French farmer Jose Bove and scores of other demonstrators used transgenic olive saplings to cover with plastic sheeting in a protest against genetically modified crops. The target of the protest was an agriculture university in Viterbo, about 50 miles north of Rome, where a U.N.-sponsored world food summit included a discussion on bioengineered crops. The plastic covering was shaped to resemble condoms; the protesters were trying to get across the idea of preventing seed from escaping into the environment. 

EU Accuses Summit of Empire Building.  REUTERS reports the European Union accused organizers of a United Nations World Food Summit Wednesday of trying to build an empire rather than try to solve the problem of hunger. The EU's Aid Commissioner Poul Nielson added to growing complaints about the handling of the four-day meeting. The meeting was held to give impetus to a 1996 pledge to halve world hunger by 2015. "It is high time that the international community showed a minimum of realism when addressing these issues, and this I think is missing when we listen to the noise coming out of this meeting," Nielson told REUTERS on the sidelines of the summit. The commissioner leveled most criticism at Jacques Diouf, the head of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), who has angered some western countries by demanding an additional $24 billion a year in farm development aid. "Jacques Diouf is contributing to the continuation of the old inertia by asking for more money instead of asking what really needs to be done," Nielson said. 

June 12

Spring Rise Manual Issued Soon.  Within the next few weeks, the Army Corps of Engineers is expected to release the Preferred Alternative of the Missouri River Master Manual Review, and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) says it is apprehensive. NCGA opposes any change resulting in spring rise because increasing water releases would flood or decrease drainage on thousands of acres in the Missouri River bottoms. 

Countries Renew Commitment to Reduce Hunger.  A total of 182 countries renewed their commitment to reduce by half the number of hungry people in the world no later than 2015, according to the final declaration of the World Food Summit: five years later. Heads of state and government unanimously approved the declaration on the opening day of the four-day summit, calling on governments, international organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector "to reinforce their efforts so as to act as an international alliance against hunger." 

EPA Releases Organophosphate Risk Assessment.  The Environmental Protection Agency is releasing a revised assessment of the cumulative risks of organophosphate pesticides and is making the document available for public comment and scientific peer review of the methodologies used in its development. EPA days it is nearing completion of a process to evaluate more than 1,000 organophosphate pesticide food tolerances (legal residue limits), virtually all of which are expected to meet the highest, most rigorous safety standards. 

New Trading 'Game' Offered.  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that a new Internet-based commodity game developed by a Montana agricultural economist is giving farmers the chance to experiment with new ways of selling their grain without risking real money. The game, "Commodity Challenge" teaches farmers the basics of the cash, futures and options markets. It simulates trades, letting producers practice with phantom cattle and grain allotments, as producers compete to capture the highest prices. Commodity Challenge costs only the time invested to learn. The initial game, played by more than 400 Montana farmers this spring, led to development of an updated version that uses such real-time trading conditions as up-to-date prices and offers an array of resources for following news and marketing trends. 

Australia Criticizes U.S. Sri Lanka Donation.  REUTERS reports that Australia's national wheat exporter AWB Ltd is critical of a U.S. donation of 62,300 tons of wheat to Sri Lanka. AWB says it will disrupt further world trade in wheat. USDA announced last Friday it would provide the $8 million worth of U.S. wheat to Sri Lanka under the P.L. 480 program which provides low-interest U.S. government financing of American commodities to developing countries. "(The move) will further disrupt world wheat trade...(Sri Lanka is) an important market for the Australian wheat export program," AWB said. Australia exported 262,000 tons of wheat to Sri Lanka in 2000/01. 

South Korea Has More FMD Cases.  South Korea has confirmed three more cases of foot-and-mouth disease in pigs. Officials plan to cull more animals to try to stem an outbreak that has continued into the World Cup finals. The Agriculture Ministry said it would slaughter nearly 9,000 animals at four farms after the latest cases, which would take the total number of culled animals -- mainly pigs and cows -- to around 126,000. "The cases are still in limited areas," Kim Ok-kyung, director general of the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, told REUTERS by telephone. He said that there was no need to vaccinate yet. "Unless the disease breaks out simultaneously or far away from the affected areas, we will not use vaccination." Asked if the disease has been contained, Kim said: "It is not easy to forecast. We will see the next three days." 

More People Eating Healthy.  A growing number of Americans is adopting a healthful diet and seeking nutrition information, according to results from the American Dietetic Association's nationwide survey Nutrition and You: Trends 2002. This conclusion may influence the debate among meat packers and processors regarding the importance of supplying nutritional information on meat packaging, says the American Meat Institute. ADA's survey, conducted every two years, questions a representative sample of American adults concerning their opinions on the importance of nutrition to their lifestyle. The survey grouped its respondents into the following categories: people who made significant adjustments to their eating behavior during the past two years to achieve a more nutritious diet; people who feel they know what a healthful diet is and that they should eat a healthful diet, but for one reason or another haven't done so; people who, whether or not they feel informed about healthful eating, have decided it's not a concern of theirs. 

U.S. Under Fire in Rome.  REUTERS reports the U.N. sponsored hunger summit in Rome was overshadowed by attacks on the United States for a heavily subsidized farm law. The measure was branded as an attack on free trade while developing countries said rich nations' subsidies smothered their domestic markets. "We are poor, you are rich. Level the playing field," said Philippines Vice President and Secretary for Foreign Affairs Teofisto Guingona. "Do not impose subsidies for exports. Do not dump products that kill our farmers and fisher-folk." Although the European Union and Japan offer their farmers handsome handouts, the U.S. came in for special criticism on the second day of the four-day World Food Summit. 

June 11

Cattlemen Oppose Australia Beef Quota.  Australia intends to launch a quota management control system on Australian beef exports to the United States, and perhaps increase the tariff rate quota (TRQ). The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) opposes a change in the TRQ proposed by Australia. The proposed change is not part of a multi-lateral negotiation and could create an imbalance in the import market, according to the NCBA. 

Michigan Agricultural Business Potentially Expands.  The National Farmers Union (NFU), Michigan Farmers Union (MFU) and officials from USDA have agreed to work together on strategies for starting and assisting agricultural cooperatives and developing rural businesses in Michigan. 

Minnesota Ethanol Plant Expanding.  The 875 farmer-owners of Chippewa Valley (Minnesota) Ethanol Company (CVEC) has broken ground for an expansion which will double the production capacity of their plant. CVEC, located in Benson, MN, currently produces more than 20 million gallons of ethanol per year. Production will continue as the plant expands to a total of 40 million gallons of annual production capacity. 

Vememan Says U.S. Committed to End Hunger.  Speaking before heads of state and other officials from more than 180 nations at the World Food Summit: Five Years Later, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to ending global hunger and outlined priorities and an action agenda. 

Amex to Launch Trading Options.  The American Stock Exchange (Amex(R)) will launch trading in options today (Tuesday) on the New York Stock Exchange listed stock of Federal Mortgage Corporation Class A (Farmer Mac). Federal Mortgage Corporation, Class A options will open with strike prices of 25 - 30 - 35 and position limits of 22,500 contracts. The options will trade on January expiration cycle with initial expirations in July, August, October and January. The specialist will be Bear Wagner Specialist, LLC. 

Mugabe Defiant at Food Summit.  REUTERS reports that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, at the World Food Summit in Rome Monday, defiantly defended his controversial land acquisition program. One U.S. delegate to the meeting called him a "tyrant." In an address to more than 30 heads of state, Mugabe defended the government-sanctioned land grab, which has dispossessed hundreds of white farmers. He called it a necessary policy for building sovereignty and strengthening the fight against poverty. "Zimbabwe's land must rightly belong to Zimbabweans, that being the true test of our national sovereignty," Mugabe said. "Where previously only a handful of colonial settler farmers were undertaking commercial farming, the country now has over 260,000 farming families. Contrary to widely disseminated misrepresentation by our detractors, there is now a brighter future for our farming community," he said. 

WTO Wants More European Liberalization. REUTERS reports the World Trade Organization wants central and southeast European countries to increase their efforts to ease trade barriers. "Trade liberalization creates jobs and growth, and people who profit from trading with each other develop and build stability and understanding," WTO director general Mike Moore told a regional conference. Economy and trade ministers from 19 countries attended the conference as well as multilateral agencies and regional banks to promote quicker WTO accession. Moore said the Jan. 1, 2005 deadline set at the WTO ministerial conference in Doha last November left "not a great deal of time" to complete the current round of trade negotiations. 

States Concerned About APHIS Transfer. Two organizations of state departments of agriculture have voiced concerns over a White House plan to move a key program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the proposed Department of Homeland Security. The membership of the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture (SASDA) and the board of directors of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) voted unanimously to forward a letter to President Bush expressing their concerns about moving the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) out of USDA. APHIS works to protect American agriculture and the public by preventing the entry of exotic invasive pests and diseases and by monitoring and managing agricultural pests existing in the United States. "We think it would be best to keep this valuable service where it currently is and run by the people who know the needs of American agriculture and who have served the American public so well," said Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin. 

June 10

Bush Addresses Pork Expo. President Bush, speaking at the 14th annual World Pork Expo, called on Congress to make permanent the repeal of the inheritance tax. "It makes no sense to tax a person's assets twice, and it makes no sense to have a tax that drives people off the farm. For the good of American agriculture, let's make sure that the death tax is forever buried, and forever done away with," he said. 

Senate Avoids Farm Aid. According to the National Farmers Union, Congress missed a chance to provide "much-needed" disaster assistance for farmers as the Senate passed the defense supplemental bill late last week. Sens. Max Baucus (D) and Conrad Burns (R), both of Montana, had planned an amendment to the defense supplemental bill that would have provided $1.8 billion in emergency assistance for crop production loss due to natural disasters and $500 million to livestock producers forced to liquidate herds or purchase additional feed rations because of grazing and haying losses. 

EU Signs Plant Genetic Treaty.  The 15 countries of the European Union, as well as the European Community, have signed the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

Thousand Hired to Help with Farm Law.  Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman has authorized the hiring of an additional 1,000 employees to aid county offices throughout the country expedite implementation of the new farm law. This first round of staffing will account for about 40% of the additional employment needed to implement the new law. 

Annan Talks About Hunger as Few Leaders Listen. REUTERS reports that United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan told a U.N. World Food Summit it was time to halt "the gnawing pain of hunger." But few leaders of major developed countries were there to hear him. Annan told the opening session: "In a world of plenty, ending hunger is within our grasp. Failure to reach this goal should fill every one of us with shame. The time for making promises is over. It is time to act." Few big-name politicians attended the four-day event, which is aimed at reviving enthusiasm in the war on hunger, and said it suggested global poverty was low on their agenda. Only two heads of government from Western countries -- host Italy and EU president Spain -- showed up. 

Locusts Not Destroying Russian Crops. Russian officials say "nothing terrible is happening" despite a television report that swarms of locusts were destroying crops in eastern Siberia. "We are controlling the situation," Pavel Fomenko, deputy head of Chemicals and Plants Protection at the Agriculture Ministry, told REUTERS. NTV television said on Saturday that a state of emergency had been declared in at least 10 Russian regions due to locusts. The report said there were several thousand locusts per square meter in the affected areas. But the Emergencies Ministry said that according to its latest data the damage was substantially smaller. 

Enzi Seeks Federal Payment for ESA.  Sen. Mike Enzi has written a bill to amend the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to require the federal government to pay for certain costs of the ESA. The bill calls for federal payment of all costs relating to the establishment of a state management plan, monitoring, consultation and administration, surveys, conservation agreements, land acquisitions, losses from predation, losses in value to real or personal property or any other cost imposed for mitigating management of a species covered by the ESA. Enzi said that Wyoming residents are forced to invest man hours and property to ensure that plants, fish and animals are managed according to national priorities set by federal agencies. "It is only fair then that federal dollars be provided to pay for these federal priorities," said Enzi. "My bill is about sharing the cost of shared priorities. It is predicated on the notion that if protected species truly belong to all of us then all of us should contribute financially to their preservation." 

FAPRI Director Joins NCC.  Dr. Gary Adams, director of crop program analysis for the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri, has been named vice president for economics and policy analysis at the National Cotton Council of America. NCC President and CEO Gaylon B. Booker announced the appointment, which is effective July 1, during the Council's spring board meeting. Adams succeeds Dr. Mark Lange, who will become the NCC's president and CEO next February upon Booker's retirement. John Maguire will be elevated to senior vice president for Washington Affairs in February. 

Germany Assures EU on Organics.  REUTERS reports that Germany hopes to avoid a European Union ban on German organic foodstuffs that may be contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical. Belgium has approved emergency laws to ban German organic products. German regional agriculture officials met in Berlin to review the concerns that have developed over chicken feed tainted with the potentially carcinogenic herbicide, nitrofen, which is banned throughout the European Union. After the meeting, Deputy Farm Minister Alexander Mueller said new information suggested that contrary to earlier fears, there appeared to be only one source of tainted grain, and Germany had that situation under control. 

June 7

USDA to Lose Agency to Homeland Security. Under the President's plan, announced live on national television last night, USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will be moved to a new Cabinet level Department of Homeland Security. 

Loan Rates Announced. USDA has announced county loan rates for 2002 crops as required by the new farm law. The new law restructured national loan rates and so required changes in county loan rates. The new county loan rate structure, which provides upward changes in most areas, reflects the most comprehensive adjustments in more than 15 years. The changes are intended to reduce cumulative market distortions and loan deficiency payment (LDP) disparities that have emerged over the years. 

Veneman Leads Food Summit Delegation.  Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman will lead the U.S. delegation to the World Food Summit: Five Years Later in Rome, Italy, next week. The summit was called by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to review progress in achieving the goal set at the 1996 World Food Summit of cutting by half the number of hungry people in the world by 2015. It will be held Monday through Thursday. 

Lamb Promotion Program Rules Issued.  USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service is issuing assessment collection and remittance regulations for the Lamb Promotion, Research and Information Program. The collection of assessments will begin July 1 and will support a program to advance the position of lamb in the marketplace. 

House Passes Permanent Estate Tax Repeal. In a landmark victory for much of agriculture, the House passed the Permanent Death Tax Repeal Act, H.R. 2143. The House voted 255 to 171 to eliminate the "sunset provision" of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act that was passed last year. The sunset provision would have reinstated the death tax, Jan 1, 2011, after a 10-year period of phasing down the tax rate. "We are extremely pleased with this decision in the House. Thousands of family farms and ranches have been devastated by this tax during the most painful times of their lives, and finally there is a light at the end of the tunnel," said National Cattlemen's Beef Association President Wythe Willey. The legislation will now move to the Senate where it should be voted on by the end of June, a time frame established earlier in a written agreement between Republican and Democrat senators. 

EU States Sign Crop Protection Treaty.  REUTERS reports from Rome that European Union states have signed an agreement to protect world crop diversity. The aim is to fight hunger by increasing the number of plant varieties available to farmers. This is a first step towards ratification by parliaments; the number of countries that have signed the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources has reached 26, the United Nations food body said. "I hope that this signature will send a strong signal to other countries to follow suit," said Louise Fresco, assistant director-general for agriculture at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The treaty will be implemented after ratification by the parliaments of 40 countries. So far Eritrea, Egypt, Jordan and Guinea have ratified it. 

Bush Told to Clarify Stand on Global Warming.  Democrats want President George W. Bush to clarify whether he agrees with a report issued by his administration that said global warming is caused by greenhouse gas emissions from industry and other human activities, according to a REUTERS report. Bush earlier this week seemed to dismiss his own Environmental Protection Agency report. The report was sent to the United Nations. Bush told reporters that the study was a product of the federal government's "bureaucracy." A group of Democratic Senate and House lawmakers wrote Bush on Thursday and asked him to explain whether he was agreed with the study's findings. "We were taken aback by your recent statement in the press calling the nation's communication to the United Nations a 'report put out by the bureaucracy'," the lawmakers said in their letter. "Your dismissive statement, however, suggests that you may not stand behind the findings and conclusions of the report," they added. 

June 6

Ethanol's Attributes Praised at CUTC.  Larry Schafer, legislative counsel for the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), opened the final day of the Corn Utilization & Technology Conference (CUTC) Wednesday by reviewing ethanol victories of the past year and opportunities in the upcoming one, notably the passage of the Senate energy bill which includes a renewable fuel standard (RFS). The CUTC is co-sponsored every other year by the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). This year's conference is in Kansas City. 

Dairy Price 'Tilt' Thought Unlikely.  The nonfat dry milk price has settled at support and government powder stocks continue to grow; but a tilt of the butter and powder support prices seems increasingly unlikely, due primarily to the risk of raising the butter support price high enough to meet the market price, according to the American Butter Institute. 

HACCP Pilot Program Data Presented.  Data on USDA's hazard analysis critical control point (HAACP)-based inspection models project (HIMP) pilot program was presented Wednesday at a meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI ). 

Subsidies Smaller for Farmers Last Year.  REUTERS reports that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says government subsidies made up less of farmers' income in rich nations in 2001. However, this was due more to an increase in world commodity prices than efforts to reduce support payments. The OECD's annual report said that total support to agriculture in its member states declined to $311 billion in 2001, about 31% of gross farm receipts. In 2002, farm subsidies accounted for a bit more than 32% of gross revenue. The group of 30 mainly industrialized nations has expressed concern about a return to protectionism after the United States announced plans for billions of dollars in subsidies to U.S. crop and dairy farmers. 

Japan's Co-ops Urged to Reform. KYODO NEWS reports the country's agricultural cooperatives are being urged to reform to make themselves more competitive. ''Agricultural co-ops need to streamline operations in order to survive as businesses,'' Yoshiaki Watanabe, vice minister for agriculture, forestry and fisheries, said at a press conference. While co-ops are required to support their members and localities, they are also economic entities that must be able to compete with rivals, Watanabe said, adding economic activities, including sales and purchasing, are the areas that most need improvement. 

Snow Brand in Joint Venture. Japan's Snow Brand Milk Products Co. will create a milk joint venture with several partners, including agricultural associations, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL reports. The venture will be capitalized at about $120.9 million. The goal is to post a profit in the fiscal year through March 2005. The National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (Zen-noh) will acquire a 40% stake in the venture, and struggling dairy products maker Snow Brand Milk will take 30%. Another cooperative of dairy farmers, the National Federation of Dairy Cooperative Associations (Zenrakuren) will hold a 20% stake, with the remainder to be owned by Norinchukin Bank, a major creditor of Snow Brand Milk. 

Nutrition Programs to Get Lamb Roasts.  USDA will purchase up to $8 million of lamb roasts for distribution in federal food and nutrition programs. The lamb roast purchase program is part of the $42.7 million Domestic Lamb Industry Adjustment Assistance Program (DLIAAP) announced in September. The $8 million was approved to continue the lamb roast purchase program through fiscal year 2003. The frozen lamb roasts must be produced from domestic lamb. USDA, under the DLIAAP, has purchased approximately 4.1 million pounds of lamb roast at a cost of approximately $16 million. Additional information on the lamb roast purchase program is available on the internet at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/cp/OtherRedMeat/other_index.htm. 

Smithfield's Profit Reduced Sharply.  REUTERS reports that Smithfield Foods Inc., the top domestic pork producer, reports a reduction in quarterly profits by more than half. Meat surpluses, caused partly by Russia's month-long ban of U.S. poultry imports, hurt prices. The Russian ban, which ran from March 10 through April 15, diverted additional poultry to the already oversupplied U.S. marketplace, hurting prices for all meats. Smithfield, like other producers, saw lower live hog prices and weak fresh pork demand due to the meat glut. Shares of Smithfield have declined by about 19% since the beginning of the year compared with the stock of Tyson Food Inc., which has increased about 22. Meat company Hormel Foods Corp. last month blamed its lower second-quarter earnings on the Russian ban. 

June5

White House Cites Agriculture as Reason to Veto.  The White House has told the Senate that the appropriations committee's version of emergency supplemental funding bill will invite a veto from President Bush if it is approved by Congress in its final form. One reason for that veto concerns additional "emergency" funding for agriculture. 

Yoder Talks Biotechnology at Conference.  National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President-elect Fred Yoder provided a grower's perspective of biotechnology Tuesday at the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference (CUTC) in Kansas City, calling the technology "an important asset" for the future of farming. 

Report Issued on Animal Feeding Emissions.  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports a new National Academy of Sciences report says it's difficult for government to measure emissions from animal feeding operations because the emissions are difficult to measure. The Environmental Protection Agency and Agriculture Department had asked for the review of pollution that results from emissions from the manure of animals such as swine, beef and dairy cattle and poultry. The NAS report notes that EPA needed to deal with the emissions through the Clean Air Act and other federal regulations, and it is under court order to establish new water quality rules by December. "The stakes in the issue are large. Livestock increasingly are raised for at least part of their lives in (feedlot pens) in response to economic factors that encourage further concentration" the report says. "The impacts on the air in surrounding areas have grown to a point where further actions to mitigate them appear likely." 

Canada Hit by More Drought.  REUTERS reports that Canadian Prairie farmers again are hoping for rain as forest and grass fires rage, water holes dry up and dust storms swirl. "The praying began long ago and they haven't been answered yet," David Phillips, a senior climatologist at Environment Canada, told REUTERS Tuesday. "If you look at the statistics for May, it just reads like a horror story," said Phillips, from his office in Toronto. The central Saskatchewan city of Saskatoon, in Canada's agricultural heartland, recorded its driest May ever, receiving only 0.06 inches of precipitation. "It's definitely a drought. I don't think there's any question about that," said Bruce Burnett, director of weather and crops surveillance at the Canadian Wheat Board. 

From Tobacco to Goats for Kentucky Couple. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that once stigmatized as feral, stinky animals kept by poor hillbillies, meat goats are "all the rage" in central Kentucky. The article highlights Jo Escue and her husband, Nolan, who had grown tobacco most of their lives. But with demand declining and costs rising in tobacco, the Escues instead are raising goats. And they are finding a ready-made market for their meat right in their own backyard. USDA doesn't keep figures on how many people are raising meat goats, but state agencies from New York to Texas are pushing goat breeding as a way to revive the fortunes of troubled small farmers. 

Grassley Raises Antitrust Questions.  REUTERS quotes Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) warning the top executive of Smithfield Foods Inc. that if Smithfield buys Farmland Industries' meat business, Grassley will call for an antitrust investigation. Farmland, the largest U.S. farmer-owned cooperative, filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday due to problems in its fertilizer and petroleum businesses and mounting debt. However, before filing for Chapter 11 protection, Farmland rejected a bid by Smithfield, the top U.S. pork producer, for its meat assets. Industry analysts expect the two companies to continue discussions, REUTERS says. Grassley said he told Smithfield CEO Joseph Luter III at a private breakfast meeting on Tuesday that he would oppose the company buying the meat operations of Farmland, the nation's sixth-largest pork producer and fourth-biggest beef producer. 

EU Imports May Be Restricted.  REUTERS reports that Russia may restrict meat and dairy product imports from the European Union. The action would come in response to an increase of grain import tariffs by the 15-nation bloc, the Russian agriculture minister said on Tuesday. "Europe has erected barriers which have practically stopped Russian exports and have made us uncompetitive," Alexei Gordeyev told reporters. "That is why we have to take adequate measures in the meat and dairy products sector." He did not elaborate on what these measures would entail. 

June 4

Afghan Seed Code of Conduct Reached.  A "code of conduct" governing seed production, distribution and importation in emergency situations has been reached among international and national organizations and donors in Afghanistan, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced. The guidelines, which were agreed following three days of discussions in the Afghan capital, Kabul, are aimed at supporting local agricultural systems and markets, as well as the genetic resources of Afghanistan, all of which are threatened by the unregulated import of untested, and possibly useless seeds. 

New Trap Available for Whiteflies.  A new inexpensive, environmentally friendly trap developed by Agricultural Research Service scientists in Phoenix, AZ, captures pesky silverleaf whiteflies that cause millions of dollars a year in damage to field and greenhouse crops. The trap was developed by plant physiologist Chang-Chi Chu and Thomas Henneberry, director of the ARS Western Cotton Research Laboratory in Phoenix. 

Global Warming Not All Bad.  A new Environmental Protection Agency report says global warming is likely to increase crop production in coming decades. REUTERS says the report suggests also that farmers will need less irrigation water and more pesticides because of slightly warmer temperatures expected across the continental United States from carbon emissions. In the document, the Bush administration for the first time endorsed scientists' view that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions will increase significantly over the next two decades due mostly to human activities. The White House had said there was not enough scientific evidence to blame oil refining, power plants and automobile emissions for global warming. 

Farmland Keeps Plants Operating.  Farmland Industries' pork, petroleum, and fertilizer plants were operating normally Monday, the first working day after the nation's largest farm cooperative filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday. REUTERS reports Farmland, the nation's sixth largest pork producer, said its three plants were operating normally on Monday and producers continued to deliver hogs. "As of 6:30 a.m. (CDT) today we had full hog yards in all three plants, and no cancellations," Jerry Leeper, Farmland vice president of livestock production, said in a statement. The pork plants -- in Crete, NE, Denison, IA, and Monmouth, IL -- have a combined daily slaughter capacity of about 25,500 head, or about 7% of daily U.S. hog slaughter, according to industry sources. 

Nations Test for Herbicide.  REUTERS reports Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria were testing poultry meat for traces of a dangerous herbicide. The herbicide entered the European food chain from a pesticide store in the former East Germany. A German organic poultry producer may have exported meat containing the herbicide to the three countries, a spokeswoman for Germany's Agriculture Ministry said on Monday. Tens of thousands of chickens on German organic farms are being slaughtered after it was confirmed they ate feed contaminated with the chemical nitrofen, which can cause cancer in people eating meat and eggs. 

Corn Industry Begins Use Conference.  The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) began the 2002 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference (CUTC) Monday in Kansas City, MO. This is the third time the two organizations have teamed up for the conference, which this year explores the growing role of corn in sustaining the environment. Jean-Marie Peltier, counselor to the EPA administrator on agriculture policy, is keynote speaker for the event. Technical sessions will highlight biotechnology, resource conservation, supply chain management, operations technique, opportunities and threats for corn growers and refiners and corn as a feedstock of the future. Nearly 500 corn growers, corn refiners, researchers, industry and government representatives and media are expected to attend the three-day event. 

June 3

USDA Works With Farmland on Meat Supply.  USDA is working with Farmland Industries in an effort to make sure Farmland's pork and beef divisions continue "orderly" operation in the wake of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing announced Friday. Farmland said it planned to maintain its operations throughout reorganization but said its work force would be reduced. 

World Federation Meets Here in 2004.  Members of the 50-plus-nation International Federation of Agricultural Producers voted Friday to hold the organization's biannual World Farmers Congress in the United States in 2004. The National Farmers Union (NFU), IFAP's only U.S. member, will host the conference. 

Japan Fields Rice to Cool Reception. KYODO NEWS reports that Japan has offered a new rice variety, Nerica, for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg later this year. But the variety was met with a cool response. Kazuo Asakai, the Japanese envoy for global environmental and economic affairs, said Japan is presenting seven projects in forestry, energy, agriculture, health, the environment, trade and science and technology to the May 27-June 7 gathering being held on the resort island of Bali. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), however, reacting coolly to the new variety, said the meeting should stipulate that transnational corporations assume responsibility if genetically-modified organisms (GMO) they produce cause losses to farmers. 

U.S. Targets Africa for More Food Aid.  REUTERS reports the United States hopes to funnel additional food aid to southern African nations in an effort to stave off mass starvation in coming months, U.S. and United Nations officials said. Since February, the United States has donated about 93,260 tons of agricultural commodities, valued at $49.5 million, according to an official at the U.S. Agency for International Development. The official added that the U.S. government plans to donate $18.9 million more in food to help ease shortages in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. She left open the possibility of further U.S. donations if needed. 

NPPC Reacts to Farmland Filing.  David Roper, president National Pork Producers Council, says the decision by Farmland Industries to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection "comes at a very critical time for pork producers. With ample supplies of live hogs in the market projected into 2003, the issue of packing capacity is of paramount importance. Any reduction in capacity, for any reason, could result in significant challenges for pork producers. Farmland currently accounts for approximately 7% of daily packing capacity." He said NPPC was "encouraged" that Farmland intended to continue to do business, and he hoped for "a timely resolution that will be beneficial to pork producers, the pork industry, consumers and all parties involved." 

Drought Hits Parts of Europe. REUTERS reports from Bucharest that drought has reduced the prospects for large harvests in central and eastern Europe this year. However, officials still expect exports will occur. Romania has seen hot, dry weather since March. The farm ministry said drought had affected 1.37 million hectares and destroyed some two million tons of wheat. In Hungary, rainfalls hit a 70-year low from October to April, and soil moisture levels were extremely low. Dry weather in Ukraine has affected more than 1 million hectares. In Serbia drought is expected to reduce 25% of the wheat crop this year. To a lesser extent, drought has affected Poland, Russia and Bulgaria. Analysts challenged the figures, claiming the damaged area was not that large and that government officials were trying to shore up prices.