September 29, 2000

House Approves Conference Report on Water Projects.  The House has approved the conference report on appropriations for energy and water projects, protecting a prohibition on a federal plan for special spring flooding of the Missouri River and including $18 million for bio-energy research. The Senate could act on the final version early next week. 

Two Convicted, One Indicted in Crop Insurance Cases.  Risk Management Agency (RMA) Administrator Ken Ackerman says RMA investigators, working with USDA's office of inspector general (OIG) and prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas, found that has led to two criminal convictions and the indictment of a third person. 

E-Commerce Plans Approved by RMA.  Ken Ackerman, administrator of USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA), says RMA has approved e-commerce implementation plans by Producers Lloyds Insurance Company and Rural Community Insurance Company (RCIC). The technology will enable the two companies to market and service federal crop insurance programs over the Internet. 

FDA Biotech Requirement Already Surpassed.  A biotechnology advocate told a Senate committee this week that a coming Food and Drug Administration requirement for companies to notify the agency about specific biotech products coming to market already has been exceeded by companies' performance in the past. 

Farm Bureau Sues Agencies.  The California Farm Bureau Federation has filed suit against a group of state and federal agencies seeking an immediate halt to land and water purchases by the agencies, known as the Cal-Fed Bay-Delta Program. Farm Bureau says Cal-Fed has not addressed adequately the program's significant negative environmental impact on the state's agriculture. 

Clinton Urged to Buck Canada's Wheat Board.  Eighteen members of the House and 19 senators have urged President Clinton to support the North Dakota Wheat Commission's petition claiming unfair trade practices of the Canadian Wheat Board. The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), Wheat Export Trade Education Committee (WETEC), and U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) applauded the move.

News Summaries 

USDA Is Increasing Grading Fees.  USDA is increasing fees for certain grading services for eggs, poultry and rabbits, effective Oct. 1. The increase will affect most processors who request egg, poultry, and rabbit grading services. The hourly rate that covers graders' salaries and benefits will increase. However, due to changes in the number of offices and the resulting reduction in costs, administrative charges that cover the cost of supervision will remain unchanged. The basic hourly rate for resident service, work of a grader with a regular tour of duty at a plant, will rise from the current $28.80 to $29.96. In addition, the basic hourly rate for fee service, work on an intermittent, as-needed basis, will rise from the current $48.40 to $51.32 for regular hours and from $55.76 to $59.12 for weekend and holiday work. The grading fee increases were published in the Federal Register on Sept. 27, 2000 and may be viewed electronically at http://www.ams.usda.gov/poultry/regulations. 

Cotton Exports to Make Strong Comeback.  U.S. cotton exports are forecast to increase to 1.8 million metric tons valued at $2.6 billion in fiscal year 2001, exceeding fiscal year 2000 sales by 300,000 metric tons in volume and by $800,000 in value. "We anticipate both increased shipments and stronger prices," said Timothy J. Galvin, administrator of USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service. "Higher U.S. exports, coupled with some decrease in competition in Central Asia, mean that next year our share of global trade should rise to almost 30%, the highest since 1994." Galvin noted that the slowdown in U.S. cotton exports in 1999 was due to weather-reduced crops at home and somewhat weakened foreign demand. But this year, Mexico's imports of U.S. cotton are up sharply, and China's purchases are also increasing. 

Libya Buys U.S. Corn.  For the first time since Congress eased sanctions last year, Libya has bought U.S. corn, according to a REUTERS report. In its weekly export sales report, USDA said Libya bought 26,100 tons of corn, the first time since the 1985-86 marketing year. The article says USDA also said Libya bought 50,000 tons U.S. soft red winter wheat, adding to the 20,000 tons of durum wheat it had already purchased since August 1999, when Congress eased sanctions against the country. Libya imports about 1.4 million tonnes of wheat annually, USDA officials said. The United States imposed sanctions against Libya because of its alleged involvement in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in which 270 people died. 

Progress Seen in WTO Talks.  Countries are making progress in world agricultural trade talks. Last year, the launch of a broader round of trade negotiations failed. Lead U.S. farm trade negotiator Greg Frazier, speaking in a telephone interview with REUTERS from World Trade Organization headquarters in Geneva, said he sensed "a general mood among countries and folks here to keep moving on agriculture. More and more countries are becoming engaged," Frazier said. The article said a lot of the talk outside the meeting of the WTO agriculture committee is about "what do we do in March," when preliminary discussions are expected to be complete, he said. According to the article, as the world's biggest subsidizer of agricultural exports, the EU has been anxious to expand the scope of the farm trade talks to include other export programs. The United States has resisted that effort and argues that food aid and export credits distort trade far less than export subsidies and that international forums already exist to discuss both types of programs.
 

September 28, 2000

USDA's Financial Information 'Not Reliable.'  USDA's inspector general says the department's financial information system "on the whole is not reliable." Roger C. Viadero told a Senate subcommittee USDA's books and records "have been so poorly maintained we have been unable to compile and analyze sufficient evidence to enable us to reach an opinion." 

Agricultural Trade Turns a Small Corner.  For the second consecutive month, the cumulative U.S. agricultural export surplus is slightly greater than last year, at $9.7 billion, after running below year-ago levels for the first eight months of the fiscal year. Although July 2000 exports declined $223.8 million from June, July imports declined more, $307.8 million, raising the gap between exports and imports fractionally. 

Combest Reviews Crop Insurance Implementation.  House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest convened a hearing yesterday to review the implementation of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act. The focus of the hearing was to determine whether the new law's provisions against fraud, waste and abuse are being implemented. The Committee heard testimony from the Secretary of Agriculture, Dan Glickman, as well as and industry panel. 

Barshefsky Defends Administration's Trade Record.  U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, in a speech to the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles this week, said the Senate vote approving permanent normal trade relations with China "closes the book on perhaps the central issue in American trade policy in this decade. 

Glickman Says $2 Billion-Plus Needed for Disaster Aid.  Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman told the House Agriculture Committee Wednesday another $2 billion-plus will be needed in disaster aid this year over and above the $2.4 billion paid out in crop insurance indemnities. He said $1.4 billion is needed to cover crop losses and another $800 million is needed for livestock assistance. 

Lugar, Fitzgerald Call for Commodity Bill Approval.  Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Richard Lugar and research subcommittee Chairman Peter Fitzgerald are calling on the Senate to approve the Commodity Futures Modernization Act. They cited a London exchange's decision to list single stock futures on U.S. securities beginning in January as the latest reason for approving the Senate bill.

News Summaries 

More Sugar Forfeitures Coming.  REUTERS reports that sugarcane and sugar beet processors could forfeit as much as 400,000 short tons more sugar to the federal government on Monday because of low prices. Jack Roney, chief economist at the American Sugar Alliance, told REUTERS "that's probably a reasonable estimate." USDA has forecast total forfeitures this year of 500,000 to 600,000 short tons. Over the past two months, processors have forfeited about 168,000 short tons, raw value, Roney said. Loans for about another 900,000 short tons come due on Saturday, setting the stage for the biggest round of forfeitures yet. Processors have until the close of business on Monday to forfeit the loans and pay a penalty of 1 cent per pound for cane sugar and 1.072 cents per pound for refined beet sugar. 

Cuban Sales Agreement Reached.  REUTERS reports that congressional Republican leaders have tentatively agreed to make it easier for U.S. firms to sell food and medicine to Cuba, a potential easing of U.S. sanctions on Havana. House leaders said they would put the new language on the fast track for passage. The report said a farm lobbyist said there still might be objections, particularly from senators who want fewer restrictions on farm exports to Cuba. The disagreement in approach was resolved during an early-evening meeting in House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office, House leaders said. The new language would be considered today as part of House-Senate negotiations on a $75 billion agriculture funding bill and may go to a House vote on Monday, two Republican leaders said.

September 27, 2000

Farmers Call for Identity Preservation. In the wake of testing that showed the presence of the StarLink biotechnology corn hybrid in food products, several organizations representing farmers have called upon the life science industry to work with them and the grain and food industries to develop stronger, closed-loop, identity preservation systems that protect agriculture's most important asset: the trust and respect of its consumers. 

Meat Origin Labeling Needed as Trade Increases. As beef-producing nations increase international trade, U.S. cattle producers believe it is increasingly important to inform American consumers of the origin of the meat they are purchasing, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) says. 

States' Food Stamp Participation Differs Dramatically. A new USDA report shows dramatic differences by state in food stamp participation. A state by state analysis reveals participation rates ranged from a low of 45% of those eligible in Nevada to a high of 92% in West Virginia. The report covers September 1994 to September 1997. During that period, food stamp participation nationally declined from 71% to 62% of those eligible. 

Soybean Exports Could Set Record. U.S. soybean exports could reach a record 27.2 million metric tons in 2001, up from 26.7 million tons this year, valued at $5.3 billion. More demand from Asia, and especially from China , is driving the trend, said Timothy J. Galvin, administrator of USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service. Record U.S. supplies and reduced competition from South American suppliers are also major factors in the upsurge in shipments. 

Climate Change Will Bring More Severe Weather. As climate changes, extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, heat waves, heavy rainfall, tropical storms and hurricanes are expected to increase, according to a team of scientists, led by David R. Easterling of National Oceanography and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC. Scientists reached the conclusion after reviewing hundreds of studies that used data and climate models to examine past and future changes in climate extremes. Their work, which includes reviews of studies using observations, modeling, and impacts, is reported in the Sept. 22 edition of Science magazine. 

Soy Program Designed to Increase Prices. Oilseed producers and processors believe a soy food aid program presented to USDA could increase soybean prices 47 cents per bushel and reduce federal farm program costs. Program savings could total $427 million. The initiative could be implemented immediately administratively with no new congressional authorization. 

Waiving Lien Searches Gives Flexibility. USDA will waive commodity lien searches for producers seeking a marketing loan that will be repaid immediately. All commodities pledged as collateral in marketing loans were subject to lien searches before the waiver, says House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX).

News Summaries

Futures Bill May Pass Next Week. BLOOMBERG NEWS reports that the House may pass a bill next week that would bring Congress a step closer to reducing rules on futures contracts and preventing the government from regulating some derivatives. Majority Leader Richard Armey (R-TX) met with leaders of the House Agriculture, Banking and Commerce committees to forge a compromise of the three different bills the panels passed. He told reporters that lawmakers still must negotiate how best to exclude over-the- counter derivatives from regulation, but have agreed on all other issues. The article says futures exchanges, banks and securities firms say if Congress doesn't pass legislation this year, the multitrillion-dollar futures and derivatives market will move overseas. The bill has stalled as securities markets complain that single-stock futures, which the measure allows, would compete unfairly with stock options. A compromise bill could be completed on Thursday, with a full House vote scheduled for Monday under suspension of House rules, Armey told reporters. That means the legislation requires a two-thirds majority to pass, though it can bypass approval by the House Rules Committee. The article also notes that even if the House passes the legislation, it must also clear the Senate. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Phil Gramm (R-TX) has said he would oppose the bill unless there's a resolution to his concern that if the CFTC is prevented from regulating OTC derivatives, the SEC will step in and do it. 

Kansas Fields Filled with 'Green Beans.' Kansas farmers are finding fields filled with drought-damaged soybeans as they harvest the fall crop, pulling in truckloads of sub-standard "green beans," according to a REUTERS report. "The problem is pretty much state-wide," said Kansas Grain and Feed Association President Tom Tunnell. Bean experts said that the crop did not develop properly because of the drought and 100-degree temperatures that baked the Plains in August, leaving the plants partly green, instead of a healthy yellow color. "This whole year's crop is a major disappointment to Kansas farmers," said Kansas Soybean Association Executive Director Dennis Morrice. "We had the excessive hot temperature and they lasted such a long time. Even with irrigated soybeans ... yields are down. You couldn't get enough water into the plant to overcome the hot temperatures and the length of time we had hot temperatures." 

Japan's LDP Wants Less Rice. KYODO NEWS SERVICE reports that Japan's agricultural panel of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) agreed Wednesday to encourage farmers to cut rice production further in an effort to halt a rice price decline due to excessive stockpiles. LDP officials said the panel will ask the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry and the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (Zenchu) to adopt its recommendation that rice-cultivated acreage be reduced by about 100,000 hectares in fiscal 2001 beginning next April. Under the government's rice-production adjustment policy, farmers who agree to reduce their paddy acreage will get subsidies. The government has set the amount of land where farmers are to refrain from producing rice at 963,000 hectares since fiscal 1998. 

Supreme Closes Beleaguered Plant. The Dallas, TX, Supreme Beef Processors Inc., a plant that provided ground beef for school lunches, will close at the end of this month. BLOOMBERG NEWS says that ends the company's battle with USDA over the safety of its food. Supreme Beef said it will shut down the 30-year-old company Friday. The company's fight with the federal government left it with no option but to declare bankruptcy, Steven Spiritas, president and chief executive of the closely held Supreme Beef, said in a statement distributed by PR Newswire. USDA in June recalled 2.1 million pounds of ground beef it purchased from Supreme Beef, one of its major suppliers, after the company failed tests for salmonella for the fourth time. The department also tightened its standards on the beef it purchased for schools, about 15% of which was supplied by Supreme Beef, the article notes. Supreme Beef earlier challenged USDA's testing methods after it tried to close its plant in Dallas. The plant was allowed to stay open after a federal court in Texas ruled that the government's microbiological tests were an unfair evaluation of food safety. The government appealed the ruling. BLOOMBERG said company officials couldn't be reached to comment on their decision to close the factory.
 

September 26, 2000

Large Payments Help Slightly Higher 2000 Income.  Net farm income is forecast at $45.6 billion in 2000, an increase of $2.2 billion from $43.4 billion in 1999 and $400 million dollars above the 1990-99 average of $45.2 billion. USDA says this increase is due primarily to an infusion of government assistance that is likely to surpass 1999 payments by $2.7 billion. 

Senate Proposal Appeals to Cattlemen.  The proposed Trade Injury Compensation Act (TICA) could be another useful tool in the beef industry's quest to move the European Union to comply with international trade rules, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association says. The measure would allow funds collected from tariffs on more than $116 million in EU products to go directly to the cattle industry. 

Help Ban MTBE Before Adjournment, Clinton Urged.  The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and the Renewable Fuels Association have urged President Clinton and the administration to support passage of the Federal Reformulated Fuels Act (S. 2962) before the conclusion of the 106th Congress. The bill, which was approved Sept. 7 by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, would ban MTBE in four years and create a national program requiring the use of renewable fuels. 

Senators Want Alfalfa Loans Expedited  Ten western senators want Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and the Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob Lew to implement no-interest loans for alfalfa seed producers in 39 states whose seed buyer, AgriBio Tech, Las Vegas, went bankrupt. The growers could lose $4.5 million in payments still owed them, the senators say. 

Harkin Calls for Schedule on GAO Recommendations  Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) has asked Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman for a schedule on implementing a General Accounting Office recommendation on enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act released last week. The report recommended that USDA develop a teamwork approach between economists in the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) and attorneys in USDA's Office of General Counsel (OGC) and that USDA determine the number of attorneys needed to participate in the investigations. 

Carousel Delay Raises Agriculture's Doubts  A prolonged delay in listing new European Union agricultural products subject to carousel trade retaliation raises doubts about the government's seriousness of enforcing international trade agreements, says American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman. 

Glickman Calls for `Sufficient' Funding  Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman has called on the Senate-House agricultural appropriations conference to provide "adequate resources" to USDA in the final appropriations measure. USDA has downsized by almost 20% over the past five years, and "we simply cannot deliver programs without adequate resources," he told Rep. Joe Skeen (R-NM), chairman of the agricultural appropriations subcommittee.

News Summaries

Schaffer Sentenced to One Year.  Tyson Foods Inc. executive Archibald Schaffer III was sentenced to a year in jail for trying to influence former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy illegally, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS and BLOOMBERG NEWS report. U.S. District Judge James Robertson said he would rather have sentenced Schaffer to a year of probation and a $10,000 fine, but U.S. agriculture law required him to impose the minimum prison sentence, AP said. The sentence includes a minimum $5,000 fine. Independent Counsel Donald Smaltz had asked for a three-year sentence and will decide in a couple of days whether to appeal, AP said. Tyson Foods, the biggest U.S. poultry producer, pleaded guilty in December 1997 to providing about $12,000 in illegal gifts to Espy and agreed to pay $6 million in fines and court costs, AP said. 

Government Fails on Segregating Foods.  REUTERS reports that Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said Monday that Kraft Foods Inc's recall of taco shells containing an unapproved biotech corn variety showed the government has to do a better job of segregating gene-spliced grains and commodities. "We've got to do a better job of segregating those commodities to make sure that...we basically protect people from things that haven't been approved," Glickman told reporters after speaking at a hunger forum. He also praised the Food and Drug Administration for keeping a close eye on the situation, the report said. "The FDA is monitoring the situation very closely, very carefully," Glickman said. "I don't think there is any public health and safety issue here but the fact is the product has not been approved for human consumption. It should not be served." Another speaker at the hunger meeting, the Rockefeller Foundation's Gordan Conway, said the U.S. government should require labels on genetically modified food. "I believe there is a large consumer demand for it. It's as simple as that," said the head of the philanthropic group which supports the development of biotech crops to help improve yields in the Third World. Conway also said he did not believe biotech food presented any "serious health hazard." 

Australia Wants Supports Halved.  The United States, European Union and Japan must halve their support for farmers within a year to restore fair trade, says Australia. REUTERS reports that support was worth $360 billion last year. Trade Minister Mark Vaile said he welcomed a submission lodged by the Australia-led Cairns Group of agricultural exporting countries with the Geneva- based World Trade Organisation (WTO), proposing a 50% initial reduction in trade-distorting domestic support by WTO members within the first year of implementation, according to the article. The proposal was submitted to the WTO late on Monday and will be discussed at the next session of WTO farm negotiations in Geneva on September 26-28, Vaile said in a statement. 

Australia Looks to Ethanol.  Australia will fund a study into the effectiveness of increasing commercial ethanol fuel production by the sugar industry, Agriculture Minister Warren Truss said on Tuesday. A report from REUTERS says some sugar mills already are producing ethanol from waste cane, most of it used to meet their own fuel needs or to produce a variety of speciality products, according to Truss. "There are differing opinions on the commercial viability of large-scale ethanol production," he said, adding that it could be more attractive with higher world oil prices. Ethanol produced from grain was currently mixed with petroleum in some parts of New South Wales, while ethanol from sugar had been used in petroleum in the Mackay area of Queensland about 10 years ago before sugar prices improved, the article says. 

Clinton Signs China Bill Next Week.  President Bill Clinton is expected next week to sign into law the bill to grant China permanent normal trade relations, achieving one of his last foreign-policy goals, REUTERS quotes administration officials. The legislation, overwhelmingly approved by the Senate Sept. 19 and the House in May, will end a 20-year-old annual ritual of reviewing China's trade status and guarantees Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to the U.S. market as products from nearly every other nation. In exchange for the benefits, China agreed to open a wide range of markets from agriculture to telecommunications under the terms of a landmark agreement setting the stage for Beijing to join the World Trade Organization later this year. REUTERS quotes a White House spokeswoman saying, "The president would be expected to sign the bill next week." 

Hog Vote Outcome Months Away.  Results of pork producers' votes last week on whether to renew a controversial checkoff program will not be known until December, a U.S. Agriculture Department official said Monday. REUTERS reported that Ralph Tapp, spokesman for USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, said the outcome of the Sept. 19-21 referendum will take a "period of months" as federal officials validate the ballots. Local USDA Farm Service Agency offices will count the ballots on Nov. 29 and send them to Washington for confirmation in early December. "It's a rather long process because there is an opportunity to challenge (the vote)," Tapp said. "We expect the results by the end of the year." 

Disaster Relief May Be Expanded.  A Senate appropriations bill providing about $2 billion in disaster relief for U.S. farmers may be increased to reflect drought damage to Southern crops, a farm-state legislator said, according to BLOOMBERG NEWS. The article notes that farmers in Georgia, Alabama and Texas, among other states, were hurt by a summer drought that damaged crops, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) told reporters after meeting with Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. "You can never do enough on disaster assistance," said Cochran, chairman of the Senate appropriations subcommittee on agriculture. The $2 billion in the current bill is part of a $75 billion- plus spending bill for the USDA's budget for fiscal 2001, which begins Oct. 1. The House passed a $75 billion-plus bill in July. A conference committee still must resolve differences to reach a compromise spending bill.
 

September 25, 2000

Producers React to Latest Monarch Report. The National Corn Growers Association welcomed a report last week from the Environmental Protection Agency that showed there is no apparent risk to butterflies from biotech corn. NCGA said the report "refutes claims" about the effect on the Monarch, especially. 

GMA Says Kraft Acted in Consumers' Best Interest. Grocery Manufacturers of America President and Chief Executive Officer C. Manly Molpus says a voluntary recall issued by Kraft Foods, Inc., of specific taco shell products from grocery stores, was "in the best interest of its consumers." 

Nutrition Training Grants Announced. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman has announced grants totaling $3.2 million to 33 states for "Team Nutrition" training programs. The 33 States receiving the grants will develop new training programs on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2000 through state agencies that administer the National School Lunch Program and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. 

USDA `Blitzes' Vehicles from Canada. USDA recently conducted five days of intensified inspections, or a "blitz," of vehicles crossing into the United States from Canada. During these blitzes, which took place in Buffalo, NY, and Detroit, MI, officials from USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service inspected vehicles for prohibited agricultural products that could be harboring exotic pests or diseases, such as Mediterranean fruit fly or citrus canker. 

Beef Program Funding Approved. The Beef Promotion Operating Committee has approved a comprehensive checkoff-funded promotion, research and information program for fiscal year 2001, which begins Oct. 1, okaying a $42.2 million program as the final step in 10-month planning process that has included input from more than 1,200 producer leaders of state beef councils and others in the beef industry. 

IRS Requirement May Hit Some Producers. The Internal Revenue Service may require farmers to withhold taxes on contracts made with a foreign based custom harvester. At a minimum, says the National Association of Wheat Growers, producers are required to report any such transaction to the IRS on Form 1042-S.

News Summaries

FAS Withdraws Rule on Sugar-Containing Products. Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Timothy J. Galvin says FAS has withdrawn its proposal to establish a U.S. import licensing system for certain sugar-containing products. The withdrawal will be published in the Federal Register today (Sept. 25). The proposal is withdrawn because the Canadian government has rescinded its policy of mandatory increases in the export of certain sugar-containing products packaged for retail sale. 

Cows' Blood in Animal Feed Minimized. Britain's Agriculture Ministry Sunday "played down" reports that new cases of "mad cow disease" might have been resulted from the ministry's failure to ban cow's blood from use in cattle feed, according to a report from REUTERS. The Sunday Times newspaper reported that eight possible new cases of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), had been detected in cows. The paper said scientists thought the new cases might be linked to the fact that cows' blood can be included in bovine feed despite a ban on using other types of cow material in feed. The Agriculture Ministry said that only one of the possible new BSE cases had been confirmed and added that the feed industry did not use cow's blood in cattle feed. "Although the government looked at bovine blood in bovine feed in 1998 and decided there was no need for a ban, the industry still doesn't use cow blood in cow feed," a spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) said. 

Nader Talks Agriculture. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that more than 12,000 people filled the Target Center sports arena Friday night, paying $7 each to hear presidential hopeful Ralph Nader denounce the major party candidates and call for social justice. Earlier in the day, Nader proposed shifting control of agriculture "away from corporate conglomerates and back toward the family farmer," according to the article. "By weakening the stranglehold agribusiness has on the food industry, we will be able to increase farm gate prices and competition, which will consequently reduce food costs for consumers," he said. His farm plan calls for stronger enforcement of antitrust laws, prohibition of meat packer ownership of livestock production facilities and allowing American farmers to grow industrial hemp. 

Cuba Sanctions Vote Waning. REUTERS reports that time is running out for Congress to exempt food and medicine from the U.S. embargo on Cuba. Farm groups and a Senate proponent are fearful the idea will be buried again by leaders hostile to the measure. Farm and business groups say economic engagement through food and medicine sales would be more effective in encouraging change in Cuba than the retention of sanctions, according to the article. Critics say the island must embrace democracy to earn the economic rewards. The Senate and House voted earlier this year to ease rules on food and medicine sales but on different bills. With two weeks left before adjournment, there have been no meetings to draft a final version. "My greatest concern is there won't be (negotiations)," Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) told Majority Leader Trent Lott during an exchange on the Senate floor. 

Sugar from Mexico on Hold. An allocation for Mexico to ship 116,000 tonnes of sugar to the United States in fiscal 2001 is on hold until the Clinton administration decides on the pace and timing of the shipments, USDA says, according to a REUTERS report. Because the allocation is significantly higher than the 25,000 tonnes that Mexico received in fiscal 2000, "it could have an effect on the U.S. market," said Richard Blabey, director of the department's sugar import policy division. "Therefore, it takes some serious thought and analysis before we decide what the shipping pattern could be for Mexico," he said. The article says that until that decision is made, Mexico will not be able to ship any sugar to the United States in fiscal 2001, which begins Oct. 1, he said. "It's hard to say how soon shipping patterns will be established for Mexico," Blabey said. 

Thailand Should Plant GMOs. A biotechnology expert recommended Monday that Thai agricultural planners apply genetically modified organism (GMO) techniques for food production, according to KYODO NEWS. Traditional methods are reaching their limits to feed the growing population. Channapatna Prakash, director of the Center for Plant Biotechnology Research at Tuskegee University, made the recommendation in a lecture to a workshop for agriculture research under the ninth National Economic and Social Development five-year plan between 2002 and 2006. Last week, farmers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) organized a nationwide campaign against GMOs, claiming that gene engineering destroys traditional breeding and local biodiversity. Prakash told the workshop that although there remain some concerns about the safety of GMO techniques, the benefits far outweigh the risks. 

Tyson Executive Faces Sentencing. Tyson Foods former executive Archie Schaffer III is scheduled for sentencing today in Washington. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports Schaffer faces a recommendation from prosecutors for a three-year prison term. He was convicted of bribery in a case involving former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy. The AP article notes that Espy was one of the 120 guests at a birthday celebration for Schaffer in 1993. The investigation lasted six years and cost $23 million. Espy was found innocent of any wrongdoing for attending the party. Schaffer had arranged the trip for Espy and his girlfriend. Schaffer, says the AP, is hopeful he may stay a free man. Nearly 100 people have written letters asking U.S. District Judge James Robertson to show leniency. Others in Arkansas and elsewhere have slapped ``Free Archie'' bumper stickers on their vehicles. "And still others, including the governor and entire congressional delegation of Arkansas, are asking President Clinton to pardon his longtime friend and supporter," according to the article.

September 22, 2000

Iowa Senators React to GAO Concentration Report. Sens. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) have taken somewhat different approaches to saying the same thing: A General Accounting Office (GAO) report USDA's enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act shows a need for improvement. It contains "valid recommendations for more effective action against anti-competitive practices in livestock markets," said Harkin. Grassley was more blunt: it shows USDA "has not effectively used its power to stop anti-competitive practices in the livestock and meat packing industries," he said. 

Rural Education, Medicine Get $18.7 Million. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman Thursday announced $18.7 million in grants to promote the use of technology in education and medicine. Glickman made the announcement at the Raisin City Elementary School in Raisin City, CA, near the Community Medical Centers of Fresno County, which received a $206,000 grant to establish a telecommunications network. 

FSA Proposes Easier Emergency Farm Loan Procedures. Farm Service Agency Administrator Keith Kelly has proposed changes that are designed to streamline emergency farm loan requirements to make it easier for farmers to qualify and so that farmers will the loans more quickly with less paperwork. The proposed changes would simplify the process for estimating losses, would remove the need for collateral, and increase the loan limit from 80% to 100% of production losses. 

CSPI Says Imported Meat and Poultry Could Be Contaminated. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says that according to official internal reports, numerous meat and poultry plants in six out of 15 countries audited by USDA in 1998 and 1999 were so ill-equipped, dirty, or otherwise in violation of department rules that they were barred from exporting to the United States. However, USDA apparently took no action in five of those countries either to inspect or stop imports from other, uninspected plants, according to CSPI.

News Summaries

US Fears Pests from Canada. REUTERS reports that concerns are mounting that exotic pests and diseases form foreign countries, made more probable with trade barriers falling, are a threat, perhaps even from neighboring Canada. USDA says it inspected more than 3,500 vehicles crossing into the United States from Canada during the busy Labor Day holiday weekend earlier this month and seized some 6.5 tons of prohibited food materials. "From these prohibited materials, over 200 pests that threaten American agriculture, including fruit fly larvae, pink hibiscus mealybug and snails, were found," the USDA said in a statement. The article says USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service collected more than $13,500 in fines during the five-day blitz along the U.S.-Canadian border. 

Ranchers Say Packers Run Them Out of Business. Cattle ranchers and small feedlot operators charged on Thursday meat packing industry practices run them out of business, REUTERS reports from Denver. They urged USDA to stop allowing a few agribusinesses to control the market. The report says that while ranchers talk about pricing and forward contracts and alleged price manipulation, "what they are really talking about is saving a way of life that is fast disappearing on the high plains." "Ranchers are becoming contract hired employees of the meat processors," David Carter, president of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, told a USDA panel examining so-called "captive supplies" in the cattle industry. The hearing was attended by about 150 people, including ranchers from Montana, Colorado, South Dakota and Nebraska. The meeting, sponsored by USDA, was held to allow ranchers, feedlot operators and meat packers to testify on a proposed rule that would restrict the way packers use their own cattle and how they conduct forward contracts with ranchers. Michael Dunn, under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs at the USDA, said he he did not know when Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman would decide on the proposal, but said the meeting produced important information. "I think it will help him a great deal to have had his top staff here," Dunn said after the meeting, "and to be talking about this issue here -- it does allow a perspective outside the beltway." 

Lugar Says No Return to the Past. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN) says there will be no return to federal planting restrictions when Congress begins work on a new farm policy law next year, REUTERS reports. Lugar said the committee will be "very active" but questioned whether a new farm law would be written before 2002, when the landmark "Freedom to Farm" law expires. With growers facing a fourth year of low grain prices and congressional bail-outs to farmers hitting $22 billion since late 1998, "Freedom to Farm" is under attack for not doing enough to protect farmers from low prices. "My ears are open for good suggestions," Lugar told reporters, but a series of House Agriculture Committee hearings this year showed there was no consensus on how to change the farm program. 

Australian Food Labels Proposed. REUTERS reports that "tough new food labeling rules" similar to those in the United States, have been proposed in Australia and New Zealand. They would require manufacturers to list nutritional data, potential allergens and percentages of main ingredients on all packaged foods. But the food industry "reacted with dismay to the proposals saying they go beyond global standards, will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to implement and offer few benefits," the article says. "This is the gene technology labelling issue revisited in terms of costs,'' Geoffrey Annison, scientific and technical director at the Australian Food and Grocery Council, told REUTERS. The proposals come just two months after Australia and New Zealand introduced the most stringent rules in the world for labeling genetically modified foods, requiring strict labels where novel DNA and/or protein was present in food. 

U.S. Studies Mexico HFCS Decision. The United States is still studying Mexico's decision on Wednesday to maintain steep anti-dumping duties on imports of U.S. fructose corn syrup, a spokesman for the U.S. Trade Representative's Office said, according to REUTERS. "We are still looking at it," the aide told Reuters. "Our initial reaction was we're disappointed." USTR will have more to say after it has finished translating the Spanish language document, the aide said. The World Trade Organization ruled earlier this year that Mexico did not establish that its domestic producers had been harmed by the imports before imposing the anti-dumping duties, which range from $55 to $175.50 per tonne. By agreement with the United States, Mexico was given until Sept. 22 to announce how it would comply with the ruling.
 

September 21, 2000

Food Safety Oversight Hearing Held by Senate Panel.  The Senate Agriculture Committee Wednesday heard from government and industry about the effectiveness of the nation's food safety program.  Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman told the committee that in plants that have completed hazardous analysis and critical control point (HACCP) program implementation, Salmonella has been reduced by more than half on chicken carcasses and by one-third on ground beef.  And for every product regulated by USDA, at least 82% of plants have met or done better than the performance standard, he added.

Voluntary Food Product Labeling for Animal Welfare Announced.  The American Humane Association (AHA) has begun a "Free Farmed Certification Program" to certify that farm animals are raised in a humane manner.  A "Free Farmed" label "will assure consumers that the dairy, beef, and poultry products they purchase come from animals that were treated according to animal welfare standards developed by AHA," association officials said at a news conference in Washington.

More Reductions in Contamination Noted in Report.  Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman says reductions in the prevalence of Salmonella in raw meat and poultry continue to occur under USDA's new, science-based inspection system. "The evidence is clear.  Our science-based, prevention-oriented food safety system is working," said Glickman, "Salmonella is way down.  Americans continue to enjoy the safest food in the world."

 September 20, 2000

Senate Approves Clean PNTR Bill for China. The Senate approved an amendment-free bill granting permanent normal trade relations for China. The 83-15 vote virtually guarantees U.S. support for China's bid to enter the World Trade Organization and China's loosening up its trade barriers to U.S. agricultural products. 

Corn Growers, ADM Join for Alternatives Research. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) have begun a two-year research project partnership that is expected to expand corn markets. The goal of the research is to create a commercial manufacturing process that converts corn fiber or bran into higher valued products. These would include chemical feed stocks, such as ethylene glycol and propylene glycol for antifreeze, and fuels such as ethanol. Corn fiber or bran is an abundant by-product of the wet milling industry and is used as low-priced feed. 

Sugar PIK Program Diverts at Least 100,000 Acres. USDA's Farm Service Agency says preliminary results of the fiscal year 2000 sugar payment-in-kind (PIK) diversion program sign-up that ended Sept. 1 show more than 5,000 offers to divert about 100,000 acres from sugar production. 

FSIS Proposes to Share Information. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service is proposing to share some proprietary information with state and other federal government agencies when a recall of meat or poultry products is being conducted. Under the proposed rule, published in Tuesday's Federal Register, FSIS may, in the interest of public health, share some confidential proprietary information with other government agencies in connection with the recalls of meat, poultry and egg products.

News Summaries

Stenholm Says Overhaul Farm Law in 2001. BLOOMBERG NEWS reports that Rep. Charles Stenholm (D-TX) believes the basic farm law should be overhauled a year earlier than scheduled. Stenholm, ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee and who could become chairman if the Democrats recapture the House in November, said the 1996 Freedom to Farm law "was designed to be the last farm bill," but "it hasn't worked out that way." Instead of federal subsidies declining over a seven-year period, they have been increased because of weak Asian economies and bumper U.S. crops, Stenholm said in a speech to the Commodity Club of Washington. "It's not a sustainable national policy,"Stenholm said. "Therefore, I think we really need to roll up our sleeves and make the House Agriculture Committee a working committee early in the next Congress with a whole design and purpose of having the new farm bill before the end of 2001. "The current farm law expires in 2002. 

All of Mississippi, Much of Nebraska, Declared Disaster Areas. USDA has declared the entire state of Mississippi as an agriculture disaster area due to drought and excessive heat, making farmers eligible for USDA emergency loans. In Nebraska, 13 primary and 37 contiguous counties were declared a disaster area from severe drought, excessive heat, hail, high winds, lightening and excessive rains this summer. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of this declaration to apply for the loans to help cover part of their actual losses. USDA's Farm Service Agency will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available, repayment ability, and other eligibility requirements. 

Outlook Forum Will be Held Feb. 22-23. USDA will hold the Agricultural Outlook Forum 2001 on Feb. 22 and 23 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202. Forecasts of farm prospects and insights into farm economy developments are highlights of the forum. Speakers include top government officials, industry analysts, farmers, business leaders and academic experts. USDA also releases a new set of long-term commodity projections at the forum. 

FAO Sees Little Food Grain Trade Change. REUTERS reports that world food grain trade in 2000-01 is expected to remain little changed at 232.0 million tons against 231.3 million in 1999-2000.  The Rome-based United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its latest Food Outlook report that the figures reflected upward revisions in imports by several countries in Asia, Latin America and the European Union, according to the article. "For the developing countries as a group, cereal imports in 2000/01 are put at a record 168 million tons, up 2 million tons from last season's already high level," FAO said. "Based on this forecast, and taking into account the current prospects for cereal food aid and prices during the course of the 2000-01 season, the cereal import bill of the developing countries is expected to approach $22 billion, just over $1 billion above the previous year," it added. 

Illinois Sees Benefits from China Trade.The state of Illinois expects to reap substantial benefits from new trade with China, according to a spokesman for the state's Department of Commerce as reported in the WALL STREET JOURNAL.  The Senate Tuesday approved Permanent Normal Trade Relations, allowing free trade between the U.S. and China and paving the way for substantial tariff reductions for U.S. exports to a country of 1.2 billion consumers.  "This is especially important for Illinois," Brian Reardon told Dow Jones Newswires. "Illinois is the sixth- leading state for exports.  One in eight jobs in the state -and one in four manufacturing jobs - is related to exports."  Reardon said the state exported $850 million of goods to China in 1999.  "With the agreement, tariffs on agricultural goods will go from 30% to 14.5%, which will be very significant for the state."

September 19, 2000

USDA Announces Sugar Quota. USDA has established the fiscal year 2001 tariff rate quota for sugar imports at 1.26 million metric tons, raw value (1.5 million short tons raw value). The quota includes raw, refined, and specialty sugar. The announcement pleased sugar producers, and one news report noted the decision "brushed aside" congressional criticism of the program's management. 

Greenspan Not a Likely Election Casualty. Presidential candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush seem to agree on at least one thing: they aren't going to mess with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan if elected, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. A new book suggests he probably will be around a while longer, regardless of who wins the White House. 

New ERS Report Discusses Risk Management. Although the emergency assistance packages have relieved immediate financial stress for many producers, risk management continues to concern farmers and farm policymakers. Risk management is likely to be part of the discussions of future farm legislation, particularly the 2002 farm bill. The Clinton Administration has called for longer-term economic safety-net legislation that would reduce the need for emergency assistance, and many Republicans have questioned whether a more farmer supportive approach is needed when the current farm law expires in 2002. 

Heart Risk Diminished with Diet. Simple dietary changes -- like switching from butter and some other dairy foods that are high in total and saturated fat -- can help women reduce their risk of heart disease by as much as 31%, according to findings published in an epidemiological research paper in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

News Summaries

Senate Ready for China Vote. REUTERS reports that "after months of delay," the Senate is ready to give final approval to legislation granting permanent normal trade relations to China "in a historic vote fulfilling one of President Clinton's last foreign policy objectives." The controversial trade bill is expected to enjoy overwhelming support in today's vote, in what the news service says is "a victory for business groups eager to tap the vast Chinese marketplace, potentially the world's largest with 1.3 billion consumers." The final hurdle was cleared last week when senators rejected a controversial plan to impose sanctions on China for its alleged role in weapons proliferation and defeated other amendments urging Beijing to improve its human rights record. Had any amendments been adopted by the Senate, the trade bill would have been sent back to a bitterly divided House of Representatives. The House approved permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) for China in May, but was unlikely to do so again so close to the November election, lawmakers said. 

USDA Reminds Producers of Pork Vote. USDA is reminding pork producers that the in-person dates to vote in the pork checkoff referendum begin today and last through Thursday. This referendum will decide whether producers want the pork checkoff program to continue. Producers who have owned and sold one or more pigs or hogs at any time from Aug. 18, 1999, through Aug. 17, 2000, are eligible to vote. Producers can vote in-person at their county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. In addition, producers can also vote by absentee ballot through Sept. 21. Importers can vote by mail through Sept. 21 and may request mail ballots from the FSA headquarters office in Washington, DC. 

USDA Comments on STB Regulations. USDA has submitted comments to the Surface Transportation Board urging the board to require major railroads to certify and report car loading and termination statistics directly to the federal regulatory agency. To ensure the continued availability of car loading and termination data, the board is considering mandatory reporting of the information rather than obtaining it voluntarily from the railroads through the carriers' industry association. "The timeliness and availability of accurate Class I railroad statistics are vital to individuals and parties who monitor railroad activities and aspire to effectively participate in Board proceedings," said Michael V. Dunn, USDA under secretary. "Rural agricultural communities need guaranteed access to Class I railroads' operating statistics, including car loadings and terminations, in order to protest rail abandonments and appeal tariff rates." The numbers of cars loaded and terminated are used as inputs in rail costing calculations. 

Farmers Store for Higher Prices. Weak corn and soybean prices have farmers making plans to tuck away this fall's harvest in every tool shed, corn bin, and open building they can find and hope for prices to rally, grain analysts said, according to REUTERS. "You're going to see a fairly large percent of this year's crops going to storage and if farmers are true to their past, they'll collect the deficiency payment and look for a winter rally to sell," said Darrel Good, University of Illinois agricultural economist. When cash grain prices are below the USDA's loan rate in any county, a farmer can claim the difference -- the deficiency -- as a cash payment. The article says that as a rule of thumb, the lower CBOT futures fall, the bigger the loan deficiency payment. Farmers cannot put grain on which they have claimed LDP's under government loan. But large LDPs have been hard for farmers to resist as a way to boost to cash-flow and pay for commercial storage rates of 2-3 cents per bushel per month, according to the article. 

China Sees Potential in Cuba. China sees "enormous potential" in its friendship with socialist ally Cuba and will work to further increase political and economic cooperation between them, China's Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said on Monday. REUTERS reports that Tang made the comments at the end of a two-day visit to the communist-ruled Caribbean island during which he held talks with Cuba's President Fidel Castro, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and Vice President Carlos Lage. "My visit to Cuba was short but it allowed me to see the enormous potential in our cooperation," the Chinese minister told Cuban television after his discussions with Lage on Monday. The article notes he said both countries should seize all opportunities to boost their relations, which have strengthened visibly since the collapse after 1990 of Cuba's trade and aid ties with its former Cold War ally, the defunct Soviet Union. 

Unapproved Corn May Have Been Used in Tacos. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that the government is investigating whether a variety of biotech corn that hasn't been approved for human consumption was used in taco shells sold in grocery stores under the Taco Bell brand. The article says officials said the corn, which is genetically engineered to kill an insect, is approved for use only in animal feed because of unresolved questions about whether it could cause allergies to humans. Testing by an Iowa company found evidence of the corn in the taco shells, and a group of environmental organizations opposed to genetically engineered food announced the results in a press release. The AP article says officials with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration said they had not seen the test results but were looking into them. If the test results are correct, the FDA would consider action to get it out of the food supply. The Washington Post first reported on the test results in its Monday editions. 

Drought Costs Nebraska $1 Billion Plus. The drought of 2000 will cost Nebraska farmers and the state's economy more than $1 billion, Gov. Mike Johanns said. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS the direct loss to farmers and ranchers is estimated at $555 million - an average of $10,000 for each farmer in the state. "We continue to keep our fingers crossed and hope for rain, but even rain won't provide relief for this year's dramatic losses," Johanns said. The AP article says some experts have said the state is experiencing one of its worst droughts since record keeping began 105 years ago. Johanns made the announcement Thursday based on figures from Roy Frederick, an agricultural economist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The dollar estimate was based on recent crop reports, increased irrigation costs and the effect on the state of a depressed farm economy. 

ITC Assesses Cuban Embargo. REUTERS reports that the four-decade-old U.S. sanctions on Cuba, challenged in Congress as ineffectual, will come under examination today by the U.S. International Trade Commission trying to make an impartial assessment of its impact on both nations. The top-ranking Cuban diplomat in the United States, Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, was among three dozen legislators, officials, analysts, activists and business leaders scheduled to discuss the embargo before the ITC in two days of hearings. An independent agency, the ITC was asked last March by the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee to assess the impact of sanctions in both nations, paying particular attention to sectors, such as U.S. agriculture, where it may be notable. The ITC is expected to report its findings early next year. The article says farm groups and other critics say the sanctions are a futile Cold War relic that hurt U.S. sales. Defenders say there should be no change until Castro embraces democracy. "The record is pretty clear. When economic pressure is consistently applied, Castro has no choice but to implement reforms," said Dennis Hays of the Cuban American National Foundation, pointing to approval of farmers markets and other steps during economic distress in the early 1990s following the demise of the Soviet Union.
 

September 15, 2000

Combest, Stenholm Want Clinton to Explain Carousel Delay. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) and the ranking Democrat, Rep. Charles Stenholm (TX) want President Clinton to brief the entire committee on why the administration has not implemented the law requiring a "carousel" rotation of duties on European Union products in retaliation for EU trade actions. 

Pork Producers Counter Opponents' Claims. With voting on whether to continue the pork checkoff program scheduled to begin next week, the pork producers' "Vote Yes Task Force" has issued a statement countering what they say are opponents' arguments favoring scrapping the research and promotion program. 

January-August Warmest on Record. The meteorological summer, June-August 2000, was much warmer than normal in the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports. The statistics were calculated by NOAA scientists working from the world's largest statistical weather database at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC. 

CFTC, SEC Agree on Single Stock Futures The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission have reached an agreement to lift the ban on trading single stock futures. Known as the Shad-Johnson Jurisdictional Accord, this ban has prohibited the trading of these instruments since 1982.

News Summaries

Clinton's Carousel Delay a Response to Blair. REUTERS reports that President Clinton has delayed a decision on imposing retaliatory duties on a new set of $308.2 million worth of European Union goods following efforts by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to resolve trans-Atlantic trade disputes. The article quotes U.S. officials. The article says that as separate trade fights over beef, bananas and tax breaks for American exporters have become increasingly entangled, London has "voiced crucial support for Washington in resolving the disputes," according to the officials quoted. "At a recent EU ministers meeting, Blair was extra, extra demanding that we need to resolve the banana dispute," a USDA official told the news agency. Blair also insisted that the EU work with the United States to resolve a tax trade dispute in a mutually beneficial way rather than hold ``the Americans hostage on the issue,'' the department official said. 

Greenpeace Scores Greece on GM Cotton. Greece is breaking EU laws by failing to uproot and destroy all gene modified (GM) cotton in the country, Greenpeace said on Thursday, according to a REUTERS report. Greenpeace Greece campaign director Nikos Charalambidis told the news agency, "At the moment Greece is violating Greek and European laws. We (Greece) are proceeding illegally." The Agriculture Ministry said in July that initial tests had shown accidental mixing of GM seeds in cotton planted earlier this year, contrary to an EU ban. The article notes that the government said earlier this week that some 1,400 acres were under genetically modified cotton in the country and that cotton seeds previously identified as containing GM material were in storage. It said earlier the stored cotton would either be destroyed or re-exported to the countries of origin. 

U.S. Soybeans for Chinese Chickens. BLOOMBERG NEWS reports that as U.S. farmers prepare to gather a record soybean crop that may push prices close to a 28- year low, 3.4 billion hungry Chinese chickens "could help them avoid a glut." Chinese poultry destined for Beijing's Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets or for export to Tokyo's yakitori bars are helping gobble up surging soybean supplies, says this article. "Demand is so hot, that processor Beijing Huadu Broiler Production Co. is buying fowl from backyards as far as 200 kilometers away to meet demand," says BLOOMBERG. KFC "wants us to increase production by 67%," said Ran Guanghua, director of Huadu. "I don't know how we're going to do it. We're already waiting for two hours each day for the farmers' chickens to show up." More chickens in China, the world's largest poultry consumer and second-largest producer, means more demand for feed, which is about 20% crushed soybeans. So China's soybean imports are set to double to a record 8.3 million metric tons in the crop year ending Sept. 30, said USDA's Beijing attache, Ralph Bean. "Record imports of soybeans are being driven by demand for meal," Bean said. Imports in the year starting Oct. 1, will stay above 8 million tons as livestock production recovers, he said. The article says that's good news for U.S. soybean farmers, who may see their crop fetch an average of just $4.75 a bushel for the season that began Sept. 1, the second-lowest since 1972, according to USDA. 

USDA Expects No Great Crop Revisions. USDA does not expect a special survey of drought-stricken states to produce any significant revisions in this year's U.S. harvested acreage, although agronomists in Texas, Kansas and Nebraska forecast some reductions, according to REUTERS. Mark Harris, USDA's National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) crops division chief, said the results of the acreage survey to be conducted in early October would depend on whether dry, hot weather continued in the South and southwestern states throughout September. "I don't really expect any acreage changes," Harris told REUTERS in an interview. But, he added, "continued hot dry weather through September could affect farmers' plans to harvest acreage." The special acreage survey will include Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Those states have seen soybeans, cotton, corn and other crops wither from relentless heat and lack of rain throughout the summer.
 

September 14, 2000

Research Grants Announced. USDA has awarded $113 million in competitive research grants under the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems to more than 500 scientists and educators to find sciencebased solutions to critical emerging challenges in fields such as genomics, biotechnology, and natural resource management. 

Glickman Leaves Future to Successor Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman took a look ahead Wednesday to some of the challenges that will face his successor in the top USDA job. In an address to the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association, he suggested that the next farm law encompass far more than the large row crops that traditionally have been the focus of farm laws. 

Pork Board Urges Producer Turnout for Referendum The National Pork Board has urged all eligible pork producers to vote in the upcoming referendum on whether the board should have a future or not. Inperson voting will be held at local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices on Sept. 19, 20 and 21. 

Presenting: Tipper and Willy in Concert Tipper Gore, wife of presidential candidate and Vice President Al Gore, will perform with Willie Nelson onstage at Farm Aid 2000 Presented by Best Buy, scheduled for Sept. 17 at Nissan Pavilion, just outside of Washington, DC. 

Milk Industry Rebuffs Physicians Prostate Claims The National Dairy Council and the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board have denounced a new ad launched in New York by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an animal rights/vegan organization that attempts to generate news coverage by posing as a reputable `doctors' group, according to the two organizations.

News Summaries

WTO Resumes China Negotiations. KYODO NEWS reports from Geneva that World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries Wednesday resumed negotiations to finalize China's obligations and conditions for its entry into the world trade body. ''We are trying to work as hard as possible,'' Long Yongtu, a vice minister of China's Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Ministry and head of China's delegation, told reporters ahead of a working party session. The talks, the third round this year following sessions in June and July, are scheduled to continue until Sept. 28. KYODO says the new round of negotiations is seen as crucial for China to clinch accession to the WTO by end of the year. For China to become an official member, a consensus must be reached at the talks. China then needs final approval from the WTO's General Council, and must ratify the accession protocol and deposit the ratification documents with the WTO. It will then become a member 30 days later.
 

September 13, 2000

Coalition Petitions for Beef Labeling. Several livestock and farm organizations have petitioned Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman to consider voluntary beef labeling. A "Beef: Made in the USA" label would provide a program for retailers and food service operators to voluntarily promote U.S. beef, according to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, one of the groups filing the petition. 

Lugar Finds Civil Rights Complaints `Disturbing.' Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, finds the volume of discrimination complaints against USDA "disturbing" and urged department officials to report promptly on efforts being made to resolve pending complaints and prevent future discrimination. 

Molpus Sees Progress in Biotech Acceptance. C. Manly Molpus, president and CEO, Grocery Manufacturers of America, Inc., believes progress has been made in gaining consumer acceptance of bioengineered foods. Biotech opponents are losing ground to consumers who are paying attention to new information about the benefits of biotech and expressing continued confidence in the safety of the foods they eat. 

Cattle Industry Looks to More Profits and Demand. The U.S. cattle industry is positioned to continue its current trend of higher profits and increased consumer demand, National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) CEO Chuck Schroeder said Tuesday. Schroeder spoke to reporters while visiting Washington to lobby on behalf of cattle producers.

Farm, Food Groups Petition for China Vote A coalition of farm and food organizations representing virtually the entire scope of U.S. agriculture has asked every members of the Senate to support an amendment-free version of permanent normal trade relations with China and get on with the vote. To weigh the measure down with amendments sends it back to the House where defeat is possible and delay highly probable.

News Summaries

Record Crops, Low Prices Seen. Record corn and soybean crops being harvested will bring the lowest prices since the farm crisis of the mid-1980s, USDA said Tuesday. Based on field inspections and interviews with 15,000 growers, USDA estimated the corn crop at a record 10.362 billion bushels and soybeans at a record 2.90 billion bushels, both 10% larger than last year. Drought whittled the cotton crop to 18.3 million bales, each weighing 480 pounds. Wheat was forecast at 2.3 billion bushels, the same as last year. "It just confirms that we have big surpluses and low prices for sure until mid-2001," said private consultant John Schnittker. This year's U.S. corn crop was estimated to sell for an average $1.70 a bushel at the farm gate, the lowest since the last major farm recession nearly 20 years ago. The forecast average soybean price, $4.75 a bushel, also would be at mid-1980s levels. Greg Doud of the consulting firm World Perspectives said huge U.S. corn surpluses would dampen soybean and wheat prices as well. USDA's corn forecast was virtually unchanged from last month, the department's first formal estimate of the fall harvest. 

Fuel Costs Bring UK Farmers Out in Protest. UK farmers have pledged to bring London to a standstill as mounting protests over fuel costs threatened to paralyze the road network across swathes of Britain on Tuesday, according to REUTERS. They said they would continue protesting until Prime Minister Tony Blair, who held emergency talks in London after cutting short a visit to northern England, agreed to slash gasoline taxes. The National Farmers' Union (NFU), which has taken no part in coordinating the action, also appealed to the government to back down, calling the taxes "nothing short of extortionate." The protests, which began on Thursday, have triggered panic buying and petrol shortages and seen truck drivers jamming motorways and bringing traffic to a halt in many areas. REUTERS says tax and duties make up 76% of the price of unleaded petrol, which costs about $1.21 a liter in Britain. But Blair has said he will not back down and blames a global rise in oil prices for the increases.

September 12, 2000

Border Bottlenecks Hinder U.S.-Mexican Trade. If trade between the United States and Mexico was free of transportation bottlenecks, chances are good that more farm and food products would move into Mexico from the United States, says a USDA analyst. Bill Coyle, an Economic Research Service economist and analyst, believes there are exporters "who don't even attempt to export" some perishable products because of delays that an stretch up to several hours or even several days. 

HACCP Argument Continues. Whether or not USDA inspectors or meat processors should have the most authority in determining the safety of the products coming from meat plants remains a contentious issue between the inspectors and USDA's attempts to make the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) work to the satisfaction of all parties. 

National Grange Joins Alliance for Rural America. The National Grange, the nation's oldest general farm and rural public interest organization, is joining the Alliance for Rural America (ARA). The ARA was formed in 1998 to give farmers and rural consumers a strong and unified voice as energy deregulation and environmental issues are debated in Washington, DC and in individual states. National Grange has nearly 300,000 members nationwide who are affiliated with more than 3,800 local chapters in 37 states.

News Summaries

Poor Farmers Must Improve Rice Yields. Population is growing faster than rice production, and rice is a staple for more than half the world's people. Investment is needed to teach poor farmers to boost rice yields, a U.N. official said on Monday, according to REUTERS. "Stagnating production for some poor rice farmers may present them with a real problem as their incomes fall," Louise Fresco, assistant director-general for agriculture of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), told the news agency. U.N. experts said farmers in many parts of the developing world who had no alternatives to rice production were facing declines in productivity and incomes. They said the problems were most acute in Africa, Asia and Latin America, according to the article. Dat Tran, secretary of the International Rice Commission and a senior agricultural officer with the Rome-based FAO, said the growth rate of rice yields had declined from around 2.5% a year in the 1970s and 1980s to 1% a year in the 1990s. The article says he forecast that rice yields would grow by just 1% a year over the next 20 years. 

Drought Equals More Cattle Liquidation. The drought that killed pastures and dried up creeks throughout much of Texas and parts of Oklahoma this summer likely will force further reductions in the cattle herd, REUTERS reports. "The drought almost automatically assures this will be the fifth year of the liquidation cycle," said Chuck Levitt, a Chicago-based livestock analyst with Alaron Trading Corp. High prices for calves and yearlings combined with low feed prices had led industry sources to expect that ranchers would start expanding herds this year. But now, largely because of the drought, that expansion probably will be delayed. "I think we would be in an expansion phase if it had not been for the drought," said Jim Gill, marketing director for the Texas Cattle Feeders Association. The liquidation cycle the past few years had already cut the nation's cattle herd to 106.4 million head as of July 1 from 113 million in 1995. 

More Disaster Aid Expected This Year. Congress likely will need to approve yet more disaster aid for farmers this year because of poor crop conditions in parts of the country, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said on Monday. REUTERS reports that Glickman, at a news conferences with National Farmers Union President Leland Swenson, said, "It's clear that more money is going to be needed. I can't tell you what the number is right now because we haven't done the assessment." With just 20 days left in the legislative session, Swenson outlined additional aid of at least $2 billion for farmers and increased federal wheat and corn loan rates to levels in line with the soybean loan rate. Glickman said the administration did not have a position on "equalizing" commodity loan rates, and would work with Congress on how much additional disaster aid may be needed. Two hundred NFU members are in Washington this week, with the goal of visiting every congressional office, Swenson said. The group is also pushing for an extension of the dairy price support program and an increase in the support rate, according to the article. At the news conference, Swenson presented Glickman with a "Friend of Farmers Union" award for his work as agriculture secretary over the past five years and his efforts for farmers as a member of Congress from Kansas for 18 years.

September 11, 2000

Cotton Defoliant Decision Favorable. Cotton producers say the Environmental Protection Agency's reassessment of registration for the cotton defoliant tribufos ended favorably with a final decision providing for continued use of the products DEF and Folex. Tribufos is an organophosphate and so was subjected to extensive scrutiny by EPA under standards established in the Food Quality Protection Act. 

Senate Approves $18 Million for Biofuels Research. The Senate has approved $18 million for bio-energy research legislation that was sponsored by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN). The appropriation will fund the research and development necessary to bring to market an affordable form of biomass ethanol that could replace a substantial portion of the U.S. gasoline which is now refined from OPEC oil. 

Kansas Counties Designated Disasters. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman has designated 68 counties in Kansas as agriculture disaster areas because of crop damage due to severe drought, excessive heat, high winds, hail and flooding that took place this summer. The counties of Anderson, Atchison, Barton, Chase, Chautauqua, Cheyenne, Coffey, Decatur, Elk, Jewell, Johnson, Leavenworth, Lyon, Marshall, Mitchell, Morris, Norton, Osage, Phillips, Republic, Rooks, Stafford, Wabaunsee, Washington, and Wyandotte were named as primary disaster areas. 

Household `Food Insecurity' Declines. A new USDA report finds the number of U.S. households that experienced food insecurity declined by about 12% from 1995 to 1999, and the number of households that experienced hunger declined by 24% over the same period, but nearly 8 million people -- more than a third of them children -- lived in households that experienced hunger in 1999. 

USDA Proposes Dairy Product Grade Standards. USDA has invited public comment on its proposal to change the U.S. standards for grades of nonfat dry milk (spray process); the standards for instant nonfat dry milk and the standards for grades of dry buttermilk and dry buttermilk product. The standards for these products have been in effect since May, 22, 1996, Aug. 7, 1996 and Aug. 23, 1991, respectively. The proposal is in response to a request by the American Dairy Products Institute, a trade association representing the dry milk industry. 

USDA Signs Agreement to Aid Russia. USDA signed a fiscal year 2000 Food for Progress agreement last week with Action Contre La Faim (ACLF), a private voluntary organization, for the donation of U.S. agricultural commodities in Russia. The agreement will provide approximately 2,620 metric tons of wheat flour, rice, buckwheat, and vegetable oil. 

NPPC Wants Access to Argentina. National Pork Producers Council President (NPPC) Craig Jarolimek has urged Argentine trade officials to open their country to U.S. pork exports. In a meeting held at the Embassy of Argentina, Jarolimek, a pork producer from Forest River, ND, pointed out that U.S. pork producers have been unwavering supporters of allowing sound science to determine whether a foreign product was safe for importation and expected Argentina to do the same. 

FDA Releases Food Illness Database. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released the Report of the FDA Retail Food Program Database of Foodborne Illness Risk Factors which establishes a baseline to measure how effective industry and regulatory efforts are in changing behaviors and practices that directly relate to food-borne illness in the retail food industry. 

EPA Applauds MTBE Phaseout Bill. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner has commended the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for taking action to phase out the use of the fuel additive MTBE, or methyl tertiary-butyl ether, from cleaner-burning gasoline. In June 1999, an EPA blue ribbon panel concluded that MTBE posed risks to drinking water.

News Summaries

Politicos Seek Tyson Executive's Pardon. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that the six members of the Arkansas congressional delegation have joined Gov. Mike Huckabee in asking President Clinton to pardon Tyson Foods executive Archie Schaffer III who is facing a sentencing date this month for giving illegal gifts to former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy. The state's two senators and four representatives - half of which are Democrat, half Republican - asked Clinton to pardon Schaffer, governmental affairs director for Tyson who was convicted in 1998 of providing a gratuity to Espy in the form of a visit to Arkansas. The charge carries a mandatory prison sentence. Independent counsel Donald Smaltz has requested Schaffer receive the maximum three years. Sentencing has been scheduled for Sept. 25 in U.S. District Court in Washington. 

Democrats Flaunt Farm Bill `Failure'. Democrats hope the taunt of ``Freedom to Fail,'' a catcall aimed at the 1996 law that deregulated agriculture, will win the farm vote this fall and help Vice President Al Gore's campaign to gain the White House as well as recapture the House of Representatives, REUTERS reports. The article notes that only a few million people live on the land -- about a quarter of the population of rural America -- yet their votes could be pivotal in the Nov. 7 elections. "The Midwest, a large swath of the Farm Belt, is shaping up as the decisive region," says REUTERS. "Agriculture, in a close race, could have an impact," said private consultant Bill Lesher. Tom Buis of the National Farmers Union took a stronger view. "I think it will play a significant role," Buis said. Republicans hold a seven-seat advantage in the 435-member House and need to hold on to rural districts to stay in power, analysts say. Similarly, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the Republican presidential nominee, needs midwestern votes to defeat Gore, the article says. Growers face a fourth consecutive year of low prices, and Democrats hope to make inroads with attacks on the ''Freedom to Farm'' law, an early achievement of Republican control of Congress. They say it provides scant protection to farmers when farm prices collapse. This year's corn and soybean crops are forecast to bring the lowest prices in three decades. 

Australia Will Seek More Trade Reforms. Australian Prime Minister John Howard told a regional meeting today that Australia will continue to promote further reform of world trading rules, REUTERS reports. Howard made the remarks in the keynote address to the World Economic Forum. He said one of the great failures of the international community was its inability to launch a new round of global trade negotiations in Seattle last year, according to the article. "It is crucial to address the flagrant imbalance in international trade rules that favour most of the world's richest countries, including the U.S. and the EU, against efficient agricultural exporters, including Australia," Howard told the gathering. A comprehensive new round of trade talks has been delayed, though agriculture talks have begun. 

Cuban Import Chief Visits U.S. The president of Cuba's food imports agency, Alimport, began a visit to Texas and Illinois on Sunday to explore opportunities for purchasing U.S. farm products if the U.S. relaxes trade sanctions against Cuba, REUTERS reports. The article says Alimport President Pedro Alvarez is visiting the United States at the invitation of farm groups and politicians who want an easing of the sanctions adopted against the Communist island in the 1960s. REUTERS says Congress is expected to approve the sale of food and medicines to Cuba soon, though restrictions on the financing of export transactions with Cuba would remain in place. Alvarez told a news conference in Houston that Cuba currently spends about $1 billion a year on food imports, a sum expected to rise to about $1.5 billion a year by 2005. However the sanctions prevent U.S. farmers from competing for a share of this business, he said. 

Canada Against U.S. Wheat Request. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL reports the government of Canada opposes yet another U.S. trade action against Canadian farmers; the North Dakota Wheat Commission intends to petition the U.S. government to investigate Canadian trade practices and the Canadian Wheat Board in particular. The North Dakota Wheat Commission is seeking to have the U.S. government impose unwarranted barriers to Canada's market access to the United States, the article says. The WSJ article adds, however, that the Canadian government will make it clear it will hold the U.S. to its obligations under the World Trade Organization and the North American Free Trade Agreement. The article is based on a joint statement from Canadian Wheat Board Minister Ralph Goodale, International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew and Agriculture and Agri- Food Minister Lyle Vanclief said Friday. The ministers in the statement said the federal government will aggressively defend Canada's trade agreement rights. They condemned the plan calling it a counter-productive attempt to interfere with the flow of market-driven trade between Canada and the U.S.
 

September 8, 2000

House Fails on Estate Tax Veto Repeal. The House Thursday failed by 14 votes to override President Clinton's veto of a measure that included repeal of estate taxes, an issue agricultural interests had promoted for months. The 274-157 vote was short of the two-thirds needed to overturn the veto. The White House had called the bill a break for a wealthy few that would suck too much money from the projected budget surplus. 

Development Aid for Rural Areas Announced. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman has announced $8.9 million in USDA loans to help small businesses in rural areas in 10 states. The loans will be made to local economic development agencies, which, in turn, will use the money for revolving loan funds to help start or expand businesses or for community development projects. 

Tolman Takes Over at Corn Growers. Rick Tolman takes over as executive vice president and CEO of the National Corn Growers Association with the goal of working more closely with state organizations, building on NCGA's national and international visibility and expanding new markets for corn. He joins NCGA from the U.S. Grains Council where he was executive director in charge of international programs and offices. 

Pork Checkoff Goes for Brats Promotion. The pork checkoff, Johnsonville® Brats and McDonald's are involved in a new promotional campaign that is expected to generate 500,000 pounds of pork sales in McDonald's restaurants this fall. In addition to bacon, brats and sausages are among the fastest-growing items on restaurant menus. The growth has spurred a 17% increase in the amount of pork served in restaurants during the past three years.

News Summaries

'Captive Supplies' Forum Announced. USDA will sponsor a public forum on captive supplies in the livestock industry on Sept. 21 from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Denver International Airport in Denver, CO. Captive supplies are livestock that packers own or contract to purchase two weeks or more before slaughter. The forum will provide an opportunity for farm and ranch groups, academic experts and industry representatives to debate and discuss issues surrounding captive markets, including limiting packer use of forward contracting and packer feeding. Written statements may be submitted at the forum or mailed to: Shannon Hamm, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, STOP 3601, Washington, DC 20250-3601, telephone (202) 720-5759, FAX (202) 205-9237, or e-mail pspwashingtondc.gipsa@usda.gov (Note: subject line must read "Captive Supply Forum"). All mailed comments must be postmarked on or before Sept. 28. 

Proposals Called for on International School Feeding. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman is asking for proposals for school feeding and related child nutrition projects under President Clinton's Global Food for Education Initiative. The $300 million first-year pilot program will use surplus U.S. commodities to improve nutrition and access to basic education for as many as 9 million needy children in developing countries. Proposals to conduct school feeding and pre-school nutrition projects under the GFFEI may be submitted by private voluntary organizations with international experience, the UN World Food Program, and eligible foreign governments. A notice published in the Sept. 6 Federal Register outlines a two-step process for submitting proposals to USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation. First, an interested organization or government is asked to document its ability and experience in managing school feeding programs in developing countries. After reviewing these submissions, USDA will select the applicants deemed most capable of successfully conducting pilot programs. In step two, the selected applicants may submit proposals for specific projects under the GFFEI. Initial proposals must be received by Friday, Sept. 15. Final applications must be submitted by Friday, Sept. 29, 2000. CCC will commit surplus U.S. agricultural commodities and other resources totaling $300 million to the first year of the GFFEI. Commodities will be provided under the Section 416(b) program. The first GFFEI projects are expected to get under way by early 2001. 

EU Commission Proposes Mandatory Egg Labeling. REUTERS reports the European Commission on Thursday proposed mandatory egg labeling that would include information on how the eggs were farmed. Labeling now is voluntary, but if EU ministers approve the proposal it would become obligatory. "Consumers increasingly care about the way eggs are produced. This proposal underlines our determination to provide maximum information, giving consumers the right to choose," EU Commissioner for Agriculture Franz Fischler said. All eggs sold in the EU and those imported from third countries are covered under the proposal. 

Aphid Found in Midwest Soybeans. The soybean aphid, an insect native to Asia, is turning up with increasing frequency in the Upper Midwest and has been confirmed in Iowa, state agricultural officials said, according to THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. The state Department of Agriculture started a search of fields after the aphid was first reported in neighboring Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota earlier this summer. The AP article said It should not affect this year's soybean crop, according to state entomologist John Haanstad. "It's present at low levels, at trace levels, but they are present," he said. The state surveyed most of Iowa's eastern half. Counties east of a line from Winnebago in north-central Iowa to Van Buren in southeast Iowa were generally infested or presumed infested. 

Senate Panel Bans MTBE. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Thursday approved a bill that would ban MTBE within four years and potentially triple the use of ethanol over the next 10 years, REUTERS reports. More than a year ago, an Environmental Protection Agency panel urged that MTBE be substantially reduced because of ground water contamination. However, the article notes that with Congress ready to adjourn in early October, chances are slim that the bill will be approved by the full Senate and House. The REUTERS article notes that oil-state Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) voted against the bill. So did Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) whose state is home to a major MTBE producer. However, Sen. Christopher Bond (R-MO) also opposed the bill despite his long-time support of ethanol. The article says Bond has supported an even stronger government mandate for ethanol than contained in Smith's legislation. 

China Will Continue Soybean Imports. A Chinese government grain delegation says China will continue to import U.S. soybeans, REUTERS reports. "The Chinese will continue to import a considerable amount of our soybeans," Richard Rominger, deputy agriculture secretary, told reporters after meeting with China's State Administration of Grain. "We expect over the next five years to have $2 billion more of exports to China," he added. Rominger declined to offer any additional specifics. USDA, in its August supply and demand report, forecast that China would import 4.31 million ton of U.S. soybeans during the 2000-01 marketing year; the July report had projected zero imports. 

Sugar Company Removes Product from U.S. Market. USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service says C&H Sugar Company, Inc., completed the effective removal from the U.S. market of 100,000 tons of sugar it had imported under a waiver granted on Oct. 26, 1999, under the refined sugar re-export program. The company accomplished this removal by delivering certificates of quota eligibility (CQEs) not associated with the importation of sugar, as described in FAS program announcement PR 0102-00 of Feb. 29, 2000. To facilitate the removal of this sugar, FAS granted C&H an additional waiver referred to as the settlement waiver. Under the settlement waiver, C&H will be permitted to import up to 50,000 tons of raw sugar during each of the next two quota years, provided that it first surrenders CQEs to FAS for an equivalent amount of sugar. The terms of the settlement waiver will ensure that it does not have the effect of increasing the supply of sugar in the U.S. market, USDA said.
 

September 7, 2000

Grassley Introduces Farmer-Veteran Health Bill. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) has introduced a bill designed to ensure federal treatment to veterans who also are farmers and in need of health care services. The legislation would change the way in which the Department of Veterans Affairs determines a farmer-veteran's eligibility for health services. 

Brands Dominate Kitchen Shelves. A new report for the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) by Roper Starch Worldwide shows that brands continue to dominate the shelves of most U.S. consumers' pantries, accounting for 80% of total food, drug and mass merchandisers' sales. And examining the shopping habits and demographic makeup of consumers who buy national brands may provide new insights for brand marketers looking to retain their share of consumer dollars. 

PETA Calls Off McDonald's Campaign. The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has called off its campaign against McDonald's for the company's treatment of chickens raised for its restaurant menus. Instead, PETA said it has "concluded that it will give McDonald's a break for one year to allow the company to concentrate on taking further steps" but did allow the firm had made "major improvements" in the way chickens are raised. 

Cattlemen Fire Relief Coming Remedies to deal with wildfire and drought losses should soon be available to cattle producers, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said Wednesday. NCBA received assurances from the Departments of Interior and Agriculture following meetings NCBA held with grazing officials and letters NCBA sent to the agencies. 

Livestock Reporting Rule Proposed USDA's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) has proposed rules to implement mandatory price and contract reporting of livestock that Congress approved last year. The proposed regulation was published in Tuesday's Federal Register.

News Summaries

U.S. pork group to meet with Argentine officials. REUTERS reports that U.S. pork industry representatives will try to convince Argentine officials on Thursday to tear down trade barriers and allow imports of American pork products, an industry official said Wednesday. Craig Jarolimek, president of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), was scheduled to meet with Argentine Deputy Chief of Mission Ricardo Lagorio and Argentine Economic and Commercial Minister Cecilia Barrios Baron at the Argentine embassy in Washington, according to REUTERS. The article notes that Argentina has blocked U.S. pork exports fearing the spread of a number of porcine diseases to its domestic herds. NPPC officials said they hope to dispel the fears during the meeting. "We are certainly confident that we can satisfy any sanitary questions that there might be," said Steve Cohen, NPPC spokesman. "There is no threat to domestic Argentine pork products from the importation of U.S. meat." 

Philippines Buying Rice. The Philippine government, according to REUTERS, confirmed on Wednesday it was negotiating with Thailand and Vietnam to buy a total of 300,000 tonnes of rice on the chance that the Muslim insurgency in the south of the country might affect production. Officials said the Philippines was also taking a position on rice imports for next year due to the threat of a recurrence of the El Nino weather pattern in the first half of 2001. "We are working out a countertrade deal with both Thailand and Vietnam for a total 300,000 tonnes of rice," a senior official of the Philippine International Trading Corp (PITC) told the news agency. Under the program, Vietnam and Thailand have to buy from the Philippines products equivalent to the amount Manila will pay for its import of rice, said the official, who asked not to be identified. 

House Postpones Bill to Slow Pesticide Reviews. REUTERS reports that the House Agriculture committee on Wednesday postponed a scheduled mark-up of a bill that would slow the Environmental Protection Agency's review of thousands of pesticides for risks to children's health. The article says the action likely kills any chance of Congress this year adopting the legislation, which was backed by U.S. farm groups and the pesticide industry. A spokesman for the House Agriculture panel said the mark-up was postponed due to staff scheduling conflicts and would be rescheduled, according to this article, but lobbyists said chances of that are slim, with Congress facing a heavy workload before it adjourns in early October ahead of the autumn elections. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) and co-sponsored by more than 200 other members, would give chemical makers more time to produce information about the safety of their pesticides, says REUTERS. 

Barshefsky on Agriculture. U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky writes an opinion piece in Thursday's WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE. She notes nearly half the world's workers are farmers. "They need a fair, functioning market at home - based on sound domestic policies and fair play from the world's major agricultural producers - if they are to hope for anything more than subsistence," she says. "And the sad reality is that most of them, whether they know it or not, wake up every day to find their hopes cheated." Agricultural trade "remains more limited by barriers, and more distorted by the treasuries of industrial countries, than trade in any other sector. The solutions are not simple - but the problems are no mystery. Farmers worldwide face three major problems in trade," she adds: "trade-distorting supports, tariffs that are nearly four times greater on average in agriculture than in industry, and other nontariff trade barriers are far more prevalent as well, and export subsidies - that is, government payments which dump surplus production on international markets without regard to competitive factors - not only block farmers from international markets but reduce the prices they receive at home."
 

September 6, 2000

Farmland Calls for Unamended China PNTR. As the Senate Tuesday headed into the final act on whether to grant permanent normal trade relations with China, Farmland Industries, Inc., Kansas City, MO, the nation's largest farmer-owned cooperative, called for approval with no amendments. 

Study Claims Birds at Risk from Some Crops. The use of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops may severely reduce bird populations on a small percentage of farms, while having little effect on most others, predicts a new study in the Sept. 1 issue of the international journal, Science. Overall, the consequences should depend upon which farmers adopt the new crop types, the study's authors conclude. 

The ‘Middleman' Is Needed, But Sometimes He and the Farmer Are the Same. The middleman is far from dead, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. "For years there has been much disparagingly said about that part of the marketing chain between the farmer and consumer. Often the blame for agriculture's financial ills is placed on the faceless entity that processes, packages, ships and retails farm commodities. The truth is, in most cases the middleman is a necessary part of agricultural marketing," writes Tom Steever, an AFBF producer in broadcast services.

News Summaries

USDA, Inspectors Spar Over Food Safety. USDA sparred Tuesday with representatives of its meat inspectors over whether a new system for overseeing packing plants has improved the safety of beef, pork and poultry, according to THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Union representatives, who have long criticized the 4-year-old science-based system, said it has given companies too much power to police themselves and allowed unsafe meat to reach American households, the article says. "It is not working and shows no sign of working in the future," said Arthur Hughes, a spokesman for the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals. The new inspection system, supported by major consumer groups, requires companies to identify potential hazards in slaughterhouses and processing plants and implement controls for food-borne pathogens, says the AP article. Previously, companies relied on USDA inspectors to find contaminated meat by poking and sniffing it. The inspectors' jobs now are to ensure that the plants follow their sanitation plans and to do some microbial testing. "There is no question" that meat is safer under the new system, said Thomas Billy, administrator of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. "We have seen remarkable improvement, and we expect that to continue." 

Groups Lash Out at USDA's Food Safety Record. REUTERS reports consumers face a growing risk of eating feces, vomit and metal shards in meat and poultry because USDA allows companies to perform more of their own food safety inspections, two consumer groups and a labor union said on Tuesday. Their survey of 451 federal inspectors showed many were concerned that too much contaminated meat and poultry was slipping through company production lines under the government's new food safety procedures, the REUTERS article said. The 451 respondents represent about 6% of all federal meat inspectors. Public Citizen, the Government Accountability Project and the American Federation of Government Employees said the USDA's decision to give plants more responsibility for safety will unravel public health gains made since author Upton Sinclair documented grisly slaughterhouse conditions in "The Jungle." 

China Won't Block Taiwan at WTO. China has assured the United States it will not try to prevent Taiwan from joining the World Trade Organization, President Bill Clinton said in a letter released on Tuesday, according to REUTERS. The message came as the Senate opened debate on a landmark trade agreement with Beijing. A group of prominent senators expressed concern last month that China would try to keep Taiwan, which it regards as a renegade province, out of the Geneva-based trade body. The 31 senators asked Clinton to reaffirm the administration's long-standing support for bringing Taipei into the WTO immediately after Beijing completes its own accession. In his response, the president said he remained "firmly committed" to that goal and that "China has made clear on many occasions, and at high levels, that it will not oppose Taiwan's accession to the WTO." A copy of the letter was obtained by REUTERS. The Senate is expected to vote next week on legislation that would grant permanent normal trade relations to China. Once approved, as expected, the bill would end the annual ritual of reviewing Beijing's trade status and guarantee Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to U.S. markets as the products of nearly every other nation.
 

September 5, 2000

Wheat Growers Urge Congressional Action. The National Association of Wheat Growers is urging Congress to act on several issues the organization considers important before closing up the session early next month. Among the issues are disaster assistance, permanent normal trade relations for China, marketing loan limits, unilateral sanctions and tax relief. 

Potato's Mexican Cousin With Promising Genes. The great American spud has a wild Mexican cousin with genes to help U.S. farmers reduce their use of fungicides to combat late blight, the disease that caused the Irish potato famine, according to USDA. Agricultural Research Service researchers in Madison, WI, have developed new ways to incorporate late blight resistance into U.S. potatoes from Solanum pinnatisectum, a wild species found in central Mexico. 

PETA Apologizes to Giuliani. The president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has apologized to New York Mayer Rudolph Giuliani for "any distress" an advertisement may have caused him. The ad showed Giuliani with a milk mustache and the tag line "Got Prostate Cancer?" It was meant as a link between milk and prostate cancer.

News Summaries

Beef Subsidies Probe Requested. More than half of the Senate has urged the Clinton administration to review cattle and beef production subsidies in Argentina, Australia, the European Union and other nations to see if American cattlemen are at a disadvantage. The U.S. cattle industry is the single biggest sector of the agricultural economy, generating some $30 billion in annual receipts. REUTERS reports that the 28 senators, led by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle and Tim Johnson, both of South Dakota, asked the U.S. Commerce Department to initiate the review. The senators want subsidies analyzed that apply in Argentina, Australia, the European Union, New Zealand, Brazil and Uruguay. The review should include every level of production, slaughter and distribution, the senators said. 

China PNTR Bill Due Up in Senate. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that the Senate is taking up House-passed legislation this week that would extend normal trade relations to China, a priority of President Clinton that remains snarled in a dispute over Chinese exports of military technology. Sen. Fred Thompson ( R-TN), who wants to punish China with sanctions if it violates international non-proliferation nuclear agreements, expects to use the Senate debate to bring the arms issue to a head, according to this article. The move could scuttle the trade agreement this year, the AP adds. Thompson, unable to get a vote on his measure before the summer recess, says he sees little choice other than to attach it as an amendment to the China trade bill, which passed the House in May. "Unless they change their mind, it looks like I'm not going to get a separate vote," he said in an interview. The AP says lawmakers and business lobbyists "have scurried for weeks in search of a lower-profile vehicle they could attach Thompson's measure to without objection, but none has been found." But with Congress in session for only four weeks to complete all work on tax and spending bills before adjourning for the election, free traders argue that adding the Thompson language to the China trade bill would doom it, the article adds. 

Aventis Listens to Drugs-Only Focus. BLOOMBERG NEWS reports from Paris that Aventis SA sees few immediate benefits in keeping drugs and farm chemicals under one corporate umbrella and is "listening" to shareholders as it considers whether to focus on drugs alone, said Chief Financial Officer Patrick Langlois. The world's largest life science company, which is reviewing its options, would consider listing shares in a new, separate business focused on products such as pesticides and fungicides, Langlois said in an interview. The French drugmaker may also sell the unit to a rival, he added. Aventis CropScience, as the unit is known, "can survive on its own," Langlois said. The comments are some of the strongest yet by an executive at Aventis, whose logo boasts its leadership in life sciences -- mixing agricultural, pharmaceutical and nutrition operations in one company, according to BLOOMBERG.

September 1, 2000

NPPC Wants Lemon Ban Stripped. National Pork Producers Council President Craig Jarolimek wants House and Senate conferees to the agricultural appropriations bill to strip out a "blatantly protectionist" measure that would block Argentine lemons from being exported to the United States. 

Rominger Outlines USDA's Climate Role. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Richard Rominger, speaking in Des Moines, says USDA research efforts will be detailed next week in Lyon, France, when U.S. researchers present findings on carbon. It is expected they'll explain how 300 million tons of carbon from forests were removed from the atmosphere in 1997, equivalent to 17% of total U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases. Crop and grazing lands removed another 20 million tons of carbon that same year. 

Irradiation: Technology's There, Acceptance Isn't. A new study from USDA's Economic Research Service confirms earlier perceptions that only half the adults in a recent survey were willing to buy irradiated ground beef or chicken, and only a fourth were willing to pay a premium for these products which sot more to produce than comparable non-irradiated products. 

Clinton Veto Brings Disappointment from Agriculture. President Clinton's veto of legislation that included abolishing the estate tax brought disappointment to the agriculture community. The National Cattlemen's Association said farms and ranches "could easily be wiped out" by the tax. American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman called it "a blow to hard working farmers and ranchers."

News Summaries

Argentine Cattle Producers Get Relief. BLOOMBERG NEWS reports from Buenos Aires that Argentina's Banco de la Nacion will offer a special line of credit and the state tax agency will defer some payments for ranchers who cannot export cattle because of the foot-and-mouth disease scare. Banco de la Nacion, the state-run bank, will offer a line of credit good for 180 days at an interest rate of 10.5%, 3% less than usual, the article says. Argentina's agriculture department to pay the 3% difference. The state tax agency, known as AFIP, will defer some tax payments until the end of October. It also will consider other measures to help ranchers, slaughterhouses and others hurt by the export suspensions. The agency also may reduce payroll taxes by half, said Hector Rodriguez, head of AFIP. Argentine cattle have been quarantined and fresh beef exports to the United States and Canada have been suspended after 10 Paraguayan cattle with signs of the highly contagious foot-and- mouth virus were found mixed in with Argentine cattle. About 3,500 Argentine animals thought to have come into contact with the Paraguayan cattle were slaughtered. BLOOMBERG reports that Argentina says the Paraguayan cattle were smuggled across the border. 

NAFTA Partners Travel to Argentina This Month. REUTERS reports that animal health inspectors from the United States, Canada and Mexico, the three partner nations in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will travel to Argentina Sept. 24 to assess the foot-and-mouth disease scare threatening that country's beef industry. The article says Ed Curlette, spokesman for USDA's Animal and Health Inspection Service, said five APHIS veterinarians will accompany at least one Canadian health official and an unknown number of Mexican health officials on the 13-day trip to Argentina. They will visit various Argentine processing plants bordering Paraguay and Bolivia. 

Biotechnology Needed for Farming Improvement. KYODO NEWS SERVICE reports that the 25th Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific ended Friday with ministers and senior officials declaring biotechnology is pivotal to making improvements to agricultural production. A conference report issued at the end of the five-day gathering said biotechnology has the potential to "greatly increase agricultural production, improve the quality and nutritional content of food, and reduce pre and post-harvest losses," according to the article. Delegates recognized the potential offered by biotechnology and acknowledged that concerns related to the development and widespread use of biotechnology should be addressed appropriately, particularly those linked with human health and environmental protection. The report also said the Asia-Pacific region has several advantages compared with other regions in development and use of biotechnology in skilled workers, good laboratory infrastructure and a large labor force. 

Australia Funds Aid to Sugar Industry. REUTERS reports that Australia plans an A$83 million aid package for the nation's struggling sugar industry that should lead to increased sugar production next year. The package offered loan subsidies and welfare assistance to cane growers in return for industry rationalization by 2002. The official grower organization which represents thousands of near-bankrupt producers welcomed the package. "It will basically produce the outcomes that we sought in our submission," Ian Ballantyne, CANEGROWERS general manager, told REUTERS after Agriculture Minister Warren Truss announced the rescue deal in the group's offices in Brisbane. The article says the package provides low interest loans to allow cane to be planted in time for this season's harvest as well as hardship relief for growers who have suffered from low prices, crop disease, rat plagues, cyclones and flooding. 

USDA Proposes Food Safety Battle's End. USDA proposes to end a food safety court battle with a meat inspectors union by redeploying one inspector per plant to eyeball every carcass rolling off the production line, REUTERS reports. The proposal was intended to keep the USDA's new microbial testing procedures in place while appeasing the inspectors union, which claims that jobs and food safety are in jeopardy. The union sued the USDA two years ago, accusing it of giving plant owners too much latitude and failing to eyeball all animal carcasses for contamination at a handful of poultry plants in a pilot program to test new inspection methods. A federal appeals court ruled in favor of the inspectors union in June and ordered the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service to redesign its pilot program. The article says the court found that a century-old law requires the federal government to physically inspect every meat or poultry carcass for disease, regardless of what scientific tests are also conducted for contamination invisible to the eye. 

Food to Be Donated to Russia. USDA has signed an agreement with the Global Jewish Assistance and Relief Network (GJARN) for fiscal year 2000 commodity donations to Russia. The agreement will provide approximately 35,220 metric tons of buckwheat groats, rice, peas, lentils, wheat flour, nonfat dry milk, and vegetable oil. GJARN plans to distribute the donated commodities to approximately 2.4 million of the vulnerable individuals living in 28 different oblasts in six major regions throughout Russia (Russian Far East, Volga, Urals, Northern Russia, Southern Russia, and Central Russia). Beneficiaries will include the elderly, veterans, pensioners, disabled persons, and children from large and single-parent families, as well as individuals in institutions such as hospitals, schools, and orphanages, and those receiving meals at churches and synagogues with soup kitchens.