A Look at Climate Change Legislation in the Senate (Brownfield Network, 6/30) -- With the House passing the climate change bill last Friday, the focus now turns to the Senate. Darren Samuelsohn covers environmental and energy issues in Washington for the online subscription news service Greenwire. He says the process will begin in the Senate when they return from the July 4th recess. The Environment and Public Works Committee chaired by Barbara Boxer of California will write the bill, “She’s planning to have the legislation marked up in her committee at the end of July before the August recess.” Samuelsohn says Boxer should be able to put the bill together easily in her committee because the Democrats have a four-or-five seat cushion in the committee and it includes “Some of the more liberal Senators in the whole Congress.”Upon return from the August recess, five other Senate committees will deal with the measure, Agriculture, Commerce, Energy and Natural Resources, Finance and Foreign Relations. Samuelsohn says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants all elements of the bill on his desk by September 18th. “He will then cobble all of those bills together into one giant package for floor debate,” which should take place this fall.

NCFC Statement on the Peterson Climate Bill Compromise (National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, 6/25) --“The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives commends House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson on his efforts to secure an amendment to the Waxman-Markey climate change bill that begins to address the concerns that NCFC, along with many in agriculture, have with this legislation,” said NCFC President Charles F. Conner today. “The Chairman’s work represents a solid first step towards achieving legislation that recognizes the importance and unique nature of agriculture, from farm to fork. 
“NCFC’s members fail to see the necessity to move this legislation forward in a compressed timeframe, thereby not giving the public the opportunity to fully gauge the total costs and benefits of the legislation. As such, while we strongly support Mr. Peterson’s amendment, NCFC can not endorse the overall legislation at this time.” 

Concerns: Water Quality Policy (Southwest Farm Press, 6/25) -- Recent actions by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seem to signal a move away from locally-led, cooperative approaches to controlling nonpoint source pollution from agriculture and toward greater federal regulation, said Trey Lam, president of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) in a letter sent to the members of the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation.

Chambliss Blocks Regulatory Pick Over Animal Lawsuits (The Hill, 6/28) -- Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) has blocked President Obama’s candidate for regulation czar, Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein, because Sunstein has argued that animals should have the right to sue humans in court. Obama has picked Sunstein, his adviser and longtime friend, to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, an office that has power to review and assess all draft regulations proposed within the administration. But Chambliss worries that Sunstein’s innovative legal views may someday lead to a farmer having to defend himself in court against a lawsuit filed on behalf of his chickens or pigs.

USDA Launches New Recovery Act Website Highlighting USDA Efforts to Create Jobs and Stimulate Economic Growth (USDA, 6/26) -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today launched a new USDA Recovery Act website, including features and functionality that will allow people to learn about, share, and discuss American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding in states and communities throughout the country. The website, www.usda.gov/recovery, also includes a blog, podcasts, RSS feeds, and other interactive tools so that folks from throughout the country can participate by sharing stories and providing feedback about how USDA stimulus funding are impacting their community.

California Legislature Considers Changes to States Milk Pooling (Dairy Today, 6/22) --A controversial bill to amend California’s Gonsalves Milk Pooling Act has moved to the State Assembly for consideration. The legislative proposal, known as SB 362, would amend the state’s milk pooling plan, which allows for dairy producers to share revenues generated by milk sales in California.  All processing plants, or pool handlers, now pay the minimum prices for their milk purchases from dairy producers into a statewide revenue pool. The pool is then equitably shared among all dairy producers that ship their milk to the pool handlers.

NMA v. California (National Meat Assn., 6/26) --Oral argument is scheduled at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in the case of National Meat Association v. Brown. NMA has so far successfully argued that California's law which bans livestock downers is, in fact, preempted by the Federal Meat Inspection Act and therefore unenforceable. The state's appeal will be heard on August 10.

SAVE THE DATES: August 25 – 27 for the ID•INFO EXPO 2009
Plan now to attend the ID•INFO EXPO 2009, August 25th – 27th at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City, MO. A conference featuring the latest information on Industry and Government programs regarding traceability and a tradeshow focused on identification and information systems technology. With a growing sentiment to develop a mandatory animal identification system, this is a must-attend event!
For more information on attendance fees and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Katie Ambrose at Katie.Ambrose@AnimalAgriculture.org

If China Bans U.S. Chicken, Mixed Views on Impact (Meatingplace.com, 7/30) -- China appears to be on the verge of banning U.S. chicken imports, according to importers who say U.S. exporters will be denied import permits starting today, but analysts and industry leaders have mixed views on the impact it will have on the U.S. chicken industry. While no official confirmation has come from either the U.S. or Chinese governments, USA Poultry and Egg Export Council President James Sumner told the Wall Street Journal he has learned from "several importers" in China that the U.S. wouldn't receive any import permits from the country's ministry of commerce starting July 1.

Taiwan to Lift Ban on U.S. Beef (National Meat Assn., 6/26) -- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Taiwan has reported to the Taipei Times that it was optimistic that US beef would gain full access to the Taiwan market “sometime this year,” prompting the media to speculate the ban would be lifted by the end of this month or early next month. As a result of this, the Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus stated on June 24th that it plans to mobilize a massive campaign against the Department of Health (DOH) if the government agrees to a full opening to US beef products. The DPP will publicly launch a “one person, one call” campaign to make the DOH aware of the public’s objection to lifting the ban.

Canadian Plant Files to Buy Raided Iowa Slaughterhouse (USA Today, 6/23) -- The president of a Canadian plastics plant and two others filed court documents Tuesday to buy a struggling kosher slaughterhouse in northeast Iowa that was the site of a massive raid by immigration agents last year. Bankruptcy trustee Joe Sarachek said the move should end months of uncertainty for the plant, Agriprocessors Inc., and the town of Postville. The sale would be subject to the approval of a bankruptcy court. A previous attempt to auction the plant failed three months ago.

Ireland:Farmers in Urgent Call for Action on Milk Prices (Irish Independent, 6/23) -- Angry Irish farmers joined thousands of their European colleagues yesterday in an urgent call for action over falling milk prices. The Irish delegation was held up in traffic chaos as hundreds of tractors from Germany, France, Belgium and Lithuania descended on Luxembourg. They formed a 4,000-strong demonstration as a meeting of the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers got under way. Later riot police, armed with shields and batons, were forced to guard the entrance to the building as a militant faction tried to gain access to the gathering.The Irish Farmers' Association warned there were 30,000 Irish jobs under threat due to the massive slump in milk prices.

Iowa, Nebraska Producers Wrap Up Corn-Fed Beef Trade Mission in Korea (U.S. Meat Export Federation, 6/30) --A delegation of corn and beef producers from Iowa and Nebraska wrapped up its Asian trade mission this weekend with a series of events in South Korea.  The group had several meetings with retailers, distributors, cold storage operators and packer representatives, and observed a retail beef sampling promotion at an E-Mart outlet in Bundang, a southern suburb of Seoul.

More Stockyards Packing It In (USA Today, 6/26) — Jim Woster, now retired, was among the many stockyard workers, farmers and ranchers, their children and grandchildren who made final trips this month across the catwalk. This week marked the last cattle sale at the stockyard, ending an era in which the Sioux Falls Stockyards was the focal point for livestock in this region.

Cattle Barn King Arrested for Grand Theft (Wadena Pioneer Journal, 6/27) -- The owner or co-owner of 15 cattle sale barns in Long Prairie, Motley, Fergus Falls, and other locations in three states was taken into custody in Fergus Falls June 23 and faces a class three felony theft charge in South Dakota. Joey J. Varner, 52, of Pierz, Minn., is accused of stealing 188 head of 800-pound heifer cattle reporting missing from the Watertown (S.D.) Livestock Auction on March 3, according to the Todd County (Minn.) Sheriff’s Department.

Beware of Predatory Lenders (Drover’s Alert, 6/24) -- The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection is cautioning producers, especially dairy farmers, that predatory loan companies are out in full force attempting to take advantage of the current economic situation. According to Paul Dietmann with the Wisconsin Farm Center, these are usually companies or individuals who offer to loan farmers about 60 percent of the value of their farm. Predatory lenders targeting farmers are charging exorbitant interest rates, putting in high closing costs and establishing short timelines with big balloon payments that come due in two or three years, Dietmann notes. The end result is often the creation of a situation where it is very unlikely the farmer will be able to pay the loan back, so the lender ends up with the farm for 60 cents on the dollar.

Farm Loans Surge as Demand for Livestock Product Falters (Lincoln Journal Star, 6/25) -- Dry milk exports to Europe are drying up.That’s one of many contributing factors to a faltering livestock economy in Nebraska. It’s also a precursor to what a Federal Reserve economist describes as the biggest national surge in requests for farm loans from the federal government in 20 years.

Approved applications for direct operating loans had reached almost $65.8 million in Nebraska by mid-June, said Barta, state farm loan chief in Lincoln for the Farm Service Agency. That’s up 72 percent from the same date last year, although it also reflects an increase in the individual loan cap from $200,000 to $300,000. Meanwhile, approved applications for farm ownership loans were at almost $33.7 million. That’s up 28 percent.

Confidentiality is Major NAIS Concern (Brownfield Network, 6/30) -- The 14th and final National Animal Identification System (NAIS) listening session was held just outside of Omaha Tuesday.  As with previous sessions, there was very little support for a mandatory program. One of the major objections to NAIS is confidentiality.   Ken Pruismann of Rock Valley, Iowa, president of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, says it’s a big concern with his group’s members.

Neil Hammerschmidt, a NAIS coordinator with the USDA, says Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack and his staff will now begin the arduous task of reviewing the listening session comments and discussing how best to proceed.

Farm Aid Rallies Thousands In Urgent Call To USDA For Fair Milk Price (AgNetwork, 6/23) -- More than 13,200 Americans signed on to Farm Aid's petition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) this month, which called on Secretary Tom Vilsack to take immediate action to stop the loss of dairy farmers due to low milk prices. According to Farm Aid and its supporters, the dairy crisis is threatening the health of local and regional economies and promising increased reliance on imports and factory farms for dairy products. Food and Water Watch rallied its members to sign Farm Aid's petition and a push by Food Democracy Now! resulted in an additional 9,000 faxes to the USDA.

Bank of America Partners Up with HSUS (National Meat Assn., 6/26) -- Just when you thought the banks couldn’t make things any worse for themselves. Bank of America found itself in hot water last week for partnering with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). The bank’s MyExpression program is offering an HSUS checking account, and a Visa check and credit card. Both of these products financially support HSUS. According to the Bank of America, it will donate 25 cents to the animal rights organization for every $100 in purchases made with the HSUS WorldPoints Platinum Plus Visa credit card.
 
CattleNetwork has issued a template letter for livestock producers to submit to Bank of America expressing their concerns about providing financial support to HSUS. This template can be viewed at on their website at www.cattlenetwork.com. In response to this, Bank of America senior vice president in Amarillo, Texas issued a letter to the cattle industry which is also posted on CattleNetwork’s website referencing the importance of the industry to Bank of America and says “the matter has been elevated and is being looking into so that we can further address your concerns.”