In this podcast, writers and editors at the Capital Press talk about the possibility of federal policy on egg-laying hens, farmers' expectations for the coming year, Chinese pesticide espionage, the outlook for the Western snowpack and a court victory for people raising livestock in Washington state.
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The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has adopted an interim policy to protect the greater sage grouse in 10 Western states until it can implement long-term policies to preserve habitat for the mainly ground-dwelling bird.
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Several factors have decreased U.S. beef imports in 2011, but at the top of the list is the weaker U.S. dollar. The weak dollar makes it more expensive for U.S. end users to purchase beef overseas and reduces the attractiveness of the U.S. market to importers.
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Snowpack levels across the Northwest are well below average at the end of 2011, but the outlook for irrigators seems likely to improve in the new year.
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Idaho officials believe an in-store promotion of Idaho products by Mexico’s second-largest retailer was a major coup for the state’s agricultural community. Mexican supermarket chain Soriana, which owns 480 grocery and super-stores, promoted Idaho products at several of its stores for seven days. The pilot promotion was timed to kick off Dec. 8 with the arrival of an Idaho trade delegation.
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The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service reinstatement of its trout report came as a pleasant surprise to Idaho’s trout industry. The agency decided to ax the report, along with 13 others it would eliminate or reduce, in mid-October, but announced it was reinstating the report, along with nine others.
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In this podcast, Capital Press reporters and editors talk about a new dairy processing facility in Idaho, financial improprieties at a livestock-feed manufacturer, why a successful fertilizer-maker is seeking bankruptcy and a legal battle over gravel in Oregon.
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An animal-rights group deeply involved in agricultural issues is again under fire for its fundraising efforts. HumaneWatch recently launched a TV ad campaign accusing the HSUS of deceptive practices. HumaneWatch was created by the Center for Consumer Freedom, a “libertarian consumer watchdog,” according to senior research analyst Justin Wilson.
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The world's largest potato, courtesy of Idaho spud farmers, made its public debut Dec. 17 in front of millions of ESPN viewers during the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
"The rumors have been true. There is a giant potato moving its way across Boise, and it will soon be making its way across the United States," Idaho Potato Commission President and CEO Frank Muir said during a press conference before the game.
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Potato industry representatives who met with top-level officials of major food companies during Idaho’s trade mission to Mexico and Brazil believe the meetings will translate into more sales of frozen spud products in Mexico.
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Dehydrated potato production increased by a record 68 percent from last year within the nine major potato processing states, according to a new report from the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Overall, processors in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin, Colorado, North Dakota, Maine, Minnesota and Michigan used 73 million hundredweight of the 2011 crop as of Dec. 1, up 17 percent from the previous year. Dehydrated processing accounted for 13.4 million hundredweight of the total.
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National Milk Producers Federation will continue Cooperatives Working Together’s dairy export assistance program for the next two years. The decision was based on a narrow margin of support for the export program. The CWT committee had set minimum participation at 70 percent of the nation’s milk, and it has garnered 70.1 percent.
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State officials and agricultural leaders from Idaho have just returned from a trade mission to Mexico and Brazil. Capital Press reporter Sean Ellis, who attended the Mexico leg of the trip, shares some of the trip's results.
Growers are collaborating with environmentalists to improve salmon populations as part of efforts to gain more water from the Columbia for irrigation, according to participants in the recent Oregon Leadership Summit. Oregon Wheat Growers League president Craig Reeder speaks on why he is involved.
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Dairy analysts are optimistic that global demand will remain strong in 2012.
The biggest reason to be optimistic is that emerging markets keep on emerging, analysts say.
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Agricultural commodity representatives believe Idaho’s recent trade mission to Mexico and Brazil could end up providing a significant boost for the state’s farmers and ranchers. According to Idaho Department of Commerce estimates, actual and projected sales resulting from the trade mission already total in excess of $30 million.
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The Idaho dry bean industry will help Mexican growers through a severe seed shortage. Because of extreme weather conditions this year, Mexican dry bean growers are facing a severe shortage of certified seed, while Idaho's bean industry has an adequate supply because of over-production last year.
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The nation's fall potato crop was slightly larger than previously estimated, according to revised numbers from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Fall potato production throughout the U.S. actually rose by 6 percent at 387 million hundredweight, and the 939,200 acres harvested throughout the country represented a 7 percent increase.
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USDA estimates that farmers will have 848 million bushels of corn on hand at the end of next summer. That would satisfy demand for fewer than 25 days. A 30 day supply is considered healthy.
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In this podcast, reporters and editors talk about some of the highlights in this week's edition of the Capital Press, including a judicial ruling that strikes at the heart of many agricultural cooperatives, new uses for wine waste, the factors pushing up cattle prices, and how a handshake led to booming business with the fast-growing chain Five Guys Burgers and Fries.
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Two investor groups are suing the federal government over new financial rules aimed at curbing speculation in the commodity market.
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Jerry Wright explained his task during his first stint as president and chief executive officer of the United Potato Growers of America in 2004 was to right a potato industry facing disaster caused by overproduction.
By helping growers embrace basic supply and demand principles, Wright, of Idaho Falls, believes his organization, which represents fresh growers, laid the groundwork for years of prosperity.
On Dec. 3, the Salt Lake City-based cooperative chose Wright to return to his former post, where he vows to refocus growers’ attention on those economic fundamentals.
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Dec. 16 is the application cutoff date for two farm bill programs that provide Idaho farmers and ranchers millions of dollars in financial assistance each year to protect the environment or improve wildlife habitat. The Environmental Quality Incentive Program and the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program are both voluntary programs that help agricultural producers complete natural resource conservation projects or conserve wildlife habitat on their land.
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Participants in Idaho's Dec. 3-10 trade mission to Mexico and Brazil will be led by Lt. Gov. Brad Little, who runs a diversified farming and cattle operation. The trade mission includes meetings with several large grower groups and major retail chains, including La Huerta, an international fruit and vegetable company; supermarket chain Soriana, Mexico's largest retailer, and Grupo Altex, the main purchaser of wheat for Grupo Bimbo, Mexico's largest food company and one of the largest bakers in the world.
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It's becoming increasingly clear that Idaho will set a record for total agricultural cash receipts in 2011. In fact, the previous state record for farm cash receipts in a single year -- $6.285 billion in 2008 -- will likely be blown away.
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In this podcast, editors and reporters highlight some of the stories in this week's edition. We'll talk about how changes in the lending climate and the Federal Reserve are affecting farming operations, big trends in local food, soaring revenue for Idaho growers, and growing overseas demand for American meat and dairy products. The Capital Press also congratulates Julie Fox and Al Drake of Eastern Washington on their sky-high engagement.
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The Federal Reserve System has made it easier to borrow dollars overseas, theoretically boosting the prospects for U.S. crop exports while making fuel and fertilizer more expensive.
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Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Mark Udall, D-Colo., hope to ease the “devastating” estate tax burden on farming families with legislation they recently introduced. Their American Family Farm and Ranchland Protection Act, SB1901, would enable a family inheriting agricultural property to place up to half of it, up to $5 million, under a tax-free easement, if it remains in agricultural use.
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The total value of Idaho ag exports has soared this year.
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This podcast highlights some stories from this week's edition of the Capital Press. We'll take a look at farmers' share of the Thanksgiving meal, hear a selection from the Capital Press Opinion page and gain some insight about the yearlong forecast for the West Coast, and what La Niña and El Niño weather patterns mean for farmers.
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Today's podcast highlights some of the stories from this week's edition of the Capital Press. We'll talk about autonomous tractors, high demand for fresh turkeys in California and some of the latest developments in biotech compensation and litigation.
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It's the end of an era for the Washington Farm Bureau, a bid to put solar panels on farmland is heading to court, Simplot is consolidating its potato-processing facilities in Idaho, a Christmas tree checkoff has exploded in controversy and the Supreme Court is considering slaughterhouse rules.
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The cover story for this week's edition of the Capital Press is on prison inmates recruited to pick apples near Quincy, Wash. Prisoners were bused 300 miles from Forks to pick high-value apple varieties because of the worst labor shortage in a decade, Dan Wheat reports.
Mateusz Perkowski talks about slaughterhouse audits and Grupo Bimbo's court battle for Sara Lee's baked goods division.
Tim Hearden examines a legislative push for increased efforts to stop invasive species at the border and the seasonal forecast for California.
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The sheep industry is in the news this week with a study showing that sheepdogs make livestock more relaxed and profitable, according to reporter John O'Connell. Also, strong prices for wool and lamb have prompted industry leaders to recruit more people to raise sheep.
Reporter Mateusz Perkowski says that foresters are looking at ways to improve the growth rate of trees through new advances in seedlings and weighing the trade-offs of container "plugs" and bare-root seedlings.
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The Capital Press devotes much of this week's front page to spending by the Humane Society of the United States. Other highlights from the paper include the ongoing Klamath Basin saga, producers and processors worried about legislative threats to the federal sugar program, and the development of new export markets for Idaho's wheat crop.
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In this podcast we discuss an ongoing dispute over an important wheat quality test, an appeal of a felony conviction for pumping surface water into a well, good times for spearmint growers, and the strategy behind AGCO's bin buyout.
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Some of the highlights from this week's edition of the Capital Press include efforts to sell boutique wines, a lawsuit over evidence of substantial potential to pollute, never-ending biotech crop court battles, a sudden turn in California's weather, and the shifting tug-of-war over the Western Oregon Plan Revision logging guidelines.
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Earlier this week, South Korean trade officials agreed to allow Oregon growers to export fresh blueberries to their country. The decision came days after Oregon state officials and growers returned from a two-week trip to promote trade with South Korea, Japan and China.
Two leaders of the Oregon Blueberry Commission, administrator Bryan Ostlund and chairman Eric Pond, came into the Capital Press studio to discuss with reporter Mitch Lies what the trade agreement means to growers.
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The lead story in this week's edition of the Capital Press examines the loss of one of the last large tracts of farmland in California's Orange County.
Reporter Mateusz Perkowski also provides some updates on developments in the courts, including a lawsuit against Cooperatives Working Together, a decision on a grain storage company's right to refuse biotech corn and a challenge to Oregon's right to farm law.
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Some of the top Capital Press stories this week:
Apple and pear growers have approved assessments that will raise $27 million for a research endowment at Washington State University.
Fruit basket retailer Harry and David has exited bankruptcy.
Former Agriprocessors owner Sholom Rubashkin's appeal of his conviction on multiple counts of fraud has been denied.
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Highlights from this week's edition of the Capital Press include coverage of Oregon's trade mission to Asia, rising personal income in Idaho, wrapping up the wheat harvest in Washington state and disputes in the Klamath Basin.
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This week the Capital Press looks into the effects of 9/11 on agriculture, USDA and COOL, land use court battles, demands for cuts in dairy production, and our latest special report, Wine in the West.
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This week in the Capital Press, deaths from grain entrapment have spiked, experts explain how workers' compensation insurance premiums are set, a battle over water records heats up, the Beef Checkoff shows it's still popular and a 1916 law is thrust into a modern courtroom battle.
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On Aug. 19, the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Ag Tour, which was sponsored in part by the Capital Press. Audience Development Specialist Hannah Brause went on the tour and talked to organizers and participants about why the Ag Tour is important.
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This week, the Capital Press has a special report on the nursery industry. Reporter Mitch Lies sat down with Jeff Stone, executive director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, Kristin VanHoose, current president of the association, and Jerry Simnitt, president-elect of the association, to talk about some of the challenges facing the industry.
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The market for ecologically harvested “green” wood is expanding, at least partly because of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design's efforts. But the growth has generated controversy, including investigations by the Federal Trade Commission and Internal Revenue Service. Capital Press reporter Mateusz Perkowski explains some of the issues.
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The Capital Press covers Idaho from the forests of the panhandle to the hills of the Palouse to the Snake River Valley, but there's more coming. Audience Development Specialist Hannah Brause explains what new efforts are planned for Idaho.
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The Capital Press has a special report on agricultural subsidies this week, including how subsidies affect California rice farmers, Northwest wheat growers, and the economy at large. There's also a history of how current policies developed.
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According to the 2010 census, Idaho’s population grew 21 percent since 2000. While Idaho won't gain or lose any seats in Washington, D.C., Capital Press reporter Sean Ellis says some ag groups fear there may be big changes at the state Capitol.
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As lawmakers in Washington, D.C., spar over federal spending and taxes, attention has focused on farm subsidies — including the various federal support programs for corn-based ethanol.
Reporter Tim Hearden and copy editor Will Koenig discuss how different groups see ethanol subsidies and how federal supports affect livestock producers.
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What do you want lawmakers to do on ethanol policy?
The California Cattlemen's Association has lost a lawsuit challenging the listing of the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Reporter Mateusz Perkowski discusses how ranchers and environmentalists have shifted their stances in the three years since the listing.
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Oregon lawmakers passed a bill this session — House Bill 2159 — that most believe will dramatically change the working relationship between grass seed growers and seed dealers. Capital Press reporter Mitch Lies asked Roger Beyer, executive secretary of the Oregon Seed Council, and Mark Simmons, executive director of the Oregon Grass Seed Bargaining Association, what this legislation means for the industry and how it evolved.
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While wheat is a key commodity for the Pacific Northwest, disease threats remain for the crop. Ug99 presents a threat to world wheat production and stripe rust is a current problem for Washington, Idaho and Oregon growers. Reporter Matthew Weaver discusses some current and future problems and opportunities.
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By Gary L. West
Associate editor, Capital Press
I took last week off. But if I had truly wanted a vacation from agriculture news and information, I went about it all wrong.
I spent most of the week visiting family in Oregon's Umatilla County, smack dab in the middle of farming country, where many of the recent headlines we have printed in Capital Press and posted on CapitalPress.com were affecting my family and a wide swath of the countryside.
For example, the cool, wet spring had crops behind. It was common to see alfalfa fields with windrows of hay on the ground turning brown because the rains wouldn't stop long enough to bale the hay. Some fields had standing water in them from recent flooding of streams like Butter Creek.
There was talk about Hermiston's trademark watermelon crop would be several week's later than the Fourth of July holiday, leaving a short season for growers. And in the dryland areas were large fields of wheat afflicted with stripe rust, giving the grain a golden tint long before it is ripening for harvest.
My dad and cousin work in businesses connected to spraying farm crops for insects, weeds and diseases like stripe rust. My dad attacks the harvest robbing threats from the air. My cousin attacks them on the ground. And conversations with both of them centered on issues like this season's unique challenges, taxes, fees, regulations and just the physically exhausting nature of the work.
Of course, they both took advantage of my presence to get a little work out of me too. For my dad, I shot some photos of his planes at work. For my cousin, I wound up helping him move equipment from job site to job site a few times, and helped him change the massive tires on his ground sprayer one day.
I have to admit, it felt good to be outdoors for several days, enjoying some warmer temperatures than the Willamette Valley had experiences so far this spring. It also felt good to be out taking photos again. It even felt good to be exercising some muscles I don't ordinarily use when sitting at a desk all day in the Capital Press office in Salem.
The timing was interesting too. Because this week marks the anniversary of my start date at the Capital Press. It was 6 years ago today that I came to work here. That vacation vividly illustrated to me how my early life growing up in the country and professional life as a journalist, which once took very divergent paths, have come together.
This anniversary is special, in that it now marks the longest tenure I've spent with any media organization in my 20-plus year career. I've spent some time looking back at my time here too as this anniversary has approached, which led me back to this blog. Nearly 6 years ago, when this blog started, it was a way I could work around some of the shortcomings of our website software. At the time, it was somewhat unusual for an organization connected to production agriculture to be blogging. In one of the earliest posts on this blog, I asked the question: Do farmers blog? In 2005, the answer to that was that a few did, but not many. It was difficult to come up with even a handful of agriculture blogs back then. Now, there are lots of farmers who blog, and/or tweet, and/or have a Facebook page or YouTube account and use a variety of Internet tools to tell their story, connect with business associates or people that eat what they grow. Today, we follow more than 3,000 people on Twitter, the majority of which are posts by or about agriculture topics and we have more than 3,700 following our main Twitter account, plus more than 2,700 fans on our main Facebook page. Today we have several blogs, are about to launch a new podcast, multiple Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, a YouTube channel where we post 5 video news updates a week and other videos related to our stories, and a growing group of websites. And agriculture's use of smart phones and online services have exploded behind the efforts of groups like the AgChat Foundation.
That's pretty dramatic change and growth in just 6 seasons.
Thanks for sharing part of this journey with us. And thank you to the past and current staff of the Capital Press and East Oregonian Publishing Co. for letting me, and others on staff here and at our sister publications, push the edge of that envelope a bit for the last 6 years.
---
You can follow Capital Press on Twitter @capitalpress or follow Gary's behind-the-scenes tweets at @CapitalPressglw or connect with Capital Press on Facebook or connect with Gary on Facebook.
The rash of bank failures over the past three years has included a number of agricultural lenders and inspired reforms in the Farm Credit System. Will these changes trickle down to farmers?
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Financial woes in several European Union members could have an out-sized influence on American agriculture. A devaluation of the euro could indirectly spur economic growth in major importers of U.S. ag commodities. Reporter Mateusz Perkowski and copy editor Will Koenig discuss the issue.
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From the U.S. Meat Export Federation:
Groups of displaced Japanese citizens ranging from several hundred to more than 10,000 were served meals of U.S. beef and pork in recent weeks through the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Japan Relief and Recovery Effort.
Working with Japanese retail and food service industry partners, USMEF is continuing to provide welcome meals to as many people as possible who were left homeless by the March 11 earthquake and the following tsunami. Products provided for the meals range from diced U.S. beef and pork served over rice to pork sausage and cooked peppered beef that require refrigeration, which are being provided to those who can enjoy fresh-cooked meals at their shelters.
The USMEF relief effort was joined recently by the Nebraska Beef Council, which donated $35,000, swelling the campaign coffers to $540,000.
“There are so many people who need and want our help, but the generosity of the producers in the USMEF network in the United States has enabled us to provide welcome meals to tens of thousands of displaced people,” said Susumu (Sam) Harada, USMEF-Japan senior director of trade projects and technical services. “The ‘thank-yous’ that we are hearing from people who have not had a meal with pork or beef in more than two months are heartfelt and sincere.”
In one of the biggest single relief efforts, USMEF is partnering with Japanese food industry giant Ito Ham to produce an estimated 20,000 servings of food that are being served to displaced residents in the heavily damaged prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima during the final weeks of May.
The Japanese restaurant chain Skylark has been serving an estimated 1,200 food servings per day in the city of Kesen-numa in Miyagi, which was virtually destroyed by the tsunami following the earthquake. USMEF is supplying U.S. red meat to Skylark to assist in its efforts.
Working with the nonprofit organization Bond & Justice and wholesaler Meat-Companion Company, Ltd., USMEF served an estimated 1,200 meals in Iwate and Fukushima last week.
Meat processor Hannan Foods Group and USMEF served much-welcomed hot meals to a group of about 200 senior citizens in Ishinomaki City, one of the areas most heavily damaged by the tsunami. Forced to live in a very tightly-packed shelter, the displaced seniors enjoyed their first meal containing meat since the natural disaster struck.
“The people thanked us for traveling so far from Tokyo to help them,” said Harada.
Food service leader Yoshinoya teamed last week with long-time partner USMEF on distribution of frozen gyudon (rice bowl with beef or pork) in the city of Tome, which is located northeast of Sendai More than 900 people who were evacuated from the coastal areas are being housed in Tome, and USMEF and Yoshinoya worked together to serve an estimated 6,000 meals to those affected.
USMEF also is in final discussion stages with retail leader York Benimaru, which is headquartered in the city of Fukushima, to produce bento (lunch) box meals that would help the thousands of affected residents in that region.
“Sadly, the need will not end soon,” said Harada. “Thousands of people in the coastal areas remain displaced. But the support of U.S. producers is making it possible for us to give some welcome relief. The people we are helping are thankful that their friends in America have not forgotten them.”
While large companies grab headlines when they file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, many family farmers and ranchers turn to Chapter 12 bankruptcy. Listen in as reporter Mateusz Perkowski and copy editor Will Koenig discuss the issue.
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Have you faced a Chapter 12 bankruptcy or do you know someone who has? Leave your thoughts below.
...
[Photo caption: Cut logs are loaded onto a truck on private timberland east of Shingletown, Calif.]
From a quarterly report published by Wood Resources International LLC:
Higher lumber production, increased log trade and a weak US dollar were three factors that pushed sawlog prices up in dollar terms worldwide in the 1Q/11.
Wood fiber costs for pulp mills worldwide rose for the third consecutive quarter in the 1Q/11.
Global pulp prices stayed strong during the quarter and actually increased to record-high levels in the month of April.
Global demand for softwood lumber increased by about 18 percent in 2010. Lumber imports to Japan were up 21 percent. The weak building and construction market in Europe late last year resulted in lower lumber demand. During the first two months of 2011, lumber production was up in most provinces of Canada.
The housing market in the US South has fared relatively better than the rest of the country resulting in higher lumber consumption.
While the US and Canadian domestic pellet industry struggled through another year of weak domestic market demand and overcapacity, pellet exports to Europe continued to rise.
The U.S. Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration's proposed restrictions on livestock and poultry marketing have never been very popular in Congress. Now 147 House of Representatives members -- including more than a dozen from the West -- are calling on U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to withdraw the proposed rule, which was introduced almost a year ago.
From the National Chicken Council:
More than one-third of the members of the House of Representatives have called on Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to go back to the drawing board with a rule on the marketing of livestock and poultry proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).
“Withdrawing the June 22, 2010, proposed rule and re-proposing a revised rule once the Department completes its economic analysis would allow stakeholders the opportunity they deserve to comment on what we hope will be substantial changes to the proposed rule more consistent with the intent of Congress outlined in the 2008 Farm Bill,” said a letter signed by 147 members.
“I am grateful for the action taken by so many members of Congress in urging the Secretary of Agriculture to withdraw and re-propose the GIPSA rule,” said Mike Brown, president of the National Chicken Council. “This would allow dialogue to resume between affected industries and the USDA, a dialogue that was cut off by the end of the comment period in November. The GIPSA rule clearly needs more careful review in light of its impact on economic growth, jobs, and the Administration’s stated goal of doubling exports.”
The rule proposed by GIPSA would make profound changes in the relationship between ranchers and farmers who produce cattle, swine, chickens, and turkey and the companies that bring meat and poultry products to market. GIPSA wrote the proposed rule in response to four specific mandates in the last Farm Bill after debate in which several other proposed mandates were rejected.
“Congress provided a narrow set of issues for the Department to address,” the letter said. “It is troubling that the Department appears to be using the rule-making process to accomplish objectives specifically rejected by Congress, and we are confident any such rule will not be looked upon favorably by Congress.”
USDA published the proposed rule last year with only a cursory economic analysis, and Vilsack has agreed to conduct a more detailed analysis before a final rule is published.
“Particularly in a climate in which additional scrutiny is being applied to regulations seen as overreaching or overly burdensome, we urge the Department to proceed in a transparent manner that allows for those most impacted by this action a chance to comment on not only pending changes to the proposal but the accompanying economic analysis as well,” the letter said. The members also asked for an update from Vilsack on the timeline for completion of the economic analysis and further action on the proposal.
Those signing the letter include both Republicans and Democrats and a majority of the members of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Dairy Livestock, and Poultry.
The National Chicken Council represents integrated chicken producer-processors, the companies that produce and process chickens. Member companies of NCC account for more than 95 percent of the chicken sold in the United States.
From UC-Davis' Ag and Natural Resources department:
UC Davis and Michigan State University have received $6 million from the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply to support research on the sustainability of laying hen housing in the United States.
The first study of its kind, the three-year "CSES Laying Hen Housing Research Project" will explore the interactions and tradeoffs among food safety, worker safety, environmental impact, hen health and welfare, and food affordability aspects of three different housing systems. Information generated by the research is expected to help egg purchasers and producers make objective, science-based decisions as the egg industry evolves in response to consumer needs and desires.
The goal of the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply is to evaluate the viability of various laying hen housing systems. The coalition is composed of leading animal welfare scientists, research institutions, nongovernmental organizations, egg suppliers, food manufacturers, and restaurant/food-service and retail food companies. It is facilitated by the Center for Food Integrity, a nonprofit organization established in 2007 to increase consumer trust and confidence in today's U.S. food system.
"We are pleased to partner with such prestigious research organizations on this important work," said Charlie Arnot, chief executive officer of the Center for Food Integrity. "Today there is much discussion about laying hen housing and standards of care but those conversations are centered primarily on one aspect of sustainability and lack adequate data from current commercial U.S. egg production facilities to provide the information necessary to make informed decisions. CSES members believe it is important to consider all potential impacts of responsible production in evaluating egg production systems. We hope the knowledge gained will benefit CSES members as well as the entire egg industry."
Joy Mench, a UC Davis animal science professor and director of the Center for Animal Welfare, said that the funding offers the first opportunity for researchers to study the potentially wide-ranging impacts of producing eggs in different kinds of commercial hen housing systems in the U.S.
"The information gained will be useful to all consumers as they make decisions about what kinds of eggs to buy," Mench said.
Janice Swanson, director of animal welfare and a professor of animal science at Michigan State University said: "Our goal is to thoroughly understand the full range of sustainability factors. This multiyear study will examine seasonal shifts, bird lifecycles, bird health and behavior, environmental impacts, human health and other factors affecting the sustainability of the egg production system."
The funding will support a comprehensive study examining five sustainability areas: environmental impact, food safety, worker safety, animal health and well-being, and food affordability. The study will be conducted in commercial-scale buildings of three types:
* conventional cage housing, the type of housing currently used by the majority of U.S. egg producers;
* enriched cage housing (also known as a furnished colony system), which provides more freedom of movement because the cages are larger than conventional cages and is also equipped with perches, nesting areas, and material designed to facilitate foraging and dust-bathing behavior; and
* cage-free aviary, a non-cage system that allows the hens to roam within a section of a building at floor level and vertically to perches and nest boxes.
Mench and Swanson are the co-scientific directors for the study.
Darrin Karcher of Michigan State University is the overall project coordinator. Additional cooperating research institutions include Iowa State University and the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
The first research flock was established in late April 2011. The study will be replicated over two flocks with study completion expected in 2014. For updates on the CSES research, please visit http://www.SustainableEggCoalition.com.
From the California Strawberry Commission:
A new study by The Ohio State University suggests strawberries may help prevent human esophageal cancer. This news comes at a time when, according to the American Cancer Society, more than 16,000 new cases of the disease will be diagnosed in the United States this year.
According to lead researcher, Tong Chen, M.D., PhD, strawberries may help protect those at risk of esophageal cancer. This study builds on previously published research by Chen and colleagues in China, who found that freeze-http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifdried strawberries significantly inhibited tumor development.
These results were presented at the 2011 anhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnual meeting of the American Association for Cancer
Research in Orlando, Florida. This study examining the beneficial impact of strawberries on cancer prevention was funded by the California Strawberry Commission.
Researchers from The Ohio State University are also investigating the effects of strawberries on reducing inflammation-associated colorectal cancer.
For more details regarding the study, please visit: http://bit.ly/gtXlFC
Esophageal cancer is the third most common gastrointestinal cancer and the sixth most frequent cause of cancer death in the world.
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Above, Cottonwood hay grower Ivar Amen holds a fistful of alfalfa to check it for dryness. Below, Miguel Torres of Alturas-based Brent Dolby Hay rakes a field in Cottonwood that had been cut.
California hay producers say they're getting good tonnage out of their first cuttings. For my story, check CapitalPress.com soon.
This news item out of Kentucky caught my eye when it came over the Ag News feed on my other blog.
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer will have a portion of his paycheck docked for back taxes after neglecting to report years worth of personal mileage on state-owned vehicles.
Bill Clary, a spokesman for the Department of Agriculture, said Wednesday that Farmer relied on bad advice from the department's executive team when he failed to track personal mileage during his first term in office.
Despite policy revisions in 2008, Farmer's personal mileage continued to go unreported because of a clerical blunder in the department, he said.
From the Congressional Western Caucus:
Today, the Obama Administration released a draft “Clean Water Protection Guidance.” This guidance document dramatically expands federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. The draft released today was a subtly revised version of an initial draft that received significant opposition.
“This is another attempt by the Administration to circumvent the proper process to implement its job-killing policies. It is clear that even the Obama Administration acknowledges it was significantly overreaching with their initial proposal. Unfortunately, the Obama Administration continues their war on western jobs under the guise of a ‘non-binding’ policy,” said Western Caucus Chairman Steve Pearce.
“They started by going after lands with the egregious ‘Wild Lands’ policy and now they are going after water by expanding federal jurisdiction with this guidance. The Administration continues to set a dangerous precedent by circumventing the proper procedures and showing a total disregard for western jobs by its continued push to implement job killing policies,” continued Pearce.
The ‘guidance’ will substantively change federal policy with respect to which waters fall under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act and significantly increase the scope of the federal government’s power to regulate waters. It will significantly expand the federal government regulatory reach on private property.
Legislative attempts to expand this authority were met with strong bipartisan resistance in previous Congresses. Last week, a bipartisan letter signed by 170 Members of Congress was sent to the EPA and Army Corp of Engineers expressing serious concerns about the Clean Water Act Guidance and the expansion of federal jurisdiction without following the proper rulemaking process.
A judge has finalized his earlier interim decision invalidating California Department of Fish and Game-issued permits to irrigators in two rural Northern California valleys.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith last week reiterated his opinion that the DFG’s special permit program for water diversions wasn’t set up according to state environmental laws.
The decision upholds a preliminary ruling by Goldsmith in February that effectively suspended the controversial permitting program, which had drawn fire from both conservationists and irrigators.
“The judge has essentially remanded it back to the agency to do it right and fix it, and they can do that,” said Glen Spain, northwest regional director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations.
For more, check CapitalPress.com soon.
From the California Cattlemen's Association:
Sacramento, Calif. – As Earth Day arrives tomorrow, April 22, California ranchers will be celebrating their way of life. Moreover, it is an important time for everyone to stop and consider where their food comes from and what the hardworking people in production agriculture are doing to ensure that food for the world’s 7 billion people is grown in our state, today and in the future.
According to California Cattlemen’s Association President Kevin Kester, a life long rancher from Parkfield, Calif., California beef producers are found in every part of the Golden State – and they are doing more than just providing steaks and burgers.
“Ranchers serve many important purposes – from caring for the land, water and environment to providing food for people worldwide. Because they live off the land, ranchers are caring stewards of the land and environment,” Kester said, “Beef producers also believe that giving animals the humane care, proper handling and nutrition they deserve is an obligation, not an option. We love what we do, the animals we raise and the land that supports our way of life.”
Ranchers and cattle are also great managers of the state’s expansive open space. Rangeland cattle grazing provides habitat for many endangered species. If California’s open space continues to be converted into shopping plazas and housing developments, many species of wildlife may cease to exist. Research has shown that nearly all of the species of grassland birds, most native plants and a variety of large and small wildlife actually benefit from responsible cattle grazing.
Thanks, in part, to California ranchers, Americans know a quality of life that many people around the globe unfortunately do not. However, if regulations and lack of consumer support continue to erode, the scenario could greatly change.
Eating beef is more than just enjoying a delicious food with a rich supply of nutrients that are not provided by other foods. By eating beef, consumers are not just doing something good for their bodies, they are supporting a way of life that is good for Mother Nature and good for California. Ranchers are proud of their product – so proud that the beef they supply to consumers is the same beef they put on their own family’s table.
This Earth Day, California ranchers hope all Americans will appreciate the good that cattle ranching and agriculture does for the land and be thankful that they live in a place where safe food is abundantly raised for their benefit and the stewardship that ranchers provide for their livestock and the environment will help maintain quality of life that has existed for generations.
For more information about the California beef industry and the positive impacts ranchers have on the environment, visit www.calcattlemen.org and www.carangeland.org.
