Friday's Headlines

“USDA To Check With IRS Before Making Farm Payments”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Internal Revenue Service have begun efforts to ensure that high-income individuals and entities who request USDA payments meet income limits set forth in the 2008 Farm Bill. This is in response to the discovery of nearly 50-million dollars in payments to ineligible farmers.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack says, - once a verification system is fully operational, high-income individuals and entities will be identified by USDA before farm program payments are actually disbursed to them.

Beginning with the 2009 crop year and for successive years, in order to be eligible for USDA payments, all recipients will be required to sign a separate form which grants IRS the authority to provide income information to USDA for verification purposes. IRS form 8821, or a similar form, must be obtained from each producer authorizing the release of information. Failure to obtain such form will make the producer ineligible for program benefits.

The Farm Service Agency will not receive actual tax data for the producers. All disclosure and Privacy Act provisions will be adhered to by the Farm Service Agency. **************************************************************

“Food Industry Executive Calls for Change”

Addressing members of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Thursday, Kellogg CEO David MacKay said he wants food safety placed under a new leader in the Health and Human Services Department. He also called for a rule requiring all food companies to have written safety plans and he wants annual federal inspections of facilities that make high-risk foods.

In reaction, Senator Tom Harkin said - I welcome Mr. Mackay’s comments and applaud Kellogg for publicly stating what Americans have known for far too long – that the current fragmented system of food safety oversight is not doing enough to keep our citizens safe from food-borne illnesses.

Harkin called the current system – broken. He added, - more personnel at FDA and better coordination among the various agencies responsible for overseeing food safety is a critical first step in the right direction, but there is clearly more that can and should be done right now, particularly at FDA.
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“Senators: Stop Pitting Farmers Against School Nutrition”

Eight Senators, including the Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Saxby Chambliss, have sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, urging the Secretary to refrain from using rhetoric that unfairly attacks farmers and ranchers who form the foundation of America’s rural economy. Earlier this month, the Secretary declared that the upcoming reauthorization of the school nutrition program and the larger agenda of the Department of Agriculture is a choice between 30 million children or 90 thousandfarmers.

In the letter, the Senators said Congress can reauthorize the school nutrition programs, provide adequate funding to meet the urgent needs of our children, while at the same time maintain the support promised in the 2008 farm bill to U.S. production agriculture. They added the USDA has responsibility for a wide variety of interests and should be able to advocate for one without vilifying another.

The co-signers of the letter included: Chambliss, Thad Cochran, John Cornyn, Mike Crapo, James Risch, Pat Roberts, John Thune and David Vitter.
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“Five Dollar Corn Prices?”

There is speculation U.S. farmers will plant less corn and more soybeans this spring. Could this reduction in corn planted acreage force corn prices up to as high as five-dollars per bushel? Some analysts think that is possible. Analysts participating in the Reuters Food Agriculture Summit this week projected U.S. corn plantings at 83 million to 85 million acres, down from the 86 million seeded in 2008. They forecast soybean plantings as high as a record 80 million acres as farmers shift away from the higher planting costs of corn.

The analysts also noted the possibility of increased ethanol demand if the blend rate is raised and prospects that corn exports might rebound during the year. Reuters also quoted Jim Borel, who oversees DuPont Company's Pioneer Hi-Bred unit, as saying U.S. corn seed sales have been ahead of the previous season for the last few months.
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“Corn Industry Officials Visit EU-WTO”

Representatives of the National Corn Growers Association and the U.S. Grains Council completed a trip to the European Union this week to discuss biotechnology and trade policy issues focused on the Doha Round with visits to the World Trade Organization secretariat and others. NCGA Joint Trade Policy A-Team Chairman Bill Hoffman called the trip - a great opportunity to have one-on-one meetings with WTO officials and the French Corn Growers Association.

The WTO secretariat expressed the opinion that the United States is a key player in moving the Doha negotiations forward, but negotiations will continue to stall until the Obama Administration appoints the necessary trade officials. The secretariat expressed its belief that a successful conclusion of Doha trade talks would hold significant gains for the United States and would help end the worldwide economic downturn. A number of new provisions would help to safeguard against protectionism especially in agriculture.

French corn grower Christophe Terrain expressed his frustration with the current approval process for genetically enhanced corn. He said there were specific biotech traits that would reduce several of their annual infestation problems if they were made available. Terrain said coexistence rules are very strict. In France, test plot locations have to be publicized, emphasizing the effect this has had on the increase of agro-terrorism.
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“Senators’ Bill Reduces Ethanol Import Tariffs”

A group of bipartisan U.S. Senators has introduced a measure to reduce the tariffs on imported ethanol. They point out, the 2008 Farm Bill lowered the blender’s credit but the import tariffs are untouched. They say this has developed a –real barrier to trade - on foreign ethanol imports, ranging between 11 to 13 cents per gallon. This means that gasoline imports are favored over ethanol imports.

The measure (S.622) would ensure parity between the ethanol blender subsidy and the two tariffs on imported ethanol. Specifically, it would require the President to lower the ethanol tariff at least 11 cents per gallon within 30 days of enactment.

One of the bill’s sponsors, California Senator Dianne Feinstein, said – I believe this makes no sense, particularly given our nation’s continued addiction to oil imported from the middle East and other hot spots. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Brazilian production costs for sugar-based ethanol are only 81-cents per gallon, while U.S. ethanol production costs are currently above two dollars per gallon.
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“Vilsack Addresses Middle Class Taskforce”

Speaking at a Middle Class Taskforce meeting in St. Cloud, Minnesota yesterday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said - improving the lives of people in Main Street America is a major priority of the Obama Administration. The taskforce is chaired by Vice President Joe Biden and is working to develop public policies to help middle class families by improving their living standards.

The Secretary said - continued investment in research and production of alternative fuels will not only help improve the environment, but create much needed jobs in rural America. Vilsack challenged farmers, ranchers and rural communities to - take a lead in expanding the capacity to produce alternative forms of energy and fuel.

USDA has dedicated research funding for biofuels and biorefinery technology and is exploring how other forms of renewable energy, such as wind and solar, can be adapted to agricultural uses. The USDA also awards grants and loans to help rural Americans to invest in wind, solar and anaerobic energy solutions for their communities.
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“Canadian Swine Cull Program Extended”

The Canadian government has extended its Cull Breeding Swine Program to provide more assistance to farmers who have downsized their herds to cope with tough economic times. In making the announcement, Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said - some pork producers made tough business decisions to reduce their herds before this program started. We're changing the program to make sure those producers get the support they deserve.

The 50-million dollar program was announced in February 2008, with the objective of reducing the national breeding herd size by up to 10 per cent. The program provides producers a per head payment for each animal slaughtered, as well as reimbursement for slaughter and disposal costs. Producers must agree to empty at least one barn, and not to restock for a three year period.

Originally, claims for culled breeding swine were covered between November 1, 2007 and November 30, 2008. The initial date has now been changed to include breeding swine culled between August 1, 2007 and October 31st, 2007. Producers have until June 30 to make claims for breeding swine culled during this period.
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“2009 Pork Management Conference Announced”

The Pork Checkoff is inviting pork producers, including anyone involved in the management, accounting or finances of an operation, as well as consultants and lenders to attend the 2009 Pork Management Conference, Your Pork Industry Investment. This Conference is scheduled for May 6-8 in Fort Myers, Florida. Ron Schoo, chairman of the Pork Checkoff's Producer Services Committee and a pork producer from New Um, Minnesota, says - this Checkoff-funded conference offers the most up-to-date production and financial information that affects the pork industry today.

During the conference, participants will learn about topics such as emerging food trends, credit analysis, U.S. agriculture outlooks, global trade and more from several pork industry professionals. Concurrent sessions will cover managing employee benefit costs, real life production budgeting, hedge strategies, business interruption, a GAAP update, production targets, tax update, A-Z nuts and bolts on pork production and worker safety/OSHA.
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“Away With the Tumbling Tumbleweed”

Determining the host range of fungal pathogens that have potential for use as biological controls of weeds should become easier to do, thanks to a new technique developed by Agricultural Research Service scientists. Their approach combines data in unique ways to improve predictions about how certain plants or crops related to a targeted weed might react to the release of a candidate pathogen used in a classical biocontrol program.

Scientists can now integrate plant-disease reaction scores and other data with a matrix made up of DNA sequence information that shows the genetic relatedness of plant species to each other and to the target weed. Using a statistical approach similar to so-called "animal mixed models," scientists can predict the probable susceptibility of different plants to the weed pathogen.

A symbol of the Wild West might by where this technology could be applied. The tumbleweed is a noxious pest. It can infest crop fields, harbor pathogens, deplete soil moisture, pose a fire hazard and endanger motorists. Biocontrol offers a sustainable alternative to herbicide spraying and physical controls like mowing, especially across large swaths of infested land.
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