• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Change for USDA?

A

Anonymous

Guest
Vilsack signals changes at USDA

Payment limits, COOL top new USDA chief's to-do list




Dan Looker

Successful Farming magazine Business Editor

Agriculture Online

1/26/2009, 12:52 AM CST



President Barack Obama's promise of change is also reaching the U.S. Department of Agriculture, newly confirmed Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made clear to reporters in his first formal press conference Monday.



Vilsack promised to modernize the Department's computer technology and said that one of the first things he did last week was to meet with his staff to go over existing ethics standards at the USDA as well as new ones ordered by the President.



Vilsack said that under President Obama's order freezing the Bush administrations last minute rules, his department has already acted on two of them.



It has withdrawn a $3 million cut from the specialty crop block grant program in the new farm bill. Vilsack said the administration supports efforts to encourage local production of fruits and vegetables.



Vilsack also wants to take another look at the Bush administration's last minute rule on limits for commodity program payments. Critics of the rule, including Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, have said that it continues a weak definition of what it means to be actively engaged in farming. That loophole has allowed urban owners of farmland to collect payments illegally, some argue.



"I've directed the Department to extend the comment period for the payment limit rule for an additional 60 days," Vilsack said. The President wants public debate on the issue and so far, the Bush administration rule has generated "a small number of comments," Vilsack said. "I am particularly interested in suggestions that will help the Department target payments to farmers who need them."



He added that any changes the new administration makes to the rule would not affect payments for the 2009 crop, since farmers and lenders have already made plans based on the current understanding of payment limits.



The USDA hasn't yet indicated what, if any, changes it would make to the Bush administration rule for implementation of mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL), but Vilsack said "I want to state very clearly that I strongly support COOL."



Vilsack pledged strong enforcement of existing laws administered by USDA, including the Packers and Stockyards Act.



Vilsack also said that USDA will be involved in helping to create the "green collar jobs" in the biofuels and energy industry that the President campaigned on. The Secretary said USDA will work very quickly to implement new programs in the farm bill to pay farmers to raise energy crops and to help existing ethanol plants move toward using cellulosic feedstocks as well as corn.



USDA will also conduct research on how farmers can participate in carbon trading and sequestration programs, he said.



But the USDA's work in carbon sequestration will also involve its Forest Service and efforts to manage forests to reduce wildfires, Vilsack said. "Right now with uncontrolled wildfires we're actually contributing greenhouse gases rather than reducing them," he said.



Vilsack didn't wade into the details of how the Administration will treat calls for changing the amount of ethanol that can be blended with regular unleaded gasoline, which is controlled by the Environmental Protection Agency, not USDA. The current 10% limit is seen by the industry as a "blend wall" that's preventing greater use of ethanol in the fuel supply.



But he said it's important for USDA to have a good working relationship and good communications with EPA.



agriculture.com
 

PORKER

Well-known member
"[P]eople acting in a group can accomplish things which no individual acting alone could even hope to bring about." - FDR






Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Country-of-Origin Regulations Fall Short

The Bush administration has finalized yet another last-minute regulation that is drawing fire from public interest advocates. The regulation establishes rules for country-of-origin labeling for certain types of foods. Although country-of-origin labeling, or COOL for short, represents positive movement in the food safety arena, the Bush regulation leaves unfortunate loopholes.

COOL not only makes perfect sense, it can serve as a critical safeguard. (Remember this summer's salmonella outbreak, when the FDA spent months trying to track down tainted jalapenos while consumers were left in the dark?) That's why Congress required USDA to issue new regulations in the 2008 Farm Bill. Andrew Schneider at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer provides the details:

The rule covers muscle cuts and ground beef, lamb, chicken, goat and pork; wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish; perishable agricultural commodities, specifically fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables; macadamia nuts; pecans; ginseng; peanuts and honey. Picture

The regulations demand that items covered under COOL must be labeled before they reach store shelves to indicate precisely where the food came from. For fish and shellfish, the method of production -- wild or farm-raised -- must be specified.

The controversy has arisen over USDA's definition of processed food items which are exempt from the labeling requirements. The regulation exempts foods if processing would "change the character" of the food item, if the item is combined with some other food item, or if the item is cooked, cured, or smoked.

The consumer advocacy group Food and Water Watch is among the critics:

Given the recent scandals about the safety of imported food, it is unacceptable that the rule was approved with an overly broad definition for which foods are 'processed.' This definition exempts from labeling over 60 percent of pork, the majority of frozen vegetables, an estimated 95 percent of peanuts, pecans, and macadamia nuts, and multi-ingredient fresh produce items such as fruit salads and salad mixes. It is inexcusable to exempt so much food from this basic labeling requirement just because one ingredient has been added or because something has been roasted or cooked.
The COOL regulation comes after the deadline to make rules both final and effective. By law, agencies must wait 30 or 60 days (in this case, 60 days) before considering rules to be in effect. By making sure his administration's most controversial rules are in effect, President Bush will prevent the incoming Obama administration from reevaluating and/or reversing any Bush-era regulations.

President Bush is trying to prevent President Obama from doing to him what he did to President Clinton. The Clinton administration published many rules in the Federal Register in January 2001, just days before leaving office. Because those rules were not yet effective, the incoming president, George W. Bush, took a second look at those rules and suspended many of them. Although Bush's move was of questionable legality, it was never challenged in court.

But the COOL regulation does not take effect until March 16. That may give the Obama administration a chance to strengthen the rule by providing a clearer definition of processed foods.



Posted by Matt Madia
 

Big Muddy rancher

Well-known member
Vilsack also got a waiver so his farm could still collect it's over $7,000 CRP payment and not have to pay back the over $60,000 he has all ready collected.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Big Muddy rancher said:
Vilsack also got a waiver so his farm could still collect it's over $7,000 CRP payment and not have to pay back the over $60,000 he has all ready collected.

Great- the man knows what it means to own land- and manage it the way it produces best.... :wink:
 

Big Muddy rancher

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
Big Muddy rancher said:
Vilsack also got a waiver so his farm could still collect it's over $7,000 CRP payment and not have to pay back the over $60,000 he has all ready collected.

Great- the man knows what it means to own land- and manage it the way it produces best.... :wink:

Well maybe, He has had a company manage it for him. :roll:
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Manitoba plans full food traceability system
Staff 1/30/2009 1:23:00 AM



Manitoba's pilot traceability program for the province's food, food factories and farms has picked up the funding to move toward a full launch.

Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk announced Wednesday at Keystone Agricultural Producers' (KAP) annual meeting in Winnipeg that the province has pledged over $400,000 to develop and launch an agri-food traceability system that can trace food products from the farm gate through to the consumer.

The system, which was developed and tested in a pilot project with IBM and using TraceTracker software from Norway, involves agri-food premises identification, allowing the province to locate and register all farms and other places where animals are raised, kept or sold.

Registration will begin with the livestock sector, but will be expanded to include "all farms that grow food, processing plants and eventually all places where food is kept," the province said.

"Manitoba's traceability and food-safety system would ensure that all food processing done in this province is subject to a monitoring program," Wowchuk said in a release Wednesday.

"This registration database will provide valuable information on the location and identification of foods produced or processed in Manitoba, enabling us to quickly track the origin of foods, thus ensuring the ongoing safety and health of Manitobans," she said.

"A comprehensive traceability system will support a timely and effective provincial response to any food-safety issue or animal health emergency."

Elevated status

As well, she said, such traceback capabilities will "elevate the status of foods produced here for consumers and customers nationally and internationally, providing economic benefits for the province."

Wayne Lees, Manitoba's chief provincial veterinarian, recently told the Manitoba Co-operator there are three major reasons to have a Manitoba agri-food traceability system.

First, he said in the paper's Jan. 15 issue, is to help authorities develop plans to protect human and animal health in cases of disease outbreaks or food safety incidents and, second, to respond effectively when they occur.

"The third reason for traceability is maintaining attributes for products," Lees told the Co-operator's Daniel Winters. "If you have grass-fed beef, how do you trace that all the way through the system so that the consumer is assured that it is really grass fed?"

A province such as Manitoba that relies heavily on export markets for its current levels of production of beef and hogs may find traceability key to the livestock sector's survival over the longer term, he said.

"If we're going to get into the high-end markets, we're going to have to start developing very sophisticated systems... If we look ahead, say, five years, these are the types of things that will allow us to move ahead."

Modern food production and distribution makes traditional one-on-one trust relationships between buyers and sellers unwieldy, he said, and computerized interaction might be an effective substitute.

"You can't expect everyone in Winnipeg to know a farmer to deal with," Lees said in the Co-operator. "Traceability is not meant to replace the direct client-customer relationship, but to take some of those qualities to a bigger level so that it can work in the modern distribution channel."

Wowchuk noted Wednesday that producer and processor organizations have already developed animal and product identification systems, and said Manitoba will work with other provinces and Ottawa to track movements of animals, other commodities and food products across Canada.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Obama announced today the creation of the Food Safety Working Group. The organization will be chaired by the secretaries of health and human services FDA along with the Department of Agriculture. It will coordinate with other agencies and senior officials to advise the President on improving coordination throughout the government, examining and upgrading food safety laws, and enforcing laws that will keep the American people safe. Obama said that the government will also invest in the FDA to substantially increase the number of food inspectors and modernize food safety labs.
 

mrj

Well-known member
Of course! More opportunity to hire more Union workers!!! What's not to love about that for this administration? Payback time!!!!

mrj
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Read on a Blog

U.S. Department of Agriculture starts "People's Garden" and guess what?
Posted Wednesday, April 8, 2009, at 5:37 PM


This may be more newsworthy than the White House Garden. Right in front of the USDA's headquarters in Washington they are creating a "people's garden" and it is going to be organic!

"USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has taken a personal interest in developing the new People's Garden" and "the Secretary wanted the garden to be certified organic, so all the inputs--including compost--need to conform to the National Organic Program standards." http://www.prweb.com:80/releases/2009/04...


Wow! I wonder if the chemical ag people are going to fuss at Secretary Vilsack. Probably so, but maybe not in writing.

Another noted article;

The FDA Globalization Act (H.R. 759) and the Tracing and Recalling Act (H.R. 814) may be of greater concern, potentially more problems for small farms and food processors, the overview suggests. The first would require food-processing plants to pay registration fees that would fund increased inspections. It would also extend “traceability record-keeping requirements—that currently apply only to food processors—to farms and restaurants,” the report notes. H.R. 814 mandates an animal-identification system that might overlap with a similar, controversial system run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Traceability

Most of the bills address trace-back of food products as a big issue. After all, proponents say, how can you issue a recall and remove potentially contaminated food, if you have no way of knowing where that food is?

The Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act, sponsored by political powerhouse John Dingell of Michigan, overhauls the structure of the current Food and Drug Administration, and would extend food processing traceability recordkeeping requirements to farms and restaurants. It would also create minimum production standards for fruits and vegetables and establish Good Agricultural Practices for produce, or guidelines to reduce potential contamination.
 
Top