Office of Communications (202) 720-8138 AgNews Summary for USDA Executives Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * COPYRIGHT NOTIFICATION * * * * * * * * * * * * * * AgNews is intended for use by authorized government personnel only. Redistributing AgNews by any means to any unauthorized person violates copyright on the source material. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To access AgNews on the USDA Intranet, go to http://agnews.usda.gov FARM & FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICES IRAN BUYS WHEAT FROM U.S. FOR FIRST TIME IN 27 YEARS (101 Wall Street Journal 8/21, Reuters 8/20) Iran this summer resumed buying U.S. wheat after a 27- year hiatus, a sign of the limited options for importers seeking large quantities of high- quality grain. Since the 2008-2009 marketing year began on June 1, Iran has bought more than 1 million tons of hard red winter wheat directly from the U.S., which is “a very large amount,” said one analyst. The purchases mean at least 3 percent to 4 percent of domestic wheat exports for the marketing year will go to a country the U.S. hasn’t done business with for more than a generation. Drought is expected to slash Iran’s domestic production by one-third this year. The country is forecast to produce 10 million tons of wheat this year, down from 15 million in 2007-2008, and to import 4.5 million tons, up from 200,000 last year, according to USDA. AMBASSADOR SAYS MOST KOREANS WELCOME U.S. BEEF (102 AP 8/20) The majority of Korean consumers have embraced the arrival of U.S. beef after the country lifted a ban on imports earlier this year, despite protests that suggest otherwise, South Korean Ambassador Lee Tae-sik said Wednesday. Lee, who met with Alabama Gov. Bob Riley to generate support for a Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, downplayed demonstrations, and said, “we do not have any further concerns about the mad cow disease scare.” He said a “limited segment” of Korean society opposes the beef importation, but “they are in the minority and the consumer’s response to U.S. beef is very good.” FOOD, NUTRITION AND CONSUMER SERVICES SCHOOL LUNCHES NOT GOOD EATING (103 Atlanta Journal-Constitution 8/21) Federal nutrition programs are failing children and contributing to an epidemic of obesity and chronic illnesses, according to speakers who testified Wednesday at a USDA listening session. From the type of food served to the excess calories ladled onto trays, kids are learning unhealthy eating habits, they said. “School foods have sold out and reduced to competing with junk foods to be kid friendly,” said a spokeswoman for the Georgia PTA. As the federal government prepares to update child nutrition programs in 2009, a mix of sometimes competing interests took the stage at the listening session. Feedback from the Atlanta session and others across the country is a part of reauthorizing the program. For many speakers, the top priority is updating nutritional requirements to follow the most recent dietary guidelines. Another need: setting aside more money to pay for healthier food, which often costs more. Many speakers said rising food and energy costs are pinching meal budgets. MARKETING & REGULATORY PROGRAMS COURT RELEASES DOCUMENTS IN LAWSUIT OVER GM RICE (104 AP 8/20) A judge in Arkansas Wednesday released a handful of the million-plus documents offered under seal in a lawsuit over genetically modified rice. Plaintiffs in the case say the documents aid their case, but a defense lawyer says the papers will make no difference. Some Arkansas farmers claim they lost money after genetically modified rice grown by the Riceland Foods cooperative accidentally entered the food supply. A number of nations stopped buying Arkansas rice and producers had to sell rice for less in other countries, their lawsuit says. Parties in the case have made available more than a million pages of documents to lawyers handling the case, most of them filed under seal pending a review by the judge in the case. The judge ordered nine pages released Wednesday after the plaintiffs argued that the documents didn’t include any trade secrets. ORIENTAL FRUIT FLY FOUND IN CALIFORNIA (105 AP 8/20) Agriculture officials are set to begin work to try to eradicate the oriental fruit fly after the exotic pest was found in Santa Clara County, Calif. A county agriculture official said workers will begin using spot applications of insecticide in a 10-mile-square area. Workers also will set out a feeding lure intended to kill fruit flies. The fly feeds on more than 230 kids of fruit and vegetables. NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT CREW BOSS SENTENCED TO WORK RELEASE IN 2001 FIREFIGHTER DEATHS (106 AP 8/20) A fire crew supervisor who admitted lying to investigators about the deaths of four wildland firefighters during a fire in Washington state in 2001 was sentenced Wednesday to three months of work release. Elreese Daniels headed a team of wildland firefighters sent in to mop up the Thirtymile Fire in the Okanogan National Forest. The fire unexpectedly exploded on July 10, 2001, trapping 14 firefighters and two hikers. Four firefighters were killed. Investigators found that Forest Service fire bosses had broken all 10 of the agency’s standard safety rules, but only Daniels was charged criminally. He initially faced involuntary manslaughter charges, but those charges were dropped when he pleaded guilty in April to two misdemeanor counts of lying to investigators about his actions before the deaths. The judge in the case emphasized that Daniels was being punished for the statements, not the deaths, adding that he did not think Daniels was responsible for the deaths. FEDS ALLOW FIRE TO BURN UNCHECKED IN REMOTE NEVADA WILDERNESS (107 AP 8/20) While armies of firefighters battle blazes across much of the West, federal crews are watching from the sidelines as a 12-day-old wildfire burns unchecked in a remote wilderness area in the northeastern corner of Nevada. With no immediate threat to people or property, the Forest Service has been content to let nature have its way as the lightning-sparked fire burns through about five square miles of the Humboldt-Toyabe National Forest’s Jarbridge Wilderness Area along the Nevada-Idaho line. Agency officials continue to monitor the fire, which is 15 miles from the nearest town of Jarbridge, and will step in to fight it if any danger arises, said a spokeswoman. FAMILY TO FILE CLAIM AGAINST FOREST SERVICE OVER FIRE DAMAGE (108 AP 8/20) A prominent Oregon family says it will file a claim against the Forest Service over a wildfire that was being managed rather than suppressed and jumped containment lines. About a fifth of the 5,500-acre cattle ranch owned by the Pape family was burned in the Bridge Creek fire, said a family member. The fire was among a handful that were being managed for their benefits to forests, but high temperatures, low humidity and an unusual wind shift pushed it out of control on Saturday. As of Tuesday, the Bridge Creek fire had burned just under 5,000 acres and was 35 percent contained. SMOKE JUMPERS REACH RECORD NUMBER OF JUMPS (109 Redding Record- Searchlight, Calif. 8/19) It’s been a busy year for smoke jumpers flying out of Redding, Calif. – a record-breaking busy one. As of Monday, the jumpers at the California Smokejumper Base in Redding had done 562 individual parachute jumps, said the base’s training foreman. The old record for a fire season was 523. And “we’ve still got two months left,” he said. A thunderstorm on June 21 brought 8,000 lightning strikes to the northern part of the state and started hundreds of wildfires. Many of those were in remote areas, and the smoke jumpers were called into the attack. $20 MILLION IN MARIJUANA SEIZED IN NATIONAL FOREST (110 Victorville Daily Press, Calif. 8/20) Investigators seized more than $20.4 million worth of marijuana and arrested two men after discovering an outdoor pot farm in the San Bernardino National Forest, authorities said Tuesday. Officials seized 5,843 plants. Among the agencies involved in the operation were the Forest Service, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting. RESEARCH, EDUCATION & ECONOMICS USDA SAYS FOOD PRICES TO POST BIGGEST RISE SINCE 1990 (111 Reuters 8/20) Consumers should brace for the biggest increase in food prices in nearly 20 years in 2008, and even more pain next year due to surging meat prices, USDA said Wednesday. Food prices are forecast to rise by 5 percent to 6 percent this year, making it the largest annual increase since 1990. USDA forecast last month that prices would rise between 4.5 and 5.5 percent in 2008. “It’s a little bit of a surprise how strong some of the numbers were in July,” said USDA economist Ephraim Leibtag, who prepared the forecast. He said he expects food prices to moderate, but the timing depends on what happens to volatile energy and food ingredient costs. USDA -- MULTI-MISSION MEXICAN PEPPERS POSING SALMONELLA RISK STILL BEING SOLD (112 USA Today 8/21) Federal officials say fresh jalapeno and Serrano peppers from Mexico pose a salmonella risk, but the peppers are still selling in the U.S., and for much less than their U.S. rivals. Buyers tend to be small Hispanic grocers and mom-and-pop restaurants, while big supermarkets and restaurants shun the Mexican supply, distributors say. The article quotes a warehouse manager for a Los Angeles distributor who says, “Mexican peppers are still selling. Our customers are asking for them.” The Food and Drug Administration warned last month that consumers should avoid fresh jalapeno and Serrano peppers from Mexico after salmonella was found on samples. EDITORIAL AND OPINION THERE OUGHT TO BE A ROADLESS LAW (113 N.Y. Times 8/21) An editorial says the Bush administration has “worked tirelessly” for seven years to kill the roadless rule, which it calls one of the “signature environmental achievements” of the Clinton administration. The rule “has been caught in an endless game of ping-pong,” the editorial says, with some courts upholding it and others overturning it. While few new roads have been built in roadless areas, “things are in a complete mess” legally with the rule, it says. “That means there is no guaranteed protection for the roadless forests.” The editorial notes the most recent ruling in favor of the rule, which came down last week (AgNews 8/13 #108). While environmental groups will undoubtedly appeal that ruling, it “still leaves too much room for mischief,” the editorial says, and it calls on Congress to intervene. “It is past time to provide permanent protection for the forests by turning the Clinton rule into firm law,” it concludes. LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY WANTS END TO ETHANOL MANDATES (114 Fargo Forum 8/21) A commentary by a feedlot operator criticizes the Forum’s recent “hysterical and nonsensical” editorials in support of ethanol. The writer cites rising feed costs, which he says led to losses in the cattle feeding industry of about $1.5 billion in the first half of 2008. He says corn affects food prices directly by increased prices of corn used for food; and indirectly by pushing up the costs of wheat and soybeans. It also increases food costs by increasing livestock production costs. The writer says the livestock industry “is simply asking for an end to the increasing mandates for ethanol production.” Growing more corn for an increasing mandate will reduce land available to produce other crops. He cites a report from the University of Illinois that says while demand is providing strong support for crop farmers, “the downside is the impact on the livestock industry, and it will continue to consolidate and increase food prices.” GRASSLEY WRITES TO USTR TO SUPPORT ETHANOL TARIFF (115 AgWeb.com 8/20) Columnist Jim Wiesemeyer reports that Sen. Chuck Grassley has written to U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab to reassure her that the U.S. ethanol import tariff is explicitly permitted under World Trade Organization rules. Grassley’s letter is in response to questions raised by Sen. Dianne Feinstein to Schwab about whether the import tariff violates WTO rules. Wiesemeyer includes the text of the letter, and comments that the issue “is far from over – especially if energy prices rally from their recent downturn.” DON’T BE CONFUSED ABOUT ETHANOL, SUBSIDIES, PRICES (116 Wall Street Journal 8/21) Three letters to the editor respond to a commentary by Texas Gov. Rick Perry that criticized ethanol mandates (AgNews 8/12 #120). The first letter, from the president of the National Corn Growers Association, says corn production is up and prices down, and that in any case corn’s contribution to food prices is minimal. The second letter says Perry’s complaints about ethanol driving up the price of food are true, but the writer says the livestock industry is no innocent victim – it also benefits from corn subsidies, and it has no more right to be subsidized than does the ethanol industry. The third writer cites the closure of a Pilgrim’s Pride processing plant in Arkansas, and says it is time to “put an end to the hardships the misguided ethanol mandate is causing for consumers, workers and employers.” BUSH ADMINISTRATION GOES TOO FAR ON ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT (117 Rocky Mountain News 8/20) An editorial says that although the News supports revising the Endangered Species Act, “we cannot embrace the sweeping changes announced this month” by the Interior Department. Even if the administration has the authority to make such changes, it says, “we don’t want a lame-duck White House unilaterally revamping how the act is enforced.” Congress, it says, should endorse any significant changes, and they should be “fully and publicly deliberated.” The editorial goes on to suggest some revisions in the act, but it says the administration’s proposals are “the wrong way to modify enforcement of a federal law.” BID TO WEAKEN ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT SHOULD BE SHOT DOWN (118 USA Today 8/21) An editorial says the Bush administration’s proposals to “improve” the Endangered Species Act by eliminating automatic reviews by fish and wildlife experts is “truly alarming.” It says it is “ludicrous to expect that federal agencies that build dams and roads will seriously search out impediments to their progress.” While the act “isn’t perfect, and hasn’t always been applied with common sense,” the administration is “calling a trick play in the fourth quarter, attempting to win a change that failed to get through a Republican-controlled Congress only three years ago.” MORE PROTECTION, LESS RED TAPE (119 USA Today 8/21) In a brief response to the editorial above, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne says that while Americans “overwhelmingly support the conservation of endangered species,” the Endangered Species Act was never intended to be used as a solution to global climate change. It is already “a complex source of red tape and litigation,” but to use it as a tool for greenhouse gas oversight “threatened to overwhelm agency experts and do more harm than good to the cause of conservation.” AGRICULTURE AND TRADE PRESS BROWNFIELD 8/20 (120) Elanco buys POSILAC (121) Indiana town gets $200,000 RD grant MEATINGPLACE 8/20 (122) U.S. beef moving up the charts in South Korea AND ALSO… CALIFORNIA MAY REQUIRE GREEN CARS TO MAKE MORE NOISE (123 AP 8/19) Electric and hybrid vehicles may be better for the environment, but the California Legislature says they’re bad for the blind. It has passed a bill to ensure that the vehicles make enough noise to be heard by visually impaired people about to cross a street. The measure would establish a committee to study the issue and recommend ways the vehicles could make more noise. USDA RELEASES Wednesday, Aug. 20 0216 USDA Rural Development to Hold Public Meeting on Farm Bill Renewable Energy Provisions 0215 COSTA RICA, BELIZE, QATAR AND GHANA JOIN NATIONS FOR FULL MARKET ACCESS OF U.S. BEEF To obtain a USDA release, access USDA’s Home Page at http://www.usda.gov To access AgNews on the USDA Intranet, go to http://agnews.usda.gov * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * DISCLAIMER -- AgNews content is derived from major wires, news magazines and mass distribution press. Inclusion of an item in AgNews does not imply USDA agreement; nor does USDA attest to the accuracy or completeness of the item. * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ACCESS AGNEWS ARCHIVES ON THE USDA INTRANET – AgNews archive files are available on the USDA Intranet at http://agnews.usda.gov. 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