Office of Communications (202) 720-8138 AgNews Summary for USDA Executives Tuesday, Aug. 19, 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 COMMERCE SECRETARY WARNS AGAINST ECONOMIC ISOLATION (101 Dow Jones 8/18) The benefits of growing trade relations within the Western Hemisphere are at risk from increasing isolationist pressures, Commerce Secretary Carols Gutierrez said Monday. Kicking off a two-day conference in competitiveness in the Americas, Gutierrez said the U.S. economy is getting a boost from exports. But he added that “the progress that has been made is still...fragile because we know that there are people who would like to go backward to an era where there wasn’t much trade, an era of economic isolationism, which we believe would be a big mistake.” Arguing that trade agreements are being made into scapegoats for job losses in the U.S., Gutierrez said countries in the region complement each other, and that the real competition comes from elsewhere in the world. At a press conference later, he called for Congress to pass free trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea and Panama. FOOD, NUTRITION AND CONSUMER SERVICES SCHOOL CAFETERIAS STRUGGLING TO KEEP FOOD ON THE TABLE (102 USA Today 8/19) Rising costs for food, fuel and labor are forcing school cafeterias nationwide to raise prices, cut jobs and, in some cases, dip into “rainy day” funds to put food on trays, according to congressional testimony. USDA chipped in an extra dime per meal last week to help schools pay for lunches. The new maximum rate is now $2.57, up from $2.47 in 2007. But school nutrition directors say that doesn’t keep pace with costs, which will climb 30 cents a meal this year to a national average of $2.88, the School Nutrition Association says. MORE FAMILIES SEEK LUNCH AID (103 USA Today 8/19) The troubled economy may be prompting more families to turn to federal school nutrition programs that aid poor children, a survey suggests. For the first time since 2004, a majority of cafeteria operators say the number of children getting free or reduced-price lunches has risen. In the annual survey, out today from the School Nutrition Association, 51.4 percent of food service directors say they saw an increase in the past school year. The survey’s authors cautioned that the finding could be elevated because this is the first year the association polled all its members, and not just those who attended the annual convention. FOR MANY KIDS, NO FREE LUNCH IN SUMMER (104 Washington Post 8/19) In the 2006-2007 school year, 16.3 million children benefited from free or reduced-price lunches through the National School Lunch Program. But what happens when schools let out for the summer? The hunger does not end for many of these kids, but their access to free lunches does, according to a report issued last month by the Food Research and Action Center. Summer nutrition programs are falling far short of the need, says the FRAC report. The USDA’s Summer food Service Program served only 2.85 million children, or 17.5 percent of those eligible, in July 2007, the most recent period for which numbers are available. The article quotes a FRAC official who says many sponsors have dropped out of the program because “they had a hard time operating without losing money.” MARKETING & REGULATORY PROGRAMS ANTHRAX FOUND IN SOUTH DAKOTA CATTLE (105 AP 8/18) Anthrax has been detected in three South Dakota cattle herds. The Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory at South Dakota State University is closely tracking the outbreak. South Dakota is in an anthrax belt that has soil contaminated with spores of the disease. NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT WILDFIRES: PUT THEM OUT OR LET THEM BURN? (106 Salt Lake Tribune 8/18) The article looks at the debate over whether to attack wildfires or let them burn. It focuses on a Forest Service fire management officer, Rowdy Muir, as he worked on a fire in California’s Sierra Nevada in July. Muir was a firefighter on the Yellowstone National Park fire 20 years ago, and the article looks at how firefighting has changed since then: Wildfires have become bigger, more forests are susceptible, and more lives and property are at stake. Firefighting costs have ballooned. But the national multi-agency system for managing big fires is better organized and involves the best-skilled experts from local, state and federal agencies. Firefighting tools – maps and radios and computers – can help predict and track wildfires better than ever. And thanks to Yellowstone’s hearty comeback, there is widespread agreement that fire is a good and natural part of the ecosystem. The article quotes a fire historian who agrees with that, but adds: “The issue is, how do we do it? How do you put the fire back in? We’re still struggling with that.” FIRE THREATENS CENTRAL OREGON TOWN (107 AP 8/18) A wildfire threatened a central Oregon town Monday as firefighters across the state dealt with the aftermath of a night of lightning strikes. Three wildfires touched off by lightning in the Ochoco National Forest merged into one large blaze covering about 3,000 acres. The fire, which started Aug. 7, was fanned into a fury Saturday by high winds and 100 degree-plus temperatures, said a spokeswoman at the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. RESEARCH, EDUCATION & ECONOMICS CROP SCOUTS SEE CORN YIELDS ABOVE AVERAGE IN SOUTH DAKOTA (108 Reuters 8/18) Corn crops in southeastern South Dakota were showing near- to above- average yield potential, but soybeans were developing behind schedule due to late planting, scouts on an annual crop tour said Monday. Corn yields were seen at 118.7 bushels per acre, according to a survey of six fields on one route of the tour. That compares to estimated yields last year of 111.4 bushels. The average soybean pod count of five fields on the southeast South Dakota route was 817.1 pods, compared to 1,068.9 last year. Scouts on other routes through southeastern South Dakota estimated corn yield potentials ranging from 101 to 213.6 bushels per acre. Soybean pod counts on other routes ranged from 132 to 1,520. In northern Nebraska, scouts said slow crop development is harming both corn and soybeans. Some cornfields in Nebraska are still in the pollination phase, and will need at least 50 days before they are ready to be harvested. Scouts surveyed five fields in Nebraska, and forecast average yield at 98.8 bushels per acre, well below the three-year average of 142.8. OHIO CORN YIELDS UP, SOY PODS COUNTS BELOW AVERAGE (109 Reuters 8/18) Corn yields in Ohio appear to be slightly better than average, but the crop’s immaturity and dry soils leave it vulnerable to production losses in the critical final weeks before harvest, crop scouts on an annual crop tour said Monday. Much of the crop was planted later than usual this year due to overly wet soils, so the crop may be threatened by an early frost, they said. Crop scouts surveyed 88 cornfields in Ohio, and estimated the yield at 148.75 bushels per acre, up from 144.31 last year. Soybean pod counts in Ohio were lower than average because of late planting and wet conditions early in the growing season, but timely rains could boost yield potential in the weeks ahead, crop scouts said. Scouts surveyed 88 fields Monday, finding an average pod count of 1,103.61 per three- by-three-foot plot. That compared to 1,226.70 last year. USDA RESEARCH LAB IN MONTANA EXPANDS (110 AP 8/18) USDA’s Northern Plains Agricultural Research laboratory in Sidney, Mont., has a new addition. The insect quarantine and greenhouse complex will allow the lab to begin importing and testing insects that could someday be used in battling problem weeds. The research could speed up development of biological control for invasive weeds. USDA -- MULTI-MISSION INSPECTORS TURNED BACK PEPPERS IN MONTHS BEFORE OUTBREAK (111 AP 8/19) Federal inspectors at U.S. border crossings repeatedly turned back filthy, disease- ridden shipments of peppers from Mexico in the months before a salmonella outbreak that sickened 1,400 people was finally traced to Mexican chilies. Yet no larger action was taken. Food and Drug Administration officials insisted as recently as last week that they were surprised by the outbreak because Mexican peppers had not been spotted as a problem before. But an analysis of FDA records found that peppers and chilies were consistently the top crop rejected by border inspectors for the last year. Food safety advocates question why the agency did not pay more attention to the peppers being stopped at the border and why it took the nation’s largest food-borne illness outbreak for FDA to ratchet up its screening of companies known for shipping dirty chilies. ORGANIC FOODS FEEL THE BITE FROM SLUGGISH ECONOMY (112 USA Today 8/19) High gas and food prices appear to be nibbling away at the high growth rates enjoyed by organic and natural foods makers and sellers. Sales growth has slowed, but remains strong because of the loyalty of core organic buyers, some industry executives say. The article quotes an executive of an organic yogurt maker who says he expects 18 percent revenue growth this year – up from 16 percent last year but down from 24 percent in past years. Others have also reported slower growth than anticipated. EDITORIAL AND OPINION THE ETHANOL REVOLUTION (113 Omaha world-Herald 8/17) An editorial says ethanol and its producers, including farmers, “stand on the very edge of the energy revolution.” It notes last week’s meeting in Omaha of the American Coalition for Ethanol, and says great strides are being made in increased corn yields, ethanol byproducts, cellulosic ethanol production, pipeline transportation and ethanol blends. The editorial goes on to explore each of these areas in more detail, and adds that in 2007, ethanol prevented more than 1 million tons of greenhouse gases from entering the environment. It concludes: “Ethanol by itself isn’t the solution to the nation’s fuel needs. But it can be, and already is in some instances, a major part of the answer.” CORPORATE SELF-INTEREST MAKING RETAILERS INTO WATCHDOGS (114 L.A. Times 8/19) An editorial takes note of a lawsuit filed against Wal-Mart by a Colorado man who claims he became ill from a jalapeno pepper he bought at the store. Such suits will probably be rare, the editorial says, since the Food and Drug Administration is still investigating whether a salmonella outbreak came from jalapenos or tomatoes or both. But it says retailers are probably the consumer’s best chance of being compensated because of the “amorphous” nature of food production. That may mean that retailers become the strongest force for safer agricultural methods. Some big retailers are already embracing that role, it says, adding that private corporations can be modified and strengthened more quickly than can FDA or USDA. Whether that kind of involvement is forced by lawsuits or is the result of enlightened self-interest, the editorial says, it’s a welcome development. CHANGES IN ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT COULD DO LASTING HARM (115 Washington Post 8/19) An editorial says changes proposed by the Interior Department would undermine the “fundamental work” of the Endangered Species Act. The changes would render the consultation process between federal agencies and the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service “meaningless,” the editorial says. They would “put all protected species at risk.” Under the Interior plan, agencies would be able to decide for themselves whether a project is likely to harm a species, and it would shorten the deadlines for Fish and Wildlife to respond if an agency does decide to consult. “The impact could be devastating,” the editorial says. It concludes by calling on Interior to “reissue the proposed regulations with a specific, targeted policy on how greenhouse gas emissions should be taken into account on federal projects under the Endangered Species Act. Gutting the consultation process, with all the unintended consequences of such an action, could be avoided.” ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT IS ENDANGERED ITSELF (116 Roanoke Times, Va. 8/18) An editorial says the Bush administration’s proposal to eliminate a long-standing requirement in the Endangered Species Act is an effort to rewrite the law through regulation. The proposal would allow federal agencies to determine for themselves whether projects need an environmental review, rather than the current requirement for scientists at the Fish and Wildlife Service or the Marine Fisheries Service to sign off. The editorial says the environmental expertise of such agencies as the Office of Surface Mining or the Transportation Department is no substitute for independent assessment by knowledgeable scientists. It charges that the Bush administration has been trying to weaken the Endangered Species Act since the President took office, and this is an effort to bypass Congress to accomplish that. CHANGES WOULD NOT END SCIENTIFIC REVIEW (117 N.Y. Times 9/19) A letter to the editor from Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne refers to an Aug. 13 Times editorial that criticized proposed changes in the Endangered Species Act. Kempthorne says the proposed regulatory changes would still require agencies to consult with the Fish and wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service if a proposed action is expected to cause death or injury to a threatened or endangered species. He says the act does not define consultation, and leaves it to the executive branch to craft the consultation process. “The purpose of the proposal is to clarify that consultation is not necessary in cases when an action would result in no significant effect on a threatened or endangered species or when the effect cannot possibly be determined,” he writes. “This would reduce unnecessary paperwork and free up wildlife biologists to do work that actually helps conserve and recover species.” AGRICULTURE AND TRADE PRESS DTN 8/18 (118) Harkin sees no moves on ethanol this fall BROWNFIELD 8/18 (119) Bean and corn development remain less than average MEATINGPLACE 8/18 (120) USDA drafts guidelines on E. coli sampling in small beef plants (121) Japan inspects U.S. beef plants (122) FSIS posts results of reassessment of E. coli controls in beef plants AND ALSO… WHERE TO TAKE YOUR CENTS OF HUMOR: TIGHTWAD BANK (123 Washington Post 8/18) The manager of the Tightwad Bank in Tightwad, Mo., spends much of her time assuring callers that her institution is a real bank. Tightwad Bank may be quirky and unproven, but it is a genuine bank with a real charter and a real vault and a pair of real bankers in charge. “We’re seeking customers with a sense of humor,” says Donald S. Higdon, who opened the bank with his business partner in May after they grew bored with running a sober-sided bank in neighboring Kansas. The article notes that to get to Tightwad, Mo., you have to go through Peculiar. Nearby towns include Blackjack, Wisdom and Fair Play. NETWORK NEWS Monday, Aug. 18 ABC: Obesity rates among children younger than 5 have doubled over the last two decades 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. 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