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| News Update Sept. 19, 2005 Hurricane Relief Efforts Continue Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns has announced that he has appointed two senior advisors, Gilbert Gonzalez and James Little, to assist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Hurricane Katrina response. The pair will help coordinate the agency’s response and recovery efforts in the region. In other disaster-relief news, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) reports that shipments of canned beef and jerky are on their way to the Gulf Coast region. Heartland Farms began shipping more than 20,000 cans of cooked ground beef and canned stew to Salvation Army feeding operations in Biloxi, Miss., and Jackson, Miss., and canned beef was also donated to the Red Cross in Macomb. Oberto Sausage Co., also joined relief efforts, sending 288,000 1-ounce (oz.) packages of beef jerky to the area. In addition, NCBA reports it has raised $170,000 from its Federation of State Beef Councils and independent donations from cattlemen and beef associations. Beef Program Debuts Tonight A 30-minute television program, titled “The Beef Checkoff: Building Beef Demand,” will air tonight, the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (CBB) announced. The program will feature the history of the beef checkoff, what producers say about the program today and the checkoff’s effects on the beef industry. It premieres at 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST, 6 p.m. MT and 5 p.m. PST) on RFD-TV. The network is located on Dish Network Channel 9409 and DirecTV Satellite Channel 379. Check local listings for MediaCom Cable Systems and NCTC Cable Systems. Repeats of the program will air at 4 a.m. EST and at noon Sept. 20, and at 2 a.m. Sept. 25. Legislators Urge More Action to Reopen Japanese Market Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Rep. Tom Osborne (R-Neb.) announced last week that they will send a letter to Secretary Johanns asking the USDA to discontinue its plans to allow beef from Japan to be imported into the U.S. The USDA first published a proposed rule last month that would allow boneless beef imports from Japan. If finalized, the rule would end a four-year ban on Japanese beef that originated September 2001 following the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Although U.S. imports of boneless beef from Japan only average 19,000 pounds (lb.) — or about half a semi-trailer load — Nelson stated, “I think it makes no sense to expand our domestic market for Japanese beef while their market for American beef remains closed.” Osborne agreed, saying, “Allowing Japan greater access to markets within our country before full resumption of trade with Japan is unfavorable to our cattle producers and unacceptable.” Nelson planned to join other U.S. senators in sending letters to President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, asking them to put the re-opening of the beef market on top of their international trade agenda. Meanwhile, NCBA announced that its members regard October as a significant milestone in the push for resumption of U.S. beef exports to Japan. “We have been extremely patient, giving Japan a generous amount of time to work through its internal processes,” Jim McAdams, NCBA president, stated in a release. “But, as of October 2005, it will be a full year since Japanese officials heralded the completion of a framework agreement designed to resume U.S. beef exports to Japan. We’ve given Japan everything it has requested, and a year after this promise the ban on our products has not budged. Our patience is wearing thin.” Johanns Expresses Disappointment in Anti-Dumping Allegations Secretary Johanns and U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman released a joint statement Friday, Sept. 16, regarding Canada’s decision to proceed with its investigation of U.S. corn imports. Canada announced it would proceed with a formal anti-dumping/countervailing duty investigation. “We do not believe the petition contained sufficient evidence of injury to Canadian corn growers to initiate an investigation,” the release noted. “The U.S. government will be actively engaged with the Canadian investigative agencies during the investigation to defend the interests of U.S. corn producers and exporters.” According to Johanns and Portman, Canada conducted two prior investigations of U.S. corn imports, revoking a countervailing duty order after a General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) panel decision was adopted in 1992 and finding no injury in a second investigation in 2001. Imports of U.S. corn into Canada are actually down during the past two years. — compiled by Crystal Albers, Angus Productions Inc., associate editor |
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