News Update
Sept. 27, 2006
Economic Effects of Strategies to Combat Invasive Pests
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced Oct. 6 that universities in seven states will receive $1.1 million to study the economic implications of preventing, controlling or eradicating invasive pests and diseases.
“The control of invasive plant pests and foreign animal diseases is a major priority in protecting our environment and agricultural sector,” Johanns said. “This research will help identify effective strategies for preventing the introduction of invasive species and managing their presence.”
The agreements announced today will provide funding to universities in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, Texas and Washington. Among the subjects these projects will examine are:
- development of decision support systems to help public and private land managers identify priorities and select efficient prevention, detection and control strategies;
- benefits and costs of strategies to slow the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer in Michigan and Ohio;
- benefits and costs of policy options to manage animal diseases that spread between livestock and wildlife, accounting for ecological and economic factors;
- economic effectiveness of mitigation strategies against avian influenza in the poultry industry, including prevention and response;
- economic and trade effects on U.S. and global livestock markets of animal disease outbreaks and of individual and multi-country responses.
The complete list of awards follows. These research projects are competitively awarded by the Program of Research on the Economics of Invasive Species Management (PREISM), administered by the U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS). PREISM studies will provide analytically based principles, guidelines and criteria for invasive species policy and program decision making, as well as the economic information, modeling systems or other tools that support the decision making. More information about these projects is on the web at www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/invasivespecies.
FY 2006 PREISM Competitive Cooperative Agreements
University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, $250,000 — This project will investigate the ecological and economic effects of the Emerald Ash Borer, a high-priority pest for USDA agencies, on ash forestry and amenities in Ohio and Michigan, and will examine the costs and benefits of strategies to slow the spread of this pest.
University of Montana, Missoula, Mont., $209,000 — This project will build a user-friendly decision tool to help weed managers in the U.S. Forest Service and other land management agencies to identify efficient strategies for a wide variety of weed species. The system will solve complex temporal and spatial problems incorporating Forest Service priorities; budget, personnel, and equipment constraints; and the dynamics of weed species growth and spread.
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, $150,000 — This study will examine the economic effectiveness of available mitigation strategies against avian influenza, focusing on the Texas poultry industry. It will investigate the trade-offs among preparedness, prevention, response and recovery activities, and provide guidance on the efficient allocation of resources to those activities.
University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz., $119,000 — This project will develop a web-based decision support system that enables government agencies and private land managers to provide pest information and identify cost-effective strategies for managing buffelgrass in Arizona, focusing on the desert-urban interface. Buffelgrass is a nonnative perennial grass introduced for livestock forage, but it has become invasive and contributes to fire hazards. The methods employed in this study can be applied to other invasive species.
Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., $119,000 — The researchers will model and examine the economic and trade effects of animal disease outbreaks in U.S. and global markets and of individual and multi-country responses to those outbreaks. The study will focus on foot-and-mouth disease, and the market model will include the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Australia.
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich., $117,000 — This study will examine economic effects of policies to manage diseases transmitted between livestock and wildlife. It will construct a bioeconomic framework that incorporates producer incentives, recent ecological developments on multi-host species-pathogen dynamics, and pathogen co-evolutionary processes.
University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn., $106,000 — This project will develop a spatially explicit decision support system that considers ecological and economic factors, time and uncertainty to efficiently allocate resources to prevention, detection and control for a variety of invasive species. The system will be applied to invasive species in Minnesota and the results compared with current practices.
— release provided by USDA News
Applications Accepted for 2007 Beef Industry Vision Award
The National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF) is now accepting applications for the 2007 Beef Industry Vision Award.
The Vision Award recognizes individuals in the cattle industry for innovative strategies that have enhanced not only their business, but the industry as a whole. Applications are evaluated on the basis of effective use of technology, production cost, ingenuity of implementation, innovative marketing, effect on the industry and optimum resource management. Up to seven regional finalists will be selected from the applications received, and one recipient will be named the national Vision Award winner.
The national winner will receive a $1,000 cash award, round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations and two registrations for the 2007 Cattle Industry Annual Convention & Trade Show in Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 31 – Feb. 3. The national winner will be recognized and receive their award at the convention. Each regional winner will receive a $1,000 award and two complimentary convention registrations.
Applications should focus on a specific concept and its effect on the beef industry. This competition is not limited to original ideas, practices or technologies. It also encompasses alternative uses for existing procedures, practices and technologies that have benefited the cattle industry. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or U.S.-based businesses engaged in some aspect of the beef industry. Regional winners will be eligible every other year to re-submit an application for the national award.
Applications and all supporting material must be received by Nov. 30, 2006. Information about the Vision Award can be found on the NCF web site at www.nationalcattlemensfoundation.org or by calling (303) 850-3388.
In 2006, Dean Davis of Pingree Design and Equipment of Greeley, Colo., shared the Vision Award with Jim Odle and Buddy Jeffers, founders of Superior Livestock Auction of Ft. Worth, Texas.
Davis founded Pingree Design and Equipment after a 15-year career with Monfort. His inventions include the walking beam, hide and down pullers and curved feedbunks. All have been used across the nation to reduce costs, decrease injuries, and improve the safety and quality of beef.
Odle and Jeffers founded Superior Livestock Auction in 1987, as the nation’s first satellite video cattle auction. Superior Livestock Auction has now grown to become a leader in the cattle marketing industry, with 400 field representatives working across the nation.
The Beef Industry Vision Award program is sponsored by Micro Beef Technologies in cooperation with the NCF.
— release provided by NCF
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