News Update

News Update
October 17, 2007

Japan Suspends Beef From Cargill Kansas Plant

Japan’s Agriculture Ministry announced it has suspended beef imports from Cargill Inc.’s plant in Dodge City, Kan., because 225 boxes of a recent 9-ton shipment contained tendons that weren’t properly identified on papers issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agriculture Online reported.

Japan permits imported meat from young animals only if certain bones and the spinal cord have been removed and the meat has been processed at selected plants. Though the tendons don’t violate that ban, Cargill has acknowledged that the boxes may have been mistakenly sent to Japan, according to the release.

Montana Delegation Promotes U.S. Beef in Japan

A trade delegation led by the Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) began a week-long tour of Japan Oct 16 to promote U.S. beef and study Tokyo’s meat safety inspection protocols, Meatingplace.com reported.

The eight-member team, including MDA Deputy Director Joel Clairmont, Montana Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger, Sen. Greg Barkus (R-Kalispell) and Miss Rodeo Montana Megan Hardy, will host a booth Oct. 20 at the Country Gold International country music festival in Kumamoto.

Other events will include a briefing by the Public Health Emergencies Management Division and a meeting with Kumamoto Gov. Yoshiko Shiotani, according to Meatingplace.com.

Assisting with the promotional tour are the Montana Department of Commerce, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) and Montana’s trade offices. The tour ends Oct. 24.

USDA Announces $2 Million in Emergency Aid for Kansas

Acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner announced Oct. 16 that USDA would provide $2 million in Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) funds to assist eligible agricultural producers in Kansas to repair land damaged by tornados this spring.

ECP provides producers additional resources to remove debris from farmland, restore fences and conservation structures, provide water for livestock in drought situations and grade and shape farmland damaged by a natural disaster, such as the tornados experienced in the Greensburg, Kan., area this past May.

USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) state and county committees administer ECP. Locally-elected county committees are authorized to implement ECP for all disasters except drought, which is authorized at the national office of FSA. Eligible producers can receive cost-share assistance of up to 75% of the cost of the approved practice as determined by FSA county committees.

Producers should check with their local FSA offices regarding ECP sign-up periods, which are set by FSA county committees. Conservation problems existing prior to the applicable disaster are not eligible for ECP assistance.

The U.S. Troop Readiness, Veteran’s Care, Katrina Recovery, and Irag Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 (P.L. 110-28) provides for the funds. More information about ECP is available in the program sheet posted online at www.fsa.gov/Internet/FSA_File/ecp1206.pdf or visit your local USDA Service Center.

— Release courtesy of USDA.

North Dakota Commissioner Defends State-Inspected Meat

Roger Johnson, Commissioner of Agriculture for North Dakota and president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), told the Brownfield Network Oct. 15 that the ad campaign against state-inspected meat suggesting it is inferior in quality and unsafe is “absolutely not true.”

The House of Representatives included language to allow interstate shipment of meat from state-inspected plants in its version of the Farm Bill, but Senate Ag Committee Chairman Tom Harkin expressed skepticism about the provision in a conference call with reporters early in October.

Johnson pointed out that meat products imported into the United States face less scrutiny than do products of state-inspected meat plants. He also noted there had never been an outbreak of foodborne illness traced to a state-inspected facility.

Johnson told Brownfield he’s trying to work out a deal with Harkin and opponents, and believes he’ll be successful.

Aflatoxin Found In Some Iowa and South Dakota Corn

The mold aflatoxin has been found in recently harvested corn in northwest Iowa and southeastern South Dakota, Iowa State University Extension agronomist Joel DeJong reported to Brownfield Network Oct. 16.

Though not much corn has come out of fields yet due to wet weather, DeJong says it’s important for farmers to scout their corn fields to look for the grayish-green mold typical of aflatoxin, and if detected, notify their insurance adjusters immediately.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set limits on aflatoxin for food and animal feed because it is linked to cancer in humans if consumed in large amounts and can be harmful, even deadly, to animals.

Both areas where there are reports of aflatoxin have suffered drought conditions from early May through early August.

— compiled by Linda Robbins, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.