News Update
March 16, 2010

Vilsack To Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports While On Trip To Japan

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will be in Japan April 5-9 to promote U.S. ag exports, as part of President Obama’s efforts to expand U.S. exports. While he is in Japan, Vilsack will meet with Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Hirotaka Akamatsu, as well as U.S. exporters and Japanese importers.

“We are determined to increase export opportunities for our farmers and ranchers,” said Vilsack. “My mission on this trip will be to continue to push hard to open markets and to bolster an open, rules-based international trading system that will benefit both consumers and our farmers and ranchers, who supply agricultural products around the world.”

In his State of the Union address, President Obama announced a National Export Initiative to coordinate federal efforts to help rebuild the economy by increasing export opportunities. The initiative’s goal is to double all U.S. exports in the next five years. The new strategy will improve collaboration among U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies and guide priorities for international staffing, foreign assistance and ag research.

In addition to giving a keynote address April 7 at a Global Food Security Symposium sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council, Vilsack will meet with students at the University of Tokyo in a Town Hall meeting. He will give a speech at the Foreign Correspondents Club April 9.

On April 8, Vilsack will travel by train to Yamanashi to help commemorate the 50th anniversary of a 1959 “hog lift,” when Iowa farmers sent 36 hogs to Yamanashi after Japan suffered major livestock losses caused by two typhoons. Three years later, the original 36 hogs had multiplied to more than 500. Iowa and Yamanashi established a sister-state relationship after the hog lift. A delegation from Iowa will accompany Vilsack to Yamanashi.

“The hog lift symbolizes the start of a flourishing agricultural relationship,” Vilsack said. “For more than 50 years, U.S. grains and soybeans producers have worked with Japanese importers to develop strong and reliable markets that have benefited producers and consumers alike.”

Japan is the United States’ third-largest export market, with sales of more than $11 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2009. The top five U.S. ag commodities shipped there are coarse grains, red meats, soybeans, feeds and fodders, and processed fruits and vegetables.

Updates on Vilsack’s trip to Japan will be available at www.usda.gov/.

— Release by USDA.

Hay Shelters Help Protect Producer Investment From Winds

Well-conceived shelter construction practices are vital to protecting hay supplies from Oklahoma’s often devastating weather, where wind gusts of 50-60 mph are not uncommon.

“Producers often talk about the weather, but proper construction of hay shelters is one area where they can actually do something about it,” said Carol Jones, Oklahoma State University (OSU) biosystems and ag engineer.

Most critical wind forces are uplifting forces, which tend to pull the roof off the frame and poles out of the ground. Jones said the direction of the force, upward, is the opposite of what many people expect.

“If we’re looking at a partially filled building with the wind blowing in the open side, the force could exceed 20 pounds per square foot uplift,” she said. “For a 40-foot by 80-foot building, this is equivalent to 32 tons of force pushing upward.”

Jones said the roof must be tied down all the way to the ground to resist this upward force during high winds.

Roof frames and trusses or rafters should be fastened to supporting members with tie-downs such as storm clips, framing anchors and straps. Producers also should fasten support members and beams or girders to framing poles via bolts or pole barn nails.

“Knee braces can be added to increase the strength and stiffness of these joints,” Jones said. “If constructing a new shelter, poles should be anchored in concrete rather than using tamped earth anchorages.”

Concrete anchorages are many times stronger than tamped earth in resisting uplift, and full, reinforced anchorages can increase the pole’s lateral stiffness in resisting racking of the frame.

Jones said the additional cost is minimal for building a new shelter or reinforcing an existing one.

“Hay supplies are a key part of most livestock operations’ profitability,” she said. “It’s not worth risking a reduction in hay quality when it can be protected so easily.”

— Release by Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.

HACCP Course for Food Processors April 13-15

Iowa State University (ISU) Extension will offer a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) in Food Processing Plants course April 13-15 in Cedar Rapids.

The course is accredited by the International HACCP Alliance, said Sam Beattie, ISU Extension food safety specialist. HACCP is a food safety program designed to identify where potential hazards can be controlled in the manufacturing of a food and then introduce strategies to ensure that control is complete.

HACCP is a mandatory program for meat and poultry operations, as well as seafood and juice processors, Beattie said. “It appears that it also will become mandatory for all food processors, as it is a part of the new food safety legislation being passed through the U.S. Congress.”

The course will be held at the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center in Cedar Rapids. Cost of the course and all materials is $350. The registration deadline is April 9. The maximum number of registrants is 25.

For more information and to register, visit the conference web site, www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/develophaccp/home.html, or contact Beattie at beatties@iastate.edu.

— Release by ISU Extension.

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Funding to Improve Transportation, Generate Economic Opportunity in Rural and Native American Communities

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack March 16 announced that USDA has selected the Community Transportation Association of America to receive grant funding that will be used to help bring transportation improvements to rural areas in seven states.

“We know that areas with strong transportation systems attract and retain businesses and improve the quality of life in rural towns,” Vilsack said. “These grants from USDA will help Native American communities in three states improve existing local passenger transportation systems. One of the best ways to rebuild rural communities is to improve the transportation infrastructure because doing so often has a catalytic effect in creating economic growth.”

The Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) was selected to receive $750,000 in grants to provide technical assistance to organizations in their efforts to enhance passenger transportation service in rural areas and rural Native American communities and improve modes of transportation in those areas. Read more.

— Release by USDA.

— Compiled by Mathew Elliott, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.