News Update
Oct. 6, 2010

House Calls for GIPSA Analysis

Members of the House of Representatives are asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to carefully analyze proposed Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule changes, according to industry reports.

Secretary Tom Vilsack received a letter earlier this week from 115 representatives, including 68 Republicans and 47 Democrats.

The letter suggests that while the 2008 Farm Bill directed the department to “promulgate a discrete set of regulations under the Packers and Stockyards Act,” GIPSA included additional regulations that exceed the mandate set forth by the bill.

The proposed rule is sweeping in scope and would have significant consequences for livestock and poultry producers and processors of all sizes, the letter states, and, therefore, would require a more thorough economic analysis than what is currently provided.

“The analysis contained in the proposed rule fails to demonstrate the need for the rule, assess the impact of its implementation on the marketplace, or establish how the implementation of the rule would address the demonstrated need,” representatives wrote.

Click here to read the letter in its entirety.

To learn more about the proposed GIPSA rule and viewpoints from both sides of the issue, watch The Angus Report: GIPSA Edition, available here.

— Release by American Angus Association.

Feeding Quality Forum Registration Opens

Beef markets and premiums, low stress and food morality isn’t the makings of a tough riddle. It’s a sampling of the featured topics at the fifth annual Feeding Quality Forums set for Nov. 9 in Grand Island, Neb., and Nov. 11 in Amarillo, Texas.

“We really try to deliver presentations applicable to the day-to-day concerns of feeders and then some bigger-picture discussions to help address industry-wide challenges,” says Mark McCully, Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) assistant vice president.

Registration by Oct. 25 is $50 and includes a Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand steak lunch. Late registrations will be accepted as space permits for $75. Read more.

NCBA Defends Cattle Ranchers During Forum on EPA Regulations

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Chief Environmental Counsel Tamara Thies spoke on behalf of U.S. cattlemen and women Wed., Sept. 29, at a forum in Washington, D.C., focused on the impact of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on job creation and economic expansion in America’s rural communities. Thies told members of Congress in attendance that the “EPA is waging an unprecedented war” to end animal agriculture production.

“EPA exhibits reckless indifference to scientific fact and, instead, imposes stringent regulations based on nothing more than its biased anti-animal agriculture agenda that will leave many cattle operations with no recourse but to shut down and eliminate jobs,” said Thies. “It is ironic that as we work to become less dependent on foreign oil, Obama policies are likely to make us more dependent on foreign beef. Maybe we’ll need to start a strategic hamburger reserve after the Obama Administration is finished with us.”

The forum, entitled “The EPA’s Assault on Rural America: How New Regulations and Proposed Legislation are Stifling Job Creation and Economic Growth,” was hosted by U.S. Representatives Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), Sam Graves (R-Mo.), and Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), co-chairs of the Rural America Solutions Group. Thies discussed several examples of EPA regulations that could potentially stifle the U.S. cattle industry. She said the EPA has laid the foundation to impose the “most stringent regulation of dust in U.S. history.” Thies was referring to EPA’s draft policy assessment on particulate matter (dust) released in June, which calls for regulations twice as stringent as the current standard.

“Incredibly, we are talking about dust kicked up by tilling fields and harvesting crops, cattle movements, and pickups driving down dirt roads. For agriculture, the current standard is already very difficult and costly to meet — doubling it would be virtually impossible,” said Thies.

She said the EPA is also “bound and determined” to regulate ammonia without legal authority. The Clean Air Act sets forth strict procedures for regulating pollutants. Instead of complying with those procedures, the EPA is attempting to circumvent them, she said. Eliminating the phosphorous index was also an issue of concern. The phosphorus index is a tool used by cattle producers to assess the appropriateness of applying manure to land near our waters. The phosphorus index is different in every state and appropriately takes into account differences in climate, topography, soil type, soil test and water sensitivities, among other factors.

“In typical Obama fashion, the unique considerations of states would be done away with as EPA develops a national tool that would largely be based on a soil test for phosphorus to determine the upper limit. Such an approach is entirely inappropriate, is not based on science, and is likely to result in the inability of cattle producers to land-apply their manure in many areas of the country,” she said. “Depending on the outcome, this regulation may be one of the most economically devastating to animal agriculture.”

— Release by NCBA.

United Nations Top Official to Visit K-State

Dr. Kanayo Nwanze will be on the Kansas State University (K-State) campus this week to receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Department of Entomology. He will present a seminar, “Role of Agricultural Research in Global Food Security,” at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the Town Hall room of the Leadership Studies Building. Nwanze’s seminar Friday afternoon is open to the public and will be followed by a reception to meet friends, guests and colleagues.

Since April 1, 2009, Nwanze has served as the fifth President of IFAD, the International Fund for Agricultural Development. A Nigerian national, Nwanze has a strong record as an advocate and leader of change and a keen understanding of the complexity of development issues. He has more than 30 years of experience across three continents in poverty reduction through agriculture, rural development and research.

“Dr. Nwanze’s achievements and impact point to his personal drive to serve and also to the ability of K-State to train professionals who are equipped to do great things locally and internationally,” said Tom Phillips, Entomology department head at K-State.

Under Nwanze’s leadership, IFAD has stepped up its advocacy efforts to ensure that agriculture is a central part of the international development agenda, and that the concerns and needs of smallholders and other poor rural people are recognized by governments around the world.

“We do this because our goal is to improve their incomes and to have greater food security. And we know that investing in agricultural development is one of the smartest investments anyone can make if they want to reduce poverty and hunger,” Nwanze said. In recognition of Nwanze’s intellectual leadership on issues of food security, he was asked to chair the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Food Security in 2010.

Prior to being elected President of IFAD, Nwanze was Director-General of the Africa Rice Center for a decade; and was instrumental in introducing and promoting New Rice for Africa (NERICA), a high-yield, drought- and pest-resistant rice variety developed specifically for the African landscape. He also transformed the Center from a West African association to an Africa-wide organization with an international reputation for excellence. Nwanze has held senior positions at a number of research centers affiliated with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in Africa and Asia, and he was instrumental in the establishment of the Alliance of CGIAR Centers.

In 1971, Nwanze earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural science from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, a master’s degree in 1973, and a doctorate in entomology in 1975, both from the Department of Entomology at K-State. He has published extensively, is a member of several scientific associations and has served on the executive boards of various institutions.

— Release by K-State Research and Extension.

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