News Update
Oct. 15, 2010

USDA Announces New Operation Center in St. Louis

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to open a centralized data collection and processing center near St. Louis, Mo. as part of the agency’s efforts to streamline operations and better serve the statistical needs of agriculture and rural America. The new center is expected to bring approximately 100 full-time and 300 part-time jobs to the St. Louis area.

“USDA’s investment in survey research is key in helping us understand emerging trends in agriculture and the farm sector, and in providing more efficient service to America’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities,” said Vilsack. “This new, centrally located facility will help standardize and streamline the survey operations conducted by USDA around the country, and help ensure that we collect the best and most useful data about agriculture.”

The new NASS National Operations Center is expected to open in late 2011. It will be located at the Charles F. Prevedel Federal Building, the site of a former U.S. Army federal records center. U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is currently working on converting the center to a new resource-efficient and environmentally sound facility, which will hold LEED silver certification. The GSA plans to invest $35 million dollars into improvements over the next five years.

“I was thrilled to learn of the USDA’s new operations center in Overland and the jobs that will be coming to the federal center. This is a wonderful addition in the community,” said Jason Klumb, GSA Regional Administrator. “GSA will work diligently to ensure the space is ready to go for USDA.”

While this new center will centralize and consolidate many of its critical operations, NASS’s 46 field offices will maintain viable operations, continuing to work with state governments, industry, and other partners to serve the data needs of agriculture and rural America.

—Release by USDA.

Norman Borlaug Posthumously Presented United Nations Organization’s Top Award

Dr. Norman Borlaug, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and world-renowned father of the Green Revolution, was posthumously awarded the prestigious Agricola Medal from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization during the recent World Food Security Conference in Rome.

The organization’s director-general, Jacques Diouf, announced the award and paid homage to Borlaug’s lifelong efforts toward ending world hunger.

Borlaug, who died last year at age 95, has been credited with saving as many as a billion lives through his work in developing a high-yield, disease-resistant semi-dwarf wheat and the “shuttle breeding” technique, which significantly improved agricultural production in nations faced with serious food shortages.

Jeanie Borlaug Laube, Borlaug’s daughter, and Julie Borlaug Larson, Borlaug’s granddaughter and director for partnerships of the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, accepted the award from Diouf.

“The conferring of this award to the memory of my grandfather further validates and recognizes his work and his legacy,” said Larson. “But the challenge of helping feed an ever-growing world population and providing food security for all, especially those in underdeveloped and developing countries, continues to be and will remain the mission of the institute which bears his name and shares his vision.”

The Borlaug Institute, part of the Texas A&M University System, was named in honor of Borlaug, who served as a distinguished professor of international agriculture at the university from 1984 until his death in 2009. According to its website, the institute “strives to carry on Borlaug’s legacy by promoting science-based solutions for the world’s agriculture and food challenges” and currently leads or participates in numerous agricultural improvement projects worldwide.

The Agricola Medal was presented to Borlaug in conjunction with World Food Day, celebrated each year on Oct. 16. According to World Food Day materials, the day is “a worldwide event designed to increase awareness, understanding and informed, year-around action to alleviate hunger.” It is observed annually on that date in recognition of the founding of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945. The first World Food Day was observed in 1981.

“This is the 30th observance of World Food Day and I am especially proud to have been here to share in the posthumous presentation of this award to one of the world’s great humanitarians,” said Ed Price, director of the Borlaug Institute, who was in Rome for the conference and presentation.

Price noted that it was approximately one year ago that Borlaug died and that few if any, people in history had done as much to promote world peace through agriculture.

“Most of us in the international agriculture community feel Norm’s impact — past, present and future — on improving the world’s security by improving global food security cannot be overstated,” he said.

Previous recipients of the Agricola Medal include King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand; French President Jacques Chirac; Chinese President Jiang Zemin; Pope John Paul II; President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt; the prime ministers of Spain and Turkey and India; President Johannes Rau of Germany and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization is based in Rome, as are two other United Nations agencies addressing agricultural development and hunger alleviation — the World Food Program and the International Fund for Agriculture Development.

— Release by Agrilife Extension.

Beef Blog Event

The Texas Beef Checkoff held the first ever Appetite for Inspiration blog event in Dallas this month. Twenty-one mom bloggers from the area gathered at the Viking Cooking School to learn about family mealtime nutrition, lean beef, recipe choices and more. Local registered dietitian Angela Lemmond provided a comprehensive presentation on family nutrition and Chef Richard Chamberlain demonstrated two beef recipes from The Healthy Beef Cookbook.

Influential in the social media world and beyond, the bloggers also spent time in the kitchen cooking beef recipes, tasting their creations and networking. Of the 21 bloggers in attendance, 16 posted information about the event and the Texas Beef Council, including recipe photos and contests for their readers.
 

— Release by Texas Beef Council.

I Love Farmers ... They Feed My Soul Formalizes Nonprofit Status

It’s official. What started as a grassroots effort by a group of young people to support American family farmers and ranchers has become an official nonprofit organization. I Love Farmers … They Feed My Soul elected its first board of directors Sept. 29 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The new board ratified its operational bylaws.

The newly elected board includes President Megan Brownell of Nipomo, Calif., Vice President Luke DeGroot of Fresno, Calif., Secretary Mindy Burris of Denair, Calif., Treasurer Brean Bettencourt of Turlock, Calif., and Cody Penfold of Kingsburg, Calif.

I Love Farmers … They Feed My Soul originated out of the frustration by young people who have a passion for agriculture but realized few of their peers really know how their food is grown in America. Additionally, they were angry at the way agriculture is often wrongly portrayed in the mass media and political campaigns.

Using new media technology, the young people decided to take matters into their own hands and launched an aggressive social media blitz to share information about family farmers and ranchers. I Love Farmers … They Feed My Soul has become one of the fastest growing Facebook groups on the planet about agriculture. Today more than 27,000 people are engaged in daily conversations in the Facebook group. Additionally, the group created a website and apparel line to make supporting family farmers and ranchers fun.

Their colorful logo is very popular and people from all over the world have bought T-shirts and other items to support the group. The website www.ilovefarmers.org, is a decidedly different way of promoting farmers and ranchers — typically a very conservative group.

The mission of I Love Farmers ... They Feed My Soul is to be a leading nonprofit, youthful and progressive advocacy group supporting American family farmers and ranchers using integrated, new media communication strategies aimed at young people.

I Love Farmers … They Feed My Soul helps young people celebrate the bounty of choices we have in the marketplace for our food, fiber, flora and fauna because of American family farmers and ranchers. The group values personal food choices based on science, education and awareness that allow Americans food independence.

Industry support is critical to the sustained success of this innovative and enthusiastic group. For more information on how you or your organization can help, please contact scott@ilovefarmers.org.

— Release by AgPR.

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