News Update
April 5, 2011

North American Guidelines for Children’s Agricultural Tasks Featured by Federal Agency

Guidelines designed to assist parents and others in assigning appropriate farm tasks to children are featured in a new resource published by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The North American Guidelines for Children’s Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT) are the subject of an Impact Sheet, part of a series of products that are designed to clearly and concisely communicate the relevance and impact of research to industry, labor, academic, government, and non-government stakeholders. Impact Sheets briefly describe an occupational safety or health hazard, the specific NIOSH or NIOSH-funded research activity that was conducted to address the hazard, the resulting impact or recommendations, and certain salient statistics.

The NAGCAT Impact Sheet is located at www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2011-129/. A printable version can be found at www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2011-129/pdfs/2011-129.pdf.

— Release by NIOSH.

Texas Continues to Deal with Drought

Parts of East Texas and the Coastal Bend received from 1 inch (in.) to 1.5 in. of rain April 4, but the rest of the state got only high winds and cooler temperatures, according to the National Weather Service.

With few exceptions, mainly along the Gulf Coast, the rain did little to roll back the severe to extreme drought conditions hammering the growth of small grains, and pasture and rangeland grasses, said Texas AgriLife Extension Service personnel.

However, in some situations, the rain may have come at just the right time to salvage recently emerged corn and give some hope for wheat to be harvested for grain, AgriLife Extension county agents reported.

“Many producers are still culling herds and selling calves they would normally sell much later in the year,” said Armon Hewitt, AgriLife Extension agent for Trinity County, southwest of Lufkin. “Some are still feeding hay, and many are still feeding cubes. Water levels in ponds and lakes continue to drop, with some drying up completely.”

“Lakes, streams and ponds are low and some were never replenished from last year’s drought,” said Chad Gulley, AgriLife Extension agent for Nacogdoches County, north of Lufkin. “Some producers are trying to cut ryegrass hay. Ryegrass and clover are greening up in pastures, but we need rainfall to really make this grow.”

“All winter small grains have been harvested for silage,” said Michael Berry, AgriLife Extension agent for Franklin County, east of Dallas. “We need rain badly.”

“We need rain. The small grains are trying to head, and we need one more rainfall event to complete the crop,” said Lyle Zoeller, AgriLife Extension agent for Coryell County, south of Fort Worth. “Most fields are showing signs of moisture stress. All pastures are green but very short.”

“Dry weather continues to take its toll on wheat,” said Jerry Warren, AgriLife Extension agent for Callahan County, east of Abilene. “We’ll need rain soon to salvage any wheat for grain. Most will be grazed out.”

More information on the current Texas drought and wildfire alerts can be found on the AgriLife Extension Agricultural Drought Task Force webpage at http://agrilife.tamu.edu/drought/.

—Release by Texas A&M AgriLife Communications.

NCBA Continues Quest to Curtail EPA’s Burdensome Regulations

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is looking for more than words when it comes to President Obama’s commitment to conduct a regulatory review of his administration’s agencies. On Jan. 18, 2011, President Obama issued the Executive Order, Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, in order to ensure the regulatory system protects public health, welfare, safety and the environment while promoting economic growth, innovation, competitiveness and job creation.

Most urgent, according to NCBA Chief Environment Council Tamara Thies, is a thorough review of the “unprecedented” number of regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Thies said, “enough is enough” regarding the many regulations pertaining specifically to U.S. agriculture. On April 4, NCBA joined with other industry stakeholders to submit two sets of comments for EPA’s consideration as the agency seeks public input on President Obama’s Executive Order.

“Regulation after regulation, EPA has demonstrated a blatant lack of knowledge of the agricultural industry. We are not a smokestack industry. Instead, we are affected by the whims of Mother Nature and biology. Yet EPA continues to regulate us as if we were smokestacks,” said Thies. “We hope EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and her staff will take this regulatory review seriously and foster a new beginning for the EPA and agriculture. To continue business as usual would be inappropriate and devastating for rural economies.”

EPA has been transformed into a $10 billion entity with more than 17,000 employees. According to the Congressional Research Service, from January 2009 to June 2010, EPA has finalized 653 rules and proposed 463. That’s more than 1,100 new rules in just 17 months. Beyond the regulations, Thies said concerns include the way EPA goes about its regulatory process. She said regulations are proposed without a scientific foundation and without a grasp of unintended consequences.

“Regulatory decisions are made by mission-oriented agencies that face few constraints when imposing costs on the economy,” said Thies.

Thies expressed the need for a continuous regulatory review and not a one-time exercise.

 — Release by NCBA.

AFA Students Explore the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor

Twenty-five student leaders will take part in the fourth-annual Agriculture Future of America (AFA) Animal Health Corridor Tour in Kansas City, Mo., April 6. Participating students, selected from the University of Missouri (MU) and Kansas State University (K-State), will have the opportunity to get a firsthand look into the world’s largest concentration of Animal Health businesses and services.

The AFA Animal Health Corridor Tour will introduce selected students to the Corridor through guided visits to area animal health services and businesses, summary discussions after the day’s activities and a closing dinner where industry leaders and student participants can connect. Students will also hear representatives from the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Kansas City Life Science Institute.

AFA created the tour in an effort to increase the profile of local animal health careers with regional students while closing the gap between workforce needs and career preparation in the animal health industry. Other objectives of the tour include creating an understanding of joint interests of animal health and science providers in the region; providing students with a visual representation of the business, environment and culture of the participating companies; and facilitating networking to create relationships that may result in future internship and work opportunities.

The 2011 Tour will include visits to the following businesses and services: the American Royal Association; Bayer Animal Health; Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI); Cargill Animal Nutrition; DeLaval; Osborn and Barr and U.S. Premium Beef. Tour sponsors include AFA, the American Hereford Association; Bayer Animal Health; BIVI; Cargill Animal Nutrition; DeLaval and Global Prairie.

The Greater Kansas City area is a national leader in the animal health and nutrition industry, supplying more than 32% of total sales in the $19 billion global animal health market. Fueled by Kansas City’s agricultural heritage and its logistical advantages, “America’s Animal Health Corridor” is the world’s largest concentration of animal health interests. To learn more about the Animal Health Corridor, visit www.kcanimalhealth.com.

AFA’s mission is to create partnerships that identify, encourage and support outstanding college men and women who are preparing for careers in the agriculture and food industry. Since 1996, AFA has provided leadership and career development training to more than 6,500 college students and young professionals in agriculture. For more information about AFA, visit www.agfuture.org or email Nancy Barcus.

— Release by AFA.

— Compiled by Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, Angus Productions Inc.