News Update
June 14, 2011

Texas Forage and Grazing Council Meeting Set June 22 at Overton

The second quarterly meeting of the Texas Forage and Grazing Council will be June 22 at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton.

“This is a forage program with updates on forage research being done here at the center,” said Gerald Evers, Texas AgriLife Research forage management scientist and president of the council.

With the ongoing drought and dwindling or non-existent hay supplies, it’s ever more important to optimize grazing efficiency, he said.

The morning program will feature outdoor tours of many of the forage-research projects, including those of Tifton 85 Bermuda grass grazing studies, best practices for trapping feral hogs in pastures and forage-cropping systems.

Evers noted that without rain and with hay supplies short, there aren’t too many options other than to either buy hay or cull herds. But there are some things that can be done to best manage dwindling resources.

“The reason we’re going to talk about Tifton 85, for example, is because it is highly drought-resistant,” he said. “It’ll stay green and more productive than any other warm-season grass we have.”

Following lunch, the program will move indoors to the center’s air-conditioned auditorium, Evers said. Indoor presentations will include insect control in pastures, grazing systems that will help reduce winter feeding and the best forage legumes for East Texas.
All presentations will be made by AgriLife Research and Texas AgriLife Extension Service scientists and specialists.

Registration for the program may be paid at the door. The cost is $20 for council members and $30 for non-members, and includes lunch and break refreshments. An RSVP is requested by June 17 to Vanessa Corriher at 903-834-6191 or vacorriher@ag.tamu.edu.

The center is located 1 mile north of downtown Overton on Farm-to-Market Road 3053.

For driving directions to the event go to http://overton.tamu.edu/info-maps-history/maps/ or call 903-834-6191.

— Release by Texas AgriLife Today.

Application Deadline Approaching

Kosha Olsen, director of communications and publications for the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, reminds that the June 30 deadline is fast approaching for the 2012 Wyoming Leopold Conservation Award. If you, or someone you know, is a Wyoming landowner engaged in and committed to land management practices that increase conservation, we invite your application for the Leopold Conservation Award.

Download an application at http://sandcounty.net/uploads/LCA_WY_2012Brochure.pdf.

— Release by Wyoming Stock Growers Association.

2011 Environmental Stewardship Tour Set for June 21

The 2011 Environmental Stewardship Tour hosted annually by the Wyoming Stock Growers Association and the Wyoming Department of Agriculture will take place on Ryan and Teresa Fieldgrove’s ranch, winners of the 2011 Leopold Conservation Award. All are invited to a tour of their ranch Tuesday, June 21, which will showcase their innovative stewardship practices. The full day of activities includes award presentations, lunch, a ranch tour, and an evening banquet featuring Basque dancing and a Basque meal.

The Fieldgrove Ranch is home to cattle, sheep, goats and wildlife. The primary stewardship practice the Fieldgroves have incorporated into their operation is to control a pervading leafy spurge problem with goats. 

“My family has battled this noxious weed my entire life,” says Ryan. “When other ranch kids were helping their dad put up hay, I was helping mine spray weeds.  I may be a medical research project myself on how much Tordon® one can absorb and still function properly!”

Other partners of the Wyoming Stock Growers Environmental Stewardship Program are the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, Sand County Foundation, Encana Oil and Gas, Peabody Energy, and Farm Credit Services.

If you are interested in attending the tour, please call 307-638-3942 and speak with Kosha or email kosha@wysga.org. You can also visit www.wysga.org.

— Release by Kosha Olsen for the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.

Statement Of Administration Policy 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Communications released this policy statement on H.R. 2112, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2012, from Rep. Harold (Hal) Rogers (R-KY):

The Administration has serious concerns about the content of H.R. 2112, making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2012, and for other purposes. The Administration is committed to ensuring the Nation lives within its means and reducing the deficit so that the Nation can compete in the global economy and win the future.

While overall funding limits and subsequent allocations remain unclear pending the outcome of ongoing bipartisan, bicameral discussions between the Administration and congressional leadership on the Nation’s long-term fiscal picture, the bill provides insufficient funding for a number of programs in a way that undermines core government functions and investments key to economic growth and job creation.  Programs adversely affected by the bill include:

Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). The Administration strongly objects to the level of funding provided for nutrition programs that are critical to the health of nutritionally at-risk women, infants, children, and elderly adults. The proposed funding levels would lead to hundreds of thousands of participants being cut from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, and reduce Federal support for food banks. These cuts would undermine efforts to prevent hunger and support sound nutrition for some of the most vulnerable members of our society.

Food Safety. The Administration is concerned with the funding provided in the bill for the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which will significantly hamper USDA’s ability to inspect food processing plants and prevent foodborne illnesses and disease such as E. coli and Salmonella from contaminating America’s food supply.  The Committee’s recommendation may require the agency to furlough employees, including frontline inspectors, which make up more than 80% of FSIS staff. By reducing FSIS inspections, food-processing plants may be forced to reduce line speeds, which could lead to decreasing product output and profits, as well as plant closures.

Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI). The Administration is concerned that the bill does not support HFFI, which is a key initiative to combat childhood obesity. HFFI will expand USDA’s activities to bring healthy foods to low-income Americans and increase the availability of affordable, healthy foods in underserved urban and rural communities by bringing grocery stores and other fresh food retailers to “food desert” communities where there is little or no access to healthy food.

Research. The bill provides insufficient funds for USDA research programs, which are needed to help solve food production, safety, quality, energy and environmental problems. By reducing funding for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to its lowest level since 2004, as well as inadequately funding the Nation’s competitive grant program, the bill will hinder the Department’s ability to develop solutions to address current as well as impending critical national and international challenges.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Administration is concerned that the funding level in the bill and resulting staff reductions will severely limit the FDA’s ability to protect the public’s health, assure the American consumer that food and medical products are safe, and improve Americans’ access to safe and less costly generic drugs and biologics. 

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The Administration strongly objects to the funding level for CFTC, as it would cause a cut in staffing levels and seriously undermine CFTC’s ability to protect investors and consumers by effectively policing the futures and swaps marketplace through its current market oversight and enforcement functions. Moreover, the funding level would significantly curtail the timely, effective implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, including new CFTC responsibilities to regulate the $300 trillion swaps derivatives market.

International Food Aid. The Administration opposes the level of funding provided for the Food for Peace Title II international food aid program as it would severely limit the United States’ ability to provide food assistance in response to emergencies and disasters around the world. Given a statutory floor on non-emergency development food aid, a reduction would be borne entirely by the emergency component of the program, and would prevent distribution of emergency food aid to more than 1.1 million beneficiaries.

In addition, the bill includes the following problematic policy and language issues:

Restrictions on Finalizing USDA Regulations. The Administration opposes the inclusion of section 721 of the bill, which effectively prevents USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) from finalizing a rule on conduct that would violate the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921. The final rule has not yet been published and any concerns about the rule are better addressed through the standard rulemaking process than through an appropriations rider.

Restrictions on FDA Regulations and Guidance. The Administration strongly opposes section 740 of the bill, which would undermine or nullify FDA statutory standards that have been in place for decades and that are essential to protect the health of Americans. The provision would unduly limit the factors that FDA considers in determining the best ways to protect the public from unsafe foods; protect the safety of the blood supply from HIV, West Nile Virus, and other infections; ensure the safety of infant formula; protect patients from drugs and medical devices that have not been shown to be safe and effective; assure that food labeling and health claims on foods are accurate; and reduce youth use of tobacco products and otherwise reduce illness and death caused by tobacco use.

WTO Trade Dispute. The Administration is concerned by a provision in section 743 that would eliminate payments that are being made as part of the mutually agreed settlement of a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute regarding U.S. domestic cotton supports and the export credit guarantee program. The framework serves as a basis to avoid trade-related countermeasures by Brazil that are authorized by the WTO until the enactment of successor legislation to the current Farm Bill. Under the agreement, the United States is committed to fund technical assistance and capacity-building support for Brazil’s cotton sector. The bill’s provision preempts the resolution process and would open the door to retaliation negatively affecting U.S. exports and interests. 

The Administration strongly opposes inclusion of ideological and political provisions that are beyond the scope of funding legislation. 

The Administration looks forward to working with the Congress as the fiscal year 2012 appropriations process moves forward to ensure the Administration can support enactment of the legislation.

— Adapted from a release by USDA.

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