News Update
February 23, 2012
Federal Court Validates Cattlemen's Concerns
on EPA's Scientifically Shoddy Approach
The Florida Cattlemen's Association (FCA) and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) April 28, 2011, challenged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determination letter and final rule establishing numeric nutrient criteria (NNC) for Florida's lakes, rivers, streams and springs. The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Tallahassee, resulted in a mixed ruling Feb. 18. Judge Robert Hinkle invalidated the criteria for streams and certain aspects of the downstream protection values for lakes, ruling them "arbitrary and capricious." This action ultimately prevents EPA from implementing its proposed criteria for these water bodies in the state of Florida. While the Court upheld several of EPA's arguments, FCA and NCBA are encouraged by the outcome
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"We hope the recent ruling prompts EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to pull back from implementing federal nutrient criteria in Florida and properly return the authority back to the state where it belongs. It is clear that EPA's heavy hand will have irreparable harm on Florida agricultural producers if the agency's actions are not stopped. Just as importantly, EPA must be stopped from applying this flawed model to other watersheds across the country," said NCBA Deputy Environmental Counsel Ashley Lyon. "EPA's science-be-damned approach should be stopped. Criteria must be based on science. EPA's approach is not based on science and was rightly invalidated."
According to Jim Handley, FCA executive vice president, the court's ruling stating that EPA's reference method used to derive the NNC is arbitrary and capricious should force EPA to rightfully return the issue to Florida.
"EPA needs to scratch this rule. It isn't good for Florida. It isn't good for America. We are not alone in our opposition to the NNC rule. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, as well as their predecessors, have challenged the rule on behalf of Floridians. Our elected leaders have been outspoken against this rule. Furthermore, Florida's own Department of Environmental Protection asked EPA to rescind this rule," said Handley. "EPA is overreaching with this mandate and their methodology is flawed, as evidenced by this ruling. EPA has little to no regard for farmers and ranchers and obviously no respect for congressional intent. In light of the court's ruling, Administrator Jackson should remove the federal criteria and allow the state to move forward with its own rule."
Handley said EPA's plan is not just an attack on the cattle industry or rural America. He said the NNC rule will cause substantial financial damage to an already struggling economy. This rule is estimated by EPA to cost Florida approximately $113 million in implementation costs and roughly $35 million annually. However, other experts predict this rule carries a much heftier price tag. A study conducted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the University of Florida and Soil and Water Engineering Technology Inc. concluded that the economic impact could easily reach $3.1 billion in implementation costs and annual costs could top $974 million. The study also predicts 15,000 agricultural jobs will be lost.
New White Paper Sheds Light on Immune Function in Calves
ImmuCell announces the availability of a new white paper on immune function of newborn calves and vaccination protocols.
This new white paper, titled "Does your vaccination protocol compromise newborn health?" was launched as part of a continued effort to answer questions related to calf health and immunity and to educate the dairy industry about immune function in calves.
Topics included in the white paper are colostrum quality, pre-calving vaccination programs, newborn calf vaccinations and solutions to provide calves with immediate immunity at birth. The discussion centers on pitfalls in these programs that could be putting your calves at risk.
"Having a further understanding of how a calf's immune system functions will help dairy producers better protect their calves and therefore their bottom line," says Bobbi (Kunde) Brockmann, director of sales and marketing with ImmuCell Corporation. "We are committed to protecting calves and delivering technologies and insights that help producers protect the future herd."
This white paper was peer reviewed by Sheila McGuirk, veterinary clinician at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine and Mark Cook, professor in animal sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Download the white paper at: http://bit.ly/zdRfVd.
K-State Offers Youth Animal Care Training Online Program
The Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State University (K-State) has launched a Youth Animal Care Training program. The program features free online educational training modules for youth through high school age. Through participation in the training, youth can improve their knowledge of animal handling, animal welfare, antimicrobial residue avoidance and food safety. After a training package is completed, a certificate is available for printing. Through the support of Beef Cattle Institute sponsors, the training packages, certification and electronic record of training are offered at no cost to youth.
Dan Thomson, assistant dean of outreach for the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine, said, "Training youth is essential for the future of the agriculture industry. It can ensure worker safety, employee retention and production of wholesome products. We are proud to provide these tools through the generous support of our BCI sponsors."
Youth can work through the multimedia training modules at any time. Once all the modules within a package are completed and the quizzes are passed with 80% accuracy or higher, a certificate is available. There is no time limit or deadline to complete the modules and quizzes.
Each package is different in the length of time it takes to complete all of the modules. However, each module ranges from five to 20 minutes long.
The current training packages are:
- Youth Beef Quality Assurance (28 modules)
- Youth Beef Industry Food Safety (7 modules)
- Youth Dairy Animal Care and Quality Assurance (31 modules)
- Youth Humane Equine Management (10 modules)
Youth will need to re-certify every three years to keep their certificate for Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) up to date. The system will send an email a month before the certification is up, as a reminder to re-certify. The program is designed to provide valuable online training in various areas of animal care.
"The goal of the program is to utilize modern technology to reach youth and provide educational videos for those involved or interested in learning more about beef and dairy cattle and equine to improve animal welfare, food safety and environmental stewardship," said Abby Jones executive director of the Beef Cattle Institute. "This is a great program for 4-H clubs and FFA chapters to use."
For more information about Youth Animal Care Training, visit http://www.animalcaretraining.org/youth.
We Can't Wait: Obama Announces Steps
to Boost Rural Economy
As part of the Obama Administration's "We Can't Wait,"administration officials announced three significant actions to expand the government's purchase of biobased products, promote regional rural job creation efforts and develop a rural healthcare workforce. "We Can't Wait" is the administration's efforts to strengthen the economy, create jobs and support business growth, move the country forward because "we can't wait for Congress to act."
"My administration is committed to using every tool available to promote economic growth and create good jobs in rural America," President Obama said in a news release. "Today's announcements reflect our continued focus on expanding opportunity for rural Americans and all Americans, including supporting new and innovative businesses, and improving rural health care and education. And the actions we're taking today are possible thanks to the feedback and ideas I've received from hardworking Americans across rural America, including the participants at the White House Rural Economic Forum."
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, who chairs the White House Rural Council, commended President Obama's actions.
"President Obama understands that a strong American economy is tied to a healthy, vibrant rural economy," Vilsack said. "The actions we are taking will bring new economic investments to our rural communities, to ensure the people who live in these towns have a better, brighter future."
The three announcements were recommended by federal agencies participating in the White House Rural Council, and leverage existing programs and funding, but the new actions will expedite job creation in rural parts of the country.
New initiatives include:
Promoting a Bioeconomy: President Obama issued a presidential memorandum today directing the federal government to take decisive steps to dramatically increase the purchase of biobased products over the next two years, which will create jobs and drive innovation where biobased products are grown and manufactured.
Rural Jobs Accelerator: The Rural Jobs Accelerator is a national competition that will provide about $15 million for projects that promote innovation-fueled regional job creation.
Rural Health IT Workforce: The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor signed a memorandum of understanding to connect community colleges and technical colleges that support rural communities with the materials and resources they need to support the training of Health Information Technology (HIT) professionals that work in rural hospitals and clinics.
"This administration will not be satisfied until everyone who wants a job has a job — both in rural and urban communities," Commerce Secretary John Bryson said. "Today's announcements are just the latest example of federal partners aligning all of their efforts and resources to help businesses grow, create jobs and ensure that our economy is built to last."
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