NEWS BRIEFS...
New Conservation Agency
According to former Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will establish a new agency called the Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets (OESM), plus a Conservation and Land Management Services Board (CLMSB). Their purpose is to aid development of new technical guidelines and science-based methods to create and expand markets for vital “ecosystem services.”
Schafer says U.S. farms, ranches and forests provide beneficial contributions to the environment; many of which have come as free benefits to society. He calls ag producers’ efforts to enhance clean water and air, wildlife habitat, carbon storage and scenic landscapes worthy of reward. Schafer says financial incentives are needed to support environmental goals and the sustainability of working lands.
The USDA announcement suggests the new agency will focus on market-based approaches to conservation that would allow farmers, ranchers and forest landowners to be compensated for the “ecosystem services”they provide. The first such service to be examined will be carbon sequestration.
Vilsack, Salazar Appointed to Office
President Barack Obama has appointed former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Vilsack served two terms as governor, during which the 58-year-old became a strong supporter of ag biotechnology and renewable fuels. He also worked toward strict regulation of confined animal feeding facilities, particularly hog operations. Vilsack is an attorney.
U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado was named Secretary of the Interior. He will be responsible for grazing and energy exploration on public lands, among other things. Salazar comes from a ranching background and is a former Colorado attorney general, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) reports.
COOL Labels Coming Soon
Consumers soon will find country-of-origin labeling, or COOL, on many food products. Retailers currently are in a six-month grace period since the legislation went into effect at the end of September 2008, but by March the labels will begin appearing on beef, pork, lamb, chicken and goat meat, as well as perishable agricultural commodities, peanuts, ginseng and macadamia nuts, according to the University of Kentucky (UK) Extension.
Labels can be posted either on the package or displayed on the meatcase in front of the individual commodities. Livestock producers must generate an affidavit detailing the birth location of each animal at each point of sale. The USDA estimates that the cost of implementation for the first year of the program will be $2.5 billion. According to UK Extension, these costs will be covered partially by producers ($376 million) and retailers ($236 million), with the USDA funding the rest.
NCBA Names New CEO
NCBA has chosen Forrest Roberts, from among 70 applicants, to be its chief executive officer (CEO). Roberts succeeds Terry Stokes who is stepping down after seven years as the association’s top executive.
A native of Uvalde, Texas, the 42-year-old Roberts grew up on a family-owned livestock operation that developed its own retail meat market. Armed with degrees in animal science and business administration, Roberts has held marketing positions with two animal health companies; most recently as marketing manager for Elanco’s Beef Business Unit.
“Forrest’s agriculture background, business experience and his passion for the industry clearly made him the candidate we wanted to lead our association into the future,”says Cottonwood, Ariz., rancher and NCBA president Andy Groseta.
“Forrest is a goal-oriented and dynamic leader, who will take NCBA to the next level to better serve the cattlemen of this country,”he adds. “We fully expect him to meet the challenges of our industry head-on with innovative solutions that will help producers succeed in the global marketplace.”
Cellulosic Ethanol
Qteros (formerly SunEthanol) thinks it has discovered the key to cost-effective production of cellulosic ethanol. It’s Clostridium phytofermentans, or “the Q microbe,”a bacterium that digests cellulose and produces ethanol as waste.
In the conventional process, enzymes are used to break down cellulose in fibrous plant material into simple sugars. Then, yeast is added to ferment the sugars into ethanol. Massachusetts-based Qteros claims their microbe can do the job in just one step. Eliminated would be the enzymes that account for at least 20% of the overall cost of the conventional process.
Qteros also claims the microbe can convert a variety of feedstock, including corncobs, sugarcane, switchgrass and woody biomass. Furthermore, it can produce more ethanol using the same amount of plant material, than can the conventional process.
But will it be efficient enough? Skeptics say the great volume of plant material required to produce cellulosic ethanol still challenges its production on a commercial basis.
Tyson Exec Quits
Tyson Foods Inc. has announced the departure of president and CEO Dick Bond. Joining Tyson when the company bought beef processor IBP Inc., in 2001, Bond has been CEO since 2003. He is credited with diversifying the business with a balance between beef, pork and chicken sales, and expanding higher-margin packaged products.
Bond becomes the second high-profile casualty of the meat processing industry’s struggle with economic difficulties and depressed demand for poultry. Last month, the chief executive of Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., the nation’s largest poultry producer, resigned under pressure from board members days after the company filed for bankruptcy.