NEWS BRIEFS...
Ohio to Vote on Creation of
Livestock Care Standards Board
On Nov. 3, Ohio voters will have opportunity to vote for or against Issue 2, which would create the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board. The 13-person board would be chaired by the director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture and include with the director three family farmers, two veterinarians (including the state veterinarian), a food safety expert, a representative of a local humane society, two members representing statewide farm organizations, the dean of an Ohio agriculture college and two members representing Ohio consumers.
According to www.safelocalohiofood.org, creating the board is a reaction to out-of-state activist groups that have signaled "they would like to bring an initiative to Ohio that would set rigid, inflexible and impractical rules for how livestock and poultry are housed." The Board, it says, would assure Ohio families have a safe, locally-grown food supply; bring together Ohio's animal care experts to ensure excellent care of the state's flocks and herds; and maintain the viability of Ohio agriculture, the state's No. 1 economic contributor.
Michigan Governor Signs Bill
Banning Crates, Stalls and Cages
Following passage of Proposition 2 in California, which prohibited confinement of farm animals, the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) has continued its strategy of threatening ballot initiatives in several states, including Michigan, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The Michigan legislature agreed Sept. 16, 2009, to language on animal housing. The legislation was negotiated by the Michigan pork and poultry associations and the HSUS after threat of an HSUS-led constitutional ballot initiative. The bill, HB 5127, amends 1988 PA 466 (Animal Industry Act) to prohibit the use of gestation crates or stalls for gestating sows, battery cages for egg-laying hens, and crates for calves raised for veal. The bill provides a 10-year transition period for pork and egg producers and a three-year transition period for veal producers to meet the prohibition. The bill was signed by the governor Oct. 12, and is now law.
Salazar Seeks Congressional Support
for Strategy to Manage Wild Horses
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar Oct. 7 proposed a national solution to restore the health of America's wild horse herds and the rangelands that support them by creating a management program that includes the possible creation of wild horse preserves on the productive grasslands of the Midwest and East.
"The current path of the wild horse and burro program is not sustainable for the animals, the environment, or the taxpayer," Salazar said in a letter outlining his proposals to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and eight other key members of Congress with jurisdiction over wild horse issues. The challenges to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) associated with maintaining robust wild horse populations in the West have been recognized by the Senate Appropriations Committee, which has warned that gathering and holding costs have risen beyond sustainable levels and directed the BLM to prepare a long-term plan for the program.
In his letter, Salazar also proposed:
• Managing the new preserves either directly by the BLM or through cooperative agreements between the BLM and private nonprofit organizations or other partners to reduce the Bureau's off-the-range holding costs.
• Showcasing certain herds on public lands in the West that warrant distinct recognition with Secretarial or possibly congressional designations.
• Applying new strategies aimed at balancing wild horse and burro population growth rates with public adoption demand.
A copy of the letter is online at www.blm.gov. For background information on the national wild horse and burro program, visit the BLM's web site at www.blm.gov.
Mexico Joins Canada in
WTO Complaint Against U.S. COOL
The Mexican government announced Oct. 14 that it will join Canada in moving forward with a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement process against U.S. mandatory country-of-origin labeling (mCOOL). Canada and Mexico are the United States' top two trading partners, together accounting for 59% of total U.S. beef, beef variety meat and processed beef product export revenues last year. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) is extremely concerned that these WTO cases could lead to damaging retaliatory actions against U.S. beef.
National Beef Files Registration Statement for Initial Public Offering of Class A Common Stock
National Beef Inc. announced Oct. 13 that it had filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed initial public offering of shares of its Class A common stock. The shares of common stock to be sold in the offering are expected to be offered by National Beef.
BofA Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC will be the joint book-running managers of the offering. The number of shares to be offered and the price range of the offering have not yet been determined. National Beef intends to apply to have its common stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "NBP."
Nebraska Firm Recalls Beef Tongues
J.F. O'Neill Packing Co., an Omaha, Neb., establishment is recalling approximately 33,000 pounds (lb.) of beef tongues that may not have had the tonsils completely removed, which is not compliant with regulations that require the removal of tonsils from cattle of all ages, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
Tonsils are considered a specified risk material (SRM) and must be removed from cattle of all ages in accordance with FSIS regulations. SRMs are tissues that are known to contain the infective agent in cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), as well as materials that are closely associated with these potentially infective tissues. Therefore, FSIS prohibits SRMs from use as human food to minimize potential human exposure to the BSE agent.
The company is recalling all products packed between July 1 and Oct. 8. These products were shipped primarily to distribution centers in Nebraska and California for further sale to restaurants, hotels and institutions. The problem was discovered through a food safety assessment FSIS conducted at the establishment.
Tennessee Study Defines New Market for Midwestern and Southeastern Farmers
A new economic study conducted by the University of Tennessee's Bio-Based Energy Analysis Group has determined that there are significant market opportunities for agriculture if Congress enacts a national renewable energy standard (RES) policy.
RES policies are expected to create a large new market for biomass from the agricultural and forestry sectors and, as a result, to have a positive effect on farm income, according to the study. Under a 25% RES policy in 2025, the study projected that increases in gross receipts range from $9,419 per farm in Florida, $11,283 per farm in Colorado, $16,028 per farm in North Carolina, and $43,229 per farm in Kansas.
"We expect to see a significant increase in farm revenue if an RES policy is implemented," said study co-author Daniel De La Torre Ugarte, professor at the University of Tennessee's Institute of Agriculture. "Similarly, we found that the relationship between farm revenue and the stringency of an RES policy was positive, with more revenue generated under scenarios with stronger RES targets."
The full report will be released on Oct. 23 and will be available at www.21stcenturyag.org.