Southeast AgNET

Ag in Review for the Week of January 30, 2012

Julie — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:00:23 +0000

A highlight of agricultural news for this week from around the Southeast.

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Weekly Livestock Market Report

Dan — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:00:04 +0000

Here are the cattle market numbers for the week ending February 3rd put together by the livestock market news service for the states of Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

AL:
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FL:
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GA:
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EPA Questioned by Cattlemen on CAFO Reporting Rule

Randall — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:48:59 +0000

NASHVILLE, TENN. (Feb. 3, 2012) – Ellen Gilinsky with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) faced a roomful of cattlemen and women at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s annual convention held in Nashville, Tenn. Gilinsky, who serves as a senior policy advisor to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, received questions regarding the proposed Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 308 CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) Reporting Rule. The center of concern stems from what was referred to as a serious overreach of EPA’s authority. NCBA Deputy Environmental Counsel Ashley Lyon said the proposed rule could put the nation’s food system at risk of increased terrorist attacks.

“EPA should pull this rule. The agency needs to redirect its focus to working with states and other partners to attain already publicly available information that would allow them to work toward their goal of improved water quality,” said Lyon. “This can be done in a way that does not put our food system at increased risk.”

According to concerns raised, this rule was developed through a consent decree with environmental groups. Cattlemen voiced their deep concern that more and more regulations are coming from these type of agreements where cattle producers don’t have a seat at the table. The proposed rule requires all cattle operations meeting the regulatory definition of a CAFO to report a long list of information about their operations to EPA, including latitude and longitude (or street address) of the production area, acres available for land application of manure, type and number of head and contact information for the owner or authorized representative. EPA would place this information on the agency’s website in an easily searchable database, where Lyon fears extremists could access the information with the intent to do harm to cattle operations or the nation’s food system. Gilinsky said EPA received a number of comments on the proposed rule prior to the closing of the comment period on Jan. 19. She said the agency understands the cattle industry’s biosecurity and privacy concerns.

“We are very interested in working with you. We want to work in partnership,” said Gilinsky. “We heard your concerns about biosecurity. We are very open to ideas on how to get information. We just want the information. We worked really closely with USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and what we came up with was actually a result of our work with USDA.”

Gilinsky said the final rule will be released on July 13, 2012. If finalized as proposed, Lyon said any non-compliance with the rule would be a violation of the CWA and be subject to fines of up to $37,500 per day. Lyon also said she was encouraged by the comments made by Gilinsky.

CattleFax Outlook Seminar at Cattle Industry Convention

Randall — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:12:14 +0000

A large part of the record crowd here at the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville attended this morning’s CattleFax outlook session.

And while various aspects were of course covered, CattleFax CEO Randy Blach looked at the issue of herd expansion.

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Phooey on Punxsutawney Phil

Julie — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:25:00 +0000

It looks like the famed Punxsutawney Phil is alone in the cold with his prediction of six more weeks of winter.

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Peanuts Stocks and Processing Update

Randall — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:23:03 +0000

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Today Tyron Spearman runs through the numbers from the recent peanut stocks and processing report which he says is good news for the industry.

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Seed Treatments Could be Another Factor in Honey Bee Declines

Julie — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:21:57 +0000

Researchers believe they have pinpointed another factor contributing to the decline of honey bee populations.

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Specialty Crop Growers Battling White Flies

Julie — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:18:10 +0000

Florida specialty crop growers are battling whiteflies this winter.

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Carbendazim: 9 More OJ Shipments Barred; Domestic OJ OK’d

Dan — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:12:37 +0000

An additional 9 samples of orange juice intended for import into the U.S. have tested positive for the fungicide carbendazim at 10 parts per billion or higher, levels at which the Food and Drug Administration detains the shipments or refuses their entry. FDA also cleared samples at Florida facilities that had OJ from Brazil because they had no detectable carbendazim or had levels deemed not to pose a health risk. Southeast AgNet’s Ernie Neff files this report.

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See the full details from the FDA here.

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Labor Main Topic of Discussion at GAC Legislative Breakfast

Julie — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:09:50 +0000

The Georgia Agribusiness Council held their Legislative Breakfast this week where Council President Bryan Tolar says much of the discussion surrounded labor.

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