Media Statement: NCBA Compliance Review Complete (Cattlemen’s Beef Board, 7/26) -- Robert Fountain, Jr., Cow-Calf Producer, Adrian, Ga. and CBB Secretary-Treasurer, made the following statement in regard to the NCBA’s Compliance Review:
“An independent accounting firm tested charges from NCBA to the beef checkoff in five areas and found many expenses that were either improperly charged to the checkoff or insufficiently documented. For example, international and domestic travel expenses for the spouses of staff and volunteer leadership, consulting fees for the purpose of investigating a certified beef program for the policy division, travel performed for the purpose of initiating an NCBA-member insurance program and time spent by employees in meetings related to non-checkoff revenue development were charged in full or in part to the checkoff. The exceptions noted by the CPA firm included all three periods tested, but were more prevalent in FY 2009 and the first five months of FY 2010.
“These findings are extremely troubling to the CBB Executive Committee. For this reason, CBB will begin a more comprehensive compliance review of NCBA for FY 2009 and FY 2010. CBB will also implement new monthly review procedures of NCBA’s checkoff expenditures and will issue more detailed guidelines to all contractors. The objectives of the additional testing will be to gain a better understanding of the CPA firm’s findings, to determine the pervasiveness of the reported issues, and to calculate the monetary impact of those issues on the amounts billed by NCBA to CBB and the Federation.
“We found these discrepancies through the strong and vital systems CBB has in place for monitoring contractor expenses to assure producer dollars are used appropriately. While the compliance review findings are troubling, the project managers with all of our contractors do excellent work using checkoff dollars and we think every producer has benefited from these checkoff-funded activities.”
Click links for copies of the Executive Summary and the full Compliance Review. For additional information, you may also contact Lynn Heinze, 303-867-6319, lheinze@beefboard.org.
Click here for NCBA’s Response to the Report
Forum to Address Animal Disease Traceability (Southwest Farm Press, 7/16) -- Through a series of public meetings beginning in May, USDA has been gathering feedback on the new framework for animal disease traceability; however, the public sessions have not provided the opportunity for all animal health officials and industry participants to meet jointly to discuss the many issues and develop sensible solutions for developing an animal disease traceability system that will best serve both groups.
As a result, it has been announced by the United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) and the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) that they will co-host a Joint Strategy Forum on Animal Disease Traceability, to be held August 30-31, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. The Forum is being designed to facilitate much-needed interaction between State and Tribal animal health officials, animal producers, livestock marketers and handlers, and meat processors that yields valuable input on preliminary standards being developed by USDA's Traceability Regulatory Working Group, expected to be released in mid-August. Click here for more information.
|
GIPSA Extends Comment Period for Farm Bill Proposed Rule (Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, 7/26) -- The USDA Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration is extending the comment period for the regulations required by Title XI of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 and regarding conduct in violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act until November 22, 2010.
GIPSA published the proposed rule in the Federal Register on June 22, 2010 (75 FR 35338). The Agency proposed adding several new sections to the regulations under the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921, as amended and supplemented.
GIPSA will consider comments received by November 22, 2010. Comments may be submitted via e-mail to comments.gipsa@usda.gov; hard copy via mail, hand delivery, or courier to Tess Butler, GIPSA, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 1643-S, Washington, DC 20250-3604; fax to (202) 690-2173; or via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. There also will be a fact sheet about the rule on the GIPSA web page. For further information, contact Brett Offutt, Director, GIPSA Policy and Litigation Division, at (202) 720-7363.
Bill Reauthorizing Price Reporting Law Advances (National Pork Producers Council, 7/28) -- The National Pork Producers Council today applauded the House Agriculture Committee for approving legislation to reauthorize the law requiring meat packers to report to the U.S. Department of Agriculture the prices they pay producers for animals.
The committee passed H.R. 5852, sponsored by panel Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., to reauthorize for five years the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act, which is set to expire Sept. 30. The committee bill also adds to the reporting law provisions requiring reporting of pork exports – by price and volume – and of wholesale pork cuts.
Lincoln, Chambliss Introduce Bill to Guarantee Transparency in Livestock Markets (U.S. Senate Ag Committee, 7/27) -- U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today joined Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), in introducing bipartisan legislation that would reauthorize mandatory price reporting for five years. This bill will guarantee transparency of the livestock marketing sector and help improve producers’ ability to access fair market prices.
USDA Announces Sheep Center Grant Program (USDA, 7/23) -- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) seeks comments on an interim final rule that establishes a National Sheep Industry Improvement Center (Sheep Center) program, consistent with the Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008.
A Board of Directors, appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture, will manage the general operations of the Sheep Center. The Sheep Center will award grants to eligible entities to improve the production and marketing of sheep and goat products. The program becomes effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
The purpose of the Sheep Center is strengthen and enhance production and marketing of sheep or goat products in the United States, through infrastructure development, business development, production, resource development, and market and environmental research. Complete details are available in the Federal Register at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-18096.htm.
NCFC Applauds Senator Johanns for Seeking Action on Dairy Spill Rule Exemption (National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, 7/23) -- The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) today expressed its strong support for legislation introduced by Senators Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) that would protect America’s dairy farmers from unnecessary and costly oil spill regulations. The bill would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finalize, within 30 days of the bill’s enactment, the Agency’s proposed exemption of on-farm milk storage from Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rules.
Under EPA’s original set of SPCC rules for agriculture, milk is considered an oil that falls under the regulations since it contains animal fat. To address the fact that spilled milk does not pose a major environmental threat, EPA issued a proposed rule change in January 2009 exempting on-farm milk containers that meet well-defined sanitary standards. That 2009 proposal has still not been finalized by the agency.
Democrats Pull the Plug on Cap and Trade (Pork, 7/22) -- Senate Democrats on Thursday abandoned plans to pass an energy bill that caps emissions of carbon dioxide, saying Republicans refuse to support the measure. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said no Republican was willing to back a comprehensive energy bill, a development he called "terribly disappointing."
Democrats have been trying for more than a year to pass a plan that charges utilities for carbon emissions. They're also abandoning a compromise plan to limit emissions only from utilities that also failed to attract the 60 votes needed to advance it in the 100-member Senate.
Arizona Immigration Law Hits Roadblock (Pork News, 7/28) -- Just hours before it was to take effect, a federal judge has issued a partial injunction of Arizona's immigration law on Wednesday. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton sets up a lengthy legal battle as Arizona fights to enact the nation's toughest-in-the-nation law. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer said the state will likely appeal the ruling and seek to get the judge's order overturned.
Though the rest of the law is still set to go into effect Thursday, the partial injunction on SB 1070 means Arizona, for the time being, will not be able to require police officers to determine the immigration status of anyone they stop or arrest, according to Fox News. |
U.S. T-Bones Debut In Major Korean Retail Chain (Cattlemen’s Beef Board, 7/26) -- Lotte Mart, the third-largest retail chain in South Korea, recently launched sales of U.S. T-bone steaks at 85 locations across the country. This marks the first time this cut has been offered in the retail sector since Korea resumed imports of U.S. beef.
“The reintroduction of T-bones really demonstrates the traction U.S. beef is regaining in Korea,” said Junil Park, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Korea retail specialist, contractor to the Beef Checkoff Program. “Consumer acceptance of U.S. beef has become much more widespread as the result of positive imaging, aggressive promotion and USMEF’s collaborative efforts with suppliers, importers and retailers.”
U.S. Willing to Take Staged Approach to Beef Access in China (Meatingplace.com, 7/27) -- When Canada announced in June a deal to ship beef from cattle 30 months or younger to China, officials at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association wondered publicly why the United States had let its neighbor to the north get ahead. In fact, the United States was offered a similar deal some time ago but turned it down in favor of negotiating full access to the Chinese market, which has been closed to U.S. beef since the 2003 outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Now, however, the United States is softening its earlier stance and is willing to work with Chinese officials toward an incremental approach to full beef export access.
Many Pig Farmers Angry About Coles Pork Decision(ABC Rural, 7/22) -- Pork industry body Australian Pork Limited has hit back at supermarket giant Coles, saying it's hypocritical if the company doesn't enforce its sow stall ban on imported products. Coles says from the end of 2014, none of its supermarkets will stock any fresh pork which is produced with the aid of sow stalls.
Australian Pork Limited estimates that Australian farmers face extra costs between $400 and $900 per female pig to phase out sow stalls in line with Coles' demands.
JBS, Other Brazilian Meatpackers Ban Cattle Ranches (Meatingplace.com, 7/26) – Brazil's three largest meatpackers, JBS Friboi, Marfrig Alimentos and Minerva, have suspended cattle purchases from 221 ranches located on indigenous land, conservation areas or near recently-deforested areas in the Amazon, according to reports submitted to Greenpeace. Last year the companies signed pacts to change their practices after Greenpeace released its "Slaughtering the Amazon" report exposing links between cattle ranching in the Amazon region and deforestation.
Japan Lifts Beef, Pork Shipment Ban in Miyazaki as Foot-and-Mouth Fades (Bloomberg, 7/26) -- Japan lifted a ban on beef and pork shipments from all farms in southern Miyazaki prefecture, normalizing domestic trade three months after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth led to the largest cull in the nation’s history.
Livestock shipments from the second-largest hog-farming prefecture can resume, the Miyazaki government said today in a statement. No cases of the disease have been found in the past three weeks after about 288,370 animals were culled to contain it since April 20, when the first case was reported, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. |
Opinion: J. Dudley Butler’s Blatant Bias On Display At GIPSA (Beef, 7/23) -- It’s disturbing how one individual has the potential to cause so much damage to an industry. You might know that Mississippi attorney and one-time cattleman J. Dudley Butler heads USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). You might not know that Butler spent at least some of his 30 years in the law arguing poultry arbitration cases against processors on behalf of poultry growers.
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack's Remarks to Media Regarding Shirley Sherrod (USDA, 7/21) -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today released the following statement in response to his conversation with Shirley Sherrod:
"Today, I reached out to Shirley Sherrod to apologize. I also told her I was sorry for the pain this caused her and her family and friends. I reacted too quickly. I should have taken the time to listen and learn. While I cannot change what happened, I can try to make something out of this difficult incident.”
Stovalls Acquire Leachman Ranch (Cattle Business Weekly, 7/22) -- The Leachman Home Place Ranch, 16 miles southeast of Billings, Mont., is going to see some changes. The 45,000-plus acres-including 9,500 deeded acres and more than 30,000 acres of Crow Indian Reservation leases, formerly operated by Leachman Cattle Company- have been tied up in financial and legal knots for years. The last of the knots were untied on the steps of the Yellowstone County Courthouse last Thursday when Stovall Holding Company, made up of Jay and Juanita Stovall who are members of the Crow Indian Tribe, and their son, Turk, handed over checks for $2.63 million.
The sale of the Home Place Ranch and the smaller Hairpin Cavvy Ranch was supposed to have taken place last year on the same date, but James Leachman filed bankruptcy an hour before the auction in a last-ditch attempt to save the ranches that have been known world-wide for their quality cattle genetics for the last 30 years. A judge dismissed the bankruptcy in April, ordering the federal government to sell the ranches in an attempt to pay off debts.
|
