Our next edition of Ag Today will be distributed on Wednesday, Dec. 26. Merry Christmas from the California Farm Bureau Federation!
USDA
sets rules for tracking livestock across state lines [Reuters]
The
U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday announced final rules meant to
improve the ability to trace livestock across state lines when there are
disease outbreaks. The regulations, which were laid out as proposals in August
2011, had their genesis in the handful of cases of mad cow disease, or bovine
spongiform encephalopathy, in the United States dating back to 2003. USDA's
initial proposals were attacked by farmers and ranchers as burdensome and too
expensive.
With
farm bill stalled, consumers may face soaring milk prices [New York Times]
Forget
the fiscal crisis and the automatic budget cuts. Come Jan. 1, there is a threat
that milk prices could rise to $6 to $8 a gallon if Congress does not pass a
new farm bill that amends farm policy dating back to the Truman presidency.
Lost in the political standoff between the Obama administration and
Congressional Republicans over the budget is a virtually forgotten impasse over
a farm bill that covers billions of dollars in agriculture programs. Without
last-minute Congressional action, the government would have to follow an
antiquated 1949 farm law that would force Washington to buy milk at wildly
inflated prices, creating higher prices in the dairy case. Milk now costs an
average of $3.65 a gallon. Higher prices would be based on what dairy farm
production costs were in 1949, when milk production was almost all done by
hand. Because of adjustments for inflation and other technical formulas, the
government would be forced by law to buy milk at roughly twice the current
market prices to maintain a stable milk market.
Meat
company sues feds over horse slaughterhouse [Associated Press]
A
New Mexico meat company that wants to resume domestic horse slaughter for food
is suing the federal government, alleging inaction on its application was
driven by emotional political debates and has cost it hundreds of thousands of
dollars. Valley Meat Co. is seeking to force the U.S. Department of Agriculture
to resume inspections necessary to open what would be the nation's first new
horse slaughterhouse in more than five years. The company and its owner, Rick
de los Santos, have also sued the Humane Society of the United States, Front
Range Equine Rescue, and Animal Protection of New Mexico, accusing the
organizations of defamation during a yearlong dispute that has reignited debate
over the humane treatment of horses and how best to control the nation's
exploding equine population.
Farmland
peaks, crop space to revert back to nature, report finds [Los Angeles Times]
Even
with a growing global population, increased meat consumption and government
rules mandating biofuels, researchers this week said that the amount of landed
needed for agriculture will start to shrink. Humanity has reached what
Rockefeller University scientists, in a new report, call “peak farmland.” In
the next half-century, a geographical area more than twice the size of France
-- or equivalent to 10 Iowas -- will return to its natural state from farmland,
they predict. The findings contradict other reports warning of a "soylent
green" scenario, where an increasingly crowded planet tightens
agricultural resources.
As
peach acreage drops, price for growers rebounds [Merced Sun-Star]
As
disheartened peach growers continue to rip out their trees, prices continue to
climb for those who remain rooted in the fickle industry. Peach-processing
giant Seneca Foods recently agreed to pay $350 a ton for clingstone peaches, up
from $317 last year. The California Canning Peach association, which is still
in negotiations with several major processors, happliy approved the deal just
last week.…At the same time, the Canning Peach Association reported roughly 10
percent of the bearing acreage statewide for clingstone peaches has been yanked
out of production after this year's harvest.
Coachella
Valley farmers welcome cold weather [Palm Springs Desert Sun]
Although
temperatures dipped into the mid-20s in some areas of the desert this week,
Coachella Valley farmers were not unhappy to see the mercury plunge overnight
on Wednesday. In fact, it turns out a holiday season visit from Jack Frost was
actually a welcome surprise. An unseasonably warm fall accelerated the maturity
of valley crops including lettuce, spinach, broccoli and cauliflower, causing a
flood of product and too much supply equals lower prices at market. “Our crops
have been two to three weeks ahead of schedule,” said Jeff Percy, president of
Desert Mist Farms in Coachella. “It’s almost a mixed blessing to have things
slow down. We’ve never had this happen. We’ve never been so far ahead.”
Ag
Today is distributed to county Farm Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for
information purposes, by the CFBF Communications/News Division, 916-561-5550; news@cfbf.com.
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