Ag News: Wednesday, November 16

"ASA Calls on Congress to Protect Biodiesel Tax Incentive"
A company called EarthFirst Americas this week announced a shipment of palm oil-based biodiesel arrived in Florida from Ecuador on November 8th. The company says it's the first batch of biodiesel imports of that could total 45-million gallons in 2006 - and 100-million gallons in 2007. In fact - EarthFirst will hold a press conference in Tampa on Friday to tout its ambitious biodiesel import plans. The American Soybean Association is outraged. ASA says EarthFirst Americas is taking advantage of the new biodiesel tax incentive - a tax incentive aimed at spurring domestic production of biodiesel. ASA President Bob Metz says importing biodiesel will use U.S. taxpayer dollars to subsidize foreign farmers and biodiesel producers. Metz says loopholes allowing what he calls - this exploitation of our nation's energy strategy - must immediately be eliminated by Congress. Metz wants Congress and the Bush administration to support a tariff on imported biodiesel equal to the dollar-per-gallon tax incentive. But Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson - the ranking member of the House Ag Committee - said imported biodiesel has more to do with the EPA than with any tax credit. Peterson - appearing on the nationally syndicated Agri-Talk program Tuesday - said EPA rules eliminating sulphur from diesel had driven demand for biodiesel far beyond the domestic industry's current production capacity. Illinois Senator Barak Obama - also appearing on Agri-Talk - agreed with Peterson. Obama said that's why Congress should pass his bill creating a seperate Renewable Fuels Standard for soy biodiesel - a standard that would mandate two-billion gallons of domestic biodiesel use by 2015.

"Cuba Provisions Stripped from Treasury Spending Conference Bill"
Republican Congressional leaders have stripped language to ease ag trade to Cuba from a House-Senate conference report on the fiscal year 2006 treasury spending bill. The move came after President Bush threatened to veto any measure that would weaken the nearly 45-year-old economic embargo of Cuba. The move also is suspect from a procedural standpoint. Conference committees are supposed to reconcile differences between House and Senate bill. But because both the House and Senate versions of the treasury spending bill contained identical language on Cuba - conferees aren't technically supposed to be able to remove it. At issue are Treasury Department rules that essentially require Cuba to pay cash-in-advance for agricultural goods. Under a law passed in the year 2000 - Cuba was allowed to buy U.S. farm and medical goods on a cash-only basis. Cuba quickly became a top-25 customer of U.S. ag products. But since the Bush administration imposed the cash-in-advance rules in 2002 - ag trade with Cuba has flattened-out. While a majority of both chambers of Congress support further liberalizing agricultural trade with Cuba - political analysts say GOP leaders didn't want to risk a Presidential veto of the treasury spending bill. Analysts say the President's opposition is largely a nod to a small but politically powerful group of Cuban exiles who oppose any U.S. action that might help Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

"Harkin Calls on GAO to Evaluate USDA's NAIS Plan"
Iowa Democratic Senator Tom Harkin wants the Government Accountability Office to take a closer look at the National Animal ID plan proposed by USDA. Harkin says the U.S. needs an identification system to contain and quickly eradicate animal diseases. But after two years of talks - USDA hasn't implemented a system - or even informed producers or state governments of the costs associated with such a system. In October - Harkin sent a letter to U.S. Ag Secretary Mike Johanns - asking him to explain the potential costs of a national system - and justify USDA's plan for a private animal ID database. According to Harkin - the GAO report - which he requested Tuesday - will shed light on USDA's development of the National Animal ID System. USDA has issued a draft strategic plan - which outlines the time-frame for implementation of a fully operational system in the U.S. According to that plan - all premises and animals would be identified and registered in the system by January of 2008. Tracking the transportation and movement of animals would become mandatory by January 2009.

"Ag Committees Set to Talk Avian Influenza"
On Wednesday - the House Agriculture Committee holds a hearing on U.S. efforts to combat avian influenza. They'll hear from exactly one witness - Dr. Ron DeHaven - administrator of USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Last Friday - DeHaven reviewed USDA's role in dealing with bird flu at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting's Annual Convention in Kansas City. DeHaven - speaking at an NAFB Newsmaker Session - said USDA's efforts were focused on dealing with the most dangerous form of bird flu at its source in Southeast Asia. The Senate Ag Committee will host its own hearing on avian influenza on Thursday. In addition to DeHaven - Committee members will hear from a variety of additional witnesses including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Julie Gerberding - and Director of Health Services for Wayne Farms, LLC Dr. Don Waldrip - among others.

"U.S. Soy Still Number One on the Export Charts"
U.S. soybean producers are once again the world's top exporters and producers of soybeans. During the 2004-2005 marketing year - according to the United Soybean Board - the U.S. exported 1.1-billion bushels of soybeans - and meal and oil from an additional 259-million bushels of soybeans. USB says that's an increase from 888-million and 194-million bushels respectively. China - once again - was the top export market for U.S. soybeans - purchasing 435-million bushels. That represents an increase of more than 130-million bushels from the 2003-2004 marketing year. Mexico was the number one export market for U.S. soybean meal and oil. USB International Marketing Chair Benny Cooper says building U.s. soy's position in international markets is key to the continued success. That's one reason he says USB joined forces with the American Soybean Association to create the U.S. Soybean Export Council - or USSEC. And according to USSEC co-chairman Mark Pietz - to remain number one in the competitive global market - the U.S. soybean industry must build a brand preference for U.S. soybeans and soybean products. According to USB - there are a number of reasons to be excited about the future - including a 78-percent increase in U.S. soy oil exports last year alone - and the 55-percent market share of total soybeans consumed for food the U.S. enjoys. But to control the industry's future - Cooper says farmers must meet the demands of soybean customers. That means selecting varieties that hit 19 percent oil and 35 percent protein content - and funding technical consultants through the Soybean Checkoff.

"USW Applauds AWB Suspension"
U.S. Wheat Associates is applauding USDA's suspension of AWB Ltd - formerly the Australian Wheat Board - from participation in USDA export credit programs. U.S. Wheat Associates President Alan Tracy says the action protects the integrity of the U.S. program. The suspension follows a United Nations investigation that cites excessive payments made by the Australian Wheat Board - or AWB - to Saddam Hussein's regime under the UN Oil for Food Programme. According to the report - AWB accounted for more than 14-percent of illicit payments made to Iraq in connection with humanitarian purchases under Oil for Food. AWB is blaming U.S Wheat Associates for the suspension - according to an organization press release - and accuses U.S. Wheat of conducting unwarranted attacks on Australian farmers and the country's international trade interests. AWB claims they were deceived by Saddam. Tracy says U.S. Wheat finds it inconceivable that AWB executives were ignorant of the scheme. Still - AWB will have 30 days to respond to the suspension.

"Researchers Awarded $32M to Sequence Maize Genome"
A team of university and private lab researchers will get 32-million dollars from the federal government to sequence the corn genome. According to USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics Joseph Jen - the knowledge will help researchers increase yields - reduce inputs - and develop more disease-resistant varieties. Beyond that - Jen says knowing the genetic sequence of corn will lead to the improvement of the growth and development of other crops like wheat and barley. USDA says the corn genome contains 50 to 60-thousand genes - and those genes are scattered among the 2.5-billion bases of DNA making up its 10 chromosomes. The human genome contains roughly 2.9-billion bases and around 26-thousand genes. According to lead investigator at Washington University Richard Wilson - that makes this sequencing effort comparable to sequencing the human genome. In fact - in some ways - Wilson says sequencing the corn genome will be harder than sequencing the human genome. Other researchers on the project are from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory - Iowa State University - University of Arizona - University of California, Berkeley - the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute - University of Georgia - and Stanford University. The 32-million in funding comes from from the National Science Foundation - USDA - and the U.S. Department of Energy.

"Nation's Cattlemen Support Removal of Grizzlies from ESA List"
Interior Secretary Gale Norton has proposed the removal of the greater Yellowstone population of grizzly bears from the federal endangered species List. That - according to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and Public Lands Council - represents three decades of successful conservation efforts. Jim Magagna - a member of both NCBA and PLC from Wyoming - says the removal of a species from the list is a victory for conservation and for ranchers and landowners. He says the action could remove some restrictions on Wyoming, Montana and Idaho ranchers. Magagna says ranchers understand their role in species recovery efforts at the local level - and are eager to help - rather than face federal mandates that change the way they manage their herds. "USDA Offers Food Safety Tips for Thanksgiving" Thanksgiving is just around the corner - and USDA wants all consumers to remember food safety when preparing the all-important Turkey feast. Speaking to volunteers from the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C. Tuesday - Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond explained USDA's four basic food safety messages - clean, separate, cook and chill. Dr. Raymond says consumers can prevent foodborne illness during the holidays by washing hands and surfaces often - avoiding cross-contamination of raw meats and poultry with cooked foods - cooking to a safe temperature - and refrigerating or freezing promptly.

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