legislation

Farm Bill 2012

Truffle Media Networks — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 03:48:55 +0000

Farm Bill 2012 What percent of Farm Bill dollars go towards food programs & why are they important? What steps should be taken for US ag to capitalize on growing global demand for ag products? And, how do corn 'subsidies' impact corn acreages planted? These important questions were highlighted in the recent discussion of the 2012 Farm Bill on AgChat.

Will The Cows Come Home For Dairy Security?

Truffle Media Networks — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Audio via DairyCast.com

The National Milk Producers Federation is fully supporting H.R. 3062, titled The Dairy Security Act of 2011. NMPF CEO Jerry Kozak explained the legislation and background on this important initiative to reporters.

AgChat discussion on Farm Policy and the 2012 Farm Bill

Truffle Media Networks — Thu, 12 May 2011 03:10:30 +0000

How Will Farm Policy 2012 Play Out? The 2012 Farm Bill will play an important part in the coming election cycle. What has the best benefit to the general public in farm bill programs? How must gov balance need for ag innovation & choice w/concerns re food safety & creation of policy? This AgChat conversation highlights some of the issues and outcomes.

World Water Day from AgChat and BioChat

Truffle Media Networks — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 05:11:43 +0000

World Water Day AgChat and BioChat combined on the topic of water. Life cannot survive without water. The issues of access to clean, safe, affordable water will continue to be a leading topic for a long time. Learn more about the issues and possible approaches to solutions from these two World Water Day conversations: AgChat and BioChat.

Chris Wall - Washington Domestic Public Policy Update | SwineCast

Truffle Media Networks — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:11:51 +0000

via SwineCast.com

Chris Wall, National Pork Producers Council, provides a Washington domestic public policy update, from the Swine Forecast 2011 webinar, December 1, 2010.

Pork Industry Policy Issues: Various Oversight Hearings: EPA; USDA; FDA; etc.; Renewable Fuels Policy; Food Safety Reform; Farm Bill Field Hearings; Budget Reconciliation; FY 2012 Appropriations

How Technology and Ag Come Together

Truffle Media Networks — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 18:49:45 +0000

via bloomberg.com

With the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act moving forward to law, technology companies are lining up to help implement the details. Much of the legislation is all about collecting, tracking, and analysis of data and information on food. This includes putting in place systems to register food facilities, collect and monitor data from production farms, notify multiple parties about food related issues, and handle food recalls.

Changes to U.S. food-safety rules may generate sales for International Business Machines Corp., Oracle Corp. and other companies that can provide systems to track outbreaks of food-borne illness.

The bill, which awaits President Barack Obama’s signature, may lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales for companies that produce the labels and scanning devices to enable tracking systems, said Ray Connelly, general manager of closely held Truetrac, a developer of agricultural product-tracking software in Salinas, California.

Much of this initial work will not be noticed by consumers right away. The legislation requires some of the implementations to be in place within 12 months after being enacted in to law. A summary of the legislation is available from GovTrack.us.

RFA View On Fueling Ethanol

Truffle Media Networks — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 21:32:22 +0000

via ThisWeekInAg.com

Audio: Matt Hartwig, The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), shares thoughts on legislation supporting the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (aka VEETC) and possible changes in 2011.

Farming Business Under DOJ & USDA Review

Truffle Media Networks — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:33:22 +0000

via online.wsj.com

The Departments of Justice and Agriculture are holding their final workshop to discuss competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry. This final workshop will focus on margins.

According to the DOJ

This workshop will look at the discrepancies between the prices received by farmers and the prices paid by consumers. As a concluding event, discussions from previous workshops will be incorporated into the analysis of agriculture markets nationally.

This all day event wraps up a series of workshops that began in March of 2010. The four previous workshops covered Issues of Concern to Farmers, the Poultry Industry, the Dairy Industry, and the Livestock Industry.

From the December 6, 2010 Wall Street Journal

As the final workshop, it will also wrap in themes from earlier events. Smaller farming operations say consolidation has given them little bargaining power as they buy seed or sell their livestock or milk. With feed prices well above historic levels, dairy, livestock and poultry farmers in particular are under pressure.

Congress: Should Ethanol Subsidies Be Extended?

Truffle Media Networks — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:51:02 +0000

via EthanolRFA.org

The heat is on again in the U.S. Congress to take action before the end of the year. Next on the list is whether or not to extend the ethanol subsidies.

First up to bat in the debate are Senators Dianne Feinstein and Jon Kyl calling for end end to the ethanol subsidies.

In a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 17 Senators expressed their lack of support for extending the current 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on ethanol imports and the 45-cent-per-gallon subsidy for blending ethanol into gasoline. Both provisions expire at the end of this year under current law.

The Renewable Fuels Association quickly responded, stating the job, economic, and tax benefits the subsidies produce. They base their response on a presentation by John Urbanchuk, economist and Technical Director at ENTRIX, Inc. titled "Importance of the Ethanol Tax Incentive in Driving the Growth of Biofuels".

The domestic ethanol industry helped support nearly 400,000 jobs and provided more than $16 billion in increased household income.

Food Safety Bill Approved By U.S. Senate

Truffle Media Networks — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:24:22 +0000

via cnn.com

Congress is wasting no time to quickly move legislation on hot topics. Senate bill S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, passed 73 to 25.

A version of the bill was passed by the House of Representatives in July of 2009 but had languished in the Senate, a fact that has angered some food safety advocates.

From CNN's Eatocracy, the bill will

The FDA would have the authority to issue direct recalls of foods that are suspected to be tainted, rather than relying on individual producers to voluntarily issue recalls.

Food producers would be required to develop written food safety plans, accessible by the government in case of emergency. These would include hazard analysis and a plan for implementing corrective measures.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services would be required to create a food tracing system that would streamline the process of finding the source of contamination, should an outbreak occur.

Importers would be required to verify the safety of all imported foods to make sure it's in accordance with U.S. food safety guidelines.