Events Organizations Videos

The USDA, EPA and several organizations have all released their own analyses of the impact of various climate change legislation proposals being discussed in Congress.  Now a new analysis is being offered by the organization called the 25x 25 Alliance. The 25x 25 group worked with the University of Tennessee’s Bio-based Energy Analysis Group on the study.  Their conclusions—under a “properly constructed” cap-and-trade program, income from offsets and from market revenues is higher than any potential increase in input costs including energy and fertilizer.  It shows that net returns for virtually all major crops are positive, up to 13 billion dollars per year. The key term there is “properly constructed.” According to the group’s report, an operationally efficient cap-and-trade program is one that is designed to allow offsets for multiple practices, including bioenergy crop production; reduced soil tillage; bioenergy crops; methane capture; efficient fertilizer application; planting perennial grasses or trees on marginal land; and, keeping good farmland in crop production. The study also warns that if carbon emissions are regulated solely by EPA—as prescribed under a 2007 Supreme Court ruling—net farm income is projected to fall below USDA baseline projections. “The study provides clear evidence that EPA regulation could subject agriculture to higher input costs,” says Bart Ruth of Rising City, Nebraska, policy chairman for 25x 25. “And there will be no opportunity for farmers, ranchers and forestland owners to be compensated for the greenhouse gas reduction services they provide.  Furthermore, the impacts of EPA regulation on beef production are uncertain.” AUDIO: Bart Ruth (4 min MP3) 25x 25 announced the study results at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting conference in Kansas City.  The 25x 25 Alliance advocates for the role of agriculture and forestry in providing energy and climate solutions from the land.

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has plenty on its plate right now—dealing with the H1N1 situation as well as issues involving the environment, animal welfare, antibiotic use and food safety.  Dr. Jen Greiner, director of science and technology with NPPC, says food safety reform is probably the most concerning issue right now.  She says if Congress goes too far with reform efforts, it could have the greatest negative impact on pork producers. “We recognize that there are some things that are broken at FDA—they need to be fixed.  There are some things that we need to tweak at FSIS,” says Greiner, “so we are supportive of making food safety reforms that make sense for producers and don’t add costs to our bottom line, needlessly.” Greiner says the Senate will take up food safety reform legislation in the next couple of weeks.  The House has already passed a food safety bill. AUDIO: Dr. Jen Greiner (8 min MP3) On another topic, Greiner says Nebraska, Missouri and Illinois appear to be the next three states being targeted by the Human Society of the United States (HSUS) for animal rights initiatives.  Larry Sitzman, executive director of the Nebraska Pork Producers Association, says Nebraska livestock groups are already discussing strategy.  He says Ohio’s successful Issue 2, establishing a livestock care standards board, is one of the approaches being considered. “They did it with a constitutional amendment—and if you look at Nebraskans’ history of modifying their constitution with amendments, there’s not a lot of support for that,” Sitzman says. “So if we do something like that—I’m not sure how we would do it—through state legislation or some type of agreement with the Department of Agriculture handling some things.” AUDIO: Larry Sitzman (3 min MP3) Greiner and Sitzman made their comments at the Ag at the Crossroads conference in Lincoln, Nebraska on Thursday.

In Nebraska, the legislature’s appropriations committee is heard testimony Friday on proposed cuts to the Department of Agriculture’s budget.  The legislature is meeting in special session to deal with the state’s 334 million dollar budget shortfall. One of the proposals is to take money from special cash funds coordinated by the Bureau of Animal Industries.  Some of those funds are used to deal with emergency disease outbreaks in livestock.  In his testimony, Nebraska Pork Producers Association executive director Larry Sitzman criticized the proposal. “You’ve all heard of H1N1,” Sitzman said. “Not if, but when, H1N1 hits a swine farm in this state, who is going to be able to respond if you take the cash funds from BAI—and they don’t have inspectors to go out and test, certify, verify and institute movement control?” And Sitzman said that could lead to even bigger problems for the state’s livestock industry. “What happens if we have a major foreign animal (disease) outbreak in this state and we cannot have the people or funds to respond to it,” he said. “I’ll tell you what will happen—we will lose state certification, our packers will be in dire trouble, and we will lose foreign markets.” Sitzman said raiding the special cash funds would cause additional fees to be levied.  “Now I’ve heard a lot of talk in the past few weeks about ‘no new taxes’,” he said. “(If) you take these funds that have been developed and paid specifically in fees by individuals for these respective cash funds, you’re taking new taxes out of them and putting them into the general fund.” Sitzman also served as Nebraska director of agriculture from 1991 to 1999.  AUDIO: Excerpts from Larry Sitzman s testimony (1 min MP3) Terry James of the Nebraska Radio Network also contributed to this story.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) are hosting an International Educational Symposium on Animal Welfare this Sunday through Wednesday, November 8-11. Dr. Ron DeHaven, CEO with AVMA says international veterinary experts, animal scientists, political figures and leaders of humane and welfare organizations from around the world will address animal welfare in all its complexities. The symposium, at Michigan State University, will explore how informed animal welfare decisions are made taking into account the latest science, ethical considerations and societal values. “There are few issues closer to the hearts of veterinarians than animal welfare,” says DeHaven. The ultimate goal of the symposium “It’s about improving the quality of life for all animals, our pets, our livestock, laboratory animals, animals of all kind everywhere in the world.” AUDIO: Dr. Ron DeHaven talks about the symposium 1:50