WASHINGTON (July 20, 2010) – National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) oppose any extension of time requested beyond the original 60-day public comment period established on the proposed rule, “Implementation of Regulations Required Under Title XI of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008; Conduct in Violation of the Act.”

 

The proposed rules address concerns that have been discussed for many years and were developed at the direction of the 2008 Farm Bill, which requires USDA to carry out specific rulemaking to improve fairness in the marketing of livestock and poultry.

 

“Extending the comment period into the fall calf season will give leverage for packers to offer lower prices to producers as a fear mechanism, as we have seen in the past with rules such as Country of Origin Labeling,” said Johnson. “Reports of lower prices to producers from packers have already begun.”

 

The 2008 Farm Bill stated this rule was to be fully completed by June 18, 2010, another reason, NFU cites, not to extend the comment period. The current deadline for the decision on extension is Aug. 23, 2010.

 

“USDA has given a sufficient amount of time to comment on this rule,” said Johnson. “Should USDA deem it necessary to extend the comment time, it should be minimal and only to meet the needs of the department.”

 

National Farmers Union has been working since 1902 to protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers, ranchers and rural communities through advocating grassroots-driven policy positions adopted by its membership.

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Click here for PDF version of news release

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Premium Standard Farms filed a report today with the Circuit Court of Jackson County announcing plans for an aggressive, two-year schedule for implementing the final phase of Next Generation Technology at its pig farms in northwest Missouri which will sus

NEW ORLEANS, July 20 /PRNewswire/ --In support of Louisiana cuisine at a time when its seafood industry has been jeopardized by the Horizon oil spill, world-renowned chefs Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud and Jerome Bocuse will team with New Orleans Chef Scott Boswell for a September 14 fundraiser at hi

ST. LOUIS, July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Dogs and cats share a special bond with their owners.  Many pets become part of their owners' daily routine and share many favorite moments and outings with their families, such as adventures on the family boat.   That's why Sea Ray Boats, in conjunction

WASHINGTON (July 20, 2010) – National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson recently submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the proposed pesticide National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit (PGP).

 

NFU policy supports continued prudent use of approved chemicals for crop production to maintain viable agriculture operations and a secure food supply. Until effective biological controls or other alternatives to chemical controls are available, NFU calls for greater cooperation among producers, chemical companies and government agencies to ensure advances continue to be made in best practices, pest-control research initiatives and less chemically intensive farming practices.

 

“The EPA’s proposed general permit could leave some pesticide applicators in legal jeopardy,” said Johnson. “There needs to be sufficient explanation and definition of application types so producers understand if they are covered.”

 

With the two-year stay from the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals expiring April 9, 2011, Johnson notes NFU’s concern that the PGPs will not be finished by the Court deadline and operators making legal pesticide applications will face legal jeopardy if they lose the protections of EPA’s 2006 rule and have no access to state PGPs.

 

“The agency should petition for an extension to provide regulatory agencies adequate time to develop and implement the complex permit procedures and farmers adequate time to understand and work within the permit structures that will differ from state to state,” said Johnson.

 

NFU policy also encourages greater cooperation between EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help ensure that pesticide regulations do not unnecessarily interfere with normal farming practices, and to provide consultation regarding opportunities and advances in technologies.

 

National Farmers Union has been working since 1902 to protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers, ranchers and rural communities through advocating grassroots-driven policy positions adopted by its membership.

 

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Click here to read the comments

Click here for PDF version of news release

 

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Shire Gate Farm of Owensville, Missouri, owned by Tennessee Titan middle linebacker Will Witherspoon, has earned the Animal Welfare Approved seal. Animal Welfare Approved certification is an assurance to consumers that the cattle at Shire Gate Farm

Greatest Risks Seen in 14 States:  AZ, AR, CA, CO, FL, ID, KS, MS, MT, NE, NV, NM, OK and TX; How Big a Threat to Food Supply?  At-Risk Counties Are Home to Over $100 Billion in Crops. WASHINGTON, July 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Over 1,100 U.S. counties— more than one-third of all

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Shire Gate Farm of Owensville, Missouri, owned by Tennessee Titan middle linebacker Will Witherspoon, has earned the Animal Welfare Approved seal. Animal Welfare Approved certification is an assurance to consumers that the cattle at Shire Gate Farm

PORTLAND, Maine, July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greater Portland Convention & Visitors Bureau presents the Third Annual Harvest on the Harbor - Maine's premier food and wine experience - to be held Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 21-23, at Ocean Gateway on Portland's picturesque waterfront. New eve

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PORTLAND, Ore., July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Tanner Creek Energy, a leading energy performance solution provider and general contractor, announced today the completion of a 17.9 kW grid-tied solar electric system at Goschie Farms.  Goschie Farms is a third generation, family-owned and operated hop f

 
Extractive industry companies that operate in U.S. markets will have to disclose any payments they make to governments worldwide as part of the financial reform bill that U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to sign into law this week.

Advocates of greater industry transparency in resource-rich developing countries managed to tuck the disclosure rule into the package of market regulations, claiming that the added transparency will limit investment risks abroad. More significantly, the rules would provide citizens in developing countries with essential information to combat the "resource curse" - the tendency of profits from oil, gas, or mineral deposits to adversely affect local economies and sometimes lead to conflict over these lucrative resources.

Oil, gas, and mining companies registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will be required to disclose publicly any payments made to government entities on a country-by-country and project-by-project basis as part of the financial statements already required by the SEC.

"With this far-reaching new law, citizens now have a reliable tool to ensure that the wealth created by natural resource extraction is used for essential social services such as health and education, as well as economic development opportunities," said Radhika Sarin, coordinator of Publish What You Pay, a global coalition of 600 organizations lobbying for mandatory disclosure of extractive industry payments and related government revenues.

Nigeria, the world's eighth largest oil exporter, has long struggled with crippling corruption associated with extraction of its petroleum resource. The country's anti-corruption commission has accused successive military dictatorships of embezzling some $400 billion between 1960 and 1999. Meanwhile, the majority of the population earns less than US$2 per day.

Lawmakers said that the reporting requirements would be designed using the voluntary Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) guidelines. The initiative, launched at the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, and since supported by the Group of Eight (G8) world leaders, entails regular audits of company payments to governments and of the material revenues that companies receive from governments. Independent audits are arranged in cases where audits do not already exist, with steering groups comprising government, industry, and civil society representatives overseeing the validation process.

The new disclosure rules, to be issued by the SEC no later than nine months after the financial reform bill is enacted, would increase transparency in developing countries by expanding disclosure to countries not covered by the EITI (more than 25 countries are "candidates" for inclusion in the initiative but only three have been fully validated).

Advocates estimate that the rules would apply to hundreds of companies, including 90 percent of the world's largest international oil and gas companies and eight of the world's 10 largest mining companies. Firms based outside the United States that are still listed on U.S. stock exchanges, such as Shell and BP, would have to comply.

The American Petroleum Institute (API), a trade group that represents some 400 energy companies, opposes the disclosure rules. In a letter to U.S. legislators, Chief Executive Jack Gerard wrote that the measure would create an unfair disadvantage to companies that compete with quasi-governmental and national oil companies such as Russia's Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Company. "Disclosing payments at this level of detail, including payments on a project level, means that foreign competitors would have access to very specific, proprietary information that can be used against U.S.-listed companies in contract negotiations and for other purposes," Gerard said.

 API also criticized the rules for its "unilateral approach." However, the Hong Kong stock exchange enacted similar rules earlier this year and now requires mineral companies to include in their listing requests any information about taxes, royalties, or other payments to host governments on a country-by-country basis. Companies listed on the Hong Kong exchange must also disclose information regarding environmental, social, and health and safety risks associated with their projects.

In addition, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), a private London-based group that sets standards used in more than 100 countries, is considering a rule change that would require disclosure of payments to governments.

U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) urged other countries to follow the U.S. lead when he spoke on behalf of including the transparency amendment, named after its backers Senators Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and Richard Lugar (R-IN), in the financial reform bill.

"It is part of a broader international effort to combat corruption, poverty, hunger, and disease throughout Africa, Asia, and Central America by providing a mechanism to ensure greater transparency for the many ways in which sometimes corrupt and authoritarian governments in those regions take in huge revenue flows from oil and gas producers or mining companies and then fail to adequately meet the needs of their own vulnerable populations with social spending funded by the income from these projects," Dodd said. "I would hope that other nations and those in charge of major exchanges in London, Hong Kong, and elsewhere would follow the Cardin-Lugar approach on this." 

Ben Block is a staff writer with the Worldwatch Institute. He can be reached at bblock@worldwatch.org.

This article originally appeared on the Worldwatch blog Green Economy. For permission to republish this report, please contact Juli Diamond at jdiamond@worldwatch.org.

Six Elected to NFU’s Top Youth Leadership Council

WASHINGTON (July 20, 2010) – Young adults from across the country spent a week in Bailey, Colo., July 11 – 16, 2010, at National Farmers Union (NFU) All-States Leadership Camp.
 
Farmers Union’s next generation of leaders gathered at the NFU Education Center to listen to a variety of inspirational speakers, including an Olympic gold and bronze medal winner who was regarded as an underdog, and a soccer player who didn’t let cerebral palsy slow his game.

“Each summer young Farmers Union members who have distinguished themselves as leaders are given the opportunity to attend All-States Leadership Camp,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. In his banquet presentation, Johnson told the nation’s newest leaders, once you make a decision, put everything into it.”

The camp, themed “Leading by Serving: The Summit of Leadership,” also included presentations by Claudia Svarstad, NFU vice president and an avid mountain climber, and William Nelson, president of CHS Foundation, Inc.
 
“These young people excel in their desire to make the world a better place,” said Maria Miller, NFU’s director of education. “We provide them with encouragement and training to become leaders in their communities. I expect some of them will remember All-States as the event that put their leadership skills into motion.”

NFU Vice President of Government Relations Chandler Goule led an interactive group discussion on developing strategies to advance the farm organization’s policy priorities. Goule works with lawmakers in the House and Senate and officials at USDA to implement those policies. Goule acknowledged the ambition and willingness to learn from campers and appreciated the interest America’s youth have in continuing the traditions of Farmers Union.  

The campers elected six of their peers to represent them nationwide. Elected to the 2011 National Youth Advisory Council (NYAC) were Gina Dethlefsen and Patrick Lowin, S.D., Chandler Winkels, Minn., Kale Havelku and Kayla Wagner, N.D., and Darla Rosenbrock, Colo.
 
For more information, please visit: http://nfu.org/about/education/all-states-leadership-camp.

National Farmers Union has been working since 1902 to protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers, ranchers and rural communities through advocating grassroots-driven policy positions adopted by its membership.

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Click here for PDF version of news release
Click here to read the camp blog
Click here to view camp photos

HEALDSBURG, Calif., July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Murphy-Goode Winery will commemorate its 25th anniversary with music by the "7 Zins," a barbeque, really "goode" wine, and its Second Annual Murphy-Goode Liar's Dice Tournament.  The party—open to those 21 or over—takes place on Saturday,

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