NASDA News
Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 3:16 pm
A publication of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
This Week
Senate Ag Committee Approves Markup of Farm Bill
Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Block Clean Water Act Expansion
U.S. District Court Issues Enjoins New H-2B Program Rule
Longstanding Dispute with Europe over Hormones in Beef is Resolved
Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Confirmed in Two New Mexico Horses
New Proposed BioPreferred Regulation to Expand Biobased Products for Federal Purchase
Senate Confirms Michael Scuse as Agriculture Under Secretary
GA: Natural Sweetener Producer Sweet Green Fields Expands U.S. Stevia Crop Production to Southeastern States
NJ: Secretary of Agriculture Encourages Buying Local Honey, Urban Beekeeping
ND: New Veterinarians can Recoup Education Costs
For More Information
Please contact a member of the NASDA Farm Policy Staff:
Bob Ehart
Amy Hendrickson
Nathan Bowen
Amanda Bryant
May 1, 2012
News from Washington:
Senate Ag Committee Approves Markup of Farm Bill
Last Thursday, the Senate Agriculture Committee voted 16-5 to move the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012. With concerns about the impacts of the legislation on southern crops, three southern Republicans, Sens. Thad Cochran (R-MS), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), and John Boozman (R-AR) all voted against the bill. Also voting against the bill were Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) because of cuts to SNAP and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). The Committee had set a target of a $23 billion reduction in mandatory spending over 10 years. While the Committee Draft would have saved $24.7 billion according to the CBO score, much of the additional savings were used to fund an $800 million amendment in the energy title. In all, there were 19 amendments considered and seven adopted along with the Stabenow-Roberts Manager's Amendment. The bill now goes to the full Senate where Majority Leader Reid has indicated he could give the bill floor time.
The impetus is now on the House Ag Committee to markup its legislation sooner rather than later. The Committee will finish their D.C. Farm Bill Hearings April 26 and presumably hold a markup soon after. While the Senate Ag Committee approved legislation without target prices for commodities, House Ag Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) stated in an interview with Agri-Pulse that both he and Chairman Lucas (R-OK) were "still supporting the target price concept from the supercommittee."(Contact: Nathan Bowen; By: Kenton Kirkpatrick)
Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Block Clean Water Act Expansion
On April 27, Reps. John Mica (R-FL), Frank Lucas (R-OK), Nick Rahall (D-WV), Collin Peterson (D-MN), and Bob Gibbs (R-OH) introduced H.R. 4965 which would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from finalizing a proposed guidance document that would define which bodies of water fall under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act (CWA).
The bipartisan group of legislators introduced the measure to halt the agencies' attempts to extend federal jurisdiction to a significantly wider range of water. The bill's sponsors say the legislation would help stem increased regulation under the CWA, which could possibly lead to increased costs for farmers, ranchers and rural communities.
Last summer EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers released draft guidance titled "Guidance on Identifying Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act". The draft was submitted it to the Office of Management and Budget in February for review. Last summer NASDA joined a broad coalition of state and local government associations, as well as agricultural and industrial stakeholders to submit comments regarding the proposed guidance document. (Staff Contact: Nathan Bowen)
U.S. District Court Issues Enjoins New H-2B Program Rule
A Federal District Court Judge in the Northern District of Florida has issued a nationwide preliminary injunction barring the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing their H-2B program rule. The Rule was challenged in federal court on behalf of the businesses and business association, who include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and representatives from the landscape and forestry industries. The judge's decision also bodes well for the H-2B wage rule litigation that is pending in the same court.
The Court found that the plaintiffs sufficiently established facts to demonstrate their standing to bring this challenge and that they would likely succeed on its merits. As a result, the Court issued the preliminary injunction to block implementation of the rules while the merits of the plaintiffs' case are considered by the judge. The plaintiffs argued that the DOL does not have the statutory authority to issue the program rules and furthermore that in its process of issuing the rules, the Administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Act as well.
Legal proceedings in this case will continue. The Court has now ordered the parties to file motions for summary judgment on June 25, 2012, and has allowed 14 days for response briefs. In addition, the Department of Justice could appeal the decision.
The April 26 decision was handed down just before the Final Rule was to take effect. On February 21, 2012, the Secretary of Labor issued the Final Rule ("Rule") that overhauled the temporary, non-agricultural foreign worker H-2B program for seasonal workers. Although the Rule was originally scheduled to take effect on April 23, 2012, the Department of Labor (DOL) had extended the effective date to April 27, 2012. (Staff Contact: Amy Hendrickson)
Longstanding Dispute with Europe over Hormones in Beef is Resolved
The European Union voted April 26 to modify its regulations to open an autonomous tariff quota for imports of high-quality beef not treated with hormones, effectively ending a longstanding dispute between the E.U. and the U.S. over the presence of hormones in imported beef. The modification expands the number of permissible imports from the current 20,000 tonnes (established in 2009) to 21,500 tonnes, beginning July 1, and to 48,000 tonnes, beginning August 1. The customs duty of this tariff-rate quota will remain fixed at zero.
In return, both the U.S. and Canada have suspended sanctions on EU products, including chocolates, jams, fresh truffles and Roquefort cheese.
In 1998, the WTO found that the EU ban on meat imports treated with certain growth promoting hormones from the U.S. and Canada was inconsistent with the sanitary and phytosanitary measures and authorized the suspension of concessions to the EU. More information can be found here. (Staff Contact: Amy Hendrickson)
Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Confirmed in Two New Mexico Horses
Yesterday, Veterinary Services of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection on an equine premises in Otero County, New Mexico. This is the first detection of active VSV in the United States since June 2010.
Two horses from the affected premises were sampled on April 18, after vesicular lesions were observed on both animals. The samples were sent to Veterinary Services' (VS) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) for confirmation and one of the lesioned horses has met VS' official index case definition for VSV. NVSL's testing was completed yesterday and confirmed the virus as New Jersey serotype.
In cooperation with the New Mexico Livestock Board, APHIS has initiated an epidemiological investigation and the index premises is currently under quarantine. Three other unaffected horses located on the index premises have been isolated from the positive animals. There are no known traceouts at this time.
VSV is a notifiable disease and APHIS will report the findings to the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) today. Based on previous experience, officials anticipate some countries may require additional certification and diagnostic testing requirements for U.S. livestock and livestock products.
More information, including updated information on country requirements and with contact information for export-related questions can be found here. In addition, updated Veterinary Services (VS) memorandums 800.57 Market Suspensions and 800.206 General Licensing Considerations have been recently added to the Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) Web site. (Staff Contact: Amy Hendrickson)
New Proposed BioPreferred Regulation to Expand Biobased Products for Federal Purchase
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the publication in the Federal Register of new proposed guidelines for the USDA BioPreferred program that could expand the ability of USDA to designate biobased products for Federal purchase. USDA is proposing to allow for the designation of intermediate ingredients such as fibers, resins, and chemicals so that the products made from them could more easily be designated for preferred Federal procurement.
The new regulation also allows for the designation of complex assemblies that contain one or more components made from biobased ingredients. These provisions are necessary because such finished products cannot be tested for biobased content using the procedures spelled out in the existing guidelines. (Staff Contact: Amy Hendrickson)
Senate Confirms Michael Scuse as Agriculture Under Secretary
On April 26, the Senate confirmed Michael Scuse, a former NASDA member from Delaware, as Agriculture Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, as well as a member of the Commodity Credit Corporation's board of directors.
Scuse had been the acting Under Secretary since Jim Miller's departure, and previously held the title of Deputy Under Secretary.
As a NASDA member, Scuse was the Secretary of Agriculture in Delaware and was President of the Northeastern Association of State Departments of Agriculture. (Staff Contact: Nathan Bowen; By: Jacaselon Pickens)
News from the States:
Georgia: Natural Sweetener Producer Sweet Green Fields Expands U.S. Stevia Crop Production to Southeastern States
Sweet Green Fields, a leading US-based global producer of high purity stevia extracts, announced last week the expansion of its stevia crop production to the Southeast United States, with crop plantings in Georgia and North Carolina. This development marks another major operational expansion for Sweet Green Fields as part of its commitment to develop its stevia crops here in the U.S., as part of its global production plan.
"Agriculture is Georgia's number one industry and we are always excited about the prospect of new and alternative crop opportunities in our state," said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black. "With the ideal soil and climate conditions in Georgia, Sweet Green Fields has seen the potential for stevia to prosper as a new crop in the rotational system. We welcome their expansion here and look forward to working with them throughout the seasons to come." For more information, click here.
New Jersey: Secretary of Agriculture Encourages Buying Local Honey, Urban Beekeeping
Overlooking the distinctive Jersey City skyline, New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher ascended to the roof of the Hyatt Regency Hotel to visit with the hotel's newest residents -- 36,000 honey bees -- in an effort to promote the purchase of local honey from New Jersey beekeepers, as well as support urban beekeeping.
"The honey bee is a vital pollinator of important New Jersey crops, such as blueberries, apples, cranberries, cucumbers, squash and pumpkins," said Secretary Fisher. "Having beehives in an urban setting, such as on the roof of the Hyatt, enhances backyard gardens in the surrounding area and provides honey that can possibly help neighboring allergy sufferers."
In total, New Jersey had 11,000 bee colonies producing 451,000 pounds of honey in 2011. That honey was worth $1.7 million. For more information, click here.
This Week
Senate Ag Committee Approves Markup of Farm Bill
Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Block Clean Water Act Expansion
U.S. District Court Issues Enjoins New H-2B Program Rule
Longstanding Dispute with Europe over Hormones in Beef is Resolved
Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Confirmed in Two New Mexico Horses
New Proposed BioPreferred Regulation to Expand Biobased Products for Federal Purchase
Senate Confirms Michael Scuse as Agriculture Under Secretary
GA: Natural Sweetener Producer Sweet Green Fields Expands U.S. Stevia Crop Production to Southeastern States
NJ: Secretary of Agriculture Encourages Buying Local Honey, Urban Beekeeping
ND: New Veterinarians can Recoup Education Costs
For More Information
Please contact a member of the NASDA Farm Policy Staff:
Bob Ehart
Amy Hendrickson
Nathan Bowen
Amanda Bryant
May 1, 2012
News from Washington:
Senate Ag Committee Approves Markup of Farm Bill
Last Thursday, the Senate Agriculture Committee voted 16-5 to move the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012. With concerns about the impacts of the legislation on southern crops, three southern Republicans, Sens. Thad Cochran (R-MS), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), and John Boozman (R-AR) all voted against the bill. Also voting against the bill were Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) because of cuts to SNAP and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). The Committee had set a target of a $23 billion reduction in mandatory spending over 10 years. While the Committee Draft would have saved $24.7 billion according to the CBO score, much of the additional savings were used to fund an $800 million amendment in the energy title. In all, there were 19 amendments considered and seven adopted along with the Stabenow-Roberts Manager's Amendment. The bill now goes to the full Senate where Majority Leader Reid has indicated he could give the bill floor time.
The impetus is now on the House Ag Committee to markup its legislation sooner rather than later. The Committee will finish their D.C. Farm Bill Hearings April 26 and presumably hold a markup soon after. While the Senate Ag Committee approved legislation without target prices for commodities, House Ag Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) stated in an interview with Agri-Pulse that both he and Chairman Lucas (R-OK) were "still supporting the target price concept from the supercommittee."(Contact: Nathan Bowen; By: Kenton Kirkpatrick)
Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Block Clean Water Act Expansion
On April 27, Reps. John Mica (R-FL), Frank Lucas (R-OK), Nick Rahall (D-WV), Collin Peterson (D-MN), and Bob Gibbs (R-OH) introduced H.R. 4965 which would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from finalizing a proposed guidance document that would define which bodies of water fall under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act (CWA).
The bipartisan group of legislators introduced the measure to halt the agencies' attempts to extend federal jurisdiction to a significantly wider range of water. The bill's sponsors say the legislation would help stem increased regulation under the CWA, which could possibly lead to increased costs for farmers, ranchers and rural communities.
Last summer EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers released draft guidance titled "Guidance on Identifying Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act". The draft was submitted it to the Office of Management and Budget in February for review. Last summer NASDA joined a broad coalition of state and local government associations, as well as agricultural and industrial stakeholders to submit comments regarding the proposed guidance document. (Staff Contact: Nathan Bowen)
U.S. District Court Issues Enjoins New H-2B Program Rule
A Federal District Court Judge in the Northern District of Florida has issued a nationwide preliminary injunction barring the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing their H-2B program rule. The Rule was challenged in federal court on behalf of the businesses and business association, who include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and representatives from the landscape and forestry industries. The judge's decision also bodes well for the H-2B wage rule litigation that is pending in the same court.
The Court found that the plaintiffs sufficiently established facts to demonstrate their standing to bring this challenge and that they would likely succeed on its merits. As a result, the Court issued the preliminary injunction to block implementation of the rules while the merits of the plaintiffs' case are considered by the judge. The plaintiffs argued that the DOL does not have the statutory authority to issue the program rules and furthermore that in its process of issuing the rules, the Administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Act as well.
Legal proceedings in this case will continue. The Court has now ordered the parties to file motions for summary judgment on June 25, 2012, and has allowed 14 days for response briefs. In addition, the Department of Justice could appeal the decision.
The April 26 decision was handed down just before the Final Rule was to take effect. On February 21, 2012, the Secretary of Labor issued the Final Rule ("Rule") that overhauled the temporary, non-agricultural foreign worker H-2B program for seasonal workers. Although the Rule was originally scheduled to take effect on April 23, 2012, the Department of Labor (DOL) had extended the effective date to April 27, 2012. (Staff Contact: Amy Hendrickson)
Longstanding Dispute with Europe over Hormones in Beef is Resolved
The European Union voted April 26 to modify its regulations to open an autonomous tariff quota for imports of high-quality beef not treated with hormones, effectively ending a longstanding dispute between the E.U. and the U.S. over the presence of hormones in imported beef. The modification expands the number of permissible imports from the current 20,000 tonnes (established in 2009) to 21,500 tonnes, beginning July 1, and to 48,000 tonnes, beginning August 1. The customs duty of this tariff-rate quota will remain fixed at zero.
In return, both the U.S. and Canada have suspended sanctions on EU products, including chocolates, jams, fresh truffles and Roquefort cheese.
In 1998, the WTO found that the EU ban on meat imports treated with certain growth promoting hormones from the U.S. and Canada was inconsistent with the sanitary and phytosanitary measures and authorized the suspension of concessions to the EU. More information can be found here. (Staff Contact: Amy Hendrickson)
Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Confirmed in Two New Mexico Horses
Yesterday, Veterinary Services of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection on an equine premises in Otero County, New Mexico. This is the first detection of active VSV in the United States since June 2010.
Two horses from the affected premises were sampled on April 18, after vesicular lesions were observed on both animals. The samples were sent to Veterinary Services' (VS) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) for confirmation and one of the lesioned horses has met VS' official index case definition for VSV. NVSL's testing was completed yesterday and confirmed the virus as New Jersey serotype.
In cooperation with the New Mexico Livestock Board, APHIS has initiated an epidemiological investigation and the index premises is currently under quarantine. Three other unaffected horses located on the index premises have been isolated from the positive animals. There are no known traceouts at this time.
VSV is a notifiable disease and APHIS will report the findings to the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) today. Based on previous experience, officials anticipate some countries may require additional certification and diagnostic testing requirements for U.S. livestock and livestock products.
More information, including updated information on country requirements and with contact information for export-related questions can be found here. In addition, updated Veterinary Services (VS) memorandums 800.57 Market Suspensions and 800.206 General Licensing Considerations have been recently added to the Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) Web site. (Staff Contact: Amy Hendrickson)
New Proposed BioPreferred Regulation to Expand Biobased Products for Federal Purchase
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the publication in the Federal Register of new proposed guidelines for the USDA BioPreferred program that could expand the ability of USDA to designate biobased products for Federal purchase. USDA is proposing to allow for the designation of intermediate ingredients such as fibers, resins, and chemicals so that the products made from them could more easily be designated for preferred Federal procurement.
The new regulation also allows for the designation of complex assemblies that contain one or more components made from biobased ingredients. These provisions are necessary because such finished products cannot be tested for biobased content using the procedures spelled out in the existing guidelines. (Staff Contact: Amy Hendrickson)
Senate Confirms Michael Scuse as Agriculture Under Secretary
On April 26, the Senate confirmed Michael Scuse, a former NASDA member from Delaware, as Agriculture Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, as well as a member of the Commodity Credit Corporation's board of directors.
Scuse had been the acting Under Secretary since Jim Miller's departure, and previously held the title of Deputy Under Secretary.
As a NASDA member, Scuse was the Secretary of Agriculture in Delaware and was President of the Northeastern Association of State Departments of Agriculture. (Staff Contact: Nathan Bowen; By: Jacaselon Pickens)
News from the States:
Georgia: Natural Sweetener Producer Sweet Green Fields Expands U.S. Stevia Crop Production to Southeastern States
Sweet Green Fields, a leading US-based global producer of high purity stevia extracts, announced last week the expansion of its stevia crop production to the Southeast United States, with crop plantings in Georgia and North Carolina. This development marks another major operational expansion for Sweet Green Fields as part of its commitment to develop its stevia crops here in the U.S., as part of its global production plan.
"Agriculture is Georgia's number one industry and we are always excited about the prospect of new and alternative crop opportunities in our state," said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black. "With the ideal soil and climate conditions in Georgia, Sweet Green Fields has seen the potential for stevia to prosper as a new crop in the rotational system. We welcome their expansion here and look forward to working with them throughout the seasons to come." For more information, click here.
New Jersey: Secretary of Agriculture Encourages Buying Local Honey, Urban Beekeeping
Overlooking the distinctive Jersey City skyline, New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher ascended to the roof of the Hyatt Regency Hotel to visit with the hotel's newest residents -- 36,000 honey bees -- in an effort to promote the purchase of local honey from New Jersey beekeepers, as well as support urban beekeeping.
"The honey bee is a vital pollinator of important New Jersey crops, such as blueberries, apples, cranberries, cucumbers, squash and pumpkins," said Secretary Fisher. "Having beehives in an urban setting, such as on the roof of the Hyatt, enhances backyard gardens in the surrounding area and provides honey that can possibly help neighboring allergy sufferers."
In total, New Jersey had 11,000 bee colonies producing 451,000 pounds of honey in 2011. That honey was worth $1.7 million. For more information, click here.