USDA food inspection threatened by automatic U.S. budget cuts
As Congressionally mandated budget cuts move closer to their Mar. 1 launch, reports are surfacing that the nation’s food inspection operations will be forced to undergo serious changes that will impact food safety and prices. A memo distributed by the White House last week indicated that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety and Inspection Service will be forced to shut down operations for as long as 15 days, a finding USDA officials confirmed to Meatingplace today.
Are plant-based diets environmentally friendly?
A nutritious diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables might not be the greenest in its environmental impact, according to a new study from France. After analyzing the eating habits […]
USDA broiler production forecast for 2013 increased again
The forecast for USDA’s broiler production for 2013 was increased again this month and is now expected to be 36.901 billion pounds, 495 million pounds above the department’s estimate last month, and 0.7 percent more than the slightly revised upward estimate of 36.640 billion pounds for 2012, according to the "World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates" report released today from the World Agricultural Outlook Board. USDA’s current broiler production estimate for 2012 at 36.640 billion pounds is 0.4 percent below the 36.803 billion pounds in 2011.
Dear CPF Board Members, Allied Members and Friends,
Our first meeting for 2013 is set for Tuesday, March 12 at the Piccadilly Inn on Shaw Avenue in Fresno. We kick off the meeting with a buffet breakfast and conclude before noon. CPF members should have received an email Tuesday with meeting details, however, as always, we will take your meal, room and meeting reservations by phone
or email.
Animal Agriculture gives big thanks to Ram Trucks for “So God Made a Farmer” Super Bowl commercial
This week nearly 250 regional, state and national farm, ranch and agribusiness organizations sent a heartfelt "thank you" to Chrysler Group Chair and CEO Sergio Marchionne – and his Ram Trucks team – for its outstanding XLVII Super Bowl commercial "So God Made a Farmer." The ad kicks off a campaign declaring 2013 "The Year of the Farmer," and features gorgeous still images from ten noted photographers including William Albert Allard and Kurt Markus.
2012 Census of Agriculture underway – Respond now
The Census, conducted only once every five years by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), is more than a count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. It is a look at land use and ownership, production practices, expenditures and other things that affect the way farmers do business in the 21st Century.
Ethanol mandate target of repeal effort
An unusual coalition has been formed in Washington in an attempt to kill a creature of Washington: corn ethanol. The oil industry, environmentalists, taxpayer groups, livestock growers and foreign aid groups […]
Dear CPF Board Members, Allied Members and Friends
Our first meeting for 2013 is set for Tuesday, March 12 at the Piccadilly Inn on Shaw Avenue in Fresno. We kick off the meeting with a buffet breakfast and conclude before noon. CPF members will receive an email tomorrow morning with meeting details, however, as always, we will take your meal, room and meeting reservations by phone
or email.
Perdue purchases Draper Valley Farms assets
Perdue Foods, a division of Salisbury-based Perdue Farms, announced Monday that it has purchased the leased assets of its Draper Valley Farms operation in Washington State. Perdue acquired Draper Valley Farms – and the leases – as part of its June 2011 purchase of Coleman Natural Foods. Perdue’s announced purchase of assets includes a processing plant in Mount Vernon, a feed mill in Chehalis and several company-operated poultry farms.
Ag economist urges Congress to begin extensive reform of the Renewable Fuel Standard
The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is broken, but Congress can fix the rule by acting now and opening an inclusive, robust debate that leads to extensive reform," said Dr. Thomas Elam, president of FarmEcon, LLC, today at a media briefing with approximately 50 reporters. Dr. Elam presented his remarks on behalf of the National Chicken Council and National Turkey Federation. Congress in 2005 enacted the first RFS which mandated levels of ethanol to be blended with gasoline. In 2007 that ethanol mandate was expanded, and biodiesel was added. Dr. Elam noted in his remarks that 2007 was a game changer, referring to it as a "Hail Mary." "We did not then, and still do not today, have the volume of agricultural raw materials, or the required cellulosic ethanol technology, to meet the 2007 RFS goals," he said. "Nearly six years later, it’s still not a commercial reality. The courts just a few weeks ago ruled this to be the case, as well." Read More