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June 2011
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Click this seal to go to the top of the newsletter
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NTF Staff
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President
Joel Brandenberger; Ext. 7226
Legislative
Damon Wells; Ext. 7232
Leslee Oden; Ext. 7228
Scientific & Regulatory
Hilary Thesmar; Ext. 7233
Andrew Bailey; Ext. 7224
Communications
Sherrie Rosenblatt; Ext. 7227
Adrienne Richards; Ext. 7223
Kelley Hower; Ext. 7234
Membership
Jen Zukowski; Ext. 7229
Clara Sackey; Ext. 7221
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President's Message
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Greetings!
Congress spent the last part of May focusing more and more on two issues of critical importance to the turkey industry - ethanol and USDA's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration's (GIPSA) poultry and livestock marketing rule.
On the latter, the House Appropriations Committee on May 31 sent a clear message to GIPSA that the marketing rule is unacceptable. By denying the agency funding to complete the rule, the appropriators sent a signal that the rule is too flawed to be fixed.
Regarding ethanol, a Republican and Democratic senator who normally have little in common have joined forces to create a united front for killing the ethanol tax credit, and ethanol supporters have been signaling their doubts about whether the credit can be saved in its current form.
The news is encouraging, but the process is a long way from complete. The full House has to act on the GIPSA restrictions, and the fight then moves to the Senate where those who back the GIPSA rule believe they will find more support. The momentum against ethanol subsidies continues to build, but we must be mindful that no final action has been taken to roll back any of those subsidies.
Fortunately, you are in a position to help get these issues across the finish line. By attending NTF's Leadership Conference on July 24-26 in Washington, you will have a chance to be in our nation's capital at the exact moment when Congress will be making many of the critical decisions that determine the outcome of these issues. You will be able to lobby your representatives and senators personally in advance of several key votes.
You can find more information about the Leadership Conference in this newsletter. We look forward to seeing you in Washington in July.
Sincerely,
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Legislative
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House Appropriations Committee Passes FY2012 Spending Bill and Withholds Funding for GIPSA Rule: The House Appropriations Committee on May 31 approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Agriculture Appropriations Bill. The bill totals $17.2 billion in discretionary spending, a cut of more than $2.6 billion from the FY2011 bill and more than $5 billion from President Obama's request. A major highlight of the bill is a provision that prohibits GIPSA from spending any money in FY2012 to publish its controversial livestock and poultry marketing rule, which has been the subject of significant congressional debate since the completion of the 2008 Farm Bill. The legislation now moves to the House floor for final approval. Click here to view NTF's summary of the bill and here to view NTF's press release on withholding funds for GIPSA.
Senators Join Forces to End Corn-based Ethanol Subsidies: NTF, along with other livestock and poultry groups, sent a letter to Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., supporting the introduction of the Ethanol Subsidy and Tariff Repeal Act. If enacted, the legislation would eliminate the 30-year-old Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit and import tariff on foreign ethanol. The letter noted that ending these subsidies would save taxpayers nearly $3.3 billion in 2011. Also joining in this effort as original cosponsors were Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., Richard Burr, R-N.C., Jim Webb, D-Va., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and James Risch, R-Idaho. NTF will work to encourage Congress to pass this legislation, which is the first step in ensuring the corn-based ethanol industry competes on a level playing field with other corn consumers.
Congress Communicates Concerns to USDA on Proposed GIPSA Rule: NTF worked with its coalition partners to encourage a bi-partisan group of 147 members of Congress, led by Reps. Jim Costa, D-Calif., and Reid Ribble, R-Wis., to send a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack urging USDA to withdraw the proposed GIPSA livestock and poultry marketing rule. The letter encouraged the agency to resubmit a new rule with a complete, long-overdue, economic impact analysis that would eventually go through the notice and comment rulemaking process. USDA has indicated that it does not intend to pull the existing rule and re-submit a new one.
Agriculture Committee Pushes for Action on Free Trade Agreements: The House Agriculture Committee conducted a public hearing to examine the three pending free trade agreements between the United States, South Korea, Colombia and Panama. During the hearing, committee members stressed the importance of the agreements because they would make U.S. agricultural products more competitive by reducing and eventually eliminating tariffs and non-tariff import restrictions. Members also questioned U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on a timeline for implementing the three agreements.
There are particular concerns that the United States is losing the advantages of moving first in negotiating agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, because U.S. trade competitors are implementing their own deals with these countries. For example, South Korea has a free trade agreement with the European Union that will go into effect in July regardless of whether the U.S. government completes its agreement. An agreement between the United States and South Korea still has to get final approval from Congress before implementation can begin, which puts U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage with those from Europe. The Obama administration has noted that pending agreements with Colombia and Panama are in the final stages of completion.
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Scientific and Regulatory
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Technical and Regulatory NTF Addresses Issues with Public Health Information System: NTF met with FSIS on May 11 to clarify and resolve items of concern with the new Public Health Information System. Specific agenda items included inspectors entering plant profile information and concerns about changes to existing forms. A summary of the questions and answers from the meeting is available here.
Live Production and Environment
NTF Submits Comments to FDA on NARMS Strategic Plan: NTF submitted comments to FDA on the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) Strategic Plan for 2011-2015. NARMS collects data and monitors trends in antimicrobial resistance throughout the food supply and in human health. NTF has followed the NARMS program closely and works with the scientists collecting data on the poultry industry. The federation's comments were designed to focus the NARMS program on domestic issues and concentrate on strong database systems and sample collection. The NARMS data has been very helpful to the industry in addressing questions about antimicrobial use and subsequent resistance, therefore more access to data would be helpful to the industry.
Worker Safety and Health/Human Resources
NTF Submits Comments on FMCSA's Proposed Rule on Electronic On-Board Recorders: In comments to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the Joint Poultry Industry Safety and Health Council opposed FMCSA's proposed rule that requires employers to utilize electronic on-board recorders. The industry's comments noted that the proper use of paper logs allows motor carriers to comply with current hours-of-service regulations and that mandating additional technology does not guarantee a higher level of compliance. The committee does not believe that motor carriers who successfully monitor hours of service with paper logs should be required to incur the expense of electronic recorders.
Employee Benefits Survey: The Joint Poultry Industry Human Resources Council conducted its employee benefits survey. As always, individual company responses will be kept confidential. The committee is now in the process of analyzing the results, which will be discussed during its next conference call at 3 p.m. on June 14.
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Marketing Communications
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Marketing Upgrade It! Campaign Results Update: Since the April 2011 announcement of the updated Upgrade It! with turkey campaign, MealUpgrade.com received more than 1,880 visitors who spent on average more than 2:35 minutes on the site. The top three sections visited are the Dinner Index, Dining Out: Tips and Tricks, and the Home Page. The top "upgraded" recipe visited is Turkey Bacon and Eggs. Below are other campaign successes to date. Satellite Media Tour: The satellite media tour, which featured NTF's Hilary Thesmar and Shape Up America President and CEO Barbara Moore, resulted in 21 interviews with television and radio stations, reaching an audience of more than 5.3 million, which exceeds the goal of 18 interviews reaching 3 million viewers and listenersr. Multimedia News Release: The multimedia news release (MNR), which includes interviews with Thesmar and Moore, along with Chef Lisa Schroeder, Mother's Bistro and Bar, in Portland, Ore., exceeded expectations by reaching an audience of more than 224.7 million. The goal was to reach an audience of 50 million. Meanwhile, the videos have been viewed more than 12,000 times. As part of the MNR, NTF's "Upgrade It" logo appeared on the Reuter's board in New York City's Times Square two times and on the Las Vegas strip five times between April 28 and April 29. 
NTF's "Upgrade It" URL appeared on the Reuter's board in New York City's Times Square two times. Member Involvement: For those of you on social media platforms such as Facebook and/or Twitter, you are encouraged to post information about the blogger contest and the new extensions to the Meal Upgrade Calculator. The following NTF members have already reposted content related to the launch on Facebook: Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, Iowa Turkey Federation, Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative, Inc. and Cooper Farms. Turkey is Secret Ingredient During Cook-Off in Colorado: As part of its partnership with ZisBoomBah, grand prize winner of First Lady Michelle Obama's "Apps for Healthy Kids" competition, turkey was the secret ingredient during a cook-off at the Boulder Creek Festival, May 29-31, in Boulder, Colo. More than 400,000 people attended the three-day festival. Using product donated by Butterball, LLC, Chef Hosea Rosenberg and Chef Erik Skokan competed in the cook-off and then presented their turkey dishes before three kid judges. The judges crowned Rosenberg the winner with his smoked turkey pitas, and Skokan was a close runner up with his turkey dipping sticks. NTF's logo and MealUpgrade.com URL were also included on a banner in the booth with the chefs during the cook-off. NTF distributed Meal Upgrade Clips during the event to remind visitors about the Meal Upgrade Calculator. 
NTF's logo and MealUpgrade.com URL were included on a banner in the chefs' booth during the cook-off in Boulder, Colo. This is the first of three events that NTF will partner with ZisBoomBah. The next event will be in Chicago, Ill., during the Taste of Chicago (June 25-July 4), and then in Portland, Ore., during the Bite of Oregon (Aug. 13-15). NTF Launches Turkey Quesadilla Recipe Video: NTF's latest turkey cooking video features Chef Philip Anderson, director of fresh foods at Harris Teeter Supermarket, creating a warm and crispy turkey quesadilla with only five ingredients. The federation launched the video at the beginning of May in time for Cinco de Mayo. According to monkeysee.com, the video has received more than 3,800 views.
Issues NTF Refutes Report By Renewable Fuels Association: NTF refuted claims in the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Report, "Fueling a Nation; Feeding the World," which stated that the ethanol industry is providing increasing volumes of "highly nutritious livestock feed" for domestic and international markets. NTF's statement pointed out that it is misleading to claim that there are increasing volumes of new feed available when feedstocks are clearly strained and that the distiller grain added back to the feed supply does not have the same nutritional content. As part of its statement, the federation also included Dr. Tom Elam's economic analysis presented to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that examines the effect the U.S. biofuels policy has on food production costs, the U.S. economy, and U.S. energy and food security. The RFA reacted strongly to NTF's statement, and their response is available here. |
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Member Services
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Registration is Open for 2011 Leadership Conference: Registration is now open for the 2011 Leadership Conference, July 24-26, in Washington. There are four easy ways to register: online, phone, fax or mail. Take advantage of the 25-percent pre-registration discount by registering before June 30. NTF members can also take advantage of the reduced room rate of $209 at the Washington Court Hotel by booking accommodations before June 24. For more information about the 2011 Leadership Conference and a schedule of events, click here.
2011 Leadership Conference Brochure |
Don't miss your opportunity to sponsor the 2011 Leadership Conference for as little as $600!
Email: Jennifer Zukowski Dansereau or
call 202/730-9642 for more information!
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Did You Know? That by contributing $200 to TURPAC, NTF's political action committee, online in June you will receive a free "Turkey. The Perfect Protein!" polo shirt? 1. Log into the "Members' Only" website using your username and password (see President's Message). 2. Click "On the Hill" on the left side of the screen. 3. Click on "TURPAC." 4. Scroll down and click on "Yes, I want to support TURPAC." |
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Giblets
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Dr. Hilary Thesmar, Ph.D., RD, NTF's senior director of scientific and regulatory affairs, will depart NTF on June 8 to become the vice president of food safety programs at the Food Marketing Institute. 
Butterball, LLC donated more than 18,000 pounds of turkey to organizations in North Carolina and Alabama to help victims of the recent floods and tornados, and more than 160 pounds of turkey pot roast to the Salud Family Health Centers in Longmont, Colo., to raise awareness about the importance of healthy living. Butterball, LLC celebrated 2 million worker hours without a lost-time injury at its Ozark, Mo., facility, which has maintained the nation's highest safety certification, OSHA VPP Star status, for six consecutive years. Sara Lee's Hillshire Farm brand added two new items to its smoked sausage product line: Turkey Pepper Jack and Turkey Polska Kielbasa Smoked Sausage Links. West Liberty Foods, LLC earned the ISO 14001:2004 certification for their manufacturing facility in Tremonton, Utah, the third of its facilities to earn the certification, which confirms that the organization has met the requirements for an environmental management system.
West Liberty Foods, LLC joined the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers Program.
Nearly 200 agriculture leaders examined the theme, "United We Eat: Securing Animal Agriculture's Future" during the Animal Agriculture Alliance's 2011 Stakeholders Summit, May 5-6, in Arlington, Va.
Caribou Coffee is trying out various warm lunch sandwiches, such as a Gouda Gobbler that includes turkey and Gouda cheese.
California Pizza Kitchen added a California Club Sandwich with an oven-roasted turkey breast option to their menu.
Nearly a third (29%) of the 1,500 people surveyed in a Technomic's survey said they would likely order breakfast sandwiches or burritos featuring turkey sausage or turkey bacon. The survey also found that both limited- and full-service restaurants have increased their use of turkey on the breakfast menu since 2008, positioning turkey sausage and bacon as a lighter, more healthful alternative to pork.
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