All companies currently registered under the federal Bioterrorism Act of 2002 are required to register with FDA under new requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) of 2010, and while FDA has had problems with its registration system, this week the agency announced it is extending the deadline for reregistration until January 31, 2013. The registrations are required every two years, with the "window" for reregistration set as October 1-December 31, in even-numbered years. However, FDA's registration system didn't come online until late October, the agency said, and reregistrations were stymied. Registration under both the Bioterrorism Act and FSMA are required of companies with facilities that manufacture, process, package, receive or store food for man or animal in the U.S. Go to  www.fda.gov to get specifics on registration.

The U.S. and China this week announced they've renewed for five more years their cooperative food safety agreement first signed in 2007. The agreement, signed in the wake of the Chinese melamine-in-pet food contamination incident and problems with exported Chinese dairy ingredients in several food products, is designed to "enhance cooperation between the U.S. and China on food and feed safety." The agreement includes enhancement of FDA's identification of high-risk food products exported to the U.S.; collaboration on inspections of facilities that process and produce food; a focus on high-risk foods exported from China to the U.S., including canned and acidified foods, pet food and aquaculture, and creation of a certification process for FDA to accept "relevant, verified information" from China's government on registration and certification of food and feed facilities. The first agreement led to the opening of FDA offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and allowed FDA to increase the number of facility inspections in China from zero in 2007, to 85 in 2011, the agency said. FDA and the Chinese government have conducted workshops for the Chinese industry on FDA requirements for several categories of exported food.

While insiders insist there continues to be "quiet progress" on a short-term scheme to avoid the fiscal cliff's tax increases and economic turmoil on January 1, 2013, key negotiators publicly sniped at each other throughout the week, and the broader political parties signaled their priorities on programs that "must not" be part of the final package if there is one. However, it remains clear if there's a fiscal cliff deal cut, farm programs will be part of the mix if only because of the savings they contribute. House Speaker John Boehner and the President met at the White House twice in the last 10 days - once with staff, once without - and this week exchanged what reports said were tense phone calls. Partisan rhetoric continues to fly following these meetings from both sides, fueling the media and market pessimism a deal can get done by December 31.  

The Washington, DC based Business Roundtable this week waded into the broad fiscal cliff negotiations fray, saying lawmakers should raise taxes if necessary - something that appears almost inevitable - to reach an agreement. "We urge you to step forward and demonstrate that principled compromise is once again possible and that the American political system...can function as designed," the Roundtable said in a letter to congressional leaders. Congress needs to agree on how to get more revenue, it said, "whether by increasing taxes, eliminating deductions or some combination thereof." However, they cautioned tax increases must go "hand-in-hand" with spending cuts and overhauling entitlement programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. President Obama has refused to talk publicly about entitlement program cuts, though congressional Democratic leaders this week said entitlements should not be part of the fiscal cliff negotiations. The GOP said it won't talk about tax rate increases unless entitlements are on the table. Rep. Dave Camp (R, MI), chair of the House Ways & Means Committee, responded to the Business Roundtable letter by saying, "Big business may support raising taxes on small businesses, but I do not."

A similar scenario played out among key ag negotiators on a 2012 farm program package that may move with any fiscal cliff package. With farm program spending cuts representing approximately $32-35 billion in savings, the chairs and ranking members of the respective agriculture committees met December 12 and December 13, in hopes of hammering out at least a short-term farm program agreement. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D, MI) will not accept a straight extension of 2008 programs that she says leaves 37 current programs unfunded while continuing direct payments to producers, but Rep. Frank Lucas (R, OK), chair of the House Agriculture Committee, says he can live with an extension as it provides producers operational certainty, allows USDA to prepare for new programs and cuts in old operations, and gives him and Stabenow the opportunity to hammer out a 2013 five-year Farm Bill in the spring. The two big sticking points in the ag talks are farm program payments - the Senate reinvents payment programs as risk control insurance-like programs, but the House includes marketing loans and countercyclical payments - and how much to cut federal food stamps.  

Among the top four House and Senate ag leaders there have been some major shifts in position, particularly from Senate leaders. Stabenow says she's willing to entertain deeper cuts to food stamp fraud, waste and abuse if it leads to a five-year package included in the fiscal cliff deal. Senate ag panel ranking member Sen. Pat Roberts (R, KS) says he'll talk about revising his chamber's Farm Bill commodity program title to include a marketing loan and/or countercyclical payments scheme - a move that would mitigate southern peanut and rice producer opposition to the Senate's risk/crop insurance approach - again if that's what it takes to get a 2012 package done. However, as of December 14, House and Senate ag negotiators began to mirror the broader party lines on the fiscal cliff negotiations, digging in and trading barbs. After the December 13 meeting among Stabenow, Roberts, Lucas and House ag panel ranking member Rep. Collin Peterson (D, MN), the Senate chided the House bill because it never received a full chamber vote. Lucas and Peterson fired back in a statement this week, "When the Senate Ag Committee starts to negotiate in good faith...rather than in the press, we stand ready to work with them." The two House ag leaders said, "Contrary to what they would have you believe, this not a rice, peanut and wheat issue...it's about making sure policy is defensible to tax payers and works for all commodities in all regions of the country."

The Brazilian government this week scurried to calm trading partner fears after it confirmed December 7, the discovery of its first case of BSE - a discovery initially made nearly two years ago. Japan immediately banned imports of all Brazilian beef indefinitely, and South Africa and China also banned Brazilian beef imports. The Brazilian government said the 18-month delay in testing and reporting the BSE case was the result of domestic laboratory work overload and international rules which resulted in samples from the animal being classified as low priority for diagnosis. Brazil's Minister of Agriculture said the BSE animal was a breeding animal in the state of Parana, and said it has provided all relevant information to the governments of its trading partners. One Brazilian official characterized the discovery as "an old and isolated occurrence" and that the animal showed evidence of "non-classic" BSE which may have been a "spontaneous mutation" given more than 90% of Brazil's beef herd are grass-fed on pasture. OIE, the world animal health organization, says it is maintaining Brazil's BSE status as "insignificant," the lowest risk level possible, with a risk grade of level 1, a status enjoyed by just 15 countries.   

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) and several conservative tax groups this week publicly opposed enactment of a five-year 2012 Farm Bill as part of any fiscal cliff agreement, saying, "The time to pass a farm bill has come and gone. Congress should pass a fiscally responsible one-year extension of farm and food programs and allow the House to debate the future of farm subsidies." Calling it a "secret farm bill," EWG and the tax groups held a Washington, DC press conference where they called for the one-year extension, but said direct payments must be ended immediately as a "downpayment" on the deficit. Taxpayers for Common Sense said the current farm bill approaches "save too little, preserve ridiculous crop insurance subsidies and create new entitlement programs" and called the approach "the height of fiscal irresponsibility." One of these new entitlements, said the American Enterprise Institute, is the House Agriculture Committee creation of price loss coverage, and the Senate bill's Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) programs. The groups said they want to see a "full farm bill process" next year, one that will result in no shallow loss program, reforms crop insurance subsidies and adds "taxpayer protections."

A $60-billion Senate bill, set for floor action next week, and written to provide emergency assistance to the victims of Superstorm Sandy, includes $224 million for agriculture disaster assistance, a synopsis of the bill released this week by the Senate Appropriations Committee reveals. The bill mirrors a formal White House request this week - and an estimate made by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, NV) last week - for post-Superstorm Sandy emergency relief, and will likely get the grudging support of both parties and chambers despite its price tag. Of the ag allotment, $25 million will go to shore up the emergency conservation program to provide money and assistance to farms and ranches damaged by natural disasters and for emergency water conservation; $58.9 million is set aside for emergency reforestation efforts; $125 million would be available for emergency watershed protection to mitigate the effects of flooding, droughts and preventing erosion, and emergency food assistance programs would get $15 million.

The final plans are underway for the 2013 Grain & Feed Industry Conference.  Mark your calendars for January 16-17, 2013 at the Embassy Suites on Monterey Bay.  Registration materials will be mailed out in the upcoming week to the membership. 

Our theme this year is:  Develop a Culture of Safety and Quality in the Modern Feed Mill 

Hotel Reservations Can Be Made ASAP - Click here for on-line reservation form.    

Registration Forms and Detailed Information on the CGFA Website - Click here 

Topics will include:  (click here for program) 

Wednesday: Jan. 16th

• Safety: Confined Space Hazards / DVD: Roberta's Request WorkplaceTragedy
• Case Studies of Grain Explosions
• Fire Safety: Preplanning Guide and What To Do In Case of Fire at the Mill
• Group Luncheon: Networking Opportunities for Grad Students/ Internships
• Virtual Feed Mill Tour / What's New in Feed Mills / Project Showcase
• Feed Food Modernization Act Update
• Trucking Safety:    GPS Equipment Tracking / On-Board Cameras       
• New Innovations by Vendors: Panel of Vendors
• Roll Speed Measurements
• Inventory Management Systems
• Flow Measurements - Dry Products
• Table Top Exhibits and Social Hour
• Group BBQ Dinner Buffet and Fun Casino Night

Thursday: Jan. 17th

• Labor Laws - Employers Rights & Obligations 
• H.R./ People Management / Time Management / Stress Management / Motivational
• Closing, Grand Prize and Group Lunch Buffet  
• Golf at Pacific Grove Municipal Course

'Tis the season, experts say, to bend your fitness routine so it does not break. "Consider the holidays a time to maintain fitness, not a time to set new goals or be ambitious," said fitness expert Shirley Archer, author of "Fitness 9 to 5" and "Weight Training for Dummies."

The average American gains one pound (.45 kilograms) each year during the holiday season, Archer said, but it's a fate you can avoid by being active when time allows. "Research tells us that you can get an effective strength training routine in as little as 15 minutes," she said. "This is not ideal to build strength over time, but is sufficient to keep what you have during the holidays."  

A bare-bones cardio workout can be accomplished by fitting short, 10-minute bouts of activity into your holiday plans. Danielle Hopkins, group fitness manager and instructor at an Equinox fitness center in New York City, tells her concerned clients to try to sweat at least 20 minutes a day. "I stress the importance of keeping to your routine. The main thing is putting it on your calendar," said Hopkins, who said drinking too much makes it harder to make it to the gym. "Always make room. It's pretty easy to do. If you're traveling, bring your running shoes, or a jump rope, or look for a gym."

And rest assured that one night of over-indulgence won't derail a year of work. "Everyone's diet has a bit of wiggle room," she said. "I think it's good to imbibe a little, but be strategic about what you'll allow. Have a little bit." Constantly avoiding holiday temptation is tiring and in the end unsustainable, according to Gregory Chertok, a sports psychologist with the American College of Sports Medicine.

When navigating holiday stresses, from family to poor food choices, Chertok, who is based in New Jersey, said a simple change in attitude can yield powerful results. "Embrace challenge rather than avoid temptation," he said. "Avoidance over time can be pretty exhausting. Just like our physical muscles, our mental muscles can get exhausted. Will power requires replenishment."

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