|
|
|
| Upcoming Dates |
April 27-30, 2016:
CGFA Annual Convention The Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego
California Animal Nutrition Conference at the DoubleTree by Hilton Fresno Convention Center
Fresno, CA
|
|
Benefits of Belonging to CGFA
|
- State & Federal Legislative Advocacy
- Industry & Small Business Issues
- Business Advocacy
- Weekly Updates on Current Issues
- Networking Opportunities
- Industry Specific Directories
- Advertising Venues
- Social Media Sites
- Cost Saving Insurance Programs
- Environmental and Safety Resource
- Continuing Education and Training
- Political Action Committee Administration
- Annual Convention
- Education Programs
- District Meetings
|
|
|
The Dam Train Initiative: Why It Is Bad for CA Water Storage
|
California rice grower, Kurt Richter, developed the following video in opposition to the proposed ballot measure, the Dam Train Initiative, which would redirect $8 B of high speed rail money to water storage projects. "The devil is in the details here", said Assemblymember James Gallagher regarding the Dam Train Initiative, "and the details aren't good for the whole state of California". Before you sign the petition to put this measure on the ballot, learn three reasons why this initiative would be bad for California. Please help get the word out to ensure that more water storage is built. #stopthewatergrab
|
| | Beware of Dam-Train Initiative |
|
California Legislative Report
|
By: Dennis Albiani, Legislative Advocate
Legislature Shifts into High Gear
On Monday, the California Legislature will start the hearing process on the 1400 Assembly and 800 Senate bills introduced this year. All policy bills with a fiscal impact must be heard by committees before the April 22nd deadline. The successful bills that pass out of policy committee will then progress to the Appropriations Committee where they will need to be passed by May 27. Finally, they will need to be voted off the house of introduction floor by June 3. Priority bill to be heard next week includes: AB 2596 (Bloom D) Pesticides: use of anticoagulants. This bill would expand the prohibition on use of anticoagulants to the entire state. SB 1262 (Pavley D) Water supply planning. This bill would require, if a water source for a proposed project includes water of a quality not sufficient to meet certain drinking water standards, that it be part of the CEQA assessment and may require mitigation. SB 1317 (Wolk D) Conditional use permit: groundwater extraction facility. Requires a city or county overlying a basin designated as a high- or medium-priority basin to establish a process for the issuance of conditional use permits for the development of a groundwater wells in order to prevent a new groundwater extraction facility from contributing to or creating additional overdraft. AB 1811 (Dodd D) Fertilizer: organic input material: inspections. Addresses the amount of inspections for manufacturers of organic inputs. AB 2755 (Gallagher R) Agriculture: bees: civil remedies. This bill would provide for the damages that are recoverable by a plaintiff in a civil action for the wrongful taking, possessing, harboring, or transporting of a beehive, for the wrongful removal of bees from their beehive, or for the wrongful killing or destroying of bees.
|
FDA Sends State Money for FSMA Implementation; Groups Want Dollars for Antibiotics Monitoring
|
FDA has released to the states $19 million in grants to assist in implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the largest agency allocation so far. States must apply for the grant money, and the money "is especially relevant to those states with the largest number of covered produce farms under the FSMA produce rule," FDA said.
In a related FDA spending development, a coalition of veterinarians, critics of on-farm antibiotic use and meat industry groups sent a letter to congressional appropriators telling them they support the president's FY2017 budget request for $35 million to be spent by USDA on research, monitoring and surveillance under the administration's "Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (CARB)" program. For its part, FDA is in the final stages of a cooperative program with industry, removing all growth promotion/feed efficiency label claims and making all antibiotics subject to veterinary supervision through the use of an updated Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD). For the state FSMA grants, FDA wants the states to use the grant money to develop planning, infrastructure building, training and education and related activities. Up to 55 grants will be awarded, FDA said, and funding will be available for FY2016, continuing for five years depending on Congress. On the antibiotics monitoring, the groups said they appreciated the $378 million to fund the CARB initiative, but pointed out all of that money was allocated to the human medicine use of the antimicrobials. The letter said $10 million is urgently needed by APHIS as it works with the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) to "plan activities that will add to our understanding of how antibiotics are used in veterinary medicine and animal agriculture and how those uses affect antibiotic resistance levels." The groups said the information is needed by lawmakers and regulators, but also by veterinarians and producers as they make decisions about antibiotic use on farms and ranches.
|
|
|
|
Grain Facility Hit with $122K OSHA Fine for Alleged Violations under Grain, Feed Program
|
A Wisconsin grain handling company was hit by OSHA March 11, with a $122,500 fine for alleged workplace safety violations based on a September, 2015, inspection. The company was cited for six serious and two willful safety violations, including engulfment dangers, under an agency grain and feed "local emphasis" safety initiative.
In a March 16 press release, OSHA said of the inspection last fall: "Federal safety investigators...observed workers at risk of being engulfed in grain and entangled by operating augers as they cleaned storage bins." The agency said it began its investigation of the company under its "Grain Handling Industry Local Emphasis Program" after receiving a complaint about unsafe working conditions. The program, said OSHA, focuses on "the grain and feed industry's six major hazards: Engulfment, falls, auger entanglement, 'struck by,' combustible dust explosions and electrocution hazards." In a March 18 report on the citations published by www.feednavigator.com, the company is quoted as follows: "As a long-time employer and service provider to the area, worker safety is a priority at (the company). No employee was injured nor directed to act in an unsafe manner. Our intention is to work proactively with OSHA to quickly put this matter to rest." The company has 15 business days to respond to OSHA. It can comply with the order, request an informal conference with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission.
|
|
|
The French government this week confirmed a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a five-year-old cow detected on a farm in northeast France. The case is the first since 2004 when France implemented a European Union (EU)-wide ban on feeding of animal byproducts to bovine animals. Under EU rules, the animal is being destroyed and there will be restrictions on the sale of meat from area cows for human consumption.
France may lose its hard-won "negligible risk" categorization from the OIE, the world animal health organization, presented last year. After receiving the safest risk category ranking, France resumed beef sales to South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Singapore.
|
House Completes Two Days of USDA Review Hearings; Conaway Begins Slog to Next Farm Bill
|
As House Agriculture Committee Chair Mike Conaway (R, TX) begins gearing up for committee work on the next omnibus Farm Bill - due in 2018 - his full panel this week held two days of broad oversight hearings reviewing the missions and successes of various USDA agencies.
"As we come closer to writing the next Farm Bill, it's imperative that committee members have a thorough knowledge of each of USDA's agencies and the important work they do," Conaway said. "A lot of folks don't know the full scope of the work done by USDA." His sentiments were echoed by committee ranking member Rep. Collin Peterson (D, MN), who said, "This is an opportunity for general public along with the committee members to gain a fuller picture of the work being done in the various mission areas." Most committee member questioning of the various agency heads focused on individual district issues, and Conaway praised the bureaucrats for their leadership. "It is our responsibility as committee members to work in tandem with USDA...it is our responsibility to provide rigorous oversight of USDA activities," he said. In addition to the agency overview, the committee is expected to begin exploring more urban and suburban-related issues under its authority, again as a precursor to Farm Bill drafting. Some members are already arguing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) - formerly knowns as federal food stamps - should not be part of the next Farm Bill given GOP changes to that entitlement program nearly killed the 2014 effort. However, in addition to the SNAP issue, Conaway is planning to look at a number of unconventional Farm Bill issues, including food and national security, urban/suburban/rural food issues, direct marketing, 4-H, and food waste, all with a goal of gaining urban House member support for the omnibus package carrying farm program income security programs, conservation and other conventional Farm Bill programs.
|
After Senate GE Labeling Bill Stalls, Multinational Food Companies Announce Plans to Label
|
Four major U.S.-based multinational food companies announced over the last week they will label their U.S. food products containing genetically engineered (GE) ingredients, joining Campbell's Soups in a rush to ensure their products comply with Vermont's GE labeling law that goes into effect July 1. The Vermont law exempts animal feeds and pet foods.
Citing the unknown outcome of congressional action to preempt state laws and the high cost of labeling and compliance inherent in the Vermont law, General Mills, Mars, ConAgra and Kellogg's announced they'll start labeling. The announcements came after the failure of legislative language by Sen. Pat Roberts (R, Kans.) to garner 60 votes to cut off debate and move to final action on the agriculture committee chair's plan to preempt the state laws and create at USDA a voluntary information disclosure mechanism for food companies. However, most of the companies announcing they'll slap GE labels on their products contend they still support the broad industry legislative effort to preempt state labeling laws. The Senate vote failed when Roberts and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D, MI), his committee's ranking member, couldn't agree on the details of the Roberts language. While Roberts wants a voluntary disclosure system with multiple options for companies to provide information to consumers, Stabenow demands - though she has not shared legislative language - that information disclosure be mandatory and only two options - a QR code or a symbol indicating GE use - are on the ingredient panel. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack voiced concern that individual company labeling schemes would be as confusing as a patchwork of state laws mandating labeling. He said the company labeling announcements reflect an even greater need for a national approach because "there won't be a standard" and "it's going to create confusion." Strategists for the Coalition for Safe & Affordable Food (CFSAF) said the announcements were not surprising given the July 1 effective date of the Vermont law, and should put pressure on lawmakers to come up with a federal solution to avoid the "chaos" that will ensue from multiple state labeling requirements. It's known, for instance, another major food company developed a "Vermont-compliant" label, only to have it rejected by California and one other state. Another fear if Congress does not act is that food companies may move away from using GE ingredients. "If we're going to maintain this technology and grow this technology, then we've got to get this issued resolved," CFSAF said. "The reality is that a state of 600,000 residents is now dictating food labeling policy to a nation of 300 million." Congress is on Easter recess until the first week in April, and it's hoped a winning Senate floor approach will evolve during that time. However, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R, IA) said it won't be until early summer - just before the Vermont law's effective date - before industry gets another chance to try and advance a Senate preemption bill. Kellogg's said some of its products will include the message "produced with genetic engineering." When asked if the cost of labeling will be passed along to consumers, the companies' reactions ranged from a "no, for now" from General Mills - it says it's spent "millions of dollars" on the labeling shift to accommodate Vermont, but won't pass those costs on - to silence. At the same time, Mars, Kellogg's and Campbell's told Agri-Pulse they do not intend to end the use of biotech ingredients, while General Mills said it bases reformulation plans on "consumer demand." ConAgra didn't respond to the question.
|
|
|
McCarthy Makes Committee Rounds - Appearing before two House committees this week, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy laid out President Obama's FY2017 budget request, and found herself in familiar territory as she defending her agency's "waters of the U.S. (WOTUS)" rulemaking, fielding questions about EPA's role in the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, and answering inquiries about pollinators and pesticides. She told one lawmaker that WOTUS would regulate a "ditch" only if the ditch is constructed in an existing stream or wetland, and on bees and pesticides reported EPA is working closely with USDA to protect both native and propagated pollinators. She was also queried about food waste - said by some to be as high as 40% of the food purchased in the U.S. - and she said EPA and USDA are cooperating on a plan to cut food waste by 50% by 2030, but need more money to accomplish the goal.
"Go Careful" on Neonics Assessments, Warns Inhofe - The chair of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Jim Inhofe (R, OK) this week warned EPA it must proceed with "the utmost caution" as it conducts risk assessments on the safety of neonicotinoid insecticides. One preliminary risk analysis is in hand; three others are expected in December. In a letter to Jim Jones, EPA assistant administrator for chemical and pollution prevention, Inhofe referenced a preliminary agency risk assessment on one insecticide - imidacloprid - that's been criticized by a manufacturer of the pesticide and by environmental groups seeking to have neonics banned. "It is critical EPA determine if any neonicotinoid insecticides are actually used in practice at levels high enough to cause serious harm to honey bee populations before taking regulatory action," the Oklahoma lawmaker wrote.
|
Obama, Vilsack Lead Delegation to Cuba; Ag Firmly in Spotlight
|
President Obama this week became the first U.S. president in 88 years to visit Cuba before traveling on to Argentina. The delegation traveling with Obama included Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and nearly 40 members of Congress, along with representatives of national agriculture groups and companies which are members of the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba.
While there was much pomp and circumstance and photo ops galore, there was little hard news from the historic trip. However, Vilsack announced after a meeting with his Cuban counterpart he is approving the spending of private organization checkoff funds on 22 USDA research/promotion programs and 18 marketing order programs to "inform" Cuba of U.S. products, and "interact" with Cuban officials to make future sales. USDA can't spend federal program dollars in Cuba under terms of the U.S. trade embargo, but Vilsack said the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) can oversee projects on which checkoff money will be spent, including sharing consumer, nutrition and environmental research; researching specific commodities' role in diet, and tracking Cuban consumer attitudes. Previously, USDA said only private state checkoff funds could be used in Cuban marketing, but Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D, ND), who traveled with Obama to Cuba, pushed USDA to re-examine that legal interpretation. For full, open trade between the two countries, Congress must repeal the U.S. trade embargo imposed in 1961, after Fidel Castro overthrew the government. Fidel Castro, in ill health, was replaced a few years ago by his brother, Raul, as Cuban president. Cuban-American members of Congress, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R, FL), Sen. Bob Menendez (D, NJ) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R, FL) have vowed to block any move to repeal the embargo while the Castro government is in power. Rep. Mike Conaway (R, TX), chair of the House Agriculture Committee, said he doesn't see the Obama trip as a game-changer as far as the formal embargo is concerned, but also doesn't see a new President reversing the effort. Conaway said lifting financial restrictions and an end to Cuba's centralized government purchasing are needed as well. "I would prefer to have more (Cuban) customers than just one," he said. Several industry participants in the trip said they're confident the embargo will be lifted, with many saying the Obama visit added "momentum" to the call for trade normalization. "This is the trip that I think tipped the scale on U.S.-Cuba relations," said Devry Boughner Vorwerk, head of the Cuba business coalition. "I do believe we are getting closer to the end of the embargo," said the senior policy advisor for Akin Gump, a Washington, DC, law firm, who is a former Cargill executive. The island nation imports about 80% of its food needs, and represents a $2-billion market. However, after steady growth since 2000, U.S. ag sales to Cuba dropped to $200 million in 2015. Part of the drop in sales is due to the formal embargo which ties the administration's hands when it comes to use of credit financing and other restrictions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Registration is open for the CGFA Annual Convention April 27-30, 2016 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego!
|
|
|
