WASHINGTON, June 21, 2016 - Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat
Roberts and ranking Democrat Debbie Stabenow say they continue to work toward
an agreement on biotech labeling standards. But time is fast running out for
anything to get enacted before House members leave town for their Independence
Day break.
Roberts told Agri-Pulse last night that he was more optimistic about
getting a deal than he was last week. “It always happens this way: The train is
coming, the damsel is on the tracks, and the hero rushes in. That’s the way we
operate around here,’ he said. Roberts declined to discuss any details of the
negotiations.
Stabenow would only say that the talks were “inching along.” An industry source
who had been briefed on the talks told Agri-Pulse he was assured they had
“momentum."
Vermont’s mandatory GMO labeling law takes effect July 1, although
enforcement won’t start until later.
Vietnamese catfish products recalled in U.S. About 26,000 pounds of
imported frozen catfish products have entered U.S. commerce without
undergoing the necessary USDA inspection and
the department is asking people not to eat it.
“Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them,”
FSIS said in a statement released Monday night. “These
products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.”
USDA said the recall is aimed at “skinless and boneless Sea Queen
brand Swai Fillet items were produced and packed on March 30, 2016,
in Vietnam by Golden Quality Seafood Corporation.” The fish, a species of
catfish in the siluriformesorder, is being sold in 2 lb. packages.
The USDA recently rejected two shipments of Vietnamese catfish after they
tested positive for banned chemical residues.
Groups are mapping out the CAFOs in North Carolina. Ever wonder exactly
where the thousands of concentrated animal feeding
operations, swine manure lagoons and poultry operations are?
The Environmental Working Group and Waterkeeper Alliance – two groups
that see the livestock operations as threats to the environment - say they’ll
be releasing maps today to show exact locations in North Carolina.
The groups said they will be launching a “first-of-its-kind” geographical
information system (GIS) mapping project to pinpoint
6,500 CAFO’s, 4,100 swine manure
lagoons and 3,900 poultry barns.
“The mapping analysis estimates that these CAFOs produce more than 10 billion
pounds of wet animal waste each year, which fill the open-air pits and puts
human health and the environment at risk,” the groups said in a statement.
Farm group lauds conservation bill. The National Farmers Union is excited
about new legislation from Reps. Ann Kuster, D-N.H., and Rick Crawford,
R-Ark., that would cut government red tape on some farmers who participate in
USDA conservation programs.
The recently introduced bill - the Improving Access to Farm Conservation
Act of 2016 – exempts farmers who get less than $450,000 per year from
having to fill out the normal reporting documents and register with
government agencies.
“Restrictive reporting requirements erode economic incentives and restrict
flexibility for landowners to participate in USDA Natural Resources
Conservation Service programs that help foster sustainability and sound
conservation practices,” NFU President Roger Johnson said. “We
offer our support of initiatives that would lessen the regulatory burden on
conservation incentives for our nearly 200,000 family farmer and rancher
members.”
USAPEEC gets new chairman of the board. The USA Poultry & Egg Export
Council has elected Steve Monroe, manager of export sales at
Sanderson Farms, to be its next chairman of the board.
Monroe, who replaces
current Chairman Jim Wayt, the managing director
of Intervision Foods, will lead the group’s 30-member board
of directors. The board “sets policy and gives direction to USAPEEC, an
organization whose mission is to promote and increase exports of U.S. chicken,
turkey, duck, and egg products worldwide,” USAPEEC said in a statement.
Also elected last week at the group’s annual meeting at Lake Tahoe, Nev.,
were Marc Killebrew, vice president of international sales at Tyson
Foods, and Butch Johnson, director of Globex International
USA. Killebrew will take on the title of first vice chairman while
Johnson was elected as second vice chairman.
Phil Brasher contributed to this report.
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