News Update
November 11, 2011
USDA Streamlines Programs to
Drive Agricultural Economy
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Thursday, Nov. 10, that USDA has streamlined a host of programs and processes in an effort to help farmers, ranchers and businesses continue to drive America’s productive agricultural economy. As USDA approaches its 150th anniversary, the changes — quicker disaster assistance, expedited reviews of pending product applications and fewer reporting dates — will help USDA build a better, stronger and more efficient department. Improvements were announced by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Risk Management Agency (RMA) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
“As USDA continues to find ways to modernize our services, we remain committed to improving the customer experience by streamlining processes, accelerating delivery, and using innovative technologies,” said Vilsack. “The improvements announced today will help businesses respond more quickly to market demands, provide producers with a more responsive farm safety net and help our customers create jobs. President Obama challenged USDA and other federal agencies to streamline operations, and today USDA is taking a big step toward answering that challenge.”
U.S. agriculture is currently experiencing one of its best years in decades thanks to the productivity, resiliency and resourcefulness of America’s producers. Overall, American agriculture supports 1 in 12 jobs in the United States and provides American consumers with 86% of their food, while maintaining affordability and choice. The efficiencies outlined today will help producers and businesses maintain this competitive edge.
Earlier this year, Vilsack asked USDA leadership to undertake a review of the department’s operations to identify improvements and innovations to the department’s services and programs. Many of the process improvements announced today are part of the USDA Customer Service Plan, which identifies key departmental actions and initiatives aimed at improving customer service. USDA developed this plan in support of the President’s April 27, 2011, Executive Order 13571, on “Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service.”
The process improvements announced include:
From FSA:
- USDA is accepting comments on a proposed rule to streamline the process for its Secretarial Disaster Designation, allowing farmers and ranchers devastated by natural disaster to obtain emergency loans and other assistance faster than before. Streamlining the process from six steps to two will enable USDA to help those in need in an expedited manner. Additionally, the proposed rule can help to ensure all eligible disaster counties receive a designation.
From RMA and FSA:
- Establishing 15 common Acreage Reporting Dates (ARDs) for farmers and ranchers participating in RMA and FSA programs. The common reporting dates will reduce the reporting burden on producers and also help to reduce USDA operating costs by sharing similar data across participating agencies. Before the streamlining, RMA had 54 ARDs for 122 crops, and FSA had 17 ARDs for 273 crops.
From APHIS:
- APHIS is making a number of improvements to its process for reviewing license applications for veterinary biologics. APHIS anticipates being able to reduce its veterinary biologics licensing processes by potentially 100 days — or a 20% savings — by streamlining its processes;
- APHIS is focused on improving processes to better serve USDA’s customers in the areas of risk assessment and rulemaking for the importation of agricultural products. The Agency found that by streamlining data needs, reducing the time for drafting risk assessments, and improving project management and tracking, APHIS expects significant improvements.
- On petitions requesting nonregulated status for genetically engineered (GE) organisms, APHIS anticipates being able to significantly reduce the average length of the petition process while maintaining strong oversight. At the same time, the new process will provide the opportunity for earlier input from the public on petitions for deregulations, allowing USDA to better serve all its stakeholders.
- APHIS is streamlining the enforcement process against those who jeopardize plant and animal health and animal welfare. Under a process pilot-tested in October 2011, APHIS aims to resolve a typical case in 165 days — a time savings of 40%. The new target for complex cases is 215 days — a 46% time reduction.
For more information about each of process improvements announced Nov. 10, please visit www.fsa.usda.gov, www.aphis.usda.gov, or www.rma.usda.gov.
Judge Accepts RMEF Motion in Oregon Wolf Lawsuit
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) has learned that an Oregon court has agreed to consider in its final ruling the RMEF motion outlining the need for science-based, state regulated wolf management. The court is reviewing the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s authority to manage and control wolves as part of a state-approved plan.
Oregon wildlife officials recently announced the agency would use lethal means to stop two wolves known to habitually kill livestock in Wallowa County. Animal rights and wolf activist groups sued the state, claiming that any loss of wolves could cause “irreparable harm” to wolf recovery in Oregon. That argument was rejected in a previous lawsuit heard in a Montana federal court. But an Oregon court granted a temporary stay to stop the search for the two wolves until the legal merits of the case can be considered.
“The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has always believed strongly that the management of all our wildlife be based on science,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “Oregon is just one example of our commitment to support proven wildlife management procedures. By allowing wildlife agencies to create state-approved plans, we know the entire balance of these complicated ecosystems can be maintained to the benefit of all.”
RMEF attorneys also continue to respond to legal wrangling by animal rights and wolf activist groups seeking to foil management plans in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and the Great Lakes states. On Nov. 8, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, Calif., will hear arguments from RMEF and others as it considers a lawsuit alleging that Congress acted outside the Constitution when it delisted wolves in parts of the West.
In some areas, such as the northern Yellowstone in Montana and the Clearwater National Forest in Idaho, elk calf survival rates are now too low to sustain herds for the future.
USDA Delays Effective Date for
Mandatory Nutrition Labeling Rule
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced it would delay for two months, until March 1, 2012, the effective date for enforcement of the “Nutrition Labeling of Single-Ingredient Products and Ground or Chopped Meat and Poultry Products” final rule. The announcement was made in response to a request from a coalition of organizations representing food, agriculture and retail associations that will be affected by the final rule to ensure they have time to implement the newly required nutrition labels.
Included in the coalition are the American Lamb Board; the American Meat Institute; the Food Marketing Institute; the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association; the National Chicken Council; the National Grocers Association; the National Pork Board; the National Pork Producers Council; and the National Turkey Federation.
“The mandatory nutrition labeling rule will have a significant impact on the regulated entities, and we commend FSIS for recognizing the challenges we face and for extending the effective date. When FSIS announced this final rule last December, we began working to understand the new requirements to ensure implementation,” the coalition penned in a statement in response to the FSIS announcement. “Over the past 11 months, we have worked with FSIS to fully understand the rule’s requirements, but we still have questions that need to be answered before a smooth implementation can occur.”
The final rule will require mandatory nutrition labeling of the major cuts of single-ingredient, raw meat and poultry products. The nutrition information is required to be either on the label or at the point-of-purchase. The coalition said the two-month delay will give them more time to work with FSIS so the final rule is implemented in a smooth process.
“While we support efforts to educate consumers about the nutritional profile of meat and poultry products, it is crucial to get it right. Delaying the effective date for two months will give retailers and others in the food production chain additional time to implement labeling systems, to obtain necessary software and scales to properly label the products and to educate employees about the new requirements. We look forward to continuing to work with FSIS over the next five months to find the least disruptive and most cost-effective way to implement the rule.”
NCBA Monitoring MF Global Bankruptcy
MF Global, a securities and broker-dealer regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a futures commission merchant regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), on Oct. 31, 2011, filed for bankruptcy. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall said NCBA is closely monitoring the situation and added that U.S. Senator Pat Roberts has requested information from CFTC.
“While information is still being learned, it is important for NCBA to monitor this situation on behalf of cattle producers nationwide,” Woodall said. “MF Global needs to work with SEC, CFTC and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) to return funds and other assets to their customers as quickly as possible.”
Woodall said SIPC is a nongovernment organization authorized by Congress under the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) to step in when a brokerage fails to return customers’ cash and other assets.
The Court appointed a SIPA trustee for the liquidation to act on behalf of customers and creditors of MF Global to satisfy claims. Woodall said it is important to note that while the SIPA trustee will work on behalf of both securities and futures customers, the SIPC fund will only be available to make whole customers’ positions who lost securities with MF Global.
On Nov. 2, 2011, the Court approved applications by clearinghouses to begin transferring customer accounts from MF Global to other clearing members. On Fri., Nov. 4, 2011, the CME Group announced it had transferred nearly 5,300 MF Global accounts to other clearing members and that it expects to transfer more.
Woodall said direct investors with questions related to the MF Global proceeding should contact the SIPA trust directly at 1-888-236-0808 or MFGITrustee@hugheshubbard.com.
Editor’s Note: The articles used within this site represent a mixture of copyrights. If you would like to reprint or repost an article, you must first request permission of Angus Productions Inc. (API) by contacting the editor at 816-383-5200; 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506. API claims copyright to this web site as presented. We welcome educational venues and cattlemen to link to this site as a service to their audience.