Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was asked three times about some aspect of the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule during a press conference last week at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting meeting in Kansas City, and each time he said he could not comment specifically about the proposed rule during the comment period. But, he did …
Secretary Vilsack Beyond the Mic at NAFB
Farm broadcasters at NAFB Thursday went straight from Trade Talk to a 45 minute press conference with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The secretary addressed a number of issues – from Veterans Day to rural development to biofuels and took quite a few questions on several topics. He did get a couple of questions about the GIPSA rule, but still refused …
Vilsack Visits Georgia Peanut and Ethanol Producers
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in the Peach State earlier this week talking with peanut growers and visiting an ethanol plant. Ethanol plants in the southeast are pretty rare – in fact, First United Ethanol, LLC (FUEL) is really the only one to speak of that is operating at any capacity. FUEL is a 100 million gallon per year corn-based …
DC Media Question Motives of GIPSA Boss
The head of USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) has been the subject of two recent articles by Washington DC watchdog reporters who are questioning his objectivity when it comes to writing new rules for the livestock industry. J. Dudley Butler, a Mississippi trial lawyer, was appointed by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in May of 2009 to serve …
Vilsack Defends GIPSA on AgriTalk
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack defended the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule during a segment on Agri-Talk yesterday, after an economic study was released showing that implementing the rule as proposed would cost 104,000 jobs and $14 billion to the economy. Vilsack says it is “unfair and inaccurate” for livestock and meat groups to say that no …
NASS Using iPads in 2011 To Collect Data
Straight from the USDA Blog we find out that the National Agricultural Statistics Service will begin using iPads to collect data in 2011. Now how cool is that? There are benefits as you’ll read in the post. It looks like they’re already employing them since in the photo you can see Don Phillips, NASS interviewer, using an iPad for data …
Reaction to USDA Crop Forecast
Both corn and soybean production for this year were cut in this month’s crop report out this morning from USDA. Corn production is forecast at 12.7 billion bushels, down 4 percent from the September forecast and down 3 percent from last year’s record production of 13.1 billion bushels. Soybean production is forecast at a record high 3.41 billion bushels, down …
GIPSA Rule Topic at Legislative Conference
The proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule was a big topic of discussion at last week’s National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Legislative Conference in Washington, DC. Andy Vance with Buckeye Ag Radio has some great coverage from the event, including an interview with USDA chief economist Joe Glauber about the proposed rule. Secretary Vilsack continued to say …
Chicken Whisperer Promotes Healthy Flocks
If you want to raise chickens in your backyard, the Chicken Whisperer is the man for you! Kind of reminds me of the old radio spoof Chickenman – “He’s everywhere, he’s everywhere!” Mild mannered Andy Schneider has made himself into the go-to expert on raising backyard poultry. He is host of an Internet radio show and is also a contributor …
USDA/DOJ Public Workshop Panels
Friday’s joint USDA/DOJ public workshop was a marathon with potentially over 2,000 people participating. You can follow some of what happened in my archived CoverItLive stream and the press conference featuring Sec. Vilsack and AG Eric Holder. For those of you who couldn’t attend, couldn’t listen to the live stream or need the audio for your reports or broadcasts I’m …