Appearing at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in Atlanta this week almost cost USDA Outlook Board Chairman Gerald Bange a 28 year perfect record. Gerald Bange has not missed a lockup prior to the release of a crop report since 1983, but it was a close call getting out of the snow-bound south in time after his crop …
Secretary of Ag Vilsack Addresses AFBF Annual Meeting
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addressed the 2011 American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting this afternoon. He made a couple of comments that drew applause from the audience. One of those dealt with concerns over USDA’s pending decision on regulating GM alfalfa. He said, “We’re trying to figure out, as difficult as it might be, is there a way …
Animal Welfare Information Center
Did you know we have an Animal Welfare Information Center at USDA? I don’t think I did even though it was created in 1986. You can follow it on Twitter now. The Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC) is mandated by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to provide information for improved animal care and use in research, testing, teaching, and exhibition.
Microsoft Cloud for USDA
The future forecast for USDA is cloudy. USDA announced last week that it is on the verge of going live with a commercial cloud service offering for its Enterprise Messaging Service (EMS) which includes email, web conferencing, document collaboration, and instant messaging. USDA is the first cabinet-level agency to move its e-mail and collaboration applications to the “cloud,” a rapidly …
“Healthy Harry” is Pick in USDA’s Name the Healthy Bird Contest
The USDA has named the winner in its Name the Healthy Bird Contest. “Healthy Harry” is the name that Shelley Petersen of Glendale, Arizona and Patti Sheppard of Millville, New Jersey came up with and will be the name of the plucky mascot for the Biosecurity For Birds campaign, which raises awareness about infectious diseases that can threaten backyard poultry: …
Vilsack Non-Comments on GIPSA at NAFB
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 …