Farm Progress Friday 8/27/10 Sherrod Turns Down Vilsack's Job Offer Shirley Sherrod, former director of USDA's Rural Development Program in Georgia, has accepted a personal apology from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for her wrongful firing. During a lengthy face-to-face meeting on Tuesday, the secretary formally offered Sherrod the position of deputy director of the Office of Advocacy and Outreach, a position created in the 2008 Farm Bill. But Sherrod turned down Vilsack's offer. The position is designed to improve the department's civil rights efforts and image nationwide. Sherrod told CNN's Tony Harris she was uncertain about that role as many questions still surround the position. Sherrod was forced to resign from her position in Georgia in July after misleading and incomplete video footage of a speech she gave was posted on the Internet and picked up in media reports. Sherrod says she enjoyed her work with USDA and wants to see it continue.
Russia, U.S. Debate Chlorine Rinse Russian demand for U.S. chicken is expected to remain strong until that country's cold storage stocks are replenished. Presently, only 12 U.S. processing plants are permitted to ship to Russia. The U.S. believes 27 plants should be eligible. Prices are strong, but there is debate over an agreement between the two nations. The Russians want an assurance from the Obama administration or individual U.S. poultry companies that U.S. plants are not rinsing birds in chlorine. American trade officials argue that an assurance or certification of compliance is not necessary because the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service system is set up to ensure compliance.
Egypt to Run Sorghum Feeding Trials Egypt will conduct feed trials in November, testing U.S. non-tannin grain sorghum. Sixty metric tons of the sorghum was shipped to Egypt by the U.S. Grains Council. The sorghum will be used by Egypt's Dakahlia Poultry Co., the third-largest vertically integrated poultry operation in that country. Chris Corry, USGC senior director of international operations, says the feed trials will be supplemented by experiments at the government-run Research Center for Food and Feed. U.S. nutritionists will travel to Egypt to set up the feeding protocols, monitor the trials and analyze results. The introduction of non-tannin grain sorghum in Egypt would expand the market basket of products available for import to that country. USGC expects import duties to be eliminated while the trial is taking place, but not before an educational foundation for non-tannin grain sorghum is provided. Grown commercially only in the United States, non-tannin sorghum is preferred for poultry feed because it does not inhibit the digestion of tryptophan, an essential amino acid in poultry. Egyptian buyers will visit the United States in October, and as the trials in Egypt begin. USGC will run workshops, conferences and seminars as part of its educational efforts there. Trial results will be given in Egyptian seminars in February. USGC hopes to use this experience in opening the Egyptian market for distillers dried grains with solubles and corn gluten.
EPA Releases Draft Strategy for Clean Water The U.S. EPA has released its draft strategy for clean water. EPA says this document is designed to protect and restore the nation's lakes, streams and coastal waters. The strategy, "Coming Together for Clean Water: EPA's Strategy for Achieving Clean Water," is designed to chart the agency's path in furthering EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's key priority of protecting America's waters. The public is invited to comment on the strategy no later than Sept. 17. EPA says the strategy was developed by considering the input and ideas generated at the April "Coming Together for Clean Water" forum, as well as comments received through the online discussion forum. Participants shared their perspectives on how to advance the EPA's clean water agenda, focusing on the agency's two priority areas: healthy watersheds and sustainable communities.
Expect More Egg Recalls Late last week, Hillandale Farms of Iowa recalled 170 million eggs. Earlier in the week Wright County Egg of Iowa recalled 380 million eggs. Then Sunday evening, Moark LLC of Fontana, Calif., announced it is recalling nearly 300,000 eggs. Those eggs were said to have come from either Hillandale Farms or Wright County Egg. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg warns there may be more recalls in this salmonella outbreak. Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Hamburg said, "We don't know exactly how the contamination got into the chicken population, into the egg population, and we're not yet fully sure the extent of the recall that will be necessary to protect consumers." Then, speaking on NBC's "Today Show" Monday morning, Hamburg said that as FDA moves forward with the recall, there may be some additional sub-recalls over the next couple of days, maybe even weeks, as a better understanding is reached of the sort of network of distribution for these potentially contaminated eggs.
Smile for the Camera Farm Progress Show and Husker Harvest Days tents are going up, and traffic on show websites is roaring. Next week, we're throwing an ag celebration in the middle of Iowa - aka Farm Progress Show - the nation's largest outdoor farm show! Intensive brand buzz. You won't find grander scale or more intensive producer one-on-one impact opportunities for your brands than these two shows. And take a look at our webcam coverage of the show. Right now you can watch the exhibits take shape, and next week you'll see the nation's grandest ag event in action. Click here for webcam action: http://farmprogressshow.com/customPage.aspx?p=243. Join the party and Put the Power of Progress to Work for You! Stand out from the crowd! For more details, contact your sales representative, call 630-462-2230 or e-mail info@farmprogress.com.