| December 22, 2008 Senator Tom Harkin's Agriculture Newsletter Dear Friend, The outlook for agriculture and rural communities in the New Year was already looking up under the new Obama Administration, and we have even more to look forward to with the nomination of Tom Vilsack for Agriculture Secretary. Please keep reading to learn more. Yours, Tom In This Edition: - Harkin Welcomes News That Fellow Iowan Tom Vilsack Nominated for Agriculture Secretary
- Harkin Welcomes Farm Bill Implementation Announced by USDA
- Harkin Urges USDA to Intervene on Behalf of Producers Not Paid by Agriprocessors
- Report Proves We Should Learn from Largest Meat Recall in U.S. History Not Repeat It, Said Harkin
- Despite Falling Gas Prices, We Must Maintain Our Commitment to Renewable Fuels, Says Harkin
- GAO: Agencies Should Increase Coordination and Oversight of Genetically Engineered Crops
- Harkin Cautions Against Accepting Unbalanced Doha Round Agreement; Urges Member Countries to Cooperate in Negotiations
Harkin Welcomes News That Fellow Iowan Tom Vilsack Nominated for Agriculture Secretary On Wednesday, December 17, President-Elect Obama announced his nomination of Tom Vilsack for Agriculture Secretary. The announcement came as welcome news for Senator Harkin, who is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, the Committee that will hold confirmation hearings. "Tom Vilsack knows production agriculture and he knows the changes we need to ensure its profitability and future, including for young and beginning farmers and ranchers," said Harkin. "Tom Vilsack has the experience, dedication and forward-looking thinking critically needed to build a better future for all Americans in food, agriculture, conservation, and the economic vitality of rural communities. "With our economy in a downturn, Tom Vilsack knows how to bring change that will rebuild rural economies and keep them vibrant. As someone who has been a supporter of Tom Vilsack from the time he ran for Governor to the time he ran for President, I believe he will be a strong Secretary of Agriculture and I expect a swift confirmation by the Senate Agriculture Committee."
Harkin Welcomes Farm Bill Implementation Announced by USDA Late Friday, December 19, USDA announced that enrollment for the 2009 Direct and Counter-cyclical Payment (DCP) Program and the Milk Income Loss Contract Program (MILC) will begin Monday December 22, 2008 and that signup for the new Average Crop Revenue Election program or ACRE would begin in the spring. The measures were part of the new farm bill, the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, approved by Congress earlier this year. USDA previously suggested that ACRE may be implemented using lower commodity prices starting with 2006/2007 to set the revenue guarantee benchmarks than are specified in the enacted bill, which would reduce the income protection and benefits of the program to farmers. ACRE, a new revenue protection program for producers, was included in the new farm bill. It is based on legislation introduced by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH). In September, senators urged USDA to implement the law as intended in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Schafer. "This announcement is a win-win for producers across the country: a new revenue protection option that comes at an opportune time for next year's planning," said Harkin. "This new farm bill program offers a good opportunity for farmers and with this announcement, we are seeing the law carried out by USDA as it was written and intended. I am also encouraged that this rule requires substantial active personal labor or active personal management on the farm for an individual to be eligible to receive payments. This is one reform I pushed and an improvement from the rules in effect since 1988. "Implementation of the farm bill is moving forward and farmers who want to receive an advance direct payment this month should be able to do so according to USDA's announcement," continued Harkin. "I hope all farmers in Iowa and across the country take notice of this action and contact their local FSA office or go online to learn more about these programs." In an earlier announcement, dated December 4, USDA issued regulations to carry out the extended and improved MILC program. The 2008 farm bill restored the program to cover 45 percent of the difference between $16.94 per hundredweight and the Boston Class I milk price. In addition, the $16.94 price can be adjusted when the national average dairy feed ration cost for a month exceeds $7.35 per hundredweight. The quantity of milk production that is eligible for a MILC payment is limited to 2,985,000 pounds for each fiscal year. This year the MILC program is subject to the income eligibility test that applies to other commodity program participants. Producers will have to certify that average non-farm income is less than $500,000. Enrollment to receive DCP payments for farms with base acres will begin December 22 both online and at local USDA service centers and will continue until June 1, 2009. The payment limitation and eligibility regulations will be issued as interim final rules. The public will be able to comment on the rules for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. For more information on USDA's announcements:
Harkin Urges USDA to Intervene on Behalf of Producers Not Paid by Agriprocessors On December 1st, Senator Harkin urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to intervene on behalf of producers and auction barns who have not received payment for livestock or poultry sold to Agriprocessors of Postville. These producers and auction barns are already in most instances operating at a loss due to low market prices and if they go unpaid for their livestock or poultry their own prospects for remaining in business are greatly reduced. "The Packers and Stockyards Act clearly provides protections to producers to require they receive prompt payment for livestock or poultry, but it also holds funds in reserve for unpaid sellers so they do not become tangled up in bankruptcy court." The Packers and Stockyards Act was enacted in 1921 to protect sellers of livestock or poultry from insolvent companies and provide other protections. Specifically, it requires that packers maintain a bond and trust for the benefit of sellers to ensure they are paid in full. Follow this link for the full text of the letter.
Report Proves We Should Learn from Largest Meat Recall in U.S. History Not Repeat It, Said Harkin A report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of the Inspector General (IG) on pre-slaughter activities in U.S. meat plants showed a lack of staff and proper training led to the historic Hallmark/Westland meat recall earlier this year. In February, this supplier to federal food and nutrition programs, including the Iowa school lunch program, voluntarily recalled 143 million pounds of ground beef product. The company was accused of violating animal cruelty laws, as well as USDA's prohibition on slaughtering downed cattle for food production. In addition to examining the history of Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspections at Hallmark/Westland, the IG audited 10 so-called "cull" slaughter plants in the United States to determine how widespread inspection problems are at these plants, where older animals are typically slaughtered. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer requested the investigation. "This report proves that personnel from the front-line supervisor to the public health veterinarian were over-tasked and they could not keep up with all of the inspection procedures they were charged with carrying out," said Harkin. "The Public Health Veterinarian at the Hallmark/Westland plant was by himself, where before, there were two veterinarians assigned to the plant. If the Food Safety and Inspection Service does not assign a sufficient numbers of inspectors, supervisors and veterinarians and provide the training they require, we take a gamble with food safety and the humane treatment and slaughter of animals. These are serious shortcomings in the deployment of FSIS personnel, proper training of them, and the utilization and adequacy of USDA food safety budget resources." "As the saying goes, if we do not learn from the mistakes of history, we are doomed to repeat them. This report proves we should learn from the Hallmark/Westland recall so we do not repeat the largest meat recall in our nation's history." Among the findings of the report: - While problems are not systemic, there are vulnerabilities in the inspection system that can lead to situations like Hallmark/Westland where there are humane handling and food safety inspection violations.
- SIS cannot effectively demonstrate and verify proper removal, segregation, and disposition of specified risk materials by establishments because of lack of documentation verifying establishments' controls and inconsistent detection and documentation of failures in specified risk material removal. Specified risk materials are the potentially infected tissues that can transmit Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). Cattle older than 30 months of age are at a higher risk of BSE, and these older cattle are slaughtered at cull slaughter plants.
- Non-veterinarians have performed ante-mortem inspection without formal training or direct supervision.
- Between December 2004 and February 2008, no in-plant inspectors at Hallmark/Westland wrote noncompliance records (NRs) despite finding violations.
- The Public Health Veterinarian assigned to the plant took shortcuts in his inspection duties - delegated responsibilities to Hallmark/Westland employees and relied on employees to identify suspect animals. Before 1998, there were two Public Health Veterinarians assigned to Hallmark/Westland, but since then there was only one – and the report indicated he has voiced concern to FSIS in the past about inadequate staffing.
- Front-line supervisors that oversee in-plant inspection activities are over-tasked. They oversee too many facilities and cannot spend sufficient time at each establishment, shortchanging their ability to identify inspection deficiencies.
- At five establishments, inspectors improperly allowed establishment employees to control the approval process of inspected animals going to slaughter. For example, pen cards are used to provide evidence that a pen of animals has received ante-mortem inspection. At one establishment, the inspector pre-signed blank pen cards and allowed establishment employees to fill them out because he was not aware of the purpose of the pen cards.
The full copy of the report.
Despite Falling Gas Prices, We Must Maintain Our Commitment to Renewable Fuels, Says Harkin Falling gas prices are welcome news for all Iowans, but the recent market volatility is an indicator of a precarious overall energy situation. As the graph below shows, our energy economy has taken us on a roller-coaster ride over the past several years. The upward energy price trends have helped to contribute to the rapid growth of ethanol and biodiesel production of the past few years. The recent sharp drop in gasoline prices is closely linked with the similar sharp downturn in the world economy and has the potential to obscure our nation's energy insecurity. This fuels market volatility represents a very difficult business management challenge for our ethanol and biodiesel plants, especially when coupled with similar volatility in corn and soybean prices. "Our biofuels producers should know that I remain committed to expanded production and use of domestic biofuels. And I urge companies to consider use of appropriate USDA business programs to support sound biofuels business plans," says Harkin. "I believe it is especially important that we not waiver from the national commitment to biofuels we established with the Renewable Fuel Standard." 
GAO: Agencies Should Increase Coordination and Oversight of Genetically Engineered Crops A Government Accountability Office (GAO) study released this month shows that coordination and oversight among the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on genetically engineered (GE) organisms has improved, but efforts are needed to strengthen the regulatory system to enhance its effectiveness. The report was prompted by two detections of unapproved GE rice varieties in rice seed in 2006, which disrupted the $1 billion U.S. rice export market and resulted in lost exports, food recalls, seed testing, and elevator cleaning. GAO conducted the study at the request of Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Chairman and Ranking Member respectively of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. "When unapproved genetically engineered crops are detected in the food and feed supply, food safety concerns rise, markets are disrupted and consumer confidence falls," said Harkin. "For that reason, it is encouraging to see these agencies coordinating oversight of genetically engineered crops. Yet, according to the GAO, they should increase safeguards to ensure maximum transparency and to decrease incidents and impacts of contamination. I urge the agencies to implement the GAO's recommendations." USDA, FDA, and EPA coordinate their efforts regarding genetically modified crops, as directed by the Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology established in 1986. According to the GAO, the agencies have worked to address the likelihood of the low-level presence of regulated genetic material in the food supply or environment. However, the report also found a need to improve the agencies' efforts in two important areas to ensure the safety of GE crops and to improve public confidence in the oversight of GE crops. First, the GAO recommends that the results of FDA's early food safety evaluations of novel proteins engineered into plants be made publicly available, an action the FDA intended to take but has yet to formalize. The results of these evaluations may include information about the actual risks of GE crops to human health and the environment. These results may allow FDA to mitigate the impacts of unauthorized releases by providing timely and accurate information to the public and our trading partners about any effects, however minor, to the public health and the environment. Second, the GAO recommends that USDA and FDA resources be better utilized to address food safety risks from GE crops during field tests. For example, FDA relies on GE crop developers to voluntarily notify the agency when a field trial is ongoing, and food safety assessments of GE crops are not mandatory because USDA and FDA do not have a formal mechanism for sharing information about GE crops that could impact the food supply in the field trial stage. As a result, FDA is less aware of field trial activities and therefore does not assess the need for early food safety evaluations; USDA also may go without important food safety information when assessing risk of GE crop field trials because it does not formally receive information from FDA about the results of food safety evaluations. A formal information sharing agreement between USDA and FDA would further reduce the risk and impact of unauthorized releases. The GAO also recommends that USDA, FDA, and EPA should develop a risk-based strategy for monitoring unintended consequences associated with the widespread use of GE crops. Much of the oversight of GE crops by these agencies has been focused on assessing and preventing risks by GE crops only at the testing phase, not in widespread commercial production. Following an unauthorized release of GE rice, the 2008 farm bill strengthened USDA's ability to investigate any release of an unapproved GE organisms and implement lessons learned from the occurrence. The farm bill also increased the civil penalty for violation of the Plant Protection Act. The GAO's report, "Agencies Are Proposing Changes to Improve Oversight, but Could Take Additional Steps to Enhance Coordination and Monitoring" (GAO-09-60) is available on the GAO's website.
Harkin Cautions Against Accepting Unbalanced Doha Round Agreement; Urges Member Countries to Cooperate in Negotiations Earlier this month, Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Chairman and Ranking Member respectively of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, led a bipartisan group of 22 senators in urging acceptance of nothing less than a sound and balanced agreement in the Doha Round agricultural trade negotiations in Geneva. In a letter to President Bush, the lawmakers said that if substantial improvements are not made to the July framework, any modalities agreement will not benefit U.S. agriculture, the economy and will not have Congressional support. "We continue to support a successful completion of the Doha Round of World Trade Organization negotiations, begun in 2001, but only if it achieves the principal objectives of the United States and the ambitious goals of the original ministerial declaration for agriculture, which 'aimed at substantial improvements in market access; reductions of, with a view to phasing out, all forms of export subsidies; and substantial reductions in trade-distorting domestic support,'" wrote the lawmakers. "A sound and balanced agreement should contribute significantly to global economic recovery, growth, and development." Less than one week after the lawmakers sent their letter, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy announced that a Ministerial would not meet before the end of the year. Harkin commended the decision. "The draft texts released last week highlighted a number of key open issues that would have been very difficult to resolve in a short meeting, and many of the proposed compromises included in the texts were not satisfactory to the United States," said Harkin. "I fear that any product of such a rushed process would have faced poor prospects for approval in the U.S. Congress. "But I continue to be disappointed that WTO member countries have been unable to reach an agreement over the long course of Doha Round negotiations. The world economy would clearly benefit from a successful multilateral agreement." The full text of the letter.
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