Thursday, May 15, 2008
Congress passes farm bill with likely veto-proof margins; vote defies President Bush
Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press
Published Thursday, May 15, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress sent the White House a huge election-year farm bill Thursday that includes a boost in farm subsidies and more money for food stamps amid rising grocery prices.
Bush has threatened to veto the $290 billion bill, saying it is fiscally irresponsible and too generous to wealthy corporate farmers in a time of record crop prices.
But Congress disagreed, passing the bill by overwhelming margins in both chambers - enough to override a veto. The Senate vote was 81-15, a day after the House approved it with 318 “yes’ votes. [more…]
Landslide Senate farm bill passage makes it veto-proof
Janie Gabbett for Meatingplace.comJust one day after the House passed the 2007 farm bill with the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto, so did the Senate on an 81 to 15 vote on Thursday. (more…)
Russia’s hungry for beef - National Rural News - Livestock - Cattle - The Land
ADAM VIDLER 15/05/2008 Australian beef is in high demand in Russia as exports lifted to 13,073 tonnes (shipped weight) during the first four months of the year, almost 30 times higher than shipments from January to April during 2007. (more…)
Manure Application More Economically Appealing
Farmscape.ca - The escalating costs of commercial fertilizers are making the application of livestock manure more economically attractive.
Here is Bruce Cochrane with Brandy Street brandy-street-080509.mp3
The cost of most of the main commercial fertilizers have shot up this spring. Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative executive director Brandy Street expects producers to begin looking at alternatives as commercial fertilizer prices continue to rise. [more…]
Fluid Situation in D.C. More Predictable; South Korea Deals With Discord
Steve Dittmer AFF Sentinel - The Farm Bill that we reported Friday as taking off with uncertain flight capabilities, stopped for repairs Monday and Tuesday but was passed by both houses of Congress and is headed for a likely presidential veto. The feverish scramble on Capitol Hill, especially by human nutrition and food bank supporters, to gather enough votes in the House for passage and override margin was successful. The vote Wednesday was 318-106. The Senate’s Thursday vote was 81-16 . (more…)
SEC. 11002. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING
HS: Here is the wording for the Country of Origin Labelling wording in the USA Farm Bill
Harry’s audio commentary on this issue ss051508mav.mp3
DESIGNATION OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN FOR BEEF, LAMB,PORK, CHICKEN, AND GOAT MEAT.-
A) UNITED STATES COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.-A retailer of a covered commodity that is beef, lamb, pork, chicken, or goat meat may designate the covered commodity as exclusively having a United States country of origin only if the covered commodity is derived from an animal that was- (more…)
CME Daily Livestock Letter - USDA’s monthly Cattle On Feed report will be released on Friday and analysts expect it to show lower feedlot inventories. The results of DowJones’ pre-report survey of analysts appear below. Note the very large range in the placement estimates. That range includes one very low estimate and one very high one. The range of the remaining nine estimates was 91.0 to 97.9% of one year ago. These forecasts appear to expect a decline in numbers that is sharper than the both last year and the historic seasonal. (more…)
Samuelson Sez - A View from the Air
HS: Good Stuff, Orion! I have been with Orion and his pilot in that Cessna 210 from Grand Forks, ND to Langdon, years ago. Also, it is fuel not grain and meat raising the price of food……Orion continues to be my mentor.
It is a Cessna 210, single-engine airplane that has been officially dubbed “Air Orion”. For the past 24 years I have spent many hours with my pilot in that airplane traveling thousands of miles to cover agricultural events all across the nation. (more…)
House passes election-year farm bill - Yahoo! News
MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press Writer, WASHINGTON - By a strong, veto-proof majority, the House passed a $290 billion farm bill with increased subsidies for farmers and food stamps for the poor amid rising grocery prices while sprinkling in pet projects that lawmakers can take home to voters this election year. (more…)
Minnesota Farmers Union praises passage of farm bill
WASHINGTON — The Minnesota Farmers Union is praising the passage of the farm bill in the House.
The bill includes increased subsidies for farmers and food stamps for the poor amid rising grocery prices. Minnesota Farmers Union president Doug Peterson said he’s confident the Senate will pass the measure and President Bush will sign it. (more…)
MN Governor Hikes Biodiesel Mandate to 20% by 2015
OAKHURST, N.J. (DTN) — Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty on Tuesday signed legislation increasing the state’s 2 percent biodiesel mandate to 20 percent by 2015, according to information on the governor’s website. Under the legislation, the current 2 percent biodiesel mandate will increase to 5 percent on May 1, 2009; 10 percent on May 1, 2012; and 20 percent on May 1, 2015. (more…)
NW lawmakers split on farm bill
WASHINGTON (AP) - Northwest lawmakers were split today as the House passed a $290 billion farm bill that offers more subsidies for farmers and food stamps for the poor and $170 million for the disaster-plagued Pacific Coast salmon fishing industry. (more…)
Anydrous delivery delays
Kevin Hursh - A new transportation regulation is causing delays in getting anhydrous ammonia fertilizer to producers. People in the industry say that under the old rule when a trucker was waiting in line to pick up anhydrous and transport it to retail outlets, the time clock would stop. If it took four hours to get loaded, that didn’t count as time on the trucker’s log book. (more…)
Farm subsidies continue with new federal legislation
John David, MERCER COUNTY, Illinois — The grain seems like gold on the Gray Gables Farm. A sign of the times for more than a half-century. Ron Kerres, 75, there for it all — including the growth of federal farm subsidies.
“I have taken advantage of a lot of their subsidy payments,” he said. (more…)
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Will the Food Crisis Finally Get the Attention of Presidential Candidates?
Alexandra Spieldoch and R. Dennis Olson - As we head into another round of presidential primaries, the specter of a growing world food crisis looms on the horizon. Fueled by rising apprehension over increasing price volatility in agricultural commodity markets, the debate continues to escalate over what are the underlying causes of rising food prices. (more…)
