There’s a new chief administrator at USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Cindy J. Smith, DVM, is replacing Ron DeHaven, who retired Aug. 3rd. A 28-year veteran of the agency, Smith had served as acting administrator of APHIS since Aug 3, and as associate administrator since April. Prior to that, she served as deputy administrator for Biotechnology Regulatory … Read More
FDA to Investigate Symbol System
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is holding a two-day hearing starting today to determine if the addition of symbols on the front of food packages can help convey nutrition information to consumers. The FDA will collect comments from food companies, trade groups, watchdog organizations, medical experts and their overseas counterparts on the topic. That’s an idea being considered by … Read More
Program Assists Those Switching to Organic
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced the availability of $1 million to defray annual organic certification costs in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming. This funding is particularly important to smaller producers so that they can meet the voluntary uniform … Read More
Lawsuit Against Government Filed
The American Civil Liberties Union, the nation’s largest federation of labor unions, filed a lawsuit against the federal government on Wednesday. The suit seeks to stop the planned enforcement of new rules that could have a large affect on the country’s immigrant labor. The new rules, set to take effect Sept. 14, will violate workers’ rights and impose burdensome obligations … Read More
R.C.A.L.F. Appeal Rejected
The group R.C.A.L.F. (Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund), which bases out of Montana, has once again seen their appeal for the Canadian border to remain closed rejected by the U.S. court. The U.S. Court of Appeals has rejected the request for a permanent injunction that would prevent all live shipments of Canadian cattle from entering the U.S. The case put … Read More
FTC Says No to Monsanto
Monsanto Co. has received a “no” in response to their request of the Federal Trade Commission. The company had petitioned Federal regulators to take action against dairy processors who advertise milk as “hormone free.” The Federal Trade Commission said last week that the ads it reviewed did not make any misleading claims about the safety of recombinant bovine somatotropin, or … Read More
MILC Program Extended
USDA has announced that the MILC program has been extended for another month to give the program a better chance of being included in the next Farm Bill. The key safety net program for American dairy producers will now have a better chance of being included in the next farm bill. On Friday, USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation has announced the … Read More
IDairy Announces Partnership with USDA
IDairy, a consortium of dairy cattle associations formed in 2005 to promote NAIS in the dairy industry, announced today a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to facilitate the registration of dairy farm, dairy calf and heifer grower premises as part of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). IDairy members include National Milk Producers Federation, American Jersey Cattle … Read More
"Downer" Cattle Ban
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a permanent ban on the slaughter of “downer” cattle (those that are unable to stand or walk). The inability to stand or walk can be a clinical sign of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). Under the rule, cattle that are injured after they pass pre-slaughter inspection will be reevaluated … Read More
House Passes Farm Bill
Matters continue to heat up over the new Farm Bill. On Friday, the House passed their version which will now move to the Senate. Passage of the 741-page bill by a vote of 231 to 191, after partisan battling unusual for farm legislation, was a major achievement for the new Democratic leadership. With most Republicans opposing the five-year bill over … Read More