Lancaster Farming: Ephrata, PA
OUR 55th YEAR! |
USDA Announces New Framework for Animal Disease Traceability
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 2:39pm.WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced today that USDA will develop a new, flexible framework for animal disease traceability in the United States, and undertake several other actions to further strengthen its disease prevention and response capabilities.
“After concluding our listening tour on the National Animal Identification System in 15 cities across the country, receiving thousands of comments from the public and input from States, Tribal Nations, industry groups, and representatives for small and organic farmers, it is apparent that a new strategy for animal disease traceability is needed,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "I’ve decided to revise the prior policy and offer a new approach to animal disease traceability with changes that respond directly to the feedback we heard."
The framework, announced today at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Mid-Year meeting, provides the basic tenets of an improved animal disease traceability capability in the United States. USDA’s efforts will:
Only apply to animals moved in interstate commerce;
Be administered by the States and Tribal Nations to provide more flexibility;
Encourage the use of lower-cost technology; and
Be implemented transparently through federal regulations and the full rulemaking process.
Could Global Warming Impact Apple Yields?
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 2:35pm.Chris Torres
Staff Writer
HERSHEY, Pa. — Dr. James Shortle of Penn State had an interesting challenge at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Tuesday: trying to change growers’ attitudes about possible climate change in the future.
Judging from the reaction he got from producers when he asked how many believed climate change was real, he knew he had a challenge.
Pacesetters, Others Recognized at Dairy Summit
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 2:34pm.Charlene M. Shupp Espenshade
Special Sections Editor
LANCASTER, Pa. — One highlight of the two-day Pennsylvania Dairy Summit is honoring distinguished dairy leaders for their work in the industry.
At the first day of the summit, Wednesday at the Lancaster Host Resort, three dairies were selected for this year’s Pennsylvania Dairy Stakeholders Pacesetters Award.
Farmers, Regulators Still Intent on Finding Common Ground on Bay
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 2:33pm.Andrew Jenner
Virginia Correspondent
In 2009, after President Obama signed an Executive Order directing federal agencies to redouble their efforts at restoring the Chesapeake Bay, as the Environmental Protection Agency simultaneously began developing a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan for the entire watershed, it became clear that big changes were in store for agriculture in the region.
To Jim Baird of the American Farmland Trust, it seemed the wisest response was to confront it head-on.
“The best place for farmers is at the table, trying to effect how that change happens,” said Baird, mid-Atlantic director for the AFT.
Last summer, Baird helped convene a diverse group of farmers and ag industry representatives who began working with several federal agencies to address concerns raised by the development of a Bay TMDL — broadly, how to restore the Chesapeake Bay without putting farmers out of business.
One of the largest issues the group identified was whether the data the EPA used to establish nutrient limits in the draft TMDL accounts for all the conservation measures already in place on farms in the region, particularly voluntary measures that received no public cost-share funding.
“I think it’s a huge concern,” said Buff Showalter, a Rockingham County, Virginia poultry and cattle farmer who was among the group meeting with Baird and others.
Showalter said that areas like Rockingham County and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania have large Mennonite and Amish farming communities that often implement conservation practices but don’t participate in state cost-share programs.



