Ag Council's In The Know
Co-op Leader Award Recipient, Ed Nishio with CoBank The Ag Council is proud to announce that the 2009 Co-op Leader Award goes to Ed Nishio, Senior Portfolio Manager at CoBank. This special award is given to individuals who clearly have made significant contributions to agricultural cooperatives, or have demonstrated leadership and personal commitment to the industry. These contributions can be in areas such as proven leadership and commitment, innovation and/or environmental stewardship.
Through good times and bad, Ed has served cooperative members and employees though out his 30+ years with CoBank. Ed is known for his assistance to co-ops by helping them meet ever changing financial requirements, and providing necessary financing that assisted others in regaining financial health. Ed is also honest and respected, giving direct feedback to CoBank and other companies, whether or not he is their account manager.
One of the many letters of support for Mr. Nishio read, “Ed Nishio’s intelligence, integrity, experience and wisdom is widely appreciated in the agricultural community of California. Honoring him with the Ag Council’s Cooperative Leader Award, would be a just reward for his many years of service that has made a difference in the success to so many.”
Mr. Nishio will be recognized on March 3 at a special luncheon held in conjunction with the Ag Council’s Annual Meeting at the Carmel Valley Ranch Resort.
Invasive Species On Tuesday, CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura announced the formation of an inter-agency Invasive Species Council to coordinate state resources for the purpose of preventing and controlling harmful invasive species infestations. In making the announcement A.G. said, “The Invasive Species Council will protect California’s consumers and our environment from destructive pests, plants and diseases that also threaten our food supply.”
The council will be chaired by Secretary Kawamura and vice-chaired by Mike Chrisman, Secretary for the Natural Resources Agency. Also serving will be Secretary Linda Adams of California’s Environmental Protection Agency; Secretary Dale Bonner from the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency; Secretary Kim Belshe from the California Health and Human Services Agency; and Matt Bettenhausen, Acting Secretary of the California Emergency Management Agency.
The council will appoint a California Invasive Species Advisory Committee (CISAC) tasked with making recommendations to prioritize an invasive species rapid response plan. The committee will take input from local government, tribal governments and federal agencies, as well as environmental organizations, academic and science institutions, affected industry sectors and impacted landowners.
Given the severe budget problems of our state and federal governments (the primary source for pest protection funding), any effort to more effectively coordinate existing resources makes sense.
Food Safety
The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives reports that the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing Wednesday to examine whether holes in the nation’s food safety system contributed to a salmonella outbreak caused by tainted peanut butter and other products. During the hearing, committee members cited that the law does not require a company to report test results to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the regulatory agency had not sent inspectors to the plant in question since 2001. Food safety concerns have been heightened by this recent outbreak which comes on the heels of salmonella outbreak in raw peppers last June, a widespread recall of tainted pet food in 2007 and a 2006 outbreak of E. coli-contaminated spinach. As a result, a handful of reform bills have been introduced in recent years, all of which
grant the FDA recall authority. Today’s hearing served as a pulpit to renew legislative efforts that would grant FDA more authority to better regulate food and other products under its jurisdiction.
In comments made yesterday, Secretary Vilsack stated his support for a single food safety agency, but he has not decided whether it should be housed in USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service, the FDA or become an independent agency. He did point out that no children have been harmed by peanut butter purchased through the USDA’s school-lunch program, and noted the importance of preserving the income opportunities of farmers and ranchers. The Secretary’s comments came as a surprise to many in agriculture and will likely be used to promote legislation backed by Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). Her bill would take food safety responsibilities out of FDA and create a separate food safety division within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) also favors a single food safety agency. Over the years,
lawmakers have found the job of reorganizing the food safety system to be too daunting. It remains to be seen what Congress will do on this issue but NCFC is closely following these developments and coordinating with other industry partners on our message to the Hill.
Methanol – Prop 65 Listing According to Cal EPA Reports, food companies are objecting to the proposed Proposition 65 listing of methanol as a reproductive toxicant, based on concerns that the listing could unintentionally subject numerous food products to the law’s consumer-warning provisions. The increasing concerns over the listing of methanol have led the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to delay a comment deadline on the proposal until early next month. Methanol is a fuel additive and is contained in a wide spectrum of industrial use products. However, methanol also occurs naturally in fresh fruits and vegetables, fruit juices, fermented beverages and diet soft drinks, according to studies.
“The concern of the grocery manufacturers is that once a chemical is listed under Prop. 65, anyone who can detect it can file a claim, and many millions of dollars can be spent demonstrating that there’s no harm,” said a representative of the industry. “So we thought it important for the agency to think about the consequences of a listing, and whether . . . it’s appropriate to proceed, given those consequences, and what the alternatives are.” Individual food-making and grocery companies are expected to submit letters to OEHHA over the next month expressing their concerns and potentially raising alternative regulatory avenues, the source said. OEHHA last week extended the written comment deadline on the listing proposal from Feb. 2 to March 4.
Legislative Update February 27 is the last day for bill introduction, so only a few bills of interest surfaced this week:
School Lunch - AB 95 (Torlakson) if the Superintendent of Public Instruction determines that the appropriation set forth in the Budget Act of 2008-09 is insufficient to fully fund all free and reduced price meal reimbursement claims, he shall notify the Legislature of the statutory funding amount necessary to reimburse school districts at the prescribed rate. The bill would appropriate $19,500,000 to reimburse claims pursuant to those provisions. To qualify for the reimbursement for free and reduced price meals provided to pupils in elementary, middle, or high schools, a school shall follow the Enhanced Food Based Meal Pattern, Nutrient Standard Meal Planning, or Traditional Meal Pattern developed by the United States Department of Agriculture or the SHAPE Menu Patterns developed by the state.
Border Inspections AB 219 (Ruskin) Increases the fines for anyone hauling agricultural commodities into California who fails to obtain a certificate of inspection, at the plant quarantine inspection station nearest the point of entry, from $1000 to $2500 for each violation.
Tail Docking SB 135 (Florez) Prohibits the docking of cattle except during an individual treatment, emergency, or operation performed by a veterinarian under the following conditions:
(1) The animal has been adequately anesthetized to minimize the animal’s pain and
suffering during the treatment or operation.
(2) In such a way as to minimize the long-term pain and suffering resulting from the
treatment or operation.
(3) Using only suitable instruments.
(4) In hygienic conditions.
Citrus Nursery Stock – SB 140 (Corbett) Requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish the Citrus Nursery Stock Pest Cleanliness Program to protect citrus nursery stock from harmful diseases, pests, and other risks and threats. The secretary would be required to hold fact finding meetings throughout the state by July 31, 2010, to receive information from interested parties. The bill requires any person who, by any method of propagation, produces any citrus nursery stock shall comply with all agricultural practices, application specifications and deadlines, eligibility, inspection, notification, pest control, records maintenance and availability, registration, sanitation, testing, and other lawful orders issued by the secretary.
The secretary will establish and enforce regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of the program, and to issue orders establishing rates or prices to cover the department's costs for administration, testing, inspection, and other services under the program.
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