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mikey
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Re: World Cattle News:
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Reply #30 on:
May 13, 2008, 08:06:26 AM »
Monday, May 12, 2008Print This Page
Fujian Boosts Quality Inspection
CHINA - The quality of farm produce in Fujian province has been sharply improved in recent years to now rank among the best in the world.
The agriculture department of Fujian province says that the inspection quality approval rate of Fujian farm exports even surpassed that from Japan, the United States and some European nations.
Despite its relatively small size, Fujian was the mainland's number three exporter of farm produce in the first four months, when its total value grew 28 per cent.
The department attributed the success to province-wide attention to export quality and consumer safety.
The department sets standards for farm produce, conducts routine and random sampling, and regularly publishes the results. It has detailed rules for quality supervision and is even prepared for emergencies.
The department now has 609 agricultural standards and 102 model zones for agricultural production to help it build a sound farming system.
Fujian had granted certificates for safe, "green" and organic products to 726 enterprises by the end of last year that produced 1,298 separate agricultural items.
It has also built 12 State-level and 152 provincial-level standardized agricultural production areas.
The city has also strengthened supervision and widened sampling for pesticide residue apart from implementing other standards.
To date this year supervisors inspected 2,700 pig samples, 48 milk products and 85 poultry products. It had also inspected 1,480 vegetable samples, 96 tea products and 100 mushroom products.
At the same time the province has moved to popularize "green" food. This year it expects to add 65 "green" and 15 organic food products, as well as 90 with a tag certifying "no-potential-harm".
Training offered to farmers by the province includes expertise in safe additives, poultry raising, fish farming and in tea, fruit, and vegetable growing.
The province has built 39 quality inspection stations at the county level and undertaken more inspections of businesses, farms, and wholesale markets.
The department itself uses law enforcement to improve agriculture by holding growers responsible for the quality of the produce they grow, including investigation and punishment for violators.
Nine medium-sized cities and 72 counties or smaller cities have 480 professionals for farm product law enforcement that strictly observe laws on farm produce quality and safety.
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mikey
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Re: World Cattle News:
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Reply #31 on:
May 13, 2008, 08:08:55 AM »
Latest BSE News
Monday, May 12, 2008
Government Asks Court to Block Wider Testing for Mad Cow
US - The Bush administration was cited as urging a federal appeals court on Friday to stop meatpackers from testing all their animals for mad cow disease, but a skeptical judge questioned whether the government has that authority.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
US Calms Korean Mad Cow Panic
KOREA - The undersecretary for food safety at the US reasserted the safety of American beef at a recent conference to Korean correspondents.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Canadian Mad Cow Case an Uncommon Strain
CANADA - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency was cited as saying on Wednesday that a cow discovered late last year with bovine spongiform encephalopathy was suffering from an atypical strain of the fatal illness.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Two Die in Spain from BSE
MADRID - Two people have died in Spain from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, the human form of mad cow disease, the health department at the regional Castilla-Leon government said on Monday.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Canadian Feed Co. to Pay $6 million in B.S.E. Class Action
CANADA - Animal feed company Ridley Inc. has agreed to pay $6 million in a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs in several mad cow class action lawsuits filed against the company and the Canadian government.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Walshe Asks for Stricter Tests on BSE
IRELAND - Padraig Walshe, the president of the Irish Farmers' Association, has said that after almost 20 years, the scourge of BSE is finally beaten. Last year, 25 cases were identified in Ireland.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Update on Feed Enforcement Activities to Limit the Spread of BSE
US - To help prevent the establishment and amplification of Bovine Spongiform Encephalophathy (BSE) through feed in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented a final rule that prohibits the use of most mammalian protein in...
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Calgary Study Looks at Mental and Physical Health Impact of BSE on Producers
CANADA - University of Calgary researchers want to know if Canadian beef producers are suffering long-term physical and mental health problems because of the mad cow crisis.
Monday, January 14, 2008
"Unsafe" U.S. Beef May Have Been Sold in Japan
JAPAN - U.S. beef that does not meet Japanese safety regulations has been imported into the country and some may have been already sold to consumers, the Japanese government said on late on Saturday.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Postmortem Tests Detect More Mad Cows
UK - ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. have announced that its latest postmortem tests on cattle could vastly improve the sensitivity of detecting BSE by as much as 80-fold.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Mad Cow Disease 'a Ticking Timebomb'
UK - Fears of a new wave of deaths caused by the human form of mad cow disease have been triggered by a type of variant CJD never seen before.
Monday, December 31, 2007
BSE Continues to Alarm Cattle Industry
CANADA - Canada’s 12th indigenous case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is the latest source of alarm for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Japan confirms 34th case of mad cow disease
CHINA - The Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said on Friday that a cow in northern Japan's Hokkaido had been tested positive for mad cow disease.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
New Canadian BSE case reignites US import battle
US - A new case of BSE detected in Canada has sparked renewed calls in the US for tighter import regulations on Canadian beef.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Pet Food May Lead to Mad Cow
US - Ranchers struggling with high hay costs and burned out ranges are being warned that feeding cattle cheap pet food could cause an outbreak of mad cow disease.
New Case Surfaces in Alberta
CANADA - A 13-year-old beef cow from Alberta has been diagnosed with mad cow disease - the 11th case since the first diseased animal was discovered in 2003.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Industry to Pay for BSE Controls
UK - The Government has announced plans to shift a range of costs associated with BSE control on to the industry.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Glowing Molecule Detects Prion Diseases
SWEDEN - An international team of researchers has developed a method of identifying prion and other defective-protein diseases using a fluorescent molecule that changes colour according to the disease present.
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mikey
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Re: World Cattle News:
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Reply #32 on:
May 14, 2008, 10:48:30 AM »
Tuesday, May 13, 2008Print This Page
A Closer Look at the Food Vs Fuel Debate
URBANA, US - Symptoms of the food-versus-fuel crisis are appearing regularly in the news but the underlying causes - and long-term implications - are poorly understood. Much of the problems boil down to new Asian wealth, a global desire to eat more meat and a thing called elasticity, all of which can be mapped on a three-dimensional computer, explains Bob Sampson, a University of Illinois agricultural economics professor.
"An important component of the food-versus-fuel debate that is not well understood is how increases in wealth for Asian consumers are dramatically affecting the markets for commodities worldwide," said Peter Goldsmith, director of the National Soybean Research Laboratory and an associate professor in the U of I's Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics.
To help fill that knowledge gap, Goldsmith, Tad Masuda, a postdoctoral researcher, and Barbara Mirel of the University of Michigan have built a 3-D computer model that visually conveys the interrelationship and impacts of income changes around the world on consumption, production, and markets.
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"Not only can we not add land fast enough to meet this rapid rise in demand, but it would place a significant burden on our natural resources"
Peter Goldsmith, director of the National Soybean Research Laboratory and an associate professor in the U of I's Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics.
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"Global Food in 3-D--Version 2" is a Web-based program that will be accessible on a trial basis worldwide to analysts and other interested parties by June.
"It will put the story of food demand at everyone's fingertips," Goldsmith said.
The program deploys three interactive features on the screen--a sidewall, a back wall, and a floor.
On the "side wall," users can graphically display consumption and production data for 15 protein commodities. These can be displayed by country, region, or for the world.
"In the global food system, the production and consumption of commodities are increasingly separate," Goldsmith said. "For example, poultry and pork trade has increased 14 percent to 16 percent per year since 2000, respectively. Brazil is now the largest exporter with Russia and China being the leading importers. The shift in the loci of world poultry and pork production will have larger impacts on underlying feed markets and grain flows."
The "back wall" features country-specific information such as consumption per capita, income elasticities, and population metrics. These data help to demonstrate how income affects consumption.
"The relationship is simple--if I get $1 more in income, I'll not only eat more. If I get significantly more income, I'll eat even more but will shift my consumption to different types of food," he said. "We have that data for every country in the world going back to 1961 and projecting up to 2030."
As a component of the food-versus-fuel debate, there is an economic principle known as "elasticity." Simply defined, this means as incomes move up, food consumption and expenditures change. This is why small increases in income in heavily populated nations like India and China can have major impacts on commodity markets, especially those tied to protein.
"The visualization provided by this program helps one understand this relationship. It provides a vivid demonstration of how the complex system involving income growth, population changes, and food consumption functions," he said.
The "floor" of the model is a map of the world which dynamically reflects changing consumption or production patterns and elasticities over time.
As meat and poultry consumption rises in Asia with increased incomes, a greater demand is triggered for corn and soybeans to feed beef, pork, and poultry. Holding all factors constant, projections indicate that 120 million metric tons more of pork and poultry will be needed by 2030. This means 110 million metric tons more of soybean meal, 140 million metric tons of soybeans, and 62 million hectares of land to grow these additional crops.
"Not only can we not add land fast enough to meet this rapid rise in demand, but it would place a significant burden on our natural resources," he said. "So how do you produce more soybeans?
"I think the answer lies in more research and technical change. Improvements in yield, technologies to reduce input use, and increases in livestock feed efficiency will be critical to meeting future demand while improving the productivity of agricultural inputs and reducing the load on environmental resources."
The Global Food in 3-D model can be used to demonstrate and understand how demand has changed for commodities and where production has been and is going. Poultry, for example, was a commodity largely consumed during the 1960s in the Caribbean, North America, and Europe. By 2007, new countries in other areas of the world were becoming major consumers and a radically different pattern emerged.
"In terms of consumption, poultry was until the 1990s largely a U.S. business," said Goldsmith. "After that, Brazil and China have become major players. China now consumes more poultry than the United States and is projected to consume 40 percent more poultry than the United States by 2030. Where will the grain to feed this poultry come from? This demand is placing a tremendous stress on crop production even without using crops for fuel."
The model allows users to make comparisons. What are the effects on markets when incomes are rising in Asia and what are the implications for the future?
"We also know that as incomes rise, consumers change their food choices. They go first from rice to meat and then in some countries move to high-end seafood," he said. "Other commodities stay basically flat in some countries. In the United States, for example, dairy consumption doesn't seem to change while the big opportunities for dairy appear to be in South America. But each country, at each point in time, for each foodstuff can be unique and makes generalizations risky. Hence, we felt there was a need for a software tool that employed visualization to help simplify a complex situation."
Asia can't produce the food needed to feed its population, Goldsmith added. "That food will have to come from the western hemisphere. China, once the home of the soybean, is now the world's largest importer of soybeans."
All of these complex and interrelated developments become clearer when moving across the screen with its tables and maps.
Goldsmith noted that the original idea for the model was developed earlier this decade by Steven Sonka, a former director of NSRL and retired professor of agricultural economics, and his then-doctoral student Donna Fisher. They studied how visualization helped managers make better decisions when dealing with complex problems in the future. The Illinois Soybean Association and the Soybean Disease and Biotechnology Center provided support for development of the software.
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mikey
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Re: World Cattle News:
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Reply #33 on:
May 14, 2008, 10:51:31 AM »
Tuesday, May 13, 2008Print This Page
Myanmar’s Food Bowl Devastated
MYANMAR - The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today called for US$10 million to assist poor farming and fishing communities in Myanmar devastated by cyclone Nargis.
The five worst-affected areas - Ayeyarwady, Yangon and Bago Divisions, and Mon and Kayin States - are considered Myanmar’s food bowl, producing much of the country’s staple food of rice and fish, and the overall food security situation in Myanmar is seriously threatened, FAO said.
FAO’s call for funding is part of a UN flash appeal for the country that covers emergency relief and rehabilitation activities in the agricultural, fisheries and livestock sectors over the next weeks and months.
While the second crop of the 2007 rice season was fully harvested before the cyclone hit and no major crop losses are expected in the region, rice already harvested for household consumption was most likely damaged by the storm surge, adding to the precarious food security situation of poor coastal families, FAO said.
Inland and coastal fisheries, poultry and livestock were also either damaged or lost, according to FAO. An estimated 2 million households were affected, meaning that a significant number of farming and fishing families are in need of urgent assistance.
“The hardest hit villages lost all their farming assets, as well as the food stored for the rest of the year,” said Anne M. Bauer, Director, FAO Emergency Operations and Rehabilitation Division. “Add to this the burden of rebuilding their destroyed houses and it is safe to say that these poor farmers will not have sufficient resources to purchase seed, fertilizers and other inputs, protect surviving livestock and replace lost ones, and pay for on-farm labour during critical phases of the farm cycle. Funds are urgently needed to help them resume food production, restore food availability and reduce the need for high cost and unsustainable relief.”
Time running out
According to FAO’s Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, He Changchui, time is running out to prepare for the main rice planting season starting in early June with the onset of the monsoon rains.
“It is crucially important to mobilize the right type and volume of rice seeds, fertilizer and other production inputs quickly, in order to resume agricultural productivity in a timely manner,” he said.
In Myanmar, people consume on average 20 kg of rice per month compared with 16 kg in Viet Nam, 10 kg in Thailand and 7 kg in Asia as a whole.
As much fertile agricultural land was inundated with sea water, another FAO priority will be to analyse soil salinity and review damage to irrigation and capacity for draining agricultural lands to make them suitable again for farming.
Relief and rehabilitation activities
FAO’s proposed activities will help around 100 000 of the worst-affected farming and fishing households, particularly women and children, to rebuild their livelihoods through the provision of agricultural inputs such as rice and vegetable seed, fertilizer, fruit tree seedlings, farming tools, and technical know-how.
The cyclone-hit areas are key livestock producing regions - comprising roughly 50 percent of national poultry production and 40 percent of pig production. To rehabilitate the damaged livestock sector, FAO plans to distribute draught cattle, goats, pigs and poultry to replace lost, sold or consumed livestock and supply veterinary medicines and vaccines to improve animal health and protect surviving livestock.
FAO also plans to help the worst-affected fishing families resume fish production through the provision of fishing gear, nets, fish processing equipment, fish seed and fertilizers, and technical support.
Needs assessment under way
FAO is fielding its first damage and needs assessment mission this week. Two senior FAO staff, including a Regional Emergency and Rehabilitation Coordinator, are joining FAO’s resident team in Myanmar to lead the assessment mission.
Cyclone Nargis has affected the same areas in Ayeyarwady Division that were hit by the 2004 tsunami, but this time around, the impact is believed to be far more severe.
The area struck by the cyclone has some major fishing ports and landing sites. Early satellite pictures show significant damage to fishing vessels in harbours, and damage to infrastructure such as landing facilities and fish storage and preservation facilities is likely, FAO said.
The fate of the vessels at sea when the cyclone hit is currently unknown. Myanmar does not have an early warning system for cyclones. Although fishermen are generally aware of weather conditions and do not go out to sea if storms are expected, fishers on small vessels may not have received warning in time.
The coastline of Myanmar is over 3 000 km long and Ayeyarwady Division occupies the delta region of the Ayeyarwady River. The area has numerous rivers and channels and much of the transport in and around the area is by boat.
As transport and communications are extremely difficult, FAO expects to have a preliminary assessment within ten days, and a fuller picture of the situation within one month.
Short- and medium-term recovery plans will be prepared by FAO, and assistance will be provided to the Government to implement these emergency and rehabilitation plans. These plans will also take account of the need to address the food crisis in line with FAO’s Initiative on Soaring Food Prices (ISFP).
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mikey
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Re: World Cattle News:
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Reply #34 on:
May 15, 2008, 09:05:04 AM »
Wednesday, May 14, 2008Print This Page
How Organic is Organic Milk?
US - Sales of organic milk have seen a huge amount of growth recently, making up three percent of all U.S. milk sales and growing at a double-digit rate, but are consumers getting what they pay for?
With so much money at stake, a consumer watchdog group charges some dairies are bending the rules to get more of their product classified as organic.
According to a Consumer Affairs report, the Cornucopia Institute, a farm policy research group, has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture claiming that a California supplier to one of the nation's largest organic labels is skirting the law. Specifically, the group charges the diary confines most of its cows to a feedlot rather than allowing them fresh grass and access to pasture as the federal organic regulations require.
"We are asking the USDA, once again, to investigate serious alleged improprieties at dairies that produce Horizon organic milk," said Mark A. Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst with the Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute.
Horizon is owned by Dean Foods, one of the nation's largest dairies.
Cornucopia has fought this battle before. Last September the group was successful in lobbying USDA to threaten action against Aurora Organic Dairy, a supplier of organic milk to a number of national chain stores.
The company made changes to its practices after USDA disclosed it had threatened to revoke Aurora's organic certification because the company had committed 14 "willful violations" of federal standards.
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mikey
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Re: World Cattle News:
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Reply #35 on:
May 15, 2008, 09:07:37 AM »
Wednesday, May 14, 2008Print This Page
Food Producers Unite Against Retail Domination
FRANCE - A seven-strong alliance of French food production industry bodies is opposing proposed legislation that would remove such protection as the current law affords from unreasonable retailer demands.
A law passed earlier this year, the loi Chatel, required all commercial co-operation to be invoiced and accounted for transparently: this is about to be dismantled before becoming fully operational.
Many French farmers and co-operatives supply supermarkets directly.
The farmers' union FNSEA and the agricultural co-operatives' body Coop de France is joining forces with food manufacturers' association ANIA (representing 10,400 food companies), brand owners' institute ILEC, and three other business associations.
In March, this group agreed to drop its requirement for unified price lists, on condition that commercial co-operation would become a properly accountable aspect of doing business.
French finance minister Christine Lagarde is preparing to allow supermarkets to drop the system of year-end discounts which they instituted many profitable years ago, but which they stopped wanting if it had to be fully accountable.
Instead, they will be able to fix a fully-discounted price at the beginning of the year, while suppliers cannot see how the new law will allow them to claw back inevitable spontaneous demands for promotional stock or requests for marketing support.
By 'simplifying' the current set of checks and balances, FNSEA and Coop de France are concerned by the probability that retailers will no longer be required to invoice or account properly for their demands, well-founded or not. The National Assembly's rapporteur for this law, Jean-Paul Charié, said in a briefing that: "...farmgate prices have gone down by 50% while supermarket prices have risen by 30% for these same products."
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mikey
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Reply #36 on:
May 16, 2008, 08:18:03 AM »
Thursday, May 15, 2008Print This Page
UAE to Collect Halal Fees on Foreign Plants
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - UAE officials indicate that they will approach approved foreign Halal certifiers directly in an effort to identify slaughter houses that produce meat for export to the UAE for the purpose of collecting annual Halal fees.
The UAE announced that it would begin to collect fees from Halal certifiers and foreign slaughter plants that produce meat for export nearly 18 months ago.
The UAE General Secretariat of Municipalities (GSM) has indicated that it will begin contacting UAE-approved Halal certifiers around the world in an effort to collect Halal certification fees.
The GSM is also expected to ask foreign Halal certifiers to identify the slaughter plants that they certify for export to the UAE with the intention of collecting the fees from the slaughter plants. The UAE announced in early 2007 that it would begin collecting the fees. A subsequent fee schedule was published in June of 2007 reducing some of the fees.
ATO Dubai has met with the GSM on a number of occasions to stress that the fees would likely be difficult to collect given the structure of the U.S. meat export and processing industries and would almost certainly increase the cost of imported meat and meat products for consumers. Local officials indicate that the fees are needed to fund the audits and reviews of foreign Halal certifiers by UAE officials.
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mikey
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Reply #37 on:
May 16, 2008, 08:19:44 AM »
Thursday, May 15, 2008Print This Page
Aussie Dairy Farmers Call for GM Pastures
AUSTRALIA - Western Australian dairy farmers are pushing to have genetically modified pastures grown in the state in order to stay competitive.
NSW and Victoria are planting the first GM canola this autumn after a ban on the crop was lifted earlier this year.
Peter Evans, from WA Farmers, says GM pastures could be available within four years.
And he says local milk production will fall behind if the state's moratorium isn't lifted.
"There are clovers and rye grasses that will be available to all pasture growing farmers and these will have a great advantage for dairy farmers," he said.
"And because NSW and Victoria have allowed genetically modified canola, we assume that they will allow these grasses to be grown.
"Once they're available, we'd be lobbying very heavily to be able to use them, otherwise we'd be at a competitive disadvantage."
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mikey
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Re: World Cattle News:
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Reply #38 on:
May 16, 2008, 08:22:09 AM »
Thursday, May 15, 2008Print This Page
Change ETS: Fonterra's Warning on Global Warming
NEW ZEALAND - Fonterra, a New Zealand based dairy company have this week voiced concerns that greenhouse gas emissions will rise in relation to the revenues of offshore dairy competitors unless changes are made to the proposed Emission trading scheme.
This was the view put forward today by Fonterra’s Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Ferrier, at the presentation of Fonterra’s submission to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee.
“New Zealand is one of the most greenhouse gas efficient dairy producers in the world.
“If we have more constraints puton existing dairy production or growth of our production in New Zealand, other countries will fill the supply gap. These other countries are likely to be less carbon efficient than us and so more emissions would be pumped into the atmosphere as a result.
“Not only does this defeat the purpose of the ETS, but it comes at a real cost to New Zealand’s number one industry - which flows on to a national economic impact of around $2.7 billion.”
Mr Ferrier told the committee that Fonterra totally supported New Zealand’s efforts to reduce the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and described the ETS as a pragmatic solution to the country’s Kyoto Protocol commitments.
“However, given New Zealand is leading the world with this policy, we need to ensure the detail is driving the right behaviour to reduce emissions at every level.
“And for farmers, this means giving them the ability to manage their own farm’s emissions and be rewarded for doing so.”
Mr Ferrier acknowledged the Government’s decision to extend the timeframes for allocated credit support to trade exposed businesses, such as agriculture, was constructive. This will allow New Zealand more time to see what emissions constraints other competing markets may introduce.
But he added that shifting out the timeframes did not change the inherent problems in the principles of the scheme.
“Farmers and Fonterra will start paying the costs of energy and transport emissions at the same time as everyone else. We’re happy to do so because we have the ability to reduce these emissions, and we have been since Fonterra’s inception.”
“But, along with the rest of the world we’re still a long way off finding a way to reduce the methane emitted from animals. Without this solution, the industry can not reduce animal emissions on the farm. It makes sense that we only include these gases in the scheme when we have the ability to reduce them.”
“The New Zealand agricultural industry is leading the way in this research and Fonterra is driving it with a considerable investment. We will not be taking our foot off the pedal.”
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mikey
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Re: World Cattle News:
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Reply #39 on:
May 16, 2008, 08:23:52 AM »
Thursday, May 15, 2008Print This Page
Funding Initiatives for Eco Friendly Meat
UK - On the back of a government initiative to reduce greenhouse gases by a massive 80%, all agricultural sectors have come under scrutiny. Now, the a Scottish Rural Development Plan, are encouraging livestock and processing companies to apply for funding which will make their businesses more environmentally friendly.
Quality Meat Scotland, the red meat industry body, believes the SRDP can help the sector in Scotland respond to growing expectations for a significant cut in emissions.
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"Rather than wait to be told what to do producers may prefer to consider what changes would suit their individual business"
QMS Senior Business Analyst Stuart Ashworth
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Speaking at the Beef and Lamb Forum in Perth today (Tuesday 13th May) QMS Senior Business Analyst Stuart Ashworth said: “Although we have made significant progress since 1990 in reducing greenhouse gases from ruminant livestock and fertilisers, we have to be realistic and accept that demands for our industry to become more eco friendly are not going to go away.
“Scientists around the globe are identifying new ways of helping agriculture do its bit to minimise climate change and close inspection of the SRDP suggests that there are real opportunities to secure financial support to make changes at farm and processor level.
“Rather than wait to be told what to do producers may prefer to consider what changes would suit their individual business, from tree planting to utilising the latest developments in grassland science, and look to secure money in the SRDP to help fund them.”
The Scotland Rural Development Programme is a £1.6 billion programme of economic, environmental and social measures designed to develop rural Scotland over the next seven years. Aplications can be made online now through the Scottish Government website at www.ruralgateway.org.uk
QMS is already involved in a number of small-scale research projects into helping the industry identify ways of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.
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mikey
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Re: World Cattle News:
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Reply #40 on:
May 17, 2008, 09:09:38 AM »
Friday, May 16, 2008Print This Page
Milk Prices Must be Reasonable Before Sector Blooms
SCOTLAND, UK - First Milk chairman Richard Greenhalgh recently told MP's that milk prices must become reasonable if they want to see dairy farmers really begin to thrive.
According to the Scotsman, he told the all-party parliamentary group for dairy farmers: "Since the publication of our independent report on the rising cost of milk production, we have been inundated with requests to meet with politicians who want to find out more about the research we have commissioned and the influence they can have in achieving a sustainable milk price for producers.
"We are not saying the countryside should become a museum. We simply believe the price paid for milk should be realistic and enable progressive, efficient farmers to flourish.
"We have also been invited to present assembly members in Wales and MSPs in Edinburgh with details of the current situation. These meetings are scheduled for June."
David Kawczynski MP, who chairs the group, said: "I commend First Milk for the work it has done in highlighting the spiralling cost of milk production, and indeed for its ambition to build a progressive dairy company for the benefit of their farmer members.
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mikey
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May 17, 2008, 09:11:14 AM »
Friday, May 16, 2008Print This Page
Record US Imported Beef Prices
AUSTRALIA -The effect of the significant decline in US beef imports during 2008 is finally being felt in the market, with US buyers desperate to secure product heading into the Memorial Day weekend (last weekend in May).
Traditionally, the Memorial Day holiday period is the busiest weekend of the year for beef demand, signalling the start of the US grilling season.
Through to the second week of May, 2008 US beef imports of Australian and Uruguayan product were down 22% and 88% on last year, respectively, while imports from Canada were 9% lower. NZ beef imports were the only one recording an increase, up 6% year-on-year.
US import prices for Australia 90CL cow beef jumped another 4¢ or 2.5%, to 161US¢/lb CIF – 36% above last year. In A$ terms, 90CL cow beef prices increased 4% on last week, to 352.6A¢/kg FAS, with a slightly lower A$ contributing to the increase.
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mikey
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May 20, 2008, 09:56:11 AM »
Monday, May 19, 2008Print This Page
ETS Threatens to Wipe Out Sheep, Beef and Deer Farming
NEW ZEALAND - Meat & Wool New Zealand, the Meat Industry Association and Deer Industry New Zealand have warned Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Select Committee that the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in its current form threatens the sustainability of the sheep, beef and deer industry in New Zealand.
Meat & Wool New Zealand Chairman, Mike Petersen told the Select Committee yesterday that at a carbon price of $25/t per tonne the ETS would cost the average sheep and beef farmer $40,000 per year. With the average farm family only making a farm profit before tax, living expenses and drawings on average over the last 10 years of $65,000 per year, it doesn’t leave many businesses viable.
Payment for carbon emissions would become the biggest on-farm cost making up 25 per cent of total expenditure for the average sheep and beef farmer and costing on average $9 per stock unit.
"New Zealand sheep and beef farmers recognise environmental sustainability is critical, but there is a balance that must be found so that the sector remains economically viable."
Mr Petersen said the price of carbon was an unknown factor that made the sheep, beef and deer industry very nervous.
"At a possible NZ$50/t the viability of the sheep, beef and deer industry would be seriously questioned even with an allocation of 90 per cent of New Zealand Carbon Units."
Mr Petersen said those who suggested sheep and beef farmers plant trees to off-set their on-farm emissions were being too simplistic.
"There is still plenty of debate surrounding how much land farmers would need to plant—some say 10-20 per cent of the farm.
"Of major concern to me is if large areas of farmland are planted in trees to gain credits, it is going to have a negative impact on the economy as a whole as agricultural production decreases, and simply shifts the emission problem overseas, where our lost production will be replaced by our competitors.
"And planting trees only buys time before the issue of emitting carbon has to be addressed and misses the point of solving carbon emissions from livestock and other emitting sectors."
Meat Industry Association Chairman, Bill Falconer told the Select Committee that the point of obligation for agricultural emissions in the ETS needs to be at the farmer level to encourage farmers to mitigate emissions. If processors were made the point of obligation it would be impossible to have a scheme that provided a clear market signal to farmers.
Mr Falconer said the ability to pass on the carbon costs to customers is nearly non-existent, given 90 per cent of production is exported and no other international competitors are placing a price on agricultural emissions.
"If all of the carbon costs were passed on to the domestic market at $25/t the retail price of red meat would increase by 180 per cent."
Deer Industry New Zealand Chairman, John Scurr said his organisation did not support the inclusion of agricultural greenhouse gases in an ETS until practical tools have been developed to allow behaviour change. The ETS will result in a reduction in international competitiveness, carbon leakage and ignores the rural community’s economic and social well being.
"The Government and industry need a laser-sharp focus on the development of tools to reduce methane and nitrous-oxide emissions from animals. It is a huge challenge, but would make a real contribution to the reduction in global emissions."
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mikey
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Re: World Cattle News:
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Reply #43 on:
May 20, 2008, 09:58:22 AM »
Monday, May 19, 2008Print This Page
FTA Study with Japan is Good News
NEW ZEALAND - Meat & Wool New Zealand Chairman Mike Petersen is very pleased with the announcement that Japan has agreed to enter into a study analysing the potential benefits that a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could bring to the two countries.
Speaking from Japan where he is attending the Japan/New Zealand Partnership Forum, Mr Petersen said this was a position New Zealand has been working towards for a long time.
"It's great news and a real achievement because it wasn't expected that Japan would be willing to move on the issue at this time, even though we have been working hard to strengthen relations between our two countries.
"While the Japanese beef industry may be cautious about this announcement, there is only a very small proportion of grain-fed beef produced in New Zealand. While the Japanese market is important to New Zealand grain-fed beef, Meat & Wool New Zealand has also promoted the attributes of New Zealand’s grass-fed beef. Most of our beef is produced on natural free-range farming systems which appeals to a growing number of Japanese consumers."
Japan is currently the third most valuable market for New Zealand beef just behind South Korea. New Zealand exported 33,000 tonnes of beef to Japan in 2007, worth approximately NZ$170 million.
Mr Petersen said it was now extremely important for New Zealand and Japan to make progress moving towards a FTA, given that Australia has already commenced negotiations with Japan.
"Japan has high tariffs on beef, and it is vital that New Zealand exporters are not disadvantaged through preferential access granted to competitors."
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mikey
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Re: World Cattle News:
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Reply #44 on:
May 20, 2008, 10:00:36 AM »
Monday, May 19, 2008Print This Page
British Attack on EU Farm Policy Dismissed
BRUSSELLS - A British argument that generous farm support for new members of the EU has fueled recent food price rises has been challended by Slovenia, which currently holds the presidency of the European Union.
"There are many reasons for higher food prices, so I would not do a direct connection to the CAP (common agriculture policy) as such," Slovenian Farm Minister Iztok Jarc told journalists.
Speaking before chairing a meeting with EU counterparts, he downplayed London's latest attack as "one view on the CAP," EU Business reports.
Firing a salvo in what could easily flare into a major battle, British finance minister Alistair Darling called last week for a "fundamental reform of Europe's agriculture."
He said that a root-and-branch reform should include "phasing out all elements of the CAP that are designed to keep EU agriculture prices above world market levels," which he said cost EU consumers 43 billion euros in 2006.
Darling also called for "an end to direct payments to EU farmers," which he said cost European taxpayers 34 billion euros in 2006.
"Barriers and distortions in the global food market increase volatility and stifle the incentives to increase supply to match demand," he argued.
According to EU Business, Darling's attack came as the European Commission was due to publish on Tuesday proposals to update the CAP in the context of surging food prices by phasing out milk quotas and scrapping rules on keeping land fallow.
His ideas found little favour with Dutch Farm Minister Gerda Verburg who said: "I'm afraid I don't support his proposal because I think that the CAP can help relieve the problems."
"But it's not easy because we have neglected too long the investment in agriculture," she said. "So it's not a good idea to quit with the EU's CAP."
Global food prices have nearly doubled in three years, according to the World Bank, sparking demonstrations last month in Egypt and Haiti, protests in other countries and restrictions on food exports from Brazil, Vietnam, India and Egypt.
Rising use of biofuels, trade constraints, increased demand from Asia to serve changing diets, poor harvests and increasing transport costs have all been blamed for the price rise.
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