Senate Tackles Farm Bill This Week
 The 2007 Farm Bill hits the floor of the U.S. Senate this week, where controversies over a variety of issues will create a wild ride for the measure. The outlook for dairy-related issues is clearer, with the main controversy over whether the Senate version will contain a measure to cover imports under the domestic dairy promotion checkoff, which the House bill contains. The import checkoff item was not part of the Senate bill when it left the Agriculture Committee last month. More ... |
Bush Nominates Schafer as New Agriculture Secretary
 Former North Dakota Governor Edward T. Schafer received President Bush's recommendation at the end of last month to fill the cabinet post of agriculture secretary. If the Senate votes to confirm his nomination, Schafer would assume control over the Department of Agriculture as it confronts important upcoming issues, such as the new Farm Bill that is up for a final decision in Congress in the next few months. More ... |
Pennsylvania Prohibits Hormone-Free Labels on Milk
 In the latest salvo over the growing presence of hormone-related absence claims on dairy products, Pennsylvania's state agriculture department announced last month that it is pressing fluid milk processors to drop such labeling language from their products. Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff announced on October 24 that milk labels could not claim to be free of artificial growth hormones, antibiotics, or pesticides because these kinds of claims are misleading. More ... |
R-CALF Sues USDA To Block Canadian Border From Opening
A lawsuit has been filed to prevent the full resumption of cattle trade Nov. 19 between the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. rancher group R-CALF, along with several consumer advocacy groups, filed suit last week in South Dakota to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from opening the U.S. market to Canadian cattle older than 30 months of age. More ... |
California Governor Schwarzenegger Vetoes Clone Labeling Bill
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill (Senate Bill 63) last month that would have required food labels to list any information about products that come from cloned animals. Despite pressure from California House and Senate members to pass the bill, the Governor defended his decision. On the California State Senate's website, Schwarzenegger wrote: "While I support access to information that helps inform consumer choices, More ... |
NMPF Joint Annual Meeting Next Week
NMPF members will be in Orlando next week for the 2007 Joint Annual Meeting with DMI and its members. Here is a link to the program for the meeting, which runs Nov. 11-14. More ... |
NMPF Staff Changes
Sarah Olson has joined the NMPF communications department as the Communications Coordinator. Originally from the small south-central Minnesota town of Montgomery, she graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, last May, and moved to the Washington, DC area in August with her husband. More ... |
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