|
|
The National Pork Board, which runs the producer checkoff, celebrated at the World Pork Expo that about 60 percent of all hog production sites have been certified through the organization's Pork Quality Assurance program.
Pork Board chief executive officer Chris Novak acknowledged that in recent years the hog industry has faced questions from supermarkets, restaurants and food chains about animal welfare, health and environmental issues.
The "PQA-Plus" program is an extension of a two-decade-old program under which pork producers could submit to voluntary inspections of their facilities by veterinarians or agricultural educators for certification that they have been doing things correctly for the animals and the environment. Producers say the inspections not only ward off environmental problems but also give producers some profitable tips.
"I know it helped my operation," said Tim Bierman, a pork producer from Larrabee and president of the National Pork Board, of the inspection on his farm.
The National Pork Board's goal is to get as close to 100 percent of producers to agree to the voluntary inspections. Costs of the inspections, which range from $50 to several hundred dollars, are borne partly by the pork board.
ADM seeks approval of 12% ethanol for all cars Ethanol giant Archer Daniels Midland Co. says the partial increase in the ethanol-additive limit that the Obama administration is considering will not increase ethanol usage enough to meet federal biofuels mandates.
The EPA is considering a petition from ethanol producers to allow the gasoline sold for conventional cars and trucks to contain up to 15 percent ethanol. That is up from the current cap of 10 percent.
However, EPA officials have said they may restrict the higher ethanol blends to newer model vehicles that it is sure will not be harmed by the extra alcohol in the fuel. In a letter to the EPA, ADM asked the agency to allow blends of up to 12 percent for all vehicles.
The government's biofuels mandates, which rise annually to 36 billion gallons in 2022, will not be met if the EPA restricts the higher ethanol blends to 2001-model cars and newer, ADM said in the letter.
Let states inspect food, experts tell FDA, The Food and Drug Administration, which is under fire for its failure to prevent a series of food-poisoning outbreaks, should turn over its inspection duties to states and local governments, a study says.
The report issued by the National Academy of Sciences says the FDA would have to set standards for how the inspections are conducted and then audit them. State agencies already do some inspections of food companies under contract with FDA, but critics say the states often do an inadequate job.
In Iowa, the state Department of Inspections and Appeals is responsible for food inspections. We do not think that creating a new unfunded mandate on state governments is advisable or realistic," the Consumer Federation of America said. U.N. report says world needs to eat less meat.
This is a message that Iowa agriculture doesn't want to hear: People should eat less meat.
That's the conclusion of a new report from the United Nations Environment Program. The report says that current dietary patterns aren't environmentally sustainable, given projections in global population growth. As people increase their incomes, they tend to consume more meat and dairy products.
Livestock contribute to greenhouse gas emissions both through the methane they emit and through crop emissions. Runoff can pollute rivers. The report, by the International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management, says that there are efficiency gains that can reduce the environmental impact of farming, but they'll be offset or overwhelmed by a 50 percent increase in population.
Fight porcine syndrome with filters, experts say Veterinarians told producers at the World Pork Expo last week that the best way to stop Porcine Reproductive Respiratory Syndrome, or PRRS, is through filters in their confinements and also better sanitation of clothing, chutes and trucks.
There is no magic bullet, the infection keeps changing," said Paul D. Ruen, a veterinarian from Fairmont, Minn. PRRS has been in the U.S. for about two decades and has caused off and on damage.
Summit on conservation starts Monday in Des Moines, Farm Pilot Project Coordination Inc. will hold its second regional summit Monday through Wednesday at the Embassy Suites in downtown Des Moines. FPPC is a nonprofit devoted to agricultural conservation and technology research.
The conference will focus on challenges of reducing farm runoff load in the Mississippi River as well as creating sustainability. Speaking will be Gov. Chet Culver, Iowa State University conservationist Richard Sims and David Townsend, assistant vice president for environmental affairs of Smithfield Foods.
For more information, see www.fppcinc.org |
|
| « Back to news archives |
|
|
|
Email:
Phone:
Fax:
