U.S. wants Japan to lift poultry import ban
The Agriculture Department wants officials in Japan to lift a 90-day ban on U.S. poultry and poultry products, calling it an "unnecessary" reaction to a virus found in some chickens.
That ban was imposed by Japanese officials due to the confirmation of a low-pathogenic avian influenza virus that was found in some chickens raised in Pennsylvania.
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said the number of chickens that were tainted is low, and does not justify the ban.
"Low pathogenic avian influenza is not a reportable disease," Veneman wrote, in a letter to Japan Agriculture Minister Tsutomu Takebe.
"Given that (Office of International de Epizootics) standards do not support a quarantine measure under these circumstances, we see no justification for this action," Veneman wrote. "I urge you to immediately remove this unnecessary import restriction."
The virus was discovered by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in a low-pathogenic form of the virus.
Pennsylvania state officials have taken steps to prevent its spreading, including slaughtering suspect chickens, inoculating other poultry and increasing monitoring efforts to test birds for potential diseases.
Veneman said the import ban is hurting the U.S. economy by eliminating a market for poultry and egg producers. Japan typically accounts for about $170 million per year of the U.S. poultry and egg industries.
She also said the ban upsets her because it is the second time Japan has tried to impose restrictions against U.S. poultry. The first ban in November 2001 was rescinded after U.S. officials gave evidence they were controlling potential health risks.
"We now expect Japan to comply with its international obligations and immediately lift the import ban," Veneman said, noting that officials sent information last week to the Japanese government about the avian influenza outbreak.
Japan beef market declining
The market for beef has fallen 50 percent since September, and that is causing concern among U.S. livestock farmers because Japan is the largest importer of U.S. beef -- accounting for 42 percent of total U.S. beef exports.
The problem is mad cow disease, which was first discovered in Japan in September. More instances were discovered in November.
The drop in imports in November and December has brought total U.S. beef exports for the entire year down to 1999 levels and the trend is expected to continue during 2002. Poultry consumption in Japan is up 13 percent and pork consumption is up 11 percent.
(by E.W. Kieckhefer)
Wheat growers want to sell crops to Afghan aid effort
Wheat industry officials are urging the federal government to make massive purchases of U.S.-grown wheat when they try to meet the humanitarian needs in rebuilding Afghanistan.
U.S. Wheat President Alan Tracy sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and to U.S. Agency for International Development administrator Andrew Natsios to purchase at least 30,000 tons of U.S. wheat per week, noting 250,000 metric tons of U.S. wheat were sent to Afghanistan during 2000.
"At the same time we declared our support for doing everything necessary to avert starvation, ... we were confident the United States government would not ignore U.S. wheat to meet continuing needs," Tracy said.
British at fault for foot-and-mouth virus spread
The National Farmers Union said Monday the British government mishandled the foot-and-mouth virus last year.
The union released a study saying health officials never provided enough resources to deal with the virus, which led to the deaths of thousands of livestock, poorly organized the resources it did provide and reacted too slowly to the problem.
The London Telegraph reported the union wants a 24-hour action on infected farms in the future to prevent any livestock disease from spreading too quickly. The study contends British health officials often took days to react to new instances of the virus.
Farmland also worthy of preservation
An Iowa-based group that has tried to preserve old farmhouses and structures is now going to try to preserve farmland too.
The Iowa Barn Foundation is creating the Farm Conservancy Project to manage farms that are donated to the group. They say that farms are being lost to urban development, which is causing historic farm buildings to be destroyed.
Farms controlled by the foundation will be maintained for agricultural purposes, with environmentally sound conservation practices used. The group also wants to give young farmers first crack at leasing the properties to encourage them to get into agriculture for a living.
Smaller framed lambs create ethnic demand
There is a very strong market for what are known in the trade as ethnic lambs, says Cody Hiemke of the Equity Cooperative Livestock Sales Association at Richland Center, Wis.
Those lambs are smaller framed than typical lambs and may not have the rates of gain needed to put them in the feeder or fat lamb category.
Such lambs, he told a gathering of the University of Wisconsin extension sheep management network, are in demand now by the Greek and Muslim populations of cities such as Milwaukee and Chicago.
(by E.W. Kieckhefer)
CBOT closed for holiday
The Chicago Board of Trade was closed Monday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Activity will resume Tuesday morning.
