Recall on Lean Cuisine meals
11/19/2008 06:44:31
Before you microwave that “Lean Cuisine” dinner today, know that it may be recalled. Springville, Utah-based Nestle Prepared Foods Company has recalled nearly 880,000 pounds of frozen chicken meals that may contain foreign materials such as hard plastic. The products are: 9.5 ounce packages of "Lean Cuisine Pesto Chicken with Bow Tie Pasta" with a Best Before date of May 2010; 10.5 ounce packages of "Lean Cuisine Chicken Mediterranean" brand frozen meals with a Best Before dates of 2010 or November 2010. And 12.5 ounce packages of "Lean Cuisine Chicken Tuscan" brand frozen meals with Best before dates of: September, October and November 2009. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says the recalled products were produced from August 18th through October 27th and were distributed to retail establishments nationwide. The problem was discovered after Nestle received consumer complaints and a report of one injury.
Plow Day will benefit Roanoke-Benson FFA
11/19/2008 06:46:55
The Roanoke-Benson FFA Alumni Chapter will host a Plow Day this Saturday, November 22. Bring your antique tractors and plows and spend the day farming the old-fashioned way. Registration will open at 9:00 that morning. Proceeds from the $15 registration fee per tractor, as well as the food stand that will be on site, will go directly to the Roanoke-Benson FFA Chapter. For more information, contact Karen Jones at 309-369-4632.
ISU hosts ethanol presentation
11/19/2008 06:46:00
Fueling an Ethanol Revolution for the 21st Century is the topic a presentation this evening by permaculture and alcohol fuel expert David Blume. The program is presented by the Student Environmental Health Association at Illinois State University. It is free and open to the public, and will take place at 6:00 this evening in Schroeder Hall on campus. Blume will discuss the role of small and mid-sized farmers in leading the Sustainable American Energy Independence Revolution… he’ll talk about what crops he believes can lead to profitability in a post-oil economy, converting cars to run on 100% alcohol fuel, and several other topics related to his book, entitled Alcohol Can Be A Gas. Again, that presentation is tonight at 6:00 p.m. in Room 130 of Schroeder Hall on the Illinois State University campus.
Ethanol industry facing challenges
11/19/2008 06:38:48
Ethanol industry consolidation could accelerate next year as the industry is squeezed by falling fuel prices and volatile futures markets. Midwest ag bankers are starting to predict more ethanol plant bankruptcies next year, after South Dakota-based VeraSun failed on high-priced contract corn and plummeting fuel prices. Renewable Fuels Association spokesman Matt Hartwig says predictions of as many as 40 plants may be overstated, but adds...
And Hartwig argues demand has not kept up with rapid ethanol supply growth...
But Hartwig says it’s not all bad news, as prices of corn and natural gas needed to make ethanol are lower, and in six-months to a year, the economy and demand for fuel may pick up. Still, Hartwig says he won’t sugarcoat the problem...
Hartwig says where needed, companies may consolidate, but that doesn’t mean plants will, as he puts it, go off the map. Also, starting January 1st, Hartwig notes gasoline refiners will have to blend more than 10.5 billion gallons of ethanol under the latest Renewable Fuels Standard.
Second generation Roundup Ready soybeans available
11/18/2008 06:32:38
Asgrow has announced its inaugural lineup of six new Asgrow brand Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean products for 2009. The technology is the second generation of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready soybeans, with higher yield potential resulting from advanced gene mapping and insertion technology. The beans will be planted on one-and-a-half million acres next year, with full commercial launch scheduled for 2010. For the coming year, the soybeans will be available mainly in late Group 2 to mid Group 3 varieties through part or all of 10 Midwestern states, including Illinois.
Short list for potential Obama cabinet members includes ag names
11/17/2008 06:48:45
Sara Wyant of Agri-Pulse says she has in her possession a week-old document that suggests front-runners for Cabinet nominations, senior White House staff and independent agency heads. Wyant says it appears to be on target because it correctly identified Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff, Robert Gibbs as press secretary and Ron Klain as chief of staff for Vice President-elect Joe Biden. Missing from that document is the name of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Suggested Secretaries of Agriculture are mostly the names already the subject of widespread speculation but contain a couple of surprises. They are former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack; National Farmers Union President Tom Buis, and three former members of Congress: Representatives Charles Stenholm of Texas, Jim Leach of Iowa, and Calvin Dooley of California. The spread sheet also lists Dooley as a potential U.S. Trade Representative, along with Thomas McLarty III, former chief of staff in the Clinton Administration; Lael Brainard, Brookings Institution economist; Daniel Tarullo, former assistant Secretary of State for economic and business affairs; and Michael Wessel, a public affairs consultant. Only two are mentioned for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Kathleen McGinty. McGinty chaired former President Clinton's Council on Environmental Quality and headed the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
McLean County 4-Hers recognized for achievements
11/14/2008 20:19:04
The McLean County annual 4-H Recognition Ceremony honored several area 4-H members who have been working hard over the past year. 156 members were recognized as First Year Outstanding members. Another 101 members were Five-Year Pledge recipients, meaning they have met the Standards of Excellence for a period of five years in 4-H, and they pledge to increase their knowledge and skills in 4-H project work, citizenship and leadership over the next five years of 4-H involvement. 103 County Medals and Blue Awards were received by McLean County 4-H members, with 49 of those being nominated for state competition. Illinois is sending 30 4-H members to National 4-H Congress in Atlanta November 28-December 2, and 8 of those members are from McLean County. One of those members is Erin Mulch, of the Gold Star Clover 4-H Club...
Spencer Wilken of Silverleaf Let's Go Ag and Willing Clovers is also a State 4-H Award winner...
Jacque Potter of the Lexington Leprechauns will also represent McLean County in Atlanta...
Another state award winner is Taylor Parks of the Home Spun 4-H Club...
Ellen Mulch of the Downs Top Notchers won not only a state award that sends her to National 4-H Congress, but also a Mosbacher scholarship in the amount of $1200...
Taylor Dirks of the Ellsworth Tip Toppers also won a Mosbacher Scholarship, and this year's George E. Holder Scholarship went to Neal Benjamin of the Ellsworth Tip Toppers...
Four members won the I Dare You Award this year, including Dirks and fellow Ellsworth Tip Toppers member Amanda Erickson. Other winners are Savanah Jacobs of Home Spun...
...and Anna Schwenk, also of the Home Spun 4-H Club...
Ray Ropp was recognized for his induction into this year's Illinois 4-H Hall of Fame, and George Schafer was honored with this year's 4-H Alumni Award.
Drought resistant soybeans are on the way
11/07/2008 07:27:18
Private seed companies and public soybean breeders will soon have available advanced soybean breeding lines that carry slow-wilting traits. A team led by Agricultural Research Service plant geneticist Thomas Carter will soon release advanced soybean drought-tolerant lines that perform well under drought conditions, and also show good yield potential when rainfall is plentiful. Carter is with the ARS Soybean and Nitrogen Fixation Research Unit in Raleigh, North Carolina. "Team Drought" is a group of researchers at five Universities, which Carter heads. They are working to develop drought-tolerant
breeding lines across a range of maturity groups for adaptation to every soybean-growing area of the country. The slow-wilting lines yield 4 to 8 bushels more than conventional varieties under drought conditions, depending on the region and environment. Adding genetic diversity to the U.S. soybean industry will help protect the food supply from vulnerabilities.
Transition team ready for Obama's ag advisors
11/07/2008 07:25:33
To assist Obama transition team members, Ag Secretary Ed Schafer says the department has assigned a core team of senior officials….
USDA officials have cleared office space with computers and phones for the President-elect’s ag advisers, who are expected to arrive at the Whitten Building next week. Ag Department spokesman Keith Williams tells the NAFB NewsService that USDA transition team members will be ready to bring President-elect Obama’s agriculture representatives up to speed on issues such as…
According to sources, Ag Secretary Ed Schafer asked USDA employees in an e-mail to let Obama’s transition team work without interruption as it gathers information that the new USDA secretary and sub-cabinet will require to continue the Department’s mission.
Livestock groups continue Proposition 2 reaction
11/06/2008 05:53:20
Livestock groups are reacting to the passage this week of Proposition 2 in California. National Pork Producers Council President Bryan Black says the group is disappointed that the voters of California adopted a proposition outlawing a husbandry practice deemed appropriate by decade of farmer experience, university research and the nation’s leading veterinarian association. The Animal Agriculture Alliance is also concerned about the outcome of the Proposition 2 vote, warning of the possibility of higher rates of death in non-cage systems, increased rates of smothering, and increased incidences of aggression, among other things. California’s livestock producers have until 2015 to change their housing systems for pregnant sows, laying hens, and veal calves.
Ag groups react to election
11/06/2008 05:52:14
Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman has called the election of Barack Obama to be our 44th President a decisive and historic election. Then Stallman went on task, challenging the new administration and Congress to address such issues as the economy, energy, immigration, trade, implementation of the farm bill and many others. Stallman said we know there are many points of views on these issues, but we also know that our elected leaders have one thing in common, and that is that each person elected to office ran for office to improve this country and will work on these issues to make America better and to improve our country for all Americans. Meanwhile, National Corn Growers Association President Bob Dickey says his group has had a positive working relationship with President-elect Obama’s campaign staff and advisers. Dickey says NCGA recognizes the major challenges facing the President-elect, including a number of priorities in the ag sector such as the Renewable Fuel, trade, and farm bill implementation.
Emerald Ash Borer quarantine extended to McLean County
11/06/2008 05:51:16
The Illinois Department of Agriculture has added all or part of four central Illinois counties to its emerald ash borer quarantine. The newly-quarantined areas include all of McLean and Woodford Counties, eastern Marshall County, and the portions of Livingston County that were not part of prior quarantine orders. Beetles were discovered in these areas this summer. The quarantine prohibits the removal of the following items: any emerald ash borer in any living stage of development, ash trees of any size, ash limbs and branches; any cut, non-coniferous firewood; bark from ash trees and wood chips larger than one inch from ash trees; and really any article determined by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to present a risk of spreading the beetle infestation. The fine for moving prohibited items from the quarantine area without approval can be up to $500. Again the entire counties of McLean and Livingston are now included in the Emerald Ash Borer quarantine area.
Grassley wants another look at payment limits
11/05/2008 08:39:26
With a new President on the way to the White House, Iowa GOP Senator Chuck Grassley is hopeful the issue of payment limits will get some attention. In fact, he hopes to see the issue come up in the budget as it did in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 budgets...
Grassley says there’s definitely support for capping farm program payments...
Grassley expects the argument will arise that the farm program is a five-year program and Congress shouldn’t change it in the middle. And while he says that argument worked before, he doesn’t think it will work again due to the tremendous budget deficit.
Grocery Manufacturers Association responds to Grassley letter
11/05/2008 08:40:42
A leader of the Grocery Manufacturers Association has responded to a letter Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley sent to the organization regarding commodity and food prices. Writing for GMA, Interim President and CEO C. Manly Molpus wrote "We share your commitment to an honest and open debate over the impact of food-to-fuel mandates, subsidies and tariffs on food prices, hunger and the environment." Molpus emphasized that the GMA has no role in the decisions our members make regarding prices. The GMA leader pointed out that like corn ethanol manufacturers, food manufacturers continue to produce products with corn purchased during a prolonged period of high commodity prices. Molpus said GMA believes that congress must revisit and restructure food-to-fuel mandates, subsidies and tariffs to reduce our dependence on food as an energy source. And he called for the acceleration of the development of cellulosic and other second generation fuels that do not pit our energy needs against the needs of the hungry.
Proposition 2 passes in California
11/05/2008 08:38:03
Early returns indicated that Proposition 2 in California was on its way to passage. Proposition 2 makes it illegal for farmers to use restrictive gestation crates for breeding pigs, veal crates for calves and cages for egg laying hens. California’s poultry industry is the most affected. Farm Sanctuary and the Human Society of the United States pushed Proposition 2 in California. Farm Sanctuary President and co-Founder Gene Baur called this a monumental victory for farm animals. He said the campaign did an amazing job of raising public awareness about the cruel treatment farm animals endure at the hands of an industry that has consistently fought meaningful change for animals.
Steve Kopperud of Policy Directions, Inc. says animal agriculture is under attack. He notes passage of Proposition 2 could drive most ag production out of the state, resulting in lost jobs and tax revenue, a need to import eggs and higher egg prices. And if the beef industry doesn’t defend the poultry and pork producers, he says they could also be taken down by those who would like to see animal agriculture eliminated. After all, in the animal rights movement, Kopperud says there’s a motto that “if we can’t regulate and legislate them out of business, we’ll cost them out of business”...
Kopperud says the problem is people just don’t get it...
So Kopperud says it’s important for the industry to invest in selling the producer to the American public...
If American agriculture doesn’t get its act together and work together to spread the truth about agriculture, Kopperud says the way producers do business will dramatically change in the next five years and there will be fewer farmers and ranchers.
