Stabenow Supports Call to Withdraw Clovis Nomination

Democrats Charles Schumer of New York and Brian Schatz of Hawaii called for President Trump to withdraw the nomination of Sam Clovis as USDA Undersecretary for Research, Education, and Economics. The Hagstrom Report says that Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow announced that if the Clovis nomination isn’t withdrawn, she will highlight his comments on minorities, gays, Barack Obama and many others. Stabenow, Ranking Member on the Senate Ag Committee, says in an email that she has voiced objections to the nomination from day one. “If President Trump doesn’t withdraw this nomination, I will work as ranking member of the ag committee to bring to light his troubling record and ask tough questions about his suitability for this important job,” she says. Schumer and Schatz both say Trump should withdraw the nomination of Clovis immediately because he is a known skeptic of climate change and “wildly unqualified for the job.” They also feel it would be a gesture by the administration to the American people that they’re “dedicated to rooting out the most hateful voices in our society"

IBM Announces New Food Traceability Program

A group of companies in the global food chain announced a partnership with IBM intended to give consumers more confidence in the global food system. The group includes Walmart, Nestle, Tyson Foods, and many others. The companies work with IBM to find areas in the global supply food chain that can benefit from the IBM program Blockchain. An IBM news release says every year, one in four people falls ill, and 400,000 die, from contaminated foods. Many of the issues impacting food safety, including cross contamination and food-borne illness, are made worse by a lack of access to information and traceability. In the event of a problem, it can often take many weeks to identify the point of contamination. Blockchain is one place that can hold information on the origins and state of the food in transactions throughout the food chain. This platform can enable food suppliers to trace a contaminated product back to its source more quickly, ensuring safe removal from grocery store shelves and halting any additional spread of illness

Amazon Cleared to Take Over Whole Foods

The Federal Trade Commission cleared Amazon to officially take over Whole Foods. Politico’s Morning Agriculture Report says Amazon will spend $13.7 billion to acquire the Austin, Texas-based high-end food grocery store chain. The FTC wrapped up its investigation and found no anticompetitive effects sufficient to block the deal. Acting competition bureau chief Bruce Hoffman says, “Based on our investigation, we’ve decided not to pursue this matter further. Of course, the FTC always has the ability to investigate anticompetitive conduct should it become necessary.” Whole Foods shareholders approved the deal on Wednesday. Politico says there’s been a lot of unhappiness regarding the deal and what it means for consumers, retailers, and even the so-called “Food Movement”. However, these two companies together only comprise about two percent of the overall food market. In comparison, Walmart has over 14 percent and Costco sells more organic food than Whole Foods does. While speculation remains over what Amazon intends to do with the deal, nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

McDonald’s Announces Global Antibiotic Phase-Out

McDonald’s Corporation announced the company will expand its effort to cut back on the use of antibiotics critical to human health across the global chicken supply. The fast food giant will require its poultry suppliers to phase out drugs included under the highest priority category in the World Health Organization’s guidelines by January of next year. Those antibiotics will disappear from use in McDonald’s products in Canada, the U.S., Brazil, Japan, and South Korea. Australia and Russian suppliers will stop using the antibiotics at the end of the following year. Suppliers in other markets will need to stop using the medications by January of 2027. The company is said to be working on similar plans for its beef, dairy, and egg suppliers as well, but for now, it starts with poultry. A McDonald’s statement says, “We understand that animals, like people, get sick and require treatment. Treating sick animals is consistent with McDonald’s long standing commitment to animal health and welfare.”

Swine Disease Monitoring System in Development

Farm Journal’s Pork Network Dot Com reports the Swine Health Information Center has funded a nearly real-time monitoring system for swine disease across the globe. The system will include the capability for identifying potential hazards due to new diseases or potential changes in current diseases. It will also be able to screen the information collected and regularly report it to the pork industry. The system is a collaborative project between the University of Minnesota and USDA/APHIS Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health. Swine Health Information Center Executive Director Paul Sundberg says, “Having a systematic way to monitor new or emerging diseases around the globe helps keep the U.S. pork industry informed of risks. Knowing the changes in risks will spur thinking about how to mitigate them.” Data will be evaluated by a group of swine health experts on a regular basis. The information will be graded to decide on a consensus of risk to the U.S. pork industry. The system is expected to be ready early next year.

Canada’s dairy herd has reached 945,000 head

Canada’s dairy herd has reached 945,000 head, the highest total in the country since 2014.According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, last year Canada had a total dairy herd of 930,300 on July 1. On the same day this year Canada’s total dairy cow and heifer that have calved was up 2% from last year. Canada has had a fluctuating dairy herd for the past few years. In 2012, the herd was at 952,100 head and it saw a slight increase the next year reaching 952,300 head. The dairy herd dropped by 3,300 head in 2014 to a herd count of 949,000 cows. It fell again in 2015 with the Canadian dairy cow herd dropped by 14,700 head to a mark of 934,300 cows. Dairy replacement heifers increased by 2% on July 1, 2017, as well. A total of 454,300 dairy replacement heifers were counted. Compared to Canada the U.S. has about 10-times as many dairy cows and dairy replacements. As of July 1, there were 9.4 million head of dairy cows and 4.2 million replacement heifers. 

Department to Hold Waste Pesticide Disposal Events in September

Annual events have collected over 561,136 lbs. of waste pesticides
Helena, Mont. - The Montana Department of Agriculture’s annual Pesticide Disposal Event will be held in several locations across western Montana during September. The collection events will be held September 19 in Kalispell; September 20 in Missoula; September 21 in Helena; and September 22 in Dillon​.  The annual event has collected more than 561,136 pounds of waste pesticides since it began in 1994.  The program was designed to help individuals dispose of any pesticides that are unusable as originally intended and cannot be used for any other purpose.  This allows participants to dispose of waste pesticides in an environmentally responsible way and helps protect Montana’s ecosystems and groundwater, as well as families, pets, livestock and drinking water.  The department asks that participants pre-register by September 11, 2017, before the collection events, so products can be managed safely and efficiently. Licensed pesticide applicators will receive information and a registration form in the mail. Others with waste pesticides in need of disposal can learn more and register on the program’s website at: http://agr.mt.gov/Pesticides/DisposalandRecycling/PesticideDisposal There is no charge for the first 200 pounds of material.  Amounts over 200 pounds are assessed at $0.50 per pound. A higher fee may apply to pesticides with dioxins or dioxin precursors. The Montana Department of Agriculture’s mission is to protect producers and consumers, and to enhance and develop agriculture and allied industries. For more information on the Montana Department of Agriculture, visit agr.mt.gov.