Lean Trimmings and Herd on the Hill
This is a text-only version of the NMA newsletter, Lean Trimmings and Herd on the Hill, provided for your convenience. To view the PDF version of the newsletter, including this week's inserts, please visit the newsletter back issues in the members-only section of the website or consult your current newsletter mailing for a link.
Lean Trimmings
Edited by Lauron Early
August 30, 2010
FORT COLLINS WORKSHOP
NMA Director Emeritus Rosemary Mucklow and NMA General Counsel Philip Olsson attended the scheduled USDA/DOJ Workshop in Fort Collins, CO on Friday August 27, which was the 4th workshop in a series announced by the Obama Administration in August of 2009. The Fort Collins Workshop focused on the state of competition and regulation in the livestock sectors. While earlier workshops have attracted a broad array of segment interests, this one has had the promise of being a blockbuster ever since R-CALF-USA promised to bring more than 20,000 ranchers. In the end, total attendance was about 1,700, less than many projections.
The first panel, chaired by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, featured presentations from Representative Betsy Markey (D-CO-4), Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock, and Montana Commissioner of Agriculture John Stulp. Most presenters went out of their way to walk the thin line between the supporters of and those who oppose the GIPSA proposed rule, acknowledging that there are challenges in the competitive marketplace for livestock, and welcoming the workshops as a format to receive input. Secretary Vilsack acknowledged that the proposed GIPSA rule, which was issued in June 2010, nearly a year after the announcement of the workshops, had intensified public interest; he also said that any comments made at the hearing that related to the proposal would become part of the rulemaking record.
Secretary Vilsack ably moderated the second panel, which included ranchers, farmers, feedlot owners and a hog farmer, addressing producer/feeder issues.He initiated questions that created interesting dialog between the panelists. Robbie LeValley, a Colorado rancher told a story of the successful efforts of ranching families who came together to promote their product, and carry it through to the consumer by owning their own business.
After a lunch break, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Philip Weiser chaired the remaining panel sessions, which covered trends in the livestock industry and market structure. He also chaired the public comment period. The sharp contrast between supporters and opponents really surfaced as the day got late. Attendees were lined up to make 2 minutes of public comment for the record. The emotional temperature in the room went up, each side’s supporters applauding their presenters. Sharply divided views were presented by farmers, ranchers, feeders, packers, and union representatives. Rational efforts to establish common ground left the scene, as arguments were made about the GIPSA proposal, seen by some as a way to save the family farm and rein in big packers, and by others as a gross invasion of freely entered business relationships.
There were excellent presentations opposing the GIPSA rule by a variety of beef producers, who explained that contracts and alternative marketing arrangements are critical to their profitability, premiums and ability to supply uniformly high-quality product. But from the floor more speakers spoke in favor of the rule than against it.
NMA’s Rosemary Mucklow presented NMA’s position on livestock marketing with only a minor reference to the proposed rule. Instead she focused her comments on the importance of partnerships between producers and packers and how, in her fifty years in the industry, it is these partnerships that have led to consistent success for the beef industry. “There is no place in this industry for an Enemies List, and people who think we can best serve the consumer by setting the producer against packer are following a pied piper, who will only lead to economic destruction,” she added. Copies of Mucklow’s comments are available on NMA’s website.
SENATORS EXPRESS CONCERN OVER GIPSA RULE
Secretary of Agriculture, Thomas J. Vilsack received three letters from Congress regarding GIPSA’s activities. The first letter was written on August 13th by twenty one Senators in support of its proposed rule. The letter stated that rule could level the playing field for small livestock producers. This letter can be viewed at http://www.agri-pulse.com/uploaded/Senate_GIPSA_Letter.pdf.
The other two letters expressed salient concerns. One letter was written on August 25th by a coalition of Senators that consisted of Pat Roberts (R-KS) and four other Senators stating that recent GIPSA activity suggest that the workshops have not been organized in an open and balanced way. “This raises serious concerns about the objectivity of your department.” This letter can be viewed at http://nmaonline.org/pdf/2010-8-25-roberts.pdf
The second letter was written on August 26th by Jack Kingston (R-GA), stating that some view the GIPSA rule as “an attempt by the agency to circumvent the clear intent of Congress in crafting the rules to implement provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill” and as “a choreographed effort by the agency” to “lobby the Congress, the press, industry and the public on the proposed rule.” This letter can be viewed at http://nmaonline.org/pdf/2010-8-26-GIPSA-Kingston.pdf.
DR. JOSEPH BLAIR: FOOD HYGIENE VET OF THE YEAR
NMA congratulates Dr. Joseph Blair, Senior Vice President and Founder of the HACCP Consulting Group, for being awarded the 2010 American Association of Food Hygiene Veterinarians (AAFHV) "Food Hygiene Veterinarian of the Year Award" on August 2, 2010. The award was presented at the AAFHV General Membership Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, in recognition of his long and distinguished career in veterinary medicine and food safety.
Dr. Blair has over more than 32 years experience with FSIS and received five USDA awards. He provided consulting services domestically and in over twelve countries, including assisting the Chilean government in earning eligibility to export products to the U.S. and helping prepare Romania and Bulgaria for becoming members of the European Union. As the founder of the HACCP Consulting Group, LLC, he has worked closely with National Meat Association and its members.
NMA’S LABELING BASICS WORKSHOP
Looking for help with all your labeling questions? Relief is in sight, as industry representatives are invited to attend NMA’s Labeling Basics Workshop Thursday, October 21, 2010 in Ontario, CA. The seminar will be conducted by Mr. Larry Hendricks and Ms. Kim Karweik, both former employees of Sara Lee with more than 25 years of regulatory compliance and technical experience. Both instructors will be available to meet with attendees of the workshop to answer questions on the evening of Wednesday, October 20th and the morning of Friday, October 22nd by appointment. To schedule an appointment, contact Sat Bal or Jen Kempis after submitting your registration form.
The workshop will cover all the basics of labeling, including: Generic Labeling, the label approval system, required label features, labeling claims, nutritional labeling, and additional label features. A copy of the registration form can be found attached to the end of this newsletter and under the events section of our website at www.nmaonline.org. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Sat Bal, sat@nmaonline.org, or Jen Kempis, jen@nmaonlne.org, or by calling the NMA office at (510)763-1533.
TEMPLE GRANDIN WINS AT EMMYS
HBO’s made-for-TV film Temple Grandin won 5 Emmy awards over the weekend. And Grandin herself was in the audience to receive the acclaim.
CAST’S SUSTAINABLE ANIMAL AGRICULTURE SYMPOSIUM
The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology's (CAST) in cooperation with the USDA, held a 3-day symposium on June 8-10, 2010 on "Sustaining Animal Agriculture: Balancing Bioethical, Economic, and Social Issues" in Washington, DC. Bioethical and animal welfare issues, analysis of certification and regulatory programs, integration of competing concepts surrounding the ethical use of food animals, long-term survival and food security, societal and global impacts, and consequences of decisions by consumer and government decision makers were all addressed during the symposium. A summary is available at http://www.cast-science.org/websiteuploads/pdfs/Proceedings-Final-for-web.pdf.
RUSSIA’S U.S. POULTRY EXPORT UPDATES
U.S. poultry exporting issues preventing trade with Russia are likely to be resolved soon as Russia’s Veterinary Service (VPSS) lists 21 U.S. poultry plants on its website as being approved to export to Russia, according to the August 27th edition of the National Chicken Council Washington Report. FSIS currently lists 27 poultry plants and 60 cold storage facilities as approved establishments for poultry to export to Russia.
VPSS has indicated the 21 plants listed on its site could begin packing poultry for Russia effective on the date the plant is listed, as reported by Meat & Poultry.
USDA DEVELOPS NEW EDUCATIONAL TOOLS
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service and the National FFA Organization have partnered to develop new educational tools to help promote agricultural and statistical literacy among kindergarten through 12th grade high school students. The educational tolls use current Census of Agriculture data to teach a variety of concepts including discovering new trends in population subsets and evaluating diversity among farmers. The classroom-ready resources, which include lesson plans and supporting materials, are aligned with national curriculum standards for science, math and social studies, can be viewed at www.nass.usda.gov/Education_and_Outreach/index.asp.
CATTLE PRICES ON THE RISE
Cattle prices are soaring toward records, pushing up the cost of beef in grocery stores and adding to the risk of a broader wave of food inflation. Cattle prices have climbed 13 percent this year, as reported by Bloomberg. These gains are being fueled by rising appetites globally and a dwindling U.S. herd. Purchases of U.S. beef around the world have surged. At the same time, ranchers hit in recent years by drought and the financial crisis have cut the number of cattle to the lowest level in decades.
The summer rally has driven up the futures market for cattle by 11 percent since early July to reach the brink of the $1-a-pound mark, just shy of the $1.04 record set in 2008. Prices dipped 0.3 percent on August 24th, to settle at 99.475 cents a pound, after rising for the previous eleven trading sessions, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. According to Cattle Buyers Weekly, the rally has confounded analysts, packers and beef buyers who all felt that live cattle and boxed beef prices would soften this summer.
Herd On The Hill
FOOD SAFETY LEGISLATION UPDATE
There is still a very real possibility that the 111th Congress will pass major food safety legislation before it ends. The House already passed major food safety legislation, the “Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009” (H.R. 2749), on July 30, 2009. Similar legislation -- “FDA Food Safety Modernization Act” (S. 510) -- was introduced in the Senate with bipartisan support by Senate Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL). It was unanimously approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on November 18, 2009. While a busy Senate agenda and several controversial proposed amendments have kept the bill from the Senate floor, a manager’s amendment resolving most of these issues was released this month. However, if the Senate bill passes, both the Senate and the House versions of the food safety legislation will have to be reconciled in a Conference Committee.
A few controversial amendments remain, but release of the manager’s amendment reflects an effort by the sponsors to clear almost all potential objections to Senate adoption. Both bills represent major reforms of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). The OFW memo regarding this legislation can be viewed in the members’ only section of our website.
NMA DONNING/DOFFING TELECONFERENCE
FSIS is preparing to dramatically increase your costs! The Agency is considering a proposed rule regarding donning and doffing issues for its inspectors that, if adopted, will force beef plants to either reduce production time or else pay inspectors and every other employee – yes, including your own – additional overtime. It may even require you to extend your employee lunch periods to 45 minutes per day. The current comment period could be your only chance to have a say in the regulation before it’s too late.
National Meat Association will host a conference call to tackle these significant issues on Thursday, September 2 at 10:00am Pacific Time. The call will guide you through tough questions about the Agency’s Time & Motion study and the significance of the 12.24 minute determination. We will discuss potential spillover of this settlement onto meal periods. Most importantly, we will attempt to articulate a process that would allow individual beef plants to seek exemptions or variances to minimize amounts of time for donning and doffing.
The speaker for the call, John E. Cruickshank, is an attorney with Alaniz & Schraeder who specializes in wage and hour law; he has successfully litigated several multi-million dollar wage-and-hour class actions and advised dozens of clients on these and similar issues. RSVP with this form www.nmaonline.org/pdf/NMA_Donning_Doffing.pdf to receive call-in information. Your price for the call is $100.
FTC AND DOJ REVISE MERGER GUIDELINES
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have issued revised guidelines for acquisitions and mergers that outline how the two agencies evaluate the likely competitive impact of business combinations and if those combinations comply with U.S. antitrust law. These changes represent the first major revisions in merger guidelines in eighteen years and will provide businesses with a better understanding of how proposed deals will be evaluated.
A primary reason for the updated guidelines is to help the FTC and DOJ antitrust division identify and challenge competitively harmful mergers and avoid interference with competitively beneficial mergers or ones that will have no competitive impact on the marketplace. These guidelines can be viewed at http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/guidelines/hmg-2010.html.
FDA ISSUES GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS ON MENU LABELING
FDA has issued two guidance documents regarding implementation of new nutrition labeling requirements for foods served in chain restaurants and similar retail food establishments.
1. Draft Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding Implementation of the Menu Labeling Provisions of Section 4205 of the Patent Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, which can be viewed on the FDA website at
www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/FoodLabelingNutrition/ucm223266.htm.
2. Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding the Effects of Section 4205 of the Patent Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 on State and Local Menu and Vending Machine Labeling Laws, which can be viewed on the FDA website at
www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/FoodLabelingNutrition/ucm223408.htm.
Comments on the second guidance document can be submitted at any time. Comments on the draft guidance are due by October 12th in order to be considered in developing a final version. An OFW memo regarding these documents can be found in the members’ only section of our website at http://nmaonline.org/nma.
Back Issues and a printable version of Lean Trimmings and Herd on the Hill are always available in the members only section.