FDA: Avoid jalapenos from Mexico, not U.S. WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — The government is narrowing its warning to hot pepper lovers, saying only Mexican-grown jalapenos now are linked to the nationwide salmonella outbreak – clearing the U.S. crop.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors are on a large Mexican farm that grew a pepper discovered in a Texas warehouse that was tainted with the same strain of the bacteria. They’re trying to determine where that farm distributed its peppers, to see if it harvested enough to be responsible for an outbreak that has sickened nearly 1,300 people and counting.
DuPont-Danisco to join UT
biofuel project KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — DuPont Co. has joined a Tennessee initiative to build one of the first pilot project biorefineries in the United States for turning corn cobs and switchgrass, grown on Tennessee farms, into fuel.
The July 23 announcement by Gov. Phil Bredesen and DuPont officials marked a change in development partners for the University of Tennessee-managed project – a program to pioneer commercial processes for converting the cellulose, or woody stem fibers of nonfood plants and feedstock – into ethanol.
Initial partner Mascoma Corp. of Boston has been replaced by Delaware-based DuPont. That could expedite the refinery, but also cost it a $26 million grant the U.S. Department of Energy had awarded Mascoma, officials said. In a joint statement, UT and Mascoma said simply they were unable “to come to mutually acceptable terms.”
UT officials said the grant was never a sure thing – negotiations were pending – and its loss would not impact the project, though the biorefinery discussed last week will have a capacity of 250,000 gallons of ethanol per year rather than the 5 million gallons initially envisioned.
Still, the state of Tennessee’s commitment remains the same. The state has pledged $70 million over five years to cultivating and converting to fuel. That includes payments to farmers to grow it and $40.7 million to build the refinery. Judge OKs emergency grazing program, with limits SEATTLE, Wash. (AP) — Farmers and ranchers struggling against high grain prices got some help July 24 from a federal judge who cleared the way for an emergency federal program opening private conservation land to hay production and cattle grazing.
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour decided that while the USDA did not conduct an appropriate environmental review before opening 24 million acres of private conservation land around the country to haying and grazing, it would be unfair to farmers and ranchers to stop the program because many were counting on using that land.
The land at issue is enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a $2 billion-a-year federal program. Jack Field, executive vice president of the Washington Cattlemen’s Assoc., said after the court hearing that he was “ecstatic.
“This isn’t just something that benefits the rancher,” he said. “This is an economic stimulus package for rural America.”
The National Wildlife Foundation and its Washington, Indiana, South Dakota, Arkansas, Louisiana and Kansas chapters initially sought an injunction to stop the emergency haying and grazing program, which was announced in May. Although the grazing and haying would only be allowed after primary nesting season ends, the damage to wintering areas and habitat for grassland birds, as well as water quality, could last for years, they argued.
The government responded that although 24 million acres were eligible, farmers and ranchers were expected to apply to use only about 2.5 million.
That eased the concerns of the environmentalists, somewhat. In court filings they asked the judge to cap the program at about 1.8 million acres – the amount of land farmers and ranchers had filed applications for by early this month.
In addition, they suggested that any ranchers who had not yet submitted their applications or $75 fee could be approved if they could show they had invested $5,000 or more on fencing, wells, haying equipment or other expenses in preparation for using the conservation land.
“Our problem was not with the individual farmers and ranchers by any means, but with the government’s failure to analyze the environmental impacts of taking such a broad, sweeping action as opening 24 million acres to haying and grazing,” said Sarah McMillan, a Western Environmental Law Center attorney who represented the National Wildlife Federation.
“Some of those farmers and ranchers are in a crisis, and we did understand they had made investments.”
The judge agreed to limit the program to those farmers and ranchers who had already applied to use their conservation land for haying or grazing by July 8, the day he imposed a temporary restraining order halting the program. The USDA may also approve any other applications as long as ranchers show that by July 8 they had invested $4,500 or more in making preparations to use the land.
Top aide to Argentine president resigns over tax rejection BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Argentina’s state news agency said the president’s top aide resigned following the Senate’s rejection of a government-backed export tax hike.
Cabinet chief Alberto Fernandez’s resignation came the same day as that of the agriculture secretary, Javier Maria De Urquiza. The resignations are the first major shake-up for Cristina Fernandez’s administration after the July 17 Senate defeat. The tax hike decreed in March led to widespread protests by farmers and sporadic food shortages.
The state news agency Telam reported Fernandez’s resignation on July 23.
Man dies after buried in soybeans in NW Iowa
SALIX, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a man has died after he was buried in soybeans at the Ag Processing, Inc. plant near Salix in northwestern Iowa.
The Woodbury County sheriff’s office said 20-year-old Matthew Ball, of Manson, was cleaning the inside of the concrete bin July 21 when the soybeans shifted. Deputy Kent Roepke said Ball was knocked off his feet and buried. Emergency crews emptied the soybeans out of a hole in the bottom of the bin to find the trapped man.
Roepke said Ball was buried for about an hour and was dead when he was pulled out. Four other workers were injured. Authorities say their injuries were non-life-threatening.
Officials said the men were employed by a contractor doing work at the plant. No additional details were released.
2 men die in manure pit in Winnebago County
WINNEBAGO, Ill. (AP) — Authorities say a father and son died after being overcome by toxic fumes in a manure pit on the family’s dairy farm in northern Illinois.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Steve DePauw told the Rockford Register Star that a 53-year-old man went into a 12-foot pit to repair equipment July 21 and was overcome by fumes. He said the man’s 20-year-old son tried to rescue his father but was also overcome. Another son called 911.
Winnebago County Coroner Sue Fiduccia said the victims’ names were being withheld until family was notified. (This information was not updated by the AP.)
The University of Illinois extension said there were no manure pit or storage deaths in Illinois last year, but there were five between 1986-2007. |
