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May 4, 2001

Ag energy crisis studied

The House Agriculture's Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Rural Development and Research has opened a comprehensive examination of the energy crisis hitting farmers and ranchers at every stage of production.

Subcommittee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) noted the major concern that energy supply and demand has on agricultural and rural communities. Since agricultural producers have a low return on investment and equity when compared to many sectors of the American economy, volatile swings in energy and other input costs can drastically alter their net revenues. Higher prices for oil, gas, diesel, electricity, natural gas, propane, and fertilizer caught many producers unaware this past year.

This is the Subcommittee's first of two hearings impacting energy providers and agricultural users: fertilizer processed from natural gas, drying crops with propane gas, irrigation pumps powered by natural gas, in addition to diesel fuel and rural electrical needs. The second hearing is set for May 2 with USDA, Department of Energy and commodity group outlooks on energy supply and demand.

"In order for short and long term energy goals to be realized, any energy legislation that we consider needs to be comprehensive," said Lucas. "We do not have all the answers and are interested in hearing what our witnesses have to say in order to help develop sound policy. New production techniques and sources, infrastructure needs, regulatory compliance, and hedging tools for energy users and producers must be thoroughly discussed and reconciled."

According to the Congressional Research Service, U.S. refineries as of today can only meet 85 percent of domestic demand for refined petroleum products while a decade ago they could meet 94 percent of the nation's product requirement. Furthermore, the U.S. now imports 52 percent of its oil, up from 47 percent a decade ago.

AFBF strengthens
public policy effort

The American Farm Bureau Federation has strengthened the organization's work with regulatory agencies in the nation's capital by transferring several public policy specialists from its headquarters near Chicago to its Washington, D.C. office.

AFBF Chief Administrative Officer Dick Harris announced that the AFBF Governmental Relations function has been renamed Public Policy, with responsibilities for both Congressional relations and regulatory relations, to more accurately indicate an increased emphasis on government regulations and the agencies that administer them.

The Washington Office will continue to operate under the direction of Executive Director Richard W. Newpher.

"One of the goals adopted by the AFBF board of directors calls for the reduction of the regulatory impact on agriculture," Harris said. "This restructuring will provide more staff time working with federal administrative agencies on the rules and regulations they adopt and impose upon our members."

Transferred to the AFBF Washington Office were Assistant Counsel Richard Krause, a specialist in Western issues; Joe Miller, a senior livestock policy specialist and regulatory legal analyst; and, Don Parrish, a senior environmental policy specialist.

Two other regulatory positions new to the Washington Office will be filled in coming months.

In addition, an information technology specialist, Theo Pizanias, has been hired for a new position in the Washington Office.

Aventis:
Increase Starlink tolerance

Saying a continued "zero tolerance" for StarLink biotech corn residue at processing mills will prompt further recalls of chips, snacks and other foods, StarLink maker Aventis has petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to increase the tolerance for StarLink residue from zero to 20 parts-per-billion. The company said trace amounts of StarLink will likely remain in the food chain for some time to come.

"If EPA does not act now, the ongoing disruption in the domestic and international food markets—in the form of recalls and rejections of exported products—undoubtedly will escalate," Aventis said in documents submitted to EPA. The company settled on the 20 ppb level because it is easily detected by residue test kits.

Aventis maintains StarLink's Cry9C protein is safe for humans, despite claims that it may cause an allergic reaction in some people. For that reason, the corn has been approved only for use in livestock feed.

Notable Quotables

"The flow of environmental funding is remarkable. Last year, more than 160 million pitches swirled through the U.S. Postal Service, according to figures provided by major organizations. That's enough envelopes, stationary, decals, bumper stickers, calendars and personal address labels to circle the Earth more than two times."

A quote from a special report on environmental activism by the Sacramento Bee. The report, by Bee staff writer Tom Knudson, delves deep into the financial books of so-called environmental and wildlife advocacy groups. In the story, Knudson said six national environmental organizations spend so much on fund-raising and overhead they don't have enough left to meet the minimum benchmark for environmental spending—60 percent of annual expenses—recommended by charity watchdog organizations.