11/06/08 Proposition 2 & COOL Under Fire

Proposition 2 & COOL Under Fire plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. 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. Steve Kopperud of Policy Directions, Inc. says animal agriculture is under attack and that people just don't get it. KOPPERUD: They don't know where their food comes from. They don't understand the technology that's necessary to produce as much as we do, as well as we do at the cost we do. And they certainly don't appreciate the professionalism of the farmers and ranchers out there doing it. Somehow there is this notion that all you have to do is take and animal, stick it in a box and it somehow grows and sells for a whole lot of money and then you as a farmer get rich. Easterday Ranches, a 30-thousand head feedlot in Washington State, has sued USDA over the agency's interim final rule that implements the mandatory country-of-origin labeling law. The lawsuit claims that USDA's COOL rule improperly overlaps with import-marking rules promulgated by the Secretary of the Treasury under the Tariff Act of 1930 and the NAFTA Implementation Act. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. Ermias Kebreab's job is a real gas. All joking aside, the University of Manitoba scientist claims to have figured out a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cow belching by 200 liters a day. Simply feed them grain as opposed to grass. Over the past four years the scientist has been studying and analyzing cow burps in order to measure the amount of methane dairy cows produce when fed different types of feed. It has always been thought that grass contributed less to global warming than other high energy concentrated crops such as grain, but this may not hold true. With the help of a Jersey steer named George, Kebreab revealed how his study worked. The steer was placed into a feeding compartment with a hooded collar to trap the gases. The gases were then sucked out of the area into a machine which measured the methane. A grain fed George produced roughly 200 liters less of methane emissions a day. And while Canada has yet to employ the findings, the U.S. is utilizing the research to determine the amount of our cattle methane emissions. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.