Fruit Chemical Use Survey & Beef Sales

Fruit Chemical Use Survey & Beef Sales plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

With concerns fading by Japanese consumers about BSE, one U.S. expert says the climate is better now for Japan to ease restrictions on U.S. beef. Geoffrey Wiggin, U.S. Agricultural Attache in Japan, compares beef sales.

WIGGIN: We were exporting well in excess of a billion dollars worth of beef, I’m going to say a billion-four just to pick a number – a general number and right now we’re exporting about three hundred and some million dollars worth of beef so there is a lot of market share for us to pick back up from the Aussies who have had that market to themselves. We have gone from over 50% market share before 2003 to about 14-15% now.

USDA is conducting its USDA Fruit Chemical Use Survey. This survey, last conducted in 2007, provides data about agricultural chemical use on fruit crops in the United States. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the survey - gives producers the opportunity to explain how they use agricultural chemicals responsibly to produce a safe, healthy, and high-quality food supply. The National Ag Statistics Service will collect survey responses through December and publish the results in the Fruit Chemical Usage report in July 2010. Growers are strongly encouraged to participate and are guaranteed by law that their individual information will be kept confidential.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

There’s something “smelly” in Missouri and it stands on two legs. Missouri law courts have been plagued for the past fifteen years by lawyer Charlie Speer who has filed numerous “odor” lawsuits against local hog operations. Disturbingly enough he has managed to win nearly every suit. These types of alleged nuisance lawsuits are not new to the ag business. Hog and cattle operations have had to pump thousands of dollars over the years in their defense.  Interestingly, Mr. Speer has chosen Missouri to champion his smelly cause even though there are other states that have nearly six times the number of hog producers. Why? Because Missouri has no limit to plaintiff recovery amounts in alleged nuisance cases. Mr. Speer sees gold in Missouri’s fields, and it ain’t hay. In fact none of the plaintiffs have cited health issues in the case, only that it smells bad. Anyone who has lived in an agricultural community knows you can’t raise livestock without any odor. Is it an overwhelming and overpowering odor? No, in fact my son’s and his friend’s sneakers have issued forth a more offensive and atrocious odor.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.