Loosening Up & E. Coli Vaccine
Loosening Up & E. Coli Vaccine. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.
Less restrictive rules for small farms under some USDA farm payment programs have been implemented for the 2010 crop program year. Farm Service Agency Administrator Jonathan Coppess gives an example how a redefinition of the term "actively engaged" will help loosen some restrictions on small farmers.
COPPESS: Let’s say a retired farmer owns 40% of a corporation that rents land and his two sons each own 30% of the corporation. The two sons collectively provide significant contributions of labor and management but neither the father or the sons have any other farming interests. The corporation is eligible to receive full payment even though the retired farmer does not contribute any active personal or labor to the farming operation. In other words just because the father is retired and not really providing labor or management the farming corporation, the farming entity will not be penalized or not have any of its payments reduced because of the retired father of the farmer is not providing labor or management, so long as they collectively don’t reach over $40-thousand dollars.
Cargill is testing at least one of two forms of a vaccine that might reduce the spread of E.coli 0157:H7 in cattle intestines. The availability of the vaccine was announced last month by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. Which one of two forms is being tested has not been announced. Company spokesman Mark Klein told the
Now here’s today’s Washington Grange Report.
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That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
