Japan May Open to Beef Again & EQIP Used to Fund Nutrition

Japan May Open to Beef Again & EQIP Used to Fund Nutrition. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. A USDA official says Japan has shown signs of willingness to talk with our nation about possibly reopening that market to US beef. Under Secretary Jim Miller. MILLER: It is not an export verification program. We do have that program with Russia. This is simply a certificate that the food safety inspection service will sign at the same time that they sign the regular export certificate. The certificate has three points in it relative to our surveillance of H1N1 in pork products, that will be attached to the export certificates and sent along with the product but it does not require and agriculture marketing service export type of program. The Senate Ag Committee has voted to use 141-million in savings from the popular Environmental Quality Incentives Program - EQIP - to fund expanded child nutrition programs. The panel rejected by one vote a Republican amendment to take savings from the Conservation Stewardship Program instead. Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson voted with the GOP. Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss offered the amendment to protect the EQIP program. Now here's today's Washington Grange Report. (GRANGE) That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.