05/27/05 Under consideration; At greater risk?

According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, the ban on U.S. beef in that country could be lifted as early as summer. That news comes as Japan's Food Safety Commission this week began considerations on whether our nation's beef from younger cattle meets Japanese safety standards. The Japanese government earlier this week officially asked the F.S.C. to consider the move which would reopen the Japanese market to U.S. beef for the first time since December 2003. Past cattle imports from Western Canada is cited as the reason U.S.D.A. believes the Pacific Northwest could have a higher risk of b.s.e. than other parts of the country. That finding is among many in a recent report on the causes and implications of four North American b.s.e. cases and Canada's epidemiological investigation of them. And while one of those four cases was discovered in Washington State in 2003, it was later proven that the suspected cow had been imported from the Canadian province of Alberta, where all four b.s.e. cases on this continent have originated. Northwest agriculture seems to have a friend in the U.S. House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, as it is going against proposed spending reductions to ag based programs in the Bush Administration's fiscal year 2006 budget. One example comes from Washington State University's Ralph Cavalieri as he discusses formula funds for land grant university research programs. CAVALIERI: The House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee has soundly rejected this proposal from the Executive Branch and has put full funding for the Hatch Act and the other formula funds into their appropriation subcommittee report. And Northwest commodity groups that take advantage of federal Market Access Program funds were happy to hear the Subcommittee allocated $200 million dollars for the program, compared to the $125 million dollar amount offered by the Bush Administration and the fiscal year 2005 amount of $140 million. But keep in mind, the full House, the Senate, and the President still have to consider these and other budget matters. Memorial Day weekend travels include lower gas prices for motorists than the beginning of this month. The average prices for gasoline for all three grades dropped over six cents nationwide due to factors ranging from increased supply of crude oil and gasoline to completion of maintenance projects that brought some of the nation's refineries back on line. As for Northwest prices this weekend, many areas are reporting prices below the $2.40 mark for a gallon of self-serve unleaded. But that is still significantly higher than gas prices this same time last year.