Politics, bureacracy delay final 2014 renewable fuels standard from EPA
WASHINGTON – A final 2014 Renewable Fuels Standard ruling was first expected from EPA in June of this year. EPA had already extended the compliance period for refiners to ?true up? their 2013 renewable fuels obligations from the end of June until the end of September.
Then, at the end of July, the agency again extended the deadline for compliance reports until 30-days after final 2014 RFS volumes are set.
“I’m not sure I can put it in context,” said Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, “but some decision that they made last week about the amount that was necessary for some of the products indicated to me that they’re going to put everything off until after the election.”
Grassley agrees that part of EPA’s delays on getting the rule out may be because the agency is retooling the definitions of some renewable fuels. But he believes the election is a clear factor, “particularly if they’re going to do something that’s going to look bad to the Midwest.”
Also slowing a final RFS rule is a recent change at the helm of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), where former Housing and Urban Development Chief Shaun Donovan took over from new Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell.
“There’s no question at OMB, which has to review it, and Donovan will likely have a role in that process,” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen in June. “But there are a whole host of folks that are going to be reviewing this rule, and that process is not yet even started, because EPA from my understanding has not even sent the draft to OMB to begin with.”
The draft was supposed to have been sent in June, but at that time, Dinneen indicated that more than 330,000 comments to EPA concerning the rule had agency officials trying to figure out just what to do.
Smithfield Reports Record Net Income
SMITHFIELD, Va. – Smithfield Foods reported a record net income in the second quarter and first half of the fiscal year just one year after the acquisition by WH Group.
Smithfield reported net income of $142.9 million in the three-month period ending June 29, compared to $32.4 million in the same period in 2013. The most recent figure is about four and a half times that of a year ago. Overall sales in the period rose 14 percent to $3.8 billion.
Smithfield CEO Larry Pope said the main business segments were doing ?well to excellent,? according to Meatingplace. Pope commented that effects from porcine epidemic diarrhea virus have caused a 10 percent decline in hog volume, which was offset partially by a three-percent increase in hog weights. The company plans to increase its marketing spending by double digits in the second half of the fiscal year. They also plan between $300 million and $350 million worth of improvements at their facilities.
Algae Blooms Pose Threat to Livestock
LEXINGTON, Ky. – With recent news of unsafe drinking water in Toledo, Ohio in the Great Lakes area, producers should remember livestock water can be contaminated as well.
Cyanobacteria, otherwise known as blue-green algae, contain a poison that can seriously affect animal, along with human, health, according to the University of Kentucky. The University reports blue-green algae blooms have recently been found in areas of Kentucky. The algae blooms have showed up in other parts of the Midwest as well. The University suggests if the algae shows up on your farm to fence off livestock access to the affected ponds.
Blue-green algae naturally exist in wet places. They thrive in warm, stagnant, nutrient rich water and are found often in ponds, lakes and slow moving rivers. While not all algae are harmful, farm ponds contaminated with fertilizer runoff or direct manure and urine provide the perfect environment for harmful blue-green algae, according to the University. When the weather is hot and dry, rapid growth of the algae can result in a bloom, or a build-up of algae that creates a green, blue-green, white or brown coloring on the surface of the water. Animals that consume affected water may die suddenly or suffer from weakness depending on the toxin and how much they ingested. The blooms typically occur in the warmer months of June through September.
AFIA Submits Comments on LEAP Draft Guidelines
ARLINGTON, Va. – The American Feed Industry Association recently submitted comments regarding the Livestock Environmental Assessment Performance draft guidelines.
Specifically, the comments submitted to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations were in regard to the animal feed supply chain. AFIA notes the group was pleased the guidelines seemed well constructed, including their breadth and depth. AFIA officials say the report, developed for a more harmonized approach to Life Cycle Assessments in the animal feed industry, takes into account the various production sectors involved.
AFIA senior vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs Richard Sellers stated “We worked with our membership to review and draft comments because we want to make this document applicable to North American agriculture.”
Analyst says Millenials not Eating as Much Sugar
STOWE, Vt. – One sugar industry analyst suggests Millenials are eating less sugar than older generations. Analyst Todd Hale’s remarks were made during the American Sugar Alliance?s annual International Sweetener Symposium last week, according to the Hagstrom Report.
Described as those born between 1977 and 1994, Millenials will outnumber the baby boomer generation by 10 million people in 2020. Hale notes Millenials spend only $18 per year on sugar and sugar substitutes, compared to Baby Boomers spending $24. In addition, he noted that Millennial consumers spend less on candy, jams, bread and baked goods, cookies, ice cream, juices, and drinks than the other generational groups.
Hale also indicated grocery sales remain flat. He suggested that reflects the Millenials lower spending on everything because they have been hurt the most by the recent recession. Millenials ?want smartphones, but then watch their pennies,? Hale noted. Other trends Hale noted includes more snacking, more fresh produce sales, demand for chewing gum is down, cereal demand is lower do to frozen breakfast and yogurt, deli meals demand is gaining, organic foods are growing, and fresh baked goods are doing well. Many of those trends reflect the Millenial consumers demand for fresh foods.
The above stories are provided courtesy of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters New Service, powered by the American Farm Bureau Federation.
