USDA announces feral swine program
April 02, 2014 | 09:33 PM
The Agriculture Department is starting a feral swine management program, Agriculture Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Services Ed Avalos said today.
At a House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Avalos said that the program will include more than $9 million in state projects as well as other activities. The program is needed to protect the swine industry as well as the general public, he added.
The Agriculture Department wants to deal with applications for genetically modified seed as quickly as possible, but has to be careful because USDA has been sued in the past over improper procedures, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Administrator Kevin Shea told the subcommittee.
“We want a lasting deregulation decision, we don’t want to deregulate a product and then face litigation,” Shea said, noting that APHIS's role is to assure that a GMO product will not pose a risk as a plant pest.
Asked by Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., subcommittee chairman, whether that meant there is “a decision to move slower,” Shea said, the decision is “to do it correctly.”
Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., asked Avalos what response USDA has ready if the World Trade Organization rules against the U.S. rule on country of origin labeling for red meat.
When Avalos responded that USDA has faith that the WTO will approve the rule and that the appropriate agency to ask about that is the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Yoder responded, “you have confirmed that we do not have a response ready.”
When Yoder asked if USDA was spending money on local food promotion at the expense of national food distribution and exports, Avalos responded that the spending is appropriate because there is a lot of interest in locally produced food, but that the resources spent on local foods are “minute” compared to what USDA spends on nationally distributed foods.
Agricultural Marketing Service Administrator Anne Alonzo said the agency has modified its reporting on organic sales to show that organic production is a “distinct value” that the Risk Management Agency can take into consideration so that crop insurance policies would reflect “true market value” and proper calculation of “payout rates.”
▪ USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service — Feral Swine: Damage and Disease Threats
At a House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Avalos said that the program will include more than $9 million in state projects as well as other activities. The program is needed to protect the swine industry as well as the general public, he added.
The Agriculture Department wants to deal with applications for genetically modified seed as quickly as possible, but has to be careful because USDA has been sued in the past over improper procedures, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Administrator Kevin Shea told the subcommittee.
“We want a lasting deregulation decision, we don’t want to deregulate a product and then face litigation,” Shea said, noting that APHIS's role is to assure that a GMO product will not pose a risk as a plant pest.
Asked by Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., subcommittee chairman, whether that meant there is “a decision to move slower,” Shea said, the decision is “to do it correctly.”
Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., asked Avalos what response USDA has ready if the World Trade Organization rules against the U.S. rule on country of origin labeling for red meat.
When Avalos responded that USDA has faith that the WTO will approve the rule and that the appropriate agency to ask about that is the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Yoder responded, “you have confirmed that we do not have a response ready.”
When Yoder asked if USDA was spending money on local food promotion at the expense of national food distribution and exports, Avalos responded that the spending is appropriate because there is a lot of interest in locally produced food, but that the resources spent on local foods are “minute” compared to what USDA spends on nationally distributed foods.
Agricultural Marketing Service Administrator Anne Alonzo said the agency has modified its reporting on organic sales to show that organic production is a “distinct value” that the Risk Management Agency can take into consideration so that crop insurance policies would reflect “true market value” and proper calculation of “payout rates.”
▪ USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service — Feral Swine: Damage and Disease Threats
