Tag Archives: USDA

USDA, Dairy Industry Still Arguing Over Changes In Milk Pricing

April 22, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

The push for change continues among dairymen wanting to do away with what they say is an “antiquated” milk-pricing system that has long limited their profits.

But disagreements within the industry continue to prevent what many say truly needs to be done; throwing out the existing four-class milk system.

Talks of a new pricing system have been under way for about five years or more, and this month, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, have stressed the need for the next farm bill to include a change in how prices are set.

USDA starts new program to track farm animals

April 17, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

(AP)—The federal government has started a new livestock identification program to help agriculture officials quickly track livestock in cases of disease.

From: http://phys.org/news285392237.html

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Coming Soon to Taco Bell: Breakfast and Health Food

April 11, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Matt Brownell

Filed under: Food & Beverage, Food

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Taco Bell (YUM) has seen sales explode in the last couple of years, largely on the strength of zany junk food like the Doritos Locos Tacos. But now it’s making a pitch to customers who aren’t necessarily attracted by bizarre fast-food mashups.

The “Mexican-inspired” fast-food joint announced this week that it was going to start bringing healthier offerings to its menu. According to the AP, it’s aiming to make at least 20% of its menu items meet government guidelines for fat and calorie content by 2020. That means, for instance, that a single meal would only have 666 calories, based on the 2,000-calorie daily diet recommended by the USDA. CEO Greg Creed said that some of the healthier products may start launching as early as next year.

That’s not the only change coming to Taco Bell‘s menu. Earlier this month, Creed told a restaurant industry conference that the chain was aiming to double sales over the next decade, in part by adding breakfast to the menu.

Sponsored Linksadsonar_placementId=1505951;adsonar_pid=1990767;adsonar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=242;adsonar_zh=252;adsonar_jv=’ads.tw.adsonar.com’;

The breakfast menu (dubbed “FirstMeal,” of course) has already rolled out in more than 800 Taco Bells on the West Coast, including locations in California, Arizona and Colorado. As you might expect, you aren’t getting pancakes — Taco Bell looks to be putting its own twist on the breakfast burrito with its first offering, the A.M. Crunchwrap. It features egg, cheese, a hashbrown and your choice of bacon or sausage, all stuffed inside a tortilla. And since this is Taco Bell, you’ll get it with a glass of Mtn Dew A.M., which is a mix of a Mountain Dew and orange juice.

“Everyone’s saying we’re crazy because McDonald’s owns this,” Creed told the conference. “That has to stop.”

And breakfast isn’t the only time of day that Taco Bell wants to conquer. The chain also recently started offering an afternoon menu called “Happier Hour,” which includes the snack-sized loaded grillers and a variety of frozen drinks. It will aim to increase traffic during the 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. time block, which tends to be a dead zone for restaurants.

We’re not sure we can get on board with the idea of eating Taco Bell for breakfast, but then, we’re sure people said the same of McDonald’s. Maybe we just need to think outside the bagel.

Matt Brownell is the consumer and retail reporter for DailyFinance. You can reach him at Matt.Brownell@teamaol.com, and follow him on Twitter at @Brownellorama.

%Gallery-179959%

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/on/taco-bell-breakfast-healthy-choices/

Articles of Interest

Feds to Beef Up Horse-Meat Testing

April 4, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Mark Russell With horse meat having turned up in foods all across Europe , the USDA said yesterday it will step up its “species testing” on meat imports, reports NBC News . In the past, such testing only occurred when there was a reason to doubt the purity of a shipment. Though the order… …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home

White House Press Office

First Lady Michelle Obama and Epicurious Host Second Recipe Challenge

April 3, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By The White House

FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA AND EPICURIOUS HOST
SECOND RECIPE CHALLENGE
TO PROMOTE HEALTHY EATING NATIONWIDE

“The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge” Welcomes Children and Their Parents to Create
Healthy Lunch Recipes for an Invite to a Kids’ “State Dinner” at the White House

New York, NY (April 3, 2013) – With the overwhelming success of the inaugural Healthy Lunchtime Challenge & Kids' “State Dinner” in 2012, First Lady Michelle Obama is again teaming up with Epicurious, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Department of Agriculture to host a nationwide recipe challenge to promote healthy eating among America’s youth.

“Last year’s Kids State dinner was one of my favorite events we’ve ever done for Let’s Move! because it perfectly captured how young people, parents, community leaders and businesses can come together for innovative, healthy solutions,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. “Last year’s young chefs impressed and inspired me with their creativity, and I can’t wait to welcome a whole new group to the White House this summer and taste their creations. So kids, let’s get cooking!”

The second Healthy Lunchtime Challenge & Kids' “State Dinner” invites parents or guardians and their children, ages 8-12, to create and submit an original lunch recipe that is healthy, affordable, and tasty. In support of Let’s Move!, launched by the First Lady to solve the issue of childhood obesity, each recipe must adhere to the guidance that supports USDA’s MyPlate (at ChooseMyPlate.gov) to ensure that the criteria of a healthy meal are met. Entries must represent each of the food groups, either in one dish or as parts of a lunch meal, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and low-fat dairy foods, with fruits and veggies making up roughly half the plate or recipe.

All U.S. states and territories, including Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, are invited to participate. Fifty-six children and their parent/guardian (one pair from each of the 50 states, plus the U.S. Territories, D.C., and Puerto Rico) will be flown to the nation’s capital where they will have the opportunity to attend a Kids’ “State Dinner” at the White House this summer, hosted by Mrs. Obama. A selection of the winning healthy recipes will be served.

“In order to promote a healthier next generation of Americans, we need to encourage kids to make healthier choices now – which they can carry into adulthood,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “USDA is thrilled to be part of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge again this year because it inspires kids to use USDA’s MyPlate to take a hands-on approach to building healthier meal times.”

“We know healthy kids are healthy students, and healthy students are better able to engage in the classroom and excel academically,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “If we can get our children to eat healthier and exercise more, that’s a recipe for success. Kids are the best judges of what looks and tastes good, …read more
Source: White House Press Office

Articles of Interest

USDA: Time for 'Sea Change' in Fighting Pests

April 1, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Matt Cantor Pests are causing billions of dollars of agricultural damage—the Asian citrus psyllid alone has cost Florida growers $4.5 billion—and it’s time for a “sea change” in how we deal with them. Today, the USDA is releasing its list of the top 15 pest threats, USA Today reports…. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home

Articles of Interest

How the USDA Hacked the Sequester

April 1, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Evann Gastaldo There’s no way to get out of the sequester’s mandatory budget cuts, right? Wrong—at least for the USDA. Just three weeks after the sequester hit, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack found a way around it, snagging $55 million in new money for meat inspectors—just about the same amount the… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

This Company Is Making It Rain

March 31, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Jacob Roche, The Motley Fool

Filed under: Investing

Lindsay reported impressive second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, with record sales and increased margins leading to a 52% increase in earnings. Much of that performance can be credited to last year’s drought in the Midwest, one of the worst on record, that had the combined effect of pumping up crop prices — which many farmers would still benefit from even if their fields were fallow, via crop insurance — and of encouraging farmers to upgrade their irrigation equipment to gird against future dry years.

Well, so far, it’s looking as if we’re already in another dry year. According to the United States Drought Monitor, almost the entire western half of the U.S. is experiencing some kind of drought, with much of the Corn Belt and Great Plains regions experiencing “extreme” or “exceptional” drought conditions.

Meanwhile, farmers are expected to plant more corn than in any year since 1936, and even Lindsay itself cautioned that if corn supplies rebound from last year’s 16-year low, prices will go down, and farmers will have less income to upgrade their equipment with.

Let’s be real
Honestly, farmers have been expected to plant a record amount of corn every year for the past several years, which forecasters expect will lead to a record crop that will magically rebuild global corn supplies and bring the price down. It was expected last year, before a record drought led to one of the worst harvests in the past decade; and it was expected in 2011, before spring floods delayed planting and summer heat destroyed crops.

This year may play out like 2011. The parts of the Midwest that aren’t experiencing drought right now are instead enduring unseasonal snowstorms that may lead to flooding. Reports indicate that plantings are on track, but flooding may damage the crop, and, ironically, it still isn’t enough water to make up for previous drought conditions.

The global opportunity
According to the USDA‘s 2008 Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey, only about 14% of cropland in the U.S. is irrigated, and less than half of that is done with high-efficiency center pivot systems, like the kind Lindsay sells. The second most used method is gravity flow irrigation, a form of extremely low-efficiency flood irrigation.

Because such a low percentage of the U.S. is irrigated, it still represents a good opportunity for Lindsay, but the U.S. is comparatively high-tech. Developing regions in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East irrigate a higher percent of their cropland, but cheaper flood irrigation is the dominant method. Lindsay gets a healthy 36% of its sales outside the U.S., and while that’s slightly less than competitor Valmont Industries , at 40%, Lindsay gets a much higher percentage of its sales from irrigation equipment, while Valmont focuses more on utilities equipment such as street lights. That helps to explain why Lindsay was able to grow sales by 20% over the past four quarters and outpace …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

An Easy Way to Zero In on the Growing Large- and Mid-Cap Markets

March 23, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Selena Maranjian, The Motley Fool

Filed under: Investing

Exchange-traded funds offer a convenient way to invest in sectors or niches that interest you. If you’d like to add some sizable companies to your portfolio, the Guggenheim Russell 1000 Equal Weight ETF could save you a lot of trouble. Instead of trying to figure out which companies will perform best, you can use this ETF to invest in lots of them simultaneously. It weights its holdings equally, instead of by market cap, as many indexes do.

The basics
ETFs often sport lower expense ratios than their mutual fund cousins. The Guggenheim ETF‘s expense ratio — its annual fee — is a relatively low 0.42%. The fund is fairly small, too, so if you’re thinking of buying, beware of possibly large spreads between its bid and ask prices. Consider using a limit order if you want to buy in.

This ETF is too young to have a sufficient track record to assess. As with most investments, of course, we can’t expect outstanding performances in every quarter or year. Investors with conviction need to wait for their holdings to deliver.

Why large companies?
Large companies can add some ballast to your collection. Many may not grow as briskly as their smaller counterparts, but to reach their current size, they probably have some strong assets and features. And some can grow quite briskly, too. This ETF focuses on ones that seem undervalued according to some measures, which can boost the overall margin of safety for the basket.

More than a handful of large- and mid-cap companies had solid performances over the past year. Walgreen surged 41%, finally moving on from its now-resolved snit with pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts. Its pharmacy volume is picking up, and it has invested heavily in international growth, via a purchase of Europe-based Alliance Boots. It has also entered into a promising alliance with U.S. drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen.

Tyson Foods gained 25%, recently hitting a 52-week high despite margin compression due to rising prices. It also may be affected by Washington’s sequester, which is furloughing USDA meat inspectors, which can slow down business — though Tyson isn’t too worried about that. Management is bullish for its longer-term prospects, and Tyson’s forward P/E ratio of 9 is intriguing.

Other companies didn’t do as well last year but could see their fortunes change in the coming years. Food giant Archer Daniels Midland gained 5%, but some analysts, such as those at BMO Capital Markets, see it as a bit overvalued now; BMO cut its rating to market perform. The company recently raised its dividend by 9%, and it now yields 2.3%. In February, it posted strong second-quarter results, despite weak corn processing numbers.

A market darling not so long ago, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters added 3%. Investors have been worried about the patent expiration for its K-Cups, but the company has continued signing big …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

News, Politics, Government

Feds to Pay Out $1.3 Billion

March 22, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

President and Secretary of Agriculture walking

Getty

Due to decades of discrimination, the USDA says it will award $1.3B in settlements to people it has regrettably wronged.Who has until March 25th to register

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at AOL

News, Politics, Government

Video of New Mexico man shooting horse in head sparks outrage

March 22, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

An employee of a southeastern New Mexico slaughterhouse has posted a video online showing him fatally shooting a horse in the head.

That has sparked outrage among animal activists and led to death-threat calls to the Roswell meat company, which is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to get a horse slaughter plant in the area.

A maintenance contractor with Valley Meat Co. is shown in the video bringing a horse out of its pen, swearing at activists and then killing the horse with a single gunshot, KOB-TV reported Thursday.

Rick De Los Santos, a part-owner of Valley Meat Co., said he has been slammed with hate calls and death threats since the video hit the Internet.

“I didn’t have anything to do with that video. That’s the honest truth,” De Los Santos said.

De Los Santos said the contract worker, Tim Sappington, shot the video on his own time and at his own home.

“He shot a horse. That’s what he eats. It’s not against the law to slaughter your own horse,” De Los Santos said. “Now, putting it on YouTube, I would not have done that.”

Last year, De Los Santos sued the USDA to resume the inspections necessary to open what would be the nation’s first new horse slaughterhouse in more than five years.

The suit alleges USDA inaction on the company’s application was driven by emotional political debates and has cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Many animal humane groups and public officials were outraged at the idea of resuming domestic horse slaughter, including New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez.

But others — including some horse rescuers, livestock associations and the American Quarter Horse Association — support a return to domestic horse slaughter.

They point to a 2011 report from the federal Government Accountability Office that shows horse abuse and abandonment have been increasing since Congress effectively banned horse slaughter by cutting funding for federal inspection programs in 2006.

News, Politics, Government

NM worker films himself fatally shooting a horse