By former USDA Secretary John R. Block How long have we been listening to the relentless insinuations that genetically engineered crops may not be safe? The environmental activists have chosen to ignore science and use every trick to frighten consumers into not eating GMO food. Most scientists, 70% or 80%, stand up for the safety of […]
John Block: Nobel Laureates Read More »
Voters in the UK sent shockwaves rippling through the marketplace when they voted to leave the European Union. Markets don’t appreciate uncertainty and no one knows exactly how or when the “Brexit” will be executed or what trade environment will emerge in the post-split EU and UK. The Brexit is expected to have a sizeable
How “Brexit” Will Impact Agriculture and Trade Read More »
Yesterday, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) released their long-awaited bill that would establish a federal GMO labeling regime and preempt any state laws, such as Vermont’s Act 120. This legislation, unlike earlier attempts, is expected to garner enough support to gain enough support to pass in the
Senate Ag Leaders Unveil Compromise GMO Labeling Bill Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block Today, I want to concentrate on trade. We are in the process of negotiating a trade agreement with the European Union. We have just completed an agreement with 11 other countries (the Trans Pacific Partnership – TPP). That agreement now needs to be approved by the countries involved. Let’s
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block We hear a lot of talk about the economy. It’s not growing as fast as it should. Two percent growth is just too slow. It has taken forever to recover from the 2008 recession. There are a lot of opinions about why growth has been slow. I think one
John Block: Regulations and Licensing Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block Another week goes by – Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton look to be our Presidential candidates. It’s quite a contrast. Polls indicate that they are in a dead heat, but it’s a long time until November. Today, I’m going to put a series of issues on the table. The
John Block: A Lot Going On Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block Agriculture is an industry that depends heavily on exports with some 30% of our production sold to other countries. That explains the reason why the Ag industry has so much interest in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement that has been negotiated with 12 nations representing 40% of the
John Block: Trans-Pacific Partnership 2016 Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block Hopefully, we are beginning to set the record straight. We have heard so much misleading information criticizing biotechnology that we could go down the European road. In Europe, GE food is not on the plate. The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, with more than 60 experts, has
John Block: GMOs Are Safe Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block As a farmer, I would not like it if Europe shipped subsidized beef into our market. That would undercut our prices. What if Brazil shipped subsidized soybeans to us? We would be furious. Did you know that the U.S. government does this all of the time? Think about it
John Block: Peanuts Read More »
As published in Agri-Pulse The landmark civil rights lawsuit by Indian farmers and ranchers against the Department of Agriculture for discriminatory lending practices has come to a conclusion (barring any unexpected turn of events on appeal). U. S. District Court Judge Emmett Sullivan approved an agreement reached by the Government, counsel for the plaintiffs’ class,
$380 Million Keepseagle II Settlement Reached Read More »
Please see Dr. Nina Fedoroff and former USDA Secretary John Block’s op-ed featured in the New York Times on April 6, 2016 – Mosquito vs. Mosquito in the Battle Over the Zika Virus.
NYT: Mosquito vs. Mosquito in the Battle Over the Zika Virus Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block Last week was Ag Day. In fact, it was an Ag Week. Agri-Pulse had a panel of speakers talking about one of our industry’s biggest challenges – how do we communicate about our industry today? Very few people know anything about the business of producing food. We can’t produce
John Block: Ag Day Read More »
People often ask why Washington has to involve itself at all in providing crop insurance to American farmers. After all, homeowners across the country buy fire insurance, individuals buy life insurance, business owners buy casualty and liability insurance, all without taxpayers having to kick in subsidies. So why are farmers any different? Why the special
A Tale of Two Maps: Why Crop Insurance Is Different. Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block Nancy Reagan was laid to rest this week. She was a very elegant First Lady and she was number one on President Reagan’s list – the love of his life and a trusted defender of the President. She was not interested in getting deeply involved in policy issues. However,
John Block: GMO Legislation Read More »
At the recent crop insurance industry conference in Indian Wells, California, Brandon Willis, administrator of USDA’s Risk Management Agency or RMA, surprised many and made some trade-press headlines by announcing a seemingly-obscure statistic: that RMA’s “improper payment” rate — a closely-watched standardized measure of waste and abuse required of all major Federal spending programs –
RMA’s 2.2 Percent “Improper Payment” Rate: Why this Matters. Read More »
USDA’s Food & Nutrition Service (FNS) is authorized to administer the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”). This $80 billion program, formerly known as the food stamp program, provides monthly supplemental nutrition benefits to more than 45 million Americans. SNAP beneficiaries may redeem their monthly benefits at over 250,000 SNAP-authorized retailers across the country. To participate
On behalf of the Agriculture practice group at OFW Law, following is a copy of our Winter 2016 newsletter. We hope you find it useful. To receive this periodic newsletter by e-mail, please contact Carrie Morgan.
Regulatory Round-Up Newsletter, Winter 2016 Read More »
By Marshall Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse. These comments were first presented to the National Association of Wheat Growers. The 150,000 to 180,000 wheat farmers in America are facing a double-barrel challenge: The declining role and power of agriculture generally; and The declining position of wheat farmers compared to both foreign competition and compared to other major
Wheat Faces a Double Challenge Read More »
USDA’s Federal crop insurance program has benefited from a unique public-private partnership that is one of the most successful in government. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) and Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) set the insurance policies, subsidize them and regulate them, but they rely on private agents and insurance companies (called Approved Insurance Providers or
For Crop Insurance AIPs, a New Financial Environment Read More »
By OFW Law and HACCP Consulting Group Under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made the decision that registered facilities would be required to implement food safety plans based on preventive controls rather than the principles of HACCP. Since HACCP is already mandatory for identified hazards in seafood, juice and foods
It’s Not What You Call It – It’s How You Manage It Read More »
This past year, USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), which administers the Federal crop insurance program on behalf of USDA’s Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), quietly issued three new regulatory interpretations with deep implications for the conduct of arbitration between FCIC farmer-customers and companies the sell them crop insurance (Approved Insurance Providers or AIPs). The impact,
Arbitration in Federal Crop Insurance AIP-Farmer Disputes Read More »
OFW Law founding principal Richard L. Frank fills in for former USDA Secretary John R. Block: Hello everybody out there in farm country. This is Rick Frank sitting in for John Block. This radio commentary is brought to you by John Deere and the National Corn Growers Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies
John Block Reports: A Case Against Mandatory GMO Labeling Read More »
Dr. Doom and Ms. Gloom have been addressing the fact that both FSIS and FDA are paying more attention to Listeria control in ready-to-eat facilities. In previous blogs, they have discussed facility maintenance and repair as well as employee practices. Doom and Gloom also recommend that facilities that manufacture RTE foods maintain a Listeria Control
Doom and Gloom Suggest “Keeping Watch on Listeria” Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block I asked a couple of friends of mine in Illinois and Kansas – what do you think of the newly released Dietary Guidelines? Their answer – what Dietary Guidelines? The public is not paying much attention while the issue has had wide discussion here in Washington, D.C. Every five
John Block: Dietary Guidelines Read More »
Last year, Dr. Doom and Ms. Gloom offered tips for facility maintenance and repair to assist facilities in being prepared for the selection of targeted sampling by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and/or Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We hinted that the agencies would target sampling on areas of poor design or in
Flo and H’Jean (aka Doom and Gloom) Read More »
Happy New Year, readers! Yet another year has come and gone. I hope that 2015 was a good year for you, professionally and personally. As I look back on 2015, here are a few developments that caught my attention. In January, the House Energy and Commerce Committee released a long awaited discussion draft of the
2015 In Retrospect Read More »
Scientists from the Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS) Nutrient Data Laboratory, part of the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, and the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements, in collaboration with other federal agencies, earlier this year updated and released a database that validates the content of popular dietary supplements — the Dietary Supplement
Database for Dietary Ingredient Content of Dietary Supplements Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block The U.S. Congress didn’t get much done this year until December. Agriculture had a long wish list that just sat on the table. But surprise! We came out better than I thought we would. First, the Congress passed a five-year, $305 billion dollar transportation bill. Our roads and bridges
John Block: What Did We Get Done In 2015? Read More »
America’s meat industry and our trading partners engaged in a collective sigh of relief on Friday. Prior to embarking on his annual Christmas retreat to Hawaii, President Obama signed the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act into law. Tucked into the 2,009-page bill was a measure that repeals USDA’s special country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements for fresh and
Beef and Pork are Now Un-COOL, and That’s a Good Thing Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block The World Trade Organization ruled this week that Canada and Mexico can impose retaliatory tariffs on our exports to their countries to the tune of more than 1 billion dollars per year. This is serious. It can cost pork producers, cattlemen, and our whole ag industry a lot of
John Block: Repeal COOL Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block On the one hand, it makes me smile, and on the other, it makes me scratch my head. A lot of people are not sure if this Congress will get their business done without shutting down the government. I think they will avoid a shut down, but the process
John Block: This & That – The Politics of the Day Read More »
By Marshall Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse Today’s transportation and communication systems were totally unimaginable when the Wright brothers traveled to Kitty Hawk or Alexander Bell invented the telephone. The same can be said for agriculture. Americans were 90% farmers during the Revolution and over 50% farmers when President Lincoln established the United States Department of Agriculture
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block Last week, six former U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture released a letter urging the Congress to pass the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement. Support for passage is bipartisan and enthusiastic. Standing together, you have: Secretary Ed Schafer, Secretary Mike Johanns, Secretary Ann Veneman, Secretary Dan Glickman, Secretary Mike Espy, Secretary
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block USDA and HHS are close to issuing the 2015 version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The Guidelines, issued every five years, must be based on “the preponderance of the scientific and medical knowledge current at the time the report is issued.” That is a pretty high standard and
John Block: 2015 Dietary Guidelines – Will They Be Credible? Read More »
As we detailed in an earlier blog post, the White House issued a July 2nd executive memorandum on “Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products.” The memo directs the relevant federal agencies – FDA, USDA, and EPA – to update the federal government’s Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology, which was created in 1986 and last
GMO Regulatory Reform: The Way Forward Read More »
