A3O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 5, 2003 Commodities Represented At COOL (Continued from Page A 1) animals to place of birth. Sessions told the apparently disgruntled cattle feeders in February that “I am only the messenger.” He was only trying to alert them of the law’s provisions. Four months later, Sessions was back to hear more comments about COOL but in a more con trolled setting to hear from most of the commodity groups and businesses, not just cattle feeders, affected by COOL law. Out of the 45 persons who had signed up to speak, 36 ac tually offered testimony. ( (We fanners are the little boys and they will rob us to death. The present ers spoke in I do think we should have some way of going for country of origin labeling, but if it’s going to take everything away from us, I say don’t do it.... We have nobody to pass (po tential costs of the program) on to. The big packers and all the big boys and all the man ufacturers can take it from us and keep it for themselves. 5 5 the order in which they had signed in. The 30th speaker stole the show After hearing speaker after speaker offer- pro- i n g grammed op- position, G a.r f i e 1 d Frieze began talk t o straight from his heart. Frieze said, “I am just a poor farmer and I don’t know a lot about this... but they said they are going to take everything away from us. We farmers are the Uttle boys and they will rob us to death.” Frieze said, “I do think we should have some way of going for country of origin labeling, but if it’s going to take everything away from us, I say don’t do it. Farmers are hurt enough. Two of us came up from Virginia came 400 miles just to see you people to tell you we don’t make enough. We have nobody to pass (potential costs of the pro gram) on to. But the big packers and all the big boys and all the manufacturers can take it from us and keep it for themselve s I thank you for hearing from us and think about the poor farmer.” When asked by Sessions to re peat his name, Frieze said, “My NFU Supports WASHINGTON, D.C. Na tional Fanners Union President Dave Frederickson publicly com mended Sen. Chuck Grassley, R lowa, and Reps. Dave Camp, R- Mich., and Earl Pomeroy, D- N.D., for introducing legislation to address unfair foreign barriers to U.S. agricultural exports. During a Capitol Hill news conference last week, Frederick son joined Grassley and Camp as they unveiled the U.S. Agricul tural Products Market Access Act of 2003, which creates a “Special 301” procedure within U.S. trade laws. PIT POWER Farmers and composters - Here is a breakdown for compost and manure pits and manure piles l Pit Power is bacteria and bacteria feeders that break down solids in manure pits and septic tanks and breakdown compost taster. 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For those who couldn’t attend the session, all of the testimony at the 12 lis tening sessions, both spoken and written, is on the Web at www.ams.usda.gov/cool. Click on Transcripts from Informational Sessions. Fourteen people noted that the COOL legislation should be re pealed. They included supermar ket operators, food manufactur ers, and food marketers. Five cattle producers also spoke, four in favor and one opposed. Those in favor included a New York State senator who is a chairman of an agriculture committee, a Lancaster County Angus breeder, a Virginia cattleman who also spoke for R-Calf Inc., and a cat tleman from Virginia. A cattle man from Ohio, also speaking on behalf of the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, was opposed to mandatory labeling. A sheep producer, who also represented the American Sheep Industry Association, was in favor of labeling American Lamb. One independent pork producer opposed, the legislation. There were three meat packing firms represented by six speakers and all opposed COOL. Three meat packing/processors associations represented by four Proposed Market Access Act Under this provision, the U.S. Trade Representative would be required to determine if trade practices of other nations deny fair and equitable access to the United States. If the USTR iden tifies that a country is significant ly and negatively impacting U.S. trade, the legislation would re quire the USTR to initiate correc tive actions. “NFU is a long-time supporter of maintaining and improving our domestic trade laws as a via ble mechanism to ensure fair and competitive markets,” Frederick- %Vlee-mar FARM^t* */ 2724 Conestoga Creek Rd \ / Morgantown PA \ o \% 610-286-9052 /Jf Sa/es & Rentals Vcov^ speakers all opposed. Two speakers represented farm organizations who stressed the growers, producers, and con sumer need for country of origin labeling. One speaker represented a Pennsylvania consumer coali tion in favor of labeling. One agribusiness association representing swine interests was opposed. A beef specialist from Ohio State University cited problems with the mandatory law and made some recommendations about identifying cattle. Getting this Garfield Frieze Virginia Farmer men’s Associa tion and the American National Cattle Wom en’s Association (ANCWA). Hoffman said she was in favor of clear labeling for consumer choice. She said the groundwork was already in place for the legis lation in Section 304, Tariff Act of 1930 and also in the Meat In spection Act for the consumer’s right to know what is in the package. She said there is over whelming support for this legisla tion and talked at length about consumer choice and the NCSA’s stance in favor of volun tary labeling. Other notable speakers in favor were Larry Breech, presi dent of the Pennsylvania Farmers Union, and Guy Donaldson, president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. Prior to the afternoon session. The American Meat Institute hosted a media session earlier in the day to explain their position. son said. “We believe the legisla tion sponsored by Senator Grass ley and Congressmen Camp and Pomeroy represents a positive step forward in ensuring greater fairness in international agricultural trade.” rps Frederickson explained that under current law, the USTR has discretion to take action and industry groups must devote signifi cant time and resources to file petitions with the trade representative to initiate an investigation. session off to a good start in support of COOL was Sen. Nancy Lorraine Hoffman who said she was a 10-term senator from New York State, chairman of the agricul ture committee for five years, who raises cat tle on a small farm South of Syracuse, and is a member of the National Cattle- ALLENTOWN (Lehigh Co.) The Great Allentown Fair has announced the concert that com pletes the bill of big name shows coming to the fair this year run ning August 26-September 1. Pop/rock performers Michelle Branch and Sugar Ray will co headline a concert at the fair’s main stage at the Grandstand venue on Friday, August 29. Tickets for this show will not go on sale until Saturday, July 12. The addition of Michelle Branch and Sugar Ray rounds out the fair’s offerings that in clude country music icons Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn, classic rock legends Crosby, Stills & Nash, and the two shows that went on sale June 28 Def Lep- SACRAMENTO, Calif. Na tional Science Foundation Direc tor Dr. Rita Colwell said recently that international cooperation in emerging genomics research will play a central role in ending hun ger and promoting sustainable agriculture during a keynote ad dress at the Ministerial Confer ence and Expo on Agricultural Science and Technolog. “If we are serious about mak ing hunger and famine a thing of the past, we must use every tool we can develop,” said Colwell. “Plant genomics is a tool that holds fantastic potential to con tribute to the well-being of hu manity and to the planet we call home.” Genomics research into plant genetics has enabled scientists to engineer crops that are salt toler ant or drought resistant, while current research is examining how to develop foods that are nu tritionally advanced. Colwell highlighted the significant devel opments over the past two dec Allentown Fair Completes Bill Of Big Name Shows Gene Mapping To Pave Way For Crop Improvements pard and New Found Glory. Leppard tickets are $37 for re served seats in the grandstand as well as the general admission standing room on the track. New Found Glory tickets are $25 in advance and $3O day of show for reserved seats in the grandstand and general admission standing on the track. Show tickets in clude admission into the fair when purchased in advance of the show dates. Reserved seats are still avail able in the grandstand for Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Details about purchasing tickets are available on the fair’s web site at www.allentownfairpa.org and its show line at (610) 435-SHOW. ades that have opened new doors of exploration to scientists seek ing methods to improve the nu trition and health of the world’s population and the sustainability of the environment. These devel opments include: • The first ever completely se quenced plant genome of the mustard weed Arabidopsis in De cember 2000, whose genetic in formation now serves as the guide for mapping 125,000 other plant species; • the completion of a deep draft (99 percent complete) se quence of the rice genome by an international consortium of scien tists including USDA in Decem ber 2002; • the discovery of new methods to sequence the complex 'maize genome; and • the identification and isola tion of resistance genes for the potato late blight disease. To learn more about the Na tional Science Foundation, visit: http://www.nsf.gov.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers