Bunt Praises Farmers 9 Anti-Bioterrorism Efforts
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Chairman of the House
Agricultural and Rural Affairs
Committee Rep. Raymond Bunt
(R-Montgomery) gave a thumbs
up to the Commonwealth’s agri
cultural industry as members
have taken added steps to protect
the state’s livestock and crops.
“Signs of bioterrorism can
come in many forms,” Bunt said.
“By farmers and agricultural
workers educating themselves
about dangers and preventative
measures, we are saving time,
money and a possible disaster if
an act of terror should occur here
in Pennsylvania.”
Farmers are changing their
farming practices by tightening
how livestock graze, placing new
animals in quarantine, wearing
disposable boots, using correct
handling procedures and quality
assurance methods, and placing
locks on buildings that house ani
mals.
Veneman Chooses Members
Of New Advisory Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C. Sec
retary of Agriculture Ann M. Ve
neman recently announced ap
pointments to the new Advisory
Committee on Biotechnology and
21st Century Agriculture. Ap
pointees will serve one- or two
year terms, and may be reap
pointed to serve up to six consec
utive years.
“This committee will take a
forward look at agriculture bio
technology and will serve as an
important resource as USDA ad
dresses emerging issues related to
this field,” said Veneman. “I am
pleased that these individuals
have agreed to provide their time
and expertise to serve on this
committee.”
The committee is charged with
examining the long-term impacts
of biotechnology on the U.S. food
and agriculture system and pro
viding guidance to USDA on
pressing individual issues related
to the application of biotechnolo
gy in agriculture.
The Committee is composed of
18 members from 14 states, the
District of Columbia and Mexico.
The members represent the bio
technology industry, the seed in
dustry, farmers, environmental
and consumer organizations, aca
derrtia and international plant re
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Members of the dairy industry
have introduced a new safety
procedure that allows milk tank
er drivers to attach a tamper-re
sistant plastic seal with a number
on the top of the tanker opening.
The driver then writes the num
ber in the manifest, and delivers
the load to the processing plant.
There, workers check the seals
and compare corresponding
numbers. Busted seals or mis
matched numbers could result in
the entire load of milk being dis
carded.
“These safety seals are an ex
cellent form of protection, and
they don’t hinder or slow drivers
from completing scheduled
stops,” Bunt said. “This is a low
cost way to protect consumers
and the dairy industry.”
Bunt said consumers would
not see any increase in costs for
the new safety measure at their
local grocery store. The Mary-
search centers, the food industry,
product shippers and traders.
The appointments were pub
lished in the Federal Register
April 14.
Patricia A. Layton, Professor,
Department of Forest Resources,
Clemson University, South Caro
lina will serve as Chair of the Ad
visory Committee on Biotechno
logy and 21st Century
Agriculture.
The other members of the
Committee are: Daryl D. Buss,
Dean, School of Veterinary Med
icine, University of Wisconsin, at
Madison, Wisconsin; Leon C.
Corzine, Farmer, and Chairman,
Biotechnology Working Group,
National Com Growers Associa
tion, in Illinois; Carole Cramer,
Professor, Virginia Tech, and
Chief Scientific Officer, Crop-
Tech Corporation, in Virginia;
Richard T. Crowder, Chief Exec
utive Officer, American Seed
Trade Association, in Virginia;
Michael D. Dykes, Vice Presi
dent, Government Affairs, Mon
santo Company, in Washington,
D.C.; Juan C. Enriquez-Cabot,
Director, Life Sciences Project,
Harvard Business School, in
Massachusetts; Randal W. Gi
roux, Staff Scientist, Cargill, Inc.,
in Minnesota.
Also, Duane Grant, Farmer
land and Virginia Milk Producers
Cooperative made the switch to
protective seals two months after
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Regional officials from agricul
ture, emergency planning and
other agencies have been working
hard since before Sept. 11 to pre
pare for deadly outbreaks such as
foot-and-mouth disease.
Agencies and organizations in
cluding veterinarians, state po
lice, the Pennsylvania Game
Commission, county extension
officers, the Pennsylvania Emer
gency Management Agency
(PEMA) and Pennsylvania De
partment of Agriculture, as well
as representatives from the Fed
eral Emergency Agency (FEMA)
and the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture, have been
meeting regularly to discuss what
actions and safety measures
should be implemented to protect
our nation’s agricultural security.
Since the terrorist attacks.
and Member, National Associa
tion of Wheat Growers and U.S.
Wheat Inc. Biotechnology Com
mittee, in Idaho; David A. Hoi
sington, Director, Applied Bio
technology Center and
Bioinformatics, International
Maize and Wheat Improvement
Center (CIMMYT), in Mexico
City, Mexico; Gregory A. Jaffe,
Co-Director, Biotechnology Proj
ect, Center for Science in the
Public Interest, in Washington,
D.C.; David C. Magnus, Assist
ant Professor, Center for Bioe
thics, University of Pennsylvania,
in Pennsylvania; Terry L. Med
ley, Vice President, Global Regu
latory Affairs, DuPont Agricul
ture and Nutrition, in Delaware;
Margaret G. Mellon, Director,
Food and Environment Program,
Union of Concerned Scientists, in
Washington, D.C; Ronald D.
Olson, Vice President, Grain Op
erations, General Mills, in Minne
sota; Jerome B. Slocum, Farmer
and General Manager, North
Mississippi Grain Company, in
Mississippi; Keith C. Triebwas
ser. Manager, Product Safety and
Regulatory Affairs, The Procter
and Gamble Company, in Ohio;
and Lisa W. Zannoni, Head,
Global Regulatory Affairs and
Government Relations, BASF
Plant Science, in New Jersey.
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these agencies have met periodi
cally to expand their focus to in
clude more foreign animal dis
eases, bioterrorism and other
agricultural issues.
Some ways to prevent or con
trol disease outbreaks include;
• Limit access to farm to one
gated road, and keep gate, and
all unused buildings locked at all
times.
• Control rodents and birds
that may live in bams, especially
feed rooms.
• Monitor visits and visitors,
and do not take_ visitors to live
stock areas or bams unnecessari-
• Train employees to recog
nize common disease signs and
patterns.
• Wash hands after being in
livestock areas, use clean overalls
and disposable boots or rubber
boots (clean and disinfect rubber
boots after each farm visit).
• Isolate all new animals.
• Call veterinarian immedi
ately if unusual illness or signs of
disease are found.
• Avoid transfer of dirt, mud
State Hereford Association
Leadership Gathers In Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. On
April 12, 29 state Hereford asso
ciation leaders convened in Kan
sas City for the first State Officer
Leadership Workshop sponsored
by the American Hereford Asso
ciation (AHA).
State leaders joined the AHA
Board of Directors and staff for
a day filled with idea exchanges
that proved to be productive and
educational.
Round table discussion groups
were formed addressing ques
tions about recruiting new mem
bers, state priorities and working
with state cattlemens associa
tions to promote the breed.
Dr. Bob Kropp, Oklahoma
State University, moderated the
event.
Dr. Dan Moser, AHAs Animal
Breeding Consultant from Kan
sas State University, addressed
the attributes of the Hereford
cow, giving the association lead
ers exciting information to use in
their promotion of Herefords at
the state level.
After much research, Moser
concluded, the ability of the
Hereford cow to thrive in tough
conditions and return pregnant
or manure by vehicles, and close
ly watch vehicles carrying live
stock at all times.
In addition to the added ship
ping protection, Pennsylvania’s
agricultural community has
taken several steps to protect
livestock and vegetation grown
for public consumption since the
events of Sept. 11 and a near
breakout of foot-and-mouth dis
ease.
In addition to farmers learning
about ways to keep their liveli
hood safe, 4-H students and Fu
ture Farmers of America (FFA)
members have begun learning
about biosecurity measures.
“The life of the farmer has
drastically changed,” Bunt said.
“Now we need to teach the farm
ers of tomorrow how they can
protect their future.”
The state legislature took sig
nificant steps during the
2002-2003 session to aid farmers
in the protection of crops and
livestock, with the passage of a
bill to provide for criminal and
civil penalties for crop destruc
tion.
year after year proves to be the
biggest asset the breed has to offer
the commercial cow-calf industry.
Mosers most exciting finding
was based on results from the
USDA Germplasm Evaluation
Program conducted at the USDA
Meat & Animal Research facility
in Clay Center, Neb.
USDA found that the Hereford
females produced the highest
pregnancy rate when compared to
all other breed groups. Hereford
females expressed a 96 percent
pregnancy rate compared to 86
percent for Angus, 87 percent for
Red Angus, 91 percent for Sim
mental, 78 percent for Gelbvieh,
83 percent for Limousin, and 94
percent for Charolais.
Part of the conference was
spent learning from successful
state association leaders. Jack
and Lyn Chastain, Texas Here
ford Association, Kay Morgan,
Nebraska Hereford Association
and JoAnne Rogers, Texas Polled
Hereford Association, shared with
other leaders some of their experi-
ences they face in their associa
tions and how they work to
promote Herefords in the state.
Chastains discussed trade show
promotion and in their
monthly publication.
Morgan and Rogers
gave an overview of
coordinating and print
ing a monthly state
newsletter and told of
the benefits of a commu
nication piece like this to
inform the membership.
Johnny Woolfolk,
Tennessee Hereford As
sociation, Tom Granzow
and Tom Krauss repre
sentatives from the Kan
sas Hereford Associa
tion, shared with the
members what is involv
ed in hosting a success
ful state feeder calf sale.