News in Brief

Veneman Announces ARS Administrator, Associates

Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman announced July 12, 2004, the appointment of Dr. Edward B. Knipling as the new administrator for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Dr. Antoinette A. Betschart and Dr. Caird E. Rexroad, Jr. as associate administrators.

?Ed Knipling has provided valuable experience in leading ARS in an acting position,? said Veneman. ?We appreciate his continued willingness to serve in this leadership position.?

Knipling is responsible for managing USDA?s main in-house scientific research agency with more than 2,100 scientists and 8,000 total employees in more than 100 locations. He has served as acting administrator since December 2001, although he has worked at ARS in a variety of capacities since 1968.

?ARS?s programs are very important to the sheep industry,? stated American Sheep Industry Association Deputy Director of Policy Paul Rodgers. ?Drs. Knipling, Betschart and Rexroad have all been involved with our industry issues in the past, and we look forward to working with them in their new roles.?

FSA County Committee Process

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced July 16, 2004, that the county committee election process has begun, and that America?s farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers are urged to nominate local producers to serve on U.S. Department of Agriculture?s Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Committees.

?County committees play an important role in the local implementation and oversight of FSA programs,? stated Veneman. ?We urge all producers to participate in local elections.?

Any agricultural producer who resides within the local administrative area from which a member of his or her county committee is being elected, or who is participating or cooperating in an FSA program, may become a nominee.

Individuals may nominate others or themselves as a candidate. Candidates may also be nominated by community-based organizations in the county or area.

Important county committee election dates are: Sept. 3 - nomination process ends; Oct. 1 - registration for mail-in ballot ends; Dec. 6 - deadline to return ballots; and Jan. 1 - committee members take office.

NASS County Profiles Now Online

The U.S. Department of Agriculture?s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has posted to the Internet county profiles from the 2002 Census of Agriculture.

The county profiles provide a more in-depth analysis of the ?story of agriculture? by providing more state and county information. From the number of farms, to economic and operator characteristics, the Web site provides detailed information as well as comparisons to the 1997 Census of Agriculture.

To find the information online, go to www.nass.usda.gov/census, then click on ?Profiles: State and County? under the Specialty Products section.

Legislative Updates:

The U.S. House of Representatives passed July 13, 2004, the final FY 2005 Agricultural Appropriations bill. Of particular interest to the U.S. sheep industry is stable or increased funding for Wildlife Services, wool research and scrapie eradication.

The House members defeated by an overwhelming margin of 347 to 72 an amendment presented by Reps. Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Ed Royce (R-CA) that would have eliminated funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture?s Market Access Program (MAP).

MAP funding is used to create overseas export opportunities for American agriculture. The American Sheep Industry Association utilizes MAP funding for the cost-sharing of overseas marketing and promotional activities for U.S. wool.

Hogget Dressed as Lamb?

What might pass as a lamb in New Zealand gets the less flattering name of ?hogget? in Australia, reports Age Australia. That?s because Australia has long defined a lamb as a young sheep that has not yet cut adult teeth. (If the teeth have broken through, the animal becomes a hogget.) However, in New Zealand, an animal with up to two adult teeth is deemed a lamb. And there is a big price differential between lamb and a down-marketed hogget.

Unsurprisingly, some Australian lamb producers would like to change their country?s definition of lamb. Their argument? Dry conditions and a lack of soft grass in the fattening paddocks have caused many lambs to cut adult teeth sooner.

At the recent New South Wales Farmers Association Annual Conference in Sydney, a motion was entertained to ?support a change in the definition of a lamb to include animals that have no more than one permanent incisor tooth erupted.? The motion was defeated.

A representative of the Sheepmeat Council of Australia said that the definition of a lamb is ?black and white? -- and must remain that way.