News Bits
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents on Wednesday approved three leadership appointments in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, AgriLife Research and AgriLife Extension.
In a special telephonic meeting, the regents approved:
• Mark Hussey, Ph.D., as interim Vice Chancellor and Dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences;
• Cliff Lamb, Ph.D., as interim Director and sole finalist for Director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research;
• Rick Avery, Ph.D., as interim Director and sole finalist for Director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
Chancellor John Sharp designated the three leaders last month after it was announced that Vice Chancellor and Dean Patrick Stover, who also served as Director of AgriLife Research, would step down Dec. 31 to focus on his duties as Director of the Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture.
Source: National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) news service
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reversing decades of practice in an attempt to further the Agency's compliance with the Endangered Species Act when evaluating new pesticides and ingredients.
In the new policy, EPA will evaluate the potential effects of each new active ingredient on federally threatened or endangered species and their designated critical habitats before the agency will register a new AI.
EPA will also initiate Endangered Species consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The EPA typically didn't assess the potential effects of conventional pesticides on listed species when registering new AIs. EPA says that typically resulted in not enough protection and resource-intensive litigation.
The agency says its new policy should reduce these kinds of court cases and improve the legal defensibility of newly approved active ingredients. Michael Freedhoff of the EPA says his agency is taking a "critical step" to register new pesticides in a way that prioritizes protection.
The National Biodiesel Board today unveiled its new name and new brand, Clean Fuels Alliance America, during the opening session of the 2022 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo. The transformation to Clean Fuels helps further the organization's position as a proven, innovative part of America's clean energy mix and helps the industry represent all its industry members: biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuels.
Source: North American Meat Institute news release
Looking for a scapegoat for economy-wide inflation, the Biden administration has alleged that meat and poultry industry concentration is to blame for rising consumer prices. The truth is not so convenient.
Using USDA's meat industry concentration data, the chart below demonstrates that, although the four-firm concentration in fed cattle beef packing has remained relatively constant since 1994, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for beef has been variable over that same period; sometimes above and sometimes below the overall CPI.
If concentration is causing the recent rise in consumer prices for meat and poultry products, then why did concentration not cause inflation five or ten years ago?
In fact, the December CPI showed prices for meat dropped slightly, yet concentration remained the same.
USDA: PER ACRE WATER USE IN IRRIGATED FARMLAND SHOWS A DECLINING TREND
