What is the connection between dry beans, Nebraska, and the US Department of Agriculture?
Today Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman offered thanks to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for assistance given to Nebraska dry bean producers. The Governor applauded the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for completing a purchase this week of great northern beans. Gov. Heineman contacted Vilsack in March requesting assistance for Nebraska’s dry bean industry. The state’s dry bean processors were having difficulty finding domestic or foreign markets for the contracted supply of 2008 great northern beans due to the global economic downturn and other factors. The Governor requested USDA consider using funding known as Section 32 funds to purchase the beans and help align supply and demand in the marketplace. “This purchase is a great start toward opening up the marketplace for our dry bean industry,” Gov. Heineman said. “We appreciate USDA’s response to our request.” USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Food Purchase Report published yesterday indicates USDA ha
By Robert Pore World Herald News Service  A misleading reference to the H1N1 influenza as “swine flu” has come at a heavy price to American pork producers, said Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb.  This week Johanns sent letters to the ambassadors of countries that are imposing full or partial bans on U.S. pork and pork products, urging them to lift unjustified trade restrictions. “U.S. pork is safe – plain and simple,” Johanns said. “There is no link between our pork and the flu virus affecting humans. Unfortunately, misinformation early-on identified this flu as being linked to Mexican pigs and our nation’s pork industry is paying the price, including Nebraska’s pork producers.”  To help take some of the pressure off pork producers, the American Farm Bureau Federation is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allocate additional purchases of pork using the Section 32 program to help provide stability to the pork industry which is suffering from lost markets due to the rec
