Agriculture Department removes limits on portions for school lunches

C. Ryan Barber

Facing criticism that newly mandated school lunch menus were leaving students hungry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has removed daily and weekly portion limits on grains, meats and alternatives such as cheese.

Berks County food service directors welcomed the announcement. Planning menus around the regulations was like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle, some had said.

But with calorie limits still in effect, some directors were hesitant to embrace the relaxed regulations.

"With the calorie limits, you can't do a whole lot about changing the meal program," said Gloria L. Clay, Exeter School District food service supervisor. "But it's a welcome change at this point. Maybe we can put cheese on some of our sandwiches now."

From cheese in Exeter to a couple more chicken nuggets on plates in Reading schools, the change will be seen in little ways.

"We'll be serving our 2.5-ounce burger again," said Kurt Myers, Reading's food services director.

Approved in 2010 and championed by first lady Michelle Obama, the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act handed the USDA the authority to mandate a menu makeover for 2012-13, introducing new grain and protein restrictions and more fruits and vegetables. But food service directors took aim at the restrictions over fears that students would go home hungry and that the required variety of produce would lead to wasted food.

In Fleetwood, food services Director Jeff Woodall said the USDA's decision to relax the grain and meat limits was intended to buy time for schools and food manufacturers to adjust to the guidelines.

For instance, schools will be able to serve breaded chicken patties weighing 3 ounces apiece, even though the original restrictions had capped protein servings at 12 ounces a week for ninth- to 12th-graders. The protein limit was 10 ounces for children in kindergarten to eighth grade.

"It will go back into effect next year I'm sure," Woodall said. "This is just a temporary relief."

Tony Brochu Jr., Muhlenberg's food services coordinator, said he is staying the course, leaving the menus as they've been since the start of the school year.

He compared the limits placed on menus with a diet and argued that a diet doesn't become any easier after taking a break, only to begin it anew.

"I don't have to flip-flop," he said. "I don't have to look like a politician and flip-flop on my choices."

Though Brochu will be leaving his job in January for a similar position in Lebanon County, he said his replacement at Muhlenberg will continue as though the portion limits were still in place.

Back in summer, as they planned menus for the school year, food service directors embraced the federal effort to curb childhood obesity. But they decried the regulations as imposing too much too soon.

Brochu said complaints about smaller portions wore off after a few weeks, but his concern about wasted food - particularly from the mandated variety of produce - has played out, keeping garbage disposals humming through the lunch periods.

But at least the government is listening, food directors said.

"It's not like a mandate from the dictator that this is the way things are going to be," said Myers of Reading. "When the majority talks, it appears they are listening."

Contact C. Ryan Barber: 610-371-5081 or rbarber@readingeagle.com.

Original Article Here

Agriculture in Australia's north – now that's a plan

By David Leyonhjelm
Various people have pointed out that the National Food Plan green paper, while claiming global food security is at the heart of social and political stability and in our interests as a nation, fails to acknowledge the enormous potential for food production in Australia's north.

The government's contribution to global food security, according to the plan, is technology and expertise transfers to developing countries, trade-related development assistance, advocacy and support for appropriate policies (mainly trade), and short-term emergency food assistance.

While there are references to food producers becoming more productive and competitive, with access to new technology, there is no expectation of a significant boost to food production. Indeed, there is an assumption that a major increase is not feasible given limited agricultural land and competition from urban encroachment and mining.

As for the north of Australia, the Plan says "large-scale expansion of irrigated agriculture in northern Australia-the scale of which would be required to create a northern food bowl-does not appear to be sustainable or feasible."

This is a curious point of view. Anyone who has toured the area around Kununurra will know what is possible when there is a reliable supply of water during the dry season. Water from Lake Argyle has transformed the country from 'clapped out buffalo country' into highly productive agriculture land capable of growing a diverse range of crops.

In fact, water is the key requirement for most agriculture in Western Australia. Huge wheat crops are produced year after year from soils that comprise little more than sand, simply because small amounts of rain fall at the right time. Or perhaps more accurately, WA farmers are smart enough to plant their crops to take advantage of the rain.

The idea that northern Australia is not capable of becoming a massive food bowl is too silly for words. What is required is a reliable, consistent supply of water.

That there is enough water cannot be doubted. The country is not a desert. The amount of rainfall in northern Australia is eight times the annual runoff in the Murray-Darling basin. In fact, during the wet season there is so much water that getting around is difficult. The problem is that it only falls during the wet season and massive quantities flow out to sea.

The solution, fairly obviously, is to build more dams like the Ord so the water can be used during the dry season. There are some infrastructure improvements that would be needed as well, particularly transport, but water availability would make it feasible to address these.

Original Article Here

Famers despair over future of agriculture

By Rhiana Whitson (ABC Gippsland) 

Gippsland farmers painted a dire picture of life on the farm at a National Food Plan hearing in Traralgon this week.

Farmers and those involved in Gippsland's food industry voiced concerns over the power of the supermarket duopoly, over-regulation and skill shortages.

The Federal Government's National Food Plan taskforce is touring the country to get feedback on the plan's green paper, which will form the basis of the Federal Government's official position on the future of Australia's food industry.

The National Food Plan aims to safeguard future food supplies, and consider the environment, jobs, food processing, development and to sketch out a plan on how best to target a growing Asian market.

"The National Food Plan is the Federal Government's first attempt to bring together all of its policies in the food system into one place," explains Trish Stone, Assistant Secretary for the National Food Plan Taskforce.

"Our neighbours in Asia, are looking for healthy green, high quality foods, that's something Australia is really well positioned to provide," she says.

Alex Arbuthnott, chair of Agribusiness Gippsland, says the development of a National Food Plan is a step in the right direction - albeit a little late.

"We really should have seen this happen about five years ago," says Mr Arbuthnott.

"The Australian farmer at the moment is experiencing very, very difficult conditions and particularly with the price for milk," he says.

"The worst feature about the low price of milk in the supermarket is we're conditioning our consumer to be paying that low price for milk."

Add supermarket discounting to the recent poor seasonal conditions, high export prices and a high Australian dollar, and Gippsland farmers are struggling, Mr Arbuthnott says.

But Mr Arbuthnott is unsure whether regulated prices are the answer to the food sector's woes.

Instead, he says the Federal Government needs to help to develop a more creative strategy in marketing the sector to people at home and abroad, provide more support to farmers and to negotiate a better trade agreement with Asia.

"The reality is in a wonderful country like Australia everybody takes good food at pretty reasonable prices for granted," Mr Arbuthnott says.

Denison beef farmer Geoff Stephens says farmers are being held to ransom by the big supermarkets.

"You've got to fall into line or fall out."

He welcomes the development of a National Food Plan but doesn't expect to see changes happen overnight.

"I hope that the Government realises that farmers have to make a profit, we can't go on being below cost production agents in the chain."

Rosedale farmer Gerald Laws has more than 50 years experience of life on the land in Gippsland.

He says the agriculture sector has been slowly devalued and fears the farming industry will fall apart.

"It might be two decades down the line, but it will arrive here."

Have your say on the future of Australia's food industry by making a public submission to the National Food Plan by September 30.

Original Article Here

Planning didn't destroy agriculture

By A.O. Black

Jared Black (Guest opinion, July 8) begins with a false premise and tries to blame land-use planning for changes in society.

Far from being created by a single governor, Oregon's highly regarded land-use planning efforts began with Senate Bill 100, an act of the Legislature. The legislation, not the governor, formed the Land Conservation and Development Commission, a coordination and review panel for decisions developed by municipal and county planning commissions.

Land-use planning in Oregon, far from big-government central planning, was a local effort. Citizens in every part of the state worked to develop comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances for their own locality. Jared Black's own father was very active in the development of land-use planning in Jackson County and served on the Applegate Citizens' Advisory Committee.

Still, Jared Black argues that changes in society and economics reflect a failure of land-use planning. Declines in agricultural activities cannot be blamed on land-use planning when there is so much evidence that, during the same period, increases in farming efficiency and large agribusiness decimated small family farms across the nation.

Declines in timber harvest have resulted not from land-use planning but from growing awareness of other forest values. Land-use planning, in fact, preserved forestland that would otherwise have been cut over and converted to non-agricultural use, a common practice in Oregon during the late 1960s. Farmland across the state was saved from being carved into cookie-cutter housing developments by land-use planning.

Jared Black further confuses the reader by bemoaning the loss of young farmers, then admits that he, himself, left farming to pursue another career. Is land-use planning to blame for his choice?

Indeed, for 50-plus years, graduates from rural Oregon high schools were propelled away to big cities and bigger salaries. A new generation of farmers, such as the organic farmers who recently re-chartered the Applegate Grange, are trickling back in to take their place.

Land-use planning has helped to preserve the very farmland that is now so critical to preserving local foods and local economies. Jared Black also contends that the increase in transfer payments (Social Security) is because of a static population aging in place. The young people moved away and retirement age (think baby boomers) with transfer payments have relocated to rural Oregon counties.

Land-use planning has had the effect of making rural Oregon counties an attractive destination for retirees: clean water, clean air, livable densities and natural beauty. A review of farm and forestland zoning may produce some changes, but it also should show us how far we have come since donation land claims were cut into 10-acre parcels and sold for vacation homes. It does not, however, mean a new wave of unbridled liberty, leaving the natural resources of Oregon to be sacrificed.

A.O. Black is the sister of Jared Black. She lives in Ashland.

Original Article Here

New planning in agriculture

A 4-day regional training workshop on drafting effective national agricultural development programmes began at Grand Hyatt Muscat Hotel here yesterday. The workshop deals with the process of preparation of the integrated systems designed for implementation in member states of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Thirty-six officials are taking part in the workshop, which was opened by Dr Hamad bin said al Oufi, Under-Secretary of the Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry for Fisheries.

Dr Khalid bin Mansour al Zadjali, Director-General of Planning and Investment Development, said that the workshop aims at enhancing the capacity of FAO representatives and upgrade the level of technicians to support agricultural development through effective strategic planning. It also seeks to enhance the capacity of specialists in agricultural and fish planning by imparting knowledge and the skills needed to implement national programmes.

Al Zadjali pointed out that effective national programmes include several themes, including medium-term joint response between governments and the FAO by optimising the outcome of joint studies. FAO Representative in the Sultanate, El Zein al Muzzammil, said the workshop is one of the methods to identify medium-term response to the needs of member states in pursuit of development objectives.

El Zein pointed out that the devising of the national framework for programming is a shared responsibility between the governments and the FAO with participation of national stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society institutions. The FAO launched early this year a programme to promote knowledge and upgrade skills on results-based programming, management and resource mobilisation at the national level.
Richard Moore, FAO Head of Human Resources Department, said in a speech that partnership with the Sultanate is a good opportunity to achieve important goals and transform knowledge into reality. He stressed that effective national programme provides an opportunity to exchange opinions and improve policies. — ONA

Original Article here

Deal in works on employment of foreign laborers in agriculture

By Amiram Cohen

After months of negotiations, the agricultural sector is poised to agree a deal that calls for the gradual reduction in the number of foreign migrant workers, but also gives farmers the right to hire seasonal migrant laborers from abroad four to nine month a year as required.

The plan is being worked out with the involvement of the finance and agricultural ministries along with the employment and immigration divisions at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor in an effort to address labor shortages in the sector. Apart from the seasonal needs, the agreement will gradually cut the number of foreign workers in the field from 25,000 to 16,000.

The seasonal laborers will be brought to Israel through the Interior Ministry's Population and Immigration Authority, based on data provided by the farm organizations and the Agriculture Ministry. The emerging agreement also calls for efforts to increase the number of Israelis working in agriculture, in jobs that would provide them with employment year round rather than just seasonally.

"The new plan will provide an effective assurance to address the chronic shortage of manpower in agriculture and will spur growth in production and agricultural exports abroad," said Meir Tzur, the chairman of the Israel Farmers Federation.

The farmers will pay about $1,000 for every foreign migrant laborer they bring in for seasonal work, which will cover the worker's plane ticket, insurance and various other fees. At the end of the farming season, the worker will be returned to his country of origin.

The agreement that is taking shape is also expected to provide that the cumulative stay in Israel by foreign seasonal workers is not to exceed 63 months, as is also commonly the case currently for other foreign workers brought to Israel. After the 63 months is reached, the farmer will be required to replace the worker with another laborer from abroad. Farmers who are unsatisfied with their employees' performance will also be free to replace them with other foreign workers.

Unlike current practice, the parties to the deal have agreed that workers will not be allowed to move from one employer to another. Enforcement will be stepped up with respect to farm laborers who have illegally left their farm jobs and taken positions in other lines of work, including the restaurant or hotel sector, or in landscaping.

Original Article Here

Stress on branding agriculture products

PATNA: Principal secretary, agriculture, Anjani Kumar Singh, on Wednesday stressed on branding of the agriculture products of the state for establishing their identity at national level.

Addressing a high-level meeting with the secretary, agriculture, N Vijaylakshmi, director, agriculture, Arvinder Singh, and other senior officials of the department, Anjani said the second agriculture road map for development is well planned and documented and has to be implemented in toto. He said the people of other states know the agriculture produce of Bihar are exported to their states but branding of Bihar's agriculture produce would help get better return of their value.

Expressing satisfaction over an increase in production of vermicompost in the state and its greater use in farming, he said vermicompost should be used for enhancing the agriculture yield to improve the lot of the farmers. It would reduce the use of chemical fertilizer, Anjani said. He stressed on maintaining transparency in providing new techniques and modern farming equipment to the farmers. He said the standard would be set to assess the performance of department officials and the method of their posting to enable them work fearlessly. He directed the agriculture officials to maintain their monthly work plan and communicate to him through email.

Original Article Here

Agriculture improves its BEE compliance

HOPEWELL RADEBE

MOST agricultural businesses either have a valid broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) scorecard or are in the process of updating it, a big improvement from previous surveys in 2007 and 2009, when agri-businesses trailed other sectors.

Reporting on the Agbiz 2012 Agribusiness BEE Survey, the Agricultural Business Chamber’s economic intelligence and finance manager, Lindie Stroebel, told the chamber’s congress on Wednesday that the latest figures showed increasing levels of understanding of empowerment and general support for it in large and small agribusinesses.

While the larger businesses which had invested into structures take care of compliance, the survey showed that the smaller ones had less capacity and were finding it difficult to maintain compliance. The survey identified some constraints, including difficulties in implementing employment equity plans and finding suitably qualified managers. It also found that the lack of support from government and regulatory bodies was limiting progress.

Ms Stroebel said businesses had identified their role in socioeconomic development as their highest priority, followed by their preparedness to assist in black enterprise development, then skills development and lastly giving preferential procurement to black enterprises. In the 2007 and 2009 surveys, skills development of black staff for senior positions was agribusiness’s main priority.

Vuyo Jack, chairman of empowerment rating agency Empowerdex, said yesterday agribusiness should strive for a culture of contributing towards sustainable development, rather than seeing it as a cost burden. "BEE is not something you do once and forget, it is a process and journey as opposed to just a destination," he said.

radebeh@bdfm.co.za

Original Article Here