|  ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — The past week was a wet one across the state. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service in Mississippi, there were 4.8 days suitable for fieldwork for the week ending Aug. 22.
Despite the rain, Mississippi State University Extension Service agents report harvest is moving at a fast pace. Farmers are now in the fields harvesting all major row crops, including a few producers who have begun harvesting cotton.
Soil moisture was rated 14 percent very short, 17 percent short, 48 adequate, and 21 percent surplus.
“Rice harvest is approaching full swing. Irrigated soybeans are maturing well, and have begun to be cut. The earliest cotton picking started last week and will continue as weather permits. Overall, yields across the county seem to improve as we get deeper into harvest,” said Charlie Bush in Bolivar County.
“Growers are harvesting corn, soybeans and rice. There will be some cotton picked this week. Yields vary from farm to farm. Growers are still watering,” said Don Respess, who serves Quitman Coahoma counties.
Lester Stephens of Washington County said, “Heavy rains and wind in the county over the weekend blew down a large amount of rice acreage. Other crops are holding up fairly well. Wet ground will keep farmers out of the field in the southern part of the county for a couple of days.”
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The American Egg Board has established a consumer website, www.eggsafety.org, on the health and safety of eggs.
“America’s egg farmers are deeply concerned about the recent recall of eggs due to possible salmonella contamination. America’s egg farmers are continuing to work closely with government officials to help ensure the safety and quality of the egg supply. Providing consumers with only the highest quality, safest products available has always been a top priority for America's egg farmers,” according to an Egg Board news release.
While potentially affected eggs have been identified and removed from store shelves, America’s egg farmers are urging people to thoroughly cook their eggs as salmonella is destroyed by the heat of cooking. Eggs should be cooked until the whites and yolks are firm or, for dishes containing eggs, until an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit is reached. Thoroughly cooked eggs are thoroughly safe eggs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration.
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Landowners, farmers and ranchers are reminded that that the opportunity to enroll in the Conservation Reserve Program general sign-up ends at close of business on Friday. Producers who want to offer eligible land for CRP’s competitive general sign-up can enroll at the Farm Service Agency county office where their farm records are maintained.
CRP is a voluntary program that assists farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers to protect their environmentally sensitive land. Producers enrolling in CRP plant long-term, resource-conserving cover crops in exchange for rental payments, cost-share and technical assistance. CRP protects millions of acres of America’s topsoil from erosion and is designed to improve the nation’s natural resources base. Participants voluntarily remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production by entering into long-term contracts for 10 years to 15 years. In exchange, participants receive annual rental payments and a payment of up to 50 percent of the cost of establishing conservation practices.
USDA news release
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| The United States has asked for a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel in its case against the European Union’s ban on poultry processed with antimicrobial washes. The U.S. has asked the dispute panel to review whether the EU’s ban on the import and marketing of poultry meat processed with approved pathogen reduction treatments is consistent with the EU’s WTO obligations under the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary/Phytosantiary Measures.
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| Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is beginning a comprehensive new evaluation of the pesticide atrazine to determine its effect on humans. At the end of this process, EPA will decide whether to revise its current risk assessment of the pesticide and whether new restrictions are necessary better to protect public health.
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| The Senate on Thursday approved the annual funding bill for the Interior Department and related agencies by a 77-21 vote. The bill includes an amendment that would prevent unintended and unwanted consequences from regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
Earlier this week the American Farm Bureau Federation and several other agricultural organizations told members of the Senate in a letter that it is not sound policy for EPA to extend pending regulations beyond motor vehicles into activities like the production of crops, livestock and poultry.
The $32.1 billion bill now must be worked out with a House version that has similar language in its spending provisions.
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|  Producing 70 percent more food for an additional 2.3 billion people by 2050, while at the same time combating poverty and hunger, using scarce natural resources more efficiently and adapting to climate change are the main challenges world agriculture will face in the coming decades, according to a discussion paper published Wednesday by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization.
Global projections show that in addition to projected investments in agriculture, further significant investment will be needed to enhance access to food, otherwise some 370 million people could still be hungry in 2050, almost 5 percent of the developing countries’ population.
According to the latest U.N. projections, world population will rise from 6.8 billion today to 9.1 billion in 2050—a third more mouths to feed than there are today. Nearly all of the population growth will occur in developing countries. Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is expected to grow the fastest (up 108 percent, 910 million people), and East and South East Asia’s the slowest (up 11 percent, 228 million).
The demand for food is expected to continue to grow as a result of both population growth and rising incomes. Demand for cereals is projected to reach 3 billion tons by 2050. Annual cereal production will have to grow by almost 1 billion metric tons from 2.1 billion metric tons today. Meat production must increase by 200 million metric tons to reach a total of 470 million metric tons in 2050, 72 percent of which will be consumed in developing countries, up from the 58 percent today.
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|  Tim Martin, assistant superintendent of Clinton schools, said changing the school year affects more than classes. He said athletic activities and state testing also would have to be rescheduled "across the board."
"There may be a slight savings in energy costs because it's usually hotter in August than it is in September, but the savings would be minimal," Martin said.
Education leaders pleaded with lawmakers to honor campaign promises of fully funding the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the state's basic funding formula for public schools.
Teachers will receive their regular incremental pay increase, but it's "very doubtful" they will receive the department's suggested 3 percent pay raise, said Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, the chairman of this year's budget committee.
"We're really having some pretty tough times now with the budget. We'll do the best we can," House Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, told education leaders before they presented their requests.
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| A new Web site launched by USDA and HHS, is intended to be a one stop shop for the latest information on food safety and food recalls. The site also includes preventative tips about how to handle food safely and RSS alerts on recalled food. http://www.foodsafety.gov3
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| The Humane Society of the United States and eight other organizations filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate the emissions of greenhouse gases and other substances from Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). In addition to greenhouse gases, the petition seeks to regulate emissions of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter. The petition requests that EPA enact “strong air emission performance standards” for these operations.
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