U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) sent a letter Wednesday to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in support of Governor Dave Heineman’s request for agricultural disaster declarations for nine Nebraska counties due to crop damage as a result of extensive storms and flooding earlier this summer.

“Nebraska farmers and ranchers suffered huge losses earlier this summer from storms and flooding, and it’s my hope that Secretary Vilsack will take quick action regarding the Governor’s request,” said Johanns. “A disaster declaration will ensure those hardest hit are eligible for much-needed assistance.”

The request includes the counties of Boone, Box Butte, Boyd, Cheyenne, Dawson, Garfield, Holt, Johnson and Kimball. A Secretarial Natural Disaster Designation is necessary to gain access to disaster assistance programs, including low-interest loans and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE).

Rep. Congressman Adrian Smith’s (R-NE) legislation addressing veterinary shortages in rural communities passed the House Agriculture Committee Wednesday.  The Veterinary Services Investment Act (H.R. 3519) would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to award competitive grants to help develop, implement, and sustain veterinary services. 

 The legislation will next be considered by the full House of Representatives.

“This was a great step toward fixing the veterinarian shortage which plagues many rural communities.  Large animal vets, in particular, are integral to small, rural communities but are often scarce.  The Veterinary Services Investment Act seeks to stem this tide,” Smith said.

Both Sen. Ben Nelson and Sen. Mike Johanns are supporting bipartisan legislation to reauthorize Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting for five years and establish similar systems for pork cuts and dairy products. 

The bill would guarantee transparency and help improve producers’ ability to access fair market prices, Nelson said.

 “This bill brings certainty and transparency so that producers are paid fair prices for the livestock they raise,” he said.  “Without tools like mandatory price reporting, producers face uncertainty trying to find clear pricing information for their livestock.  This bill will help continue a program that has wide support from producers across Nebraska.”

Johanns said the current law, set to expire at the end of September, requires packers, processors, and importers to provide to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) information on the price, contracting, and supply and demand of livestock and many meat products. The goal, he said, is to help stabilize livestock prices by ensuring accurate and complete market information.

 ”The Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act has benefitted producers in Nebraska and across the country for ten years, and I fully support extending it another five,” Johanns said. “This legislation is essential for Nebraska’s livestock producers who deserve timely and complete information. Transparent and fair markets are important to our country’s farmers; USDA’s price reporting requirements are a vital part of this system.”

 Nebraska Pork Producers Association’s President-Elect Dave Harrington, said in support of the legislation, that  “Each of our individual businesses need transparency in order to make intelligent, conscious planning and marketing decisions.”

 “Nebraska Farm Bureau strongly supports extending the Mandatory Price Reporting law for livestock sales another five years,” said Keith Olsen, President of Nebraska Farm Bureau.  “The law has made market activity more transparent for Nebraska livestock producers, by providing them with information about prices, contracts, and supply and demand conditions. This information has helped them to take better advantage of market opportunities. It’s important that livestock price reporting continue.”

 “Mandatory Price Reporting is one important tool to insure that cattle producers have access to accurate and timely information that will allow them to make informed short-term and long-term marketing decisions,” said Michael Kelsey, Executive Vice President of Nebraska Cattlemen.

 The legislation extends reporting requirements of livestock daily markets for five years.  Additionally, the bill includes requirements for Mandatory Reporting of Wholesale Pork cuts in order to expand transparency to the pork industry and further protect producers.  The bill also instructs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish within one year an electronic price reporting system to publish the prices of dairy products.  Published reports will be required on a weekly and monthly basis.  The all-milk price reporting system, currently in place, would remain unchanged.

 Organizations in support of the legislation include the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Farmers Union, Nebraska Cattlemen, Nebraska Pork Producers, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Meat Institute, American Sheep Industry Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Farmers Union, National Pork Producers Council, National Meat Association and the United States Cattleman’s Association.

Sen. Ben Nelson said Wednesday that he sent a letter to the U.S. State Department asking for an update and copies of correspondence concerning its efforts to gather analyses and viewpoints from federal, state and local officials about the Keystone XL pipeline proposed to be constructed from Canada through Nebraska.

 “Certainly with the continuing Gulf of Mexico oil spill tragedy and a break in a pipeline this week in Michigan, the State Department should seek to gain a better understanding of safety issues and the environmental impacts of the proposed oil pipeline on our state,” Nelson said. “It is important that the Department seek all analyses regarding the Keystone project, not only from federal sources but also from state and local government agencies.”

 Nelson said it is his understanding  that the Department did extend its deadline for public comment to allow for additional views from state officials in Nebraska. He said that will help answer concerns and uncertainties he is hearing from many Nebraskans.

“Whatever decision the Department reaches on the proposed Keystone pipeline, it must take into full account all viewpoints—from federal and state sources–and consider the importance of the Ogallala Aquifer and the Sandhills to Nebraska’s economic and agricultural livelihood,” Nelson said.

 Senator Nelson sent the letter on July 27. A copy follows:

 The Honorable William Burns

Undersecretary for Political Affairs

U.S. Department of State

Washington, DC 20520

July 27,2010

 Dear Under Secretary Burns:

 I write as a follow up to our July 2, 2010, phone call, wherein I visited with you and other officials at the U.S. Department of State regarding the Keystone XL pipeline.

 During our conversation, I stressed to you the importance of the State Department seeking further information and viewpoints from state and local officials within my home state of Nebraska regarding the pipeline before completing your agency’s review of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This is absolutely essential in light of recent concerns raised by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the Draft EIS and an extension of the timetable for review of the EIS, as recently posted on the State Department’s website: “After further consultation with those agencies, the Department has extended the time for all consulted federal agencies to provide their views to the Department until ninety (90) days following issuance of the final EIS.”  By doing so, the State Department will gain a better understanding of the safety issues and environmental impacts which the proposed oil pipeline would have on Nebraska and its ecosystem.

 With the ongoing tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico and today’s pipeline break into the Kalamazoo River in southwest Michigan, it is important in my view that the State Department seeks out all of the analyses it can regarding the Keystone XL pipeline, not only from federal sources, but also from state government agencies.  Doing so will help in answering the many concerns and uncertainties my constituency has raised regarding the proposed pipeline and ensure that whatever decision the State Department makes will take into full account the importance of the Ogallala Aquifer and the Sandhills to Nebraska’s economic and agricultural livelihood.

 Therefore, I respectfully request an update as to the State Department’s efforts, including copies of letters from the agency and responses received, to gain a greater understanding from state and local officials surrounding the environmental and economic impacts the proposed pipeline will have on my home state of Nebraska.

 Mr. Under Secretary, thank you for your consideration of my request. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Senator Ben Nelson