What is the future for renewable fuels? How fast will these efforts diminish our need for foreign oil?
The United States has tripled ethanol production since 2000 and we will double it again in the next two years. Biodiesel production has risen from two million gallons in 2000 to 245 million last year and an estimated 375 million gallons this year; we are on track to reach 700 million gallons by 2010/11.

This is a tremendous opportunity for American agriculture and rural America. Renewable is in large part rural energy. Renewable fuels are the biggest new opportunity for wealth creation in rural America in our lifetimes.

We expect the rapid growth of renewable energy to continue. The potential of renewables has been recognized for over a century. Rudolf Diesel ran some of his early engines on peanut oil. Henry Ford called ethanol the "fuel of the future¡± in 1925. In fact, he proposed "growing the American car through crops for both fuel and biobased plastics. As long as oil remained cheap and abundant, that dream was not realized. But now oil is expensive and renewable technologies are maturing quickly.

In regard to your second question, the speed with which renewables can diminish our need for imported oil depends on many factors. The single most important of these may be the rate at which we can commercialize cellulosic ethanol. As President Bush noted last year in his Advanced Energy Initiative, cellulosic ethanol alone has the capacity to supply 30% of the nation's current transportation fuel needs.

Cellulosic ethanol production, however, has yet to be demonstrated on a commercial scale at an economically competitive price. This is a high priority both for USDA and the Department of Energy, and the first commercial scale demonstration plants are now under construction. The President's Farm Bill proposals, especially the loan guarantees for cellulosic ethanol, contain important additional initiatives in this area.

There is great change underway in the transportation sector with new fuels, vehicles and engines all influencing the future of how we will use oil. Hybrids, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells, and all-electric vehicles as well as biofuels may all play a role. The eventual shape of energy use and the transportation sector remain to be seen.

How could contamination issues (additives, seafood from China) affect U.S. importers? Is there an opportunity for U.S. suppliers?
Only countries with equivalent food safety systems are allowed to ship meat, poultry, or egg products to the United States. Equivalence determinations are made through document reviews, on-site audits, and port-of-entry reinspection to evaluate whether foreign food regulatory systems achieve the same level of protection provided by our domestic system. Every shipment that enters the U.S. is reinspected to ensure it comes from an equivalent country and eligible establishment. These determinations are necessary measures for FSIS and American consumers to develop and maintain trust in imported meat, poultry, and egg products. Currently there are 33 eligible countries and no USDA regulated products being exported from China.

Once a country is cleared, they are subject to annual audits of their food safety system through on-site visits by FSIS personnel to review documentation, certified establishments, laboratories, and government controls. 

FSIS also performs more intensive inspections on approximately 10% of shipments  of meat, poultry, and egg products, including product examinations, mibrobiological analyses for pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella as well as chemical residue.

How will Americans be better protected from contaminated products, Avian Flu, Mad Cow disease, to name a few?
USDA is on the job 24 hours a day, seven days a week working to defend America's animal and plant resources from agricultural pests and diseases. In the event that a pest or disease of concern is detected, USDA implements emergency protocols and partners with affected States to quickly manage or eradicate the outbreak. This aggressive approach has enabled USDA to successfully prevent and respond to potential pest and disease threats.
 
USDA undertakes several specific activities to protect American agricultural health from avian influenza and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly referred to as "mad cow disease.¡± For avian influenza, USDA works with its partners to conduct a comprehensive surveillance program in wild birds and domestic poultry, and also participates in international efforts to combat the disease at its source. USDA participates in the U.S. government's National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza and has completed in one year all 48 tasks for which we were given primary responsibility.

USDA has also taken aggressive measures to prevent the introduction and spread of BSE. Overlapping protective measures that help ensure animal and food safety include: import controls; a ruminant to ruminant feed ban; disease surveillance exceeding international guidelines; slaughter inspection; and removal from the food supply of specified risk materials, or the animal tissues where the BSE infective agent would be found, if present.


Are you concerned about global warming and climate change? What impact on agriculture do you foresee in the next decade?
The Department of Agriculture is concerned about the effects of climate change on agriculture and forestry. While our understanding of climate change has improved over the last several years, there remain uncertainties on the regional and local impacts.

Impacts on agriculture will depend heavily on any changes in precipitation and temperature, both of which affect water availability. Agriculture could also be affected by changes in growing season and increases in atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, which can spur plant growth. Such impacts have wide ranging economic consequences, and we believe that our understanding is still incomplete as to the full range of potential effects.
To that end, we are engaged on a number of fronts. USDA conducts research on the potential effects of climate change on land resources. USDA is preparing a major assessment of the effects of climate change on agriculture, land resources, water resources, and biodiversity for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. When this scientific evaluation is completed in December, we expect to have a better understanding of what is expected, and will use that information to better inform farmers and forest land owners, as well as in the development of management techniques and technologies.

USDA is heavily engaged in supporting renewable fuels and developing bioenergy options in the effort to reduce emissions. The Department also now includes greenhouse gas considerations in our implementation of farm conservation programs. 

Agriculture is, and will continue to be,an important contributor to the economy of upstate New York. What things are we doing to expose today's youth to the concept of farming as a career?
Concern was expressed by farmers about the rising average age of the American farmer and the barriers to entering production agriculture during dozens of public Farm Bill Forums we hosted last year. From the comments we gathered across the country, we proposed a Beginning Farmer's title to the 2007 Farm Bill that provides greater direct support and flexibility to beginning farmers. Our proposal will:
Provide $250 million to increase direct payments by 20% for the first five years that beginning farmers are in operation.
-Reserve 10% of conservation financial assistance for beginning producers.
-Increase the limits for direct ownership loans and direct operating loans to a combined maximum of $500,000.
-Double the percentage of direct operating loans targeted to beginning producers to 70%. 
- Target 100% of direct farm ownership loans toward beginning farmers and ranchers.
-Provide greater down payment loan access and flexibility for beginning farmers and ranchers by:
a. Cutting the loan interest rate in half from 4% to 2%;
b. Deferring the first payment for one year;
c. Decreasing the minimum contribution toward the property purchase price from 10% to 5%; and
d. Eliminating the $250,000 cap on the value of property that may be purchased.

The farm bill proposals released January 31st are based on comments and suggestions received from farmers, ranchers and other stakeholders during 52 USDA Farm Bill Forums across the nation and via mail and the Internet. These proposals represent the final phase of a nearly two-year process.
 

How do we help those who are not raised in farm families to recognize farmers as small business owners"as entrepreneurs"who work hard, but also enjoy the rewards of being their own bosses?
People generally understand where their food comes from and how it gets to the local grocery store. They also know that livestock and crop operations generally don't employ large numbers of people.

Whether farmers are regarded as entrepreneurs is an open question. Much of the work being done to raise the consciousness of consumers about agriculture is actually done in the private sector by farm and commodity organizations. In addition, producers of some commodities use fairly sophisticated marketing techniques to grab the consumers' attention such as branding particular brands.
In the public sector, 100 Land Grant Universities work with USDA's Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (CSREES) to reach out or "extend¡± to local communities.

Even though we have fewer farmers today, extension agents help farmers grow crops, homeowners plan and maintain their homes, and children learn skills to become tomorrow's leaders.

The continuing education of consumers by the private and public sectors is a natural consequence of providing safe and abundant food. Farmer's markets have become popular precisely because consumers can buy fresh fruits and vegetables that have come directly from the purveyor's farm. That proximity promotes discussion about the products that are for sale and how they were raised. All of this contributes to consumer understanding of the business of agriculture.
BSM

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