1. WORC CALLS FOR ACTION ON NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY

As a rural-based organization and family farm advocate, WORC (Western Organization of Resource Councils) has been a leader in pressing for a new path in national energy policy. They articulate an energy future with decentralized rural power production that reduces U.S. dependence on foreign fossil fuels and nuclear energy. They fought hard in the last farm bill to help create the first agricultural energy title and are now fighting hard for a shift in domestic energy policy. In an alert released earlier this week WORC is asking for help contacting Congress in a valiant effort to help derail a near-sighted energy plan. The timing is urgent and they need calls in as soon as possible. If you would like to help out with this effort you will find the information you need on their website.

2. USDA RELEASES FUNDS FOR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS

Today, nearly four months after the passage of the 2002 Farm Bill, the USDA has finally announced the availability of $48 million for the Farmland Protection Program and $275 million for the Wetlands Reserve Program. Release of this money, which had been held up by the Office of Management and Budget, means that work can begin on enrolling contracts to protect working farmland threatened by urban sprawl, and to protect and restore up to 250,000 acres of wetlands. However, the delay in getting these funds out the door means that the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which administers the programs, has only three weeks to sign contracts before the fiscal year ends on September 30. The USDA has indicated that due to the short time period, they will be focusing on already-submitted contracts. If you have already filed an application, you can contact your local NRCS office for more information. Get the application guidelines and read the news release now.

3. SIERRA CLUB RELEASES "RAP SHEET" ON ANIMAL FACTORIES

The Sierra Club recently released an exhaustive report on the environmental records of the nation's slaughterhouses and animal feeding operations. The report takes the industry to task for swamping waterways with animal waste, failing to provide safe working conditions, violating humane animal treatment laws, and allowing up to134 million pounds of contaminated meat to enter the marketplace. The rap sheet contains an exhaustive list of violations by over 600 companies. The web interface allows users to search alphabetically by company name, or to search by state to learn if violations have occurred in their neighborhood. This welcome addition to the literature on the problems associated with factory farming also contains a summary of the ten companies with the worst records. View the searchable interface and complete report.

On the genetic engineering front, the American Corn Growers Association ACGA is calling for a General Accounting Office investigation to quantify the loss in corn exports due "to (the) loss of international confidence in our corn supplies from our questionable experiment with Genetically Modified (GMO) corn.

In a release dated Sept. 4, the ACGA said that a recent GAO report has already determined that "U.S. corn and soybean exports are most threatened by new foreign regulatory measures because of their biotech content." "What we do not know," said Larry Mitchell, CEO of ACGA, "is how much this experiment has cost the grain marketing sector and the U.S. taxpayer." The release stated that it is becoming clear that importers and foreign consumers continue to have many questions about GMO's "They're choosing alternatives," said Dan McGuire, Director of ACGA's Farmer choice, Customer First program. "'GMO' now seems to stand for 'grain market outcast."

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