COTTON
FORECAST AT 17.5 MILLION BALES; COTTONSEED AT 6.6 MILLION TONS - The
U.S. cotton crop is forecast at 17.5 million 480-lb. bales, only marginally
higher than last month’s forecast but still 3% higher than the 1999-00 crop.
Cottonseed production is forecast at 6.558 million tons vs. 6.354 million tons
last year and 5.365 million tons two years ago. USDA raised its estimate for the
cotton crops in the Southeast and Midsouth by a combined 115,000 bales.
Increases in the expected cotton crops in Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi,
Arkansas and Tennessee more than offset reduced estimates in Georgia and
Missouri. Texas cotton production is forecast this month at 4.3 million bales,
compared to 4.4 million bales predicted last month and 5.1 million bales
produced in 1999-00. It has been reported that only 30% of the crop has been
harvested in the Hi Plains area of Texas in and around Lubbock. Snow and rain
have shut down harvesting and ginning. Optimistic projections for the region put
cotton production at 2.7 million bales, several hundred thousand bales below
normal.
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OSHA
ANNOUNCES ERGONOMICS PROGRAM:FINAL RULE ISSUED NOVEMBER 14 - OSHA
will publish it’s final Ergonomics Program Standard (see details at
www.osha.gov) in the November 14 Federal Register. The final revisions have made
the standard substantially longer and seemingly more confusing. NCPA was among
many who made comments on the original proposal at several points earlier this
year. Jarrod Kersey, at that time NCPA's staff member handling regulatory
matters, submitted comments on the proposal itself as well as testimony read
into a hearing record. By announcing the final ergonomics standard now and
having it take effect on Jan. 16, just before a new president is inaugurated on
Jan. 20, the administration acted before a possible George W. Bush
administration could delay or kill it. But Charles Jeffress, head of the Labor
Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) insisted that
the timing of the implementation of the standard had nothing to do with the
possibility of an incoming Republican administration that is likely to oppose
it. OSHA’s announcement also comes in spite of the Senate’s June 22 vote to
prohibit the agency from issuing the final standard for another year. The
standard requires employers to implement ergonomics programs and fix jobs where
musculo-skeletal disorders (MSDs) occur. While not as strong as the labor
movement had sought, since it does not require action until workers are injured
and does not cover all workers, the rule is viewed by labor as a huge step in
bringing about improvements to workplace safety. Estimates of the burden the
rules would impose on business vary widely from the $4.5 billion/year estimated
by OSHA to $18 billion estimated by the National Association of Manufacturers,
to several multiples of that by other groups. Business originally objected that
the proposed regulations were vague, but the latest version seems to ere on the
too-detailed side. Among the list of detailed specifications that employers must
use to determine if their employees are performing hazardous tasks is lifting 75
lbs. more than once a day or using a hand or knee as a hammer more than 10 times
a day. The proposals played a role in budget fights when a FY01 budget deal fell
apart the week before the elections. The dispute was one of the reasons Congress
decided to put off the budget battle until after the elections. (Sources
include: Wall Street Jour. Nov. 8, 2000, Yahoo! News Nov. 13)
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PIMA
UPDATE - Just as growers were entering the home stretch of Pima
cotton harvesting, a series of storms moved across the far western US. Actual
damage to the crops appears to be minimal, though the test will come with the
outcome of the cotton remaining in the fields. Growers and ginners estimate the
California Pima crop was about 70% completed before the recent rain showers hit
the weekend of Oct. 27. Pima yields in California have been mixed with reports
ranging from less than two bales to the acre to better than 2.5 bales per acre.
Storms also battered Arizona at least three times in the last 10 days of the
month, but most of the Pima has been picked. In Texas and New Mexico, much of
the Pima remains in the field. Both areas were hit by storms between October 20
and 28, so harvesting has been pushed back. Of the 55,000 bales of Pima classed
by USDA through October 26, more than 93% has been grade 2 or better. (Source:
Supima News, October 31)
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VEGETABLE
OIL BUSINESS NEWS - ACH Food Cos., a division of Associated British
Foods PLC, announced it has agreed to buy Procter & Gamble Co.’s
commercial shortening and oil product business, which consists of products sold
to restaurants and hotels but not grocery stores. Annual sales for the line are
reported to be $125 million and include the brands Frymax, Whirl and Sterling.
In addition, Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) announced recently it has reached
a long-term supply agreement with HUMKO Oil Products Division of ACH Food
Companies. ADM will be the primary supplier of HUMKO’s refined oils. HUMKO has
said it intends to phase out refining of vegetable oils at its Champaign, IL,
facility. (Source: Wall Street Journal, Feedstuffs)
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AUSTRALIAN
AG UPDATE - Australia’s agricultural research unit, ABARE is
forecasting cottonseed production for the 2000-01 season at 1.09 million metric
tons (mmt). This is up from production of just over 1.0 mmt for the past two
years and 0.94 mmt in 1997/98. USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board is
forecasting Australian cotton production at 3.4 million 480-lb. bales, up 5
percent from last season’s 3.25 million bale crop and 3 percent higher than
the 3.29 million bale crop from 1998/99. Dry weather conditions have lead
forecasters to reduce production estimates for cotton in Australia, as well as
for wheat and course grains during the past month. (Source: USDA &
Australian Oilseed News)
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INFORM
FEATURES COTTONSEED - The American Oil Chemists Society’s popular
monthly publication, Inform, featured the cottonseed industry in its August,
2000 issue. By posing questions to the NCPA staff and from other sources, Inform
editors produced an up-to-date picture of the cottonseed industry and the NCPA’s
recent activities on behalf of its members. Because of the very well done job by
Inform, reprints were ordered to use as publicity handouts for the industry. A
copy is enclosed with this newsletter and additional quantities may be ordered
from the NCPA office.
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LOW-SAT/LOW-LIN
SOY OIL IN THE WORKS - The United Soybean Board (USB) has approved
funding for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to accelerate development of
a soybean variety that will produce a healthier soybean oil. The new oil, which
will be ready for food companies to test within the next two years, will be
lower in saturated fat and will reduce or eliminate the need for hydrogenation
in many applications. The ideal oil traits identified by the food industry
included a higher oleic acid content, lower linolenic acid and lower saturated
fat. ARS researchers have identified germplasm that meets two of the three
target traits, low saturated fat and low linolenic acid, and will utilize the
USB funding to develop a low-sat/low-lin oil. ARS expects production of
approximately 5,000 bushels of soybeans exhibiting the low-saturated fat and
low-linolenic traits to be processed into nearly 5,000 gallons of oil by 2002.
Oil processing companies selected to test the low-sat/low-lin oil will be
identified within this time frame, as will the methods in which the oil will be
tested. Processors and food companies will assess the oil's functionality,
stability and flavor to ensure it meets their needs. (Source: Foodonline.com)
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FOOD
BIOTECH RESOURCES:
Ag-West Biotech, Inc. -
http://www.agwest.sk.ca
AgBio Forum Magazine -
http://www.agbioforum.missouri.edu
AgBiotechNet -
http://www.agbiotechnet.com
AG Care - http://www.agcare.org
Agri-Food Risk Management &
Communication - http://www.plant.uoguelph.ca/safefood/
Agricultural Biotechnology for Sustainable
Productivity Support Project - http://www.iia.msu.edu/absp
Agricultural Genome Information System -http://www.eldar.org/~ben/scout/html/460.html
Alliance for Better Foods
-http://www.betterfoods.org
American
Crop Protection Association -
http://www.acpa.org/public/issues/biotech/plantbiot.html
American Feed Industry Association -
http://www.afia.org
The Biotechnology Information Center
(BIC) National Agricultural Library, United States Department of Agriculture,
Agricultrual Research Service - http://warp.nal.usda.gov:80/bic/
NCPA produced the Guide
to Edible Oils as a handy reference about oil composition, processing,
selection, application, quality evaluation and nutrition in a user-friendly
format that covers all edible oils. This Spanish language version has been a
useful tool in generating interest when the Association attends food trade shows
in Mexico or places ad in Spanish language magazines. Inquiries received by the
NCPA in response to this and other ads are place in the Members Only—Trade
Leads area of our web page, www.cottonseed.com
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DAIRY
HERD MANAGEMENT SURVEYED - Dr. Wayne Kellogg, Univ. of Arkansas,
summarized the findings of his study of management practices of high producing
dairy herds in the U.S. to the Association’s Research & Education
Committee earlier this month. The 133 Holstein dairy herds responding to his
survey averaged 29,410 lbs of milk production, 1,056 lbs of fat and 934 lbs of
protein. A few producers have achieved more than 35,000 lbs of milk per cow
annually while the 1999 national average was 18,106 lbs. Corn silage, legume
haylage and legume hay are the primary forages used. Whole cottonseed was fed by
53% of farms in the East, 78% of farms in the Midwest, and 89% of farms in the
West.
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CHANGE OF ADDRESS -
Please send all change of address information to: National Cottonseed Products
Association, P.O. Box 172267, Memphis, TN 38187-2267, or email to rwright@cottonseed.com.
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© National Cottonseed Products Association, Inc.
November 15, 2000