The WSSA, the USDA (Secretary Vilsack), the Senate Agriculture Committee (Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Chambliss), the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and many other groups strongly advised that EPA request a rehearing of the Sixth Circuit Court decision by the April 9, 2009 deadline. Unfortunately, EPA, through the Department of Justice, did not petition for a rehearing.

Again, the above statements by EPA were some of the reasons EPA gave to support its request for a 2 year delay in the court’s decision to provide enough time for the Agency to write and publish a rule under the Clean Water Act for a national general permit by regulation addressing aquatic applications or applications of pesticides made on/over/near water.

At the same time on April 9, 2009, CropLife America, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Cotton Council, and other groups filed a petition for a rehearing before the entire 24-member U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The petitioners challenged that the 3-judge panel’s interpretation of the Clean Water Act statutes and that the court misconstrued the reach of the NPDES program and "could impose permitting on virtually any nozzle, tailpipe, or garden hose."

The USDA is re-advertising the position for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Program Leader for Weed Science. This is very disheartening since we have been working with the USDA-ARS leadership for over a year to get this extraordinarily important position for our discipline filled. Details are as follows:

The Agricultural Research Services, National Program Staff, Crop Production and Protection Unit is seeking a highly qualified individual to serve as a national authority and expert in the programmatic area of weed science research.

On April 2, 2009, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act became Public Law 111-11. The law extends wilderness protections to 2.1 million acres of federal lands and elevates dozens of additional natural areas to new prominence within the public lands sphere.

The bill established the National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS), a 26-million-acre patchwork of ecologically and historically valuable lands owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

The omnibus also authorizes 15 new or expanded wilderness areas, constituting the largest expansion of the National Wilderness Preservation System since 1994.

In Title IV of the lands bill, language from Sen. Bingaman and former Sen. Pete Domenici establishes a "forest landscape restoration program" to prioritize and fund fire-suppression and other beneficial ecological treatments for forests under the jurisdiction of the BLM and Forest Service. Federal land managers would work with state and local authorities to identify parcels of at least 50,000 acres of mainly National Forest System lands needing active ecosystem restoration and authorizes $40 million in funds to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2019.

* Combating childhood obesity and enhancing health and nutrition, indicating that the Department should play a key role in the public health debate and that nutrition programs should be seen as an opportunity to both alleviate hunger and prevent health care problems.

* Advancing research and development and pursuing opportunities to support the development of biofuels, wind power, and other renewable energy sources, saying that USDA needs to make sure that the biofuels industry has the necessary support to survive recent market challengwhile promoting policies that will accelerate the development of next-generation biofuels that have the potential to significantly improve our energy independence.

* Making progress on major environmental challenges, including climate change. Vilsack said it's important that farmers and ranchers plawith USDA in efforts to promote incentives for management practices that provide cleanair, clean water, and wildlife habitat, and help farmers participate in markets that reward them for sequestering carbon and limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

* Supporting the profitability of farmers and ranchers by providing a safety net that works for all of agriculture, including independent producers and local and organic agriculture, and enforcing the Packers and Stockyards Act.

* Quickly implementing the 2008 Farm Bill; modernizing the food safety system; and investing in programs that alleviate hunger and suffering overseas and support long-term agriculture development.

* Restoring the mission of the Forest Service as a protector of clean air, clean water, and wildlife habitat; a provider of recreation opportunities; a key player in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration. Vilsack indicated that it is important that we appropriately budget for wildfires so that the Forest Service has the resources it needs for both wildfires and its other missions.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled an updated version of USDA's Research, Education and Economics Information System (REEIS), which allows the public to measure the impact and effectiveness of USDA’s research, education and extension programs. The latest version adds additional data sources, opens data to Google Search and provides for extended data analysis.

REEIS version 5.0 includes the following new features:

Since its initial development in 2002, REEIS has grown and expanded its data repository. REEIS currently houses information from several government agencies, including the Agricultural Research Service, CSREES, Economic Research Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service and U.S. Forest Service.

REEIS offers information ranging from agricultural and forestry research projects, to state accomplishment reports, statistics on funding, publications, institutions, faculties and students. For more information on REEIS, visit www.reeis.usda.gov

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is using its $2 billion windfall from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund more proposals already in the pipeline. NSF Director Arden Bement said that Congress asked the NSF to boost success rates with the overall goal to create or preserve jobs. Currently, about one in four grant proposals are funded. With the stringent tracking requirements attached to the stimulus money, this approach will definitely get the money out the door quickest and reduce the necessary paperwork.

USDA released the entire 2007 Census of Agriculture data on February 9, 2009. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) counted 2,204,792 farms in the US in 2007. The larger farms, over $500,000 in sales increased in number as did the small farms, less than $2,500 in sales. The farms in between declined in number. There are some excellent farm demographics throughout the report. For example, the 2007 Census shows both internet access and high-speed internet access at the county level for the first time. The 2007 Census of Agriculture is available here. Enjoy!