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By Jennifer M. Latzke According to the Kansas Department of Agriculture, as of July 1, there will no longer be state-funded market reports of feeder cattle, bred cows, slaughter cows and bulls in the state. Currently, KDA reports the livestock sales at Pratt Livestock Auction, Pratt, and Farmers and Ranchers Livestock, Salina. As of July 1, those markets will no longer have state-funded reporters. Glenda Shepler, KDA Statistics director, explained the discontinuation of the Pratt and Salina market reports is a budgetary issue. The Kansas Legislature required KDA to submit budget cut proposals for each department, and these cuts would save the department a little more than $10,000 per year. The overall budget from the State General Fund for the Kansas Department of Agriculture, as recently passed by the Legislature and approved by the governor, amounts to a little more than $10.45 million for fiscal year 2010. While there has been no public announcement of the budget cuts, as of press time, High Plains Journal confirmed this decision with KDA. The general fund allocation for KDA for FY 2010 was reduced by 15 percent from FY 2009, and an additional 3 percent in funding cuts will be necessary due to unfunded mandates from the Legislature. Potential cuts to agency programs were discussed throughout the 2009 legislative session, according to KDA, but they were not solidified until the week of June 15. A total of $88,841 will be cut from the state ag statistics program, according to KDA officials. The state of Kansas faces a $328 million budget shortfall as fiscal year 2009 closes June 30, and cuts to the 2010 budget are likely to change if state revenue continues to come in under projection, according to KDA. [Read More]
Driving onto the grounds of The Ranch--the Larimer County Fairgrounds--one recent morning, was a clear message that some people just don't like the idea of a National Animal ID System.
A large cattle hauler bearing the words "Hey USDA--Don't Tread On Me" was parked near the entrance of the fairgrounds, located at Loveland, Colo.
So, too, was a smaller livestock trailer with several hangman's nooses strung up on the outside.
Such was the atmosphere outside as the Veterinary Services (VS) division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) held a listening session inside the fairgrounds' exhibit hall to seek stakeholder solutions to overcome what they called "existing and new obstacles in implementing" the NAIS. [Read More]
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