How can we improve the Buzz?

We’re making plans at the Journal for 2009 and want your input. How can we improve Biz Buzz? Some of you have mentioned you want more videos and pictures. What business-related videos and pictures would be interesting to you? Store tours, manager interviews, new construction updates, Dennis’ thoughts about the economy, yada yada. Tell us and we’ll see what we can do.

What type of business-related content do you want? More retail? More Toyota and auto news? More furniture, restaurant, agriculture, tourism or oil/gas news? Are you interested more in Tupelo or in other areas of the region?

Now’s your chance. Tell us what you want from Biz Buzz. We’re listening/reading.

Clone Wars – on the dinner table

Consider this a food safety alert. Or not. Depends on how you feel about it.

Content is courtesy of Retail Wire’s Daily Delivery. Here are the highlights:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked that cloned animals be held from the market until January.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is on record stating that there is no difference between meat and milk from cloned animals and those of the originals. Even so, ranchers have followed a voluntary moratorium on the sale of clones and their offspring for food products.

The U.S. Agriculture Department, which is managing the process of moving clones and their offspring into the food supply, has asked that clones continue to be held out of the market until January. It did not make the same request of the offspring of clones. The result is that offspring of some of the 600 clones in the U.S. may already be in the food supply.

Siobhan DeLancey, a spokesperson with the FDA, told Reuters, “It is theoretically possible” that meat and milk from the offspring of cloned animals may have found its way into the consumer market.

Supporters of the cloning technology say that meat and milk from clones and their offspring is impossible to tell from other animals.

Bruce Knight, USDA’s undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, sought to put the issue into perspective. “They would be a very limited number because of the very few number of clones that are out there and relatively few of those clones are at an age where they would be parenting.”

Some groups expressed concern that the offspring of clones, regardless of the number, may be in the food supply.

Charles Margulis, a spokesperson with the Center for Environmental Health, told Reuters, “It worries me that this technology is out of control in so many ways.”

A number of leading meat packers, other food companies and retailers have pledged to avoid using milk or meat from cloned animals. Among those are California Pizza Kitchen, Campbell Soup, General Mills, Kraft Foods, Nestle, Smithfield Foods, Supervalu and Tyson Foods.

Susan Davidson, director of corporate affairs at Kraft Foods, said safety was “not the only factor” the company considers when deciding whether to use a commodity.

“We must also carefully consider additional factors such as consumer benefits and acceptance … and research in the U.S. indicates that consumers are currently not receptive to ingredients from cloned animals,” she said.

I’m not so sure I disagree with Ms. Davidson. Aren’t there enough problems with the food supply already?

Pork industry still hurting

Pork news from MSU via the Cattle Network. An excerpt (full text):

MISSISSIPPI STATE — Fuel, feed and packers have Mississippi pork producers over a barrel.

According to statistics from the National Pork Board, Mississippi’s hog production numbers over the last seven years (2000-2006) averaged about 470,000 head, which includes market hogs, feeder pigs and sows. But from 2005 through 2007, the average was about 434,000 head. Production at the end of 2007 totaled 412,000 hogs valued at $63 million.

The industry is in transition and will have to do what it has done for the past 20 years to survive – reinvent itself, said Mark Crenshaw, Mississippi State University Extension swine specialist. Survival in the aftermath of the Bryan Foods plant closing in West Point in March 2007 makes the task much more difficult this time around for Mississippi producers.

“High fuel and feed costs have made 2008 pretty rough for the state’s swine industry, but the loss of the market that Bryan provided has created an additional hardship,” Crenshaw said. “The closing came at a time when producers in general were struggling because of the economy.”

Swine feed in general contains 70 percent corn, 20 percent soybean meal and 10 percent other nutrients. While higher corn and soybean prices made feed prices rise, the cost of fuel has had the biggest impact on the industry.

The drought is baaa-aack!!

Can we say deja vu? Last year, the region, the state and Northeast Mississippi spent the majority of the summer in a drought. We’re not as bad off this year, but we’re still in a D1 moderate drought. About 82 percent of the state is either dry or in a drought. See the state map here.

The past few weeks, Lee and the surrounding counties have been swinging in and out of D0 extremely dry and D1. The rain last week helped out with the most recent report (released Thursday) and bumped out a big portion of the D2 severe drought in the southwest corner of the state.

Alabama is still hurting. See the map.

USDA: Soybeans benefit from recent rains

This week’s state crop update from the USDA:

According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service in Mississippi, there were 3.2 days suitable for fieldwork for the week ending Sunday, August 17, 2008. The cooler weather and recent rainfall have made a positive impact on the development of some soybeans, but insect and disease pressure are affecting the crop in some areas of the state. Pasture and cotton conditions have greatly improved due to the increased moisture. The precipitation has prevented some fieldwork, but has been a welcomed relief to several producers. Soil moisture was rated 3 percent very short, 16 percent short, 57 percent adequate and 24 percent surplus.

Click here to read more, including numbers for specific crops. Keep in mind that these numbers are for the entire state. The USDA does not break them down on a county level.

Interested in agritourism or food business?

An excerpt (full text) from MSU Extension agent John Coccaro’s blog:

For those of you wanting something fun to do this week, let me recommend you participate in the Miss-Lou Regional Tourism Summit, which is this Tuesday thru Thursday. The theme of this year’s summit is Cultivating Your Community With Fresh Air and Fresh Ideas. For those who want to check out some interesting ways to enhance local tourism, this summit is for you. Participants will discover ways to turn their rural properties into tourist destinations.

Parts of the summit include a bus trip up to Rolling Fork, where a few of my fellow Extension Agents will be coving topics such as developing a corn maze, making teachers love your farm, and hosting farm tours …

This final item I want to mention in this column today is for those who want to explore the manufacturing and marketing of a food product …

Our “Food as a Business Workshop” on Thursday, August 28, at Raymond, MS will cover business plan development, keeping it legal, marketing and marketing research, “Make Mine Mississippi”, food processing regulations, labeling regulations, internet sales and more. The registration deadline is August 18 and there is a $35 per person fee. Contact the Extension office for further details.

Peach orchard closed for season

Apparently, Hilltop Peach Farm ran out of peaches sooner than expected. We ran a story in today’s paper about u-pick farms and discussed The Blueberry Patch in Corinth and Hilltop Peach Farm in Kossuth.

Two things we’ve learned since the story printed: (1) Somewhere along the editorial process, the phone number for the Blueberry Patch was deleted. It is 286-3534.

(2) Gerald Essary, owner of Hilltop, sold more peaches than expected. I was at the farm Friday afternoon and he still had peaches. They were selling pretty fast, but he expected he’d have enough to last until Wednesday. However, I got a call from an upset reader this morning who said she drove 100 miles to pick peaches and there is a sign that says the orchard closed Sunday.

So, my apologies to people who wanted to pick peaches. When the story was written, we were told there would be peaches today. We weren’t out to lead you astray. But the next season will be here sooner than you think. And, we’ll let you know early so you can get nectarines and white peaches. In the meantime, check out the blueberry u-pick places in the area and get ready for muscadines next month.

Farmer builds ‘redneck Stonehenge’

I have a feeling this wouldn’t go over in Tupelo, but maybe a nice piece of land in the county would work. From the AP:

HOOPER, UTAH – A farmer has erected a backyard fence made of three old cars sticking up in the air to send a message to new neighbors that he can do whatever he wants on his property.

“This is just a fun way for me to say, ‘Hey boys, I’m still here,’” Rhett Davis said. “This is my redneck Stonehenge.”

Davis came up with the idea after neighbors who recently moved into homes next to his hayfield complained about his farm near Hooper, Utah.

“The people who bought the homes say, ‘Well, we love looking into your yard and seeing the horses and the cattle, but we don’t like the flies, and we don’t like the mosquitoes,’ and when I cut my field to bale it, they say, ‘We don’t like the dust in the air,’” Davis said.

Neighbors declined to comment to the Standard-Examiner of Ogden.

Davis said he offered to pay for half the cost of a fence between his property and the others and to build it. He said his neighbors declined the offer, saying it would block their view.

Davis said he used a backhoe to dig three large holes on the edge of his property, then took three cars that had competed in demolition derbies and planted them nose-first into the ground.

He said the cars were planted out of humor rather than spite. He stressed that it’s important for new residents to realize that Hooper is a farming community.

“I respect that they’re here and spent a lot on their homes, but on the other hand, give me a little bit, too,” Davis said. “I’ve been here since I was 7 years old.”

He said he doesn’t intend to keep the cars up permanently.

“These can come out just as easy as they went in,” Davis said.

Row crop field day planned next week

For all you farmers and farmer wannabes. From the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center:

North Mississippi Research and Extension Center
Agronomic Row Crops Field Day
Thursday, August 14, 2008
8:00 am – 1:30pm

The biennial North Mississippi Research and Extension Center Agronomic Row Crops Field Day will be held at the Lee County Agri-Center, Magnolia Conference Center, Highway 145 South of Verona, on Thursday, August 14, 2008, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The program will include a featured speaker, educational and industry exhibits, and field research plot tours. Certified Crop Advisors Continuing Education Credits and renewal of certification for Professional Consultants and pesticide licenses will be offered for participants. This year’s featured speaker will be David Waide, President, Mississippi Farm Bureau.

The program begins with registration at 8:00 a.m. The field tour begins at 8:30 a.m. and will feature an opportunity to learn the potential use of FGD gypsum for improved soil properties; corn yield response to foliar fungicides; preplant fertilizer for soybeans; options for nitrogen management; one-pass land preparation for improved drainage on flatland; and the latest on Mississippi’s row crops.

For more information, contact Dr. Normie Buehring at 662-566-2201 or e-mail buehring@ra.msstate.edu.

Where can I buy one of these ….

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a plan to scare away birds from what it deems contaminated marshes and swamps along the Mississippi River. How you ask?

Why, with propane cannons, of course! Here’s what FWS has to say:

Propane cannons are machines that ignite propane gas to produce loud explosions at timed or random intervals. They will be located in areas of high use by water birds like egrets, herons and ducks, and moved around every few days.

“The noise is extremely loud,” said Buddy Goatcher, Contaminants Specialist with the FWS. “We are placing the cannons mostly in the battures, the swamps inside the levees, to keep feeding birds from oiled areas.”

The cannons are expected to be set up by qualified contractors, supervised by FWS Contaminants Specialists over the next few days.

“While these cannons are useful tools to frighten birds, they could pose a threat to anyone getting within 500 feet of one,” said Goatcher. “To insure your safety, please stay away from them.”

These cannons will be augmented with modified flare guns and starter pistols that fire special bird scare cracker shells. These devices will be used by the Incident Command’s Wildlife Group biologists from the FWS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The noise-making operation is expected to continue until the swamp areas are cleaned.

The Hotline to report oiled wildlife is (504) 393-0353. Reports should include time of sighting, location, and contact name and phone number.

I could use one of these cannons. It’s better than a paintball marker or a BB gun.

But how will FWS warn people that they’ve installed one? I guess fire a warning shot? Interesting… very interesting.