Livestock

The Maryland State Fair is on, which means it's almost time for Audrey Bennett to say goodbye to her goat, Meatball. She hates these partings. To keep some emotional distance, she usually doesn't name her market-bound goats and lambs. That helps, a bit. Even so, it's natural for an 11-year-old girl to bond with the creatures she has fed, exercised and groomed in the long run-up to the annual fair. And, really, who would want her to remain dry-eyed when the livestock - her animals, after all - are led off to meet the butcher's blade?

In a decision that could impact Maryland farmers down the road, a federal judge in Seattle recently issued a temporary injunction that halts cattle grazing and the harvesting of hay from land in a federal conservation program. The legal battle stems from a decision by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer in May to allow cattle and other livestock to graze on 24 million acres of land enrolled in the government's Conservation Reserve Program. He also allowed grass on the land to be harvested as hay. Commonly referred to by agriculture officials and farmers as CRP, the federal program started in 1985 allows landowners to idle environmentally sensitive land for conservation.

In a decision that could affect Maryland farmers down the road, a federal judge in Seattle recently issued a temporary injunction that halts cattle grazing and the harvesting of hay from land in a federal conservation program. The legal battle stems from a decision by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer in May to allow cattle and other livestock to graze on 24 million acres of land enrolled in the government's Conservation Reserve Program. He also allowed grass on the land to be harvested as hay. Commonly referred to by agriculture officials and farmers as CRP, the federal program started in 1985 allows landowners to idle environmentally sensitive land for conservation.

A seminar for livestock owners, or those interested in getting started, will be at 7 p.m. March 25 at Circle D Farm in Woodbine. The seminar will be sponsored by The Howard Soil Conservation District, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Maryland Cooperative Extension. Topics include biosecurity, pasture management in drought conditions and rotational grazing. Cost is $3 for pre-registration and $5 the day of. Information: Howard Soil Conservation District, 410-489-7987.

Baltimore County : Ruxton Police identify man killed in JFX crash A Baltimore County man who was killed Saturday evening on the Jones Falls Expressway in Ruxton has been identified as Brian Joseph Granofsky, 49, of Parkton, according to police. State police at the Golden Ring barracks said Granofsky was driving a 2001 Acura north on the JFX between Northern Parkway and Ruxton Road about 6:30 p.m. when he crashed into the rear of a 1996 Volvo. Police said the Acura veered to the left, collided with a median barrier, then traveled across all four northbound lanes before striking a guardrail.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering three new programs that provide benefits to farmers and ranchers who suffered losses caused by natural disasters. Eligible ranchers and other livestock producers who signed up by Sept. 10 can apply for benefits under the Livestock Compensation Program or the Livestock Indemnity Program. Farmers can sign up for the Crop Disaster Program beginning Oct. 15. The first program compensates livestock producers for feed losses and the second for livestock losses, both between Jan. 1, 2005, and Feb. 28, 2007.

Public can create a cleaner harbor The sight of a harbor littered with thousands of dead, floating fish prompts visions of a great curse or an apocalypse ("Algae bloom worries experts," June 10). And indeed, much of the vitality of our city depends on the harbor, as is evidenced by the growth of neighborhoods bordering the water and the flocks of tourists who visit those areas. So why is our harbor in such bad shape? Is a harbor covered with trash and dead fish the best we can do? The trash filter at Harris Creek in Canton collects more than three tons of trash a month.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's call for a sevenfold increase in ethanol production within a decade could have the unintended consequence of sparking corn shortages and driving up the prices of a wide array of food products. Bush in his State of the Union address said Tuesday night that he wanted 35 billion gallons of ethanol in the nation's fuel supply by 2017, and he proposed an ethanol subsidy of as much as $17.8 billion over a decade, as well as grants and loan guarantees. To meet that goal, a substantial amount of corn that's now used to feed animals or make food products may be diverted to producing alternative fuels, and that worries cattle ranchers, hog farmers and poultry producers, who depend on feed corn to raise their animals.

WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration is expected to announce today that meat, milk and other food from cloned animals is safe and that sales could begin within months. The agency has determined after a five-year review that food from cloned livestock is as safe to eat as food from conventionally bred cows and pigs and that the food should not require labels indicating its origin, according to sources close to the FDA. After soliciting public comment for 60 days and then reviewing it, the federal agency could drop its long-standing request that farmers and ranchers refrain from selling food from clones.