Author: Site Owner

The Country of Origin Labeling regulations require most grocery stores to provide the country of origin for fish and shellfish, and the method of production (farm-raised or wild-caught), at the point of sale where consumers make purchasing decisions.

How can fish in a grocery store be labeled as both “Alaskan” and “Product of China” on the same package?  The answer is that although much of the seafood sold in the United States is labeled with a foreign country of origin, some of that same seafood was actually caught in U.S. waters.

Under the Country of Origin Labeling program regulations – enforced by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service – when fish are caught in U.S. waters and then processed in a foreign country that foreign country of processing must appear on the package as the country of origin.  This processing usually takes the form of filleting and packaging the fish into the cuts you see in the grocery store seafood department or frozen food aisle.  However, if the fish was actually caught in Alaskan waters, retailers are also able to promote the Alaskan waters the fish was actually caught in, in addition to the country in which the processing occurred.

An example of this would be when a wild cod is caught off the coast of Alaska and, due to economic factors, is shipped to another country to be fabricated into fillets and packaged.  If this process of turning a whole fish into packaged fillets occurs in China, the cod fillets are declared “Wild Caught Product of China” upon import into the United States.  However, if the importer can demonstrate that the cod was caught in Alaskan waters, the packaged cod fillets are also eligible to say “Alaskan”.

The Country of Origin Labeling regulations require most grocery stores to provide the country of origin for fish and shellfish, and the method of production (farm-raised or wild-caught), at the point of sale where consumers make purchasing decisions.  Suppliers to retailers, including distributors, repackers, processing facilities, harvesters, and importers, are also required to convey this Country of Origin Labeling information to their subsequent buyers.

The Country of Origin Labeling program, in close partnership with many State and Federal agencies, assesses labeling compliance in grocery store locations across the United States every year.  In addition, the Country of Origin Labeling program audits the supply chain to verify the accuracy of country of origin and method of production declarations.

Not only are seafood labels checked for mandatory country of origin labeling declarations, but much of the fruits and vegetables, peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, ginseng, lamb, goat, and chicken at your local grocery store must also include country of origin information.  For more information about the mandatory Country of Origin Labeling program, visit: www.ams.usda.gov/cool.

The Country of Origin Labeling regulations require most grocery stores to provide the country of origin for fish and shellfish, and the method of production (farm-raised or wild-caught), at the point of sale where consumers make purchasing decisions.

December 2nd, 2016|Tags: Forest Digest|0 Comments

The post Forest Digest — Week of November 28, 2016 appeared first on American Forests.

December 1st, 2016|Tags: Climate|0 Comments

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By Justin Hynicka, Manager of Forest Conservation, American Forests

A 2-year-old red spruce sapling from American Forests’ 2014 Lambert Run Project in Monongahela National Forest, W. Va. Credit: Justin Hynicka.

To me, one of the most magical features of forests is their stillness. Even relatively young, even-age forests of the Eastern U.S. are peaceful places that can just as easily silence the world around us as they can magnify the sounds of the wildlife that inhabit them. Despite knowledge of the regional forest history and better judgement, this stillness can almost convince you that this is how these forests have always been and always will be. It doesn’t take much time, however, for a frequent visitor to notice changes throughout the year, or differences from one location to another, that reveal forests are incredibly dynamic places. These hints include showy sequences of blossoming wildflowers — trout lily, jack in the pulpit, mayapple and magnolias — that parade throughout spring, or differences in the size and types of trees that tell us disruptive events and long-term processes are also at play.

The forests of Central Appalachia are uniquely equipped to recover from disturbance. This region is the mixing zone for southern and northern tree species of the Eastern U.S., yielding a high diversity of trees and other plants that have unique life histories and adaptations. High diversity ensures that a declining tree species (due to wildfire, old age, pests and disease, etc.) will be succeeded by a different tree and maintain essential forest processes. High annual rainfall distributed throughout the year limits the frequency and severity of wildfire, while intense wind from hurricanes or extreme weight from ice storms may break trees but still allow seeds, organic matter and nutrients to accumulate in soils. In addition, the rugged landscape shielded rare red spruce forests, which occupy the upper elevations in Central Appalachia and have persisted for millennia, from deforestation until the late 1800s.

Forest succession can be arrested even in these highly diverse and historically stable ecosystems. Widespread deforestation of red spruce in the early 1900s and human-induced wildfire caused several feet of organic rich soil to burn down to bedrock destroying the native seedbank, and there are more than 1 million acres of surface mines in Central Appalachia in need of soil decompaction. The primary objective of traditional mine land restoration is to prevent erosion and protect waterways by compacting soils, seeding with non-native grasses and forbs to quickly establish groundcover and occasionally planting non-native and fast-growing conifers such as red pine and Norway spruce. Unfortunately, planted trees often die because their roots cannot penetrate the compacted soils, and nearby seedlings of native forest plants are unable to establish in the sea of non-native grasses.

Due to compacted soils and competition from non-native plants, more than 1,400 acres of mine land across the Cheat and Shavers Mountains in Monongahela National Forest, W. Va., have been trapped as non-native grasslands for more than 40 years. These mountains are global biodiversity hotspots, and we are thrilled to partner with Green Forests Works and Monongahela National Forest to help restore them. Mine land restoration in Central Appalachia is expensive (~$2,000 per acre) compared to other types of forest restoration because heavy machinery is needed to decompact soils. And, while it will take some time until the red spruce that we plant reach maturity, the presence of amphibians in newly created vernal pools and natural regeneration of blazing cherry provides instant gratification.

Aerial images of Cheat and Shavers Mountains in West Virginia from 1997, 2002 and 2013, show that few trees have grown on stripped-mined areas (light colored areas) over the last 20+ years.

The post Appalachian Red Spruce under Arrest appeared first on American Forests.

The giant Englemann Spruce is hoisted and put into place on the West Lawn of Capitol Hill. (Photo credit: Cecilio Ricardo)

You know Christmas is right around the corner when images of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree being hoisted from a very long tractor trailer show up on your social media apps and on TV.

An ongoing American tradition since 1964, this year, the great tree called fondly by its fans “An Idaho Mountain Gem,” comes from the Payette National Forest near McCall, Idaho.

Entering the grounds of the Capitol Building to be given by the Forest Service to the Architect of the Capitol and with a full security escort no less, the 80-foot Engelmann spruce rode on a big-rig truck adorned in festive red and labeled “From tree to shining tree.”

Keith Lannom, the Payette Forest’s supervisor, reminded the press gathered for the arrival ceremony that “thousands of LED lights and over 6,000 ornaments made by children in Idaho who used 20 pounds of glitter, will hang on the tree…” among other intriguing facts about the tree.

Harvested on November 2, the Idaho gem has made quite a journey. It has stopped in 30 cities to much excitement, and in one location a group of women calling themselves “The Rebeccas” surprised the entourage traveling with the tree to an al fresco luncheon feast that the tree workers recounted with much happiness as they shivered in the early morning chill just below Capitol Hill before the arrival ceremony.

The great dome of the US Capitol Building is seen through the many branches of the Capitol Christmas Tree, fondly referred to as “An Idaho Gem”. (Photo credit: Robert Westover)

The official lighting ceremony will be held December 6^th beginning at 5 PM on the West Lawn of Capitol Hill with the Idaho Congressional Delegation and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan officiating. Fifth grader Isabella Gerard was chosen as Idaho’s student representative to assist in the tree lighting. She was awarded the opportunity after her poem, “Pristine Idaho Mountains,” was chosen at random in a contest that included over 200 entries from Idaho students. The ceremony is free and open to the public.

According to Lannom the tree’s journey has been tracked with the several hashtags including #payetteforward since November 2. He went on to say “Let me tell you, people love the Capitol Christmas tree.”

Forest Service employees standing near the truck that delivered the Capitol Christmas Tree to Washington, DC from McCall, Idaho. From this staging area the tree enters the grounds of the US Capitol and is hoisted into place. (Photo credit: Robert Westover)

The MyPlate, MyWins video series shows how real families make healthy eating work for them. We finish off this series with a video highlighting all six families.

In March, we kicked off our MyPlate, MyWins video series and introduced you to six American families, each from different backgrounds with their own unique approach to healthy eating. From Shelley, a single mom to Carol and Brad, a farm family with four children – we hope you enjoyed hearing their stories and discovered healthy eating solutions that could help you in your own lives.

Meet the families from our MyPlate, MyWins video series in this compilation video:

Each family shared their healthy eating solutions. Here are some highlights:

• Lilac & PJ: With the help of grandma, this family adjusts to life with a newborn, and celebrates their Laotian heritage through healthy eating traditions.
• Bryan & Keah: This family uses dad’s passion for cooking to encourage healthy eating and trying new foods.
• Shelley: This single mom admits that healthy eating hasn’t always come easy. But she knows it’s important and finds creative and fun ways to get her son to eat healthy.
• Candice & James: With a baby on the way, this family knows that planning is key. They use technology and meal prep to make healthy eating easier, while staying organized.
• Rocio: This mom includes her four young boys in meal prep to teach them about the importance of healthy eating.
• Carol & Brad: For this family, it’s all about keeping it simple. They set out fruit for an easy ‘grab and go’ snack and make crockpot meals.

No matter where you start, it’s all about finding a healthy eating style that works for you, your family, and your everyday life. What works for you, may not work for someone else – and that’s ok! For practical tips, recipes, activities and more, visit ChooseMyPlate.gov, follow MyPlate on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up for email updates. And stay tuned… more MyPlate, MyWins videos are on their way!

Visit Findyour.town today to find opportunities to help your rural community grow.

Charming, historic, cozy, vibrant, quaint and fun. Small towns and rural places hold a special place in our vision of America. They offer residents a unique and often genial place to live. Visitors and those just passing through come to enjoy distinct lifestyles, commerce, and countryside.  Yet, many rural towns have trouble promoting themselves and planning for a vibrant future. That is why we are helping to launch Findyour.town.

At USDA Rural Development, we know small towns may also be unaware of how our programs can help them thrive. We help build new fire stations, provide affordable housing, help expand a local business, strengthen broadband infrastructure in their community and so much more. To get the word out, we are working with The Opportunity Project, a White House initiative to expand access to opportunity for all Americans by putting data and digital tools in the hands of families, communities, and local leaders, to help them navigate information about the resources they need to thrive. Private sector tech developers and federal agencies come together to build digital tools that help address critical federal policy challenges, get information directly to the people we serve, and put federal data to use in innovative new ways.

The White House brought us together with the technology developer Ovela. And, over the last several months, we worked together to build a website called Findyour.town, which is already helping small towns market their strengths and track down resources and funding opportunities through USDA.

Ovela’s expertise and creativity with mapping, data, and web design is combined with Rural Development’s rural expertise, programs and an impressive set of data resources. The result is Findyour.town, a website built to help small communities tell their stories and chart their paths forward.  Users—be they local government officials, economic developers, regional planners, tourism boards, small businesses, or others—can take advantage of the site’s user-friendly tools to upload photos and videos of their community, create presentations and maps, and become part of the searchable database of America’s small communities, each with its own distinctive qualities.  They can also seamlessly link to information about their eligibility for Rural Development programs and existing Rural Development investments in their town and in peer communities.

Throughout my time at Rural Development, we have been working hard to strengthen our relationships with the customers and partners who utilize, study, and help improve Rural Development’s programs.  We are sharing data and building tools to expand the reach of our investments and tap the full potential of our programs to strengthen the vitality and quality of life in America.  For example, we recently released data on our Single Family, Multi-Family, and Community Facilities programs on Data.gov and in PolicyMap.com.  In doing so, the public gained access to USDA’s Multi-Family Program Exit Data, and is now helping us identify properties at risk of paying off their mortgages, leaving our program, and no longer qualifying for rental assistance essential to keeping apartments affordable to tens of thousands of families and individuals across the Nation.

We are excited to launch Findyour.town. It will be an invaluable resource that will continue to grow in the future.  We encourage you to check it out and put it to use for your community at https://findyour.town/.

Staci Emm, professor and Extension educator at the University of Nevada

Every month, USDA shares the story of a woman in agriculture who is leading the industry and helping other women succeed along the way. This month, we hear from Staci Emm, professor and Extension educator at the University of Nevada and member of the Yerington Paiute Tribe. Staci has spent the last ten years as an Extension educator in Mineral County, Nevada and is nationally recognized for agricultural and American Indian Extension programs. Staci holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations and business management from the University of Nevada, Reno and a master’s of agriculture from Colorado State University.

1. Tell us about your background as a member of the Yerington Paiute Tribe and how you became interested in agriculture.

I became a member of the Yerington Paiute Tribe as an infant.  My grandfather, Warren Emm, is Washoe and Paiute Indian and his mother lived in the Yerington, NV area. My grandfather moved to the Walker River reservation after he graduated from college in California. The Walker River reservation is allotted and individual Indians could purchase land, under trust status, to farm.  My grandfather began purchasing the 20 acres allotments at this time and putting them together to create a farming land base.  My father is the second oldest son of the family and began farming at an early age.  He and my mother were high school sweet hearts and married young. I was four years old when my father built a farming and ranching business in Schurz, NV.  It is not that I became interested in agriculture, I grew up in agriculture and it has always been a way of life.  My dogs, cattle and horses are my therapy when I come home from a long day at work.  My mother used to tell my sisters and I we could plan our whole life while sitting on a tractor.  She was right.

I started my professional career as a newspaper reporter in the town of Yerington, NV in 1996 after graduating from the University of Nevada, Reno.  I began working for the University of Nevada, Reno Cooperative Extension in July of 2000. I also went back to school during this time to get a Masters of Agriculture degree. After getting my masters, I got the job as the Extension Educator in Mineral County.  I love being an Extension Educator in rural Nevada, there is no other job like it.

2. What does a typical day look like to you?

A typical day for me is to expect the unexpected.  I get up and get ready, feed horses, sometime cows and of course give the dogs their bones.  My office is located in Hawthorne, NV and I live on the family ranch in Schurz, NV, so it is about a 35 minute commute.  There is limited cell service for the 35 miles so it is my down time.  Once I walk into the office, it is something different every day.  I am responsible for the administration of the Mineral County office and the local programs.  I also am a project director for a large number of grant funded activities that include the statewide Nevada Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program and the Nevada Risk Management Project; and nationally I work with Indian tribes on land, water and agricultural projects.

I leave the office about 5:30 when it is dark outside.  I will feed the animals and get to relax a little bit before bedtime.

3. How do agricultural Extension programs benefit communities?

I believe in every situation and community there is a place for Extension.  Most people do not even know what Extension is or what it does.  In Nevada, we do community need assessments and then we build programs based on community needs.  Our program areas include Children, Youth and Families; Horticulture; Natural Resources; Agriculture; Health & Nutrition; and Community Development.

For example, Mineral County is a rural community that is geographically isolated.  We created a program in 2009 called Veggies for Seniors after a needs assessment reported there was limited access for seniors to fruits and vegetables.  This program provides 13 weeks of fresh produce with seniors with disabilities and had 95 seniors in the program this year.  The produce comes from our Veggies for Kids hoop houses behind the schools and we purchase local food from the Yerington and Fallon area from local farmers.

Extension is also tied to an 1862 land grant institution.  It is the doorway into different parts of the university.  It is bringing knowledge out to the communities.  I think the biggest issue with Extension is that there is so much work or needs that go unfilled, and not enough time in the day.

4.  What opportunities exist in Extension for women starting a career in agriculture?

Extension work is not for everyone. Extension is not an 8 to 5 job and it is not a job that is structured. It is also a job where you can have several different bosses.  Some people thrive in this environment and some dislike the on call status.

For those that love it, there is not a better opportunity to work in agriculture or the other program areas.  If you want something new different every day, Extension is your place.  If you want to be so tired that you cannot hardly stand because you are putting on a 4-H show or a conference but enjoyed the different people you worked with, Extension is your place.  Extension has treated me really well.  I never did thrive in an environment where you punched a time clock or I was told what to do every day, or liked doing the same thing every day. I have my own mind and I like using it. I get to travel as much as I want doing programs, I am not stuck in the office all day, and I like interacting with different people with different backgrounds.

5. Who are your role models?

I have never really thought about it.  I am a goal oriented person and never did put much into role models, but I also had good parents who had expectations of me to lead a good life that made me happy.  So, if I want something, I work for it or towards it.  I have been lucky in my professional career to have some really good bosses.  Not everyone is as lucky as I have been.  I think every boss that I have had in Extension has really helped me excel and made sure I was working in places where I could do the most good.

6. Any words of advice for your fellow women in agriculture?

There is always more than one right answer.  If you really want something and it just doesn’t happen you may have to realize the man upstairs doesn’t have that plan for you, but he has something else.  Usually, that something else is better than you could have ever expected.

The red-cockaded woodpecker is an at-risk species under pressure from a loss of forested habitat (Photo Credit: Mary Snieckus)

Amid rising numbers of at-risk wildlife in the South, a new report from the American Forest Foundation (AFF) revealed private and family landowners in the South offer a solution to help at-risk wildlife species.

Southern forests rank at the top in terms of biodiversity when measured by the number of wildlife and plant species. But, due to a variety of reasons, a significant number of the South’s wildlife species are at risk. The reasons include: forest conversion to non-forest uses such as strip malls and commercial expansion; fragmented waterways; natural fire suppression; and an influx of invasive species.

Currently, there are 224 forest-dependent species listed as endangered or threatened. And an additional 293 species could be listed in the near future through a candidate and petitioned process.

At the same time, these Southern forests are some of the most productive, supplying raw material for consumer wood products worldwide. They also supply nearly 1.1 million people in rural communities with jobs.

According to the report, Southern Wildlife at Risk: Family Forest Owners Offer a Solution, family landowners, who own more than 58 percent of forests in the South, are key to providing forested habitat for at-risk species while continuing to fuel the South’s forest economy.

Almost 90 percent of southern landowners say protecting and improving wildlife habitat is the top reason they own land. In addition, 73 percent state they want to do more on their land for wildlife in the future. Landowners cite an uncertainty about whether they are doing right by their land, difficulty finding support and the cost of management, as barriers.

The AFF report highlights it is possible to both protect at-risk wildlife and continue to meet the demands for wood from family lands. The report also found, through a spatial analysis, 35 million areas across the South, where an increase in family and private landowners managing could help protect at-risk species, while providing sustainable wood supplies.

Already projects in these key acre areas are getting started, with a variety of partners, including the American Forest Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service, collaborating. Together the partnerships are conducting outreach to landowners and helping them to connect with trusted resources like foresters and get started managing for wildlife.

According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, these partnerships have prevented the need to protect more than 70 species across the Southeast. They have also led to improved status or delisting of another dozen species.

The American Forest Foundation is working collaboratively with partners in key locations to help landowners manage for wildlife. (Photo Credit: Mary Snieckus)

November 30th, 2016|Tags: Climate|0 Comments

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By Doyle Irvin, American Forests

Believe it or not, the aspens on both sides of this road are all one tree. Credit: Robert Shea via Flickr.

In the high-altitude reaches of Utah’s Fishlake National Forest lives a forest that has captured the world’s attention. Pando, Latin for “I Spread,” is not your normal collection of trees. There may be 47,000 individual trunks sprouting from the ground, but the grove itself is actually one large interconnected clonal colony, with a massive underground root system connecting its entirety. Long story short, the forest is actually all one living being, originating from the same single seed.

An aspen seed is a tiny, flighty affair, minuscule enough to float on the wind. Now, Pando is easily the world’s heaviest living thing, weighing an estimated 6,600 tons. The trees are genetically identical, one single male quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) that has spread to cover 106 acres of hillside.

Pando, and clonal colonies like it, reproduce through what is called “suckering,” which is when one stem (or “trunk”) sends out lateral roots that then become new stems (or “trunks”). While the stems themselves rarely live past 100 to 150 years, the organism itself sustains its life for thousands upon thousands of years. The most accepted estimate currently for Pando’s age is approximately 80,000 years, but because that estimate is based on aspen rates of expansion and projections back in time of what the climates are guessed to have been, the 80,000 mark is understood as rough. Some researchers claim that it could be closer to a million years old!

How did it become the king? Researchers assert that Pando has grown under ideal circumstances for the majority of its lifetime. Frequent low intensity burns keep competition from invading its territory, and the climate shift in Utah in the last 80,000 years has created circumstances where rival aspens are unlikely to flower. It is currently thought that Pando itself has not reproduced through seeds in the last 10,000 years. It is potentially possible for Pando to reproduce once again through seeds, as is usual for aspens to do on the east coast and elsewhere, but it is not easy for these colonies out west — they have three sets of chromosomes instead of two, and the landscape is too dry.

Pando is now dying. The change in predator-prey ecosystems out west is a large contributor to this. Tree colonies, like Pando, require a constant influx of new sprouts to survive, and an overpopulation of deer, elk, sheep and cattle has been eating juvenile sprouts before they can mature into full trunks. The existing population of trunks is now passing middle age, and there isn’t a new generation to follow them. To complicate matters, the mature trunks themselves are dying at an abnormally high rate, which researchers are attributing to a climate-change related influx of disease and insects.

There’s a chance that a larger clonal colony exists somewhere on the planet, as Pando is thought to have been discovered primarily because a road runs right through it. However, as clonal colonies are fairly easy to spot — the leaves all change at the same time — this may not be the case. Whether or not it is indeed the largest, one thing is undeniable: it is spectacular. Efforts are being made to protect our planet’s reigning largest organism. The U.S. Forest Service is fencing off 67 acres of it for protection and experimentation, hoping to get a good response to various sprout-stimulants they have in mind.

The post The Heaviest Organism on the Planet appeared first on American Forests.