Welcome, new members! Columbus Livestock Company, Columbus, Texas; Davison Livestock, Bedford, Iowa; Leanin B, LLC, Sac City, Iowa; Woodbury Livestock Market, Inc., Woodbury, Tennessee; Elk City Livestock Auction, Elk City, Oklahoma.

USDA Secretary Ed Schafer released a statement Thursday, in which he chastised Congress for their announcement of a new farm bill. “Today, the United States House and Senate announced the completion of a farm bill that unfortunately fails to include much needed reform and increases spending by nearly $20 billion”. Schafer said President Bush will veto the bill on the basis that it exceeds spending guidelines and offers no ‘real reform’. Leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees said they made compromises to meet Bush’s demands and hoped he would sign the five-year, $296 billion bill. After Schafer released his statement, Senator Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin from Iowa said that Bush “seems intent on destroying the harvest just as the seeds are being planted”.

South Korea may demand a revision on the current beef import agreement with the United States. The Korean government has struggled recently in assuring their citizens that American beef is safe. In a public statement, South Korean President Lee Myung –bak said Wednesday that the government will cease imports of American beef if public health is threatened. Ag Minister Chung Woon-chun reaffirmed the president’s statement by saying that trade would stopped if Mad Cow disease was reported in the U.S. However, U.S. trade Representative Susan Schwab has ruled out the possibility that Washington will renegotiate or revise the Korea-U.S. beef deal. Under the bilateral accord, Korea cannot suspend imports of American beef even if mad cow disease were to occur in the United States. President Myung-bak said Korea will honor the beef deal, but “cannot exchange anything for people’s lives.”