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USDA $170 million meat purchase to help farmers and ranchers affected by drought

August 14, 2012 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday that the Obama Administration remains committed to pulling out all the stops for U.S. farmers and ranchers affected by the drought and followed up with an announced purchase of $170 million in meat products.

The purchase will include pork, poultry, lamb and fish. USDA hopes it will help producers having difficulty raising livestock in drought conditions. The meat purchases will go to the nation’s food banks, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other U.S. safety net programs that fight hunger.

“President Obama and I will continue to take swift action to get help to America’s farmers and ranchers through this difficult time,” said Vilsack. “These purchases will assist pork, catfish, chicken and lamb producers who are currently struggling due to challenging market conditions and the high cost of feed resulting from the widespread drought. The purchases will help mitigate further downward prices, stabilize market conditions, and provide high quality, nutritious food to recipients of USDA’s nutrition programs.”

USDA’s intention is to purchase up to $100 million of pork products, up to $10 million of catfish products, up to $50 million in chicken products, and up to $10 million of lamb products. Through the Emergency Surplus Removal Program, USDA can use Section 32 funds to purchase meat and poultry products to assist farmers and ranchers who have been affected by natural disasters. The pork, lamb and catfish purchases are based on analyses of current market conditions. A major factor affecting livestock producers is the value of feed, which is currently running high because of the drought.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Drought, Food Banks, Meat Purchase, SNAP, USDA

Through USDA, Obama Administration fights fraud in SNAP

August 13, 2012 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

USDA continues to crack down those who defraud the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and announced several new strategies to improve the nation’s primary program that offers food assistance to the needy.

SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps, is delivered in Ohio through the “Direction Card,” managed by the Ohio Dept. of Job and Family Services.

The new tools in fraud fighters toolbox are primarily aimed at retailers and online fraud.

“USDA has a zero tolerance policy for SNAP fraud,” said Kevin Concannon, USDA Under Secretary. “These additional measures reaffirm our ongoing commitment to ensuring these dollars are spent as intended–helping millions of people in need get back on solid economic footing.”

The retailer sanctions proposal allows USDA to not only permanently disqualify a retailer who traffics, but also assess a monetary penalty in addition to the disqualification. Financial penalties would be proportional to the amount of SNAP business the store is conducting, which will help ensure that the financial punishment more closely fits the crime. Currently, when a retailer is found guilty of fraud or abuse, USDA can either disqualify the retailer from participating in SNAP, or issue a financial penalty, but not both.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Fraud, SNAP

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