USDA Urges Residents to be on the Lookout for the Invasive Asian Longhorned Beetle

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is urging residents to search around hardwood trees in their community for signs of the invasive Asian longhorned beetle (ALB). Residents should report signs of beetle infestation to the ALB eradication program in their state, to the APHIS state plant health director or to their state department of agriculture. To find the APHIS state plant health director, log onto www.aphis.usda.gov and click “Report a Pest or Disease” in the blue box to the right of the homepage and click on the home state.

Beetles typically make their first appearances during the month of July and will continue to be present during August, September and even October.

Federal, state and local partners are working to eradicate active Asian longhorned beetle
infestations in portions of New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. For maps detailing ALB
regulated areas by state, please log onto www.aphis.usda.gov and click on “Maps” in the blue
box to the right of the homepage. Residents of Illinois, north of Chicago, should also be on the
lookout for signs of ALB after detection of a single beetle in Deerfield, Ill., in August 2008.
Deerfield is outside of the former Chicago quarantine zone. Beetles could exist undetected in
other locations in the United States, including New England.

“July is the time of year when adult beetles are emerging from a winter spent growing
and developing deep inside the hardwood tree species they infest, so they are going to be easy to
spot if one knows what to look for,” said Christine Markham, national director of the Asian
longhorned beetle cooperative eradication program. “It is important that residents familiarize
themselves with signs of ALB infestation and monitor hardwood trees and surrounding areas for
this damaging invasive insect.”

The ALB adults are about 1 to 1.5 inches long, and have a shiny jet-black body with
distinctive white spots and long antennae banded in black and white. Adult beetles can be found
anywhere, including benches, car hoods, patio furniture, sides of houses, sidewalks etc. Place
any insect spotted in a jar and put the jar in a refrigerator or freezer. The ALB does not bite or
sting.

The ALB infests hardwood trees such as all species of maple, birch, horse chestnut, poplar, willow, elm and ash. Signs of an infestation, in addition to adult beetles, include: the
perfectly round, dime-sized (approximately 3/8 inch diameter) holes left by adult beetles exiting
a tree; sawdust-like material on the ground around the trunk or on tree limbs; yellowing leaves
and oozing sap.

Upon hatching from eggs laid just under the bark, ALB larvae bore into healthy hardwood trees and feed on living tree tissue and heartwood over the winter. Throughout the summer, adult beetles emerge from the round exit holes and briefly feed on the leaves and small twigs of host trees.

Early detection is critical. An ALB infestation detected in Worcester, Mass., in August
of 2008 had been growing unreported for at least 10 years. This means that ALB-infested
firewood most likely traveled out of Massachusetts, potentially starting infestations in other areas of New England and upstate New York.

Report any suspected signs of ALB. To reach the ALB cooperative eradication program
in New York, call 1-866-265-0301 or 1-877-STOP-ALB. For the ALB cooperative eradication
program in New Jersey, call 732-815-4700 or 1-866-BEETLE1. For the ALB cooperative
eradication program in Massachusetts, call 1-866-702-9938. In Illinois, call 847-699-2424.
Residents may also call the state department of agriculture or state plant health director. New
England residents may also call 1-866-702-9938.

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USDA's Interim Final Rule Amends Environmental Quality Incentives Program

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer January 15 announced changes to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the U.S. Department of Agriculture's largest conservation program for working agricultural lands.

USDA published an interim final rule containing the statutory changes to EQIP in the Federal Register today. USDA is seeking public comment on the rule through March 16, 2009.

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, or 2008 Farm Bill, includes non-industrial private forestland as an eligible land use and provides payments for conservation practices related to organic production or the transition to organic production. It also provides for increased payment rates to historically underserved producers, including limited resource, beginning, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.

The EQIP interim final rule can be viewed at the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service's (USDA-NRCS) Web site; at the official government regulation Web Site; and at the Federal Register.

The public comments will be used to finalize the interim final rule. USDA will publish a final rule, which will incorporate statutory changes and establish the program's policy for the life of the 2008 Farm Bill.

USDA-NRCS administers EQIP, a voluntary conservation program that provides technical assistance and payments to help crop and livestock producers address environmental concerns through conservation improvements on agricultural and non-industrial private forest lands. Farmers and ranchers can use EQIP to farm in an environmentally friendly manner and still meet their agricultural production goals. It is designed to produce significant environmental benefits to the public, such as improved soil, water and air quality; and enhanced wildlife habitat. In addition, farmers and ranchers use EQIP to meet federal, state, tribal and local environmental regulations.

Under the amended EQIP, socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers as well as beginning and limited resource producers are authorized to receive payments of up to 90 percent of the costs of installing or implementing a conservation practice. These producers also can receive advance payments of up to 30 percent of the anticipated costs incurred to purchase materials or to contract services to implement a conservation practice.

EQIP will offer financial and technical assistance for conservation practices to certified organic farmers and ranchers as well as producers interested in transitioning to organic farming. Organic producers must develop and carry out an organic system plan. These producers can receive a maximum payment of $20,000 annually, or $80,000 over six years to apply or carry out approved conservation practices contained in that plan.

EQIP will offer financial assistance to forest landowners to develop a forest management plan, along with carrying out the conservation practices contained in the plan. The 2008 Farm Bill also encourages producers to use innovative technologies and cost-effective methods under approved conservation practices to address air quality.

The 2008 Farm Bill reduced the overall payment limitation from $450,000 to $300,000 for a six-year period, except for environmentally significant projects.

The new farm bill also established the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) as a component of EQIP. AWEP provides technical and financial assistance to help producers carry out water enhancement activities on private agricultural land for the purpose of conserving surface and ground water and improving water quality. USDA published a Request for Proposals for AWEP in the Federal Register on Jan. 14, 2009.

For additional information about EQIP, please visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/EQIP/ or call (202) 720-1845 during business hours.

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USDA Fields Farm Bill, Prepares Ground for Next Administration

In seven months after late summer congressional passage of the 2008 Farm Bill, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has put in place much of the key components and prepared next items for action by the incoming Administration Jan 20. The 2008 Farm Bill is approximately 50 percent larger than its predecessor, the 2002 Farm Bill, with 15 titles and more than 600 provisions. In total, 170 regulatory actions and over 100 reports and studies have been identified that the Department is required to complete to fully implement.

"USDA employees continue to work hard to implement all the provisions of the farm bill in an efficient and expeditious manner," said Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer. "Producers and consumers should be confident that USDA has laid the foundation for the next Administration to continue this success."

"Within weeks of its enactment USDA began delivering program benefits for 2008 and efforts continue today to ensure the delivery of additional program benefits in 2009," said Deputy Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner. "We have held hundreds of meetings with stakeholders on almost all titles of the Farm Bill, and continue to have USDA representatives available to follow-up."

Highlights of USDA Accomplishments:

Issued multiple Federal Register Notices announcing program parameters for marketing assistance loans, loan deficiency payments, and direct and counter-cyclical payment (DCP) programs for the 2008 crop.
Began crop year 2008 DCP signup on June 25, 2008 (one week after enactment) and ended September 30, 2008. The sign up for farms with 10 base acres or less ended November 26, 2008 following the legislative change enacted in October. USDA enrolled 1.8 million DCP contracts for 2008 and issued $5.1 billion in direct payments.
Published regulations on August 20 and 21, 2008, implementing Federal marketing agreements and orders for milk, fruit, vegetable, and nut crops.
Implemented the 2009-2012 DCP and Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program on December 29, 2008. Signup for 2009 DCP is underway and will continue through June 1, 2009, advance payments are currently being issued.
Made available additional Farm Bill funding for conservations programs in FY 2008, including an additional $200 million for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), to help farmers and ranchers nationwide to solve natural resource problems; $150 million for the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP); and $7.5 million for Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA).
Made available more than $4 billion for conservation program funding in FY 2009, including $1.8 billion for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), $1 billion for the EQIP, $570 million for the WRP, $100 million for the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP), and $74 for the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP).
Published 8 program regulations between November 2008 and January 2009 for the implementation of CRP, EQIP, WRP, FRPP, WHIP, AMA, the Healthy Forest Reserve Program (HFRP), and the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP).
The Farm Bill renamed the Food Stamp Program, as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, effective October 1, 2008. USDA worked tirelessly to implement a number of important improvements to SNAP that took effect that same day, including an increase in the minimum benefit and standard deduction, elimination of retirement and education savings accounts counting as offsetting income resources, combat pay as income when determining eligibility and application of full cost associated with child care costs.
Made available $547 million for 232 projects to provide clean, safe drinking water in rural America — the majority of that funding from the Farm Bill.

USDA also moved very quickly to implement and award in FY 2008 nearly $28 million under the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, 10 million for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program; $22 million for the Organic Cost-Share Program; $3.4 million for Farmers Market Promotion Program; $3.5 million to enhance market news reporting for organic products; and $1.5 million for Agricultural Management Assistance to aid in the transition to organic agriculture.
In addition, USDA provided additional work in conservation, rural development, nutrition, research, energy, farm credit and crop insurance sections of the 2008 Farm Bill.

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USDA Committed to National Internships Through Student Conservation Association

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer expanded potential conservation work and learning opportunities nationwide for high school and college students to include all USDA's 17 agencies for internships through the non-profit Student Conservation Association on Wednesday, January 7.

For more than 40 years, USDA's Forest Service has accepted more than 10,000 of the association's interns for conservation and summer trail crews. A memorandum of understanding signed Wednesday by Schafer and Student Conservation Association president Dale Penny expands potential work learning experiences to many other USDA agencies in a variety of scientific and conservation disciplines.

"USDA agencies are very pleased with the dedication, ability and enthusiasm of Student Conservation Association interns," said Schafer. "Today, by expanding this arrangement, more USDA agencies throughout the country can offer development of valuable skills and experiences to young adults interested in conservation. The Student Conservation Association helped forge a career pathway beginning at trailheads and through forests for many of USDA's managers and staff."

In 2008, the Student Conservation Association (SCA) placed 333 members at U.S. Forest Service sites, including high school conservation crews, as well as six interns in New Hampshire with USDA's National Resource Conservation Service.

Since 1957, SCA's active, hands-on practice of conservation through a nationwide service force of college and high school students annually renders some two million hours of conservation service in support of the nation's natural and cultural resources. Fully 60 percent of SCA interns use their experience to launch careers in conservation. Internships offered by SCA to students 18 years of age and older provide housing, with living expenses as well as round trip transportation to the assignment.

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