The video, shot by an hidden investigator, was made public today by Mercy for Animals, which is calling on the nation’s 50 largest grocery chains to require that all eggs they sell bear a new label: “Warning: Male chicks are ground-up alive by the egg industry.”

Recorded during May and June, the video was allegedly shot in Spencer at a Hy-Line egg production facility. A news release states that it “reveals chicks being thrown, dumped, dropped, hung, mutilated without painkillers, injured and killed by industrial equipment, left for days without access to food or water, and fully conscious male chicks being ground up alive.”

A statement by Hy-Line spokesman Tom Jorgensen indicates that the company is investigating the allegations made in the video to determine if there were any violations of the company’s animal welfare policies. The statement adds that the investigation could have been more effective if the allegations were made immediately after potential violations may have occurred.

“Following our investigation, if any violation of our animal welfare policies is found, the employee or employees involved will be disciplined per company policy, up to an including termination,” officials asserted in the statement.

The animal rights’ organization asserts that it takes issue not just with Hy-Line, but with the entire industry.

“The callous disregard for animal welfare at this facility is not isolated,” organizers wrote on their Web site.

“Egg producers have gone to great lengths to hide their cruel practices from consumers. Grocery aisles from coast-to-coast are stocked with egg cartons featuring idyllic images of free-roaming hens and roosters. These deceptive marketing gimmicks conceal the cruel and violent nature of industrial hatcheries and egg factory farms.”

As The Iowa Independent reported last year, Hy-Line was one of several Iowa companies that donated nearly $250,000 to fight a proposed California ballot measure that called for changes in livestock confinement laws. The donations — more than $30,000 of which came from Hy-Line — came under fire when they were not reported by United Egg Producers as required by state law.

Holstein cows (Photo: Wikipedia)

Although their message may have gotten lost in the ‘tea party’ hype, Iowa dairy farmers spent time at the capitol this week to raise awareness of drastically low farm milk prices. During the past year, farmers have seen the price they are paid for milk drop by nearly half, even while retail prices have remained relatively high.

“This has reached a crisis point in rural Iowa,” said Jerry Harvey, a dairy farm producer in the southern portion of the state.

Francis Thicke, an organic dairy farmer who is considering a run for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture as a Democrat, explained that as prices rose for producers, prices also rose in grocery stores. Now that producer prices have fallen, however, retail prices have remained steady.

John Bunting, a New York dairy producer and member of the National Family Farm Coalition commissioned to write a report on the dairy industry earlier this year, concluded that a few “elite players, with little or no governmental oversight, are running the dairy markets.”

…The current financial situation provides an opportunistic moment for key players to unduly depress farm milk price and reap both profits and market power.

Farm milk prices began to fall in late 2008, in spite of data which suggests it should not have happened:

• Nearly as much nonfat dry milk was exported in December 2008 as was exported in December 2007.
• December 2008 imports of milk protein concentrates were massive.
• Imports of casein, another dairy derived protein, also increased in December 2008.
• “Butter and other milkfats” imports increased nearly 60 percent in December 2008 compared with December 2007.
• Cheese imports for December 2008 increased 15 percent over December 2007.
• Commercial disappearance of dairy products increased in December 2008, and, for the 2008 year, increased 2.6 percent according to USDA data.

If, indeed, as most experts believe, too much milk drove farm milk prices down, there is no easy explanation of the dairy exports and imports of December 2008.

The premise of Bunting’s arguments — that a lack of oversight is playing a major role in the dairy crisis — was echoed by Thicke during the local demonstration. Specifically, Thicke questioned why Dairy Farmers of America, billed as a cooperative of farmers, has 12 licenses to import dairy products into the U.S. and how such imports could benefit the organization’s farmer members.

In December 2008, two former Dairy Farmers of America executives and the organization agreed to pay a $12 million civil monetary penalty to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for attempting to manipulate milk futures and exceeding speculative position limits. The Kansas City-based organization is believed to represent more than 18,000 dairy farmers and control between 30 and 40 percent of the commodity milk market.

Dairy farmers at the Iowa rally on April 14 called for a congressional investigation into dairy and commodity price manipulation, passage of a milk marketing improvement act, and enforcement of anti-trust laws.

“We are at a crossroads in agriculture,” said Chris Petersen, president of the Iowa Farmers Union. “We need to decide who will produce our food — farmers or vertically integrated corporations.”

The National Family Farm Coalition has asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to implement the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, which requires the agency to adjust farm milk prices within all federal orders to reflect the price of feeds, availability of supplies and other economic conditions.

Wednesday, several close aides to Vilsack told [KCCI] the rumors are not true. One said that Vilsack is in Washington, D.C., interviewing candidates for future staff positions.

The New York Daily News first reported the story Monday, saying Vilsack could be tapped to replace New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson after he withdrew his name from consideration for commerce secretary.

A well-placed source says one option under consideration in filling the now vacant commerce secretary’s slot is to tap ex-Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack for the job. Vilsack already has been named to serve as Barack Obama’s agriculture secretary, and easily could move into the commerce position.

The story doesn’t elaborate any further, and the liklihood of moving a former agriculture state governor away from the Ag department seems remote (I don’t recall any talk of Vilsack as Commerce Secretary before), but not completely out of the question. The theory goes that the Democrats have a deeper bench on the agriculture side. Not so much on commerce. So while it would be hard to find another person qualified to serve in commerce, there are plenty of Dems lined up to run the USDA.

Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin said Tuesday that Vilsack’s confirmation hearing has already been set for next week.

“My only encounter with [Vilsack] came on a sunny 1997 September day when we both addressed an Iowa Farmers Union meeting,” Guebert wrote in a recent syndicated column. “Vilsack was cruising for ag endorsements to boost his bid to succeed then-retiring Gov. For Life, Republican and farmer, Terry Branstad.”

As Vilsack spoke, I asked his lone aide if the senator was running as an independent.

Why?

Well, I replied, his campaign literature didn’t identify him as either a Republican or a Democrat. So, he must be running either as an independent or a chicken, right — too scared to list his party affiliation.

According to Guebert, the lacking campaign literature epitomized Vilsack’s tenure as governor and his constant aspirations for the future.

“His gung-ho boosterism of ‘pharming’ earned him the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s ‘Governor of the Year’ award in 2001,” Guebert wrote. “To sustainable and organic farm and food backers, this was akin to Attila the Hun annointing Vilsack ‘Pillager of the Year.’ To the then-growing movement, it was, and remains, an unforgivable wrong step in the wrong direction for the governor of one of America’s leading food states.”

What will happen once Vilsack takes the lead at the USDA, according to Guebert, will depend on Vilsack’s ambition. If Vilsack views “his tenure at the USDA as the climax of his political career,” Guebert believes he can finally shed his close knit friendship with big agri-business and, perhaps, give farmers and food they produce top federal billing.

“What remains to be seen is if he is an independent leader or just another agbiz chicken,” Guebert surmized.

“He knows production agriculture, and he knows the changes we need to ensure its profitability and future, including for young and beginning farmers and ranchers,” Sen. Tom Harkin said in a statement.

Iowa’s Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley said in a statement that he was pleasantly surprised by the Vilsack pick.

“This comes as a surprise since about three weeks ago Gov. Vilsack stated that he was not in contention for the job, but it sure isn’t a surprise because of his qualifications. As Governor of Iowa he had a firsthand look at the role of agriculture in our global economy,” Grassley said. “I’m happy for him, happy for Iowa and this is welcome news for agriculture.”

Tom Buis, president of the National Farmers Union, told the Washington Post that Vilsack was a “great choice” who “has an understanding of the challenges and opportunities that exist in rural America.”

Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, told the New York Times that Vilsack’s understanding of the biofuels industry would serve him well in his new position.

“The big issue for him and any incoming secretary is going to be biofuels, that’s the sector that right now is in such a volatile position,” said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit group that is a leading critic of federal farm subsidies. American farmers, Mr. Cook said, are “hitched to both the food system and the energy system, both of which are oscillating.”

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, a Republican, said Vilsack’s pick would be good for Iowa.

“It’s nice to have an Iowan in this job,” Northey said. “He understands what’s going on in agriculture. He’s a quick study, and I think Iowans will have good access in the USDA.”

Of course, not everyone will be pleased with Obama’s pick. The Organic Consumers Association (OCA), a Minnesota-based non-profit organization advocating for organic and sustainable agriculture, pointed to Vilsack’s support of genetically engineered pharmaceutical crops, his ties to The Monsanto Co. and his support of corn and soy based biofuels as reasons why he isn’t qualified for the position.

Vilsack has a glowing reputation as being a schill for agribusiness biotech giants like Monsanto. Sustainable ag advocates across the country were spreading the word of Vilsack’s history as he was attempting to appeal to voters in his presidential bid.

President-elect Barack Obama is expected to formally announce the Vilsack pick at 10:45 a.m. today in Chicago.

The group points to what it calls Mertz’s ties to the factory farm industry, including the fact that her son owns a 4,000-head hog factory, as motivation for House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines, to remove her from the chair position. Mertz, D-Ottosen, was re-appointed by House leadership as the Ag Committee chair for the 2009 legislative session last week.

“Mertz claims she supports family farms, but her votes and actions clearly show she has bent over backwards to please the factory farm industry,” said Kevin Shilling, a CCI member and livestock/poultry farmer. “McCarthy and Murphy knew exactly what they were doing when they re-appointed her as House Ag Chair. It’s shameful that they care more about the factory farm industry than the quality of life of everyday Iowans.”

Rep. Mark Kuhn, D-Charles City, is the group’s choice for the position due to his support for legislation that “called for stricter regulations on factory farms.”

Iowa CCI has long been an advocate for giving local governments zoning power over hog confinements. Currently, the authority rests in the state government.

Once the nation’s largest supplier of kosher meat and an economic boon to northeastern Iowa, Agriprocessors’ failure is now threatening to saddle the town of Postville with obligations to repay a federal loan. Documents filed this week in a New York bankruptcy court reveal that if the company doesn’t resume payments on a 20-year U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan the city took on its behalf to build a sewage-treatment plant, the city could likely owe the more than $4 million in debt that remains. Agriprocessors had been paying nearly $25,000 per month on the loan, but is now more than $100,000 behind on payments.

The treatment plant, constructed several years ago as part of a settlement of environmental complaints against Agriprocessors, was paid for with a $3.3 million federal grant and the USDA loan.  Although the company has returned to limited poultry production under the supervision of bankruptcy trustee Joseph Sarachek, and possible buyers are under consideration, Agriprocessors remains unable to meet even its current monthly obligations.

Sen. Charles Grassley hopes the Department of Agriculture won't try to collect a loan payment from the town of Postville next month.

Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said in his weekly conference call that he hopes the Agriculture Department will not demand payment immediately.

Noting that “you can’t get blood out of a turnip,” Grassley indicated he would be willing to go to bat for Postville, but not at the risk of having taxpayers pick up the tab for the potential buyers — individuals Grassley believes would reap direct benefits from the facility.

Grassley said Postville should not be unduly worried about the upcoming payment that is due in January.

“I don’t think they have to be worried about it because I think the USDA is — without making any decisions — just doesn’t have to push anything in January against Postville,” he said. “Now, whether the people at the USDA feel the same way that I’ve told you about this, I can’t say at this point.”

Sen. Tom Harkin has intervened on behalf of producers and auction barns that have not been paid for livestock sold to Agriprocessors.

In a letter released Dec. 1, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin began correspondence with Ed Schafer, the U.S. secretary of agriculture, on behalf of producers and auction barns that have not been paid for livestock sold to Agriprocessors.

According to the letter, Harkin, as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, received “numerous calls” from interested parties.

“These producers and auction barns are already in most instances operating at a loss due to low market prices, and if they go unpaid for their livestock or poultry, their own prospects for remaining in business are greatly reduced,” Harkin wrote.

Harkin urged the USDA to enforce the 1921 Packers and Stockyards Act, which provides payment protection to these entities.

“It has become apparent that the USDA has allowed this company to operate insolvent, causing further financial injury to producers and auction barns [and] jeopardizing their own operations,” Harkin said in a prepared statement. “USDA should step up its actions immediately and make clear that unpaid sellers of livestock and poultry receive what they are owed, as the law requires, and not be tangled up for perhaps a long time in bankruptcy court proceedings.”

The letter closed with a request for the USDA to hold public hearings in Iowa so that the producers and auction houses could know their rights and learn how to become involved in the bankruptcy proceedings, if necessary.

While there were some Iowa auction houses who were still allowing Agriprocesssors to purchase livestock as usual, others moved the company to a “cash-only” basis within weeks of the massive May 12 immigration raid. In his letter to the USDA, Harkin admitted that he does not know how many producers or auction houses have been affected by non-payment.

Marvin Waterhouse, manager of Manchester Livestock Auction, told Iowa Independent this summer that he had decided to move Agriprocessors, which had typically been a slow-paying client before the raid, to cash-only status.

“I informed them that they would need to pay up front,” Waterhouse said. “It was nothing against them personally, it’s just that I need to protect my business. If something else were to happen, I simply couldn’t afford to be left holding an unpaid bill.”

Waterhouse explained that businesses come to the auction and make purchases. Although some companies arrive with checkbook in hand, most are invoiced the same day as the sale and pay within 24 to 48 hours. It was not unusual, he said, for Agriprocessors to purchase $100,000 of livestock during an auction.

Agriprocessors, facing a $35 million lawsuit from First Bank Capital Investments, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early November. The plant’s former chief executive, Sholom Rubashkin, remains in federal custody pending a trial on a host of bank fraud and immigration-related charges. In total, seven members of plant management are facing federal charges.

Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge traveled to Postville last week and faced uncomfortable scrutiny from local residents for not visiting the community in the wake of a May immigration raid that saw roughly half of the plant’s employees detained, criminally convicted and deported. The purpose of Judge’s visit was to announce a $700,000 state aid package for former workers and the assignment of three AmeriCorps volunteers to the community.

Currently no such job exists.

Former state Rep. Ed Fallon.

Fallon said he first came across the term in an article in the New York Times Magazine, which advocated that Obama “tear out five prime south-facing acres of the White House lawn and plant in their place an organic fruit and vegetable garden.”

“Though leaving Iowa would be difficult, I would be honored to serve in this capacity and believe I am well qualified,” Fallon said in his letter to Obama. “As I see it, the challenge involves both managing a successful fruit and vegetable garden (and a small chicken coop for eggs!) and promoting greater food security across the country.”

Since leaving the legislature, Fallon has run unsuccessfully for the Democratic guernatorial and 3rd District congressional nomination. He has also started the social activist group/business An Independendence Movement for Iowa (I’m For Iowa).

Below is Fallon’s letter to Obama:

Dear President-elect Obama,

With my broad background in politics, community organizing, community gardening and farming, I write to apply for the job of “White House Farmer,” a term I first came across in an article by Michael Pollan (“Farmer in Chief,” New York Times, October 12, 2008.  Pollan writes:

“This new post would be charged with implementing what could turn out to be your most symbolically resonant step in building a new American food culture.  And that is this:  tear out five prime south-facing acres of the White House lawn and plant in their place an organic fruit and vegetable garden.”

Pollan goes on to remind us of Eleanor Roosevelt’s efforts to help ignite the Victory Garden movement in 1943 by planting a garden on the White House lawn, and how by the end of World War II, “more than 20 million home gardens were supplying 40 percent of the pro duce consumed in America.”

Pollan’s not the only one talking up this idea.  Perhaps you’re familiar with a website launched last February called “Eat the View!”  Perhaps you are already considering such a position.  At any rate, though leaving Iowa would be difficult, I would be honored to serve in this capacity and believe I am well qualified.  As I see it, the challenge involves both managing a successful fruit and vegetable garden (and a small chicken coop for eggs!) and promoting greater food security across the country.

I will gladly supply a formal resume.  For now, let me summarize the relevant points in my background and experience:

POLITICS & COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

•    Served 14 years in the Iowa Legislature, and ran for Governor and Congress.
•    Worked as a consultant with John Edwards’ campaign for president in 2007.
•    Co-founded and directed two non-profit organizations.
•    Traveled extensively across Iowa promoting farmland preservation initiatives.
•    Co-founded the North Park Neighborhood Association.
•    Co-founded a business which focuses in part on promoting locally grown foods.

FARMING & GARDENING

•    Raised much of my family’s produce over the past twenty years.
•    Helped establish and manage a community garden comprising five city lots.
•    Coordinated the planting of 25,000 oak trees on my family’s farm in Ireland.
•    Apprenticed on two farms in Nova Scotia in the early 1980s.
•    As a Legislator, served on the House Agriculture Committee for six years.
•    Developed a business plan for a grocery store featuring locally-grown food.

I have submitted the Expression of Interest Form available on change.gov website, and look for ward to proceeding with the next steps.

To conclude, let me again quote Pollan: “{T}he president should throw his support behind a new Victory Garden movement, this one seeking ‘victory’ over three critical challenges we face today:  high food prices, poor diets and a sedentary population.”

I am hopeful that your administration will help ignite this movement, and I am eager to be a part of it.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Ed Fallon

In fact, Vilsack said he has never even been contacted by Obama or any of his aides about a position in the new administration.

“I would have to speculate that I was in fact in the running and further speculate as to why I was no longer. I do not think it prudent or appropriate to speculate about either,” Vilsack said.

At one point Washington Post columnist Al Kamen went so far as to call Vilsack a “near shoo-in” for the job.