Discussion board roundup 9/20

Mexican trucks show better safety record than U.S. counterparts Big Apple posts this story covering the Mexican trucks to U.S. controversy:
Mexican trucks show better safety records than U.S. counterparts. Following a fierce debate on whether Mexican trucks should be allowed to access U.S. roads, transportation officials released a study showing that Mexican long- haul trucks had better safety records than their U.S. counterparts between 2003 and 2006. Only 1.21 percent of the Mexican drivers failed roadside inspections during that period, a number much smaller than the 7.06 percent of U.S. drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration


Farm bill extended by one month Big Apple posts coverage of Sen. Harkin's statements on a short term extension of the farm bill


No match rule spells trouble for New York Ag Big Apple posts this link on what the no match rule means for NY growers:
Last week, New York Ag Commissioner Pat Hooker wrote to President George Bush, expressing concern over the Department of Homeland Security's new "no match" policy. In short, it would place an undue enforcement burden on family businesses.
DHS's "no match" policy would require all farmers and other employers to match employee names and Social Security numbers via the Social Security Administration. That policy was at least temporarily stalled with a "stay" order by a federal court judge in California. (For more on that, see related story on this Web site.) The decision is scheduled to be revisited in early October.
The DHS guidelines require employers to resolve the discrepancies within 90 days of SSA notification. Failure would invite severe penalties.

Some tainted lettuce from Salinas? Luis posts this story about likely origin of tainted lettuce. Luis writes:
Kind of an oxymoron title (i.e. we don't really know but it might be from here). One would wish the press would refrain from that kind of innuendo. At any rate the article hints at some political situations.

Gene stacking technology for vegetables? Luis posts this interesting coverage of GM varieties of vegetables under development. Luis writes:
Monsanto now controls a sizeable portion of the vegetable seed market and has been pursuing the commercialization of advanced biotech technology that could add MULTIPLE traits (i.e. stacking or pyramiding) like pest, herbicide resistance, flavor, shelf-life etc. all into a single seed. Stuff of science dreams/fiction just a decade ago.
Not likely to see it in vegetable seeds soon but potentally revolutionary. The gene gun descriptions one still sees in the press are so very 70's.

Danger on the border Big Apple posts this link on border enforcement efforts for immigration. Also, this link on the border fence:
From the Desert News:
Border patrol has become a dangerous and costly practice in the last several years. According to the Border Patrol spokeswoman for the Yuma, Ariz., sector, 185 attacks on agents were reported last year at that particular crossing point, while the number of illegal immigrants intercepted trying to cross the border decreased by 68 percent.


NY Senator asks for suspension of Australian bee imports Big Apple posts this coverage of bee colony collapse and implications for imported bees.