NASS to Reinstate Several Agricultural Estimates Programs

NASS to Reinstate Several Agricultural Estimates Programs

Issued December 9, 2011 by the Agricultural Statistics Board of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). For more information, contact Sue duPont, 202-690-8122.

NASS leadership recently concluded a deliberate review of all programs against mission- and user-based criteria, aimed at finding cost savings and forward-thinking business efficiencies so that timely, accurate and useful data remains available in service to agriculture. In 2011, NASS made several enhancements within its programs and operations to deliver improved results for the American people, including opening a new national operations center in St. Louis that will centralize data collection and service to people who provide and use NASS products and services. These efforts and more over the last year have allowed NASS leadership the flexibility within its budget to retain and reinstate several key reports.

The reinstated programs are:
       Annual Reports on Farm Numbers, Land in Farms Reports and Farm Income
       Catfish and Trout Reports (data collection begins Dec. 9; report released Dec. 20)
       Annual Floriculture Report
       January Sheep and Goat Report (data collection begins Dec. 23; report date is Jan. 27)
       July Cattle Report
       Annual Bee and Honey Report (data collection begins Jan. 23; report date is March 30)
       Annual Hops Production Report (data collection begins Dec. 9; report date is Dec. 21)
       Annual Mink Report
       Fruit and Vegetable in season forecast and estimates
       Rice Stocks June Report

Recognizing the importance of NASS's data products and services to U.S. agriculture, NASS will make available any data that falls outside of the scope of the agricultural estimates programs in the 5-year Census of Agriculture. The next census will be conducted beginning January 2013 to reflect activities in the 2012 calendar year.
NASS will publish Federal Register notices reflecting these program changes in the near future.

ALG: Internet Censorship Bill 'un-American'

ALG: Internet Censorship Bill 'un-American'

Dec. 14, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today urged members of the House Judiciary Committee to reject HR 3261, warning the legislation would "take the mind of throwing the book at alleged offenders, shutting down their websites, cutting off their revenue streams, locking them up and asking questions later."

Wilson warned in his letter, "It is un-American to set up a situation where people are guilty until proven innocent."

The letter points to existing provisions of Copyright Law, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and Fair Use doctrine, wherein "Internet users can receive a cease-and-desist takedown notice prior to civil action being taken by an [intellectual property] holder."

Wilson called these protections "adequate" for intellectual property (IP) holders, and said the new law would undermine "safe harbor provisions that allow users to be notified of any instances of infringement to provide an opportunity to have them removed without penalty."

Wilson said the legislation "completely averts that process," warning the first notification a webmaster could receive would be the website being shut down, getting served with a massive fine, or "being arrested under criminal charges for having anything infringing up on the web for longer than 180 days, even if (s)he was unaware of any violation of IP."

"Such outcomes appear to be rather draconian, and will most certainly have a chilling effect on what is in effect cyber speech: on uploading, posting and sharing files.  Existing laws protect copyright and protect innocent users of the Internet," Wilson explained.

The letter urged members to consider how the new law would affect millions of their constituents: "In the digital age, with the ease of sharing files, images, videos and music, nobody should be served with criminal or civil action for copyright infringement without first being notified of that infringement, and being provided an opportunity to correct it."

HR 3261 is scheduled for markup in the House Judiciary Committee on Dec. 15. 

Attachments:

Letter to Members of the House Judiciary Committee, ALG President Bill Wilson (Dec.14, 2011) at http://netrightdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/AntiSOPA-12-14-11.pdf.

"An Internet Without Uploading?" ALG President Bill Wilson (Dec. 14, 2011) at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/an-internet-without-uploading/.

"Internet piracy bill: A free speech 'kill switch'," ALG President Bill Wilson, The Hill (Dec. 12, 2011) at http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/198687-internet-piracy-bill-a-free-speech-kill-switch.

Interview with ALG President Bill Wilson, WGEM, Hosts Rich Cain and Lindsey Hess, Quincy, IL (Dec. 12, 2011) at http://my.wgem.com/_Bill-Wilson-Americans-for-Limited-Govt/audio/916294/29404.html.

"Legislation by Rep. Lamar Smith equals Internet censorship," ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano (Dec. 12, 2011) at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/legislation-by-rep-lamar-smith-equals-internet-censorship/.

Bipartisan Letter from Rep. Zoe Lofgren and Rep. Darrell Issa against Internet Censorship Bill (Nov. 8, 2011) at http://gov20.govfresh.com/issa-and-lofgren-dear-colleague-letter-versus-sopa/.

Three Libertarians Raise Concerns about the Stop Online Piracy Act, Cato Institute (Nov. 7, 2011) at http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/three-libertarians-raise-concerns-about-the-stop-online-piracy-act/.

"Guilty until proven innocent," By ALG Communications Director Rick Manning, Nov. 16, 2011 at http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-a-budget/193901-guilty-until-proven-innocent.

Restaurants to Serve 100 Million Americans this New Year’s Weekend, According to the National Restaurant Association

Restaurants to Serve 100 Million Americans this New Year’s Weekend, According to the National Restaurant Association

(Washington, D.C.) The National Restaurant Association estimates that 100 million Americans plan to celebrate the New Year by going out to a restaurant or bar, or order restaurant takeout or delivery. The Association’s new research also shows that half of American adults plan to dine out with family or friends over the next few weeks to celebrate the holidays.

“New Year’s is traditionally one of the most popular times of the year to dine out,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group for the National Restaurant Association. “This year, we expect to see a welcomed bump in customer traffic both on- and off-premises as we ring in the new year.”

The survey shows that one in five consumers (20 percent) plan to go out to a restaurant or bar on New Year’s Eve, and 22 percent say they plan to order restaurant takeout or delivery on that day. On New Year’s Day, 12 percent plan to dine out and 16 percent say they plan to order takeout or delivery from a restaurant.

In addition, 10 percent of consumers say they plan to dine out on Christmas Eve, 8 percent plan to dine out on Christmas Day, and 4 percent plan to do so on the start of Hanukkah (Dec. 20). Fifty percent say they plan to share a special meal with family or friends at a restaurant during the holidays.

The National Restaurant Association surveyed 1,006 American adults on December 8-11 about their dining and restaurant gift card plans for the upcoming holiday season. Projections for the number of Americans who will visit restaurants or order takeout are based on economic analysis and research conducted over the last two decades by the National Restaurant Association.