Now, just over a month later, UPI continues to meet the challenges of adding MLE to its umbrella but remains firm that the change benefits farmers, said Dick Jurgens, UPI's vice president of Member Services.

"It's our goal to make these transitions transparent, and we do believe we've accomplished that," Jurgens said. "Michigan, as we view it, is an important state from the standpoint of its agriculture base, and we thought it'd fit extremely well into the scheme of things with UPI."

UPI's operation of MLE facilities is part of a lease agreement for 15 Southern States-owned livestock marketing facilities. The MLE facilities are located in Battle Creek, Manchester, St. Louis, Cass City, Marion, Cassopolis and Fowler. The remaining UPI leases are for three Southern States facilities in Kentucky, four in Indiana, and one in Ohio.

Besides basic marketing, the agreement with Southern States has UPI providing credit and related services to farmers through its subsidiaries, Producers Credit Corp. and Producers Technologies Inc.

The agreement - details of which were not made public - also gives UPI several lease renewal options along with options for buying Southern State's livestock marketing facilities - opportunities Jurgens could not speculate on now.

"We'll learn a lot over the next two to three years as to what facilities are buyable," he said. "Of course, UPI, like any other organization or cooperative, is subject to the same economic circumstances that anyone else in business would have to comply with."

But when it comes to concerns about the industry losing another competitor, Jurgens said farmers need not worry. UPI was formed in 1999 following the merger of livestock marketing businesses in Missouri and Ohio. About a year ago, through a selected asset purchase, UPI also added Interstate Producers Livestock Association of Illinois.

"We always think if you have fewer buyers you have less competition. I'm not sure that's totally the case at this point in time. We still have a good bit of competition out there, both in private hands as well as cooperative hands," said Jurgens. "But we do think it's essential that cooperatives like United Producers function and do well. In our scheme of things, if we can provide an alternative - an alternative to the people out there in production agriculture of where to sell, where to get credit - we think we perform a vital function.

"The days we're in now in terms of concentration - concentration of the processing sector, concentration of the retail food sector - it is vitally important that we have a cooperative put together that has enough volume, enough clout in the marketplace to guarantee market access, first of all, and second of all, maintains a strong financial base and good, prudent financial management. We think that's paramount to United Producers surviving in the system."

As for livestock sales in general, Jurgens predicts a stable future for cattle auctions and direct marketing - the two primary vehicles for U.S. cattle sales. Hog sales, however, tend to be less predictable, he said.

"The swine sector is not quite as clear from the standpoint we have some issues, such as available shackle space, pricing, carcass merit programs ... all of which demand a little bit of a different scenario as we relate and talk about selling hogs. So the hog sector is a little more variable at this point of time than the cattle sector."

But Jurgens cautioned that he "wouldn't rule out any commodity," stating, "I think farmers themselves are the best judge of what commodity they want to produce."

Jurgens, however, went on to say he continues to see more cow-calf operations in the cattle sector, a trend he attributes to utilization of land, assets and so forth.

In the swine sector, farrowing operations that sell feeder pigs are becoming increasingly popular, he said. "I've seen most of the start-up swine operations now specializing to that degree of either farrowing sows and selling pigs or finishing pigs separately. The number of farrow-to-finish, straight-through operations seems to have some decline at this point in time."

The livestock industry as a whole could see increased demand for U.S. meat because of the mad cow and foot-and-mouth outbreaks overseas.

"We certainly hope we don't have to deal with either one of those two diseases in this country," said Jurgens. "(But) I do think there's something to be gained from the standpoint of our export product in the event the European Union countries are shut down from exporting product.

"If we can maintain a clean status in this country, I think we have somewhat of an advantageous position to, in fact, increase our export of meat products because of our clean status. In the event that we do diagnose some of those diseases in this country, I think we will see a pretty abrupt reaction on the part of the government to treat it most likely like a national security matter, which unleashes all kinds of resources to really jump on an issue like that."

On Tuesday, the Vassar Township Board approved a request from Broin and Associates Inc. of Sioux Falls, S.D., to rezone a 144-acre parcel near M-15 from residential to light industrial for construction of the Michigan Ethanol LLC plant. The $50-million plant would be Michigan's only operational ethanol facility and the first of such magnitude in the state.

"We're definitely in support of the ethanol plant," said Richard Starkey, a Tuscola County corn and cash crop farmer who serves as president of the Tuscola County Farm Bureau. "Lots of us would supply corn to the plant."

"It's a plus all the way," added Starkey of the facility's estimated 32 jobs, $1.2-million payroll and thousands of tax revenue dollars for local schools. "We really need it because other small manufacturing plants are closing in the Thumb."

Michigan Ethanol LLC expects to use more than 14 million bushels of corn a year to annually produce 40 million gallons of the alternative, environmentally friendly fuel.

Growers would be paid an average 10-cent per-bushel premium for supplying the plant with corn. Production is estimated to add about $2 million to the Tuscola County farm economy and be a $91-million economic stimulus for the state.

On the national level, the ethanol industry is credited with creating more than 40,000 direct and indirect jobs, translating into more than $1.3 billion in increased household income annually.

"This is the type of value-added venture that creates jobs and returns additional revenue back to farmers and rural communities," said Bob Boehm, manager of Michigan Farm Bureau's Commodity and Marketing Department.

"It also is one small step toward reducing our dependence on foreign oil supplies and solves the environmental concern over oxygenated fuels required under the Clean Air Act."

Vassar Township residents opposed to the ethanol plant, however, have threatened to petition and force the rezoning to a referendum. The residents are concerned the plant will cause increased truck traffic, noise and other nuisances.

Starkey, though, doubts the facility would cause any more disruption than the local foundry, which he said has served local residents well economically.

"I don't think it's going to be as bad as they (opponents) think it is," he said.

Beginning June 1, all trailers and semitrailers with a gross vehicle weight more than 10,000 pounds and/or an overall width of 80 inches or more must be equipped with retroreflective devices. The June deadline applies to trailers and equipment manufactured before Dec. 1, 1993, when the regulation was passed, as well as trailers and equipment with alterations to manufacturer-installed reflective devices.

"The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Division recognized the need to make the roadways safer," said Craig Anderson, manager of the Regulatory Compliance Assistance Program for Michigan Farm Bureau, Inc.

According to Anderson, there are nearly 300 tractor-implement crashes annually in Michigan.

"The standard response when a vehicle rear ends a trailer or piece of farm equipment is, 'I didn't see it.' With the new regulations, we hope producers and truck drivers will make the changes necessary and adhere to the new regulations and prevent future accidents," Anderson said.

Farmers can comply with the regulations by using reflective tape, strips or other reflective materials. Generally, they need to have reflective markings covering 50 percent of a trailer's sides, have a continuous reflective strip running across the bottom of the trailer's rear, and two feet of white material on each top corner of the trailer's rear, Anderson said.

Failure to comply with the regulations by June 1 is considered a misdemeanor, punishable by a $250 fine and/or 90 days in jail.

Farmers are urged to also consider updating Slow-Moving Vehicle (SMV) signs on tractors and equipment.

"In everyday traffic, if you hit someone from behind with your vehicle, you are considered at fault," Anderson said. "If farm trailers and equipment are improperly marked and hit from behind, it's the producer or operator who's at fault."

Anderson, however, encourages both producers and homeowners to use the SMV signs for what they were designed for - to warn traffic that there are different types of vehicles or vehicles traveling less than 25 miles per hour ahead of them.

"More and more homeowners are using the signs to mark mailboxes or other objects alongside roadways," Anderson said. "When they do this, the signs lose credibility and put the producer traveling down the road in danger."

For more information about reflective markings or SVM regulations, contact Anderson at (800) 292-2680, ext. 2311 or your local State Police post.

This legislation would require USDA to submit a report within 30 days of enactment that identifies any immediate needs for additional legislative authority or funding.

A second report, to be submitted within 180 days of adoption, would require USDA to submit to Congress a comprehensive analysis of the risks of BSE and foot-and-mouth diseases in American livestock and beef products. This report would address the potential economic consequences if these diseases were found in the U.S. The report would include information about the potential linkage between BSE and Cruetzfeldt-Jacob Disease, a condition affecting humans.

Contact: Ernie Birchmeier, (800) 292-2680, ext. 2024

"What we're doing is making sure we've got the resources available at ports of entry and take every precaution that we can to ensure we do not get this damaging disease (foot-and-mouth disease) in this country," said Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman.

The 11-percent increase in animal inspection staff includes an additional 127 inspectors, 27 dog teams, 20 veterinarians and 173 temporary inspectors this year. In 2002, eight more dog teams would be hired and 80 of the temporary inspectors would become permanent hires.

Contact: Ernie Birchmeier, (800) 292-2680, ext. 2024

Late last week, Suiza Food Corp., the No. 1 U.S. dairy processor and distributor, announced it had agreed to acquire No. 2 Dean Foods Co. for $1.5 billion in stock and cash. The combination hinges on Justice Department approval, but the companies expect the deal to close later this year.

According to news reports, the merged company, to be called Dean Foods, would control more than 30 percent of the United State's annual $25-billion fluid milk market and have annual revenue of about $10 billion.

Birchmeier, however, does not expect Michigan dairy farmers to notice any real change, particularly because the new company will retain the Dean label.

"But with any merger there are always structural changes in the business," he said. "We will continue to monitor the situation and work to assure there are no negative impacts on our state's dairy producers."

Contact: Ernie Birchmeier, (800) 292-2680, ext. 2024

But budget measures passed last week by the U.S. Senate would provide for $9 billion in assistance for farmers and ranchers this year and an increase in the agriculture baseline by $58.5 billion over 10 years.

The U.S. House on March 28 passed the president's budget proposal. The budget resolution designated agriculture's funding needs for the 10-year budget baseline as "guaranteed priority," but did not set a specific amount for the emergency farm assistance that will likely be needed this year.

The differing funding amounts come at a time when USDA predicts farm income will decrease to $41.3 billion in 2001, $4.1 billion less than in 2000.

The proposals also come at a time when the Michigan Farm Bureau and American Farm Bureau Federation are asking Congress to make additional financial assistance programs for farmers of all commodities part of a rewritten Farm Bill. Current U.S. Farm Policy expires in 2002.

USDA Secretary Ann Veneman, however, says, "(The president's) budget funds key priorities within this department. It helps protect our borders against plant pests and animal diseases, provides full funding for food safety programs, and funds important programs to increase trade activity for U.S. agriculture."

The White House budget includes the closing or merging of some of USDA's 5,600 local offices; ending programs that are no longer needed or duplicative to provide a $200 million savings; and cutting off federal money for new loans through the Rural Telephone Bank.

Contact: Al Almy, (800) 292-2680, ext. 2040

The name asparagus comes from the Greek language and means "sprout" or "shoot." Asparagus is a member of the lily family and is related to onions, leeks and garlic. One of the most popular varieties of green asparagus is named after Martha Washington, the wife of George Washington.

\ Americans eat about 125 pounds of potatoes a year, about half are fresh potatoes and half are in processed foods.

More than 400 million M&Ms are produced each day and "M&M's"(r) Chocolate Candies are made all over the world. "M&M's"(r) Plain Chocolate Candies were first introduced to the general public in 1941. The candies earned a solid reputation from American World War II GIs, who first enjoyed the candies in their food rations. The chocolates were an excellent choice for the military since they were a convenient snack that traveled well in any climate and were packaged in paper tubes at the time.

Soybean oil is the most widely used edible oil in the United States. You can find it in mayonnaise, salad dressing, processed cheese products, dessert frostings and much more.