Tuesday, January 15, 2013

California experiencing an increase in flu cases

Published: Jan 11, 2013 at 2:57 PM PST
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Health officials say California is seeing more cases of the flu, but the increase is not unexpected.

The state typically experiences a surge in flu activity in late December or early January, peaking in February or March.

California Department of Public Health director Dr. Ron Chapman says in the last several weeks the state has seen an "accelerated increase."

Despite the recent jump in influenza activity, California is among three states without widespread flu.

There have been no reported vaccine shortages and officials urge residents to get inoculated. People should also practice good hygiene to prevent the spread of germs such as washing hands and covering nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing.

Source: http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/health/California-experiencing-an-increase-in-flu-cases-186545611.html

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Pilot in oil tanker accident switched course near Bay Bridge, during particularly difficult currents (San Jose Mercury News)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/277059823?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Arts and entertainment: Fiction, films: what works best?

Arts and entertainment: Fiction, films: what works best?

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Fiction, films: what works best?


As movie studios for the film like the novel to the screen, the outcome isn't all of the time a winner. In point of fact, several of the people editing well since one cause or some other are not accepted by the problems are mainly in the customization; Not all of the novel to the film. Each ?year, there are, however, many books on the films, released abundant based fanfare. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?read more

Source: http://lifestyle24forme.blogspot.com/2013/01/fiction-films-what-works-best.html

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Never forget a Face(book): Memory for online posts beats faces and books

Jan. 15, 2013 ? People's memory for Facebook posts is strikingly stronger than their memory for human faces or sentences from books, according to a new study.

The findings shed light on how our memories favour natural, spontaneous writing over polished, edited content, and could have wider implications for the worlds of education, communications and advertising.

The research, authored by academics at the University of Warwick (Dr Laura Mickes) and UC San Diego (including Professors Christine Harris and Nicholas Christenfeld), tested memory for text taken from anonymised Facebook updates, stripped of images and removed from the context of Facebook, and compared it to memory for sentences picked at random from books and also to human faces.

The researchers found that in the first memory test, participants' memory for Facebook posts was about one and a half times their memory for sentences from books.

In a second memory test, participants' memory for Facebook posts was almost two and a half times as strong as for faces.

Lead author Dr Laura Mickes of the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick said: "We were really surprised when we saw just how much stronger memory for Facebook posts was compared to other types of stimuli.

"These kinds of gaps in performance are on a scale similar to the differences between amnesiacs and people with healthy memory."

A further set of experiments delved into the reasons behind this. It seems that, as one might expect, Facebook updates are easier to memorise as they are usually stand-alone bits of information that tend to be gossipy in nature.

However, the study suggests that another, more general phenomenon, is also at play. That is, our minds may better take in, store, and bring forth information gained from online posts because they are in what the researchers call 'mind-ready' formats -- i.e., they are spontaneous, unedited and closer to natural speech.

These features seem to give them a special memorability, with similar results being found for Twitter posts as well as comments under online news articles.

Professor Christine Harris suggests "Our findings might not seem so surprising when one considers how important both memory and the social world have been for survival over humans' ancestral history. We learn about rewards and threats from others. So it makes sense that our minds would be tuned to be particularly attentive to the activities and thoughts of people and to remember the information conveyed by them."

Our language capacity did not evolve to process carefully edited and polished text, notes author Professor Nicholas Christenfeld. "One could view the past five thousand years of painstaking, careful writing as the anomaly. Modern technologies allow written language to return more closely to the casual, personal style of pre-literate communication. And this is the style that resonates, and is remembered."

Dr Mickes said: "Facebook is updated roughly 30 million times an hour so it's easy to dismiss it as full of mundane, trivial bits of information that we will instantly forget as soon as we read them.

"But our study turns that view on its head, and by doing so gives us a really useful glimpse into the kinds of information we're hardwired to remember.

"Writing that is easy and quick to generate is also easy to remember -- the more casual and unedited, the more 'mind-ready' it is.

"Knowing this could help in the design of better educational tools as well as offering useful insights for communications or advertising.

"Of course we're not suggesting textbooks written entirely in tweets, nor should editors be rendered useless, -- but textbook writers or lecturers using PowerPoint could certainly benefit from using more natural speech to get information across.

"And outside these settings, at the very least maybe we should take more care about what we post on Facebook as it seems those posts might just be remembered for a long time."

The paper, Major Memory for Microblogs, is published in the journal Memory & Cognition.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Warwick.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Laura Mickes, Ryan S. Darby, Vivian Hwe, Daniel Bajic, Jill A. Warker, Christine R. Harris, Nicholas J. S. Christenfeld. Major memory for microblogs. Memory & Cognition, 2013; DOI: 10.3758/s13421-012-0281-6

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/SKrPlu0K0j0/130115085841.htm

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VIA Motors introduces V-TRUX range of extended-range electric trucks, vans and SUVs

VIA Motors introduces VTRUX range of extendedrange electric trucks, vans and SUVs

If you're launching a line of extended-range electric vehicles, ala the Chevy Volt, it's hard to imagine a better person to help you with the launch than Bob Lutz, the driving force behind that very car. Now he's working with VIA Motors, which today introduced a line of electric vehicles of a rather different scale. The V-TRUX line of big boy toys includes modified GMC trucks, SUVs and vans, customized to include a Volt-like powertrain that enables up to 40 miles of electricity-only driving before switching over to the onboard 4.8 liter V8. More details after the break.

Continue reading VIA Motors introduces V-TRUX range of extended-range electric trucks, vans and SUVs

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/14/via-motors-v-trux/

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Australian scientists take on worldwide agricultural scourge (The University of Adelaide)

Coordinates46?07?58?N64?46?17?N
nameThe University of Adelaide
latin nameuniversitas adelaide
mottoSub Cruce Lumen"The light (of learning) under the (Southern) Cross"
established1874
typePublic
chancellorThe Hon. Robert Hill
vice chancellorProfessor Warren Bebbington
cityAdelaide
stateSouth Australia
countryAustralia
students25,000
staff3,159
campusUrban: North TerraceSuburban: Waite, Thebarton and the National Wine Centre Rural: RoseworthyOverseas Education Centre: Singapore
ColoursWhite and Black
affiliationsMember of the Group of Eight, ASAIHL, ACU
websitewww.adelaide.edu.au
image nameAdelRgb large.png
logo }}

The University of Adelaide (colloquially Adelaide University or Adelaide Uni) is a public university in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia. It is associated with five Nobel laureates, 104 Rhodes scholars and is a member of the Group of Eight, as well as the sandstone universities.

Its main campus is on the cultural boulevard of North Terrace in the Adelaide city centre, adjacent to the Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian Museum and the State Library of South Australia. The university has five campuses throughout the state: North Terrace; Roseworthy College at Roseworthy; The Waite Institute at Urrbrae; Thebarton; and the National Wine Centre in the Adelaide Park Lands. It has a sixth campus, the Ngee Ann ? Adelaide Education Centre (NAAEC), in Singapore.

The 19th Vice-Chancellor of the University is Professor James McWha AO, who was appointed on 6 August 2002. He retired on 30 June 2012. On 26 March 2012 it was announced that Professor Warren Bebbington, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (University Affairs) at the University of Melbourne, will be the University?s 20th Vice-Chancellor. He commenced in July 2012.

History

The University of Adelaide was established on 6 November 1874 after a ?20,000 donation by grazier and copper miner Walter Watson Hughes, along with support and donations from Thomas Elder.

The first Chancellor was Sir Richard Hanson and the first vice-chancellor was Dr Augustus Short. The first degree offered was the Bachelor of Arts and the university started teaching in March 1876.

The University has a long history of championing the rights of women in higher education. In 1881, it was the first Australian university to admit women to science courses and its first female graduate was Edith Emily Dornwell (BSc., 1885). The university also graduated the first female surgeon, Laura Fowler (MB, 1891). Ruby Davy (B. Mus., 1907; D. Mus., 1918) was the first Australian woman to receive a doctorate in music. The University was also the first to elect a woman to a University Council in Australia, Helen Mayo (MBBS, 1902).

The great hall of the University, Bonython Hall, was built in 1936 following a donation from the owner of The Advertiser newspaper, Sir John Langdon Bonython, who left ?40,000 for a Great Hall for the University.

The University of Adelaide graduates include prominent individuals who have made significant contributions to their fields nationally and internationally, and include Howard Florey, Lawrence Bragg, Mark Oliphant and Hugh Cairns.

Campuses

North Terrace

The main campus of the University forms the centre of Adelaide's main cultural precinct, North Terrace. It is bordered by the Art Gallery of South Australia, the State Library of South Australia, the South Australian Museum and the "City East" campus of the University of South Australia, with the Adelaide University Medical and Dental Schools located across Frome Road, behind the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The vast majority of students and staff of the University are based at the North Terrace campus, where the majority of courses are taught and schools are based. The central administration of the University and the main library, the Barr Smith Library, are both located on this campus. While many other universities have law and business schools or satellite campuses within the central business district, the University of Adelaide is unique among Australian sandstone universities for having its main presence adjacent to the main business and shopping precinct.

Bonython Hall, (the great hall of the University), the Mitchell Building, the Elder Hall, the Napier building and the Ligertwood building, form the North Terrace street frontage of the campus. Bonython Hall is one of the many historic and heritage listed buildings located at the North Terrace campus. Others include Elder Hall, the Mitchell Building and the reading room of the Barr Smith Library.

The North Terrace campus also regularly hosts live music and cultural events, particularly on the Barr Smith Lawns and in the UniBar.

National Wine Centre

Located in the Adelaide Park Lands at the eastern end of North Terrace, the Wine Centre offers some of the university's oenology courses.

Waite

The Waite campus has a strong focus on agricultural science, plant breeding and biotechnology. A number of other organisations are colocated in the Waite Research Precinct, including the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG). The School of Agriculture, Food and Wine is based on the Waite campus and the campus contains components of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. It is adjacent to the Urrbrae Agricultural High School.

It is situated in Adelaide's south-eastern foothills, in the suburb of Urrbrae on . A large amount of the land was donated in 1924 by the pastoralist Peter Waite. A large amount of money was donated by Rosina and John, the widow and son of William Tennant Mortlock. These donations were initially used to establish the Waite Agricultural Research Institute which later became the Waite campus.

A Soil Research Centre was founded in 1929 with a donation of ?10,000 from Harold Darling of J. Darling and Son, grain merchants.

Roseworthy

Located north of the city, the Roseworthy campus comprises 16?km2 of farmland and is a large centre for agricultural research. Other organisations linked to the campus include SARDI and the Murray TAFE.

Thebarton

The Thebarton campus, which is also known as Adelaide University Research Park, is the base of the University's Office of Industry Liaison. The campus works in conjunction with the University's commercial partners. Commercial enterprises at Thebarton campus include businesses involved in materials engineering, biotechnology, environmental services, information technology, industrial design, laser/optics technology, health products, engineering services, radar systems, telecommunications and petroleum services. The campus also provides much of the infrastructure for the Graduate Entrepreneurial Program which allows recent graduates to start businesses with support from the University. The flames for the recent Sydney and Athens Olympic Games were developed at the Thebarton campus by the TEC group.

Singapore

The Singapore presence, located at the Ngee Ann ? Adelaide Education Centre (NAAEC), is the University of Adelaide's first overseas centre. It is a joint venture with the Ngee Ann Kongsi foundation.

The vision of the partners is to provide a high quality educational facility in Singapore combining under-graduate and post-graduate academic programs with applied executive and professional development courses taught by experienced consultants and professionals. Courses are taught at the completely renovated Teochew Building on Tank Road in the city centre. Dedicated facilities for students include multi-media equipped lecture rooms, a student computer network with Internet access, computer equipped syndicate rooms, a computer laboratory, a student lounge and private study rooms.

The Ngee Ann ? Adelaide Education Centre also serves as a platform for potential research collaboration in strategically important areas for both Australia and Singapore. Public lectures in the form of "3rd Tuesday: Where Great Minds Come Together", are presented by University of Adelaide professors on a regular basis. "3rd Tuesday" provides excellent opportunities for Alumni to network with subject experts and industry leaders, and to catch up with old friends.

Residential colleges

The University of Adelaide, unlike most universities, did not set any land aside on its North Terrace campus for student accommodation, due mainly to an ideological opposition to the culture of live-in students, but also influenced by the small size of the original campus. However, demand for residential college accommodation led to the establishment of private colleges affiliated to the University. St. Mark's College was founded by the Anglican Church (then called the Church of England) in 1925, Aquinas College in 1950 by the Catholic Church, Lincoln College in 1952 by the Methodist Church, and later St Ann's College, and Kathleen Lumley College. All are located within close walking distance of the University, across the River Torrens in North Adelaide. In addition to providing accommodation and meals for local, interstate and international students, each college organises academic support, social activities and sporting opportunities for its members.

Academia

The University is divided into five faculties, with various constituent schools:
  • Faculty of Engineering, Computer & Mathematical Sciences: Australian School of Petroleum (ASP); School of Chemical Engineering; School of Civil, Environmental & Mining Engineering; School of Computer Science; Education Centre for Innovation & Commercialisation; School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering; School of Mathematical Sciences; School of Mechanical Engineering.
  • Faculty of Health Sciences: University of Adelaide School of Dentistry ; School of Medical Sciences; School of Nursing; Medical School; School of Paediatrics & Reproductive Health; School of Population Health & Clinical Practice; School of Psychology.
  • Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences: Elder Conservatorium of Music; School of History & Politics; School of Humanities; School of Social Sciences.
  • Faculty of the Professions: School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture & Urban Design; Business School; School of Economics; School of Education; Law School.
  • Faculty of Sciences: School of Agriculture, Food & Wine; School of Chemistry & Physics; School of Earth & Environmental Sciences; School of Molecular & Biomedical Science.
  • The Roseworthy Campus has faculty status with a single School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences. In addition to overseeing the School?s academic and research activities, the Executive Dean is responsible for liaison with public and private research partners and the wider community.

    The University has a long history of indigenous education, and established its first formal courses in the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music (CASM) in 1972. The recruitment, administration and support of indigenous students, as well as overseeing the Indigenous Employment Strategy and delivering Foundation Studies Programs, is conducted by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education: Wilto Yerlo in the Division of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic).

    Through forward thinking strategies, the University of Adelaide has capitalised on a number of opportunities to commercialise its research. It engages in extensive contract research and collaborative work in conjunction with local and international companies, as well as Federal, State and Local Governments. This activity is managed by the University's commercial development company, Adelaide Research & Innovation Pty Ltd (ARI).

    Some examples of recent influences to the University's teaching and research priorities are the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) in Adelaide's northern suburbs to which the University provides many physics, engineering and IT graduates, the growth in South Australia's wine industry which is supported by the Waite and National Wine Centre campuses producing oenology and agriculture/viticulture graduates.

    In addition, the university participates in the Auto-ID Labs.

    The University hosts a number of prestigious lecture series, including the Joseph Fisher Lecture in Commerce, established in 1903 following a donation by politician and newspaper proprietor Joseph Fisher of ?1000 to the University ?for the purpose of promoting the study of commerce?. The University also presents the James Crawford Biennial Lecture Series on International Law, named for James Richard Crawford SC, a graduate of the University who went on to be Dean of Law at the University of Sydney and subsequently Whewell Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge, where he is a Professorial Fellow of Jesus College and former Director of the Lauterpacht Research Centre for International Law. Professor Crawford delivered the first lecture in 2004. The University is one of a number of institutions to have established an Edward Said Memorial Lecture. The first in this series was given in 2005.

    Research

    The University of Adelaide is one of the most research-intensive universities in Australia. The University has an outstanding track record spanning basic research to commercial outcomes and continue to produce real results at home and overseas.

    In the highly competitive funding environment, researchers continue to attract strong support across a broad range of fascinating and compelling fields including agriculture, health sciences and engineering.

    Research strengths include; Agriculture, Environment, Mineral & Energy Resources, Social Innovation, Health & Biomedical Science and Sensing & Computation. As a leading research University, they are committed to providing unique opportunities for graduates and researchers, who are recognised as worldwide leaders for their vision and capacity to address global research challenges.

    The University is a member of Academic Consortium 21, an association of twenty research intensive universities, mainly in the Asian region though with members from the USA and Europe. The University holds the Presidency of AC 21 for the period 2011?2013 as host the biennial AC21 International Forum in June 2012.

    Rankings

    The QS World University Rankings for 2011 ranked the University of Adelaide 92nd in the world's top 300 universities and in 2012, it was ranked 102nd. {| | |}

    Student life

    Associations

    As of 1 July 2006, membership of the Adelaide University Union (AUU) has been voluntary for all students, following the passing of voluntary student unionism (VSU) legislation by the Federal Government. The AUU funds five affiliates which carry out their functions autonomously. They are the Adelaide University Postgraduate Students? Association (AUPGSA), the Clubs Association (CA), the Roseworthy Agricultural Campus Student Union Council (RACSUC), the Student Representative Council (preceded by the now defunct Students' Association of the University of Adelaide) and the Waite Institute Students' Association (WISA).

    Media

    The University of Adelaide has three print news publications; these are: On Dit, the student magazine, Adelaidean, the University's newspaper, Lumen, the alumni magazine.

    The University of Adelaide Press publishes staff scholarship and works of interest about the history and activities of the University.

    The University of Adelaide founded Australia's first community radio station, Radio Adelaide, in 1972.

    Sports

    Most University sport is organised by the Adelaide University Sports Association (AUSA). The Sports Association was founded in 1896 by the Adelaide University Boat, Tennis and Lacrosse Clubs. The Association disaffiliated from the Adelaide University Union (AUU) on 1 January 2010 and is currently directly affiliated to the University of Adelaide. The AUSA supports 37 sporting clubs which provide a diverse range of sporting opportunities to students of the University of Adelaide (AU). The AUSA is a major stakeholder in the AU North Terrace Campus based Sports Hub fitness centre and the North Adelaide based university playing fields.

    Student enrolment

    The University currently enrolls in excess of 25,000 students, including 5,758 international students (2009) from more than 99 countries. Adelaide University has approximately 130,000 Alumni worldwide, along with 400 student exchange agreements.

    Singapore Adelaide Alumni Fund

    At the University of Adelaide and Ngee Ann Kongsi's 10th Anniversary dinner on 18 April 2008 in Singapore, University of Adelaide Colombo Plan graduate Dr Tony Tan, then Chairman of Singapore's National Research Foundation, and now President of Singapore, launched the Singapore Adelaide Alumni Fund, which will provide ?nancial assistance to undergraduate students who are Singapore citizens or permanent residents, and are studying full-time at the University of Adelaide. The Ngee Ann Kongsi has generously agreed to match every dollar contributed up to SGD$250,000.

    Smoke-free university initiative

    On 2 July 2010, the University officially implemented its "Smoke-Free Policy". This move was the culmination of an anti-smoking agenda headed by Professor Konrad Jamrozik and subsequently, following Jamrozik's death, the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Justin Beilby. It is the first higher education institution in South Australia to institute a smoke-free policy. The North Terrace campus has been smoke-free since July 2010, it was planned that the Waite and Roseworthy campuses would be smoke-free by 2011, and the University's residential facilities have also been made smoke-free.

    Notable people

    See also

  • eChallenge
  • Confucius Institute
  • Host of February 2007 Australasian Chemistry Enhanced Laboratory Learning (ACELL) event
  • Adelaide Law School
  • School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design
  • Centre for Automotive Safety Research
  • Elder Conservatorium of Music
  • Le Cordon Bleu Graduate Program in Gastronomy
  • the Environment Institute
  • Bradford College, (Australia), a pre-University pathways College for international students
  • External links

  • The University of Adelaide website
  • The University of Adelaide ? Singapore
  • Adelaide Research & Innovation Pty Ltd
  • Confucius Institute
  • The University of Adelaide Press website
  • Adelaide University Sports Association
  • Web address for alumni and ex-students of the University of Adelaide so they can update their contact details with the Adelaide University's Development and Alumni office
  • Development and Alumni office of the University of Adelaide
  • Libraries of the University of Adelaide
  • Life Impact
  • Adelaide University Union
  • On Dit: The Adelaide University Student magazine
  • Creative Writing Programs at Adelaide University
  • Institute for Photonics & Advanced Sensing
  • Environment Institute
  • The Robinson Institute
  • References

    Picture gallery

    Category:Universities in South Australia Category:Educational institutions established in 1874 Category:Association of Commonwealth Universities Category:Australian vocational education and training providers Category:1874 establishments in Australia

    de:University of Adelaide es:Universidad de Adelaida eo:Universitato de Adelajdo fa:??????? ?????? fr:Universit? d'Ad?la?de ko:????? ??? it:Universit? di Adelaide he:?????????? ?????? la:Universitas Adelaidensis ja:??????? pl:University of Adelaide pt:Universidade de Adelaide ru:??????????? ???????? ta:????????? ????????????? uk:??????????? ???????? zh:??????

    Source: http://article.wn.com/view/2013/01/13/Australian_scientists_take_on_worldwide_agricultural_scourge_n/

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    Friday, January 4, 2013

    Farm bill extension evidence of lost clout

    WASHINGTON (AP) ? A patchwork extension of federal farm programs passed as part of a larger "fiscal cliff" bill keeps the price of milk from rising but doesn't include many of the goodies that farm-state lawmakers are used to getting for their rural districts.

    House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders who spent more than a year working on a half-trillion-dollar, five-year farm bill that would keep subsidies flowing had to accept in the final hours a slimmed-down, nine-month extension of 2008 law with few extras for anyone.

    With the new Congress opening Thursday, they'll have to start the farm bill process over again, most likely with even less money for agriculture programs this year and the recognition that farm interests have lost some of the political clout they once held.

    "I think there's a lot of hurt feelings, that all of this time and energy was put into it and you've got nothing to show for it," said Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union.

    Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said it even more bluntly on the Senate floor just after she learned that the bare-bones extension would be part of the fiscal cliff deal.

    "There is no way to explain this," she said angrily as the deal came together New Year's Eve. "None. There is absolutely no way to explain this other than agriculture is just not a priority."

    After Congress failed to pass a farm bill earlier last year, the legislation became tangled in the end-of-the-year fiscal cliff talks as dairy subsidies were set to expire Jan. 1 and send the price of milk to $6 or $7 a gallon, double current prices. The White House and congressional leaders negotiating the fiscal cliff had agreed that the bill would somehow have to avert that "dairy cliff," but it was uncertain how.

    Hoping to salvage some of their work, Stabenow and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., crafted a last-minute extension of 2008 farm law to add to the fiscal cliff package, including help for their own state interests: fruit and vegetable growers plentiful in Michigan, and more than $600 million in emergency money for livestock producers who were affected by drought, a priority for Lucas. In addition to averting the milk price spike, their bill also contained an overhaul of dairy programs, a priority for House Agriculture's top Democrat, Collin Peterson of Minnesota.

    The extension Stabenow and Lucas crafted cost around $1 billion ? an amount too high and too risky for House and Senate leaders negotiating the broader fiscal cliff deal. According to aides familiar with the talks, the White House and congressional leaders wanted a farm bill extension with no major policy changes or new spending that could subject the entire fiscal cliff bill to opposition.

    Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky added a bare-bones version of a farm bill extension that didn't include money for any of the agriculture leaders' top priorities and renewed other farm programs without any new funding.

    The result, the aides said, was a farm bill extension that would keep major programs going but didn't spend any new money. Missing were dollars for some organic programs, environmental programs and several different energy programs for encouraging renewable fuels. Many of those programs were renewed, but without any money.

    The reaction from farm-state lawmakers was swift. Stabenow went to the Senate floor called the new bill "absolutely outrageous." Peterson said farm-state leaders had been "disrespected." Stabenow, as well as Lucas, ended up voting for it, Peterson against.

    The National Farmers Union issued a statement saying it was "left out in the cold." The long-powerful National Corn Growers Association's statement said the group is "tired of the endless excuses and lack of accountability."

    Direct payments, a subsidy that costs $5 billion annually and is paid to farmers whether they farm or not, were retained in the agreement. Both a Senate bill passed in June and a House Agriculture Committee bill passed in July had cut those payments after a consensus in the farm community that those subsidies would be eliminated and redirected.

    "That is amazing to me, I have to say. That is absolutely amazing to me. I want to hear someone justify that on the Senate floor," Stabenow said.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/farm-bill-extension-evidence-lost-clout-231712929--politics.html

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