3. DORR HEARING SCHEDULED Thomas Dorr, Bush's controversial nominee to be USDA's undersecretary for rural development, has been scheduled to have his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, February 13, 2002 at 9:30 am -- Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building. Rural advocates are gearing up to ask members of the Senate Agriculture committee to "DUMP DORR." Mr. Dorr's background and position statements indicate that his vision of rural America does not include a diverse system of food production based on family farms and good stewardship. He has expressed the opinion that the ideal farm size for Iowa is 225,000 acres, an idea that has been called a "return to feudalism." He has also expressed a preference for mega-sized industrial hog operations, ignoring the adverse effects of these on air and water quality, property values and local communities. Please contact members of the Senate Agriculture Committee http://agriculture.senate.gov and ask them to oppose Mr. Dorr's nomination. Erin's note: Just in case you didn't already know this, Mr. Dorr is from IOWA. 4. SMITHFIELD THROWS A TANTRUM Smithfield Foods took out a full page ad in last Sunday's edition of the Sioux Falls "Argus Leader," threatening to close operations in South Dakota if lawmakers act to level the playing field for producers by passing the packer ownership ban. "If the Johnson Amendment becomes law, Smithfield Foods will neither rebuild the Sioux Falls plant, or build a new plant in South Dakota, nor will we make any further investment in South Dakota, or for that matter in any other state whose public officials are hostile to our ongoing operations and our industry,"said Joseph W. Luter III, the chairman and chief executive officer of Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, the parent company of John Morrell & Co., which has a packing plant in Sioux Falls. South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson, along with Paul Wellstone of Minnesota and Charles Grassley of Iowa, sponsored a Farm Bill amendment that would ban packers from owning livestock more than 14 days prior to slaughter as a way to restrict the "captive supplies" family farmers say is smothering free, competitive markets. The amendment, which passed 51-46 last session, has been hailed as a major victory by family farm advocates. Senator Johnson responded to Smithfields threats by saying, "I can understand Smithfield wants more vertical integration, and I respectfully disagree with that." Erin Jordahl Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club 3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280 Des Moines, IA 50310 515-277-8868 [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]