Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

UPDATES AT VIRGINIA TECH

University Creates Emergency Loan Fund to Assist Students Impacted by Recession

With the Commonwealth of Virginia and Virginia Tech students bracing for bad economic news during 2009, the university has created an emergency loan fund for students and families affected by changing employment conditions.

“ Virginia 's economy has traditionally not experienced the steep peaks and valleys in other states. However, this economic environment is different, and we expect that students or their families may experience sudden and unexpected reduction in income due to a job loss or changing employment conditions. We believe that students would want to stay in school during this time while their financial support is evaluated,” said university president, Charles W. Steger.

Dubbed The Horizons Program, a pool of $500,000 will be made available to the university's Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid immediately. The loan fund will be in addition to other financial aid resources already available such as the Presidential Scholarship Initiative, Funds for the Future, endowed need and merit based scholarships, or other state and federal programs.

It is designed to assist enrolled Virginia Tech undergraduate students and families experiencing a significant reduction in income due to family job loss or other similar significant reduction in family income.

If students find that their ability to support their education has dramatically changed, undergraduates will be able to utilize the Financial Aid Income Reconsideration Appeal process to request consideration for support from the Horizons Fund. Students will submit information and evidence to revise their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to document the change in their economic situation. Students that encounter the significant loss of financial resources but have not previously completed a FAFSA will be allowed to submit a FAFSA in order to qualify for support under the Horizons Program.

Because of the severe nature of the financial hardships envisioned to qualify for the Horizons Program, Virginia Tech will work to provide longer term repayment terms with favorable interest rates in order to minimize the burden on the students.

HOT TOPICS AND DAIRY ISSUES

FDA Ruling: Eligible Milk and Dairy Products Can Carry Label Claims on Osteoporosis

The Food and Drug Administration has approved new health claims linking calcium and vitamin D with bone health and a reduced risk of osteoporosis, allowing processors to add these claims to the labels of eligible foods, including dairy products. The claims can be used on packages of reduced-fat, low-fat and fat-free milk and qualifying yogurt varieties, as well as other food products that qualify as excellent sources (20 percent or more of recommended Daily Value) of calcium or calcium and vitamin D per standard serving.

According to the final rule, model health claims that can be used include:

For foods that are excellent sources of calcium only:

· Adequate calcium throughout life, as part of a well-balanced diet, may reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

· Adequate calcium as part of a healthful diet, along with physical activity, may reduce the risk of osteoporosis in later life.

For foods that are excellent sources of both calcium and vitamin D:

· Adequate calcium and vitamin D throughout life, as part of a well-balanced diet, may reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

· Adequate calcium and vitamin D as part of a healthful diet, along with physical activity, may reduce the risk of osteoporosis in later life.

NMPF Urges Congress, Obama Administration to Focus Immediately on Dairy Crisis

With a new leadership team arriving in the White House, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) is urging that immediate attention be turned to helping dairy farmers weather the crushing collapse in dairy prices.
“The plight of dairy farmers is just part of the overall ongoing story of the global recession, but it also needs to be the focus of the new Congress and the new Obama Administration,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF. “Given the suddenness and severity of the plunge in farm-level milk prices, a significant number of farmers won't survive the winter with the prices they're receiving.” Farm-level milk prices in February are nearly 50% less than at the beginning of 2008, even though farmers' input costs, including feed and fuel, are still above historic averages.
Contrary to rumors that NMPF has been seeking some sort of government dairy cow buyout in the pending stimulus package, Kozak said that NMPF remains focused on utilizing its six year-old Cooperatives Working Together program as the primary means to manage the dairy supply. CWT is a farmer-funded, self-help program that helps balance supply with demand. CWT is in the process of obtaining a line of credit with a major agricultural lender to help it augment its efforts in 2009, making a government loan guarantee unnecessary.
Kozak said that NMPF had already taken a series of steps to focus the attention of policymakers on the dairy crisis. They have offered the USDA a list of actions that can be taken immediately to help producer prices, such as making it easier for cheese makers to sell products to the USDA under the dairy product price support program, using more dairy foods in government feeding programs, and resurrecting the dormant Dairy Export Incentive Program to boost overseas sales of U.S. products.

NMPF is urging the USDA to ensure the maximum flexibility for dairy producers to choose the months they wish to receive their Milk Income Loss Contract payments. NMPF believed the USDA was sending confusing, arbitrary and overly-restrictive information to farmers about the parameters of choosing direct payments, and in a letter earlier this month, urged the department to reconsider its approach. USDA has subsequently sent clarifying instructions to its state and country offices to ensure that farmers are afforded more flexibility in signing up for the MILC program.

NMPF initiated legal action last month to stop the USDA from using a third-party auction service to sell nonfat dry milk powder at prices lower than specified in the dairy product price support program. The USDA subsequently dropped those plans, ending the need for further litigation by NMPF.

“The new Administration has some unenviable challenges awaiting it, as does Secretary Vilsack at the Department of Agriculture. We are prepared to roll up our sleeves and get to work immediately with the new team at the USDA, and with members of the House and Senate, on any and all possible programs that will help see farmers through this emergency,” Kozak said.