The nation's fourth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) (aka Mad Cow disease) has been confirmed in a dairy cow from central California, announced the Department of Agriculture. According to USDA, the carcass of the animal is being held under State authority at a rendering facility in California and will be destroyed. USDA says that the cow was never presented for slaughter for human consumption, so at no time presented a risk to the food supply or human health.

On April 24, 2012, the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

The Food Safety and Inspection Service said the Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) is meeting April 23-28 in Shanghai. The Committee is considering proposed maximum residue limits, revision of the Codex Classification, etc. Details follow:

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails April 23, 2012, announcing changes to some Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

On April 23, 2012, the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

On April 20, 2012, the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

The Commodity Credit Corporation said it's accepting proposals by May 21, 2012, for its 2013 Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC) program, which is designed to assist U.S. organizations by providing funding for projects that address sanitary, phytosanitary, or related technical barriers that prohibit or threaten the export of U.S. specialty crops. U.S. specialty crops, for the purpose of the TASC program, are defined to include all cultivated plants, or the products thereof, produced in the U.S., except wheat, feed grains, oilseeds, cotton, rice, peanuts, sugar, and tobacco.

The Commodity Credit Corporation said it's accepting proposals by May 21, 2012, for its 2013 Market Access Program (MAP), which is designed to create, expand, and maintain foreign markets for U.S. agricultural commodities and products through cost-share assistance. Under the MAP, the CCC enters into agreements with eligible participants to share the cost of certain overseas marketing and promotion activities. Only non-profit U.S. agricultural trade organizations, nonprofit state regional trade groups, U.S. agricultural cooperatives, and state government agencies can participate directly in the brand program.

The Commodity Credit Corporation said it's accepting proposals by May 21, 2012, for its 2013 Foreign Market Development Cooperator program, which is designed to create, expand, and maintain foreign markets for U.S. agricultural commodities and products through cost-share assistance. Under the Cooperator program, the Foreign Agricultural Service enters into agreements with eligible non-profit U.S. trade organizations to share the cost of certain overseas marketing and promotion activities.

The Commodity Credit Corporation said it's accepting proposals by May 21, 2012, for its 2013 Quality Samples Program (QSP), which is designed to encourage the development and expansion of export markets for U.S. agricultural commodities by assisting U.S. entities in providing commodity samples to potential foreign importers to promote a better understanding and appreciation for the high quality of U.S. agricultural commodities. Participants may seek reimbursement from QSP for the sample purchase price, the cost of transporting the samples domestically to the port of export, and then to the foreign port or point of entry.