date:Mar 06, 2013
.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the U.S. Department of Agriculture's meat safety agency would have to furlough its 8,400 inspectors for 11 to 12 days to compile the savings required under the automatic federal budget cuts.
There are also concerns about grain inspection at ports and key jobs in transportation, such as the Army Corps of Engineers, which operates hundreds of river locks and dams for grain barge traffic.
Given the importance of the U.S. food system - food exports regula