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I pulled the first announcement off of Drudge USA Infowire, and then followed the USDA link for the October statement of USDA readiness. I apologize if the October article is a repeat, but I find it interesting -- especially the last paragraph -- in conjunction with the upcoming 10/18 announcement. Am I unclear on the concept? If they are 100% compliant, why must they "...continue to independently validate and verify our highest priority systems..." and "We have accomplished a lot, but there is a lot of important work still to be done." - ??? If you're done...aren't you DONE?

USDA to Announce Y2K Readiness of Food Supply Industry U.S. Newswire 16 Nov 14:37

USDA, President's Council to Announce Y2K Readiness of Food Supply Industry To: National Desk Contact: Susan McAvoy of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 202-720-4623, E-mail: susan.mcavoy@usda.gov; Web site: http://www.usda.gov

News Advisory:

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and John Koskinen, chair of the President's Council on Y2K Conversion, will be joined by industry officials to announce the Y2K readiness of the food supply industry.

WHO: Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman John Koskinen, Chair of the President's Council on Y2K Conversion

WHAT: Announcement of Y2K readiness of the food supply industry

WHERE: Giant Food Store 5400 Westbard Ave. Westwood Shopping Center Bethesda, Md.

WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 18 10:30 a.m.

(Note to Editors -- The following are directions to the Giant Food Store: From the District, take Massachusetts Avenue out towards Bethesda. Near the Maryland border, go halfway around the Westmoreland Circle, staying on Mass. Avenue. After you cross the Little Falls Parkway, take the next right turn onto Westbard Avenue. Travel about half a mile and on the left will be Giant in the Westwood shopping center. There is plenty of parking in front of the shopping center.)

-0- /U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/ 11/16 14:37

Copyright 1999, U.S. Newswire

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USDAS MISSION CRITICAL SYSTEMS NOW Y2K COMPLIANT

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 1999--Chief Information Officer Anne F. Thomson Reed announced today that all 344 of the U.S. Department of Agriculture=s mission-critical computer systems are now Y2K compliant. The systems, which support some $55 billion annually in USDA programs, have all been remediated, tested, and deployed.

Achieving 100 percent compliance for our mission-critical systems is an important victory for USDA agencies, Reed said. All of the employees who have been working diligently on this issue should be proud of what they have accomplished. I want to thank each and every one of them for their efforts and encourage them to continue to work hard as we near the January 1, 2000 deadline.

USDA=s mission critical systems support the delivery of important programs across several mission areas. For example:

- USDA=s Food and Nutrition Service manages the Food Stamp Program, School Lunch Program, and the Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which provide nutrition for millions of adults and children each day;

- USDA has responsibility for food safety and inspection of the nation=s meat and poultry;

- USDA=s farm and rural development programs support America=s farmers; help small businesses create jobs; house rural families; and bring electric, telephone, and water and waste systems to rural communities;

- The Forest Service, another USDA agency, fights forest fires and manages more acres of recreational land than any other entity; and

- USDA=s National Finance Center (NFC) in New Orleans processes bi-weekly payroll accounts for over 450,000 federal employees. NFC is also the record keeper for the federal Thrift Savings Plan, covering 2.3 million employees and totaling some $62 billion.

Reed noted that achieving 100 percent compliance on the mission critical systems that support these and other important USDA programs does not mean that USDA=s Year 2000 work is complete, or that the agency can now relax.

In the three months that we have left, we must focus our attention on modifying and testing our contingency plans, continue to independently validate and verify our highest priority systems, and continue working with our state partners to ensure that these programs are not interrupted, even if Y2K glitches do occur, Reed said. We have accomplished a lot, but there is a lot of important work still to be done.

-- Casey DeFranco (caseyd@silcom.com), November 17, 1999

Answers

If you want to pretend you are a reporter just ask Secretary Glickman if it is OK to buy extra milk and eggs for Y2K. (Apparently that is the latest propaganda out of DeeCee) ;-)

-- cgbg jr (cgbgjr@webtv.net), November 17, 1999.

For me, any statement that includes the phrase "independently validate and verify" is progress. Check with those who are doing the IV&V for their take on this. IV&V is better than no IV&V.

-- (normally@ease.notnow), November 17, 1999.

Now I would be the LAST person to suggest that Glickman or the USDA (co-developer and owner with Monsanto of the "Terminator gene" patent) don't have the best interests of the people's food supply at heart.... but... you might want to check out this report from April, 1999:

Y2K Assessment of Transport Sectors Affecting U.S.Food Supply

If everything reguarding the food supply is done, finished, compliant, finished... then REMARKABLE progress has been made.

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), November 17, 1999.