Week of Oct. 15 - 19 Archive
19 18 16 15
October 19
HARKIN: TIGHTER PAYMENT LIMITS TOO TOUGH TO ENACT---Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said Thursday that too many members of his panel oppose tighter payment limitations to include substantial reforms in the farm bill. Senate Agriculture Committee members appear to be readying for consideration of the farm bill next week.
Citing the need for broad, bipartisan support to approve and ultimately enact the farm bill, “I can’t say that I will be fully satisfied with what is in the bill on payment limitations,” Harkin said in a statement.
Meanwhile, another committee member, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), said he is supporting a call by the Center for Rural Affairs and other rural groups for stricter payment limits. “I don’t think that farm payments should go to mega-farmers,” Nelson said.
AFBF opposes enactment of stricter payment limitations, as well as income means-testing and the targeting of benefits.
- · Reuters article
- · The Grand Island (Neb.) Independent article
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---OBAMA, HARKIN OFFER STAND-ALONE ETHANOL BILL---Citing delays in congressional consideration of a comprehensive energy bill, Democratic Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Tom Harkin (Iowa) on Thursday unveiled a stand-alone bill that would require 18 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be blended with the U.S. gas supply by 2016.
The energy bill approved by the Senate in June would increase ethanol use in gas to 36 billion gallons by 2022, but the House-approved bill contains no similar provision.
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MONSANTO CEO: YIELDS WILL END FUEL-FOOD DEBATE---The head of Monsanto said improving crop yields will end the food-fuel debate, such as it is.
“There is absolutely no excuse for ‘either-or,’” Monsanto chief Hugh Grant said Thursday. “It should absolutely be both, and the answer in driving biofuel and food production is improving yields.”
According to Grant, improving yields may be most critical in the developing world. But in the developed world, molecular breeding and biotechnology have the potential to dramatically improve yields, especially with new products like drought-tolerant corn in the research and development pipeline.
“I believe very passionately if we can lift those yields closer to an average that we see in other parts of the world, this is a discussion that would no longer even be talked about,” h
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---USDA SETS GRASS-FED BEEF STANDARDS---The Agriculture Department has announced standards that would for the first time allow meat to be labeled as grass-fed only if it came from animals that ate nothing but grass or hay after being weaned. The animals also would have to have access to pasture during the growing season.
The American Grassfed Association criticized the standards when they were announced on Monday and intends to establish its own certification system. The organization wants standards that restrict the use of antibiotics and hormones and require year-round pasture access. The notice of the standards was filed in the Federal Register on Thursday. The rules are scheduled to take effect on Nov. 15.
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---PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS MIX IT UP OVER LABELING IN IOWA---The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods is pushing presidential hopefuls to support the labeling of foods made from genetically modified crops. The issue is reported to be playing center stage in Iowa as candidates from both sides of the aisle trek to the Hawkeye State to court voters.
Democratic contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Dennis Kucinich are said to agree with the concept, while Republican candidates have not taken positions.
The Food and Drug Administration has deemed as safe foods made from genetically modified crops. AFBF strongly opposes attempts to label such foods.
The Des Moines Register article
October 18
SENATE AG STILL LOOKING TO TAKE UP FARM BILL NEXT WEEK---Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said Wednesday he has reached a deal with key members of his panel, a move that appears to pave the way for committee consideration of the farm bill next week. Harkin said he worked out details of the proposal with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.).
News accounts report the measure includes an extra $4.2 billion for nutrition and an additional $1.3 billion for biofuels research and development. The plan also includes a $4 billion increase in conservation spending generally, which includes $1.2 billion for Harkin’s Conservation Security Program. That program would be re-named the Conservation Stewardship Program. The program could be boosted by an additional 13 million acres a year. The proposed committee version also includes an optional, revenue-based, countercyclical program. Harkin also said a “big section” of the proposal would assist specialty crops.
AFBF is reviewing the proposal and is extremely concerned money will be taken from the commodity title to pay for other titles.
In addition, AFBF on Wednesday sent a letter to the committee outlining concerns with the revenue-based, countercyclical plan. Farm Bureau members with senators on the committee are urged to contact them immediately to communicate Farm Bureau’s opposition to it. Please note, you must be registered on SILO, AFBF’s intranet Web site, to download the letter.
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MINN. FB’S PAAP: FARMERS PROTECTING WATER QUALITY---Kevin Paap, president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau, told a congressional panel today that farmers and ranchers nationwide are employing numerous conservation practices to ensure cleaner, healthier water.
Paap, testifying on behalf of the American Farm Bureau Federation, urged members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to consider the many contributions American agriculture has made to improve the environment before overhauling the proven, successful Clean Water Act.
Paap appeared at a hearing to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, better known as the Clean Water Act. Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.), who convened today’s hearing, is urging his colleagues to approve H.R. 2421, the Clean Water Restoration Act, which contains proposals that would fundamentally alter the reach of the underlying CWA and the existing federal-state relationship. Farm Bureau has urged the chairman to make changes to that legislation.
“It is our nation’s good fortune the CWA does not stand alone in protecting America's waters,” Paap testified. “Other important programs at the federal, state and local levels have complemented the CWA to provide an effective foundation for water quality protections. The soil conservation and water quality provisions of the last four farm bills have contributed significantly to the goals of the CWA and the nation’s overall water quality protection efforts.”
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AG IN THE COURTROOM CONVENES ON AGRITALK---Julie Anna Potts, general counsel for AFBF, provided legal perspective on several current issues of interest to farmers and ranchers during Wednesday’s “Ag in the Courtroom” segment of the “AgriTalk Live” radio program. Potts provided updates on several issues including a brief AFBF filed in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent dust ruling, challenges to biotech products, the injunction issued regarding employees and non-matching Social Security numbers, the black-tailed prairie dog and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) regulations.
Audio of the program is available online at the link below:
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October 16
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS EXAMINES ETHANOL---Jim Sartwelle, an AFBF economist, appeared on the “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” on Thursday during a segment about the economic health of the ethanol industry. The piece, reported by CNBC’s Scott Cohn, focused on how this year’s bumper corn crop is driving down the price of ethanol, making it more difficult for ethanol facilities to operate profitably. The shut-down of an ethanol plant in Grafton, N.D., was a setting for the segment, with additional reporting from Illinois.
Sartwelle was interviewed last week, with his comment about the industry’s growing pains near the end of the piece. “How many years it takes us to sort this out, I don’t think anybody has a really good handle on right now,” Sartwelle said.
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HOUSE ADOPTS 25 x ’25 RESOLUTION---The House of Representatives on Monday adopted a resolution that calls for 25 percent of the nation’s energy needs to be met by renewable resources by the year 2025. The Senate adopted the resolution in June.
AFBF supports the 25 x ’25 initiative, which calls on U.S. farms, ranches and forests to provide a fourth of the energy consumed by 2025, regardless of whether that energy is from biomass, biofuels, wind energy, solar power, geothermal energy or hydropower.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Ranking Member Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) sponsored the measure.
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SOYBEAN BOARD TOUTS SUCCESS---Soybean farmers set records this year, according to the United Soybean Board. U.S. soybean exports totaled 1.11 billion bushels during the marketing year that ended Aug. 31.
China is the No.1 importer of U.S. beans, importing 420 million bushels during the past marketing year. Mexico is the second-largest customer for beans, importing 141 million bushels, followed by Japan, which imported 116 million bushels.
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---HIGH CROP PRICES DELAY ORGANICS EXPANSION?---Sustained high prices for conventionally grown crops could slow the movement towards organics, according to some observers.
The head of the Organic Farming Research Foundation said that while the demand for organically grown food is increasing, the current, tumultuous nature of commodity markets is disrupting the growth in organic production.
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October 15
FARM BILL IN SENATE NEXT WEEK?---Senators appear to be readying for possible consideration of the farm bill the week of Oct. 22. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is said to be softening his opposition to the inclusion of a permanent disaster fund to the version of the farm bill his committee will produce.
The Senate Finance Committee approved a bill before the Columbus Day recess that included a permanent disaster package. Backers of this bill, led by Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), plan to marry it with Harkin’s committee version of the farm bill before it reaches the Senate floor.
If this concept survives Senate consideration, it is unclear what would happen in eventual negotiations with House members. The House version of the farm bill, approved in July, does not contain a similar proposal.
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---EFFORTS TO RE-OPEN KOREA TO U.S. BEEF CONTINUE, SLOWLY---A group of trade negotiators from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office and the Agriculture Department traveled to Seoul, South Korea, to discuss the beef trade late last week. It appears the talks were not successful, however.
Chuck Conner, the acting secretary of agriculture, is said to be increasingly frustrated over the failed negotiations. “I'm extremely disappointed over the lack of progress that has been made over these technical discussions,” he said. “I do urge Korea to stand behind their commitment, the commitment made by their president to adhere to international standards for trade in beef under the OIE guidelines.”
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ETHANOL BOOM SPARKS CONCERNS---Some Hoosiers have expressed concern Indiana could pay the price for joining the ethanol gold rush if the industry cools. Five of the Hoosier State’s six ethanol refineries opened this year, and another six are scheduled to open next year. But construction of at least a couple of the proposed plants is slowing or suspended. Purdue University agricultural economist Chris Hurt said growing pains are to be expected in a rapidly expanding industry fueled by optimism.
Hurt is not the only ethanol observer who has concerns, as Iowa State University’s Neil Harl said he is urging investors and farmers to not count on high corn prices lasting forever. Harl said three things spell the future of ethanol: First, whether U.S. leaders follow through on pledges to end the country’s dependence on foreign oil; second, the economics of conversion, meaning the higher the price of the input—corn, the more expensive it is to make the finished product-ethanol; and third, the advance of competing technologies.
In other biofuels news, the price of animal fat has nearly doubled in the past year, as biodiesel plants and renderers work to expand the industry. And an executive with Tyson, the country’s largest meat processor, said the development of an animal fat-based biodiesel industry also lets livestock producers in on the biofuels boom.
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APPLE GROWERS WELCOME HONEYCRISP SEASON---Wisconsin apple growers are pleased with the way the introduction of Honeycrisp apples 16 years ago has played out. Growers even say the Honeycrisp has kept the apple industry alive in the Midwest. The balanced taste and crisp texture of the Honeycrisp help command higher prices, but the financial gains are offset somewhat by higher labor costs. Growing good Honeycrisps means spraying them with calcium solution, clipping their stems and picking them in two or three waves.
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