House Agriculture Committee Chairman “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) released frameworks outlining their visions for a new farm bill.
The Thompson framework at https://bit.ly/4aZgroC suggests that a new House farm bill will include meaningful reference price increases, reforms to USDA’s marketing loan program and enhanced crop insurance options to “reduce the need for unbudgeted ad hoc assistance.” Thompson envisions that the new farm bill will be paid for by reallocating Inflation Reduction Act funds, restricting the discretionary spending authority of USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation and limiting future changes to the formula used to determine SNAP benefits. More specifics about the House bill are expected to be released in the coming weeks ahead of a reported May 23 mark-up.
The Stabenow proposal at https://bit.ly/3QqjY6Y is more specific and has been described as a place to begin negotiations and jumpstart talks in the Senate. Her farm bill framework calls for a five percent increase to the seed cotton reference price – likely a lower increase than what will be seen in a House farm bill. However, Stabenow’s framework also advocates for substantial crop insurance enhancements and for restoring the Economic Adjustment Assistance for Textile Mills payment rate to four cents per pound of cotton used, in line with NCC recommendations.
Members of Congress Oppose Cutting of NASS Reports
Representatives Tracey Mann (R-KS) and Jim Costa (D-CA), along with Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), led a letter at www.cotton.org/issues/2024/upload/24nasslet.pdf cosigned by 70 of their congressional colleagues opposing the recent decision by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to discontinue the Cotton Objective Yield Survey, all County Estimates for Crops and Livestock, and the July Cattle report.
The letter points out that the loss of the Cotton Objective Yield Survey “may reduce the ability of industry participants (both buyers and sellers) to engage in forward contracting until later in the season.” Losing the County Estimates for Crops and Livestock, the letter states, prevents a full accounting of the damage caused by droughts, fires and other hazards.
The letter concludes by arguing that even if cutting NASS reports was a budgetary decision, as Secretary Vilsack has claimed, “the costs to industry will be more adverse than the cost-savings NASS may realize through cessation of these reports.”
NCC President and CEO Gary Adams commended the letter, pointing out that the “entire cotton industry relies on the fullest range of NASS reports to predict harvests, develop market forecasts, and estimate the potential economic impact of natural disasters.”
Agricultural Labor Rule Finalized
The Department of Labor announced a final rule making numerous changes to H-2A policy.
Among many other provisions, the rule raises adverse effect wage rates (AEWR), limits the number of conditions that could warrant for-cause termination and expands the range of agricultural labor activities covered by the anti-retaliation provisions of the National Labor Relations Act. The rule will go into effect on June 28.
The NCC frequently has expressed concerns about Biden administration H-2A policies, especially those related to AEWR. In February, former NCC Chairman Shawn Holladay endorsed a push led by Senator Tuberville (R-AL) to “halt the Department of Labor’s unreasonable AEWR rates and restore an H-2A program that preserves our American farms and keeps them competitive.”
NCC Opposes Business Reporting Requirements
The NCC joined nearly 100 organizations in a letter at https://bit.ly/4doWRnh endorsing House and Senate efforts, led by Representative Warren Davidson (R-OH) and Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), to repeal the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).
The CTA established beneficial ownership reporting requirements to target illicit shell corporations. However, the letter argues that these rules would require a response from essentially “every small business in America” while offering little benefit to law enforcement since “criminals are unlikely to self-report their information.”
CTA reporting rules went into effect on January 1. Efforts to delay implementation of the CTA requirements, which the NCC also has endorsed, remain stalled in Congress.
USDA Seeks Nominees for The Cotton Board
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) seeks nominations of domestic cotton producers from Arizona, Georgia and Texas and importers of cotton and cotton-containing products for positions on The Cotton Board. The producers and importers will fill positions for seven members and seven alternates. USDA will appoint members and alternates to serve three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2027.
Certified producer organizations (CPOs) and certified importer organizations (CIOs) will hold caucuses to nominate two qualified persons for each open position in their respective industry segment.
For nominating and caucus information, including organizations seeking certification and a list of CPOs and CIOs, contact AMS’ Cotton Research and Promotion staff at (540) 361-2726 or CottonRP@usda.gov.
University of Arkansas Releases Lifecycle Assessment
CropLife America (CLA) commissioned an independent three-year, cradle-to-farmgate, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) conducted by the University of Arkansas. The LCA evaluated the environmental impact of crop protection product use in cotton, corn, and soybean cultivation in the U.S. The study examined crop productivity with and without crop protection products for the three crops. The assessment by the University of Arkansas successfully underwent an independent third-party ISO review.
The assessment’s key results include: 1) without these products, the yields of the three crops declined up to 70 percent; 2) cultivating the crops without crop protection products resulted in upwards of three times more land, water, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions; and 3) these products enhance productivity and significantly reduce pressure on our water, land, and energy resources per pound of cotton produced.
This first of its kind LCA to assess the environmental footprint of crop protection product use in cotton can be found here. The National Cotton Council is reviewing the data for use in future scientific endeavors.
Trust Protocol Announces Expanded Board of Directors
The appointment of the new board comes as part of a governance review four years into the successful development of the program. The refreshed board gives greater representation to international stakeholders and across the entire supply chain.
The eleven new members are:
• Cotton Growers: Sam Whitaker, Partner, Whitaker Farms
• Gins & Cottonseed: Larry Black, General Manager, Central Rolling Plains Gin
• Coops & Merchants: Krista Rickman, Commercial Strategic Lead, Cargill Cotton and Carlos Garcia, Director of Sales, PCCA
• Mills & Manufacturers: Adolfo Kalach, Vice President, Kaltex Group and Saima Chowdhury, Founder and CEO, Noi Solutions LLC
• NGOs & Academia: Tyson Raper, Pettigrew Cotton Specialist, University of Tennessee and Suzy Friedman, Senior Director of Food Policy, World Wildlife Fund
• Brands & Retailers: Katie O’Hare, Senior Director, Sustainability, J. Crew Group, Agata Smeets, Head of Environment and Product Sustainability, GAP Inc and Virginie Cayzeele, Head of Raw Materials, Kiabi
They join existing members:
• Cotton growers: Aaron Barcellos, Partner, A-Bar Ag Enterprises, Dahlen Hancock, Owner, DK & J Farms, and Matt Coley, Owner, Coley Farms
• Gins and Cottonseed: Fred Serven, General Manager of Cotton, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), David Blakemore, President, Blakemore Cotton and Grain LLC
• Coops and Merchants: Hank Reichle, President and CEO, Staplcotn and William (Buddy) Allen, President and CEO, American Cotton Shippers Association
• Mills and Manufacturers: Jim Martin, Executive VP, Cotton Operations, Parkdale Mills, Inc and Mike Quinn, VP of Cotton Operations, Gildan Yarns LLC
• NGOs and Academia: Kris Johnson, Director of North American Agriculture Program, The Nature Conservancy
• Brands and Retailers: Hitesh Sharma, Sustainable Sourcing and Traceability Lead, Levi Strauss & Co.
The refreshed board is structured to deliver on the Trust Protocol’s emphasis of further connecting the supply chain from the farm to end user, driving demand from all segments, and seeking to improve impact, as well as building program understanding amongst growers to drive continued enrollment.
Registration Continues for Gin Schools
U.S. certified ginners, gin managers and superintendents are urged to register for one of the two remaining 2024 Ginner Schools. Online registration is at www.cotton.org/ncga/ginschool/index.cfm.
The remaining school locations and dates are: Western Ginners School at the Southwest Ginning Research Laboratory Mesilla Park, NM, on May 7-9; and the Mid-South-Southeast Ginners School at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, GA on June 4-6. The Mid-South-Southeast school will return to the Stoneville, MS location in 2025.
Course descriptions also can be found at www.cotton.org/ncga/ginschool/index.cfm. The schools will continue to offer the Levels I, II and III as well as the continuing education courses. The three schools' programming is coordinated by the National Cotton Ginners' Association (NCGA), working with USDA’s Greg Holt and the three USDA ginning laboratories.
School cooperators include USDA's Agricultural Research Service, NCGA and its member associations, the NCC, the Texas Cotton Ginners Trust, Cotton Incorporated, gin machinery/equipment manufacturers and suppliers, and select land grant universities.
Sales Weaken, Shipments Steady
Net export sales for the week ending April 25, 2024 were 105,100 bales (480-lb.). This brings total ‘23-24 sales to approximately 12.0 million. Total sales at the same point in the ‘22-23 marketing year were approximately 12.9 million bales. Total new crop (‘24-25) sales are 1.3 million bales (480-lb.).
Shipments for the week were 190,100 bales, bringing total exports to date to 8.6 million bales, compared with the 8.7 million bales at the comparable point in the ‘22-23 marketing year.
Capital Calendar
April 29
The House and Senate convened.
May 1
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Food and Drug Administration held a hearing to review the Biden administration’s FY25 budget request for USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation Mission Area. More information and a link to view the hearing are at https://bit.ly/3QlCfTc.
