Conservation Stewardship Program Applications Due January 17
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) opened the Conservation Stewardship Program for new enrollments for FY14, and the deadline for submitting applications to NRCS is Jan. 17, '14.

Timely Completion of Long Term, Comprehensive Farm Bill Critical
The NCC was joined by the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation and USA Rice Federation in expressing appreciation of the continued efforts of the leaders and members of the House and Senate Farm Bill Conference Committee to complete work on a new comprehensive, multi-year farm bill – but the groups reiterated their opposition to extending current farm law.

Peru Determines No CVD on U.S. Cotton
The National Cotton Council (NCC) welcomes the decision by the Peruvian commission on competition and intellectual property (INDECOPI) not to impose a countervailing duty (CVD) on imports of U.S. cotton. Following an 18-month investigation, the commission found no causal link between the imports of U.S. cotton fiber and the economic situation of Peru’s cotton farmers.

Producers Advised To Anticipate Payment Reductions
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is reminding farmers and ranchers participating in FSA programs to plan accordingly in FY14 for automatic spending reductions known as sequestration. FSA is implementing sequestration for the following programs: '14 crop Marketing Assistance Loans and Loan Deficiency Payments; Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program; '13 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Payments; '13 Average Crop Revenue Election Program; '11 and '12 Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program; Storage and Handling; and Economic Adjustment Assistance for Upland Cotton.

USDA November Production Report
In its November crop report, USDA estimated a '13-14 US crop of 13.11 million bales. Upland production was estimated at 12.48 million bales and extra-long staple production at 626,000 bales. Harvested area was an estimated 7.78 million acres, implying a non-harvested area of roughly 2.56 million acres based on USDA’s revised June acreage report. The resulting abandonment rate is roughly 24.73%. The national average yield per harvested acre was estimated to be roughly 808 pounds, nine pounds lower than the five-year average.

USDA Resumes Marketing Loan Disbursements
USDA Farm Service Agency Administrator Juan Garcia announced on Nov. 1 that the processing and disbursement of ’13 crop commodity loans has resumed. The commodity loan programs provide interim financing to producers for agricultural commodities stored after harvest and then sold throughout the year.