Farm Groups Discuss Next Farm Bill
Leaders from the NCC and 12 other agricultural organizations met in Washington, DC, to discuss policy priorities, hear the perspectives of key policymakers and work toward consensus on the future of U.S. farm policy.

USDA Announces CRP General Sign-up
Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse announced USDA will conduct a four-week Conservation Reserve Program general signup, beginning on March 12 and ending on April 6.

DOL Re-Proposing Part of Child Labor Rule
In response to requests from Congressional Members and the public, including comments submitted by the NCC and other agricultural organizations, the Department of Labor is “re-proposing” the portion of their proposed child labor rule regarding the agricultural parental exemption.

House GOP Unveils New Website to Encourage Citizen Participation
According to a Congressional Quarterly article, House Republican leaders unveiled a new website on Jan. 13 intended to give the public easier access to a wide spectrum of legislative information in an effort to increase transparency and spur citizen participation. The site — http://docs.house.gov — will include bills, resolutions, amendments and conference reports, and provide updates on floor proceedings and committee hearings. Documents will be posted in an XML format and also initially offered as PDFs. The plan is eventually to post legislative information in real time and archive it in perpetuity.

USDA January Production Report
In its January crop report, USDA estimated a '11-12 US crop of 15.67 million bales. Upland production was estimated at 14.83 million bales and extra-long staple (ELS) production at 846,000 bales. Harvested area was estimated at 9.75 million acres, implying a non-harvested area of 4.98 million acres based on USDA’s revised acreage report. The resulting abandonment rate is roughly 33.8%. The national average yield per harvested acre was estimated to be roughly 772 pounds, 50 pounds less than the five-year average.

USDA Announces Blueprint for Stronger Service
Saying USDA must be built to meet the evolving needs of a 21st century agricultural economy, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled the agency's plan to streamline operations and cut costs.

SPCC Deadline for Farms Extended 18 Months
The EPA announced its plans to extend the deadline by which owners or operators of a farm must prepare or amend and implement a SPCC Plan from November 10, '11 to May 10, '13. The additional 18 months allows time for farms to come in compliance with this regulation. Spring and summer flood events, drought and fires, and the lack of available qualified Professional Engineers in some areas prompted this extension. Owners or operators of facilities excluded from this extension may submit a written request for additional time to amend or prepare a SPCC Plan.

’12 DCP/ACRE Enrollment Begins Jan. 23
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that enrollment for the ’12 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program and Average Crop Revenue Election program will begin Jan. 23, ’12. The agency said signup is beginning later than normal to provide FSA offices with an opportunity to process ’10 crop Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program applications and finalize supplemental agricultural disaster assistance programs but because the ’08 farm law does not authorize advance direct payments for ’12, there is no incentive for producers to sign up early.