Senate Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee Chairman Lincoln (D-AR) and Ranking Member Chambliss (R-GA) along with 28 Senators including Cotton Belt Sens. Bond (R-MO), Brownback (R-KS), Burr (R-NC), Cochran (R-MS), Cornyn (R-TX), Graham (R-SC), Hutchison (R-TX), Inhofe (R-OK), Landrieu (D-LA), Pryor (D-AR), Roberts (R-KS), Vitter (R-LA) and Wicker (R-MS) sent a letter expressing appreciation for the Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) willingness to reconsider its previous proposals as the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) renegotiation proceeds.
The letter, on the NCC’s website at http://www.cotton.org/issues/2010/upload/cropinslet.pdf, strongly encourages RMA to conduct a thorough review of comments on proposals contained in the second draft from the crop insurance industry and other interested parties to ensure that the federal crop insurance program remains a viable risk management tool for producers.
Despite a modest reduction in the size of the proposed cuts between the first and second drafts, the Senators expressed their concerns with RMA’s proposals that may undermine the crop insurance program, reduce the program’s quality of service and availability, and harm rural America through job loss. The Senators also noted their concern with RMA’s approach of proposing significant cuts to the program prior to the completion of a study of program delivery costs.
The NCC was supportive of this effort and also has joined with other national agricultural organizations in sending a letter to USDA expressing concern over the proposed cuts to the program and its effect on the program’s availability. RMA is expected to release a third draft in either April or May.
Recess Appointments to Key Administration Positions Announced
President Obama announced 15 recess appointments, including Michael Punke to serve as deputy trade representative based in Geneva; Islam A. Siddiqui to serve as chief agricultural negotiator, Office of the US Trade Representative; and Jill Long Thompson to serve as a member of the Farm Credit Administration Board.
A White House release announcing the President’s intention to make the recess appointments noted, “(t)he 15 nominees President Obama intends to recess appoint have been pending for an average of 214 days or 7 months….” According to the announcement “(f)ollowing their appointment, these nominees will remain in the Senate for confirmation.”
If they are not confirmed, the appointees can serve in their positions through the end of the current session of Congress. A copy of the White House announcement, which includes a complete list of the recess appointments, is on the NCC’s website at http://www.cotton.org/issues/2010/recess.cfm.
Earlier in the year (see 1-22-10 Cotton’s Week), the NCC joined a broad coalition of food and agriculture groups in a communication which urged Senate leaders to act promptly on the Punke and Siddiqui nominations. The group’s letter cited the exceptional qualifications of both candidates and reminded Senate leaders of the number critical trade disputes and negotiations needing immediate attention.
USDA Sees 10.51 Million US Cotton Acres This Season
USDA’s March Prospective Plantings Report indicates that US producers intend to plant 10.51 million acres of cotton in ’10/11, up 14.8% from the previous year. Upland area is projected to be 10.32 million acres, up 14.5% from ’09/10 while ELS area is projected at 190,000 acres, a 34.1% increase. The NCC’s planting intention survey, released in early February, indicated that US farmers intend to plant 9.92 million acres of upland cotton and 176,000 acres of ELS cotton.
Projected upland area in the Southeast of 2.39 million acres represents an increase of 26.4% from the previous year. All states in the region intend to increase cotton acreage in ’10/11. The largest percentage increase in cotton acres is expected in South Carolinaat 52.2% increase in acres. The largest gains in actual acres will be seen in North Carolina(+165,000 acres) and Georgia(+150,000 acres).
In the Mid-South, projected plantings of 1.73 million acres represent an increase of 6.3%. The only decline in acres in the region is seen in Louisiana, down 13.0% to 200,000 acres. Arkansasis unchanged at 520,000 acres while the remaining states in the region are up at least 6.0%.
The largest acreage increase is expected to be seen in the Southwest in Texas where producers intend to plant 600,000 more acres of upland cotton than they planted in ’09/10. Oklahoma also is expected to increase acreage with plantings estimated at 240,000 acres for ’10/11. However, Kansas will be down roughly 8.0% from the previous year with 35,000 acres of cotton.
In the West, California producers intend to plant 100,000 acres of upland cotton, up 40.8% from last year. New Mexico and Arizona plantings also are up with cotton plantings estimated at 35,000 acres and 185,000 acres, respectively.
ELS plantings are projected to climb 34.1% to 190,000 acres. The greatest increase is expected to be seen in Arizona(+76.5%).
USDA’s USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced the Final Rule for its Common Crop Insurance Regulations.
These regulations are commonly known as the Combo Policy. The Combo rule revises the Common Crop Insurance Regulations to combine the Actual Production History, Crop Revenue Coverage, Revenue Assurance, Income Protection and Indexed Income Protection plans into a single insurance plan. The combination insurance plan will be used for insurance coverage starting with the ’11 crop year.
RMA kept and combined the principal features in the five plans that producers bought most often. RMA also developed a single rating and pricing component so all insurance coverage is consistent in insurance protection and cost to producers. Under the new policy, RMA now will offer only one set of policy materials, Special Provisions, and actuarial documents; one rating and pricing methodology; and one premium calculation -- unlike in the past where there were multiple, similar sets of documents. This combination is designed to make it easier for producers as there are fewer documents and fewer pricing methods to compare.
Revenue protection still will be available for cotton and other crops. Producers now will be able to choose revenue or yield protection for these crops using one plan. Other crops currently insurable under the Common Crop Insurance Policy also will be insured using the new plan. Also, the rule moves the Jan. 15 cancellation and termination date to Jan. 31 for Val Verde, Edwards, Kerr, Kendall, Bexar, Wilson, Karnes, Goliad, Victoria and Jackson counties in Texas and all Texas counties to the south. Under this change, the cancellation and termination date and the sales closing date will correspond.
USDA Announces FSA IT Modernization
Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack announced that USDA has awarded a major contract to improve the delivery of agricultural services and benefits to producers by using modern, secure and reliable technology through what is called the Application Transformation and Modernization (ATM) System Integrator Blanket Purchase Agreement.
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will be one of the first agencies to use the ATM Blanket Purchase Agreement to support the implementation and development of the Modernize and Innovate the Delivery of Agricultural Systems (MIDAS) Project. The FSA MIDAS Project is a priority modernization effort that will transform the way that FSA delivers farm program services and benefits to producers through its county offices.
MIDAS’ purpose is to modernize USDA's delivery of farm benefit programs and services by streamlining farm program business processes; rapidly implementing new farm programs; moving to modern, reliable technology platforms; and most importantly, improving access and convenience for producers.
In a recent letter to both the Senate and House Agriculture Appropriations subcommittees, the NCC noted its support for adequate funding for FSA to continue to deliver essential farm and conservation programs and services and has been continually supportive of FSA’s efforts to modernize its computer system.
COTTON USA Co-Sponsors Denim Design Competition
Twenty-six students from Texas Tech U.’s College of Human Sciences will compete to create the most fashion-forward US cotton-rich jeans for men and women in a “Denim Runway” contest co-sponsored by Cotton Council International (CCI). The winning students from Texas Tech’s Apparel Design and Manufacturing program, in the Department of Design, will get to see how new designs go into commercial production at Denimatrix in Guatemala.
“A large amount of U.S. cotton fiber goes into the production of denim jeans, and consumers all over the world love wearing jeans,” CCI President Wally Darneille said. “This competition will give aspiring designers experience working with U.S. cotton denim fabric, in addition to exposure to the U.S. cotton textile industry, apparel makers in the Western Hemisphere and CCI’s COTTON USA Program.”
The competition kicked off in Lubbock, and will conclude with a fashion show “TECHstyle” on April 24, during which the winning women’s jean designer and winning men’s jean designer will be announced. The competing students will design their jeans using US cotton-rich denim from a Littlefield, TX, mill owned by Plains Cotton Cooperative Assoc.
COTTON USA will sponsor the two winning designers on a trip to the Colombiamoda trade show in Medellin, Colombia, on July 27-29, to promote their US cotton-rich jeans and give them a comprehensive view of the industry, from fiber to processing to brand to retail. The COTTON USA exhibit at this important apparel trade show highlights US cotton yarns and fabrics from COTTON USA Sourcing Program member mills. Attendance at Colombiamoda will give the winning student designers an opportunity to learn about the US cotton textile industry and garment manufacturing companies throughout the Western Hemisphere.
“We have such talented students in our department, and this competition gives them opportunities beyond their wildest dreams,” said Cherif Amor, Ph.D., Texas Tech chairman of the Department of Design. “This opens doors to them they may never have thought possible.”
According to CCI’s most recent Global Lifestyle Monitor (GLM), which researches consumer buying habits across 10 countries, 62% of the global consumers surveyed either love or enjoy wearing denim on a regular basis. Consumers surveyed own an average of 6.25 pair of jeans, and 23% own 10 or more pairs of jeans. The GLM is a joint CCI and Cotton Incorporated study carried out biennially.
Sales, Shipments Steady
Net export sales for the week ending March 25 were 222,700 bales (480-lb). This brings total ’09-10 sales to approximately 10.3 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the ’08-09 marketing year were approximately 11.8 million bales. Total new crop (’10-11) sales are 593,200 bales.
Shipments for the week were 310,500 bales, bringing total exports to date to 6.8 million bales, compared with the 7.6 million bales at the comparable point in the ’08-09 marketing year.
Effective April 2 - 8, ’10
Adjusted World Price, SLM 11/16
67.19 cents
*
Fine Count Adjustment ('08 Crop)
0.54 cents
Fine Count Adjustment ('09 Crop)
0.34 cents
Coarse Count Adjustment
0.00 cents
Marketing Loan Gain Value
0.00 cents
Import Quotas Open
13
Special Import Quota (480-lb bales)
873,461
ELS Payment Rate
0.00 cents
*No Adjustment Made Under Step I
Five-Day Average
Current 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East
83.56 cents
Forward 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East
80.66 cents
Coarse Count CFR Far East
NA
Current US CFR Far East
86.70 cents
Forward US CFR Far East
NA
'09-10 Weighted Marketing-Year Average Farm Price
Year-to-Date (August-February)
61.27 cents
**
**August-July average price used in determination of counter-cyclical payment
