EPA announced that it is approving 15% ethanol blends (E15) in gasoline for model year ’07 and newer cars and light trucks, which collectively account for one-third of US-consumed gasoline.
The waiver is not a mandate and EPA is not requiring fuel retailers to provide E15. Since ’79, 10% has been the highest level of ethanol allowed in gasoline. EPA denied a request to waive the Clean Air Act for E15 for ’00 model year and older vehicles and for motorcycles, heavy-duty vehicles like trucks, and non-road engines like lawnmowers.
EPA will decide on a waiver for ’01-06 model year cars after it receives the results of further vehicle testing from the Dept. of Energy. EPA is proposing labeling requirements for E15 pumps and proposing that fuel suppliers specify the ethanol content of gasoline sold to retailers. According to the ethanol industry, the waiver is needed so it can meet the renewable fuel standard that requires the nation's motor fuel supply to include 36 billion gallons of ethanol or other renewable fuel.
While the waiver is backed by the ethanol industry, by many farm groups and by Midwestern Congressional members, it is opposed by many environmental groups and a wide range of industry groups.
Gregory M. Scott, executive vice president of the American Petroleum Institute, said, the ethanol industry convinced EPA to “disregard public safety and environmental issues and instead base a major policy decision on inadequate engine test data that has not been made public or reviewed independently.”
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack praised EPA's decision, saying, “Today's action by Administrator [Lisa] Jackson and the EPA provides assurance to farmers, ranchers and the renewable fuels industry that the government backs the use of home grown energy in our cars and trucks.”
Livestock and processed food groups, including the American Meat Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers Assoc., issued a statement saying the decision will increase food prices.
CSP Ranking Period Date Extended
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced the ranking period cut-off date for producer applications in NRCS’ Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) has been extended to Jan. 7, ’11.The extension of the deadline for applications to CSP is to provide producers more time to complete their applications.
CSP is offered throughout the Cotton Belt through continuous sign-ups with announced cut-off dates for ranking periods. The program provides many conservation benefits including improvement of water and soil quality, wildlife habitat enhancement, and adoption of conservation activities that address climate change effects.
All producers are encouraged to apply for CSP. The program, authorized in the ’08 farm bill, offers payments to producers who maintain a high level of conservation on their land and who agree to adopt higher levels of stewardship. Eligible lands include cropland, pastureland, rangeland and non-industrial forest land.
NCC’s “Conservation in Cotton Production” web portal offers short videos outlining conservation programs, including CSP, which include producer testimonials. The videos and fact sheets on these programs are at http://www.cotton.org/econ/govprograms/conservation-programs.cfm.
Producers are encouraged to complete a self-screening checklist which is available to help them determine if CSP is suitable for their operation. The checklist highlights basic information about CSP eligibility requirements, contract obligations and potential payments. It is available from local NRCS offices or online at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/new_csp/csp.html.
Cloture Filed to Proceed on Food Safety Bill
Just before Congress recessed on Sept. 29, Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) filed for cloture on the motion to proceed to consideration of the Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510). This means the Senate could vote on whether to limit debate and take up the food safety bill when they return for a lame-duck session. The cloture vote requires 60 senators in order to establish a time limit for debate. Reid's office expects the cloture vote to be held on Nov. 17, but a time has not been set.
The bill would implement new safeguards on imported and domestic food while granting the Food and Drug Administration with additional oversight powers. It has been stalled in the Senate for over a year despite strong support from industry groups and the passage of a companion food safety bill in the House in July ’09.
Two earlier attempts by Sens. Durbin (D-IL) and Reid to bring the bill up under unanimous consent rules were blocked by Sen. Coburn (R-OK), who has expressed concerns about the lack of spending offsets to pay for the bill.
If cloture is agreed to and a time limit is established for debate, Senate members will have up to 30 hours of additional general debate on the motion to proceed. After the 30 hours of debate on the motion to proceed and assuming passage of the motion to proceed, the bill then can be brought up. The bill itself only would be required to get a majority of Senate votes for passage.
Di-Syston, Monitor Uses to be Terminated
In April ’09, Bayer CropScience announced its decision to terminate the Di-Syston (disulfoton) and Monitor (methamidophos) insecticide businesses in the United States. At that time, EPA policy provided no time limit by which distributors, retailers and growers were required to sell or use Di-Syston or Monitor. However, EPA recently has informed Bayer of deadlines regarding cancellation of tolerances for both.
Distributors, retailers and growers can sell and use Di-Syston 8 on registered crops (except lettuce and Easter lilies) up to Dec. 31, ’13. Di-Syston 8 tolerances on registered crops (except lettuce and Easter lilies) will be cancelled on Dec. 31, ’13. Any uses of Di-Syston 8 after the listed date will be illegal.
Distributors, retailers and growers can sell and use Monitor on registered crops up to Dec. 31, ’13. Monitor tolerances will be cancelled on Dec. 31, ’13. Any uses of Monitor after the listed date is illegal.
Bayer CropScience will continue to maintain proper stewardship initiatives and still address any potential product safety questions or concerns for these products after the listed dates. If you have questions, contact your Bayer CropScience representative.
EPA Extends Pesticide Container Rule
Pesticide manufacturers have won an eight-month extension for compliance with EPA container regulations and now have until Aug. ’11 to meet the new requirements, according to a final EPA rule published in the Oct. 8 Federal Register.
EPA extended the compliance deadline to give pesticide registrants additional time to revise labels consistent with final regulations issued in ’06 and to ensure ample time for the agency and state regulatory agencies to approve the revisions. In practice, the one-year extension means that pesticide products released for shipment by a pesticide registrant after Aug. 16, ’11, would have to include a label that complies with the container requirements.
The rules are designed to ensure the safe storage and disposal of pesticides to protect human health and the environment. The regulations cover container design, procedures for safe storage of pesticides, new label requirements and provisions to ensure the complete removal of pesticides from any containers that are reused, recycled or discarded. The rules also include requirements for containment of larger, stationary pesticide containers and procedures to ensure containers that are reused are filled safely.
Congress directed EPA to promulgate the regulations in the ’70s under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act but the agency has been wrestling with various iterations of the rulemaking ever since. EPA first proposed the rules in ’94 and issued final regulations, which were called pesticide management and disposal standards for containers and containment, in Aug. ’06.
EPA Ag Advisory Group Convenes New Session
The newly reappointed Farm, Ranch, and Rural Community Committee (FRRCC) held its meeting beginning on Sept. 30. The FRRCC was formed in ’08 as an independent committee to advise EPA on a wide range of environmental issues of importance to agriculture and rural communities.
The FRRCC agenda included discussions about the Chesapeake Bay Initiative,
Florida
numeric nutrient standards and
Iowa
water issues. In her remarks to the FRRCC, EPA Administrator Jackson highlighted EPA’s ongoing efforts to engage American farmers and to create opportunities for cooperation between the environmental and agricultural communities. Last week, Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe toured northern
California
farms where he met with local farmers to observe and discuss farmers' and ranchers' work in protecting the nation’s natural resources.
The administration's new “Strategy for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed” emphasizes nitrogen, phosphorous and sediment water standards, and it is the likely template for a national strategy. Agricultural interests are focusing on the Chesapeake strategy, which Jackson calls an “unparalleled” joint effort by EPA, USDA and the departments of Transportation, Commerce, Homeland Security and the Navy to launch “major environmental initiatives to use rigorous regulation to restore clean water, implement new conservation practices on four million acres of farms, conserve two million acres of undeveloped land and restore oysters in 20 tributaries.”
EPA, USDA and state officials explained that major changes are needed to control runoff from farm fields and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), and that EPA needs states and producers in a voluntary partnership because the agency lacks the legal authority to regulate non-point sources.
EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Pete Silva, EPA Chief Agricultural Counselor Larry Elworth and USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Ann Mills all stressed the urgent need to clean up the hypoxia “dead zone” in the Gulf created by excess nutrients draining from the Mississippi River watershed.
Iowa Dept. of Agriculture Water Resources Bureau Chief Dean Lemke presented encouraging news regarding managed wetlands projects that have demonstrated reductions of 40-70% in nitrate transport, 50% in sediment delivery and 50% for phosphorus transport, all while increasing production and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Those impressive results have been achieved on 72 wetlands projects providing 715 acres of wetland pool to treat the drainage from 86,100 watershed acres. However, Lemke said the bad news is that “at the rate we're going in Iowa, it will take 335 years to build the 3,000 wetlands that we would need to achieve 45% nitrate reduction” for the state as a whole.
Committee member and Arkansas farmer, Ray Vesters, noted that cost has an important effect on the operator and that farmers understand the need to reduce nutrient runoff. However, he said the key is to develop practices that decrease rather than increase production costs because otherwise “you're out of business.”
More information on the FRRCC is at: http://www.epa.gov/ocem/frrcc/.
CCI Activities Get Positive Review
Cotton Council International (CCI) was notified of positive results from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s (FAS) review of CCI’s Market Access Program (MAP), Foreign Market Development (FMD) Cooperator Program and Emerging Markets Program (EMP) activities.
The reimbursements reviewed -- covering a number of program years -- totaled more than $52.7 million and were reimbursed by FAS between June 1, ’09 and July 31, ’10. The FAS Compliance, Security and Emergency Planning Division concluded that CCI fulfilled its financial and administrative responsibilities under the programs, claimed expenses that were authorized and reasonable, and claimed contributions that were allowable and properly documented. There were zero findings.
This outstanding result has been a pattern achieved by CCI since '93 and enhances CCI’s competitiveness for future market development funding from USDA.
Sales Stay Strong, Shipments Weak
Net export sales for the week ending on Oct. 7 were 565,800 bales (480-lb). This brings total ’10-11 sales to approximately 10.4 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the ’09-10 marketing year were approximately 3.8 million bales. Total new crop (’11-12) sales are 715,700 bales.
Shipments for the week were 89,500 bales, bringing total exports to date to 1.7 million bales, compared with the 1.9 million bales at the comparable point in the ’09-10 marketing year.
