House Agriculture Committee Ranking Democrat Peterson (MN) announced that he is returning to the Committee as Ranking Member and that the Democratic Caucus has named 19 Democrats to serve with him during the 112th Congress.
There will be 20 Democrats, including 13 who served during the last Congress and seven new members. The seven new members are: Reps. Pingree (ME), Courtney (CT), Welch (VT), Fudge (OH), Sewell (AL), McGovern (MA) and Sablan (DE). Peterson, the former Committee chairman, will be joined by returning members: Holden (PA), McIntyre (NC), Boswell (IA), Baca (CA), Cardoza (CA), Scott (GA), Cuellar (TX), Costa (CA), Walz (MN), Schrader (OR), Kissell (NC) and Owens (NY).
The Caucus also announced the selection of those to serve as ranking Members on Appropriations subcommittees.
Rep. DeLauro (CT), former chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee, took advantage of a vacancy to assume the ranking spot on the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee. DeLauro’s move clears the way for Rep. Farr (CA) to become the top Democrat on the Agriculture Subcommittee.
USDA Undersecretary Miller Resigns
USDA’s Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services Jim Miller has submitted his resignation from that position and will join the staff of Sen. Conrad (D-ND) as a senior advisor working on the development of the next farm bill.
Miller served as Sen. Conrad's senior advisor from ’04-08 and played a key role in developing the ’08 farm bill provisions. In ’09, he was appointed undersecretary, the third highest ranking official in USDA.
Sen. Conrad, in his postion as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and a senior member of the Agriculture Committee, played a leading role in developing the last two farm bills. Sen. Conrad, who will again chair the Budget Committee and serve on the Agriculture Committee, announced that he would not seek re-election in ’12 and identified the crafting of a new farm bill as one of his top priorities before retiring.
Michael Scuse becomes acting undersecretary next week after Miller's departure.Miller’s permanent replacement will require a Senate confirmation. Scuse was appointed to serve as deputy undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services in April ’09. Prior to that, he served as chief of staff to the Governor of Delaware and was Delaware Secretary of Agriculture.
NCC Comments on Good Producer Refund Rule
NCC submitted comments to the USDA Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) proposed rule for a Good Producer Refund (GPR).
Program eligibility under the proposed rule requires a farm with 7-10 years in the crop insurance program to not have more than one year of a reported loss and to have paid a net positive premium amount during that time to qualify. Producers with 4-6 years of program participation during the base period must not have any years with a reported loss.
Under the proposed program, payment amounts would vary by producer and based on each qualified producer's history in the program.
The RMA estimates that the average refund amount per producer this year will be about $1,000 and is intended to be available prior to the spring planting season. The program has a proposed maximum limit of $25,000 and a minimum payment of $25. The first year of the proposed program will use data from ’00-09 because not all ’10 data is finalized.
In its comments, the NCC noted that the proposed rule would seem to most benefit homogenous operations in very low risk areas of the country. The provision to only allow one loss in a ten-year period to be eligible for the refund would make it almost impossible for producers of large and especially diversified operations to be eligible for the refund.
The NCC urged the RMA to modify and simplify the program by eliminating the requirement that producers only have a loss in no years or one year and simply provide refunds to all producers whose net premiums paid exceeds the indemnities received over the 7-10 year period. Another approach could be to provide refunds at varying levels to producers whose loss experience is significantly better than the county average.
The NCC also suggested that RMA should use this opportunity to create a method of differential rating for producers who have continuous losses that are inconsistent with area experience – an action that would benefit other insured growers by lowering their rates.
The NCC will continue to work with RMA as the final rule is prepared.
House Ag Committee Questions Vilsack on Biotech
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Colin Peterson (D-MN) held the first oversight hearing of the 112th Congress. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was the key witness and the subject of the hearing was the deregulation of Roundup Ready alfalfa (RRA).
Biotechnology crops are regulated under the Plant Protection Act (PPA). USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reviews all biotechnology crops before they can be field tested or commercialized. The PPA authorizes APHIS to deregulate a bioengineered crop into commercial use after it has independently reviewed scientific data and determined that the crop will not pose a potential as a plant pest.
RRA was deregulated in ’05. Two years later, after 250,000 acres were planted to this variety, the Center for Food Safety filed a lawsuit claiming that APHIS did not adequately complete an environmental assessment as mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA requires all federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts of any action they plan to implement but does not mandate that their final decision be based on their findings. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, who claimed that RRA would cause economic harm to organic alfalfa farmers, and it also imposed harsh restrictions on RRA production. The court ruled on NEPA procedures; there was no finding of any deficiency under the PPA or of any risk to health or safety. A similar lawsuit also has been filed against Roundup Ready sugar beets, and threatens to dismantle that industry.
In an unprecedented move, Secretary Vilsack has suggested that RRA be “partially deregulated,” i.e. deregulated with mandated conditions including isolation distances of up to five miles; limitations on harvest periods and equipment usage; seed bag labeling; seed coloration; and the listing of seed production field locations in a national data base. These conditions would prohibit 20% of farmers nationwide and 50% of western farmers from utilizing RRA. It also would set the stage for future mandated conditions on biotech crops, including cotton, and would present a contradiction to long-standing US policy internationally.
Secretary Vilsack found no supporters in the House Agriculture Committee from either party for his suggestion. Vilsack repeated to that Committee what he has maintained for the past month – that his goal in the alfalfa decision and his recent encouragement for developing coexistence policy is to protect farmers’ choice.
Chairman Lucas countered, “I agree with the Secretary’s public statements about grower choice, which is why it’s troubling that USDA seems inclined to pursue a path that limits grower choice.”
Committee members repeatedly stated that the conditional deregulation option would have negative impacts on all of US agriculture.
Secretary Vilsack told the Committee that he would decide soon after next Monday’s expiration of a required 30-day public review period of its environmental impact statement whether to deregulate RRA with or without conditions.
In a second panel, former agriculture deputy secretary and current president of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Chuck Conner, testified on behalf of agricultural interests. He stated that APHIS should fully deregulate RRA without further delay to allow farmers to plant for the ’11 growing season, that any further discussion on coexistence should be decoupled from any deregulation decision, and that coexistence discussions should be inclusive of all US agriculture sectors and be transparent to the public.
EPA Sued Again Over Pesticides/Endangered Species
The Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network North America filed the most comprehensive lawsuit to date against EPA in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
The groups claim that EPA has failed to consult with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (the Services) regarding the impacts of one or more of 381 chemicals on 214 endangered and threatened species in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Under ESA section 7(a)(2), EPA is required to consult with one of the Services, depending on the species in question, when it determines that a pesticide may affect a listed species or its critical habitat.
The groups are seeking a court order compelling EPA to start and complete the consultation process for the pesticides and species identified in the lawsuit. They also are seeking a court order prohibiting EPA from allowing uses that may lead to pesticides entering occupied habitat or designated critical habitat of endangered and threatened species until the consultation process has been completed.
EPA and the Services have been subjected to a number of lawsuits in recent years regarding their compliance with pesticide-related ESA obligations. Until now, these lawsuits have been more limited in terms of the chemicals, species and geography covered. Washington Toxics v. EPA was filed in ’02 and involved 54 pesticides and only salmon species in the Northwest. That case still has not been fully resolved and the court has ordered buffers around salmon-supporting waters.
EPA has suggested that it will comply with ESA requirements as the agency completes its 15-year registration review as mandated by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act. However, the activists in the current litigation are saying that timeline is too long and they will ask for a more aggressive compliance schedule.
EU Advance Documentation Rule in Effect
Cotton exporters should be aware that the European Union's (EU) new advance cargo documentation rule went into effect on Jan. 1, ’11. Under this rule, the EU requireso information 24 hours prior to loading on the ship destined for any EU country.
At this time, the most comprehensive information source on the new rule is the World Shipping Council’s (WSC) presentation on the subject. In addition, the WSC website (www.worldshipping.org) provides access to the EU's rules. This subject also will be discussed at the AgTC workshop in Memphis on Feb. 1 (see Jan. 14 Cotton’s Week).
’11 JCIBPC Meeting Set
The 44th annual meeting of the Joint Cotton Industry Bale Packaging Committee (JCIBPC) will be held on Feb. 23, at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. The Committee will review ’10 JCIBPC experimental test programs and field trials. Stan Creelman, a California ginner, will chair the Committee.
On-site registration for the meeting will begin at 12:15 pm. The first general session will be held from 1-2:30 pm. The executive session to discuss experimental test programs will follow the general session and is scheduled for 2:45-3:45 pm. A brief second general session will follow the executive session at 4 pm.
US Cotton Home Textiles Promoted at Heimtextil
More than 73,000 trade visitors from 136 countries attended the four-day Heimtextil trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany, an increase of about 2,300 participants compared with last year.
Cotton Council International, Cotton Incorporated and Supima conducted productive meetings with many new business contacts at the home textile trade show, with visitors representing international cotton merchants, mills, manufacturers, brands and retailers. Key discussion topics included the tight cotton supply chain and the high cotton prices.
The COTTON USA exhibit at Heimtextil served as a meeting point for the entire cotton industry and presented a comprehensive range of information on US cotton. In addition to presenting the latest trends, the primary focus of the COTTON USA trade show exhibit is sourcing support, the COTTON USA marketing and licensing program, and related developments in the field of consumer behavior. COTTON USA also helped manufacturers looking for cotton and cotton yarn suppliers to identify many new business contacts.
CCI, Cotton Incorporated and Supima also supplied information on sustainable cotton cultivation in the United States, global developments in the cotton and procurement sectors, and other relevant topics and issues.As in past years at Heimtextil, CCI presented excerpts from the new collections of international COTTON USA home textiles suppliers from all parts of the world.
During Heimtextil, CCI representatives also attended the international Discover Natural Fibers Initiative (DNFI) meeting and the International Textile Manufacturers Federation Home Textiles Committee meetings. The DNFI is a coalition between CCI and other international natural fiber organizations to increase awareness of natural fibers, including cotton.
Sales, Shipments Steady
Net export sales for the week ending Jan. 13 were 202,700 bales (480-lb). This brings total ’10-11 sales to about 14.7 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the ’09-10 marketing year were about 7.3 million bales. Total new crop (’11-12) sales are 2.5 million bales.
Shipments for the week were 349,500 bales, bringing total exports to date to 5.1 million bales, compared with the 4.1 million bales at the comparable point in the ’09-10 marketing year.
Effective Jan. 21-27, ’11
Adjusted World Price, SLM 11/16
156.12 cents
*
Fine Count Adjustment ('09 Crop)
0.00 cents
Fine Count Adjustment ('10 Crop)
0.00 cents
Coarse Count Adjustment
0.00 cents
Marketing Loan Gain Value
0.00 cents
Import Quotas Open
2
Special Import Quota (480-lb bales)
138,786
ELS Payment Rate
0.00 cents
*No Adjustment Made Under Step I
Five-Day Average
Current 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East
172.96 cents
Forward 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East
122.33 cents
Coarse Count CFR Far East
NA
Current US CFR Far East
167.85 cents
Forward US CFR Far East
122.00 cents
'10-11 Weighted Marketing-Year Average Farm Price
Year-to-Date (Aug.-Nov.)
79.48 cents
**
**August-July average price used in determination of counter-cyclical payment
