Senate Democrats Send Budget Letter to President

Finance Panel Postpones Dodd-Frank Mark-up

DCP, ACRE Signup Deadlines on June 1

Wetjen Nominated to CFTC

OSHA Reopens Injury Reporting Rule

USDA Approves Packaging Specifications

New Oil Spill Prevention Information Available

Stoneville Ginner School Registration Deadline Near

Sales Weak, Shipments Strong

In a letter signed by Senate Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee Chairman Stabenow (D-MI) and nine other panel members, the Senators expressed their “serious concerns that the on-going budget negotiations impose imprudent cuts at the expense of the real needs of rural America and the 16 million jobs that come from agriculture.”

The letter, available at the NCC’s home page, www.cotton.org, further expressed opposition to the level of cuts to agriculture passed by the House of Representatives.

In the letter, the group said it supports efforts to reduce the federal deficit and expressed their belief that agriculture must do its part in that process. They reminded the President that cuts to crop insurance already have committed $4 billion to deficit reduction. The group, in looking ahead to the next farm bill, also emphasized the need for available resources in order to craft a balanced farm bill. They requested that specific changes to farm bill programs should be left to their panel.

In other budget news, press reports indicate that a bipartisan group of six Senate and House lawmakers, led by Vice President Biden, has agreed on at least $200 billion in cuts by focusing on mandatory federal spending, such as agriculture programs, outside of politically sensitive entitlement programs like Medicare, according to sources close to the negotiations.

The House Financial Services Committee postponed until May 24 a markup of H.R. 1573 that would extend deadlines for regulators to implement final derivatives rules under Dodd-Frank. The bill text is on the NCC’s website at www.cotton.org/issues/2011/hr1573.cfm.

Under Dodd-Frank, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and others have until July 15 to finalize rules under the law. H.R. 1573 would give the CFTC and the SEC an additional 18 months to finalize most of the rules. The bill would require that rules defining swaps-related products and participants and those related to reporting/recordkeeping still be finalized by July 15. However, deadlines for finalizing all other rules in Title VII of Dodd-Frank would be extended to Dec. 31, '12.

The bill has been approved by the House Agriculture Committee. It is co-sponsored by Agriculture Committee Chairman Lucas (R-OK) and Financial Services Committee Chairman Bachus (R-AL). Reps. Bachus and Lucas have said it is necessary to extend the deadlines because the CFTC has rushed the rulemaking process and proposed rules in an illogical sequence, not properly researched the possible economic impact of the proposals, and not given industry enough time to comment.

USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) acting Administrator Bruce Nelson reminded farmers and landowners that they have until Wednesday, June 1, ’11, to enroll their farms in the ’11 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP) and the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program. More than 75% of an expected 1.7 million farms already have enrolled.

Producers who choose to participate in either the revenue-based ACRE safety net or the price-based DCP safety net must enroll their farms each year. All owners and operators who will share in the DCP or ACRE payments on the farm must sign the enrollment form (CCC-509) by June 1.

Since ’09, producers have had the option to participate in either DCP or ACRE. A producer who initially chose to remain in DCP has the option to switch to ACRE during the current enrollment period; however, producers who chose to enroll in ACRE cannot switch back to DCP.

For more information on DCP or ACRE, contact a nearby FSA county office or visit the FSA website at www.fsa.usda.gov/dcp.

Mark P. Wetjen, counsel and senior policy advisor to Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV), has been nominated by the President to be a member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). If confirmed by the Senate he will succeed Michael V. Dunn, whose term expires on June 19.

Wetjen has practiced law in Nevada and California and has served as a member of Sen. Reid’s staff since ’04.

Dunn was sworn in as a CFTC Commissioner in ’04. Previously, he served in a number of key positions including as a member of the Farm Credit Administration Board, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, and as administrator of the Farmers Home Administration.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reopened the public record on a proposed rule to revise the Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements regulation.

The purpose of reopening the record is to allow interested individuals to comment on the small business teleconferences that OSHA and the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy co-sponsored on April 11-12. OSHA held the teleconferences to gather information from representatives of small businesses about their experiences of recording work-related musculoskeletal disorders and how they believe they would be affected by OSHA's proposed rule. The public is invited to submit comments by June 16, ’11.

On Jan. 29, ’10, OSHA proposed to revise its Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements regulation to restore a column to the OSHA 300 log that employers would have to check if an incident they already have recorded under existing rules is a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD). The proposed rule would not change the existing record-keeping requirements about when and under what circumstances employers must record work-related injuries and illnesses. The only additional requirement the proposed rule would impose is for employers to mark the MSD column box on the OSHA 300 log if a case they already have recorded meets the definition of an MSD.

Under the existing regulation, employers already must determine whether a case is recordable -- that is, whether the case meets the definition of "injury or illness"; is a new case; is work-related; and meets at least one of the recording criteria. Examples of recording criteria are days away from work, restricted work and medical treatment beyond first aid. The proposed rule would define an MSD, for record-keeping purposes only, as a disorder of the muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, joints, cartilage or spinal discs that was not caused by a slip, trip, fall, motor vehicle accident or similar accident.

OSHA estimates that 1.505 million recordable MSDs are expected to occur annually among 1.542 million affected establishments and that the annualized costs of the proposed rule would be $1.7 million per year for all affected establishments combined.

OSHA posted a summary of comments about the teleconferences in the public docket for this rulemaking at:  www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=OSHA-2009-0044-0139. The May 17, ’11 OSHA Federal Register Proposed Rule is at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-05-17/html/2011-11965.htm.

The ’11 crop year bale packaging specifications adopted by the NCC Joint Cotton Industry Bale Packaging Committee were approved by USDA for Commodity Credit Corp. (CCC) loan program purposes.

New for ’11 is a marking requirement for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic strapping strap and an adjustment in the tare weights table for six-wire ties when combined with polyethylene (PE) film bagging. Beginning with the ’11 crop, the strap manufacturer's name or trademark must be printed or embossed on every 36 inches of strapping. The new marking requirement for PET strapping matches the existing requirement for approved steel strap. Use of only properly marked PET strap is required for ’11 and continued use of non-marked PET strap is disallowed once existing stocks are depleted. This was confirmed in the following policy: “bale packaging materials carried over from the previous year, which were eligible for packaging 2010 crop cotton, may be used to package the current crop of cotton.”

The other change, the adjustment in the tare weights table, also will be implemented with the beginning of the ’11 ginning season. The CCC will use the ’10 tare weights table for calculating cotton loans until May 31, the deadline for ’10–11 crop year loans. After that date, USDA will update its cotton loan software to accommodate the one pound tare weight adjustment.

Before the ’11 harvesting and ginning season begins, gins, warehouses and others using the bale packaging materials official tare weights table are urged to make sure their software providers are aware of the tare weight revision for six-wire ties when combined with polyethylene (PE) film bagging. Software that calculates bale weights from the tare weights table will require updating.

The ’10 specifications on the NCC’s website have been replaced with the ’11 specifications following notification by USDA that the revised bale packaging specifications have been approved. County Farm Service Agency offices, other federal agencies and anyone else needing bale packaging specifications for current or previous years may view and download them from the NCC’s website at www.cotton.org/tech/bale/specs/index.cfm.

The EPA recently has added new links to their Oil Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule site, www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/spcc/spcc_ag.htmsite.

An extensive slide set designed for “Train the Trainer” applications is one of the new additions. This page is dedicated to helping farms and gins prevent oil spills, as well as control a spill should one occur. Many features of the new page make the new site very helpful and informative.

Also of note is the ability of Tier II qualified facilities to self-certify.  Tier I and II qualified facilities have more than 1,320 gallons of above ground storage and 10,000 gallons of maximum storage capacity. If a facility in this gallon range contains any individual above ground container larger than 5,000 gallons, the facility is classified as Tier II.

On October 7, ’10, the EPA extended by 12 months (to Nov. 10, '11) the date for owners of a SPCC-regulated facility or farm to prepare or amend and implement a SPCC Plan. Another extension is not likely. Currently, farms or gins in operation on or before Aug. 16, '02 must maintain or amend their existing plan by the amended date of Nov. 10, '11. Farms or gins in operation after Aug. 16, '02, but before Nov. 10, '11, must prepare and use a plan on or before the amended date of Nov. 10, '11.

Details concerning the SPCC Program have been summarized by the NCC’s Technical Services staff and are available on the NCC’s website at http://www.cotton.org/tech/safety/oilsp.cfm.

June 7 is the registration deadline for the ’11 Stoneville Ginners School, Stoneville, MS – June 14-16. Registration can be completed online at http://ncga.cotton.org.

National Cotton Ginners’ Assoc. Executive Vice President Harrison Ashley said each level of Ginner Schools’ coursework is built on the previous level of instruction, with Level I as the foundation. Thus, beginning students, regardless of gin experience, should start with Level I.

Level I courses are: Introduction to Cotton Ginning and the Industry; Maintenance of Auxiliary Gin Components; Basic Hydraulics; Basic Gin Safety; Maintenance and Adjustments for Seed Cotton Cleaners, Gin Stands, and Lint Cleaners; Air Utilization and Drying; and Electricity in the Gin.

The Level II offerings include: Purpose and Operating Principles of Individual Gin Machines; Efficient Operation, Adjustment, and Maintenance of Gin Equipment; Pneumatics and Waste Collection; Electrical Systems; Hydraulic Systems; Gin Safety; and Management Tips.

Level III features: Review of Functions of a Ginning System; Electrical Systems; Air Systems in the Gin; Drying and Moisture Restoration Systems; Matching Machinery Capacities in the System; Seed Cotton Unloading Systems and Management of Seed Cotton Handling Systems; Bale Presses and Hydraulic Systems; Safety Programs and Labor Regulations; and Cottonseed Handling Systems; and Roller Ginning.

In addition to Levels I, II and III, the school will feature a two-day continuing education (CE) course forcertified ginners and gin managers. Attendees may register for the two days or for individual parts of the course with a minimum of one day registration. The CE’s first day will focus on the press, including a review of basic hydraulics, press components, increasing speed and efficiencies, and bale tying/handling systems. The first day also will include a session onachieving better leaf grades. The second day’s CE course discussion will cover air quality, emissions, permitting, technology such as cyclone design, and energy costs and controlling these costs.

Net export sales for the week ending May 12 were -30,100 bales (480-lb). This brings total ’10-11 sales to approximately 15.7 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the ’09-10 marketing year were approximately 12.0 million bales. Total new crop (’11-12) sales are roughly 5.8 million bales.

Shipments for the week were 326,800 bales, bringing total exports to date to 12.2 million bales, compared with the 8.7 million bales at the comparable point in the ’09-10 marketing year.