With the Jan. 24 deadline approaching, cotton growers are urged to respond to the NCC's annual survey of '12 planting intentions, which was distributed to upland and extra-long staple (ELS) cotton producers across the Cotton Belt. The questionnaire was distributed through a combination of regular mail and email with the intent of reaching all cotton farms. Growers who did not receive a questionnaire may contact the NCC via email at econsurvey@cotton.org for instructions.
The survey, conducted each year to aid with industry planning and policy deliberations, provides the basis for the economic outlook presented to delegates during the NCC Annual Meeting. Survey results will be presented during the Joint Meeting of Program Committees on Saturday morning, Feb. 11.
USDA Publishes AGI Eligibility Fact Sheet
USDA recently published a fact sheet that explains the current requirements for farm program eligibility relative to a producer's adjusted gross income (AGI). While most of the provisions for the AGI means test remain unchanged with regard to non-farm and farm income, a recent legislative change effective for the '12 crop implements an additional $1 million means test (see Nov. 18, '11 Cotton's Week). This means test includes all income, farm and non-farm, and is applicable only to direct payments.
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Bruce Nelson is reminding producers that enrollment for the '12 Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP) and the Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE) will begin on Jan. 23, '12. The last day for producers to sign up for either program will be June 1, '12.
USDA urges producers to make use of the electronic DCP (eDCP) automated website to sign up, or producers can visit any USDA Service Center to complete their '12 DCP or ACRE contract. eDCP saves time, reduces paperwork and speeds up contract processing at USDA Service Centers. It is available to all producers who are eligible to participate in the DCP and ACRE programs and can be accessed atwww.fsa.usda.gov/dcp. To access the service, producers must have an active USDA eAuthentication Level 2 account, which requires the completion of an online registration form atwww.eauth.egov.usda.gov, followed by a visit to the local USDA Service Center for identity verification.
Commerce: No Solution to LightSquared's Interference
The Commerce Dept.'s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) said there is "no feasible solution to the interference problems posed by LightSquared Inc.'s proposed nationwide mobile broadband network."
LightSquared proposed to offer high-speed wireless internet service on a wholesale basis to as many as 260 million people on airwaves formerly reserved mainly for satellites. However, testing consistently has concluded that the proposed network could interfere with GPS operations.
In January '10, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gave LightSquared preliminary approval to begin rolling out its network, but said it would withhold final approval until all interference issues are resolved. Since then, the company and the FCC have had intense criticism from Congressional members, GPS device manufacturers, government agencies and corporations that rely on GPS technology. Their primary concern is that LightSquared's network requires the company to deploy significantly more terrestrial base stations, which emit much higher power and create substantial interference with GPS operations.
LightSquared has proposed moving operations to a different set of frequencies and to lower the power levels of its network transmissions but the latest round of testing has concluded that the interference is not mitigated.
"No additional testing is warranted at this time," the National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation & Timing, an inter-agency body that advises federal departments and agencies on matters concerning GPS, said in a letter to NTIA, which manages the government's use of radio spectrum.
Testing requested by NTIA has found that LightSquared's transmissions caused harmful interference to the majority of GPS receivers, including those used for aviation. Rick Kaplan, the chief of the FCC's Competition Bureau, said the agency will withhold final approval of LightSquared's network build-out until all testing is completed and the NTIA has reached its conclusions. The FCC manages all commercial and public radio spectrum in the United States, while the NTIA manages the federal government's use of the spectrum.
"We will do nothing to harm GPS in any way whatsoever," Kaplan said. "It's obviously an essential service to our national defense and our economy."
The NCC is an active participant in a coalition composed of commodity and general farm organizations working with farm equipment and GPS manufacturers to ensure GPS services and precision agriculture are not adversely affected by LightSquared.
Environmental Task Force Takes on Bees
The NCC's Environmental Task Force (ETF) met in Washington, DC, to address pollinators and their impact on cotton pesticide registrations. The ETF also was updated on the status of conservation programs and activities related to herbicide resistance, endangered species, NPDES permits and spray drift. The ETF is an important NCC advisory committee on legislation, regulations and policy regarding pesticides, biotechnology and other environmental issues affecting the US cotton industry.
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has been in the news for several years now as scientists try to determine why colonies of bees are dying. This public attention to the loss of bee hives has caused the EPA to look more carefully at pesticide impact on bees. The agency has raised concerns for several cotton pesticides, citing cotton's extra-floral nectaries and lengthy flowering period as a concern for continuous presence of bees.
Guest speakers at the ETF meeting were Dr. Don Brady, director of the Environmental Fate and Effects Division in EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs; Dr. David Epstein, USDA Office of Pest Management Policy; and Dr. Iain Kelly of the recently formed CropLife America's Pollinator Issue Management Team.
Dr. Brady explained that CCD is a complex phenomenon of which pesticide impact is just one of many factors.He did say that EPA is receiving increasing pressure from beekeeper groups as the agency prepares to re-evaluate the neonicitinoids and that the agency is looking for protections that will not be overly restrictive.He said EPA will study an anticipated report of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, which lays out a tiered risk assessment process for pollinators.The agency plans to peer review this report and then convene a Scientific Advisory Panel to discuss it later this year.
In executive session, the ETF unanimously agreed to develop language to insert into policy resolutions for consideration at next month's NCC annual meeting that would encourage use of sound data in such pollinator risk assessments.
ETF members are: Chairman Mike Tate, Huntsville, AL; Steven Clay, Carnegie, OK; Barry Evans, Kress, TX; Patrick Johnson, Tunica, MS; John Lindamood, Tiptonville, TN; Allen McLaurin, Laurel Hill, NC; Cannon Michael, Los Banos, CA; Lee Tiller, Odem, TX; and, James Webb, Leary, GA.
OSHA Panel to Review Injury/Illness Rule
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has notified the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy ("Advocacy") and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) thatin the next 60 days it intends to convene a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) for its Injury and Illness Prevention Program (I2P2) rule. This is an important development as the SBREFA panel is a critical step in developing a final rule.
The I2P2 program has been championed by Dept. of Labor Assistant Secretary David Michaels. The goal is to help employers reduce workplace injuries and illness through a systematic process that proactively addresses workplace safety and health hazards. In '98, OSHA developed a draft proposal that required employers to establish safety and health programs. However, the draft rule was never published and the rulemaking was dropped. In the summer of '10, OSHA hosted a series of I2P2 listening sessions, and while it is not known what I2P2 would include, the following has been discussed as being included:
·Requires management with employee participation
·Workplace hazard identification and assessment
·Hazard prevention and control
·Education and training
·Program evaluation and improvement
While OSHA considers the notification of Advocacy and OIRA of its intent to convene the panel to be public, the materials to be provided to the panel and Small Entity Representatives will remain confidential until the panel is formally convened. At that time, OSHA will place all the materials in its rulemaking docket.
In '96, Congress passed the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act in response to concerns expressed by the small business community that federal regulations were too numerous, too complex and too expensive to implement. That act was designed to give small businesses: 1) assistance in understanding and complying with regulations and 2) more input into the development of new regulations.
Website Unveiled to Encourage Citizen Participation
According to a Congressional Quarterly article, House Republican leaders have 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— includes bills, resolutions, amendments and conference reports, and provides updates on floor proceedings and committee hearings. Documents will be posted in an XML format and also initially offered as PDFs.
According to staff working on the project, the plan is to eventually post legislative information in real time and archive it in perpetuity. The House clerk's office will maintain the site, while aides from the majority leader's office and the Rules Committee office will assist the clerk's office in providing content. Before this, the public could not retrieve information on floor and legislative activities without looking through multiple congressional sites.
Matt Lira, an aide for Majority Leader Cantor (R-VA), said the website is as "meaningful a change as when cameras where included on the House floor in the '70s. The volume and depth of information, such as vote outcomes, testimony and the latest text of amendments and bills, will become valuable tools for the public and might endure long after the 112th Congress. I don't know if you can turn it off without having a backlash from people who will come to rely on it for information."
Sales, Shipments Stay Steady
Net export sales for the week ending Jan. 12 were 202,000 bales (480-lb). This brings total '11-12 sales to approximately 10.9 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the '10-11 marketing year were approximately 14.6 million bales. Total new crop ('12-13) sales are 470,900 bales (480-lb).
Shipments for the week were 258,600 bales, bringing total exports to date to 3.3 million bales, compared with the 5.0 million bales at the comparable point in the '10-11 marketing year.
Effective Jan. 20-26, ’12
Adjusted World Price, SLM 11/16
80.44 cents
*
Fine Count Adjustment ('10 Crop)
1.65 cents
Fine Count Adjustment ('11 Crop)
1.70 cents
Coarse Count Adjustment
0.00 cents
Marketing Loan Gain Value
0.00 cents
Import Quotas Open
11
Limited Global Import Quota (480-lb bales)
737,329
ELS Payment Rate
0.00 cents
*No Adjustment Made Under Step I
Five-Day Average
Current 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East
101.00 cents
Forward 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East
NA
Coarse Count CFR Far East
NA
Current US CFR Far East
107.80 cents
Forward US CFR Far East
NA
'11-12 Weighted Marketing-Year Average Farm Price
Year-to-Date (Aug.-Nov.)
92.75 cents
**
**August-July average price used in determination of counter-cyclical payment
