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February 3, 2012
 

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'12 Farm Bill Hearings Scheduled

Senate Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee Chairwoman Stabenow (D-MI) announced the Committee will conduct hearings in February and March to continue preparations for the '12 farm bill.

The schedule and topics announced by the Chairwoman are: (Feb. 15) Energy and Economic Growth for Rural America -- to evaluate policies that stimulate investments in rural business that create jobs and opportunities for farmers; (Feb. 29) Strengthening Conservation -- to explore conservation programs that help farmers maintain soil and water quality, provide wildlife habitat and contribute to enhanced productivity; (Mar. 14) Healthy Food Initiatives, Local Production and Nutrition -- to explore policies that assist the development of local markets for farmers to better position them to meet the growing consumer demand for locally-produced, healthy food options; and (March 21) Risk Management -- to evaluate the need for and cost effectiveness of risk management tools available to farmers who continue to face increasingly volatile crop prices, input costs and the threat of natural disasters; and how the federal government can provide appropriate risk-management tools while making the best use of limited resources.

Witnesses, times and other specific hearing details will be announced later. Senate Agriculture Committee hearings are on its website at www.ag.senate.gov.

 
Farm Groups Discuss Next Farm Bill

NCC Vice Chairman Chuck Coley, a Vienna, GA, producer, and American Cotton Producers Chairman Jimmy Dodson, Robstown, TX, accompanied by NCC staff Mark Lange and Robbie Minnich, joined leaders from 12 other farm and commodity organizations in meetings to discuss policy priorities, to hear the perspectives of key policymakers and to work toward consensus on future US farm policy.

In a statement issued by the group, the organizations stated they are committed to work together to come up with a viable farm policy. Also confirmed is their common belief that Congress should pass and the President should sign a strong new farm bill into law this year. The law expires at year's end and producers – like all job creators – need certainty from Washington.

The group also emphasized that, "The economy is fragile, unemployment is high, and Americans are worried. Given the need for economic growth and deficit reduction, for our part we have offered to do more with less. If Washington provides America's farmers and ranchers with some certainty, we can continue to help lead our nation's economic recovery."

During their session, the producer leaders heard presentations regarding the current state of affairs in Washington so as to better understand the dynamics that will shape the law's reauthorization.

Coley presented to the group the NCC's views regarding farm policy, including the NCC's support of the STAX proposal. Also during their visit to DC, Coley and Dodson met with key USDA and Congressional staff.

More information about the farm groups' meeting, including a list of the participating organizations, is at www.cotton.org/news/releases/2012/farmmeet.cfm.

 
Discussions Held With Brazil

A US delegation, led by Agricultural Trade Ambassador Isi Siddiqui of the US Trade Representative's office, was in Brazil for consultations with officials as part of the US-Brazil Framework Agreement.

In the on-going World Trade Organization trade dispute, the Agreement suspends Brazil's retaliation against US exports while the '12 farm bill is formed.

 
Cotton Flow Strides Conveyed to USDA

During a Washington, DC, meeting, cotton industry representatives briefed USDA officials on industry efforts to improve cotton flow and sought the agency's cooperation with future industry initiatives.

Joining NCC Cotton Flow Committee Chairman Bobby Greene, a Courtland, AL, ginner, and NCC staff in the meeting were representatives from the American Cotton Shippers Assoc., AMCOT, Cotton Growers Warehouse Assoc. and Cotton Warehouse Assoc. of America. The USDA group was led by Farm Services Agency Administrator Bruce Nelson.

The NCC's Performance and Standards Task Force, under the auspices of the Cotton Flow Committee, continues to analyze measures that would ensure the industry meets the demands of a competitive export market.

 
CRP Signup Begins March 12

Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse announced that USDA will conduct a four-week Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general signup, beginning on March 12 and ending on April 6. Currently, about 30 million acres are enrolled in CRP; and contracts on an estimated 6.5 million acres will expire on Sept. 30, '12. More than 2 million of the expiring acres are located in cotton producing states.

CRP is a voluntary program available to agricultural producers to help them use environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits. Producers enrolled in CRP plant long-term, resource-conserving covers to improve the quality of water, control soil erosion and develop wildlife habitat. In return, USDA provides participants with rental payments and cost-share assistance. Contract duration is between 10-15 years. Producers with expiring contracts and producers with environmentally sensitive land are encouraged to evaluate their options under CRP. Producers also are encouraged to look into CRP's other enrollment opportunities offered on a continuous, non-competitive, signup basis.

Offers for CRP contracts are ranked according to the Environmental Benefits Index (EBI). The Farm Service Agency (FSA) collects data for each of the EBI factors based on the relative environmental benefits for the land offered. Each eligible offer is ranked in comparison to all other offers and selections made from that ranking. FSA uses the following EBI factors to assess the environmental benefits for the land offered: 1) wildlife habitat benefits resulting from covers on contract acreage; 2) water quality benefits from reduced erosion, runoff and leaching; 3) on-farm benefits from reduced erosion; 4) benefits that likely will endure beyond the contract period; 5) air quality benefits from reduced wind erosion; and 6) cost.

 
DOL Re-Proposing Part of Child Labor Rule

In response to requests from Congressional Members and the public, including comments submitted by the NCC and other agricultural interest organizations, the Department of Labor (DOL) is "re-proposing" the portion of their proposed child labor rule regarding the agricultural parental exemption. The re-proposed rule should be published by early summer, and it will be open for public comment. The DOL will continue to review the comments received regarding the remaining portions of the proposed rule for inclusion in a final rule. No date has been set for finalizing the rest of the proposed rule.

In testimony to the House Small Business Committee Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade, the DOL stated, "Until the revised exemption is final, the Wage and Hour Division will apply the parental exemption to situations in which the parent or person standing in the place of a parent is a part owner of the farm, a partner in a partnership or an officer of a corporation that owns the farm if the ownership interest in the partnership or corporation is substantial. This approach is consistent with guidance the Wage and Hour Division has provided to the public on its website for the past several years."

In addition to DOL, agriculture had a large presence at the hearing-- with testimony from a Missouri hog producer, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, the West Virginia Dept. of Agriculture and the National FFA Organization.

On Sept. 2, '11, the DOL published and invited public comments on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on its proposed child labor rule. The proposed rule sought to revise child labor regulations in agricultural and non-agricultural occupations, but perhaps most significantly, the rule could have added new restrictions to the agricultural parental exemption, which allowed children under 15 to perform certain tasks on farms owned by their families.

Joining together to criticize the proposal were a group of 72 agricultural organizations saying the proposal "would significantly curtail the employment opportunities available to youth working in U.S. agriculture…"

Their comments: 1) address misrepresentations in a Human Rights Report issued last year that the Department quoted in a press statement; 2) raise concerns about the Department's interpretation of the exemptions for children working for their parents and student learners; 3) oppose new and additional restrictions on tractor and other power driven machinery use by minors; 4) oppose the overly broad expansion of the Hazardous Occupation Orders (HO) relating to livestock, timber, construction, elevated surfaces, work involving storage bins and silos; and 5) discourage the Department from issuing a new agriculture HO that would limit exposure of young farm workers to extreme temperatures.

It is unknown when the Department will propose a final regulation, but the NCC remains engaged and will monitor the process.

 
'12 Beltwide Presentations Available Online

The '12 Beltwide Cotton Conferences' recorded presentations now are available online to '12 Beltwide attendees. A conference badge ID number and last name are necessary to login at: http://ncc.confex.com/ncc/2012/webprogram/start.html.

To view the recordings, a high-speed Internet connection and either speakers or headphones attached to the computer are necessary. The slides in the recordings will appear at their original dimensions, so the screen resolution must be set to 1024x768 or greater.

If there are recordings for a session, a folder icon will appear. Click the session title, then click on the "Recorded Presentation" box to the right of thepresentation title to view the recorded presentation. If a .pdf has been uploaded for a poster, there will be a link on the page that says PDF File.

Conferees also can use the search engine offered there to quickly find presentations of interest anywhere in the meeting. Just include the words "recorded presentation" in the search terms. Please note that when you first click on a hyperlink to a recorded presentation or poster, you will be asked for your last name and theSubscription IDthat was printed on your badge at registration. Attendees may request to receive their subscription ID by email if their badge has been discarded or lost.

The '12 Beltwide presentations are only available to '12 Beltwide attendees between now and November. Access restrictions will be removed in November. Archived recorded presentations from the '06-11 Beltwide conferencesare currently available at the Beltwide web site:www.cotton.org/beltwide/index.cfm?page=recorded_presentations.

 
Sales Slump, Shipments Surge

Net export sales for the week ending Jan. 26 were -157,000 bales (480-lb). This brings total '11-12 sales to approximately 10.8 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the '10-11 marketing year were approximately 15.0 million bales. Total new crop ('12-13) sales are 516,600 bales.

Shipments for the week were 398,300 bales, bringing total exports to date to 4.0 million bales, compared with the 5.9 million bales at the comparable point in the '10-11 marketing year.

 

 
Effective Feb. 3-9, ’12

Adjusted World Price, SLM 11/16

 80.57 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

13


Limited Global Import Quota (480-lb bales)

871,389


ELS Payment Rate

0.00 cents


*No Adjustment Made Under Step I

 

Five-Day Average




Current 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East

101.13 cents


Forward 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East

NA


Coarse Count CFR Far East

NA


Current US CFR Far East

106.15 cents


Forward US CFR Far East

NA


 

'11-12 Weighted Marketing-Year Average Farm Price  
 

Year-to-Date (Aug.-Dec.)

91.30 cents

**


**August-July average price used in determination of counter-cyclical payment