The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee continued its series of hearings regarding reauthorization of the '08 farm law by holding a hearing focusing on conservation.
Chairwoman Stabenow (D-MI) said conservation is essential to producing a healthy and affordable food supply and is now more important than ever to creating new jobs and protecting our land and water. She also noted the need to continue focusing on program simplification, consolidation, flexibility and accountability.
Prior to the hearing, the NCC joined other commodity groups in a letter to the Chairwoman and Ranking Member Roberts (R-KS), which said, "The conservation efforts in the Farm Bill are critical to a strong economy, healthy and productive rural lands and vibrant communities. We applaud your efforts to simplify these programs, keeping the same tools but merging them into fewer programs."
In addition, during the hearing, Sen. Boozman (R-AR) requested that a statement by NCC Chairman Chuck Coley detailing NCC's views on conservation be included in the record.
Hearing witnesses included Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Dave White who underscored the impact conservation programs have had on improving soil and water conditions, and further reflected the need to continue strengthening conservation programs. During his testimony, White specifically mentioned conservation programs used by Don Cameron, a California cotton producer, to improve air quality.
Additional witnesses included Bruce Nelson, administrator, Farm Service Agency; Jeff Trandahl, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Washington, DC; Dean Stoskopf, wheat producer, Hoisington, KS; Carl Mattson, producer, Chester, MT; Darrel Mosel, producer, Gaylord, MN; and, Earl Garber, president elect, National Assoc. of Conservation Districts, Basile, LA.
NCC Meets with Administration Officials, Congressional Staff
NCC Chairman Chuck Coley, a Vienna, GA, producer, and Vice Chairman Jimmy Dodson, a Robstown, TX, producer, met with House and Senate Congressional staff, as well as officials from USDA and the Office of the US Trade Representative to discuss recent developments in the ongoing trade dispute with Brazil.
NCC leadership was accompanied by NCC President/CEO Mark Lange and other staff. The meetings focused on the ongoing development of the '12 farm bill and options to resolve the World Trade Organization dispute with Brazil as part of the farm bill process. It was agreed that a timely resolution is the preferred outcome with all available options still under consideration.
The next round of quarterly discussions between US and Brazilian officials are scheduled for the week of April 16 in Washington, DC.
'12 Farm Bill Hearings Announced
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Lucas (R-OK) announced a series of field hearings on the '12 farm bill to take place throughout March and April. The first one is scheduled for upstate New York with other stops slated for Illinois, Arkansas and Kansas. The hearings will give House Agriculture Committee members the opportunity to hear firsthand how US farm policy is working for farmers and ranchers in advance of writing legislation.
The field hearings are the next step in the farm bill development. Last June, Lucas began the effort when the Agriculture Committee held 11 audit hearings on agriculture programs to look for ways to improve programs for farmers, increase efficiency and reduce spending. The information gained from the audits combined with perspective from the field will serve as a useful reference for Committee Members.
"Field hearings represent one of the best parts of writing the farm bill because it gives us a chance to see the countryside and visit with folks who are directly impacted by our policy decisions in Washington," Lucas said. "Agricultural policy affects every American; ensuring that our farmers and ranchers have the necessary tools they need to continue to produce an affordable and stable food supply is as important to our country as national defense. It's critical to all of us that we get it right. I look forward to hearing from our producers and from those who live and work in rural America."
The hearings schedule follows: March 9, 9 am EST, North Country Community College, Sparks Athletic Complex, Saranac Lake, NY; March 23, 9 am CDT, Carl Sandburg College, Student Center Building B, 2400 Tom L. Wilson Blvd., Galesburg, IL; March 30, 9 am CDT, Riceland Hall, Fowler Center, Arkansas State U., 201 Olympic Drive, State University, AR; and April 20, 9 am CDT, Magouirk Conference Center, 4100 W. Comanche, Dodge City, KS.
In a USDA news release, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that he informed Congress that in 90 days he plans to approve consolidation of 131 Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices with other USDA service centers, consistent with provisions of the '08 farm law.
Under the Blueprint for Stronger Service announced on Jan. 9, Vilsack laid out USDA's plans to modernize and accelerate service delivery while improving the customer experience through use of innovative technologies and business solutions. The Blueprint included USDA's plan to close 259 domestic offices, facilities and labs, including the proposed closure of 131 FSA offices and seven foreign offices.
Consistent with provisions of the '08 farm law, FSA held public meetings in every county in which an FSA office was proposed for consolidation. Members of the public were invited to make public comments at the meetings, and/or to submit comments in writing for up to 10 days following the public meeting. All comments were reviewed and considered prior to the issuance of the Secretary's notification letters to Congress.
USDA followed two steps in identifying FSA offices to propose for closure. First, USDA fulfilled its obligation under the '08 farm law to propose first for consolidation, to the maximum extent practicable, all offices that are located within 20 miles of another office, and which employ two or fewer permanent full-time employees. In addition, FSA identified all offices that currently have zero employees, regardless of location.
New CRP Initiative Announced
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the opportunity for producers to enroll a total of 1 million acres of land in a new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) initiative to preserve grasslands and wetlands.
"By focusing 1 million acres of CRP on grasslands and wetlands, this initiative will have enormous benefits for farmers, sportsmen, and all Americans," Vilsack said.
Rather than wait for a general sign-up (the process under which most CRP acres are enrolled), producers whose land meet eligibility criteria can enroll directly in this "continuous" category at any time. Some of the changes brought on by the expansion will take place immediately and some will be initiated in the coming months. See the full news release covering Secretary Vilsack's announcement at
Recently, USDA announced two additional CRP sign-ups: a four-week general sign-up beginning on March 12 and ending on April 6; and a continuous sign-up for Highly Erodible Cropland beginning this summer, which seeks to protect the nation's most environmentally sensitive lands. The Highly Erodible Cropland initiative permits landowners to enroll up to 750,000 acres of land with an Erodibility Index (EI) of 20 or greater.
More detailed information on CRP is available in the Farm Service Agency fact sheet, "Conservation Reserve Program, which can be foundwww.fsa.usda.gov.
LightSquared's Comment Extension Request Granted
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted LightSquared's request to extend the comment period for the public notice inviting input regarding the results of government testing on potential interference and proposals addressing those results.
The Coalition to Save Our GPS, of which the NCC is a member, opposed the original request for a 30-day extension, but was amenable to a 10-day extension. The comment period was extended from March 1 until March 16; additional reply comments may be filed by March 30.
The FCC moved on Feb. 14 to block LightSquared's planned nationwide wireless network because the National Telecommunications Information Administration concluded that there are not enough effective mitigation measures to eliminate interference with GPS systems. (see http://www.cotton.org/issues/2012/lsq.cfm).
The NCC has submitted comments to help ensure that the FCC proceeds with withdrawing its waiver modifying LightSquared's license to prohibit them from building a ground-based wireless network that would interfere with our use of GPS.
Coalition Pushing Pro-Job Textile Rules in TPP
A new global coalition of fiber, textile and apparel groups wrote to Ambassador Kirk of the US Trade Representative's office urging that the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations include pro-job, pro-private industry and pro-export rules in the ongoing textile talks in the final TPP agreement.
The new group – the Textile and Apparel Alliance for TPP (TAAT) – represents nearly two million agricultural and manufacturing workers from 30 countries and a supply chain that exports $25 billion in two way textile and apparel trade each year. The US-based TAAT members include: the American Fiber Manufacturers Assoc., the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, the NCC, the National Council of Textile Organizations, the National Textile Assoc. and the United States Industrial Fabrics Institute.
The Alliance has been formed because "one TPP partner country – Vietnam – is demanding new rules on textiles that would put our jobs, our factories and our exports in jeopardy."
The Alliance explained that "Vietnam is asking for country-of-origin rules for textiles that would uniquely benefit Vietnam and which are far weaker than the long standing origin rules in our existing U.S. free trade agreements (FTAs) and preference arrangements. These rules would provide Vietnam's state-owned apparel manufacturers with direct access to China's massive state-run textile enterprises to create apparel and other products that would then be duty-free into all other TPP countries – something never imagined in any previous FTA."
The Alliance warns that Vietnam's proposal would mean "thousands of privately held manufacturing plants in our countries would be forced to close and hundreds of thousands of our workers would lose their jobs."
The Alliance praised the Obama Administration for instead supporting TPP rules, including the "yarn forward rule," that have created nearly two million jobs over the past 30 years – including hundreds of thousands of agricultural and manufacturing jobs in the United States.
Over the last three years, exports from Alliance members to the United States have grown by $2.7 billion.
JCIBPC Reviews Packaging Materials Specifications
During its 45th annual meeting in Memphis, the NCC's Joint Cotton Industry Bale Packaging Committee (JCIBPC), chaired by California ginner Stan Creelman, added an 8.5 gauge wire in a six-wire application to the '12 JCIBPC Specifications for Cotton Bale Packaging Materials.
Nine requests for approvals or continued testing were reviewed during the Committee's executive session. In addition to full approval of the 8.5 gauge wire, the JCIBPC granted requests for continued testing of two light-weight cotton bale bags, two woven polypropylene bale bags using modified constructions, ¾" by 0.055" PET strap when used on an approved Samuels Strapping System, a modified automatically applied polyethylene film bag and two compatibility test programs for PET strap.
The compatibility test programs are based on a bale packaging specifications provision that requires PET strap manufacturers to not only provide strapping that meets or exceeds the current specifications for PET strapping but to demonstrate that the PET strap is compatible with patented z-weld friction technology® systems and P600 or P361 friction weld technology® strapping systems.
NRDC Seeking EPA Movement on 2,4-D Petition
On Feb. 23, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a writ of mandamus against EPA in the US Court of Appeals, DC Circuit, which would force EPA to act on their '08 petition to ban the use of 2,4-D within 45 days of the court's decision.
The '08 petition asked EPA to cancel all registrations of 2,4-D and tolerances for exposure to the herbicide's residues. The NRDC alleges that EPA is required to respond to its petition in a timely manner under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and the Administrative Procedures Act.
2,4-D currently is under re-registration review by EPA to ensure that it meets current scientific and regulatory standards.
Dow AgroSciences also is developing a 2,4-D resistant cotton trait which may provide another tool in the battle with herbicide resistant weeds. The high sensitivity of cotton to 2,4-D has caused some concern among cotton farmers worried about the liability associated with potential drift and volatilization. However, the company has reformulated its product to reduce volatilization and is conducting field trials. Dow also has promised SouthTexas cotton farmers that it will developan alternative to 2,4-D for post-harvest stalk destruction to prevent boll weevil overwintering.
Sales Steady, Shipments Strong
Net export sales for the week ending Feb. 23 were 83,700 bales (480-lb). This brings total '11-12 sales to approximately 11.3 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the '10-11 marketing year were approximately 15.5 million bales. Total new crop ('12-13) sales are 606,900 bales.
Shipments for the week were 330,500 bales, bringing total exports to date to 5.3 million bales, compared with the 7.7 million bales at the comparable point in the '10-11 marketing year.
Effective March 2-8, ’12
Adjusted World Price, SLM 11/16
78.66 cents
*
Fine Count Adjustment ('10 Crop)
1.65 cents
Fine Count Adjustment ('11 Crop)
1.70 cents
Coarse Count Adjustment
1.94 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
99.22 cents
Forward 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East
NA
Coarse Count CFR Far East
NA
Current US CFR Far East
100.45 cents
Forward US CFR Far East
NA
'11-12 Weighted Marketing-Year Average Farm Price
Year-to-Date (Aug.-Jan.)
91.09 cents
**
**August-July average price used in determination of counter-cyclical payment
