Senate Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee Chairwoman Stabenow (D-MI) formally introduced The Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act (S. 3240) that was approved 16-5 by the full Committee on April 26. The formal introduction is necessary so the legislation can be considered by the full Senate.
Chairwoman Stabenow has been quoted in numerous publications as saying the legislation will be considered by the Senate in early June but no specific date has been announced. In a news release, she stated, "This bill has strong bipartisan support from Senators across the country and I am looking forward to beginning floor consideration soon."
Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) said he will make floor time available for the farm bill but he gave no details on its scheduling. He said the Senate has a full agenda in June with bills dealing with small business tax cuts, paycheck fairness, student loan rates and cyber security legislation when they return from the Memorial Day recess on June 4.
During an appearance on an NPR radio talk show, Chairwoman Stabenow raised an issue that has dominated debate behind the scenes since the Committee reported the bill. When asked about Southern Senators' complaints that the revenue program won't work for rice and peanuts, she said, "A lot of folks would argue they've gotten more back than their percentage of the baseline." A Stabenow spokesman said she was referring to the fact that "folks would argue that some crops receive a greater share of the payments than their share of production."
Chairwoman Stabenow said she is continuing to negotiate with Southern Senators and that she and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Lucas (R-OK), are "good friends" and noted that they worked together on the proposal that went to the Committee on Deficit Reduction last year. That proposal included a target price and countercyclical option, which Chairman Lucas has said he intends to include in the House bill that he expects to consider in his committee in June.
"We'll end up compromising," Chairwoman Stabenow said about her relationship with Lucas and the Senate and House bills. House Agriculture General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee Chairman Conaway (R-TX) said on NPR that the House bill "will make the safety net fair across regions."
Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its official score of S. 3240. CBO estimates that enactment would bring total direct spending for USDA programs covered under the bill to $969 billion over ’13-22 – $23.6 billion less than would be spent with a continuation of programs under current law. The commodity title would repeal most current agricultural price and income support programs for crop and dairy producers, and CBO estimates that federal spending on commodity programs would total $43.2 billion over ’13-22 – or $19.8 billion less than expected if current law was continued. CBO estimates that the new Agriculture Risk Coverage payments “would average $3.2 billion per year; however, actual payments from year to year would probably vary considerably from that expected average payment.”
The bill also would authorize appropriations over '13-17 for existing and new USDA programs involving research and education, nutrition, trade promotion, rural development, credit assistance, forestry and conservation initiatives. CBO estimates thatimplementing those provisions would cost about $28 billion over the next five years, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.
The NCC and ABRAPA, Brazil's national cotton producer organization, issued a joint statement following a recent meeting of US and Brazilian cotton industry leaders in Atlanta. ABRAPA President Sergio De Marco led the Brazilian cotton leader delegation and NCC Chairman Chuck Coley led the US delegation. The leaders, who reviewed issues of mutual concern and pledged to search for avenues of greater cooperation, focused their discussions on risk management, cotton's sustainability and international promotion.
The Officials from countries participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) meeting – Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam – announced that the United States will host the next round of negotiations in San Diego, CA, on July 2-10.
Participants said they had made greater progress than expected at the 12th round of talks in Dallas -- where all negotiating groups met and countries also held bilateral meetings on market access for industrial goods, agricultural products and textiles. The discussions on the agreement's textile chapter reportedly focused on special safeguard and customs procedures, but did not include rules of origin.
US Chief Negotiator Weisel indicated that TPP trade ministers, who will be meeting in June, are not likely to make a decision on whether Canada, Japan and Mexico can join the negotiations. The United States also has not concluded its bilateral discussions with the three countries, she said at a May 13 press briefing.
US Trade Representative (USTR) Kirk said the United States has communicated a list of the issues these countries need to address to show they can meet the high standards being pursued in the TPP talks.
In a key development, USTR Chief Agricultural Negotiator Siddiqui said the United States wants to establish an arbitration mechanism in the TPP that would resolve agricultural disputes at an earlier stage than is possible through the World Trade Organization (WTO). Ambassador Siddiqui said TPP countries would retain the option of seeking dispute resolution at the WTO. The TPP alternative would maintain the same science-based standards as those established under WTO rules but the TPP would allow parties to seek consultations, information-sharing and dispute resolution at an earlier stage rather than waiting for a WTO decision.
The WTO's Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures allows countries to set their own food safety standards. However, agricultural and health regulations must be based on science; apply only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal, or plant life or health; and ensure that the rules do not arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate among countries where identical or similar conditions prevail. The United States has contended that some trading partners use standards not based on scientific criteria to prohibit US agricultural exports.
USDA Offering Wetlands Restoration Assistance
USDA announced that it will offer financial and technical assistance totaling $31.8 million for five wetland restoration and water quality projects spanning seven states in the Mississippi River Basin.
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack said the funds will be used in partnership with state agencies and nonprofit conservation groups to address the most pressing water quality, soil erosion, nutrient runoff and wetlands restoration needs in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri.
According to USDA, these projects, when fully implemented, will be instrumental in preventing sediment and nutrients from entering waterways, decreasing flooding, and improving bird and fish habitat. The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) estimates that the investment will restore 11,400 acres of wetland habitat.
NRCS will provide the assistance for these projects through its Wetlands Reserve Program and its subprogram, the Wetlands Enhancement Reserve Program.
Landowners are compensated for the types of easements they agree to provide. For a permanent easement, the NRCS pays 100% of the land's cost and restoration work. On a 30-year easement, the federal share drops to 75%, and on a 10-year easement, it turns into a 50-50 cost-sharing arrangement.
Three projects will be funded in Arkansas, one in Iowa and one project that spans Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee. The six-state project, which will receive $20 million, will consist of converting existing croplands into hardwood forests and will extend from the lower tip of Illinois to Baton Rouge.
Biotech Continues to Provide Benefits
PG Economics, an agricultural consulting firm in Dorchester, UK, released its seventh annual report on the impacts of crop biotechnology, showing another year of significant economic and environmental benefits particularly in developing countries.
In its press release, Graham Brookes, director of PG Economics and the report's co-author, said that over the 15-year period covered in the report, crop biotechnology consistently has provided important economic and production gains, improved incomes and reduced risk for farmers around the world that have grown genetically modified (GM) crops. He noted that, "the environment in user countries is benefiting from farmers using more benign herbicides or replacing insecticide use with insect resistant GM crops. The reduction in pesticide spraying and the switch to no till cropping systems is also resulting in reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The majority of these benefits are found in developing countries."
The report's key findings include:
The net economic benefit at the farm level in '10 was $14 billion, equal to an average increase in income of $40/acre. From '96-10, the global farm income gain has been $78.4 billion;
The insect resistant (IR) technology used in cotton and corn has consistently delivered the highest increase in farm income, especially in developing countries (notably cotton in India and China ); the average farm income gains from using IR cotton and corn in '10 were $115/acre and $36/acre, respectively;
Of the total farm income benefit, 60% ($46.8 billion) has been due to yield gains resulting from lower pest and weed pressure and improved genetics, with the balance arising from reductions in the cost of production. Three-quarters of the yield gain came from adoption of IR crops and the balance from herbicide tolerant crops;
The cost farmers paid for accessing crop biotechnology in '10 was equal to 28% of the total technology gains;
Between '96 and '10, crop biotechnology was responsible for an additional 88.6 million tons of soybeans, 144.9 million tons of corn, 11.4 million tons of cotton lint, and 5.5 million tons of canola;
If crop biotechnology had not been available to the 15.4 million farmers using the technology in '10, maintaining global production levels at the '10 levels would have required additional plantings of 2 million acres of soybeans, 2.3 million acres of corn, 1.2 million acres of cotton, and 0.14 million acres of canola. This total area is equivalent to 8.6% of the arable land in the United States, 23% of the arable land in Brazil or 25% of the cereal area in the European Union (EU-27);
Crop biotechnology has reduced pesticide spraying ('96-10) by 199 million lbs (-8.6%). This is equal to the total amount of pesticide active ingredient applied to arable crops in the EU-27 for one and a half crop years; and
The adoption of GM crops is making an important contribution to the development of crop production systems that require fewer pesticide applications, reduces the risk of crop losses due to insects and weeds, and increases the yields for all types of farmers in developed and developing economies.
Registrations still are being taken for the '12 Stoneville Ginners School, set for Stoneville, MS, on June 12-14. Online registration and course information is at www.cotton.org/ncga/ginschool/index.cfm.
The school's Level I, II and III courses run concurrently from 8 am–5 pm each day. Each level of the coursework is built on the previous level of instruction, with Level I serving as the foundation. It is recommended that all new students, regardless of gin experience, start with Level I. In addition, the school features a two-day continuing education course on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 12-13 for certified ginners and gin managers/superintendents.
School cooperators include USDA's Agricultural Research Service; USDA Extension Service, National Cotton Ginners Assoc. (NCGA) and its member associations; NCC; Cotton Incorporated; gin machinery/equipment manufacturers and suppliers; Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Services; and select land grant universities. For more information, contact NCGA at (901) 274-9030 or www.cotton.org/ncga/ginschool/index.cfm.
Bale Specifications Reviewed
The Joint Cotton Industry Bale Packaging Committee (JCIBPC) Specifications Review Subcommittee approved revisions to the '11 NCC JCIBPC Specifications for Cotton Bale Packaging Materials (Specifications). The updated Specifications for '12 will be sent to USDA for final review, approval and inclusion as an eligibility requirement for the Commodity Credit Corp. marketing assistance loan program.
Included in the revisions is the addition of a new 8½ gauge wire specification and a "Test Program Review" section. The review section will provide a summary of the test programs that were granted by the full JCIBPC for the current marketing year.
The NCC has scheduled dates and locations for the '12 Producer Information Exchange (PIE) Program. Sponsored by Bayer CropScience through a grant to The Cotton Foundation, the program is now in its 24th year of helping its US cotton producer participants improve yields and fiber quality.
This season, Southeast producers will see operations in California on July 22-27; Southwest producers will travel to Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri on July 29-Aug. 3; Far West producers will visit North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia on Aug. 5-10; and Mid-South producers will tour W. Texas and S. Texas on Aug. 19-24.
The PIE program enables cotton producers to improve yields and fiber quality along with boosting their overall operational efficiency by: 1) gaining new perspectives in such fundamental practices as land preparation, planting, fertilization, pest control, irrigation and harvesting; and 2) observing firsthand the unique ways in which their innovative peers are using new and existing technology.
Upon completion of this year's four tours, the PIE program will have exposed more than 1,000 US cotton producers to innovative production practices in regions different than their own.
Sales Steady, Shipments Strong
Net export sales for the week ending May 17 were 122,500 bales (480-lb). This brings total '11-12 sales to approximately 12.4 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the '10-11 marketing year were approximately 15.6 million bales. Total new crop ('12-13) sales are 1.4 million bales.
Shipments for the week were 290,800 bales, bringing total exports to date to 9.2 million bales, compared with the 12.5 million bales at the comparable point in the '10-11 marketing year.
Effective May 25-31, ’12
Adjusted World Price, SLM 11/16
63.78 cents
*
Fine Count Adjustment ('11 Crop)
0.25 cents
Fine Count Adjustment ('12 Crop)
0.45 cents
Coarse Count Adjustment
0.00 cents
Marketing Loan Gain Value
0.00 cents
Import Quotas Open
13
Special 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
83.78 cents
Forward 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East
83.95 cents
Coarse Count CFR Far East
NA
Current US CFR Far East
87.45 cents
Forward US CFR Far East
83.05 cents
'11-12 Weighted Marketing-Year Average Farm Price
Year-to-Date (Aug.-March)
91.13 cents
**
**Aug.-July average price used in determination of counter-cyclical payment
