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July 20, 2012
 

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Bipartisan Lawmaker Group Urging House Farm Bill Vote

Reps. Noem (R-SD) and Welch (D-VT) are leading a bipartisan group of 62 House members urging House leaders to bring (H.R. 6083), the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act ('12 farm bill) to a vote before August.

In a letter to Speaker Boehner (R-OH), Majority Leader Cantor (R-VA), Democratic Leader Pelosi (D-CA) and Democratic Whip Hoyer (D-MD), Reps. Noem, Welch and their colleagues are requesting floor time to consider the bill so that it can be debated, conferenced and ultimately passed into law before the current farm bill expires on Sept. 30.

The letter, which noted that the House Agriculture Committee passed the farm bill by a strong bipartisan vote of 35-11 on July 12, stated, "The message from our constituents and rural America is clear:  we need a farm bill now. We ask that you bring a farm bill up before the August District Work Period so that the House will have the opportunity to work its will. We ask that you make this legislation a priority of the House as it is critically important to rural and urban Americans alike."

The full letter, signed by 38 Republicans and 24 Democrats, is contained in a news release at http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=d0013f7a-1d75-4ef7-8c1e-76015e735156.

The letter was signed by the following Cotton Belt states' Representatives: Cuellar (D-TX), Neugebauer (R-TX), Crawford (R-AR), Scott (R-GA), Ellmers (R-NC), Hartzler (R-MO), Cardoza (D-CA), Costa (D-CA), Kissell (D-NC), Emerson (R-MO), Hastings (D-FL), Graves (R-GA), Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Landry (R-LA), Rooney (R-FL), Roby (R-AL), Garamendi (D-CA), Jenkins (R-KS), Bishop (D-GA), Lankford (R-OK), Long (R-MO), McIntyre (D-NC), DesJarlais (R-TN), Boustany (R-LA) and Lungren (R-CA).

Earlier, the NCC joined 45 other organizations in the US agriculture community on a letter to Boehner and Pelosi urging them to schedule time for the FARRM Act to the House floor as soon as possible.

That letter stated that, "the 2012 Farm Bill is among the most important pieces of legislation Congress will consider this year. The Senate and the House Agriculture Committee have completed their jobs and delivered new, comprehensive bills. Recognizing that time is short before the Sept. 30 expiration of the current farm bill, we urge you to schedule time for floor consideration of the bill as quickly as possible."

While representing a wide range of interests, the groups stated that they are united in their view that the bill should receive floor time and be finalized this year, on schedule.

"We reject calls for delay and believe that extension of the current bill does not adequately address the needs of farmers, ranchers, foresters, those in need of food assistance at home and abroad, conservation, rural communities, or food and agricultural research," the letter stated. "We ask you to act now to ensure that a new, comprehensive farm bill is passed this year."

 
Senate Finance Committee Approves Bills

The Senate Finance Committee approved several bills including:  renewal of the third-country fabric provisions of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and modification of the textile and apparel rules of origin under the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA); US Customs and Border Protection requirements relating to dumping and countervailing duty orders; and citrus, cotton, and wool trust funds.

These bills were in addition to unanimous approval of legislation granting permanent normal trade relations to Russia and Moldova.

The legislation approved by the Committee might not be considered by the full Senate before the August recess because it is a revenue measure and needs to be considered by the House first.

Rep. Camp (R-MI), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, introduced legislation similar to the Finance Committee version and announced plans for the Ways and Means Committee to consider it during the week of July 23.

During the Finance Committee meeting, the Committee rejected an amendment offered by Sen. Thune (R-SD) to renew Trade Promotion Authority (fast-track). The amendment would have extended fast-track negotiating authority that expired in '07 for one year to apply to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.

There were a number of other amendments filed prior to the mark-up, including one by Sen. Coburn (R-OK) to terminate funding for the Market Access Program but it was not formally proposed or debated during the mark-up.

By voice vote, the Committee approved a bill known as the Enforcing Orders and Reducing Customs Evasion Act (ENFORCE) Act, which would set deadlines for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to consider industry allegations that certain antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders are being circumvented.

The Committee also approved legislation that extends the third-country fabric provision as part of the preferences provided by the AGOA. AGOA's third-country fabric provision will expire at the end of September. The third-country fabric provision gives apparel from AGOA-eligible countries made with fabric produced anywhere in the world duty-free access to the US market. The measure extends the third-country fabric provision through Sept. 30, '15, and adds the Republic of South Sudan to the list of AGOA-eligible beneficiary countries.

Negotiators from the CAFTA-DR countries previously have agreed to make several noncontroversial modifications to the rules of origin under CAFTA-DR. The legislation approved by the Finance Committee would implement these changes. In addition to the United States and the Dominican Republic, the CAFTA-DR countries are Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Legislation approved by the Committee also revives the Pima cotton trust fund, which expired in '09, through '15. If enacted, the legislation would restart the fund, which can receive payments of up to $16 million per fiscal year in duty refunds to US cotton spinners and shirt manufacturers that use imported fabric. The fund is designed to assist US manufacturers and growers while preserving some US apparel jobs because duties on certain high quality shirting fabrics containing extra-long staple cotton are lower in competitor countries like Canada making it difficult for US shirt manufactures to compete. It also provides funds to an organization promoting the use of Pima cotton grown in the United States.

The legislation is a high priority for Sen. Menendez (D-NJ) who threatened to block the AGOA legislation if the Pima trust fund was not added as an amendment. Ultimately, Sen. Menendez agreed to the Committee mark-up, without a commitment from Chairman Baucus that the Pima trust fund bill would be moved on specific legislation.

The Committee also approved a modification to the wool trust fund to ensure sufficient funds are available until its scheduled expiration on Dec. 31, '14. The modification was necessary to resolve a shortfall that has occurred since '10. The Committee approved a new citrus trust fund of up to $30 million generated from duties on imports of citrus and citrus products to fund research against pests that adversely impact the US citrus industry.

 
Garcia Named FSA Administrator

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced the appointment of Juan M. Garcia as Farm Service Agency (FSA)Administrator, effective July 15, '12.

Garcia previously served as deputy administrator for Farm Programs where he managed all FSA programs under the Production Emergencies and Compliance Division, Conservation and Environmental Programs Division, and Price Support Division.

Garcia served as state executive director for Texas and as the agricultural program manager (APM) for the FSA in Texas. Prior to his selection as the APM, Garcia worked as a district director and served earlier in his career as county executive director. During his 35-year career with USDA, Garcia has received numerous honors and is a three-time recipient of the prestigious FSA Administrator's Award for Service to Agriculture.

A native of Lyford, TX, Garcia was raised on his family's 500-acre farm. He received a BS degree in Animal Science from Texas A&I U. (now Texas A&M U.-Kingsville) and was recognized as the College of Agriculture's '10 Hall of Honors Alumnus.

 
House Approves $560 Million in OSHA Funding

An appropriations bill that would provide $560 million for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, (OSHA) -- a 0.8% decline from the agency's current funding level -- was approved by a House appropriations subcommittee.

The bill also contains a number of riders blocking OSHA regulatory initiatives. One rider would bar OSHA from developing its injury and illness prevention program (I2P2) rule, which OSHA long has touted as its top rulemaking priority. Under the rule, employers would be required to find and fix safety and health hazards in their own workplaces, potentially including those not covered by any existing standard.

The bill now moves to the full appropriations committee, where it may be voted on as early as the week of July 23.

On June 14, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $565.4 million in OSHA funding for FY13, the same amount assigned in President Obama’s budget request. Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV), however, has said the Senate will not attempt to pass any regular appropriations bills this year.

 
EPA Denies Petition for Suspension of Clothianidin

The EPA is denying a petition requesting emergency suspension of clothianidin (Poncho, Belay) based on imminent hazard. The petition, filed in March by a group of beekeepers, Beyond Pesticides, Pesticide Action Network of North America and others alleges that clothianidin poses an "imminent hazard," requiring swift regulatory action to protect bees.

After considering the petition and the supporting information, the EPA is denying the request to suspend clothianidin use because the petition fails to show that an imminent hazard to bees exists. FIFRA allows for suspensions only if there exists a substantial likelihood of serious, imminent harm. After reviewing the petition and supporting information, the EPA does not believe there is a substantial likelihood of imminent serious harm from the use of clothianidin.

The agency will, however, be taking public comments for 60 days on this decision. Comments can be submitted to www.regulations.gov under docket EPA HQ-OPP-2012-0334.

With Colony Collapse Disorder in the news and under pressure from some beekeepers and anti-pesticide activists, EPA has focused on the impact to bees, particularly from the neonicitinoid insecticides. Of particular concern to the agency are extra-floral nectaries on cotton and its indeterminate habit.

EPA is continuing its comprehensive scientific evaluation on all the neonicotinoid pesticides, including clothianidin.

EPA's FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) will hold a four-day meeting  on Sept. 11-14  to review a proposed framework the agency has developed in conjunction with state and international partners to evaluate the potential quantitative risks to bees and other pollinators from the use of pesticides. Notice of the meeting was published in the July 18 Federal Register.

The proposed framework includes a tiered process developed in conjunction with Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency and the California Dept. of Pesticide Regulation for evaluating risks to pollinators from pesticides. The meeting will focus on the proposed process, with EPA providing an overview, as well as the exposure and effects data needed to support that process.

EPA also is seeking nominations of candidates to serve as ad hoc members of the SAP for this meeting.

 
Southeast Producers to See San Joaquin Valley Agriculture

Twelve cotton producers from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida will observe cotton and other agricultural operations in California’s San Joaquin Valley on July 22-25 as part of the NCC’s ’12 Producer Information Exchange (PIE) Program.

Sponsored by Bayer CropScience through a grant to The Cotton Foundation, PIE is now in its 24th year of helping its US cotton producer participants improve yields and fiber quality.  Specifically, the program aims to help cotton producers boost their overall operation’s 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 current technology.

In this first of four ’12 PIE tours, the group will begin their activities on July 23 in Fresno with a briefing from the California Cotton Growers/Ginners Assoc. and then a tour of Bayer CropScience’s research facility. They also will tour Don Cameron’s Terra Nova Ranch in Helm and visit other cotton producers’ operations in the Tranquillity area.

The next day, the group will see Gilkey Enterprises’ cotton operations in Corcoran before traveling to Hanford to tour the Nichols Farms Pistachio Plant and visiting other cotton producers’ operations. On the 25th, the participants will tour the Quady Winery in Madera and the Morning Star Tomato Processing Plant in Los Banos before meeting with area cotton producers at Delta Farms.

The participating cotton producers are: Virginia – West Drake, Newsoms; North Carolina – Scott Bowen and Stephen Lilley, Jr., both from Williamston, and Matt Whitehead, Scotland Neck; South Carolina – Daniel Baxley, Dillon; Georgia – Jay Hart, Jr., Smithville, Mike Lucas, Chester, and Jeff Wilson, Rebecca; Alabama – Jim Greene, Courtland, and Crawford Jones and Will Sanford, both from Prattville; and Florida – James Marshall, Baker.

The other PIE tours will have Southwest producers going to Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri on July 29-Aug. 3; Far West producers visiting North Carolina on Aug. 5-10; and Mid-South producers touring Texas on Aug. 19-24.

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 Slim, Shipments Steady

Net export sales for the week ending July 12 were 49,400 bales (480-lb). This brings total '11-12 sales to approximately 13.0 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the '10-11 marketing year were approximately 15.1 million bales. Total new crop ('12-13) sales are 2.7 million bales.

Shipments for the week were 225,000 bales, bringing total exports to date to 11.1 million bales, compared with the 13.9 million bales at the comparable point in the '10-11 marketing year. With less than one month remaining in the marketing year, weekly shipments must average roughly 228,500 bales to reach the USDA projection of 11.6 million bales.

 

 
Effective July 20-26, ’12

Adjusted World Price, SLM 11/16

 63.45 cents

*

Fine Count Adjustment ('11 Crop)

 0.53 cents


Fine Count Adjustment ('12 Crop)

  0.73 cents


Coarse Count Adjustment

  0.00 cents


Marketing Loan Gain Value

 0.00 cents


Import Quotas Open

13


Special Import Quota (480-lb bales)

856,062


ELS Payment Rate

0.00 cents


*No Adjustment Made Under Step I

 

Five-Day Average




Current 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East

83.45 cents


Forward 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East

81.45 cents


Coarse Count CFR Far East

NA


Current US CFR Far East

86.55 cents


Forward US CFR Far East

81.65 cents


 

'11-12 Weighted Marketing-Year Average Farm Price  
 

Year-to-Date (Aug.-May)

90.61 cents

**


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