House Speaker Boehner (R-OH) announced there are insufficient votes to pass the five-year farm bill (H.R. 6083) reported by the Agriculture Committee on July 12 or for a short-term extension of current law. In a statement to the news media, he said the House will try to take up farm legislation in a Lame Duck session after the elections.
In the absence of action on new legislation or an extension, the current farm bill will expire on Sept. 30.
Boehner repeated a statement he has made several times in past weeks in response to calls for action in the House.
"We have people who believe there is not enough reform in the farm bill that came out of committee and others who believe there is too much in the bill that came out of committee," he stated. "In our opinion, we need 218 votes to pass either an extension or to consider the entire farm bill. When we get back, we will deal with the issue of the farm bill."
There would be relatively few short-term negative repercussions if the '08 law expires on Sept. 30 because the current commodity programs are effective for the '12 crops, crop insurance and nutrition programs would continue, and most of the conservation programs previously have been extended to '14. If the law expires on Sept. 30, the specific immediate effects would be that new Conservation Reserve Program enrollments will be suspended and the dairy support program for small operations, known as MILK, will be terminated.
If Congress fails to act prior to Jan. 1, '13, then there are more dire consequences. The current dairy price support program expires and permanent law is triggered, which is based on parity and would raise the support price to more than $38 per gallon. If there is no action by March, the '13 winter wheat crop also would be covered by permanent law, which sets the support price at 75% of parity or about $13 per bushel, although not all wheat would be eligible.
The primary question, when Congress returns for the Lame Duck session in November, seems to be whether it will be possible for the House to pass a five-year bill or a one-year extension. If Congress is unable to pass either, then work on new legislation would have to start over in the 113th Congress in January because legislation does not carry over from one Congress to the next. This would be the second time that a farm bill will have expired. The last time was in '07, when the '02 law (P.L. 107-171) was expired for three months.
USDA Expands Drought Assistance to 22 States
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced $11.8 million in additional financial and technical assistance to help crop and livestock producers in 22 states apply conservation practices that reduce the impacts of drought and improve soil health and productivity. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides this assistance through its Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
"As this drought continues to impact American farming and ranching families, USDA will be there to help our agriculture sector recover," Vilsack said. "This additional assistance builds on a number of steps USDA and other federal agencies have taken over the past few months to provide resources and flexibility in our existing programs to help producers endure these hardships."
Exceptional drought continues to dominate sections of Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming, causing widespread losses of crops and pastures and water shortages in reservoirs, streams and wells. Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina and Utah are under extreme drought, with accompanying major losses of crops and pasture, widespread water shortages, and restrictions on water use. The US Drought Monitor and drought summary, as of Sept. 18, is at http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/.
The additional funding will allow NRCS to address the backlog in applications from the previous drought assistance signup, as well as accept new applications from producers interested in applying selected conservation practices to address drought, including prescribed grazing, livestock watering facilities and water conservation practices. Producers also can apply for financial assistance to re-install conservation practices that failed due to drought.
The Senate passed a bill to reauthorize a law which establishes a more streamlined and predictable pesticide registration program at EPA. The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) was first negotiated among the agency, registrants and environmentalists in '03. The statute was reauthorized in '07 and is set to expire on Sept. 30 if another reauthorization is not passed by Congress.
PRIA allows EPA to collect fees from registrants and, in return, agrees to abide by predetermined time lines. Specifically, regulatory actions are categorized first by type of chemical (conventional, antimicrobial or biopesticide chemical product) and next by the type of action (e.g., new active ingredient for nonfood or food use, new registration of an old product, etc.). Under this system, each individual category corresponds to a certain registration service fee and decision review timeline.
The Senate approved a bill introduced by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member Roberts (R-KS). The House already had approved an identical version of the bill.
The latest bill offers new decision-making time frames for labels, new chemical categories and a new electronic tracking program. It also enhances species impacts data collection to help the agency better comply with the Endangered Species Act.
President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law before the Sept. 30 expiration date.
Hagan/Crapo Introduce Pesticide Permit Bill
Sens. Hagan (D-NC) and Crapo (R-ID) introduced the Restoring Effective Environmental Protection (REEP) Act (S. 3605). A bipartisan group of Senators co-sponsored the bill, including Sens. McCaskill (D-MO), Barrasso (R-WY), Carper (D-DE), Coons (D-DE), Risch (R-ID), Landrieu (D-LA), Vitter (R-LA), Pryor (D-AR), and Conrad (D-ND).
S. 3605 includes identical language from H.R. 872, which clarifies that Clean Water Act (CWA) permits are not required for pesticide applications in, over, or near waters of the United States. In ’11, H.R. 872 was passed by the House with bipartisan support and approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee by voice vote. The REEP Act has an additional provision that asks EPA to report back to Congress on whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) process can be improved to better protect human health and the environment from pesticide applications.
Last October, EPA issued its general permit for pesticides. The 44 states with CWA authority use the EPA permit as guidance in developing their own state permits for pesticides applied to, over, or near waters of the United States. This permitting requirement is the result of a court ruling which invalidated a policy of EPA that pesticide use is exempt from CWA permitting if applied according to the FIFRA label.
The NCC and other agricultural organizations contend these permits are strongly supporting both the REEP Act and H.R. 872.
EPA: Bee Reviews Will Not Be Rushed
Text In response to a letter from several senators, Jim Jones, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said that although the agency is concerned about potential pesticides’ impacts on bees, it does not intend to further accelerate its review of neonicotinoid pesticides which some beekeepers and environmental groups are blaming for bee kills.
In a July 26 letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Sens. Gillibrand (D-NY), Leahy (D-VT), and Whitehouse (D-RI) asked EPA to expedite its review of the neonicotinoid insecticides.
"I want to assure you that the EPA is focused on addressing the potential effects of pesticides on pollinators and is engaged in national and international efforts to address those concerns," Jones wrote in the Aug. 21 response.
Jones stated that these reviews will take time. "As part of advancing our understanding in the context of reevaluation, the EPA has already required six specific studies to address uncertainties related to potential honey bee exposure, and effects from imidacloprid alone,” Jones wrote. “Additional, similar studies will be required of other neonicotinoid insecticides in the near future. These studies, while underway or anticipated, will require time to complete. For example, based on current workplan schedules for the neonicotinoids, the registrants are generating exposure and effects data to be submitted to EPA by the end of 2015."
EPA has admitted that it does not have the appropriate data or methodologies to accurately assess pesticides effects on honey bee populations. On Aug. 16, the agency released its Draft Pollinator Risk Assessment Framework, developed in conjunction with Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency and the California Dept. of Pesticide Regulation, for public comment.
The framework also was the point of discussion for a recently-held Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Committee meeting.
Executive Delegation Visits Turkish Cotton Industry
US cotton industry leaders visited with the Turkish cotton industry on Sept. 7-13 to convey the US cotton industry’s continued commitment to timely delivery of high quality cotton to that important customer.
The Cotton Council International (CCI) executive delegation was led by CCI President Jimmy Webb, who said, “Turkey is the United States’ second largest customer of raw cotton and we are committed to meeting their needs in terms of both quality and timely shipments. I feel fortunate to be able to travel to Turkey and service some of our best customers. It was apparent that the Turkish industry greatly appreciated the visit, and they expressed their desire to continue doing business with the U.S. cotton industry.”
Webb said the visit not only gave the US cotton industry the necessary platform to discuss issues surrounding US raw cotton quality but “reinforced its continued commitment to ongoing dialogue between our two countries.”
That included gathering information from Turkish cotton industry officials and updating them on key aspects of the US cotton industry. In Gaziantep and Kahramanmarash, the delegation met with the country’s largest textile mills, representing more than 50% of Turkey's cotton use. In Istanbul, they met with leading trade and local marketers of US cotton.
The delegation was the first to visit Turkey since ’06. This latest visit was part of an ongoing CCI market development effort that has led to average annual exports of two million bales of cotton over the last five years.
Joining Webb in the delegation were American Cotton Producers state chairman Ted Schneider, a Monroe, LA, producer; Cotton Incorporated Treasurer Dahlen Hancock, a Ropesville, TX, producer; American Cotton Shippers Association (ACSA) Chairman Ricky Clarke, a Cordova, TN, merchant; ACSA Vice Chairman Eduardo Esteve, a Dallas, TX, merchant; AMCOT Representative Keith Lucas, a Garner, NC, cooperative official; and Supima Executive Vice President Marc Lewkowitz, Phoenix, AZ.
Sales, Shipments Steady
Net export sales for the week ending Sept. 13 were 217,600 bales (480-lb). This brings total '12-13 sales to approximately 5.4 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the '11-12 marketing year were approximately 6.9 million bales. Total new crop ('13-14) sales are 188,200 bales.
Shipments for the week were 196,500 bales, bringing total exports to date to 1.1 million bales, compared with the 724,500 bales at the comparable point in the '11-12 marketing year.
Effective Sept. 21-27, ’12
Adjusted World Price, SLM 11/16
64.15 cents
*
Fine Count Adjustment ('11 Crop)
0.95 cents
Fine Count Adjustment ('12 Crop)
1.15 cents
Coarse Count Adjustment
0.00 cents
Marketing Loan Gain Value
0.00 cents
Import Quotas Open
13
Special Import Quota (480-lb bales)
809,260
ELS Payment Rate
0.00 cents
*No Adjustment Made Under Step I
Five-Day Average
Current 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East
84.40 cents
Forward 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East
NA
Coarse Count CFR Far East
NA
Current US CFR Far East
86.20 cents
Forward US CFR Far East
NA
'11-12 Weighted Marketing-Year Average Farm Price
Year-to-Date (Aug.-July)
88.32 cents
**
**Aug.-July average price used in determination of counter-cyclical payment
