CURRENT ISSUE ARTICLES

SURE Program Payments Sign-Up Announced

Lamy Urges Focus on Doha Deliverables

NCC Harvest Initiatives Emphasized

Conferences Aim to Improve Producers' Bottom Lines

Sales, Shipments Strengthen

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SURE Program Payments Sign-Up Announced

Farm Service Agency Administrator Juan Garcia announced that the sign-up period for the '11 crop year Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program will open on Oct. 22, '12.

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, through SURE, authorizes assistance to farmers and ranchers who suffered crop losses caused by natural disasters occurring through Sept. 30, '11.

"Any eligible producer who suffered losses during the 2011 crop year is encouraged to visit a local FSA office to learn more about the SURE program and how to apply," Garcia said.

As of Sept. 30, '11, the Department's authority to operate the SURE program expired along with four other, important disaster assistance programs: the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP); the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP); the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP); and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP). Production losses due to disasters occurring after Sept. 30, '11, are not eligible for disaster program coverage.

To be eligible for SURE, a farm or ranch must have: 1) at least a 10% production loss on a crop of economic significance; 2) a policy or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for all economically significant crops; 3) been physically located in a county that was declared a primary disaster county or contiguous county by the Secretary of Agriculture under a Secretarial Disaster Designation. Without a Secretarial Disaster Designation, individual producers may be eligible if the actual production on the farm is less than 50% of the normal production on the farm due to a natural disaster.

A "farm" for SURE purposes means the entirety of all crop acreage in all counties that a producer planted or intended to be planted for harvest for normal commercial sale or on-farm livestock feeding, including native and improved grassland intended for haying.

Producers considered socially disadvantaged, a beginning farmer or rancher, or a limited resource farmer may be eligible for SURE without a policy or plan of insurance or NAP coverage.

Farmers and ranchers interested in signing up must do so before the June 7, '13 deadline.

More information on the '11 SURE program is at any FSA county office or at www.fsa.usda.gov/sure.

Lamy Urges Focus on Doha Deliverables

In remarks to the World Trade Organization's (WTO) General Council, Director-General Lamy indicated there are "signs of momentum" to re-engage the Doha negotiating agenda. Lamy also pointed out that familiar obstacles remained in terms of reaching a comprehensive agreement, but urged members to focus on areas where deliverables might be achieved.

One such area is trade facilitation, where negotiations continue along several tracks. Press reports indicate that Australia's Trade Minister, Craig Emerson, recently traveled to Geneva to push for a conclusion to the trade facilitation agreement. The minister met with representatives of the Cairns Group and other WTO members. The Minister offered that a trade facilitation agreement joined with some deliverables from the Doha agricultural agreement, as well as special and sensitive products, could make a substantial contribution toward the Doha agenda overall goals.

Several countries' trade representatives pointed to concerns of achieving balance with any "early harvest." Some reports indicate that several envoys stressed the importance of a cotton solution as part of any early harvest. Market access issues in special and sensitive products continue to be a major stumbling block.
In a related development, the Group of 20 (G-20) developing countries, an alliance in the WTO, presented two new proposals for the agriculture negotiations. One of the proposals addresses the administration of tariff quotas or, more specifically, how imports within the quotas are shared among importers when duties inside the quotas are lower than on quantities outside. The second proposal focuses on export subsidies and other forms of export competition such as export credit/insurance, state trading enterprises and food aid.

Brazil also indicated that in its view, export competition and cotton subsidies are contenders for areas that could be agreed on ahead of a full agreement.

The US cotton industry will continue to push that any changes to the cotton program must be part of and not in advance of an overall, comprehensive agreement.

NCC Harvest Initiatives Emphasized

The NCC is encouraging ginner participation in two harvest season programs – contamination prevention and bale packaging test programs.

The NCC continues to encourage ginners to make sure round module wraps are properly removed from seed cotton in a manner that prevents any wrap from entering ginning systems and baled cotton. As part of that effort, the NCC is urging ginners to display in prominent locations the NCC posters that were recently distributed to all US gins.

The posters and an earlier bulletin from NCC President/CEO Mark Lange are part of the NCC's efforts to heighten grower and ginner awareness of the need to eliminate contaminants (see 9/14/12 Cotton's Week).

In memos to the NCC Board and to NCC textile manufacturer members, Lange emphasized that NCC staff are working closely with others on these efforts. The gin poster, for example, was a joint project involving the NCC, John Deere, Cotton Incorporated, USDA's Office of Technology Transfer and the National Cotton Ginners Association.

"The NCC and its grower and ginner interest organizations want to hear about contamination

incidents," Lange said in the memo to manufacturers. "If your company has firsthand knowledge of a contamination event, I encourage you to share that information by completing a confidential online 'Cotton Contamination Incident Report' as some spinners have recently done."

That report form can be accessed at www.cotton.org/tech/quality/ctncontamincidentreport.cfm.

Meanwhile, as in previous years, some ginners will have the opportunity to use materials in Joint Cotton Industry Bale Packaging (JCIBPC) experimental test programs (ETP), materials that may not meet current JCIBPC specifications. Ginners are reminded that USDA's Commodity Credit Corp. grants variances for materials in JCIBPC-approved test programs that protect their grower's program eligibility. This year, all ETPs approved by the committee are listed in the Specifications for Bale Packaging Materials and are at www.cotton.org/tech/bale/specs/test-program-review.cfm.

JCIBPC Chairman Stan Creelman reminded his fellow ginners that "the JCIBPC encourages feedback from participating gins, warehouses, shippers, mills and others who expect reliable performance from all approved and experimental packaging materials."

Creelman also urged gins participating in an ETP to provide evaluations of their ETP material they use to the JCIBPC prior to its '13 annual meeting "because the full Committee only meets once each year and that is the only time a firm has the opportunity to ask the JCIBPC for full approval or continued testing of materials and systems in an ETP." The form for reporting bale packaging materials performance, including those in an ETP, is at www.cotton.org/tech/bale/index.cfm.

Conferences Aim to Improve Producers' Bottom Lines

Cotton producers will find an abundance of information aimed at increasing their profitability at the '13 Beltwide Cotton Conferences -- set for Jan. 7-10 at the Marriott Rivercenter/Riverwalk hotels in San Antonio, Texas.

Bill Robertson, the NCC's manager, Agronomy, Soils and Physiology who coordinates the conferences with oversight by the conferences' steering committee, said one of the Cotton Production Conference general session's key presentations will be a market outlook from Allenberg Cotton Company CEO Joe Nicosia. Other general session reports will include an update on key legislation/regulations, including farm bill status; a review of the '12 production season; a discussion of herbicide resistance in Texas; and a presentation on climate trends.

"Weather patterns' impact on crop mix/production decisions is growing in importance, so we plan to have a leading meteorologist discuss climate trends," Robertson said, "and herbicide resistance, unfortunately, still needs attention as pigweed resistance is now suspected in parts of Texas and possibly in Arizona."

The Cotton Production Conference also will offer multiple seminars and workshops that promise to deliver a wealth of information to cotton producers. Among sessions being developed are:

·Comparison of conventional and transgenic cotton production systems;

·Irrigation practices and other tools to improve efficiency;

·Discussion of 2,4-D and dicamba tolerant traits and industry efforts to address tank cleanout, volatility, drift, and importance of marking fields;

·Cotton options workshop that demonstrates the use of innovative marketing strategies, crop insurance and advanced farm and financial management techniques to develop a strong risk management program;

·Social media and a look at its growing use in production agriculture;

·Effective use of fertilizer stabilizers; and

·"New Developments From Industry," including new varieties, new products for pest and disease management, equipment updates, and emerging technologies, including software applications for producers and consultants.

The '13 Beltwide Cotton Conferences opens with the 6^th annual Cotton Consultants Conference, which will focus on weed resistance, irrigation and an insecticide update, including a review of how various insecticides performed during the '12 season. Also included will be the 11 cotton technical conferences and The Cotton Foundation Technical Exhibits.

Housing/registration instructions, a schedule of events, and general information for the '13 Beltwide Cotton Conferences are at www.cotton.org/beltwide.

The NCC coordinates the annual Beltwide Cotton Conferences. The forum brings together those with a stake in a healthy US cotton production sector, including cotton industry members, university and USDA researchers, Extension personnel, consultants, and service providers, to share timely information. Programming is designed to update US cotton producers on new technology, innovative and effective production practices, and key industry issues.

Sales, Shipments Strengthen

Net export sales for the week ending Sept. 27 were 252,800 bales (480-lb). This brings total '12-13 sales to approximately 5.8 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the '11-12 marketing year were approximately 7.2 million bales. Total new crop ('13-14) sales are 202,600 bales.

Shipments for the week were 208,800 bales, bringing total exports to date to 1.5 million bales, compared with the 881,800 bales at the comparable point in the '11-12 marketing year.

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