The sign-up period for the '11 crop year Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program opens 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.
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; and 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 plant 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 Farm Service Agency county office or at www.fsa.usda.gov/sure.
Packaging Committee Seeks Input on Bag/Tie Performance
The '12 cotton crop provides the first opportunity for spinners, warehousers, ginners, shippers, marketing coops and other concerned parties to provide feedback on US bale packaging material.
The Form for Reporting Bale Tie and Bag Incidents is the result of a new NCC policy that supports the development and industry-wide use of a comprehensive system that documents bale tie and bag performance.
While the form was designed for currently approved materials, the Joint Cotton Industry Bale Packaging (JCIBPC) staff also is
encouraging gins and others using or receiving materials that are part of a JCIBPC experimental test programs (ETP) to use the form to evaluate the performance of ETP materials as well.
According to JCIBPC staff, most of the report's questions are based on data that is readily available to respondents. Given the intuitive nature of these questions, the anticipated time to complete a report is less than five minutes.
However, if reporting an incident, there are questions that ask for specific knowledge. Some of the information needed to complete the report includes duration (measured in days or weeks) and size (bale count) of the incident. For comparison purposes, the individual submitting a report should distinguish between the incident bales and other bales that were wrapped or tied with similar materials.
Questions or comments about the report should be sent to jcibpc@cotton.org.
Clean Water Act Turns 40
On Oct. 18, '72, Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act amendments which became the cornerstone of what would become known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). Industry and environmentalists alike agree that the CWA has been one of the country's most effective environmental laws. Citing the Cuyahoga River's conflagration in '69 and the Hudson River's subjection to raw sewage and industrial discharge, there seems to be universal agreement that there has been great improvement to US waters through the CWA.
Yet there is discord concerning the need for updates and revisions to the CWA. In part, the CWA is a victim of its own overarching ambitions. It set standards that turned out to be impossible for the country to meet. For instance, in '72, it was written that the discharge of all pollution into navigable waters should be eliminated by '85. Environmentalists contend that the CWA needs to be updated and strengthened, with claims that many kinds of pollution stemming from agriculture, mining, septic systems, storm water runoff, and the timber industry are still largely unregulated and are causing problems such as dead zones, hypoxic waters, and harmful algal blooms in the nation's waters. States and municipalities complain about unfunded mandates and are urging the federal government to invest more heavily in infrastructure.
Agriculture and many other industries are claiming that the EPA is overstepping the bounds and undermining federal-state cooperation set out by the CWA. EPA is being charged with overriding states' rights to establish their own water quality standards in Florida, the Chesapeake Bay and the Mississippi River Basin. A guidance document developed by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers is viewed by many industries as a means to greatly expand the jurisdiction of the CWA beyond the "navigable waters" of the United States. In addition, the CWA permit issuance system for certain pesticide applications, mandated by a court ruling, is seen by agriculture and other industries as duplicative and unnecessary regulation.
Although the CWA's achievements seem universally accepted, the limitations and the means of implementation of this law will be controversial for years to come.
EU Proposes Caps on Food-based Ethanol
The European Commission released a major proposal regarding greenhouse gas emissions and biofuels production using food stocks such as corn and soybeans.
The proposal would require refiners to report emissions associated with indirect land use changes, which typically refer to the clear-cutting of land to expand biofuels production. The proposal also would cap the use of food-based fuels at 5% of current fuel consumption in the European Union for transportation and increase the amount of greenhouse gas emissions savings required for new biofuels production to 60% compared with traditional fossil fuel. According to the commissioners, the proposed legislation's purpose would be to create incentives for the production of second-generation biofuels which would achieve greater emissions reductions than traditional ethanol and not compete with food.
The proposal now will go to the European Parliament and the European Council for approval.
Environmental groups are saying that the proposal takes a step in the right direction but essentially is deficient by not requiring companies to actually do anything to reduce indirect land use changes.
The US ethanol industry also is critical of the proposal, stating that the European Commission is fueling the food versus fuel debate. Ethanol groups also have long objected to the idea that biofuel incentives in the United States are causing indirect land use changes elsewhere. This is because US policy requires EPA to consider land use changes before allowing new feedstock pathways to be included for credit under the renewable fuel standard (RFS).
Some international non-governmental organizations are opposed to US policies such as the RFS because it encourages the production of corn-based ethanol. This year, the federal RFS requires that refiners blend 13.2 billion gallons of corn ethanol into the US fuel supply or purchase fuel credits.
Cotton Promoted at World’s Largest Apparel Exhibition
During the recent Texworld and Première Vision trade shows in Paris, seven companies approached Cotton Council International (CCI) to become COTTON USA licensees, which included five mills from Turkey, a Hong Kong garment manufacturer, and an Indian retailer.
Texworld and Première Vision represent the largest combined exhibition of the world's apparel manufacturers. More than 811 exhibitors from 28 countries were featured at Texworld and 796 exhibitors at Première Vision. Approximately 60,670 visitors from more than 105 countries attended the shows.
CCI and Cotton Incorporated participated through their "Promoting U.S. Cotton" booths, which served as a meeting point for all segments of the cotton industry and offered a comprehensive range of information on US cotton. Their booths focused on sourcing support, the COTTON USA marketing/licensing program, related developments in the field of consumer behavior and the latest fashion trends/technical innovations. COTTON USA staff helped buyers and manufacturers looking for cotton garments and cotton yarn suppliers to identify new business contacts.
International brands and retailers visiting the booths included Adidas, Gerry Weber, JC Penney, Lacoste, Marks & Spencer, Target and Victoria's Secret. In addition, 22 COTTON USA licensee mills from around the world exhibited at Texworld, where Supima also shared a booth with CCI and Cotton Incorporated.
CCI, Cotton Incorporated and Supima also supplied information on US sustainable cotton cultivation as well as global developments in the cotton and apparel sectors. A "Colors and Surface Forecast" presentation by Cotton Incorporated gave visitors the opportunity to learn more about fashion trends for Spring/Summer '14.
Sales, Shipments Steady
Net export sales for the week ending Oct. 11 were 215,200 bales (480-lb). This brings total ’12-13 sales to approximately 6.1 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the ’11-12 marketing year were approximately 7.3 million bales. Total new crop (’13-14) sales are 257,000 bales.
Shipments for the week were 100,800 bales, bringing total exports to date to 1.8 million bales, compared with the 1.1 million bales at the comparable point in the ’11-12 marketing year.
Effective Oct. 19-25, ’12
Adjusted World Price, SLM 11/16
61.41 cents
*
Fine Count Adjustment ('11 Crop)
1.26 cents
Fine Count Adjustment ('12 Crop)
1.46 cents
Coarse Count Adjustment
0.00 cents
Marketing Loan Gain Value
0.00 cents
Import Quotas Open
13
Special Import Quota (480-lb bales)
817,676
ELS Payment Rate
0.00 cents
*No Adjustment Made Under Step I
Five-Day Average
Current 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East
81.66 cents
Forward 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East
NA
Coarse Count CFR Far East
NA
Current US CFR Far East
83.35 cents
Forward US CFR Far East
NA
'12-13 Weighted Marketing-Year Average Farm Price
Year-to-Date (August)
**August-July average price used in determination of counter-cyclical payment
