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July 18, 2018
 

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PAST ISSUES/ARCHIVES
 
Cotton's Week: March 22, 2024
Cotton's Week: March 15, 2024
Cotton's Week: March 8, 2024
Cotton's Week: March 1, 2024
 
 


 
Bill Seeks to Halt EPA's Water Rule

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee agreed by a voice vote to report out legislation that would prohibit the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) from "developing, finalizing, adopting, implementing, applying, administering or enforcing" the proposed waters of the US rule or any guidance that attempts to clarify the scope of the Clean Water Act (CWA).

According to the bill's sponsor, Rep. Southerland (R-FL), the Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act (H.R. 5078) will preserve the successful federal-state partnership under the CWA that has regulated US waters for more than 40 years.

H.R. 5078 would prohibit EPA and the Corps from moving forward with its controversial proposed rule to define the scope of the CWA. Instead, the bill would require the agencies to write a proposed rule jointly with state and local officials based on consensus recommendations, which would be subject to public review.

The bill also mandates the agencies to withdraw the interpretive rule which lists farming practices that are exempted from certain CWA permitting requirements. The NCC and other agricultural groups believe that this list actually restricts the exemptions for normal farming practices already included in the law. (see July 3 Cotton's Week)

 
NCC Supporting California Water Legislation

In letters to several members of California's congressional delegation, the NCC urged the House and Senate to work to resolve the differences between S. 2198 and H.R. 3964 and work together in the remaining days of the 113th Congress to approve comprehensive drought relief legislation.

The NCC letters reference a list of recommendations, which were developed by a group of California grower and water district interests to help resolve differences in the two bills. The recommendations are presented in a letter, on the NCC's website at www.cotton.org/issues/2014/upload/14cadroughtlet.pdf, which was sent from the California grower and water district interests to California's congressional delegation.

The NCC letters, on the NCC's website at www.cotton.org/issues/2014/boxlet.cfm, emphasized the cotton industry's support for the recommendations and urged "their inclusion in legislation that can be presented to the House and Senate for approval and sent to the President for his signature in the near future."

 
County Committees Nomination Deadline Near

USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Juan Garcia reminds farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers that Aug. 1, '14, is the deadline for local FSA county committee nominations. County committees are an important link between the farm community and USDA. Farmers and ranchers elected to local committees share their opinions and ideas on federal farm programs.

"There's still time for eligible farmers and ranchers to get involved in this year's county committee elections," Garcia said. "Nominate yourself or a candidate of your choice to serve on the local county committee. I especially encourage the nomination of beginning farmers and ranchers, as well as women and minorities. This is your opportunity to have a say in how federal programs are delivered in your county."

While FSA county committees do not approve or deny farm ownership or operating loans, they work closely with county executive directors and make decisions on disaster and conservation programs, emergency programs, commodity price support loan programs and other agricultural issues.

Members serve three-year terms. Nationwide, there are about 7,800 farmers and ranchers serving on FSA county committees. Committees consist of three to 11 members that are elected by eligible producers. To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee, a person must participate or cooperate in a program administered by FSA, be eligible to vote in a county committee election and reside in the local administrative area where the person is nominated.

To become a candidate, an eligible individual must sign the nomination form, FSA-669A. The form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available at www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. Forms for the '14 election must be postmarked or received in the local USDA Service Center by close of business on Aug. 1, '14. Ballots will be mailed to eligible voters by Nov. 3 and are due back to the local USDA Service Centers on Dec. 1. The newly elected county committee members will take office on Jan. 1, '15.

 
'14 PEP Participants Complete Training

Participants in the '14 Policy Education Program (PEP) completed their training during sessions in Greensboro, NC, and Washington, DC. The group included: Jacob Appleberry and A.J. Hood, both from Tillar, AR; Bryan Baker, Sudan, TX; Brandon Belch, Conway, NC; Jayme Dunn, Satana, KS; Scott Flowers, Clarksdale, MS; Philip Marek, Wharton, TX; Nick Marshall, Baker, FL; Lance Miller, Boaz, AL; Steve Olson, Plainview, TX; Glenn Sapp, Sale City, GA; Chase Schuchard, Roscoe, TX; and Martin Stoerner, Lockney, TX.

The PEP is now is in its 16th year of giving US cotton producers an opportunity to learn more about the NCC's policy development/implementation process and the issues affecting the industry. Some 200 NCC producer members have participated in the PEP, which is supported by Syngenta Crop Protection through a grant to The Cotton Foundation.

While in Greensboro, the group received communications training, met with Syngenta's management team and toured the company's research facilities. In Washington, they visited with the House and Senate agriculture committees' staff, met with USDA and EPA officials and were briefed on key industry issues by NCC Washington operations staff.

The first '14 PEP session enabled the NCC producer members to attend the NCC's Annual Meeting in February. They saw representatives from the seven US cotton industry segments in the 17 Cotton Belt states formulate and implement NCC policy and resolutions.

 
Academies Announce Biotech Committee

The National Research Council (NRC), part of the National Academies of Science, has proposed committee membership for its new study, "Genetically Engineered Crops: Past Experience and Future Prospects."The committee, drawn from submitted nominations, was selected to encompass the full range of expertise and experience needed to address the study's statement of task.

The study will provide an independent, objective examination of what has been learned, based on current evidence, since the biotech crops' introduction. The study will assess whether initial concerns and promises were realized and will investigate new concerns and recent claims. The committee will produce a consensus report with findings and recommendations that will be available to the public upon its release, after undergoing a rigorous external peer-review process.

The study's initial meeting will be Sept. 15-17, '14 in Washington, DC, with an expected completion date of early '16. Committee Membership is at http://nas-sites.org/ge-crops/category/committee.

 
Supply Chain Sustainability Program Launched

Field to Market®, the Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, announced the launch of a new agricultural supply chain program for US commodity crops. The Field to Market metrics and benchmarks developed through a multi-stakeholder process over the past several years will now become an important platform for measuring, promoting and reporting on continuous improvement in corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, potatoes and other crops related to seven sustainability indicators: land use, soil conservation, soil carbon, irrigated water use, water quality, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

The new program, which was approved at the organization's recent biannual board meeting in Fayetteville, AR, will focus on benchmarking current sustainability outcomes, catalyzing continuous improvement at the field and landscape level, and enabling supply chain sourcing claims.

"The announcement signals a major commitment among members to address supply chain sustainability in a manner that is transparent, grounded in science, focused on outcomes and open to a full range of technology choices while considering productivity, environmental quality and human well-being," Field to Market President Rod Snyder said.

Field to Market's new program framework comes with the support and participation of some prominent food and agriculture sector members. Field to Market membership includes: Agrium US, Inc.; American Crystal Sugar Co.; American Farm Bureau Federation; American Soybean Assoc.; Archer Daniels Midland Co.; Bayer CropScience; BASF; Biotechnology Industry Organization; Bunge; Cargill; CHS, Inc.; Conservation Technology Information Center; Cotton Incorporated; CropLife America; CropLife International; Dow AgroSciences; Ducks Unlimited; DuPont Pioneer; Environmental Defense Fund; Fleishman Hillard; General Mills; Indiana Soybean Alliance; Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy; International Plant Nutrition Institute; John Deere; Kellogg Co.; Land O'Lakes, Inc.; McDonald's Corp.; Monsanto Co.; National Assoc. of Conservation Districts; National Assoc. of Wheat Growers; National Corn Growers Assoc.; the NCC; National Potato Council; North Carolina State U.; Penton Media; Procter & Gamble; Syngenta Corp.; The Coca-Cola Co.; The Fertilizer Institute; The Freshwater Trust; The Mosaic Co.; The Nature Conservancy; Thompson Coburn LLP; Unilever; United Soybean Board; U. of Arkansas Division of Agriculture; U. of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences; US Soybean Export Council; USA Rice Federation; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Walmart; World Resources Institute; and World Wildlife Fund – US.

"Over the next 40 years, the world is facing an unprecedented challenge to produce crops to provide for 9 billion people within the natural limits of our planet," Snyder said. "The nature of this challenge requires an unusual level of transparency and collaboration, and today's announcement is a pivotal step in achieving this vision at a necessary scale."

Field to Market®, the Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, brings together a diverse group of grower organizations, agribusinesses, food, fiber, restaurant and retail companies, conservation groups, universities and agency partners to focus on promoting, defining and measuring the sustainability of food, fiber and fuel production. More information is at www.fieldtomarket.org and follow on Twitter @FieldToMarket.

 
S. America Seminars Target Textile Mills

COTTON USA seminars in Lima, Peru, and Medellin, Colombia, were aimed at providing technical tools to improve the quality performance of knit cotton fabrics, while emphasizing the use of US cotton. Cotton Incorporated also shared its expertise with participating mills at the seminars.

Sixty-two of the main vertical knitting textile mills in Peru and Colombia participated in the seminars. The 132 participants exchanged ideas with Cotton Incorporated representatives, who shared their expertise on hot topics ranging from shopper's demands, market trends, fabric dimensional stability control and improved fabric appearance properties.

Among the Peruvian companies in attendance were: Algodonera Peruana S.A.C., Compañía Industrial Romosa S.A.C., Cotton Knit S.A.C., Creditex S.A., Fábrica de Tejidos Algodonera Limeña S.A. – Algolimsa, Filasur C.A., Franky y Ricky S.A., Industria Textil del Pacifico S.A., Tejidos Jorgito S.R.L. and Textil del Valle S.A.

Participating Colombian companies included: C.I. Creytex S.A., C.I. El Globo S.A., C.I. Integrated Apparel Solutions S.A., Colombiana de Hilados Ltd., Crystal S.A.S., Leonisa S.A., Protela S.A., Tejilar S.A., Textiles del Cauca S.A. and Textiles Fabricato S.A.

This event is another example of how COTTON USA and Cotton Incorporated have shared their unique strengths, high quality services, common vision, knowledge of the markets and professional skills to promote and assure the presence of US cotton fiber along the textile supply chain, maximizing long-term relationships with key accounts.

 
Sales, Shipments Lag

Net export sales for the week ending on July 10 were 21,900 bales (480-lb). This brings total '13-14 sales to approximately 11.1 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the '12-13 marketing year were approximately 14.0 million bales. Total new crop ('14-15) sales are 3.1 million bales.

Shipments for the week were 89,200 bales, bringing total exports to date to 10.2 million bales, compared with the 12.7 million bales at the comparable point in the '12-13 marketing year. With less than a month remaining in the marketing year, weekly shipments must average roughly 105,000 bales to reach the USDA projection of 10.5 million bales.

 

 
Effective July 18-24, ’14

Adjusted World Price, SLM 11/16

 62.06 cents

*

Fine Count Adjustment ('13 Crop)

0.00 cents


Fine Count Adjustment ('14 Crop)

 0.00 cents


Coarse Count Adjustment

  0.00 cents


Marketing Loan Gain Value

 0.00 cents


Import Quotas Open

13

 
Special Import Quota (480-lb bales)

889,395


ELS Payment Rate

0.00 cents


*No Adjustment Made Under Step I

 
Five-Day Average

Current 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East

81.90 cents


Forward 5 Lowest 3135 CFR Far East

74.38 cents


Coarse Count CFR Far East

NA


Current US CFR Far East

86.30 cents


Forward US CFR Far East

78.15 cents


 

'13-14 Weighted Marketing-Year Average Farm Price  
Year-to-Date (Aug.-May)

76.95  cents

**


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