The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the FY17 Agriculture Appropriations bill. The measure provides $21.25 billion in discretionary funds, a reduction of $250 million below the FY’16 enacted level. During Committee consideration, there were no amendments to reduce funding for farm policy programs or crop insurance, and no changes made to payment limit and eligibility provisions.
The bill includes the NCC-requested level for the Cotton Pests Account ($11.52 million) that funds the boll weevil and pink bollworm eradication programs. The bill also includes an additional $1.5 million to enhance the important research activities at the existing cotton ginning laboratories. The Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development program for export development activities are both fully funded in the bill.
The Committee’s report to accompany the bill includes directive language on several cotton and related provisions, among them: 1) encouraging the Secretary of Agriculture to continue to work with Congress and the industry to find a path forward on providing an adequate safety net for cottonseed and 2) noting the Committee’s concern regarding the impact of the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) animal feed rule's impact on the cotton industry and directing the FDA to work with the industry and provide technical assistance in complying with the rule and any subsequent guidance documents.
No specific timeline has been announced for when the bill will be considered by the full Senate. The House Appropriations Committee passed its version of the bill in April.
EPA Proposes New Sulfoxaflor Label Without Cotton
EPA announced the release of documentation proposing registration of sulfoxaflor (previously recognized by the tradename Transform®) for use on agricultural crops, ornamentals, and turf.
As contained in EPA’s “Proposed Registration Decision for Sulfoxaflor” document, which can be found on the NCC’s website at www.cotton.org/issues/2016/upload/16sulfreg.pdf, the agency notes that “indeterminate blooming crops that had originally been registered (citrus, cotton, cucurbits, soybeans, and strawberry) are not included in this proposed registration.” EPA proposes registration for some crops identified as not attractive to bees, some that are harvested before bloom, and some that are attractive to bees but applications are only made post-bloom.
The EPA document also notes that EPA received the initial registration application from Dow AgroSciences in ’10. After receiving all the data required by EPA regulations for registration of new agricultural insecticides and coordinating with Canada and Australia for registration review, EPA registered the product on May 6, ’13. On July 2, ’13, the Pollinator Stewardship Council and others filed suit against EPA’s registration of sulfoxaflor. On Sept. 10, ’15, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion that the registration was not supported by substantial evidence to demonstrate no unreasonable adverse effect to honey bees resulting from the registration of sulfoxaflor. The court vacated the registration and remanded the issue back to EPA to “obtain further studies and data regarding the effects of sulfoxaflor on bees as required by EPA regulations.”
The NCC is preparing comments in response to EPA’s proposal for a full registration that eliminates use on most agricultural crop acreage. Comments may be submitted by clicking on the “Comment Now” tab at http://1.usa.gov/1qz5jaO.
Earlier this year, a number of cotton states requested Section 18 emergency exemptions from EPA for the use of sulfoxaflor on cotton to control plant bugs during the ’16 growing season. The NCC has submitted comments in support of those Section 18 exemptions. The comments are on the NCC’s website at www.cotton.org/issues/2016/sulcomm.cfm.
Injury/Illness Tracking Rule Published
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) issued a final rule to revise its Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses regulation.
This rule, at http://bit.ly/24P3aKN, will cover certain employers with designated industry NAICS 2 digit prefix codes found in Appendix A of the rule. Covered by the rule are employers with 20 or more employees (including fulltime workers and seasonal/temporary workers). Among those employers covered are farms and gins (NAICS 11), warehousing (NAICS 49), oilseed processing and yarn production (NAICS 31) and raw cotton merchants (NAICS 42).
Reporting requirements will be phased in. The ’16 OSHA 300A data is required to be reported electronically by July 1, ’17 for employers with 20 or more employees. In ’18, employers with 20-250 employees are required to report ’17 OSHA 300A data, while employers with more than 250 employees are required to report OSHA 300, 300A and 301 data by July 1, ’18. All employers subject to the rule must report all required information by March 2, ’19 and by that date going forward.
There is a portion of the rule that goes into effect 90 days from the rule publication date that includes the general reporting requirements and anti-discrimination practices. OSHA is developing the software that will allow for electronic submission. However, OSHA states in the rule that an individual employee’s personal information will not be made available on its website.
In the lengthy preamble to the rule, OSHA advises against incentive programs that may discourage accident reporting. OSHA’s concern is that a bonus based on no reported injuries for a period of time discourages workers from reporting injuries. The rule also states that a policy of drug testing all workers following an injury could be considered discriminatory. However, OSHA does acknowledge that it is prohibited from superseding or affecting workers’ compensation laws in this area.
Pesticide Policy Panel Updated
The Pesticide Policy Dialogue Committee (PPDC), a broadly representative federal advisory committee to EPA, conducted its first bi-yearly meeting in Alexandria, VA, to provide feedback on a variety of issues related to pesticide regulatory development and reform initiatives, public policy, and program implementation. Allen McLaurin, a Laurel Hill, NC, cotton producer, represents the NCC on the Committee.
During the two-day meeting, EPA representatives provided updates on a variety of issues including: the implementation of the Worker Protection Standard, the Science Advisory Panel's meeting on chlorpyrifos, the Endangered Species Act, the pesticide re-evaluation and review process, pollinator protection, the Zika virus, pesticide resistance management, and EPA's international activities. PPDC members had in depth discussions on these issues to determine the primary areas of focus and the Committee's next steps.
Throughout the meeting, Committee members urged the agency to continue to collaborate with stakeholders on each of the issues and reiterated the importance of using science-based data when developing rules and regulations.
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released its in-depth report examining the economic, agronomic, health, safety and other impacts of genetically engineered (GE) crops.
The 400-plus page report, at http://bit.ly/25aFctB, showed no evidence to suggest that foods from GE crops are less safe than non-GE crops. When developing the report, NAS reviewed multiple epidemiological studies from both the United States and Canada and compared those with data from Western Europe.
CAC Credit Card Contributions Initiated
he NCC announced that eligible NCC members and others may now use credit cards to contribute to The Committee for the Advancement of Cotton (CAC). NCC members are urged to spread the word on this new CAC support method and remind contributors that miles and points may be earned using their credit cards to contribute to the CAC.
Those choosing the credit card contribution method can access the CAC credit card form at www.cotton.org/cac/contribute.cfm or from the CAC portal on the NCC’s home page, www.cotton.org and then clicking on contribute. Please note that individual or partnership credit cards (need to identify partners) are required along with a $100 minimum contribution. The credit card form is a secured website regarding credit card information. No corporate credit cards are allowed.
All credit card contributions will be designated to the respective state or segment goal calculation. Contact Craig Brown, NCC’s vice president, Producer Affairs, at the NCC’s office in Cordova, TN, with any questions or for more information about the CAC.
Sourcing Fair Boosts US Cotton Business
Cotton Council International (CCI) hosted its largest global sourcing fair to date in Hong Kong, with VIP participants from the entire cotton supply chain, including yarns, fabrics, garments and brands/retailers. Initial survey results show that participants ordered more than 600 samples during the fair, which could directly lead to US cotton sales. The influential participants have a huge global sales network, and participants in the fair annually purchase 2.4 billion meters of fabric.
CCI recruited 121 companies to attend this two-day blockbuster event, including nine yarn suppliers, 51 fabric suppliers, 36 garment suppliers and 25 brands/retailers. Attendees came from 21 countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Indonesia, India, Japan, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam and the United States.
The fair featured a briefing session and presentations covering the global raw cotton situation, consumer trends and forecasts, and new product developments. CCI also scheduled 2,181 business meetings between participants, who took advantage of additional networking opportunities and conducted many more informal meetings. Post-event surveys show that 80% of respondents anticipate doing business with companies they met at the fair, while 87% said they would participate in a similar event again.
During the event, CCI and Cotton Incorporated also promoted Cotton LEADS™ and signed up 14 new partners in that program.
Sales, Shipments Stay Strong
Net export sales for the week ending on May 12, 2016 were 207,100 bales (480-lb). This brings total ’15-16 sales to approximately 8.7 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the ’14-15 marketing year were approximately 11.0 million bales. Total new crop (’16-17) sales are 1.3 million bales.
Shipments for the week were 252,400 bales, bringing total exports to date to 6.7 million bales, compared with the 8.6 million bales at the comparable point in the ’14-15 marketing year.
