Agriculture Secretary Vilsack appeared before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee for a hearing to review USDA and the current state of the farm economy. A broad range of issues was brought forward by Committee members, including the declining farm economy, credit and financing issues, implementation of the recently passed biotechnology labeling law, burdens of overregulation, and lack of responsiveness by EPA to agricultural concerns.
Sen. Boozman (R-AR) thanked Secretary Vilsack for his work to implement the Cotton Ginning Cost Share program earlier this year and the important, short-term assistance the program provided to cotton producers. However, Sen. Boozman emphasized that there is still a need to implement a cottonseed program for the industry and Congress continues to believe that USDA has the authority to establish such a program. Sen. Boozman pointed out the impact on the infrastructure of the cotton industry if production continues to decline and that maintaining the gins, warehouses, and other parts of the infrastructure are critical to rural communities and the rural economy in many states.
Sen. Perdue (R-GA) raised the issue of EPA’s continued delay in approving the labels for use of dicamba and 2,4-D on cotton varieties with USDA-approved traits resistant to these herbicides. He stressed the need for Secretary Vilsack to do more communication and collaboration with EPA and other regulatory agencies to ensure agriculture’s needs are being addressed in a timely and science-based manner.
Vilsack noted his recent outreach to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy on this specific issue and others, explaining that USDA’s role is to explain to the agencies with jurisdiction over these issues the impacts to agriculture and farmers of the agency’s inaction and delay.
EPA, Corps Challenged on WOTUS
Sen. Inhofe (R-OK), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, released “From Preventing Pollution of Navigable and Interstate Waters to Regulating Farm Fields, Puddles and Dry Land: A Senate Report on the Expansion of Jurisdiction Claimed by the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act.”
This EPW Committee report releases findings from the majority staff’s investigation into how the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) are interpreting and implementing the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule under the Clean Water Act.
In the report, Sen. Inhofe says both agencies are “running rogue” and that EPA now is trying to enforce the rule against farms and other businesses despite a hold on the rule placed by the courts. The report points out that under the vague and broadening jurisdiction claimed by the agencies under WOTUS, farmers will not be able to rely on previous exemptions that have allowed for practices such as plowing or crop rotation, both of which are now apparently being regulated under WOTUS.
Sen. Inhofe called for Democrats and Republicans to work together to fix the issue and delivered the report to EPA and the Corps as well as 11 Senate Democrats who previously had attempted to address this issue with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.
Hearing Focuses On Consolidation
Sen. Grassley (R-IA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired a hearing on “Consolidation and Competition in the U.S. Seed and Agrochemical Industry.”
The hearing focused on the pending mergers of Dupont and Dow AgroSciences; Syngenta and ChemChina as well as Bayer and Monsanto. Witnesses included representatives from Dupont, Dow AgroSciences, Syngenta, Bayer and Monsanto. In addition, hearing participants included representatives from the American Antitrust Institute, American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Corn Growers Association and the National Farmers Union.
Some witnesses expressed concern that the merged companies would own too much market share of some commodity seed markets, including cottonseed, and the possibility that the mergers will lead to less competition and higher prices to farmers. The companies explained that these mergers are needed, in many cases provide little overlap and complement each other from a business perspective, and will improve farmers’ profitability.
Ultimately, the decision on whether these mergers will be approved and if any divestitures are required in order to be approved lies with the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.
Improved Decision-Making Is "Beltwide" Goal
Those planning to attend the 2017 Beltwide Cotton Conferences (BWCC), set for January 4-6 at the Hyatt Regency Dallas Hotel in Dallas, TX, now can register and make hotel reservations. Information regarding those arrangements is on the BWCC website at www.cotton.org/beltwide/. That site also includes the preliminary online program and general information about the BWCC.
Registration costs before December 16 for the NCC-coordinated forum are: $200 for NCC/Cotton Foundation members, university and USDA researchers, Extension personnel, associations and consultants; $400 for non-NCC/Foundation members; and $80 for students.
On-site conference self-registration kiosks will be available 24 hours a day beginning on the evening of January 3. Beginning on the morning of January 4, NCC staff will be available for attendees needing assistance with registration and name badge printing.
The 2017 BWCC will begin at noon on January 4 with a luncheon available to all registered BWCC attendees followed by a half-day Cotton Consultants Conference that will focus on topics of interest selected by a panel of consultants. Also covered in the consultants’ conference will be new developments from industry, including reports on new varieties, chemistries and emerging technologies. All registered attendees may attend the consultants’ conference.
The call for papers that was sent to previous BWCC attendees in August already has generated responses from a number of potential presenters. Those interested in making a presentation at the BWCC have until October 16 to submit either an oral or poster presentation request.
For 2017, the cotton agronomy, physiology, and soil groups have combined their resources and are holding one conference with multiple sessions. Some topics of interest submitted for this conference are a highly comprehensive simulation model of cotton physiology, nitrogen management for subsurface drip-irrigated cotton, and quality/yield evaluation trials across the Cotton Belt. Weed management strategies will again be covered, and entomologists will provide updates on the latest research with regard to several classes of insecticides.
The cotton technical conferences, ranging from agronomy to weed science, will meet concurrently beginning on the morning of January 5 and conclude by noon on January 6.
The Beltwide Cotton Conferences annually brings together those with a stake in a healthy U.S. cotton production sector, university and USDA researchers, Extension personnel/agents, consultants, and industry sales/support personnel.
Japan Promotion Sales Increase
Thirteen COTTON USA licensed brands and retailers generated $11.2 million in sales of U.S. cotton-rich products during a three-month retail promotion with COTTON USA in Japan. From March to June 2016, the participating COTTON USA licensees sold 2.26 million U.S. cotton-rich products, double the amount as compared to the same period in 2015. U.S. cotton consumption by brands and retailers also increased by 57% from spring 2015 to spring 2016 to reach 1,268 bales with an estimated value of about $507,000.
COTTON USA promoted U.S. cotton-rich products, ranging from T-shirts and denim to towels and bed linens, in 3,700 stores in Japan. COTTON USA announced the promotion through newspaper advertising and point-of-sale materials at retail stores.
The promotion’s participating COTTON USA licensees included: Eddie Bauer Japan, GSM Japan, Ito Yokado, Egoist and Zaza Horaya (retailers); and Anrealage, Be Good Company, Edwin, Gunze, Kinno Towel, Nishikawa Sangyo, Ono Iryo and Rubber Soul (brands).
Sales Strong, Shipments Steady
Net export sales for the week ending on September 15 were 220,600 bales (480-lb). This brings total 2016-17 sales to approximately 5.4 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the 2015-16 marketing year were approximately 3.2 million bales. Total new crop (2017-18) sales are 429,000 bales.
Shipments for the week were 170,700 bales, bringing total exports to date to 1.3 million bales, compared with the 849,200 bales at the comparable point in the 2015-16 marketing year.
