CEO Update: We finally got a farm bill! After three-plus years of work, the Agricultural Act of 2014 finally was completed. But getting it passed is not the end of our effort. ASA is now working with USDA to get its provisions implemented in a timely, fair manner. Even with the farm bill completed, there are a multitude of other policy efforts that ASA is pursuing for soybean farmers, ranging from increasing biodiesel RFS volumes; expanding trade opportunities; speeding biotechnology approvals in the U.S., China, and EU; and fighting regulations that would hurt soybean farmers. Here’s a highlight of just some of our major efforts and accomplishments in recent months. Stephen Censky, ASA CEO
Farm Bill Reported Finally Heading Toward Completion – The four principals involved in the farm bill conference (House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Collin Peterson and Senate Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow and Ranking Member Thad Cochran) were able to reach agreement on a draft framework for Title 1 commodity programs on December 4. Further progress in finalizing the legislation was delayed when the analyst with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) responsible for “scoring” Title 1 was stranded in New Jersey due to a snow storm early this week. However, press reports now suggest that the analysis has been completed, and Chairman Lucas stated that the cost is “on the money.” The four principals are meeting again today, and announcement of at least some of the details could come before the weekend.
Based on reports, Title 1 would be structured similarly to the House bill, with producers required to choose between a Price Loss Coverage (PLC) option and an Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or revenue loss option for the five years of the bill (covering the 2014 through 2018 crops). The PLC program would include reference prices close to the House levels as well. A significant difference from both bills, however, would be that payments under both the PLC and ARC programs would be based on either a farm’s historical acreage bases or on updated bases, using average plantings during the last five years (2009-2013). Payments under both programs in both the House and Senate bills had been tied to crops planted in the current year. ASA has strongly supported keeping payments “decoupled” from current plantings in order to reduce the risks of skewing planting decisions and of adverse trade decisions by the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Other issues requiring resolution include the amount by which the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as food stamps is cut, with expectations that the reduction will be around $8.8 billion over ten years compared to $4 billion in the Senate bill and $39 billion in the House bill. Conferees are also likely to vote on whether to modify Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements and whether to adopt a provision included in the House bill by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) to preempt state laws that set standards for agricultural products in interstate commerce.
The principals are expected to meet again next week to address these and other outstanding issues. Then their staffs and Congressional lawyers will work over the Holidays to put the agreement in final legislative form. The full Conference of 41 House and Senate Members will likely meet after Congress returns to Washington on January 7 to vote on these and perhaps other remaining items and on the Conference Report itself. The bill will then go to the Senate and House floors for final passage, probably during the week of January 13.
ASA and state affiliates have worked hard on this legislation for a very long three years, and we all very much hope that Congress will overcome any hurdles which may remain and finally get this farm bill done by mid to late January.
Efforts Underway to Generate Comments on EPA’s Biodiesel RFS Levels for 2014 and 2015 – ASA will be launching a comprehensive plan to generate comments from soybean farmers on the EPA’s proposed biodiesel RFS volume levels. We will get an update out to states and the board later today that outlines the game plan. Last week ASA Director and ASA representative to NBB Mike Cunningham testified at the EPA hearing. Our focus since the hearing and ASA Board meeting last week has been on reaching out to state affiliates and individual House Members about signing the House letter to the Administration in support of higher RFS levels for biodiesel. Thus far there are 45 House members who have agreed to sign the letter, as shown below. If you don’t see your state’s Members of Congress on this list, please call your House members again today to urge them to sign the letter. The letter and talk points to use can be found at https://soygrowers.com/growers-voice-still-needed-refueltherfs/
Tom Latham (R-IA) Mike McIntyre (D-NC) Steve King (R-IA) Bruce Braley (D-IA) Dave Loebsack (D-IA) Collin Peterson (D-MN) Betty McCollum (D-MN) Rodney Davis (R-IL) Rick Nolan (D-MN) Bob Gibbs (R-OH) Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) David Cicilline (D-RI) Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) Jared Huffman (D-CA) Diana DeGette (D-CO) Cheri Bustos (D-IL) Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) Adam Smith (D-WA) Susan Davis (D-CA) Tim Walz (D-MN) Howard Coble (R-NC) Rick Larsen (D-WA) James Langevin (D-RI) Vicky Hartzler R-MO) Chellie Pingree (D-ME) Mark Pocan (D-WI) Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH) Juan Vargas (D-CA) Patrick E. Murphy (D-FL) Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) Bill Owens (D-NY) Derek Kilmer (D-WA) John Larson (D-CT) G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) Bill Enyart (D-IL) Sam Graves (R-MO) Michael Michaud (D-ME) Suzan DelBene (D-WA) Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) Kristi Noem (R-SD) Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) Rosa DeLauro (CT) Jason Smith (R-MO) Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) Aaron Schock (R-IL) Positive Action by USDA on Use of Carryover MAP Funds – Because the FMD and MAP programs have not been reauthorized under a new farm bill, ASA and other cooperators have not received and will not receive any new allocations of funds until the programs are reauthorized. However, ASA urged USDA to allow cooperators to utilize any carry-over funds for new marketing year activities, to pay overseas staff and consultants, etc. Today ASA received notification from FAS authorizing the expenditure of such MAP carryover funds. This is the same spending solution that the Department arrived at last year under the same circumstances, and is the same flexibility that has been accorded for carryover FMD funds. Again, while this action does not provide any new funding (which can only come when MAP and FMD are reauthorized by a new farm bill or extension of the current one), it does give WISHH and USSEC the flexibility to use previously allocated funds for FY14 activities.
GMO Labeling – ASA is continuing to work with the Grocery Manufacturers Association and others as part of the steering committee for the Coalition for Safe, Affordable Food on Federal legislation that would establish VOLUNTARY standards for labeling whether foods do or do not contain GMOs, and that would prevent states from enacting labeling plans inconsistent with the Federal voluntary standard. Consensus has been reached among coalition members on the provisions for the draft legislation that has been submitted to House Energy and Commerce Committee members and staff for review and discussion. We are shooting for potential introduction of a bill in early January. The hope is that by having Federal legislation introduced in early January, this can be an additional point to be used by state affiliates and Coalition partners in arguing against state legislative or ballot initiatives.
China Biotech Approval Delays – Steve Wellman participated for ASA, along with members of the grain trade and corn growers, in a meeting yesterday with Secretary Vilsack to re-emphasize the need for the Administration to help address China’s biotech approval delays when he travels to China next week. There are a number of soybean biotech events that will be commercialized in the United States that are waiting for Chinese approvals (including one that has been under review for 6 years!). Additionally, U.S. corn shipments to China have been disrupted by the presence of a biotech corn event that has been waiting for Chinese final approval for over a year. The Secretary understands the importance of this issue and plans to address it during his meetings in China and upcoming U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade meeting.
Another Meeting with USDA on Meeting Timeliness on Biotech Crop Decisions – As a follow-up to the meeting we had with USDA on November 4, ASA and other grower groups along with BIO will be meeting with USDA officials on Monday, December 16 to present specific suggestions on actions USDA can take speed its processes so that it is able to meet is timelines for issuing decisions on the deregulation of biotech crops. Richard Wilkins, Steve Wellman, John Gordley, and I will be attending for ASA. While USDA is supposed to be making such decisions within 13-15 months, USDA currently is missing its deadlines by six months to two years or more. Brazil, Argentina, and Canada all are approving traits faster than the United States, which has negative implications for U.S. growers in terms of access to and development of new technologies in the U.S. marketplace.
U.S. Biotech Crops Alliance (USBCA) Plenary – ASA also will be helping to lead the U.S. Biotech Crops Alliance plenary meeting in Washington, D.C. next week. The USBCA includes the original 6 organizations that signed the MOU on biotech communication (ASA, NCGA, NAEGA, NGFA, BIO, and ASTA) plus 5 others that have subsequently joined, including USSEC. At this meeting we will be discussing continuing implementation of recommendations developed by the USBCA international and domestic work groups. We’ve also invited other organizations that have a current or future shared interest in addressing international and domestic barriers to biotech crop marketability to attend the plenary and join. Such groups include organizations representing the cotton, canola, barley, wheat, rice, alfalfa, and sugarbeet growers and industries.
New ASA Executive Committee Planning Meeting – The newly-elected ASA Executive Committee, Bill Schuermann, and I spent most of this week up in chilly Des Moines doing planning for the year ahead. We spent one day of meetings at President Ray Gaesser and Elaine’s home and farm nearing Corning, which was a treat for everyone. We’ll be sharing with you a summary of the meeting in the near future.
ASA is extremely pleased that numerous ASA-championed provisions were included in the 2014 Farm Bill. ASA worked for more than three years to ensure that the bill represents the best interests of soybean farmers, and the final product does this by strengthening crop insurance programs, streamlining conservation, strengthening the safety net and investing in key programs in the areas of trade promotion, research and renewables. The bill includes a choice between a revenue or price-based safety net program. The bill also maintains decoupled farm support programs that will minimize the possibility of planting and production distortions that could trigger new challenges from the World Trade Organization.
ASA, Members Urge EPA to Maintain Biodiesel’s Progress in Renewable Fuel Standard – ASA, ASA directors, and nearly 1000 ASA members submitted comments to EPA on its proposed rule to set the 2014 and 2015 biomass-based diesel Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) at 1.28 billion gallons. The number is significantly less than the 1.8 billion gallons the biodiesel industry produced in 2013, and well below the level of at least 1.7 billion gallons that ASA and the biodiesel industry are recommending to EPA. “The Biomass-based Diesel and total Advanced Biofuels levels set forth in the proposal are unnecessarily low and will stifle the growth and job creation potential demonstrated by the biodiesel industry over the past several years,” said ASA Director Cunningham in testimony to the EPA.
ASA Supports Biodiesel Tax Incentive Bill – ASA issued its support in February for a bill introduced by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) that would extend the expired biodiesel tax incentive for three years. The bill would extend the tax incentive through 2017, while also changing it from a blenders’ incentive to one taken by biodiesel producers. Enactment would be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2014. As has occurred in the past, it is likely that any extension of the biodiesel incentive would be passed as part of a larger package of tax incentives affecting a variety of industries, not as stand-alone legislation.
ASA Restates Priorities and Concerns For Pacific-Rim Trade Deal – Soybeans are the nation’s most important farm export, and ASA is committed to further opening markets around the globe for soybean farmers and our livestock customers. In February prior to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Ministerial in Singapore, ASA reiterated the association’s key priorities for the discussions, as well as significant market access concerns that ASA has regarding the ongoing negotiations with Japan, Canada, and other Pacific-Rim nations. ASA maintains concerns with Japan’s request for special protections for numerous agricultural commodities including meat and certain grain commodities. Such exceptions would weaken the TPP agreement and hamper the development of agreements with new partners in the future.
Coalition for Safe, Affordable Food Launched – ASA is a founding member of the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food, convened to advocate for a federal solution that would a patchwork of state GMO labeling laws by establishing voluntary Federal standards for the labeling of food products made with GMOs.
ASA to FDA: Revise Proposal to Ban Partially Hydrogenated Oils – In a submission to the Food and Drug Administration on March 7, ASA urged the FDA not to rescind the generally regarded as safe (GRAS) status for partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) as a way to further reduce trans fat consumption. Instead, ASA encouraged the agency to take into account the time needed to ramp-up domestic high oleic soybean oil production; and urged FDA to pursue alternative strategies that have already aided in the dramatic reductions in trans fat consumption over the last decade. ASA also registered serious concerns that FDA’s proposal would have the unintended consequence of raising saturated fat consumption as a result of manufacturers opting to substitute higher saturated fat palm oil for PHOs as it waits for high oleic soybean production capacity to catch up with current demand. Soybean farmer incomes would be reduced by $1.6 billion annually as a result of an immediate switch from soybean oil to higher saturated fat palm oil.
ASA Weighs in With Conferees on Waterways Infrastructure Bill – The Conference Committee on the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) is still underway and ASA is hopeful that a bill can be concluded early in 2014. The WRDA establishes policies and funding mechanisms for waterways infrastructure, including locks and dams, dredging, and port maintenance activities. In December, ASA signed on to two letters to House and Senate conferees expressing support for a final agreement that includes several important provisions that are priorities for ASA and other stakeholders, and has been press conferees on ASA priorities.
ASA Urges Timely Approvals of Biotech Soybeans on EU Mission – ASA Director Kevin Scott took part in an ASA Biotech Working Group outreach mission to the EU in February to press for timely approvals of biotech soybean events and in particular the high oleic soybean traits currently going through the EU’s approval system. Scott was joined on the mission by fellow USSEC Director and USB Director Jimmy Sneed. The mission began in Brussels where the team had 17 meetings in less than two days, with a number of government representatives from EU member states; European Commission officials from the departments which cover Trade, Consumers & Health and Agriculture as well as industry representatives from the feed, biotech and trader sectors, and USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service office in Brussels.
ASA: Current Coexistence Efforts are Working – In comments submitted to USDA in March, ASA urged the agency to take both a practical and a scientific approach to enhancing agricultural coexistence, and to consider the already extensive work on coexistence underway in the industry. ASA reinforced its position that “there is no real evidence that current efforts to achieve coexistence between neighboring producers are not working” and pointed to absence of any data that shows contamination between IP, conventional and organic farming has occurred or is a significant problem warranting additional steps beyond enhanced communication and education.
Beans Win Big in Appropriations Bill – ASA welcomed action by the House in February to advance the FY2014 Omnibus Appropriations Bill. The bill combines all 12 appropriations bills for various spending categories—including Agriculture, Energy & Water and other areas that impact soybean farmers—into one measure, and allocates funding for programs within each. Several of these programs represent significant policy priorities for soybean farmers, including those addressing waterways infrastructure, agricultural research, food aid and oilseed market reports.
2014 Commodity Classic Breaks All Records – With more than 7,300 total attendees, the 2014 Commodity Classic convention and trade show in San Antonio shattered previous records for the landmark event. Total attendance was 7,325, representing an 18 percent increase over last year’s record-breaking number of 6,214. Other records broken were the number of growers, at 3,874, a 16.5 percent increase over 2013’s record-breaking number of 3,324; and the number of first-time attendees, at 1,261.
