Even in the few short months since we last met in December, we have seen significant movement on several ASA priorities. Here’s a highlight of just some of ASA’s major efforts and accomplishments and ongoing initiatives in those recent months. – Stephen Censky, ASA CEO
U.S. Soy Family Leaders Meet with Chinese Government and Industry on Biotech – The CEOs of ASA, USB and USSEC, along with USSEC Chair Laura Foell are in China this week meeting with Chinese government officials and industry leaders about China’s biotech approval process. China’s biotech approvals process has gone from slow but predictable — taking approximately 28 months — to now taking 40 months or more. The purpose of this trip is to assess current and potential strategies to accomplish this goal. Key points emphasized are that farmers worldwide need access to new seed technologies if they are to meet growing Chinese and world demand for soy in the face of increasing weed and disease pressures.
ASA Defends Domestic Biodiesel, Crop Insurance, Data Privacy, and Advocates TPA and Changes to Food Security Programs in 2015 Resolutions – The 133 delegates of the American Soybean Association voted in February to approve a new set of policy resolutions to guide the organization’s work in Washington and nationwide for the coming year. Part of the association’s annual Commodity Classic, this year’s resolutions process included language defending biodiesel’s role in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), protecting the privacy of farmer data generated by precision agriculture systems, and reinforcing the crucial role of crop insurance as a risk management tool for farmers, among other items.
ASA Welcomes News of Tentative West Coast Ports Labor Deal, Calls on PMA, ILWU to Ratify and Move Forward – The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) reached a tentative deal on a new contract late Friday, according to the Associated Press, that would resume operations at ports along the west coast. The PMA and ILWU had been embroiled in a labor standoff that wrought havoc on the export of soybeans and other agriculture commodities that utilize west coast ports. American Soybean Association (ASA) President Wade Cowan noted the association’s relief at the conflict’s resolution.
ASA Points to Truck Weight Limit Study, Urges Congress to Include Increased Truck Capacity and Efficiency in 2015 Highway Bill – The American Soybean Association (ASA) is touting a research project released yesterday by the Soy Transportation Coalition (STC) that examines the effects of increasing truck weight limits on federal highways. The project, titled, “Heavier Semis: A Good Idea?” was funded by the soybean checkoff and is an update of a 2009 report that looks at the impact of increasing truck weight limits on federal roads and bridges from the current 80,000 lbs., with a five axle configuration to 97,000 lbs., with the addition of a sixth axle. The analysis specifically looked at the impacts on motorist safety, infrastructure wear and tear, and potential cost savings and efficiency gains for agriculture and the U.S. economy.
ASA Calls on European Union to Issue Import Approvals for 13 Biotech Traits Without Further Delay – In a letter sent today to European Health & Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, the American Soybean Association (ASA) and fellow farm groups urged that draft import authorizations for 13 new biotechnology products be considered without further delay by the EU’s College of Commissioners. Import authorizations for 13 new biotechnology products, including soybeans, corn, canola and cotton, are pending, some for well over a year. The ASA and the other groups noted that, while the process for approving new biotech traits had slowed in recent years, it now appears to have come to a “complete stop.”
Soy Growers Welcome Bill to Lift Cuban Embargo – ASA welcomed legislation introduced today by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and backed by a bipartisan group of senators including Sens. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) that would end the United States’ trade embargo with Cuba.
ASA Echoes House Ag Committee Call to Protect Farm Bill from Budget Cuts – Following a letter today from the House Agriculture Committee to House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) urging that the budget panel take into account the sizable savings previously contributed by the farm bill when weighing future cuts under a potential budget reconciliation measure, ASA President Wade Cowan expressed ASA’s full support for the agriculture committee’s request.
ASA Pushes Congress to Take Up and Pass TPA – The American Soybean Association (ASA), as part of a larger coalition of agriculture and food industry organizations, sent a letter this week to members of Congress encouraging them to support the immediate introduction and enactment of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation. ASA has a particularly valuable stake in global trade, as soybeans represent the largest American agricultural export.
ASA Ratchets Up Pressure on Unions, Ports to Resolve West Coast Slowdown – The American Soybean Association (ASA), along with more than 90 fellow farm and food organizations, called on representatives on both sides of the labor dispute impacting operations at five west coast ports to come to the bargaining table and resolve the issue that threatens the supply chain continuity for countless U.S. agricultural commodities. Not only is this dispute causing extreme congestion, delays, and uncertainty, it is costing the agriculture industry millions of dollars for every week that the negotiations and slowdowns drag on.
ASA: Neonicotinoid Seed Treatments Critical for Certain Soybean Operations – In comments submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today, the American Soybean Association (ASA) disagreed with the conclusions of a recent report from EPA that calls into question the efficacy of neonicotinoid seed treatments in soybean operations. In the association’s comments, ASA President and Brownfield, Texas, farmer Wade Cowan pointed out that “…soybean producers use neonicotinoid seed treatments where they are needed and effective, and don’t use them where not.” Cowan also argued that recent research from Mississippi showing approximately 90 percent adoption of neonicotinoid seed treatments signals that the technology does work for farmers in certain areas.
Soy Growers Call on Congress, White House to Unite on Trade, Infrastructure, Rural Development Improvements – The American Soybean Association (ASA) issued its annual response to the president’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, and called on the Obama Administration and members of the House and the Senate to work together on issues vital to soybean farmers, including trade, infrastructure and rural development.
ASA Hails Senate Passage of One-Year Tax Extenders Package, Renews Call for Longer-Term Solution – The Senate passed a one-year extension of multiple tax incentives and credits on Tuesday, including several that have direct impacts on soybean farmers. The American Soybean Association (ASA) welcomed passage of the bill, which would extend the dollar-per-gallon Biodiesel Tax Incentive, as well as the Section 179 expensing provision that farmers and other business owners use when purchasing new equipment and infrastructure, among other items.
