At the end of 2015 and now early into 2016, we saw significant movement on a number of ASA priorities. Here’s a highlight of just some of ASA’s major efforts and accomplishments and ongoing initiatives in recent months. –Stephen Censky, ASA CEO
Congress Passes Tax Extenders, Omnibus – Congress concluded its work in 2015 by passing an omnibus appropriations bill and a package of tax provisions. Both pieces of legislation included items of significant interest and impact to soybean farmers, including repeal of the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) rule which, if not repealed, would have triggered retaliation on U.S. exports by Canada and Mexico; Section 179, which includes extension and modification of increased expensing limitations and treatment of certain real property as section 179 property, and the a two-year extension of the biodiesel tax credit.
Congress Passes Bill Reforming Rail Regulatory Agency – Another item on ASA’s priority list was achieved in mid-December with the House passage of S. 808, the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act which has been signed into law. ASA supported this legislation as a significant step toward improving rail oversight and the ability of rail customers to have disputes addressed more effectively and efficiently.
ASA Supports Roberts Bill to Set GMO Labeling Standard – ASA welcomed legislation introduced in early March by Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, which would establish a national framework for the labeling of foods containing bioengineering. The legislation comes as a result of extensive work between ASA and fellow members of the Coalition for Safe, Affordable Food and Senate leadership, and reflects the urgent need to find a path forward on the GMO issue before a controversial law requiring labeling takes effect in Vermont in July. The effort to communicate soybean farmer priorities regarding GMOs to Capitol Hill was front and center at the annual Commodity Classic in New Orleans, where ASA made it the focal point of its Thursday press conference and throughout the three-day trade show, attendees were invited to send emails and tweets to their Senate offices from a kiosk within the ASA booth. ASA also directed growers to pick up the phone and call their Senate offices via a toll-free number run by the Coalition for Safe and Affordable Food.
ASA Calls on Congress to Pass TPP This Year – The U.S signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in February and formally enabled the Obama Administration to begin the process of writing legislation for Congress to approve the pact later this year. ASA is a leading supporter of the TPP agreement, which represents more than a third of the world’s gross domestic product, and both emerging and major soybean export markets along the Pacific Rim. ASA encouraged Congress to press through election-year rhetoric and get to work on the TPP in 2016. In February, ASA and USSEC submitted comments to the International Trade Commission on the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on U.S. soy.
ASA Highlights Soy-Specific Elements of White House Budget, Pledges Renewed Defense of Crop Insurance –ASA took a hard look at the budget proposal for fiscal year 2017 issued in February from President Barack Obama. The association expressed strong opposition to a proposed $18 billion cut to crop insurance and a lack of funding for infrastructure improvements. ASA noted the budget contains funding for multiple soybean farmer priorities, including increased resources for oversight at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and full funding for the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development program.
Ag Groups Write Congress in Advance of EPA Oversight Hearing – ASA and several farm groups wrote to House Agriculture Committee leaders in advance of the Committee’s oversight hearing on EPA’s policies that affect U.S. agriculture, raising a number of concerns about the agency’s general conduct, including reliance on inaccurate modeling in its broad rulemaking to implement total maximum daily load limits within the Chesapeake Bay watershed; publication of its paper concluding neonicotinoid seed treatments for soybeans “provide negligible overall benefits” and the final clean water rule, which is even broader than the proposed rule, among many others.
ASA and Fellow Farm Groups Press EPA on Enlist Duo Scrutiny – In a letter to EPA at the end of December, ASA worked with a coalition of major farm groups in pressing the agency to withdraw its request to vacate the registration for Dow’s Enlist Duo herbicide, highlighting the urgent need for new modes of action to tackle resistant weeds on farms across the country and how the delays are necessitating more intense weed control practices that complicate environmental management. The 9th Circuit Court subsequently denied EPA’s request to vacate the registration.
ASA: More Work Still Needed on EU Biotech Approvals Timeline – In January, ASA urged the European Commission to continue its work in addressing delays in the approvals timeline for crops grown with new biotechnology traits, saying the delays create a barrier to entry into the market for American soybeans and risk the supply of high quality feed for Europe’s livestock industry. ASA noted the improvements the current Commission has made, and urged them to give final authorization to new biotech events after they have passed through the EU’s long review process.
USACC Annual Celebration and Fly-in – In February, the U.S. Agricultural Coalition for Cuba (USACC) held an annual conference to mark the one year anniversary of the creation of the USACC, which ASA is a founding member of. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack was the keynote speaker and addressed work the USACC has done over the past year and what’s to come in 2016. The event also featured remarks by a number of Members of Congress. ASA participated in a USACC led advocacy day fly-in where members visited congressional office to advocate lifting barriers to trade with Cuba. The USACC recognized a number of bi-partisan bills introduced in both the House and Senate that seek to ease barriers to trade with Cuba.
Soy Growers Express Support for Waterways Funding – ASA and other agricultural groups sent a letter to leaders of the House and Senate appropriations committees in March to express support for a continuation of the strong and growing funding levels for inland waterways infrastructure functions performed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). ASA, several state soybean associations and multiple soybean industry partners signed a letter led by the Waterways Council urging support for the Navigation Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP), which encompasses the planned upgrades to locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi River System.
