The House Agriculture Committee will hold a farm bill listening session next Tuesday in California. But the committee’s first hearing in D.C. is likely to take place after lawmakers return following the week of President’s Day. That’s the word from Chairman Glenn Thompson, who spoke to reporters after the committee’s organizational session Wednesday. He didn’t say what the hearing’s subject would be.
Next week’s listening session will take place at the World Ag Expo in Tulare.
By the way: Thompson didn’t mince words when asked by Agri-Pulse about five hard-line conservatives who are demanding that Congress tighten work requirements for SNAP recipients. “If those folks really wanted to be involved and be influential, maybe they should have signed up for the Agriculture Committee,” Thompson said.
OTA calls for regular updating of organic standards
The Organic Trade Association is calling for Congress to revise the Organic Foods Production Act to require regular review and updating of USDA's organic standards. That proposal is among OTA’s priorities for the new farm bill.
The OFPA was enacted as part of the 1990 farm bill to set the first national standards for organic production of crops and livestock.
“Congress should not only continue to protect the integrity of the USDA organic label but ensure that organic standards continuously improve over time,” said OTA President and CEO Tom Chapman.
OTA wants Congress to strengthen USDA’s enforcement authority against false or misleading organic claims and also is seeking to expand organic market data and increase funding for organic programs, including research and certification assistance.
Bunge, FMC see strong ag outlook in 2023
Major agribusiness companies continue to say they expect commodity markets to remain strong this year. Strong prices typically encourage farmers to maximize production, which is good for everyone from input suppliers to processors.
Grain and oilseed trader Bunge Ltd. is projecting earnings of at least $11 per share, $1.50 more than what it forecast for 2022 a year ago. Bunge CEO Greg Heckman told analysts Wednesday he expects market conditions similar to 2022 due to globally tight crop supplies and strong demand for soybean meal and oil. Heckman also said he expects renewable fuel demand to continue growing.
Crop protection giant FMC Corp., which also reported earnings Wednesday, is expecting its revenue to rise about 6% in 2023 due in part to “robust” commodity prices. “We anticipate a positive market backdrop for 2023 that will support our pricing actions as well as continued healthy demand for FMC’s synthetic and biological product portfolios,” said President and CEO Mark Douglas.
Survey: Consumers back more funding for ag policies
A Purdue University survey finds most consumers support increasing funding for agriculture-related policies, though their preferences differ based on the policy.
Increased funding for agricultural research gets the most support from consumers, with 80% to 85% of the survey’s more than 1,200 respondents in favor. Conservation program funding followed with support from 77% to 82% of respondents.
Take note: Taxing sugar-sweetened beverages and carbon emissions of food producers had the least support from the survey’s respondents. Between 58% and 62% of respondents were favorable to taxing carbon emissions of food producers and between 42% and 51% showed support for taxing sugar-sweetened beverages.
Capitol Hill’s manure test
David Owen, a professor at the University of California College of Law and the only Democratic-chosen witness at a hearing Wednesday on the Biden administration’s “waters of the U.S.” rule, found himself on the defensive when a first-term GOP lawmaker challenged his ag credentials.
Wisconsin Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden asked Owen how recently he had stepped in manure on a small family farm, and how many local government officials and farmers he had spoken to in preparing his testimony.
Owen said he has spoken with growers and regulators on “multiple research projects," though not in preparation for Wednesday's testimony. He said that as a child in Massachusetts his family received deliveries of manure for his mother’s vegetable garden, and that he had stepped in manure more recently than that.
Survey: Consumers back more funding for ag policies
A Purdue University survey finds most consumers support increasing funding for agriculture-related policies, though their preferences differ based on the policy.
Increased funding for agricultural research gets the most support from consumers, with 80% of the survey’s more than 1,200 respondents in favor. Conservation program funding followed with support from 78% of respondents. Some 77% favor increasing support for all farmers.
Take note: Taxing sugar-sweetened beverages and carbon emissions of food producers had the least support from the survey’s respondents. Some 61% are OK with taxing carbon emissions of food producers. Just 40% support taxing sugar-sweetened beverages.
Australian wheat production, exports to hit record highs
Australia is going to be producing and exporting more wheat that it ever has before for the 2022-23 marketing year, according to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
Farmers in Australia are now forecast to produce 38 million metric tons of wheat and ship most of it – about 29.5 million tons – to foreign buyers, according to the FAS report titled Grain: World Markets and Trade.
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As a result of the forecast, FAS expects wheat shipments to increase to China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Cotton consumption drops sharply in Pakistan
Pakistan’s cotton supplies are very low and importers are having problems getting imports thanks to a weak domestic currency and the country’s depleted foreign exchange reserves, FAS says.
Pakistan is now expected to consume just 8.8 million bales of cotton for the 2022-23 marketing year, which would be the lowest level in 20 years. FAS slashed its import forecast for Pakistan by 500,000 bales to just 4.5 million. And domestic production is now seen dropping to 3.9 million bales, the lowest level in 40 years.
He said it. “We're always trying to get people to eat healthy foods and it doesn't get any healthier than fresh fruits and vegetables.” – House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., explaining his rationale for putting specialty crop programs under the same subcommittee responsible for SNAP and other nutrition assistance programs.
Noah Wicks, Bill Tomson and Steve Davies contributed to this report.
CORRECTION: An earlier version mischaracterized the Organic Trade Association's policy on modifying the Organic Foods Production Act. The group wants Congress to require the organic standards to be reviewed and updated regularly.
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