Senate Ag Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow’s proposal for expanding buy-up insurance coverage has emerged as a new sticking point in conversations around the next farm bill. Stabenow’s idea, which she reiterated in a letter to colleagues last week, is to offer farmers a version of the STAX insurance policy that’s now restricted to cotton growers.
With STAX, farmers can insure 75% to 90% of their county’s expected cotton revenue, with the government picking up 80% of the premium. However, those producers can’t enroll cotton base in Agriculture Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage, and that’s where the proposal has come under fire from Republicans.
The proposal has “created a lot of discussion,” the top Republican on Senate Ag, John Boozman of Arkansas, told Agri-Pulse Thursday. “My staff is talking to her staff about it. We're asking the commodity groups what they think about it” and also consulting outside economists.
One of the Republicans uncomfortable with the Stabenow idea is Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican who says on this week’s Agri-Pulse Newsmakers the proposal is “terribly, terribly troubling to me.”
“It seemingly is suggesting that there has to be a choice between Title One of the farm bill and receiving benefits under crop insurance. Those two things should not be mutually exclusive,” Moran says.
This week’s Newsmakers will be available today at Agri-Pulse.com.
Take note: Moran says it’s not clear the tax package the House is expected to take up next week can pass the Senate. “I’m not so sure there’s any significant enthusiasm in the Senate,” Moran says, noting that the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, Idaho Republican Mike Crapo, wasn’t included in negotiations over the bill.
The measure would increase limits on the Section 179 expensing provision, temporarily restore 100% bonus depreciation and expand the child tax credit.
Ag atop US-Kenya negotiation list
The U.S. Trade Representative is preparing for another round of dialogue with Kenya under the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership between the two countries.
Negotiators for the two countries last met in October in Washington. The third round of talks is scheduled to begin Monday in Nairobi; the U.S. delegation will be led by Assistant USTR Constance Hamilton. On the agenda: agriculture, regulatory practices and workers’ rights and protections.
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The U.S. has long viewed Kenya as a key partner in the goal of opening trade in Africa. Before the Biden administration announced the STIP in July 2022, the Trump administration began negotiations toward a free-trade agreement with Kenya in February 2020.
USDA: Dairy, grain products leading grocery cost decline
USDA economists are sticking with their forecast for supermarket prices to decline this year, despite higher costs for beef and pork. USDA is forecasting that the cost of eating at home will decline 0.4% this year after increases of 4.5% in 2021, 11.4% in 2022, and 5% last year.
The cost of cereals and bakery products is expected to decline 1.1% in 2024, while prices for dairy products will slip 0.7%, according to USDA’s monthly Food Price Outlook. Prices for fruits and vegetables are expected to be flat.
The price of pork is expected to jump 5.8% this year, while beef prices are expected to rise by 3.4%.
USDA notes several food categories saw lower prices in December compared to the year before, including eggs, fresh vegetables, fish and seafood and dairy products.
PNW Republicans seek to block salmon proposal
Five Pacific Northwest Republicans are making a run at halting the implementation of the Columbia River Basin Initiative, the White House's $1 billion plan to reverse salmon declines in the Columbia and Snake River system.
The five House members –Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rogers of Washington, Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Cliff Bentz of Oregon, and Russ Fulcher of Idaho – introduced a bill that would prohibit federal funding to be used on the plan.
Keep in mind: The lawmakers' primary concerns surround the idea of breaching four dams on the lower Snake River, an idea that has amassed criticism from farmers, shippers and utility companies who rely on the dams.
Positive petition findings issued for rabbit, bumble bee, firefly, toad, others
The Fish and Wildlife Service has made positive findings on petitions to list seven U.S. species under the Endangered Species Act, including the pygmy rabbit and the Southern Plains bumble bee.
The rabbit’s habitat includes portions of Colorado, California, Oregon, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Montana. FWS cited the “compound effects of fire, cheatgrass, and climate change” in deciding to proceed with a 12-month review before deciding whether to propose the species for listing.
FWS cited agricultural practices and pesticide use as factors in deciding to proceed with a full review of the bumble bee, whose range includes 24 states.
The petitions also specifically cited grazing practices as a threat to the species’ habitat.
Other positive findings were issued for the Southwest firefly, yellow-spotted woodland salamander, Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander, Railroad Valley toad and the white-margined penstemon, a plant found in the Mojave Desert.
He said it. “I think we're in a phase now where we're both floating ideas to commodity groups and seeing what their reaction is.” – The Senate Ag Committee’s top Republican, John Boozman, talking about the state of play for the farm bill.
Noah Wicks, Spencer Chase and Steve Davies contributed to this report.
