EPA Administrator Michael Regan is going to join Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at Commodity Classic in Houston on March 1. That’s the day the Biden administration is supposed to announce its update of the GREET model that’s used to measure the carbon intensity of biofuels. The update is critical to the ability of biofuel feedstocks to qualify for a new tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel.
Vilsack told the House Ag Committee last week that the administration was on track to have the update ready March 1. Vilsack has said the update will account for the carbon reductions from climate-smart farming practices. An ethanol industry source says the key is how farming practices will be treated in the updated model.
Commodity Classic is an annual meeting and trade show for the grain and oilseed sectors and ag equipment manufacturers.
Texas Ag chief, ASPCA agree: Congress should keep its hands off Prop 12
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack’s recent comments about the perils of California’s Proposition 12 have attracted opposition from some unusual bedfellows.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller last week criticized Vilsack after he told the House Ag Committee that the Supreme Court decision upholding Prop 12 could spur other states to adopt similar laws restricting the sale of farm products produced by certain methods. He warned of “chaos” unless Congress addresses the issue.
“The secretary’s suggestion that the federal government overturn the will of millions of voters is a betrayal to farmers, consumers, and animals alike,” said Kara Shannon, ASPCA’s director of farm animal welfare policy. “We cannot roll back decades of progress towards creating a more humane food system, and we urge Congress to reject any proposal that would jeopardize existing state and local animal welfare protections.”
Miller, meanwhile, wrorte in The Hill to oppose the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act, which would prevent states from enacting sales restrictions affecting ag production methods in other states.
“While I don’t agree with Prop 12, I’ll defend to my dying day California’s right to self-determination, and any state’s ability to use its constitutional authority as that state’s citizens best see fit,” Miller wrote.
Vilsack keeps talking through protest
At USDA’s annual Agricultural Outlook Forum, Vilsack faced face-to-face opposition from a protester who interrupted his keynote address to shout, “Stop the bird flu bailout. Stop funding animal agriculture.”
Two protesters were swiftly led out of the venue at the Crystal Gateway Marriott by facility staff without incident and Vilsack appeared unfazed, lauding freedom of speech and quipping that before the House Agriculture Committee the previous day, “I was told I didn’t care about production agriculture, and now I’m being told that I care too much about it.”
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USDA has spent more than $1 billion to compensate farmers because of the two-year avian flu outbreak, a USDA spokesperson recently told the Food and Environment Reporting Network.
Senator: Don’t exempt foreign-owned marijuana farms from reporting
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., wants foreign land reporting requirements expanded to included owners of fewer than 10 acres. He says those small tracts would cover most marijuana growers in his state.
The Agricultural Investment Disclosure Act currently applies reporting requirements to “agricultural land,” which is defined as being at least 10 acres in size or having more than $1,000 in gross annual receipts. In a public comment on a Farm Service Agency rule seeking suggestions on possible updates its current foreign land reporting form, Lankford says preliminary data from license applications received by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority suggests the majority of indoor growing operations are less than 20,000 square feet. Outdoor operations are typically less than five acres.
“Due to the current acreage threshold, much reporting goes unnoticed in Oklahoma because most marijuana grows fall under the ten-acre threshold,” Lankford writes.
Take note: Oklahoma’s marijuana industry has expanded dramatically since the plant was first legalized in 2018, leading some from the state to speculate that a 2020 increase in foreign-owned Oklahoma land was tied to cannabis operations. However, USDA data shows most of this growth actually came from wind farms.
Guacamole plant draws USMCA challenge
The Biden administration is demanding Mexico review whether a guacamole producer is unfairly blocking workers from collective bargaining.
In a request for review filed Feb. 16 under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, the administration says it’s “concerned that workers at the facility are being denied the right of free association and collective bargaining because the company has attempted to interfere with workers’ union activities and to dominate or control.” A Mexican union and union confederation had appealed to the administration to investigate their concerns.
Under the USMCA, Mexico has 10 days from the filing of the request to agree to conduct a review and 45 days to finish the review. The RV Fresh Foods plant is located in Uruapan, a city west of Mexico City.
USDA plans referendum on peanut checkoff
Peanut producers will soon vote to determine whether to continue current regulations for the federal checkoff program, according to a Federal Register notice the Agricultural Marketing Service is publishing today.
A referendum to determine whether to continue the current iteration of the Peanut Checkoff will be held by AMS in April in accordance with regulations requiring one to be held every five years. Active growers and sellers of peanuts are eligible to vote.
The referendum will run from April 8 through April 24. Both mail and electronic balloting options will be available.
She said it. “I’m looking forward to going back and perfecting my skills.” – U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, telling USDA Ag Outlook Forum attendees she wants to get better at flipping pork chops during the Iowa State Fair. The Iowa Pork Producers Association’s pavilion is a popular stop for politicians at the fair.
