There’s a big push this year to bolster the farm safety net by raising premium subsidies for high levels of area insurance coverage, and the idea has gotten traction in both the House and Senate.
Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., has proposed to raise the premium subsidy for the Supplemental Coverage Option to 80% and to increase the coverage level to 88%.
And now, the House Ag Committee bill that Chairman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., is drafting will match Stabenow’s 80% premium subsidy and raise the coverage level to 90%, according to sources familiar with his plan. The increases wouldn't apply to enterprise units.
SCO currently covers 86% of county-level revenue with a 65% federal subsidy.
By the way: Minnesota GOP Reps. Brad Finstad and Michelle Fischbach today are introducing the House version of the Senate’s FARMER Act, which includes the 80% SCO premium subsidy and 90% coverage level, same as the provisions in the House farm bill. The FARMER Act also would boost premium subsidies at higher coverage levels for enterprise and whole farm units.
Keep in mind: Farmers who buy SCO can also participate in the Price Loss Coverage program, which triggers payments in years when market prices are below PLC reference prices.
Take note: House Ag Committee Republicans confirmed Thursday that Thompson’s farm bill also will include a proposal by Reps. Angie Craig, D-Minn., and Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, to expand the definition of beginning farmer from five years in the business to 10 years. Beginning farmers qualify for various benefits, including higher premium subsidies.
Boozman ready to pull trigger on his farm bill proposal
The top Republican on the Senate Ag Committee, John Boozman, tells Agri-Pulse he’ll be ready to release his plan for a new farm bill as soon as the House Ag Committee moves its bill. The committee’s markup is scheduled for May 23.
Boozman says his proposal will be “very, very similar” to the House Ag GOP bill and will include significant increases in Price Loss Coverage reference prices. “He’s on the same page,” Boozman said of Thompson.
Worth noting: This is a highly unusual farm bill process to have the leaders of the Senate Ag Committee proposing significantly different bills, rather than working out partisan and regional differences behind the scenes.
Rural co-ops, 23 states go after EPA power plant rule
Rural electric cooperatives and 23 state attorneys general were first out of the gate with legal challenges Thursday to EPA’s newly published power plant rule.
“Reliable electricity is the foundation of the American economy,” NRECA CEO Jim Matheson said. “EPA’s rule recklessly undermines that foundation by forcing the premature closure of power plants that are critical to keeping the lights on – especially as America increasingly relies on electricity to power the economy.”
The states’ action is led by major coal producers North Dakota and West Virginia. The rule would require existing coal-fired power plants and new natural gas plants to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 90% by 2032, a standard senators from those states criticized at a hearing Wednesday.
“The Biden administration pushes a green political agenda with no purpose other than to attack fossil fuels. Make no mistake, this rule intentionally sets impossible standards to destroy the coal industry,” North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said.
Nutrien optimistic for this year despite lower revenues
Farmers are benefitting from some softening in farm input prices, but fertilizer giant Nutrien on Thursday reported lower sales and earnings in the first quarter due to lower net selling prices for nutrients.
Sales fell 12%, to about $5.4 billion from 2023’s first quarter number of $6.1 billion. Net earnings declined more, from $576 million to $165 million. The decreases were “partially offset by increased retail earnings, higher fertilizer sales volumes and lower natural gas costs,” the company said.
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Nevertheless, Nutrien said it is seeing strong potash demand in North America for the spring application season “as channel inventories were tight to start 2024.” In addition, the U.S. nitrogen supply “remains relatively tight, in particular for ammonia and UAN, with net nitrogen imports down 21% on a fertilizer year basis compared to the historical average.”
“I do think that we're getting back to much more normal buying patterns,” said Jeff Tarsi, vice president of retail, on an earnings call with investors Thursday. “We're getting much closer to normal than we were two years prior when higher prices scared some growers off.”
Mother’s Day alert: Customs inspectors checking flowers at Mexican border
Customs and Border Protection agents are preparing for Mother's Day by monitoring flower imports at Texas ports of entry for insects and pests.
Agents usually inspect "over a billion flower stems" at ports of entry during the holiday, as well as during Valentine's Day and Easter, according to a press release, to ensure they "are free from insects, pests and diseases that could harm the agricultural and floral industries of the United States."
He said it. “Every tiny grain reflected decades of scientific breakthroughs. And every grain was a reminder that – with ingenuity, with vision, and with commitment – it’s possible to adapt to the challenges before us, to improve our food systems, to feed our people for generations to come.” – Secretary of State Antony Blinken, reflecting on a visit to the AfricaRice research center in Cote d’Ivoire.
Blinken was speaking at the announcement of the 2024 World Food Prize laureates, a pair of scientists who led efforts to create a storage vault holding more than a million seed samples.
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