The chairman of the Surface Transportation Board, which regulates railroads, is pressing BNSF on its plans for the upcoming harvest season. This comes amid significant disruptions such as those currently plaguing railroad lines belonging to Ferromex, a Mexican company that operates in BNSF's network.
In a letter to BNSF President and CEO Katie Farmer, STB Chair Robert Primus says he has “grave concerns” about the company’s “ability to adequately serve the anticipated demand” expected during harvest season. He says the company struggled to meet harvest season demands in 2022 and 2023.
"We simply cannot allow circumstances in Mexico to upend significant portions of BNSF’s network in the United States,” Primus writes.
Primus notes the increased competition with Brazil as a corn and soybean exporter and says agricultural shippers in the upper Midwest have expressed concern that "BNSF’s inconsistent service, coupled with steady rate increases and now a higher-than-tariff value for shuttle trains, will further weaken their cost basis and make their grain less competitive on the export market.”
He is giving BNSF until Aug. 13 to provide him with information regarding the company’s plans for the 2024 fall harvest.
New bill would strengthen USDA’s avian flu research
A bipartisan group of members of the House Agriculture Committee have introduced a bill that would assist dairy farmers affected by the avian flu and would boost research efforts at the USDA.
The Avian Influenza Research and Response Act, introduced by Reps. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and David Valadao, R-Calif., would codify recent USDA rulemaking allowing dairy producers to be compensated for milk production losses due to the avian flu outbreak.
Additionally, the bill would direct the agency to establish a Dairy Biosecurity Education and Training program and prioritize research for the virus under the agency’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.
The bill addresses issues Slotkin has directly heard from Michigan producers on how the flu is impacting their operations. “Food security is national security, so it’s critical that we take action to protect dairy cattle, ensure the integrity of our milk supply, and support our farmers,” Slotkin says in a release.
Take note: Some in the dairy industry have pushed for USDA to move faster on an avian flu vaccine for cattle.
Checkoff critic expresses interest in being ag secretary nominee
Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, an outspoken critic of federal checkoff programs, suggests he’d be a good candidate for agriculture secretary under Donald Trump.
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Massie, known for his libertarian beliefs, notes in a post on X that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has mentioned appointing a libertarian to his cabinet. After another account replied asking Massie what position he would like to have on a cabinet, he wrote: "I think I could do some good for this country as Secretary of Agriculture, for any president.”
Proposed consent decree resolves complaint over N.Y. farm’s wetlands clearing
A New York nursery operation has agreed to purchase credits from Ducks Unlimited to settle a four-year-old federal lawsuit over damage to about 4.7 acres of wetlands.
So far, Wafler Farms has bought 3.68 credits of the required seven. A consent decree published for 30 days of public comment today requires the purchase of the rest of the credits by May 20, 2029.
The farm did not get a permit before clearing and grading the wetlands, which took place in 2015 and 2016.
BASF ag sales down on decrease in volumes and lower prices
BASF reported lower sales figures for its second quarter, partially driven by a 13.2% drop in its agricultural solutions segment.
The “considerable decline in earnings in the [ag solutions] segment [was] mainly due to a decrease in volumes and lower prices for glufosinate-ammonium,” the company said. BASF Chief Financial Officer Dirk Elvermann said the ag market right now is “subdued,” describing buyers as “cautious.”
Sales in the second quarter were $17.5 billion, $1.3 billion below 2023’s second quarter. At $2.17 billion, however, income from operations before depreciation, amortization and special items was the same as the prior-year period, mainly due to a “considerable increase in earnings in the Industrial Solutions, Chemicals and Nutrition & Care segments.”
NFU applauds antitrust funding increase in Senate bill
The National Farmers Union is commending the Senate Appropriations Committee for including a considerable increase in antitrust enforcement spending in its spending bill for the Justice Department, approved last week.
“Unfettered mergers and acquisitions in agriculture over the last several decades have squeezed American family farmers and ranchers,” NFU President Rob Larew says, noting the Senate bill reinstates language removing a cap on the use of merger filing fees.
The Senate and House appropriations committees both advanced their spending bills for the Commerce, Justice and State Departments last week. The House bill has $192 million for the antitrust division; the Senate bill has $288 million.
The Antitrust Division “is taking aggressive action to promote fair and competitive markets across many sectors of the American economy, including in agriculture,” NFU says, praising the work of the current administration.
For the latest on the appropriations process, check out our Washington Week Ahead.
Rebekah Alvey and Noah Wicks contributed to today’s Daybreak
Questions, comments, tips? Email Deputy Managing Editor Steve Davies
