Twelve House members today are introducing a $14 billion disaster aid bill to compensate producers for weather-related losses in 2022 and 2023.
The Agriculture Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, led by California Reps. David Valadao, a Republican, and Jimmy Panetta, a Democrat, would give the additional money to USDA to compensate producers for losses from floods, hurricanes, drought, tornadoes, wildfires, and weather related pest damages.
Some $1.5 billion would be targeted to livestock producers’ losses or costs associated with relocation, feed or shelter-in-place procedures. Other funding could cover damage to wine grapes from wildfire smoke.
Keep in mind: Leaders of the House and Senate Ag committees already are talking about a possible package of supplemental ag assistance to compensate growers for 2024 disasters as well as the downturn in the commodity markets. No aid package is going to move until Congress returns after the Nov. 5 elections.
Senators propose to strip China of PNTR
Three Republican senators are proposing to suspend permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status with China, the No. 3 market for U.S. ag exports. The bill isn’t going anywhere in this Congress, but it comes as former President Donald Trump is calling for sharply higher tariffs on Chinese exports.
The bill, called the Neither Permanent Nor Normal Trade Relations Act, is cosponsored by Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Marco Rubio of Florida and Josh Hawley of Missouri. Both Arkansas and Missouri are significant producers of soybeans, a commodity heavily exported to China. PNTR limits the duties that can be applied to a country’s exports.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party last December called for increasing tariffs on China and taking steps to protect farmers from retaliation. The report stopped short of recommending revocation of PNTR, but GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance has criticized President Joe Biden for supporting China’s PNTR status when he was in the Senate.
Keep in mind: A report by the Peterson Institute for International Economics estimates Chinese retaliation would result in cumulative losses to the U.S. economy of $159 billion from 2025-28, with $70 billion of that coming in agriculture.
Thatcher: ‘Farmers need to be worried’ about EPA’s herbicide strategy
Syngenta’s top lobbyist says farmers should be concerned about EPA’s herbicide strategy, which contemplates a suit of mitigation measures to protect endangered species.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think farmers are as worried as they should be, other than leadership in some groups,” Mary Kay Thatcher, Syngenta’s senior federal government relations lead, said on the sidelines of the Women in Agribusiness Summit in Denver. “These regs are so complex.”
It could be “a very expensive proposition” for farmers to comply with the strategy, Thatcher said. The cost of implementing practices such as buffer strips can be accompanied by a drop in production.
Environmental groups have supported the strategy, saying it will safeguard more than 900 endangered species harmed by runoff and spray drift.
Watch this week’s Agri-Pulse Newsmakers to learn more about Climate Week from Terryn Lawrence of Rabobank and western U.S. economic challenges from Fidela Irigoyen with Wells Fargo Agribusiness.
Lawmakers urge USDA, DOJ to consider criminal charges against Boar’s Head
USDA said it’s looking at its state inspection models and ways to prevent gaps in oversight as it investigates the deadly listeria outbreak tied to a Boar’s Head facility in Virginia.
On Thursday, Connecticut Democrats Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Rosa DeLauro pressed the agency to work with the Department of Justice to determine whether to bring criminal charges against Boar’s Head for its role in the outbreak. The lawmakers also suggested the agency consider strengthening testing requirements along with other reforms to food safety. DeLauro is the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.
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The letter comes a day after the CDC reported a 10th death linked to the listeria outbreak.
A USDA spokesperson said the agency shares the concern for public health and that any death or hospitalization related to foodborne illness is “one too many.” The agency is conducting an investigation into the factors that contributed to the outbreak and an in-depth look at other Boar’s Head facilities.
Read more about the letter from lawmakers and the listeria outbreak here.
Dietary experts give beans, peas and lentils a boost over starchy veggies
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee highlighted research Thursday that supports consumption of more beans, peas and lentils and less starchy vegetables, such as potatoes.
“Our systematic review evidence … does not specify a specific amount” of the food groups to consume, committee Chair Sarah Booth said. But she added that some of the reviews had specifically supported dietary patterns lower in fried potatoes.
Booth also said systematic reviews of scientific literature supported reducing the amount of meat, poultry and eggs in a diet of at least 2,200 calories a day, based on evidence that diets higher in fish and seafood and lower in red and processed meat are healthier.
A correction to Thursday’s item about the dietary guidelines committee: The committee’s final meeting before completing its scientific report is next month.
Federal funds available to organic dairy producers for marketing assistance
USDA is making $58 million available to organic dairy producers to expand the market and increase consumption.
The funds are available through the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program, which aims to mitigate market volatility and defray higher input and transportation costs. USDA’s Farm Service Agency will begin accepting applications Sept. 30.
USDA also announced an increase in the payment rate, from $1.10 to $1.68 per hundredweight. The production level eligible for marketing cost-share assistance also has been increased, from 5 million pounds to 9 million pounds.
“These resources will make a difference for hundreds of organic dairy farmers in rural communities across the U.S.,” New York farmer David Hardy, board chair for Organic Valley dairy cooperative, says in an email.
Final word. “It would be pretty safe to go to Vegas right now and bet the Senate turns Republican.” – Syngenta federal government relations lead Mary Kay Thatcher.
