6 years, 5 months ago AFBF
Senate Confirms Ibach to USDA
The Senate Thursday afternoon confirmed Greg Ibach (eye-bah) to the Department of Agriculture. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts announced the approval of Ibach as the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at USDA. Ibach previously served as the Nebraska Director of Agriculture. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue welcomes the approval, saying Ibach “will bring experience and integrity to his new role at USDA.” The Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing regarding Ibach’s nomination earlier this month. He was favorably reported out of the committee with a bipartisan voice vote and has the support of more than 60 farm and conservation organizations.
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Congress Member Questions Trump’s Ability to Withdraw From NAFTA
Wisconsin Representative Ron Kind, a Democrat who represents a district of dairy farmers, is questioning President Donald Trump’s ability to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement. Kind said this week: “Constitutionally, I think the president would be on pretty shaky grounds if he tries,” according to Politico. Congressman Kind made the comments during a speech to the National Foreign Trade Council. Kind said he believes any tariff changes would “have to come under Congress.” Kind represents Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District, which kind calls one of the most productive farming regions in the country. Kind was actively involved in calling on the administration earlier this year to address a dairy trade issue with Canada. Kind told U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer at the time that “it is important that leveling the playing field for Wisconsin dairy farmers be a top priority,” as part of the NAFTA renegotiations.
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Dairy Industry Applauds Introduction of School Milk Nutrition Act
The nation’s dairy industry applauded the introduction of a bipartisan bill this week that would help reverse the decline of milk consumption in schools. The National Milk Producers Federation and the International Dairy Foods Association say the School Milk Nutrition Act of 2017 would make permanent the administrative changes in the school lunch program proposed earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The bill would allow schools to offer low-fat and fat-free milk, including flavored milk with no more than 150 calories per 8-ounce serving, to participants in the federal school lunch and breakfast programs. The bill allows individual schools and school districts to determine which milkfat varieties to offer their students. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, in one of his first official actions earlier this year, supported giving school districts the option to offer a variety of milk types as part of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs.
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Conaway Supports House Guestworker Bill
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway offered his approval to a bill that would bring reforms to agriculture labor. Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee approves the Ag Act, which supporters say would replace the flawed H-2A guestworker program. Conaway says the bill would help provide farmers with access to a legal, steady supply of workers. Saying, it’s time for a program that “respects our nation’s immigration laws and keeps American agriculture competitive,” Conaway says the bill “cuts red tape and institutes a flexible program that accounts for the different labor needs of various producers.” The bill was first introduced earlier this month by Virginia Republican Representative Bob Goodlatte [GOOD-lat] . At that time, more than 60 dairy groups penned a joint letter calling the bill a "significant, positive step forward." However, United Farm Workers and the AFL-CIO told Congress the bill would "create even more unfairness and dysfunction" in the immigration system.
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More Soybeans Expected for 2018
Industry analysts are expecting U.S. farmers to plant more soybeans next year, up from this year’s record acreage of 88.7 million acres. Experts say farmers could plant anywhere from 86 to 90.5 million acres of soybeans in 2018, according to Farm Journal’s AgWeb. However, University of Illinois ag economist Todd Hubbs is warning against planting more soybeans next year. He says soybean acreage may need to decline in 2018 to generate a 2018-19 marketing year average farm price in the mid-$9.00 range to cover the cost of production. He recommends that farmers monitor soybean exports and demand before making 2018 planting decisions. Specifically, he says farmers should study the Department of Agriculture’s release of the Winter Wheat Seedings report for the first indication of farmer acreage decisions in early January.
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Bloomberg Speculates Illegal Spraying Caused Dicamba Injuries
Illegal spraying seems to be the cause of a majority of crop damage earlier this year from dicamba-based herbicides. Given that BASF sold enough dicamba herbicide to cover roughly 52 percent of the dicamba-tolerant acres planted in Arkansas, Bloomberg speculates that a large quantity of off-label dicamba could have been used to fill the gap. Such versions of the herbicide can be highly volatile, meaning the chemical vaporizes and can easily move to neighboring fields. However, investigations continue as experts seek to find the specific causes of each complaint of spray drift. Arkansas’ State Plant Board received almost a thousand complaints alone this year. The amount of complaints prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to place to regulations for dicamba herbicides, including making the ingredient a restricted-use product.
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USDA Offering $5 Million in Farm to School Grants
The Department of Agriculture is offering $5 million in grants to schools through the USDA Farm to School Program. The program has been awarding grants to schools and communities since 2013. Farm to School refers to efforts that bring locally or regionally produced foods into school cafeterias. USDA says that also includes hands-on learning activities such as school gardening, farm visits, and culinary classes, and the integration of food-related education into the regular, standards-based classroom curriculum. Schools, Native American tribes, farmers and other organizations may be eligible to apply for up to $100,000 for planning, implementing or training on farm to school programs. Applications are due by December 8th, 2017. Application information is available online at www.fns.usda.gov.
