5 years, 9 months ago AFBF
Senator Pat Roberts points out that the U.S. House has the next move on the farm bill. The Senate Agriculture Committee chairman told a group of veteran farmers this week that the farm bill conference should begin “soon,” according to the Hagstrom Report. However, Roberts says the House must make the next move by rejecting the Senate version of the bill and asking to move forward to the conference effort. A spokesperson from House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway’s office said there is no plan yet on when to send the bill back to the Senate, but says staff from the Senate and House agriculture committees are working to figure out how to “handle the mechanics” of the conference committee. Even if the conference does not begin until after the August recess, “the goal remains getting a farm bill done on time,” according to Conaway’s office. An on-time bill means lawmakers must send the bill to President Trump before September 30th.
*************************************************************************************
EPA Reportedly Ditches Hardship Waiver Fix
The Environmental Protection Agency has ditched a proposal to make up for lost biofuel volumes stemming from hardship waivers as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard. The plan was seen as a fix for the waivers granted generously by the EPA under former administer Scott Pruitt, which lowered biofuel volumes by granting refiners a break from the rules. The plan would boost the renewable fuel blending obligation to 11.76 percent from 10.88 percent to offset volumes lost under the waiver program. However, pressure from the refining industry has kept the plan stalled, and now apparently thrown out. The plan was first rumored when Sonny Perdue talked of a meeting with Pruitt earlier this year, asking for a hardship waiver fix. In April, Perdue told Congress that from USDA’s standpoint, “our conclusion is that’s direct demand destruction.”
*************************************************************************************
USDA Increases Corn, Soybean Production Forecast
The Department of Agriculture Thursday upped its predictions for larger corn and soybean crops this year. The USDA World Agriculture Supply and Demand Report predicts corn production at 14.2 billion bushels and soybeans increasing to 4.3 billion bushels. The 2018/19 U.S. corn outlook includes larger supplies, greater feed and residual use, increased exports, and lower ending stocks. Increased 2017/18 exports are based on record-high shipments during the month of May. The season-average corn price received by producers was lowered 10 cents at the midpoint for a range of $3.30 to $4.30 per bushel. This month’s U.S. soybean supply and use projections for 2018/19 include lower supplies, lower exports, higher crush, and higher ending stocks. USDA predicts the new Chinese soybean import duties will lower exports down 250 million bushels. The U.S. season-average soybean price was forecasted at $8.00 to $10.50 per bushel, down $0.75 at the midpoint. Projected U.S. 2018/19 wheat supplies were raised 74 million bushels on increased beginning stocks and higher production. The season-average farm price was lowered $0.10 per bushel at the midpoint to a projected range of $4.50 to $5.50.
*************************************************************************************
Trump to Nominate Kip Tom as UN Food Ambassador
President Trump plans to nominate Indiana farmer Kip Tom as the United States Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture at the Department of State. Tom will be given the rank of Ambassador if nominated and approved by the Senate. Tom, of Tom Farms, is a seventh-generation farmer representing one of the largest farms in Indiana. Tom previously unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2016 and was in consideration by President Trump to be Agriculture Secretary during the transition period of the Trump administration. In the announcement, the White House touted Tom’s agribusiness experience that includes work in North and South America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Tom serves on the boards of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Future Farmers of America Foundation and the National 4-H Foundation. Indiana Senators Todd Young and Joe Donnelly in a joint statement called Tom an “excellent fit” for the position.
*************************************************************************************
Former GMA Members Create New Food Lobby
A Group of former Grocery Manufacturers Association members announced a new coalition called the Sustainable Food Policy Alliance. Founding member companies include Danone North America, Mars, Incorporated, Nestlé USA and Unilever United States. In the announcement, the coalition says it is focused on “driving progress in public policies that shape what people eat and how it impacts their health, communities, and the planet.” The group will advocate on five key areas, including consumer transparency, the environment, food safety, nutrition and people and communities. However, specifically, at launch, two policy areas the Alliance intends to engage on include nutrition labeling and carbon emissions. In a joint statement, alliance members said the group is “committed to a collaborative approach and to listen and learn about issues” affecting the food system “from the field to the store shelf and beyond.”
*************************************************************************************
Organic Group Sues Ben & Jerry’s Over Advertising Claims
The Organic Consumers Association has filed suit against Vermont-based Ben & Jerry's for deceptive labeling, marketing and sales of Unilever's Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream products. The suit was filed in D.C. Superior Court this week under the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act. The group claims Unilever reportedly spent more than $9 billion on advertising in 2017, and that a “significant portion” was spent to “create the false perception that Ben & Jerry's is committed to a clean environment and high animal welfare standards.” The association asserts that Ben & Jerry's decades-old practice of sourcing dairy ingredients from conventional dairy operations “has led to a water pollution crisis in Vermont,” adding “there is nothing socially or environmentally responsible about that." The Organic Consumers Association is a self-described grassroots nonprofit consumer advocacy organization representing a network of more than one million consumers.
