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Senate Farm Bill Debates

 Washington--The Senate opened the floor for debate on the farm bill Monday, addressing crop insurance right off the bat. An amendment by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was introduced to eliminate taxpayer supported coverage for tobacco producers, followed by broader amendments to cut subsidies for wealthier producers and establish payment caps per farm.

 Mary Kay Thatcher, farm program specialist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, predicts crop insurance will receive multiple blows on the Senate floor. “I think you could have people come in and just try to repeal the ability to rely on permanent law to get this bill done every four years or five years,” said Thatcher in an Agritalk interview. “You’re going to have just a whole host of conservation and nutrition type amendments. And if you were a betting person, you’d bet at least 100 amendments will be filed on the bill.”

 The Senate farm bill debate is predicted to run into next month. The House is expected to open debate on the farm bill in June.

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Agriculture Technology May Go Sky High

Washington--The use of unmanned aircraft for agriculture has become the topic of conversation at the state level. Multiple states have introduced legislation for the use of unmanned aircraft, while three states have banned the technology originally developed mainly for the military.

Yamaha uses unmanned helicopters to spray crops in Japan, but for the technology to move forward in the U.S. the Federal Aviation Administration would need to clear the unmanned aircraft for commercial use, which could happen as early as September 2015.

Brownfield article

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A Different Farm Bill Takes Shape

Washington--Major progress on the farm bill this week in both chambers of Congress has fired up Washington policy wonks as well as farmers and ranchers across the countryside. 

“We’ve seen another great example of bipartisan legislating on the part of both committees and their leaders,” said Dale Moore, the American Farm Bureau Federation’s chief lobbyist, in a Newsline radio report. “We’re very optimistic we’re going to get a farm bill done this year,” he added. The next farm bill will look much different than the prior three, Moore predicted.

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AFBF Urges Congress to Keep Current Tax Tools

 

WASHINGTON—Farmers and ranchers need a tax code to manage the risks associated with agriculture while complying with tax liabilities, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. In a statement filed today with the House Ways and Means Committee for a hearing on small business taxation, AFBF urged congressional members to maintain cash accounting tools and higher small business expensing limits in any tax code rewrite.

 

Cash accounting tools, like the deferral of commodity and product receipts and prepaying the cost of livestock feed, fertilizer and other farm supplies, are important to farmers. Proposed changes to cash accounting rules, which would require some farmers to change to accrual accounting, would be time-consuming and costly to farms and ranches.

 

“Farmers and ranchers will either have to take time away from running their businesses or pay for help to comply,” said AFBF. “Both are harmful in an industry with tight profit margins, unpredictable income streams and an inability to pass on added expenses to customers.”

 

Farm Bureau said it supports the continuation of unrestricted cash accounting currently available to most farmers and ranchers and cautioned against reducing the number of partnership types eligible to use the tool.

 

Further, because farming and ranching requires large investments in machinery, equipment and other depreciable capital, Farm Bureau said it supports maintaining the $500,000, Section 179 small business expensing limitation and not reducing the $2 million acquisition limit, both of which are scheduled to drop next year respectively to a $25,000 limitation with a $200,000 threshold. Section 179 provides accelerated expensing and depreciation, allowing farmers to better manage cash flow, minimize tax liabilities and reduce borrowing.

 

“Whether caused by unpredictable weather that affects crop yields or uncontrollable markets that set the price of goods sold, it is not uncommon for farmers and ranchers to have a year of high income followed by several lean years,” said AFBF. “If the Section 179 small business exemption and threshold are allowed to drop at the end of the year, farmers and ranchers will lose some of the accounting flexibility they need to manage their businesses.”

 

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Statement by Bob Stallman, President,

American Farm Bureau Federation,

Regarding House Agriculture Committee

Approval of Bipartisan Farm Bill

 

May 16, 2013

 

“The House Agriculture Committee approved its version of the 2013 Farm Bill. That bill joins the version approved on Tuesday by the Senate Agriculture Committee. This provides a great reason for optimism we will have a new long-term farm bill this year. That belief is further supported by the fact that the bills are more striking in their similarities than in their differences. Both bills provide a solid start for a farm bill that serves America’s farm and ranch families.  The emphasis on crop insurance as a risk management tool, combined with flexibility that the measures offer through other safety net choices, will go a long way in ensuring a stable agricultural economy over the next few years. 

 

“These bipartisan-supported bills offer a basic-but-broad risk management platform supported by all types of farmers and ranchers in all regions.  Among the balanced risk management strategy are options based both on crop prices and revenue levels. Both committees also proved thoughtful in their efforts to reform our nation's farm law, from significant changes in how commodity programs are structured to streamlining in other aspects, such as conservation programs. The savings from those efforts will help pay for new risk management programs and make contributions to reduce our nation's deficit.

 

“Many aspects of both bills reflect the essence of Farm Bureau’s farm bill proposal. We continue to analyze both bills and will weigh their ability to provide effective risk management tools to meet the needs of America's farmers, ranchers and growers. This and other issues will be hashed out when the full House and Senate take up their bills and then again when the chambers come together to negotiate a single bill. We remain optimistic that the congressional leadership will carry on in the bipartisan spirit exemplified by the House and Senate Agriculture committees, and that they will remain true to their commitment to pass a farm bill.”

 

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FEDS DROP APPEAL OF JUDGE’S SLICKSPOT RULING

 

(BOISE) – Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter today welcomed the Obama administration’s decision to drop its appeal of a judge’s decision against the federal listing of slickspot peppergrass as a “threatened species.”

 

Chief U.S. Magistrate Candy Dale refused in December 2012 to reconsider her ruling the previous August that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s process for listing the plant under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was fatally flawed. The Obama administration appealed her decision to the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but today it voluntarily asked the appellate court to dismiss that appeal.

 

Governor Otter was a member of Congress in 2003 when he took part in developing a State conservation plan aimed at preventing an ESA listing for slickspot peppergrass. Despite that effort, the Obama administration listed the species as threatened in 2009. That prompted Governor Otter and his Office of Species Conservation to challenge the listing in federal court.

 

“It took a while, but the feds apparently have figured out that collaborating and finding common ground is more effective than forcing a wrongheaded listing down our throats,” Governor Otter said. “The ‘critical habitat’ designations that would have followed a threatened species listing could have been devastating for farmers, ranchers and recreational land users in southwestern Idaho. We remain committed to our management plan that focuses on protecting both the plant and the people.”

 

 

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Statement by Bob Stallman, President,

American Farm Bureau Federation,

Regarding Senate Agriculture Committee

Approval of Bipartisan Farm Bill

 

May 14, 2013

 

Washington--“The Senate Agriculture Committee today put the farm bill on a solid road toward success. By following a bipartisan path and approving its farm bill legislation, the committee moved the farm bill forward with provisions that work well for America’s farm and ranch families. We are especially pleased that this bill places a high priority on crop insurance as a risk management tool and that it also offers a measure of flexibility through safety net options beyond crop insurance.

 

“While the bill contains many provisions compatible with the core farm bill proposal offered by Farm Bureau, we recognize that no farm bill is perfect and there is always room for improvement. We are pleased that the Senate held firm to its intention of limiting cuts to $23 billion. That will help maintain workable and viable commodity and conservation titles by limiting program cuts to levels that are fair for farmers and ranchers.

 

“We also believe that the bipartisan compromise to oppose means testing, payment limitations or premium subsidy reductions for the crop insurance program and to formalize a tie between crop insurance and conservation compliance helped set the tone of cooperation for this bill moving forward. Overall, this bill meets our firm position that the farm bill be bipartisan in nature, reform-minded in structure and crafted around a broad, flexible, crop insurance-based program that provides our farmers certainty and extends much-needed risk management tools across more acres and more crops.”

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Supreme Court Rules in Monsanto Seed Patent Case

Washington--The Supreme Court on Monday decided Bowman v. Monsanto Co., holding that the patent-exhaustion doctrine doesnotpermit an Indiana farmer to reproduce Monsanto’s patented genetically modified and herbicide-resistant soybean seeds through planting and harvesting without Monsanto’s permission. 

At issue was whether patents remain in effect for seeds that are the second generation—or progeny—of Monsanto’s herbicide-resistant soybeans. In what has been described as a narrow ruling, justices said unanimously that the actions of an Indiana farmer who planted second-generation Monsanto seeds met the definition of illegal copying of a patented product.

New York Times article

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Health Tax Would HIT Small Business Employees

WASHINGTON – The Health Insurance Tax will hurt small business employees the hardest, according to congressional testimony today by New York Farm Bureau President and dairy owner Dean Norton. Testifying before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Health and Technology, Norton, also a board member of the American Farm Bureau Federation, encouraged members to cosponsor H.R. 763, which would repeal the HIT.

The HIT, which was passed as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will be levied on a health insurance company’s net premiums. But, said Norton, in the end it will be employees who ultimately pay the price.

“Because of escalating health insurance premiums, we’ve had to significantly change the cost structure from covering about 90 percent of the insurance cost to approximately 50 percent through a high deductible plan,” said Norton. “Unfortunately, the people who are really hurt by this change are the employees. They now have to contribute a larger portion of the expense when they seek medical attention.”

Most farmers and other small businesses do not self-insure because they do not have a large enough pool of employees, said Norton. Instead, small employers purchase health insurance on the fully insured market. Because the smallest employers almost never self-insure, they will end up bearing the brunt of the HIT.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2012 Survey of Employer Health Benefits, only 15 percent of the smallest employers self-insure. Further, health insurance costs for small businesses have increased 103 percent since 2000. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the HIT will further increase family premiums by $400 or 2.5 percent in the year 2016, making it even harder for farmers to purchase coverage for themselves, their families and their employees.

“Being able to offer health insurance is important to us as we strive to offer benefits that attract high quality workers and to keep them healthy and productive once they are on the payroll,” continued Norton. But, he said, “Escalating health insurance costs not only impact farm employers, but also those who purchase health insurance coverage for themselves and their families.”

H.R. 763, introduced by Reps. Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah), would repeal the annual fee on health insurance providers, preventing premium increases for individuals and small businesses in the fully insured health insurance marketplace.

Just in from a farmer up North

This photo says it all:

"Out to the field for the pre-seeding ritual of checking fluids, greasing, fueling, blowing off air filters, cleaning windows, and checking the equipment. I love the coolness, lighting, and quiet of the morning."--Robert Blair, Kendrick Idaho

Just in from Washington

Senate Ag Committee Farm Bill Markup Moved to May 14

Washington--Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) has announced that the farm bill markup tentatively scheduled for Thursday will be postponed until Tuesday, May 14. Language to be used for the markup is expected to be posted to the committee’s website before the end of the week.

The House Ag Committee also plans to markup the farm bill next week.

 Senate Ag Committee farm bill web pages

 House Agriculture Committee website  

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Rough Start for 2013 Planting Season

 Washington--No one ever said farming was easy, but Mother Nature is giving planting season a rough start. Much of the country is currently experiencing a weird weather pattern, according to Bob Young, AFBF’s chief economist.

 “We’ve got the floods not just along the Illinois and the Mississippi Rivers, but also up north in Fargo and North Dakota areas as well,” Young said. “We’ve got some frost warnings that could affect Arkansas even…to talk about frost warnings May 1 in Arkansas and Oklahoma and Texas, that just never happens. Over 1,400 weather stations reported record-low temperatures last week.” The last time America’s farmers were so late getting a crop in the ground was 1984.

 Newsline

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USDA/EPA Release Honeybee Report

 Washington--The Agriculture Department and Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday issued a comprehensive scientific report on honeybee health. “The Agriculture Department/Environmental Protection Agency report issued today concludes what farmers and scientists have known for some time—that there isn’t just one cause to the decline in honeybee numbers,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman in a statement.

 The decline in honey bee numbers is due to a number of factors, according to the report, which “makes it even more important that we continue work on a solution through collaborative efforts among farmers, beekeepers, researchers, the federal government and the public,” Stallman said. Farm Bureau supports funding for research to find real answers to the Colony Collapse Disorder, as well as practical, effective methods to remedy the situation.

 AFBF statement

 USDA news release

Just in from the high country

April’s Cold temperatures delay mountain snowmelt

 

Boise – Streamflows remain low as do inflows into reservoirs due to cold temperatures keeping the snowpack intact according the May Water Supply Outlook Report just released by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

 

“The current snowmelt rates are about a half an inch per day and the soil can absorb that,” said Ron Abramovich, Idaho NRCS Water Supply Specialist.  “The high elevation snowpack hasn’t started to melt yet due to the cool spring temperatures. But, the snowpacks are below their seasonal peaks so there is not a lot of snow up there to sustain streamflows.”

 

Basins south of the Snake River did receive above normal precipitation in April but not enough to improve the water supply for that area. The Idaho Surface Water Supply Index shows that water supply shortages are likely for irrigators in the Magic, Salmon Falls, Big Lost, and Little Lost River basins. Marginally adequate water supplies are expected for the Boise, Snake River and Oakley basins. Impacts to users in other basins will depend on how the water is used.

 

North Idaho received above average precipitation in April which brought the snowpack to near normal levels.

 

Abramovich recommends checking the May 2013 Water Supply Outlook Report on the NRCS Snow Survey web pagewww.id.nrcs.usda.gov/snow for detailed information on specific regions and basins. Also on the web page are links to daily summary reports, Snow Telemetry data, and snowmelt peak streamflow relationship information.

 

NRCS conducts snow surveys at the end of each month from December through May to make snow runoff predictions and water supply forecasts used in managing Idaho’s water resources.

 

U.S. Corn Planting Pace Slowest Since 1984

Washington-- The Agriculture Department on Monday announced corn planting season across the Midwest is matching the slowest pace on record (1984) due to heavy rains. Planting was 5 percent complete as of April 28, up only 1 percentage point from the week prior.

 The winter wheat crop is also in deteriorating condition, the worst seen during this time of year in 17 years.

 Reuters article

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N.M. Horse Slaughter Plant to Reopen Its Doors

Washington--According to a Fox News article, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Valley Meat Co.’s horse slaughter plant in southern New Mexico will open its doors in the near future unless Congress re-establishes a ban on the practice. The plant was re-inspected by USDA last week and if opened would be the first domestic horse slaughterhouse in the U.S. in six years.

Farm Bureau supports the reopening and development of new horse slaughter facilities, and funding for Food Safety and Inspection Service inspectors at such plants.

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GOVERNOR REPORTS SUCCESS, PROGRESS FROM ASIA TRADE MISSION

 

            BOISE – On the heels of his trade mission to Seoul, South Korea; Taipei, Taiwan; and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter today reported preliminary results achieved by the 18 Idaho companies participating with the trade delegation to Asia. 

 

            The Governor led a variety of high-level meetings with government and corporate officials during the six-day mission to help achieve the goals of the Idaho companies involved.  Specific information about sales was not immediately available, but significant progress included a meeting with the Taiwan Minister of Economic Affairs to discuss cooperation in research and development of geothermal energy.  The partnership was formalized with Idaho Commerce Director Jeff Sayer signing a memorandum of understanding between the Taiwan Industrial Development Bureau, the Idaho Department of Commerce, the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) in Idaho Falls, Hailey-based Power Engineers and Boise-based U.S. Geothermal.

 

            In Taiwan, the Governor also received the prestigious “Friend of the Foreign Service Medal” from the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  The honor was tied directly to Idaho’s support for business, legislative and educational exchanges between Idaho and Taiwan for more than 25 years.

 

            Other noteworthy accomplishments from the 2013 Asia trade mission include:

 

·         Camille Beckman – In Vietnam, Governor Otter teamed with Roshan and Susan Roghani of Eagle-based Camille Beckman to present a charitable donation to a Vietnamese school.  Camille Beckman employs a significant number of Vietnamese Americans and has been active in supporting charitable efforts in the country.

 

·         Dynamite Marketing – Jos Zamzow, chief operating officer of the Meridian-based animal and pet specialty products company, said “Dynamite Marketing was able to strengthen relationships with existing customers, develop new contacts, and forge new friendships as a result of the Governor’s trade mission.” Dynamite expects a 10-percent increase in sales from existing customers and expects huge new business potential from new contacts made on the mission.

 

·         Idaho Eastern Oregon Onion Committee – As a result of meetings on the trade mission, two fresh produce importers in Taipei, Taiwan now plan to import onions from the Idaho-Eastern Oregon region this fall. 

 

·         Idaho Wheat Commission – On the mission, the Governor was able to promote Idaho’s wheat industry as the market leader, further strengthening Idaho’s export sales to both Korea and Taiwan.  Commissioner Ned Mood said, “Anytime we can meet face-to-face with our end users, it strengthens the relationship with the end user.”

 

·         Idaho Potato Commission – Korea and Vietnam are relatively new markets and the Idaho Potato Commission was able to identify the opportunities that exist by segment – i.e. fresh, frozen, dehydrated – which will enable the Potato Commission to prioritize initiatives, create a strategy and follow up as appropriate in each market.

 

·         Melaleuca – Governor Otter visited the Taiwan headquarters for Idaho Falls-based Melaleuca and presented a charitable donation on behalf of the company. Taiwan is Melaleuca’s largest international market with annual sales of more than $220 million.

 

·         Western U.S. Agriculture Trade Association – Governor Otter and Executive Chef Rod Jessick of the Coeur d’Alene Resort conducted a chef demonstration of Idaho and Western U.S. products to kick-off the “Taste of America” menu promotion at the prestigious Grand Hyatt in Taipei. The Grand Hyatt, along with the Grand Hi-Lai hotel in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, featured five Idaho companies’ products – Idaho beef, pork, cheese, tortillas, wine, and vodka – including in a month-long menu promotion at several hotel restaurant locations.  Chef Rod traveled to Taiwan to train the hotel staff on Western cooking styles and methods and conducted demonstrations at press events in Taipei and Kaohsiung. About three dozen print and online media representatives attended the press events.  

                Over the coming weeks and months, additional deals are expected to be signed between Idaho trade mission participants and customers in these three key export markets. 

 

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Renewable Fuels Standard Helps U.S. Grow its Own Fuel

Washington--The Renewable Fuels Standard helps the United States grow its own fuel, which is important for Congress to remember as it reviews the law, according to Matt Erickson, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is taking a look at the RFS, which requires transportation fuel sold in the U.S. to contain an increasing amount of renewable fuel such as ethanol and biodiesel.

The RFS allows the U.S. to move toward becoming energy independent from foreign sources. Further, “For every bushel of corn—or 56 pounds—that we take to the ethanol plant, we can create two items,” Erickson noted in a recent Newsline. “We can create about 2.8 gallons of ethanol but we can also create 17 to 18 pounds of dried distillers grains that livestock producers are using within their feed rations,” he said.

Just in from Washington

Simpson: Reducing Fuels Prevents Catastrophic Fires

Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman expresses great concern over Forest Service budget proposal

 

Washington – Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson today blasted a Forest Service budget proposal that cut funding for active forest management in favor of funding the fire budget and new land acquisition. U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell testified on the budget in front of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, which Simpson chairs. The hearing covered a variety of issues, including fire borrowing, Secure Rural Schools, and the states’ role in managing public lands.

 

Chairman Simpson started the hearing by expressing his concern about the impact that the forest fire budget has on the ability of the Forest Service to manage healthy forests. Because the Forest Service must borrow from other accounts to pay for fire costs when those costs exceed the agency’s budget, the Service’s ability to prevent catastrophic fires in the future could be jeopardized.  Simpson noted that today only 30% of the Forest Service’s budget is dedicated to actually managing the national forests, compared to 70% in the mid-1980’s. “Every time I’m in Idaho I hear from Forest Supervisors, District Rangers, and other Forest Service employees that they cannot manage their forests with the shrinking amount of funding they receive,” he said.

 

Simpson noted that the Senate's decision to strip funding intended to reimburse the agency for fire borrowing during the devastating 2012 fire season left the Forest Service with holes to fill in FY14 but expressed concern about the fire budget in the President’s request. “The Senate’s decision not to fund fire in the CR did not do you any favors, but this budget proposal doesn’t seem to help you either,” said Simpson. “Generally, we know that projects reducing the threats of catastrophic fire also create jobs, generate revenue for the Treasury and reduce future fire suppression expenditures.  So I am extremely disheartened by the dramatic cuts in hazardous fuels funding. It seems like this budget has enacted fire borrowing before it is needed, stripping funding from other accounts to put it into fire fighting. That concerns me.”

 

“These cuts have real consequences,” he continued, “and they will be felt acutely in communities that depend on public lands for their economic vitality and way of life. In many counties in my district and across the country, public lands make up the vast majority of the land base and are one of the only sources of income for residents. [Yet this] budget proposes to cut recreation, livestock grazing, minerals and energy, and forest products. Essentially the Administration is cutting the programs that have the most positive impact on the economy.”               

 

During the hearing, Simpson also expressed support for extending the Secure Rural Schools program, which provides an alternative source of education funding for counties with a high percentage of national forests or federal land, and encouraged the Forest Service to partner with states to improve forest management. “States have public forests and therefore foresters and public land managers who are already doing some of this work right next to national forests,” said Simpson.  “I think there needs to be some way to improve the relationship between the Forest Service and the states so you can partner with state foresters to get some of this work done.”