National Sorghum Producers Updates for May 2022

National Sorghum Foundation Scholarships Due on JUNE 1!

Applications for three National Sorghum Foundation scholarships are due June 1. Each scholarship includes an award of $1,500 to be applied to one semester of tuition expenses and the Kubecka Memorial Scholarship includes an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. More information about each scholarship’s criteria and application forms can be found online at SorghumGrowers. com/foundation-scholarships.

POLICY, REGULATORY AND ISSUE UPDATES

Senator Boozman Secures Secretary Vilsack’s Commitment to Work to Help Producers Experiencing Spiraling Input Costs but Flat Prices

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack appeared before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday and addressed a variety of issues facing the agriculture industry. Early on in the hearing, the Secretary committed to the Committee’s Ranking Republican, Senator John Boozman (R-AR), to work to ensure the continued economic viability producers who are facing flat commodity prices while paying record high inputs costs. When asked about USDA’s climate-smart commodity projects, Secretary Vilsack told the Committee that USDA has received about 450 proposals from all 50 states for a total of $18 billion—four times the estimate the Secretary gave at an earlier hearing. USDA says the previous estimate was very rough. View the hearing here and read a recap by Jim Wiesemeyer here.

Biden Administration Launches Indo-Pacific Agreement Without Increased Market Access for U.S. Agriculture, U.S. Agriculture Questions

Value

President Biden this week launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IEPF), a new trade partnership that he noted “covers half the population of the world and more than 60 percent of the global GDP.” However, the deal does not increase market access for U.S. agriculture, something U.S. agriculture stakeholders have strongly urged. U.S. Trade Representative Katharine Tai said the agreement “will see commitments with IPEF partners that facilitate agricultural trade through science-based decision making and the adoption of sound, transparent regulatory practices. This will help our farmers, our ranchers, and our fishers gain certainty for getting their products to the region.”

The U.S. agriculture community lauded the move as a positive first step but seeks more concrete trade achievements. “The Indo Pacific Economic Framework is a laudable first step to reengaging in the region. However, it will be essential that the administration articulate how an agreement that does not currently include tariff reduction will provide new market access and economic opportunities for farmers,” Brian Kuehl, Executive Director of Farmers for Free Trade, said in a news release. The Administration has come under considerable pressure to actively pursue trade agreements that will expand U.S. agricultural exports but has nevertheless not pursued new agreements, completed ongoing agreements, or renewed expired Trade Promotion Authority. Read more here.

Agriculture Groups Urge Withdrawal of Biden Administration's Supreme Court Brief Arguing No FIFRA Preemption in Roundup Case

In a letter to President Joe Biden, a coalition of farm groups expressed deep concern regarding a recent amicus brief submitted by the solicitor general to the U.S. Supreme Court effectively advising the court against a federal FIFRA preemption over state laws on pesticides. If the argument prevailed in court, the nation would have a 50-state patchwork of pesticide law. “The Solicitor General’s brief adopts a position that permits states to mislabel glyphosate – or any pesticide – with cancer warnings despite overwhelming scientific evidence that it does not pose a cancer risk,” the groups wrote. While testifying before the Senate Agriculture Committee, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the Justice Department did not consult USDA before taking sides in the lawsuit. Secretary Vilsack also noted that Roundup is critical for maintaining U.S. crop production and addressing climate change. Read more here.

Senator Hoeven Leads Letter Urging Flexibilities for Farmers Facing Disrupted Spring Planting

Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Republican Member and senior Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), led a bipartisan, bicameral letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urging the Department to use available authorities to provide support to producers facing increased risk caused by disrupted spring planting. “Specifically, we ask payments be made to offset any reduction in the crop insurance guarantee incurred by producers planting after the final planting date,” the lawmakers wrote. The lawmakers included Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Tina Smith (D-MN), along with Reps. Kelley Armstrong (R-ND), Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), Pete Stauber (R-MN), and Angie Craig (D-MN). The proposal does not alter crop insurance but rather uses CCC to offset reduction in benefits. Senator Hoeven also pressed the Secretary on the issue during Thursday’s hearing. Read the letter here.

Rainfall Provides Some Drought Relief

Heavy rainfall has helped ease drought conditions a bit on the southern Plains, where a large portion of the nation’s wheat crop is at risk. In Texas, the area in extreme to exceptional drought fell from 56 percent to 46 percent, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor. In Oklahoma, the area in extreme to exceptional drought was cut in half. There was also some improvement in Colorado and Kansas. View the U.S. Drought Monitor here.

USDA Allowing Early Termination of Expiring CRP Acres

USDA plans to loosen existing Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) rules by allowing participants to request termination of their CRP contract if they are in the final year of their agreement. The change in rules, meant to help open up more acres to wheat production to offset global food challenges caused by the war in Ukraine, will allow qualifying farmers to terminate their contracts without having to repay rental payments. However, they will not be able to request termination of their contract until the end of the primary nesting season for fiscal year 2022. FSA is mailing letters to producers with expiring acres that detail this flexibility and share other options, such as reenrolling sensitive acres in the CRP Continuous signup and considering growing organic crops. Read more here.

Argonne Labs Refutes Flawed Ethanol Study

A recent, highly publicized, and flawed report led by Tyler Lark of the University of Wisconsin attacking the Renewable Fuel Standard is “more problematic than what we initially evaluated to be the case,” according to a new review of the work by researchers from the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, Purdue University, the University of Illinois, and elsewhere. The scientists note specifically that Lark and his colleagues grossly misinterpreted land-use change and attributed far too much hypothesized land conversion to the RFS policy while overlooking other factors. “Our detailed review of the original paper and the responses by those authors reveals various major deficiencies, problematic assessments, and misinterpretation of the existing literature,” according to the latest comments, posted online by the Argonne National Laboratory. Access the Argonne Labs publication here.

Senator Grassley: Double-Cropping Incentives Unlikely to Help Augment Food Production

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said he doubts the Biden Administration’s effort to increase double cropping will have much impact on augmenting food production. Senator Grassley noted he thinks most farmers who can double crop will do so without additional incentives. “If the administration can spend X number of dollars to encourage more double cropping, I'm not going to fight that,” Grassley told reporters Tuesday. “But I'm kind of at a loss to think that every farmer that could do that isn't already doing it.” Read more here.

CBO Lowers Farm Program Cost Estimates

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is lowering its cost estimates for Farm Bill commodity programs due to the sharp increases in commodity prices resulting from the war in Ukraine. At the same time, CBO says the government is going to spend a lot more on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program than previously estimated. CBO estimates farmers will receive just $480 million in Price Loss Coverage payments in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 and $422 million in FY 2024.