Grassley Urges Schumer to Put Farm Bill on the Agenda
Senate Agriculture Committee member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is calling on Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Democrats to put the farm bill on the Senate agenda.
In a letter to Schumer, Grassley pointed out that of the 17 items Schumer outlined for Senate action, the Farm Bill was missing. Grassley is urging the Majority Leader to hold true to his commitment to seek compromise with Republicans by passing a five-year Farm Bill reauthorization this year.
“A one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill is going to expire on September 30. The Senate must work to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill before that deadline,” Grassley said. “Farmers across the United States deserve the stability of a new five-year Farm Bill. A one-year extension increases uncertainty in markets and uncertainty for farmers who must make decisions today that will affect their operations for years to come.”
On this House side, In an exclusive interview with Agri-Pulse this week, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson said he plans to move a bipartisan farm bill through the panel next month and that he has “identified a way to pay for changes to commodity programs that have been sought by ag groups.”
Grassley talked about the need for a new farm bill in his weekly call with reporters on Tuesday.
Sen. Grassley press call 4-9-24 16:58NCBA Concerned About Loss of USDA Report
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) announced this week that it is canceling the July Cattle report as well as all County Estimates for Crops and Livestock beginning with the 2024 production year.
“The decision to discontinue these surveys and reports was not made lightly, but was necessary, given appropriated budget levels,” NASS said in its official statement.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) criticized the decision because the reports “provide critical data and the decision to end them is completely misguided.”
“It is disingenuous for the same agency which touts its commitment to transparency in livestock markets to arbitrarily cease publication of reports which provide just that. While it may be politically expedient to blame appropriators in Congress for today’s decision, cattle producers know better than to believe discontinuing a handful of reports will result in substantive cost savings for the Department,” said NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane. “NCBA calls on USDA-NASS to immediately reverse this decision and continue delivering on its stated mission of providing timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture.”
NCBA is urging USDA to reverse the decision. NASS also announced cancellation of the Cotton Objective Yield Survey.
Celebration of Modern Ag on the National Mall
In case you missed it.
The second Celebration of Modern Ag on the National Mall will take place Monday, May 6 – Wednesday, May 8 between the Smithsonian Museums in the heart of Washington, DC.
The 2024 theme of the Future of Food and Farming aims to highlight the benefits of today’s agricultural equipment technology along with gains achieved by producers, agri-business, food processors, and retailers. AEM is striving to have the full spectrum of agricultural equipment represented, including livestock, specialty and row crops.
“We are taking lessons from the inaugural Ag and CE events to make 2024 the best yet,” said AEM Senior Vice President Curt Blades. “Showcasing the sustainability of our food system on the National Mall is an unparalleled opportunity to influence regulations and legislation.”
Blades spoke about the event during the National Ag Day celebration in Washington DC. Learn more in this interview. 2024 Ag Day Curt Blades interview 2:21
Animal Ag News 4/8
MyLand Welcomes Nicole Small
Soil health company MyLand welcomes Nicole Small to the team as Senior Manager, Marketing & Communications.
Charged with driving comprehensive marketing campaigns, Small will lead efforts to enhance brand visibility, amplify research and development results, and emphasize MyLand’s commitment to Exceptional Service for growers. Small oversees the marketing team and reports to Shelley Baugh, MyLand Vice President, Marketing & Culture.
“We are delighted to welcome Nicole to the MyLand team,” expressed Baugh. “Nicole will play a pivotal role in our marketing activities and is what we need to propel our marketing efforts forward. We are confident that Nicole will make an immediate impact and help us to connect with our customers in new and meaningful ways.”
Small will lead initiatives to optimize campaign management, attract new growers, and enhance customer engagement. As part of MyLand’s ongoing collaboration with Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Small will contribute to greater access to soil health education.
Industry Ag News 4/5
Farmers and Ethanol Workers Call for E15 Waiver
Nearly 1,000 farmers, ethanol industry workers, and other supporters from across the country sent a letter to President Biden this week calling for action to allow continued access to E15 throughout the upcoming summer driving season.
“With the 2024 summer driving season just a few months away, we are urging your administration to take additional action that will ensure consumers across the nation have uninterrupted access to lower-cost, lower-carbon E15,” the letter states. “Allowing gasoline blenders and retailers to sell E15 this summer would help moderate prices at the pump, extend fuel supplies, and deliver relief to American families at a time of year when gasoline prices typically are at their highest. Today, E15 is selling for 10- 25 cents per gallon less than standard E10 gasoline, allowing the average American household to save $125-200 on its annual gasoline bill.” (Read the letter)
According to a Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) analysis of data released by state agencies in Minnesota and Iowa, total U.S. sales of E15 (15% ethanol fuel) are estimated to have hit a record 1.11 billion gallons in 2023, up 8% over 2022. The increase was due to a combination of an expansion in the number of retail stations offering E15 and the savings that E15 continued to offer to consumers.
A key reason why the average E15 volume per station has increased over the last five years is that sales have been allowed during the summer months in conventional gasoline areas. However, if the administration does not take action within the next month, E15 sales will drop precipitously in most of the country this summer, as occurred in conventional gasoline areas prior to 2019. In February of this year, EPA granted a petition from eight Midwest governors to allow year-round sales of E15. However, the petition only applies to those eight states and does not go into effect until 2025.
RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper says right now the only practical solution this summer is for waivers to be issued again by EPA as it has done in the past two years due to market conditions. “And frankly the market conditions that justified those waivers last year and two years ago still exist and in fact, you could argue that the the circumstances are worse,” said Cooper. “We have actually lower inventories of crude oil and petroleum products today than we had a year ago or two years ago. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve remains at a 40 plus year low. You’ve still got the the situation in Ukraine and now you’ve got a situation in the Middle East that is affecting global global energy markets.”
RFA joined several other organizations last week in sending a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan urging him to act swiftly on an emergency waiver for E15 sales.
Listen to Cooper’s comments on the need for a waiver.
RFA CEO Geoff Cooper need for E15 waiver 1:43
ZimmCast 728 – Global Center for AgComm
Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.
I started in a career of agricultural communications back in 1983 and in all these years it is amazing how much has changed. Technology has played a major role and that includes the ability today to easily communicate about agriculture everywhere in the world. Having said this I’m going to have a conversation with Dr. Owen Roberts, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a good friend and we first met being involved at events of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists.
He is also involved with a new initiative at the University of Illinois’s College of Agriculture. And that’s the subject of this podcast episode. Plans have been made for a global center for food and agricultural communications and it is named after another good friend, Dr. James Evans – The James F. Evans Global Center for Food and Agricultural Communications.
If you would like to contribute to this initiative you can do so online here.
Listen to the episode here:ZimmCast 728 - Global Center for AgComm (12:40)
That’s the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.
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How GHX Improves Seed Buying Experience
Christy Schrader, GHX Marketing Manager, at Commodity Classic
With GHX Yield Intelligence for example, Christy Schrader, GHX Marketing Manager for Syngenta, says farmers can turn data into decisions with customized MaxScript™ seeding recommendations focused on getting the right products and the right seeding rates for their fields, backed by the support of the GHX team.
Classic24 Christy Schrader, GHX 3:17
Syngenta made the GHX™ Mobile App available to anyone last year by creating a guest account. “The app is all based around how to we help farmers grow a better crop,” said Digital Product Manager Justin Welch. “Any farmer, not just our customers, can now have access to the GHX Mobile app and insights that can help them better run their business and, in the end, maximize profit potential by the acre.”
Classic24 Justin Welch, Syngenta 3:12