Senators question USFS role in sage grouse review

Thirteen Democratic senators, including Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, are questioning what role the U.S. Forest Service played in the Trump administration’s recent decision to review protections for the greater sage grouse.

Thirteen Democratic senators, including Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, are questioning what role the U.S. Forest Service played in the Trump administration’s recent decision to review protections for the greater sage grouse.

In a letter sent Dec. 20 to USFS Chief Tony Tooke, the senators pose a list of 10 questions stemming from federal orders to review the 2015 sage grouse plans, which sought to keep the peculiar bird off the Endangered Species List.

Those plans, the senators argue, were the hard-won results of negotiations between farmers, ranchers, sportsmen, conservationists and government officials to preserve sage grouse habitat while balancing rural economies. On June 7, however, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke issued an order to re-examine the plans to see if any provisions might hinder job creation and energy development.

Since then, the Forest Service has also announced its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for multiple national forests and grasslands in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado, which the agency says may warrant changes in land management for the sage grouse.

The notice includes:

• Idaho and southwest Montana (Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Boise, Caribou-Targhee, Salmon-Challis and Sawtooth national forests, and Curlew National Grassland).

• Nevada (Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest).

• Utah (Ashley, Dixie, Fishlake, Manti-La Sal and Uinta-Wasatch-Cache national forests).

• Wyoming and Colorado (Bridger-Teton and Medicine Bow-Routt national forests, and Thunder Basin National Grassland).

The deadline for public comment is Friday, Jan. 5, though the senators are asking the Forest Service to extend that period by at least 45 days to account for the acreage and stakeholders involved.

Sage grouse are found in 11 Western states, and are known for their elaborate courtship and mating rituals. The population was once estimated at 16 million birds, but has since dwindled to somewhere between 200,000 and 500,000. More than half the remaining habitat is on land managed by either the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management.

In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the Dec. 20 letter was signed by Washington Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray; New Mexico Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich; Montana Sen. Jon Tester; Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet; Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto; California Sen. Dianne Feinstein; Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow; Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen; and Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed. All are Democrats.

Among their questions, they ask how the Forest Service was involved in working with the Department of the Interior on its recommendation to review sage grouse plans, and if the agency held any meetings with local stakeholders.

They also ask why the USFS is considering changes when the BLM’s National Technical Team, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Conservation Objectives Team, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Summary Report and the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies all agreed on key elements in the final 2015 sage grouse plans.

“Because of the profound economic and cultural implications of upending this range-wide solution — including a potential Endangered Species Act listing of the sage grouse that could result from USFS and BLM changes to the 2015 plans — we ask that you respond to the following questions and requests for information by Jan. 12, 2018,” the senators write.

A spokeswoman for the Forest Service in Washington, D.C. said they have received the letter and are working on a reply.

Capital Press

Wolf pack detected in foothills north of Boise

A pack of wolves has been detected in the Boise foothills area for the first time. There have been sporadic, lone wolf sightings in the area for years but Idaho Wildlife Services is now keeping an eye on the seven-wolf pack.

BOISE — Idaho Wildlife Services is keeping its eyes on a pack of seven wolves that has been detected recently in the foothills north of Boise.

News that a pack of wolves has been detected in that area was not welcomed by the state’s cattle industry.

There have been lone wolf sightings in the Boise foothills over the years but this is the first time a pack has been detected in the area.

IWS State Director Todd Grimm said seven different sets of wolf tracks have been found near Avimor Subdivision, which is located in the foothills north of Boise, by far the state’s largest urban area.

Wildlife Services is a USDA agency that solves conflicts between humans and animals.

Grimm said there have been no reported livestock depredations associated with the pack, “but there are cattle in that vicinity, as well as pets, so the possibility is certainly there for a conflict.”

Idaho Cattle Association Executive Vice President Cameron Mulrony said he has not heard of any problems associated with the pack from cattlemen in the region but the news is certainly not welcomed by them.

Just having wolves in the area can cause cattle to put on less weight and reduce their breed-back percentage, both of which can cost ranchers a significant amount of money, he said.

“Any time there is an additional predator around that can cause a hit on a rancher’s bottom line, that’s not great news,” Mulrony said.

Jennifer Struthers, a regional wolf biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said there is typically one or two wolf sightings a year in the foothills area during the winter time, when elk and deer come down onto winter range.

Outside of those sporadic sightings, not much is known about the predators, she said.

“The wolves come down because the game come down,” Struthers said. “We get a few sightings most winters by the public or when we fly. Where they go in the spring and summer time, we really don’t know.”

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation Broadcast Services Manager Jake Putnam said local sheepherders reported a couple wolf sightings in March but no depredations were associated with the animals.

“It doesn’t come as a surprise to Idaho Farm Bureau that wolves are that close to the city,” he said. “There have been sightings of wolves there in years past, but this is the first time a pack has been reported and this is a concern to us.”

According to Wildlife Services, there have been seven confirmed wolf livestock depredations in Ada County since the predators were re-introduced to Idaho in the mid-1990s.

Those depredations have occurred higher up in the mountain areas, said IDFG spokesman Mike Keckler.

Capital Press

FSIS Official Counters Brazil Talk of Reopening US market to Brazil Beef

A Brazilian meat executive caused a stir Nov. 28 when he told Reuters that his company Minerva, SA is getting ready to resume exports of fresh beef to the U.S. as early as the first quarter of 2018.USDA officials, however, have dismissed the idea as “inaccurate” and stated again that they have never given a time frame for when the ban would be lifted. USDA suspended imports on June 22, when a government audit discovered food safety deficiencies in the wake of Brazil’s inspection scandal.In an interview Friday (Dec. 1), Carmen Rottenberg, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service’s acting deputy undersecretary, told IEG Policy that USDA is still waiting for Brazilian authorities to provide information on how they’ve resolved concerns that caused the ban to be imposed in the first place.“Nothing has changed,” Rottenberg said. “The ball is really in Brazil’s court to provide us with information that we’ve requested. We have had back and forth with Brazil and they’ve provided us with some information and we’ve asked for additional information. But the notion that we’ve given them some sort of a timeline, is completely inaccurate.”According to Rottenberg, at this time it is not possible to estimate when the ban may be lifted, because even when Brazil provides the additional information, the agency will likely still have to conduct a verification audit.“There is a process here and we are following that process and basing our decision on science,” Rottenberg added.Rottenberg’s comments come in a response to a Nov. 28 report by Reuters, in which the CEO of Minerva SA, Fernando Galletti, indicated that the company expects to resume fresh beef imports to the United States in the first quarter of 2018.“This is the expectation we are hearing from the Agriculture Ministry,” Galletti said, according to Reuters.This is not the first time that Brazilian officials have given overly optimistic estimates about when the suspension would be lifted.

Report signals Trump to meet with petroleum interests on biofuels

President Donald Trump has agreed to meet and discuss U.S. biofuels policy with the U.S. refining industry and lawmakers related to those interests, according to a report by Reuters.The newswire quoted two sources familiar with the situation who asked not to be named. One source indicated Trump has been "briefed" on the situation and agreed to the meeting, with a session potentially to be the week of December 11 once a window of opportunity can be found.However, Politico is reporting the meeting will be with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and will not include any petroleum/refining industry officials. Cruz has put a hold on the nomination of Bill Northey to be an undersecretary at USDA, saying his hold will last until he gets a meeting with the White House on biofuel policy.While this has set off considerable speculation that it could lead to reform of US biofuel policy, most contacts believe that is not likely to be the case.

Washington Insider: Work on Avoiding Government Shutdowns

The Senate passed a tax reform bill over the weekend, and Bloomberg is reporting that on Saturday, House Republicans already announced a plan to pass a two-week extension of federal government funding without Democratic votes to avoid a shutdown on Dec. 8.The legislation would push the next deadline to the Friday before Christmas, “giving House and Senate lawmakers time to knit together their respective tax-cutting bills into a single piece of legislation to present to President Donald Trump.”Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, told the press that this step is “necessary to ensure the programs and services that all Americans rely on are maintained and available to all.”Representative Richard Hudson, R-N.C., said earlier that that the leadership team planned to press rank-and-file members to vote for the funding extension without any extraneous provisions that could cause delays. A handful of conservatives, including Republican Reps. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Jim Jordan of Ohio, had said earlier that they wouldn’t vote for it.The short-term spending bill would still need support from some Democrats in the Senate, where 60 votes will be required to advance the measure and Republicans have only 52 members. But being able to get it through the House by relying just on the Republican majority removes some Democratic leverage to press to include other issues.The Dec. 8 deadline was set in September when the President agreed with Democratic leaders to fund the government and suspend the debt limit for three months. Bloomberg says that Republicans are betting that putting all their energy into a legislative win on tax cuts will convince enough of their own members to push the spending negotiation off.Following the Senate vote on Saturday, a conference committee will begin meeting in days to reconcile the two versions of the tax plan into a final bill that must be passed by both chambers before heading to the President for his signature.The strategy for the funding measure grew in part from the complicated coalition that Republican leaders have to build for their tax overhaul, Bloomberg said.As part of the negotiation to convince moderate Republican senators like Susan Collins of Maine to support the tax bill, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., promised that a bipartisan proposal to stabilize health-insurance markets would be attached to must-pass legislation -- like a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown -- before the end of the year. Collins made the demand because the Senate tax bill would end the Obamacare mandate that individuals have health coverage, which is forecast to make insurance premiums rise.The leading health proposal, from Republican Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Democrat Patty Murray of Washington, is unpopular in the House, and Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said as recently as November that he doesn’t support it. Attaching the bipartisan health-care bill to a stopgap spending bill would risk enraging conservatives.By creating another government shutdown deadline on Dec. 22, Senate leadership can still try to fulfill its promises to moderates by attaching the Lamar-Alexander legislation to a must-pass bill before the end of the year -- and hope by then the tax overhaul is already on the president’s desk.Another lingering contentious issue is the legal status of young immigrants brought to the US illegally as children. There’s support in both parties for legal protection that would allow so-called Dreamers to remain under certain conditions. The President earlier ended the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and gave Congress until March to come up with a fix.Democrats and some Republicans, including Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Florida Representative Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., demand a solution before the end of the year.Curbelo said he would vote for a short-term spending bill that lasts until Dec. 22, but “I would not support funding the government beyond Dec. 31 unless we have a solution for DACA,” he said on Friday.Also, appropriators probably won’t have time to finish their package of actual spending bills before Dec. 22, because Republican and Democratic leaders still haven’t agreed on top-line spending levels.That means the legislation to avert a government shutdown on Dec. 22 will probably have to be another stopgap measure lasting until at least sometime in January, Bloomberg said.Still, even with remarkable Republican unity on the tax overhaul buying some goodwill, there are Republican House members who resent being forced to perform the most basic function of Congress -- funding the government -- via a series of short-term crisis-avoidance bills. Several Freedom Caucus member point to a “whole host of concerns” about the strategy to fund the government for just two weeks, “I don’t know if it’s a failure of leadership,” a caucus member told Bloomberg, “But it seems to me to be a failure of vision.”So, while Saturday’s tax bill deal may end one battle, there are several more on many issues, including spending and trade, that can be expected to cause major angst, and which producer s should watch closely as they proceed, Washington Insider believes. 

NAFTA May be Nearing Breaking Point

Forbes speculates that the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations may be reaching a breaking point. Little progress has been made in previous talks as the U.S. continues to push a hardline stance that the governments of Canada and Mexico aren't going to accept. Last week, a government official from Mexico left a meeting with the Trump Administration with a negative outlook. In a separate statement, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer says he is “concerned about the lack of headway.” Lighthizer says that so far, there is no evidence that Canada or Mexico are “willing to seriously engage on provisions that will lead to a rebalanced agreement.” Forbes says that Trump's team appears to be threatening to be ready to cancel NAFTA if serious concessions aren't made. Mexico and Canada, however, are willing to stall and wait for Congress and U.S. business chambers to increase the pressure on the Trump administration to preserve the current framework.

USGC, NCGA Reiterate Support for KORUS, NAFTA

Leadership from the U.S. Grains Council and National Corn Growers Association last week spent time in South Korea and Mexico to talk trade. The two organizations met with customers and government officials during what they call a period of policy uncertainty in the U.S. corn industry’s top markets. Mexico is the top purchaser of U.S. corn, while South Korea is ranked third. The joint delegation in South Korea emphasized the success of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade agreement for U.S. exports of feed grains and co-products. A second group traveled to Mexico and met with the major grain associations representing the top buyers of U.S. grain products, among others. NCGA President Kevin Skunes warns the loss of market access to South Korea and Mexico “would have immediate and far-reaching impacts on farm economics across the United States," if negotiations to rework trade agreements fail.

Perdue Predicts Strong 2018 Exports

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue predicts fiscal year 2018 farm exports will remain strong. Responding to the Department of Agriculture’s export forecast published last week, Perdue says “exports continue to be a major driver of the rural economy,” mentioning that exports generate 20 percent of U.S. farm income. The USDA forecast predicts farm exports for the 2018 fiscal year will reach a value of $140 billion, which would be the fourth-best year in history. Fiscal year 2017 closed with the third-highest export total on record. Perdue also noted that agriculture’s trade surplus is expected to grow eight percent, from $21.3 billion last year to $23 billion in 2018. Perdue says USDA continues to work “around the clock” to boost export prospects “not only by expanding existing markets and improving existing trade agreements, but also by aggressively pursuing new markets and new opportunities.”

Grain Elevator Profit Margins Could Increase in 2018

A new report from CoBank says 2018 could bring an increase in profit margins for grain elevators. The report cites a weak harvest basis, along with low transportation rates, and other issues for the prospect of improved profit margins. A CoBank researcher also says a large carryover and another huge crop have “created an attractive carry in futures markets, particularly for wheat,” adding that current market conditions will provide elevators with better returns year-over-year if they are able to purchase the grain. U.S. ending stocks for corn and soybeans in 2018 are currently estimated to be the largest since 1987 and 2006, but stocks-to-use ratios remain manageable. However, the supply situation for wheat remains more burdensome, with large stocks expected to continue to weigh on the market in the coming year. The report says that because of the large supplies, localized storage shortages have developed in the Western Corn Belt, especially Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas.

Idaho Will Consider Ag Education Requirement for High School Students

A high school senior will propose a bill to Idaho lawmakers that would require high school students to complete at least two agriculture education classes. The bill will be introduced in the 2018 Idaho legislative session by 17-year-old Anna Peterson, an FFA member from Nampa, Idaho, according to the Capitol Press. Peterson says the legislation would mean that every high school student in the state would “emerge from those classes with at least a basic understanding of the farming and ranching industry and where their food comes from.” Peterson says she wants the classes to cover animal and plant science as well as agriculture's importance to Idaho's economy and teach students about some of the many career opportunities involved with the industry.

General Mills Contributes to National Wheat Foundation

General Mills has sent a contribution of $735,000 to the National Wheat Foundation. The funds are earmarked for the foundation to work with the Soul Health Partnership to advance adoption and implementation of soil health practices. The funds, equally distributed over the next three years, will be used to conduct soil health research on wheat farms and education outreach to more than 125,000 wheat farmers across the Northern and Southern Plains. The contribution brings General Mills' recent financial commitments to nearly $3 million for promoting the expanded adoption of soil health practices. As part of the agreement, General Mills has partnered with the Soil Health Partnership and the National Wheat Foundation to provide on-farm mentorship for the farm operators. Farmers, their agronomists, and Soil Health Partnership Field Managers will train new and existing farm staff in advanced nutrient management and tillage methods. 

USDA PUBLISHES SCHOOL MEALS RULE, EXPANDS OPTIONS, EASES CHALLENGES

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2017 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today provided local food service professionals the flexibility they need to serve wholesome, nutritious, and tasty meals in schools across the nation. The new School Meal Flexibility Rule, published today, makes targeted changes to standards for meals provided under USDA’s National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, and asks customers to share their thoughts on those changes with the Department.U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said the rule reflects USDA’s commitment, made in a May proclamation (PDF, 123 KB), to work with program operators, school nutrition professionals, industry, and other stakeholders to develop forward-thinking strategies to ensure school nutrition standards are both healthful and practical.“Schools need flexibility in menu planning so they can serve nutritious and appealing meals,” Perdue said. “Based on the feedback we’ve gotten from students, schools, and food service professionals in local schools across America, it’s clear that many still face challenges incorporating some of the meal pattern requirements. Schools want to offer food that students actually want to eat. It doesn’t do any good to serve nutritious meals if they wind up in the trash can. These flexibilities give schools the local control they need to provide nutritious meals that school children find appetizing.”This action reflects a key initiative of USDA’s Regulatory Reform Agenda, developed in response to the President’s Executive Order to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens. Other USDA initiatives of this kind will be reflected in the forthcoming Fall 2017 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.The interim final rule published today gives schools the option to serve low-fat (1 percent) flavored milk. Currently, schools are permitted to serve low-fat and non-fat unflavored milk as well as non-fat flavored milk. The rule also would provide this milk flexibility to the Special Milk Program and Child and Adult Care Food Program operators serving children ages 6 and older. States will also be allowed to grant exemptions to schools experiencing hardship in obtaining whole grain-rich products acceptable to students during School Year (SY) 2018-2019.Schools and industry also need more time to reduce sodium levels in school meals, Perdue said. So instead of further restricting sodium levels for SY 2018-2019, schools that meet the current – “Target 1” – limit will be considered compliant with USDA’s sodium requirements. Perdue again lauded the efforts of school food professionals in serving healthful, appealing meals and underscored USDA’s commitment to helping them overcome remaining challenges they face in meeting the nutrition standards.“We salute the efforts of America’s school food professionals,” Perdue said. “And we will continue to support them as they work to run successful school meals programs and feed our nation’s children.”This rule will be in effect for SY 2018-2019. USDA will accept public comments on these flexibilities via www.regulations.govto inform the development of a final rule, which will address the availability of these three flexibilities in the long term.USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs that include the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and the Summer Food Service Program. Together, these programs comprise America’s nutrition safety net. For more information, visit www.fns.usda.gov. 

Cattlemen Respond to National Monument Reductions: "Egregious Example of Federal Overreach Corrected in Win for Rural Communities"

(SALT LAKE CITY – December 3, 2017) – The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Public Lands Council applauded the White House’s plan to reduce the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. The decision – which follows an extensive review of monument designations by the Department of Interior – is a clear win for rural communities who have suffered the consequences of egregious federal overreach.

“Previous administrations abused the power of the Antiquities Act, designating huge swaths of land as national monuments without any public input or review,” said Dave Eliason, president of the Public Lands Council. “Rural communities in Utah and across the West have paid the price. Sweeping designations locked up millions of acres of land with the stroke of a pen, undermining local knowledge and decimating rural economies.”

The President’s decision means that traditional uses of the land, including livestock grazing, will be restored on public land in Utah.

“We are grateful that today’s action will allow ranchers to resume their role as responsible stewards of the land and drivers of rural economies,” said Craig Uden, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “Going forward, it is critical that we reform the Antiquities Act to ensure that those whose livelihoods and communities depend on the land have a voice in federal land management decisions.”

Ranchers who hold grazing permits on public land do vital work that benefits public land including the improvement of water sources, conservation of wildlife habitat, and maintenance of the open space that Americans enjoy. Limitless power to make massive designations under the Antiquities Act poses a serious threat to that noble mission and rich heritage.

Washington Insider: US and Europe in New China Fight

Much of the world is focused on the administration’s tax proposals just now, and these are certainly the economic and political headliners. However, another battle deserves attention, the New York Times says. It is reporting that the United States has filed arguments to the World Trade Organization in a looming dispute over China’s future role, and says that the outcome of this fight could shape the global trading system for decades to come.The Times said that senior United States officials reported on Wednesday that they had filed a brief to the WTO as a third party in a case that China has brought against the European Union. The brief argues that China does not deserve the designation of a “market economy,” a distinction that would entitle it to preferential economic treatment under the WTO.However, the move is likely to ratchet up trade tensions with China, which the White House has called one of the world’s biggest trade offenders. And if China is awarded the designation against the wishes of the United States, it could test the Trump administration’s willingness to remain in the WTO, an international body for establishing trade rules and settling disputes. The administration has previously called the organization a “disaster.”China is now classified as a nonmarket economy, which allows the United States and other countries to use a special framework to decide whether it is “dumping” its products in other countries at unfairly low prices. This framework allows the United States to add an extra duty on some Chinese products.China argues that the United States and other WTO members promised to award it the market economy label in 2016, the 15th anniversary of its accession to the WTO. But the United States and the European Union are opposing that, claiming that China has failed to hold up its end of the bargain by curtailing the state’s role in the economy. United States officials say the Chinese government’s heavy hand distorts costs and prices in the country and harms competitors abroad.Last December, China challenged both the European Union and the United States at the WTO, saying that it was merely protecting its lawful rights. The case with the EU is proceeding and could serve as precedent in China’s challenge against the United States, which a WTO panel will consider next.If China succeeds in this case, that would weaken the ability of European and American officials to levy anti-dumping duties against it. It could also strengthen the resolve among top Trump administration officials in their claims that the WTO has been ineffective in defending the interests of Americans abroad — and perhaps lead to the organization’s demise altogether.Those officials include Robert Lighthizer, the United States trade representative, who in his confirmation hearing before the Senate in June described China’s challenge against Europe and the United States as “the most serious litigation matter we have at the WTO right now.”Lighthizer said that he had “made it very clear that a bad decision” on China’s status “would be cataclysmic for the WTO” Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said Lighthizer’s statements called into question whether the United States was looking for a reason to withdraw from the WTO.The WTO and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, have been led for decades by the United States and other relatively developed and open economies. As other countries joined, the presumption was always that they were seeking to become more market-driven economies like the United States.But the rise of China has called this into question. Since beginning to open up to world trade in the 1980s, China has maintained an economy that melds market capitalism with state control. Some analysts argue that the state has taken a bigger role in the economy in the last few years, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping.The Trump administration has identified recalibrating trade with China as one of its defining challenges. The president repeatedly referenced China on the campaign trail, and his message that cheap Chinese imports decimated American manufacturing resonated with voters.The Trump administration says it is preparing a range of trade actions that could affect China, including investigations into imports of steel and aluminum, as well as China’s violations of intellectual property.Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have proposed tighter restrictions on Chinese purchases of American companies and technology.On Wednesday, United States officials said that China’s behavior violated the language of the agreement China signed when it joined the WTO 15 years ago, as well as the text of the WTO’s precursor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which calls for using market-determined prices in calculations.Clearly, this effort will be extremely important to the WTO, and to U.S. trading partners. The extent to which China’s support for state-owned enterprises can be limited is singularly important to U.S. producers and should be watched closely as the WTO processes unfold, Washington Insider believes. 

Nearly $1 Billion of Administration's Disaster Request For USDA

Almost $1 billion out of the $44 billion in disaster aid requested by the Trump administration would be earmarked for USDA, with around $465 million for the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and $500 million for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).Of the amount for FSA, around $375 million would be for the Emergency Conservation Program, $50 million for the Emergency Forest Restoration Program and $40 million for Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish program, according to USDA acting deputy undersecretary for farm production and conservation Rob Johannson told House appropriators. 

Ethanol Applauds EPA RVO Announcement, Biodiesel Disappointed

The Environmental Protection Agency Thursday finalized a rule that establishes the required renewable fuel volumes under the Renewable Fuels Standard program for 2018, and biomass-based diesel for 2019. The agency set a total renewable fuel blending obligation of 19.29 billion gallons next year, maintaining the statutory requirement of 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuel such as corn-based ethanol and 4.29 billion gallons of advanced biofuel, including 288 million gallons of cellulosic biofuel, a slight increase from earlier proposals. The 2019 biodiesel amount is set for 2.1 billion gallons. American Coalition for Ethanol CEO Brian Jennings says, “ACE members are very pleased” that EPA set the RVO for ethanol at the statutory level of 15-billion gallons, as other industry groups applauded the announcement. However, the National Biodiesel Board noted that the EPA recommended only 4.29 billion gallons of advanced biofuels and 2.1 billion gallons of biomass-based diesel, a reduction and a flatline, respectively, from last year. Doug Whitehead of the National Biodiesel Board says: “EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has disappointed the biodiesel industry for failing to respond to our repeated calls for growth.”

Ontario Proposes 10 Percent Ethanol Mandate

The government of Ontario is proposing changes to biofuels regulations, including increasing the current five percent ethanol mandate to ten percent in 2020. Advanced Biofuels Canada notes that a 10 percent ethanol mandate is likely to see sales of E15 and higher blends to meet the new average. The organization says the proposal will create expanded job and growth opportunities for Ontario’s agricultural, forestry, and waste sectors. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor says if finalized, the proposal will be “a win for Canadian consumers.” In March, Growth Energy filed comments to Canada’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, focusing on including ethanol in the development of Ontario’s fuel standard. The comments claimed that the easiest way to reduce greenhouse gas and other harmful emissions is to increase ethanol blended gasoline at a minimum of ten percent.

South Korea To Hold KORUS Public Hearing

South Korea will hold a second public meeting regarding the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, known as KORUS. The meeting was announced after the first public meeting was disrupted by angry farmers and livestock breeders, according to the Korea Herald, a Korea-based newspaper. The second public hearing taking place Friday (today) allows Policymakers, trade experts and citizens to take part in the talks to discuss issues related to the five-year-old deal. Farmers criticized the November 10th hearing, claiming the gathering did not reflect the damage they had suffered. In the earlier hearing, the ministry unveiled an economic feasibility study that claimed a possible amendment to the KORUS FTA is not likely to have a visible impact on the South Korean economy because the two countries have already scrapped tariffs in many sectors. The study didn't disclose detailed figures on each sector due to worries it would reveal South Korea's strategies before entering full-fledged renegotiations with the US.

Crawford Renews Calls to Open Ag Trade with Cuba

Arkansas Representative Rick Crawford is renewing his call to open agricultural trade with Cuba. The Republican says his proposal is an alternative to repealing the Cuban trade embargo, allowing the U.S. to tap into Cuba’s $2 billion agricultural market, according to Politico. Crawford first proposed the bill in January that would cut back restrictions on U.S. financing for agriculture exports, allowing Cubans to purchase U.S. products with credit. Current law allows U.S. producers to legally export agricultural products, but they must be paid in cash and cannot offer credit. The bill is backed by a bipartisan group of 62 lawmakers, along with companion legislation in the Senate sponsored by North Dakota Democrat Heidi Heitkamp and Arkansas Republican John Boozman. Cuba currently imports largely from China, Spain, Brazil and Canada. 

EPA is proposing to delay the effective date of the 2015 rule defining waters of the United States WOTUS

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to delay the effective date of the 2015 rule defining waters of the United States (WOTUS) until two years after the regulation is finalized and published in the Federal Register.Implementation of the 2015 WOTUS rule, which re-defines the scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act, is on hold due to a federal circuit court stay and the Supreme Court’s pending decision on whether the court of appeals has jurisdiction to review challenges to the rule. The Supreme Court held oral arguments Oct. 11, 2017, and could issue a decision resolving the appeals court jurisdiction question anytime, EPA said.Concurrent with the court review, EPA said it is engaged in a two-step rulemaking process to reconsider the WOTUS rule. The first step proposes to rescind the definition of “waters of the United States” and re-codify the previous definition. In step two, EPA and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers are working to “substantively reconsider” the definition of waters of the United States, EPA said.A two-year extension of the effective date of the WOTUS rule would ensure that the scope of CWA jurisdiction will be administered as it is now and that there is sufficient time for reconsidering the definition of WOTUS in the regulatory process, the agency said.The proposed rule amending the effective date was published in the Federal Register last week, and the public comment period closes on Dec. 13, 2017.