NCBA's Statement On Confirmation Of Gregg Doud

WASHINGTON (March 1, 2018) – Today Kent Bacus, NCBA’s Director of International Trade, released the following statement in response to the confirmation of Gregg Doud to be the USTR Chief Agriculture Negotiator:

“Gregg Doud has been a strong advocate for American farmers and ranchers for many years, and NCBA is happy that the Senate has confirmed him as the Chief Agricultural Negotiator. The long nomination and confirmation process is over and U.S. agriculture finally has the representation we deserve at the negotiating table. We look forward to working with Gregg Doud and the staff at USTR to address the many trade barriers facing the U.S. beef industry.”

Wyoming Ranchers Fight for Relief from Deadly Predation by Dangerous Grizzly Bears

Mountain States Legal Foundation represents Wyoming families who support State management of the fully recovered grizzly bear population surrounding Yellowstone National Park.          

February 28, 2018 – DENVER, CO.  Wyoming ranchers who know first-hand the deadly consequences of an ever-growing grizzly bear population have long been unable to protect their families, workers, livestock, or property because of the Endangered Species Act.  Charles Price, a fourth-generation rancher in Daniel, has encountered grizzly bears in ever increasing number—he and fellow ranchers in the Upper Green River Valley lost 71 cattle to confirmed grizzly bear attacks in 2017 alone.  Mary E. Thoman of La Barge and her family have raised sheep in the area for more than a century, dating back to when her ancestors emigrated from Austria in the 1900s and homesteaded land in Wyoming.  Not only have they lost countless sheep due to grizzly bear predation, but also one of their shepherds was attacked and mauled by a female grizzly in 2010. Today, Mountain States Legal Foundation asked a federal court to allow these ranchers, along with the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation and Wyoming Stock Growers Association, to defend their families, livelihoods, and future when the court addresses management of grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park.  “The grizzly bear, the most dangerous four-legged beast in north America, is a subject of wild fascination and idle curiosity to most Americans, but ranchers like Charles and Mary know them and their destructive power up close and personal,” said William Perry Pendley, MSLF president.  “We intend to ensure that their voices, real-world experiences, and informed perspectives are heard by the court.”In June of 2017, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a rule designating the grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (“GYE”) as a “distinct population segment,” meaning it is both a “discrete” and a “significant” segment of the overall grizzly bear population.  In addition, the agency concluded, after extensive research and careful monitoring, that the GYE grizzly bear population exceeded the minimum population goal set by the Service in 2013, was recovered fully, and is no longer in danger of becoming extinct (there is only a one percent chance the GYE grizzly bear could become extinct in the next 100 years).  Therefore, the Service removed the GYE grizzly bear population from any Endangered Species Act listing to allow the wildlife agencies of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming to manage them.Immediately, various environmental groups and some American Indian tribes sued to reverse the Service’s decision.  If they are successful, the ranchers and farmers in Wyoming will continue to suffer the ill effects of the region’s ever-increasing grizzly bear population, without the ability of Wyoming officials to address, let alone resolve, their legitimate concerns. Mountain States Legal Foundation, founded in 1977, is a nonprofit, public-interest legal foundation dedicated to individual liberty, the right to own and use property, limited and ethical government, and the free enterprise system.  Its offices are in suburban Denver, Colorado.

Perdue defends his support for the Renewable Fuel Standard

ANAHEIM, Calif. (DTN) -- Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue defended his support for the Renewable Fuel Standard on Wednesday as he spoke to farmers at Commodity Classic, making it clear that President Donald Trump "unequivocally" supports ethanol, corn farmers and the RFS.Biofuel industry leaders and corn farmers are concerned that Perdue doesn't understand the value of the Renewable Identification Number credits to the biofuels industry. Leading up to Perdue's speech, corn farmers were hearing reports about the White House meeting on Tuesday with Republican Sens. Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa in which the issue of RINs was reportedly discussed.Speaking to thousands of corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum farmers, Perdue said he was beginning to understand what President Trump means when he talks about "fake news," as he has drawn fire since Tuesday over talk coming out of the White House about what exactly could be a proposal to change RIN mandates.Perdue reiterated his support for the RFS is "unequivocal" as well, and he sought to quell any questions about whether he would support a policy that would risk hurting corn demand."Hear me clearly, all of you," Perdue said. "I will not, I have not and will not support any policies in this country that diminish the demand, undermine the RFS and are harmful to our agricultural producers. I will not."Those comments led to long, roaring applause before he continued his speech.Corn farmers and ethanol industry leaders, though, have serious concerns following Tuesday's talks in Washington that the White House is supporting the idea of the Environmental Protection Agency agreeing to issue RIN waiver credits to refineries. While policymakers have referred to it as a price cap, the concept would allow EPA to issue waiver credits at substantially lower values than RINs are trading on the market. By buying those cheap credits, refiners could offset the actual requirements and costs of blending ethanol. 

Hatch: Congress Will Act on NAFTA Withdrawal

Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch weighed in this week on the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. The Senate Finance Committee Chair says Congress will intervene if President Trump follows through on his threat to withdraw the U.S. from the agreement. He says, “We’d probably work hard to pass NAFTA, hopefully by a veto-proof vote, because it’s very important, there’s no doubt about it.” Hatch spoke with reporters after speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., saying he believes Trump is only making the threat to put pressure on Mexico and Canada. Hatch doesn’t believe Trump will actually withdraw from the agreement. “I think that’s part of his negotiation posture,” he says, “and in all honesty, I think the president is negotiating. I think that he knows what he’s doing.” Meanwhile, Kansas Republican Representative Lynn Jenkins used her face time with Trump this week to make the case of “the importance of access to global markets for agricultural producers in Kansas.” Her spokesperson says the representative emphasized that building off the economic successes from the recent tax cuts, Kansas farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers are eager to deliver and are hoping the administration will continue to seek ways to get American products into new markets.”

Treasury Secretary Mentions U.S. Possibly Rejoining TPP

It’s been over a year since President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the multi-national Trans-Pacific Partnership. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (meh-noo’-chin) says the U.S. is willing to discuss possibly rejoining the trade pact. He spoke recently at an investment summit meeting sponsored by the U.S. Chamber. According to Mnuchin, renegotiating the agreement is “absolutely on the table” and he’s been in contact with the other countries about what it would take for the United States to reverse course. The New York Times says the president appears to have found renewed interest in an agreement he once described as “the rape of our country.” Mnuchin says, “I’ve met with several of my counterparts and we’ve begun to have very high-level conversations about TPP. While it’s not a priority at the moment, it’s something the president will consider.” Trump opened the door to possibly looking again at the agreement at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. “If we did a substantially better deal,” Trump said in an interview with CNBC, “I would be open to TPP.” During his remarks, Mnuchin said those comments were “quite significant” and yielded positive reaction around the world. However, the 11 countries remaining in the soon-to-be-signed TPP were a little more cautious in their reactions to the idea.  

U.S. Ag Pays the Price for Trade Disputes

The Farmers for Free Trade Group released a report this week that highlights how American farmers and ranchers have paid the price in trade disputes. Consequences usually happen in the form of retaliatory tariffs. The report comes out as the Trump Administration makes a final decision on placing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. That would be on top of new tariffs already in place on washing machines and solar panels. Brian Kuehl, Farmers for Free Trade Executive Director, says it’s important to hold trading partners accountable. However, raising tariffs also comes with harmful unintended consequences. “History shows these consequences are paid for by American farmers,” he says, “in the form of retaliatory tariffs on agriculture exports that farmers rely on to make ends meet. At a time when farm incomes have decreased, while global supply is increasing, it’s important to not take any actions that would result in reducing American agricultural exports.” The report includes a long list of agricultural products that were targeted during disputes in the last 20 years. A few of the examples included disputes over cross-border trucking, country of origin labeling, and tires. Additionally, the report includes the level of tariffs slapped on American goods by other countries.

Ag Committee Members Press USDA on Payments to Deceased Farmers

Senate Ag Committee members Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan raised concerns with the USDA’s Farm Service Agency about farm program payments to deceased farmers. The Senators sent a letter to the agency, saying that they need to be careful stewards of taxpayer money and work to avoid wasteful payments. The letter says, “As we prepare to write the next farm bill, we write to request more information so we can understand more about USDA payments to an estate after the death of a farmer.” Current law says farmers must be “actively engaged in farming” in order to receive farm program benefits. Farmers do that by providing labor or management. USDA recently issued guidance that considers an estate to be actively engaged – and thus, eligible for farm payments – for up to two years after the death of a farmer, without review. The Government Accountability Office criticized USDA payments to the estate of dead farmers, saying it’s helped heirs to game the system and evade payment limits by collecting benefits on behalf of the deceased family member.