Organic Farmers Association Applauds Organic Checkoff Withdrawal

The Organic Farmers Association is happy the U.S. Department of Agriculture took action to terminate the rulemaking process to establish a mandatory national research and promotion program for organic. The proposed program was causing divisions among the organic community. Checkoff programs must have the support of an entire industry to be implemented, which this didn’t have. The proposed Organic Research and Promotion Program would have required all certified organic operations, even those exempted from the checkoff, to submit annual gross sales reports. All entities whose gross sales exceeded $250,000 a year would have been legally required to pay .0001 percent of their annual organic sales. Jennifer Taylor, Vice President of the OFA, says, “Organic farmers already fulfill a heavy load of paperwork for their annual organic certification. Additional federally-mandated paperwork would have been overly burdensome, especially for the 75 percent of certified organic farmers who would have been exempt from the checkoff.” 

ICYMI: Gianforte Leads Effort to Reduce Burden of ELD Mandate on Montana’s Small Business Truckers

Three Congressmen Ask FMCSA To Grant OOIDA’s ELD Exemption
May 18, 2018 Three Republican congressmen sent a letter to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Ray Martinez calling for his support for ELD exemption for small-business trucking firms. In a May 8 letter, U.S. Reps. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont.; Steve King, R-Iowa; and Brian Babin, R-Texas, asked Martinez to grant an exemption request filed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association seeking relief from the ELD mandate on behalf of small business truckers with a proven safety record. The letter cites the economic impact on small-business trucking, prompting rate increases for freight and adding burdensome costs to the bottom line of trucking companies without providing much in the way of safety benefits. “OOIDA’s petition is the most extensive solution for resolving these concerns regarding the ELD mandate,” the letter states. “When granted, this petition will help farmers and ranchers who operate their own trucks and are concerned about animal health and welfare. The burden of the ELD mandate falls disproportionately on our rural communities, since they are heavily dependent on agriculture.” OOIDA’s petition requests that motor carriers considered to be a “small transportation trucking business” who do not have a Carrier Safety Rating of “unsatisfactory” and can document a proven history of safety performance with no attributable at-fault crashes should be exempted from the ELD requirement. The Small Business Administration classifies a small transportation trucking business as earning $27.5 million or less in average annual receipts. The Association is asking FMCSA for a five-year exemption from electronic logs. “Granting OOIDA’s request would further illustrate the administration’s commitment to delivering regulatory relief to help sustain economic growth,” the letter states.  

Public Lands Council Calls for Project Proposals to Strengthen Federal Lands Ranching

WASHINGTON (May 22, 2018) – Today the Public Lands Council (PLC) launched a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) for projects designed to strengthen the long-term viability of the public lands ranching industry. Funded by the PLC Endowment Trust, the RFP calls for submissions that address key issues facing federal lands ranchers. Desired project themes include:Generating current, relevant data on the public perception and misconceptions amongst suburban/urban and non-western consumers and voters regarding public lands ranching and surrounding issues;Strategies for young livestock producer engagement and development;Contributing to the body of science and data illustrating the importance of grazing to western land management, ecosystem services and other benefits of grazing, and other such relevant science and data; andExploring the topics of feral horse and burro numbers as well as potential solutions to solve the overpopulation problem.With more than 22,000 public land ranchers maintaining 250 million acres of U.S. public land, grazing on federal lands contributes to the economic and social sustainability of America’s rural communities. All those interested in submitting a proposal should click here for the full RFP. The proposal form and any additional materials should be submitted via email to anelson@beef.org no later than Sunday, July 15, 2018.The PLC Endowment Trust was established for the purpose of maintaining an endowment to protect, enhance and preserve public lands and the public lands livestock grazing industry. For more details please visit www.publiclandscouncil.org. 

Perdue: Trump Holding Tough on Biofuel Policy

President Donald Trump has "hung tough" on U.S. biofuel policy as various interests have tried to push several policies that could negatively impact the biofuel mandates, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said in Nebraska last week."He has been a real stalwart," Perdue stated. One focal point has been the liberal use of waivers of Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations for small refiners, and Perdue noted that the deal brokered by the White House has called on EPA to reallocate those waived obligations to other refiners.The prospect of allowing exported ethanol to count toward RFS obligations is one that Perdue labeled acceptable as it will drive demand and will come in concert with the reallocation of waivers, "making sure we reallocate those waived gallons for the future," Perdue said. He indicated the waivers would be "reallocated in the next volume obligation."EPA is expected to announce their proposal on 2019 biofuel (2020 biodiesel) Renewable Volume Obligations in late June or early July. It is currently under review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Lawmakers Worried About What Concessions US May Be Offering China

Reports China has agreed to import large amounts of U.S. ag goods as part of a tentative framework deal to resolve a trade dispute between the nations have prompted some lawmakers to express concern about what kind of concessions the administration may be offering China.Leading up to the latest round of talks, China lifted tariffs on U.S. sorghum and the U.S. eased sanctions on the Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp., allowing the company to stay in business.U.S. lawmakers from both political parties have pointed questions about what the administration has agreed to give up in exchange for a truce with China. The Commerce Department had banned ZTE from receiving imports from its U.S. suppliers, a move that crippled the corporation. The administration would face a "real backlash" if it offers concessions to ZTE as part of the trade talks, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Fox News.Larry Kudlow, Trump's top economic advisor, told ABC that although there may be "perhaps some small changes around the edges" in U.S. action on ZTE, there will still be big fines and other remedies, and, he added, "do not expect ZTE to get off scot-free. It ain't gonna happen."

Washington Insider: New Tariffs on Hold for Chinese Goods

Well, it appears that the administration has changed its mind on tariffs on Chinese goods. On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the press said that the administration put its trade war with China “on hold” after two days of talks in Washington that he said had produced an agreement on increased Chinese purchases of American products and measures to make it easier for U.S. companies to operate in China, the Washington Post and most other urban media reported.Even though the agreement lacked specifics, it halted tariffs that the administration had threatened to impose on up to $150 billion in Chinese products.In an earlier sign of softening, the president directed administration officials to consider easing harsh penalties on a prominent Chinese telecom company that had violated US sanctions on Iran and North Korea.Responses to the decision were mixed. The Washington Post said that “President Trump’s tough-guy persona is taking a beating from China, judging from the reaction of some of his allies on Capitol Hill and in the trenches of the trade wars.”“The former business executive, who prides himself on his negotiating savvy, is now facing criticism for bending to the Chinese government on two key trade disputes in the space of a week,” the Post said.“It’s a huge disappointment, given the expectations,” said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a partnership between steelworkers and their employers. “It plays right into Beijing’s hands ... and is more of the same old failed policies we saw under the Bush and Obama administrations.”Administration officials on Sunday scrambled to cast the Chinese talks as a victory.“Not good enough. Time to take the gloves off,” Dan DiMicco, former chief executive of the steelmaker Nucor, tweeted Saturday.Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., warned in a tweet Sunday that by continuing to talk while putting the tariffs on hold “China has out-negotiated the U.S. again.”The president personally demonstrated an appetite for harsher measures, saying at one point that trade wars were “good and easy to win.”The administration’s rocky handling of relations with China reflects a complex intermingling between economic and national security, the Post said. Trump on Friday proclaimed that the United States “has entered a new era in trade policy that is based on the recognition that our economic security is critical to our national security.”In March, he cited national security to justify imposing tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, a move designed to boost domestic employment. But now, national security concerns are causing him to give ground on other economic objectives.Dennis Wilder, a former China analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency, said the president’s softer line was linked to his desire for a successful June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a Chinese ally.The recent visit to Beijing of a North Korean delegation of municipal and provincial officials—the first such visit in eight years—suggested that Beijing might have been preparing to relax its sanctions on Pyongyang, perhaps in retaliation for Trump’s tariff threats, Wilder said.“The administration has been a little rattled by how quickly the China-North Korea rapprochement occurred,” he said. “He probably believes that China is using the North Korea card in the trade negotiations.”Mnuchin said the two sides have agreed on a “framework” to avoid the sanctions that require China to lower tariffs on unspecified American goods, protect US technology and buy more made-in-the-USA items.“Right now we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework,” Mnuchin said on Sunday.Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will be dispatched to Beijing “immediately” to work out the details of accelerated Chinese purchases, said Mnuchin, who led the U.S. delegation in the talks with a Chinese team headed by Vice Premier Liu He.Amid concerns that Trump was also preparing to soften the punishment for a major Chinese telecom company that had illegally traded with Iran and North Korea, Mnuchin said the administration “didn’t agree to any quid pro quo.” Last week, after Trump directed the Commerce Department in a tweet to help the company return to normal operations, lawmakers from both parties objected. The Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee amended a must-pass annual spending bill to bar the department from lifting the penalties.“I can assure you that the president wants us to be very tough on ZTE, and all he did was ask the secretary to look into this,” Mnuchin said.Kudlow on Friday said that ZTE would have to overhaul its top management ranks before the United States would ease the enforcement action.Mnuchin also suggested that Trump was prepared to wait until 2019 to wrap up negotiations aimed at a new North American trade deal. He confirmed that the United States, Mexico and Canada remain “far apart” after nine months of talks, having missed a deadline set by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R., Wis., last week to reach a deal on which lawmakers could vote this year.“The president is more determined to have a good deal than he is worried about any deadline,” the treasury secretary said.So, we will see. Cynics see the growing anger among producer groups as the fall elections near as important, along with the talks with North Korea. But, whatever the source of the policy shift, it is a new trend that producers should watch closely as the season progresses, Washington Insider believes. 

House Farm Bill Dormant Amid Immigration Dispute

House Republican leadership is currently struggling with immigration issues and it’s put the House farm bill that didn’t pass on Friday right on the back burner. The Hagstrom Report describes the bill as “dormant.” Speaker Paul Ryan called for reconsideration of the bill immediately after the vote on Friday. He declared that the “ayes” had won the voice vote but didn’t call for a roll call vote. The schedule of bills considered on Monday evening didn’t contain the farm bill. Under House rules, it has two legislative days to take a vote on reconsideration of a bill. The House is scheduled to leave on Thursday afternoon for a week-long Memorial Day break. Every House Democrat and 30 Republicans voted against the House farm bill. The Republicans were a mix of the Freedom Caucus members, as well as moderate Republicans, who consider the bill’s changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to be too restrictive. Members of the House Freedom Caucus want leadership to bring up a restrictive immigration bill. Moderate Republicans are attempting to force a vote on a proposal to protect the immigrant students without legal status, known as Dreamers.