Farmer Support for Trump Remains Strong

President Donald Trump trails former Vice President Joe Biden in election polls, but farmer support for Trump remains strong. A recent Pulse Poll from Farm Journal shows 82 percent of the more than 1,500 farmer respondents say they would vote for President Trump if the election were held today. Meanwhile, 13 percent say they would vote for Biden, while five percent remain undecided. Farm Journal conducted a second poll after Biden announced Kamala Harris as his running mate, where just nine percent of respondents say Harris would make them more likely to vote for Biden. Farm Journal says President Trump has enjoyed steady support in the Pulse Poll with his approval rating remaining in a range between 75 percent and 80 percent for the past year. There’s been much discussion during the Democratic National Convention this week how the party needs to engage with rural America. Former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has pleaded to the party since 2016 to engage with rural voters.

Study Shows Value of Red Meat Exports to Corn Farmers

A new study shows red meat exports added 12 percent of bushel value to U.S. corn farmers in 2019. The U.S. Meat Export Federation recently updated a study on the market value of red meat exports. At an average of $3.75 per bushel, $0.46 is from red meat exports, according to the study. The results indicate that without red meat exports, corn growers would have lost $6.4 billion in corn revenue in 2019. Last year, U.S. beef and pork exports used 480 million bushels of corn. Corn revenue generated by pork exports totaled $1.8 billion. Beef and pork exports also used about three million tons of distiller’s dried grains with solubles in 2019 at an annual average price of $137 per ton. This generated $411.8 million in revenue for co-products from ethanol mills. USMEF says beef and pork exports have been the fastest-growing category of corn use since 2015. The projected market value of red meat exports to U.S. corn from 2020-2029 is $23.1 billion.

CFAP Expansion Doesn’t Include Hemp, Growers Respond

U.S. Hemp growers are disappointed the recent Coronavirus Food Assistance Program commodity expansion does not include hemp. Last week, the Department of Agriculture expanded the commodities covered under the program that provides COVID-19 relief to producers. CFAP includes commodities that USDA can prove saw losses of five percent or more in the first quarter of 2020. The U.S. Hemp Growers Association says, “We believe our farmers did present evidence of losses to our growers that were five percent or more in the first quarter of 2020.” Hemp is such a newly legal crop that it does not have the advantage of data gathered by USDA agencies. Currently, the data available to understand the market is gathered privately by several data companies. USHGA believes two datasets showed a five percent pricing decrease and more in hemp and hemp products in the first quarter of 2020. The statement says, “All hemp farmers are now wondering what kind of treatment they will receive should there be future problems.”

Virtual Sustainable Agriculture Summit Announced

The Sustainable Ag Summit partners announced the virtual event this week planned for November. Scheduled for November 18 and 19, the event is hosted jointly by six agricultural organizations and convenes leaders from across the agricultural value chain to create a sustainability event for production agriculture. Partners of the event include the National Pork Board, U.S. Poultry and the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. The summit will focus on “Beyond 2020: The Next Generation of Sustainability in Action,” looking to the next generation of sustainability leadership, technologies and collaborations. The summit will cover how U.S. agriculture can deliver lasting impacts through improved productivity, profitability, resiliency and environmental outcomes. Currently, organizers are seeking proposals for event topics and sessions. Breakout Sessions should creatively showcase how challenges can be turned into opportunities by exploring projects, collaborations or successes involving multiple perspectives. Learn more about the event and its agenda, or submit a proposed session at sustainableagsummit.org.

USDA Appoints New Members to Food Safety Advisory Committees

The Department of Agriculture appointed ten new members to the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection this week. USDA also announced an additional new member to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods. Under Secretary for Food Safety Mindy Brashears says the committee members “play a key role in informing USDA’s food safety decisions.” The new members include university officials and industry experts on food safety. The National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection was established in 1971 by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. The group is an advisory committee that advises on food safety concerns and other matters affecting inspection program activities. The National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods was established in 1988. The advisory committee provides impartial scientific advice and peer reviews to food safety agencies on public health issues. The list of committee members for both is available at fsis.usda.gov.

Consumer Goods Forum Launches Food Waste Coalition

The Consumer Goods Forum this week launched a CEO-led Coalition of Action on Food Waste, bringing together 14 of the world's largest retailers and manufacturers. The coalition seeks to cut global food loss at the retailer and consumer level in half. The coalition says food waste is an enormous environmental, social and economic problem. A third of food produced is never eaten, which amounts to about 1.3 billion metric tons of food lost each year. That represents an economic cost to the global economy of $940 billion. Food waste is also responsible for adding 3.3 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases into the planet’s atmosphere annually, so if food waste were a country, its carbon footprint would be third only to China and the United States. The coalition includes CEOs from General Mills, Kellogg Company, Walmart and others. The group will first collect data on food waste before forming a plan to prevent food waste.

Washington Insider: Expanding Various Aid Programs

Bloomberg is reporting this week that Democratic and Republican leaders are hinting about a possible path toward reviving stalled negotiations on the next round of pandemic relief, even as the sides remain far apart.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., suggested during the weekend that Democrats might be willing to cut more from their proposal to reach agreement on immediate needs and -- with her party growing more confident of gains in the November elections -- return to do more after votes are cast.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., meanwhile said Pelosi's decision to break out $25 billion in funding for the Postal Service from the original Democratic relief plan could provide an opening for future talks, Bloomberg said.

Although Speaker Pelosi is bringing the House back to Washington to vote Saturday on a post office bill that would prevent any cutbacks by the agency as well as provide the extra money, there was no sign McConnell would do the same. There is some suggestion that both sides “should try to come to agreement now.” The Speaker suggested Democrats might go beyond their most recent offer to trim at least temporarily the $3.5 trillion relief package the House passed in May.

The Trump administration claims to see a possibility for Republicans and Democrats to agree on a smaller round of pandemic relief totaling $500 billion that would omit the biggest areas of disagreement, a senior U.S. official said Monday night. The hope was that both parties might be able to reach an accord on issues like financial help for the Postal Service, aid to schools and more money for businesses to keep their workers employed.

Bloomberg also reported on another area of growing urgency — students returning to classrooms or sitting at computers for online learning who lack access to nutritious meals. Lawmakers from both parties are emphasizing this growing need in requests to USDA.

“Food insecurity is skyrocketing,” said Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine. “USDA must take immediate action to extend flexibilities for these programs through the next school year to ensure they're serving every kid who needs them.”

Secretary Perdue's USDA has already extended nationwide waivers to permit meal service outside of traditional times and in non-group settings. Parents and guardians are also allowed to pick up their children's meals through next June, according to the department. Some lawmakers now are urging the renewal of the few remaining waivers, including several that affect low-income students.

“We continue to look at all options within our statutory and budget authority to assist program operators with the challenges they are facing during the current health crisis,” Food and Nutrition Service Administrator Pam Miller said on Tuesday. “This is a very dynamic situation, so we are tracking on-the-ground conditions and working closely with our state and local partners to serve the best interests of students and families.”

The latest push for USDA action came from 20 GOP senators, led by Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan. The group pressed Perdue to use waivers, grants, or reimbursements that allow schools and sponsor organizations to feed students learning both in-person and remotely.

The other 10 Republicans on the panel, including McConnell, also signed the Monday letter.

The department should use its authority under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to extend all nationwide waivers for unexpected school closures, the lawmakers said.

A larger, bipartisan group of more than 30 senators echoed the waiver requests for unexpected school closures. Other waivers yet to be renewed include one for the area eligibility requirement, which typically limits “open site” meal service for summer meals programs to places where at least half the children are in low-income households. That waiver currently is extended only through Aug. 31.

The department is reviewing all state waiver requests and is sharing information with Congress to ensure members understand stakeholders' specific needs, as well as the department's abilities to address those needs, USDA said Tuesday.

“More students are expected to depend on school-provided meals this year due to the millions of parents and guardians who have lost their jobs during the pandemic,” said Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., an Agriculture Committee member who signed the letter. “I'm glad that there is broad bipartisan support behind this issue,” she added in her Tuesday statement. “Now we need Secretary Perdue to act.”

So, we will see. Clearly, pressure is growing for Congressional support of many kinds in efforts to significantly offset the coronavirus impacts — and to ensure that the fall elections are conducted fairly and on schedule. At the same time, any sign of cooperation in expanding helpful programs likely will be widely noticed and welcome, Washington Insider believes.