USDA Fulfills Long-Standing Tribal Requests

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Wednesday announced USDA is fulfilling some long-standing Tribal requests. Specifically, USDA is partnering with Tribal Nations in empowering Tribal food sovereignty and co-stewardship of federal lands and waters. Secretary Vilsack announced the first grant recipients under the Indigenous Animals Harvesting and Meat Processing Grant Program and advances in Forest Service co-stewardship with Tribes, including 120 new agreements totaling more than $68 million in investments. Secretary Vilsack also announced the inaugural appointees of the new Tribal Advisory Committee. Secretary Vilsack made the announcements at the 2023 White House Tribal Nations Summit, where Tribal leaders gathered for conversations with President Biden and senior administration officials. Vilsack says, "As Tribes have requested, we are reshaping our programs to incorporate Tribal and Indigenous perspectives, remove barriers, and encourage Tribal self-determination." Vilsack says the investments will create economic opportunities in Tribal communities, elevate the agency's work to increase co-stewardship in forest management, and increase the availability of affordable, healthy protein sources from Indigenous animals.

NASS Inducts Two Former Employees Into Hall of Fame

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service inducted two former employees to its Hall of Fame Wednesday. The NASS Hall of Fame honors individuals whose work has had a lasting impact on agricultural statistics. This year’s inductees are Carol House and Raymond “Ron” Bosecker. NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer says, “Our two honorees distinguished themselves with their leadership, by being experts in their fields.” Carol House joined NASS in 1976 as a student assistant. During her career, she authored and co-authored numerous reports that impacted NASS methodology, including those on her pioneering work in Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing. Additionally, House was the first woman hired directly into NASS to rise to the level of Senior Executive. House retired in 2010. Raymond “Ron” Bosecker began his career at NASS in 1964 as a student trainee at the Illinois State Statistical Office. He was reassigned in early 1999 as Acting Deputy Administrator for Field Operations, before being selected as the NASS Administrator in December 1999. Bosecker held the position of Administrator until his retirement in 2008.

Thursday Watch List

Markets

USDA's weekly export sales report will be out at 7:30 a.m. CST Thursday, the same time as weekly U.S. jobless claims and an update of the U.S. Drought Monitor. The Energy Department's report on natural gas storage follows at 10 a.m. South American weather remains important to traders ahead of Friday's WASDE report.

Weather

A storm system will move across the U.S.-Canada border on Thursday, bringing areas of scattered showers, including some snow accumulation through Friday. Winds with the system will also be fairly strong. Ahead of the system, temperatures continue to be very warm for December.

Farmer Sentiment Improves, Producers Credit Stronger Financial Conditions

For the second month, farmer sentiment improved as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer climbed five points. November's 12-point rise in the Current Conditions Index to a reading of 113 was primarily responsible for this month's sentiment improvement as the Index of Future Expectations only improved by two points. Both sub-indices exceeded their year-ago levels in November. The Current Conditions Index increased by 15 percent, and the Future Expectations Index was up 11 percent compared to November 2022. The improved perception among U.S. farmers regarding their farms' financial condition and prospects contributed to this month's more positive sentiment reading. The Farm Capital Investment Index also rose during November, although respondents who said it was a good time to invest were more likely to point to rising dealer inventories of farm equipment as a reason than strong farm cash flows. Farmers continue to be relatively optimistic about future values for farmland as the short-term farmland index held steady while the long-term index drifted lower.

Crop Insurance Industry Opposes GAO Report

Crop Insurance groups oppose a recent Government Accountability Office report the industry says is fraught with recommendations that would dismantle the successful public-private partnership that delivers federal crop insurance. In a joint statement, the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau, National Crop Insurance Services, and American Association of Crop Insurers say the report contains several recommendations that would result in reduced participation in the long run. The groups say GAO mischaracterized the economics of the delivery system when it states that "the increase in crop prices did not increase the workload to sell and service the policy." This statement ignores the fact that since 2011 the crop insurance industry has worked with USDA to implement both the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills. Both of these pieces of legislation increased the availability of crop insurance products nationwide. New crop insurance products have since been developed along with specialty crop and livestock product expansion. The industry charges that the workload has, in fact, increased to meet the risk management needs of America's farmers and ranchers.

Lawmakers Request New USDA Emergency Relief Program

A group of lawmakers this week expressed concerns regarding the Department of Agriculture's requirements for the Emergency Relief Program. In a letter to USDA, Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas and Republican Representative Jodey Arrington of Texas led the effort. The lawmakers say USDA's 2022 Emergency Relief Program requirements are misguided and losing sight of the relief program's intent outlined by Congress when it was created. The Biden Administration's USDA made requirements that have nothing to do with helping farmers deal with natural disasters. In fact, by the USDA attaching excessive conditions to receive aid, this federal relief program could force farmers to wait even longer for assistance or completely jeopardize their ability to access the program. The letter states, “American producers have experienced significant losses, and the Administration has taken an approach that does not reflect Congressional intent.” The lawmakers “strongly request the USDA abandon this current program” and implement the framework of 2021 ERP Phase 1 as quickly as possible.

Some Crops Tolerate Ozone Pollution Better

Differences in the photosynthetic "machinery" of certain crop plants can make them more or less prone to harm caused by ground-level ozone pollution. The research was developed by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and University of Illinois scientists in Urbana-Champaign. The findings—that so-called "C4" crops like corn and sorghum tolerate increased ozone levels better than "C3" crops, like rice or snap beans—open the door to better models for predicting crop responses to the effects of global climate change, as well as developing more resilient varieties that can sustain humanity’s increasing demand for food, feed, fiber and fuel. While both C3 and C4 crops use the enzyme called rubisco to convert carbon dioxide into sugars, C4 crops isolate rubisco in specialized cells where the concentration of carbon dioxide is very high. This enables higher rates of photosynthesis and greater efficiency of water use. Thus, C4 plants have lower stomatal conductance, resulting in less diffusion of carbon dioxide and ozone into leaves.