Policy Issues; Immigration; Ag Economy; Trade; Tax Extenders; and, Regs- Wednesday Posted By Keith Good On November 19, 2014 Policy Issues A news release yesterday from Rep. Mike Conaway (R., Tex.) indicated that, “[Congressman Conaway] issued the following statement after the House Republican Steering Committee selected him as the 50th chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture. “‘I am humbled and honored to be selected as the 50th chairman of the storied House Committee on Agriculture. The work that farmers and ranchers do is part of our country’s foundation. They feed, fuel, and clothe our nation. I look forward to building on the bipartisan work of the chairmen who have led this committee for the past two centuries. “‘I represent, and love, rural America. It’s the backbone of our country. The values and concepts that make America great are stored in rural America, and I want to protect that. There are fewer and fewer voices representing rural America, and I am honored to be one of those voices. That is my overarching drive as the Committee moves forward.’” And House Ag Committee ranking member Collin Peterson (D., Minn.) noted yesterday that, “I congratulate Congressman Conaway on his election to Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. As a fellow CPA, I think we can find common ground as the Committee oversees farm bill implementation and reauthorizing the CFTC during the next Congress. The Agriculture Committee has a strong bipartisan tradition, which I look forward to continuing under Chairman Conaway. “I would also like to commend Chairman Lucas for his leadership. While he will no longer be Chairman, I have no doubt he will remain a strong advocate for America’s farmers and ranchers and a respected member of the Agriculture Committee.” Also, Chase Purdy reported earlier this week at Politico that, “Sen. Debbie Stabenow will stay on as ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee as ranking member next year when the GOP takes control, her office tells Pro Agriculture’s Bill Tomson. “The Michigan Democrat, who has chaired the panel since 2010, has become increasingly popular with farm groups across the country after helping draft and enact the 2014 farm bill, which beefed up crop insurance and put in place new subsidies for producers of grain, oilseed, dairy and other products. Kansas Republican Pat Roberts is widely expected to take over as chairman of the Agriculture Committee in January, giving the top two slots on the panel to Midwesterners.” Sen. Roberts spoke yesterday with Kelly Lenz of the Kansas Ag Network where the just re-elected Senator pointed to issues, including regulations, that may require the Ag Committee’s attention in the next Congress. During the discussion, Sen. Roberts reiterated that the Farm Bill would not be reopened; a portion of his remarks from yesterday regarding the Ag Committee’s focus can be heard here (MP3- 1:21). Emily Lawler reported earlier this week at MLive Online that, “U.S. Senator and Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Debbie Stabenow said Friday she wanted to revise meat labeling standards to avoid Canadian tariffs on Michigan products.” The article noted that, “Stabenow on Friday said she’d been working on the issue with Canadians. “‘I’ve been to their capitol in Ottawa meeting on this issue and am hopeful we can come to an agreement that will allow us to continue some form of labeling for consumers but do it in a way that meets the WTO,’ Stabenow said. “She favors revising, not repealing the standards. That’s different from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, which has a Michigan chapter and is pushing for a full repeal.” The MLive article added that, “[Sen. Stabenow] noted that if Canada moved forward with its proposed tariffs, it would be a ‘serious problem’ for the U.S. and Michigan.” A news release yesterday from Rep. Rick Crawford (R., Ark.) stated that, “In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, [Rep. Crawford] and U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) today urged protecting American rice producers against unfair business practices in Iraq. “In early November, the Iraqi Grain Board (IGB) paid $1.4 million more to buy rice from Brazil and Uruguay rather than accept the competitive, lower bid by U.S. rice.” Meanwhile, Reuters news reported yesterday that, “Iraq believes Islamic State militants have stolen more than one million tonnes of grain from the country’s north and taken it to two cities they control in neighbouring Syria, the agriculture minister has said.” Immigration- Budget Laura Meckler reported in today’s Wall Street Journal that, “Farm workers and some agriculture industry officials are making a last-minute push for President Barack Obama to include protections for undocumented agricultural workers in his new immigration policy, worried that the pending executive action may be the last opportunity to change immigration rules for a while. “Their hope is that at least some farm workers can win the temporary legal status and work permits that are expected to be offered to several million people now in the country illegally, according to officials who are lobbying for the change. “The farm industry, however, is divided on the matter, with some worried that granting work permits would give workers the chance to move to other jobs rather than bolster the industry. The American Farm Bureau Federation, the U.S.’s largest agricultural trade group, isn’t pushing for Mr. Obama to act without Congress, saying such a move would hurt the effort to pass more durable changes to the immigration system through laws.” Ms. Meckler explained that, “The push to include agriculture workers is being led by the United Farm Workers union and is backed by groups including the National Immigration Forum, which works with businesses that support liberalized immigration legislation. Officials say they haven’t been told whether the White House will include their requests in the final package.” The Journal article added that, “Kristi Boswell of the American Farm Bureau Federation said her group is also not pushing for executive action, partly because she fears it would hurt the legislative effort. ‘Any action taken by the president would be temporary by nature and not give us that long-term stability we truly need in the industry,’ she said.” Ashley Parker reported in today’s New York Times that, “On Tuesday, House Republicans emerged from a closed meeting coalescing around two plans that would fight an expected executive order on immigration from Mr. Obama without fully shutting down the government.” Ms. Parker pointed out that, “One option floated by Representative Harold Rogers, Republican of Kentucky and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, calls for passing his committee’s broad spending bill by a Dec. 11 deadline, and then rescinding funds for Mr. Obama’s executive action. “The other option, proposed by Representative Tom Price, Republican of Georgia, calls for passing most of the broad spending bill but taking out money for programs specifically related to Mr. Obama’s planned immigration action and fighting the president with a short-term stand-alone measure for those particular funds.” The Times article noted that, “Representative Matt Salmon, Republican of Arizona, said that his House colleagues were considering a range of options that would avoid a shutdown while fighting the president on immigration. ‘Everything is on the table, and the speaker has committed that we’re going to come up with a plan that does not allow the president to have the funding to do this,’ Mr. Salmon said. “Earlier, Mr. Rogers had called on colleagues in an opinion article to pass his committee’s spending bill ‘in a responsible, transparent and pragmatic way, without the specter of government shutdowns or the lurching, wasteful and unproductive budgeting caused by temporary stopgap measures.’” Tamar Hallerman and Matt Fuller reported yesterday at Roll Call Online that, “House Republicans are casting around for some kind of spending compromise that would avoid a government shutdown, while still addressing the White House’s expected executive actions on immigration. “A new option emerged on Tuesday: passing an omnibus in December and later, after President Barack Obama issues his executive action on immigration, rescinding funding for the specific federal programs being used to implement the order. “House Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., pitched the idea at a closed-door GOP conference meeting Tuesday morning. He argued that such an approach was a prudent way to expediently fund the government, saving the House’s work on fiscal 2015 spending bills while also responding to the president’s immigration order — even though Congress does not yet know exactly what actions the administration plans to take.” Also yesterday, Dana Bash and Ted Barrett reported at CNN Online that, “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is encouraging President Barack Obama to act in a sweeping and swift manner to issue an executive order changing immigration laws. “‘I believe that when the President decides to do his executive order, he should go big — big as he can,’ Reid told reporters at his weekly press conference Tuesday.” Agricultural Economy A news release yesterday from Purdue University stated that, “With crop prices at multiyear lows and interest rates expected to inch up over the next few years, a Purdue University agricultural economist believes the decade-long increase in farmland values might soon be over. “But Michael Langemeier, associate director of the Center for Commercial Agriculture, says any decline should be relatively slight and spread over more than one year. “‘We are looking at about a 5-10 percent correction over each of the next three years,’ he said. ‘It’s normal for a market that has been so strong to take a little breather.’” An article posted yesterday at The Financial Times Online indicated that, “Shares in all large meat producers have jumped over the past two years. Tyson is up 70 percent; Sanderson Farms is up nearly 80 percent; and Pilgrim’s Pride is up threefold. That is because cereal stocks – used for chicken, cattle and hog feed – have been steadily rising due to bumper crops in Europe and China. The bigger the stocks, the cheaper the feed. The price of wheat middlings, a common ingredient in cattle feed, is a third lower than it was a year ago, for example. That goes through to the bottom line. Profits at Sanderson Farms doubled in the first nine months of this year due to lower costs. “Is this sustainable? According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, feed stocks will rise to 25 per cent of annual consumption next year, the highest level in more than a decade. But prices can still vary. Soyabean meal prices have been rallying since the start of October, when they hit a 33-month low. Scarcity is not the problem. Lack of rail cars in the Midwest is. Shale oil and gas is crowding out grain trains, among other issues.” Trade Vicki Needham reported yesterday at The Hill Online that, “The Senate’s top Democrat signaled some openness to considering legislation that would give President Obama expanded trade powers. “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday that he would ‘be happy to take a look at’ a trade promotion authority bill.” The Washington Post editorial board indicated today that, “Washington can do more than offer words of wisdom, though. Nothing the United States can do or say would help Abenomics [an effort by Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to lift Japan out of its deflationary funk through aggressive monetary stimulus and structural reform] more than the swift conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, whose market-opening provisions could spur Japanese farms and businesses to change their uncompetitive ways. The Obama administration has yet to seek the authority it needs from Congress to propel that deal to a swift up-or-down vote on Capitol Hill, once it’s been fully negotiated. Fast-track authority would demonstrate that the U.S. government is determined to overcome domestic opposition to a deal, which would make it easier for Mr. Abe to overcome similar resistance from Japanese interest groups. The sooner it’s approved, the better, for both countries.” Meanwhile, Bloomberg writer Rebecca Christie reported yesterday that, “When U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman arrives in Brussels this week, he will meet his new European Union counterparts and also face a big dose of skepticism. “Any trans-Atlantic trade deal must respond to EU consumer needs, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said ahead of Froman’s Nov. 21 visit. ‘It cannot be bad or ugly,’ she said today in her first major speech as trade chief. “EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan was blunter in his assessment of the trade deal’s chances. He told reporters in Brussels that negotiations should be shelved if the U.S. isn’t committed to moving quickly ahead of its 2016 presidential contest.” Tax Extenders Todd Neeley reported yesterday at DTN (link requires subscription) that, “A wide range of agriculture groups, industries and other interests began a full-court press Tuesday, calling on the lame-duck Congress to pass a tax-extenders package to include a critical Section 179 deduction for business equipment, including farm machinery, and to re-instate a 50% bonus depreciation credit on the purchase of new capital assets, including agriculture equipment, that expired at the end of 2013.” (See related updates from The American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, and the National Milk Producers Federation). In his DTN article, Mr. Neeley stated that, “Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said Tuesday he’s unsure when a tax-extenders bill may come up for a vote. During a call with agriculture reporters, he said, ‘All I can report is that negotiations are still going on.’” Sen. Pat Roberts (R., Kans.) also discussed this issue in his interview yesterday on the Kansas Ag Network- related audio clip here (MP3- 0:37). Regulations Cristina Marcos reported yesterday at The Hill Online that, “The House on Tuesday passed legislation to overhaul the Environmental Protection Agency’s Scientific Advisory Board. “Passed 229-191, the measure, H.R. 1422, would change the process of selecting members of the Scientific Advisory Board and the terms of office. “Among other provisions, the measure would require the Scientific Advisory Board, which consults the EPA on its regulations, to have at least ten percent of members from state, local or tribal governments.” A news release yesterday from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CFTC) noted that, “The [CFTC] will convene a meeting of the Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC) on Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at 10:00 a.m., at its headquarters in Washington, DC. The meeting will focus on issues related to deliverable supplies of agricultural commodities, as they pertain to position limits, and the agricultural economy. “CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad is the sponsor of this Advisory Committee. The meeting will be chaired by Dr. Randall Fortenbery of Washington State University.” -- Keith Good President FarmPolicy, Inc. Champaign, IL FarmPolicy is a FREE newsletter and is underwritten and made possible by the generous support of McLeod, Watkinson & Miller- Attorneys at Law. Office accommodations for FarmPolicy are provided by Bartell Powell LLP- Attorneys at Law, located in downtown Champaign, Il. To subscribe to the FarmPolicy Email, send a note to, [email protected]. To unsubscribe, send a note to, [email protected]. FarmPolicy is also on: Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Google+
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 11:47:14 +0000
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