In This Issue:

• Hotel Cutoff Date Quickly Approaching
• NBGA Attends Craft Brewers Conference in Minneapolis
• Senate Ag Committee Holds Farm Bill Hearing in Michigan
• USDA Projects Further Increases in Pet Food Exports to China
• Skeptical Reaction to Administration Proposal Seeking to Increase U.S. Crop Production
• NBGA Board Member Jim McGreevy Departing Beer Institute

Hotel Cutoff Date Quickly Approaching!

NBGA's Summer Board of Directors meeting will be next month in Fargo, ND . 

Accommodations have been arranged at the Jasper Hotel:

215 Broadway N.

Fargo, ND 58102

(701) 532-2150

Click here to make your reservation in our group block for $149/night:

National Barley Growers Association

Deadline is May 19^th. 

Monday, June 20

Travel day, arrivals

30 rooms available

Tuesday, June 21

All day meetings, Board dinner

30 rooms available

Wednesday, June 22

Half day meetings, departures

20 rooms available if you need to stay another night

NBGA Attends Craft Brewers Conference in Minneapolis

The Brewers Association held its annual Craft Brewers Conference last week in Minneapolis, MN.  A delegation of NBGA representatives, including President Greg Kessel, took the opportunity to network with stakeholders in the craft beer industry at the trade show and educational seminars.  Past President Buzz Mattelin participated in a sustainability panel discussion with barley breeders and climate change experts. NBGA held its annual CBC Meet & Greet  evoffsite, a chance for craft brewers and maltsters to connect with barley growers and learn more about the organization's advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill. 

Senate Ag Committee Holds Farm Bill Hearing in Michigan

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, held the first field hearing of the 117th Congress on the 2023 Farm Bill at Michigan State University this Friday, April 29^th.  Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR) heard input from a diverse range of Michigan based agricultural producers and stakeholders about the next Farm Bill. The hearing, titled Growing Jobs and Economic Opportunity: 2023 Farm Bill Perspectives from Michigan, touched on agriculture, conservation, rural economic development, research, forestry, energy, and nutrition policies.

USDA Projects Further Increases in Pet Food Exports to China

U.S. pet food exports to China are rising fast, and the expansion is expected to continue, according to a new report out of Beijing from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

China slashed its tariff on foreign-sourced pet food from 15% to just 4% in January of 2020, resulting in an increase in imports of nearly 100%, according to FAS. While Canada is still the primary foreign supplier to China, the U.S. is well positioned to expand shipments. China lifted its ban on U.S. pet food that contains ruminant material in 2020 and the Chinese government began quickly approving U.S. production facilities for export. China imported $114 million worth of U.S. pet food in 2021, up from $9 million in 2018.

Skeptical Reaction to Administration Proposal Seeking to Increase U.S. Crop Production

The recent White House proposal to provide $500 million to encourage U.S. farmers to increase production of crops to address global food shortages has been met with a lot of questions and skepticism. The plan, part of a larger $33 billion supplemental spending request the White House sent to Congress, would consist of a temporary increase in marketing assistance loan rates for several crops and crop insurance incentive payments to encourage farmers to double-crop wheat with soybeans.

The proposal would have to be passed by Congress and appears unlikely to be enacted, at least in the form it was proposed. Under the proposal, the marketing loan rate for wheat would be raised from $3.38 to $5.52 per bushel, loan rates for soybeans and other oilseeds would be increased by 40%. Rates for rice and pulse crops would be increased 21%. The 2022 marketing loan rates, which are $2.20 for corn and $6.20 per bushel for soybeans, are far under the market prices for those and other crops. Farmers who plant a winter wheat crop this fall and follow that by seeding soybeans next spring would receive a $10 an acre incentive through their crop insurance premiums. The increase in loan rates would cost $400 million and the double-cropping incentive would be $100 million.

Joe Glauber, a former USDA chief economist now with the International Food Policy Research Institute, issued a series of tweets in which he said that it would not be good policy for marketing loan rates to dictate what to plant. Other analysts have called it “puzzling” and an analysis by the soybean industry showed that the intended effect on U.S. crop production would be minimal.  

NBGA Board Member Jim McGreevy Departing Beer Institute

After more than 8 years, President & CEO Jim McGreevy is leaving the Beer Institute to head up the Washington, DC office for Coca-Cola. Many thanks to Jim for his support and service on the NBGA Board of Directors. We wish him nothing but the best with his next challenge…and we’re sure he can find a way to incorporate barley into Coca-Cola products!