In This Issue:

• Senate Ag Appropriations Bill Supports Barley Industry Priorities
• Proposed Energy/Climate Reconciliation Package Boosts Ag Conservation Funding
• NBGA President Attends US Grains Council Board Meeting and Farm Bill Forum
• NBGA Joins Letters Supporting Pesticide Registrations and Seeking Extension of Comment Period on Organophosphates
• Maryland Grain Producers: Developing Improved High Yielding Winter Barley Cultivars for Maryland
• House Ag Committee Opens Online Forum for Farm Bill Feedback
• Farm Safety Net Programs: Margin Coverage Concepts Being Discussed
• President Takes Step to Avoid Rail Labor Strike
• Farm Bureau Analysis Looks at Rail Service Problems 

Senate Ag Appropriations Bill Supports Barley Industry Priorities

This week the Senate released their Ag Appropriations bill and report, which is favorable for barley priorities. The Senate measure increases funding for the Barley Pest Initiative and maintains funding for the Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative and Small Grain Genomics. The Senate appropriations report also directs NASS to continue barley acreage and production reports for certain states that NASS had previously discontinued. The House has passed their Ag Appropriations bill, which also included an increase in funding for the Barley Pest Initiative. The final bill is not expected to be enacted until later in the year. 

Proposed Energy/Climate Reconciliation Package Boosts Ag Conservation Funding

The Senate Democrats might have an agreement on a scaled back reconciliation package with climate & energy provisions that includes $20 billion for agriculture conservation programs. If enacted, this could take some pressure off of the funding needs for the next Farm Bill. The ag conservation funding is additional money for existing programs (no new programs), as follows:

§ $8.45 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

▪ $6.75 billion for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP)

▪ $3.25 billion for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)

▪ $1.4 billion for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP)

NBGA President Attends US Grains Council Board Meeting and Farm Bill Forum

President Greg Kessel represented NBGA at the U.S. Grains Council 62^nd annual Board of Delegates meeting held July 26-27 in Sacramento, California then headed to Washington, DC to attend a Farm Bill breakfast forum hosted by Ducks Unlimited. The forum was attended by representatives of all of the major agricultural groups and focused on conservation programs and policies.  

NBGA Joins Letters Supporting Pesticide Registrations and Seeking Extension of Comment Period on Organophosphates

Recently NBGA joined agricultural groups on a letter supporting adequate funding for the EPA Office of Pest Management to conduct pesticide registration activities and another letter urging EPA to extend the comment period on the petition to revoke tolerances and cancel registrations for certain organophosphate pesticides (OPs).

EPA is seeking comments on a November 2021 petition, submitted by activist organizations such as United Farmworkers and Earthjustice, to revoke all tolerances and cancel all associated registrations for food uses for OPs, as well as a request for EPA to complete registration review on the OP class of chemicals by October 1, 2022. OPs are one of the few remaining classes of chemistry that is a broad-spectrum insecticide, which is an essential tool in integrated pest management programs. 

Maryland Grain Producers: Develloping Improved High Yielding WInter Barley Cultivars for Maryland

The overall objective of this proposal is to develop high-yielding winter barley varieties adapted to the Mid-Atlantic environment with increased resistance against Fusarium Head Blight (FHB). Plant breeding for a targeted trait is the most sustainable option and is needed to meet the challenges of changing and new pathogens and to increase the yield potential of winter barley. This research will deliver high-yielding winter barley cultivars under PVP. 

This year 50 new barley crosses were initiated. Out of the new crosses initiated in 2021, a total of 8 populations (top crosses) were advanced under speed breeding set up and the rest of the populations were cycled under traditional breeding cycle. A total of 20 new populations generated in 2019-2020 by combining FHB resistance, early flowering, higher biomass, and yield components, were advanced and planted in the head-rows in growing season 2020-2021. Selected advanced generations of these lines are already planted in the 2021-2022 cycle. Advanced generation head rows from these lines are grown in the field to select the better performing lines for developing improved cultivars. A total of 4 new improved Maryland barley lines are being tested under Maryland statewide trials for their critical evaluation for yield as well as other agronomic performances. The Maryland Grain Producers are happy to fund this barley research with $15,000 for 2022!

House Ag Committee Opens Online Forum for Farm Bill Feedback

House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott and Ranking Member Glenn "GT" Thompson have opened an online form to give members of the public the opportunity to submit feedback and ideas for the 2023 Farm Bill.

“This is a chance to hear directly from farmers, ranchers and foresters across the nation who utilize our farm bill programs to make sure we are prioritizing their needs as well as the needs of the nutrition, research, and rural development communities,” said Chairman David Scott. “I strongly encourage all who are interested to share their input on how the 2018 Farm Bill is or is not meeting their needs, so that we, at the House Agriculture Committee, can craft a strong farm bill and best meet the needs of people.”

“It is critical we receive feedback from farmers, ranchers, producers, and families nationwide as the 2023 Farm Bill draws nearer. Hearing directly from farm country about what’s working and what’s not is the only way to ensure we craft a bill that meets the needs of rural America,” said Ranking Member Glenn "GT" Thompson.

In addition to the feedback gathered online, the House Agriculture Committee will continue to conduct hearings in Washington, DC and hold listening sessions across the country to gather input on the 2023 Farm Bill.

Read more: House Agriculture Committee Farm Bill Review

Farm Safety Net Programs: Margin Coverages Concepts Being Discussed

The top Republican on the House Ag committee, Glenn “GT” Thompson, is floating the concept of margin protection as a potential alternative to the price-based Title I commodity support programs. In recent interviews and Farm Bill listening sessions, Ranking Member Thompson has cited the increase in input prices that is adversely impacting farm margins and posed the question of whether Congress should consider a margin-type instrument instead of reference prices. A Dairy Margin Coverage program was enacted in the last Farm Bill that is intended to protect farmers based on the difference between milk prices and feed costs.

At a House Ag Committee hearing on crop insurance on July 20^th, Alex Offerdahl, crop insurance division head for the consulting firm Watts and Associates, offered the possibility of enhancing existing margin-based crop insurance policies. A Margin Protection policy has been available for some crops since 2016, but only about 6,000 are sold annually, largely because of the cost. The product is still considered experimental and has a lower federal subsidy rate than conventional revenue products. The policy is designed to protect farmers against increases in input costs as well as declines in commodity prices and yields.

President Takes Step to Avoid Rail Labor Strike



President Biden appointed a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) to seek a settlement between rail carriers and rail labor. The appointment of the PEB prevents a rail labor strike, at least temporarily. The PEB has 30 days to make settlement recommendations and lockouts/strikes are prohibited during that time and for 30 days following the release of the report. If rail carriers or rail labor reject the PEB recommendations, Congress can intervene, which it did in 1992 by creating a bill to forbid a lockout/strike.

Farm Bureau Analysis Looks at Rail Service Problems

According to American Farm Bureau analysis, the number of unfilled grain car orders shot up 231% during the second quarter of this year. There were 204,000 unfilled orders in the second quarter, compared to 62,000 during the same quarter of 2021. BNSF saw an increase of 546% year over year, while Union Pacific had an increase of 154%.

“Most order delays are lasting 11 days or more, putting perishable goods waiting for shipment at risk of rot and grain mills or livestock operations reliant on a steady stream of raw materials and feed in limbo,” the AFBF analysis says. Most of the unfilled grain orders were concentrated in the Upper Midwest and central Plains. 

Read more: Rail Order Delays, Empty Exports and Equipment Shortages