In This Issue:

• NBGA Board Meeting in Fargo
• USDA Plantings Report Shows Barley Increase
• House Moves Agriculture Appropriations Bill with Barley Priorities
• USDA Issues More Than $4 Billion in Emergency Relief Program Payments to Date
• Crop Protection Products Face Pressure

NBGA Board Meeting in Fargo

The National Barley Growers Association hosted its annual summer meeting in Fargo, ND over June 20-22. The event kicked off with a welcome reception at Fargo Brewing hosted by the NDSU Foundation, Agricultural Affairs, and Plant Pathology. At the business meeting, growers and industry representatives shared updates on t

USDA Plantings Report Shows Barley Increase

The USDA June 30 acreage report estimated barley planted acres at 3.046 million acres, up from the 2.660 million acres planted in 2021 and up from the 2.941 in the March estimates. However, the report included this special note:

Estimates of the portion of the United States total planted acreage that was left to be planted when the survey was conducted are published on page 6. These estimates are based on data provided by respondents who were contacted between May 28 and June 16. Nationally, corn left to be planted was 4.03 million acres. Soybeans left to be planted for the United States was 15.8 million acres. In July, NASS will collect updated information on 2022 acres planted to barley, canola, corn, dry edible beans, oats, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, and Durum & other spring wheat in 3 States. Excessive rainfall had delayed planting at the time of the survey, leaving a portion of acres still to be planted in:

• Minnesota: barley, canola, corn, dry edible beans, oats, soybeans, sunflowers, spring wheat;

• North Dakota: barley, canola, corn, dry edible beans, oats, soybeans, sunflowers, Durum, spring wheat

• South Dakota: barley, corn, oats, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, and other spring wheat.

If the newly collected data justify any changes, NASS will publish updated acreage estimates in the Crop Production report to be released at noon ET on Friday, August 12.

The report can be found here.

House Moves Agriculture Appropriations Bill with Barley Priorities

The House Appropriations Committee passed its draft Fiscal Year 2023 Agriculture appropriations bill. The legislation funds agencies and programs within the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.

The measure includes the following NBGA and barley industry priorities:

Barley Pest Initiative - The Committee provides an additional $1,000,000 above the fiscal year 2022 level to strengthen the capacity of the barley research infrastructure to address major insect, viral, bacterial, and fungal threats to the production of high-quality barley.

Small Grain Genomics - The Committee supports research on barley and wheat high throughput genomics and phenotyping and recognizes its importance in improving crop traits and developing new cultivars.

U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab (USWBS) - The Committee continues to recognize the importance of the research carried out through the USWBS Initiative. Fusarium head blight is a major threat to agriculture, inflicting substantial yield and quality losses throughout the U.S.

Overall, the bill provides funding of $27.2 billion– an increase of $2.075 billion, 8 percent– above FY2022. The legislation also invests over $560 million for the expansion of broadband service to provide economic development opportunities and improved education and healthcare services. This includes $450 million for the ReConnect program. This is in addition to the $2 billion broadband investment in the recently enacted infrastructure package. 

USDA Issues More Than $4 Billion in Emergency Relief Program Payments to Date

USDA reported that agricultural producers have so far received more than $4 billion through the Emergency Relief Program (ERP), representing approximately 67% of the $6 billion projected to be paid through the first phase of the program. USDA mailed out pre-filled applications in late May to producers with crop insurance who suffered losses due to natural disasters in 2020 and 2021. Commodity and specialty crop producers have until July 22 to complete applications.

USDA is implementing ERP in two phases, with the first phase utilizing existing claim data and the second phase intended to cover other producers and fill-in gaps. 

Crop Protection Products Face Pressure

Glyphosate:

Crop protection products are facing challenges on several fronts. This month, the Supreme Court declined to hear industry appeals of two lower court rulings (Hardeman and Pilliod cases) against glyphosate. Meanwhile, juries in Missouri and Oregon recently found in favor of Bayer in separate cases. There have now been seven jury verdicts – 3 for plaintiffs and the last 4 consecutive verdicts in Bayer’s favor. 

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are also challenging EPA’s interim registration decision on glyphosate. In January 2020, as part of the routine registration review of glyphosate, the EPA published its interim registration decision on glyphosate. In March 2020, a group of NGOs filed petitions with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit challenging the EPA’s decision on glyphosate. On June 17, the Court issued a split ruling on the NGOs’ petition. Most notably, the Court vacated the human health portion of the EPA’s interim determination and remanded it back to the EPA for “further analysis and explanation” their conclusion that glyphosate is safe for use and not carcinogenic. Current glyphosate product registrations remain in place and growers and other users can continue to use the products based on the current label instructions.

Neonicotinoids:

On June 16^th EPA released three final Biological Evaluations (BEs), for the neonicotinoid insecticides clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. These products are currently undergoing routine registration review by EPA - as part of the review process, endangered species assessments (ESA) are being conducted. BEs are the first step in the ESA process and EPA will now consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to decide if additional protective measures are needed. Registrants, grower groups, and others will continue to have opportunities to participate in this process to help ensure any new measures proposed by the EPA are fully informed and based on sound science and actual use.

BEs are based on highly conservative assumptions and the EPA stated that the determinations in the BE “should not be interpreted that EPA has made a determination that a neonic is putting a species in jeopardy. Those determinations are made in the course of Step 3 by the NMFS and FWS.” The EPA has also stated that “the BE maintains conservative assumptions and may overstate the number of species exposed to and impacted by a pesticide.” The BE does not conclude that current uses of these insecticides have impacted any endangered species. Instead, and as an example of the highly conservative nature of the evaluations, the EPA’s method includes the highest labeled use rates and maximum usage footprints allowed based on current labels. In the majority of instances this results in endangered species receiving “may affect” determinations if the product label simply allows for the use of the product in a county where endangered species are located. These products are still approved for use. No products are taken off the market and do not impact sales. This process will continue through 2025 and could mean some additional protective measures are added to existing labels as early as 2025.

CropLife America emphasized that language in its comments on the evaluations. 

"EPA explained that [the 'likely to adversely affect'] determination 'does not necessarily mean that a pesticide is putting a species in jeopardy,'” CLA said, adding it "continues to advocate for BEs that incorporate more real-world data, since the design of the current BE is highly conservative and therefore over-estimates uncertainties.”