In This Issue:

• The Next Farm Bill
• NBGA Urges EPA Approval of Crop Protection Product for Barley
• NBGA Weighs-In with Policy Makers on Rail, Food Policy, and Trade
• EPA Declines Petition to Regulate Treated Seed, Will Propose New Rules on Labeling
• USDA Announced $500 Million Grant Program for Domestic Fertilizer Production
• Global Barley Production Estimates

The Next Farm Bill

An update on the lay of the land as we move toward reauthorization of the next Farm Bill. The current Farm Bill runs through September 2023 and many expect Congress will need to pass one or more extensions of the current law before they are able to reach agreement and enact a new bill. This sentiment is a product of the poor track record of Congress over the past 20 years for meeting deadlines and for timely reauthorizations, whether it’s a Farm Bill, another significant reauthorization or annual appropriations bills. Work on the next Farm Bill will pick-up by Spring of 2023 and so will the political posturing. We are likely to have divided government as control of the House of Representatives is currently projected to switch to Republicans after the mid-term elections in November. Control of the Senate is more uncertain but the composition and rules of that body will require bipartisan agreement regardless of which party has the majority. It looks fairly certain that the four principals – the Chair and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees – will remain the same. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and John Boozman (R-AR) in the Senate and David Scott (D-GA) and Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) in the House.

Events of the past few years will certainly play a large role in shaping the next Farm Bill. Increased production costs are top of mind, significant additional funding ($18 billion) was provided for conservation programs in the reconciliation package, over $3 billion was provided by USDA for climate-smart ag projects through the use of Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds, ad hoc disaster assistance (WHIP+ and ERP) has been provided nearly every year, and food security and supply chain issues stemming from the COVID pandemic and war in Ukraine are having lasting impacts. All of these dynamics will likely shape the views of policymakers as they go about crafting the next Farm Bill. Work has already begun as the Ag Committees have held hearings and listening sessions to review how existing programs are working and gather input. Farm groups are establishing general priorities with reference prices and base updates being mentioned the most, while issues not directly addressed in Farm Bills - such as fertilizer costs, supply-chain logistics, and labor – are having big impacts on farmers.

For NBGA the general priorities include maintaining planting flexibility and the concept of decoupling so that programs are tied to base acres, not current plantings as well as maintaining choices with ARC and PLC on farm-by-farm and crop-by-crop basis and preserving crop insurance. Specific priorities will develop on issues relating to reference prices, base updates and reauthorization of research programs such as the Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative. NBGA will be monitoring progress and developments and keeping in close touch with Members of Congress, their staff, and our fellow commodity groups. 

NBGA Urges EPA Approval of Crop Protection Product for Barley

NBGA and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) wrote to the Director of the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs in support of timely registration of Eastman Chemical Company’s new product, Adjust SL. This plant growth regulator protects farmers from lodging, which causes increased fuel consumption, decreases in yield, and threatens increased disease prevalence. The active ingredient in Adjust SL, chlormequat chloride, is already approved for use in the United States on ornamentals and already has import tolerances of 3 ppm on wheat and 2 ppm for barley.

NBGA Weighs-In with Policy Makers on Rail, Food Policy, and Trade

Over the past few weeks NBGA has joined our fellow ag producer groups and industry partners on several current issues. NBGA joined in urging Congress to take action, if needed, to avert a work-stoppage of U.S. freight rail. Fortunately, an agreement was reached between the railroad companies and rail workers to avoid a shutdown that would have been disruptive and potentially crippling for farmers during harvest. NBGA also joined this letter urging the Administration to ensure that agriculture is part of the policy discussions on hunger. Another joint letter urges the Senate to confirm Doug McKalip to be the Chief Ag Negotiation at the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). 

EPA Declines to Petition to Regulate Treated Seed, Will Propose New Rules on Labeling

On September 28th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declined a petition filed by the Center for Food Safety (CFS). The petitioners asked the Agency to amend the regulatory exemption for seeds treated with systemic pesticides, and to aggressively enforce registration and labeling requirements for such treated seed.

The petition filed in April 2017 by CFS claims that EPA did not adequately assess the risks from use of seed treatment pesticides that have systemic properties and use of the seed treated by such pesticides. The petition also claims that the treated article exemption may not cover treated seed without an adequate assessment of the risks.  EPA explained that it does fully assess, as part of its review of the pesticide registered for treating seed, both the use of the treating pesticide and the treated seed and impacts to human health and the environment. These assessments take into account the fate and effect of the pesticide, including the uptake and distribution into the developing seedling and plant and the availability of the pesticide on the treated seed.

EPA did agree with the petitioners’ concerns on clearly communicating the labeling instructions to the users of the treating pesticide and the treated seed. The Agency has been reviewing labeling instructions for pesticides registered for seed treatment use(s) in registration and registration review to ensure there are complete and appropriate instructions for the distribution, sale, and use of both the treating pesticide and the treated seed.  EPA intends to issue an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to seek additional information on whether or to what extent pesticide-treated seed is being distributed, sold, or used in a manner inconsistent with treating pesticide labeling. EPA will consider actions appropriate to the circumstances, which might include enforcement where there is a FIFRA violation or administrative action on the treating pesticide registration, e.g., to clarify labeling or reduce use of the treating pesticide. Finally, as part of the ANPRM, EPA will also explore the option of issuing a rule pursuant to FIFRA section 3(a) to regulate pesticide-treated seed to ensure distribution, sale and use of the treated seed is consistent with treating pesticide and treated seed labeling. 

USDA Announces $500 Million Grant Program for Domestic Fertilizer Production

On September 27^th USDA announced that the administration is making $500 million in grants available to increase American-made fertilizer production to spur competition and combat price hikes on U.S. farmers. The Fertilizer Product Expansion Program (FPEP) provides grants to help eligible applicants increase or otherwise expand the manufacturing and processing of fertilizer, nutrient alternatives, and other nutrient management products and technologies and their availability in the United States.  Eligible entities are for‐profit businesses and corporations, nonprofit entities, tribes and tribal organizations, producer‐owned cooperatives and corporations, certified benefit corporations, and state or local governments. Private entities must be independently owned and operated to apply. The maximum award is $100 million. The minimum award is $1 million. The grant term is five years.

Global Barley Production Estimates

Australia is forecast to produce 12.3 mmts of barley from the upcoming winter-crop harvest, according to estimates from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) in its quarterly Australian Crop Report released in early September. These figures are up from its previous forecasts issued in June of 10.9 mmts for barley. The Australian barley crop is expected to be the fourth-largest on record.

The barley harvest is complete in Ukraine and it is down 45% from the previous year. August exports totaled 206,798 mts, up by 37% from July, but still significantly lagging the 1.7 mmts shipped in the same month a year earlier.