May 27, 2022
Newsletter for May 27, 2022
This Issue:
  • Interim Public Lands Subcommittee Meeting Focus On Water
  • AFBF Market Intel Report On Cattle Business
  • Lawmakers Share Their Concerns Over Proposed SEC Climate Change Rule
  • Still On The Lookout For A State Meat Program Project Manager 
  • …and There Is Also An Opening For An Agricultural Specialist, Working On Sage Grouse Conservation
  • Nevada Department Of Agriculture Seeking Survey Responses
Interim Public Lands Subcommittee Meeting Focus On Water
When the Nevada Legislature’s Subcommittee on Public Lands of the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Natural Resources met in Boulder City, NV on Monday, May 23rd their attention was on water.   Along with reports on the Colorado River and hearing from various other water interests from across the state, Nevada State Engineer Adam Sullivan offered his overview of where things stand in regard to water management.  He was joined in his presentation to the committee by Micheline Nadeau Fairbanks, Deputy Administrator of the Nevada Division of Water Resources.

The two water officials took advantage of the platform of the legislative hearing to express their unfavorable opinion of the ruling made by Judge Bita Yeager against Order 1309.  They also made the point several times that water law is antiquated, and that they want to see the division start managing the resource of water itself, rather than managing water rights.  It is becoming more obvious that the idea of prior appropriation doctrine and the first-in-time-first-in-right concept isn’t fitting well with the desire for “management” of how water use happens from the State Engineer’s office.  This has been a point of emphasis over the past several years, including the various attempts by those in charge of water matters with the State of Nevada to change state water law.

Given the manner in which the presentation was made on Judge Yeager’s decision and the way her ruling undercuts (in the specific case of 1309) the approach of using “Legislative Intent” as the basis for the State Engineer to invent new “management” approaches that don’t match state law – we’re more than likely going to be experiencing new legislative proposals to expand on the “Legislative Intent” statements.  The comments offered against the decision of Judge Yeager somewhat shaded the explanation for where the “Legislative Intent” statements were being challenged.  The Rest of the Story, which wasn’t completely given in the presentation to the Public Lands Subcommittee, included the way in which Order 1309 combined seven groundwater basins and then used conjunctive management to totally override priority appropriations within specific groundwater basins – treating the seven as one.

It’s likely that the perspective of the State Engineer not having all the “flexibility” for decisions beyond the state’s water law, might tee-up the future legislative proposals which we’ll be dealing with in 2023’s Nevada Legislature.  Once again, we think it is necessary for Farm Bureau conversations on further enhancing our policy for dealing with issues such as conjunctive management.  If you haven’t reviewed the White Paper we would encourage you to give it thought on where the current policy could be expanded on to better define the type of specifics that should form the framework for conducting conjunctive management.
AFBF Market Intel Report On Cattle Business
As we wind down May “Beef Month” it seems like a great time to focus on where things stand and where they are headed for cattle producers.  The American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) economic team’s newest addition, Bernt Nelson has produced this information piece offering an overview of the U.S. cattle market.
Lawmakers Share Their Concerns Over Proposed SEC Climate Change Rule
May 25th, a letter was sent from more than 100 members of the U.S. House concerning the proposed rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require companies that register with the SEC, to include certain climate-related disclosures in their registration statements and periodic reports, including information about climate-related risks that could impact their business, results of operations, or financial condition. 

“It is our strong belief that this proposed rule, if promulgated, would be a significant and unworkable regulatory burden, and a considerable departure from the SEC’s mission to protect investors, facilitate capital formation, and foster fair, orderly, and efficient markets.” the  bi-partisan Congressional letter stated adding,  “It is not within the purview of the SEC to regulate farmers and ranchers, which is what this rule would do by requiring public companies to disclose their Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.“ 

Nevada Congressman Mark Amodei was one of the members to sign the letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

As noted in an American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) background piece, “There are an estimated 63,485 companies listed on the SEC website with some sort of registrant reporting requirements, with industries ranging from life sciences to energy and transportation, real estate and construction, manufacturing, technology, trade and services, finance, structured finance and international corporate finance.”

With this broad of net cast over so many entities there is little chance that any agricultural producer selling their output wouldn’t be caught up in the requirements of having to complete complicated reports on what their environmental footprints might be.

If you’re interested in reviewing the 490-page “Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors” rule, you’re welcome to Click Here and read for yourself what lies in store.

With the June 17th deadline for submitting comments to the proposed rule there is still time to weigh in and get your comments included…please click on the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Advocacy Link for this comment process – Please Take Action and send your email!
Still On The Lookout For A State Meat Program Project Manager 
The Nevada Department of Agriculture is still in search of the newly created position for the Project Manager for the Meat and Poultry Inspection Program.  We’re encouraging Farm Bureau members to reach out to contacts they might have for recruiting interested applicants and getting this position filled.  
This position would be funded for a two-year stint and includes responsibilities of bringing on board an inspector to work with the industry for inspection readiness, environmental plans and safety plans.

We hope that you might consider anyone who you have contact with who might be interested in serving in this position. This link will take you to the information regarding the position and the instructions for an applicant to submit their application.
…and There Is Also An Opening For An Agricultural Specialist, Working On Sage Grouse Conservation
Last week’s newsletter also shared the effort underway to seek job candidates for the vacancy for an agricultural specialist to work on the Nevada Sagebrush Technical Team (SETT) Farm Bureau believes that it is in the best interests of Nevada agriculture to have a person working in this area.  It is position which works for the Nevada Department of Agriculture, but is based in Carson City within the SETT operations. This link will provide an interested person (more than likely a range management -oriented person) with the details about the opening as well as the portal to submit an application for the position.
Nevada Department Of Agriculture Seeking Survey Responses
If you haven’t already connected to the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) crop survey, we hope that you will do so.  The Department is requesting your participation in the 2022 Farm & Crop Industry Surveys. Data collected will help to ensure the crop industry is accurately represented as a segment of Nevada’s food and agriculture sector. This data will help the NDA as they seek funding opportunities to support Nevada’s agriculture industry and provide insight into resource needs. 

Surveys are separated by crops grown indoors and outdoors and each survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes. Please complete the survey(s) that is/are most relevant to your operation. The deadline to complete the survey(s) is July 1, 2022



Each survey is designed to collect industry data in an anonymous format. Your participation is voluntary. Please do not provide contact information or other identifying information in your response. Should you have any questions or require assistance related to these surveys, please contact John Baggett by email at jbaggett@agri.nv.gov or call 775-353-3610.
Have a happy and safe Memorial Day!