Vilsack announces $150M for drought relief in California

Posted July, 1 2015

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced another $150 million for California drought relief, according to a Western Farm Press article available here. Capital Press also published an article available here and San Francisco Chronicle here.

In the next two years, the USDA's Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) along with the Interior Department, the State of California, non-profits, and private landowners will invest $130 million in the partnership, totaling a minimum investment of $210 million.

The $150 million is in addition to the $110 million in drought relief for the West that officials announced on June 12 and the $190 million the federal government had already devoted to drought relief earlier this year. This investment includes $130 million for forest thinning and other projects in the woods and $13.7 million for struggling ranchers, according to Capital Press.

The money for livestock producers is available through NRCS’ Environmental Quality Incentives Program and includes short-term assistance as well as help with long-term solutions such as improving irrigation systems, Vilsack said.

“I think producers want to know that someone’s paying attention and understands the hurt that’s being felt throughout the countryside” because of the drought, said Vilsack. “I think they appreciate the fact that we know the link between our forests and water quality and conservation.”

The headwaters help provide drinking water to 25 million Californians and irrigate farms in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, according to the SF Chronicle.

Vilsack told reporters on a conference call that protecting national forests are key to preserving water resources. Expanding meadows and cutting down trees helps clear the path for snow to melt into streams and rivers, eventually making its way into farmland and reservoirs. Restoration can also ensure enough space for snow to stay on trees and meadows to also melt slowly into groundwater basins.

Approximately $14 million will help ranchers get water for cattle providing access to more water-efficient wells and pipelines, and $6 million for programs helping rural communities gain access to drinking water.

For more information on conservation programs, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

Lawmakers introduce revised federal drought relief bill

Posted June 29, 2015

California lawmakers passed a new budget that would make a range of policy changes intended to address the drought, according to an article by the LA Times available here. Daily Democrat also published an article available here and AgWeb here.

The changes would allow faster construction of water recycling projects, increase fines for water wasters and empower the state to force failing water agencies to consolidate.

The bill by Republican Congressman David Valadao of Hanford comes closer to what Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein pushed through the Senate last year, but there are also considerable differences. For example, the House bill scraps efforts to restore a Chinook salmon fishery in the San Joaquin River, which was the goal of a 2006 lawsuit settlement, according to AgWeb.

Valadao said Congress needs to act because the consequences of California's drought are spreading.

"Inaction will result in the collapse of our domestic food supply," he said.

The California Farm Bureau Federation voiced its support for water legislation—the Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015, according to Daily Democrat.

“There’s no time to waste,” CFBF President Paul Wenger said in a press release. “The noose is tightening around many California farms and ranches, as water supplies become more restricted. All Californians and all Americans depend on the food and farm products grown in our state, and will benefit from policies that add flexibility to California water management.”

The bill requires agencies to consider alternatives to reduced pumping, such as installing temporary barriers to prevent saltwater intrusion or removing non-native fish that eat protected fish such as the delta smelt and certain salmon species.

Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California criticized the House bill, according to AgWeb.

"It's unfortunate that House Republicans — with much fanfare — are rolling out a bill that is the same-old, same-old and will only reignite the water wars," Boxer said.

For more information on water law, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

Vilsack Announced New Crop Insurance Program

Posted October 23, 2014

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced a new Farm Bill initiative that will provide relief to farmers that were affected by severe weather, including drought, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) news release available here. Agri-Pulse also published an article available here, Hoosier Ag here, and Politico here.

The Actual Production History (APH) Yield Exclusion will be available nationwide in spring 2015, and it allows eligible producers, those who have suffered severe weather, to receive a higher approved yield on their insurance policies through the federal crop insurance program.

Crops eligible for APH Yield Exclusion include corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, barley, canola, sunflowers, peanuts, and popcorn. Almost three-fourths of all acres and liability in the federal crop insurance program will be covered under APH Yield Exclusion.

Secretary Tom Vilsack said the provision allows growers to manage their risk more efficiently, according to Hoosier Ag Today.

“Key programs launched or extended as part of the 2014 Farm Bill are essential to USDA’s commitment to help rural communities grow. These efforts give farmers, ranchers, and their families better security as they work to ensure Americans have safe and affordable food. By getting other 2014 Farm Bill programs implemented efficiently, we are now able to offer yield exclusion for Spring 2015 crops, providing relief to farmers impacted by severe weather,” said Vilsack.

The original implementation date was scheduled for 2016. The earlier release will be an extra burden for crop insurance companies. Vilsack’s staff and the Risk Management Agency (RMA), which oversees the federal crop insurance program, have “downplayed” the politics surrounding the situation, according to Politico.

“It’s not about elections; it’s not about politics. It’s about good, hard-working people doing their job and doing a helluva job,” said Vilsack.

David Cleavinger, a Texas Wheat Producers Association (TWPA) board member and Texas farmer, said that without this APH change, after several years of severe drought his crop insurance coverage will continue to erode. 

“I haven't harvested an acre of dryland wheat since 2010,” said Cleavinger. “I ran very conservative figures on one dryland wheat section in Deaf Smith County, and by dropping the yields from three qualifying years, I would be able to increase my APH from 23 bushels per acre, to 28.”

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., commended Secretary Vilsack and his team on their implementation efforts.

“The APH adjustment means everything to farmers all across the country who have suffered through year after year of devastating drought conditions. It is the difference between having viable crop insurance for the coming year or not. It is for these reasons that I worked to include the APH adjustment in the farm bill and why I am pleased the Secretary redoubled his efforts to get it done this year. I remain hopeful that USDA will also work to make the same relief available to winter wheat producers," said Lucas.

For more information on farm bills and disaster programs, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here and here.

California Increases Water Plan to $7.5 Billion

Posted August 19, 2014

On August 13, California lawmakers agreed on a $7.5 billion water plan, which includes $2.7 billion for water storage, according to a Wall Street Journal article available here. Capital Press also published an article available here and Bloomberg here.

The plan would be the largest investment in decades, and it is designed to “build reservoirs, clean up contaminated groundwater, and promote water-saving technologies.”

The ballot measure passed through both houses of the Legislature: 77-2 in the Assembly and 37-0 in the Senate.

California Governor Jerry Brown signed the legislation, which was 25 percent higher than he stated the state could afford, into law, according to Bloomberg.

“Water is the lifeblood of any civilization and for California it’s the precondition of healthy rivers, valleys, farms and a strong economy,” Brown said.

Groups such as the California Farm Bureau Federation believed that the new bond measure negotiated this year would maintain the $3 billion for dams and reservoirs, which was originally in the $11.1 billion bond passed by the Legislature in 2009, according to Capital Press.

However, the measure began being scaled back to make it more “palatable” to voters, and most agriculture advocates now believe this was the best outcome after a $2 billion budget was introduced for water storage.

“The $2 billion just wasn’t going to cut it,” California Citrus Mutual president Joel Nelsen said. “Even if it passed, we had nothing. Certain farm groups went for $2.5 billion, but it didn’t guarantee either specific storage facility to be built and there was no cross-valley connector, so there was no way to move the water from Point A to Point B. I told the governor that for the rest of us, it wasn’t good enough.”

The plan also includes other provisions, such as $900 million to replenish and clean up groundwater, $810 million for drought preparedness, $725 million for water recycling, and $520 million to cleanse some small communities’ drinking water supply.

For more information on environmental law, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

California Oil Field Produces Valuable Commodity

Posted July 9, 2014

The 115-year-old Kern River oil field is providing another valuable commodity to California’s Central Valley: water, according to a New York Times article by Norimitsu Onishi available here. CNBC also published the NY Times article here.

Chevron owns the field and sells millions of gallons every day to a local water district that distributes it to farmers growing almonds, pistachios, citrus fruits, and other crops.

The water is pumped out of the same underground rock that contains oil. After the two are separated, the water flows through an eight-mile pipeline to Bakersfield’s Cawelo Water District, which will rely heavily on Chevron’s supply this year. The district sells the supply exclusively to farmers for irrigation, and they reduce salinity in water by blending it with water from other sources.

“These are the years that it really shines, because that water is constant no matter what the hydrology is,” said David R. Ansolabehere, the district’s general manager. “In wet years, it almost becomes a problem because we don’t have so much use for it. But in dry years, boy, it really does come in handy.”

Criticized for its use of water, especially in the process known as “fracking”, the oil industry is focusing on efforts to conserve and recycle water and increase irrigation supply. Critics are dismissing the efforts as a political ploy.

California relies on industry figures to determine the amount and kind of water used in oil production. According to the Western States Petroleum Association, 323 acre-feet of water were used in fracking 830 wells in California in 2013, compared with 2.7 million acre-feet for agriculture in Kern County.

"It's almost impossible to get information," said Adam Scow, the California campaign director for Food and Water Watch. "How much water is the oil industry using every year, whether it's fracking, acidizing, cyclic steaming or other methods?"

Oil producers and farmers have resided peacefully in Kern County for decades, but that has changed recently.

Due to advances in drilling technology, oil companies have moved into agricultural areas. The drought is also another hardship on the relationship.

Richard Howitt, an emeritus professor of agricultural and resource economics who was the lead author of the report for the State Department of Food and Agriculture, said it was not possible to measure the effect of the oil industry's water consumption on agriculture. But given the intensity of the drought, Mr. Howitt cautioned against increasing fracking.

About 760,000 barrels of water a day are produced at the Kern River oil field as compared to 70,000 barrels of oil, and half of that water goes to the Cawelo Water District.

In normal years, Chevron’s water is a slightly cheaper than water bought from the state, which sells for $30 to $60 per acre-foot, said Mr. Ansolabehere, the water district manager. This year, while the price of Chevron’s water is unchanged, water from the state is valued up to $1,300 per acre-foot. Water districts receive only a small fraction of what they are supposed to get from the state, he added.

 

For background on the California drought, previous posts from this blog are available here and here.

California Drought Bill Passed by U.S. Senate

Posted May 28, 2014

The California Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF) applauded the U.S. Senate’s passage of bill to address water problems caused by the drought and urged Congress to begin negotiations to reconcile the bill with legislation passed earlier by the House of Representatives, according to an article on AgAlert by Christine Souza available here. AgWeb and SFGate also reported on the story here and here.

CFBF President Paul Wenger urged congressional leaders to promptly reconcile the newly passed Senate bill with the House bill that passed in February.

“Now, the real work begins," Wenger said. "Water shortages are causing widespread suffering for California family farmers and those who depend on them for jobs and environmental stewardship. Now that each house has passed drought measures, we need to meld the two in ways that provide the swiftest, most effective relief possible.”

Wenger applauded Sen. Dianne Feinstein for her authorship of the Senate bill and Central Valley Reps. David Valadao, Devin Nunes, Jim Costa and Jeff Denham for their work on the House measure.

Feinstein described her Emergency Drought Relief Act as a short-term solution that would provide federal and state water agencies with additional flexibility to deliver water where it is most needed during the drought.

“My hope is that this process can proceed quickly and bypass many of the controversial issues that have been raised in the past," Feinstein said. "While we do need long-term solutions to the state's water problems, the bill the Senate passed authorizes immediate actions to help California, and I think that's what we must focus on and reach agreement quickly.”

Farm Bureau and other organizations will monitor the upcoming negotiations closely, Wegner said.

“One reason the drought has hit California so hard is that we have failed for the past 30 years to modernize our water system,” he said. “California cannot afford another 20 or 30 years of inaction. Drought and water shortages hit farmers first and hardest, but they will cause losses that ricochet throughout the wider economy and the environment. Congress must act quickly to ease the pain by finalizing effective drought-relief legislation.”

Last week a preliminary report issued by the University of California, Davis, estimated that water shortages, caused by the drought, would result in the fallowing of 410,000 acres in the Central Valley.  This would lead to the loss of 14,500 jobs and an economic impact of $1.7 billion.

For background on the California drought, previous posts from this blog are available here and here.  For more information on water law, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

California to Ease Water Restrictions, Hosts Congressional Hearing on Drought

Posted March 25, 2014

California will ease some water restrictions protecting fish in the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta to make more water available for farming, according to a Reuters article available here.

“California’s agriculture is critical to the world’s food supply,” said assemblywoman Kristin Olsen, who represents part of the San Joaquin Valley who lobbied against the restrictions.  “An inability to produce that food would clearly be devastating to health and human safety not only in California, but around the globe.”

“We were quite concerned at the time about the issue of public health and safety,” said Tom Howard executive director of the state Water Resources Control Board. 

California is in its third year of a drought, leaving “some small communities at risk of running out of drinking water and possibly forcing farmers to leave fallow a half-million acres” of land.

California legislators recently hosted a congressional hearing on the drought and strategies for solving the problem, according to an article by Seattle PI, available here.

The House Natural Resources Committee began the hearing with statements from members of Congress, testimony from Central Valley farmers, and community and state leaders.

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) said a “radical ideology” has made its way into California water policy, “overburdening new projects with government regulation.”

Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) and Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) announced a bill to build a new reservoir.

Gov. Brown commented, “We’re going to emphasize water conservation and water recycling and managing the water below the ground and above the ground…So that’s the big topic today.  We’re in the middle of March, and it feels like July.  And so we know what our work is.”

For more information on water law, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

CA Rain Won’t End Drought

Posted March 3, 2014

While California received significant rainfall last week, it was not enough to offset years of drought, according to a Reuters article available here.

“Despite these recent storms, it would still have to rain every other day until around May to reach average precipitation totals, and even then we would still be in a drought due to the last two dry years,” said Richard Stapler, spokesman for the California Natural Resources Agency.

California is in its third year of a drought “that may break all records in the most populous U.S. state, where lawmakers” recently passed a series of drought relief proposals to Governor Jerry Brown.

California farmers say that another year of drought could be catastrophic, according to a Western Farm Press article available here.

The World Ag Expo 2014 Water Forum in Tulare, California, included two panel discussions on the current drought and the “outlook for legislation and regulatory changes to the water delivery system to the nation’s leading agricultural production area.”

The producers on the panel said they would ask what they could expect from the “rollout of the legislation, primarily the Feinstein-Boxer legislation.”

Federal drought relief passed in the 2014 farm bill has also been expedited for livestock disaster assistance through the livestock indemnity program (LIP); the livestock forage program (LFP); and a program of emergency relief to producers of livestock, honey bees and farm raised fish not covered by the two previous programs (ELAP). 

Other drought relief programs include: funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP); the Emergency Watershed Program (EWP), and through USDA- Rural Development’s Emergency Community Water Assistance.

For more information on disaster assistance programs, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

Federal Drought Relief Coming Soon for Ranchers

February 27, 2014

Drought relief for ranchers through USDA has been expedited, with the sign-up for the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) beginning as soon as April 14, according to an article by Farm Futures available here.

The Agriculture Act of 2014 livestock disaster assistance program includes a “livestock indemnity program (LIP) for livestock losses from adverse weather or attacks by federally reintroduced animals; a livestock forage program (LFP) for losses resulting from drought or fire; a program of emergency relief to producers of livestock, honey bees and farm raised fish not covered by the two previous programs (ELAP); and a tree assistance program for natural disasters.”

The disaster assistance programs will allow relief from losses to be retroactive to 2011 and will cover 75 percent of the value of animals lost with a limit of $125,000.

Other drought relief programs are also available.  Funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is available to California and other drought-affected areas to help farmers and ranchers implement conservation practices.  The Emergency Watershed Program (EWP) will provide assistance to most drought affected areas of California to help address watershed impairments.

Funds are also available through USDA- Rural Development’s Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants for rural communities that are experiencing a significant decline in the quality or quantity of drinking water due to drought.

In addition, California Lawmakers recently announced new legislation that would provide $687.4 million to help communities deal with drought and increase local water supplies, according to an article by the Environmental New Wire available here.

For more information on disaster assistance programs, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

Drought-Stricken Farmers Have Additional Year to Replace Livestock

Posted October 25, 2013

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that farmers and ranchers affected by drought have an additional year to replace livestock before capital gains apply, according to an article by Tri Valley Central available here.

Farmers and ranchers who sell more livestock than normal usually have four years in which to replace the livestock before capital gains applies to the sale.  The announcement by the IRS extends this period by one more year. 

Bill Brunson, IRS spokesman, said the extension generally applies to capital gains realized by eligible farmers and ranchers on sales of livestock held for draft, dairy or breeding purposes due to drought.  Sales of livestock raised for slaughter or held for sporting purposes, and poultry, are not eligible. 

The extension applies to any farm located in a county, parish, city, borough, census area or district, listed as suffering exceptional, extreme or severe drought conditions by the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) during any weekly period between Sept. 1, 2012 and Aug. 31, 2013, according to an Ag Weekly article available here.  Any county contiguous to a listed county is also eligible for relief. 

For more detailed information, IRS Notice 2013-62 is available here.  For more information on Selected Farm and Small Business Tax Issues, an article by Roger A. McEowen and Neil E. Harl originally published in the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law is available here.

USDA Designates Primary Natural Disaster Areas in Texas

Posted September 17,  2013

The USDA has designated four counties in Texas as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the recent drought, according to USDA press release available here.  The Texas counties include: Panola, Polk, Trinity, and Walker.

Farmers and ranchers in contiguous counties also qualify for natural disaster assistance.  These Texas counties include: Angelina, Grimes, Hardin, Harrison, Houston, Liberty, Madison, Montgomery, Rusk, San Jacinto, Shelby, and Tyler.  Caddo De Soto, a contiguous parish in Louisiana, also qualifies for disaster assistance.

Farm operators in the designated counties may apply for low interest emergency loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).  Farmers have eight months from the date of declaration, September 11, 2013, to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. 

Several additional programs are available to assist farmers including the Emergency Conservation Program, Federal Crop Insurance, and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.  Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, also stated that Congress has not funded the five disaster assistance programs authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill: SURE, the Livestock Indemnity Program; the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish; the Livestock Forage Disaster Program; and the Tree Assistance Program.  Production losses from disasters occurring after September 30, 2011, are not eligible for disaster assistance program coverage.  

Southeast Water Wars: Florida vs. Georgia Water Dispute To Be Filed in U.S. Supreme Court

Posted August 22, 2013

It’s Florida vs. Georgia in a battle with implications for Alabama, and, believe it or not, this time it’s not about football.  It’s about water, and a huge dispute over key resource is escalating.

Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott (R) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently announced that the state will file a lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court over an ongoing water dispute with Georgia, according to the Governor’s press release, available here.

According to the press release, “Apalachicola River water levels are directly impacted by upstream withdrawals from the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers at all times – especially apparent during low-flow summer and fall seasons.”  The Atlanta metro area “primarily gets its water from the Chattahoochee River with withdrawals totaling 360 million gallons per day” and Georgia’s consumption is “expected to nearly double to 705 million gallons per day by 2035.”  Gov. Scott argues that this “excessive consumption” has created “historically low water levels” causing “oysters to die because of higher salinity in the Bay and increased disease and predator intrusion.”

Last September, Gov. Scott asked the U.S. Department of Commerce to declare a Commercial Fisheries Failure for the Apalachicola Bay.  Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker recently declared the Commercial Fisheries Failure, the NOAA press release is available here. 

The Florida Current reports that Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal stated that “Scott’s announcement was political and Florida had failed to his state’s proposed comprehensive framework for a water agreement.”  According to the Florida Current article, available here, Florida will ask the Supreme Court “directly to decide an equitable allocation of water among Alabama, Florida and Georgia.”  Robin Kundis Craig, a University of Utah law professor, said the “Supreme Court is reluctant to get involved in such cases” with the Court apportioning “water only in three cases, the last being Nebraska versus Wyoming in 1945.”  Craig continued, stating that “even if the Supreme Court decides to get involved”, Florida “will face the challenge of arguing its environmental needs against Georgia’s arguments for water for cities and their thirsty residents.”

The allocation of surface water depends on state law.  Three different allocation systems have developed in the United States: the riparian doctrine, the system of prior appropriation, and a hybrid of riparian and prior appropriation.  For more information on water law and allocation of water under state law, please visit the National Agriculture Law Center’s Water Law Reading Room. 

USDA Announces Emergency Assistance to Ranchers

Posted: August 7, 2013

In response to continued severe drought conditions in certain areas of the country, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Juan M. Garcia announced temporary assistance to livestock producers through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).  According to the press release, some farmers and ranchers affected by drought will be able to use additional CRP acres for haying or grazing “while maintaining safeguards to the conservation and wildlife benefits provided by CRP.”  USDA announced that the “reduction to CRP annual rental payments related to emergency haying or grazing will be reduced from 25 percent to 10 percent” and the “sale of hay will be allowed under certain conditions.”

FSA state offices are now authorized to expand opportunities for haying and grazing, under certain conditions, on land enrolled in CRP.  Garcia stated that the “local approach provides both the appropriate flexibility and ability to tailor safeguards specific to regional conditions.  States must adhere to specific guidelines to ensure that haying and grazing still maintains the important environmental and wildlife benefits of CRP.”

FSA has also authorized “additional expenditures related to drought response to be eligible for cost share, including connection to rural water systems and installation of permanent pipelines” under the Emergency Conservation Program.

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a voluntary land retirement program designed to remove millions of acres of environmentally sensitive and highly erodible land from agricultural production.  The program provides annual rental payments in exchange for planting resource-conserving vegetation on cropland to help prevent erosion, provide wildlife habitat, and improve the environment. 

For more information on the CRP program, a recent report by the Congressional Research Service is available here.  For additional resources, visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s Conservation Programs Reading Room.

March 6 Webinar on State and Federal Water Law Issues, CLE Credit Available

On March 6, from 12-1 p.m. (Central), the Arkansas Bar Association will host a webinar covering state and federal law water issues.  The focus of the presentation will be on issues relevant to Arkansas. 

In every region of the state, issues involving water law are becoming increasingly important, including but not limited to Fayetteville Shale Development, acquifer issues in eastern Arkansas, and application of federal statutes such as the Clean Water Act.  This webinar will provide the basics as well as some in-depth review of key aspects of important state and federal law water issues with which attorneys will want to be acquainted.

To register for the webinar, visit the Arkansas Bar Association website or click here to directly access the registration page.

Topics covered will include an overview of the ongoing Arkansas State Water Plan, critical groundwater area designation, the riparian doctrine in Arkansas and the shift towards a "regulated riparianism" in Arkansas, and related issues. 

Presenters will be:

William G. Wright, Jr., Member, Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard;
Grant Ballard, Banks Law Firm, PLLC; and
Harrison Pittman, Director, National Agricultural Law Center, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Chairwoman Stabenow Issues Statement Regarding Sequestration and Elimination of Direct Payment Subsidies

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, issued the following statement today regarding the announcement by Senate Democratic leadership that agriculture’s direct payment subsidies will be eliminated as part of a larger sequestration package intended to avoid across-the-board spending cuts. The elimination of direct payment subsidies saves $27.5 billion and constitutes the entire non-defense discretionary cuts in the bill.

“The choice facing Congress is to allow drastically irresponsible cuts to hit every part of our budget and cost 750,000 jobs, or to make smart, targeted cuts. Billions in direct payment subsidies are paid out even in good times and for crops farmers aren’t even growing. That’s why an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the Senate voted to eliminate direct payments last year while strengthening support for farmers when they have a loss. Congress needs to come together and cut government waste, rather than cutting job creation, education, and other top priorities.

The released statement adds that, “[o]nce again, it is the Agriculture Committee that is stepping forward with responsible solutions to reduce the deficit.”

Chairwoman Stabenow to Convene Hearing on Weather Disasters, Effects on Agriculture, Economy

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, will convene a Committee hearing on Thursday, February 14 at 9:30 (EST).  The hearing will be held in Room 328 of the Russell Senate Office Building.  However, a live webcast of the hearing can be viewed on the Committee's website at http://ag.senate.gov.

The hearing, "Drought, Fire and Freeze:  The Economics of Disasters for America's Agricultural  Producers", will feature testimony from Dr. Joe Glauber, Chief Economist at USDA and Dr. Roger Pulwarty, Director of the National Integrated Drought Information System at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Additional witnesses include:

• Dr. Leon LaSalle, a rancher from Havre, Montana;
• Ms. Anngie Steinbarger, a farmer from Edinburgh, Indiana;
• Mr. Jeff Send, a cherry farmer from Leelanau, Michigan; and
• Mr. Ben Ben Steffen, farmer, Steffen Ag., Inc., from Humboldt, Nebraska.

For additional information regarding the February 14 hearing, contact Ben Becker at (202) 224-5466 or ben_becker@ag.senate.gov.

USDA Releases January Inventory Numbers for Cattle

 

 

Recently, the United States Department of Agriculture released the January inventory numbers for cattle.

According to the report, “All the cattle and calves in the United States, as of January 1, totaled 89.3 million head.” This is the lowest January 1 cattle and calve inventory since 1952.

Northern Ag Network reports that this is “2 percent below the 90.8 Million on January 1 last year.”  According to Bloomberg.com, inventory fell to the lowest in 60 years “after a drought in the South scorched pastures, prompting ranchers to shrink herds.”

Chad Henderson, a market analyst at Prime Agricultural Consultants, Inc., stated in a phone interview, “We had one of the biggest droughts in Texas this past year.”  “Guys have been ripping up pasture and planting crops. It’ll take years for this thing to build back up,” said Henderson.

The USDA also reported that the total number of calves born in 2011 fell 1.1 percent. Ron Plain, live economist at the University of Missouri at Columbia, said “Fewer calves being born means ultimately fewer cattle will be slaughtered.”

“That means the tight beef supply is going to get tighter as we go through 2013 and 2014,” said Plain.

In a January 25 report, the USDA claimed that “consumers may pay as much as 5 percent more for beef this year, the biggest increase in all the food groups except for seafood."

Drovers Cattle Network reported that a consistent raise in beef prices could ultimately jeopardize domestic and international demand for U.S. beef, ending up with a “lost market share to other proteins or other beef exporters.”

Senator Harry Reid Re-Introduces Senate Farm Bill

On the first day of the 113th Congress, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) reintroduced the version of the Farm Bill the Senate passed on June 21, 2012, S. 3240.  Full text of S.3240 available here.  For an Agri-Pulse news item on this important development, click here.  Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan), Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry has indicated that she will convene a Committee mark up as soon as possible, the product of which could then be substituted for Senator Reid's placeholder bill. 

According to the Agri-Pulse article:

“I applaud Sen. Reid’s leadership and commitment to getting a five-year farm bill done to provide certainty to the 16 million Americans working in agriculture,” Stabenow said. “Last year we were able to pass a farm bill with overwhelming bipartisan support, saving more than $23 billion in taxpayer money and reforming farm bill programs to be more cost-effective and market-oriented. Unfortunately, the House didn’t bring the farm bill to the floor.”
 

An email press release from the Senate Agriculture Committee ("Chairwoman Stabenow Applauds Majority Leader Reid for Making Farm Bill a Top Priority:  Reid Introduces Senate-Passed Farm Bill on First Day of New Congress, Reinforces Commitment to Agriculture Jobs and Deficit Reduction"), states that "Chairwoman Stabenow has said she is committed to convening a Committee mark up as soon as possible, to produce an updated version of the Farm Bill, which could then be substituted for Majority Leader Reid's placeholder bill."