13. When the
growing season begins, the Crop Advisory Team Alert follows
The Crop Advisory Team (CAT) Alert
newsletter has begun publishing its 2008 season. Offering pest management
advice from March to September, the newsletter highlights concerns that may be
happening on your farm or nursery. With five editions available, there is
something for everyone. You can choose from landscape and nursery, fruit, field
crops, vegetables or greenhouse, as well as whether to read a print or Internet
format.
If you have a computer, you can read for free by picking your edition at:
http://www.ipm.msu.edu/aboutcat.htm
If you would rather have a print subscription, it only costs $35 and includes
all issues regardless of when you subscribed in the season. For more
information or a subscription form, please call 517-353-4703 or visit our web
site listed above.\
14.
Senate, House Farm Bill Negotiators Reach Compromise
Posted By Keith Good On April 26, 2008 @ 6:14
Peter Shinn reported on Friday at Brownfield that,
“He may not have liked it, but President Bush Friday morning, without
comment, signed another one-week extension of the 2002 farm law through the end
of next week. On Tuesday, President Bush called on Congress to pass a one-year
extension of the old farm bill.”
***
Dan Morgan reported in today’s Washington Post
that, “House and Senate negotiators reached tentative agreement yesterday
on a new $290 billion, multiyear farm bill that would add about $10.4 billion
for nutrition programs while continuing to channel billions of dollars to
farmers, even if prices stay at current record levels.
“Key details remain to be worked out, but
lawmakers said a final deal could come next week on the bill. The government
would spend $10 billion more than allocated by congressional budget committees
last year. The Bush administration had proposed an increase of about $5.5
billion.”
Mr. Morgan explained that, “Senate Agriculture
Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said the agreement would include a new
permanent program that guarantees aid to farmers and ranchers suffering
weather-related losses, a priority of senators from Western states hit by
drought…[T]he bill would reduce the tax credit for ethanol made from corn
to 45 cents per gallon from 51, but the tax credit would be extended through
2010.”
The Post article also noted that, “Rising food
costs gave a strong impetus to stepped-up funding for programs such as food
stamps that help poor and near-poor families. Farm bill versions passed by the
House and Senate last year proposed modest increases in food stamp benefits and
eased standards of eligibility for the program.
“Last week, Senate negotiators offered a $9.5
billion increase over 10 years. Yesterday, they upped that offer by $800
million to $900 million, sources indicated.”
Greg Hitt reported in today’s Wall Street
Journal that, “Lawmakers dickering over details of the bill zeroed in on
a plan to provide for a big increase in nutrition programs, especially
assistance for low-income families, congressional aides said. The planned $10.4
billion increase would be paid for by raising Customs user fees. Such fees are
assessed at the border on imports from abroad.
“Negotiators also appear to have reached
tentative agreement on a $1.6 billion package of tax cuts, providing a range of
incentives to promote conservation and investment in farm country. The package
includes a new preference to promote development of next-generation biofuels,
which would be made from wood chips, switch grass and agricultural waste, instead
of food grains.
“To pay for the tax cuts, lawmakers are
proposing to scale back an existing tax credit that subsidizes production of
corn-based ethanol, among other things.”
Mr. Hitt indicated that, “The additional funds
for nutrition are expected to include new spending for domestic as well as
international assistance, a nod toward concerns world-wide that the rise in
food prices is fueling food shortages in the developing world. Beyond the
spending on nutrition, the bill is expected to provide over $4 billion in new
spending on conservation programs, a major priority of Sen. Harkin.
“With some pieces of the bill still moving, it
was unclear Friday how far negotiators for the House and Senate would go to
reduce subsidies for production of wheat, corn and other commodities. The White
House has been insisting on deep cuts, but the original House and Senate bills
made only moderate changes in subsidies.
“It is still unclear what the White House will
ultimately do. President Bush has voiced a range of concerns about the farm
proposal. Lawmakers hoped the decision to pay for more nutrition spending with
Customs user fees would help avoid a veto fight.”
David M. Herszenhorn reported in today’s New
York Times that, “Congressional negotiators said Friday that they had
reached a tentative agreement on a five-year farm bill that would increase
spending on food stamps and other nutrition programs while mostly maintaining
existing farm subsidies at a time of record profits for farmers.
“The bill, which would cost more than $300
billion, includes an increase of $1 billion a year for food stamps and other
nutrition aid, and it would make a modest cut, of about $40 million a year, to
a much-criticized farm subsidy that is paid based on acreage even if it is no
longer farmed.
“The deal also contains tax cuts of up to $1.8
billion, including depreciation incentives for racehorse breeders sought by the
Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. And it includes a new
$3.8 billion disaster relief program for farmers, scaled back from the $5
billion proposed by the Senate.”
Mr. Herszenhorn noted that, “Senator Max Baucus,
Democrat of Montana and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who was at
the center of the tug of war over how to pay for the bill, said that the tax
package was ‘basically done.’ But other Congressional aides
cautioned that given the unpredictable nature of farm politics nothing would be
certain until the conference committee worked out the final details and
approved the package.
“Among the details still to be worked out were
competing proposals to lower the adjusted gross income limits for recipients of
certain farm subsidies. Negotiators said they were likely to impose tighter
limits on wealthy recipients who did not earn most of their income from
farming, but those who did farm for most of their earnings would mostly likely
not face the lower caps.
“The Bush administration has called for much
lower limits that deny subsidies to anyone with an average adjusted gross
income above $200,000 a year. And while some of the last-minute maneuvering was
intended to address White House concerns, it remained unclear if the
administration would support it or will renew veto threats.”
The Times article also pointed out that, “Among
the most criticized subsidies are the $5.2 billion a year in ‘direct
payments,’ which are disbursed to farmers even now when they are reaping
unprecedented earnings from strong harvests and record-high grain prices. And
the proposed cut in those payments — a relatively modest $400 million
over 10 years — is unlikely to quiet critics…In a nod to concerns
that new federal mandates for production of corn-based ethanol are contributing
to rising food prices around the world, the bill would reduce a tax credit for
ethanol processors to 45 cents a gallon from 51 cents. It also includes added
incentives to encourage production of cellulosic ethanol, which is made from
plant matter like switchgrass rather than corn.”
Reuters writer Charles Abbott reported yesterday that,
“The new U.S. farm law would reduce the tax credit for corn-based ethanol
while giving nutrition programs such as food stamps a $10.4 billion increase,
House and Senate negotiators said on Friday.
“‘A significant increase in nutrition is
really required by what is happening in the market,’ said Senate Budget
Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, one of the negotiators. ‘It is … a
reflection of reality.’”
Mr. Abbott explained that, “House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi and New York Democrat Charles Rangel, chairman of the House tax
committee, insisted on more nutrition funding to offset the $361 million cost
of tax breaks to timber companies and owners of racehorses.
“The 51-cent-a-gallon tax credit for corn-based
ethanol would drop to 45 cents, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin
Peterson, said in describing the ongoing discussions. The Minnesota Democrat
said a tax credit would be created for ethanol derived from cellulose, found in
grasses, woody plants and crop debris.
“‘This is what the country wants,’
Peterson said, referring to development of cellulosic ethanol. Livestock groups
say rapid growth of the corn-based ethanol industry is driving up feed costs
and rippling through to higher grocery prices.”
The Reuters article also stated that, “With
approval of the timber and racehorse tax breaks, negotiators will have to cut
about $1 billion from commodity supports, up from the earlier goal of $730
million.
“Still to be decided were tighter rules on crop
subsidies and whether to increase crop subsidy rates for wheat and soybeans.
“A small cut might be made in the so-called
direct payments that guarantee $5.2 billion a year to grain, cotton and soybean
growers, a small-farm advocate said.”
DTN writer Chris Clayton reported yesterday (link
requires subscription) that, “As the national news focused on increased
food costs that have led some stores to ration some commodities such as rice,
the lawmakers focused on the boost in spending and work on nutrition programs.
Lawmakers will be able to tout the bill as a response to rising food costs and
as a way to help ensure fewer Americans go hungry.
“‘The one thing that is in this bill that
people ought to know about is we carried a heavy load for nutrition,’
said Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. ‘Food
stamps and groups out there, we carried a heavy load on this one …
It’s not just a farm bill. It is a farm, and a food and an energy
bill.’”
Mr. Clayton noted that, “Most major policies on
direct payments, counter-cyclical programs, loan-deficiency payments and crop
insurance do not change. Minor cuts in direct payments are expected, but it has
not been defined how those cuts will be implemented or who they will
affect.”
The DTN article indicated that, “To appease the
Bush administration, Congress also will give the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
disaster authority to prevent farmers from locking in loan-deficiency payments
during major marketing disasters, such as when prices collapsed in the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This still allows farmers, under normal
marketing conditions, to lock in a loan-deficiency payment and hold their grain
to sell at a later date.
“Peterson said he believes there is a general
agreement between himself and southern lawmakers such as Senate Agriculture
Committee Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., over capping income
eligibility for commodity program payments. Under the proposal, farmers could
have unlimited farm income and still qualify for commodity program payments,
but non-farm income such as salaries, stock gains or other business revenue would
count against an income cap. Such a cap would also be phased in rather than a
simple, hard cut-off level, Peterson said.
“From Peterson’s perspective, an income
cap based on non-farm income is better than focusing on farm revenue, he said,
because it doesn’t penalize larger farmers. Peterson said an income cap
on larger farmers would only translate into one more pressure point leading to
higher food prices.
“‘The government should not be deciding
how big a farm should be,’ Peterson said.”
In a separate DTN article from yesterday
(“Ethanol Credit Cut as Part of Farm Bill Tax Deal”- link requires
subscription), Chris Clayton reported that, “As part of the effort to
shift from corn-based ethanol to cellulosic, congressional leaders negotiating
tax credits in the farm bill have agreed to cut the ethanol blenders credit for
corn-based ethanol from 51 cents a gallon to 45 cents, a 6-cent reduction in
the credit, negotiators said Friday.”
Later, Mr. Clayton noted that, “[House
Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-N.D.] said the ethanol
provisions will show Congress wants to shift away from corn-based ethanol and
look at spurring development of cellulosic ethanol production. Those provisions
were supported by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
“‘This is a huge win, ironically, for the
speaker,’ Peterson said. ‘This is what the country wants, to move
away from corn.’”
(FarmPolicy.com
Note: Recall that Reuters writer Tom Doggett reported on
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 (“Lawmaker says cellulosic ethanol a decade
away”) that, “It will be at least a decade before technological
breakthroughs allow ethanol fuel to be produced commercially from farm and
forest waste like wood chips, switchgrass and corn stalks, the chairman of the
House Agriculture Committee said on Tuesday.”
Mr. Doggett noted that, “‘I think we are
10 years away,’ said Peterson, speaking at the Reuters Global Agriculture
and Biofuel Summit.
“‘I really think the more I look at this
whole cellulosic issue, there is a lot bigger problem to overcome here than
people realize in terms of the feedstocks. We have a lot of work to do in that
regard,’ he said. ‘I’m not sure cellulosic ethanol will ever
get off the ground.’”)
Meanwhile, Philip
Brasher reported yesterday at The Des Moines Register Online that,
“Grain and cotton growers, however, successfully fought off a significant
cut in the $5 billion in fixed annual payments that they received. Under the
deal, those payments would be cut by just $400 million over a 10-year period.
“Iowa farmers and landowners receive nearly $500
million annually in fixed payments.”
Mr. Brasher noted that, “Harkin preserved $1.1
billion in funding for the Conservation Security Program, which would expand
the program from 16 million to 80 million acres.
“The program provides payments to farmers for
practices that reduce erosion.”
Associated Press writer Julie Hirschfeld Davis
reported yesterday that, “The tentative deal includes a $3.8 billion
disaster package, trimmed from the $4 billion farm-state lawmakers had
initially sought.
“‘It’s just a trim … just a
nick, we feel,’ said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., ‘The program is
there, and that’s the important thing.’”
Keith Good
Vicki Morrone
Organic Vegetable and Crop Outreach Specialist
Michigan State University
C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems
303 Natural Resources Bldg.
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-353-3542
517-282-3557 (cell)
517-353-3834 (fax)
For information on organic
agriculture production please visit:
http://www.MichiganOrganic.msu.edu/
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