Weekly Update for
July 11

NAWG officers and VP Jake Westlin attended the U.S. Wheat Associates 2024 Summer Board Meeting in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This event included important discussions and presentations on trade, food aid, wheat quality, and ensuring the long-term success of the U.S. wheat industry[KF1] . NAWG President Keeff Felty provided an update to the U.S. Wheat Associates board of directors on NAWG activities and the recent farm bill fly-in, and Jake Westlin gave an update on the farm bill. Additionally, Jake provided a update to the Food Aid Working Group on the changes being proposed in the farm bill related to food aid.

This week, the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee advanced their versions of a fiscal year (FY) 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. These bills, if enacted, would fund U.S. Department of Agriculture operations beyond the September 30, 2024, appropriations deadline. On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee advanced its bill by a voice vote, which includes a number of provisions that impact wheat growers. Specifically, the bill continues to provide full funding for the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative (USWBSI), brings funding for the Wheat Resiliency Initiative (WRI) up to $1 million dollars, and directs the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to resume its County Estimates reporting requirements that were discontinued earlier this spring. Of concern is the proposed $619 million cut to the Food for Peace food aid program. On Tuesday, NAWG joined the North American Millers’ Association and others in expressing concern about the drastic cut to food aid and urging those funds to be reinstated. Separately, on Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced its version of an FY2025 agriculture appropriations bill with a vote of 27-0. This bill provides $1.721 billion for Food for Peace, a $101 million increase from FY2024. Additionally, this legislation would fund USDA’s Agricultural Research Service at $1.87 billion, an increase of $29 million from FY2024 that funds essential initiatives like the USWBSI and WRI.

Don’t forget about NAWG’s 2024 Farm Bill Farm Bill advocacy campaign. The purpose of this campaign is to urge members of Congress to include NAWG priorities in the Farm Bill. Learn more and get involved below:

On Friday, June 28,2024, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron decision in a 6-3 ruling, weakening the regulatory power of federal agencies. This 1984 landmark decision in Chevron V. Natural Resources Defense Council gave rise to the Chevron doctrine, which required courts to defer to federal agencies’ interpretation of ambiguous laws. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion, in which he was joined by Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. The American Farm Bureau Federation and seven other groups, including the Agricultural Retailers Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council and the Meat Institute, argued that “a deference rule, as experience shows, makes it far too easy for agencies and courts to throw up their hands when faced with difficult statutory language and rely on deference rather than careful textual analysis.”

On Friday, June 28, 2024, The USDA Food and Nutrition Service released Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) error rates from fiscal year 2023. In 2023, SNAP recipients were overpaid at a national average rate of 10.03% and underpaid 1.64%, meaning the total average error rate was 11.68%, according to FNS. It's a small increase from a 11.54% error rate, with 9.84% overpaid, and 1.70% underpaid, in 2022. Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have released statements criticizing the national error rate reported, and sharing how their respective farm bill proposals will work to address this problem.

On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry held a full committee hearing titled “Oversight of Digital Commodities” to discuss the state of the digital asset commodity market. The hearing included witness testimony from The Honorable Rostin Behnam, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy held a hearing titled “The State of Rural Infrastructure: Emergency Response, Recovery, and Resilience.” U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-VT) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) chaired this hearing. Witnesses included Mr. Ted Brady, Executive Director of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, Ms. Julie S. Moore, Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, The Honorable Kevin Paap, Blue Earth County Commissioner, Mr. Mark D. Bohlin, General Manager of Perdido Bay Water, Sewer, and Fire Protection District, and Mr. Brad Kimbro, General Manager and CEO of Wiregrass Electric Cooperative.

On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, the House Agriculture Committee held a full committee hearing examining the consequences of EPA’s actions on American Agriculture. Witnesses included Jeff Kippley, Vice President of National Farmers Union, Chris Chinn, Director of Missouri Department of Agriculture and Midwestern Region President of National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, Gary Cooper, CEO of Cooper Farms of Oakwood, Ohio, and Rebecca Larson, Ph.D., Chief Scientist and Vice President of Government Affairs for Western Sugar Cooperative. The witnesses discussed the impact of environmental regulations including Waters of the United States, pesticide regulations, approval process and Endangered Species Consultation for pesticides. Chairman GT Thompson (PA-15) delivered opening remarks, stating “American farmers and ranchers are the original conservationists—no one cares more for the environment than those whose livelihoods depend on it. They work tirelessly to ensure consumers have the safest, most abundant, and most affordable food and fiber supply in the world…producers are at the mercy of many uncontrollable factors including extreme weather, natural disasters, pests and diseases, input costs, and geopolitical unrest. What producers should not have to worry about is the Federal government working against them.”

On Wednesday, July 10, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hosted a full committee hearing regarding the Oversight of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The committee hosted EPA Administrator Michael Regan as the sole witness of the hearing. Members of the committee highlighted the work EPA has done for the nation, while also criticizing some of the regulatory hurdles that EPA has created for growers and rural communities. Committee Chairman James Comer (KY-01) stated in his opening remarks “the EPA has created massive costly regulations from transportation to energy generation.” The congressman went on to state “Americans can not afford the bill, they will ultimately be forced to pay with this current administration” Oversight of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

The Wheat Quality Council’s 2024 Spring Wheat Tour is coming up on July 22 to 25. We will follow our traditional routes and make field stops every 10-15 miles along the way. We will provide expertise in each car to train with throughout the day. These tours are a great way to both see this year’s crop firsthand and get training in the fields to learn about yield, insects and disease problems that may affect the crop. Register below.

There is some very good-looking spring wheat in the northern plains. Growers should consider entering the National Wheat Yield Contest. The contest has a completely new website this year, found at www.wheatcontest.org.  Everyone will need to first register to get an account on the site, then they can go in and put in their entries. In addition to the contest categories of spring wheat dryland and spring wheat irrigated, there is a new category for Spring wheat dryland growers in MN, MT, ND and SD; Digital Yield. Growers with the ability to submit their fields and harvest weights using technology they currently have such as John Deere Operations Center, Bushel or Climate, can enter the Digital Yield category with up to 3 wheat fields.  Growers can enter in as many categories as they want, but can only win one National award.  The deadline to enter is August 1. Please contact Anne Osborne (aosborne@wheatworld.org) if you have any questions.