Weekly Update for
June 8

The May podcast features guest speaker, Jeff Zyskowski, Vice President of Supply Chain with Ardent Mills. Jeff discusses Ardent Mills’ mission, their relationship with wheat growers, the impacts COVID-19 had on the supply chain, and regenerative ag. Later, NAWG CEO Chandler Goule reviews policy updates including the debt ceiling, Farm Bill, disaster aid, and upcoming fly-ins.

Farm World recently published an article reporting on the recent United States Supreme Court decision regarding the case ‘Sackett v. EDP’. The Court confirmed that the EPA had overstepped its mandated authority under the case of ‘Sackett v. EPA’. The Court ruled that the EPA only has federal authority on waters that are ‘indistinguishable’ from the Waters of the United States and that the authority of the EPA does not extend to wetlands that are separate from navigable waterways. This 5-4 ruling in favor of private agricultural rights is a win for the agricultural industry on the national stage and was reinforced by the second ruling on the definition of adjacent wetlands. This decision was met with support for the agricultural industry, including the American Soybean Association, the National Corn Growing Association, the President of the American Farm Bureau, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and many others. “The Supreme Court ruling sided with a narrower definition of the Clean Water Act jurisdiction, and limited the number of wetlands that would come under the regulation of the Clean Water Act,” said NAWG CEO Chandler Goule.

NAWG joined 48 food and agricultural industry members in support of the Undertaking Negotiations on Investment and Trade for Economic Dynamism (UNITED) Act (S. 629, H.R. 3653). On May 24, Representatives Chris Smith (R-NE-04) and Himes (D-CT-04) introduced this bill into the House of Representatives with Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Chris Coons (D-DE) doing likewise in the Senate, which would pave the way for a comprehensive free trade agreement with the UK for the benefit of both countries. The UNITED Act comes on the heels of the Trade Agreements and U.S. Competitiveness report released by the Corn Refiners Association (CRA), which revealed that the United States is falling behind in reducing global trade barriers. The data showcases that since 2010 China, Japan, the European Union, and Canada have all outdone the US in the creation of new trade agreements. While America has entered into four trade agreements since 2010, China has entered ten, Canada nine, the EU eight, and Japan has entered seven. The consensus is that the US is advancing too slowly to compete with these other nations in terms of trade agreements. This lack of new trade agreements showcases a drop in competitiveness in the American trade market with foreign nations. This also comes after the USDA announced that the agricultural trade deficit has risen to $17 billion. The UNITED Act may be the key to restoring American agricultural trade and competitiveness on the world stage.

Yesterday, the USDA announced a series of senior staff appointments across several missions areas. In particular, former Congressman Tom O’Halleran has been appointed to serve as Senior Advisor for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Additionally, former Congresswoman Cindy Axne was appointed to Senior Advisor for Rural Engagement, Delivery and Prosperity. During their time in the House of Representatives, they represented Arizona and Iowa respectively. Further appointments were made, which included Carlton Bridgeforth to serve as Senior Advisor for Research, Education, and Economics who previously worked for Chairman Scott of the House Agriculture Committee.

The USDA announced the loan interest rates for June 2023, which went into effect on the first of the month. Farm Service Agency is offering: Farm Operating loans at 4.500% Farm Ownership loans at 4.750% Guaranteed loans through commercial lenders, though those interest rates are set by the respective lenders Commodity loans set at 5.750% Farm storage facility loans ranging from 3.500% to 3.750% depending on the years specified within the loan contract Further, the FSA redeveloped its application for direct farm loans for producers, with the hope that this more user-friendly format will allow producers to apply and receive these direct farm loans in time-sensitive windows more successfully. Finally, FSA seeks to remind farmers who were affected by the previous year’s winter weather, droughts, hurricanes, and all other natural disasters that the USDA has programs and services available to agricultural producers.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai announced that the United States has decided to request settlement consultations with Mexico by way of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). USMCA allows specific rights to members of the tri-country trade agreement, and the US is exercising one of those rights by calling for settlement negotiations for the current trade issues. USMCA was designed so that each member country is allowed equal access to the markets of the others and is especially important to the agricultural industry. The issue currently facing Mexican-American trade relationships is one of agricultural biotechnology, because Mexico has violated the free market agreement by banning the use of all GM corn products in a 2023 decree. Secretary Vilsack responded to Mexico’s actions by saying “We fundamentally disagree with the position Mexico has taken on the issue of biotechnology, which has been proven to be safe for decades. Through this action, we are exercising our rights under USMCA while supporting innovation, nutrition security, sustainability, and the mutual success of our farmers and producers.” Currently, the USTR and USDA are working diligently with involved stakeholders to guarantee Mexico’s compliance with its USMCA-required commitments as a member of the trade agreement.

The chairs of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Senate Finance Committee; Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee; and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee have joined together to call upon President Biden to implement exemptions for certain vulnerable populations potentially impacted by the changes implemented by the recently passed Bipartisan Budget Agreement. This legislation was passed so that the United States was not forced to default on its debt, resulting in catastrophic consequences to the American economy. Included in this Agreement were certain measures designed to lower federal government spending – one of which directly impacts SNAP. The Budget agreement raises the work-age requirement from 49 to 54 years old in order to receive SNAP benefits. The Agreement also establishes three new classes of eligibility for SNAP benefits: veterans, the homeless, and foster care youth who are aging out of the foster care system. The new classes are expected to keep the total number of SNAP recipients roughly equal to current numbers despite the new work-age requirements. The chairs of the above committee are calling for the President and any agencies associated with SNAP to willingly share data in order to ensure that people with relevant exemptions from work requirements are able to have their SNAP data looked over and their benefits delivered in a timely manner.

The full Senate Budget Committee met on Wednesday, June 7, to hold a hearing entitled “Cultivating Stewardship: Examining the Changing Agricultural Landscape” to focus on how climate change is impacting the American agriculture system and its impacts on federal spending. Witnesses included collegiate professors, industry representatives, and agricultural professionals. The speakers responded to various questions regarding the importance of the farm safety net system by way of crop insurance and Title I programs like Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), the viability of carbon-reducing and carbon clearing practices, and the potential for alternative sources of energy to be used in the producers’ quest to feed a growing world. A frequently discussed topic was poor weather and how it exacerbated growing difficulties and could often run farmers out of business was it not for viable crop insurance. To that end, the speakers called for strengthening crop insurance to ensure that producers have the adaptability to meet the needs of a changing environment while still using improved conservation practices. Farmer adaptation was a key takeaway from the speakers, and the notion that the farm safety net allows farmers to be more adaptable in their work to feed a growing world by use of the farm safety net system.

The House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA-15) and Financial Services Committee Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) have released a draft framework to regulate digital assets. This was followed by a full House Agriculture Committee hearing entitled “The Future of Digital Assets: Providing Clarity for Digital Asset Spot Markets,” which discussed the general issues surrounding the topic as well as the draft framework. The overall goal of both the hearing and draft framework was to both clear up the confusion surrounding digital markets and to fill in the gaps in the regulatory process between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Digital markets are complex and suffer from a lack of regulation from any agency presence for the most part, so this discussion draft hopes to move the conversation forward to establish a framework that eventually governs these digital markets. One of the key goals of this hearing was to address which agency can most effectively regulate these digital markets and what the best processes for that regulation would be going forward. The budget was a matter of particular importance because for any agency to properly manage digital markets there would need to be a substantial increase in the operational and discretional budget of the agency, and due to the recent budget agreement, it will be difficult to direct the necessary funds in that direction. The point was raised many times that this is an area where investors can be burned badly due to the fluidity of digital markets, and tighter regulation in the future may be the key to policing unfair market practices for digital currency and assets.

Enter the National Wheat Yield Contest! The deadline to enter spring wheat is August 1. If you are one of the 24 National Winners, you will get a trip to the Commodity Classic in Houston, TX, next February.

We are a 501(c)3, and our mission is research, outreach, and education. Our funding depends on generous partners, and only 40 percent of our budget comes from investment income so that future generations will have the resources to support wheat for many years to come. If you would like to join us on a specific project or general donation, please contact Anne Osborne (aosborne@wheatworld.org). Our Gifts of Grain program is an easy way for farmers to get involved.