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March 7, 2008

NATIONAL AFFAIRS:

NAFTA's Importance to United States Agriculture - Farm Bureau has long supported free trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) because of the boost they provide to most aspects of U.S. agriculture. In recent weeks, trade, and NAFTA in particular, have figured prominently in the primary race between Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.). The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative just released an updated version of its "NAFTA�Myths vs. Facts" document to dispel common misconceptions about the trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico. The document notes that Canada and Mexico accounted for 37 percent of the total growth of U.S. agricultural exports since 1993. Moreover, the share of total U.S. agricultural exports destined for Canada or Mexico has grown from 22 percent in 1993 to 30 percent last year.

Farm Bill Talks Continue...Slowly- Friday Feb. 29 came and went without the expected announcement from the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee of a new revenue and funding package for the pending farm bill.  Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer reiterated the Bush administration's hard-line position against the current House and Senate versions of the farm bill. The Bush administration appeared to attempt to ratchet up the pressure on Congress by issuing an analysis of the consequences of a reversion to the 1949 farm law.

Schafer told farmers March 3 that "broad agreement" exists between the House, the Senate and the Bush administration "on probably 95 percent of the bill that's on the table today." House Agriculture Committee Chair Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), predicted the House and Senate could reach broad agreement on the farm bill by mid-March, when Congress will break for two weeks. "So my guess is we're probably going to have to extend the current law one more month 'til April 15th," Peterson said. "That will give us time to finish the bill and make sure we got everything right and be able to get it done, you know, get it done on the 15th of April, which, after all of this, is maybe an appropriate date." Peterson also said the Agriculture Department has agreed to spend $10 billion over the budget baseline on the next farm bill. Arriving at a dollar amount has been a great concern of his for weeks. However, it is not clear how spending over the baseline would be paid. Peterson said the Bush team is not being reasonable in this regard. "We're going to listen to them and we're going to pay attention to what they say, but we're not going to let them dictate what's in the farm bill," Peterson said.

USA TODAY' Publishes Stallman View of Farm Bill -In early March, USA Today included the views of American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman regarding agricultural payments and the farm bill opposite a newspaper editorial advocating the reining in of farm programs. The Stallman op-ed appears in the "Today's debate" section on page 10A in the hard-copy version. The views of the USA Today editorial staff are printed under the headline, "Cut welfare for farmers: Crop prices are booming, so why's Congress handing out subsidies? The piece states, "Agriculture is, to be sure, a vital and risky business. Government has a role in helping farmers through bad times, and it shouldn't base farm policy solely on today's prices, which could plummet down the road, as they have before," USA Today writes, "But none of that argues for the sort of open-ended system of subsidies that Congress is trying to foist on taxpayers for another five years."  The paper goes on to write that direct payments are "one of the worst examples of welfare for farmers." Stallman's op-ed, which is titled "Don't weaken the safety net: Payments help farmers offset rising costs for fuel, fertilizer," emphasizes the need to learn from the past because "markets move." Stallman also notes the commodity title is not over budget. "In fact, spending for this title has already been cut more than 60 percent from the last farm bill, and, further, both the House and Senate versions of the farm bill reduce commodity title funding even more." In addition, Stallman writes, "Direct payments help farmers hedge against escalating production costs that aren't taken into account when farm payments are calculated. ... Simply put, it costs far more today to grow a crop." Stallman concludes, "Supporting farmers through the farm bill is not so black and white. American agriculture is a complex system, and there's a lot at stake for not only farmers but also for the food security of our nation."

EPA Proposing Additional Animal Feeding Options- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is on the verge of proposing additional options to a 2006 proposal for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Farm Bureau is evaluating this latest proposal.  Under current law, if CAFOs do not discharge pollutants into waters of the United States, they do not need a CWA permit. The new proposal would, for the first time, allow CAFOs to certify they do not discharge. EPA also is proposing three approaches for nutrient management plans (NMPs) that could be used by permitting authorities and CAFOs to determine application rates of manure, litter and wastewater to be incorporated into the permit. A NMP specifies the amount of manure that can be applied to crops so nutrient runoff to water bodies is minimized.

Senate May Restart Mandatory Animal ID Talks - Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) told reporters the massive ground beef recall sparked by video footage of abused downer cattle shows the importance of having a "comprehensive" animal ID system that covers all animals and provides 48-hour traceback to the farm or ranch. While that statement likely wouldn't raise too many eyebrows, Harkin didn't stop there. When pressed by reporters on the issue, Harkin said he wouldn't rule out congressional action to make national animal ID mandatory. "You know USDA could make it mandatory," Harkin noted. "Whether or not we're going to do that in law, that remains to be seen." Harkin also promised to hold hearings on national animal ID this spring and said such a program "wouldn't cost that much, either."

STATE AFFAIRS:

Election 2008 - To see a complete list of the Ohio primary election results for the Presidential, Judicial, Congressional and General Assembly races, visit the Farm Votes Matter 2008- Ohio Primary Results Web page. The list begins on page two of the PDF. All results are provided by the Ohio Secretary of State's office with 99.99 percent of the precincts reporting. Winners are listed as projected winner until the secretary certifies the results. District maps are on page 20 of the PDF.

Ohio EPA Extends Deadline to Submit Comments for  Draft Rules to Regulate Outdoor Wood-Fired Boilers - Ohio EPA has announced an extension the deadline for the public to submit comments regarding the draft rules intended to reduce smoke emissions from outdoor wood-fire boilers. The deadline has been extended to March 21, 2008.  Ohio Farm Bureau Federation is planning to submit comments and is encouraging members to submit their own comments.

Ohio EPA's draft rules would apply to manufacturers, suppliers, distributors or others intending to sell, lease, distribute or market an outdoor wood-fired boiler, and those who install, operate or own them. The new draft rules would set up operating requirements that include acceptable fuels to be burned, boiler performance standards and use requirements.

Time to Take Action on Dairy Labeling - The Ohio Department of Agriculture's recent decision on dairy product labeling will be reviewed this week by the Department, the Governor, and the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR).

Farm Bureau supports the variety of choices offered to consumers in the marketplace, as long as marketers represent those choices accurately. Labels with claims such as "hormone-free, antibiotic-free, pesticide-free, and rbST-free" are misleading consumers to believe that there is a compositional or safety difference in dairy products where none exist. OFBF policy (Food Labeling 422.1) opposes all use of false and misleading labels, promotional materials or other advertising for food products.

We are working to keep legislators and policy makers informed on this issue, but we need your help. Activist groups that oppose the ODA ruling are taking action to protest. Dairy producers need to make their voice heard, too.

Here's What You Can Do:

Whether it's through email, a letter, or a telephone call, let the your state representative and senator know how you feel about this important issue. Using talking points for reference, please consider sending a personalized message to your legislators. Click here for talking points.