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April 11, 2008

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Administration May Allow Another Extension - If Congress is closer to completing work on a new farm bill this week, the Bush administration may allow some leeway on the April 18 deadline, according to Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer. Earlier this year, President Bush said if there is no agreement on a new farm law by April 18, Congress should extend the 2002 Act for at least another year rather than approve another short-term extension. But during a presentation last week, Schafer said that if all sides can agree on a framework for the bill that includes farm program reforms, the overall spending level, and the funding sources, "We can look at another short-term extension." Schafer was also careful to point out that if the House and Senate still have "vast differences," he would not recommend the president sign another short-term extension. On other issues, Schafer said:

• There is no interest from the Bush administration in imposing grain export controls as a way to counter higher food prices;
• The White House now is more inclined to accept a higher income cut-off for crop subsidies. While the administration initially wanted to cap such subsidies for a producer whose three-year average adjusted gross income was $200,000 or more, Schafer now says a $500,000 cap would be acceptable.
• A large-scale release of land from the conservation reserve program would have little effect on food prices. "(It) doesn't solve the problem," he said.
• The administration favors a strong safety net for farmers, but he warned that any disaster program must comply with World Trade Organization rules. Schafer indicated his concern that the current proposal in the Senate version of the bill would put the disaster payments in the WTO's category of trade-distorting amber box subsidies. He also said the administration does not want the disaster program to increase the overall cost of the commodity title programs.

Blue Dog Democrats, a group of fiscally conservative and politically influential House members, are calling on their congressional leaders to bring about a quick resolution to lingering budget issues in order to complete work on a new farm bill. Ohio Congressmen Charlie Wilson and Zack Space are both members of the group. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the group asks for their "urgent attention" to the farm bill. The letter points out that the farm bill currently under consideration "includes the most reform of any other similar legislation passed in Congress." For example, the group says, the legislation would eliminate the three-entity rule and generic certificates, tighten the caps on payments, and reduce the adjusted gross income means test from its current level of $2.5 million. In addition,  "We have made substantial increases in nutrition and conservation and included valuable investments in energy and rural development." The letter notes that due to the uncertainty that accompanies agricultural production, "Congress must continue to ensure a reliable safety net for farmers and farm families across this country. We cannot afford to become any more dependent on foreign nations for our food and fiber, as we have done with oil."

Farm Bill Budget Number Agreed Upon - Key Democratic leaders from the House and the Senate met early this week to discuss the farm bill budget and moving the bill forward.  Participants included House Ag Committee Chairman Peterson (D-Minn.), Senate Ag Committee Chairman Harkin (D-Iowa), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rangel (D-N.Y.), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Baucus (D-Mont.), House Majority Leader Pelosi (D-Cal.) and Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-Nev.).  The meeting ended in an agreement to move forward with negotiating a farm bill that will be $10 billion over the baseline budget. Chairmen Baucus and Rangel have been asked to identify the source of this additional funding by Friday. Allocation of dollars and policy decisions were not made at this meeting. The administration has not yet reacted to this new budget framework, and certainly the determination of the funding source will be key to garnering support from either the White House or a veto-proof margin of Congressmen and Senators. Now that there is agreement on a number, Ag Committee staffers are expected to begin work on portions of the farm bill that are highly dependent on funding, including the bulk of the Commodity Title and Nutrition Title.

House Removes Timetable for Colombia Trade Vote - The House of Representative passed a change to Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) rules as it pertains to a vote on the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement. President Bush sent the implementing legislation on the Columbia agreement to Congress that triggered a 90-day legislative time clock under TPA for Congress to vote on the agreement. If Congress did not vote within those 90-day the agreement would automatically be implemented. The action by the House, which passed 224-195, eliminates the 90 days, time restraint. This rule change only applies to the Colombia agreement and does not require any action by the Senate. Farm Bureau opposed removing the timetable for a vote on the Colombia Agreement. Ten Democrats supported Farm Bureau's position, voting against the rule change. Those members are Reps. Bean (Ill.), Boren and Hill (Ind.), Boyd and Mahoney (Fla.), Cooper (Tenn.), Cramer (Ala.), Cuellar and Lampson (Texas) and Matheson (Utah). Six Republicans voted to support the rules change. Those members are Reps. Aderholt and Rogers (Ala.), Goode (Va.), Hayes and Jones (N.C.) and Paul (Texas).

Ohio Farm Bureau Comments on U.S. EPA's Proposed Revisions to CAFO NPDES Rule -On April 7, AFBF and a coalition of agricultural organizations submitted comments to U.S. EPA on its supplemental proposal to the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) rulemaking issued in response to the Waterkeeper legal decision. OFBF also submitted comments to U.S. EPA. This 2008 proposal further adjusts the June 2006 proposal for revising the NPDES permitting requirements and Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELGs) for CAFOs. The comment period for the supplemental proposal closed April 7. EPA is proposing a voluntary option that would allow CAFOs to certify to permitting authorities that they do not discharge or propose to discharge, and therefore do not need NPDES permit coverage. In addition, the proposal includes a framework for identifying the terms of the nutrient management plan (NMP) and offers three alternative approaches for addressing nutrient application rates.  In theircomments, the AFBF/coalition and OFBF, expressed appreciation for the process U.S. EPA proposed that allows CAFO owners to notify the Agency that they took the steps necessary to avoid direct discharges. The groups believe this proposal helps clarify confusion about whether an operation is designed, constructed, operated or maintained to discharge. For a copy of OFBF's comments click here

STATE AFFAIRS

Substitute SB 221 Leads to Partisan Debate in the House - On April 10, the House Public Utilities Committee adopted a substitute SB 221. Although the bill received enthusiastic support by groups like Green Energy Ohio, who focused on renewable energies the bill was strongly opposed by other organization such as Ohio Manufacturers Association and the Ohio Coalition for Affordable Energy who worry this version of the bill will lead to rate shock for consumers.  Also in the opposition were Democratic members of the House Public Utilities Committee, who were denied their request to question the sponsor of the substitute bill, and Gov. Ted Strickland who promised to veto the bill in its current form.

The committee hearings and partisan war continued into late Monday night and early Tuesday morning as the committee adapted amendments. At 2:10 am Tuesday, April 15, the Democrat committee members left the committee hearing in protest and the Republican committee members passed the bill unanimously.

The amended substitute version of SB 221 is scheduled for a House floor vote Tuesday afternoon. However, Gov. Strickland has vowed to veto the bill unless a compromise can be reached. As of 2:30 pm Tuesday April 15, the House session has been on what is expected to be a long recess.

If an agreement cannot be reached, the bill is likely to head to a conference committee where Ohio Farm Bureau will be heavily involved in the debate.  To read a summary of Amended Substitute SB 221 click here.

ODA Makes Minor Modifications to Proposed Dairy Labeling Rule -Based upon written and oral comments received in conjunction with the April 8 public hearing, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) made minor modifications to the proposed dairy labeling rule. The amendments to the proposed rule offer clarification to language requirements for dairy production and compositional claims as well as for font-size requirements with respect to the U. S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) production disclaimer. These changes to the proposed rule do not change the spirit, intent or purpose of the original rule:

That "compositional absence claims" cannot be made on a dairy product label as such claims are either not provable or relate to the presence of substances which may not legally be present in milk products, and

That dairy product labels must include, along with any permissible production claim about the use of rbST, a statement regarding the United States Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) determination that no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rbST-supplemented and non-rbST-supplemented cows.

Amendments to the rule include:

A requirement that the contiguous FDA production disclaimer be no smaller than seven point font, in addition to previously outlined requirements;

Clarification that hormone-related claims, such as "No Hormones", "Hormone Free", "rbST Free", "rbGH Free", "No Artificial Hormones", and "bST Free", are false and misleading;

Clarification that accurate production claims regarding the use of antibiotics or pesticides will be allowed;

Clarification that the rule does not prohibit seals or marks, such as the Organic seal, authorized by a federal law or Ohio statute.

The department filed the original rule with the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) on Feb. 7 and made modifications after receiving input at public hearings held March 12 and April 8. The rule is scheduled to be reviewed by JCARR April 21. The text of the rule that is being submitted to JCARR to review is as follows:

901:11-8-01 Dairy labeling

(A) Pursuant to R.C. 917.05 and R.C. 3715.60, dairy products will be deemed to be misbranded if they contain a statement which is false or misleading.

(B) A dairy label which contains a production claim that "this milk is from cows not supplemented with rbST" (or a substantially equivalent claim) may be considered misleading on the basis of such language, unless:

(1) The labeling entity has verified that the claim is accurate, and proper documents, including, but not limited to, producer signed affidavits, farm weight tickets and plant audit trails, to support the claim, are made readily available to ODA for inspection; and

(2) The label contains, in the same label panel, in exactly the same font, style, case, and color and at least half the size (but no smaller than seven point font) as the foregoing representation, the following contiguous additional statement (or a substantially equivalent statement): "The FDA has determined that no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rbST-supplemented and non-rbST-supplemented cows."

(C) Making claims regarding the composition of milk with respect to hormones, such as "No Hormones", "Hormone Free", "rbST Free", "rbGH Free", "No Artificial Hormones" and "bST Free", is false and misleading. ODA will not permit such statements on any dairy product labels.

(D) Statements may be considered to be false or misleading if they indicate the absence of a compound not permitted by the United States Food and Drug Administration to be present in any dairy product, including, but not limited to antibiotics or pesticides. Except as otherwise provided in this rule, accurate production claims will not be deemed false or misleading.

(E) All dairy product labels must meet the requirements of this rule no later than 120 days after its effective date.

(F) The provisions of this rule shall not be construed to prohibit seals or marks referenced in and specifically authorized by a federal law or Ohio statute.

To read the April 8 Ohio Farm Bureau testimony click here.

Alpaca Bill Amended to Include Llamas - The Senate Agriculture Committee voted to include llamas within the provisions of HB 352, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Patton.  The bill passed the committee unanimously and is awaiting a floor vote in the Senate.  If passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Ted Strickland, the bill will include alpacas and llamas to the Ohio Revised Code definitions of "agricultural animal" and "livestock".

UPCOMING EVENTS

Forward to other farmers and invite them to test-drive Farm Bureau - Ohio Farm Bureau Federation is currently offering new members an opportunity to join the organization through 2008 for just $35. The rate reflects a savings of up to 50 percent. "This is a fantastic deal," said Janet Cassidy, director of membership marketing. "It's an opportunity for new members to test-drive the organization at a reduced rate." Cassidy said membership provides access to a variety of benefits and savings, including:

•       Legislative representation on important issues including renewable energy, private property rights, wildlife control and ATV trespassing.

•       Access to legal information.

•       Industry information through a subscription to Buckeye Farm News newspaper.

•       Leadership, community involvement and networking opportunities.

•       Promotion of the agricultural industry to consumers through Our Ohio magazine and television series.

•       Savings by the dozens, including: Nationwide family of products and services including home and car insurance; access to individual health plans through Medical Mutual of Ohio; $500 cash rebate from Dodge; 25 percent discount on Sherwin Williams paint; savings on major hotels and car rentals; and much more.

•       Peace of mind knowing Farm Bureau is looking out for farmer interests.

For more information, or to join, contact your county Farm Bureau office, visit http://GrowWithFB.org or call 888-GrowWithFB (888-476-9948).

CONTACT

Niki Clum

Director of Constituent Action

nclum@ofbf.org