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May 16, 2008

NATIONAL AFFAIRS:

Farm Bill Passes Congress, Moves to President - The House and Senate approved the Farm Bureau-supported farm bill conference report last week by veto-proof margins. The House supported the farm bill by a margin of 318-106; the Senate passed it 81-15. President Bush is expected to veto the farm bill this week, possibly on Tuesday. If that is the case, then Farm Bureau farm policy specialists believe it is likely congressional leaders will schedule over-ride votes for Wednesday or Thursday before adjourning for the Memorial Day recess. Keep in mind that the new farm bill is expected to cost about half that of the 2002 Farm Bill. Mandatory spending for Title I (commodity) in the 2002 Farm Bill cost about $95 billion over five years. In the pending farm bill, the total budget for Title I, plus permanent disaster assistance and crop insurance—which is not Title I spending—is expected to cost about $48 billion over five years. In related legislative business, the House and Senate extended the existing 2002 Farm Bill through Friday, May 23. It was set to expire last Friday.

Mandatory Price Reporting Gives Producers Transparency and Accuracy - American Farm Bureau Federation today hailed a final rule issued by the Agriculture Department that requires meat packers to report prices paid to producers for food animals. Farm Bureau has been an ardent supporter of the livestock mandatory price reporting (LMPR) law and has worked tirelessly toward its implementation.

"The implementation of LMPR will allow for more accurate and timely reporting of most wholesale and retail meat prices and increase transparency in the reporting of livestock sales," said AFBF President Bob Stallman. "The LMPR also offers new market information on pricing, contracting and demand conditions, which will greatly benefit livestock producers".

Under the LMPR law, packers are required to report all transactions involving the purchase of livestock, as well as details of domestic and export sales of boxed beef and lamb cuts. Packers that annually slaughter 125,000 cattle or 100,000 swine are required to report under LMPR.  Packers or processors of 75,000 lambs annually are required to report under the law, as well as importers of 5,000 metric tons of lamb meat.

The LMPR will provide the basis for newly published market news reports, including reports that cover the prior day swine market; forward contract and formula marketing arrangement cattle purchases; packer-owned cattle and sheep information; sales of imported boxed lamb cuts and live lamb premiums and discounts.

AFBF welcomed the implementing rule at a time when pork producers are being financially hard hit.

"We are optimistic that LMPR will help the pork industry with prices at this critical time," continued Stallman, who said live market hog prices had plunged to levels not seen in nearly a decade, while wholesale pork prices recently hit their lowest in four years.

The new implementing rule of the LMPR will take effect July 15, 2008.

STATE AFFAIRS:

Line Fence Bill Gets Unanimous Support in the House - HB 323, sponsored by Rep. Bob Gibbs, passed the House last week by a vote of 94 - 0. Under this bill, a landowner who wants to construct a fence where none existed will be responsible for the cost of building and maintaining the fence. However, if a neighbor should use the fence to maintain livestock within 30 years, that landowner must reimburse 50 percent of the cost of building and maintaining said fence. The bill also creates a cost sharing mechanism for neighbors, allows neighbors to agree that no fence is needed, prohibits the removal of a fence without notification and establishes liability for damages caused by trespassing livestock. The bill also defines a "preferred partition fence," which is the type of fence the law could mandate when owners disagree.

Bee Task Force is Closer to Becoming a Reality - Rep. Mark Okey's bill, HB 501, was unanimously reported out of the House Natural Resources & Agriculture Committee May 7. If the bill is adopted into law, it will establish the Ohio Beekeepers Task Force. The task force will be composed of a representative from Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Ohio Department Agriculture, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and the Ohio State Beekeepers Association among others. Members of the task force will be charged with providing an overview of the honeybee crisis in Ohio and an emergency action plan.

Strings Attached to Senate Passing Great Lakes Compact - Last week Sen. Tim Grendell gave sponsor testimony for his resolution, SJR 8, which he hopes will appear on the ballot this fall. Sen. Grendell testified that the goal of this constitutional amendment is to reinforce private property rights that he worries would be jeopardized if the General Assembly ratifies the Great Lakes Compact. As a key Republican senator, Grendell agreed to pass the Great Lakes Compact, HB 416 (Dolan), before summer recess but only if the compact remains meaningless until voters ratify his constitutional amendment.

Contact

Niki Clum

Director of Constituent Action

nclum@ofbf.org