| August 5, 2008 Senator Tom Harkin's Agriculture Newsletter Dear Friend, USDA's weekly crop report for the week of August 3rd shows continued improvement for Iowa corn and soybean crops. We will not know for sure the extent of losses caused by the Midwest flooding, tornados and excessive rainfall until all of the crop insurance claims are filed and processed, but this is welcome news for Iowa producers that crop losses this summer may not be as severe as we once feared. I continue to press USDA for access to CRP for emergency haying, which should not be a hard decision now that bird nesting season is clearly over. USDA announced that it would release acres enrolled in the CRP for grazing only, and not open up land without penalty for cropping. In addition, funding we included in the farm bill for EQIP was released by USDA this month, giving producers in Iowa and around the country new access to conservation funds. As USDA writes the rules for implementing initiatives in the new farm bill, I will be watching closely to ensure the programs are implemented as they were intended. Please keep reading to learn more. Yours, Tom In This Edition: - Harkin Continues Efforts on Access to CRP Lands for Livestock Producers
- USDA Releases Added Conservation Funding Pushed by Harkin in New Farm Bill
- Harkin Secures Funding in Senate Agriculture Appropriations Bill to Build on Farm Bill Progress for Iowa, Nation
- Harkin: Doha Talks Again on Hold
- Harkin, Bipartisan Group of Senators, Introduce Bill to Reform FDA's Food Safety Systems
- USDA Prepares to Implement COOL by September 30
- Reminders for Farmers Recovering from Flood Losses–USDA Program Rules
Harkin Continues Efforts On Access To CRP Lands For Livestock Producers Disaster conditions and the high price of feed have fueled interest in using acres in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for haying and grazing. On July 7, emergency grazing was authorized by USDA in most of Iowa's counties. Senator Harkin has written and talked personally with Agriculture Secretary Schafer urging him to expand the emergency release of CRP acres related to flooding to allow for haying as well as grazing. Though access to CRP acres for emergency haying and grazing has been granted on land affected by drought, land affected by floods has been opened to grazing only. The nesting season in Iowa ended on August 1, and under the current emergency conditions that apply in most Iowa counties, allowing producers to cut this hay can fulfill a critical need. It is important for producers in Iowa – many of whom no longer have fencing or livestock watering facilities on their CRP land – to be able to use CRP hay to feed their livestock or to market it. Many have been concerned about the recent federal court decision that stopped the USDA program of "critical feed use" of CRP for haying and grazing. Those who applied under the critical feed use program prior to July 8, and subsequently have their applications approved, may proceed with grazing or haying activity consistent with the terms of the critical feed use contract modification. Producers that did not apply prior to July 8 may also qualify if they invested at least $4500 between the time of the USDA announcement and the judge issuing his first ruling on July 8. If you applied, or believe you may qualify, see your local FSA representative for details. Aside from the emergency access or critical feed program, Conservation Reserve land can be used for haying and grazing every third year under the standard managed haying and grazing authority. If a producer's contract provides for it (or is modified to provide for it), the producer can hay or graze CRP land as long as it has not been hayed or grazed in the past 3 years. The cost of using this authority is 25 percent of the annual CRP rental payment.
USDA Releases Added Conservation Funding Pushed By Harkin In New Farm Bill In early July, the Bush Administration released an additional $200 million for the national Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Harkin, who is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, included this funding in the farm bill – the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act, which recently became law. EQIP offers financial and technical help to assist eligible participants install or implement structural and management practices on eligible agricultural land. The funding will be available for the current fiscal year and it is expected that some of this funding could be available for flood recovery efforts. The farm bill substantially increased funding for EQIP by 27.2 percent, for a total of $3.393 billion nationally over the next five years. The bill adopts a new process for determining payment levels for conservation practices based on the costs associated with adopting a practice and revenue foregone by the producer. Socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers and beginning farmers or ranchers are eligible to receive an increased cost share rate that is 25 percent above the otherwise available rate, to a maximum of 90 percent. The Office of Management and Budget will release the funding to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in the coming days so that NRCS may begin the process of allocating funding to states and so that producers can sign up. Producers interested in enrollment should contact their local NRCS office. "There is a reason why this farm bill is named the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008," said Harkin. "Conservation is critical to our lands and agricultural production, and that is why I advocated so strongly for funding these programs in the farm bill and will continue to push to ensure that producers receive assistance to install, improve and maintain sound conservation practices. I am encouraged that the administration has agreed to release this funding and I encourage all eligible producers to enroll."
Harkin Secures Funding In Senate Agriculture Appropriations Bill To Build On Farm Bill Progress For Iowa, Nation In July, the Senate Committee on Appropriations approved agriculture funding for fiscal year 2009. This bill provides funding for many initiatives that are vital to Iowa and the nation's rural economy by supporting a range of efforts to boost rural economic and job growth, conservation, and renewable energy. Senate floor action and conference with the House of Representatives must occur before this spending bill becomes law. Earlier this year, Congress passed a new farm bill – The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008. The farm bill made progress in a wide range of agricultural programs including increased energy security through renewable fuels, added investments to conserve our natural resources, provided rural economic growth and jobs and increased nutrition. "The farm bill made progress across the full agriculture spectrum: from increasing energy security through renewable fuels, adding investments to conserve our natural resources, providing rural economic growth and jobs and increasing nutrition," said Harkin. "The funding announced today reflects tough decisions and negotiations within the strict limits of the Congressional budget resolution, which was written specifically to curtail federal spending, but nonetheless does build on the progress we made in the farm bill." More information on specific programs and there funding levels in the Senate appropriations bill.
Harkin: DOHA Talks Again On Hold A gathering of trade ministers from 33 countries failed to reach a framework agreement to advance negotiations in the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization in late July. The breakdown occurred in the ninth day of discussions in Geneva, when the U.S. and developing countries such as India and China were unable to bridge a gap on a crucial aspect of the agricultural negotiations. They were unable to agree on the parameters of a system, called the Special Safeguard Mechanism, which would allow developing countries to raise tariffs on agricultural products in the face of surges in imports. Officials from China and India sought to design the Special Safeguard Mechanism in such a way that would have allowed developing countries to raise tariffs above levels agreed to in the previous round of multilateral trade reform, the Uruguay Round, in the face of only modest increases in import volume. Such a move could have impeded trade flows in agricultural products, rather than enhance them as WTO member countries committed to in launching the Round back in 2001. "It is unfortunate that the Doha Round is once again on hold," said Harkin. "A properly balanced deal would have been in the best interest of U.S. farmers as well as developing countries, so it is disappointing that other countries involved in the negotiations were not more forthcoming in response to the U.S. proposal. U.S. Trade Representative Schwab made quite a significant offer to reduce trade distorting agricultural payments and other countries should have been more reasonable." He added, "I believe that Ambassador Schwab made the correct choice in declining to go along with such a demand on the Special Safeguard Mechanism, with the potential for actions that would be inconsistent with the objectives of the World Trade Organization. I still maintain that a balanced Doha Round agreement is a desirable goal, but an opportunity to reach such a deal clearly did not materialize in the recent negotiations in Geneva."
Harkin, Bipartisan Group Of Senators, Introduce Bill To Reform FDA's Food Safety Systems When the FDA announced July 21 that the culprit of the massive Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak was tainted jalapeño peppers – not tomatoes as originally thought – Senator Harkin said this was far too long for an outbreak to go unresolved. On July 15th, Harkin sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Leavitt saying the outbreak demonstrated the need for better coordination and communication among federal agencies, industry, and the states, as well as a strong trace-back system to determine the source of food-borne illness outbreaks. On July, 31st, he joined a bipartisan group of senators to introduce a bill that will dramatically improve the way the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) protects the safety of the nation's food supply. The bill, The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, will give FDA new authorities, tools and resources to comprehensively reform the nation's food safety systems. The bill is cosponsored by Dick Durbin (D-IL), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Richard Burr (R-NC), Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN). The bill addresses some of the failings of the Salmonella outbreak handling head-on by authorizing new science-based standards for the safety of produce; increasing the frequency of inspections of all food facilities; establishing a new pilot program for tracking and tracing-back fruits and vegetables in the event of a food-borne illness; and by giving FDA mandatory recall authority in the event a company fails to recall a product at FDA's request. Food safety experts note that had any of these provisions been in place, the scope of the recent salmonella outbreak could have been greatle reduced and FDA's response time, dramatically improved. "This country doesn't need any more spectacles like the slow unfolding of FDA's investigation of the recent Salmonella outbreak. The present system is not just a public health concern, but an issue for producers feeling the economic impact of food safety scares," said Harkin. "This food safety bill gives FDA the authority it needs to prevent and respond to food safety problems, from requiring recalls, to setting food safety standards for fresh produce, to enhancing trace-back and surveillance of food-borne illness. It's a win-win for producers and consumers."
USDA Prepares To Implement COOL By September 30 On July 28, USDA made public the interim final rule to implement country of origin labeling (COOL), which is slated to go into effect September 30, 2008. Country of origin labeling, first enacted in the 2002 farm bill, and later modified in the 2008 farm bill, requires retailers to label the origin of beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and goat meat, fruits and vegetables, peanuts, macadamia nuts, pecans and ginseng. Fish and shellfish have been labeled since April 2005 and will not be impacted by the new interim final rule. The 2008 farm bill modified the country of origin requirements in order to address problems arising in USDA's previous rulemaking process. The new provisions create distinct labeling categories such as: 1. product from animals born, raised and slaughtered in the United States, 2. product from animals from multiple countries, 3. product exclusively from a foreign country, and 4. product imported for immediate slaughter. A category is also created for ground meat, which will require the origin of all possible countries to be included on the label. Additionally, recordkeeping requirements were clarified and streamlined. Meat from live animals that were in United States on or before July 15 of this year may be labeled as product of the United States since some producers will not know the origin of their livestock before that time. "USDA's rule is long overdue and an important step to getting product labeled. Although some details of the rule still need to be worked out, consumers will not have to wait much longer to know where their food comes from," said Harkin. Persons interested in commenting on the interim final rule can go to Regulations.gov
Reminders For Farmers Recovering From Disaster Losses - USDA Program Rules Acreage reporting - Because of the difficulty farmers in flood-stricken areas would have faced in providing acreage information by June 30, both USDA's Farm Service Agency and Risk Management Agency relaxed normal program deadlines, allowing farmers in affected states to delay reporting their planted acreage to their county FSA offices and crop insurance agents until August 15th. However, those revised deadlines are now rapidly approaching, and subsequent delays in reporting, especially for the crop insurance program, could lead to a delay in receiving crop insurance indemnities later this year and would also require payments of late fees. Supplemental disaster relief (SURE) eligibility - The 2008 farm bill includes a permanent disaster assistance program that requires purchase of crop insurance for all insurable crops (and NAP for noninsurable crops) for eligibility. If any farmer failed to purchase the appropriate coverage for all crops on their farms before the respective sales closing dates, the farm bill provides an opportunity for farmers to pay the appropriate fee to FSA for CAT or NAP coverage for uninsured crops in order to restore their eligibility for SURE. Payment of these fees will not make these farmers eligible for indemnities under crop insurance or NAP for this year, but they will be eligible for payments under SURE for the 2008 crop year if there is a qualifying loss of crop revenue on their farms. The window for this opportunity for 2008 closes on September 16th, and will not be available in future years. Crop insurance - Most federal crop insurance policies require claims to be filed within 72 hours of detection of crop losses, so claims resulting from the June floods in Iowa should already have been filed. Farmers filing claims for prevented planting or early crop losses under a revenue policy such as CRC have the option of collecting a preliminary payment now and potentially receiving an additional increment later if the fall harvest price differs significantly from the price election for their crop announced in the spring. Under current USDA rules, individual farmers filing claims for crop losses under the federal crop insurance program expected to exceed $100,000 in value will have to provide records to their crop insurance agents on their last three years of crop production in order to verify their Actual Production History (APH), as part of a mandatory company review of all claims of that size or larger. Emergency loan program - FSA Emergency loans can be used by farmers to restore or replace essential property, pay all or part of production costs associated with the disaster year, pay essential living expenses, refinance debt and reorganize farming operations. To be eligible the borrower must be a U.S. citizen and own or operate land located in a county with a Presidential or Secretarial disaster designation. The borrower must have suffered at least a 30 percent loss in crop production or a physical loss to livestock, real estate, or chattel property. In addition the borrower must show that he or she was unable to receive credit from a commercial lender, have an acceptable credit history, and have the ability to repay the loan. The maximum loan amount is $500,000. Emergency Conservation Program - ECP is an FSA program that provides emergency funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters such as flooding. For land to be eligible, the damage must create new conservation problems that, if untreated, would: impair or endanger the land; materially affect the land's productive capacity, represent unusual damage which is not a type likely to recur frequently in the same area; and be so costly to repair that Federal assistance is or will be required to return the land to productive agricultural use. Participants may receive cost-share assistance of up to 75 percent of the cost to implement approved practices. This program is administered by FSA and received $89 million in funding in the supplemental appropriations bill that passed on June 27.
| 
