Senate Ag Committee Advances Farm Bill Out of Committee
On June 13, 2018, the Senate Ag Committee marked up and reported out their bill on a 20-1 vote (Senator Grassley (R-IA) was the only nea vote). NAWG sent a summary of the markup and adopted amendments to our states. Prior to the mark up, NAWG sent a letter to the Senate Ag Committee outlining provisions in their bill that are beneficial for wheat growers and noted areas that could be improved. NAWG’s press release on the letter can be found here. Additionally, NAWG issued a release when the bill was introduced on June 8th and when it was voted out of Committee.
NAWG Provides Farm Bill Update to Member States’ Board Members
One Monday, June 11, 2018 NAWG VP of Policy and Communications Josh Tonsager provided the Washington Association of Wheat Growers Board with an update on the 2018 Farm Bill. In his remarks, Tonsager did a comparison of the House and Senate versions of the bill and where NAWG’s priorities fit. Also on Monday, Tonsager provided the Oregon Wheat Board with a similar update during their meeting. Additionally, NAWG Secretary Nicole Berg attended the Oregon Wheat Growers Board meeting, pictures can be found @wheatworld.
The NAWG staff is happy to call into all of our state associations’ board meetings to provide policy updates upon request.
Federal Judge Rules Against California’s Attorney General in Prop 65 Case
In another win for U.S. agriculture and the national agriculture coalition fighting California’s false and misleading Prop 65 labeling requirement for glyphosate, U.S. District Court Judge William Shubb, for the Eastern District of California, upheld the preliminary injunction prohibiting California from enforcing the requirement until a final ruling on the matter is issued by the court. NAWG is the lead plaintiff in this case and issued a release which can be found here.
Agriculture Associations Appeal to Congress: We Need #TradeNotTariffs
On June 14, 2018, AEM, ASA, NCGA, NAWG are among the grower and industry groups whose members are asking Congress to convince the administration to halt tariffs and go back to the negotiating table. Under the hashtag #TradeNotTariffs, members of these organizations are also raising awareness on social media by sharing with the public what tariffs could mean for their livelihoods – and how severe that outlook could be. The groups issued a joint release outlining how implementation of the tariffs will have a harmful impact on all farmers across all commodities.
India Raises Wheat tariff, Pushing Import Forecast Down
As reported inAgriPulse, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service expects that India’s imports will drastically decrease after a recent announcement that they will be imposing tariffs on wheat. The first announcement from India’s Ministry of Agriculture came in November 2017 and indicated that there would be a 20 percent tariff on imported wheat. Now, India is increasing the tariff up to 30 percent and is expecting to decrease their wheat imports by 75 percent this year. The tariffs are also expected to impact almonds, walnuts and protein products.
Ag Groups File Amicus Brief in WOTUS Case
A coalition of 15 agriculture groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and National Corn Growers Association, has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in North Dakota. A preliminary injunction was approved three years ago in North Dakota, preventing implementation of the Waters of the United States rule in 13 states. Though the rule has been delayed until 2020, WOTUS continues to be challenged in multiple lawsuits across the country. The WOTUS brief covered a variety of reasons that agriculture groups believe it to be ineffective. The main arguments focus on the phrase “navigable waters” which could lead to EPA jurisdiction over anything from a large body of water to a puddle or drainage ditch.
Pollinator Week – June 18-24, 2018
June 18-24, 2018 has been designated as National Pollinator Week and managed by the Pollinator Partnership. For resources and a social media toolkit, visit the Pollinator Partnership site here. NAWG and NWF will be pushing out content out its social media channels to celebrate and encourage our growers to do the same.
NWYC: Spring Wheat
As the 2018 National Wheat Yield Contest spring wheat deadline quickly approaches on August 1, the National Wheat Foundation is encouraging wheat growers to aim higher and register their crop in this year’s contest. Think your spring wheat harvest might be a bin buster? Don’t forget you can submit more than one entry to the contest for the chance to become a nationally recognized grower!
Now that your wheat has emerged and is off and running, consider, register before August 1 to be in it to win it! Visit wheatfoundation.org for more details and to register today.
Source: National Association of Wheat Growers