USDA Announces Payment of Second Half of 2019 WHIP Plus Payments, Quality Loss Assistance Program
More than $1 billion in payments will be released over the next several weeks, starting June 15, for agricultural producers with approved applications for the Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) Program and for producers who have already received payments through the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+). Producers who applied for QLA from January 6 to April 9, 2021 will receive 100 percent of the calculated assistance under QLA with payment disbursal beginning on June 15. As for WHIP+, producers who applied for and have received their first payment can expect to receive the second payment beginning in mid-June for eligible crop losses. Due to budget constraints, producers received an initial WHIP+ payment for 2019 crop losses equal to 50 percent of the calculated payment. The second payment will be equal to 40 percent of the calculated payment for a total 90 percent WHIP+ program payment. USDA noted a third round of payments may be issued if sufficient funds become available. Read the full USDA press release here.
Infrastructure Talks Pivot to Bipartisan Group of Senators
After President Joe Biden ended infrastructure negotiations with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ranking Member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, on Tuesday, he began talks with a bipartisan group of Senators, including Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Rob Portman (R-OH), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ). Thursday, the group announced an agreement on a “compromise framework” to invest $1.2 trillion in infrastructure over the next eight years. Sources familiar with the deal said it would cost $974 billion over five years and $1.2 trillion over 8 years and includes $579 billion in new spending above the current baseline. They also said the framework is focused on “core, physical infrastructure” and would not increase taxes, though it includes an option to index the gas tax to inflation, a move President Biden has been adamantly opposed to thus far.
The senators said they were discussing their approach with their colleagues and the White House, and they were optimistic about getting broad support. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), a member of the newly formed coalition, told Reuters the group met with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and he was in a "listening mode," but did not commit one way or the other. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Democrats are pursuing “a two-path approach.” While Senator John Thune (R-SD), the Senate Republican Whip, declared that there are probably not 10 Republican senators who would go much further than Senator Capito included in her last offer, he also stated that there is still a narrow path forward for a bipartisan bill. As bipartisan talks continue, the Budget Committee will be preparing legislation that would allow passage of the bill on a partisan basis and with a simple majority vote in the Senate through the budget reconciliation process. However, Senator Schumer said that clearing a budget resolution including such instructions would not occur until July. Meanwhile in the House, the Problem Solvers Caucus unveiled a $1.25 trillion infrastructure spending framework that would provide $762 billion in new spending over eight years. Read more here and here.
Surface Transportation Bill Clears House Committee
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced, on a vote of 38-26, a five-year, $547 billion surface transportation bill, largely along party lines, early Thursday morning. Members had submitted 229 amendments to the sweeping legislation, which was threaded with climate change and racial equity provisions. Democrats hope the legislation will become a cornerstone of President Joe Biden's $2 trillion-plus infrastructure package while the Committee’s Ranking Member, Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) lamented that the Committee moved away from a bipartisan approach to a partisan one this year. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee previously approved its version of the legislation on a bipartisan basis. Read more here.
EPA, Army Announce Intent to Revise Definition of WOTUS
The Biden Administration plans to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act after claiming the Trump Administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule is causing “significant environmental degradation,” according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan. "[Thursday’s] action reflects the agencies’ intent to initiate a new rulemaking process that restores the protections in place prior to [Obama Administration’s] 2015 WOTUS implementation, and anticipates developing a new rule that defines WOTUS and is informed by a robust engagement process as well as the experience of implementing the pre-2015 rule, the Obama-era Clean Water Rule, and the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule,” EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers said in a joint statement. The announcement has received criticism from Republican lawmakers and farm groups. EPA will have a difficult needle to thread. Regulations that go beyond navigable and interstate waters and adjacent wetlands will have a tough time withstanding Supreme Court scrutiny under its new makeup. Read more here and here.
RMA Announces Crop Insurance Premium Benefit for Cover Crops
Last week, the Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced the Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP), which provides premium support of $5 per acre to producers who insured their spring crop with most insurance policies and planted a qualifying cover crop during the 2021 crop year. To receive the benefit for this program, producers must file a Report of Acreage form (FSA-578) for cover crops with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) by June 15, 2021. The program is only for this year and was modeled after similar initiatives in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa. Nuances to the program that disqualify some producers and the retroactive nature of the program have frustrated many growers.
Senate Agriculture Committee Advances Hipp Nomination
The Senate Agriculture Committee voted to approve President Joe Biden's nomination of Janie Simms Hipp to be USDA General Counsel on Thursday. Following the meeting, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said she hopes the full Senate will confirm Hipp by unanimous consent. The committee has not received the necessary paperwork to hold hearings on President Biden’s nominations of Robert Bonnie to be USDA Undersecretary for Food Production and Conservation or Jenny Moffitt to be Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory programs. Read more here.
Crops Remain in Drought Risk
About 45 percent of the country is in a moderate or worse drought, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor. That’s compared to 39 percent at the same time last year. According to USDA, about 35 percent of the U.S. corn crop and 31 percent of soybean acres are in regions experiencing drought, along with more than 80 percent of the sunflower, durum wheat, and spring wheat production area. Fifty-seven percent of alfalfa hay production is also in drought. As we have previously noted, Reps. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX) have introduced the RESTORE Act, a bill to extend the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+), to cover losses in 2020 and 2021, including drought. Because NSP knows that this is a legislative priority for many of our members, please do urge your Representative to sign on as a cosponsor to H.R. 1692 by clicking here.
USDA to Invest $41.8 Million in Conservation Assistance for Producers in Drought-Impacted States
In a news release sent out on Thursday, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced they will be offering $41.8 million through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to help agricultural producers in Arizona, California, Colorado and Oregon alleviate the immediate impacts of drought and other natural resource challenges on working lands. The funding will be made available through through Conservation Incentive Contracts, a new option through EQIP. Signup began on June 10 and will run through July 12. More information about the new program and how to apply can be found on the USDA NRCS website.
USDA Requiring Farmers to Resubmit CRP Offers Due to Program Changes
USDA earlier this year announced it reviewed the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and put in place higher rental payments, new incentives, and more focus on climate change. Given those changes, USDA has now deleted all offers submitted under the continuous CRP signup (Signup 55) and the general CRP signup (Signup 56). USDA said there will be a one-time 10 percent “inflationary” adjustment for the life of the CRP contract which will be factored into Soil Rental Rates (SRRs). CRP offers can be resubmitted starting June 14 with a deadline of July 23 for offers under the general signup and August 6 for the continuous signup. Contracts are to start October 1 for the general signup and for continuous signup offers for re-enrolled or a combination of re-enrolled and new acres. For offers on new acres only under the continuous signup, contracts start the first of the month after the month that the offer has been approved. Those submitting offers under CRP previously will be getting letters advising them of the new signup.Read more here.
Sorghum Export Report
Nearing the end of the 2020/21 marketing year, there is little export activity for old crop sorghum. Additionally, harvest has not quite begun in South Texas, meaning export purchases for the 2021/22 marketing year, which starts Sept. 1, are slow as well. The updated USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) came out on Wednesday, in which estimates for both exports and average for farm price for the 2021/22 marketing year remained high at 425 million bushels and $6.10/ bushel, respectively.
USGC Works to Build Awareness of U.S. White Sorghum in Japan Through Art
"To raise awareness of U.S. white sorghum among consumers, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) office in Japan hosted a sorghum focaccia art contest through Instagram in late 2020. In addition to providing an option for health-conscious Japanese consumers, sorghum flour maintains its light coloring when baked – creating a pure white focaccia canvas that can be decorated with colorful vegetables." See the winning art pieces and read the full article at Grains.org.
Sorghum Smart Talk
On this week’s episode of Sorghum Smart Talk, we visit with the new United Sorghum Checkoff Program Board Chairman Kent Martin. From Alva, Oklahoma, Martin runs a diverse crop operation while also managing an international consulting business. Visit SorghumCheckoff.com or your favorite podcast platform to listen!
Sorghum Crop Progress Report
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Weekly Crop Progress Report says 52 percent of the nation’s sorghum was planted by June 6, ten percentage points behind the previous year and seven points behind the five-year average. Texas had planted 89 percent of its sorghum acreage by June 6, one percentage point ahead of last year but one point behind average. Seventy-four percent of the nation’s sorghum was rated in good to excellent condition on June 6, nineteen percentage points above the previous year.
Sorghum in the Spotlight:
Strong Prices, Lower Seed Cost Spur Surge in Sorghum Acres - AgWeb
Sorghum growers optimistic about crop's place in Nebraska - NTV ABC
Researchers target heat resilience - KMA Land
5 tips to get your sorghum turbo-charged - American Agriculturist
You're About To See Sorghum Everywhere - Here's Why This Ancient Grain Is So Good For You - Well and Good
Upcoming Events
July 5 Independence Day - Office Closed
July 13 2021 Center for Sorghum Improvement Seminar Series 6 - Virtual
July 21-23 Kansas Grain Sorghum Board Meeting - Manhattan, Kansas
July 27-29 Leadership Sorghum Session 1 - Kansas
July 28-30 U.S. Grains Council Summer Meeting - Des Moines, Iowa
August 2-3 NSP Summer Board Meeting - Amarillo, Texas
August 4-5 USCP Summer Board Meeting - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
August 11-14 Aquaculture America 2021 - San Antonio, Texas
Market News - To view this week’s Gulf export grain report, click here.
About Sorghum Notes
Sorghum Notes is a publication of the National Sorghum Producers. NSP represents U.S. sorghum producers and serves as the voice of the sorghum industry from coast to coast through education and legislative and regulatory representation.