POLICY, REGULATORY AND ISSUE UPDATES
President Biden Signs Thune-Klobuchar, Johnson-Garamendi Ocean Shipping Reform Act
President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law a bipartisan bill that aims to rein in the container shipping industry in a bid to ease supply chain challenges at ports and lower costs of goods. The bill seeks to end the practice of shippers bringing imports to U.S ports and departing those ports empty in order to speed back to their countries of origin to reload with more imports for the U.S. while stranding U.S. agricultural exports at U.S. ports. President Biden signed the legislation days after it cleared the House in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, telling an audience at the White House the measure would help ease inflation. The bill is widely supported amongst the agriculture industry. Read more here and here.
Railroads Ordered to Revise Service Recovery Plans
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) condemned BNSF Railway Company, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway and Union Pacific Railroad after service recovery plans they were required to submit to improve shipping delays were deemed inadequate due to insufficient data. STB Chairman Martin Oberman said, “I had expected a better response from the carriers to the board’s previous order, and now with more explicit instructions, which should not have been needed, there will be no excuse for continued lack of compliance,” in a board statement. The new order requires the railroads to submit six months’ worth of performance metrics and employment data in addition to the biweekly updates. This action comes after Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, led a bipartisan group of colleagues in a letter urging the STB to ensure reliable, consistent rail service for American farmers. Read more here.
House Agriculture Appropriations Bill Clears Subcommittee
The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its fiscal year (FY) 2023 funding measure this week. The bill funds agencies and programs within the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Farm Credit Administration. Republicans on the subcommittee criticized the bill for its price tag, particularly relative to nutrition programs. The appropriations measure will be considered before the full committee on June 23 where members are expected to offer amendments. House appropriators aim to have the FY2023 funding bills on the House floor in July. Meanwhile in the evenly divided Senate, negotiations on a spending cap to govern the FY2023 appropriations process have come to a halt due to differences over total spending, investment in defense and earmarks. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) attributed the impasse over the total amount of spending and the division of dollars between defense and non-defense spending. House Democrats set an overall $1.6 trillion discretionary spending cap, largely in line with President Biden’s budget request earlier this month, which is 9 percent above the current year. Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Republican Member, Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), said passing funding bills by October 1, the start of the new fiscal year, is “not going to happen” given the differences that prevent the appropriations process from starting in the upper chamber. View the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee markup here, read a summary of the bill here, and read about the status of the appropriations process in the Senate here.
House Passes Agriculture-Related Bill Largely Along Partisan Lines
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a package of bills that Democrats say will promote competition in the meat sector, reduce fertilizer usage and expand the use of biofuels. Republicans described the legislation as a “messaging bill” which will not pass the Senate or become law and would do little to address inflation while attempting to deflect attention from what Republicans cite as the Biden Administration’s inflationary policies. Nevertheless, the bill passed, 221-204, with support from seven Midwest Republicans who supported the bill’s ethanol provisions. Meanwhile, five Democrats voted against the bill because they agreed with Republican concerns over the measure overall. The biofuels provisions proved very popular on both sides of the aisle, but the packer provisions were also extremely divisive. Efforts by Republicans to drop the latter and move the former on a strong, bipartisan basis were not successful. Read more here and here.
Thompson Introduces Bill to Cut Farm Regulation
House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member, Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA), this week introduced a bill that “requires the Biden Administration to reverse its regulatory barriers to domestic agriculture production and provide immediate relief to families across the country.” The bill would, amongst other things, provide relief from EPA’s unprecedented actions related to crop protection tools; offer clarity related to Waters of the U.S. regulations; rescind the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed rule on climate-related disclosures; reinstate the 2020 National Environmental Policy Act streamlining; and require an economic analysis of the costs and benefits of Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rules. Read a summary of the bill here.
McCarthy, Thompson Call on Biden Administration to Reduce Barriers to Agriculture Production
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House Agriculture Committee Ranking Republican Member, Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-PA), sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling on the Administration to reverse burdensome regulations and policy barriers to U.S. agriculture production. The letter outlines administrative actions that should be taken to help American producers, including: reducing farm input costs; halting changes to "Waters of the United States"; ensuring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) refocuses on sound science to augment crop protection products; and, ending onerous climate rules. Read more here.
Senate Republicans Urge SEC To Rescind Farmer Climate Disclosure Requirements
A group of Senate Republicans, led by Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Republican Member, Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), urged Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler to rescind a proposed rule which would require publicly-traded companies to include certain climate-related disclosures in their registration statements and periodic reports that would involve farmers and ranchers. “While farmers and ranchers have never been subject to SEC oversight, the proposed rule’s Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions reporting requirement would place a major reporting burden on the many agricultural producers that provide raw products to the value-chain,” the senators wrote. The American Farm Bureau Federation has spearheaded farm group efforts against the regulation, and National Sorghum Producers submitted comments today supporting these efforts. Read more here.
Senate Agriculture Committee Hold Arkansas Field Hearing
Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Republican Member, Senator John Boozman (R-AR), hosted a 2023 Farm Bill listening session in the Natural State this morning. Two panels of witnesses weighed in on each title of the bill. View the listening session here. For its part, the House Agriculture Committee announced its first field hearing which is to be held next Saturday in Arizona. It will then hold a second listening session in Fresno, California on July 7, at 2 PM ET. According to the Committee, additional listening session dates and locations will be announced in the coming weeks. View today’s field hearing here.
EPA Finds Insecticides Harmful to Several Species
Three widely-used insecticides are “likely to adversely affect” the majority of threatened and endangered species, according to a recent analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The chemicals analyzed are the neonicotinoids clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, which are widely used on crops, turfs, ornamentals and as seed treatments. According to EPA, they adversely affect 67 percent to 79 percent of endangered species and 56 percent to 83 percent of critical habitats, depending on the chemical. The EPA found that nearly half a dozen bee species have been adversely affected by the use of the chemicals. The determinations illustrate an ongoing conflict within the Administration between the need to augment U.S. food production to stave off a global food crisis and the goals of an environmental activist agenda. Read more here. National Sorghum Producers continues to engage with EPA working to ensure growers continue to have access to the necessary tools to produce both sustainably and abundantly.
USDA Comment Period on Domestic Fertilizer Industry Extended
USDA has extended the comment period for a second time to gather input on the nation’s fertilizer industry, as it develops criteria for doling out $500 million in new funding for domestic production. Comments are now due July 15. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service has already received more than 1,000 comments so far. In announcing the funding in March, USDA said details on the application process will be announced this summer, “with the first awards expected before the end of 2022.” Read more here.
Flores Wins Vela Seat in Bellwether Election
Texas Republican Mayra Flores became the first Republican to represent Texas’ 34th Congressional District, a majority-Hispanic district recently vacated by former Rep. Filemon Vela (D-TX). Ms. Flores won a special election to fill the remainder of Vela’s term until the end of the year and will face Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) in November in the newly redrawn 34th District. Cook Political Report House Editor David Wasserman says Flores' 51 percent showing in an 84 percent Latino seat is the latest sign of a GOP surge along the border. It also means the Democrats' House majority is down to 220 seats, the smallest majority in modern history. 218 seats are required to form a majority. Read more from Jim Wiesemeyer here.
Davids Joins Agriculture Committee, Maloney Named Chair
Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) has been named to the House Agriculture Committee. David Wasserman notes that Rep. Davids is locked in a tight bid for reelection due to headwinds facing Democrats in the mid-terms and redistricting. Also this week, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) was tapped to chair the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit. Read more here and here.
ORGANIZATION UPDATES
New Episode! Sorghum Smart Talk: Policy Edition
Check out the newest episode of Sorghum Smart Talk: Policy Edition! In this episode, National Sorghum Producers Executive Vice President John Duff is joined by Chris Cogburn, NSP senior policy adviser and manager of Sustainable Crop Insurance Services, to discuss upcoming and potential changes for sorghum crop insurance in the 2022 and 2023 crop years and details of the recently announced Emergency Relief Program (ERP). Listen to all Sorghum Smart Talk: Policy Edition episodes on your favorite listening platform or SorghumGrowers.com/podcast.
Sorghum Checkoff Continues the Cultivation of Sorghum Leaders
The United Sorghum Checkoff Program is accepting applications for Leadership Sorghum Class VI, a program designed to cultivate the next generation of sorghum leaders. During the 14-month leadership program, class members will have the opportunity to experience various aspects of the sorghum industry in addition to personal development and networking opportunities. Applications are available here and are due by 5:00 pm CST on September 23. To learn more about Leadership Sorghum, visit SorghumGrowers.com.
CROP UPDATES
Export Report
Sorghum export shipments stayed strong last week with China taking delivery of 5.3 million bushels. China made purchases of 2.6 million bushels. However, purchases of 2.5 million bushels were cancelled by an unknown destination, bringing the total purchases for the week to just over 100,000 bushels. Last week's purchases bring total sorghum export purchases for the 2021/2022 marketing year to 268 million bushels, or 94 percent what was estimated in the most recent USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE).
Sorghum Crop Progress Report
Sixty-six percent of the nation’s sorghum acreage was planted by June 12, three percentage points behind the previous year and five points behind the five-year average. Texas had planted 90 percent of its sorghum acreage by June 12, four percentage points behind both the previous year and the average. By June 12, thirteen percent of the nation’s sorghum had reached the headed stage, equal to last year but two percentage points behind average. Forty-seven percent of the nation’s sorghum acreage was rated in good to excellent condition on June 12, one percentage point above the previous week but 27 points below the same time last year.
Sorghum Checkoff Releases Weekly Sorghum Basis Snapshot
The Sorghum Checkoff, with Southwest Agribusiness Consulting, released its weekly sorghum basis snapshot, available at SorghumCheckoff.com.
Sorghum in the Spotlight:
Summer annuals could hit the spot for you grazing plans - BEEF
Prevent Plant Restrictions Lifted – What Growers Need to Know - Tri-State Neighbor
Empirical Launches SOKA, a New Spirit from Sorghum - BevNet
Sorghum producers see fewer issues with sugarcane aphids - AgriLife Today
“I Tried Sorghum Pasta and Here’s What It Tastes Like” - The Beet.
Upcoming Events
June 27 NLS Food Evolution Summit - Scottsdale, AZ
July 4 Independence Day - Office Closed
August 2 Mid-South Ruminant Nutrition Conference - Grapevine, TX
August 11 Sorghum U - Wichita, KS
August 15 NSP Board Meeting - Wichita, KS
August 17 USCP Board Meeting - Wichita, KS
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.