Act Now! Protect Your Access to Atrazine
Can you afford to spend more on inputs? While costs skyrocket, EPA is taking another swing at atrazine, disregarding sound science, transparency and regulatory framework. Please take two minutes to fill out the comment form and join us in stopping EPA from using regulatory tricks to drastically limit your use of a critical input.
Included in more than 90 herbicide products across the U.S., limiting atrazine will have broad implications. Atrazine is utilized on 75 percent of U.S. sorghum acres, and the proposal will have drastic impacts on a large majority of those acres, significantly reducing application rates and requiring additional mitigation measures and reporting procedures. It also prohibits all aerial application and application during when rain is forecast within 48 hours.
Join us in the fight. Add your name to the long list of growers battling to stop EPA’s latest overreach. Tell EPA to stick to sound science and the 2020 finalized atrazine registration review. Anything less is unacceptable.
Sorghum Announced as Newest Addition to USDA Food Buying Guide
In a major step forward for the sorghum industry, school foodservice providers and American schoolchildren, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently added sorghum, a nutrient-rich, high-protein, gluten-free ancient whole grain, to its Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs. The Food Buying Guide is the primary resource used by school foodservice directors to build menus that comply with USDA nutrition requirements.
As of July 1, 2022, USDA has implemented a new requirement stating that at least 80 percent of the weekly grains in school lunch and breakfast menus must be whole-grain rich, which has resulted in school nutrition providers actively seeking foods that satisfy this requirement. As a nutrient-rich ancient whole grain, sorghum will prove to be the solution for school nutrition professionals for the upcoming school year and beyond. The United Sorghum Checkoff Program has worked with USDA to add sorghum to the Food Buying Guide with supporting efforts by National Sorghum Producers, Kansas Grain Sorghum, Kansas Department of Agriculture and more - a big team win for sorghum. You can read more about these efforts in the Spring edition of Sorghum Grower magazine. Read the full release from the Sorghum Checkoff here.
POLICY, REGULATORY AND ISSUE UPDATES
UAN Fertilizer Duties Struck Down by ITC
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that imports of urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) fertilizer from Russia and Trinidad and Tobago are not harming U.S. producers of UAN on Monday and that imports from these countries may resume without prohibitive duties. Farm groups welcomed the ruling. Fertilizer expert Josh Linville with Stone X Financial says the ruling means normal import flows should return. He says it should also cause the price per actual pound of Nitrogen differential between urea and UAN to narrow once again, which will lower UAN prices. Had the ITC found that the countries were still illegally dumping product onto the U.S. market at below their cost of production, it could not have ruled at it did as a matter of law. But, having found no dumping, the lifting of the duties was permissible. Read more here and here.
House Advances FY23 Appropriations Bill with A&O Fix for Specialty Crops, Anti-Agriculture Amendments Ruled Out of Order
The House of Representatives passed a package of six fiscal year 2023 appropriations bills on Wednesday, including the Agriculture Appropriations Bill which, in turn, provides equitable relief for specialty crop insurance policies under crop insurance. Specialty crop policies are experiencing a deep and harmful reduction due to a flaw in the cap on administrative and operating expenses under the contract between crop insurance and the companies. Anti-agriculture amendments, which are often offered during consideration of Agriculture Appropriations Bills were ruled out of order thanks to the hard work of champions on both sides of the political aisle. Read more on the package here.
Witnesses Before House Agriculture Subcommittee Urge Lawmakers to not only Do No Harm but Strengthen Crop Insurance
Crop insurance stakeholders, including farmers, an agent, a company representative, and a crop insurance developer testified before an Agriculture Subcommittee on the vital importance of Federal Crop Insurance. Nearly all of the Subcommittee Members registered their strong support for equitable relief for specialty crop policies. Other topics discussed included the importance of a robust 508(h) private policy submission process. Rep. Tracey Mann (R-KS) observed, “We’ve got to acknowledge the program has to work for the producer, but it also has to work for the insurance agents who are delivering that product and are boots on the ground.” View the hearing here.
Biden Calls Climate ‘an Emergency’ as He Prepares Executive Actions
President Biden said he considered the environmental risks created by climate change to be “an emergency” and signaled plans to use his presidential powers “to turn these words into a formal, official government action.” “Let me be clear: Climate change is an emergency,” Mr. Biden said, adding that he plans to announce formal actions in the “coming weeks.” The announcement follows an unraveling of a reconciliation package in the Senate to address climate and a Supreme Court ruling barring regulation of greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. Read more here.
Senators Receive Warning the Global Food Crisis Stands to Worsen
The Executive Director of the World Food Program Mr. David Beasley believes the global food crisis stands to worsen in 2023 because of the reductions in farm production due to the increased input costs. Beasley informed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that 50 million people across 45 countries already face famine this year. Furthermore, the current droughts occurring across much of the Western United States, and throughout Africa, are also a factor in the loss of production for the current year. Read more here.
Food Aid Slammed By UN Over Shipping Costs
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director, David Beasley, slammed food aid due to transportation costs and advocated cash aid instead despite inherent flaws in cash aid. Nevertheless, this will certainly be an issue in the 2023 Farm Bill debate given the heightened attention. Sorghum is one of the most important food aid commodities provided by the U.S. and National Sorghum Producers will remain engaged as these conversations about WFP move forward. Listen for more here.
ORGANIZATION UPDATES
Team Sorghum Takes Home Eight ACN Awards
This past week, Team Sorghum's Communications Teams spent the week in Raleigh, North Carolina, for Ag Media Summit, the largest gathering of the agriculture industry's top writers, editors, photographers, publishers and strategic communicators in the U.S. During this time, the Agricultural Communicators Network (ACN), formerly theAmerican Agricultural Editors' Association (AAEA), hosted its annual communications awards ceremony where USCP and NSP placed top three in eight categories, four of them being first place. Below are the winnings:
1. NSP Sorghum Grower magazine, 1st place, Publication: Print or Electronic (Not-For-Profit)
2. USCP Annual Report, 1st place
3. USCP Website, 1st place
4. USCP, Photography, 1st place, Digital Enhancement Photography Category
5. USCP, Photography, 2nd Place Digital Enhancement Photography Category
6. USCP, Photography, 3rd place Digital Enhancement Photography Category
7. USCP Sorghum: Smart Talk Podcast, 2nd place
8. USCP Food & Nutritional Ad for the American Cancer Institute, 3rd place
Fall Sorghum Grower Magazine: Photo Submissions
Get your camera (or even phone camera) ready, we want to see your sorghum field! Submit your field photos here, or tag us in your #FromTheField photos on social media for a chance to be featured in the upcoming Fall edition of the sorghum grower magazine!
Sorghum U Wheat U Registration Open
Sorghum U Wheat U, hosted by High Plains Journal, is set for Aug 11 in Wichita, Kansas. This is a free, one-day, educational event. The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. and includes a farmer panel discussion made up of sorghum and wheat farmers across the High Plains. There are several breakout sessions planned including a presentation on Resource Conservation in Action: Big benefits from a Small Grain by National Sorghum Producers and Sorghum Checkoff Sustainability Director, Adam York. There will also be a discussion on sorghum weed control with Sorghum Checkoff Director of Agronomy Brent Bean, Ph.D., and Past Chairman Kent Martin, Ph.D. For more information regarding Sorghum U Wheat U and to register for the event, visit https://www.hpj.com/suwu/.
Sorghum Checkoff Still Accepting Applications to Leadership Sorghum
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.
Sorghum Crop Update
By July 17, twenty-nine percent of the nation’s sorghum acreage had reached the headed stage, 3 percentage points behind last year and 2 points behind the 5-year average. With progress limited to Texas, coloring advanced to 17 percent, equal to last year but 1 percentage point behind the average. Thirty-five percent of the nation’s sorghum acreage was rated in good to excellent condition on July 17.
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:
USDA Adds Sorghum to Food buying Guide For Child Nutrition Programs - World Grain
Zimbabwe Food Crisis: Could Sorghum and Millet Replace Maize? - BBC News
Sorghum Announced as Newest Addition to USDA Food Buying Guide - GrainNet
Why Sorghum Is About to be Used in US School Lunch Programs - Tasting Table
Managing the Prussic Acid Hazard in Sorghum - No-Till Farmer
Upcoming Events
August 1 Vietnam Trade Mission
August 2 Mid-South Ruminant Nutrition Conference - Grapevine, TX
August 11 Sorghum U - Wichita, KS
August 15 World Aquaculture Society, Aquaculture Conference - Newfoundland, Canada
August 15 NSP Board Meeting - Wichita, KS
August 17 USCP Board Meeting - Wichita, KS
September 5 Labor Day-Office Closed
October 8 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE)
October 12 Export Exchange
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.