Conservative firebrand Jim Jordan is working to nail down the House speakership. But he heads into the votes this week with a steep hill to climb. During secret balloting on Friday, 152 of his colleagues said they would vote for him on the House floor. That’s way short of the 217 he needs.
But, but, but: Jordan appears to have gone a long way toward easing the concerns of farm-district Republicans about his long record of voting against farm bills and policies like the sugar program. Members of the House Ag Committee, including Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, express confidence Jordan understands the importance of passing a farm bill. Thompson says he still intends to move a bipartisan bill that protects nutrition spending.
Notably, House Ag member Rick Crawford of Arkansas said of Jordan, “He and I have talked about what we think is necessary to get a farm bill across the finish line, so I don't anticipate any issues at all."
Take note: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press that “there are informal conversations” underway on a bipartisan solution to the speakership vacancy. “When we get back to Washington … it's important to begin to formalize those discussions,” he said.
Decision on use of glyphosate in EU delayed till November
A European Commission committee failed to reach a “qualified majority” Friday to renew approval of glyphosate for 10 years.
A qualified majority is defined as at least 15 countries representing 65% of the European Union’s population. The EC is the EU’s governing arm.
An appeal committee will be set up in November, the EC said.
COPA-COGECA, a major group representing farmers in Europe, said in a statement that “whatever the final decision that emerges from this reauthorization process, there is one reality that member states will have to face up to: There is as of yet no equivalent alternative to this herbicide, and without it, many agricultural practices, notably soil conservation, would be rendered complex, leaving farmers with no solutions.”
China makes another big US wheat purchase
Chinese customers contracted to buy 181,000 metric tons of U.S. soft red winter wheat on Friday, according to a daily sale reported by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. That follows a similar report posted by FAS on Oct. 3 of a Chinese purchase of 220,000-ton of U.S. SRW wheat. Both purchases are for delivery in the current 2023-24 marketing year, which runs from June-May.
“SRW prices are competitively priced compared with other origins and [China’s COFCO] is seizing on this opportunity on buying quality wheat,” U.S. Wheat Associates Vice President of Overseas Operations Mike Spear told Agri-Pulse in a statement. “It’s not unusual for COFCO to buy U.S. wheat when it’s priced right.”
The Oct. 3 Chinese purchase was “the largest SRW purchase by China since July 2013,” according to U.S. Wheat Associates.
USDA presses Costa Rica to simplify bureaucracy for dairy trade
Costa Rica is a growing market for U.S. dairy exports, but the country’s requirements on U.S. producers are too burdensome, Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor said on a podcast by the International Dairy Foods Association. That’s why the department is making it a priority to “streamline and simplify” the process to get dairy facilities registered with Costa Rica, a prerequisite for U.S. producers to export to the Central American country.
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The ministry doesn’t require on-site inspections of U.S. facilities, but it can take more than half a year to get each U.S. facility approved amid the lengthy questionnaires and voluminous paperwork. Meanwhile, the U.S. exported a record $40 million worth of dairy and dairy products to Costa Rica in 2022, according to USDA data.
Arizona Farm Bureau pulls out of governor’s water council
Arizona Farm Bureau President Stefanie Smallhouse said Friday that her organization is withdrawing from the water policy council created earlier this year by Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs.
Smallhouse said the council has been “deaf to the concerns and priorities of Arizona’s farm and ranch families. … At best, our priorities have been given very little committee consideration or, at worst, have been totally dismissed. This is unacceptable to our members, farm and ranch families who will undoubtedly be impacted directly and immediately by any rural groundwater regulatory framework.”
Smallhouse said the Arizona Farm Bureau believes any new regulatory structures for Arizona groundwater need to be “new and innovative” and “driven by a locally elected planning body.”
Stone fruit company files for bankruptcy
A top stone fruit producer says it is looking for a third-party buyer after filing for bankruptcy in Delaware on Friday.
Prima Wawona is the product of a merger four years ago of two large San Joaquin Valley operations, Gerawan Farming and Wawona Packing. The company has been in financial trouble for a while: The San Joaquin Valley Sun reported in June it had lost almost all its value since merging in a deal facilitated by private equity firm Paine Schwartz, which is now being sued by Gerawan.
The company listed between $500 million and $1 billion in assets, and between $1 billion and $10 billion in liabilities.
The company said it is beginning the Chapter 11 case “with the backing of its lenders, who entered into a Lender Support Agreement among themselves.”
The largest creditor listed in the filing is the management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, which is owed $8 million. Major crop input provider Nutrien is owed $520,000.
Access the filing here at Agri-Pulse.com.
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