The National Farmers Union held its annual convention in Scottsdale, Arizona, this week, and Agri-Pulse’s Sara Wyant used the occasion to catch up with two key officials in the Biden administration when it comes to ag policy.
Rod Snyder, who is leading EPA’s permanent new agriculture office, says it will have a staff of about 10 and will be part of the Office of the Administrator.
“We are beginning to staff up as quickly as possible, keeping in mind that really for the last two and a half years since I've been here, there was really only two staff members,” Snyder says.
He goes on, “To go from two to almost 10 just increases the bandwidth. We can get out to the countryside more. We can meet with more farm groups. We can begin to take in information in a way that we haven't been.”
Snyder on pesticide regulation: EPA continues to work on a court-ordered measures to ensure the usage of farm chemicals complies with requirements under the Endangered Species Act. He says the agency has delayed finalizing its herbicide strategy until the end of the summer “so that we can begin to incorporate feedback from farmers.”
“We need to get this right. We need to comply with the law, and we also need to make sure that farmers still have tools to have productive farming operations,” he says.
Take note: EPA needs staff to carry out its regulatory work, and the agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs is taking a cut of several million dollars for fiscal 2024 under the recently enacted spending package, says Snyder.
McKalip eyes ethanol offer from Brazil
Biden administration officials expect Brazil to offer a compromise this week on ethanol trade. Brazil has an 18% duty on U.S. ethanol, while there is no such duty on Brazilian ethanol coming north.
The issue is of “deep concern to the U.S.,” says the administration’s chief ag trade negotiator, Doug McKalip. “We are anticipating a proposal to come from the Brazilian government, and we're looking forward to resolving this issue because we need to have an equitable trade relationship on biofuel with the Brazilians.”
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By the way: McKalip also is meeting with a senior official from Chile about that country’s approach to geographic indications for products such as cheese. Chile’s new trade agreement with the European Union includes GI protections that have frustrated the U.S. dairy industry. McKalip says the administration is seeking a “clear exchange of policy” that will ensure continued market access for U.S. exports.
More biodiesel closures in offing?
A new analysis of profits in the biodiesel industry underscores the volatility and tough times the industry is facing as it competes with renewable diesel for the biofuel market.
Biodiesel production finances have whipsawed between losses and profits since 2021, with plants losing 59 cents per gallon during the early period of the renewable diesel but then recovering to 41 cents, according to the analysis by Scott Irwin of the University of Illinois. Since 2023, biodiesel production has been losing about 19 cents a gallon, he found.
Bottom line: “If the losses in 2024 to date continue, more biodiesel plant shutdowns may be in the offing,” Irwin writes.
Keep in mind: Both biodiesel and renewable diesel plants have been struggling due to where EPA set the usage targets in 2023, according to Irwin and industry officials. Chevron recently announced plans to close a pair of biodiesel plants in Iowa and Wisconsin.
By the way: Elsewhere in agribusiness, John Deere will be laying off approximately 150 employees at its Ankeny, Iowa, manufacturing plant indefinitely in April and May. The facility north of Des Moines currently has about 1,700 positions.
Cotton textile demand continues to weaken
A measure of U.S. cotton textile demand shows the industry continues to decline four years out from the blow the sector took during the height of the Covid pandemic. U.S. retail cotton use, which combines mill usage with net textile imports, plunged 23% in 2023, after dropping 8% in 2022, according to USDA.
Meanwhile, U.S. cotton mill usage declined 21% in 2023 to less than a billion pounds.
“In 2023, U.S. consumer demand for cotton products was estimated to have fallen below the Coronavirus pandemic-related decline of 2020,” when retail cotton use fell 12% to its lowest level in more than 25 years, USDA says.
Farmers offered tool for organic transition
Producers who want to go organic have a new resource available to help them make the switch. USDA’s National Organic Program is making available a new transitional production plan.
A template posted online helps new crop producers develop the supporting documentation needed to qualify for Organic Transition Initiative services provided through the Risk Management Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Use of the transitional plan “will ultimately streamline the organic transition process and help producers take advantage of all USDA programs more easily,” the organic program said.
He said it. “It creates a continuity and a permanent place where farmers and ranchers and rural communities can establish relationship with the agency regardless of who is in office.” – EPA’s Rod Snyder, in an interview with Agri-Pulse.
