WASHINGTON, Sept. 2, 2016 - Farmers in the Southeast are
bracing for the arrival of Hermine today. USDA meteorologist Mark Brusberg says that about 20
percent of the nation’s cotton crop lies in the path that the storm is
expected to take through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Much of the cotton in the three states is particularly
vulnerable to damage from severe weather right now as the plants begin opening
up, Brusberg says. Bolls have opened on about 42 percent of the cotton in
Georgia now. For South Carolina it’s about 25 percent, and for North Carolina
about 32 percent.
Congress urged to move on farm bill next year. At least
one major farm group is urging lawmakers to start moving a new farm bill to
ensure it gets enacted ahead of the mid-term elections in 2018.
Richard Wilkins, president of the American Soybean
Association, said at the Farm Progress Show yesterday that it’s going to be
“very difficult and challenging” to pass the bill if Congress delays work
on the legislation until 2018. ASA’s big concern is that delaying a new bill
into the following Congress means that lawmakers are likely to have less money
to spend on it.
Because of the way spending was front-loaded in the 2014
farm bill, the budget baseline for the next bill shrinks the longer Congress
waits to enact it. “We think that the earlier we get to work on this the better
off we’re going to be,” Wilkins said.
House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway hasn’t said when he
plans to mark up a new bill. The chairmanship of the Senate Agriculture
Committee in the next Congress is up in the air at this point. The Senate could
easily flip to Democratic control in the November elections.
CSP revisions should enhance program, Weller says. The
Natural Resources Conservation Service is previewing some of the key changes
that will be included in an overhaul of the Conservation Stewardship Program.
The full details won’t be released until this fall, but some groups were
briefed on the revisions this week.
NRCS Chief Jason Weller tells Agri-Pulse that he
thinks the revisions will make the program even more popular with farmers than
it already is while also making CSP easier for agency staff to administer.
Weller says the overhaul will allow for greater local involvement in CSP and
provide more ways for growers to qualify for the program.
In an announcement of
the overhaul, the agency will nearly double the number of enhancements and
conservation practices that participating farmers can use. For example, there
will be four eligible enhancements using gypsum as a soil amendment. Gypsum can
improve water quality by reducing dissolved phosphorus and preventing
manure-borne pathogens from getting into ground and surface water.
Weller says the program will continue to reward growers for
their existing practices as well as new ones that they implement. There are fears
that the agency will shift the program away from paying for existing
practices.
Look for more details on the new CSP in next week’s
Agri-Pulse newsletter.
NFU worried about fertilizer merger. The National
Farmers Union says a potential merger between fertilizer firms Potash Corp. and
Agrium Inc. could drive up production costs.
“NFU is opposed to the merger and will continue to express
concern about the outcomes of further industry consolidation,” the group said.
“Family farmers, ranchers and consumers are the ones that lose out when we
cripple competition, increase prices, and reduce innovation through industry
mega-deals.”
Good news on obesity: First state declines in past decade. Adult
obesity rates declined in four states last year, the first such decreases in
the past decade except for one recorded in Washington, D.C., in 2010. According
to an annual report by
the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the
declines occurred in Minnesota, Montana, New York and Ohio.
Two states, Kansas and Kentucky, saw their obesity rates
increase in 2015, but rates were stable everywhere else. Four states have rates
of 35 percent or higher, led by Louisiana at 36.2 percent. The next three
highest rates are in Alabama, West Virginia and Mississippi.
Dole endorses Marshall in Kansas House race. Former Sen. Bob
Dole criticized Kansas Rep. Tim Huelksamp ahead of last month’s Republican
primary. Now, Dole has endorsed the challenger who defeated Huelskamp, Roger
Marshall.
Marshall hardly needs the help at this point, since he has
no Democratic opponent in November. But Dole says Marshall “knows when to work
with his own party, and across the aisle.” That’s a clear reference to the
maverick Huelskamp.
Dole joined Twitter in June and one of the first things he
did was use it to attack Huelskamp. “I would suggest the current congressman
focus on the issues rather than misleading attacks on his primary opponent,” Dole
wrote.
The Agri-Pulse team wishes you an enjoyable Labor Day
weekend. Daybreak will return on Tuesday, as will Congress.
Bill Tomson and Spencer Chase contributed to this
report.
#30
