National Agricultural Statistics
Service will no longer collect farmworker wage rate data and will not publish
the farm labor report planned initially for Nov 2020. The Agriculture Labor
Survey provides quarterly statistics on the number of agricultural workers,
hours worked, and wage rates. This information is used to estimate agricultural
productivity, administer the H2-A program, and set adverse effect wage rates.
USDA argues that the same information is available from other sources; whereas,
some say that not collecting this information can impact wage rates for
domestic and foreign farm workers.
EPA has signed agreements with
Maryland and Pennsylvania to promote sustainable practices in watersheds
located in the Chesapeake Bay by providing funding directly to the state
agriculture departments. Similar agreements were signed by the EPA with
Delaware and West Virginia, and has plans to sign one with Virginia.
NRCS Louisiana is offering
several paid summer internships beginning in Summer 2021 through the Pathways
Program. The internships provide an opportunity to work side-by-side with NRCS
professionals. More details can be found on the Louisiana NRCS website.
The USDA added and revised
definitions related to wetland determinations concerning Farmed
Wetland, Farmed Wetland Pasture, and Prior Converted Cropland to provide
clarity to the program participants. Also, USDA delivers clarity on how
wetlands are delineated, determined, and certified.
The EPA and the Army Corps of
Engineers (within the Navigable Waters Protection Rule) recently developed
their own definition of Prior Converted Cropland (PC). They retained
the PC exclusion under the Clean Water Act as long as the PC is not abandoned
and remains in agricultural use. The agencies clarified the PC criteria within
this Rule and cited several examples. This change is particularly relevant to
Louisiana stakeholders because it is easily understandable when a PC would and
would not be under the Clean Water Act's jurisdiction.
Note: John Pitre and Troy Mallach
of NRCS-Louisiana contributed to the above text.
A bill introduced by Sen. Tom
Cotton and Rep. Rick Crawford proposes establishing the Office of Intelligence
in the USDA to address activities such as mystery seeds that showed up in the
mail and any other that threaten United States agriculture by foreign
countries. USDA has been investigating the source of those seeds.
Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration
Council (RESTORE Council) awarded $15 million to the CPRA, which will use the
funds to extend the System Wide Assessment and Monitoring Program (SWAMP) to
southwest coastal parishes. The SWAMP’s extension will add to the existing
Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) and Barrier Island Comprehensive
Monitoring (BICM) programs. These long-term monitoring programs will ensure a
comprehensive data collection network for coastal protection and restoration in
Louisiana.
As an expansion of the
Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), the USDA implements CFAP2 for
farmers who are continuously facing market disruptions and other additional
costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA)
started accepting the application for CFAP2 from Sept 21, 2020, and the
application deadline is Dec 11, 2020. USDA estimates that the payments will
total about $13 billion. The first round of CFAP distributed about $10.2
billion of the originally budgeted $16 billion. Some of the commodities
eligible for CFAP2 payments are row crops, dairy and livestock, broilers and
eggs, aquaculture, floriculture and nursery crops, and tobacco.
On Friday, Oct 9, the USDA
released its updated WASDE report. October’s U.S. corn outlook is for lower
production, reduced corn used for ethanol and feed and residual use, and
smaller ending stocks. Corn production was reduced by 178 million bushels than
September, and lower beginning stocks have led to a decrease in supplies
compared to last month. Corn price has been increasing since August and has
raised 10 cents to $3.60 per bushel than the September report, which can mostly
be explained by the decrease in supply. Compared to last month, soybean
production has slightly decreased, but the exports have increased to 75 million
bushels on record early-season. With smaller supplies and increased exports,
ending stocks are projected at 290 million bushels, down 170 million from last
month. Season-average soybean price for 2020/21 reflects lower supplies and
higher exports. The price is forecasted at $9.80 per bushel, 55 cents up from
September. Estimates show that cotton production has slightly decreased than
last month, and the 2020/21 U.S. season-average price is forecasted at 61.0
cents per pound.
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is expected to announce their decision if farmers can use
dicamba-based products for the next planting season. As discussions continue,
producers may be unwilling to risk purchasing the weed killer. In such cases,
farmers may consider alternatives such as 2,4-D. Producers would regard it as a
viable substitute since it proved comparably effective against dozens of tough
weeds. Meanwhile, suppose the EPA rules against dicamba, Bayer plans to
compensate farmers who bought its dicamba products, including as much as $7 off
each unit of some soybean seeds and $40 off each unit of certain cotton seeds
resistant to the herbicide.
The U.S Government Accountability
Office recently released a report that reviewed the 2019 Market Facilitation
program. As of Aug 31, 2020, the USDA has made $14.495 billion in payments and
$23.1 billion since 2018. According to the report, cotton, sorghum, and
soybeans fared favorably under the program.