Ag Policy Update–4 Sep 02       

(Sunup Program to be aired 5 Sep 02)

 

1.        Congress is back in Washington after a summer break and fun on the campaign trails.  What are they up to?

 

–As of 9 Sep, there are 20 working weekdays in Washington this session.

–The new fiscal year begins 1 Oct.

–Target adjournment is 4 Oct.

–5 Nov is Election Day.

 

–So, in spite of most of their spending bills yet to be completed and a host of contentious other issues, they’re going to want to be home campaigning the last month before the election.

 

 

2.     So, what will occupy this last month of the session?

–Here are a few of the key issues to be debated & possibly voted on:

1.     Homeland security and the new department

2.     Prescription drug assistance

3.     Disaster aid for agriculture

4.     Wildfire aid and policy changes

5.     A war on Iraq

6.     Healthcare reform

7.     Merger activities, especially in the ag sector

8.     Energy policy reform

9.     Welfare reform

 

–The blame game has already started with both parties and the President pointing fingers at the lack of action and lack of leadership; in other words, it’s a fairly normal wrapup of a Congressional session.

3.     You mentioned disaster assistance.  Any progress here?

 

–Not really.  Key Republicans and the President want to use offset funds and limit aid to about $2 billion.

–Key Democrats are pushing for a $4-5 billion package with new money.

–There are some Congressional GOP who are beginning to react to what they heard over the break and may make a move to compromise on the higher end of what’s being proposed.

4.     Any news on the implementation of the new farm bill?  

 

–USDA has clarified what documentation is needed to update yields.

–Producers will need actual verifiable production evidence such as weight tickets, LDPs, crop insurance/sales records.

–Crops that were grazed out or harvested as silage may use previous LDPs, or other records to establish a yield, and FSA may assign a yield based on the yield for 3 similar farms, or use the county plug.

–FSA will be ready to receive yield updates in mid-Sep.

 

–Final payments for 2002 will be sent by 30 Sep.

–Signup for the 2002 and 2003 Direct and Countercyclical Program payments (DCP) will begin 1 Oct.

–Final DCP payments for 2002 and advance 2002 Countercyclical (CC) payments will be made in Oct after enrollment.

–April 1, 2003, is the deadline for base/yield.

–2 June is the final deadline for signup, but producers need to know that payments will be delayed until signup is completed.

 

–Producers and owners will want to make sure that FSA has current data and that power of attorney letters are updated.

 

–For producers who were counting on a counter cyclical payment this year, the higher wheat price is making that less likely.

–Producers, landowners and others will also want to check with their local County Extension or FSA offices for news about meetings.

5.        There does seem to be a sense of frustration among some producers and lawmakers about farm implementation.  What are you hearing?

 

–It’s not unusual for there to be a level of frustration.

–Congress puts the agencies (primarily FSA & NRCS) in a difficult situation of developing rules and implementing them in a very short period of time.

–Some of the issues are with base/yield updates, minor oilseed loan rates, treatment of graze-out wheat, and the general sense that USDA is interpreting any spending in the law as conservatively as possible.

–Technical amendments are a certainty, with the question of whether they will be made this year or next.

6.     The Earth Summit is winding down in Africa.  Any notes of importance for agriculture?

 

–To the satisfaction of many in US business and agriculture, the US delegates succeeded in maintaining the balance of economic power in favor of the US and West in the short run.

–However, this also thwarted any meaningful attempts to face growing issues of environmental and natural resource sustainability on a global level.

 

–The shortsightedness of the US stand will come back to haunt us with increasing problems of:

--global warming,

--air and water pollution,

--land degradation,

--habitat loss,

--regional water wars,

--catastrophic health problems, and

--growing political and cultural instability in many parts of the world.

–Such problems will adversely affect US agriculture and sustainability of it’s own resource base over the long run.

7.        Congress:

 

a.        Recent activity:

–Congress has returned from summer break.

 

b.        Current/upcoming:

–House and Senate Budget & Appropriations Committees working on supplemental spending  appropriations process.

–Senate Ag subcommittee hearing on the decline of oak trees in southern states (5 Sep).

–Senate Ag Committee hearing on oversight of farm bill implementation (date to be determined).

 

c.        2002 Schedule:

–As of 9 Sep, there are 20 working weekdays in Washington this session.

16 Sep                Yom Kippur

–Target adjournment 4 Oct

–5 Nov is Election Day

 

d.        Key issues:

–Bioterrorism & homeland security

–Healthcare reform

–Prescription drug benefits

–Merger activities, especially in agriculture

–Emergency assistance for agriculture

–Spending bills

 

| Wrap-Up Home |