Federal News
U.S. Farm Groups Pile on Canada as Trump Eyes Trade Fairness
Drovers | Posted on May 16, 2017U.S. President Donald Trump's criticism of the protected Canadian dairy system has emboldened American farm groups to tackle other longstanding agriculture irritants, as the countries move toward rewriting trade rules.U.S. poultry exporters, who include Tyson Foods Inc and Pilgrims Pride Corp, as well as egg sellers, are expected to seek greater access to Canada's tightly controlled market in renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).The United States, the world's second-biggest chicken exporter, will demand market access gains at least equal to those they would have realized under the failed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal, industry groups and experts say.U.S. farmers also want changes to Canadian grain laws that automatically assign the lowest price for their wheat. Giving up expanded access is a real risk, said Robin Horel, chief executive of Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council, whose members include Maple Leaf Foods Inc and Cargill Ltd. But the industry will emphasize that despite restrictions, Canada imports more chicken, turkey and eggs from the United States than vice-versa, he said.
Proposed reorganization of USDA trades away rural development
National Sustainable Ag Coalition | Posted on May 16, 2017On Thursday, May 11, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a major reorganization of the Department; the first time the Department has undergone a significant reshuffling since 1994. The reorganization has been framed as a move toward more efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability. However, NSAC is deeply troubled by the proposal to eliminate the Rural Development Mission Area and to demote Rural Development to “office” status.In addition to creating a new Trade Undersecretary, the reorganization eliminates the Rural Development Mission Area and shifts the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Services Agency (FSA), and Risk Management Agency (RMA) under a single Farm Production and Conservation Mission Area.While the Administration has attempted to spin the demotion of Rural Development as an “elevation” – arguing that because the office would report directly to the Secretary, rural development needs will receive greater attention – it is in fact a trading away of rural, domestic priorities in favor of boosting international trade.All undersecretaries, including the Undersecretary of Rural Development, already report directly to the Secretary. In its current position as a core USDA Mission Area overseen by an undersecretary, Rural Development holds a prominent position as part of the USDA Cabinet. By demoting Rural Development to simply an “office” under the Secretary, it will lose its Cabinet-level status and the decision-making power that comes with being categorized as a USDA mission area. Moreover, the Rural Development Mission Area is huge with many decisions to make on a daily basis, and to assume that the limited number of overworked staff in the Secretary’s office will be better positioned to make and act on these decisions is questionable at best.
States need more say in ESA implementation
Agri-Pulse | Posted on May 12, 2017States need to have a larger role in implementing the Endangered Species Act, three heads of state wildlife agencies told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at a hearing.“State fish and wildlife directors generally believe the ESA is not performing as it should and is not sufficiently leveraging state agency expertise and cooperation,” Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and president of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, told the EPW committee. “Combined, our nation’s 50 state fish and wildlife agencies are a formidable wildlife conservation machine,” Barrasso said, citing statistics showing that the state agencies employ 11,000 wildlife biologists, a figure that Voyles said was nearly equal to the entire workforce of the Fish and Wildlife Service.But ranking minority member Tom Carper, D-Del., said his understanding is that states spend about one quarter of what FWS invests to protect listed and candidate species. “If we include all federal agency spending, the collective state investment is about 4 percent,” he said. “Granted, this likely means we need to invest more in our states. But it also means that states have some soul-searching to do.”
USDA delays animal welfare standards for organic meats
The Washington Post | Posted on May 11, 2017The Trump administration is delaying for six months a rule that would require organic meat and egg producers to abide by stricter animal welfare standards. Former President Barack Obama’s Agriculture Department announced the rule two days before he left office in January. The regulations are designed to ensure that organically grown livestock have enough space to lie down, turn around, stand up and fully stretch their limbs. Poultry would have enough room to move freely and spread their wings. Beaks couldn’t be removed and cattle tails couldn’t be cut. Living conditions would have to include fresh air, proper ventilation and direct sunlight.The rule was originally scheduled to go into effect in March. President Donald Trump’s USDA has delayed that to May and will now delay it another six months until Nov. 14, saying in an online notice that “there are significant policy and legal issues addressed within the final rule that warrant further review by USDA.”
Mexico sugar industry warns U.S. tough line sets bad NAFTA precedent
Reuters | Posted on May 11, 2017A tough U.S. proposal on bilateral sugar trade with Mexico sets a bad precedent for an impending renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the head of Mexico's sugar chamber, Juan Cortina, said on Tuesday. The U.S. sugar industry pressed the Commerce Department late last year to withdraw from a 2014 trade agreement that sets prices and quota for U.S. imports of Mexican sugar unless the deal could be renegotiated.The new proposal for modifying the 2014 agreement, which seeks to increase minimum prices for refined Mexican sugar and adjust quality requirements, would essentially push Mexican exporters out of the U.S. market, said Cortina, who sits on the Mexican negotiating team.Bilateral trade relations are under strain as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to renegotiate the NAFTA pact with Mexico and Canada and to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and have Mexico pay for it."This is a very bad precedent for upcoming (NAFTA) negotiations if we can't reach an agreement," said Cortina, speaking at a news conference
Growers, farmworkers say immigration raids scaring away labor
San Francisco Gate | Posted on May 11, 2017Growers and farmworker unions said Tuesday that a federal immigration crackdown in rural towns is scaring away workers and forcing cutbacks in production of hand-harvested produce. “Wherever I go in California — I was just up in the wine industry — when I talk to dairy farmers, when I talk to small farmers in the Bay Area, even some in the Central Valley, they tell me they can’t find workers,” Feinstein said on a conference call with reporters. “That workers are scared, that they’re afraid they’re going to be picked up and deported, that they have disappeared.”
Perdue proposes reorganization of USDA
USDA | Posted on May 11, 2017This report identifies actions we are taking at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to meet the challenge of advancing agricultural trade, improving service delivery to agricultural producers, and addressing the needs of Rural America. These steps are part of a broader on-going review of the Department based on the President’s March 13, 2017; Executive Order 13781 entitled “Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch.” Section 3208 of the Agricultural Act of 2014, Pub. L. 113-70 (7 USC §6935) requires the Secretary of Agriculture (“Secretary”) to propose a reorganization of international trade functions for imports and exports, including a plan for the establishment of the Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs (U/Sec TFAA). The Secretary is required to submit to the Congressional committees specified in Section 3208 (a) a report that includes the results of this proposal and provides a notice of the reorganization plan.
Trump’s immigration enforcement helps slow illegal border crossings by 76%
Washington Times | Posted on May 11, 2017Illegal immigration across the southwestern border is down a stunning 76 percent since President Trump was elected, with the flow of children and families dropping even faster as analysts say the administration’s commitment to enforcing the law has changed the reality along the border. Overall apprehensions by the Border Patrol dropped to just 11,129 in April, according to numbers released Tuesday, marking the lowest monthly total for any month in decades.The number of unaccompanied illegal immigrant children nabbed at the border dropped below 1,000 — a level not seen since before the surge that bedeviled President Obama during most of his second term.
EU trade breakthrough for U.S. citrus
The Packer | Posted on May 11, 2017U.S. citrus exports to Europe are expected to increase following a change in citrus canker safeguard rules.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Acting U.S. Trade Representative Stephen Vaughn on May 3 said the European Union has dropped requirement that U.S. groves be surveyed for citrus canker. That, according to a news release, will make it easier to ship U.S. citrus to the EU and save growers production costs. The new EU directive requires countries where citrus canker has been detected to have a disease management program and to ensure that exported fruit have no symptoms, according to the release. Because grove surveys for citrus canker will no longer be required, the USDA said that U.S. producers can save an estimated $5.6 million dollars per year, according to the release.
Sustaining a Healthy Farm Labor Force: Issues for Policy Consideration
Choices magazine | Posted on May 11, 2017Recent stricter implementation of immigrant control policies has resulted in the deportation of some undocumented immigrants (Escalante, Yu, and Li, 2016). At the same time, employment verification systems and monitored hiring procedures have been established and enforced, as have harsher sanctions (involving higher civil fines and criminal penalties) for employers who violate the law (Smith and Sugimori, 2015). However, even with the intensified immigration control enforcement efforts, the share of undocumented workers dropped in only a few industries, such as construction. As the country’s new leaders contemplate introducing significant changes to the previous administration’s health care policies, the social imperative requires policy-makers to optimally allocate medical resources and promote the health welfare of all agricultural workers. To answer these questions, we first compare the health care utilization patterns of green card and undocumented farm workers with those of citizen farm workers who may be less constrained in accessing health services and benefits. The increasing immigrant population in the United States has created strong public sentiment due to the adverse effect on the adequacy and cost of social welfare programs (Borjas 1999). Given the implementation of public health reforms (e.g., the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996) and stringent immigration enforcement (e.g., E-verify mandates), do immigrants enjoy access to health care services and rates comparable to those enjoyed by U.S. citizens? We answer this question by investigating farm workers’ choices among health care provider alternatives and the payment methods they use to settle health care bills. Based on legal status and demographic characteristics, farm workers may have diverse preferences for health care providers and methods of payment.