Report from Washington

State of the Union Focuses on Economics, Trade, Energy

President Barack Obama kicked off the legislative year on Tuesday with a State of the Union address largely focusing on the economy, taxes and foreign affairs, but also incorporating key ag policy priorities including trade and renewable energy.

As in years past, the speech was wide ranging, ambitious and, of course, political, offering far more extensive proposals than are likely to be seriously considered in a divisive political climate and an election year.

In a section on trade priorities, the President said U.S. businesses were tracking ahead of his goal to double U.S. exports in five years and praised recently-passed free trade agreements, though it look more than four years for them to be approved. He also pledged to “go anywhere in the world to open new markets for American products” and announced a new “trade enforcement unit” to investigate unfair trading practices.

Addressing the power of small businesses and start-ups, he urged Congress to “tear down regulations that prevent aspiring entrepreneurs from getting the financing to grow.” Later, he said “there's no question that some regulations are outdated, unnecessary or too costly,” using as an example proposed requirements for dairy farmers to have Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) plans for spilled milk.

Obama talked extensively about the need for domestic energy production, adopting a mantra more typical of Republicans by saying the U.S. needs “an all-out, all-of-the-above” approach to domestic energy development.

He called for Congress to set a “clean energy standard that creates a market for innovation” and announced plans to create enough clean energy on public land to power 3 million homes. For energy and other areas, he touted the power of “basic research,” citing examples in the health care and technical areas, though not in agriculture.

Importantly to farmers, Obama addressed the need for infrastructure improvements, urging funding for construction projects, roads and bridges, modernization of the power grid and, in one of few direct mentions of rural needs, rural broadband.

Text of the full State of the Union address is at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/01/24/remarks-president-state-union-address. 

House Ag Approves Six Bills to Amend Dodd-Frank Swaps Regs

Members of the House Agriculture Committee approved on Wednesday six bills to amend the portions of the Dodd-Frank regulatory reform law related to over-the-counter swaps.

The bills were all approved by on voice votes and emanated from oversight work the Committee has done with regards to Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) proposed regulations under the new law.

The bills approved include:

• H.R. 1840, to require CFTC to assess the costs and benefits of proposed actions.
• H.R. 3336, the Small Business Credit Availability Act, which ensures banks and farm credit institutions can continue providing interest rate swaps for customer loans without being classified as swap dealers.
• H.R. 2682, which ensures end users can continue to use derivatives to manage business risks without being subject to costly margin requirements.
• H.R. 2779, which provides clarification that inter-affiliate transactions, when the parties to the transaction are under common control, are not to be regulated as swaps.
• H.R. 3527, which clarifies the definition of swap dealer to ensure energy and agriculture end-users are not misclassified and subject to costly new regulatory requirements.
• H.R. 2586, which prohibits regulators from requiring a minimum number of participants to receive or respond to quote requests.

In a release, the Committee said it has held seven hearings in the past year to review the portions of the law over which it has oversight, taking testimony from market participants.

Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) said the changes would prevent regulations that could deter businesses from hedging risk.

NAWG and other agricultural groups have also communicated concerns about the Dodd-Frank rulemaking process to the CFTC.

In a letter sent earlier this month, agricultural groups told the agency that too rigid financial reform regulations could make it impossible for individual farmers and small agricultural companies to access much-needed financial risk management services. That full letter is available at http://www.wheatworld.org/issues/othercorrespondence/.

More from the Committee about the bills approved this week is at http://agriculture.house.gov/. 

Wheat Farmers in Washington to Talk Fiscal and Farm Policy

NAWG’s and U.S. Wheat Associates’ wheat farmer-leaders are in Washington for the weekend to hold joint meetings and visit their Members of Congress.

Most farmers in town dedicated Thursday to legislative visits on Capitol Hill. The day started with a Hill briefing at the NAWG offices and will end with an open house and reception, at which Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) is scheduled to be presented the Association’s Wheat Leader of the Year Award (see related story).

Meetings making up the Wheat Industry Winter Conference will begin early Friday and run through Sunday. Speakers from the Washington area are planned for most policy committees, with key topics of discussion to include the coming farm bill and how the federal budget will affect priority areas including trade and research programs.

A joint session of both Boards of Directors is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, and Board meetings for NAWG, USW and the NAWG Foundation are set for Sunday.

As in past years, audio reports from each NAWG policy committee chairman will be available at www.wheatworld.org/audio soon after the meetings conclude, and the next edition of this newsletter will include a full wrap-up of all major happenings.

Those who want to follow along with the sessions this weekend can see more on NAWG’s and USW’s Facebook and Twitter pages, accessible at www.facebook.com/wheatworld; www.twitter.com/wheatworld; www.facebook.com/uswheat; and www.twitter.com/uswheatassoc.

Those who are considering last-minute attendance at the meetings can get the Conference schedule at  http://www.wheatworld.org/meetings-events/winterconference/.

Note that registration is free but required for all attendees. Information for media interested in covering part of all of the NAWG or joint sessions is available on the meeting webpage or by contacting Melissa George Kessler, NAWG’s director of communications.    

Baucus Named Winner of NAWG's Wheat Leader of the Year Award

Senate Finance Committee Chairman and longtime agricultural advocate Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) was named this week as NAWG’s 2011 Wheat Leader of the Year.

The Wheat Leader of the Year Award, the wheat industry’s highest public service award, is given annually to one Member of Congress based on his or her demonstrated commitment to the well-being and goals of the wheat industry.

Baucus was chosen by NAWG’s leadership to receive the 2011 award for his tireless support of three free trade agreements that were approved last year; his efforts to protect crop insurance within the federal budget; and his general advocacy for agricultural priorities. 

“We in Montana know how much Sen. Baucus and his staff care about our state’s farmers and about farmers around the country,” said Bing Von Bergen, NAWG’s second vice president and a wheat farmer from Moccasin, Mont., in a press statement announcing the award.

“Sen. Baucus has proven time and time again that he’s a champion of the wheat industry. He understands our concerns and does a spectacular job of fighting for them.”

Baucus is scheduled to receive his award at a NAWG open house Thursday evening, held for wheat growers and friends attending the Wheat Industry Winter Conference in Washington, D.C.

Baucus is a repeat winner of the Wheat Leader award, having also won it in 2008 and 2002.

Representatives from NAWG’s member-states, in town for the Conference and visits to Capitol Hill, have also been delivering other wheat awards given by the national association.
 
The Wheat Advocate Award is given annually to Members of Congress who have demonstrated support for the wheat industry above and beyond the norm.

Those receiving 2011 Wheat Advocate awards include:

• Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) 
• Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio)
• Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) 
• House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.)
• House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) 
• Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) 
• Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) 
• Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) 
• Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) 

The Friend of Wheat Award is given annually by NAWG for superior action in support of the goals and policies of the wheat industry. This award is given to Congressional and administrative staff members who have demonstrated support for the wheat industry above and beyond the norm.

The 2011 Friend of Wheat Awards are being awarded to:

• Jonathan Coppess - Senate Agriculture Committee Majority Staff
• Ryan Flickner - Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.)
• Krysta Harden – USDA’s Office of the Secretary 
• Tina May - Senate Agriculture Committee Majority Staff
• Jim Miller - Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.)
• Bill Murphy - USDA-Risk Management Agency
• Clark Ogilvie - House Agriculture Committee Minority Staff
• Joe Schultz - Senate Agriculture Committee Majority Staff
• Mike Seyfert - Senate Agriculture Committee Minority Staff
• Anne Simmons - House Agriculture Committee Minority Staff
• Alexis Taylor - Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.)

More about the Congressional awards, including past winners, is available at
http://www.wheatworld.org/about-us/policy-process/.

Pictures of Baucus and other winners receiving their awards will be at www.facebook.com/wheatworld. 

USDA's New School Meal Regs Call for All Whole Grains By 2014

New federal school meal standards ramp up the grain servings students eating breakfast and lunch will receive and, for the first time, will require they all be from whole grain-rich sources.

USDA rolled out the new school meal regulations on Wednesday with the assistance of First Lady Michelle Obama.

The new meal requirements will modify the standards for the first time in 15 years, touching meals consumed by an estimated 32 million children each school day.

USDA highlighted five key changes in the new standards, including:

• substantially increasing offerings of whole grain-rich foods;
• ensuring students are offered both fruits and vegetables every day of the week;
• offering only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties;
• limiting calories based on the age of children being served to ensure proper portion size; and
• increasing the focus on reducing the amounts of saturated fat, trans fats and sodium.

Existing lunch standards called for eight servings a week, a minimum of one per day, of grains, with whole grains encouraged. The new standards set required minimum daily and weekly servings, based on grade level, with at least half of grains required to be whole grain rich beginning on July 1 of this year. By July 2014, all grains must be whole grain rich.

Current breakfast standards call for daily meals to include either two grains, two meats or one of each. The new standards set daily minimums for grains alone, again varying by grade level, and require half of those grains to be whole grain rich by July 1, 2013, with all of them whole grain rich by July 1, 2014.

The Wheat Foods Council, wheat farmers’ nutrition education organization, embraced the new requirements while also reminding legislators of the importance of enriched grain products. 

A full statement from WFC is at http://www.wheatfoods.org/blog/2012/01/26/wheat-foods-council-statement-usda-school-meal-nutrition-standards.

USDA developed the new standards based on recommendations from an expert panel and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which is the latest revision of the government’s nutritional guidelines.

The Department said it received 132,000 comments on the proposed standards, which are part of a larger law, the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, passed in 2010. The law also provides increased funding for school meals; offers technical assistance and training to help schools reach the new standards; and regulates other food available in schools, for example, through vending machines.

Much more about the new school meal standards is online at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Legislation/nutritionstandards.htm. 

Community Mobilizes After Yahoo Declares Ag Degrees Useless

Those who believe agriculture isn’t a serious academic subject and farmers are an uneducated lot may be enticed to expand their views based on the farm community’s reaction to a Jan. 19 article declaring agriculture degrees “useless.”

Yahoo Education, a news division of the search engine giant, published the piece by writer Terence Loose, listing agriculture, animal science and horticulture as three of the five “most useless” degrees available to college students.

The article was based on figures from the Department of Labor assessing the number of available positions for farm managers, animal scientists, and farmers and ranchers. Perhaps showing the cultural divide between those who work in the farming and food industries and those who don’t, it didn’t take into consideration the many jobs related to agriculture that aren’t directly on the farm, including with input suppliers, farm services, food processing and distribution and the agricultural media. The result was a very narrow view of an industry that encompasses 21 million U.S. jobs.

The Yahoo piece was also highly antithetical to those who actually work in the industry and know it is one of the few bright spots in an economy that has stagnated for nearly four years. While other U.S. industries that produce tangible products, like manufacturing, have struggled to compete in a global market, U.S. agriculture is thriving, with ag exports worth $137 billion in the last fiscal year.

Farmers, editors of agriculture publications and agriculture educators responded in force against the article’s allegations, pointing out the generalizations and gaps in its argument and reminding people that, as an editorial from Drovers CattleNetwork put it, “[d]on’t criticize our chosen profession…with your mouth full.”

The deans of agriculture at Purdue University, the University of Illinois, the Ohio State University and Iowa State University released a detailed press statement citing studies showing the need for agriculture industry workers and low unemployment rates for ag graduates compared to their peers in other fields.

The article was still producing Twitter traffic as of press time, with the hash tag #productofagedu marking some tweets. On Facebook, a new group titled “I Studied Agriculture & I Have A Job” had nearly 4,500 likes on Thursday.

The greater irony of the Yahoo piece for those who did study agriculture - and those who didn’t but work in the industry anyway - is that even as the number of on-farm jobs decreases, farmers still struggle to find qualified workers, and many industries that support the farming and food systems are in dire need of young, talented people. 

Agricultural research is one of these areas, with both public and private research organizations raising concerns about finding the qualified, and highly-paid, professionals they need now and will need in the coming decades. Experienced wheat researchers, for instance, are in high demand as more and more investment goes into producing the world’s most widely cultivated crop with less water and land and yet to feed more people.

As longtime aggies continue to tackle these real challenges, they can be heartened that their backlash against the Yahoo piece might have a happy consequence: showing their urban friends the rich opportunities available in one of our country’s most fundamental industries.

The full Yahoo article is at http://education.yahoo.net/articles/most_useless_degrees.htm.