Monday May 13 Ag News

 NE FSA: Programs Potentially Available for Response to Tornado Impacts
Bobbie Kriz-Wickham, Public Affairs & Outreach Coordinator, Nebraska FSA State Office

I have had a few questions this week about the availability of potential resources for producers impacted by recent tornadoes and related extreme weather. To that point, I wanted to share with you the below summary information in the event you also are getting these types of questions. I also have posted this information to the front of the Nebraska FSA website.

There are several programs producers may be able to use in response to the recent tornado damage, dependent, of course, on what types of damage they may have. Producers should contact their county FSA office as soon as possible to report damage and learn more about these programs and the eligibility requirements and application processes.
    Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) - offers payments to eligible producers for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather.
    Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) - provides financial assistance for losses such as feed that may have been destroyed as a result of a natural disaster; there are some specific provisions for bee colony and hive losses through this program, and the link here outlines those.  
    Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) – provides cost-share funding for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate land severely damaged by natural disasters; this can include debris removal and replacement or repair of livestock fencing, which likely would be most relevant for the tornado victim circumstances. This program is triggered at the local level by county FSA committees, who determine extent of damage in the county and need for program implementation, so producers with these types of impacts should report such impacts as soon as possible to the county FSA office.
    Tree Assistance Program (TAP) – provides financial assistance to eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers for qualifying tree, shrub and vine losses due to natural disasters.
    Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) - may be applicable, however NAP coverage must be in place ahead of the cropping season. Those who had extreme weather-related impacts, and who have NAP coverage, should contact the county FSA office to report losses and discuss other reporting requirements.

We also may have some farm loan options, and this could include emergency loans, which are triggered with disaster designations.

Please share this information with others as you deem appropriate. If you have questions, please reach out.

 

NEBRASKA CROP PRODUCTION REPORT

Based on May 1 conditions, Nebraska's 2024 winter wheat crop is forecast at 40.0 million bushels, up 8% from last year's crop, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Average yield is forecast at 47 bushels per acre, up 5 bushels from last year. Acreage to be harvested for grain is estimated at 850,000 acres, down 30,000 acres from last year. This would be 85% of the planted acres, above last year's 78%harvested.

May 1 hay stocks of 950,000 tons are up 79% from last year.

IOWA: All hay stored on Iowa farms as of May 1, 2024, was estimated at 455,000 tons, up 20 percent from May 1, 2023, according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Crop Production report. Disappearance from December 1, 2023, through May 1, 2024, totaled 1.69 million tons, compared with 2.10 million tons for the same period a year ago.

USDA forecasts winter wheat production up 2% in 2024
U.S. farmers are expected to produce 1.28 billion bushels of winter wheat this year, according to the Crop Production report released today by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). In NASS’s first winter wheat production forecast for 2024, production is expected to increase 2% from 2023. As of May 1, the U.S. yield is expected to average 50.7 bushels per acre, up 0.1 bushel from last year’s average of 50.6 bushels per acre.

Hard Red Winter production is forecast at 705 million bushels, up 17% from a year ago. Soft Red Winter, at 344 million bushels, is expected to decrease 23% from 2023. White Winter, at 229 million bushels, is up 16% from last year. Of the White Winter production, 17.3 million bushels are Hard White and 211 million bushels are Soft White.



NPPC Speaks Up for Producer Priorities at USDA ‘Farm to Fork’ Meeting

Dr. Ashley Johnson, NPPC’s director of food policy, played a pivotal role at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) 2024 “Farm to Fork” meeting, which brought together representatives from the cattle, poultry, and swine industries, as well as state and federal government agencies, to discuss topics vital to agriculture and public health.
 
Johnson served on the steering committee for the meeting, which was presented as part of USDA’s One Health initiative, a collaborative effort of health science professionals — ecologists, epidemiologists, physicians, public health officials, toxicologists, and veterinarians — and institutions working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, domestic animals, wildlife, plants, and the environment. The One Health approach to addressing diseases embraces the idea that a disease problem affecting the health of humans, animals, and the environment can be solved only through improved communication, cooperation, and collaboration across disciplines and institutions.
 
Johnson also represented pork industry priorities in various roundtable discussions and panel presentations.
 
Among the topics discussed at the recent meeting were:
    Preharvest food safety trends, concerns, and successes across industry, local, state, and federal partners.
    Reducing pathogens in the broader agricultural environment.
    Recurrent, emerging, and persistent enteric bacterial strains of public health concern.
    Integrating a One Health perspective to support coordination, transparency, communication, and collaboration among agencies and stakeholders.

“Farm to Fork” serves as a forum for agricultural industries to communicate with state and federal agencies about food safety concerns and help shape policies considered by various agencies. NPPC’s proactive involvement underscores its commitment to influencing food safety policies through science-based practices. Without NPPC’s seat at the table, there is potential for policy to be implemented that could drastically change producers’ freedom to operate.



NMPF Statement on “Higher-of” Inclusion in the House Farm Bill
From NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud:

“We commend House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, R-PA, for including language in the House farm bill to restore the previous “higher of” Class I mover formula. The previous mover served dairy farmers well for decades, while the current mover has cost dairy farmers more than $1 billion in Class I skim milk revenue and continuously undermines orderly marketing of milk.  

“We also are grateful for the inclusion of language to require mandatory manufacturing plant cost studies to help inform future discussions on make allowances, another critical component of the Federal Milk Marketing Order system. We are excited for the House’s upcoming farm bill markup and thank the members in both parties who have supported each of these priorities.”
 



NMPF Statement on H5N1 Federal Aid to Assist Dairy Farmers
From NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud:

“NMPF thanks Secretary Vilsack and federal leadership for effectively using their existing authorities to offer necessary assistance for dairy farmers as they meet the challenges of H5N1 in dairy cattle. Care for farm workers and animals is critical for milk producers, as is protecting against potential human health risks and reassuring the public.

“We look forward to continued collaboration and consultation with USDA and other federal agencies as we monitor, understand, and contain this outbreak, and we will do what we can to help dairy farmers understand and benefit from these initiatives as swift implementation is put into motion.”