Tuesday May 29 Ag News

Syngenta GMO Settlement Claims Due October 12, 2018 
J. David Aiken - NE Extension Water and Agricultural Law Specialist

Eligible producers and landlords must file their claims online no later than October 12, 2018 to be eligible to share in the settlement. If an applicant doesn't have internet access, they can call 1-833-567-2676 to request a paper form to be filed by the deadline.

The federal judge presiding over the Syngenta class action lawsuit granted preliminary approval for the $1.51 billion Syngenta GMO corn lawsuit settlement on April 10, 2018. Written settlement notices have been mailed to corn producers, crop-share and some variable cash rent landlords, grain handling facilities, and ethanol production facilities beginning on May 11, 2018. This newsletter focuses on the claims process for corn producers and eligible landlords.

What happened on May 11? On May 11, 2018, a claim settlement information packet was mailed to eligible corn producers, landlords, and others. Eligible producers and landlords may file their claims immediately, and must have them filed no later than October 12, 2018 to be eligible to share in the settlement.

What is in the settlement information packet? The settlement packet includes detailed information regarding the Syngenta class action lawsuit and the settlement process. You should read this information carefully. The packet describes the information needed to file your claim.

What corn producers are eligible? Producers who priced corn for sale between September 15, 2013 and April 10, 2018, and who have not opted out of the class action lawsuit or settlement are eligible to receive settlement payments. Producers who planted Viptera or Duracade seed are in a different payment category but are eligible to participate in the settlement payout.

How are claims filed? You can file your claim online at https://www.cornseedsettlement.com/ or with a paper claim form (call 1-833-567-2676). You can download a claim form and fill it out to help you complete the online claim form. The deadline for filing your claim is October 12, 2018.

How will payments be made? Essentially, payments will be based on the number of corn acres (as per your FSA Form 578 or RMA crop insurance information) times the average county yield as determined by USDA NASS data for each crop year. More information on this topic is included in the Iowa State publication referenced at the end of this newsletter and in the settlement packet.

What is the payment process? On or around November 15, 2018, the judge will hold a “fairness” hearing on whether to approve the settlement as fair, reasonable and adequate. Also, Syngenta will have a limited opportunity to withdraw from the settlement if too many producers have opted out of the settlement. If the judge approves the settlement, Syngenta must pay the settlement amount into the settlement fund no later than April 1, 2019 or 30 days after the judge approves the settlement, whichever is later. If producers object to the settlement plan, it could be a year or so before payments are made.

More detailed information about the settlement process is available from the Iowa State University Center for Agricultural Law & Taxation at http://www.calt.iastate.edu/blogpost/corn-farmers-may-begin-filing-claims-syngenta-settlement-may-11.



Ruminant nutrition expert to speak at Nebraska Ethanol Board meeting June 8

The Nebraska Ethanol Board will meet Friday, June 8, at 8:30 a.m. The meeting will be held at the Hyatt Place hotel (600 Q St.) in downtown Lincoln.

The board welcomes Galen Erickson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor of animal science and beef feedlot extension specialist, as the keynote speaker during the board meeting. Erickson will discuss distillers grains and the changing feed rations used for cattle.

Erickson is renowned for his ruminant nutrition research, and has done extensive work with cattle at feedlots. His work includes $7.94 million in research grants, and hundreds of publications including journal articles, extension reports, meeting abstracts and book chapters.

Erickson will speak at approximately 10 a.m. Highlights of the meeting agenda is as follows:
    UNL Faculty Presentation
    Marketing Programs
    E30 Road Test in Legacy Vehicles
    Presentation: Galen Erickson, UNL professor of animal science
    Ethanol History Project Update
    State and Federal Legislation
    Ethanol Plant Reports

This agenda contains all items to come before the Board except those items of an emergency nature.



Farm Finance and Ag Law Clinics in June 

Openings are available for one-on-one, confidential farm finance and ag law consultations being conducted across the state each month. An experienced ag law attorney and ag financial counselor will be available to address farm and ranch issues related to financial planning, estate and transition planning, farm loan programs, debtor/creditor law, water rights, and other relevant matters. The clinics offer an opportunity to seek an experienced outside opinion on issues affecting your farm or ranch.

Clinic Sites and Dates
    Fairbury — Wednesday, June 6
    Grand Island — Thursday, June 7
    Norfolk — Tuesday, June 12
    North Platte — Tuesday, June 12
    Lexington — Thursday, June 21

To sign up for a free clinic or to get more information, call Michelle at the Nebraska Farm Hotline at 1-800-464-0258.  The Nebraska Department of Agriculture and Legal Aid of Nebraska sponsor these clinics.



Flame-Weeding Workshop to be at Haskell Ag Lab 

A full-day flame weeding workshop will be held at the Haskell Agricultural Laboratory near Concord Aug. 13. The day will begin with registration at 9:30 a.m. and end at 5 p.m., and include lunch. The lab is at 57905 866 Road, Concord, in northeast Nebraska.

The program will cover proper flaming to control more than 10 major Midwestern weeds in seven agronomic crops (field corn, sweet corn, popcorn, soybean, sorghum, sunflower and wheat).

Attendance is limited to 30. The registration fee is $100 to cover the cost of educational materials; lunch is included for one. Lunch for an additional spouse/guest is $10.

Partial scholarships may be available to certified organic farmers from Nebraska.  For more information on registration or the agenda, contact Dee Foote at 402-584-3837 or dfoote2@unl.edu.



EVALUATE FORAGE STATUS ON MEMORIAL DAY
Bruce Andersson, NE Extension Forage Specialist

               Memorial Day is a good time to examine the status of hay and forage programs for the year.

               Many hay and forage jobs should be completed, or at least started, by Memorial Day.  For example, all perennial grasses or legumes should be planted by now.  If you have planting still to do -- wait until August.

               Spraying for musk thistle needs to occur before Memorial Day.  Plants that have started to grow tall usually are not completely killed by spraying.  Digging may be your best option now.

               Another job is fertilizing warm-season grasses with nitrogen.  Complete it by Memorial Day or very soon afterwards.

               For high quality hay, your alfalfa should have been cut already. Later cutting might give hay that’s good enough for many livestock, but there is little chance of getting dairy quality hay any more this cutting.  And start planning now for any possible shortages.

               Memorial Day also marks the start of the planting season for summer annual grasses for many folks.  Sudans and forage sorghums can be planted now.  Millets, though, should wait to be planted in a couple of weeks.

               Memorial Day is a good time to estimate if your pastures will have enough moisture to produce the growth needed by your livestock this year.  If drought has caused reduced growth, adjust animal numbers now before it's too late.  Summer rains are not likely to allow you to catch up completely.  And if growth is abundant, maybe you can cut some for hay instead or stockpile it for winter grazing.

               Follow through with this Memorial Day evaluation and many hay and forage problems will be solved, or at least foreseen.



Nebraska farmers urge Senate to fund conservation in the farm bill

Thirty-five Nebraska farmers, in support of conservation and beginning farmer programs in the 2018 farm bill, recently signed and sent a letter to Deb Fischer, Nebraska’s senior U.S. senator.

“The farm bill is a critical piece of legislation that provides farmers and ranchers with the tools they need to preserve Nebraska’s agricultural future,” the farmers wrote. “We ask that you do everything you can to support and protect conservation and beginning farmer policy in the farm bill. This will help build a bright and better future for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities in our state.”

The farmers ask Fischer to protect working lands conservation programs, such as the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Environmental Quality Incentive Program.

“Conservation practices build soil health, preserve clean water, and fortify pastureland,” they wrote. “These practices also provide an important opportunity for farmers and ranchers to improve the resiliency of their land and reduce their risk during future droughts and other pressures.”

In addition, they request Fischer to preserve programs that assist beginning farmers in accessing land, credit, risk management strategies, and education.

“The future of Nebraska agriculture lies both in the land and in the people,” the letter states. “The farmers and ranchers who are starting out today are the established producers of tomorrow.”

By county, the signers are: Adams: Paul Swanson; Antelope: George Rethmeier; Boone: James Vanderloop Jr.; Burt: Russell Bryant; Butler: Al Moravec and Diane Schroeder; Cedar: Marnie Schieffer; Custer: David and Cornelia Hansen; Dixon: Anthony Rohan; Dodge: Chris Armstrong, Wayne Panning, and Ben Schole; Douglas: Russell Bryant; Gage: Gayland Regier; Holt: Carroll D. Marcellus and Kim Mosel; Howard: Mena Sprague; Kearney: Kevin Raun; Keith: Dennis Demmel; Knox and Madison: Wyman McCain; Lancaster: Brian Brhel, Todd Eggerling, Steve Hollman, and Steve McConnell; Madison: Gary Wolken; Nance: Jim Knopik; Saunders: Merlin Fick, Josh Hladik, and David and Jordan Rasmussen; Seward: Del Ficke and Matthew Hendl; Sherman: Kevin Fulton; and York: Kerry Hoffschneider.

To view the letter, visit cfra.org.



IOWA FARM TO SCHOOL PROGRAM TO REMAIN ACTIVE THIS SUMMER WITH “ROOT FOR RADISHES” CAMPAIGN

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today highlighted exciting Farm to School opportunities planned for 2018 starting with “Root for Radishes,” the Iowa Farm to School program’s summer campaign.

“Radishes are one of the first fresh vegetables available each summer and this program is a great way to let students learn about and enjoy locally grown produce,” Naig said. “Today’s students are tomorrow’s consumers and giving them the opportunity to try fresh fruits and vegetables can help shape their food choices and future food purchases.”

The Summer Food Service Program, administered by the Iowa Department of Education, provides nutritious meals and snacks to children in low-income areas during the summer months. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is partnering with the Iowa Department of Education, Food Corps and summer feeding sites across the state as part of the initiative.

Mini-grants of up to $150 are available to support sites by offering them assistance to purchase things like local produce, cooking supplies, and educational resources. Assistance in identifying local farmers, planning activities, help leading education activities and more is also available. You can find a map of participating sites here.

Summer feeding site sponsors, community partners, local food advocates, farmers, volunteers and teachers will all be involved in this campaign and will offer kids the opportunity to focus on local produce through educational activities such as gardening, taste tests, cooking and nutrition education.

“From school gardens and farm field trips to local food on school lunch trays, farm to school activities help students learn more about where their food comes from and how to make healthier choices, while also creating new markets for local and regional farmers and food producers,” Naig said.

2018 Iowa Farm to School Conference
The 2018 Iowa Farm to School Conference, to be held June 28-29 at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny and will highlight opportunities to better connect local farms with school lunch programs.

The conference will begin with appetizers created from locally sourced items and networking on the evening of June 28th and continue all day June 29th.

Leaders in Iowa’s Farm to School movement will present and highlight momentum that has been built around Farm to School and facilitate connections between partners. Everyone is invited to participate, including local farmers, food service staff, educators, food hub operators and students.  To learn more about this opportunity or register go to:  https://www.extension.iastate.edu/localfoods/iowa-farm-to-school-conference-2018/

October 11, 2018 is Iowa Local Food Day!  Learn more about this exciting Farm to School opportunity by visiting the new website www.iowalocalfoodday.org/.



Pork Checkoff Announces Sponsored Activities at the 2018 World Pork Expo

The Pork Checkoff has an exciting lineup of Checkoff-sponsored events scheduled for World Pork Expo, June 6-8, 2018, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. World Pork Expo attendees can stop by the Varied Industries Building (booth No. 122) or the Pork Checkoff Hospitality Tent to learn more about Checkoff programs and initiatives.

Pork Checkoff Hospitality Tent (north of the Varied Industries Building)
-    Breakfast will be offered beginning at 7:30 a.m. while supplies last. Stop by for snacks daily. 
-    Live morning radio program including markets, weather and interviews with industry leaders.
-    Enjoy a free business luncheon Wednesday and Thursday at noon. Elwynn Taylor, Iowa State University, will present a weather outlook, and Steve Meyer and Joe Kerns, Kerns & Associates, will present market and grain outlooks. 

Pork Checkoff Booth (No. 122 in the Varied Industries Building)
-    Have questions about Checkoff-funded education, research and promotion activities? Stop by to learn about Checkoff programs and initiatives and pick up new resources.
-    Learn how you can better incorporate We Care into your farm and what Secure Pork Supply means for your farm.

The PORK Academy, sponsored by the Pork Checkoff, will offer educational seminars for producers on the latest trends in pork production. For a list of the sessions and topics covered, visit www.pork.org/wpx.

Also, producers will have the opportunity to become certified in PQA Plus® program at sessions held in conjunction with World Pork Expo.

As in years past, the Pork Checkoff will provide dinner on Tuesday and lunch on Thursday and Friday for junior swine exhibitors and their families. The Pork Checkoff also will sponsor activities at the World Pork Expo Junior National Hog Show. For details, visit National Junior Swine Association and Team Purebred.



Trade Retaliation Hurting U.S. Pork Producers

The National Pork Producers today called for a swift resolution of the United States-China trade dispute, paving the way for increased U.S. pork exports to the world’s largest pork-consuming nation. According to Iowa State University Economist Dermot Hayes, U.S. pork producers have lost $2.2 billion on an annualized basis due to events leading up to and following China’s 25 percent punitive tariffs in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel.

“U.S. pork has invested significantly to ramp production to capitalize on growth opportunities around the world, including China and other markets throughout the Asia-Pacific region,” said Jim Heimerl, a Johnstown, Ohio pig farmer and president of the National Pork Producers Council. “We applaud the administration for making the expansion of agriculture exports a cornerstone of the discussions with China. We hope the next round of trade talks with China results in improved market access to a critical export market for U.S. pork and other farm products.”

“Since March 1, when speculation about Chinese retaliation against U.S. pork began, hog futures have dropped by $18 per animal, translating to a $2.2 billion loss on an annualized basis,” said Iowa States’ Hayes. “While not all of this lost value can be attributed to trade friction with China, it is certainly the main factor.”

The market disruption caused by export market uncertainty comes at a time when U.S. pork is expanding production to record levels. Five new pork processing plants have recently opened or will soon begin operations, increasing U.S. pork production capacity by approximately 10 percent from 2015 levels by next year. Exports accounted for more than $53 of the average $149 value of a hog last year and support over 110,000 U.S. jobs. The United States has, on average, been the top global supplier of pork over the last ten years.

“We produce the safest, highest-quality and most affordable pork in the world,” Heimerl added. “We are dependent on exports and are one of the few sectors of the U.S. economy that can immediately reduce the trade imbalance with China, where pork represents approximately ten percent of the consumer price index. Eliminating punitive tariffs and improving access to China by eliminating or reducing tariffs on frozen and chilled pork would result in an explosion of pork exports, contributing significantly to U.S. economic growth and reduction of the trade deficit.”



Minnesota Pig Farmer Shares Perspective on Gene Editing in Animal Agriculture

Pork producer Randy Spronk will represent the farm perspective during an ethics panel at CRISPRcon, June 4-5, in Boston. Through speakers, panels and interactive discussions, CRISPRcon offers a forum for gene editing stakeholders to share ideas, ask and answer questions, and explore the future of the technology. Spronk will join researchers, academics, human health experts, agriculture professionals, non-profit leaders and regulators at this conference organized by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT.

The future potential benefits of gene editing spans many aspects of life – from human and animal health to agriculture and conservation. Gene editing makes precise, intentional and beneficial changes in the genetic material of living things. As one of the tools used for gene editing, CRISPR technology shows tremendous promise for improvements in human health and food production.

“Gene editing will give us, as farmers, more options in how we produce pork in a way that is responsible for people, pigs and the planet,” said Spronk, a third-generation farmer from Edgerton, Minn. Spronk is a former president of the National Pork Producers Council who, along with his son, raises pigs, soybeans and corn.

Spronk will participate in the CRISPRcon closing panel, “Infinity and Beyond? Exploring and Determining Limits for Gene Editing.” Other panelists are Nnimmo Bassey, Health of Mother Earth Foundation; George Church, Wyss Institute at Harvard Medical School, and Rev. Kevin Fitzgerald, Georgetown University. The panel will be moderated by Tamar Haspel, Washington Post columnist. Spronk’s participation at CRISPRcon is supported by the Pork Checkoff and National Pork Producers Council.

One of the most devastating diseases to pigs is Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS). Before gene editing, there has not been an effective cure for the PRRS virus, which results in tremendous suffering and often premature death of affected pigs. Through gene editing, genetic resistance to PRRS can be created through a process that mirrors what could happen naturally or through traditional genetic selection. Decreasing PRRS cases would alleviate pigs’ suffering, reduce the use of medically important antibiotics, and help farmers keep pace with the growing demand for more and better food, while using fewer natural resources.

The agriculture community is keenly aware of uses for gene editing that can bring benefit to people through improved health and food, to pigs through enhanced animal welfare, and to the planet by producing more food with reduced natural resources.

“As a farmer and pork producer, I believe we should openly and transparently communicate the potential benefits and responsible use of gene editing,” Spronk said. “I welcome every chance I get to talk to people about how I farm, and the CRISPRcon event will provide a national platform to visit with many others about how we can use gene editing to improve food production.”



Ethanol Coalition Files Suit Against EPA’s Secretive Small Refinery Exemptions

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and National Farmers Union (NFU), with support of Farmers Union Enterprises, today filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit to challenge several waivers from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted in secret to profitable refining companies.

The petitioners are challenging three EPA decisions, made under unusually clandestine proceedings, to exempt refineries in Wynnewood, Oklahoma; Cheyenne, Wyoming; and Woods Cross, Utah from the RFS requirements of the Clean Air Act. The Wynnewood refinery is owned by Wynnewood Refining Company, a subsidiary of CVR Energy, and the Cheyenne and Woods Cross refineries are owned by Holly Frontier Corporation. The companies have since estimated in financial disclosures that the exemptions have saved them a collective $170 million in compliance costs.

When Congress enacted the RFS program a decade ago, it sought to protect certain small refineries from the law’s impacts temporarily by providing an exemption for refineries with no more than 75,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil throughput. After a two-year blanket exemption expired, Congress also allowed those same refineries to ask for extensions of the temporary exemption if they could show that compliance with the RFS program was causing that particular facility a “disproportionate economic hardship.” Until late last year, EPA only granted a handful of exemptions per year. EPA denied many extension requests, presumably because the refineries failed to meet one or more of these requirements for an extension. In recent months, EPA has granted over two dozen exemptions—including the ones challenged here—without providing any basis for its reversal.

“EPA is trying to undermine the RFS program under the cover of night,” said Bob Dinneen, CEO and President of RFA. “And there’s a reason it has been done in secret – it’s because EPA is acting in contravention of the statute and its own regulations, methodically destroying the demand for renewable fuels,” continued Dinneen. “With the little information we’ve been able to piece together through secondary sources, it’s clear that EPA has been extending these exemptions to refineries that didn’t qualify for them.”

Although EPA typically publishes its proposed actions and final decisions in the Federal Register, EPA has not followed those protocols for small refineries; nor has EPA even informed the public by any means that it had received or acted on such carve-out requests. Instead, the petitioners learned of the unprecedented number of exemptions second-hand, through media reports and secondary sources. 

“EPA left us with no choice but to challenge their systematic cuts to ethanol blending in the U.S. by distorting the intent of the law to grant secret hardship waivers to refineries which in some cases exceed the definition of ‘small’ and fall short of demonstrating ‘disproportionate economic hardship,’” said Brian Jennings, CEO of ACE. “We cannot sit by and allow EPA to violate the RFS which requires increasing the use of renewable fuels in the U.S.”

The petition also notes that EPA has consistently rejected all attempts to bring greater transparency to the small refinery exemption extension process. EPA has refused to provide even the most basic information requested in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from RFA and other parties. More surprisingly, the Agency has also ignored demands from members of Congress for the same essential facts.

“EPA’s improper handling of the RFS has significantly cut demand for biofuels grown and produced by American family farmers and their communities. The success of the law lies in the requirement that certain amounts of renewable fuel be blended into our transportation sector. Yet EPA has unlawfully allowed massive refineries to skirt compliance with these requirements, effectively reducing the amount of renewable fuels blended into the transportation sector by more than one billion gallons. These actions must be reversed immediately,” according to Roger Johnson, President NFU.

The petitioners are not challenging EPA’s underlying authority to exempt certain small refineries; rather they are challenging three granted exemptions as abuses of EPA’s authority. EPA should be forced to explain why an otherwise profitable refinery faces disproportionate hardship from compliance with the RFS. We want EPA to explain why it is reasonable for HollyFrontier, which apparently could not afford to comply with the RFS, could nonetheless afford to undertake a $1 billion stock share repurchase program during the same time—and that’s before the company received over $300 million in tax cuts last year. Likewise, the petitioners would like to understand how EPA could find hardship at CVR Energy, which reported a $23 million profit in the biofuels credit market in the first quarter of 2018 due to what it called a lower RFS obligation.

“With their rapidly rising profits, it’s difficult to see what economic hardship these refineries are facing. The apparent lack of hardship raises serious questions of why EPA granted these exemptions, which is compounded by the fact that there is zero transparency in EPA’s small refinery exemption process,” said Kevin Skunes, president of the National Corn Growers Association. “America’s corn farmers, who are expecting their fifth consecutive year of low commodity prices and who are experiencing the lowest net farm incomes since 2006, understand economic challenges. When refineries are reporting profit increases and repurchasing stock shares, we expect EPA to explain why these refineries were granted exemptions from their RFS volume obligations.”

In practice, EPA is attempting to use the small refinery exemptions to waive a significant part of the annual volumes of renewable fuel that are otherwise required to be blended into transportation fuel. Based on EPA data, RFA estimates that small refinery exemptions granted for the past two years have effectively reduced volumes of renewable fuel by as much as 1.6 billion gallons. In enacting the RFS program, however, Congress did not envision the small refinery exemption process would be abused in such a way.



NFU Condemns DOJ Approval of Monsanto Acquisition by Bayer

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) today approved German drug and chemical giant Bayer’s $62.5 billion acquisition of Monsanto. The deal will consolidate control of more than a quarter of the world’s seed and pesticides market and create the largest seed and crop chemicals company in the world.

National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson issued the following statement in response to the announcement:
“Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto culminates the latest and most disturbing round of consolidation amongst the handful of companies that control both U.S. and global agricultural markets. Three massive companies now control the markets that supply agricultural inputs like seeds, traits and chemicals. This extreme consolidation drives up costs for farmers and it limits their choice of products in the marketplace. It also reduces the incentive for the remaining agricultural input giants to compete and innovate through research and development.

“While we appreciate the significant divestitures agreed to as part of this approval, Farmers Union condemns DOJ’s continued rubber-stamping of mergers in the food and agriculture arena. We will now focus our efforts on ensuring the promises made by Bayer and Monsanto throughout this approval process are kept. The company must continue to increase the productivity of American family farmers by delivering localized solutions in seed, trait, and crop chemical innovation.”



CWT Assists with 4.5 Million Pounds of Cheese, Butter and Whole Milk Powder Export Sales

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) member cooperatives accepted offers of export assistance from CWT that helped them capture contracts to sell 202,825 pounds (92 metric tons) of Cheddar cheese, 1.661 million pounds (753 metric tons) of butter and 2.646 million pounds (1,200 metric tons) of whole milk powder, to customers in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania. The product has been contracted for delivery in the period from May through October 2018.

CWT-assisted member cooperative 2018 export sales total 35.360 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 11.035 million pounds of butter (82% milkfat) and 10.183 million pounds of whole milk powder to 25 countries on five continents. These sales are the equivalent of 649.002 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.

This activity reflects CWT management beginning the process of implementing the strategic plan reviewed by the CWT Committee in March. The changes will enhance the effectiveness of the program and facilitate member export opportunities.



U.S. Dairy Groups Ask FDA Not to Use Same Imported Food Safety Oversight for Dairy as Being Applied to Foreign Shellfish

U.S. dairy producers and manufacturers offered to collaborate today with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to continue fostering dairy food safety and job growth, as the agency develops procedures for regulating imported foods, including shellfish and dairy.

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) today asked for further engagement with FDA on ways to facilitate U.S. dairy exports, while expressing concerns that the manner in which the U.S. government is handling shellfish trade would pose a deep concern if that same process were applied to the trade of dairy foods.

At issue is FDA’s determination of whether a foreign country has “equivalent” food safety parameters as the United States. Equivalence is a process by which FDA can recognize other countries’ food safety measures as meeting an equivalent level of protection as provided by U.S. food safety measures, such as those mandated by the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference or the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments.

In a letter sent today to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, NMPF and USDEC praised the commissioner’s commitment to “unlock economic opportunity…by creating new market access” and outlined the various ways in which the agency’s actions on dairy equivalence would need to differ dramatically from the process followed for establishing bilateral shellfish equivalency to safeguard U.S. consumers while addressing job-constraining foreign barriers to U.S. dairy products.

This spring, FDA published a notice in the Federal Register soliciting comments on its proposed finding that the EU’s food safety system for certain raw shellfish is equivalent to that in the United States. The notice represented the first time the agency has issued an equivalence determination. NMPF and USDEC filed detailed comments analyzing the notice’s potential implications for America’s dairy industry as FDA continues its ongoing Grade “A” dairy equivalence assessments of New Zealand, the European Union and Canada.

“While we recognize that the U.S. government has international obligations to be responsive to trading partners’ equivalency requests while still upholding high U.S. food safety standards, our trading partners likewise have their own obligations to not impose unduly burdensome or trade-distorting measures on U.S. exports,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern.

“As part of the administration’s efforts to expand the U.S. economy and grow American jobs, FDA has a responsibility to safeguard our consumers while also working in tandem with our trade agencies to tear down foreign barriers to U.S. products,” Mulhern continued. “FDA’s scarce resources are best spent pursuing these goals in concert with one another by working with their inter-agency partners to make the best use of the agency’s skilled staff and taxpayer funds. Trade needs to be a two-way street; some of our trading partners understand that better than others.”

USDEC’s Chief Operating Officer, Matt McKnight, noted another area of the Notice that would be problematic were it applied to dairy trade: “American dairy producers in every state are governed by a uniform dairy food safety program which is overseen by FDA and provides consistently high food safety results for U.S. products exported all around the world, regardless of where in this country they were made.”

McKnight continued: “A dairy export deal that allowed only two states to access a foreign market, as is the case under this shellfish proposal, would create unacceptable commercial inequities in our industry. Our exporters face a lot of roadblocks around the world, particularly in the EU market. We look forward to working with FDA to fully address those barriers and ensure that all U.S. dairy products from all U.S. states have an equal opportunity to benefit from the agency’s work to tackle countries’ unjustified or overly burdensome requirements on American-made products.”

In the letter, NMPF and USDEC reiterated that their joint comments did not scrutinize the technical merits of FDA’s decision on the safety of EU shellfish, but rather focused on the process employed with the goal of ensuring it is not replicated with respect to dairy trade. The two organizations seek to work in partnership with FDA to pursue a dairy model that will successfully uphold U.S. food safety standards while facilitating the resolution of barriers to U.S. exports that limit job growth in the dairy sector.



Farmer’s Business Network, Inc. certified as Ag Data Transparent

Farmer’s Business Network, Inc., the leading and rapidly growing independent farmer-to-farmer network, recently completed Ag Data Transparent (ADT) third-party certification affirming that the FBN network’s data and analytics services are private and secure.

“The FBNSM network was created to help put Farmers FirstSM through the power of networking farmers and farm data,” said Charles Baron, co-founder of the FBN network. “Our values and mission have been crystal clear from inception and have never changed. We fight for our farmer members and their profitability. Transparency is a core philosophy of ours, and something we support wholeheartedly, whether in ag input markets or in ag data.” 

Ag Data Transparent is a non-profit corporation backed by a consortium of farm industry groups, commodity organizations and ag technology providers in order to bring transparency, simplicity, and trust into the contracts that govern precision agricultural technologies. Ag Data Transparent certification verifies that a business is following specific, fair guidelines for companies collecting, storing, analyzing, and using farmer's ag data.

“It is great to have Farmer’s Business Network, Inc., on board with the Ag Data Transparent effort,” said Ag Data Transparent Administrator Todd Janzen. “Achieving the Ag Data Transparent certification shows that the FBN network takes farmers’ concerns with of data privacy seriously.”

“FBN members use data analytics to gain yield with hybrid selection, reduce seed and chemical costs through price and genetic transparency, and market their crops aided by their precision field data,” said Baron. “The value created for growers from using data can be incredible -- tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in gains in a season. So we’re proud to achieve the Ag Data Transparent certification so growers step confidently into farming’s digital age.”

The FBN network provides farmers an independent, farmer-driven information and commerce network. In the past, important information such as fair market input prices, real-world seed performance, or optimal grain delivery points were hidden from farmers or difficult to determine. The FBN network makes all this information transparent in a no frills way – driven by member-contributed data from its over 23 million acres and 6,600 member farms.

Farmer’s Business Network, Inc., recently announced its international expansion to Canada in the first quarter of 2018. The FBN network is available throughout the United States and prairie provinces in Canada.

For more information, visit www.farmersbusinessnetwork.com.