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Ag Council News & Info Brief March 1, 2023

AG COUNCIL NEWS & INFORMATION BRIEF
March 1, 2023

WASHINGTON AG UPDATE

USDA Issues Update Regarding Assistance for Rice Farmers: On February 28th, USDA issued an announcement through the Farm Service Agency (FSA) outlining more details on the $250 million in supplemental assistance for U.S. rice farmers. Funds were provided by Congess upon the request of USA Rice with the leadership of Senator Boozman to help farmers across the country who've experienced rising input costs and other challenges. USDA's effort is aimed at assisting producers in preparing for sign up when the program is released later this spring. Secretary Vilsack also provided a program update to USA Rice and its producer representatives present for the organization's Government Affairs Conference in Washington, DC. More...USDA Announcement | Program Information Homepage | USA Rice News Post

Boozman Holds Farm Bill Listening Sessions: U.S. Senator John Boozman recently held two Farm Bill listening sessions in Arkansas during the President's Day recess. The events, which were held in Fort Smith and Monticello, offered an opportunity for Senator Boozman and his committee staff to receive input from a variety of stakeholders, including producers who are members of the board of directors of the Ag Council of Arkansas. More...News Coverage | Monticello Meeting Summary | Meeting Summary Video | Full Video

Senate Continues Farm Bill Hearings: The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee continues its series of Farm Bill hearings in Washington. This first series of hearings consist of witnesses from the federal government and focus on implementation of programs authorized by various titles of the Farm Bill. So far to date, the hearings to date considered the Trade and Horticulture titles; the Commodity, Crop Insurance, and Trade titles; and the Conservation and Forestry titles.
2.2.2023 Trade & Horticulture Hearing: https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/hearings/farm-bill-2023-trade-and-horticulture
2.9.2023 Commodity, Crop Insurance, and Trade Hearing: https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/hearings/farm-bill-2023-commodity-programs-crop-insurance-and-credit
2.16.2023 Nutrition Hearing: https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/newsroom/dem/press/release/senators-stabenow-boozman-announce-hearing-on-the-farm-bills-nutrition-title
3.1.2023 Conservation & Forestry Hearing: https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/hearings/farm-bill-2023-conservation-and-forestry-programs

House Ag Committees Holds Hearing Focused on Regulatory Burdens Facing Agriculture: On Tuesday, February 28th, the U.S. House Agriculture Committee held a hearing titled "Uncertainty, Inflation, Regulations: Challenges for American Agriculture." The hearing featured a variety of expert witnesses who spoke about challenges facing the agriculture industry today. More...House Ag | TheFencePost | American Farm Bureau

House & Senate Ag Committees Announce Subcommittee Assignments: In February, the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture Committees announced subcommittee assignments for the 118th Congress. Arkansas First District Congressman Rick Crawford will serve on the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit. More...House | Senate

House & Senate Ag Committees Establish Farm Bill Comment Portals: In February, the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture Committees announced new web based portals for citizens and organizations to provide input on the upcoming farm bill, which is scheduled for reauthorization later this year. More...Senate | House

Congressional Budget Office Releases Updated Budget Baseline for Farm Bill: In February the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its ten-year baseline for the mandatory programs in the Farm Bill. The release of the CBO Baseline is a critical step in the farm bill reauthorization process as it outlines budgetary estimates fo funds available to write the new law. According to the release, the Nutrition title is estimated to account for 84.5% of the cost of mandatory program costs in the farm bill with crop insurance, commodity programs, and crop insurance to combine for an estimated 14.8% of cost. More...FarmDocDaily | CRS Report on Farm Bill Budget Dynamics | Agri-Pulse | CBO Farm Programs Projection

EPA Establishes Dicamba Rule Allowing Arkansas to Maintain June 30 Cut-off: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in February set new amendments to dicamba use labels for over the top (OTT) use in dicamba tolerant cotton and soybean crops. The new amendments for 4 states provide more restrictive use restrictions. The Arkansas State Plant Board opted to not adopt similar restrictions for the 2023 crop year in favor of its current use restrictions, which establish a stop use date of June 30th for both cotton and soybeans with other restrictions and penalties for use violations. More...EPA Approves Label Amendments Restricting Use for Some States | Plant Board Asks to Opt-Out

Food and Ag Climate Alliance Releases Farm Bill Recommendations: The Food and Ag Climate Alliance (FACA) recently released its 2023 farm bill recommendations related to conservation and climate funding. The organization represents a broad range of agriculture and conservation organizations who seek to shape policies related to climate issues. More...FACA Report | FACA Announcement

DOL Sets Wage Rates for 2023: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on February 27th announced the publication of a final rule related to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for H-2A workers. More...Agri-Pulse | Bloomberg | DOL Rule | DOL Announcement

House Committee Votes on Resolution to Vacate New WOTUS Rule: The U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee approved a joint resolution to overturn the Biden Administration’s new waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. The resolution, which passed the committee on a 30-22 vote, calls for the repeal of the WOTUS rule under the Congressional Review Act. The resolution will now go to the House floor. More...Agri-Pulse | Committee News Release | H.J. Res. 27

ARKANSAS AG UPDATE

Plant Board Bill Now Act 135: SB191, a bill amending the appointment process for members of the State Plant Board, is now Act 135 after recently being signed into law by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The new law is aimed at providing a remedy to recent state court decisions that ruled against industry organizations being able to directly select individuals for appointment to the board. The Act contained an emergency clause, which allows the Governor to quickly fill the 9 seats that were ordered to be vacated by the court. More...ArkansasOnline

Arkansas Rice Seeks Grower Support for Rice Check-off Update: The Arkansas Rice Federation is seeking support from Arkansas rice farmers to encourage action from the Arkansas General Assembly to update the check-off with an increase to the assessment, which supports rice production research and industry promotion efforts of Arkansas's rice industry in Arkansas and Washington, DC through USA Rice. The assessment was last updated in 1999. Over the years inflation has eroded the purchasing power of dollars collected, and overall industry collections have faced other challenges including reduced acreage in Arkansas and other rice producing states. Farmers wishing to express their support for increasing the check-off can do so by completing the following online form: https://form.jotform.com/230436858964166

Energy Policy Legislation Amended in Compromise Effort Between Utilities and Solar Advocates: Legislation offered in the House and Senate (HB1370 & SB295) aimed at changing net-metering rules and other policies related to renewable energy production was amended last week in an effort to provide a compromise between solar advocates and the utilities who were supporting the bill. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Jonathan Dismang and Representative Fite aims to scale back laws and regulations that have supported broad expansion of renewable energy development through solar projects. More... TalkBusiness | ArkansasOnline | ArkansasBusiness

USDA NRCS & FSA Offices Issue February Newsletter: The State offices of USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) issued a joint February newsletter highlighting various programs and initiatives in Arkansas. The newsletter also includes letters from the statewide directors of the agencies. More...February Newsletter

Farmers Must Make Farm Program Election by March 15: Farmers have until March 15th to make elections for Farm Service Agency (FSA) commodity title programs, including Agricutural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC). More... Local FSA Office Information | FSA Homepage for ARC & PLC | Decision Aid Tool | FSA Newsletter Archive

EQIP Deadlines on Horizon: Farmers looking to participate in various conservation programs, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), have pending deadlines for submitting applications with their local Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) offices. More...Arkansas NRCS EQIP Homepage | Inflation Reduction Act EQIP/CSP Application Deadline Info | Arkansas NRCS Homepage | Arkansas Conservation Newsletter Archive

Arkansas Rice Seeks Grower Support for Rice Check-off Update: The Arkansas Rice Federation is seeking support from Arkansas rice farmers to encourage action from the Arkansas General Assembly to update the check-off with an increase to the assessment, which supports rice production research and industry promotion efforts of Arkansas's rice industry in Arkansas and Washington, D.C., through USA Rice. The assessment was last updated in 1999. Over the years inflation has eroded the purchasing power of dollars collected, and overall industry collections have faced other challenges including reduced acreage in Arkansas and other rice producing states. Farmers wishing to express their support for increasing the check-off can do so by completing the following online form: https://form.jotform.com/230436858964166

Ag Council Spring Board of Directors Meeting: The Ag Council of Arkansas will hold its next board of directors meeting on Tuesday, May 9th, at the Lon Mann Cotton Research Station in Marianna, Arkansas. Doors will open at 8:30 and the meeting will begin at 9am and conclude with lunch. Attendees can expect to receive an overview of the General Assembly's legislative session, an update on the development of the farm bill, and other relevant information facing the row crop industry. More...Event Info

Other Arkansas Ag Information of Interest:
Arkansas Ag Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony March 3 | Inductee Info

Additional Arkansas Ag Resources:
UADA Crop Budgets
UofA Variety Test Homepage
Rice Performance Trial Data
Cotton Variety Testing Update

ECONOMIC & INDUSTRY NEWS

USDA Ag Outlook Forum: On February 23-24, USDA held its 99th annual Agriculture Outlook Forum. The two day session covered a wide range of economic data and projections related to the current agriculture economy and a forecast for this year. More...Event Homepage with Full Content | Chief Economist Slides

USDA NASS Releases Crop Values Report: On February 24, USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) issued a Crop Values Report that showed estimated crop values for major commodities produced in 2022 and compared them to crop values from 2021. More...Arkansas | U.S.

Arkansas Sake Company Gaining Recognition: Ag Council of Arkansas board of director member Mark Isbell and their family farming operation is producing rice for a new sake brewery in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and their new venture is gaining significant media attention near and far. In recent months, they've been featured in a variety of publications, including the New York Times. Their new brewery is scheduled to fully open this year. More...NYT Article | ArkansasOnline | Hot Springs Sentinel Times | Origami Sake Homepage | YouTube Video

Arkansas Economic Profile: 2022 Pocket Facts - News | USDA Arkansas Ag Economic Overview | Arkansas Ag Census Data | Arkansas Historical Data | Arkansas Farms & Land Report | Arkansas Land Values & Cash Rent Report
Arkansas Farm Labor Report

UofA Land Grant Research & Extension Service Video