California Wheat Commission  

Home | Directories | Quality Info | Variety Survey | CAWG Update | News/Info. | Laboratory | Links

JOHANNS CONFIRMED AS AGRICULTURE SECRETARY. Shortly after President Bush was inaugurated for his second presidential term, the Senate confirmed his choice for Secretary of Agriculture - Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns. During his first week on the job, Johanns summoned leaders of several agricultural groups to the Department on Thursday for a brief introductory session. He also held an interview session with Washington agricultural reporters on Monday, and made some very positive comments about several agricultural issues.

 Responding to a media question about the budget for agricultural programs, Johanns pointed out that about 55 percent of the USDA budget is for nutrition programs. And, a much smaller share goes into the commodity programs, but it yields tangible benefits for consumers. The National Association of Wheat Growers has invited the new secretary to meet with wheat growers during our annual trip to Washington, DC in March.

 Former Secretary Ann Veneman will take over as executive director of UNICEF, the United Nation’s Children’s Fund. She was named to the post by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, and succeeds Carol Bellamy who retires after two 5-year terms in the post. 

SPINOSAD REGISTERED BY EPA; NOT YET COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a registration for the use in the United States of spinosad, a stored grain protectant applied to control key grain and seed pests such as the Indian meal moth and the lesser grain borer.  The product is manufactured by Dow AgroSciences for use on wheat, corn, rice, oats, sorghum and barley.

 Although its domestic use has been approved, Dow does not intend to make it available to producers on a commercial basis until key international approvals have been secured.  Tim Hassinger, global business leader at Dow AgroSciences noted that spinosad will be an excellent tool to control hard-to-manage pests in stored grain but since the treated grain will often be sold abroad, "it is in the best interest of everyone to delay its commercial launch until the appropriate standards or registrations are established in key countries where U.S. grain is exported." Spinosad is a potential replacement for a widely used stored grain protectant Reldan which EPA is trying to phase out.

 U.S. BREAKS INTO CHILEAN DURUM MARKET. WETEC and USW reported that the United States has made a major sale of nine thousand metric tons of U.S. durum to a Chilean pasta manufacturer, Empresas Carozzi S.A. This is the first export of U.S. durum to Chile since 1996.

For almost ten years, Chile's two major pasta plants have been importing durum exclusively from Canada, given the zero import duty established in their 1996 free trade agreement. The U.S.- Chile Free Trade Agreement, which went into effect in January 2004, was instrumental in opening the Chilean market to U.S. durum, as Chile’s tariff for U.S. durum went to zero once the agreement was ratified.

The purchase also follows considerable market development efforts by U.S. Wheat Associates. Last January, USW's office in Santiago provided quality samples of desert durum to Peru's Molitalia, which is owned by Carozzi. USW sent the results of the trials to Carozzi and encouraged them to consider purchases of U.S. durum, which could be made in combination with their company in Peru. Chile is one of the region's most dynamic and promising markets. Although they domestically produced 1.85 million metric tons of bread wheat and another 70,000 metric tons of "candeal" (their version of durum) last year, they also import, bringing in 68,000 metric tons of durum in 2004.

 PENDING SUPREME COURT CASE HAS MAJOR IMPLICATIONS FOR PESTICIDE USERS.

Oral arguments have been concluded in the case of Bates v. Dow AgroSciences where the Supreme Court has been asked to decide the question of which, if any, state law crop injury claims are preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). FIFRA is the federal statute governing the registration and use of crop protection products.  A decision in the case is expected this summer.

 The ramifications of this decision for pesticide users are significant.  The brief filed by the Respondent, Dow AgroSciences, describes the potential implications, "Congress considered and rejected a private right of action to enforce FIFRA's misbranding prohibition precisely to ensure centralized enforcement of the law.  Petitioners' interpretation would achieve just the opposite.  It would leave to juries in 50 States the discretion to give content to FIFRA's misbranding prohibition, thus establishing a patchwork of anti-misbranding requirements different from the one defined by FIFRA itself and intended by Congress to be interpreted authoritatively by the EPA." 

Dow AgroSciences also examines the legislative history of the FIFRA statute.  "As the Senate Agriculture Committee observed [in reauthorizing FIFRA], such a cause of action could 'encourage suits by professional litigants and interfere with the orderly administration of the law.'...[citation omitted] Congress's concern for the 'orderly administration' of FIFRA, including its labeling requirements, underscores its wish to place pesticide labels under the exclusive jurisdiction of the expert agency, EPA.  Common-law suits based on labeling, no less than state positive regulations, undermine this congressional policy."

The last thing production agriculture needs are incentives from the highest court in the land to "encourage suits by professional litigants".

 NAWG OFFICERS VISIT CAPITOL HILL TO DISCUSS BUDGET. NAWG’s national officers were in Washington, DC and had the opportunity to spend time on Capitol Hill visiting with Members of Congress and their staffs about NAWG’s opposition to any cuts in the federal agriculture budget. The 2002 Farm Bill authorized agriculture spending through 2007, however, when President Bush releases the federal budget on February 7^th it is expected that because of large deficit projections, many - if not all - federal programs will be cut.  

 These meetings allowed the NAWG officers the chance to stress the importance of Farm Bill funding, and agriculture’s contributions to rural America and the U.S. economy as a whole. With the passage of the 2002 Farm Bill, a contract was made with America’s farmers and those businesses and rural communities that are supported by agriculture.  Long term planning and investment decisions have been made based on this contract.  It is wrong to change the policy before the end of the term provided for in the Farm Bill.

 Trade also continues to be of concern as we wait for the release of the President’s budget.  New international rules and disciplines on domestic support programs currently are being debated as part of the Doha Round of trade negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO). It would be unjust to change U.S. farm policy prior to the conclusion of these trade negotiations, as we do not yet know what obligations the U.S. will be expected to assume as part of an overall WTO trade agreement.

 Furthermore, the farm programs account for less than ½ of 1% of the entire federal budget.  This small percent helps sustain a supply of food and fiber that is the safest, most abundant and most affordable in all the world.