California Wheat Commission  

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

California Association of Wheat Growers (CAWG)

September 30, 2005

CPR ENROLLMENTS AND EXTENSIONS. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced this week that farmers can re-enroll or extend their Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts expiring in 2007 through 2010.

In order to determine who might be able to re-enroll or extend their CRP contract, USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) will use the Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) that was in place when the contracts were first written.  The EBI is a measuring system that assigns point scores to the contracts and then nationally ranks all CRP land enrollment offers.  Several environmental outcomes factor into EBI point scores such as improving wildlife habitat, water quality, and air quality and reducing soil erosion.

The EBI scores are based upon a 100 percentile that is divided into five ranking tiers.  In the first tier, CRP producers ranking in the top 20 percent of the EBI can re-enroll their land in new contracts and farmers and ranchers with wetlands in this ranking can receive contract terms of 10- to 15- years.

CRP producers ranking within the second tier, between the 61-80 percent, can extend their contracts for five years.  Farmers and ranchers ranking within the third tier, 41-60 percent, can extend their CRP contracts by four years. Those ranking in the fourth tier, between 21-40 percent, can receive 3-year extensions.  And those contracts ranking in the fifth tier of the 20 percent of CRP producers can extend their contracts by two years. In spring 2006, FSA will write to CRP producers with contracts expiring Sept. 30, 2007, to discuss whether those contracts are eligible for re-enrollment or extension.  Farmers and ranchers will confirm their contract interests at that point and a compliance check will be necessary.

Fifteen-year contracts expiring Sept. 30, 2007, are not eligible for re-enrollment or extension.  During the next several months FSA will update the CRP rental rates to better reflect local market rates for cropland on new contract re- enrollments and will review cropland enrollment limits on a county-by-county basis.

CRP is a voluntary program for agricultural producers, which help them protect environmentally sensitive land.  Producers enrolling in CRP plant long-term, resource conservation covers with USDA providing rental payments and cost-share assistance. A list of CRP acres by state with contracts expiring in 2007-2010 can be found at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/crp.htm.

MODERNIZATION OF FSA BEING CONSIDERED. In a release distributed this week by USDA, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced a dialogue with state and congressional leaders to discuss how best to modernize the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to ensure it meets the needs of farmers and ranchers in the 21st Century.

Nationally, the agency has 2,351 county offices across the country.  More than 400 of these offices now have only one or two full-time staff.  Nearly 500 offices are within 20 miles of the next nearest office.  And, the cost of delivering services varies widely, ranging from less than 1 cent for the delivery of a dollar of program benefits to more than $2 in expenses for every dollar of benefits delivered.

FSA state executive directors are currently reviewing analytical information for their respective states.  This data includes workload assessments for each office, location of offices in proximity to one another, farm lending volume and density of agricultural activity.  The state executive directors will work with stakeholders, local, state and congressional leaders to consider local needs that might not be reflected in the data and submit consolidation proposals by November 15.

The USDA’s ultimate goal is to create a network of state-of the-art FSA offices by upgrading equipment, investing in technology and providing personnel with additional training.  Minimal, if any, net reductions in personnel are anticipated. As many as 713 FSA offices could be closed under this plan, which has been dubbed “FSA Tomorrow”.

CAWG has expressed concern about inadequate staffing of FSA offices for many years. Unlike some states that have offices within 20 miles of each other, California producers must often drive hours to visit their local FSA office. NAWG is also watching this issue closely and has reported that the Senate may block the office closures by refusing to appropriate funds for the effort.

SENATE PASSES AG APPROPRIATIONS BILL. This week the Senate passed its version of the fiscal 2006 Ag appropriations bill. The $100.2 billion spending bill for agriculture, food and nutrition programs, along with funding for the Food and Drug Administration, passed 97 to 2.

Differences will need to be worked out with the House version.  For example, the Senate has $17.3 billion in discretionary spending whereas the House has $16.8 billion. Also the House version delays mandatory country of origin labeling for beef until October 2006.  The Senate discussed a delay but took no action on it.

The Senate bill also includes an amendment calling for congressional committees and administrative agencies to look at the impact increased energy prices have on ag producers along with an amendment calling for an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission into the possibility of fuel price gouging.

This bill funds many programs of interest and value to California wheat producers. One such program would provide additional funding for stripe rust research. The Senate bill includes more funding than the House counterpart and we are working to see that the higher number prevails.

OECD CRITICIZES U.S. FOOD AID. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has issued a report stating that food aid is a bad form of aid. According to OECD, food shipments cost 50 percent more on average than purchasing the same food from the recipient country, and 33 percent more than buying from other countries in the region. Instead of food shipments, the OECD proposes to untie food from food aid and give cash instead. They also argue that food aid efficiency is not a subject that should go before the WTO, and warn that negotiators need to spend more time talking about export subsidies in order for the Doha round to be successful.

Despite OECD’s preference that the issue not be raised, the European Community has succeeded in putting this matter on the table at the WTO. U.S. negotiators, with full industry support, are working hard to help “keep the food in food aid.” Bonnie Fernandez, Executive Director of the California Wheat Commission, has recently assumed the chair of the Food Aid Working Group at the national level and will be working on this important issue. A ship was recently loaded with wheat at the Port of Stockton destined for use in food aid programs.

NEW FOOD PYRAMID UNVEILED. On September 28, 2005 Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns released an updated version of the “food pyramid.” Overall, the structure of the pyramid has greatly changed. The horizontal stage approach with wheat as the base has been changed to a vertical stripe approach where grain possesses the largest stripe relative to the other food groups. The emphasis on whole grains, fruits, and vegetables has increased. The new pyramid states that half of the grain products one consumes should be whole grains, such as whole wheat.