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California Association of Wheat Growers (CAWG)

August 15, 2006

NAWG RESOLUTION ON CRP, ENERGY CROPS APPROVED. The NAWG Environmental Policy Committee met via conference call this week and approved a resolution concerning Conservation Reserve Program land and the production of dedicated energy crops.  

The resolution, which passed unanimously, reads: “NAWG supports utilizing Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage, or land to be enrolled in CRP, for the purpose of planting and harvesting dedicated energy crops including, but not limited to, switchgrass. This should be carried out in a manner that maintains the environmental benefits that CRP is designed to achieve.”

CAWG President Larry Hunn, a member of the Environmental Policy Committee, participated in the discussion. The resolution will be considered by the full board at the annual NAWG Fall Board Meeting.

NAWG JOINS OTHERS IN OPPOSING CASHING OUT OF COMMODITIES. NAWG and more than 30 other commodity organizations sent a letter this week to the Food and Nutrition Service of USDA strongly opposing part of a proposed rule that would allow food service management companies to cash out USDA purchased commodities.

The letter read, in part: “Not only do we believe this provision is bad policy, but it may be illegal as well…We respectfully request that any final rule issued by FNS delete the cash out provision.”

SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES TRADE LEGISLATION. The Senate Finance Committee considered and approved two important trade agreements for wheat producers before leaving for its annual August recess. The Committee voted 18-0 to extend permanent normal trade relations to Vietnam. Approval of this legislation is an essential step toward Vietnam’s inclusion in the World Trade Organization, which would require it to follow international trade rules.

The Committee also voted 12-7 in favor of the Peru Trade Promotion Agreement in a mock vote. The mock vote followed a mock review, which allows legislators to propose amendments before the Bush Administration formally submits the agreement, after which it cannot be amended.

Peru’s largest agricultural import is wheat, amounting to 1.4 million metric tons per year. U.S wheat market share has been as high as 62 percent, though it is significantly lower now. Industry projections suggest that ratification of the Peru TPA will increase sales of U.S. wheat to Peru by more than 37 percent. 

The full Senate will likely take up both of these agreements after August recess, though there are issues which may hold up the Vietnam legislation. The House Ways and Means Committee has approved the Peru agreement in a mock markup, but has not yet taken up the Vietnam measure.

ARS TO IMPLEMENT OVERHEAD FEE ON EXTERNAL FUNDS. USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is considering a proposal to charge a 10 percent overhead fee on most external funds provided to ARS scientists by nonprofit agencies, including state wheat commissions.  NAWG has registered its objection to this proposal with ARS Administrator Dr. Edward Knipling, and has passed along information about it to state commissions and associations.

An April 2006 bulletin from USDA to ARS personnel states the policy of ARS as recovering total costs, both direct and indirect program support costs (IPSC), from external grants provided to agency scientists.  ARS administration already deducts 10 percent from federal appropriations to cover its administrative costs, and this fee would apply a similar formula to external funds. 

Due to a lack of communication with outside funding sources, and objections from those who did hear about the fee, implementation was deferred.  Any such fees that have been collected thus far in fiscal 2006 are being refunded, but the ARS Administrator’s office confirmed Friday morning that he definitely plans to implement the fee sometime in fiscal year 2007, which starts October 1.

A handful of exceptions will apply to the policy: (1) grants that total less than $5,000 over their total life; (2) if Congress prohibits the payment of the fee by the granting (federal) agency; (3) research agreements with specific USDA agencies; and (4) contracts supporting administration of agencies within the Research Education and Economics mission area at USDA.

USDA PATENTS MICROBES TO FIGHT HEAD BLIGHT. (By Jan Suszkiw, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service)Four yeasts and three bacteria that live on flowering wheat heads, but cause no harm there, have been patented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as biological control agents in the fight against Fusarium head blight (FHB).

Caused by the fungus Fusarium graminearum, FHB is among the most costly diseases of cereal crops worldwide, including wheat, barley and oats. From 1998 to 2000, FHB epidemics in U.S. small grains inflicted an estimated $2.7 billion worth of losses, notes David Schisler. He is a plant pathologist with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA's chief scientific research agency.

The fungus infects wheat through its flower tissues, including anthers. But competition for space and nutrients there is fierce, according to studies by Schisler and colleagues at the ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Ill., and at Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus. Indeed, some of the bacteria and yeasts that the researchers isolated from wheat anthers secrete antibiotics, or use other means, to keep the fungus at bay--to the wheat plant's benefit.

To exploit this “natural antagonism,” Schisler and OSU colleagues Michael Boehm and Naseem Khan devised fermentation procedures to culture quantities of the beneficial microbes for application to flowering wheat heads. The four yeasts and three bacteria that have been patented (U.S. No. 7,001,755) were the “top picks” from about 700 microbial specimens the scientists evaluated for their fungus-fighting prowess. Of these seven, yeast strain OH 182.9 performed the best in field trials, reducing FHB's severity in spring, winter and durum wheats by 20 to 60 percent.

USDA's patenting of this approach to controlling FHB is a critical first step towards garnering the commercial interest necessary to develop the microbes as registered biological control products that can be used separately or in specific combinations on wheat or other cereal crops. Their development, along with more FHB-resistant wheat varieties, is especially appealing because the use of foliar fungicides is complicated by timing and availability by state.

USDA REQUESTS COMMENT ON FRPP INTERIM FINAL RULE. USDA released an amended interim final rule for the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) last week and is seeking public comment.

The comment period will be open for 60 days. The proposed rule covers a variety of criteria for the program and is available in full at:

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/frpp/pdf_files/FRPPRuleFederalRegister.pdf

FRPP helps landowners protect their land by providing matching funds to help purchase development rights to keep productive farm and ranch land in agricultural uses, according to a USDA press release.

CAWG BOARD TO MEET IN AUGUST. The CAWG Board of Directors will meet at the CAWG office on August 29^th, starting at 1 pm. The Board will review pending policy issues, including state and federal legislation and trade negotiations and discuss CAWG positions and action plans.

CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF WHEAT GROWERS

CAWG works closely with the California Wheat Commission, members of Congress, U.S. Department of Agriculture, California Department of Food and Agriculture, national wheat organizations, and many others to bring real value to California growers. 

During 2005, CAWG accomplished four important objectives:

• Mexico's ban on California wheat was finally lifted after ten years of effort by CAWG and the California Wheat Commission.  The first sale to Mexico has taken place and additional sales are pending.

• We made sure that California wheat growers who suffered major losses due to stripe rust in 2003 became eligible to receive disaster aid.

• USDA authority to collect assessments on commodities in the loan program was clarified, restoring much-needed support for the California Wheat Commission's valuable research and marketing efforts.

• CAWG supported the Central American Free Trade Agreement after a wheat marketing trip showed growing markets and opportunities for California wheat throughout the region.

With these issues resolved, we have turned our attention to the next challenges facing the industry, including the new farm bill, international trade negotiations (which directly affect both support payments and food aid programs), and critical appropriations for wheat variety research, commodity payments, Farm Service Agency (FSA) staffing and environmental programs.

 In this election year, Congress is being pressed to make deep cuts in non-military programs.  We want to make sure that our friends in Congress know and understand the needs and concerns of California wheat growers and our related industries.

 There's more that we're doing, but more importantly, there's more we can and should do with continued support from wheat growers such as you.  Your support will make us stronger and ensure continued success for your needs in the future.