January 22, 2021
Newsletter For January 22, 2021
This Issue:
  • Nevada Board Of Ag Approves Amendment Proposals For SB 54
  • Please Schedule Your Participation In February 4th Virtual Workshop For Humboldt River Modeling
  • Input Sought By Nevada Department Of Ag On Fee Increases For Phytosanitary Certificates and Other Inspections
  • Forest Service Working On Process For Update of Rangeland Management Directives
  • Communications and Connections For Legislative Operations
Nevada Board Of Ag Approves Amendment Proposals For SB 54
In their January 19th meeting the Nevada Board of Agriculture heard input from participants who expressed opposition to the changes being sought by the Nevada Department of Agriculture to eliminate positions on the Board of Directors for representatives who are cattle producers and sheep producers as they spelled out in their pre-filed legislation, SB 54.

Nevada Farm Bureau stated, “We are opposed to the way in which this legislation was brought forward and we are opposed to the proposal to remove representatives of the cattle sector and the sheep industry, lumping the two remaining seats into the category of ‘livestock.’”

The question over the process, raised by Farm Bureau, ties back to the authority and responsibility of the Board of Agriculture.  Without the Board having an opportunity to evaluate the legislation that the Department of Agriculture pre-filed, contrary to state law until after the legislation was already introduced.  

“In our view,” Nevada Fam Bureau said, referring to the first three subsections of the state law (NRS 561.105), …“we maintain that no bills, introduced by the Department of Agriculture should have advanced into the legislative process without a full public vetting, by this Board, to determine what was intended and whether they were appropriate.” 

After hearing from those who participated in the allotted public comment period, Board members each shared their views on the proposed actions in the Department’s remake of the membership criteria for the Board.  A consensus view emerging from these discussions was that removing the cattle and sheep producers from the Board was not something that would have any support.  Further, a number of members expressed their belief that their role should include review of regulations related to programs operating within the Department of Agriculture and other decisions that they have been excluded from over the past couple of years.

In the final outcome the Board approved a proposal for several amendments to come from the Board, keeping the current positions and adding two additional seats for the qualifications that the Department has proposed, clarifying some other language in the pre-filed bill for row crops and proposing to change the present limitation of two members coming from a single county to allow for three.
Please Schedule Your Participation In February 4th Virtual Workshop For Humboldt River Modeling
Last week’s newsletter shared that the Division of Water Resources will be holding their annual update for the Humboldt River corridor modeling in a Thursday, Feb. 4th virtual workshop. The session that begins at 8:30 a.m. will cover the modeling work has been carried out in the three segments of the river system by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Desert Research Institute.  

The significances of the information of the modeling has taken on a new dynamic since a proposed Interim Order that just was released.  The Notice for the Hearing on the Proposed Interim Order within the Humboldt River Region includes the alert that a public hearing will be held on Friday, April 2, 2021.  It also provides the Draft Interim Order that we would strongly encourage a careful review. 

Starting on Page 7 of the Draft Interim Order the ramifications of how the capture model will be used for Applications for New Groundwater Appropriations, Applications to Change Existing Groundwater Appropriations and Addressing Future Conflicts Between Existing Valid Groundwater Rights and Decreed Humboldt River Surface Water Rights.
Input Sought By Nevada Department Of Ag On Fee Increases For Phytosanitary Certificates and Other Inspections
The Nevada Department of Agriculture has launched another Small Business Impact Survey, seeking input on proposed fee increases for phytosanitary certificates and various inspection activities that the Department carries out for forages, onions, potatoes, etc.  For those who are impacted by these changes, we encourage you to click on the highlighted link above and complete the survey.  The deadline for providing input is Wednesday, January 27.  The highlighted link “seeking input” also will get you to the portal location for clicking on and reading through the proposed changes/fee increases for NAC 587.

The supporting documents for these proposed fee increases indicates that onion exports from Nevada are increasing and the work load for the present one-person staff inspector for onions needs requires additional help.  The inspectors in this program are USDA certified and the fee increases are necessary to cover the cost for additional staff as well as to cover the current deficit funding that has been happening in previous years.

Following the completion of the Small Business Impact Survey a future date will be announced for a regulation workshop and eventually a hearing in advance of adopting whatever regulations are determined. 
New Hemp Rules Announced By USDA
The January 19, 2021 Federal Register carried the final rule from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for hemp production.  This new rule takes effect on March 22 and has been based on an update put together from public input. This link offers a condensed, but very comprehensive over-view of the hemp regulations and program operations that are being brought forward.

The Nevada Department of Agriculture’s regulations tier to the USDA regulations and the plan that Nevada’s Department of Agriculture submits for consideration by USDA need to fit within the provisions of the national requirements.  Of the changes in the operations that we’ve noticed and are highlighted in the link to the hemp regulations also point it out – the past/current 15-day window for collecting samples to test, ahead of harvest, and make certain that the crop is below 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content has been extended to 30 days.
Forest Service Working On Process For Update of Rangeland Management Directives
A public evaluation process is underway, with an opportunity for submitting responses/input, for the Proposed Rangeland Management Directive Update by the U.S. Forest Service.  The public comment period is open until February 16.  We encourage those who are interested to dig into the proposal by clicking on this link. This link provides an outstanding set of additional links for further research into what is being considered and also identifies the upcoming webinar (February 3 at 11 a.m. Pacific Time) that will give more background information.  According to the details on the Forest Service webpage the primary purpose for this project is to update a set of manuals which haven’t been modernized for 30 years.

We’re hoping that those who have livestock grazing permits on the U.S. Forest will offer their feedback to assist us in developing Nevada Farm Bureau’s best set of public comments.  We are also interacting with other Western State Farm Bureaus who have higher levels of grazing on Forest Service-managed lands.  Please stay in touch to share your thoughts and points, email [email protected] or call/text 775-870-3349.
Communications and Connections For Legislative Operations
In spite of the Nevada Legislature not providing any information on what the plans might be for the start of the 2021 Session on February 1st.  We are anticipating that much of the beginning phase will be carried out in a virtual world and eagerly hoping that the regular session will be carried out in a more responsible fashion than the process used during the two special sessions of the 2020.

We are anticipating using the same Action Request platform that we used in the 2019 Session.  Because of limited contact and ability to interact with legislators Farm Bureau’s grassroots engagement will be essential to promote implementation of Farm Bureau policy.  This newsletter will be a major communications platform in providing updates and details.

We’re also interested in learning how many (and who) might be interested in connections through text messages that we might provide as another option.  Some prefer text connections over emails and some might not be interested in text messages at all. Please click on this link to respond to a survey of your preferences.
Have a great weekend!