January 4, 2023

New Year, (mostly) Same Congress

With 2024 now upon us, Congress looks ahead to two looming funding deadlines—one on January 19^th for the Departments of Agriculture, Transportation, and others—and a February 2^nd deadline for Defense, Homeland Security, and several others as well. This “bifurcated” approach was intended to give them more flexibility in getting a longer-term extension done; however, it could potentially have the opposite effect depending on how negotiations fare.

House Republicans now find themselves with an even slimmer majority than a month ago. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (CA) has now officially retired, and Rep. George Santos (NY) was expelled on December 1^st, making him only the third Member of Congress expelled since the Civil War. In addition, Rep. Bill Johnson (OH) is expected to formally retire on January 21^st in order to serve as President of Youngstown State University. While special elections will eventually fill those seats, Republicans will have virtually no wiggle room now for partisan votes. Speaker Mike Johnson (LA) will again face a critical test as he tries to corral his party during these funding negotiations.

Past these deadlines, lawmakers are still hopeful a full Farm Bill extension can come together. The latest talk has pointed towards May as a hopeful passage date, but its chances of passing this year are by no means a certain thing. CAFB and other organizations continue to implore Congress to avoid kicking the can down the road any farther on this legislation. The bifurcated funding deadlines will likely play a role in how this timeline is impacted.

RMA Announces Listening Sessions for Livestock Risk Management Products 

The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced recently that they will be conducting listening sessions throughout the country this winter to gather feedback and to discuss policy improvements to several of their key programs. They’ll be holding more than a dozen in-person and virtual workshops this winter for producers to learn about new and expanded livestock risk management tools. This “Roadshow” will highlight changes based on the feedback from producers to promote, educate, and broaden RMA’s outreach to livestock producers. Specifically, RMA will be discussing and soliciting feedback on the following products:

• Annual Forage
• Dairy Revenue Protection
• Livestock Gross Margin
• Livestock Risk Protection
• Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage
• Weaned Calf Risk Protection (New for Calendar Year 2024)

Virtual sessions will take place on January 8 and January 17, 2024. Producers can register for these programs on RMA’s website. An in-person session will be held in Davis, California on January 17^th, of which CAFB will be listening in to. For additional details, follow the link below. 

USDA Reminder of Specialty Crop Growers Deadline for 2023 On FSCSC Program

Early this week, the USDA highlighted available assistance for specialty crop growers through the Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops (FSCSC) program. This initiative aids producers in covering eligible on-farm safety program expenses related to obtaining or renewing food safety program expenses related to obtaining or renewing food safety certification. Producers have until January 31^st, 2024, to apply for assistance on their calendar year 2023 expenses.

The program covers a percentage of the specialty crop operation’s costs of obtaining or renewing food safety certification and related expense. Eligibility criteria include being a specialty crop operation, meeting the small or very small business definition, and having paid eligible 2023 certification related expenses. Assistance is provided for various costs, including developing a food safety plan, maintaining or updating an existing plan, certification fees, upload fees, microbiological testing, and training. Payments are calculated separately for each category of eligible costs, with higher payment rates set for socially disadvantaged limited resources, beginning and veteran farmers and ranchers.

The application period closes on January 31^st, 2024. Interested producers can apply by submitting the FSA-888 application, along with required documents, to any USDA Service Center nationwide via mail, fax, hand delivery, or electronic means. For assistance, specialty crop producers can call (877) 508-8364 or visit www.farmers.gov/food-safety for program details, eligibility information, and application forms. 

Farmers Can Now Enroll for 2024 ARC

 and PLC Programs

The USDA announced that agriculture producers can now enroll in the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2024 crop year. The ARC-CO program provides income support tied to historical base acres, not current production, of covered commodities. ARC-CO payments are issued when the actual county crop revenue of a covered commodity is less than the ARC-CO guarantee for the covered commodity. PLC program payments are issued when the effective price of a covered commodity is less than the respective reference price for that commodity. Enrollment opened just prior to the holidays and will remain open until the closing deadline on March 15^th, 2024. Both programs offer financial protection to farmers from substantial drops in crop prices and revenues. You can find more—as well as enroll—at the link below.

Reminder: Deadline for USDA Discrimination Financial Assistance Program is January 15th

The application deadline for the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program is approaching quickly. Originally set for October 31^st, 2023, this extension provides eligible farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners with additional time to apply for crucial assistance. Producers and landowners who experienced discrimination by USDA in its farm loan programs prior to January 1^st, 2021, and/or are currently debtors with assigned or assumed USDA farm loan debt that was the subject of USDA discrimination before January 1^st, 2021, are eligible for this program. Borrowers can apply for assistance online or through a paper-based form. All applications received or postmarked before the Jan.13, 2024, deadline will be considered. Applicants can also call the free call center at 1-800-721-0970 or visit one of several dozen regional offices set up around the country. Locations are provided on the program website and vendors will update the local events schedule with more information as it becomes available.

Matthew Viohl

Federal Policy, Director

Erin Huston

Federal Policy, Consultant

Isabella Quinonez

Public Policy Coordinator