THIS WEEK IN
Federal Policy News
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Senate Passes Ocean Shipping Reform Act |
Late last week, the US Senate passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) by a unanimous voice vote. The legislation has been actively pushed by CAFB and other organizations in the hopes of addressing significant supply chain disruptions that have grown increasingly more problematic during the pandemic. Congestion and container availability issues have plagued exporters, resulting in billions in losses for the food and agricultural sectors in California.
CAFB applauds Senators Cantwell, Wicker, Klobuchar and Thune for authoring and then gaining unanimous, bipartisan Senate approval for the legislation. We greatly appreciate the concern and focus of these leaders on sustainable global competitiveness of US agriculture. This bill, once implemented, will provide urgently needed relief to all exporters and importers, in particular agriculture exporters.
The transportation crisis for US agriculture products has become increasingly dire. Many agriculture products produced in the U.S. experience significant competition from other countries. If we cannot deliver our products dependably, our foreign customers will find alternatives to our exports. A survey recently conducted by the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) found that, on average, 22% of US agriculture foreign sales could not be completed due to ocean shipping disruption, costs, and carrier practices which severely limit export shipments, and impose charges already declared unreasonable by the Federal Maritime Commission. The OSRA specifically addresses these practices, which are causing so much hardship to US agriculture, and threaten our global competitiveness.
Over the past year, intensive media reporting, House and Senate hearings, White House and other Executive Branch Roundtables, which have included hundreds of agriculture companies, have made clear that current law and regulation are insufficient to protect the ocean shipping interests of US exporters and importers.
We strongly support the Senate-passed bill which can restore reasonable and fair ocean carrier practices consistent with the Federal Maritime Commission’s (FMC) excellent, but still unenforced, Interpretive Rule on Demurrage and Detention. The Senate bill, like the House bill, establishes an obligation for carriers to self-police compliance with that Rule. In addition, the bill addresses the ocean carriers’ responsibility to carry U.S. export cargo. The bill provides the FMC with additional enforcement tools to address injurious ocean carrier practices.
We look forward to a prompt conference with the House, so that a final bill can be sent to the President’s desk as soon as possible. US agriculture is depending upon it.
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CAFB Submits Comments on FDA's Proposed FSMA Changes |
Earlier this week, CAFB submitted comments on the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed rule concerning pre-harvest agricultural water testing requirements. Earlier this year, the FDA formally announced enforcement discretion, delaying what would have originally required farmers to conduct regular microbial testing in order to ensure that any pre-harvest water usage was free from potential pathogens. The new rule would require covered farms to conduct a “systems-based agricultural water assessment” on an annual basis, at minimum.
Although the proposed rule is a step in the right direction for making FSMA compliance simpler and more practical in this area, CAFB highlighted several concerns that we believe the FDA failed to acknowledge or address in their proposal. For instance, the rule would require farmers to examine “adjacent and nearby lands” in addition to their own farms in order to conduct a full assessment. The rule fails to identify how large a range this could include. While it is understandable that water sourced off-site should be free from potential contamination, it is not practical to expect all producers to examine several miles offsite, particularly if those are on private lands.
Unfortunately, the proposal only addresses a slim portion of the broader FSMA law. We know that the regulatory compliance associated with it has been burdensome for members, particularly as the rule continues to be altered on a regular basis. While this rule is a step in the right direction due to its removal of mandated microbial testing, it still ultimately adds new regulatory burdens onto covered farmers. CAFB encouraged the FDA to consider these challenges and continue to give farmers added compliance opportunities given their overhauling of the water requirements. For more information, please contact Matthew Viohl.
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USDA to Issue Payments for Livestock Producers Impacted by Drought & Wildfire |
USDA has announced that ranchers who have approved applications through the 2021 Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) for forage losses due to severe drought or wildfire in 2021 will receive emergency relief payments for increases in supplemental feed costs in 2021 through the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) new Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP). Producers are not required to submit an additional application for payment but must have appropriate documents on file with FSA.
To be eligible for an ELRP payment under phase one of program delivery, livestock producers must have suffered grazing losses in a county rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a D2 (severe drought) for eight consecutive weeks or a D3 (extreme drought) or higher level of drought intensity during the 2021 calendar year and have applied and been approved for 2021 LFP. Additionally, producers whose permitted grazing on federally managed lands was disallowed due to wildfire are also eligible for ELRP payments, if they applied and were approved for 2021 LFP. For additional information eligibility and requirements read the USDA press release here.
Funding for this new program comes from the $10B Congress appropriated last fall for disaster aid, which included new funding for the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+) as well as $750M specifically for livestock producers. This is Phase One of the ELRP, and USDA will continue to evaluate drought and wildfire impacts for Phase Two.
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Agriculture, Water & Local Government Coalition Comments on Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog Listing |
Working in collaboration with water supply, local government, county farm bureaus and additional agricultural organizations, California Farm Bureau submitted comments last week to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) in opposition to a proposal that would list four of the six Distinct Population Segments (DPSs) of the foothill yellow-legged frog in California. If finalized as proposed, the Rule would impact 25 counties in California including Alameda, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, Plumas, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tehama, Tulare, Tuolumne, and Ventura. California Farm Bureau previously led a joint letter to the Service requesting that the Service extend the public comment period for no less than 90 days. |
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CAFB Conducts Ag Labor Survey with UC Davis & ASU |
CAFB would like to encourage your feedback on an agricultural labor survey recently released in partnership with UC Davis and Arizona State University. The survey examines how farmers adapted to reduced worker availability, how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted farming operations, and the extent to which labor-saving technologies are helping mitigate problems stemming from labor shortages. The results will be used for a statistical study to inform farmers, community leaders, and policy makers on how these issues are impacting the agricultural sector here in California. The survey should only take about ten minutes to complete and will remain completely anonymous. |
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Sara Arsenault
Federal Policy, Director
916-561-5619
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Matthew Viohl
Federal Policy, Associate Director
916-561-5612
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Erin Huston
Federal Policy, Consultant
916-849-3746
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