Commodities and sports typically don’t go together most years. However, this fall, the two topics have come together in an interesting way.
Being a long-time sports broadcaster, I’ve noticed that when the major sports seasons wrap up, certain sports media love to immediately do what they call a “way-too-early” look to the next season. Evidently, it’s not just a sports thing.
I know harvest is just ramping up in many areas as I write this, but Farm Futures took what some might think is a “way-too-early” survey of planting intentions for 2023, and I couldn’t pass it up. It looks like corn will be king once again next spring among all commodities.
Corn looks to be king when it comes to 2023 spring planting (photo from agriculture.com)
Jacqueline Holland is the grain market analyst for Farm Futures, and she wrote an article about the survey. She says the way-too-soon survey results are favoring corn for spring planting despite some challenges that come with the commodity.
“Even with higher fertilizer prices, farmers are still prepared to go all-in on corn,” she said. “Our survey found that farmers expect to plant 94.3 million acres of corn, a five percent increase from USDA’s current acreage estimates.”
If that prediction is realized, it would be the most corn planted in the U.S. since 95.4 million acres went into the ground in 2013. While soybean acres will be behind corn next year, U.S. growers are still sowing a lot of beans during spring planting in 2023.
“We expect farmers to plant 87.3 million acres of beans,” Holland said. “That’s almost a one percent decrease from this year’s acreage.” Cotton is one of the reasons that soybean acreage is going to drop a little. In the Mississippi Delta, a lot of acres in that region are going to provide “stiff competition” for soybeans during spring planting.
They also expect wheat acres to rise in 2023 thanks to more winter wheat acres in the Eastern Corn Belt. Farm Futures expects growers to plant 36.6 million acres of winter wheat. With more winter wheat acres going in the ground, spring wheat acres will back up from this year, with the 2023 estimate at 12.3 million acres.
“That means a grand total of 48.9 million acres of wheat will be planted in 2023,” she said.
Holland admits she was a little surprised at the survey results. She says there was a lot of price responsiveness to the rapidly-rising fertilizer prices heading into spring planting this year.
“When farmers were making their planting decisions in December last year, soybean prices were rallying strongly,” Holland recalled. “But with all of the issues we’ve seen with the flow of corn in the Black Sea this year, as well as the U.S. corn crop struggling with drought, corn has some bullish prospects for next year.”
She says if we do see a larger corn acreage next year, that might lead to some expansion back in the cattle market. In turn, that would likely revive some corn acreage in the Plains. Remember, about three million acres of corn went into prevent plant in the spring of this year.
A Farm Futures Survey shows we might be harvesting a lot of corn again come fall of 2023. (Photo from kansasfarmfoodconnection)
“A lot of those acres were in the Dakotas and Minnesota,” she said. “Barring another bad weather event next year, I expect those acres to go back into corn in 2023.”
Farm Futures also has other questions in their survey beyond commodities and planting intentions. Those questions include where farmers are headed with input costs next year. Based on the survey responses, Holland says profit margins are going to shrink next year. The question is, how much?
“As of right now, it doesn’t look like growers are going to skimp on any fertilizer applications,” Holland said. “Most responses show farmers are ready to lock in their fertilizers at the lowest prices they can get. That will hopefully keep at least some liquidity in these crop budgets.
“We’ll see how these things ultimately shake out for planting and commodities,” she added. “There’s a long time between now and next spring.”
Market Prices are still higher, but for how long? Commodity markets are rarely dull and sometimes are outright wild. One-quarter of the way into 2022, and we’ve seen a lot of upward pressure in several commodities. The curious question is how long is this going to last given multiple outside factors that could bring the higher push to a halt.
Mike Zuzolo is the founder and president of Global Commodity Analytics in Atchison, Kansas. He’s been working in the markets in various positions since November 1995. Zuzolo has seen a lot of ups and downs over the years, and the corn market has been near all-time highs for quite a while.
Mike Zuzolo of Global Commodity Analytics in Atchison, Kansas (Photo from Facebook.com)
“We’ve been within reach of the all-time high for corn set in August 2012, at $8.43 3/4,” he said on the phone from Kansas. “You have the Hard Red Wheat drought, you have the E15 blend increase this summer, planting delays that are pressuring a marketplace that’s expecting more acres than what the USDA predicted earlier this year.
“And then you have the soybeans getting support from the vegetable oil market, which is supported by the crude oil market, and that is supported by the biggest feature of all, the war in Ukraine,” Zuzolo added.
Over the past four months, Zuzolo said there are two overarching factors that had the most influence on the corn market prices. One is the idea from the Federal Reserve that the U.S. had transitory inflation. At roughly the same time the Fed began to publicly acknowledge that wasn’t the case, Russia began its attack on Ukraine. He said most people didn’t seem to truly expect that would happen.
He calls these two events “black rhinos.” Those are events the public knew were possible but kind of turned away from, not thinking they would actually happen. “They aren’t like black swans that we didn’t know where out there,” he said. “You didn’t think they would have the impact on the markets that’s happened so far.”
The market prices could potentially feel the impacts of the war in Ukraine for years. Zuzolo, a long-time market observer, says the length of the impact may depend on who “wins” the war and how big it may get before it’s done.
The commodity markets may feel the impact of the war in Ukraine for years to come. (Photo from Hindustantimes.com)
“Does NATO get involved?” he wondered, “It would then go from two countries directly involved with a lot of support from multiple other countries, or does it expand into a NATO and China and Syria and Iran conflict. The regional conflict would have a great chance of blossoming into more of a full-on world war.”
He thinks the trade is beginning to take the potential conflict escalation into account, “and they should.” A recent weekly stocks report of distillate fuels in the U.S., which is mainly heating oil and diesel fuel, showed America’s distillate fuels at their lowest point since 2008.
“All of the sudden, we have a situation where the wheat market is contending with a situation similar to 2008 in terms of drought potential, knocking down yields,” he said. “Now, we have the energy sector also looking like 2008. If you throw the Russia/Ukraine issue on top of that, then yes, you could have something that lasts for quite some time.”
There are a lot of negative features out there that can affect market prices. He said the trade can’t get a handle on what the supply is right now. Folks in the markets don’t know if the demand is being rationed aggressively enough at this point, because they don’t know if the supply has stopped going down yet.
High Path Avian Influenza continues to lower the available supply of poultry. (Photo from newsweek.com)
“The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza is in 20-something states right now,” Zuzolo said, “we have a hog herd that is shrinking as of the March Hogs and Pigs Report, and we have a cattle herd that is seeing an almost-weekly drop of one-to-three pounds on a dressed basis. I think we’re only four or five pounds above where we were a year ago, and this is in the beginning of what could be one of the worst droughts in cattle country.”
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently cut world GDP by almost a full percentage point just since January. While the IMF puts a lot of it at the foot of the war in Ukraine, Zuzolo says it goes back to the supply chain issues. The U.S. couldn’t afford any more problems on the supply side with energy and crude oil than what the country already faced because of COVID-19.
Thinking long term, Zuzolo spoke to the possibility of the U.S. having to ration exports in order to make sure the U.S. had enough food to feed the country. He doesn’t think it will happen in terms of food exports, but it could happen in other sectors.
“In terms of crude oil, we recently lost a lot more barrels of oil than the trade expected,” Zuzolo said. “It wasn’t because of extra strong demand, it was three times more than the trade expected because we were exporting it out the door. If we can’t bring up the rig count here in the United States and start producing more to meet international and domestic demand, it will then be time to start thinking about rationing.”
Zuzolo said this will have to be a topic of conversation three-to-six months down the line if the war expands and the conflict gets any bigger than it already is. In the meantime, it’s harder than ever to guess what’s ahead in 2022 for the markets.
“I’m gonna stick with what I’ve said recently,” he said. “Because this is a supply cost-push, weather-induced, inflationary move, I still feel the first half of calendar year 2022 is the best time for grain hedgers to get their hedges in place, and yes, I do think they’ll need them. It’s because of the fact that it’s not demand led, and that we are on track for a recession, a greater than 50 percent chance, by the fourth quarter of this year.”
Commodity markets are never dull, are they? (Photo from wikipedia.com)
He says it’s important to get grain hedges in place by the end of June. For the livestock and poultry producer, the second half of 2022 is going to give them a better opportunity to hedge better profit.
“At that point, not only will high market price prices for grains pull down the weights, the HPAI will pull down supply, as will some natural herd reductions. That will all begin to be felt in the market price and the available supplies of market-ready cattle and hogs by the time we get to August and September.
“I still want to hedge the livestock markets, but I don’t think we’re on as big of a timeline as I am on the grains during the first half of the year,” he added.
Water is a touchy subject, especially when it comes to our agriculture and environmental discussions these days. I have to admit that I was worried about this from day one. The Environmental Protection Agency announced it intends to reverse the Navigable Waters Protection Rule.
Zippy Duvall, first elected president of the American Farm Bureau Federation in 2016, is very concerned about the EPA decision to reverse the Navigable Waters Protection Act. (Photo from fb.org)
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall his organization is very concerned about the idea and its potential impact on the nation’s farmers.
“The American Farm Bureau Federation is extremely disappointed in the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement that it intends to reverse the environmentally conscious Navigable Waters Protection Rule,” Duvall says, “which finally brought clarity and certainty to clean water efforts. Farmers and ranchers care about clean water and preserving the land, and they support the Navigable Waters Protection Rule.
“Administrator Regan recently recognized the flaws in the 2015 ‘Waters of the U.S. Rule’ and pledged not to return to those overreaching regulations,” he added. “We are deeply concerned that the EPA plans to reverse the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which puts the future of responsible protections at risk. We expected extensive outreach, but today’s announcement fails to recognize the concerns of farmers and ranchers.”
Duvall, a third-generation Georgia farmer, says this is an important moment for EPA Administrator Michael Regan and will be pivotal to his ability to earn the trust of farmers on this and other administration priorities. Duvall says the EPA boss must “keep his word” to recognize the efforts of agriculture and not return to flawed, overly-complicated and excessive regulations.
EPA Chief Michael Regan announced that his agency is planning to reverse the Navigable Waters Protection Rule put in place by the Trump Administration. (Photo from eenews.com)
“We call on the EPA to respect the statute, recognize the burden that overreaching regulation places on farmers and ranchers, and not write the term ‘navigable’ out of the Clean Water Act” Duvall says. “On this issue, and particularly prior converted croplands and ephemerals, we also urge Secretary Vilsack to ensure that we don’t return to the regulatory land grab that was the 2015 ‘WOTUS’ Rule.
Duvall adds that clean water and clarity are paramount, which is why farmers shouldn’t need a team of lawyers and consultants to farm.
From a personal perspective, why can’t we meet in the middle here? You do realize that farmers don’t get to stay in business and pass on the operation to their kids if they don’t take care of their environment?
Am I anti-environment by being concerned about farmers? I’m not. I’m saying there has to be a way to preserve the environment and still allow farmers to make money. After all, they do feed us, remember? Food doesn’t just show up at Safeway.
Rescue dogs coming into the U.S. from Asia are causing some concern for pork producers, who are worried about Foreign Animal Diseases tagging along for the ride and infecting U.S. herds, which would be disastrous. (Photo from nationalhogfarmer.com)
Rescue dogs and foreign animal diseases are not something I ever expected would combine in the same story. However, a recent assignment for the National Association of Farm Broadcasting brought the two previously unrelated issues face-to-face. The National Pork Producers Council is alarmed at the number of rescue dogs coming into the U.S. from countries currently battling a serious Foreign Animal Disease outbreak.
The potential is there for some of those FADs to ride along with the dogs, either on the coats or equipment like dog crates as the animals enter the country. Liz Wagstrom is the Chief Veterinarian for the NPPC, and she says they’re especially concerned about animals coming in from Asia.
“Rescue dogs are being brought into the U.S. from Asia after being rescued out of wet markets or the meat trade,” Wagstrom said. “They could be contaminated with blood, urine, or manure, which could carry something like African Swine Fever, Foot-and-Mouth Disease, or Classic Swine Fever.”
The dogs themselves aren’t susceptible to those diseases. However, Wagstrom says they could carry contamination on their coats, in their bedding, or even dog dishes and toys they came into the country with could get contaminated.
“Our concern is those rescue dogs could enter the United States, be adopted by someone on a farm, and be carrying a virus,” she said. “The crates they ride in, or other items like dishes and toys could be contaminated. That could lead to disaster.”
Dr. Liz Wagstrom is the Chief Veterinarian for the National Pork Producers Council. (Photo from Twitter.com)
Not only are domestic herds at risk, but if crates or other items aren’t properly disposed of and feral pigs get into or near them, that will also spread disease quickly. “We feel that if these animals are coming in, we need rules in place to do it safely,” she said.
Which government agency has jurisdiction over this is a “confusing issue.” The vast majority of dogs come into the country with their owners, and those dogs fall under the authority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hagstrom, a long-time veterinarian, says the CDC is “basically looking to see if those dogs have a rabies vaccination.”
Dogs that come in for resale fall under the U.S. Department of Agriculture authority. However, she points out that most of that authority focuses on animal welfare. A very small number of dogs coming into the country get evaluated as a possible risk to livestock.
“That would be herding dogs from certain areas that get evaluated for tapeworms,” she says. “It might also include dogs from the new areas of the world infected by screwworms. We think the USDA definitely has the authority to expand their oversight of the dogs that come in either for sale or adoption.
“A Foreign Animal Disease outbreak in the U.S. will immediately shut down all trade,” Wagstrom said while on the phone from Arizona, “which means we’d have a lot of extra animals on hand.
“Even if it was African Swine Fever that only impacted hogs, we have trading partners that may question milk, meat, and poultry exports,” she added. “The depressed prices for pork will likely put downward pressure on the price of beef, poultry, and dairy products.”
That means a Foreign Animal Disease of any kind will be a multi-billion-dollar hit to U.S. livestock, but it might not stop there. There’s a potential hit to the soybean industry because pork is a big part of its market. “It could have a devastating impact on U.S. agriculture as a whole,” Hagstrom says.
She says NPPC has studied the Animal Protection Act, which gives USDA authority over animals, their conveyances, bedding, and animal feed if they could potentially harm the livestock industry. If the agency was concerned about just dog diseases, then USDA doesn’t have the authority.
“However, because we’re talking about the health of the livestock industry, we believe they have the authority to write rules on how to safely bring the dogs into the country,” she says. “We do understand they’re being rescued from some horrific conditions in many cases. If they’re coming in to be rescued, let’s make sure they’re coming safely.
“Let’s get them quarantined and make sure they get washed,” Hagstrom says. “We also need to make sure their crates, bedding, and anything else that came into the country are properly disposed of. That will make it a win-win for both the dogs and U.S. livestock.”
To give ourselves the best chance of keeping the livestock industry safe, NPPC says we need more agricultural inspectors at ports of entry into the U.S. Last year, the government authorized over 700 new ag inspectors and 60 K-9 teams. However, the Coronavirus put a damper on those plans.
“Those new positions were funded by user fees on international airline tickets and international cargo,” she said. “Those fees went away because of the 95 percent decrease in international travel brought on by COVID-19 in 2020. That meant we had to work through the appropriations process to keep those inspectors funded at the current level.”
NPPC and other organizations are back at the appropriations table and asking for additional funding to continue to increase the number of agricultural inspectors as travel hopefully gets back to normal levels.
USDA assistance is now available for producers who were hit by natural disasters in 2018 and 2019. Lord knows there were enough of them to last most farmers a lifetime.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) today announced that signup for the Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) Program will begin Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. Funded by the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, this new program provides assistance to producers who suffered eligible crop quality losses due to natural disasters occurring in 2018 and 2019. The deadline to apply for this USDA assistance is Friday, March 5, 2021.
“Farmers and livestock producers nationwide experienced crop quality losses due to natural disasters in 2018 and 2019,” said. Bill Northey, USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation. “We have worked diligently over the past couple of years to roll out meaningful USDA assistance programs to help alleviate the substantial financial loss experienced by so many agricultural producers, and are pleased to offer quality loss assistance as added relief. Many of the eligible producers have already received compensation for quantity losses.”
Eligible Crops
Crops eligible for USDA assistance include those for which federal crop insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program(NAP) coverage is available, except for grazed crops and value loss crops, such as honey, maple sap, aquaculture, floriculture, mushrooms, ginseng root, ornamental nursery, Christmas trees, and turfgrass sod.
Additionally, crops that were sold or fed to livestock or that are in storage may be eligible; however, crops that were destroyed before harvest are not eligible. Crop quality losses occurring after harvest, due to deterioration in storage, or that could have been mitigated, are also not eligible.
Losses must have been a result of a qualifying disaster event (hurricane, excessive moisture, flood, qualifying drought, tornado, typhoon, volcanic activity, snowstorm, or wildfire) or related condition that occurred in calendar years 2018 and/or 2019.
Assistance is available for eligible producers in counties that received a qualifying Presidential Emergency Disaster Declaration or Secretarial Disaster Designation because of one or more of the qualifying disaster events or related conditions.
Lists of counties with Presidential Emergency Disaster Declarations and Secretarial Disaster Designations for all qualifying disaster events for 2018 and 2019 are available here. For drought, producers are eligible for QLA if the loss occurred in an area within a county rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a D3 (extreme drought) or higher intensity level during 2018 or 2019.
Producers in counties that did not receive a qualifying declaration or designation may still apply but must also provide supporting documentation to establish that the crop was directly affected by a qualifying disaster event.
To determine QLA eligibility and payments, FSA considers the total quality loss caused by all qualifying natural disasters in cases where a crop was impacted by multiple events.
Applying for QLA
When applying, producers are asked to provide verifiable documentation to support claims of quality loss or nutrient loss in the case of forage crops. For crops that have been sold, grading must have been completed within 30 days of harvest, and for forage crops, a laboratory analysis must have been completed within 30 days of harvest.
Some acceptable forms of documentation include sales receipts from buyers, settlement sheets, truck or warehouse scale tickets, written sales contracts, similar records that represent actual and specific quality loss information, and forage tests for nutritional values.
QLA payments are based on formulas for the type of crop (forage or non-forage) and loss documentation submitted. Based on this documentation FSA is calculating payments based on the producer’s own individual loss or based on the county average loss. More information on payments can be found on farmers.gov/quality-loss.
FSA will issue payments once the application period ends. If the total amount of calculated QLA payments exceeds available program funding, payments will be prorated.
For each crop year, 2018, 2019 and 2020, the maximum amount that a person or legal entity may receive, directly or indirectly, is $125,000. Payments made to a joint operation (including a general partnership or joint venture) will not exceed $125,000, multiplied by the number of persons and legal entities that comprise the ownership of the joint operation. A person or legal entity is ineligible for QLA payment if the person’s or legal entity’s average Adjusted Gross Income exceeds $900,000, unless at least 75% is derived from farming, ranching or forestry-related activities.
Future Insurance Coverage Requirements
All producers receiving QLA Program payments are required to purchase crop insurance or NAP coverage for the next two available crop years at the 60% coverage level or higher. If eligible, QLA participants may meet the insurance purchase requirement by purchasing Whole-Farm Revenue Protection coverage offered through USDA’s Risk Management Agency.
More Information
For more information, visit farmers.gov/quality-loss, or contact your local USDA Service Center. Producers can also obtain one-on-one support with applications by calling 877-508-8364.
All USDA Service Centers are open for business, including those that restrict in-person visits or require appointments. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or any other Service Center agency should call ahead and schedule an appointment. Service Centers that are open for appointments will pre-screen visitors based on health concerns or recent travel, and visitors must adhere to social distancing guidelines. Visitors are also required to wear a face covering during their appointment. Our program delivery staff will continue to work with our producers by phone, email and using online tools. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.
Organic farming in the U.S. is a blossoming business opportunity for farmers across the country. Overall industry sales totaled $1 billion in 1990 when the nation’s organic laws passed, and then reached a recent high of $55 billion. Unfortunately, there are some unintended loopholes in the regulations that allow non-organic products to be labeled as organic. The industry is concerned about the effect on the credibility of their label.
The U.S. organic industry is concerned about the credibility of the label and are looking to strengthen enforcement rules governing the industry. (photo from geneticliteracyproject.org)
The Organic Trade Association is one of several groups working on closing the loopholes and making enforcement of the regulations more uniform. They’ve been working on it since 2017 when the Washington Post reported on 36 million pounds of fraudulently labeled soybeans that entered the United States.
“We started our legislative work in 2018 when the new farm bill went into effect,” said Gwendolyn Wyard, the Vice President of Regulatory and Technical Affairs. “That gave the National Organic Program the support, funding, and the authorization to do its work.”
The USDA released a proposed rule last July designed to detect and deter the kind of fraud the industry is fighting. The National Farmers Union points out that millions of dollars of non-organic products have been intentionally mislabeled and sold in the U.S. The scale of the problem is large and requires equally large solutions.
Wyard says this is the largest single piece of rule-making since the USDA organic regulations first went into effect in 2002. She calls it a complete overhaul of the rules that will strengthen the oversight and enforcement of rules governing the production and sale of products. “It will close gaps in the supply chain and strengthen regulations to prevent fraud,” Wyard added.
“We must do this, and we do it right,” she said. “Shoppers need to know that organic standards are strong. Fraud takes the value out of the supply chain and hurts producers wherever they farm. We rely entirely on consumer trust.”
CFAP continues to expand its assistance to American farmers and ranchers.
Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that his agency is making more commodities eligible for assistance under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. The USDA is also extending the application deadline for the program to September 11. After the agency looked through over 1,700 public comments and other data, the move means more farmers and ranchers will get the assistance they need to help keep their operations afloat through tough times.
USDA announced that the list of eligible commodities for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program is expanding. (Photo from USDA.gov)
“We are standing with America’s farmers and ranchers to ensure they get through this pandemic and continue to produce enough food and fiber to feed America and the world,” Perdue says. “That is why he authorized this $16 billion worth of direct support in the CFAP program and today we are pleased to add additional commodities eligible to receive much needed assistance. CFAP is just one of the many ways USDA is helping producers weather the impacts of the pandemic. USDA is leveraging many tools to help producers, including deferring payments on loans and adding flexibilities to crop insurance and reporting deadlines
Background:
USDA collected comments and supporting data for consideration of additional commodities through June 22, 2020. The following additional commodities are now eligible for CFAP:
· Specialty Crops – Aloe leaves, bananas, batatas, bok choy, carambola (star fruit), cherimoya, chervil (French parsley), citron, curry leaves, daikon, dates, dill, donqua (winter melon), dragon fruit (red pitaya), endive, escarole, filberts, frisee, horseradish, kohlrabi, kumquats, leeks, mamey sapote, maple sap (for maple syrup), mesculin mix, microgreens, nectarines, parsley, persimmons, plantains, pomegranates, pummelos, pumpkins, rutabagas, shallots, tangelos, turnips/celeriac, turmeric, upland/winter cress, water cress, yautia/malanga, and yuca/cassava.
· Non-Specialty Crops and Livestock – Liquid eggs, frozen eggs, and all sheep. Only lambs and yearlings (sheep less than two years old) were previously eligible.
· Aquaculture – catfish, crawfish, largemouth bass and carp sold live as food fish, hybrid striped bass, red drum, salmon, sturgeon, tilapia, trout, ornamental/tropical fish, and recreational sportfish.
· Nursery Crops and Flowers – nursery crops and cut flowers.
Other changes to CFAP include:
· Seven commodities – onions (green), pistachios, peppermint, spearmint, walnuts and watermelons – are now eligible for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act funding for sales losses. Originally, these commodities were only eligible for payments on marketing adjustments.
· Correcting payment rates for onions (green), pistachios, peppermint, spearmint, walnuts, and watermelons.
To ensure availability of funding, producers with approved applications initially received 80 percent of their payments. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will automatically issue the remaining 20 percent of the calculated payment to eligible producers. Going forward, producers who apply for CFAP will receive 100 percent of their total payment, not to exceed the payment limit, when their applications are approved.
Applying for CFAP:
Producers, especially those who have not worked with FSA previously, can call 877-508-8364 to begin the application process. An FSA staff member will help producers start their application during the phone call.
On farmers.gov/cfap, producers can:
Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that his agency is making more commodities eligible for assistance under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. The USDA is also extending the application deadline for the program to September 11. After the agency looked through over 1,700 public comments and other data, the move means more farmers and ranchers will get the assistance they need to help keep their operations afloat through tough times.
“We are standing with America’s farmers and ranchers to ensure they get through this pandemic and continue to produce enough food and fiber to feed America and the world,” Perdue says. “That is why he authorized this $16 billion worth of direct support in the CFAP program and today we are pleased to add additional commodities eligible to receive much needed assistance. CFAP is just one of the many ways USDA is helping producers weather the impacts of the pandemic. USDA is leveraging many tools to help producers, including deferring payments on loans and adding flexibilities to crop insurance and reporting deadlines.”
Background:
USDA collected comments and supporting data for consideration of additional commodities through June 22, 2020. The following additional commodities are now eligible for CFAP:
· Specialty Crops – aloe leaves, bananas, batatas, bok choy, carambola (star fruit), cherimoya, chervil (French parsley), citron, curry leaves, daikon, dates, dill, donqua (winter melon), dragon fruit (red pitaya), endive, escarole, filberts, frisee, horseradish, kohlrabi, kumquats, leeks, mamey sapote, maple sap (for maple syrup), mesculin mix, microgreens, nectarines, parsley, persimmons, plantains, pomegranates, pummelos, pumpkins, rutabagas, shallots, tangelos, turnips/celeriac, turmeric, upland/winter cress, water cress, yautia/malanga, and yuca/cassava.
· Non-Specialty Crops and Livestock – liquid eggs, frozen eggs, and all sheep. Only lambs and yearlings (sheep less than two years old) were previously eligible.
· Aquaculture – catfish, crawfish, largemouth bass and carp sold live as food fish, hybrid striped bass, red drum, salmon, sturgeon, tilapia, trout, ornamental/tropical fish, and recreational sportfish.
· Nursery Crops and Flowers – nursery crops and cut flowers.
Other changes to CFAP include:
· Seven commodities – onions (green), pistachios, peppermint, spearmint, walnuts and watermelons – are now eligible for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act funding for sales losses. Originally, these commodities were only eligible for payments on marketing adjustments.
· Correcting payment rates for onions (green), pistachios, peppermint, spearmint, walnuts, and watermelons.
To ensure availability of funding, producers with approved applications initially received 80 percent of their payments. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will automatically issue the remaining 20 percent of the calculated payment to eligible producers. Going forward, producers who apply for CFAP will receive 100 percent of their total payment, not to exceed the payment limit, when their applications are approved.
Applying for CFAP:
Producers, especially those who have not worked with FSA previously, can call 877-508-8364 to begin the application process. An FSA staff member will help producers start their application during the phone call.
On farmers.gov/cfap, producers can:
· Download the AD-3114 application form and manually complete the form to submit to their local USDA Service Center by mail, electronically or by hand delivery to their local office or office drop box.
· Complete the application form using the CFAP Application Generator and Payment Calculator. This Excel workbook allows customers to input information specific to their operation to determine estimated payments and populate the application form, which can be printed, then signed and submitted to their local USDA Service Center.
· If producers have login credentials known as eAuthentication, they can use the online CFAP Application Portal to certify eligible commodities online, digitally sign applications and submit directly to the local USDA Service Center.
All other eligibility forms, such as those related to adjusted gross income and payment information, can be downloaded from farmers.gov/cfap. For existing FSA customers, these documents are likely already on file.
All USDA Service Centers are open for business, including some that are open to visitors to conduct business in person by appointment only. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service or any other Service Center agency should call ahead and schedule an appointment. Service Centers that are open for appointments will pre-screen visitors based on health concerns or recent travel, and visitors must adhere to social distancing guidelines. Visitors are also required to wear a face covering during their appointment. Our program delivery staff will be in the office, and they will be working with our producers in the office, by phone and using online tools. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.
· Download the AD-3114 application form and manually complete the form to submit to their local USDA Service Center by mail, electronically or by hand delivery to their local office or office drop box.
· Complete the application form using the CFAP Application Generator and Payment Calculator. This Excel workbook allows customers to input information specific to their operation to determine estimated payments and populate the application form, which can be printed, then signed and submitted to their local USDA Service Center.
· If producers have login credentials known as eAuthentication, they can use the online CFAP Application Portal to certify eligible commodities online, digitally sign applications and submit directly to the local USDA Service Center.
All other eligibility forms, such as those related to adjusted gross income and payment information, can be downloaded from farmers.gov/cfap. For existing FSA customers, these documents are likely already on file.
Seed packages that Minnesotans didn’t order are still coming into the state in steady numbers from China. Many of the seeds are non-invasive species. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t carry some kind of a pest or disease with them.
This is what a typical package of the mystery seeds with a Chinese postmark look like. (Photo from the MDA)
Reports are still coming into the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) that say citizens continue getting unsolicited seed packages in the mail. To date, over 700 Minnesotans found the seeds in their mailboxes and reported it to the MDA.
The packages contain a variety of seeds. Seed analysts at the MDA Laboratory say some of the seeds are cosmos, radish, mung bean, juniper, basil, cucurbit, and zinnia. Seeds like these are not invasive plants. However, they can carry disease and pests can hide in packaging. The unsolicited seeds likely haven’t gone through proper inspection channels to enter the country legally. The labels typically say something like jewelry is inside.
The MDA is working with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on the issue. Minnesota is sending all the collected seeds to the USDA for additional identification and destruction. Federal officials are investigating the source of the seeds, and the USDA is currently referring to the situation as a “brushing scam.” In that type of scam, people get unsolicited items from a seller who then posts false customer reviews to boost sales. Their latest statement on the seed packages can be found here.
Those receiving the packages have indicated they either never made an online seed order or they purchased seeds online earlier in the year but never got them. Their order information indicates it is still unfulfilled.
Minnesotans should take the following steps to deal with unsolicited packages of seeds.
Save the seeds and the package they came in, including the mailing label.
Do not open the seed packets.
Do not plant any of the seeds.
In case the package is already open, place all materials (seeds and packaging) into a tightly-sealed plastic bag.
If you have planted the seeds you received, please destroy any plants that have germinated. Plants and soil aren’t eligible for most trash collection. However, in this unusual situation, pull up the plants, double bag them and the surrounding soil, and dispose of everything in the trash. Do not compost the seeds, plants, or soil. Please notify the MDA if you have disposed of any seeds or plants through our contact form.
You should always buy seeds from a reputable source. Minnesota law says all seeds sold in the state need correct labels. People selling seeds need to have a permit from the MDA. You can look up seed permit holders on the MDA website. Never plant unlabeled or unknown seeds.
“Mystery Seeds.” The first thing that came to mind was a possible title for a “Scooby-Doo” episode. Just when you thought 2020 couldn’t get any stranger, people in at least 10 states have received packages with a Chinese postmark and a label that says some kind of jewelry is inside. However, it’s a different story after they open the box.
What these Americans are receiving is an unsolicited package of seeds. States like Minnesota, Louisiana, Utah, Virginia, Kentucky, Washington state, and others are reporting similar situations. One thing to get out of the way right away is that under no circumstances should anyone plant those seeds.
One example of mystery seeds that were sent to a Minnesotan recently. (Photo from the Minnesota Department of Ag)
“We’re uncertain what those seeds may be and why people are receiving packages they didn’t send for,” says Denise Thiede, Seed Unit Supervisor with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. “Until we know more, we’re encouraging people to contact us because of the risk those seeds may pose to Minnesota agriculture and our natural landscapes.”
Washington state just recorded its first known case of an unsolicited seed shipment late last week. I talked with Karla Salp, the Public Engagement Specialist with the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Not one but two Washington residents picked up seeds in the mail they didn’t order from China.
“One of those residents sent us a picture of the seeds so we could see what they were talking about,” Salp says. “We thought they looked a lot like some kind of citrus seeds, while the labels said the packages contained some sort of jewelry.
More “Mystery Seeds” from China. (Photo from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture)
“Initially, we had been telling folks who received the seeds to report it to USDA,” she said. “They handle reports of agricultural smuggling. “The social media post advising people to contact USDA has been seen by over 30 million people. We’re sure that USDA knows all about the problem now.”
So, the Washington Ag Department is asking their residents to put the seeds in a Ziploc bag and put them in their regular trash. Do not putt them in something like a compost pile. “Most of the packages have another package within them,” Salp says. “The seeds are often in a second package inside the shipping container. Residents need to leave the seeds inside the sealed container. Do not open them up, and definitely do not plant them.”
Each state will have its own directions for residents who receive the seeds through the mail. The Minnesota Ag Department says don’t throw away the package or its contents and do not plant the seeds,. After that, contact the Arrest the Pest line at 888-545-6684. They’ll need your name, contact info, and the date you received the package.
Minnesota officials will then coordinate shipping the package and its contents to the MDA Seed Program. The MDA is currently working with the USDA’s Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance Program on identifying and destroying the seeds.
Salp says putting unknown seeds in U.S. soil could be problematic.
“It could be a combination of any of those three reasons I just listed,” she added. “It could be an invasive species that also carries a specific plant disease. These are some of the serious reasons that things like this need to go through the proper channels at the border if they’re a plant-based product.”
The USDA is working with federal and state agencies to investigate these unsolicited packages.
“We are also working with various online retailers to address some of these issues as well,” Salp said.
Prevented planting, cover crops, and a wet fall taught farmers across the Midwest a lot of lessons going into 2020. The South Dakota NRCS has put together a short film
In this discussion, farmers and specialists go over some of the lessons learned in 2020.
Wet August 2019 conditions prevented some cover crops from being planted; farmers were left weighing up terminating covers in the fall or leaving them to overwinter and provide spring growth; the perspective of experienced cover croppers on their attitudes to reseeding of covers (e.g., buckwheat) and how they deal with them.
Cover crops and prevent plant acres in 2019; the South Dakota NRCS documented some lessons learned from last year and how they apply to the 2020 crop year. (Photo from NPR.org(
“Growing Resilience” is intended to help farmers and ranchers gain insights into 2020 crop year thinking from eight farmers and several technical specialists from the South Dakota NRCS and SDSU. Filmed in late-February 2020 in Mitchell and Crooks, SD, these recorded conversations offer candid comments on issues they faced on 2019 Prevented Planting acres, and how their soil improvement journey makes their fields more resilient.
These short video stories provide farmers and ranchers with ideas and options to consider now and for future growing seasons. Additional resources, including technical guidelines, are available on our website at www.sd.nrcs.usda.gov > Soils > Growing Resilience with Soil Health.Specialists with the USDA NRCS are respecting social distancing and are available by phone or email for answering questions. Please visit farmers.gov/service-center-locator to find the latest COVID19 operational status and a directory with your local office and employee contact information.
Please feel free to “like and share” on your favorite social media!
Initiated by the USDA NRCS with a Partnership Work Group. Produced by the University of South Carolina in collaboration with the USDA NRCS serving South Dakota.
The views and opinions of the farmer participants expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.
