Ohio Farmers Union

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United to Grow Family Agriculture Since 1934

U.S. EPA keeps renewable fuel standard in place

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Some states had requested loosening in wake of drought

You may recall that during the height of the summer drought season, some states had requested that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency temporarily loosen the renewable fuel standard affecting gasoline. States argued that looser standards would help alleviate expected price pressure on corn due to the drought. Here’s what the EPA said in a press release today:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that the agency has not found evidence to support a finding of severe “economic harm” that would warrant granting a waiver of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The decision is based on economic analyses and modeling done in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

“We recognize that this year’s drought has created hardship in some sectors of the economy, particularly for livestock producers,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “But our extensive analysis makes clear that Congressional requirements for a waiver have not been met and that waiving the RFS will have little, if any, impact.”

To support the waiver decision, EPA conducted several economic analyses. Economic analyses of impacts in the agricultural sector, conducted with USDA, showed that on average waiving the mandate would only reduce corn prices by approximately one percent. Economic analyses of impacts in the energy sector, conducted with DOE, showed that waiving the mandate would not impact household energy costs.

EPA found that the evidence and information failed to support a determination that implementation of the RFS mandate during the 2012-2013 time period would severely harm the economy of a State, a region, or the United States, the standard established by Congress in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct).

EPAct required EPA to implement a renewable fuels standard to ensure that transportation fuel sold in the United States contains a minimum volume of renewable fuel. A waiver of the mandate requires EPA, working with USDA and DOE, to make a finding of “severe economic harm” from the RFS mandate itself.

 

Ohio FSA’s Maurer Reminds Farmers That All Ohio Counties Were Designated as Primary or Contiguous Disaster Areas

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Steve Maurer, the State Executive Director for the USDA Ohio Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds producers about the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretarial designation on Sept. 5, 2012. All of Ohio’s counties were designated as primary or contiguous agricultural natural disaster areas due to drought and excessive heat that occurred from February 1, 2012 and continuing.

This gives all qualified farm operators in the designated areas the opportunity to file an application for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s FSA, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

USDA FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the emergency loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity. Other programs available to assist farmers include the Emergency Conservation Program, Federal Crop Insurance, and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.

Interested farmers may contact their local FSA county office for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs.

 

USDA FSA extends emergency haying, grazing two months

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Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced a two-month extension for emergency grazing on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres, freeing up forage and feed for ranchers as they look to recover from this challenging time. This flexibility for ranchers marks the latest action by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide assistance to producers impacted by the drought, which has included opening CRP and other conservation acres to emergency haying and grazing, lowering the interest rate for emergency loans, and working with crop insurance companies to provide flexibility to farmers.

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How does the USDA disaster declaration process work?

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For the past several weeks, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has announced dozens or even hundreds of additional counties across the U.S. that have been declared primary drought disaster areas. What’s it mean? If you’re a farmer worried about crop loss or early livestock sales, can you get help?

An agricultural disaster declaration for your county – or a county adjacent to yours – means that USDA guaranteed, low-interest emergency loans will be available to help farmers and ranchers meet cashflow requirements in the face of lost crops or livestock. The loan program is administered through USDA’s Farm Service Agency, meaning you can assistance at the state or local level. Farmers and ranchers in declared counties can get help. In some cases, there may be FSA emergency programs available in addition to the emergency loans.

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Infographic: The U.S. drought & the cost of food

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The USDA makes the point with this infographic that commodity prices – the corn, beans, grain and proteins from fields and pastures – are a low portion of the overall cost of your food. The National Farmers Union and OFU have been making this case for years via regular publication of the “Farmer’s Share” of the retail food dollar.

USDA $170 million meat purchase to help farmers and ranchers affected by drought

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USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday that the Obama Administration remains committed to pulling out all the stops for U.S. farmers and ranchers affected by the drought and followed up with an announced purchase of $170 million in meat products.

The purchase will include pork, poultry, lamb and fish. USDA hopes it will help producers having difficulty raising livestock in drought conditions. The meat purchases will go to the nation’s food banks, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other U.S. safety net programs that fight hunger.

“President Obama and I will continue to take swift action to get help to America’s farmers and ranchers through this difficult time,” said Vilsack. “These purchases will assist pork, catfish, chicken and lamb producers who are currently struggling due to challenging market conditions and the high cost of feed resulting from the widespread drought. The purchases will help mitigate further downward prices, stabilize market conditions, and provide high quality, nutritious food to recipients of USDA’s nutrition programs.”

USDA’s intention is to purchase up to $100 million of pork products, up to $10 million of catfish products, up to $50 million in chicken products, and up to $10 million of lamb products. Through the Emergency Surplus Removal Program, USDA can use Section 32 funds to purchase meat and poultry products to assist farmers and ranchers who have been affected by natural disasters. The pork, lamb and catfish purchases are based on analyses of current market conditions. A major factor affecting livestock producers is the value of feed, which is currently running high because of the drought.

Ohio farmers urged to report crop losses, low yields to FSA

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With the continued hot dry weather conditions throughout Ohio, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) encourages farmers to document and report crop losses or low crop yields to their local FSA office.

Producers with crops covered by crop insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) must report crop losses resulting from a weather-related disaster event within 15 days of the disaster or when the loss first becomes apparent. Prevented planting must be reported no later than 15 days after the final planting date.

Crop losses are acres that were timely planted with the intent to harvest, but the crop failed because of a natural disaster. It is important that producers file accurate and timely loss reports to prevent the potential loss of FSA program benefits.

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Ohio Farmers Union
P.O. Box 363
1011 N. Defiance Street
Ottawa, Ohio 45875
Phone: (419) 523-5300
Toll Free: (800) 321-3671