“China Joins U.S. With Carbon Emissions Offer”
The official New China News Agency reports that China will lower its carbon emissions relative to the size of its economy by as much as 45 percent by 2020. Many world leaders were hoping for a 50 to 55 percent cut. Never-the-less, the 45 percent figure is close enough to suggest a possible breakthrough in Denmark this month’s during climate negotiations.
The Chinese announcement is on the heels of an announcement by the White House late last week that President Obama is prepared to offer a U.S. emissions reduction target in the range of 17% below 2005 levels in 2020. Pending legislation in the U.s. Congress calls for a 42% reduction below 2005 in 2030.
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“USTR Caries US Standard in WTO Conference”
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told the Opening Plenary of the 7th Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference Monday that – as our economic recovery begins and deepens worldwide, trade can and should play an important role in the restoration of global prosperity. He challenged WTO Members to – deliver a strong outcome in the Doha Round of negotiations – one that opens markets and creates significant new trading opportunities in agriculture, industrial goods and in services.
Ambassador Kirk said – the United States is committed to achieving such an outcome, and I believe that success is possible in 2010. But, he cautioned, – substance will drive our progress, and success is not something that any one Member, or any small group of Members, can deliver or dictate. The circle of leadership within the WTO has grown broader and more inclusive and each and every Member of this leadership group has a responsibility.
Kirk pledged that – for our part, the United States’ negotiating team is ready to move into the endgame. We have made our specific interests well known: – that meaningful market opening is required to complete the Round. And we are looking for concrete signs from other members that they are ready to join us in that commitment.
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“WTO Ministerial Conference Begins in Geneva”
During the opening session of the Seventh WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva, World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy challenged those attending to – follow the proverb “unity is strength”, – and expressed the hope – we come out of the next few days stronger, more united and with clear determination to conclude the Round in 2010. He added, – as long as members continue to follow responsible policies at home, the WTO system should continue to provide a global insurance policy against protectionism.
The Director-General warned, – trade in itself is not a magic potion. For trade to work, it has to be rooted in a bedrock of domestic policies that enable its potential gains to be realized. He said, – the commitments we negotiate here need to complement and support these domestic policies. Now, more than ever, it is time to reinforce the message that open trade is not a zero-sum game.
He also pointed out – the single largest adjustment we need to make is to conclude the Doha Round successfully and soon. This is not just about its economic benefits, it is also about our collective ability and determination to preserve and strengthen the global public good, which is the multilateral trading system. According to Lamy, – the moment of truth is fast approaching – you will have to decide whether the 2010 target can be met.
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“USDA Funds Will Help Meet International Standards”
USDA has donated 250-thousand dollars to the Standards and Trade Development Facility, in a global effort which is aimed at enhancing the flow of trade by helping developing countries establish and implement sanitary and phytosanitary standards.
The funds assist developing countries in a variety of areas, including the creation of national strategies on food safety, and animal and plant health; strengthening countries’ SPS-related laws, regulations and regulatory infrastructure; and improving their inspection, monitoring and certification capabilities.
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack points out – when countries improve their SPS capabilities, they also improve their own food security by supporting the safety of food consumed domestically, by protecting their agricultural production from losses due to pests and diseases and by promoting economic growth through new access to agricultural export markets.
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“CBO Reports Costs on Health Care Bill”
After a review of the Senate Democrats’ health care bill, the Congressional Budget Office reports that individuals who purchase health coverage through an “exchange” in the bill would pay higher premiums than they would under current law for their plans. But, new subsidies would offset the increased costs for more than half those people. CBO reports, the reason for higher premiums is that proposed regulations would force insurance companies to offer a greater level of coverage in the plans they sold.
According to the analysis, once the bill’s programs were fully implemented in 2016, people buying insurance plans individually on the exchange would pay 10 percent to 13 percent more per person than they would under current law. But some 57 percent of people on the exchange would get subsidies in the form of tax credits, and on average those individuals would actually pay 56 percent to 59 percent less for their premiums than they would otherwise.
The average premium for those buying through the exchange would be 58-hundred dollars for a single plan, or 15,200 dollars for a family plan. However, according to CBO, – the majority of nongroup enrollees would receive subsidies via the new insurance exchanges, and those subsidies . . . would cover nearly two-thirds of the total premium.
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“USDA Declares Hundreds of Counties-Parishes Natural Disaster Areas”
The entire state of Rhode Island, 53 Parishes in Louisiana and 24 Counties in North Dakota are just some of the areas USDA has designated as primary natural disaster areas because of various weather or natural disasters. Also, joining the list are: six counties in Connecticut; Hawaii County in Hawaii; Oxford County in Maine; Garfield, Lake, Sanders, Toole and Valley Counties in Montana; 21 counties in New York State; Bowie, Castro and Cochran Counties in Texas; and six counties in Washington State.
These counties and parishes and nearly 200 adjacent counties and parishes are now eligible for low interest emergency loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. Producers in these areas now have eight months to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.
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“Justice Department Looking at Big Ag Businesses”
The Obama administration has tossed out the antitrust guidelines of its predecessor and has asked the U.S. Justice Department to take a close look at big agriculture firms like Monsanto. During the Bush administration, the Justice Department did not file a single case under antimonopoly laws regulating a dominant firm. But, now Justice wants to see if Monsanto’s pricing policies of its technologies are justified.
Monsanto’s dominant role in the nation’s agricultural technology boom has its detractors. Farmers have decried the price increases, and competitors say the company has ruthlessly stifled competition.
Monsanto says it has done nothing wrong. In a statement the company says – farmers choose these products because of the value they deliver on farm. The statement continues, – given the phenomenally broad adoption of these technologies by farmers, such questions are normal and to be expected.
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“Chicken Council Questions Consumer Reports Survey”
A survey conducted by Consumer Reports indicates that of the 382 chickens it tested 62 percent had detectable Campylobacter and 14 percent had identifiable Salmonella. 32 percent of the birds tested were clear of both pathogens. Consumer Reports said the cleanest chickens were organic “air-chilled” broilers. The store-bought broilers were purchased in 22 states.
In a statement, NCC acknowledged that raw chicken may harbor some microorganisms
but pointed out that these microorganisms are destroyed by heat in normal cooking. The group said consumers also are encouraged to follow safe handling and cooking instructions provided on – every package of fresh meat and poultry sold in this country.
NCC also pointed to – a much more comprehensive survey – by USDA that found a lower prevalence of campylobacter and salmonella on raw chicken than reported by Consumer Reports. Further, NCC notes, the USDA survey found that the levels of microorganisms detected are usually very low.
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“Concerns Over Cotton Pests Rise”
Researchers have found 13 previously unreported hosts for tarnished plant bugs and 8 previously unreported hosts for fleahoppers. All of these weeds have been commonly found in Central Texas and the tarnished plant bugs and fleahoppers are problems for cotton growers. Both insects cause major damage when they jump from weeds to developing cotton each spring. The tarnished plant bug infested 4.8 million acres of U.S. cotton in 2008, making it the single most damaging insect for domestic cotton. The fleahopper ranked fifth, infesting 2.3 million acres.
Adult tarnished plant bugs spend winters in ground litter and emerge in spring to feed on wild plants. They infest developing cotton buds, damage bolls and are believed to transmit cotton diseases. Cotton fleahoppers emerge from eggs in the spring and feed on weeds before moving to cotton in May and early June. Cotton fleahoppers have reportedly infested cotton located 20 miles from their weed hosts.
Growers have traditionally sprayed for boll weevils, and these insecticide sprays also helped control the tarnished plant bug and the cotton fleahopper. But successful eradication efforts to control boll weevils, the increasing use of Bt cotton, and more target-specific insecticides have reduced the need for spraying and raised concerns about keeping fleahoppers, tarnished plant bugs and other cotton pest insects in check.
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“Sorghum Producers Get Better Crop Insurance Elections”
After the Risk Management Agency released a new methodology showing sorghum’s crop insurance price elections at 97.8 percent of the value of corn, the National Sorghum Producers claimed a huge victory for the sorghum industry. The reason being the 97.8 percent figures is up from only 88 percent last year.
The National Sorghum Producers has been working hard with RMA over the past eight years to improve price elections, and RMA’s new methodology demonstrated the organization’s ability to deliver tangible results to its members. For sorghum producers, this new value can mean between $20 through $50 per acre or more in increased insurance coverage for sorghum depending on individual yields and coverage levels.
Gerald Simonsen, NSP chairman of the board, says – this is going to greatly help sorghum producers manage their risk. During the 2008 Farm Bill debate, NSP worked with Congressman Jerry Moran and others to include a provision to develop a new methodology that was replicable and transparent. The new methodology posted by RMA incorporates a time period of 10 years to calculate the price elections. This new crop insurance price election will be in effect for the 2010 crop year.
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“NASS Releases Survey Reports”
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service has released two reports of interest to agriculture. Results of the 2008 Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey and the specialty Crops publication for the 2007 Census of Agriculture. The Irrigation Survey provides details on acres and yield of irrigated crops, quantity of water applied, method of water application, irrigation expenditures and other data on farm and ranch irrigation.
Developed in response to requests from several agricultural groups, the new Specialty Crops report provides facts and figures for specialty crop agriculture. Information is available for fruits, vegetables, Christmas trees, maple syrup, and more. Data published in the Specialty Crops publication includes farm numbers and typology, as well as producers’ demographic data.
The irrigation information for these operations will be published separately and will become available February 11, 2010.
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“NASS to Continue Crop Progress Reports for One Extra Week”
The National Agricultural Statistics Service is extending its national Crop Progress program by one week. The final 2009 national Crop Progress report is scheduled to be released at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, December 7. NASS officials will continue to monitor the harvest progress of all crops to determine if additional data collection and estimation are necessary after December 7.
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“Senate Ag Committee to Dive Into Financial Regulatory Pool of Reform”
The Senate Ag Committee will hold a hearing titled “OTC Derivatives Reform and Addressing Systemic Risk” Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. This hearing will examine the Administration’s proposed legislation on financial regulatory reform with Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner testifying on behalf of the Administration. The Committee will examine the proposal from various perspectives, and will also address suggested alternatives. This will be the Committee’s second hearing on financial regulatory reform.
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