OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The ongoing bird flu outbreak has cost the government roughly $661 million and added to consumers' pain at the grocery store after more than 58 million birds were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-bird-flu-flu-animals-189a7c08d848047f00b3f7b5bec39e67">slaughtered</a>&nbsp;to limit the spread of the virus.

In addition to the cost of the government response and rising prices for eggs, chicken and turkey, farmers who raise those animals have easily lost more than $1 billion, said an agricultural economist, though no one has calculated the total cost to the industry yet.

The bad news is that with the outbreak entering its second year and the spring migratory season looming, there is no end in sight. And there is little&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-environment-and-nature-iowa-agriculture-9245d97453568576bd0b564f9c52c343">farmers</a>&nbsp;can do beyond&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-business-iowa-agriculture-f5a5c6fbf1d6b551413fb249086fdbec">the steps they have already taken</a>&nbsp;to try to keep the virus out.

Unlike past years,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-flu-prices-animals-1ec0f5a8e5485300fe117f87f8470f06">the virus that causes</a>&nbsp;highly pathogenic avian influenza found a way to survive through the heat of last summer, leading to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-minnesota-animals-flu-animal-2f02b2d35e82feb05273d9a72e898170">rise in cases</a>&nbsp;reported in the fall.

The outbreak is already more widespread than the last major bird flu outbreak in 2015, but it hasn't proven as costly yet partly because the government and industry applied lessons learned eight years ago.

“The past year has been devastating for the turkey industry as we experience, unequivocally, the worst HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) outbreak in the industry’s history,” National Turkey Federation spokeswoman Shelby Newman said.

In the current outbreak, 58.4 million birds have been slaughtered on more than 300 commercial farms in 47 states. That is because any time the virus is detected, the entire flock on that farm — which can number in the millions — must be killed to limit the spread of the disease. Only Hawaii, Louisiana and West Virginia have yet to report a case of bird flu. Iowa — the nation's biggest egg producer —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-iowa-bird-flu-4c49e56a8c84c425c308e97617e31066">leads the nation</a>&nbsp;with nearly 16 million birds slaughtered.

In 2015, about 50 million chickens and turkeys were slaughtered on more than 200 farms in 15 states.

That previous outbreak remains the most expensive animal health disaster in U.S. history. The federal government spent nearly $1 billion to deal with infected birds, clean up barns and compensate farmers. It cost the industry roughly $3 billion as farmers incurred additional costs and lost money when they didn’t have any birds on their farms.

This bills continue to pile up this year as cases spread, and that includes the cost to consumers.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-business-213d845ae92814bf3189eec9c1ccf902">Egg prices shot up</a>&nbsp;to $4.82 a dozen in January from $1.93 a year earlier, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://ag.purdue.edu/cfdas/resource-library/average-food-prices/">latest government figures</a>. That spike prompted calls for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-commodity-markets-jack-reed-business-1b32cb587f20a8d44eaf707f72635e70">price-gouging investigation</a>&nbsp;although the industry maintains that the combination of bird flu and significantly higher feed, fuel and labor costs is what’s driving prices so high.

The price for a pound of chicken breast was $4.32 in January. That’s down slightly from last fall when the price peaked at $4.75, but it is up significantly from the year before when chicken breasts were selling for $3.73 per pound.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t track retail turkey prices the same way as part of its inflation data, but the Agriculture Department says the wholesale price of turkey went from $1.29 per pound last January just before the bird flu outbreak began to $1.72 per pound last month.

The number of birds slaughtered peaked last spring at almost 21 million in March, leaving farmers leery of what they must face in the months ahead. University of Georgia virus researcher David Stallknecht said there is some hope that this spring might not be quite as bad because turkeys and chickens may have developed some immunity to the virus.

The key problem with bird flu is that the highly contagious virus is spread easily by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-minnesota-environment-0ec6d3f11b09ddd023d7d5d50ab7f8c1">wild birds</a>&nbsp;through their droppings and nasal discharges. Despite the best efforts of farmers, it is hard to keep the virus out.

Farmers have gone to great lengths by requiring workers to shower and change clothes before entering barns, sanitizing trucks that enter a farm and investing in separate sets of tools for every barn. Some farms have even upgraded barn ventilation and installed laser systems to discourage wild birds from congregating.

“We recommend all producers redouble their efforts to protect their birds through good biosecurity practices,” said Lyndsay Cole, a spokeswoman for the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service that's leading the government's response.

Farmers began following those steps after the 2015 outbreak, and this outbreak has only reinforced the need to tighten biosecurity.

“America’s egg farmers continue to double-down on biosecurity protocols to protect our flocks and maintain a stable egg supply. We are grateful that there has been little to no farm-to-farm spread in this current outbreak,” said Oscar Garrison, senior vice president of food safety and regulatory affairs at the United Egg Producers trade group.

Poultry and egg producers, partnering with the government, are parsing this outbreak for new lessons in keeping birds healthy.

“That’s really the key – early detection. It’s kind of like a forest fire - the earlier you detect it, the easier it is to contain and eradicate,” National Chicken Council spokesman Tom Super said.

Officials say bird flu doesn’t represent a significant threat to human health. Human cases are extremely rare and none of the infected birds are allowed into the nation’s food supply. And properly cooking poultry to 165 degrees Fahrenheit will kill any viruses.

There has only been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-environment-colorado-b98906e0a1899bb1f92da30a7b1dbe28">one human case</a>&nbsp;of bird flu confirmed during this outbreak and that was a man who had been helping slaughter and remove infected birds from a Colorado farm. He recovered from the illness after a few days.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666346539753.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The ongoing bird flu outbreak has cost the government roughly $661 million and added to consumers' pain at the grocery store after more than 58 million birds were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-bird-flu-flu-animals-189a7c08d848047f00b3f7b5bec39e67">slaughtered</a>&nbsp;to limit the spread of the virus.In addition to the cost of the government response and rising prices for eggs, chicken and turkey, farmers who raise those animals have easily lost more than $1 billion, said an agricultural economist, though no one has calculated the total cost to the industry yet.The bad news is that with the outbreak entering its second year and the spring migratory season looming, there is no end in sight. And there is little&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-environment-and-nature-iowa-agriculture-9245d97453568576bd0b564f9c52c343">farmers</a>&nbsp;can do beyond&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-business-iowa-agriculture-f5a5c6fbf1d6b551413fb249086fdbec">the steps they have already taken</a>&nbsp;to try to keep the virus out.Unlike past years,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-flu-prices-animals-1ec0f5a8e5485300fe117f87f8470f06">the virus that causes</a>&nbsp;highly pathogenic avian influenza found a way to survive through the heat of last summer, leading to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-minnesota-animals-flu-animal-2f02b2d35e82feb05273d9a72e898170">rise in cases</a>&nbsp;reported in the fall.The outbreak is already more widespread than the last major bird flu outbreak in 2015, but it hasn't proven as costly yet partly because the government and industry applied lessons learned eight years ago.“The past year has been devastating for the turkey industry as we experience, unequivocally, the worst HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) outbreak in the industry’s history,” National Turkey Federation spokeswoman Shelby Newman said.In the current outbreak, 58.4 million birds have been slaughtered on more than 300 commercial farms in 47 states. That is because any time the virus is detected, the entire flock on that farm — which can number in the millions — must be killed to limit the spread of the disease. Only Hawaii, Louisiana and West Virginia have yet to report a case of bird flu. Iowa — the nation's biggest egg producer —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-iowa-bird-flu-4c49e56a8c84c425c308e97617e31066">leads the nation</a>&nbsp;with nearly 16 million birds slaughtered.In 2015, about 50 million chickens and turkeys were slaughtered on more than 200 farms in 15 states.That previous outbreak remains the most expensive animal health disaster in U.S. history. The federal government spent nearly $1 billion to deal with infected birds, clean up barns and compensate farmers. It cost the industry roughly $3 billion as farmers incurred additional costs and lost money when they didn’t have any birds on their farms.This bills continue to pile up this year as cases spread, and that includes the cost to consumers.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-business-213d845ae92814bf3189eec9c1ccf902">Egg prices shot up</a>&nbsp;to $4.82 a dozen in January from $1.93 a year earlier, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://ag.purdue.edu/cfdas/resource-library/average-food-prices/">latest government figures</a>. That spike prompted calls for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-commodity-markets-jack-reed-business-1b32cb587f20a8d44eaf707f72635e70">price-gouging investigation</a>&nbsp;although the industry maintains that the combination of bird flu and significantly higher feed, fuel and labor costs is what’s driving prices so high.The price for a pound of chicken breast was $4.32 in January. That’s down slightly from last fall when the price peaked at $4.75, but it is up significantly from the year before when chicken breasts were selling for $3.73 per pound.The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t track retail turkey prices the same way as part of its inflation data, but the Agriculture Department says the wholesale price of turkey went from $1.29 per pound last January just before the bird flu outbreak began to $1.72 per pound last month.The number of birds slaughtered peaked last spring at almost 21 million in March, leaving farmers leery of what they must face in the months ahead. University of Georgia virus researcher David Stallknecht said there is some hope that this spring might not be quite as bad because turkeys and chickens may have developed some immunity to the virus.The key problem with bird flu is that the highly contagious virus is spread easily by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-minnesota-environment-0ec6d3f11b09ddd023d7d5d50ab7f8c1">wild birds</a>&nbsp;through their droppings and nasal discharges. Despite the best efforts of farmers, it is hard to keep the virus out.Farmers have gone to great lengths by requiring workers to shower and change clothes before entering barns, sanitizing trucks that enter a farm and investing in separate sets of tools for every barn. Some farms have even upgraded barn ventilation and installed laser systems to discourage wild birds from congregating.“We recommend all producers redouble their efforts to protect their birds through good biosecurity practices,” said Lyndsay Cole, a spokeswoman for the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service that's leading the government's response.Farmers began following those steps after the 2015 outbreak, and this outbreak has only reinforced the need to tighten biosecurity.“America’s egg farmers continue to double-down on biosecurity protocols to protect our flocks and maintain a stable egg supply. We are grateful that there has been little to no farm-to-farm spread in this current outbreak,” said Oscar Garrison, senior vice president of food safety and regulatory affairs at the United Egg Producers trade group.Poultry and egg producers, partnering with the government, are parsing this outbreak for new lessons in keeping birds healthy.“That’s really the key – early detection. It’s kind of like a forest fire - the earlier you detect it, the easier it is to contain and eradicate,” National Chicken Council spokesman Tom Super said.Officials say bird flu doesn’t represent a significant threat to human health. Human cases are extremely rare and none of the infected birds are allowed into the nation’s food supply. And properly cooking poultry to 165 degrees Fahrenheit will kill any viruses.There has only been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-environment-colorado-b98906e0a1899bb1f92da30a7b1dbe28">one human case</a>&nbsp;of bird flu confirmed during this outbreak and that was a man who had been helping slaughter and remove infected birds from a Colorado farm. He recovered from the illness after a few days.

Bird flu costs pile up as outbreak enters second year

By ADAM GOLDSTEIN <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/17/state-ag-officials-push-for-on-time-farm-bill-to-fund-slew-of-programs/">States Newsroom</a>

WASHINGTON — State agriculture 
officials from across the country sought this month to remind a new crop
 of lawmakers in Congress of their states’ needs for a robust farm bill 
to address a host of food issues.

Members of the National Association 
of State Departments of Agriculture gathered in Washington for their 
annual winter meeting in mid-February. They urged Congress to provide a 
timely, fully funded farm bill to address a wide range of issues 
affecting agriculture, including technology, conservation and foreign 
trade.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Throughout the two-day conference, 
members of the coalition stressed the bipartisan history of the bill and
 the importance of educating a new Congress on titles that support 
American food systems amid changing economic and environmental landscapes.&nbsp;

The state officials urged Congress to
 include nutrition programs in the farm bill, as past versions have 
done. They also advocated for bolstering crop insurance and allocating 
more money to research, animal safety, and conservation programs.&nbsp;

“It’s just a responsibility we have 
to make sure that all of our producers, our economies, our communities 
of every size have a forward-looking and fully funded farm bill,” NASDA 
president Doug Miyamoto, the director of the Wyoming Department of 
Agriculture, said in an interview.&nbsp;

Miyamoto was appointed to his state post by Republican former Gov. Matt Mead in 2015.

“We’ve got to make sure that we do 
this correctly,” he added. “We can’t start splintering off programs and 
splintering off ideas in the farm bill, and then hoping that we’re going
 to be able to get a comprehensive farm bill that’s on time.”

Mike Naig, secretary of the Iowa 
Department of Agriculture and an elected Republican, said it’s important
 for lawmakers — especially those who weren’t in office when the 2018 
bill was written — to remember that the measure is not just a farm bill,
 but a farm-and-food bill.

“There’s a lot of new members of 
Congress that have never had a chance to vote on a farm bill,” Naig 
said. “A lot of work has to be done to educate folks on that.”

Kate Greenberg, the commissioner of 
the Colorado Department of Agriculture who was appointed by Democratic 
Gov. Jared Polis, also advocated for considering nutrition and 
agricultural policy in the same bill to keep the “critical nexus point 
of production and consumers.”&nbsp;

She added members of Congress must put aside their differences to strengthen the “bread and butter of the American economy.”

“Let’s keep our heads down and focus 
on the impact of the policy and the appropriations on the American 
landscape in agriculture,” she said.

The five-year farm bill does not appropriate funding, which Congress does annually in&nbsp; separate bills. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-commodity-policy/farm-bill-spending/#:~:text=Mandatory%20funding.,not%20constrained%20by%20annual%20limits.">But it does authorize dollar amounts for discretionary programs</a>
 that set expectations for actual spending bills. Other programs 
authorize mandatory funding not subject to annual decisions by 
lawmakers.

Lloyd Knight, deputy director of the 
Idaho State Department of Agriculture, encouraged Congress to provide 
certainty to farmers across the country by finishing the farm bill 
before the current authorizations expire Sept. 30.

Mike Strain, the Republican 
commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, 
advocated for increasing funding for research and development of 
technology, especially as demand continues to outpace supply for U.S. 
agricultural goods.&nbsp;

Louisiana sugar production, for example, needs to be twice as efficient as it is today, he said.

Jeff Witte, director of the New 
Mexico Department of Agriculture, said research provisions would also be
 key for Western specialty crop farmers who <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-labor/">need to address worker shortages.&nbsp;</a>

Farmers in the state have converted 
from vegetable crops to tree nuts because the labor was cheaper, he 
said. But that trend could lead to an unwanted imbalance in what food 
crops are available to consumers, he added.

“If we don’t start investing in 
technology that can do the harvesting of other produce crops, we’re 
going to get way too far behind,” he said.&nbsp;

Alabama Department of Agriculture and
 Industry Commissioner Rick Pate, a Republican, said developing foreign 
markets through the Foreign Agricultural Service should be a priority in
 the bill.&nbsp;

U.S. Under Secretary of Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor said<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fas.usda.gov/newsroom/testimony-usda-under-secretary-trade-and-foreign-agricultural-affairs-alexis-taylor-senate"> in a Feb. 1 Senate hearing</a>
 that for every dollar the U.S. invests in developing foreign markets, 
U.S. farmers see a $24 return in the value of their products.&nbsp;

“They think there’s a huge return on 
what travel we can do and the marketing program that they find through 
our organization,” Pate said. “So we just need to continue to take the 
farmer story to people.”

Naig added the new farm bill needs to modernize and reinforce the federal crop safety net.

“I just don’t want to see anything undermine the importance of the crop insurance program,” he said.&nbsp;

Naig said farmers had broad interest 
in market-based environmental incentives in the coming farm bill. 
Concepts like soil health and carbon sequestration have entered the 
mainstream of agribusiness, but farmers are still wary about their 
costs.&nbsp;

“What has to be acknowledged is that 
there’s costs associated with implementing some of these practices,” 
Naig said. “So if you want to see significant adoption, how do you help 
them achieve a return on that investment? If you do that well and do 
that correctly, you will get implementation at a scale that you couldn’t
 otherwise.”&nbsp;

Jordan Seger, deputy director of the 
Indiana State Department of Agriculture, said he hopes to see federal 
encouragement of public-private conservation partnerships. He touted 
Indiana’s work with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/enterprise-rent-a-car-foundation-pledges-30-million-to-the-nature-conservancy-to-improve-the-health-of-rivers-and-freshwater-ecosystems-301622428.html">the Nature Conservancy and Enterprise Rent-a-Car</a> to regrow wetlands and forests in the state.&nbsp;

“With about one dollar, we can get 
about seven or more dollars from the federal government, put that all 
toward private lands, and leverage each other’s resources and expertise 
to get things done quickly,” Seger said.&nbsp;

Randy Romanski, who was appointed 
secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and 
Consumer Protection by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, said Congress should 
use the farm bill to get a better handle on animal health, noting <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/bird-flu-alarm-drives-world-towards-once-shunned-vaccines-2023-02-17/">outbreaks of avian influenza</a> that have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/past-outbreaks.htm">plagued the country since 2015.&nbsp;</a>

Congress could create a national warning network for emerging animal diseases, like avian flu and African swine fever, he said.

“Clearly, this is something that 
crosses state boundaries,” Romanski said. “We need to have systems in 
place to track, respond to and eradicate diseases when they show up.”

The coalition members said Congress 
should offer clear guidance and resources so states can make choices 
that suit their constituents.&nbsp;

The federal government should avoid 
placing mandates on conservation practices, Seger said. Increased 
collaboration between USDA agencies would also reduce paperwork for 
states, he added.&nbsp;

Knight, of Idaho, added that Congress
 must ensure federal programs are fully staffed. Clear guidelines on 
implementation that are flexible enough to accommodate the diverse needs
 of farmers throughout the country would also be key, he said.

“It’s a big country with a lot of issues and a lot of resources,” Knight said.

Colorado’s Greenberg said the bill also presents an opportunity to reinforce climate-related policies.&nbsp;

“The thing about climate change is 
that we’re all impacted, and our farmers and ranchers are on the 
frontlines,” Greenberg said. They’re the ones who are feeling and 
experiencing the changes in the environment, and they know it. So how do
 we address that, not just state-by-state, but as a nation?”

Members of the group predicted Congress would finish either by its fall 2023 deadline or next year.

Strain said he believed negotiations would likely bleed into 2024.

Regardless of the timeline, the bill 
must be funded appropriately, without an overemphasis on the nonpartisan
 Congressional Budget Office’s score, Strain said.

“You know, it always runs over, or we
 get to the threat of having to revert to the previous farm bill,” he 
said. “But the other thing is that when we pass it, we can’t pass it in 
such a manner as to just try to get a low CBO score.”

Others in the state agriculture 
delegation expressed cautious optimism over the prospects of a farm bill
 in 2023, noting that there would be consequences for U.S. farmers if a 
new bill is not passed on time.&nbsp;

“I’m really encouraged by what (U.S. House Speaker) <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/article/2023/02/15/speaker-mccarthy-vows-pass-farm-bill">Kevin McCarthy said this week</a>,
 that they’re going to get it done,” Pate said. “People need to 
understand the impact of that kind of stuff. Just like a government 
shutdown, these things have consequences when they don’t get them done.”

By ADAM GOLDSTEIN <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/17/state-ag-officials-push-for-on-time-farm-bill-to-fund-slew-of-programs/">States Newsroom</a>WASHINGTON — State agriculture 
officials from across the country sought this month to remind a new crop
 of lawmakers in Congress of their states’ needs for a robust farm bill 
to address a host of food issues.Members of the National Association 
of State Departments of Agriculture gathered in Washington for their 
annual winter meeting in mid-February. They urged Congress to provide a 
timely, fully funded farm bill to address a wide range of issues 
affecting agriculture, including technology, conservation and foreign 
trade.&nbsp;&nbsp;Throughout the two-day conference, 
members of the coalition stressed the bipartisan history of the bill and
 the importance of educating a new Congress on titles that support 
American food systems amid changing economic and environmental landscapes.&nbsp;The state officials urged Congress to
 include nutrition programs in the farm bill, as past versions have 
done. They also advocated for bolstering crop insurance and allocating 
more money to research, animal safety, and conservation programs.&nbsp;“It’s just a responsibility we have 
to make sure that all of our producers, our economies, our communities 
of every size have a forward-looking and fully funded farm bill,” NASDA 
president Doug Miyamoto, the director of the Wyoming Department of 
Agriculture, said in an interview.&nbsp;Miyamoto was appointed to his state post by Republican former Gov. Matt Mead in 2015.“We’ve got to make sure that we do 
this correctly,” he added. “We can’t start splintering off programs and 
splintering off ideas in the farm bill, and then hoping that we’re going
 to be able to get a comprehensive farm bill that’s on time.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676754102896.jpeg" alt=" Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig (Courtesy of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship)" />
 <figcaption> Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig (Courtesy of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship)</figcaption>
 </figure>Mike Naig, secretary of the Iowa 
Department of Agriculture and an elected Republican, said it’s important
 for lawmakers — especially those who weren’t in office when the 2018 
bill was written — to remember that the measure is not just a farm bill,
 but a farm-and-food bill.“There’s a lot of new members of 
Congress that have never had a chance to vote on a farm bill,” Naig 
said. “A lot of work has to be done to educate folks on that.”Kate Greenberg, the commissioner of 
the Colorado Department of Agriculture who was appointed by Democratic 
Gov. Jared Polis, also advocated for considering nutrition and 
agricultural policy in the same bill to keep the “critical nexus point 
of production and consumers.”&nbsp;She added members of Congress must put aside their differences to strengthen the “bread and butter of the American economy.”“Let’s keep our heads down and focus 
on the impact of the policy and the appropriations on the American 
landscape in agriculture,” she said.The five-year farm bill does not appropriate funding, which Congress does annually in&nbsp; separate bills. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-commodity-policy/farm-bill-spending/#:~:text=Mandatory%20funding.,not%20constrained%20by%20annual%20limits.">But it does authorize dollar amounts for discretionary programs</a>
 that set expectations for actual spending bills. Other programs 
authorize mandatory funding not subject to annual decisions by 
lawmakers.Lloyd Knight, deputy director of the 
Idaho State Department of Agriculture, encouraged Congress to provide 
certainty to farmers across the country by finishing the farm bill 
before the current authorizations expire Sept. 30.<h2>Technology, foreign markets, safety net</h2>Mike Strain, the Republican 
commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, 
advocated for increasing funding for research and development of 
technology, especially as demand continues to outpace supply for U.S. 
agricultural goods.&nbsp;Louisiana sugar production, for example, needs to be twice as efficient as it is today, he said.Jeff Witte, director of the New 
Mexico Department of Agriculture, said research provisions would also be
 key for Western specialty crop farmers who <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-labor/">need to address worker shortages.&nbsp;</a>Farmers in the state have converted 
from vegetable crops to tree nuts because the labor was cheaper, he 
said. But that trend could lead to an unwanted imbalance in what food 
crops are available to consumers, he added.“If we don’t start investing in 
technology that can do the harvesting of other produce crops, we’re 
going to get way too far behind,” he said.&nbsp;Alabama Department of Agriculture and
 Industry Commissioner Rick Pate, a Republican, said developing foreign 
markets through the Foreign Agricultural Service should be a priority in
 the bill.&nbsp;U.S. Under Secretary of Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor said<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fas.usda.gov/newsroom/testimony-usda-under-secretary-trade-and-foreign-agricultural-affairs-alexis-taylor-senate"> in a Feb. 1 Senate hearing</a>
 that for every dollar the U.S. invests in developing foreign markets, 
U.S. farmers see a $24 return in the value of their products.&nbsp;“They think there’s a huge return on 
what travel we can do and the marketing program that they find through 
our organization,” Pate said. “So we just need to continue to take the 
farmer story to people.”Naig added the new farm bill needs to modernize and reinforce the federal crop safety net.“I just don’t want to see anything undermine the importance of the crop insurance program,” he said.&nbsp;<h2>Conservation, food safety programs</h2>Naig said farmers had broad interest 
in market-based environmental incentives in the coming farm bill. 
Concepts like soil health and carbon sequestration have entered the 
mainstream of agribusiness, but farmers are still wary about their 
costs.&nbsp;“What has to be acknowledged is that 
there’s costs associated with implementing some of these practices,” 
Naig said. “So if you want to see significant adoption, how do you help 
them achieve a return on that investment? If you do that well and do 
that correctly, you will get implementation at a scale that you couldn’t
 otherwise.”&nbsp;Jordan Seger, deputy director of the 
Indiana State Department of Agriculture, said he hopes to see federal 
encouragement of public-private conservation partnerships. He touted 
Indiana’s work with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/enterprise-rent-a-car-foundation-pledges-30-million-to-the-nature-conservancy-to-improve-the-health-of-rivers-and-freshwater-ecosystems-301622428.html">the Nature Conservancy and Enterprise Rent-a-Car</a> to regrow wetlands and forests in the state.&nbsp;“With about one dollar, we can get 
about seven or more dollars from the federal government, put that all 
toward private lands, and leverage each other’s resources and expertise 
to get things done quickly,” Seger said.&nbsp;Randy Romanski, who was appointed 
secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and 
Consumer Protection by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, said Congress should 
use the farm bill to get a better handle on animal health, noting <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/bird-flu-alarm-drives-world-towards-once-shunned-vaccines-2023-02-17/">outbreaks of avian influenza</a> that have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/past-outbreaks.htm">plagued the country since 2015.&nbsp;</a>Congress could create a national warning network for emerging animal diseases, like avian flu and African swine fever, he said.“Clearly, this is something that 
crosses state boundaries,” Romanski said. “We need to have systems in 
place to track, respond to and eradicate diseases when they show up.”<h2>State and federal collaboration</h2>The coalition members said Congress 
should offer clear guidance and resources so states can make choices 
that suit their constituents.&nbsp;The federal government should avoid 
placing mandates on conservation practices, Seger said. Increased 
collaboration between USDA agencies would also reduce paperwork for 
states, he added.&nbsp;Knight, of Idaho, added that Congress
 must ensure federal programs are fully staffed. Clear guidelines on 
implementation that are flexible enough to accommodate the diverse needs
 of farmers throughout the country would also be key, he said.“It’s a big country with a lot of issues and a lot of resources,” Knight said.Colorado’s Greenberg said the bill also presents an opportunity to reinforce climate-related policies.&nbsp;“The thing about climate change is 
that we’re all impacted, and our farmers and ranchers are on the 
frontlines,” Greenberg said. They’re the ones who are feeling and 
experiencing the changes in the environment, and they know it. So how do
 we address that, not just state-by-state, but as a nation?”<h2>Timeline in question</h2>Members of the group predicted Congress would finish either by its fall 2023 deadline or next year.Strain said he believed negotiations would likely bleed into 2024.Regardless of the timeline, the bill 
must be funded appropriately, without an overemphasis on the nonpartisan
 Congressional Budget Office’s score, Strain said.“You know, it always runs over, or we
 get to the threat of having to revert to the previous farm bill,” he 
said. “But the other thing is that when we pass it, we can’t pass it in 
such a manner as to just try to get a low CBO score.”Others in the state agriculture 
delegation expressed cautious optimism over the prospects of a farm bill
 in 2023, noting that there would be consequences for U.S. farmers if a 
new bill is not passed on time.&nbsp;“I’m really encouraged by what (U.S. House Speaker) <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/article/2023/02/15/speaker-mccarthy-vows-pass-farm-bill">Kevin McCarthy said this week</a>,
 that they’re going to get it done,” Pate said. “People need to 
understand the impact of that kind of stuff. Just like a government 
shutdown, these things have consequences when they don’t get them done.”Cover image courtesy Pixabay

State ag officials push for on-time farm bill to fund slew of programs

DENVER (AP) — On Colorado’s northeastern plains, where the pencil-straight horizon divides golden fields and blue sky, a farmer named Danny Wood scrambles to plant and harvest proso millet, dryland corn and winter wheat in short, seasonal windows. That is until his high-tech Steiger 370 tractor conks out.

The tractor's manufacturer doesn't allow Wood to make certain fixes himself, and last spring his fertilizing operations were stalled for three days before the servicer arrived to add a few lines of missing computer code for $950.

“That’s where they have us over the barrel, it’s more like we are renting it than buying it,” said Wood, who spent $300,000 on the used tractor.

Wood's plight, echoed by farmers across the country, has pushed lawmakers in Colorado and 10 other states to introduce bills that would force manufacturers to provide the tools, software, parts and manuals needed for farmers to do their own repairs — thereby avoiding steep labor costs and delays that imperil profits.

"The manufacturers and the dealers have a monopoly on that repair market because it’s lucrative," said Rep. Brianna Titone, a Democrat and one of the bill's sponsors. “(Farmers) just want to get their machine going again.”

In Colorado, the legislation is largely being pushed by Democrats while their Republican colleagues find themselves stuck in a tough spot: torn between right-leaning farming constituents asking to be able to repair their own machines and the manufacturing businesses that oppose the idea.

The manufacturers argue that changing the current practice with this type of legislation would would force companies to expose trade secrets. They also say it would make it easier for farmers to tinker with the software and illegally crank up the horsepower and bypass the emissions controller — risking operators' safety and the environment.

Similar arguments around intellectual property have been leveled against the broader campaign called ‘right to repair,’ which has picked up steam across the country — crusading for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-technology-business-apple-inc-smartphones-afb6e6603bdb5c0bb510de5b4c685f69">right to fix everything from iPhones</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-nevada-coronavirus-pandemic-laws-5ade405a7befdf16e9f0107b7e142be3">hospital ventilators</a>&nbsp;during the pandemic.

In 2011, Congress passed a law ensuring that car owners and independent mechanics — not just authorized dealerships — had access to the necessary tools and information to fix problems.

Ten years later, the Federal Trade Commission&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-joe-biden-business-government-and-politics-7e5d6c82ee4f1b66fd4c3b78d1ddd18e">pledged to beef up its right to repair enforcement</a>&nbsp;at the direction of President Joe Biden. And just last year, Titone sponsored and passed Colorado's first right to repair law, empowering people who use wheelchairs with the tools and information to fix them.

For the right to repair farm equipment — from thin tractors used between grape vines to behemoth combines for harvesting grain that can cost over half a million dollars — Colorado is joined by 10 states including Florida, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Texas and Vermont.

Many of the bills are finding bipartisan support, said Nathan Proctor, who leads Public Interest Research Group's national right to repair campaign. But in Colorado's House committee on agriculture, Democrats pushed the bill forward in a 9-4 vote along party lines, with Republicans in opposition even though the bill's second sponsor is Republican Rep. Ron Weinberg.

“That’s really surprising, and that upset me,” said the Republican Wood.

Wood's tractor, which flies an American flag reading “Farmers First,” isn't his only machine to break down. His grain harvesting combine was dropping into idle, but the servicer took five days to arrive on Wood's farm — a setback that could mean a hail storm decimates a wheat field or the soil temperature moves beyond the Goldilocks zone for planting.

“Our crop is ready to harvest and we can’t wait five days, but there was nothing else to do,” said Wood. “When it’s broke down you just sit there and wait and that’s not acceptable. You can be losing $85,000 a day.”

Rep. Richard Holtorf, the Republican who represents Wood's district and is a farmer himself, said he's being pulled between his constituents and the dealerships in his district covering the largely rural northeast corner of the state. He voted against the measure because he believes it will financially impact local dealerships in rural areas and could jeopardize trade secrets.

“I do sympathize with my farmers," said Holtorf, but added, “I don’t think it’s the role of government to be forcing the sale of their intellectual property.”

At the packed hearing last week that spilled into a second room in Colorado's Capitol, the core concerns raised in testimony were farmers illegally slipping around the emissions control and cranking up the horsepower.

“I know growers, if they can change horsepower and they can change emissions they are going to do it,” said Russ Ball, sales manager at 21st Century Equipment, a John Deere dealership in Western states.

The bill's proponents acknowledged that the legislation could make it easier for operators to modify horsepower and emissions controls, but argued that farmers are already able to tinker with their machines and doing so would remain illegal.

This January, the Farm Bureau and the farm equipment manufacturer John Deere did&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-san-juan-moline-831b374a4f820dcde5ee2d647093e207">sign a memorandum of understanding</a>&nbsp;— a right to repair agreement made in the free market and without government intervention. The agreement stipulates that John Deere will share some parts, diagnostic and repair codes, and manuals to allow farmers to do their own fixes.

The Colorado bill's detractors laud that agreement as a strong middle ground while Titone said it wasn't enough, evidenced by six of Colorado's biggest farmworker associations that support the bill.

Proctor, who is tracking 20 right to repair proposals in a number of industries across the country, said the memorandum of understanding has fallen far short.

“Farmers are saying no," Proctor said. “We want the real thing.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1625596705829.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>DENVER (AP) — On Colorado’s northeastern plains, where the pencil-straight horizon divides golden fields and blue sky, a farmer named Danny Wood scrambles to plant and harvest proso millet, dryland corn and winter wheat in short, seasonal windows. That is until his high-tech Steiger 370 tractor conks out.The tractor's manufacturer doesn't allow Wood to make certain fixes himself, and last spring his fertilizing operations were stalled for three days before the servicer arrived to add a few lines of missing computer code for $950.“That’s where they have us over the barrel, it’s more like we are renting it than buying it,” said Wood, who spent $300,000 on the used tractor.Wood's plight, echoed by farmers across the country, has pushed lawmakers in Colorado and 10 other states to introduce bills that would force manufacturers to provide the tools, software, parts and manuals needed for farmers to do their own repairs — thereby avoiding steep labor costs and delays that imperil profits."The manufacturers and the dealers have a monopoly on that repair market because it’s lucrative," said Rep. Brianna Titone, a Democrat and one of the bill's sponsors. “(Farmers) just want to get their machine going again.”In Colorado, the legislation is largely being pushed by Democrats while their Republican colleagues find themselves stuck in a tough spot: torn between right-leaning farming constituents asking to be able to repair their own machines and the manufacturing businesses that oppose the idea.The manufacturers argue that changing the current practice with this type of legislation would would force companies to expose trade secrets. They also say it would make it easier for farmers to tinker with the software and illegally crank up the horsepower and bypass the emissions controller — risking operators' safety and the environment.Similar arguments around intellectual property have been leveled against the broader campaign called ‘right to repair,’ which has picked up steam across the country — crusading for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-technology-business-apple-inc-smartphones-afb6e6603bdb5c0bb510de5b4c685f69">right to fix everything from iPhones</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-nevada-coronavirus-pandemic-laws-5ade405a7befdf16e9f0107b7e142be3">hospital ventilators</a>&nbsp;during the pandemic.In 2011, Congress passed a law ensuring that car owners and independent mechanics — not just authorized dealerships — had access to the necessary tools and information to fix problems.Ten years later, the Federal Trade Commission&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-joe-biden-business-government-and-politics-7e5d6c82ee4f1b66fd4c3b78d1ddd18e">pledged to beef up its right to repair enforcement</a>&nbsp;at the direction of President Joe Biden. And just last year, Titone sponsored and passed Colorado's first right to repair law, empowering people who use wheelchairs with the tools and information to fix them.For the right to repair farm equipment — from thin tractors used between grape vines to behemoth combines for harvesting grain that can cost over half a million dollars — Colorado is joined by 10 states including Florida, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Texas and Vermont.Many of the bills are finding bipartisan support, said Nathan Proctor, who leads Public Interest Research Group's national right to repair campaign. But in Colorado's House committee on agriculture, Democrats pushed the bill forward in a 9-4 vote along party lines, with Republicans in opposition even though the bill's second sponsor is Republican Rep. Ron Weinberg.“That’s really surprising, and that upset me,” said the Republican Wood.Wood's tractor, which flies an American flag reading “Farmers First,” isn't his only machine to break down. His grain harvesting combine was dropping into idle, but the servicer took five days to arrive on Wood's farm — a setback that could mean a hail storm decimates a wheat field or the soil temperature moves beyond the Goldilocks zone for planting.“Our crop is ready to harvest and we can’t wait five days, but there was nothing else to do,” said Wood. “When it’s broke down you just sit there and wait and that’s not acceptable. You can be losing $85,000 a day.”Rep. Richard Holtorf, the Republican who represents Wood's district and is a farmer himself, said he's being pulled between his constituents and the dealerships in his district covering the largely rural northeast corner of the state. He voted against the measure because he believes it will financially impact local dealerships in rural areas and could jeopardize trade secrets.“I do sympathize with my farmers," said Holtorf, but added, “I don’t think it’s the role of government to be forcing the sale of their intellectual property.”At the packed hearing last week that spilled into a second room in Colorado's Capitol, the core concerns raised in testimony were farmers illegally slipping around the emissions control and cranking up the horsepower.“I know growers, if they can change horsepower and they can change emissions they are going to do it,” said Russ Ball, sales manager at 21st Century Equipment, a John Deere dealership in Western states.The bill's proponents acknowledged that the legislation could make it easier for operators to modify horsepower and emissions controls, but argued that farmers are already able to tinker with their machines and doing so would remain illegal.This January, the Farm Bureau and the farm equipment manufacturer John Deere did&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-san-juan-moline-831b374a4f820dcde5ee2d647093e207">sign a memorandum of understanding</a>&nbsp;— a right to repair agreement made in the free market and without government intervention. The agreement stipulates that John Deere will share some parts, diagnostic and repair codes, and manuals to allow farmers to do their own fixes.The Colorado bill's detractors laud that agreement as a strong middle ground while Titone said it wasn't enough, evidenced by six of Colorado's biggest farmworker associations that support the bill.Proctor, who is tracking 20 right to repair proposals in a number of industries across the country, said the memorandum of understanding has fallen far short.“Farmers are saying no," Proctor said. “We want the real thing.”

States consider 'right to repair' for farming equipment

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Ag Expo will return to Lincoln, NE on Dec. 6 to 8 for its 16th annual appearance at the Lancaster Event Center.

Spanning 9.2 acres, the Nebraska Ag Expo is the second largest indoor ag show in the United States, second only to the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, KY. More than 775 exhibitors will travel from 25 states and 6 Canadian provinces to display their latest products and services in front of Nebraskan producers.

For the first time, attendees can purchase their tickets to the Nebraska Ag Expo online in advance this year. Attendees can skip the line, pay for tickets in advance, and save $5 admission by registering online. Registration information like number of acres farmed, type(s) of livestock raised, and type(s) of crops grown is used for demographic, sponsor, and marketing purposes.

For more information, click <a href="https://nebraskaagexpo.com/">HERE</a>.

What else is new and noteworthy this year?

• Innovation Hub: Attendees will have a new centralized location called the Innovation Hub to discover the most innovative ag technology on the market today. From autonomous equipment to electric vehicles to robotics to artificial intelligence solutions and more, the Innovation Hub will be in Pavilion 3 of the Lancaster Event Center.

• ExpoEDU: Attendees will also be able to dive deeper into specific topics of interest with the new series of educational sessions called ExpoEDU. The speaker sessions will take place at the new ExpoEDU stage in Pavilion 3 of the Lancaster Event Center. ExpoEDU sessions are included with admission to the Nebraska Ag Expo.

• Career Exploration Event: The Nebraska Ag Expo will host a Career Exploration Event for middle and high school students during the show. Approximately 540 students will attend the event to learn about career opportunities available to them in the agriculture industry.

• Organic/Regenerative Ag Categories: Producers who are interested in organic farming and regenerative agriculture will now be able to find all companies in these categories in one place in Pavilion 3 in the Innovation Hub.

Regular admission is $10 at the door or $5 with advance registration. Each ticket is valid for all three days of the Nebraska Ag Expo. Children under 14 years old as well as students with a valid student ID receive free admission. Tickets purchased in advance are non-refundable.

The Nebraska Ag Expo will kick off at 8:30am on Tuesday, December 6. Hours are 8:30am-4:00pm
Tuesday and Wednesday and 8:30am-3:00pm Thursday. The Lancaster Event Center is located at 4100 N
85th Street in Lincoln, NE. Parking is free. ADA accessible parking is available close to the entrances of the
Lincoln Room, Pavilion 1, and Pavilion 3. Overnight visitors are recommended to book their stay with our
supporting hotels (visit nebraskaagexpo.com/lodging).


The Nebraska Ag Expo began in 2007 when it was known as the Nebraska Power Farming Show.
Produced by the Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association (INEDA), the show was modeled after
INEDA’s successful Iowa Ag Expo, now in its 98th year.


The timing and location of the show is ideal. Held in December, it appeals to producers and exhibitors
alike, with growers and ranchers taking advantage of year-end buying specials and exhibitors looking to
sell. Conveniently located on the eastern edge of Lincoln, the show also offers easy access without the
traffic and parking hassles typically found at urban shows.


In April 2020, the show was renamed the Nebraska Ag Expo to better reflect the evolution of agriculture
and the ag show. Growers are hungry for knowledge and eager to adopt innovation and new
technology, and that is what they will find at the Nebraska Ag Expo.


Stay up to date with the latest Nebraska Ag Expo news and events on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
our website, NebraskaAgExpo.com.


<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668451536512.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>LINCOLN — The Nebraska Ag Expo will return to Lincoln, NE on Dec. 6 to 8 for its 16th annual appearance at the Lancaster Event Center.Spanning 9.2 acres, the Nebraska Ag Expo is the second largest indoor ag show in the United States, second only to the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, KY. More than 775 exhibitors will travel from 25 states and 6 Canadian provinces to display their latest products and services in front of Nebraskan producers.For the first time, attendees can purchase their tickets to the Nebraska Ag Expo online in advance this year. Attendees can skip the line, pay for tickets in advance, and save $5 admission by registering online. Registration information like number of acres farmed, type(s) of livestock raised, and type(s) of crops grown is used for demographic, sponsor, and marketing purposes.For more information, click <a href="https://nebraskaagexpo.com/">HERE</a>.What else is new and noteworthy this year?• Innovation Hub: Attendees will have a new centralized location called the Innovation Hub to discover the most innovative ag technology on the market today. From autonomous equipment to electric vehicles to robotics to artificial intelligence solutions and more, the Innovation Hub will be in Pavilion 3 of the Lancaster Event Center.• ExpoEDU: Attendees will also be able to dive deeper into specific topics of interest with the new series of educational sessions called ExpoEDU. The speaker sessions will take place at the new ExpoEDU stage in Pavilion 3 of the Lancaster Event Center. ExpoEDU sessions are included with admission to the Nebraska Ag Expo.• Career Exploration Event: The Nebraska Ag Expo will host a Career Exploration Event for middle and high school students during the show. Approximately 540 students will attend the event to learn about career opportunities available to them in the agriculture industry.• Organic/Regenerative Ag Categories: Producers who are interested in organic farming and regenerative agriculture will now be able to find all companies in these categories in one place in Pavilion 3 in the Innovation Hub.Regular admission is $10 at the door or $5 with advance registration. Each ticket is valid for all three days of the Nebraska Ag Expo. Children under 14 years old as well as students with a valid student ID receive free admission. Tickets purchased in advance are non-refundable.The Nebraska Ag Expo will kick off at 8:30am on Tuesday, December 6. Hours are 8:30am-4:00pm
Tuesday and Wednesday and 8:30am-3:00pm Thursday. The Lancaster Event Center is located at 4100 N
85th Street in Lincoln, NE. Parking is free. ADA accessible parking is available close to the entrances of the
Lincoln Room, Pavilion 1, and Pavilion 3. Overnight visitors are recommended to book their stay with our
supporting hotels (visit nebraskaagexpo.com/lodging).
The Nebraska Ag Expo began in 2007 when it was known as the Nebraska Power Farming Show.
Produced by the Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association (INEDA), the show was modeled after
INEDA’s successful Iowa Ag Expo, now in its 98th year.
The timing and location of the show is ideal. Held in December, it appeals to producers and exhibitors
alike, with growers and ranchers taking advantage of year-end buying specials and exhibitors looking to
sell. Conveniently located on the eastern edge of Lincoln, the show also offers easy access without the
traffic and parking hassles typically found at urban shows.
In April 2020, the show was renamed the Nebraska Ag Expo to better reflect the evolution of agriculture
and the ag show. Growers are hungry for knowledge and eager to adopt innovation and new
technology, and that is what they will find at the Nebraska Ag Expo.
Stay up to date with the latest Nebraska Ag Expo news and events on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
our website, NebraskaAgExpo.com.

Nebraska Ag Expo returns to Lincoln for its 16th year

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The federal government announced Tuesday a program that will provide $1.3 billion in debt relief for about 36,000 farmers who have fallen behind on loan payments or face foreclosure.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the farm loan relief program funded from $3.1 billion set aside in the Inflation Reduction Act allocated toward assisting distressed borrowers of direct or guaranteed loans administered by USDA. The law was passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in August.

The USDA provides loans to about 115,000 farmers and livestock producers who cannot obtain commercial credit. Those who have missed payments, are in foreclosure or are heading toward default will get help from the USDA. Financial difficulties for farmers may be caused by a variety of issues including drought and transportation bottlenecks.

“Through no fault of their own, our nation’s farmers and ranchers have faced incredibly tough circumstances over the last few years,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The funding included in today’s announcement helps keep our farmers farming and provides a fresh start for producers in challenging positions.”

About 11,000 farm borrowers delinquent on direct or guaranteed loan payments for 60 days or longer are receiving automatic electronic payments to get them current on their loans. Each farmer with a direct loan received about $52,000 and those with guaranteed loans received about $172,000. The total cost for this group is nearly $600 million. Farmers who received this help will get a letter informing them that their payments have been made and they will remain current until their next annual payment is due in 2023, Vilsack said.

Another $200 million has been used to immediately help 2,100 farm borrowers after their loans had been foreclosed but who still owed money and had their tax refunds and other resources taken by the U.S. Treasury. The money will be used to pay the money these farmers owe to give them a fresh start, Vilsack said. The USDA said farmers in this category received an average of $101,000.

Another $571 million will be used help several additional groups including:

—7,000 farmers who during the COVID pandemic delayed loan payments to the end of their loans. This will cost $66 million.

—1,600 farmers that face bankruptcy or foreclosure will get help on a case-by-case basis with individual meetings to assess their problem and find solutions at a cost of $330 million.

—14,000 financially distressed farm borrowers facing cash flow problems who ask for help to avoid missing a loan payment will receive additional assistance. Vilsack said these issues could be brought on by drought or by low levels on the Mississippi River that is slowing barge traffic causing grain transportation issues. Up to $175 million will be available for this program.

The money announced Tuesday is the first round of payments designed to help insure the farmers stay in business or re-enter farming.

The remainder of the $3.1 billion will be used to help relax unnecessary loan restrictions and provide further assistance to be announced later, the USDA said.

Farmers assisted by the program have been found by the USDA to be distressed borrowers hard hit by pandemic-induced market disruptions exacerbated by more frequent, more intense, climate-driven natural disasters, the USDA said.

President Joe Biden and his administration continue to endure criticism for enacting a program to forgive some college loans but some of the Republican politicians who have criticized that program did not respond to questions about whether they support the farm loan help.

The USDA also provided $31 billion to help nearly a million farmers offset lower sales, prices and other losses due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2021 and 2022, the U.S. Government Accountability Office has said.

<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5qYVbVE9ul0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The federal government announced Tuesday a program that will provide $1.3 billion in debt relief for about 36,000 farmers who have fallen behind on loan payments or face foreclosure.The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the farm loan relief program funded from $3.1 billion set aside in the Inflation Reduction Act allocated toward assisting distressed borrowers of direct or guaranteed loans administered by USDA. The law was passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in August.The USDA provides loans to about 115,000 farmers and livestock producers who cannot obtain commercial credit. Those who have missed payments, are in foreclosure or are heading toward default will get help from the USDA. Financial difficulties for farmers may be caused by a variety of issues including drought and transportation bottlenecks.“Through no fault of their own, our nation’s farmers and ranchers have faced incredibly tough circumstances over the last few years,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The funding included in today’s announcement helps keep our farmers farming and provides a fresh start for producers in challenging positions.”About 11,000 farm borrowers delinquent on direct or guaranteed loan payments for 60 days or longer are receiving automatic electronic payments to get them current on their loans. Each farmer with a direct loan received about $52,000 and those with guaranteed loans received about $172,000. The total cost for this group is nearly $600 million. Farmers who received this help will get a letter informing them that their payments have been made and they will remain current until their next annual payment is due in 2023, Vilsack said.Another $200 million has been used to immediately help 2,100 farm borrowers after their loans had been foreclosed but who still owed money and had their tax refunds and other resources taken by the U.S. Treasury. The money will be used to pay the money these farmers owe to give them a fresh start, Vilsack said. The USDA said farmers in this category received an average of $101,000.Another $571 million will be used help several additional groups including:—7,000 farmers who during the COVID pandemic delayed loan payments to the end of their loans. This will cost $66 million.—1,600 farmers that face bankruptcy or foreclosure will get help on a case-by-case basis with individual meetings to assess their problem and find solutions at a cost of $330 million.—14,000 financially distressed farm borrowers facing cash flow problems who ask for help to avoid missing a loan payment will receive additional assistance. Vilsack said these issues could be brought on by drought or by low levels on the Mississippi River that is slowing barge traffic causing grain transportation issues. Up to $175 million will be available for this program.The money announced Tuesday is the first round of payments designed to help insure the farmers stay in business or re-enter farming.The remainder of the $3.1 billion will be used to help relax unnecessary loan restrictions and provide further assistance to be announced later, the USDA said.Farmers assisted by the program have been found by the USDA to be distressed borrowers hard hit by pandemic-induced market disruptions exacerbated by more frequent, more intense, climate-driven natural disasters, the USDA said.President Joe Biden and his administration continue to endure criticism for enacting a program to forgive some college loans but some of the Republican politicians who have criticized that program did not respond to questions about whether they support the farm loan help.The USDA also provided $31 billion to help nearly a million farmers offset lower sales, prices and other losses due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2021 and 2022, the U.S. Government Accountability Office has said.

USDA announces $1 billion debt relief for farmers

By DAVE BERGMEIER <a href="https://www.hpj.com/ag_news/driverless-tractors-machinery-finding-their-way-onto-fields/article_beb709ec-4640-11ed-8044-373be8fca6b5.html">High Plains Journal</a>

In recent years few innovations have caught the fancy of farmers more than autonomous tractors.

Automation
 is technologically advanced and a farmer can put a driverless tractor 
into a field. Specialty crop production has included autonomous orchard 
harvesters and strawberry harvesters, said Austin Gellings, agriculture 
services manager for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

There are some autonomous 
machines available in the marketplace and experts believe that will 
continue to accelerate. Experts say operators have to make a decision 
based on their own situation.

“The
 agriculture industry is challenged with feeding, clothing and providing
 fuel for an ever-growing population with less land, less resources and 
less inputs,” said Christopher Murray, marketing manager at John Deere, 
Moline, Illinois. “Artificial intelligence has bridged the gap from the 
days of doing more with more, to getting more with less.”

“These
 challenges represent opportunities for our customers. At John Deere, we
 have been focused on integrating technology over the last 30 years into
 our machines that help us enable farmers to feed, clothe and fuel the 
world. We see advanced technology growing up in farming operations to 
meet the ever-growing needs from the world population.”

Manufacturers
 have been incorporating some level of autonomy into machinery dating 
back to the 1990s with technology such as Autosteer, Gellings said. 
“Since then we have seen numerous other aspects of farm machinery 
becoming automated and over the last few years begun to see more and 
more fully autonomous solutions. However, there are industries like 
mining that have been operating fully autonomous for quite some time and
 have a stellar track record with it.”

By
 deploying an autonomous machine in agriculture, farmers will be able to
 tend to priority jobs while that machine handles other work the farmer 
may not have time or available labor to do, Murray said. Autonomous 
gives farmers back valuable time they can use to spend getting other 
jobs done or spending time with family and friends.

“It
 could be the difference between a farmer working through the evening or
 getting home to enjoy a warm meal with their family,” Murray said. 
“Deploying an autonomous machine benefits farmers’ bottom line, their 
livelihoods and the world at large as food demand and hunger increase.”

The drive for using autonomous 
machines in production agriculture makes sense to Gellings, who says it 
offers benefits such as taking operators out of harm’s way and with 
increased efficiency the machines could run for many more hours and one 
person could monitor several machines at once. Autonomous equipment does
 take someone who has technical savvy, Gellings said. Anyone who has 
proficiency in running a farm, incorporating Autosteer and other 
technologies that require a user interface may already have a level of 
familiarity.

“From a 
mechanical maintenance standpoint most aspects of the machine are 
similar to other conventional machines,” Gellings said.

As
 farmers update their fleet of equipment, they should consider how the 
new piece of equipment and the available technology will help increase 
productivity, performance, yields, sustainability, and quality of life, 
Murray said.

“At John 
Deere, our technology stack allows farmers to meet their goals and 
stretch further into automation with each piece of John Deere 
equipment,” he said. “Our John Deere dealers have helped farmers realize
 the value of technology, from the core hardware and software that 
customer use such as AutoTrac, yield documentation, and John Deere 
Operations Center, to our most advanced technology available in our 
automation packages.”

Many
 customers choose to order Deere equipment with automation packages that
 automate many of the functions on the piece of the equipment, Murray 
said. For example, with Tractor Automation 4.0, the customer gets 
AutoTrac Turn Automation, AutoPath, AutoTrac Implement Guidance and 
Machine Sync. The technologies build upon the core technology to make 
the farmer more productive and increase yields throughout each 
production step—field preparation, planting, fertilizer application, and
 during harvest.

“All these available 
technologies are valuable building blocks to autonomy,” Murray said. 
“The farmers using our most advanced technologies today will be able to 
easily make the next step into autonomy once it is available to the 
industry.”

Case IH, 
Racine, Wisconsin, has also been a pioneer in autonomous machinery 
market, and company officials said are continuing to build on a 
portfolio that meets the needs of growers.

During
 the recent Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, Case IH and Raven 
Industries introduced an autonomous spreader—the Case IH Trident 5550 
applicator with Raven Autonomy. The technology stack is powered by 
guidance and steering propulsion control, perception and path planning 
software developed by Raven.

According to the companies, 
from a mobile device operators can plan and complete an entire field 
operation based on mapped field boundaries. Through a series of advanced
 cameras and radar systems, the Raven Autonomy perception system is 
constantly sensing a 360-degree environment around the machine for 
obstacles and motion initiation while operating. With artificial 
intelligence, Raven’s perception controller processes the continuous 
stream of images, which interprets and detects obstacles. The remove 
operator can view the cameras through the mobile device at any time.

While
 costs may be higher the savings in labor can make autonomous machinery 
closer to a reality, Gellings said. “This is not just an investment to 
improve one’s current operation, but it is also a pathway to engage the 
next generation of farmers who are more interested in technology.”

Gellings
 said broadband limitations may not be as major of an obstacle for 
growers but are a key factor in being able to use equipment to its 
fullest potential both from an autonomy standpoint and being able to 
fully use other aspects such as data-driven decisions.

While
 much of the attention has been on large scale tractors there is also a 
demand for other pieces of autonomous equipment, he said. They include 
orchard and strawberry harvesters, Gellings said.

John Deere announced the autonomy for tillage at the Consumer Electronics Show this past January.

“Autonomy
 will open the door for us to continue to innovate more solutions to 
keep serving our customers in new ways and for the tasks that are most 
demanding on them,” Murray said. “We will prioritize autonomy for the 
jobs that occur at the busiest times of the year—like during planting 
and harvesting—when farmers must contend with limited labor, lots of 
variables and show windows of times to get things done.”

Farmers,
 just like any business are always looking to innovate to meet their 
goals that help increase productivity, performance yields, 
sustainability, and quality of life, he said. With those goals in mind 
Deere expects further automation with machinery, further learning about 
machines, more artificial intelligence, and more autonomy.

“Technology
 has helped farmers get closer to meeting their goals and will continue 
to push boundaries in the future,” Murray said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1665753318832.png" alt="The Case IH Trident 5550 applicator with Raven Autonomy allows for one or more driverless machines in the field without an operator present in the cab, providing the flexibility of full control in or out of the cab. (Courtesy photo.)" />
 <figcaption>The Case IH Trident 5550 applicator with Raven Autonomy allows for one or more driverless machines in the field without an operator present in the cab, providing the flexibility of full control in or out of the cab. (Courtesy photo.)</figcaption>
 </figure>By DAVE BERGMEIER <a href="https://www.hpj.com/ag_news/driverless-tractors-machinery-finding-their-way-onto-fields/article_beb709ec-4640-11ed-8044-373be8fca6b5.html">High Plains Journal</a>In recent years few innovations have caught the fancy of farmers more than autonomous tractors.Automation
 is technologically advanced and a farmer can put a driverless tractor 
into a field. Specialty crop production has included autonomous orchard 
harvesters and strawberry harvesters, said Austin Gellings, agriculture 
services manager for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.There are some autonomous 
machines available in the marketplace and experts believe that will 
continue to accelerate. Experts say operators have to make a decision 
based on their own situation.“The
 agriculture industry is challenged with feeding, clothing and providing
 fuel for an ever-growing population with less land, less resources and 
less inputs,” said Christopher Murray, marketing manager at John Deere, 
Moline, Illinois. “Artificial intelligence has bridged the gap from the 
days of doing more with more, to getting more with less.”“These
 challenges represent opportunities for our customers. At John Deere, we
 have been focused on integrating technology over the last 30 years into
 our machines that help us enable farmers to feed, clothe and fuel the 
world. We see advanced technology growing up in farming operations to 
meet the ever-growing needs from the world population.”<h2>Early roots</h2>Manufacturers
 have been incorporating some level of autonomy into machinery dating 
back to the 1990s with technology such as Autosteer, Gellings said. 
“Since then we have seen numerous other aspects of farm machinery 
becoming automated and over the last few years begun to see more and 
more fully autonomous solutions. However, there are industries like 
mining that have been operating fully autonomous for quite some time and
 have a stellar track record with it.”By
 deploying an autonomous machine in agriculture, farmers will be able to
 tend to priority jobs while that machine handles other work the farmer 
may not have time or available labor to do, Murray said. Autonomous 
gives farmers back valuable time they can use to spend getting other 
jobs done or spending time with family and friends.“It
 could be the difference between a farmer working through the evening or
 getting home to enjoy a warm meal with their family,” Murray said. 
“Deploying an autonomous machine benefits farmers’ bottom line, their 
livelihoods and the world at large as food demand and hunger increase.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1665753409090.png" alt="John Deere’s autonomous tractor has six pairs of stereo cameras, which enables 360-degree obstacle detection and the calculation of distance. Images captured by the cameras are passed through a deep neural network that classifies each pixel in approximately 100 milliseconds and determines if the machine continues to move or stops, depending on if an obstacle is detected. The autonomous tractor is also continuously checking its position relative to a geofence, ensuring it is operating where it is supposed to, and is accurate to within less than 1 inch. (Courtesy photo.)" />
 <figcaption>John Deere’s autonomous tractor has six pairs of stereo cameras, which enables 360-degree obstacle detection and the calculation of distance. Images captured by the cameras are passed through a deep neural network that classifies each pixel in approximately 100 milliseconds and determines if the machine continues to move or stops, depending on if an obstacle is detected. The autonomous tractor is also continuously checking its position relative to a geofence, ensuring it is operating where it is supposed to, and is accurate to within less than 1 inch. (Courtesy photo.)</figcaption>
 </figure>The drive for using autonomous 
machines in production agriculture makes sense to Gellings, who says it 
offers benefits such as taking operators out of harm’s way and with 
increased efficiency the machines could run for many more hours and one 
person could monitor several machines at once. Autonomous equipment does
 take someone who has technical savvy, Gellings said. Anyone who has 
proficiency in running a farm, incorporating Autosteer and other 
technologies that require a user interface may already have a level of 
familiarity.“From a 
mechanical maintenance standpoint most aspects of the machine are 
similar to other conventional machines,” Gellings said.As
 farmers update their fleet of equipment, they should consider how the 
new piece of equipment and the available technology will help increase 
productivity, performance, yields, sustainability, and quality of life, 
Murray said.“At John 
Deere, our technology stack allows farmers to meet their goals and 
stretch further into automation with each piece of John Deere 
equipment,” he said. “Our John Deere dealers have helped farmers realize
 the value of technology, from the core hardware and software that 
customer use such as AutoTrac, yield documentation, and John Deere 
Operations Center, to our most advanced technology available in our 
automation packages.”<h2>Features familiarity</h2>Many
 customers choose to order Deere equipment with automation packages that
 automate many of the functions on the piece of the equipment, Murray 
said. For example, with Tractor Automation 4.0, the customer gets 
AutoTrac Turn Automation, AutoPath, AutoTrac Implement Guidance and 
Machine Sync. The technologies build upon the core technology to make 
the farmer more productive and increase yields throughout each 
production step—field preparation, planting, fertilizer application, and
 during harvest.“All these available 
technologies are valuable building blocks to autonomy,” Murray said. 
“The farmers using our most advanced technologies today will be able to 
easily make the next step into autonomy once it is available to the 
industry.”Case IH, 
Racine, Wisconsin, has also been a pioneer in autonomous machinery 
market, and company officials said are continuing to build on a 
portfolio that meets the needs of growers.During
 the recent Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, Case IH and Raven 
Industries introduced an autonomous spreader—the Case IH Trident 5550 
applicator with Raven Autonomy. The technology stack is powered by 
guidance and steering propulsion control, perception and path planning 
software developed by Raven.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1665753460991.png" alt="Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>According to the companies, 
from a mobile device operators can plan and complete an entire field 
operation based on mapped field boundaries. Through a series of advanced
 cameras and radar systems, the Raven Autonomy perception system is 
constantly sensing a 360-degree environment around the machine for 
obstacles and motion initiation while operating. With artificial 
intelligence, Raven’s perception controller processes the continuous 
stream of images, which interprets and detects obstacles. The remove 
operator can view the cameras through the mobile device at any time.<h2>Technical reality</h2>While
 costs may be higher the savings in labor can make autonomous machinery 
closer to a reality, Gellings said. “This is not just an investment to 
improve one’s current operation, but it is also a pathway to engage the 
next generation of farmers who are more interested in technology.”Gellings
 said broadband limitations may not be as major of an obstacle for 
growers but are a key factor in being able to use equipment to its 
fullest potential both from an autonomy standpoint and being able to 
fully use other aspects such as data-driven decisions.While
 much of the attention has been on large scale tractors there is also a 
demand for other pieces of autonomous equipment, he said. They include 
orchard and strawberry harvesters, Gellings said.John Deere announced the autonomy for tillage at the Consumer Electronics Show this past January.“Autonomy
 will open the door for us to continue to innovate more solutions to 
keep serving our customers in new ways and for the tasks that are most 
demanding on them,” Murray said. “We will prioritize autonomy for the 
jobs that occur at the busiest times of the year—like during planting 
and harvesting—when farmers must contend with limited labor, lots of 
variables and show windows of times to get things done.”Farmers,
 just like any business are always looking to innovate to meet their 
goals that help increase productivity, performance yields, 
sustainability, and quality of life, he said. With those goals in mind 
Deere expects further automation with machinery, further learning about 
machines, more artificial intelligence, and more autonomy.“Technology
 has helped farmers get closer to meeting their goals and will continue 
to push boundaries in the future,” Murray said.Republished with permission

Driverless tractors, machinery finding their way onto fields

By JARED STRONG <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/usda-hopes-to-boost-fertilizer-production-as-soon-as-next-year/">Iowa Capital Dispatch</a>

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest $500 million to 
increase domestic fertilizer production, doubling its previous 
commitment, the agency announced.

The federal dollars would boost long-term projects and ready-to-go proposals that might have an effect as early as next year.

Some of the first projects to get funding from the Fertilizer 
Production Expansion Program are likely to include fertilizer plants 
that are already under construction and could be completed more quickly 
with an infusion of cash, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said
 Tuesday.

“There are facilities that have been underway, are in construction, 
where opportunities may be accelerated to be able to deal with more 
product in 2023 or 2024,” he told reporters.

Vilsack mentioned an unspecified Michigan facility that might be a 
candidate for the funding. The Michigan Potash &amp; Salt Company was 
expected to start construction this year on a $1.1 billion facility to 
process potash that is mined in the state, and one of the company’s 
executives&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://brownfieldagnews.com/news/michigan-potash-plans-to-break-ground-in-coming-months-on-a-billion-dollar-processing-plant/">has said</a>&nbsp;the new federal funding would help the long-awaited project advance.

Potash — a potassium compound — is one of the most widely used 
fertilizers in agriculture. The United States is not a major global 
producer of it, according to USDA data. Canada, Russia and Belarus have 
accounted for about two-thirds of global production.

Michigan Potash has said its facility will have the capacity to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/michigan-potash-stands-to-replace-russian-potash-fertilizer-imports-301497352.html">fully supplant</a>&nbsp;Russian imports of the fertilizer, but full production isn’t expected for three years.

The company did not immediately respond to a request to comment for this article.

The federal funding for fertilizer production is a result of costs that spiked&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2021/11/08/high-cost-short-supply-of-fertilizer-to-alter-2022-planting/">in late 2021</a>&nbsp;and
 early 2022. Those prices have subsided somewhat but are still about 
double what they were at the start of 2021, according to a Green 
Markets’&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://fertilizerpricing.com/priceindex/">fertilizer price index</a>.

The price increases were driven by a number of factors, including 
shortages of natural gas used to make nitrogen fertilizers, limited 
fertilizer stockpiles and production disruptions caused by an August 
2021 hurricane that struck Louisiana. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 
exacerbated the problem.

So in March, the USDA announced a new grant program to increase 
domestic production with an eye toward supporting new, independent 
operations. The Biden administration has sought to reduce consolidation 
in agriculture-related industries.

The USDA is expected to start soliciting grant applications soon for 
awards ranging from $1 million to $100 million, Vilsack said.

A first group of applications due within 45 days will be geared 
toward projects that might increase fertilizer supplies in 2023 and 
2024. A second round of applications due within 90 days will be for 
longer-term projects.

The grants will be paid through the Commodity Credit Corporation, 
which has traditionally funded loans and payments to farmers and 
conservations programs of the farm bill. Earlier this month, the USDA 
announced CCC money would be used to support a more than&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/09/14/usda-more-than-triples-funding-for-climate-smart-agriculture/">$3 billion “climate smart” program</a>. At the time, Vilsack said the CCC has sufficient funds to support the new programs and fulfill its farm bill obligations.

The fertilizer grant program is part of&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/08/18/biden-administration-plays-long-game-for-agriculture-and-trade/">a longer-term strategy</a>&nbsp;to reduce prices and the country’s reliance on foreign products. The Biden administration has resisted calls&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/07/29/ag-groups-want-tariff-lifted-on-moroccan-fertilizer/">to cut tariffs</a>&nbsp;on
 certain fertilizers to help alleviate the recent high costs, saying the
 short-term benefits do not outweigh long-term trade goals.

Vilsack said increased domestic fertilizer production combined with 
better techniques to avoid the excessive use of fertilizers will help 
stabilize supplies and farmers’ costs.

“We’re excited about this,” he said of the new grant program. “We 
think it’s going to help reduce the cost, increase the supply, maybe 
generate opportunities for farmer-owned cooperatives as well.”

The USDA is set to hold two online seminars to explain the&nbsp; Fertilizer Production Expansion Program&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_dTRONOeRRVu2aTEvGjwx6A">on Oct. 4</a>&nbsp;and how to apply&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_dUsGJWFZQtGuh_BWcC7EZQ">on Oct. 6</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1664372269646.png" alt="U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said $500 million of new federal grants will support domestic fertilizer production. (Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)." />
 <figcaption>U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said $500 million of new federal grants will support domestic fertilizer production. (Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch).</figcaption>
 </figure>By JARED STRONG <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/usda-hopes-to-boost-fertilizer-production-as-soon-as-next-year/">Iowa Capital Dispatch</a>The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest $500 million to 
increase domestic fertilizer production, doubling its previous 
commitment, the agency announced.The federal dollars would boost long-term projects and ready-to-go proposals that might have an effect as early as next year.Some of the first projects to get funding from the Fertilizer 
Production Expansion Program are likely to include fertilizer plants 
that are already under construction and could be completed more quickly 
with an infusion of cash, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said
 Tuesday.“There are facilities that have been underway, are in construction, 
where opportunities may be accelerated to be able to deal with more 
product in 2023 or 2024,” he told reporters.Vilsack mentioned an unspecified Michigan facility that might be a 
candidate for the funding. The Michigan Potash &amp; Salt Company was 
expected to start construction this year on a $1.1 billion facility to 
process potash that is mined in the state, and one of the company’s 
executives&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://brownfieldagnews.com/news/michigan-potash-plans-to-break-ground-in-coming-months-on-a-billion-dollar-processing-plant/">has said</a>&nbsp;the new federal funding would help the long-awaited project advance.Potash — a potassium compound — is one of the most widely used 
fertilizers in agriculture. The United States is not a major global 
producer of it, according to USDA data. Canada, Russia and Belarus have 
accounted for about two-thirds of global production.Michigan Potash has said its facility will have the capacity to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/michigan-potash-stands-to-replace-russian-potash-fertilizer-imports-301497352.html">fully supplant</a>&nbsp;Russian imports of the fertilizer, but full production isn’t expected for three years.The company did not immediately respond to a request to comment for this article.The federal funding for fertilizer production is a result of costs that spiked&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2021/11/08/high-cost-short-supply-of-fertilizer-to-alter-2022-planting/">in late 2021</a>&nbsp;and
 early 2022. Those prices have subsided somewhat but are still about 
double what they were at the start of 2021, according to a Green 
Markets’&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://fertilizerpricing.com/priceindex/">fertilizer price index</a>.The price increases were driven by a number of factors, including 
shortages of natural gas used to make nitrogen fertilizers, limited 
fertilizer stockpiles and production disruptions caused by an August 
2021 hurricane that struck Louisiana. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 
exacerbated the problem.So in March, the USDA announced a new grant program to increase 
domestic production with an eye toward supporting new, independent 
operations. The Biden administration has sought to reduce consolidation 
in agriculture-related industries.The USDA is expected to start soliciting grant applications soon for 
awards ranging from $1 million to $100 million, Vilsack said.A first group of applications due within 45 days will be geared 
toward projects that might increase fertilizer supplies in 2023 and 
2024. A second round of applications due within 90 days will be for 
longer-term projects.The grants will be paid through the Commodity Credit Corporation, 
which has traditionally funded loans and payments to farmers and 
conservations programs of the farm bill. Earlier this month, the USDA 
announced CCC money would be used to support a more than&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/09/14/usda-more-than-triples-funding-for-climate-smart-agriculture/">$3 billion “climate smart” program</a>. At the time, Vilsack said the CCC has sufficient funds to support the new programs and fulfill its farm bill obligations.The fertilizer grant program is part of&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/08/18/biden-administration-plays-long-game-for-agriculture-and-trade/">a longer-term strategy</a>&nbsp;to reduce prices and the country’s reliance on foreign products. The Biden administration has resisted calls&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/07/29/ag-groups-want-tariff-lifted-on-moroccan-fertilizer/">to cut tariffs</a>&nbsp;on
 certain fertilizers to help alleviate the recent high costs, saying the
 short-term benefits do not outweigh long-term trade goals.Vilsack said increased domestic fertilizer production combined with 
better techniques to avoid the excessive use of fertilizers will help 
stabilize supplies and farmers’ costs.“We’re excited about this,” he said of the new grant program. “We 
think it’s going to help reduce the cost, increase the supply, maybe 
generate opportunities for farmer-owned cooperatives as well.”The USDA is set to hold two online seminars to explain the&nbsp; Fertilizer Production Expansion Program&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_dTRONOeRRVu2aTEvGjwx6A">on Oct. 4</a>&nbsp;and how to apply&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_dUsGJWFZQtGuh_BWcC7EZQ">on Oct. 6</a>.

USDA hopes to boost fertilizer production as soon as next year

By ALLISON WINTER <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/clash-over-climate-change-funding-emerging-in-farm-bill-debate/">States Newsroom</a>

WASHINGTON — &nbsp; As lawmakers begin
 envisioning the next farm bill, some U.S. House Republicans are wary of
 making climate change a priority for farmers and ranchers.

The pushback from Republicans at a Tuesday hearing came as the Biden 
administration has tried to make significant new investments in climate 
change mitigation on farmland, last week announcing 70 pilot projects to
 support climate-friendly food production.

Lawmakers must rewrite the sweeping farm bill every five years to set
 policy and funding for agriculture, conservation and nutrition 
programs. The next farm bill is due in 2023, and some environmental 
groups are eyeing it as a potential boon for fighting climate change.

It’s also unclear which party will control the U.S. House and Senate following November’s midterm elections.

The farm bill includes massive funding for conservation programs—the 
previous legislation budgeted nearly $30 billion over five years.

More than 140 million acres of farmland in the U.S. are currently 
receiving conservation-related financial and technical assistance from 
the federal government, according to an analysis from the Farm Bureau. 
By comparison, the national park system has more than 85 million acres, 
according to the National Park Service.

The farmland conservation programs have received bipartisan support 
in the past, but some Republicans on Tuesday expressed concern about a 
growing interest in climate mitigation on farmland.

“Congress must be mindful of this massive amount of funding before 
amending programs or making policy changes that reorient programs toward
 climate. No one natural resource concern should be prioritized over 
others,” California Republican Rep. Douglas LaMalfa said at a hearing in
 a panel of the House Agriculture Committee.

LaMalfa is currently the top ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.

At issue is both how to shape the conservation programs in the next 
farm bill and how to manage an extra funding infusion from the recently 
approved&nbsp; Inflation Reduction Act.

That bill, which the House and Senate passed in August, has a slate 
of programs to address climate change, including more than $20 billion 
for climate investments on farmland. Those include support for no-till 
agriculture, cover crops or other programs that affect the soil’s 
ability to hold carbon.

It will provide about a 47 percent increase over previous farm bill 
levels, according to an analysis from the National Sustainable 
Agriculture Coalition.

But for his part, the top Republican on the full committee indicated he would prefer to go his own way in directing the funding.

“I don’t feel bound by the amount of funding or the specific program 
allocation passed in the partisan IRA bill. I am especially worried 
about earmarking of all the new money just for climate, rather than 
letting the locally led process work,” Rep. Glenn Thompson, a 
Pennsylvania Republican, told colleagues at the hearing.

Republicans were critical of the new USDA initiative.

“We got the White House combined with my colleagues who are a real 
threat to the family farm today, in the name of this climate god, this 
new world religion,” said Rep. Rick Allen, a Georgia Republican.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/09/14/usda-more-than-triples-funding-for-climate-smart-agriculture/">announced last week</a>&nbsp;that the administration would invest $2.8 billion in pilot projects.

The program,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usda.gov/climate-solutions/climate-smart-commodities">Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities</a>,
 will fund programs for greenhouse gas reductions on dairy farms, and 
projects to build markets for climate-smart beef, grains and fruits and 
vegetables.

“There is strong and growing interest in the private sector and among
 consumers for food that is grown in a climate-friendly way,” Vilsack 
said in a statement announcing the new programs.

The Agriculture Department plans a second round of funding for more pilot projects later this year.

Applicants submitted more than 450 project proposals for this first funding pool, according to USDA. The money comes from the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usda.gov/ccc">&nbsp;Commodity Credit Corporation</a>,
 a government corporation created in 1933 that has traditionally funded 
foreign market development projects, price support, domestic farm income
 and conservation programs.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663772933681.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By ALLISON WINTER <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/clash-over-climate-change-funding-emerging-in-farm-bill-debate/">States Newsroom</a>WASHINGTON — &nbsp; As lawmakers begin
 envisioning the next farm bill, some U.S. House Republicans are wary of
 making climate change a priority for farmers and ranchers.The pushback from Republicans at a Tuesday hearing came as the Biden 
administration has tried to make significant new investments in climate 
change mitigation on farmland, last week announcing 70 pilot projects to
 support climate-friendly food production.Lawmakers must rewrite the sweeping farm bill every five years to set
 policy and funding for agriculture, conservation and nutrition 
programs. The next farm bill is due in 2023, and some environmental 
groups are eyeing it as a potential boon for fighting climate change.It’s also unclear which party will control the U.S. House and Senate following November’s midterm elections.The farm bill includes massive funding for conservation programs—the 
previous legislation budgeted nearly $30 billion over five years.More than 140 million acres of farmland in the U.S. are currently 
receiving conservation-related financial and technical assistance from 
the federal government, according to an analysis from the Farm Bureau. 
By comparison, the national park system has more than 85 million acres, 
according to the National Park Service.The farmland conservation programs have received bipartisan support 
in the past, but some Republicans on Tuesday expressed concern about a 
growing interest in climate mitigation on farmland.“Congress must be mindful of this massive amount of funding before 
amending programs or making policy changes that reorient programs toward
 climate. No one natural resource concern should be prioritized over 
others,” California Republican Rep. Douglas LaMalfa said at a hearing in
 a panel of the House Agriculture Committee.LaMalfa is currently the top ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.<h2>New money at hand</h2>At issue is both how to shape the conservation programs in the next 
farm bill and how to manage an extra funding infusion from the recently 
approved&nbsp; Inflation Reduction Act.That bill, which the House and Senate passed in August, has a slate 
of programs to address climate change, including more than $20 billion 
for climate investments on farmland. Those include support for no-till 
agriculture, cover crops or other programs that affect the soil’s 
ability to hold carbon.It will provide about a 47 percent increase over previous farm bill 
levels, according to an analysis from the National Sustainable 
Agriculture Coalition.But for his part, the top Republican on the full committee indicated he would prefer to go his own way in directing the funding.“I don’t feel bound by the amount of funding or the specific program 
allocation passed in the partisan IRA bill. I am especially worried 
about earmarking of all the new money just for climate, rather than 
letting the locally led process work,” Rep. Glenn Thompson, a 
Pennsylvania Republican, told colleagues at the hearing.Republicans were critical of the new USDA initiative.“We got the White House combined with my colleagues who are a real 
threat to the family farm today, in the name of this climate god, this 
new world religion,” said Rep. Rick Allen, a Georgia Republican.<h2>Climate-smart commodities&nbsp;</h2>Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/09/14/usda-more-than-triples-funding-for-climate-smart-agriculture/">announced last week</a>&nbsp;that the administration would invest $2.8 billion in pilot projects.The program,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usda.gov/climate-solutions/climate-smart-commodities">Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities</a>,
 will fund programs for greenhouse gas reductions on dairy farms, and 
projects to build markets for climate-smart beef, grains and fruits and 
vegetables.“There is strong and growing interest in the private sector and among
 consumers for food that is grown in a climate-friendly way,” Vilsack 
said in a statement announcing the new programs.The Agriculture Department plans a second round of funding for more pilot projects later this year.Applicants submitted more than 450 project proposals for this first funding pool, according to USDA. The money comes from the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usda.gov/ccc">&nbsp;Commodity Credit Corporation</a>,
 a government corporation created in 1933 that has traditionally funded 
foreign market development projects, price support, domestic farm income
 and conservation programs.Vilsack and other Democrats see farmers as key stakeholders in 
addressing climate change. Agriculture was responsible for just over 11 
percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, according to the EPA.Virginia Democrat Abigail Spanberger, the chairwoman of the 
conservation subcommittee, said that she hopes to partner with farmers 
on climate programs.“We are looking to find on-farm efficiencies and boost the bottom 
line for producers and make sure we are combating the climate crisis 
with the first conservationists, who are our nation’s farmers and 
producers,” Spanberger said at the conclusion of the hearing.The hearing is one in a series to prepare for the 2023 farm bill.<h2>&nbsp;High demand</h2>The farm bill’s conservation programs pay farmers to make 
environmental improvements on working land or to replace crops on highly
 erodible and environmentally sensitive land.Despite the funding increases in recent farm bills, demand from 
producers for the programs still outpaces the availability from the 
Natural Resources Conservation Service, the agency within the 
Agriculture Department that oversees most of the conservation programs.“NRCS continues to be oversubscribed,” said Nicole Berg, president of the National Association of Wheat Growers.Since the 2018 farm bill, wheat farmers have entered 7,500 contracts 
in conservation programs, but another 5,000 valid applications from 
wheat growers did not receive funding, according to Berg.“Noticing that a significant number of producers on the ground want 
to participate and can’t is a good call to action for us in the future,”
 Spanberger said.Other producers complained that the application process is lengthy, 
and it can take months to get a response—which can be particularly 
problematic if producers want to address a pressing issue on their land.“We were in a drought, and we needed some new water infrastructure, 
it was our biggest dilemma. I applied to NRCS, and we waited and waited 
but finally had to bite the bullet and do the project ourselves,” Shayne
 Wiese, a rancher from Manning, Iowa, told the committee—noting that new
 farmers and ranchers might not be able to finance a project on their 
own.Lawmakers agreed they would like to support staffing for NRCS and a simpler application process for producers.“I don’t think we need to reinvent the wheel here. What we need are 
common sense adjustments to ensure that programs are serving their 
producers and their land well,” said Rep. Kim Schrier, a Washington 
Democrat.