Citing worsening economic conditions impacting the nation’s farmers, over 300 national and state groups, including the South Carolina Corn and Soybean Association, sent a letter to congressional leaders today calling on them to pass the farm bill before year’s end. Signatories included groups representing farmers, livestock and specialty crop producers, lenders and other essential stakeholders in agricultural communities across the U.S. Commodity and lending groups will head to the Capitol en masse this week to advocate for passage of the legislation with a stronger agricultural safety net. “It is critical that Congress pass a new farm bill that strengthens the safety net as many producers are facing multiple years of not being profitable, and this is causing their overall financial situation to deteriorate,” the letter said. “Some will have challenges as they seek operating credit for the 2025 crop year.” The farm bill is typically passed every five years and supports the nation’s farmers, ranchers and forest stewards through a variety of safety net, credit, conservation and other critical programs. The law was originally scheduled for reauthorization in 2023. Last November, Congress voted to extend the existing legislation to September 30, 2024. Since that point, the leadership from both parties on the Senate and House Agriculture Committees have worked to push the legislation forward. As the farm bill has faced delays, producers across the country have experienced headwinds, ranging from extreme weather to high input costs to uncertain global demand to supply chain disruptions. Since the beginning of the year, the harvest price of major crops traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Intercontinental Exchange have fallen by an average of 21% while total production costs remain near record levels. Farmers and their allies say these challenges have exposed areas of the farm bill that need to be strengthened. “Since the 2018 Farm Bill was signed into law, we have realized considerable gaps in the farm safety net due to sharply changing conditions, including the trade war with China, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, COVID-19 and related supply chain challenges, rising foreign subsidies, tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and other harmful practices,” the letter said. “These conditions seriously tested the effectiveness of the 2018 Farm Bill, and it was only by the aggressive use of supplemental assistance that many farms survived.” The letter noted that the outlook for farm country is even more daunting, as the USDA-projected market prices for the 2024 crop are well below costs of production, and current projections paint another bleak picture for 2025. “The farm bill reauthorization provides an opportunity for Congress to address serious challenges in agriculture,” the letter said. “A durable farm safety net, along with risk management tools like a strong federal crop insurance program, voluntary and locally led incentive-based conservation programs, and enhanced international marketing and promotion programs, will be critical in shoring up America’s farm families and rural communities, which otherwise face an uncertain – and potentially calamitous – future.” READ THE LETTER

By Brooke S. Appleton, National Corn Growers Association

By Brooke S. Appleton

The South Carolina Corn and Soybean Association, along with the National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, and 55 other agriculture organizations, urged the U.S. International Trade Commission today to consider the impacts that tariffs on Moroccan shipments of fertilizers are having on family farms. The concerns were expressed in a letter that comes after the ITC was ordered by the U.S. Court of International Trade to reconsider its determination of material injury in a decision issued earlier in September. “Rising prices for fertilizer inputs have strained America’s farmers and ranchers and have impacted availability for this critical component of nutrient and yield management,” the letter said. “Without predictable options to source this product, farmers struggle to plan for the future.” The signatories noted that issues surrounding the international supply chain further complicate farmers’ ability to source phosphate. The letter further explains that the ITC originally made some inferences on the ability to re-ship product that are not indicative of reality. “Agriculture supply chains are intricate and complicated, and the premise that re-shipping product from an originally intended destination to respond to regional demand fluctuations is simply not correct,” the letter said. “Instead, reliance on this incorrect premise has led to high fertilizer costs that create volatility and compromise the ability of farmers to be successful.” The issue leading to the letter stems from a decision by Commerce in 2020 that favored a petition by the U.S.-based Mosaic Company to impose duties on phosphate fertilizers imported from Morocco and Russia. Mosaic had claimed that unfairly subsidized foreign companies were flooding the U.S. market with fertilizers and selling the products at extremely low prices. Meanwhile, phosphate fertilizer prices for farmers were climbing to record highs. Soon after the decision, the South Carolina Corn and Soybean Association, ASA, NCGA and other state corn grower groups launched an aggressive campaign that called on Commerce to reverse the decision and for Mosaic to withdraw its request for tariffs. Over the past three years, the South Carolina Corn and Soybean Association and NCGA have led the charge to raise concerns by filing an amicus brief, sending letters to the White House and federal agencies, and informing Members of Congress about the impact. In November, as part of an annual review, the U.S. Commerce Department decided to reduce tariffs on the fertilizers from 19.97% to 2.12%, but that decision was retroactive and largely academic as the Moroccan company producing the fertilizers has halted shipping of all but one of its products into the U.S. Efforts to permanently reduce the duties will involve several steps and multiple agencies over the coming months. This month, Commerce will have another opportunity to make the lower duties permanent when it considers a remand on the issue from the U.S. Court of International Trade. Then, in January, the ITC is expected to make a ruling based on another remand ordered by the court. Mosaic can appeal each decision. In the meantime, the recent letter shows that corn growers and their allies continue to sound the alarms by outlining the economic effects of the duties. “Farmers are the lifeblood of our food supply, contributing to our economic strength and the resilience of rural communities,” the letter said. “When burdened with high input costs, farmers see ripple effects occurring in every facet of their operation. This inhibits their ability to increase market access on the global stage and satisfy both local and regional customers.” READ THE LETTER

By. Brooke S. Appleton

Advocacy Efforts Pay Off as Phosphate Fertilizer Duties Slashed

The South Carolina Corn and Soybean Association joins the American Soybean Association, which represents half a million U.S. soy farmers, in vehement opposition to Rep. Victoria Spartz’s (R-IN) amendment to the House agriculture appropriations bill that unduly attacks commodity checkoff programs. Checkoffs are industry-led organizations that exist to promote agricultural products and support America’s hardworking farmers and ranchers, including U.S. soy producers. Daryl Cates, soybean farmer from Illinois and ASA President said, “Congresswoman Spartz’s amendment is a direct attack on all checkoffs and, close to home, threatens the long-term viability of our industry’s successful program. Our soy checkoff continues to have strong support from hundreds of thousands of soy farmers across the United States, and that is proven time and again when the program comes up for referendum every five years. Soybean farmers understand the significant role the checkoff plays in developing and protecting markets for their crops, conducting research and promotion to sustain their livelihoods and our environment, and keeping U.S. soy available domestically and competitive globally. This amendment is misguided and ill-informed, and we strongly urge Congress to reject this attack on U.S. farmers and ranchers,” said Cates. The soy checkoff provides access to promotion, advertising, research, legal and other resources individual farmers may not be able to provide for efforts to promote and sell their product. In place since the early ‘90s, the soy checkoff provides U.S. soybean farmers $12.34 in added value at the national level for every dollar they invest in the soy checkoff. Also determined in the soy checkoff’s 2019 return-on-investment (ROI) study: International promotion activities produced $17.95 in return value. Demand-enhancing research and promotion returned an average value of $18.18. Production research returned an average value of $9.42. Farmers received even more value through state checkoff activities. Checkoff programs are administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and overseen by the farmers and ranchers who vote in favor of checkoff systems to promote specific commodities. By promoting their agricultural products, checkoffs ensure future generations of farmers can build or maintain their livelihoods in agriculture. The soy checkoff’s self-imposed levy applies to all U.S. soybean farmers and is one half (1/2) of 1% of the market price of each bushel of soybeans sold each season. Those funds are used to build demand, find new markets, and improve the profitability prospects for all soy farmers. Soy checkoff dollars are split among the national organization and state checkoff programs, or qualified state soybean boards. The South Carolina Corn and Soybean Association joined ASA and the other 25 affiliated state soybean organizations that represent the 30 primary soybean-producing states. They are united in opposition of the Spartz Amendment alongside agricultural groups including the Almond Alliance, American Beekeeping Federation, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Honey Producers Association, American Mushroom Institute, American Sheep Industry Association, American Soybean Association, American Wood Council, Clean Fuels Alliance America, Corn Refiners Association, International Fresh Produce Association, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Christmas Tree Association, National Cotton Council, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Milk Producers Federation, National Oilseed Processors Association, National Pecan Federation, National Pork Producers Council, National Potato Council, National Sorghum Producers, National Watermelon Association, North American Blueberry Council, North American Meat Institute, Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association, Soy Aquaculture Alliance, Soy Transportation Coalition, United Egg Producers and U.S. Peanut Federation and 100 state organizations in their opposition to the Spartz amendment.

By Brooke S. Appleton

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and American Soybean Association (ASA) both expressed disappointment with the revised Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule that was issued this week by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers.