With the Renewable Fuels Standard, tariffs, trade and the farm bill top of farmer’s minds, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue spent two days in the state of Iowa with a stop at the Farm Progress Show on Aug. 29.
“The president called as I pulled into the Farm Progress Show grounds this morning and said, ‘Sonny, we need to get year-round E-15 done.’ When he says we need to get something done, we get it done,” Perdue told a group of farmers.
Ethanol fuel blends have been at the E-10 blend level for about 10 years. The push for ethanol as an alternative to imported oil led to the construction of 172 plants in 25 states by the end of 2008. The 10 percent ethanol blend has been universally accepted. In March 2009, a waiver application was submitted to increase to 15 percent. The discussion of moving to 15 percent ethanol blend has been ongoing since then.
Trade and tariffs are main topics with all farmers. Perdue said continual discussions are happening to help trade continue.
“There’s not a farmer in American who wouldn’t rather have a good crop and market for it rather than a government check. They want trade, not aid,” Perdue said, adding trade talks are moving along with Mexico and next in line is Canada, China, Japan and other countries in the European Union.
While Perdue said some market share may have been affected adversely by the tariffs, he doesn’t think it will cause irreparable damage.
“The world knows we produce reputable, safe agricultural products and they will still want our products,” Perdue said.
Bill Northey, the U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary for farm programs and conservation, also joined Perdue in his stop at the Farm Progress Show. Northey said stern conversations are needed when discussing ag trade.
“We hope to repair trade relationships soon. We want our product to be looked at with fair treatment,” Northey said. “We have added new programs for agricultural marketing to help find new markets for many of our commodities.”
The $200 million portion of the USDA trade mitigation package targets market promotion and development and will be important for staying competitive in world markets.
USDA officials are hopeful for a completed farm bill before the Sept. 30 expiration date of the current farm bill. Perdue said conservation titles are being tweaked regarding Conservation Reserve Program rates and total acres and help for dairy farmers is being added. Crop insurance will survive as he knows it has become an important factor for farmers.
Northey said it is important for farmers to be sure to know their total production numbers and to turn it in to the Farm Service Agency offices to receive the aid that is available. A paper trail will likely be needed as well.
“It looks like there is support for crop insurance and conservation titles will be adjusted where needed, but likely not much will be changed. And we will see aid for dairy producers,” Northey said. “We are seeing a very consistent message from both sides of the aisle with the farm bill and will be able to better deal with the trade uncertainty once the farm bill talks are complete.”
Jennifer Carrico can be reached at [email protected].
