Current Policies affecting Grains and Oilseeds Sara Wyant Agri-Pulse February 21, 2014

1. Current Policies affecting Grains and Oilseeds Sara Wyant Agri-Pulse February 21, 2014

2. Finally, a farm bill! • Over three years of hearings, markup and floor time • 2008 Farm Bill expired in 2012, key parts extended for one year • House and Senate farm bills out of committee by 5/15/13 • Senate passage 6/10/13 by 66-27 • House vote failed on 6/20/13 by 195-234 • House approves ‘Split’ farm bill by 216-208 on 7/11/13 • House approves stand alone nutrition bill 217-210 on 9/19/13 • Conference report delivered 1/27/14 • House approves 251-166 on 1/29/14 • Senate approves 68-32 on 2/4/14 • President signs Agricultural Act of 2014 on 2/7/14

3. The Agricultural Act of 2014 • Commodity programs • Conservation • Trade • Nutrition • Credit • Rural Development • Research • Forestry • Energy • Horticulture • Crop Insurance • Miscellaneous

6. EPA’s proposed changes to the RFS The agency's proposal would lower the requirement to 15.2 billion gallons of renewable fuels, with 13.01 billion gallons from conventional ethanol and 2.2 billion gallons from advanced biofuels. Previous requirements passed by Congress called for 18.15 billion gallons of renewable fuels next year, with 14.4 billion gallons of conventional ethanol and 3.75 billion gallons of advanced biofuels. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp called the EPA’s proposal a “significant step backward.”

8. Water Resources Reform and Development Act • Would help modernize nation’s aging lock and dam system, other navigation systems • Negotiations between House and Senate conferees largely stalled despite strong bipartisan votes in both chambers in October

9. Focus on trade When 98 percent of our exporters are small businesses, new trade partnerships with Europe and the Asia Pacific will help them create even more jobs. We need to work together on tools like bipartisan trade promotion authority to protect our workers, protect our environment and open new markets to new goods stamped “Made in the U.S.A.” President Obama State of the Union address

10. Despite benefits, Trade is a Hard Sell! • Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): 12 countries: U.S., Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam • 793 million consumers, $28.1 trillion in GDP • Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP): Spans 28 countries, over 500 million consumers and a GDP of $16.5 trillion • Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) needed to seal these deals

11. Fast track or Slow Track? “I’m against fast track. Everyone would be well advised just to not to push this right now.” Sen. Harry Reid “Camp-Baucus, in its present form, is unacceptable to me.” Rep. Nancy Pelosi

12. Japan’s offer on TPP: Unacceptable to U.S. Ag

13. Hard lines being drawn on TTIP “To be very clear, we are not going to import hormone beef. Because it would mean we would have to change our basic legislation, and we are not going to do it. We’re not going to even make a legislative proposal for that because it has no support in Parliament, it has no support in the Commission. So we will keep and stick to our regulations” Karel de Gucht European Commissioner for Trade “It’s a negotiation. There is not likely to be an agreement with the EU unless we deal fully with agricultural issues. We have to put on the table issues like beef, biotech and geographical indicators….It’s not appropriate to take a line in the sand attitude.” Tom Vilsack Secretary of Agriculture

14. Technology issues • New biotech approvals • Drones and precision agriculture • Big data

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