By Chris Clayton
DTN Ag Policy Editor
OMAHA (DTN) -- Farm groups have a lot to battle over in the federal appropriations bill as negotiations over spending on policy riders continue in Congress.
The bill would fund federal agencies for fiscal year 2016, but it is always the policy provisions, or riders, that stall talks until the final weeks of the calendar year.
Congress faces a Dec. 11 deadline to pass an omnibus appropriations bill, though President Barack Obama might be open to signing a one- or two-day continuing resolution which would fund the government while Congress hashes out a compromise.
Republicans think they have support to block EPA's controversial rule defining waters of the United States. The rule is currently delayed by federal courts, but both chambers of Congress already have approved resolutions over the past month to reject the rule. Every major agricultural group opposes the rule and have been encouraging Congress to block it.
RE-OPENING THE FARM BILL
Crop insurers, congressmen and senators declared the integrity of the farm bill intact this week when Congress voted on a highway bill that blocked $3 billion in crop insurance cuts over the next decade. Still, some farm groups and others are willing to open the farm bill to suit their needs. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, went to the Senate floor on Thursday to denounce an attempt in the House appropriations bill to re-establish commodity certificates that were used under the 2008 farm bill.
Grassley pointed to the provision, saying the only reason anyone would bring back commodity certificates is to go around the $125,000-per-person payment caps in the 2014 farm bill. "For those who don't remember what commodity certificates are, they are a way around payment limits," Grassley said. "The language in the House bill specifically directs USDA to administer commodity certificates as they were in 2008 when they were not subject to any payment limits at all."
Language was added to the omnibus bill in the House mainly to help support cotton farmers who are facing low prices and not eligible for new commodity programs -- the Agricultural Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage programs. The Congressional Budget Office projects the provision would cost about $50 million.
Tom Sell, who lobbies for cotton growers, said in an email to DTN/The Progressive Farmer that the changes are needed to support an industry facing significant financial challenges.
"There have been a lot of pro-ag members and advocacy groups pushing for this. It's really more about the orderly marketing of crops, and is only relevant for crops that are below the loan rate ... an economic tragedy no one envisioned when the farm bill was passed," Sell said.
Grassley warned of the risk of opening up the farm bill.
"If the agriculture community wants to be taken seriously, we should heed our own advice and not reopen the farm bill by reauthorizing commodity certificates," he said. "I'm opposing cuts to the crop insurance program today because that would reopen the farm bill. I hope tomorrow I don't have to oppose commodity certificates in the omnibus because a few people want to reinstate unlimited farm subsidies."
Yet, another area where the House omnibus would "reopen" the farm bill is a provision opposed by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition to delay requirements tying conservation compliance to eligibility for crop-insurance premium subsidies. USDA's Farm Service Agency already went through a year of stressing to farmers that they fill out the right form stating their land meets USDA requirements for wetlands and highly erodible lands. Still, the bill has a provision delaying any attempts to enforce higher minimum conservation standards.
Ferd Hoefner, policy director of NSAC, pointed out the House agriculture appropriations bills re-open conservation programs in the farm bill and cut mandatory spending for working lands conservation by over $600 million just for Fiscal Year 2016.
LABEL WARS
If congressional negotiators don't reach agreement by Monday, they will know just how big of a stick the World Trade Organization swings on the livestock and meat industries' long-standing drama -- country-of-origin labeling. The WTO will rule on Dec. 7 on the Canadian and Mexican calls for retaliatory tariffs. The level of tariffs would sway Congress to support a voluntary labeling proposal out of the Senate, or Congress could stick with the House push to eliminate COOL altogether.
Groups on both sides of the COOL issue have been pushing over the past week for Congress to act.
At the same time, food and agricultural groups want Congress to end the risk of states implementing their own labels on foods with ingredients from biotech crops. An appropriations provision could include the House-approved labeling act that blocks states from trying to supersede the Food and Drug Administration on such labels. That bill could also require USDA to create a voluntary non-biotech labeling program, similar to the organic labeling program. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., told Politico that most Senate Democrats would reject that provision in the omnibus bill.
Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com
Follow him on Twitter @ChrisClaytonDTN
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