Policy Updates and Issue News April 2019

The National Grange Fly-In to Washington, DC was April 28-May 1.  A total of twenty- two Grange members from eleven states met with thirty-one members of Congress or their staffs.  The group also was briefed by Anne Hazlett, Senior Advisor for Rural Affairs, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Executive Office of the President, and by Preston Wise, Special Counselor to Chairman Pai at the Federal Communications Commission.

The National Grange focused on priority public policy issues that need action by Congress and the federal agencies during 2019.  These actions include disaster relief, rebuilding rural infrastructure, passing the Student Agriculture Protection Act, legislation to protect online privacy, upgrade rural broadband coverage maps, emerging broadband technologies to reach rural areas, maintaining the Lifeline program for rural residents, the dangers of importing non-FDA-approved prescription drugs, and prescription drug discount rebates to patients to lower out-of-pocket costs at the drug counter.  Grange members also urged Congress to take action on pending bills in Congress that address patient prescription drug costs.

Census of Agriculture Documents Change

The USDA’s latest ag census shows that the major trends in agriculture since the 2012 census are continuing:

• Dairy farm numbers declined 17 percent but milk sales increased 4 percent as dairy operations grow larger and smaller producers are squeezed out. Overall, the number of all farms decreased by 3.2 percent.
• The number of farmers increased by 6.9 percent as young, beginning and female farmers took on decision-making roles.
• The average age of all farmers rose to 57.5 years compared to 56.3 years in 2012.
• One in four producers is a beginning farmer with less than 10 years of experience and an average age of 3 years.
• A record low 105,453 farms produced 75 percent of all sales, down from 119,908 farms in 2012.
• Ninety-six percent of American farms and ranches are family owned.
  

New Dairy Margin Coverage Program

The 2018 Farm Bill authorized the DMC which is a voluntary risk management tool that offers dairy producers financial protection when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed cost (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by producers.  Sign-up for the DMC begins June 17 through USDA’s Farm Service Agency.

Farm Bill Tackles Feral Swine

Between funds authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill and additional funds appropriated by Congress, USDA now has $30.5 million in fiscal 2019 to reduce feral swine damage to crops and land across 35 states.  Wild hogs destroy anything in their path including crops, land, fencing, roads, wildlife and can spread disease to domestic pigs.

The agriculture community continues to push Congress to pass legislation that would assure producers access to sufficient, flexible, legal and dependable labor.  The House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship held a hearing in early April on the availability of farm labor to meet seasonal and year-round needs.  There appears to be increased bipartisan support in the House for an agriculture-only workforce bill.  But judging from past experience, there will be pressure to add a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Dreamers) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries to any immigration legislation that makes it to the House floor.  The more provisions that are added the less likely the bill is to pass.  In the meantime, the Department of Labor is collaborating with USDA to streamline the H-2A visa application process for ag employers.

Permanent conservation easements are generally presumed to benefit the natural environment, but their purpose and results can vary widely.   For agriculture, they can be double-edged swords, protecting and preserving farming and ranching or, conversely, blocking some farm uses forever.  House Agriculture Chairman Colin Peterson says he wants to review these easements with a common-sense approach “to think about what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and what effects these easements have.”  Peterson intends to review all types of conservation easements as part of hearings on farm bill implementation.   Most farmers and ranchers prefer working-land conservation initiatives rather than land-idling conservation programs.

Dangers of Imported Drugs

The National Grange continues to alert members of the rural and small town communities about the dangers of taking imported non-FDA approved prescription drugs.  The National Grange joined over 100 cosigners on a Partnership for Safe Medicines letter to the President and members of the Senate and House of Representatives.  The letter pointed out that historically, attempts to import drugs from “safe countries” like Canada result in Americans getting counterfeit, substandard or black market medication.  These substandard substances are often transshipped from third world countries through Canada’s free -trade zones but these drugs never enter the Canadian regulatory sphere to assure safety and efficacy for the patient.

Prescription Drug Rebates to Patients

The Department of Health and Human Services should finalize its proposed rule to reduce patients’ out-of-pocket costs at the drug counter according to the National Grange.  Currently, prescription rebates are negotiated between biopharmaceutical manufacturers, insurance plans and pharmacy benefit managers aimed at lowering the net cost of medicines.  Unfortunately, these rebates have been used to lower a plan’s overall costs instead of lowering patients’ out-of-pocket costs at the drug counter.

Rural Broadband Maps Need Work

Maps that show broadband coverage in rural areas are not accurate.  The Federal Communications Commission collects rural broadband data by census block.  If just one home or business in an entire block has internet service, everyone in that block is counted as having service available.  Rural census blocks cover large areas where a few miles can mean the difference between having broadband or not.  During the April National Grange Fly-In, attendees met with Preston Wise, Special Counsel to FCC Chairman Pai, and urged the FCC to place a priority on upgrading rural broadband coverage maps.

Protect Online Privacy

Recent investigations reveal how mobile apps share personal, business, and location information with Facebook, Amazon, Google, and other, and that Facebook in particular stores incredible amounts of personal data on just about everyone.  National Grange president Betsy Huber was featured recently in Washington’s Morning Consult calling for Congress to establish a uniform national privacy standard for everyone on the internet.  The Senate Judiciary, Senate Commerce, and House Energy and Commerce Committees have all held hearings on privacy and are urging prompt Hill action before states pass a patchwork of individual laws.

American farmers, ranchers, processors, vintners and bakers are losing sales to Japan as foreign competitors lock in new business under preferential trade pacts.  Member countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are seeing tariffs on their agricultural exports to Japan reduced for a second time.  The United States withdrew from the TPP before ratification.  As a result, U. S. wheat, beef, pork, dairy, wine, potatoes, fruits and vegetables, and more are seeing their Japanese market share decline.  The National Grange and other agriculture groups are asking the Administration to negotiate a bilateral agreement with Japan that restores access and expands markets for American producers.

Would you lobby for agriculture’s youth?  Well, here’s your chance.   First, ask your U.S. Representative in Washington to cosponsor H.R. 1770, the Student Agriculture Protection Act, sponsored by bipartisan Representatives McCaul, Cuellar and Peterson.   The bill exempts tax on the first $5,000 in proceeds from the sale of livestock or agricultural projects by FFA or 4-H participants.  Second, ask your Representative to cosponsor an amendment to include Grange Youth in the bill.  Let us know if you need the contacts for your Representative.  Also please tell us if your Representative will cosponsor a Grange Youth amendment.