Around the Dome
Dwayne O’Dell, Director of Government Relations
I hope all is well with
each of you this month.
No doubt many of you
are enjoying the spring
weather. It’s always a great
time when the cows are
out grazing, gardens are
planted, and field crops are
in the ground.
Recent national data from the USDA indicate
prospective planting of over 93.6 million acres
of corn this year, up nearly 6 million from 2015.
Likewise, soybean plantings are predicted at 82.2
million acres, with wheat projected at 49.5 million
acres. Of course, weather will be a factor in final
outcomes.
America truly has been blessed with
tremendous technology and production ability.
However, the EPA is at it again. This federal
agency has used tax dollars to fund local and state
lobbying efforts, called “What’s Upstream?” This
effort funds anti-farmer campaigns aimed toward
the unsuspecting and in some cases uneducated
public regarding what really occurs on our farms.
to review legal challenges to the “Waters of the
United States” rule (WOTUS). Based on this
ruling, we expect EPA to promptly seek dismissal
of all pending district court cases. Meanwhile, the
AFBF and other litigants challenging the rule will
evaluate their options and decide whether to seek a
Supreme Court review or proceed to the merits in
the Sixth Circuit at this time.
The federal budget process is beginning in the
U.S House of Representatives. The following
funding levels are proposed for agriculture and
related activities in the next fiscal year:
• Agricultural research $2.85 billion
• Animal and Plant Health $934 million (up
$36 million from last year) to address citrus
greening, antimicrobial resistance and avian
influenza
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program
$1.43 billion (down $22 billion from last
year)
• Farm Service Agency $1.5 billion
• Food & Drug Administration $2.7 billion
AFBF has joined a petition to modernize USDA
beef quality grades. The National Cattle Beef
Association authorized the petition based on Beef
Checkoff funded research using dentition (teeth)
The Government Accountability Office found
to verify age rather than skeletal ossification. In
that the EPA had violated the law by using
today’s cattle population, many heifers are grading
this type of activity to alter public opinion.
“old” under the current system even though
This information was presented to the Senate
they are less than 30 months of age required for
Subcommittee on Waste Management and
premium beef programs. Research data indicate
Regulatory Oversight. You may view how the
EPA is portraying farming at www.whatsupstream. that the effect of estrogen in heifers prematurely
com. In addition, 142 members of the U.S. House ages the skeleton. AFBF policy supports
modifying grading standards if scientific research
of Representatives have sent a bipartisan letter
shows benefit to the producer, processor and
to EPA Administrator Gina McCarty, raising
concerns over EPA’s recent funding of a grassroots consumer. This effort is supported by the United
lobbying campaign against farmers and ranchers in States Meat Export Federation and the National
Association of State Departments of Agriculture.
Washington State. EPA appears bent on using tax
dollars to shape public opinion regardless of facts. If approved, the change would add over $60
million into beef cattle operations throughout the
In late April of this year, the U.S. Court of
United States.
Appeals for the Sixth Circuit declined to grant
a re-hearing by the full court. This decision
see O’Dell, page 22
determines which court has initial jurisdiction
West Virginia Farm Bureau News 5