As expected, automobile makers and engine manufacturers have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their arguments on why they should be granted standing to challenge two EPA decisions emanating from agency action on the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for ethanol. The auto companies want to re-challenge two EPA waivers that increased the amount of ethanol mandated for gasoline blending from 10% to 15% for cars manufactured since 2001.  In August, 2012, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia dismissed a challenge to the EPA actions brought by auto industry, petroleum refiners and food producers, ruling the groups did not have "standing" to bring the action. Standing is conferred when a plaintiff can show direct damages or harm by the action over which it's brought legal action. Citing potential engine damage from the new blends, the Supreme Court petition was filed by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the Association of Global Automakers, the Outdoor Equipment Institute and the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

President Obama says he wants a comprehensive immigration reform bill on his desk early this summer and key players say it's possible, but the road to a legal solution for the 11-12 million undocumented workers in the U.S. remains rocky. This week four members of the Senate Gang of Eight - an octet of bipartisan interests who've worked for months on the most extensive immigration reform package since 1986 - traveled to the Arizona-Mexico border to see firsthand how best to gauge now and in the future the security of the southern U.S. border. Sens. John McCain (R, AZ), Charles Schumer (D, NY), Jeff Flake (R, AZ) and Michael Bennet (D, CO), toured the border area and held a press briefing.  

At the briefing Schumer, through whose Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee a bill must move, said the coalition of Senators is "90% there," giving no specifics, but expressing cautious optimism the group will introduce a comprehensive immigration reform bill when Congress returns the week of April 8. There's no word on when a similar bipartisan group in the House will present its legislative proposal, something that's been promised since mid-February. President Obama this week, citing "a lot white papers and a lot of studies" already in hand on how best to reform federal immigration laws, said he wants to see quick action on the Senate bill. However, last week six of the eight Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent Chair Patrick Leahy (D, VT) a letter asking him to delay setting a markup deadline on the expected legislation until after Judiciary and other committees have held hearings on aspects of the reform package. Committee member Sen. Jeff Sessions (R, AL), who signed the GOP letter to Leahy, favors a series of shorter focused bills tackling areas of immigration reform, not a single comprehensive legislative package. He's a member of the judiciary panel's immigration subcommittee, and said Leahy has told committee members he intends to move quickly on the bill, "a move that will make it impossible to properly assess a bill of this magnitude." Leahy said he'll move as "soon as possible," follow regular order, "hold a transparent process, with ample time for debate and to offer amendments."  

Sessions said because no one has seen or had much input into the draft bill under construction by the Gang of Eight, "(the bill) must be independently judged and reviewed by the (committee) in the full light of day. That will take months - not two weeks - and will require hearings on every aspect of this issue." Some Democrats take Sessions' demand for extensive hearings as just another way to delay for months or years substantive immigration reform. In a related area, reports last week of a break down in talks between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO in negotiations that would lead to a new federal guest worker program and a new wage scale for temporary workers, now indicate the two groups are back at the table negotiating.  

However, the union which represents federal Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents this week formally asked the Gang of Eight for a meeting "before you complete your work on any immigration proposal and to share the experiences and concerns of the (union's members.)" The union has been critical of President Obama's 2012 executive order implementing a program of "deportation deferral" for some U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants. The union contends the policy undermines its members' ability to enforce "duly enacted immigration law," and that it's created bad blood between the union and Secretary for Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton.

Despite concerns over lingering drought in the Midwest, complicated by spring moisture worries, corn farmers tell USDA they'll plant 97.3 million acres for all purposes this year, down fractionally from 2012, but 6% more than in 2011, according the March 28 Prospective Plantings report. The 2013 intentions, if realized, represent the largest planted acreage since 1936 when over 102 million acres were planted to corn. Soybean planted acres will total about 77.1 million, farmers reported, down slightly from last year and the fourth largest on record. Soybean planted area is down across the Great Plains, USDA said, with the exception of North Dakota. Nebraska and Minnesota expect the biggest decline compared to a year ago, while Illinois and North Dakota are reporting the largest increases in prospective plantings. All wheat area for 2013 is expected to hit 56.4 million acres, up 1% from 2012. The 2013 winter wheat area is 42.0 million acres, 2% higher than the year before and up slightly from USDA's previous estimates. Area planted to other spring wheat is expected to hit 12.7 million acres, up 3% from 2012. In a related announcement, USDA announced this week there will be no marketing quota for the 2014 wheat crop. The full Prospective Plantings report can be found by going to (click here). 

Corn stocks in all positions on March 1, at 5.4 billion bushels, are down 10% from March, 2012, according to USDA's March 28 Grain Stocks report. On-farm storage was reported at 2.67 billion bushels, down 16% from last year, while stocks held off-farm were put at 2.73 billion bushels, down 4% from a year ago. December, 2012-February, 2013 corn disappearance was pegged at 2.64 billion bushels, down nearly a billion bushels from last year's 3.62 billion. Soybeans stored in all positions on March 1, totaled 999 million bushels, down 27% from March last year. Soybeans stored on farm were estimated at about 457 million bushels, down 18% from a year ago. Off-farm stocks were set at 543 million bushels, down 34% from last March. Indicated disappearance for the three months beginning December 1, 2012, was 967 million bushels, down 3% from 2012. All wheat stored in all positions totaled 1.23 billion bushels, up 3% from last year, and on-farm stocks were estimated by USDA at 237 million bushels, up 9% from 2012. Off-farm stocks of wheat, at 997 million bushels, were up 2% from March, 2012. December, 2012-February, 2013 disappearance is 436 million bushels, down 6% from a year earlier. The full stocks report can be found at (click here). 

Cooperative Groundwater Monitoring Update

Pursuant to Agricultural Order R3-2012-0011, four agricultural groups submitted Cooperative Groundwater Monitoring Program Proposals by the March 15, 2013 due date.  The proposals are currently under review.  As discussed at the March 2013 Board Meeting, the Executive Officer is considering revisions to the Monitoring and Reporting Program that would allow enrolled growers to switch from individual to cooperative groundwater monitoring, if a cooperative groundwater program for their area is approved.   The proposals and key dates regarding the review process are now available on the Central Coast Water Board's website at the link below. 

 http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/ag_waivers/index.shtml 

Individual Groundwater Monitoring Update

Pursuant to Agricultural Order R3-2012-0011, the sampling period for growers conducting individual groundwater monitoring is March to June 2013.  To assist growers whose sampling results indicate elevated nitrate concentrations, Water Board staff has prepared a grower resource document titled "Nitrate in Drinking Water".  The document provides basic information about the health effects associated with exposure to nitrate and options for treatment.  The document is available on the Central Coast Water Board's website, under "Grower Workshops and Resources" at the link below. 

 http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/ag_waivers/docs/resources4growers/nitrate_info_guide_032813.pdf 

FAIR OAKS, Ind. - Here at one of the largest dairy farms in the country, electricity generated using an endless supply of manure runs the equipment to milk around 30,000 cows three times a day.

For years, the farm has used livestock waste to create enough natural gas to power 10 barns, a cheese factory, a cafe, a gift shop and a maze of child-friendly exhibits about the world of dairy, including a 4D movie theater.

All that, and Fair Oaks Farms was still using only about half of the five million pounds of cow manure it vacuumed up from its barn floors on a daily basis. It burned off the excess methane, wasted energy sacrificed to the sky.

But not anymore.

The farm is now turning the extra manure into fuel for its delivery trucks, powering 42 tractor-trailers that make daily runs to raw milk processing plants in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Officials from the federal Department of Energy called the endeavor a "pacesetter" for the dairy industry, and said it was the largest natural gas fleet using agricultural waste to drive this nation's roads.

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Beginning next year, some corporate wellness programs will feature bigger carrots, but smaller sticks. In January 2014, new rules issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will take effect. They will impact "health-contingent wellness programs" - those that require individuals to meet a specific health-related standard to be eligible for a reward.

Companies no longer will be allowed to deny employees discounts on their health insurance premiums because they don't meet certain goals while enrolled in a wellness program. Beginning next January, employers that offer these programs will be required to offer a "reasonable alternative means" of qualifying for a reward to individuals whose medical conditions make it unreasonably difficult to meet the specified standard (for example, an overweight employee who is insulin-dependent), and to those for whom it is medically inadvisable.

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