USA Rice Logo
USA Rice Daily
Up-to-the-Minute News on Issues and Activities
Tuesday, March 24, 2015

USDA Proposes It Takes 500 Hours to be "Actively Engaged"    

Paperwork is in no short supply
on the farm

WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced a proposed rule to limit farm payments to non-farmers.  The proposed rule limits farm payments to individuals who may be designated as farm managers but are not actively engaged in farm management.

 

In the Farm Bill, Congress gave USDA the authority to address this situation for joint ventures and general partnerships, while exempting family farm operations from being impacted by the new rule.

 

"We're going to carefully unpack this draft rule to figure out how it impacts the rice industry," said Ben Mosely, USA Rice's vice president of government affairs.  "We'll be looking at unintended consequences of the rule, and in particular to see if a one-size fits all approach here will work."

 

Under the proposed rule, non-family joint ventures and general partnerships must document that their managers are making significant contributions to the farming operation, defined as 500 hours of substantial management work per year, or 25 percent of the critical management time necessary for the success of the farming operation.

 

Many operations will be limited to only one manager who can receive a safety-net payment. Operators that can demonstrate they are large and complex could be allowed payments for up to three managers only if they can show all three are actively and substantially engaged in farm operations.

 

As mandated by Congress, family farms will not be impacted.  There will also be no change to existing rules for contributions to land, capital, equipment, or labor.  Only non-family farm general partnerships or joint ventures comprised of more than one member will be impacted by this proposed rule.

 

Stakeholders interested in commenting on the proposed definition and changes are encouraged to provide written comments by May 26, 2015.  The proposed rule is available at http://go.usa.gov/3C6Kk.

 

Contact:  Deborah Willenborg (703) 236-1444

Grain Industry Provides Comments on 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Report      

Dr. Glenn Gaesser 

BETHESDA, MD -- Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) held a public meeting to receive oral comments on the Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which was released last month.  The nutritional value of grain foods and important grains terminology were emphasized in a testimony delivered on behalf of the grain industry by Professor Glenn Gaesser, PhD, of Arizona State University.

 

The grain groups commended the Dietary Guideline Advisory Committee's recommendation that half of American's grain intake should come from whole grains as well as their recognition of the important nutrient contribution of enriched, fortified grains to the diet.

 

"I fully agree with the Advisory Committee's continued call for half of all grain intake to come from whole grains," said Gaesser.  "This recommendation would allow Americans to reap the multiple, established health benefits of whole grains, leaving the other half of daily grain intake for enriched grain products, which have their own unique benefits."

 

The grain industry's comments also touched on the important differentiation between "refined grains" and "enriched grains" noting that staple foods, such as rice or bread, are enriched and fortified with important nutrients; but the Advisory Report often places these grain foods in the same category as more indulgent refined options, such as cake.  Gaesser also pointed to important scientific evidence not cited in the Advisory Report.

 

"The Committee's conclusions that higher consumption of refined grains is linked to higher risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity are not consistent with a large body of scientific evidence and again, reflect the disconnect in how staple grain products are classified."

 

In May, USA Rice will also submit written comments to the Advisory Report through the Grain Industry and Grocery Manufacturers Association coalitions.  The Federal government will determine how it will use the information in the Advisory Report as well as information submitted during the public comment period, as it develops the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.   HHS and USDA will jointly release the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015 later this year.

 

Contact:  Katie Maher (703) 236-1453

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures   
CME Group (Prelim):  Closing Rough Rice Futures for March 24

Month
Price
Net Change
May 2015$11.125
+ $0.095
July 2015$11.365
+ $0.095
September 2015$11.490
+ $0.080
November 2015$11.660
+ $0.090
January 2016$11.810
+ $0.090
March 2016
$11.810
+ $0.090
May 2016
$11.810
+ $0.090

In the News 

Around the Country

As Silence Falls on Chicago Trading Pits, a Working-Class Portal Also Closes  

New York Times

Most of the futures pits inside the Chicago Board of Trade building, an Art Deco tower that looms over downtown's LaSalle Street, are scheduled to close by July after being choked by a decade of technological advancement that has made face-to-face trading largely obsolete.

 

Boosting Rural America Remains a Priority Southwest Farm Press

U.S. Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack addressed the need to boost rural economies while complementing production agriculture as the latest farm bill is rolled out.

 

Farm Bill Program Decisions Loom March 31 Farm Futures

A lot of farmers have March 31 circled on their calendars. That's the day, of course, that USDA releases its annual spring Prospective Plantings and quarterly Grain Stocks reports. But March 31 is also the deadline to make farm bill program decisions.

 

Farm Bill Update: Your Questions Answered Delta Farm Press

With just one week to go, Bobby Coats, professor in the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, and Anita Wilson, agricultural program specialist with USDA FSA office in Arkansas, answer your most pressing questions.

 

 

Health and Nutrition

Sure, Cheap Wine May Have High Levels of Arsenic, But is That Dangerous?  

Modern Farmer

There's no law being broken here; the EPA limit of 10 parts per billion are for drinking water, not wine. And certainly the winemakers will make the case (that's a very good pun, go back and look at it again) that people don't, or shouldn't, drink as much wine as water, and thus the higher levels are unimportant in the grand scheme of long-term arsenic levels in the body.

 

 

Science and Technology

Fact-Checking the GMO Labeling Debate The Hill

The labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods is quickly becoming one of the most hotly debated food policy issues across the county and for good reason. In the absence of federal leadership, states have led the way by passing mandatory legislation intended to prevent consumer deception and give consumers the right to know what they are buying and feeding their families.

 

Three Years of Field Trials with Nitrogen-Efficient Rice Demonstrate Significant Yield Increases Business Wire

Over the three years of field trials, the leading rice line with Arcadia's NUE trait out-yielded control lines by an average of 27 percent. The trials included both irrigated lowland and rain-fed upland locations. In the third year trial, at 50 percent of normal applied nitrogen fertilizer, the leading NUE rice line out-produced the control line by 33 percent.

Upcoming Events
Recent Issues
Mission Statement
About Us