| | | | | |  | | By Ryan McCrimmon | With help from Leah Nylen, Eric Wolff and Doug Palmer Editor's Note: Morning Agriculture is a free version of POLITICO Pro Agriculture's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.
| | | — The Agriculture Department has paid $1.4 billion to farmers and ranchers in the two weeks since launching its coronavirus relief payment program. Much of the money is going to the Midwest, and especially to livestock producers. — Fresh off being subpoenaed by the Justice Department last week, the so-called Big Four beef companies were in federal court on Monday asking the judge to dismiss civil antitrust lawsuits against the meatpacking giants for allegedly fixing the prices of live cattle. — Dozens of bipartisan House members are asking President Donald Trump to reject oil-state requests to waive biofuel blending requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard. HAPPY TUESDAY, JUNE 9! Welcome to Morning Ag, where we never say no to a mystery pizza delivery. Send tips to rmccrimmon@politico.com and @ryanmccrimmon , and follow us @Morning_Ag. | | | FOLLOWING THE FIRST FARM RESCUE PAYMENTS: Now that USDA is pumping out relief checks to ag producers through its $16 billion farm stimulus program, the department is posting weekly updates on where the money is going, by state and sector. Here's how it's unfolding so far: — No surprise: Livestock producers have taken in the most money, or about $676 million, your host reports. They're followed by row crop growers and dairy farmers, each receiving more than $300 million, while growers of specialty crops like fruits, nuts and vegetables saw less than $25 million. — Most of the payments have gone to Midwestern farmers in states like Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois and Kansas. On the other end of the scale, USDA hasn't yet approved a single dollar to Alaska, Delaware or Rhode Island. — Delaware discrepancy? While only three Alaska farms have applied for aid so far, and none in Rhode Island, more than 70 ag operations in Delaware did apply. (USDA didn't respond to a request for more information about the numbers.) Stay tuned: The weekly reports offer some transparency into the stimulus program, which is similar to the department's trade bailout — an effort that was criticized by some lawmakers including Senate Ag's top Democrat, Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), and watchdog groups, who claimed it unfairly boosted certain farms over others. The coronavirus farm payments are likely to receive as much or more scrutiny, especially in a presidential election year when Trump needs to maintain strong support in the Midwest. | | | | NEXT WEEK - A VIRTUAL CONVERSATION ON WATER SECURITY : How can we secure long-term solutions at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic consumes the attention and resources of local and state leaders? Join POLITICO on Monday, June 15 at 10:20 a.m. EDT for a virtual panel discussion on the policies and legislation needed at the state, regional and federal levels to meet the water needs of Western states. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | BEEF PACKERS MAKE THEIR ANTI-ANTITRUST CASE: Lawyers for the four largest U.S. beef packers — Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS and National Beef — told a federal court on Monday that the Justice Department's probe into the beef market doesn't justify civil antitrust lawsuits filed by cattle ranchers, who accuse the meatpacking giants of coordinating to lower the cattle prices they pay to livestock producers. The companies are asking the district judge in Minnesota to toss out the cases, which they say are based on "speculation and gossip," POLITICO's Leah Nylen tells MA. "There are a lot of things the plaintiffs try to say are nefarious but just aren't," said Nicole Saharsky, a lawyer for Cargill. "A government request for information as reported by the media does not make this complaint more plausible." R-CALF USA and others filed suit last year, alleging antitrust violations and seeking damages for ranchers. According to the claims, the four beef packers started coordinating in 2015 to reduce the number of cattle they slaughtered and the animals they bought directly from ranchers in the cash market — actions that depressed cattle prices. Thomas J. Undlin, a lawyer for the ranchers, argued that the DOJ investigation and a related USDA probe are highly relevant to the suits. "The Department of Justice is in the game," Undlin said. "They've started an investigation of the defendants, sent [subpoenas] to defendants and confirmed they are investigating into the cattle and beef processing markets." ETHANOL ADVOCATES APPEAL TO TRUMP IN WAIVERS FIGHT: Some 40 House members, led by Reps. Abby Finkenauer (D-Iowa), Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), sent a letter to Trump on Monday asking him to take their side in the simmering fight over ethanol policies during the pandemic. "This pandemic has severely strained the market for biofuels, closing plants and dealing another crippling blow to an industry that is already struggling," the lawmakers wrote. The steep drop in fuel consumption forced the biofuel industry to idle half of its production capacity, but the sector was left out of USDA's agricultural rescue program because of limited funding. Across the Capitol: A bipartisan group of senators sent a similar missive last month asking Trump to order the EPA to leave the RFS program intact. Like ethanol producers, oil refiners have been strained by the collapse in driving amid the pandemic, and both industries have enlisted their political allies in a tug-of-war over the blending requirements. | | | TRUMP'S TARIFFS ARE 'KILLING' WINE SELLERS: Wine wholesalers and retailers have been hit with a one-two punch over the past nine months: First, the Trump administration jacked up their business costs by slapping a 25 percent tariff on wine imports from France in a trade dispute with the EU over government support for Airbus. Then the coronavirus pandemic wiped out a large portion of their sales by forcing the closure of restaurants, per our Pro Trade colleagues. But relief could be in sight, if the Trump administration can be persuaded to lift the wine tariffs and place them on another product instead. By law, USTR is required to periodically review any WTO-sanctioned trade retaliation — a process known as carousel. The agency's next review starts later this month, with a decision on any changes due by Aug. 12. "A lot of U.S. wine businesses are genuinely panicked about this," said Ben Aneff, president of the U.S. Wine Trade Alliance. "It really really kills their bottom line, it kills their profit margins and at some point businesses are going to have to think [about] other ways to preserve cash, whether that's through layoffs or temporary closures." Meanwhile in France: The French government wants the EU to set up a compensation fund for winegrowers still suffering from Trump's tariffs (along with storage assistance measures for certain meat producers), POLITICO Europe's Eddy Wax reports. | | | | WINNERS PLAY THE LONG GAME: Interested in building a sustainable future for generations to come? "The Long Game" is designed for executives, investors and policymakers leading the conversation about how society can thrive in the future. Engage with the sharpest minds on our biggest challenges, from pandemics to plastics, climate change to land use, inequality and the future of work. Subscribe today for a nuanced look at these issues and possible solutions. | | | | | | | | — The U.S. economy officially entered a recession in February, ending a record-long expansion since June 2009, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. The research group made the designation unusually soon, reflecting the furious pace of the coronavirus-driven economic crisis. Our Pro Financial Services friends have more. — Meanwhile, Republicans are betting big on a strong economic recovery, as bipartisan talks still haven't begun in earnest on a next relief package. — The EPA on Monday posted its final cancellation order for three dicamba-based herbicides after a federal court last week vacated the products' pesticide registrations, which the agency extended in 2018. The EPA said its order, which also outlines limited, temporary uses for leftover products, would "mitigate some of the devastating economic consequences" of the court decision. — House lawmakers are clashing over whether to provide financial relief for clean energy companies in the next coronavirus response package. Democrats are eager to help a sector that has shed 600,000 jobs since the pandemic started, but Republicans deride the effort as an attempt to implement the Green New Deal, writes Pro Energy's Anthony Adragna. — Mexico nominated its veteran trade negotiator Jesús Seade for director general of the World Trade Organization, raising the stakes in a global race for the WTO's top job, per POLITICO Europe. Seade is Mexico's undersecretary for North America and led the country's negotiations on USMCA. He was also a WTO deputy director general in the 1990s. — Georgia and Iowa can offer extra food assistance to families with children who qualify for subsidized school meals, after USDA on Monday authorized the states for the pandemic program. More than 1.35 million kids in Georgia and Iowa were eligible for free or reduced-price meals during the 2019-20 school year. — Colorado ag producers are growing nervous about an investment firm snapping up irrigated farmlands, seeing value in increasingly scarce Western water sources, Aspen Journalism and KUNC report. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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