Updated NAWG Policies for 2006

The NAWG Board of Directors approved a number of updates to its farm policy measures at its recent annual meeting. Among the changes and updates:

Biotechnology
After a year in which the biotechnology policies of NAWG, U.S. Wheat Associates and WETEC differed on some key points, the three organizations adopted unified policy on this topic.  The policy statements represent not only a unified stance for the wheat producer organizations but a more progressive stance.  Changes made from the prior joint policy include:

• Adoption of a more realistic standard for defining which markets must have regulatory approvals before traits are commercialized in wheat. “Major Markets” are now defined as any market that accounts for at least 5 percent of U.S. wheat exports; the previous standard was 5 percent of any class of U.S. wheat exports.
• A prior expectation for a technology provider-imposed segregation system has been replaced with a commitment by the three organizations to “support and … assist in the development by all segments of the industry of an orderly marketing system to assure delivery of non-transgenic wheat within reasonable tolerances to markets that require it.”
• The policies commit the three organizations to working actively in addressing market acceptance challenges.

The documents are carefully crafted to signal to

1. customers that we remain committed to their ability to make purchases based on specific traits;
2. technology providers that wheat is open for business in developing advanced traits to improve competitiveness; and
3. producers that the organizations are serious about moving this technology forward in a responsible way.

Domestic Policy
NAWG has initiated a review by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) of some different options for the 2007 Food Security Act commodity provisions.  Underlying the proposals is a recognition that each major commodity crop derives the majority of its support from different components of the program.

Options proposed by NAWG include minor adjustments to the current program, converting the countercyclical program to a revenue trigger instead of a price trigger or the option of a flex concept where producers could choose which of the three commodity title programs they want to participate in fully while receiving less support levels in the other two.

Support levels and associated payment limits for each of the three (Direct Payments, Countercyclical, and Marketing Loans) would be increased, but only one of them would have full 100 percent eligibility; the others would be at a 50 percent support level. Producers could make the election annually, separate for each crop.  Once the FAPRI analysis is completed on these options, NAWG will review it and finalize its recommendations for the 2007 bill.

In addition to Farm Bill-specific policies, NAWG:

• Deleted a resolution supporting extended federal funding for the Hard White Wheat Incentive Program (HWWIP), and struck a resolution calling for HWW crop insurance payments to be 20¢ higher than comparable payments for Hard Red Winter wheat. NAWG added a resolution supporting the creation of a grant program to aid the development, production and marketing of Hard White Wheat (HWW). NAWG also supported the creation of a separate market class for HWW.
• Added a resolution to continue support of the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, and to institute “grower-approved practices” for managing the Trust.
• Added a resolution supporting a farm savings account to cover uninsured crop losses.
• Supported full funding of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, which replaces lost property tax revenue to local jurisdictions when land is acquired by the federal government.
• Supported making permanent a federal tax code provision to allow capital purchases of up to $200,000 to be expensed rather than depreciated.
• Updated a resolution supporting an affordable guest worker program.
• Added a resolution supporting exemptions from CDL requirements for custom harvesters and for deliveries to and from farms.
• Supported moving the regulatory hours-of-service exemption to law and a 15,000 mile cap on the federal heavy-hauler tax.
• Reiterated its support for Emergency Energy Relief.
• Called for stakeholder input before structural changes are made in Farm Service Agency county offices and called for adequate staffing levels in FSA county offices.

Environmental Policy
New additions in Environmental Policy included:

• Payment eligibility requirements that are recognized by FSA should also be accepted by NRCS for all NRCS programs.
• NAWG reiterated its support for the Conservation Security Program (CSP), and expressed opposition to any actions that would reduce payments to farmers under existing contracts. State and federally owned land that is operated by eligible producers should be eligible to participate in the CSP.
• NAWG supports laws and regulations that allow Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) funds to be used to implement conservation practices for endangered species recovery.
• NAWG supports past enrollment criteria for extension of existing Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts.
• NAWG supports agricultural exemptions from restrictions to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
• NAWG supports drilling for natural gas in the Area 181 (Gulf of Mexico) to help meet our nations ever increasing energy needs.

International Trade
Additions to the International Trade policy area included resolutions supporting the disbanding of export state trading enterprises and free and open trade with Cuba.  Joint USW/NAWG/WETEC policy on Food Aid was also updated, reiterating support for commodity-based donations (rather than cash-only) and calling for annual aid contributions of 6 million metric tons (MMT), half in the form of wheat.