Digest Highlights

Continue using current Form I-9

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is advising farmers and other employers to continue using the current Form I-9 until further notice. Employers must complete Form I-9 for all newly hired employees to verify their identity and authorization to work in the U.S.

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Dave Natzke
Editor / Progressive Dairy

The current Form I-9 is scheduled to expire on Aug. 31. However, a new version is not yet available. For more information, visit I-9 Central.

CoBank: U.S. farmers taking brunt of tariff wars

U.S. farms are taking the brunt of the retaliatory tariffs placed on their products, reflecting the lopsided balance of power between U.S. producers and their importing customers, according to recent report from CoBank.

The more time that tariffs are in place, the more time U.S. competitors have to take market share and cement trade relationships. With the prospect of declining bargaining power, U.S. exporters of most agricultural commodities will face still greater pressure to absorb more – if not all – of the costs of retaliatory tariffs in the future.

The analysis looks at of 11 U.S. agricultural commodities – including whey and cheese – representing a cross section of agriculture.

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The report, “Foreign Tariffs Are Falling on U.S. Farmer, Not Importer,” was authored by CoBank economists Will Sawyer, Crystal Carpenter, Kate Linner and Tanner Ehmke.

Update: Trump signs Chapter 12 bankruptcy bill raising debt limit

President Trump has signed the Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019, a measure that raises the Chapter 12 debt limit from $4.1 million to $10 million.

Designed for family farmers with "regular annual income,” Chapter 12 bankruptcy allows financially distressed farmers to restructure financials and propose a repayment plan – usually over a three- to five-year period – to avoid a liquidation of assets or foreclosure.

Read: Chapter 12 bankruptcy filings up; bill raises debt limit

Pressure mounts for EPA nitrate study review

The American Dairy Coalition (ADC) has joined a chorus of dairy and agricultural voices seeking a review of a 2013 U.S. EPA study being used to enforce nitrate regulations. ADC Chief Executive Officer Laurie Fischer sent a letter to EPA Director Andrew Wheeler requesting he submit the “EPA Yakima Nitrate Report” for a scientific review.

Fischer also called on the EPA to remove the study from further enforcement action and litigation pending the review.

The EPA Yakima Nitrate Report began in 2010 and was published in 2012 and 2013. According to Fischer, EPA Region 10 staff used the study in enforcement action and threats of federal litigation against four large dairy farms, pressuring them into consenting to punitive administrative orders, resulting in the loss of one dairy and requiring the remaining to spend upwards of $15 million to comply. Further, the report has been used by an Oregon environmental attorney to force costly settlements with a number of Washington dairy farms, resulting in the loss of farms and creating extreme distress within the entire Washington dairy community.

Waters of the U.S. ruled unlawful

A federal court ruled the 2015 Waters of the U.S. rule is unlawful under the Clean Water Act (CWA) because of its “vast expansion of jurisdiction over waters and land traditionally within the states’ regulatory authority.”

In the ruling, the court for the Southern District of Georgia found the agency overstepped not just the CWA, but also the Administrative Procedure Act, which lays out the most basic rules governing how agencies may propose and establish federal regulations.

The ruling keeps in place a preliminary injunction preventing the rule from becoming effective in the 11 states involved with the lawsuit while the EPA finalizes its own repeal and replacement of the 2015 rule.

“The court ruling is clear affirmation of exactly what we have been saying for the past five years,” American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) General Counsel Ellen Steen said. “The EPA badly misread Supreme Court precedent. It encroached on the traditional powers of the states and simply ignored basic principles of the Administrative Procedure Act when it issued this unlawful regulation. The court found fault with the EPA’s interpretation of some of the most basic principles of the CWA, most importantly, which waters the federal government may regulate and which waters must be left to states and municipalities.”

The EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have already begun the process of replacing the Waters of the U.S. rule. Under the new proposal, only major rivers, primary tributaries and wetlands along their banks would fall under the category of “navigable.” The new rule would also return more oversight to states.

‘Cows and Climate’ video series

Dr. Frank Mitloehner puts greenhouse gases from livestock into perspective in the second of a series of “Cows and Climate” videos. The series aims to explain livestock’s role in the global food system and the environment, focusing on climate change.

Mitloehner’s participation in the Cows and Climate video series is a part of his research and extension activities at the University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Watch the full video here.

Chobani appoints McGuinness as president

Chobani LLC promoted Peter McGuinness to the position of president, reporting to Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO and company founder, effective Aug. 28.

A six-year veteran at the company, McGuinness currently oversees Chobani's demand function. In his new role, he will also oversee supply chain, manufacturing, sustainability, and research and development functions.

Chobani has also announced the promotion of several other leaders within the company: Federico Muyshondt, chief customer officer; Jason Blaisure, senior vice president of supply chain; Parag Agrawal, chief information officer; and Grace Zuncic, chief people and culture officer.

With these changes, 50% of Chobani's executive leadership team will be comprised of female leaders, according to a press release.

With plants in New Berlin, New York, and Twin Falls, Idaho, Chobani is the leading maker of Greek yogurt and the second largest overall yogurt manufacturer in the U.S.

Pennsylvania ‘Adopt a Cow’ program brings dairy farms to elementary schools

Pennsylvania’s elementary teachers can enroll their classrooms in Discover Dairy’s “Adopt a Cow” program, a year-long interactive learning opportunity that gives students an inside look at a dairy farm. Enrollment closes on Oct. 18, 2019.

Each classroom that enrolls in the Adopt a Cow program is paired with a calf from a dairy farm. Students receive videos, photos and activity sheets that allow them to watch their calf grow throughout the 2019-20 school year. During the spring, the Adopt a Cow program also offers live video chats. Classrooms have the opportunity to talk directly with a farmer, meet their calves, take virtual farm tours and ask questions about milk production.

After registering for the program, teachers will receive an introductory kit in November with details about their calf. Classrooms will collect monthly updates, including suggestions on components of the Discover Dairy curriculum that teachers can incorporate into their lesson plans.

Discover Dairy is an educational series managed by the Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation of Pennsylvania. Last year more than 25,000 elementary and middle school students from across the U.S., Mexico and Canada participated in the program.

Minnesota offers beginning farmer tax credit

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) Rural Finance Authority reminds beginning farmers and asset owners to apply for the tax credit for the sale or lease of land, equipment, machinery and livestock. Application deadline is Oct. 1, 2019.

To qualify, the applicant must be a Minnesota resident with the desire to start farming or who began farming within the past 10 years. Applicants must provide projected earnings statements, have a net worth less than $836,000, and enroll in or have completed an approved financial management program. The farmer cannot be directly related to the person from whom he or she is buying or renting assets. The tax credit for the sale or lease of assets can then be applied to the Minnesota income taxes of the owner of the farm land or agricultural assets.

Three levels of credits are available:

  • 5% of the lesser of the sale price or fair market value of the agricultural asset, up to a maximum of $32,000

  • 10% of the gross rental income of each of the first, second and third years of a rental agreement, up to a maximum of $7,000 per year

  • 15% of the cash equivalent of the gross rental income in each of the first, second or third year of a share rent agreement, up to a maximum of $10,000 per year

The Beginning Farmer Tax Credit is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested farmers should note that they can also apply for a separate tax credit to offset the cost of a financial management program up to a maximum of $1,500 per year – for up to three years.  end mark

Dave Natzke