Bloomberg writer Robert Burnson reported yesterday that, “Food activists and farmers sued the Trump administration over its decision to let hydroponic operators use the prized ‘organic’ label.

“The Center for Food Safety and farmers from Maine to California say in the lawsuit that the decision ‘undermines the very integrity’ of the country’s organic food label — ‘that consumers trust and that organic farmers rely upon.’

“Hydroponic operations grow plants that have their roots in water or air and receive nutrients from solutions created by the operators. Under federal rules, organic crops — aside from being grown without pesticides and other harmful chemicals — must foster ‘soil fertility,’ according to the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.”

The Bloomberg article stated: “But how can you foster soil fertility without soil, the farmers asked.

“The farmers want a judge to declare that the hydroponic operations don’t meet the soil fertility mandate and to order the U.S. Department of Agriculture to comply with the requirements for organic certification.”

Late last month, the Associated Press reported that, “California sued the Trump administration on [Feb. 20] to block new rules that would let farmers take more water from the state’s largest river systems, arguing it would push endangered populations of delta smelt, chinook salmon and steelhead trout to extinction.

“The federal rules govern how much water can be pumped out of the watersheds of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, which flow from the Sierra Nevada mountains to the San Francisco Bay and provide the state with much of its water for a bustling agriculture industry that supplies two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts and more than a third of its vegetables.

“But the rivers are also home to a variety of state and federally protected fish species, whose numbers have been dwindling since humans began building dams and reservoirs to control flooding and send water throughout the state.”

The AP article noted that, “Historically, the federal government has set the rules for both systems. But recently, state officials have complained the Trump administration’s proposed rules don’t do enough to protect endangered species. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration threatened to sue the federal government in November, but delayed action in the hopes he could work out a compromise.

“But the federal government finalized the new rules [the week of Feb. 17]. Trump traveled to Bakersfield on [Feb. 19th] to celebrate them before a jubilant crowd.”

“Newsom responded on [Feb. 20th] with a lawsuit, filed in partnership with state Attorney General Xavier Becerra.”

Bloomberg writer Isis Almeida reported this week that, “Indigo Ag Inc., a company trying to take the old-school world of crop trading onto digital platforms, is cutting jobs in order to focus on the most-profitable areas of its business.

“Reductions at the Boston-based company meant 150 staff members lost their jobs, a company spokesperson confirmed. The layoffs come as Indigo zeros in on areas where it’s seeing the best returns such as its Marketplace, an eBay-style grain platform connecting farmers directly with buyers and bypassing some of the world’s top crop traders.

“Startups like Indigo, Farmers Business Network and Grainster Inc. have emerged in recent years to challenge the likes of Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., Bunge Ltd., Cargill Inc. and Louis Dreyfus Co. — the storied quartet of agricultural commodity traders that dominate the market. The trading houses historically made money by buying crops from farmers, storing and selling them at a higher price later.”

The Bloomberg article explained that, “Indigo, which raised $200 million last month, will focus on areas including software development and its grain platform. It will give less priority to businesses like agronomy and transportation. The transport segment was originally envisioned as an Uber-like solution for trucking grain in the U.S.

“Despite the job cuts, Indigo still has more than 1,000 employees, 280 more than it did last year. Indigo has raised $850 million in total from investors including the Alaska Permanent Fund and the Investment Corporation of Dubai.”

An update yesterday from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) stated that, “[FSA] today announced updates to the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP). These updates include changes required by the 2018 Farm Bill as well as discretionary changes intended to improve the administration of the program and clarify existing program requirements.

“‘Honeybee producers should pay close attention to the ELAP program changes to ensure they meet the new deadline requirements,’ said FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce. ‘These changes better align two key disaster assistance program deadlines to provide consistency and ease of management for honeybee producers.'”

The FSA update added that, “ELAP was previously administered based on FSA’s fiscal year but will now run according to the calendar year. Producers are still required to submit an application for payment within 30 calendar days of the end of the program year. This is not a policy change but will affect the deadline. The signup deadline for calendar year 2020 losses is January 30, 2021.

“Starting in 2020, producers will have 15 days from when the loss is first apparent, instead of 30 days, to file a honeybee notice of loss. This change provides consistency between ELAP and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, which also has a 15-day notice of loss period for honey. For other covered losses, including livestock feed, grazing and farm-raised fish losses, the notice of loss deadline for ELAP will remain 30 days from when the loss is first apparent to the producer.

“Program participants who were paid for the loss of a honeybee colony or hive in either or both of the previous two years will be required to provide additional documentation to substantiate how current year inventory was acquired.”

A news update yesterday from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) stated that, “Agricultural producers and private landowners interested in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) 2020 general signup must make an offer of acres or schedule an appointment to do so with their local U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) service center by Friday, February 28.

“The general signup – which opened in December – is available to producers and private landowners who are either offering for the first time or re-offering acres for another 10- to 15-year term in the 35-year-old USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) conservation program.

“‘Call your FSA county office today to make an appointment to sign up for the Conservation Reserve Program,’ FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce said. ‘As long as you have an appointment scheduled, your CRP offer will be able to compete in this general signup, even if the appointment is in the first week of March. This is the first opportunity for general sign up since 2016, and we want to make sure interested producers and landowners take advantage of this popular conservation program.'”

The FSA update added that, “Other CRP opportunities are also available, including, the CRP continuous signup, which is ongoing. CRP Grasslands signup runs from March 16, 2020 to May 15, 2020. In the Prairie Pothole states (Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota), producers may also be eligible to offer land in the recently announced CRP Soil Health and Income Protection Program pilot signup, which runs from March 30, 2020 to August 21, 2020 on a first come, first serve basis. To learn more about CRP, visit fsa.usda.gov/crp, which includes a webinar on the CRP general signup.”

A news release today from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) stated that, “[FSA] today announced a new pilot program that enables farmers in the Prairie Pothole region to receive payments for planting cover crops on their land for three to five years. The new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Soil Health and Income Protection Program (SHIPP) pilot is available to producers in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. The signup for this pilot starts March 30, 2020 and ends August 21.

“‘We are excited to provide a short-term Conservation Reserve Program option tailored to the unique soil health needs of producers in the Prairie Pothole region,’ said FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce. ‘The number of acres that can be enrolled in the program are limited, and participation will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested landowners should act now by contacting their FSA county office for an appointment to apply.’

“Through SHIPP, producers have the option of three-, four- or five-year CRP contracts to establish cover crops on less productive cropland in exchange for payments. This pilot enables producers to plant cover crops that, among other benefits, will improve soil health and water quality while having the option to harvest, hay and graze during certain times of the year. Up to 50,000 acres can be enrolled.”

The FSA update added that, “For more information, see the fact sheet or visit www.fsa.usda.gov/crp and contact your local office. To find your local USDA Service Center office, visit https://www.farmers.gov/service-locator.“

A recent news update from USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) stated that, “The [RMA] today announced a new crop insurance pilot program, Nursery Value Select (NVS), for crop year 2021. NVS is another crop insurance option for nursery crop producers, including those growing hemp, in addition to the Nursery crop insurance program.

“NVS is available in select counties in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington to persons operating nurseries that meet certain criteria. The deadline to purchase NVS insurance, or the Sales Closing Date, is May 1, 2020, for Alabama, Florida, New Jersey and Texas and September 1, 2020, for Colorado, Michigan, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington.

“‘We’re happy to introduce a new insurance option for nursery producers,’ RMA Administrator Martin Barbre said. ‘We look forward to working with producers to fine-tune this new pilot program over time and welcome all feedback.'”

The RMA update added that, “USDA has also announced an insurance coverage option for hemp growers for the 2020 crop year, including through Whole Farm Revenue Protection and the Multi-Peril Crop Insurance pilot [click here and here for additional information]. Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers and online at the RMA Agent Locator. Learn more about NVS at: www.rma.usda.gov/Topics/Nursery.”

An update yesterday from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) stated that, “The [USDA] reminds agricultural producers interested in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) 2020 general signup that there is less than two weeks before the enrollment deadline of February 28, 2020. This signup is available to farmers and private landowners who are either enrolling for the first time or re-enrolling for another 10- to 15-year term.

“Farmers and ranchers who enroll in CRP receive yearly rental payments for voluntarily establishing long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees (known as ‘covers’), which can control soil erosion, improve water quality and develop wildlife habitat on marginally productive agricultural lands.

“CRP has 22 million acres enrolled, but the 2018 Farm Bill lifted the cap to 27 million acres.”

The FSA update added that, “The CRP continuous signup is ongoing, which enables producers to enroll for certain practices. FSA plans to open the Soil Health and Income Protection Program, a CRP pilot program, in early 2020, and the 2020 CRP Grasslands signup runs from March 16, 2020 to May 15, 2020.

“To enroll in CRP, contact your local FSA county office or visit fsa.usda.gov/crp. To locate your local FSA office, visit farmers.gov/service-locator.”

DTN writer Todd Neeley reported last week that, “Environmental groups challenging EPA’s repeal of the 2015 waters of the United States, or WOTUS, rule have asked a federal court to stay the case.

“In court documents filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, the groups, led by the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, said the EPA’s action in finalizing a new rule recently may change their legal strategy.

“‘The parties have further conferred and agree that the finalization of a revised definition of ‘waters of the United States’ may affect the issues and arguments at play in this litigation and other related legal challenges regarding the regulatory definition of ‘waters of the United States,” the groups said in their filing.”

Mr. Neeley stated that, “The lawsuit in South Carolina claims the federal agencies violated the Administrative Procedure Act in promulgating the repeal rule and merely reverting back to the 1986 rule instead of re-introducing it for public comment.

“The groups argue the 2015 WOTUS rule fixed a number of issues with the 1986 rule. That includes protecting waters that are not navigable in fact through the so-called ‘significant nexus’ test put forward by Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. That suggested the Clean Water Act protects smaller tributaries if they have some connection to larger navigable waters.

“A second lawsuit was filed by the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, seeking protection from the 1986 WOTUS rule. That lawsuit continues.”