CapitalPress.com
Friday, April 15, 2022
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The pres-
ident of the National Association of
Wheat Growers asked lawmakers
to double funding for market devel-
opment and boost donations of U.S.
wheat in international food aid pro-
grams in the next farm bill.
Nicole Berg, a Washington wheat
farmer, testifi ed April 6 before the
House Agriculture Committee’s Live-
stock and Foreign Agriculture Sub-
committee as it reviewed Title III
programs in the farm bill covering
agricultural trade promotion and inter-
national food aid.
Trade promotion
The current farm bill provides $200
million for the Market Access Program
and $34.5 million for the Foreign Mar-
ket Development program. NAWG
hopes to see those amounts doubled.
Those funding levels become inade-
quate as costs and the number of grant
applicants increase, Berg said.
It has been more than 15 years
since Congress increased funding for
MAP and 20 years for FMD. During
that time, cooperators like U.S. Wheat
Associates, the overseas marketing
arm of the industry, have been forced
to reduce staff , she said.
The Agricultural Trade Promotion
Program temporarily staved off fur-
ther marketing reductions and allowed
a much-needed increase in program-
ming, but those funds run out in 2024.
“Signifi cant” increases in the MAP
and FMD baseline funding levels will
be critical as ATP funding is exhausted,
Berg said.
Food aid
The last two farm bills have granted
the United States Agency for Interna-
tional Development fl exibility in how
it implements programs, but it’s mostly
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gone toward cash
donations or vouchers.
NAWG would like
more balance if the
need isn’t urgent and
there’s time for USAID
and USDA Foreign
Nicole Berg Agricultural Service to
secure U.S. wheat, said
Jake Westlin, NAWG vice president of
policy and communications.
“If we have time to do it, let’s do
it with U.S.-grown wheat and not be
purchasing with U.S. taxpayer dollars
the wheat of our competitors,” Westlin
said.
Once a crisis is resolved, Westlin
said, the country might be more
inclined to buy U.S. wheat.
As the costs of shipping and fuel
increase, the amount of commodities
donated through food aid continually
decreases.
Berg asked the subcommittee to
address the higher costs of providing
food aid.
She cited a Congressional Research
Service Report, saying that procure-
ment of commodities for in-kind food
aid made up approximately 40% of
funding in the 2020 fi scal year. These
commodities are subject to U.S.-fl ag
shipping requirements in the Cargo
Preference Act of 1954, which requires
at least 50% of the gross tonnage of
U.S. government-fi nanced cargoes
must be shipped on U.S.-fl ag vessels.
Shipping on U.S.-fl ag vessels typ-
ically costs more than on foreign-fl ag
vessels, which raises the cost of pro-
viding food aid. This reduces the vol-
ume of food aid that can be provided.
Congress should evaluate the
required threshold for food aid pro-
grams, consider an increase to the
Food for Progress Transportation Cap,
and work with the maritime industry to
fi nd a creative solution that maximizes
food aid while keeping the maritime
industry strong, Berg said.
Avian fl u causes a surge in egg prices
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
Egg prices have jumped by more than half
in recent weeks as the avian infl uenza out-
break continues to shrink the Midwest fl ock and
nationwide demand increases.
Midwest farmers have had to kill more than
46 million chickens and turkeys in an eff ort to
stanch the spread of avian fl u.
USDA April 1 pegged cartoned, large white
shell eggs from the Midwest at $2.47 per dozen,
up 91% from March 18.
In California, cartoned, cage-free eggs were
$3.32 per dozen April 1, up 63.5% from March
18.
Concerns over potential supply disruptions
stemming from avian infl uenza outbreaks in com-
mercial fl ocks are “keen on marketers’ minds as
the Easter marketing season has arrived,” USDA
said in its Egg Markets Overview.
Outbreaks in layer fl ocks in the Upper Mid-
west have “placed a damper on the marketplace
as off erings remain tight on reduced produc-
tion and sharp price increases have many buyers
rethinking their market position,” USDA said.
USDA said it appears much higher whole-
sale prices prompted grocers to shift feature pro-
motions to cage-free eggs, now priced competi-
tively and off ering better margins.
The agency’s Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service said avian infl uenza had been
found in 257 fl ocks — 166 of them commercial
— as of April 4. More than 46.37 million birds
have been aff ected.
Twenty-fi ve states report having at least one
infected fl ock. Wyoming is the only Western
state aff ected so far.
“It’s marching this way one step at a time,”
said Cliff Lillywhite, president and co-owner of
Utah-based Oakdell Egg Farms, which sells in
the Intermountain and Northwest states. “It gets
closer every week. We are taking extreme biose-
curity measures, for sure. It’s scary.”
The business is limiting visitors “and even
where our employees can go,” he said. “We’re
trying to prepare for the case when (avian fl u)
might be closer, because when it comes, every-
one is going to have to lock down.”
Lillywhite said if an avian infl uenza outbreak
occurs, there would be no egg movement on or
off the farm and widespread depopulation, or
Oakdell Egg Farms
Cliff Lillywhite of Oakdell Egg Farms in North
Salt Lake, Utah.
culling, would be required.
Around 16 million laying hens have been
culled this year, he said. “That’s probably about
5%, but it’s 5% during Easter season when peo-
ple are trying to build inventories.”
Rebuilding a population takes at least a year,
Lillywhite said. After federal approval, chicks
are brought in on a schedule that aims to meet
hatcheries’ capacity and other needs and to opti-
mize laying schedules.
The company is paying more for the eggs it
buys and charging more for eggs it produces,
though he would not say by how much.
“It’s a national market, and we buy eggs
from the Midwest,” Lillywhite said. “Just about
everybody in the U.S. buys some from the Mid-
west. We are not going to buy from some of
those areas.”
Input and supply costs are also a concern, he
said.
For its egg production, Oakdell’s costs are
“way up” on inputs such as packaging, freight
and transportation, and feed, he said.
“We’ve got to stay whole. We can’t absorb
all these costs everybody passes on to us,” Lilly-
white said. “Huge costs have been passed to us,
so we have to pass those on.”
Washington FFA convention moves to Kennewick
Washington FFA’s state convention will move to Kennewick this year instead of its traditional meeting place on
the Washington State University campus in Pullman.
The convention will be May 12-14 at Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.
“The change was prompted by a policy change at WSU in the housing area. For anybody that stays in the
dorms, they would require proof of COVID vaccination,” Dany Cavadini, FFA executive director, told the Capital
Press.
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That’s not a public high school requirement, and organizers didn’t want to require students attending
convention to have a COVID vaccination card, Cavadini said.
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“Washington State University would love to host the Washington FFA Convention on the Pullman campus again
this year,” Phil Weiler, WSU vice president of university marketing and communications, told the Capital Press.
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NAWG president touts market
development, food aid in next farm bill
“As with all other events on WSU campuses across the state, however, participants would need to show proof
of vaccination or a medical exemption in order to attend,” he said.
Proof of vaccination is required for students to attend class and live in residence halls, Weiler said. It is also a
requirement for members of the public to attend lectures, concerts and other events on campus.
FFA will follow COVID requirements at the time of the convention, Cavadini said.
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“At this point in time, they’re changing rapidly,” she said. “We’re paying attention to those and we’re going
to follow whatever rules are in place with the state and honoring school districts, to make sure we’re following
the rules.”
This will be Washington FFA’s 92nd convention. It has apparently never been anywhere other than Pullman.
“This is the first time in my memory, which goes back to 1968,” said Dennis Wallace, state FFA adviser.
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“I’ve gotten this question a lot, and I think at this point, it’s too early to tell because we don’t know what
convention looks like at a different location,” Cavadini said. “I’m not ruling out going back to Pullman, but I
also want to see how convention looks in a different spot.”
In scouting a new location, organizers considered availability. The Tri-Cities had the biggest space available on
the already-established dates, she said.
Cavadini doesn’t expect attendance to go down due to the move, noting that many more FFA chapters are
within an hour’s drive of the Tri-Cities than Pullman.
At the last in-person convention in 2019, 2,300 members and guests attended. Cavadini expects similar
attendance this year.
“Kids are excited to get out, and we have seen record numbers at everything we’ve hosted,” she said. “I think
there is a thirst from the students to get out of the classroom and apply what they’ve learned. They’ve worked
so hard over the past few years and haven’t been able to participate at the same level we have (in the past).”
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Washington FFA membership dipped about 20% in 2021, but is back up to roughly 12,000. The record is 12,400,
she said.
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The Washington FFA convention will be in
person next month in Kennewick.
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“(FFA members) should be excited that
Washington FFA is back, live and in-
person,” Cavadini said. “We’re going to
celebrate all of the achievements of our
students for the last year.”
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Most state contests, such as career
development events, take place before
the convention, Cavadini said. Spring
contests kicked off across the state in
March, she said.
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