On July 27, Senate Republicans released their proposed next phase of coronavirus relief measures. House Democrats previously passed their own version, the HEROES Act, and the two chambers along with the White House will negotiate on the different provisions. The House bill is larger in scope, totaling $3 trillion, while the Republican proposal is about $1 trillion. The latter includes an additional $20 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to continue direct assistance to farmers, such as the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) . The House Democrat proposal includes similar direct assistance to farmers as well as funding to expand acreage enrollment in the Soil Health and Income Protection Program, explicit funding for biofuel producers and an increase in benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Negotiations on the package are likely to take at least a couple of weeks.

The USDA has now paid out $6.55 billion under the CFAP. As of July 28, over $4.7 million has already been paid for canola. With one month before the sign-up deadline, the USDA is not close to distributing the full $16 billion initially provided for the program. Initial payments were made on 80 percent of a producers’ total payment eligibility and it appears that the USDA will have sufficient funds to provide the remaining 20 percent of the first round of CFAP payments. Applications will be accepted through August 28 on the USDA website.

The House of Representatives passed a package of annual appropriations bills, including the Agricultural Appropriations bill. It includes language supporting continuation of the Sclerotinia Initiative, a priority for the U.S Canola Association (USCA). Overall, the bill provides about $24 billion for annual discretionary programs and operations, a slight increase over the amount provided in FY2020. This does not include funding provided for coronavirus response and efforts. The Senate has not yet taken action on FY21 appropriations bills and is unlikely to do so before the end of the current fiscal year. This will force a Continuing Resolution, possibly to carry past election day in November.

The USCA submitted brief comments on crop insurance changes intended to clarify policy provisions and provide consistency with other crop provisions that offer coverage of both fall and spring-planted acreage.

On July 24, the USDA’s Risk Management Agency notified the USCA of changes to Prevented Plant (PP) policies. The changes result from a task force representing the Farm Bureau, National Farmers Union, National Crop Insurance Services, Crop Insurance Professionals Association, and Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. Changes include expanding the “1 in 4” requirement nationwide and allowing acres of an uninsured second crop planted on the same acres within the same crop year following a failed first crop not to be subtracted from the eligible PP acreage.

The USCA and other agricultural stakeholders are working on a letter to reiterate the need for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to issue updated guidance on plant breeding innovations, such as gene editing. Many U.S. researchers and developers are making multi-year resource and innovation decisions and eagerly await this draft guidance. Stakeholders include the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Seed Trade Association, American Soybean Association, Biotechnology Innovation Organization, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, National Association of Wheat Growers, and National Corn Growers Association.

BeSure! to protect pollinators at all times, including following pesticide label instructions, communicating with nearby beekeepers and properly handling treated seeds. Here are more tips: GrowingMatters.org/BeSure from the Growing Matters coalition. Also, check out shareable tip sheets for growers and for applicators.

Did you know that canola oil has the least saturated fat and most heart-smart omega-3 fat of all cooking oils? It is the healthiest, most versatile and affordable oil for the home kitchen. Learn more about canola oil’s nutritional advantages at https://www.uscanola.com/nutrition-cooking/.

China’s canola oil future prices hit an all-time high in nearly 3.5 years, reaching about $1,138 per tonne, according to Reuters. This is mostly due to the ongoing conflict between Canada and China regarding the political dispute with Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, who was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018 on a U.S. extradition request. Because of the trade restrictions implemented from this incident and the growing demand for canola in China, prices have soared.

Statistics Canada, the Canadian national crop forecaster, released estimated canola plantings of 8.3 million hectares. In Europe, analysts are reporting cuts to yield potential for canola (called double low rapeseed there) due to a “lack of suitable insecticide controls with the banning of certain crop chemicals.”

How has COVID-19 affected the canola market? According to experts, although restaurants are using less canola oil due to fewer customers, home use of canola oil has spiked dramatically. Canola prices, however, were not as strong as expected, causing farmers to plant less canola than anticipated. Canola acreage is down from previous years in North Dakota, yet still remains strong by historical standards.

Royal DSM and Avril, both major players in the agricultural science space, will launch a joint venture called Olatein to produce canola proteins for the global food market. Although their intentions were announced a year ago, the two companies have finalized their partnership and will soon begin construction of a manufacturing facility in Dieppe, France. They plan to produce a new product called CanolaPRO™, which will fortify meat and dairy alternatives as well as vegan/vegetarian beverages, baked products, bars and ready-to-mix products.

This month’s USCA Blog features U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and EU Commissioner of Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski, who were part of an online panel discussion about food security, innovation and sustainability. Perdue and other panelists criticized the EU for not being open to agricultural innovations like gene editing and not considering farmer economics in its new Farm to Fork Strategy. Wojciechowski claimed that this strategy, which calls for a big increase in organic farming, addresses environmental, social and economic aspects of agriculture.

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