The Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Hypoxia Task Force is launching efforts to monitor reductions in nitrogen and phosphorus throughout the watershed. Chaired by the EPA and State of Iowa – the task force has established the Mississippi River Monitoring Collaborative – comprised of federal and state agencies – to assess progress of reducing the amount of nutrients entering local waterways and the Gulf of Mexico. That team already has collected more than 670-thousand nutrient data records from 12 states – which will be used to evaluate how conservation practices and policies are working and if new or enhanced nutrient reduction strategies need to be established.

Task Force Co-Chair and EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Nancy Stoner says farmers, ranchers and other land managers are investing in conservation projects on their lands in the Mississippi River Basin. By working together with the Task Force – Stoner says they will help give critical insight into the progress of conservation projects and help improve activities on the ground and in the water. USDA is a member of the task force and is preparing to update its technical standard for water quality monitoring to measure the amount of nutrients coming from farm fields. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture and Task Force Co-Chair Bill Northey says it is important to have strong cooperation and teamwork to monitor the progress being made as cities, industries and farmers work to make changes and address water quality concerns.

American Farm Bureau Federation Economist Todd Davis says it will be some time before the long-term effects of the 2012 drought are fully played out – but it appears likely that continued strong worldwide demand for corn and soybeans will lead to higher projected prices. Farm Bureau notes projected corn ending stocks of 733-million bushels represents 24 days of supply. USDA is projecting ending stocks for soybeans at 115-million bushels – about a 15 day supply. Davis says all eyes are on South America as the corn and soybean planting season is about to begin. He says weather is a major factor for crops in North and South America – adding that a bountiful harvest of both corn and soybeans is needed to rebuild stocks.

With the expiration of the current farm bill fast approaching – farmers and ranchers from across the country rallied on Capitol Hill Wednesday. They gathered to urge Congress to pass a new, comprehensive, five-year farm bill before farm programs expire on September 30th. The event was endorsed by nearly 90 organizations representing commodity and specialty crops, livestock, dairy, consumers, state and local governments, energy and biobased products, farm cooperatives and financial groups. Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow, House Ag Ranking Member Collin Peterson, Kansas Senator Jerry Moran, South Dakota Representative Kristi Noem and the leaders of 10 organizations addressed the crowd of nearly 500 farmers.

According to American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman – perhaps never in history of farm legislation had so many diverse farmer and rancher voices joined together for such a common call for action on a farm bill. Farm Bureau notes the farm bill isn’t just a bill for farmers – as USDA says one in every 12 American jobs is directly related back to the farm. In addition – the farm bill provides healthy food to millions of schoolchildren and nutritious options to families in need; and develops and expands trade with valuable foreign markets. The Farm Bill Now coalition also points out that the proposals currently pending in Congress address the need to get the nation’s fiscal house in order.

National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson said the groups gathered Wednesday were all united on one thing – the need for a farm bill now. He said members of Congress who have been on the Hill a long time said there is plenty of time to pass a farm bill. Johnson said there’s no excuse for Congress not doing their job and called it detrimental to all of America since the farm bill is a food, energy and jobs bill. Following the rally – Johnson expressed hope that the enthusiastic response and high energy of the crowd made an impact. If House members didn’t get the message – Johnson says they might get it on Election Day.

Illinois farmer Garry Niemeyer – National Corn Growers Association President – called on Congress to do its job. He said Congress has known for more than 17-hundred days that the current farm bill would expire at the end of September – yet he had to get off the combine to gather in Washington to deliver the message that a new five-year farm bill is needed. Niemeyer noted that agriculture is one of the few bright spots in the American economy – and the farm bill provides the certainty farmers need to make plans for their operations.

Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance spokesperson David Masser said research funded by the 2008 Farm Bill has helped producers fight pests and diseases that threaten to destroy crops and has helped improve food safety programs. As a farmer – Masser said he would never plant in the spring and leave the crop to rot in the fall – but with the programs developed in the current legislation just beginning to see results – he said it would be just as irresponsible to stop their momentum. According to Masser – the programs can’t just be turned on and off like a light switch – they must continue uninterrupted to fully bear fruit.

United Fresh Senior Vice President of Public Policy Robert Guenther said the Farm Bill Now rally was an important opportunity to unite the ag community and send a message that farm bill action is necessary. He noted the fresh produce industry could lose funding for several critical programs – including pest management, marketing, trade, nutrition and research programs.

As a farmer and conservationist – National Association of Conservation Districts President Gene Schmidt told attendees he knows how important the farm bill is to the preservation of the nation’s critical natural resource base – the foundation of the world’s food supply. When dealing with the most extreme drought in more than 50-years – Schmidt said the farm bill could not be more critical. He called it the nation’s best defense in minimizing the drought’s impact. He said U.S. producers deserve to have a long-term framework providing them with the ability to effectively and efficiently manage natural resources for the years ahead.

National Farmers Union released a poll Tuesday that shows American farmers value conservation programs – particularly in times of drought – and reject cutting conservation funding. The bipartisan poll surveyed 400 American farmers across 13 Midwestern and Great Plains states. According to the results – farmers view conservation programs as highly important and strongly oppose any plan to cut conservation in order to fund short-term drought relief.

NFU President Roger Johnson says there is clearly strong support for critical conservation programs that are helping to lessen the effects of the current drought. He says cutting funding for conservation in order to pay for a short-term drought bill is detrimental to the long-term vitality of America’s agricultural land. If Congress would pass a farm bill before September 30th – Johnson says we would get drought assistance without having to cut conservation programs.

Farmers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin were surveyed. Eighty-six percent of farmers said the level of conservation funding should be maintained or increased – with nearly half of the respondents stating they would be less likely to support a member of Congress who voted to further cut conservation funding from the farm bill. Seventy-nine percent of farmers believe conservation programs are important to dealing with drought conditions. Also highlighted by NFU – farmers rejected a plan to pay for short-term drought relief by cutting conservation programs by a nearly two-to-one margin.

Republican leaders in the House say they have met the promise of a ‘clean’ continuing resolution that can be cleared quickly. That means the stopgap funding bill has only a few non-controversial provisions added on. An extension of the farm bill is not one of those provisions. There’s still a chance it could be added. The House Rules Committee could change the bill or come up with another plan for the farm bill.

It’s unclear what the Senate might do with the measure once it’s approved by the House. House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy told reporters Monday that he expects the Senate to pass the continuing resolution without adding potentially controversial measures. However – Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran said he wouldn’t be surprised if a Senator seeks to alter the bill.

The House has set a vote on the CR for September 13. The measure will keep the government running through March 27th and avoid the threat of a shutdown before the November elections. The Senate could choose to clear the bill as passed by the House – or try to add new items. If they do that – additional action would be required by the House.