Thirty-nine weeks and two days. That’s the length of time that passed between the President signing the CARES Act back in March and signing the “CARES Act extension” bill yesterday. That extreme length of time was no accident. At 5,593 pages, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (H.R. 133) is the longest bill that has ever passed Congress, and it happened during a global health pandemic, a Presidential election year, and finally coalesced during a lame-duck session with large bipartisan majorities.

The $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus package portion will provide much-needed financial relief for agricultural producers, funding for food assistance programs, enhancements to the Paycheck Protection Program, and funding for enhanced broadband access, as well as additional financial resources for agricultural research and farmer stress assistance programs, among others.

Today’s article will give a high-level overview of each key agricultural provision and wrap up with notes on tax-related provisions that may be of interest. It’s a lengthy article, so I have put each commodity/sector under its own paragraph so you can skim to what’s important to your operation.

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Enjoyed our Friend of the Farm Chat with Del. Rob Bloxom on all things Eastern Shore. Can you guess what his favorite Virginia product is?

Check out this week’s Merchandiser Minute!

Del. Margaret Ransone is no stranger to agriculture. Her district produces many different commodities, which she takes full advantage of! Learn more about her and the beautiful Northern Neck during this week’s Friend of the Farm Chat.

Seven delegates and two alternates from Virginia Farm Bureau Federation will join Farm Bureau producer members from across the nation in shaping policies important to farmers and ranchers during the 2021 American Farm Bureau Federation Virtual Convention.

The event, which will be AFBF’s 102^nd consecutive annual convention, will be held Jan. 10-13.

AFBF President Zippy Duval said the top priority in holding the virtual event is the safety of attendees and staff. “Although we are saddened not to meet in person for this convention, we are eager to bring this event safely to farm and ranch homes across the country.”

AFBF anticipates increased attendance because registration for the virtual event is free.

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The State Water Control Board adopted final amendments to the Virginia Pollution Abatement (VPA) Regulation and General Permit for Poultry Waste Management at its December 9^th meeting.

During the public comment period for the proposed regulatory changes, Virginia Farm Bureau issued an action alert opposing the proposed end-user reporting requirements and new reporting requirements for permitted poultry growers, as well as requesting that the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) continue to reject a reporting requirement for the use of litter amendments. Thank you all to all Farm Bureau members who submitted comments or responded to the action alert!

Based on feedback during the public comment period, DEQ staff recommendations related to poultry waste end-user reporting were revised to address concerns that the new requirements would hurt market demand for poultry litter and hinder the transfer of litter from growers to other farmers. The original proposal would have required the end-user to report poultry waste transfer records, land application records, and supporting documents, including soil test reports, field maps, and nutrient management plans. This was modified to instead require the end-user to report poultry waste transfer records, the method used to determine the land application rate, and the county where the waste is being utilized.

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Check out this week’s Merchandiser Minute!

From May through July 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Health Monitoring System, in collaboration with the National Agricultural Statistics Service, will conduct its third national study of U.S. small enterprise swine operations.

The voluntary and confidential study will examine operations with fewer than 1,000 pigs and those operations’ animal health and management practices, as well as their alternative marketing strategies. Approximately 5,000 swine operations from 38 states, Virginia included, will be asked to participate.

In May, selected producers will receive a letter describing the study, along with a questionnaire to be returned by mail or online.

Participating in the study will benefit the U.S. swine industry by:

• Providing credible information on industry practices that will help counter misinformation.
• Benchmarking current production practices.
• Assisting the industry in understanding disease preparedness and vulnerabilities.
• Helping policymakers and industry stakeholders make science-based decisions.
• Providing data that will be used by academia, pharmaceutical researchers and others to identify and focus on vital issues related to swine health and reproductivity on small enterprises.
• Identifying educational needs related to health and production on small enterprise operations.

Details are available at aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/monitoring-and-surveillance/nahms/nahms_swine_studies

Near the conclusion of each two-year legislative session, Virginia Farm Bureau presents the Friend of Farm Bureau Award to members of Congress. Virginia senators and representatives are nominated for the award by Virginia Farm Bureau Federation (VFBF) and approved by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Board of Directors.

We are proud to announce that eight members of Virginia’s congressional delegation have been recognized with the Friend of Farm Bureau Award for supporting agriculture-related policies in the 116th Congress.

To be eligible for nomination, members of Congress must consistently vote in support of Farm Bureau’s policy positions. The voting records are based on AFBF priority issues, as determined by its Board of Directors. The Friend of Farm Bureau Award is not a political endorsement but rather a recognition of the member’s support for agriculture as demonstrated over the past two years.

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Sen. Emmett Hanger has served on the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee for many years. We shared a lot of laughs during his Friend of the Farm Chat, especially regarding his favorite Virginia products! Check out the video below.