By Todd Kemp, Senior Vice President, Treasurer At the culmination of a 10-year process and after several false starts, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Jan. 14 published its 258-page final rule on speculative position limits in the Federal Register. The CFTC approved the final rule last year on Oct. 15, completing one of the last unfinished pieces of regulatory business to implement under the 2008 Dodd-Frank Act. The vote split along party lines, with Republican Chairman Heath Tarbert and Commissioners Brian Quintenz and Dawn Stump in favor; and Democratic ... Read More
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FDA seeks comment on approach for defining durations of use for certain antimicrobial drugs for food animals
By David Fairfield, Senior Vice President, Feed The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Jan. 8 published a concept paper to obtain input from stakeholders on a potential framework for how animal drug sponsors could voluntarily make changes to the approved conditions of use for certain medically important animal antimicrobial drugs to establish a defined duration of use for those indications that currently lack a defined duration of use. The concept paper focuses on medically important animal antimicrobial drugs – drugs important in human medicine – administered through ... Read More
NGFA urges California Department of Public Health to adopt pertinent pet food model regulations
By David Fairfield, Senior Vice President, Feed NGFA joined with the California Grain and Feed Association, Pet Food Institute, American Feed Industry Association and North American Renderers Association to submit a statement on Dec. 31 to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) regarding potential amendments to California’s processed pet food regulations. CDPH on Dec. 1 provided a 30-day notice of informal stakeholder engagement that invited interested parties to submit comments related to amending its existing processed pet food regulations. To facilitate comments, CDPH ... Read More
Latest COVID-19 relief law provides additional support for ag, biofuels
By Randy Gordon, President and CEO; and Max Fisher, Vice President, Economics and Government Relations The latest round of approximately $900 billion in COVID-19 economic relief enacted late last year as part of a total $2.3 trillion bill that also funded the federal government for the remainder of the 2021 fiscal year (which ends Sept. 30) provided approximately $13 billion for agriculture and food programs, as well as recharged and streamlined rules governing the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Congress approved the legislation on Dec. 21 but it wasn’t signed into law by President ... Read More
NGFA, food and ag groups, outline transportation priorities to incoming Biden administration
By Max Fisher, Vice President of Economics and Government Relations NGFA and a coalition of food and agricultural organizations on Jan. 7 sent the transition team of President-elect Joe Biden a statement outlining major transportation policies and initiatives that would enhance the efficient and cost-effective transport of agricultural and food products. The letter provided recommendations for each of the three primary freight transportation modes: motor, rail and waterborne. Motor Carrier: For motor carrier transportation, NGFA and its coalition partners said exemptions to ... Read More
NGFA’s McCluer named 2021 ‘Leader in the Field’ by Journal of Agromedicine
The Journal of Agromedicine announced Jan. 8 that it has selected Jess McCluer, NGFA’s vice president of safety and regulatory affairs, as its 2021 “Leader in the Field.” McCluer “instills agricultural safety and health across the industry by leveraging his unique blend of analytical skills, creativity and relationship management,” the Journal said in its announcement. Since March 2019, McCluer also has served as Board Chair of the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA), a coalition of agricultural business leaders, producer associations, risk managers and others ... Read More
NGFA announces Michael Seyfert as new president, CEO
ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 4, 2021 – The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) today announced that Michael J. Seyfert will become its new president and chief executive officer. Seyfert is scheduled to become NGFA’s top executive staff officer on March 1, succeeding Randy Gordon, who will retire by the end of March after serving nearly 43 years with the nation’s largest and most diverse agribusiness association – the last eight as its president and CEO. In so doing, Seyfert will become only the seventh person to serve in that capacity at NGFA since its founding in 1896. “We couldn’t be ... Read More
NGFA commends Congress for including key inland waterways, port provisions in FY 2021 spending package
ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 22, 2020 – The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) today commended Congress for including key inland waterways and port legislation – one of its major 2021 legislative priorities – in the fiscal 2021 omnibus spending bill approved Monday night. “An efficient waterborne transportation system is crucial for growing the American economy and maintaining and creating U.S. jobs, and is vitally important to the continuing competitiveness of U.S. agricultural exports and their positive contribution to the U.S. balance of trade,” said Bobby Frederick, NGFA’s vice ... Read More
DHS encourages states to prioritize vaccinations for essential critical infrastructure workers
By Randy Gordon, President and CEO The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Dec. 16 reissued and “repromoted” its “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce Guidance Version 4.0,” encouraging states and localities to take it into consideration when developing and executing plans for prioritizing the administration of COVID-19 vaccinations. “As the nation continues to respond to the pandemic, it is important that considerations regarding essential critical infrastructure workers continue to inform response policies and activities,” wrote DHS’s Cybersecurity and ... Read More
Growth in U.S. grain storage capacity is slowing
By Max Fisher, Vice President of Economics and Government Relations An article on U.S. grain storage capacity published Nov. 25 in farmdoc daily, a publication of the University of Illinois’ Agricultural Economics Department, analyzes grain storage capacity between 1988 and 2019 and reveals the following four trends: Grain storage capacity in the United States consistently increased for the last 20 years and the growth has been proportional to increases in crop Off-farm (i.e., commercial) storage capacity has grown faster than on-farm capacity in the 2000s and 2010s, but that ... Read More
Lacy Holleman
National Grain and Feed Association
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