Emergency Relief Program Deadline Extended
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Wednesday that it will indefinitely extend the deadline for producers to return the pre-filled applications for Phase One of the Emergency Relief Program (ERP).
Continuing to build on the initial mailing of pre-filled applications in May, USDA will continue using existing information in USDA and crop insurance files to send additional pre-filled applications starting this week for potentially eligible Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) participants. While most crop insurance customers that may be eligible for ERP Phase One received the pre-filed applications in May, there are some who should expect to receive a form in August including:
Producers who had an eligible loss in 2020 that had been recorded in the crop insurance records as a 2019 loss (e.g., prevented planting claims); and
Producers with policies that required additional information before being able to calculate an indemnity for 2021 losses (producers with 2020 losses would have already received that application). Policies that required additional information include Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO), Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO), Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX), Margin Protection Plan (MP) or Area Risk Protection Insurance (ARPI).
Producers without risk management coverage through crop insurance or NAP and those with shallow losses may be covered by the forthcoming Phase Two of ERP.
USDA estimates that Phase One ERP benefits will reach more than 5,200 producers with NAP coverage for eligible 2020 and 2021 crop losses. This emergency relief complements ERP assistance recently provided to more than 162,000 producers who had received crop insurance indemnities for qualifying losses. Nearly 13,000 additional crop insurance customers will also receive pre-filled applications in August to cover eligible 2020 losses described above and for producers with more complex policies where indemnities could not be calculated for 2021 previously.
Field Days Offered to Growers
PhytoGen is hosting two field tours for growers August 25th and August 26th.
Through these tours, you can earn continuing education units for Texas Department of Agriculture Applicator Drift Minimization (1 credit), Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) Soil and Water (0.5 units), CCA Integrated Pest Management (1.5 units), and CCA Crop Management (1 unit).
The tour will start at 9 a.m. on August 25th, followed by lunch at Cook’s Garage.
The August 26th field day will begin with lunch at Cook’s followed by 1:30 p.m. tour.
The tours consist of Enlist system demos, variety trials showcase and a session on the new trait package offering tolerance to 2,4-D and glufosinate, for use with Enlist One herbicide.
If you have questions, contact Ken Legé at ken.lege@phytogen.com
Cotton USA Special Trade Mission from Pakistan Comes to Lubbock
Textile executives representing 21 Pakistani companies toured the U.S. Cotton Belt starting July 23rd, landing in Lubbock, Texas, July 27th through the 28th.
Pakistan is the third largest cotton consuming country after China and India with total cotton consumption estimated at 11.1 million bales in 2021-2022. The companies that participated in this year’s trade mission collectively consume around 4.4 million bales annually. For the 2021-2022 marketing year, U.S. cotton export sales to these tour participants total 1.5 million bales.
The Pakistan trade delegation told cotton organizations and merchants on the 28th that their production will be down this year. They estimate they will need to import seven to eight million bales this year — and they hope this cotton will come from the U.S. Many of the mills represented on the trade mission have expansion plans, making this visit an ideal opportunity to grow U.S. cotton sales now and in the years ahead in this important market, said Carlos Garcia, export sales manager for Plains Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA) and Cotton Council International president.
The Lubbock trade mission seminar was held at the new USDA-AMS Cotton Classification Complex on the Texas Tech University campus, which is scheduled for a grand opening in August. On behalf of Plains Cotton Growers Inc. (PCG), director of communications and public affairs Kara Bishop presented on cotton production in Texas and the High Plains; Carlos Garcia, presented on Texas cotton supply and quality. Texas Cotton Association President Nick Peay presented on Texas reliability, service, demand and logistics, while Texas A&M University AgriLife Research Professor Jane Dever, Ph.D., focused on Texas cotton quality and developmental research. A tour of the new classing office was provided by area director Danny Martinez at the end of the seminar.
PCG officers attended a dinner with the trade delegation on the evening of the 27th, providing education on cotton production in the High Plains region.
