AUDIO: Karl Kynoch, Manitoba Pork Board (3:00 MP3)

Joe Jobe says the lack of federal tax incentives since the beginning of the year has stalled the biodiesel industry in the U.S.

“That is resulting in [biodiesel] plants shutting down, laying off workers, some of those plants are not going to be able to survive and come back on line,” Jobe told Brownfield following his address to open the National Biodiesel Conference in Dallas.

AUDIO: Joe Jobe (9 min. MP3)

Jobe is heartened, however, that at least there’s a feeling among key lawmakers that something should be done.

“The top tax writing senators have said it’s a priority,” said Jobe, referring to Baucus and Grassley, who lead the Senate Finance Committee, “so we’re in about as good a position as we can be in to get something moving, get it done sooner rather than later.”

Although soybeans are still the primary U.S. biodiesel feedstock, the industry has become diverse. Jobe says soybean growers realize that it takes all of agriculture to keep the biodiesel industry going.

“And so they’re not intimidated by growth, by new feedstock development,” said Jobe, “because they know if there is a growing, healthy, sustainable biodiesel industry in the United States, soybean farmers are going to benefit, period.”

AUDIO: Darryl Brinkmann (5 min. MP3)

AUDIO: Sen. Mike Johanns, Nebraska (3:00 MP3)

AUDIO: Mark Farrer (2 min. MP3)

AUDIO: John DeRosa (2 min. MP3)

Their bill would amend the Clean Air Act to take out regulation of greenhouse gases as they relate to global climate change, amend the 2007 Energy bill to stop EPA from using indirect land use calculations for renewable fuels policy and broaden the definition of “renewable biomass” to help strengthen the U.S. biofuels industry.

Chairman Peterson says he has “no confidence in the EPA” to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act “without severe harm to all taxpayers.”

Congressman Skelton suggests setting the clean energy bill that’s moving through Congress aside and pass this “scaled back bill”, what he calls a “responsible way to move forward”, that “gets the EPA under control” and “provides good things for American farmers.”

Congresswoman Emerson says “cap and trade energy taxes would be devastating for Missouri and the nation.”

The Missouri Corn Growers, Missouri Soybean Association, Missouri Rural Electric Cooperatives and other groups are among those that support the bill.

While the EPA’s energy plan announced last week decreases the amount of indirect land use “impacts” from corn-based ethanol and biodiesel in the Renewable Fuels Standard, it does not completely dismiss the theory.

Judith McGeary, executive director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance says they applaud Vilsack for listening to their concerns and deciding to “abandon the NAIS.” She says her group will urge the Secretary to involve a broad range of groups and people as it moves forward with developing a new framework for traceability.

The USDA’s new approach replaces NAIS with a focus on states and tribes setting up requirements for animal traceability for interstate commerce.

The Missouri Rural Crisis Center commends USDA for canceling the National Animal Identification System. Crisis center director Rhonda Perry says the decision to scrap the program is “a direct result of grassroots opposition by producers and concerned consumers across the country.” Perry says they knew all along that NAIS “was created by industrial livestock and meatpacking interests to shift the burden of animal disease and food safety onto the backs of family farmers.” Fifty-four of the 55 Missourians who testified during the USDA’s listening session in Jefferson City last year went on record opposed to NAIS.

Perry says the MRCC is grateful to Secretary Vilsack for listening and taking action and to Senator Claire McCaskill “for standing in opposition to NAIS” as the Senator urged Vilsack to hold a listening session in Missouri and expressed to him her concerns about the USDA’s proposed rule to fully implement NAIS.

Perry, a livestock and grain farmer in Howard County, Missouri, says it’s her group’s hope that moving forward the USDA will continue to consult with independent farmers.

The National Pork Producers Council has been on record in support of a national mandatory animal ID system and Dave Warner with NPPC says they still believe that is the way to go. Warner says while they are supportive of the USDA effort, they have concerns with tracing animals which are born, raised and slaughtered within one state. “What would happen if such an animal were to contract such a disease, what happens to all of the other animals within that state?” He wonders if all of those animals would then be quarantined.

Along with that, NPPC is very concerned about the possible loss of export markets if there is a case of one of these diseases with no way to trace it directly to a farm. If we can assure our export partners within a short period of time that meat from other farms, other areas would be safe we should be ok, “Without that ability, we will see some of our trading partners closing their markets to our meat exports.”

Meanwhile, Warner says NPPC will continue with their swine ID program which includes premises registration, “Through 2009 we have 85 percent of all swine premises in this country registered.”

AUDIO: Dave Warner comments on the proposed changes

Corn was higher on fund and technical buying, in addition to short covering and spillover from beans. Demand has increased after the recent losses, especially on the end user side and there is some talk that March has bottomed out at $3.50. Even with a probable reduction from the Ag Department, the trade expects fairly large ending stocks in the USDA update. The average pre-report estimate is 1.748 billion bushels, compared to January’s figure of 1.764 billion. Ethanol futures were higher.

The wheat complex was higher on technical buying, short covering and the lower dollar index. Analysts see U.S. ending stocks steady to a little smaller than the previous month’s report. Ahead of the report, the average projection is 973 million bushels, compared to 976 million in January’s update. Those fundamentals remain very negative with a large supply and weak demand, which should be reflected in the new supply and demand estimates. Snowfall’s a negative, giving cover to the dormant hard and soft red winter crops. Iraq bought 400,000 tons of wheat from Canada. FO Licht estimates 2009/10 world wheat production at 675.5 million tons, up 1.5 million from January on a better than expected crop in the Black Sea region. Russia, according to Dow Jones Newswires, will be building a new grain export terminal on their second largest Black Sea port of Tuapse. The terminal’s expected to have an annual capacity of 2.4 million tons.