Digest highlights

Natzke dave
Dave Natzke
Editor / Progressive Dairy

FDA comment period on plant-based ‘milk’ labeling proposal closes on July 31

A new deadline – July 31 – has been set on the FDA public comment period on a proposal guiding labeling of plant-based “dairy” beverage alternatives.

The proposal, titled “Labeling of Plant-Based Milk Alternatives and Voluntary Nutrient Statements; Draft Guidance for Industry,” was published in late February, and the original comment period closed on April 24. The FDA later granted a 90-day extension.

Comments should be submitted to Regulations.gov and identified with the docket number FDA-2023-D-0451. The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) has also established an advocacy link to submit comments.

For additional background, read also: Weekly Digest: FDA reopens comment period on plant-based ‘milk’ labeling

Advertisement

Bill requires soy ‘milk’ and reimbursement at schools

Backed by animal rights advocates, two members of the House have introduced a proposal requiring schools to offer a dairy alternative soy beverage through the National School Milk Program. H.R. 1619, the Addressing Digestive Distress in Stomachs of Our Youth, or ADD SOY Act, also directs the USDA to reimburse schools for the cost of the soy beverage. The proposal was introduced in March by U.S. Reps. Troy Carter Sr. (D-Louisiana) and Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) and referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

‘Medium’ CAFO exemption questioned

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has ordered the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) to assess its policy exempting “medium-sized” concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) from environmental impact evaluations when seeking federal program loans. Medium CAFOs are defined as those with 200-699 mature dairy cows.

The FSA implemented the exemptions from the National Environmental Policy Act in 2016. The ruling, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, pitted several environmental advocacy organizations against the USDA. Led by Dakota Rural Action, a group of environmental advocacy organizations filed the lawsuit in 2019, challenging both the policy and process for implementing it.

EPA manure emission reporting requirement back in the air

The EPA is considering rescinding a 2019 reporting exemption of air emissions from animal waste under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

The step is another in a multidecade legal and administrative battle over manure air emission reporting requirements under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), created in 1980, and EPCRA, created in 1986.

The laws required entities to report the release of hazardous materials into the environment to federal (under CERCLA) and state or local (under EPCRA) agencies. Two substances included under the reporting requirements – ammonia and hydrogen sulfide – are emitted during decomposition of livestock manure. Reportable quantities for ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were set at 100 pounds per day.

Under a 2008 EPA rule, all agricultural operations were provided an exemption from CERCLA reporting requirements, but certain large-scale concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFOs) were still required to report air emissions under EPCRA.

Environmental organizations challenged the rule, and in April 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia lifted the exemptions. The exemptions were then reactivated in March 2018, under the “Fair Agricultural Reporting Method Act,” and more than a year later under a “final” EPA rule, applied in June 2019. However, in February 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted EPA a voluntary remand to reconsider the June 2019 rule.

A step in rescinding the exemption is seeking potential cost and benefit analysis through the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), initiated in late March. 

On April 18, EPA staff also met with representatives from several producer groups, including NMPF, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the National Pork Producers Council and others.

According to a weekly update from Jim Mulhern, NMPF president and CEO, during the meeting with OMB, NMPF’s Clay Detlefsen and the coalition reiterated its stance that EPCRA was never intended to regulate dairies and other livestock operations. They explained that the natural breakdown of livestock manure is not an emergency release, which is the focus of EPCRA emergency notification regulations.

Comments sought on organic ‘origin of livestock’ information collection

The USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) is seeking public comments on information collection requirements necessary to carry out the “origin of livestock” final rule.

The final rule, implemented in June 2022, clarified that organic dairy operations may transition nonorganic animals to organic production once – after that, any animals added to an operation must have been organically managed from the last third of gestation. The final rule allows small, certified operations to request a variance from the rule’s one-time transition requirement under limited conditions.

According to the notice published in the Federal Register, April 26, compliance with organic regulations requires certain types of information on certifiers and certified operations to be collected and maintained by the USDA. NOP is seeking public comment on the burdens, costs and other effects of the information collection required by the final rule. 

The comment period closes on June 26. Background information and public comment access are available here. Refer to document 2023-06885.

Information on how to submit comments can be found on Regulations.gov

Implementation begins on USDA ‘Climate-Smart Commodities’ projects

The USDA began the implementation phase for the 141, five-year projects funded through the $3.1 billion Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities effort. 

Project partners are beginning work on formal implementation of the production practices, marketing and quantification, monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas benefits. 

Producers interested in participating in projects are invited to visit the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Active Projects Dashboard to find projects in their areas. The dashboard will be updated periodically with newly active projects and links to their project websites when available. A Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Learning Network will share key lessons learned from the projects. 

Read also: Dairy major recipient in first round of USDA climate-smart project funding

Bill proposes some ag student loan forgiveness

A bipartisan group of House members has introduced the Young Farmer Success Act, a bill designed to help young farmers manage their student debt. Under H.R. 2728, some agricultural student loans would be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

Under the PSLF program, the Department of Education must cancel the balance of interest and principal due on a borrower's federal direct loans after the borrower makes 120 monthly loan payments while employed in a public service job. This bill broadens the definition of public service job to include a full-time job engaged in farm work as an employee or manager of a qualified farm or ranch.

Introduced by U.S. Reps. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pennsylvania), Nikki Budzinski (D-Illinois), Joe Courtney (D-Connecticut) and Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas), the bill was referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.