USDA to provide $1 billion in loan guarantees for rural businesses and ag producers

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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making available up to $1 billion in loan guarantees to help rural businesses meet their working capital needs during the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, agricultural producers that are not eligible for USDA Farm Service Agency loans may receive funding under USDA Business & Industry (B&I) CARES Act Program provisions included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

“Under the leadership of President Trump, USDA is committed to being a strong partner to rural businesses and agricultural producers and being a strong supporter of all aspects of the rural economy,” Secretary Perdue said. “Ensuring more rural agricultural producers are able to gain access to much-needed capital in these unprecedented times is a cornerstone of that commitment.”

In addition to expanding eligibility to certain agricultural producers, the changes Secretary Perdue announced today allow USDA to:

  • Provide 90 percent guarantees on B&I CARES Act Program loans;
  • Set the application and guarantee fee at two percent of the loan;
  • Accept appraisals completed within two years of the loan application date;
  • Not require discounting of collateral for working capital loans, and
  • Extend the maximum term for working capital loans to 10 years.

B&I CARES Act Program loans must be used as working capital to prevent, prepare for or respond to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The loans may be used only to support rural businesses, including agricultural producers, that were in operation on Feb. 15, 2020.

USDA intends to consider applications in the order they are received. However, the Department may assign priority points to projects if the demand for funds exceeds availability.

USDA announced the expanded B&I authorities in a notice published on page 31035 of the May 22 Federal Register (PDF, 315 KB). The Department will begin accepting applications for B&I loan guarantees on May 22, 2020. Applications must be received no later than midnight Eastern Daylight Time on June 22, 2020, or until funds are expended. Program funding expires Sept. 30, 2021.

Eligible applicants may contact their local USDA Rural Development State Office in the state where the project is located.

USDA is developing application guides for lenders and borrowers on the B&I CARES Act Program. The Agency also will host two webinars to provide an overview of program requirements.

To register for the webinar on Wednesday, May 27 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, visit globalmeet.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1322642&tp_key=7a700acddd.

To register for the webinar on Wednesday, June 3 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, visit globalmeetwebinar.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1324161&tp_key=6067315417.

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.

SSGA launches new webcast

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Let’s talk IP!

The I.P.-ODCAST, a new video series hosted by the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) communications team, was launched on May 15. The first episode features Executive Director Eric Wenberg discussing the core tenet of traceability, as well as other trends the SSGA is currently following, along with host and SSGA communications manager Shane Frederick.

The I.P.-ODCAST will regularly highlight news, discuss issues and give viewers a chance to hear from the movers and shakers in the identity-preserved (IP) world.

SSGA requesting proposals for technical manuals, foreign research

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The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) is seeking proposals for two projects related to its programs under the Foreign Agricultural Service Agricultural Trade Program to increase exports of U.S. identity-preserved (IP) specialty soya and specialty grains through foreign market development programs.

The requests for proposal include:

  • preparing and providing content for five IP crop buying technical manuals
  • foreign market research for the Philippines

Proposals for both projects are due May 14, 2020 by 5 p.m. CDT. View the complete RFPs here.

SSGA leads way in delaying Japan phytosanitary certificate

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In lieu of person-to-person meetings in Washington, D.C., the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) board used technology to hold their board meeting and visit various federal regulators April 6-7.

SSGA met with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) staff in the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) departments to discuss SSGA’s programs as well as Japanese market access issues. During these meetings, officials announced they received official communication from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) confirming the delay of the Japan phytosanitary requirement set to be implemented June 1.

In the past few months, SSGA led the way by documenting examples from its member companies to USDA about the difficulties of certifying under current practices and complying with Japan’s request.

“This move gives us the breathing room we need to work with USDA to find a cost-effective, fair way to create these new certificates,” says Todd Sinner, chair of SSGA’s food grade action team and partner at SB&B Foods, Inc. “This June 1 deadline was really an April deadline because our companies were starting to do as directed and fulfill the phyto requirement. It’s too big of a risk – if we get a rejection it can cost thousands in losses.”

Although Japan has not announced new dates for the implementation, SSGA will continue to pursue long-term solutions with APHIS, other agencies and industry partners from across the spectrum of U.S. agriculture.

“The whole industry needs to pull together,” says SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg. “Passing the regulatory or administrative reform in the United States needed to comply with Japan’s requirement will take a lot of effort. We can pursue solutions together. Identity-preserved (IP) field crop shipments are low-risk inputs to food manufacturing and we need to send them to customers with as much efficiency as possible.”

To get a phytosanitary certificate for these shipments, a sample inspection from FGIS officials would be necessary, which would incur fees from the official traveling, often to rural and remote areas, to take the sample; but also indirect costs and inefficiencies, such as managing the phyto certificates, missing scheduled shipments waiting on a sample to be taken and infrastructure updates.

“Our customers trust us and are satisfied with the current inspections and certifications we go through to ensure they’re receiving the purest product,” says Curt Petrich, SSGA chair and president of HC International in Fargo, N.D. “It’s important that SSGA works for its members to either exempt IP crops from this inspection requirement or develop solutions with APHIS to improve the process of obtaining a phytosanitary certificate.

SSGA’s meetings with FAS officials detailed SSGA’s use of the Agricultural Trade Promotion (ATP) grant funding and SSGA’s recent additional attention to expanding market development opportunities for specialty grains.

“We had three great meetings with various officials that helped us plan our next steps. We’ve realized the potential change here is the process of obtaining a phytosanitary certificate, not about the need for the certificate,” Petrich says. “Our next step is to give Japan a suggested date for the delay. The IP industry needs a delay of 12 to 18 months to implement the infrastructure to accommodate their request. It’s not time to quiet the conversation.”

 

SSGA visits Ottawa for training, meetings

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By Eric Wenberg, executive director

As we move closer to spring, work is ramping up on the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) ATP grant to brand and grow identity-preserved (IP) crops to customers abroad.

As such, SSGA staff and board members visited Ottawa, Canada, Feb. 18-19 to meet with and attend training for the overseas technical advisers SSGA has hired to promote IP abroad. The group covered logistics and financial or compliance matters, but also dug deep on what SSGA can accomplish abroad and what the technical advisers should do.

And what is that?

Promote exports of specialty soya and grains by adding to U.S. capabilities in market development by:

  • Working to brand the U.S. as a quality origin for IP crops.
  • Coordinating with and pushing opportunities with all the commodity organizations active in exporting.
  • Reporting on IP and transportation issues, and answering your questions about SSGA and the markets

Much of our Ottawa meeting centered around our working plan for the ATP grant. Additionally, our advisers reported to SSGA opportunities to explore. Those advisers, Alyson Segawa, North Asia; Hoa Huynh, South East Asia; and Gene Philhower, Europe, also spent a great deal of the meetings learning about SSGA and our goals as an organization and our goals through the grant.

One topic we couldn’t escape in Canada was traceability, which was the word of the week. Agromeris’ Peter Golbitz ran everyone through their paces about the great detail needed to make an IP transaction work. Our transportation analyst Bruce Abbe taught everyone about container shipping and what we need to watch for to help businesses export. Member volunteers Rob Prather, Global Processing, Sean Mulford, Agniel Commodities, Darwin Rader, Zeeland Farms, and Curt Petrich, HCI, added context from their business experience.

After our meetings wrapped, I, along with Petrich, SSGA’s chairman, stayed behind in the cold weather to meet with agencies and allies in Canada. Of note was our learning about Canada’s grain inspection system where they use a 2nd-party sampler system that monitors companies as they take samples to be sent to labs for testing. This substantially cuts downs on their costs to follow rules regulating control of pests and diseases. Canada takes its quality and safety issues seriously and is confident that 2nd-party testing works. Canada has recognized its rural roots and tried to make it simpler for companies to comply with rules.

SSGA received great support from the USDA FAS office at the embassy in Ottawa, and looks forward to returning to Canada soon to liaison with its businesses and officials active with food variety field crops and identity preservation.

The next ATP implementation phase is to unveil our global branding and research contractor. As that data becomes available, we’ll keep you informed as we ramp up activities.

Get to know SSGA’s identity-preserved technical advisers

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By Kaelyn Platz

The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) takes pride in developing ways to reach foreign markets through funding from the ATP grant. The grant has enabled SSGA to hire identity-preserved (IP) technical advisers to address issues in their designated regions to help enable increased exports by communicating about the benefits of IP crops and their traceability, reporting on trends, competitors and transportation and build upon SSGA’s value of providing resources that communicate the quality, diversity and availability of specialty soy and grains. The three advisers will represent Southeast Asia, North Asia and Europe.

The Southeast Asia adviser is Hoa Huynh. Huynh has an extensive background working for the U.S. government in a variety of capacities. He has served as acting assistant deputy administrator, area director for North Asia and Agriculture Trade Office (ATO) coordinator of the Office of Foreign Service Operations, Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). Huynh also completed an assignment as director of the ATO at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China.

Huynh was the regional agricultural counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria. In addition to Bulgaria, he also covered Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovo. He has served as director of the ATO at the American Institute in Taiwan and U.S. agricultural attaché to the United Kingdom.

Hunyh joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) FAS in 1990 as an agricultural economist and served in various capacities at FAS’ Headquarters in Washington, D.C., in between his overseas assignments. In 1999, Hunyh successfully negotiated the market access for agricultural and food products chapter of the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). The BTA established a solid foundation for the current flourishing exports of U.S. agri-food products to Vietnam.

“After almost 30 years of serving U.S. agriculture, I’m very excited and grateful to again have the privilege to assist our farming community in developing, maintaining and expanding overseas markets, especially in Southeast Asia, for U.S. IP soybeans and specialty grains,” Huynh says.  “I look forward to working with specialty grains farmers to increase exports of their crops abroad.”

Huynh is a graduate of Oregon State University, where he received an MBA, an MA in multidisciplinary studies (MAIS) degree and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics. Hunyh is fluent in Vietnamese, Chinese Mandarin, Bulgarian and French.

The adviser for North Asia is Alyson Segawa. Segawa began her career by managing a multimillion-dollar portfolio of international market development projects for a leading international affairs management consulting firm. Through this experience, she gained access in 15 international markets, including North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia.

With her knowledge in international markets, Segawa decided to found her own business, Eliasan Consulting, in 2018. Her extensive experience has enabled her to be able to pinpoint market development strategies and tactics to be able to support SSGA’s goals.

“I am looking forward most to being an advocate for IP soya and specialty grains within the Northeast Asia region,” she says. “It sounds like there is a lot of real opportunity there to grow the different export markets for the industry.”

Segawa received her bachelor’s degree in international studies and Spanish from Seattle University and earned her master’s degree in international business and policy from Georgetown University.

She has been a guest speaker for numerous organizations such as U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council, Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle, and Washington State Wine Commission. She also serves as a member of the U.S. National Small Business Association (NSBA) Leadership Council.

Eugene Philhower is the IP technical adviser for Europe. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in agricultural sciences from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of California, Davis, Philhower started his career for the U.S. government.

In total, he spent 33 years in numerous different positions for the government. He spent five years with the Agency for International Development and later joined USDA’s FAS serving as an overseas post in Brussels, Belgium; Geneva, Switzerland; Lima, Peru; London, UK and various positions in Washington, D.C., including three years as chief of staff and most recently as director of the Fragile Markets Office.

Since leaving his government job, he worked as an adjunct professor at Delaware Valley University, teaching a course on global agriculture and trade.

Philhower learned that he loved teaching, but realized that he had found a passion in learning himself.

“It is always a good thing to be learning something new,”Philhower says. “I view my role as a matchmaker. I know that U.S. producers can produce the crop, so I must figure out the demand and how to put the two of them together within the conditions of the markets and the countries.”

In addition to his expertise, Philhower speaks French, Spanish and a bit of German and Nepali.

Trade winds blowing; Eric Wenberg talks SSGA’s mission with Gov. Tim Walz

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By Eric Wenberg, executive director

I had the privilege to attend MN AG EXPO last week near the Specialty Soya and Grains Allliance’s (SSGA) home in Mankato. To a person, the farmers I met were concerned about trade and weather. The two can seem like the same thing sometimes. Is it climate change or not? Is it just hot or cold today? Well, we want a little heat on the administration right now on trade. Market access for non-GMO and organic field crops are still subject to unfair labeling challenges that hold up your sales to China, as the issue was left out of the “Phase One” negotiations, finalized recently. SSGA has been in touch to raise your hope that the trade restricting domestic rules will be lifted during the next round of talks. We have trade deals with Japan, along with the USMCA, that are important to growers; however, there were nine other countries we could have traded with through the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), and we need the administration to do all they can to get further trade deals done.

Lower tariffs are important, but what we need is the best, scientific approach to phytosanitary and technical barriers to trade. We need vigor in talks with India. SSGA’s board will be in Washington, D.C., this spring to underscore those issues with agencies and legislators and their assistants on Capitol Hill. The farmers I spoke with at AG EXPO were grateful for the opportunity offered in the non-GMO or organic space with premiums, and welcomed information about our member companies working with corn, soy, and pulses in that area. There was interest in talking about identity-preserved (IP) practices and the need to support intermodal transportation. You have all heard me spout on about how a single container vessel can carry enough bananas to give everyone in America one or two. Container shipping touches all we eat and do. The toy train with shipping containers at our booth helped start the dialogue, and as members came by, I had to shuffle the containers just like port handlers do.

I also had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for a few minutes – thanks to the SSGA communications team pulling some strings and deftly pointing the governor to our booth. Gov. Walz gave support, and was interested in what it took to connect Minnesota to the globe. He left me in touch with his team, and I look forward to connecting with the governor in the future.

The IP hero of the week is Adam Geers at SSGA member company, MAC, in Michigan, who has been talking to state officials and anyone else under the sun about the upcoming new phytosanitary requirements in Japan, how they will differentially impact IP shippers worse than others and the urgent need for state and federal regulators to get behind a solution. SSGA will also be exhibiting at the Northern Corn and Soybean Expo Feb. 4 in Fargo, where we’ll continue to listen and educate.

Allyship – a buzzword with meaning in agriculture and transportation

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By Eric Wenberg, executive director

The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) is a partner of organizations and member of others. Our set of allies is not a ‘roll the dice’ set of decisions, but rather, alliances that further your aims for successful policies in the identity-preserved (IP) area that will grow your business. You likely belong to many organizations, maybe the Shriners, with their mission to change the future for children and medical needs or the Rotary, building a better world connecting youth. SSGA is your business organization – making the area where you work a better ecosystem. Conservationist Aldo Leopold once said that to save a forest, sometimes you need to cut down trees. SSGA is supposed to make things happen for you and we are moving ahead to do that. Our alliances are part of the picture and SSGA is members of – and partners with – some powerful groups helping us. Rather than just including a set of hyperlinks on our webpage, and since we have the word Alliance in our name, SSGA will occasionally highlight a partner and let you know what we think.

Transportation is key to your future and it’s integral to IP field crops. If you can’t move it, you can’t sell it; add the complexity of the traceability system and you earn the premium you pay farmers and ask buyers to pay you. The Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC), led by Peter Friedmann, is hands down the best operator in this field. SSGA seeks to add value in partnership with AgTC by providing detail and analysis in the specific regions where IP agricultural practices run businesses, and on topics relevant to traceability and push ideas and cooperation up to the ATC. We help sponsor and host AgTC’s regional workshops and follow Peter’s advice about what to do and when to do it with pushing transportation issues ahead.

I also have to give a shout out in this area to Rebuild Rural. This important coalition sponsored by the Farm Credit Council draws together a large network to ensure that rural communities are not left out when Congress or the executive branch talk about improving our infrastructure. These investments have lagged against our competitors and it has to change. Improvements in rail and ports, and making the transportation link work in rural America are key to moving crops from the farm to the table. Why do policy makers not focus on this for us? AgTC and Rebuild Rural help.

I am fond of repeating the African proverb If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Choosing our allies defines us, and in transportation we are glad to be helping these two important groups. Our SSGA members on competitive shipping, our ports, freight forwarders and logistics or testing companies are an important component of our organization’s future. Bruce Abbe, our strategic advisor for trade and transportation is always listening and helping SSGA help you. Allyship. The new friendship works for us.

SSGA elects HC International’s Petrich as chair at annual meeting

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The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) tabbed Curt Petrich to continue as chair of the premier business association representing identity-preserved (IP) soya and specialty grains.

Petrich, of HC International, Inc. in Fargo, N.D., was re-elected as chair at the inaugural SSGA annual meeting Dec. 3 in Bloomington, Minn. Bob Sinner of SB&B Foods, was voted vice chair, while Keith Schrader of Wheeling Grain Partnership will act as treasurer/secretary.

Petrich said he was surprised but humbled to be re-elected chair.

“I think there is a lot of really good talent in this organization,” he said. I thought maybe it would be time for some new talent to come in, but I am certainly willing to serve this organization.”

Petrich says with the board of directors in place, the organization can focus on improving how it serves the industry.

“I think having working groups meeting more often will be good for the organization,” he said. “We intend to stay laser focused on issues so we can deliver meaningful results for this industry.”

SSGA members also voted on board members at its meeting, expanding upon the board set after the merger of Midwest Shippers Association and the Northern Food Grade Soybean Association. Board members for SSGA serve staggered terms of either 1-, 2- or 3-year terms.

SSGA’s board of directors is:

  • Petrich, HC International, Inc., 1-year
  • Schrader, Wheeling Grain Partnership, 1-year
  • Sinner, SB&B Foods, 2-year
  • Rick Brandenburger, Richland IFC, 2-year
  • Rob Prather, Global Processing, Inc., 2-year
  • Andy Bensend, AB Farms, 3-year
  • Adam Buckentine, The Redwood Group, 3-year
  • Darwin Rader, Zeeland Farm Services, Inc., 3-year

“We have such a talented and experienced group of producers, processors and shippers on this board,” said Eric Wenberg, SSGA executive director. “We’re really excited to continue to grow SSGA and IP, food-variety field crops worldwide.”

First of many firsts

While SSGA has existed for nearly a year, Tuesday’s annual meeting was its first chance to bring members together to help mold the direction of the organization moving forward.

Tuesday’s meetings saw breakout sessions on food-grade soya, specialty grains and competitive shipping.

Sinner, who attended the food-grade soya and competitive shipping breakout sessions, said he was pleased with the amount of discussion that occurred, but lamented there wasn’t more time for discussion.

“I was really impressed with the IP and food-grade soya session, and I hope we expand upon it next year,” he said. “We talked about market access, about opportunities and challenges, and we discussed the U.S. Global Trade Exchange. I really enjoyed the thoughtful dialogue and interaction from all participants.”

Wenberg was pleased with the day’s events. He said SSGA’s annual meeting is an important venue for the industry.

“This is a fantastic networking opportunity for people across the country to check signals with each other,” he said. “At times, it can seem like every company in this industry is its own ecosystem — they have to source product, they deal with logistics, they do marketing, they adhere to strict identity-preserved practices. Here they get to talk to the people that have the same challenges and opportunities and learn from one another.”

SSGA members also heard presentations from Trevor Fouts, Strategic Sales Manager for AGI, which was the major sponsor of the meeting. Fouts discussed traceability and how AGI’s SureTrack plays a role in the IP, food-variety field crops industry.

United Soybean Board director Nancy Kavazanjian of Beaver Dam, Wisc., discussed her experiences and challenges as an IP producer, and U.S. Soybean Export Council’s Paul Burke, Senior Director – U.S. Soy Marketing, delivered an update from the organization.

Kavazanjian shares IP challenges, successes at SSGA annual meeting

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Nancy Kavazanjian isn’t a stranger to the world of identity-preserved soybeans. Along with her husband, Chuck, Hammer and Kavazanjian Farms has been growing varieties of non-GMO or IP soybeans for more than 30 years. But when Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance Executive Director Eric Wenberg approached her to speak at the inaugural annual meeting, the longtime United Soybean Board director admitted she was a little hesitant.

Nancy Kavazanjian was interviewed by moderator Doug Monson at the inaugural SSGA annual meeting

“I didn’t want to hear myself talk for 15 to 20 minutes,” she joked.

Thankfully for SSGA members, she was more than happy to be interviewed in front of attendees on her experiences growing IP crops, some of the challenges she feels the industry is facing, and the need for more breeding and genetics for the industry.

Kavazanjian recalled her early days as an IP producer and how many farmers were growing anywhere from 10 to 50 acres of soybeans because the premiums at times kept people afloat.

“Once Roundup Ready came along, most of those farmers didn’t want to deal with having to grow conventional soybeans,” she said. “They all went to Roundup Ready. And of course, once the ethanol industry took off, there was a lot more corn being grown than soybeans.”

Kavazanjian said she sees a parallel in this tough ag economy to the ’80s, where those premiums helped keep farmers going. She says even today the premium is often more than enough to offset the basis in her area.

“We’ve had to change with the way the world has changed around us,” she said. “That’s just part of farming – being able to be innovative enough you recognize these changes and you capitalize on them.”

Kavazanjian, who hails from Beaver Dam, Wisc., said some of the challenges she faces include a lack of a crushing facility in the state, tools to continue to combat weeds and a better selection of varieties.

“As farmers, yield is everything,” she said. “But we need the people in this room, in this industry to work on getting us more varieties that are within a few bushels of commodity crops.”

Lastly, Kavazanjian spoke about sustainability, a topic that is near and dear to her heart. While she admits the word is often a buzzword with different meanings, she says there is no denying companies and customers care deeply about it. Her advice:

“Just embrace it. Use it.”