There’s never a shortage of agriculture news. Here are a few policy stories you may have missed over the past week.

House bill would expand rural home loan program

Reps. Zach Nunn, R- Iowa, and Wiley Nickel, D- N.C., introduced House legislation Feb. 5 to improve access to housing in rural communities. The Promote Accordable Housing Act would revise USDA’s Section 524 loan programs. That program provides loans to nonprofits, municipalities and tribal governments. Those loans may be used to purchase and develop housing sites for lower income families.

Currently, recipients are required to repay loans withing two years. If the proposed legislation passes, the repayment window would be extended to five years. Loans could also be used for development projects like surveys, architectural design and engineering.

“Our country is suffering from an affordable housing crisis, especially in rural areas,” Rep. Nunn says. “This is a growing challenge that must be addressed now to prevent it from getting any worse. Modernizing the USDA rural housing development loans will help incentivize new construction and bolster affordable housing options in rural Iowa.”

In January, the Senate unanimously passed similar legislation introduced by Sens. Jerry Moran, R- Kan., Amy Klobuchar, D- Minn., and Jeanne Shaheen, D- N.H.

USDA announces new specialty crops initiative

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Jan. 29 that USDA would invest $65 million to launch the Assisting Specialty Crop Exports initiative. Those funds will be used to help expand global exports from the specialty crops sector.

Vilsack also announced a new round of grant funding through the Special Crop Block Grant Program. Nearly $73 million will be made available to support projects that boost special crop sector competitiveness. According to the Secretary, specialty crop producers have unique challenges and opportunities to compete in the domestic market, as well as a “vast array” of barriers that prevent them from entering foreign markets.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is making these significant investments to maintain, open, and grow markets and reduce and eliminate trade barriers for U.S. specialty crop producers, which in turn will support rural communities, enhance our competitive edge, and help establish lifelong consumers for U.S. food and agricultural products across the world,” Vilsack says.

Former CFTC official dies in carjacking

Former Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Chief of Staff Mike Gill was recently killed by a carjacker in Washington. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the crime was one of several carjackings in the D.C. area on Jan. 29 allegedly committed by the same suspect. Policed subsequently shot and killed the suspect, who was later identify as Artell Cunningham.

Gill served during the Trump administration. In a Sunday social media post, the former president called him “wonderful and brilliant,” adding that Gill was a special person who was highly respected.

On Monday, House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson and Ranking Member David Scott issued a joint statement expressing their condolences.

“We are deeply saddened to hear about the tragic and untimely passing of Mike Gill, former chief of staff to CFTC Commissioner Chris Giancarlo,” Thompson and Scott said. “Mike was a dedicated public servant, loving father and husband, and friend to all he met. Please join us in praying for his family and loved ones during this heartbreaking time.”

FMMO hearings conclude

After months of discussions that reportedly include 12,000 pages of testimony, hearings on a new Federal Milk Marketing order concluded last week in Carmel, Indiana. The hearing began in August and included 21 different proposals from multiple dairy interest groups, Now USDA will consider what changes should be made going forward.

The National Milk Producers Federation, which represents dairy producers and cooperatives, says it advocates improvements that increase clarity and understanding of mil prices while ensuring an orderly market and fair prices. It supports a return of the “higher of” Class I mover, discounting the use of barrel cheese in the protein component price formula, and updating milk component factors in the Class III and Class IV skim milk price formula. NMPF also supports new processes to ensure make-allowances are reviewed more frequently and updating the Class I differential price system to reflect cost changes for delivering bulk milk to fluid processing plants.

“The current formula has cost farmers $1.2 billion in losses since its implementation after the 2018 farm bill, with additional losses expected in the coming months,” NMPF President Gregg Doud Says. “It needs to change back to the previous ‘higher-of’ formula that served farmers best. The higher-of responds quickly to the marketplace, it helps farmer cash flow, it’s simple to understand, and it would have no real impact on processors who are using the formula to boost their immediate balance sheets, not manage future risk as they claim.”

The International Dairy Foods Association represents dairy manufacturing and marketing interests. It is pushing for a make allowance proposal that better reflects the cost of processing milk into dairy products. The IDFA has proposed the Class I skim milk mover for any given years should equal to the simple average of the Class III and Clai IV Advance Skim Milk price, plus either a 24-month average of the Advance “higher of” skim milk price or 74 cents per cwt of skim milk.

“Today’s pricing policies are out of step with the modern marketplace,” IDFA chief economist Mike Brown says. “As our industry continues to evolve and become more efficient, we must have policies in place that position U.S. dairy for the future without being hamstrung by outdated regulations.”