The Senate Agriculture Committee approved by voice vote a bill that obliges the USDA to minimize any disruption in federal inspection of grain for export, a vital step before U.S. grain can be loaded on cargo vessels. The legislation is a response to last summer’s labor dispute that led to a month-long lapse in inspection at Vancouver, Washington. The House Agriculture Committee included similar language a month ago in its bill to reauthorize the Grain Standards Act.
“We simply can’t let this responsibility lapse for 36 days again,” said Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts, referring the statutory requirement for government inspection of grain at export terminals. The USDA had authorized the Washington State Agriculture Department to perform the inspections. The state withdrew its inspectors during the labor dispute and the USDA declined to step in on grounds it could not assure the safety of its inspectors.
Exports provide more than 20 cents of each $1 in cash receipts by farmers. Nearly 4.5 billion bushels of U.S. corn, wheat and soybeans will be exported this marketing year, according to the USDA – equal to four of every 10 acres of wheat and soybeans and more than one of every 10 acres of corn. The United States is the world’s largest agricultural exporter.
The Senate bill requires the USDA to “immediately take such actions as are necessary to address the disruption and resume inspections or weighings” whenever service is interrupted. Two grain-trade groups lamented that the bill would not allow use of private inspectors.