News

NAEGA Moving

NAEGA is pleased to announce that it will be moving to a new office space as of August 30, 2016. NAEGA will be joining the National Grain and Feed Association, which NAEGA currently shares space with in its Washington, D.C. office, in a move to a new office in the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, VA. Our new Crystal City office is conveniently located near the Crystal City Metrorail station, next door to the Crowne Plaza Washington National Airport Hotel, adjacent to shops and restaurants and less than a 10-minute drive to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Our new address is below. Please note that NAEGA email addresses and telephone numbers will not change.

1400 Crystal Drive
Suite 260
Arlington, VA 22202

Please contact Gary or Ryan if you have any questions.

Decree 177 Working Group

Following up on a July meeting, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is leading a newly developed working group to address industry concerns regarding implementation of Chinese Decree 177, which came into effect on July 1. Decree 177 lays out a regulatory framework for import to China of grains for food and feed and strengthens existing food safety laws on imported foods, including implementation of a facility registration process. The newly created working group will develop an advocacy and engagement strategy related to industry interest regarding implementation of Decree 177. Included in the working group are government personnel including the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), the Farm Service Agency (FSA), and APHIS, as well as private sector stakeholders including NAEGA, the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA), the U.S. Grains Council, U.S. Wheat Associates and the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC). More information on the activities of the working group will be shared as information becomes available.

Please contact Gary or Ryan with any questions.

  • GAIN Report - China Decree 177 - February 2016
  • GMO Soybeans: EU Authorization BUT RR2Xtend lacking key Approval

    On July 22 the European Commission announced it had granted import approval for three genetically modified soy traits – Monsanto and Dupont Pioneer’s RR2 Xtend (dicamba x glyphosate MON87708 x MON89788), Monsanto’s Vistive Gold (high oleic x glyphosate MON87705 x MON89788) and Bayer CropScience’s Balance GT (glyphosate x HPPD inhibitor FG72).

    The approval of these traits follows a letter written by NAEGA and NGFA to Monsanto regarding the responsible commercialization of Monsanto’s RR2 Xtend Soybean trait in the United States before import approval was granted in the European Union (EU). Commercialization of this trait before import approval in the EU and other soy markets threatened to severely disrupt trade with the EU if RR2 Xtend soybeans. The NAEGA/ NGFA  letter included a series of follow up questions to Monsanto. The letter and follow up questions with Monsanto answers can be found here and here.

    Because RR2Xtend is likely to present in soybeans from the current 2016 harvest, NAEGA is monitoring and reporting on its global regulatory status  IMPORTANTLY To the best of our knowledge:  the stack RR2Xtend (MON 87708 X MON 89788) lacks sufficient approval to allow for import for food, feed and processing in the Philippines but has achieved such status in other import markets that regulate and accept biotech.  The new Philippine regime for approvals put in place in May has yet to be completed and there is come expectation that the needed approval for the stack will occur in late August 2016. NAEGA does understand that the following countries have approved this event for import: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, China, Colombia, European Union, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan, United States, Vietnam and Indonesia.

    NAEGA welcomes your comments and questions, especially if you are aware of different information or if there are countries with approval requirements that import soybeans or soybean meal that you are concerned about.

    Please contact Gary if you have any questions or comments.

    Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published in the Federal Register a notice regarding the implementation of a revised tiering methodology for chemical facilities of interest regulated under the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS).

    The notice temporarily suspends the requirement to submit Top-Screens and Security Vulnerability Assessments (SVA) in order to allow for a phased roll out of the new Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT) 2.0.  CSAT 2.0 consists of a more streamlined CSAT Top-Screen, SVA, and a Site Security Plan, that will allow the collection of the data necessary to process facilities through the new methodology and improve the integration between the SVA application and the SSP application.

    To minimize confusion, DHS is taking a multi-step approach to this implementation. First, the Department is temporarily suspending the Top-Screen and SVA submissions requirements as outlined in the notice. Second, DHS will replace the current CSAT surveys with the revised surveys. Lastly, DHS will reinstate the Top-Screen and SVA submission requirement. DHS will individually notify facilities of the requirement to resubmit a Top-Screen using the new tool in a phased manner, however, facilities may choose to proactively resubmit a Top-Screen once the new tool is available and prior to the individual notification. Additionally, new chemical facilities of interest that come into reportable amounts of COI after reinstatement of the requirement to submit a Top-Screen and SVA must submit within 60 days.

    For more information, please click here. Please contact Gary or Ryan if you have any questions.

    USSA Factsheets

    The U.S. Sustainability Alliance, which NAEGA is a member, has successfully completed a series of multi-lingual factsheets highlighting the sustainable practices of U.S. agriculture. The factsheets can be found on the USSA’s website (www.thesustainabilityalliance.us), and include sustainability stories from field crops, nuts, organics, hardwoods, poultry and seafood. These factsheets are part of a broader strategy to advertise U.S. agricultures sustainability practices to buyers in the European Union and beyond. To access these fact sheets, please click here.