Editor’s note: Daybreak won’t be published the week of Nov. 20. It returns Monday, Nov. 27.
Congress has another year to agree on a new farm bill, but Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warns that the process will stay bogged down until lawmakers find a source of money outside the bill or the Inflation Reduction Act funding that Republicans would like to dip into.
Speaking to members of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting on Thursday, Vilsack reiterated his suggestion that lawmakers could use the Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA’s $30 billion line of credit, to supplement the farm bill.
“So, what's the reluctance of using that asset that's available and is designed precisely to help farmers get through difficult times? Until they come to that realization. I think we're going to be waiting a while for the farm bill,” Vilsack said.
He didn’t elaborate on how he thinks the CCC could be used. But at the request of the Senate Ag Committee, USDA has already tapped the CCC to create a new $1.3 billion trade promotion program that will supplement the farm bill’s trade title.
By the way: USDA posted a rule for operating that trade promotion initiative on Thursday, but commodity groups are still waiting to find out the funding timeline and the countries that will be targeted.
USDA also unveiled plans for trade missions next year to Vietnam, India, South Korea, Canada, Colombia and Morocco. USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor recently returned from Malaysia and Singapore, where she led the USDA’s final trade mission of this year.
Lawmakers push EPA to allow chlorpyrifos use
A group of 51 senators and House members are urging EPA to move quickly to implement a recent appeals court decision on chlorpyrifos. On Nov. 2, the 8th Circuit vacated EPA’s 2021 decision to revoke food tolerances for the insecticide.
“The court has spoken and, consistent with its decision, we believe farmers should have access to this critical tool for the 2024 growing season,” the lawmakers say in a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan being sent today. “EPA should follow the court’s ruling and immediately allow safe uses of chlorpyrifos.”
The letter was led by Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., and senators Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan.
EPA’s take: EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Director Ed Messina said at a federal advisory committee meeting Wednesday that the agency is “digesting the court's decision.”
“We will provide guidance,” he said, but added that currently, all the registration cancellations remain in place. “We haven't taken any action to change that course,” Messina said.
The court has yet to issue its mandate in the case, which Messina noted is part of the normal process for appellate decisions. “First the decision comes out and then the court’s mandate, meaning it's … a live order.”
Ag Census results on the way
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is planning to release the results of its 2022 Census of Agriculture on Feb. 13, just ahead of the department’s annual Ag Outlook Forum.
The census is conducted every five years and provides detailed data on U.S. agriculture down to the county level. NASS sent out paper questionnaires to farmers last December and finished collecting data this summer. The preliminary national return rate was 61%.
Take note: The agency is also conducting two special studies this fall and winter. One will look at aquaculture and the other will analyze irrigation and water management.
EPA advisers to give focus to farmworkers
A federal advisory committee has formed a panel to focus on how farmworker experiences can inform EPA regulation of pesticides.
Summarizing the group’s charge questions, EPA’s Messina said it would consider how “farmworker perspectives and experiences [can] shape the design of regulatory requirements” and help EPA follow through on regulations such as the Worker Protection Standard.
The workgroup will include Mily Treviño-Sauceda of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Nathan Donley of the Center for Biological Diversity, and Becca Berkey of the Community-Engaged Teaching and Research Program at Northeastern University.
Other members are Mayra Reiter of Farmworker Justice, Alexis Temkin of the Environmental Working Group, Joseph Grzywacz of the Department of Family and Child Sciences at Florida State University, and Walter Alarcon of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
FDA offers update on front-of-package labeling work
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf says front-of-package nutrition labeling is at the center of the agency’s ongoing efforts to improve public health and make it easier for Americans “to develop healthy habits.”
Califf made the remark during a virtual public meeting held by the Reagan-Udall Foundation Thursday.
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Robin McKinnon, FDA senior adviser for nutrition policy, said FDA is committed to ongoing engagement on the topic, following up on focus groups and experimental testing on different potential labeling options.
McKinnon said consumers prefer simple labeling schemes and that the labels do “appear helpful for those with low nutrition knowledge.” She also said there are similar, consistent trends between different demographic groups.
She said the timeline of the anticipated front-of-package labeling is “dependent on a number of factors” but the work remains a “very high priority for us.”
The event did offer stakeholders the chance to provide two-minute prepared statements on challenges and considerations of front-of-package labeling. Mollie Van Lieu of the International Fresh Produce Association said FDA should require fruit and vegetable claims – in name or imaging – to disclose the quantity of per serving servings in household measures.
Restaurateur seeks to block cage-free law
Grant Krueger, who operates several restaurants in Tucson, Arizona, has filed suit against the Arizona Agriculture Department to block a proposed state mandate for cage-free eggs.
Krueger buys nearly 2,200 eggs per week and says the mandate would drive up his costs.
“Sweeping policies, like the cage-free egg rule, which substantially increase prices for businesses and consumers, must be made by the people’s representatives, not bureaucrats,” said Adi Dynar, an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation who represents Krueger.
Steve Davies, Noah Wicks, Jacqui Fatka and Bill Tomson contributed to this report.
