Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is joining leaders of the Senate Ag Committee and some top CEOs at today’s annual Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Policy Summit in Washington. This year’s summit is focused on the future of U.S. agriculture, and new revenue possibilities in a wide range of sectors.
Industry executives at the summit include Gene Gebolys, CEO of World Energy, and Patrick Gruber, CEO of Gevo, two companies at the forefront of the development of sustainable aviation fuel, along with an executive from Delta Airlines.
Also appearing will be Jeff Simmons, president and CEO of Elanco Animal Health, and Jackie Applegate, president of Bayer Crop Science.
By the way: Vilsack is back on Capitol Hill this week. He’ll testify before the House Agriculture Appropriations Committee on Thursday. The panel is chaired by Maryland GOP Rep. Andy Harris, a member of the House Freedom Caucus who unsuccessfully tried to make deep cuts in USDA’s budget for fiscal 2024.
For more on this week’s D.C. agenda, read our Washington Week Ahead.
EPA, Corps sued over Clean Water Act interpretation
A North Carolina landowner Is suing EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, alleging the agencies continue to illegally assert authority over areas that should be off-limits to regulation after the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision last year.
Robert White claims he has had to fallow several hundred acres where he allows other farmers to grow wheat, corn and soybeans, in order to comply with the agencies’ broad interpretation of what constitute “adjacent wetlands.”
White also wants to create a sand mine, and has expressed interest in eventually turning that into a fish farm, the lawsuit filed in federal court in eastern North Carolina says. He is represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, which is involved in other litigation over the amended rule issued last August to conform to Sackett.
Keep in mind: Ag groups have expressed concern recently about the agencies’ view of their authority in the wake of the Sackett decision, which said the Clean Water Act covers wetlands only if their continuous surface connection makes them “indistinguishable” from already covered waters.
Twenty-four states as well as ag and other business groups are continuing a lawsuit against the agencies in North Dakota, where a judge blocked implementation of the agencies’ January 2023 rule. Currently, that rule is enjoined in 27 states.
Boozman, Ernst seek Inspector General probe of USDA telework
The Senate Agriculture Committee’s top Republican, John Boozman of Arkansas, and committee member Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, are asking USDA’s inspector general to investigate the agency's telework, locality pay and space utilization policies.
In a letter, the senators cite a Nov. 27, 2023, letter from “a whistleblower who claims to be a supervisor at the USDA headquarters in Washington” who wrote, “On the occasions I have gone to USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C., it resembles a ghost town.” The letter also says employees working remotely "do not respond to simple email questions for hours."
"If USDA employees are unreachable and unresponsive to their own managers, we worry our constituents are receiving the same treatment, or worse," the lawmakers write.
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Pushing back: Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack has disputed the assertions. At Commodity Classic in Houston, he said 82% of the hours that are worked at USDA “are being worked in place. In other words, … people who are on the job – either in their office or they may be out in the countryside because they're an NRCS person at a farm.”
In a statement, USDA spokesperson Allan Rodriguez said, in part, “Rather than continue to do a disservice to USDA’s hardworking employees, the senators would do well to put their energy towards a timely farm bill and appropriations legislation for the remainder of the federal government. The senators’ insinuation that the critical work of USDA is not getting done has no basis in reality.”
Referendum sought in South Dakota to block pipeline bill
A group in South Dakota is working to get a referendum on the ballot that puts newly passed carbon pipeline legislation to the test.
The newly formed Property Rights and Local Control Alliance is holding a rally at the state capitol in Pierre March 25 to promote its effort. Their target is legislation passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Kristi Noem that clears the path for Summit’s liquid carbon dioxide pipeline.
The South Dakota Ag Alliance, which supported the legislation in question, calls the effort “ill-advised.”
The bill “is a major victory for landowners, but if a referendum is successful the landowners will ultimately lose and Summit Carbon will still win because pipelines already preempt county ordinances,” says alliance founding member Jason Glodt. “The bottom line is that a referendum can only kill the [bill], it can’t stop federal preemption over county ordinances.”
Read more about the bill in our coverage here.
$40.5M awarded in organic processing, promotion grants
USDA is awarding $40.5 million for 60 projects across the country to support the development of new markets for organic products.
The grants are part of the Organic Market Development Grant program, and USDA estimates the projects funded “will benefit more than 27,000 producers and over 31.8 million consumers by increasing organic market opportunities.”
In January, USDA announced $9.75 million for the first round of awards through the program. The final announcement of about $25 million will be made in the next few months.
