Democrats wasted no time at a China-focused hearing Wednesday challenging South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem over former President Donald Trump’s talk of slapping huge new tariffs on the No. 1 market for U.S. ag products. Noem, who is rumored to be a leading candidate to be Trump’s running mate, was the leadoff witness at a House Ag Committee hearing on ways that China poses a threat to U.S. agriculture.
The committee’s senior Democrat, David Scott of Georgia, challenged her about Trump’s suggestion that he would slap tariffs of up to 60% on China. Noem deflected the question. “I think that is a proposal that people are still looking at and having conversations about,” she replied.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (left) and GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher, who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.Noem recently signed into law a ban on Chinese entities buying farmland in her state.
By the way: Kip Tom, a former U.S. ambassador to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture, warned lawmakers that the U.S. is overly dependent on China for components of crop protection products and nutrients. If China were to shut off those supplies, “the economic impact to farmers, consumers and our nation would have devastating consequences,” he said. “This would lead to higher consumer prices and food insecurity in the United States and around the world. This is a national security threat to the United States and our allies."
Tom said regulatory changes are needed to bring some of that production back to the U.S.
Read our full coverage of the House Ag hearing at Agri-Pulse.com.
Ethanol industry not satisfied with EPA pullback on auto standards
Renewable fuel proponents criticized EPA’s final rule on tailpipe emissions Wednesday for relying too much on electric vehicles, but the agency argues the rule offers automakers a variety of ways besides EVs to comply. EPA says there “are many possible pathways to compliance” using different vehicle technologies, including internal combustion engines, hybrids, plug-in hybrid EVs and battery EVs.”
“This rule is not a [zero-emissions vehicle] mandate, and manufacturers are free to meet the standards using the mix of vehicle technologies that is best for their fleets,” EPA says in a document.
On renewable fuels: EPA says in the final rule that it agreed with commenters “that the increased use of renewable fuels in the U.S. transportation sector will improve the U.S.’s energy security/energy independence position.”
By the way: The rule estimates gasoline usage will decline by 760 billion gallons from 2027-2055 due to the new standards, and that electricity consumption will increase by 7.6 billion kilowatt hours. The Energy Information Administration estimates Americans used about 135 billions gallons of gasoline in 2022.
Farm Bureau makes AEWR push
Five American Farm Bureau Federation members walked the halls of Capitol Hill Wednesday pressing elected officials for a freeze to the minimum wage rates for H-2A farmworkers.
The farmers say continued increases to the adverse effect wage rate are endangering their businesses, which they say must compete with overseas producers who don’t have to meet the same labor compensation standards.
“Already, we're evaluating the crops that we grow … and we're considering whether that's economically viable for us anymore, just because it is so labor-intensive,” New York producer Karin Reeves told Agri-Pulse.
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Michigan grower Nick Oomen says many other producers in his area have already pulled back from producing a staple crop. “Unfortunately for us, some of the things we're going to start doing is looking at each crop individually – asparagus probably being one of the first ones cut – and saying, ‘You know what, we can't afford to do this anymore,’” he said.
Keep in mind: AFBF opposed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which included a temporary freeze in the wage rates. AFBF had concerns with other provisions of the bill, which has never made it out of the Senate.
Take note: A Democratic senator from Georgia, Jon Ossoff, is raising questions with USDA about how it conducts a farm labor survey that’s used to set the H-2A wage rates. “Georgia consistently ranks in the top three states using the H-2A program, so the results of this survey are of paramount importance to Georgia growers,” Ossoff says in a letter to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
New biotech traits get OK
USDA has given the green light to six genetically engineered plants after finding they do not pose a “plant pest risk.”
The companies and their plants are, according to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service: Yield10 Bioscience: two camelinas modified for improved seed oil quality; Bayer Crop Science: canola modified for herbicide resistance; Nuseed, canola and brown mustard modified for improved product quality and herbicide resistance; Hjelle Advisors, soybean modified for altered product quality; Michigan State University, potato modified for fungal resistance (potato late blight); and University of Wisconsin, hemp modified for reduced levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
He said it. “So to put it bluntly, the Chinese Communist Party is actively engaged in economic warfare against the United States. And our agriculture sector is already a prime target.” – Rep. Mike Gallagher, the Wisconsin Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, addressing the House Ag Committee’s hearing Thursday.
Steve Davies, Spencer Chase and Noah Wicks contributed to this report.
