Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will be defending Biden administration policies this week, starting today as keynote speaker for the annual Washington meeting of the North American Agricultural Journalists.
He’ll head to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to testify before the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, which is starting on its fiscal 2025 spending legislation for USDA and FDA.
Also this week: The administration’s trade policy will come under scrutiny on both sides of the Hill. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai will testify before the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday and the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday. She’s likely to be pressed by farm-state lawmakers to do more to lower tariffs and other barriers to U.S. ag products.
For more on this week’s D.C. agenda, read our Washington Week Ahead.
One in four military members food insecure
More than 25% of active-duty members of the U.S. military are food insecure, compared to just 10% of civilian adults, according to a new study by USDA’s Economic Research Service.
The report said that 10.5% of military population had a “more severe form of food insecurity – very low food security,” in 2018 and 2020, the years covered by the study. That compares to 3.6% of the civilian adult population.
Keep in mind: A person is considered food insecure by USDA, if they had difficulty during the previous 12 months getting enough food for themselves or family members due to “a lack of economic and other resources.” A person is considered to have “very low” food security if they report “disruptions in their eating patterns or reduced food intake for themselves or their family members.”
Take note: Food insecurity rates were higher for military members who were between the ages of 17 and 19 (34.6%), between the ages of 20 and 22 (34.1%), had an unemployed spouse (34.5%), were Hispanic (30%), or identified as another race other than white (20.5%).
New caucus to advocate for small, specialty crop farmer interests
House members have re-launched a Specialty Crops Caucus to advocate for those crops and producers in the upcoming farm bill, which may move through committee as early as next month.
The bipartisan caucus is co-chaired by Reps. David Valadao, R-Calif., Jim Costa, D-Calif., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and David Rouzer, R-N.C., who represent states that are significant to the specialty crop industry.
“We're on a platform to advocate for policies that allow for growers to continue to provide American families with healthy, safe food,” said Costa in a press call. "That’s the bottom line.”
Co-chairs hope to expand the horticulture title that covers specialty crops and have been negotiating additional funding, Costa said. Adjusting the crop insurance program to better address the needs of small, specialty crop farmers is another key priority, lawmakers mentioned.
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“A relatively small investment in specialty crops can be transformational for our industry,” said Cathy Burns, CEO of the International Fresh Produce Association. “We expect the caucus to carry that torch as we look at the things that are most important to us.”
There’s a large gap between the funding specialty crops get in the farm bill and what the industry needs, Burns said. She didn’t identify funding targets for specific programs, but said it won’t “break the bank.”
Other priorities for the industry include market access, mechanization, nutrition programs and reforming USDA procurement programs, Burns said. However, a final framework for the farm bill will give the caucus something more concrete to react to.
Trump backs Newhouse opponent in Washington
Washington Republican Dan Newhouse, one of only two remaining GOP lawmakers who voted to impeach Donald Trump, has, unsurprisingly, failed to receive the former president’s endorsement for the Republican primary Aug. 6.
“Jerrod Sessler is a fantastic candidate and will be a GREAT Congressman for Washington State’s 4th Congressional District,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his X-like social network, on Friday.
Sessler welcomed the endorsement. A former Navy petty-officer, Sessler claims to have overcome terminal cancer by “adopting a natural diet primarily consisting of the nutrient-rich produce of the exceptional Washington soil.”
Agri-Pulse has reached out to Newhouse’s office for comment.
As of Dec. 31, Newhouse’s campaign showed about $658,000 in contributions, well above Sessler’s $62,517, including an array of contributions from farmers and agricultural political action committees.
Pennsylvania farmer can sell raw milk out of state, judge rules
A state court judge in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, has allowed an Amish farmer to sell his raw milk outside of the Commonwealth after finding that state law on the subject was ambiguous.
The state agriculture department asked the judge to prohibit all of Amos Miller’s sales, LancasterOnline reported. The agency said Pennsylvania law should be interpreted as meaning that “no one without a state permit could sell any raw milk, no matter where they live, even though the law references sales ‘within the commonwealth.’”
Keep in mind: The decision comes as highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in three additional dairy herds in Michigan. Food safety officials say there are no concerns with the safety of the commercial milk supply with products that are pasteurized.
