State agricultural leaders plan to continue focusing on economic uncertainty in farm country, food safety issues, and outreach to trade partners in 2025, leaders of state ag departments said at a meeting in Indianapolis this week.
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture wrapped up its annual business meeting on Wednesday with an announcement of its new leadership, with Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward chosen as president. The meetings featured conversations with federal agencies about some of the key issues facing state agriculture departments.
Following the closing plenary session, Ward suggested that challenges in the farm economy, particularly for row crop producers who are struggling with low prices, make passing a farm bill essential.
The new NASDA board, led by Ward, unanimously passed a resolution in its first meeting calling on Congress to pass a bipartisan farm bill before the end of the year.
Board members called on House and Senate negotiators to "work together in favor of legislation that supports farmers and ranchers, while also protecting the critical food and nutritional assistance programs for those who need it most."
While NASDA members discussed key issues facing their states at the annual meeting, the group won’t set and vote on policy until early next year. Over the next several months, the new NASDA board of directors will determine official policy priorities for 2025 before releasing those in January.
The organization will be closely watching farm bill progress following the November elections. What makes it into the bill and what doesn’t could shape policy priorities for 2025, said RJ Karney, senior director of public policy at NASDA.
In addition to passing a farm bill, NASDA CEO Ted McKinney said there’s worry among states over potential FDA budget cuts that would make it difficult for state and local food safety partners to complete mandated inspections.
This year, state and local food safety programs received $117 million, but are expecting a cut to $85 million in coming years, Karney said.
FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Jim Jones met with NASDA members during the meeting. McKinney said there’s a lot of optimism from those conversations that collaboration between FDA and states is growing, but the size of the cut could still be significant for some states.
“To their credit, we think FDA is trying very hard to work through that, and we’re trying to lift ourselves up with visits with appropriations to remind them that the law is there [and] states don’t have the funds in many cases,” McKinney said.
Partners likely won’t know the full extent of funding that could be channeled to states for food safety inspections for the next several months, McKinney said.
Jones is expected to announce the structure of FDA's newly reorganized human foods program next week. McKinney said NASDA is ready to throw itself into those relationships with the new team and work to be “terrific co-regulators.”
Trade, and conducting outreach and trust-building around the world will be another focus for NASDA in the coming year, McKinney said. In addition to maintaining bonds with federal and state partners, NASDA is working to support USDA, FDA and U.S. Trade Representative partners in finding ways to buy and sell more globally.
Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes WardAs the new president, Ward has the opportunity to host the next NASDA annual meeting in his home state of Arkansas. At the closing plenary, he announced the theme for next year’s conference as “Securing our Future through Agriculture.”
The new NASDA 2025 board will also include: Vice President: Maine Agriculture Commissioner Amanda Beal; Second Vice President: Washington Agriculture Director Derek Sandison; Secretary-Treasurer: Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig; At-Large: Oregon Agriculture Director Lisa Charpilloz Hanson, and Past President: Oklahoma Agriculture Secretary Blayne Arthur.
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