Key lawmakers are working on a two-pronged approach to help row crop producers who’ve been hit by the downturn in commodity markets. A lot of work remains to be done, but the goal is to attach some kind of ag relief to a one-year farm bill extension in December.
The package could provide immediate assistance to producers, possibly through crop insurance premium reimbursements, as well as higher price supports going forward, sources say.
In an interview with Agri-Pulse, the top Republican on the Senate Ag Committee, John Boozman of Arkansas, described the twin goals this way:
“We need a situation where you provide some economic assistance for this terrible year we've had this year. And then also looking forward, we need to be in a situation where we increase the safety nets so that farmers will be able to go to their banks and borrow the money they’re going to need.”
Take note: There’s also talk of rolling into the farm bill “extension-plus” unspent conservation program funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. “Politics is the art of the possible, so we just have to get into the negotiations and see what we can get,” Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., told Agri-Pulse.
For more on the emerging aid package, read our weekly Agri-Pulse newsletter.
Summit files for new route in South Dakota
Summit Carbon Solutions has reapplied to South Dakota’s Public Utilities Commission for approval of about 700 miles of pipeline in the state to transport liquefied carbon dioxide for sequestration. The PSC rejected the company’s initial route a year ago; the new path includes “major re-routes” in four counties, Summit said
The five-state, 2,500-mile project would take liquid carbon dioxide from 57 ethanol plants. It’s seen as critical to building a market for low-carbon ethanol and sustainable aviation fuel.
State of play: Landowner opposition, litigation and regulatory delays have forced Summit to push back its original construction schedule. The company now says it will begin construction in early 2026, with operations starting in 2027.
Senate Rs ready to educate RFK Jr. on ag
Republican lawmakers say they’re prepared to engage with and educate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on agricultural issues after Donald Trump picked him as to secretary of health and human service.
Kennedy has long criticized U.S. agricultural practices, including pesticide use, and the overall food system. Senate Republicans are chalking up these comments to a lack of understanding of agriculture.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters Tuesday that many of the concerns the ag sector has with Kennedy wouldn’t necessarily fall under the jurisdiction of HHS, although the department does include FDA.
“I’m not scared right now of anything he said,” Grassley told reporters Tuesday. “Maybe after I meet with him and have some discussion with him, I will be very, very concerned. But not right now.”
“HHS needs reform. We’ve got to find ways to get healthier,” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. “On the ag side, he’s got some things we’re going to have to talk about. But I’m hopeful that I can bring some of that ag perspective to him.”
Read more about how Kennedy could influence food and nutrition regulations as HHS Secretary in this week’s newsletter.
Cassidy argues pollution fee revenue could offset 2025 tax cuts
Senate Finance Committee member Bill Cassidy, R-La., says he wants what he calls “foreign pollution fee” legislation included in a GOP tax bill Congress will debate next year. He says the projected revenues could offset the cost of tax cuts.
“I think it's thoroughly consistent with what the Trump administration wants to do, and since it does raise revenue, I would love to have it included,” Cassidy told Agri-Pulse.
Introduced last year, Cassidy’s legislation would impose a fee on imports of manufactured goods with a “pollution intensity” greater than 10% higher than the equivalent products manufactured in the U.S. The senator, who also sits on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the proposal “could raise as much as a trillion dollars over 10 years.”
Advisers close to Trump have been in discussions with House Ways and Means Committee leadership about assembling a broad tax package next year that would be partially paid for by tariffs, Politico reported earlier this month. While Cassidy said he has not raised the prospect of using his pollution fee as an offset for tax cuts with the Trump transition team, he’s optimistic that those in Trump’s orbit would be receptive.
Take note: Robert Lighthizer “has advocated for something such as this,” Cassidy said. In Lighthizer’s book “No Trade is Free,” the former U.S. trade representative, who has been an informal adviser to the Trump-Vance transition team, expressed his support for a carbon border adjustment mechanism that levies extra tariffs on carbon-intensive imports.
“I think it's very consistent with free trade, with classical economics, with what Lighthizer has talked about, and with what we want to do with taxes,” Cassidy added.
New Mexico lawmakers press for ‘speedy’ resolution to Rio Grande dispute
Five New Mexico Democrats are urging the departments of Justice and the Interior to “quickly resolve” ongoing litigation between Texas, New Mexico and Colorado over the sharing of water from the Rio Grande, noting that the uncertainty stemming from the ongoing dispute “imperils the ability of water users to prepare for more common and more extreme droughts in the Rio Grande Basin.”
In a letter, Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján and Reps. Melanie Stansbury, Gabe Vasquez and Teresa Leger Fernandez said that nearly every part of New Mexico experienced some form of drought this year.
FDA seeks information on PFAS in seafood
FDA wants scientific data and information related to PFAS in seafood to inform its efforts to limit dietary exposure to the substances. The agency issued a request for information on the topic and encouraged the seafood industry, academia, state and federal agencies to submit comments by Feb. 18.
Testing for PFAS substances in the general food supply has indicated that seafood may be at higher risk for environmental contamination, according to the FDA. Still, the agency said data is limited for PFAS contamination in many seafood types.
Final word
“It's just disappointing that we had a really good opportunity in an entire term to get the farm bill done in a bipartisan manner, and both sides failed.” – Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio.
