Agri-Pulse’s Lydia Johnson caught up with California Rep. Jim Costa Thursday night to talk about his challenge to Georgia Rep. David Scott for the top Democratic slot on the House Ag Committee. Costa repeatedly stressed that he could be a “strong voice” for the minority.
“I'm running, really, to try to focus on getting a reauthorization of the farm bill, and to really provide strong advocacy for Democrats on behalf of rural America,” Costa said.
He went on, “Democrats continue to have challenges in rural America, and I think we need to address that.”
He also said Democrats on the Ag Committee “need a very strong voice that is thoroughly engaged in the issues that involve not only agriculture and rural development, but the nutrition programs.”
Take note: Costa said some committee members have told him they want more interaction with the panel’s leadership. He noted that many members are in their first terms.
House Ag Dems open to Costa as ranking member
Many of Costa’s Democratic colleagues appear open to considering his bid, Agri-Pulse’s Rebekah Alvey reports.
“This is democracy, so we'll see what happens on the Ag Committee,” Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig said.
Florida Rep. Darren Soto said Costa is a “dear friend” and fellow member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. “We’ll give him a strong look,” Soto said.
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who recently ran unsuccessfully for chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, said anyone who feels equipped to lead the party’s committee membership should be considered.
“This is going to be a different Congress, and I think that everyone who believes they are best equipped to deal with this Trump trifecta should go ahead and put it out there,” said Crockett.
Illinois Rep. Nikki Budzinski said she’s had a brief conversation with Scott and told him she’s “looking forward to sitting down and meeting and hearing about the vision for the committee and how we’re going to get a good bipartisan farm bill done.”
As for Costa, he’s “a serious legislator, has a wealth of knowledge and experience on the committee, as does David Scott,” Budzinski said.
Moran: Disaster aid will be ‘beneficial’ to farmers this time
A senior Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee says lawmakers are still in the “preliminary stages” of crafting a package of disaster aid and market-loss relief for farmers. But in an interview with Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran indicates Congress will ensure this aid package does a better job of covering natural disaster losses than the last version did.
“I can assure our viewers that we're absolutely committed to making sure that this ERP [Emergency Relief Program] payment is one that is actually beneficial to producing farmers,” Moran says.
USDA pro-rated payments under the 2022 version of ERP to ensure smaller-scale farmers got a bigger share of their losses covered. USDA officials defended their decision to do that by noting Congress only funded about one-third of the estimated losses. This time, Congress is looking at providing about $24 billion for disaster-related losses in 2023 and 2024, Moran says.
This week’s Newsmakers will be available today at Agri-Pulse.com.
Farm-state senators want to hear from RFK Jr
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, says he’ll meet with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to discuss Kennedy’s past criticism of agricultural practices.
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the Food and Drug Administration. Specifically, Grassley wants to discuss Kennedy’s previous statements on GMOs and pork production.
“How are you going to feed 9 billion people if you don’t have the increase in genetics and the increased production, because God only made so much land,” Grassley said Thursday. “But I know that he can’t be very anti-agriculture because Trump is very pro-farmer.”
By the way: When asked about Kennedy’s previous comments on the food and agriculture industry, Senate Ag Ranking Member John Boozman, R-Ark., said: “I'd like to know what his thoughts are. So much of that stuff is taken out of context.”
Soy industry is ‘better prepared’ for trade conflict
The U.S. soybean industry is better positioned to weather U.S.-China trade frictions during a second Trump term, an industry representative says. But she warns it will be hard to replace the Chinese purchases that could be curtailed.
“We are better prepared,” Virginia Houston, director of government affairs at the American Soybean Association, said during a panel at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She said the events of the first Trump presidency had shown the importance of diversifying markets.
U.S. soy producers have benefitted from the USDA’s Agricultural Trade Promotion Program established in 2018 to help exporters develop new markets, she said. The program offers assistance for marketing operations abroad like advertising, demonstrations, market research and participation in trade fairs.
Houston said there are new export opportunities to supply soybeans for chicken and fish feed in Egypt, Morocco, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico, among other places. But the challenge, Houston added, is not just the diversification of markets, but the “diversification of scale.”
“The Chinese demand is so great for us. China represents a market bigger than the rest of the world combined,” Houston said. “That's a market that's hard to replicate, no matter how much you do.”
FSIS gets new administrator
Denise Eblen is the new administrator of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, replacing Paul Kiecker.
Eblen has been assistant administrator for the Office of Public Health Science since 2018. In that post, she “has led the agency’s scientific analysis, including oversight of FSIS laboratories and testing of regulatory samples, risk assessment, and outbreak investigation and response,” the service says.
Kiecker will be the new assistant administrator in the Office of Investigation, Enforcement and Audit. Kiecker began as a food inspector in 1988 and has been administrator since March 2020
By the way: Michigan-based Wolverine Packing Co. has recalled over 167,000 pounds of ground beef due to possible E. coli contamination. FSIS linked the meat to a series of illnesses in Minnesota.
Final word
“To me, it's really going to be about hearing their vision of how we're going to collaborate, how we're going to strengthen our position going into a Republican trifecta, you know, making sure that the Democratic caucus is well represented at the negotiating table.” – Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Ill., on the competition for the top Democratic spot on the House Ag Committee.
