_2.jpg?1732384576)
There’s been a lot of speculation about the kind of leader Brooke Rollins would be as ag secretary, so we talked with a couple of men who know her well. One is Drew DeBerry, a government affairs consultant at Axis Strategies, who first met Rollins when she worked for then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Speaking with us on this week’s Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, DeBerry says Rollins built a strong relationship with Trump as director of the Domestic Policy Council during his first administration. DeBerry says the job also gave Rollins knowledge of “all the policies the Department of Agriculture will be involved with.”
Corey Rosenbusch, president and CEO of The Fertilizer Institute, also recounts for us being in 4-H and FFA with Rollins during their upbringing in Glen Rose, Texas.
Newsmakers will be available today at Agri-Pulse.com.
Costa leaning on experience, background in House Ag race
Also on Newsmakers, California Democrat Jim Costa says he’s leveraging his experience in Congress — including being involved in writing four farm bills — with his background as a third-generation San Joaquin Valley farmer as he campaigns to be ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee.
The farm bill “has been sadly stymied on the nutrition programs,” Costa says, noting that about 25% to 28% of his constituents are on SNAP. He says he’ll be an advocate for the program.
What’s next: The Democratic Steering and Policy Committee will meet Dec. 16 to decide between the three candidates for the Ag Committee post. Costa is challenging current ranking member David Scott of Georgia and Angie Craig of Minnesota. Thursday night, Scott confirmed to reporters that he intended to stay in the race.
Lawmakers remain mixed on DOGE
Billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy spent Thursday on Capitol Hill meeting with House and Senate leaders and talking to rank-and-file Republicans about their plans to dramatically reduce the size and cost of government.
Leaders of the House and Senate Ag committees said food and ag issues never came up during their meetings. Senate Ag Member John Boozman, R-Ark., said he was largely there to listen and get a better sense of what Musk and Ramaswamy want to do.
Cut through the clutter! We deliver the news you need to stay informed about farm, food and rural issues. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse here.
House Ag Chairman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., said he left the meeting still unsure what the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, process will look like.
“It's healthy to take a look and see where there's waste, fraud and abuse, where there's maybe things that federal government should not be involved in. That's a healthy discussion,” Thompson said. “But it's a challenging process, with the politics.”
Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said Musk and Ramaswamy appeared very collaborative, and that he left the meeting more optimistic about the potential partnership between DOGE and Congress.
“Clearly, we know that we’ve got some areas where government has grown a little big and some efficiency would make some sense, but the suggestions have been all over the board,” Johnson said. “I wouldn’t say that there’s been a single common narrative.”
CoBank: Strengthening U.S. dollar could challenge corn, soybean exports
If the U.S. dollar continues to strengthen amid additional tax cuts and increased deficit spending, export demand for corn and soybeans could drop, suggests a new report from the agricultural lender CoBank.
U.S. corn and soybean export commitments have both seen increases from last year, the report says. But excess supply of both corn and soybeans, potential tariffs and export sale cancelations could cause a “sudden drag on exports,” the report warns.
“As in any new administration, changing geopolitics could cause changes to the dollar, further underpinning its value. The robust export pace for corn and soybeans is likely to fade after Jan. 1,” the report says.
Mississippi River levels dropping once again
Mississippi River barge draft sizes have once again been reduced along parts of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers amid low rainfall over the last few weeks, according to USDA’s latest Grain Transportation Report.
Draft sizes on the Illinois River and Mississippi rivers between St. Louis and Cairo, Illinois, have been reduced by between 25% and 40%, according to the release. "Delays of one to two days are expected because of impaired navigation conditions in these places on the MRS (Mississippi River System),” the report said.
Bird flu in cattle one mutation away from human transmission
A new study published in the journal Science says the avian influenza virus, H5N1, that has infected many cattle herds is a single mutation away from being more infectious in people.
“The findings highlight the crucial need for continuous surveillance of emerging H5N1 mutations, as even subtle genetic changes could increase the virus's capacity for human adaptation and transmission, potentially triggering a future influenza pandemic,” a summary of the study says.
While there are no “documented cases of transmission of bovine influenza H5N1 between humans, the virus's history of high mortality rates and its ability to adapt have raised serious concerns about a pandemic threat,” the summary says.
Final word
Brooke Rollins “has a tremendous track record of being able to dive into difficult issues, look at them through the lens of how the American people want her and want the elected officials to look at them, and more importantly than anything, she is very good at taking that vision and implementing it down the road.” – Drew DeBerry, government affairs consultant at Axis Strategies, discussing Donald Trump’s selection for agriculture secretary, on this week’s Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.
Lydia Johnson, Rebekah Alvey, Noah Wicks and Philip Brasher contributed to this report.
