State agriculture departments have picked five issues to focus on in 2025, including the passage of a new farm bill and strengthening food systems.
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture’s board of directors said top priorities also would include streamlining pesticide regulations, addressing the challenges posed by PFAS, and funding of state food safety programs.
NASDA CEO Ted McKinney said addressing these areas will best support farmers and ranchers.
“We believe these areas represent critical opportunities where state departments of agriculture can lead impactful change and champion effective policy solutions this year,” McKinney said in a statement.
One of those areas is strengthening regional food systems and supply chains. Specifically, NASDA plans to advocate for policies that facilitate local procurement within federal feeding programs, and connect local food systems with nutrition security and “food as medicine” efforts.
Integrating local and regional food systems into these programs was discussed at the group’s annual meeting earlier this year, where some state leaders see opportunities to improve nutrition and local markets.
On per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, NASDA said the U.S. food supply is safe and most food does not have a detectable level of any of chemicals. On advocacy, the group plans to push for a federal framework that supports states responding to chemical contamination.
It also encourages using the best available science in establishing any regulatory standards of threshold levels for PFAS in food products.
NASDA also plans to support strategies to remediate lands contaminated with PFAS, legislation that increases state resources for responding to pollutants, and financial support for impacted farmers.
The group has long been engaged on the issue of pesticides, specifically EPA regulations and efforts to bring those into Endangered Species Act compliance. However, NASDA said it remains deeply concerned that proposed regulations are “overly restrictive and lack transparency.”
NASDA argues that compliance with draft EPA herbicide and insecticide strategies will be costly for growers and enforcement “unworkable” for state agencies.
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In its policy priorities, the group encouraged collaboration and input from state stakeholders as the federal government attempts to regulate pesticides.
NASDA will also continue to push Congress to restore and increase funding for state food safety inspection programs. A number of states have cooperative agreements with USDA and FDA, which allows them to carry out the bulk of inspections at food production facilities.
However, FDA officials have warned states to brace for a budget cut in coming years. States have argued this move could force some of them to end their cooperative agreements, which would require federal personnel to complete more inspections, often at a higher cost.
NASDA plans to focus on the FDA’s State and Local Food Safety Programs, USDA’s State Meat and Poultry Inspection Programs and USDA’s Animal Disease Protection Program. These three all require “immediate attention,” according to the group.
On the farm bill, NASDA listed 10 areas it says are critical to support food and resource production. These include agriculture research, animal disease, conservation, cybersecurity, food safety, hemp, invasive species, local food systems, specialty crop block grants and trade promotion.
NASDA members will discuss these policies and more at their winter conference in Washington, D.C., next month.
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