As state budget negotiations get underway, ag groups are pushing for more dollars for industry priorities. Yet Gov. Gavin Newsom has his own priorities.
The governor hopes to spend $25 million on CDFA’s Farm to School initiatives, which First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom has strongly championed. The state has spent more than $100 million on the programs over the last four years. The new spending would come from California’s general taxpayer fund, but the state would have to cut spending elsewhere to balance the budget.
Newsom plans to shift enough funds around to make room for $570 million in discretionary spending altogether. He is also moving $300 million in previous climate and sustainable ag commitments to the climate bond voters passed in November.
Given the likelihood of more deficits on the horizon, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office is advising lawmakers to hold such discretionary spending to a higher bar than they normally would. The governor could instead wrap that funding within the $4.6 billion school nutrition program as well. LAO recommends rejecting a $3 million request for related technical assistance grants.
Climate bond: An Assembly Budget subcommittee this morning is holding the first deep dive into the governor’s plan for spending $2.7 billion from the bond. Farm groups are closely scrutinizing new trailer bill language that fleshes out the proposals.
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Vague language and new amendments to a $20 million allocation for invasive species have raised a few industry eyebrows. CDFA, as with all agencies, must take about an 8% cut in its spending this year, increasing anxiety over where the ax will land and curiosity if this plays into it. But the administration’s finance department explained to Agri-Pulse that the change does not alter the activities or the intent of the appropriation and is not associated with the government efficiency effort.
Cap-and-trade dollars: Farm groups are bumping elbows with many more groups at the table this year as the state decides how to spend revenue from its Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
The ag industry put out its requests last month. At the top is $200 million for grants to upgrade aging ag equipment, under the FARMER program. The trade groups are also pushing to maintain drinking water money to avoid more fees on farmers. They would like to see more dollars supporting energy efficiency technologies for food processors and another $75 for alternatives to ag burning. Bumping up spending on methane reduction programs is a perennial ask as well.
USDA reversing some HPAI-related firings
USDA is scrambling to rehire some employees who were terminated even though their work is related to combatting avian flu.
“Although several positions supporting HPAI were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters,” the department says in a statement.
“USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service frontline positions are considered public safety positions, and we are continuing to hire the workforce necessary to ensure the safety and adequate supply of food to fulfill our statutory mission.”
Groups react to Jones’ exit from FDA
Consumer groups and former FDA officials are criticizing mass layoffs at the agency following the departure of Jim Jones as deputy commissioner of the Human Foods Program.
Jones resigned from his post Monday, as first reported by Food Fix. In his resignation letter, he cited cuts to the foods program staff as a primary driver. Over the holiday weekend, some probationary employees at FDA were terminated. It’s unclear the total number affected, but Jones said 89 employees had been cut so far from the foods program alone.
“Cutting the recent hires disproportionately disadvantages the most needed areas for bolstering regulation,” Robert Califf, former FDA Commissioner, wrote on LinkedIn. “This is especially true of chemicals in food, where laws require complex science to make the case in a way that will withstand court challenges by industry.”
Steven Grossman, former executive director of the Alliance for a Stronger FDA, said the departure of Jones and other staff could impact food chemical safety work.
The Association of Food and Drug Officials said a new leader in the human foods program could have the “freedom to further reshape it in a manner that streamlines performance in the most efficient means possible.”
AI, regenerative ag and plant-based products to drive global ag-tech advancements
Investors expect that artificial intelligence, regenerative agriculture and plant-based food products are poised for significant technological advancements in the next few years.
Hadar Sutovsky, general manager of the ag-tech accelerator ICL Planet Startup Hub, argued during a World Trade Organization panel these three industries are set for the biggest leaps forward of any ag-tech sectors.
She argued that soil health, in particular, could get significant attention as companies try to enhance productivity while minimizing inputs. That progress could come from new machinery to support soil restoration and carbon sequestration, as well as microbial-based biostimulants, she said.
AI is also unlocking additional climate investments in global ag. The International Finance Corporation’s Adam Struve pointed out that climate financing in the agriculture sector has lagged other industries. He argued that difficulties measuring greenhouse gas emissions from biological processes has been a barrier to developing climate mitigation solutions. But that could change with the advent of AI.
“A lot of the agtech that’s being developed is around making it possible to monitor and quantify these GHGs much better,” Struve said.
Final word:
“If you're going to talk about your poaching endeavors, don't do it in front of wildlife officers.” — Nathaniel Arnold, deputy director of law enforcement for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Poachers on a recent flight to San Diego bragged out loud and then to wildlife officers in plain clothes about their exploits, such as unlawful takes of a mountain lion, wolverine and wolf. They were also hiding a sea turtle skull in their suitcase. Officials later raided their Napa County home and found much more.
Read about coyote protections in the works in the Agri-Pulse West Newsletter hitting inboxes later this morning.
Clarification: The Department of Pesticide Regulation wants to set the record straight that CDFA made a lab error with air monitoring samples, not DPR.
