In an annual report issued Tuesday, CDFA looks back on a year fraught with battles against pests, disease and wildfires.
Bird flu: CDFA officials have tested 1.7 million cows at nearly a thousand dairies, while quarantining more than 700 farms and issuing 4.5 million pieces of PPE. The department coordinated 40 major research projects on H5N1. On the poultry side, California lost about 70% of its egg-laying hens from the outbreak.
Fruit flies: CDFA declared seven quarantine areas over the past year. That includes 128 square miles of Los Angeles County for tau flies and 159 for Mediterranean fruit flies. Its quarantine areas for the oriental fruit fly spanned four counties and nearly 900 square miles in total. To combat the infestations, the department and USDA released 441 million sterile flies.
Fairs: CDFA lists 45 fairground emergency activations in 2024, with 15 fairgrounds used for emergency response. The state properties hosted staging areas, command centers, camps and 23,000 responders. More than a thousand pets and other animals were sheltered at 17 fairgrounds after being evacuated from fires and floods.
Former CARB leader lobbies for port regulations
Just a month after leaving the Air Resources Board, Davina Hurt was already actively lobbying for environmental interests at the state Capitol. Hurt, a Newsom appointee, also served on the board of the Bay Area’s air district.
The former CARB leader is representing Pacific Environment as its climate policy director in California. At the close of a recent Senate budget hearing, Hurt lobbied for more funding for CARB.
She requested up to 15 more staff and $1 million to address “the persistent air pollution problems caused by the freight industry.” She described the shipping sector as “largely unregulated” and said its cancer-causing emissions are worse than those of heavy-duty trucks and trains.
Take note: Pacific Environment has pushed for enacting a volume cap on cargo to reduce emissions at Southern California ports. The advocacy group has also accused CalRecycle of delaying its SB 54 regulations on single-use plastics in packaging.
White House says ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs could take immediate effect
President Donald Trump is set to unveil the largest tariff announcement of his presidency today, in what he has dubbed “Liberation Day” in America. But those hoping for some runway to prepare for new duties may be disappointed. The White House says the new tariffs will come into play immediately.
“My understanding is that the tariff announcement will come tomorrow. They will be effective immediately,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday.
An immediate application will likely rankle some in the ag sector. Industries have been calling for delays to adjust to any new duties. But the administration will be spared any real time stock market reaction, as the announcement is slated for 4 p.m. Eastern, after markets close.
But, but, but: Exactly what the duties will look like is still unclear and may have still been up in the air as late as Tuesday afternoon, the Wall Street Journal reported. However, Leavitt told reporters earlier in the day that the president had settled on a path forward.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke to Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee on Monday night. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Agri-Pulse that the secretary briefly raised the tariff plans in that meeting.
“My understanding is reciprocity is the principle,” Cornyn said.
GOP ag leaders to meet on farm bill, reconciliation
Chairs of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees, John Boozman, R-Ark., and Glenn Thomson, R-Pa., are set to meet today. The two will discuss farm bill and potentially moving provisions into the budget reconciliation process.
“I want to sit down and again, just see where we're at and what we feel like the best path forward is, recognizing that our farmers are in desperate need of help,” Boozman told reporters Tuesday.
Boozman said they’ll discuss potentially moving Title I provisions of the farm bill into reconciliation and other farm bill policy.
RFK Jr. faces backlash over layoffs
Reductions in force at the Department of Health and Human Services have prompted harsh criticism from an array of public health groups and former officials.
HHS wasn’t saying anything publicly, but plenty of others were.
“The [Food and Drug Administration] as we've known it is finished,” former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf wrote on LinkedIn. He lamented the loss of deep institutional knowledge and collective understanding of product development and safety. He added that “it will be interesting to hear from the new leadership how they plan to put ‘Humpty Dumpty’ back together again.”
Industry sources told Agri-Pulse the cuts in FDA were “extensive.” One person noted that the only person left in the director’s office at the Center for Veterinary Medicine is the director herself – Tracey Forfa. The Wall Street Journal reported that FDA’s lead bird flu veterinarian was fired.
What’s next: Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who said Kennedy had promised to keep him in the loop about his plans, has scheduled a hearing on cuts at the FDA. Last week, RFK Jr. short-term cuts of 10,000 were planned, including 3,500 at FDA.
But, but, but: A Senate ally of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sees positives in the cuts.
“I think the commitment is to make sure that we keep the mission-critical positions,” said Kansas GOP Sen. Roger Marshall. “At the end of the day” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and HHS “will be much better and much more efficient.”
Groups seek funding boost for USDA research arm
Sixty agricultural, academic and food organizations are asking the House and Senate Appropriations committees for a funding boost for the Agricultural Research Service.
In a letter to leaders of House and Senate agricultural appropriations subcommittees, the groups are requesting $1.87 billion for ARS salaries and expenses. That’s a 5% increase from FY2025 levels.
"This level of funding will ensure that ARS can respond effectively to new plant and animal pests and diseases, weather and environmental stresses, and food safety and nutrition security concerns,” the groups write.
The National Corn Growers Association, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, the National Association of Wheat Growers, and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition are among the signatories.
Final word
“We respectfully request that you revisit these decisions in light of the millions of our constituents who would be impacted.” — California’s Democratic congressional delegation, in a letter pleading with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to restore funding for local food purchasing, school food and emergency food assistance.
They warned the cancellations and freezes jeopardize meals for more than six million Californians and the livelihoods of 600 farmers.
