The CEA Alliance, a trade association representing and serving indoor growers and partners, says more than 30 of its members recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to educate members of Congress and the Biden administration about the rapidly-growing indoor farming sector of U.S. agriculture.
“At a time when the U.S. is importing more fresh food than ever before, this year’s Washington, D.C., fly-in served as a critical reminder that indoor farming will be one of the strategies we need moving forward to expand domestic production of nutritious and healthy fresh food,“ Colin O’Neil, senior director of public policy and social impact for Bowery Farming and chair of the CEA Alliance Public Policy Working Group, in a news release.
During the fly-in Jan. 30-31, alliance members met with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, committee ranking member John Boozman, House Agriculture, Appropriations and Ways and Means Committee leaders, and some 30 additional congressional offices, according to the release.
The CEA Alliance said members also met with USDA leaders, including Robert Bonnie, undersecretary for farm production and conservation; Sanah Baig, deputy undersecretary for research, education and economics; Bruce Summers, Agricultural Marketing Service administrator; and Brian Guse, director of the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.
“Policymakers heard loud and clear this week that indoor farming is at an important inflection point, and there are commonsense opportunities in the farm bill, tax arena, appropriations and ongoing labor discussions that could be a catalyst for driving further innovation in U.S. agriculture and making the domestic indoor farming sector more competitive on the global stage,” O’Neil said.
Alliance members held an open information exchange with Food and Drug Administration officials to ensure that industry and government continue to work together to drive strong food safety practices, according to the release.
“As indoor farming continues to expand, it’s important that our national leaders recognize a new day in U.S. agriculture,” Tom Stenzel, CEA Alliance executive director, said in the release. “Indoor farming is here to stay and will continue to play a rapidly growing role in feeding America.”
