House Ag Committee

Will 2026 Finally Be the Year for Immigration and Ag Labor Reform?

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 21:44:58 GMT

Talk to any farm group across the country, and they will tell you that the agricultural labor shortage is one of the most limiting factors in the industry right now next to low grain profitability.

The Time is Now
The debate over immigration and ag labor reform has been a political hot potato for decades, which has led to inaction by Congress. However, there are some indications from the leadership of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees that 2026 might be the year a long- or short-term fix could finally be passed.

The chairs and ranking members of both committees joined American Farm Bureau president Zippy Duvall at their annual convention in Anaheim, Calif., this week to talk about a variety of ag topics, but the focus quickly turned to ag labor. There was consensus among all four that solving this crisis was a priority for 2026.

Senate Ag Committee Leadership Making Ag Labor a Priority
Senate Ag Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., says the H-2A program is not working and there is pressure to find a solution.

“And I just think the time has come to get this done,” she says. “Michael Bennett has a bill that I am a co-sponsor of that would fix the H-2A visa program and make sure that we have year-round visas, that we are doing something on wage certainty protecting the existing workforce.”

Klobuchar says she has worked on immigration and agricultural labor reform over the course of several administrations, only to hit a brick wall in the end. However, she believes the need has become too great in the U.S. among industries like agriculture to ignore. To get this across the finish line farm groups like the American Farm Bureau will need to appeal to lawmakers about how refusing to solve this crisis could put more farmers out of business.

“You’ve got to make that economic case about how we want to feed the world,” she says. “We want to have strong businesses, and to do that we need a smart immigration system that allows for workers.”

Why is 2026 Different?
One change that has improved the political climate is the Trump administration’s beefed up efforts to protect the U.S. southern border says Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark.

“We said we could not do reform because the border was not secure, and it wasn’t secure; it was just the opposite of that,” he says. “We’ve worked hard; it is secure now, then through Visa programs you control the flow, but it’s time to do that.”

Boozman adds that another important change is the consensus in agriculture about the importance of reforming immigration and ag labor.

“Every farm group I talk to say this is a top priority,” he says. “We need massive reform, and the good news is on both sides of the aisle, I think, that we are getting that message because of your hard work lobbying.”

House Ag Committee Leadership Has Already Laid the Groundwork
House Agriculture Committee Chair G.T. Thompson, R-Pa., agrees it is time to break the grid lock on ag labor reform in place since the 1980s.

“Because if you don’t have a work force you have food insecurity; if you have food insecurity you have national insecurity,” he says.

In the 118^th Congress Thompson laid the groundwork for legislation by assembling a 16-member bipartisan task force on ag labor that included a cross section of farmers and processors. He says the result was a thoughtful action plan that provided 21 recommendations for reform.

“Fifteen of those were unanimous, and so we have taken those to legislative council,” he says. “We’d probably be a little further ahead if we didn’t have that goofy shutdown. We are looking forward here in this first quarter of this year of getting that introduced.”

House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig, D-Minn., says it’s a good first step but warns the challenge for immigration reform is the ongoing ICE actions carried out by Homeland Security. She had heard from dairy farmers in her home state about the chilling effect its having on the work force.

“Whether they were legal immigrants or not, they don’t want to come to work because they fear this environment right now,” she says.

Craig says at times the administration has given the impression that they do not want immigrant labor in the U.S., and so that needs to change to be able to build enough support in Congress to pass this legislation.

Will Congressional Inaction Force Farmers to Choose Between Health Insurance and Their Farm Budget?

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 15:16:09 GMT

Healthcare insurance plans for some U.S. farmers could double in 2026, as enhanced federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are scheduled to expire.

The impending cost surge could affect thousands of U.S. farmers who currently rely on the ACA marketplace for their health insurance, according to the non-partisan KFF (formerly Kaiser Family Foundation), a health policy organization.

KFF estimated in 2023 that 27% of “farmers, ranchers, and other agriculture managers” relied on individual ACA market coverage. Nationally, more than 22 million Americans rely on the ACA marketplace for insurance options.

Farmers ‘Don’t Have Many Options’
Iowa farmer Aaron Lehman, who testified before Congress last week, highlighted the severity of the potential cost increase on his family. He said he expects to pay double to purchase an insurance plan for 2026 that would be comparable to what his family had this year.

“That is an incredible cost for our family budget and for our farm budget,” Lehman stated. The fifth-generation farmer and president of the Iowa Farmers Union described how rising healthcare costs are colliding with already harsh economic realities in agriculture.

“Farmers right now are trying to make all sorts of decisions because commodity prices are low, because of the chaotic trade situation that we’re in and higher input prices. All these things have made a real crisis for a lot of our farmers,” said Lehman.

“Finding ways to deal with that, we just don’t have too many options. Farmers will buy less equipment or not make the necessary upgrades and equipment that they need to,” he added. “They’ll look at their input suppliers, and they’ll decide, ‘what can we do to get through just this year … to get a plan to put the crop in the ground?’”

Read the testimony of Aaron Lehman here. A portion of his testimony and discussion is also featured on a posting to YouTube .

Signup Deadlines For Coverage
The challenge for farmers trying to decide on what insurance policy to purchase is compounded by the deadline to enroll in ACA marketplace plans: People needed to choose their ACA plan by Monday for coverage to begin Jan. 1. Open enrollment continues in most states until Jan. 15 for coverage beginning Feb. 1.

Despite broad public support for an extension to the ACA tax credits — a KFF poll said 74% of Americans favor continuing the enhanced credits — a congressional standoff has so far failed to produce a solution:

Failed Votes: Both a Democratic plan to extend the enhanced tax credits for three years and a Republican proposal to replace them with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) failed to pass the Senate last week.
Impending Crisis: Nearly six in 10 enrollees (across all categories) told KFF they could not afford even a $300 annual increase in 2026 without significantly disrupting household finances.
Political Fallout: The issue of healthcare costs and expiring subsidies is highly polarizing, with some Republicans warning that a failure to address the problem could cost them legislative majorities in next year’s mid-term elections.

As the deadline for open enrollment closes and the Dec. 31 subsidy expiration date approaches, farmers must prepare for substantially higher health insurance costs in 2026 unless Congress acts to reach a last-minute agreement.

Young Farmers Need Better Options
During his testimony and ensuing discussion, Lehman stressed that healthcare isn’t just a personal household issue; it’s central to the future of American farming. With the average age of an Iowa farmer at 57, he said the sector desperately needs young and beginning farmers to return to the land. But without affordable, reliable health coverage, inviting the next generation back onto the farm becomes a far riskier proposition.

“You have to be very smart to figure out the plan that can bring the next generation on the farm,” he said, adding that many talented, innovative young people want to farm, but face daunting financial barriers — healthcare high among them. He noted that one of his sons works with him on their family operation, which is based in Polk County, Iowa.

Lehman framed affordable healthcare for farm families as an investment, not a handout: a way to make it possible for young farmers to feed their communities, support local and regional food systems, or continue larger family commodity operations.

“Extending the federal support for lowering the cost of health insurance is a true win for farmers and for all of rural America,” he said.

Produce advocates press Congress about next farm bill

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 14:36:55 GMT

The clock is ticking on the next farm bill. With the 2018 farm law expiring on Sept. 30, 2023, Congress is drafting a new farm bill that will determine the next five years of agricultural policy in the U.S.

As the deadline looms, specialty crop growers are continuing to advocate for their needs in the omnibus bill.

In a hearing last week titled, “How the Farm Bill Works for Specialty Crop Producers,” growers representing the International Fresh Produce Association and Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance relayed key farm bill priorities to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics and Research.

Related news: Farm Bill Will Not See an Increase in Funds

“The farm bill is the single greatest investment in the produce and floral industries and is up for reauthorization every five years,” IFPA Vice President of U.S. Government Relations Rebeckah Adcock said in a news release. “Fresh produce comes together with our like-minded allies to advocate for policies that keep specialty crops competitive and provide the most nutritious, safe and delicious products to American families.

Association members that have firsthand experience with policies that work and those that do not are the most effective advocates to congressional members as they head into farm bill negotiations, Adcock said.

Key policies in the 2023 farm bill, according to produce advocates

Topping the list of priorities affecting the produce industry, according to the June 7 testimony, are research, crop insurance, conservation and the climate, nutrition, the Specialty Crop Block Grants initiative, organics and trade.

Added to this, Diana Kobus, executive director of Pennsylvania Certified Organic and an Organic Trade Association member, underlined that “the organic specialty crop community has an outsized regulatory burden for doing right by us all.”

In her testimony, Kobus urged congressional leaders to add additional sources of permanent funding for specialty crop and organic research, to incentivize new organic producers by streamlining and simplifying the certification cost-share programs, and to improve crop insurance programs.

“While there were improvements made to programs that support crop insurance for organic producers in the 2018 farm bill, such as fully funding the Organic Data Collection program, there is still room for improvement as crop insurance continues to not fit the work of a lot of organic producers, especially specialty crop growers,” Kobus said in her testimony.

Chris Alonzo, a third-generation mushroom grower and owner of Pietro Industries, pressed for inclusion of fresh mushrooms in the upcoming farm bill, stressing that research is key to the sector’s long-term success.

“Too perishable to import or export overseas, fresh mushrooms are a national commodity and should be treasured,” Alonzo said in his testimony. “Mushroom farmers are truly feeding America, and your support of research through the farm bill will strengthen this agricultural legacy for many years to come.

Charles Wingard, vice president of field operations at Walter P. Rawl & Co., provided testimony on behalf of IFPA, the produce industry and the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance . Wingard shared his perspective on several topics where federal policies and programs significantly affect specialty crops.

“The current implementation of AGI (adjusted gross income) limitations disproportionately prohibits specialty crop producers from participating in certain USDA programs in a meaningful way and potentially inhibits specialty crop producers from participating in disaster programs,” Wingard said in his testimony.

This topic has surfaced for the industry most recently in the aftermath of the atmospheric river events in California earlier this year.

“USDA programs that require a means test for participation should be based on income derived from farming and be flexible enough to account for the variety of structures, accounting methods and other special considerations for specialty crop producers, not just their AGI,” Wingard continued.

Related news: Why you need to understand adjusted gross income

Additionally, Wingard advocated for inclusion of the Specialty Crop Research Initiative.

“Specialty Crop Research Initiative addresses the critical needs of our industry by awarding grants that support research and extension that address key challenges of national, regional, and multi-state importance in sustaining all components of food and agriculture, including conventional, contained environment and organic production systems,” he said in his testimony.

Wingard also highlighted ways in which the farm bill intersects with the realities of production. Specifically, he called out the recent Environmental Protection Agency announcement to revoke registration of the herbicide DCPA without any available alternatives to growers like himself.

“To effectively serve the specialty crop industry and American consumers, we need mechanisms in place that can fast track research and approval of crop protection tools,” he said. “Both USDA’s Office of Pesticide Management Policy and the IR4 Project are key voices for specialty crop producers working with EPA on these issues and I implore you to elevate their mission and ensure their stable and robust funding.”

USDA takes swift action on ambitious Equity Commission road map to reform

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 21:11:11 GMT

Many U.S. farmers have met roadblocks in trying to secure assistance from the government, and for decades the USDA has faced criticism from Black, Indigenous, Hispanic and other minority farmers citing accounts of discrimination in lending practices and program administration.

To reform these systemic inequities and respond to criticism, the Biden administration in early 2022 launched the USDA-focused Equity Commission, co-chaired by farm labor advocate and United Farm Workers President Emeritus Arturo S. Rodriguez, alongside departing Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Jewel Bronaugh.

“The goal was to bring serious people to the commission — people who had life experiences, who understood and appreciated how the USDA may have fallen short in the past,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press briefing on Feb. 28. “Folks who have dedicated their professional life [to] studying and understanding the intricacies of issues surrounding equity and folks who had a deep and abiding concern for all the people of this great country.”

The commission delved into a deep review of the department’s issues, challenges and gaps, holding four public meetings and soliciting stakeholder input on programs and practices.

In late February 2023, the commission sent its recommendations to the USDA in a comprehensive report.

“I think it’s fair to say that they met and exceeded expectations. They have put together a very serious report with specific recommendations, some of which can be done relatively soon. Some that can be done relatively easily, but many that will require time and many that will require effort,” Vilsack said in the briefing. “They dug deep. They looked at systemic issues and they raised issues that had not been raised before.”

Related news: ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ podcast — Can farmworkers star in big agtech innovations?

The 2023 Interim Report from the Equity Commission outlines a list of recommendations for the “ways USDA’s headquarters operations, field offices across the country, and its various program areas can make changes to better serve the unique needs of the department’s many and diverse stakeholders.”

The USDA has taken steps in response to the recommendations. First, the department appointed L’Tonya Davis as its first permanent chief diversity and inclusion officer.

Additionally, the USDA has just launched a program with $2.2 billion in 2023 funding to give farm assistance to farmers, ranchers and landowners that have experienced discrimination.

Equity Commission Interim Report recommendations

“The Equity Commission’s recommendations address issues that are not new to USDA, but they do require a renewed commitment to improve access to programs and services for all stakeholders and communities, inclusive of people of color, farm workers, women, Tribal and Indigenous communities, individuals with disabilities, individuals with limited English proficiency, rural communities, and LGBTQI+ communities,” Rodriguez, the commission co-chair, said in a news release.

In the 37-page report, the commission’s top priorities for the USDA boil down to expanding access, removing barriers and making committees more representative and accountable.

“It’s not just about improving this department for particular groups of people, it’s about creating a model department that sends a very strong message about the importance of inclusion, the importance of equity, the importance of diversity, the understanding that this is how you get one step closer to what our Constitution requires of us,” Vilsack said in the briefing. “We have a long way to go to become a perfect USDA, but you provided us a road map for how to get there [and] how to take a step closer to realizing our fullest potential.”

Top recommendations in the Equity Commission Interim Report include:

Offering new sources of capital to owners with inherited property and fractionated or split land.
Introducing steps to prevent the creation of segmented types of property to reduce additional barriers to USDA programs.
Making USDA’s county committees — an important mechanism for connecting USDA’s programs with farm communities — more equitable, representative, accountable and transparent.
Improving language access to USDA programs and services for linguistically and culturally diverse communities.

A final version of the report, which will include additional recommendations from the Rural Community Economic Development Subcommittee, is slated to release in late 2023.

Authorized and funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, the Equity Commission is an important component of the department’s and President Joe Biden’s vision to advance racial equity and support for underserved communities through the federal government .

“The USDA is committed to turning the tide and ensuring those who seek access to land, capital, markets, nutrition assistance and agriculture education and experience can do so, regardless of their background. We’re confident the work of the Equity Commission will bolster our efforts to realize lasting change at USDA and are grateful to the members for taking on this work,” Vilsack said in a news release.

Assistance for farmers who have experienced discrimination

In response to the commission’s recommendations to end and repair historic discrimination practices, the USDA confirmed a 2023 program to offer financial assistance to farmers, ranchers or forest landowners who have previously suffered discrimination from the USDA’s farm lending programs.

The department set a target for distributing the $2.2 billion in appropriated funds, which were authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act, to borrowers by the end of 2023.

“These funds are yet another stepping stone in the long march towards justice and an inclusive, equitable USDA. Through this program and a neutral, comprehensive financial assistance process, USDA will acknowledge wrongs of the past and open avenues that provide farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who have experienced discrimination by USDA the opportunity to be heard,” Vilsack said in a release.

“As we work to make all our programs more equitable, accessible and accountable, we are applying these same principles to make sure all Americans know how to engage with USDA’s services so we can prevent more inequities and build new levels of trust with the People’s Department going forward,” he said.

Appointing L’Tonya Davis as the USDA’s chief diversity and inclusion officer

Further bolstering the USDA’s equity strides, the farm agency recently announced the appointment of L’Tonya Davis as its first permanent chief diversity and inclusion officer. Davis will lead the USDA’s efforts to improve diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility across the department, and overseeing the implementation of the USDA’s first-ever DEIA Strategic Plan , according to a news release.

“As part of our commitment to provide equitable services and mission delivery to all, USDA is also focused on its greatest asset — its people. USDA is working to provide equitable service and mission delivery to all, including the dedicated employees who are at the heart of the service we aim to provide. Our workforce will benefit from Ms. Davis’s leadership and her commitment to ensuring our programs benefit every American,” Vilsack said in a news release.

Davis joins USDA after serving at the Food and Drug Administration, where she was most recently the director of communications and project management in the regulatory affairs office. Davis led the office’s strategic communications, public affairs, project management, and executive secretariat activities. She also served for 10 years as its official executive DEIA champion, where she established the office’s Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) infrastructure strategic goals.

“Ms. Davis will join a team of talented, hard-working USDA employees whose work touches the lives of every American, every day,” Deputy Agriculture Secretary Jewel Bronaugh said in the release.

With Davis’ track record of management and adept leadership, she will steer the USDA to become an organization that centers employees, values, and dedication, Bronaugh added. Davis will also address persistent challenges and barriers and create a culture where everyone feels welcomed, she said.

More information about this work can be accessed at usda.gov/equity , where USDA will continue to share updates on its progress.

Congress fails to pass farm labor reforms in omnibus spending bill

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 15:56:05 GMT

Fighting the final hours of 2022 and the lame duck session of Congress, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., took the floor on Monday, urging his colleagues to pass the Affordable and Secure Food Act.

The bill would have reformed and streamlined the current H-2A visa program, provided a path to citizenship and set wage standards that would have provided much-needed wage stability; however, it did not garner the bipartisan support it needed to pass in the Senate in the omnibus spending bill.

“Congress has once again failed to deliver the reforms that the fresh produce industry and its agricultural allies have long fought for. IFPA did its part to reach an agreement with advocates for our workers and garnered bipartisan support for compromise legislation,” International Fresh Produce Association Chief Policy Officer Robert Guenther said in a news release. “Additionally, IFPA joined with hundreds of agriculture organizations actively supporting the bill and pushing Senate leadership to bring up the Affordable and Secure Food Act.”

Related news: Passage of bipartisan farm labor bill would be a ‘Christmas miracle’

Despite the setback, fresh produce industry advocates remain committed to leading the push for Congress to reform immigration for the agriculture and food industry.

“Congress missed a huge opportunity and did not do their part to improve production and increase the legal supply of labor. Because of this inaction, consumers will continue to see record prices at the grocery store, producers will continue to face unaffordable, unpredictable input costs from out-of-control wage hikes, and we will continue down the path to being a nation that is increasingly food insecure. We implore the Senate to not walk away from this effort before they adjourn,” Guenther said in the release.

Call to reform goes unmet

In Bennet’s speech, the senator drew attention to the broken system and current immigration and farm labor crisis.

“Today, America’s farmers and ranchers are short more than 100,000 workers — all across this country — to plant seeds, to pick berries, to raise cattle, and do the hard, essential work of feeding this country,” Bennet said in his speech to Congress. “It’s why growers across America are banging down the doors of this Capitol, pleading with us, to fix the broken H-2A system for farm workers. It is obvious to everybody — who’s had anything to do with this system — that it’s completely broken. There is no argument that could be made that it’s not.”

Bennet urged Congress to address the conditions that farm workers currently experience without protections or legal status, calling the current situation “hopelessly, embarrassingly outdated.”

“We don’t have to accept hundreds of thousands of people living in the shadows, when they work every single day — they’re breaking their backs, and I don’t use that term lightly, working in some of the worst conditions that there are to work in — to feed the American people. To give us economic security and food security and provide for our national security,” said Bennet. “And we shouldn’t accept crushing food prices for families just because this Congress can’t reform an antiquated H-2A program. And we can do something about this this week before we go home with this proposal.”

Watch Bennet’s full speech on the floor of the Senate.

Commodity Programs Might See a 12% Cut in the Proposed $1 Trillion Farm Bill

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 19:59:17 GMT

The Congressional Budget Office unveiled its 10-year cost estimates (2024 to 2033) for existing farm bill programs on Wednesday, with a projected $1.5 trillion price tag, up from $867 billion in the 2018 farm bill.

Jim Wiesemeyer, Pro Farmer policy analyst, advises not to put too much weight in these estimates, as they are the reason the farm bill is out of date so soon after it is written.

“CBO’s farm bill forecasts are frequently well off the mark in either direction,” he says. “It’s a lot like USDA’s farm income projections in February for the year head. CBO looks out 10 years … good luck taking these forecasts too seriously.”

So, will this amount of money keep the programs ahead of their time? Some aren’t convinced. And it starts with the farm bill’s largest funded program—Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

SNAP Spending

Based on the 10-year period, SNAP spending is nearly 82% larger than what it was granted in the 2018 Farm Bill at $663 billion.

(Farm Journal)

A large portion of the increase is due to the administration’s re-evaluation of SNAP’s the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), which resulted in a quarter-trillion-dollar increase in SNAP benefits from July 2021 to the May 2022 baseline.

In the most recent baseline, CBO increased its estimate of outlays for SNAP by $93 billion over the 2023–2032 period for “technical” reasons.

According to Sen. Boozman (R-AR), these reasons are rooted in “unacceptable” $250 billion spending by the USDA on TFP—which was supposed to have cost nothing—in the previous farm bill. Boozman made his sentiments known at a Senate Ag Committee farm bill hearing on nutrition on Thursday.

“Congress had no intention of your team spending that, and if you understood that was going to happen, you should have alerted Congress,” Boozman said to Cindy Long, USDA administrator. “How can we trust you going forward to give us advice? Spending a quarter of a trillion dollars from this committee is totally unacceptable.”

Related articles: How Long Does it Take to Write a Farm Bill?

While Boozman is adamant other program will suffer funding losses due to the “unsustainable” TFP increases in the coming bill, Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) says that’s not the case.

“Whether commodity or SNAP programs go up or down, these monies aren’t traded. So, cutting SNAP won’t add money to the commodity title,” Stabenow says.

The 2018 bill enacted policy for a “thorough” farm bill update that hadn’t been done since 1975, according to Stabenow. She says the TFP increases fall under that update umbrella.

“The Trump administration chose not to use that [update and funding] because that was 2018—they chose not to proceed,” Stabenow rebutted. “The Biden administration came in and chose to proceed with those funds, and I’m glad they did.”

The General Accountability Office (GAO) has since determined USDA failed to submit the TFP food basket increase to Congress as a rule as required by the Congressional Review Act.

Row Crop Safety Net

Disaster programs such as the Market Facilitation Program (MFP), Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+) and Emergency Relief Program (ERP) saw billions of dollars moved from taxpayers to producers in the past 10 years, with USDA reporting the largest spike in 2020 at $45 billion.

According to estimates from the House Ag Committee, CBO’s 2023 baselines compared to the 2018 farm bill will cause changes over the five-year period in:
• Commodity programs—12% decrease
• Conservation—19% increase
• Nutrition—82% increase
• Crop insurance—26% increase

However, CBO’s latest baseline provides no built-in ad hoc for these programs.

“If Congress doesn’t provide more funding/investments for Title 1, it puts pressure on farm-state lawmakers to continue the billions in ad hoc aid,” Wiesemeyer says. “Some analysts say reforming Title I would mean spending far less than continuing ad hoc assistance. If Title I is not made more effective, farmers will keep wondering if Congress will fund more emergency aid.”

Related articles: The Cost of a Farm Bill: 2023 Row Crop Priorities

GAO released a report stating that those wanting to change crop insurance program features will try to use to their advantage.

Here are the changes GAO says Congress could make to mitigate the programs costs:

• Reduce subsidies to high-income participants by creating an income limit.
• Adjust compensation to insurance companies to better align with market rates.

Livestock Safety Net

Dairy and livestock did, however, receive a safety net mention in CBO’s baselines.

Under the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program, CBO forecasts FY 2023 payments will total $194 million in FY 2023, with those increasing to $248 million in FY 2024 and $266 million in FY 2025. For the rest of the period—through FY 2033—they are forecast between $196 million and $265 million, for a total of $2.531 billion.

Livestock disaster payments are expected at $621 million in FY 2023 and forecast between $562 million to $591 million over FY 2024 to FY 2033, for a total of $6.333 billion.

Mollie Van Lieu on 10 years of Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 21:10:29 GMT

It’s been 10 years since the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act became law: What’s happened with schoolchildren’s health as a result and how have different aspects of this policy fared so far?

Mollie Van Lieu, senior director of nutrition policy for United Fresh Produce Association , said the association is celebrating the policy’s decade anniversary, officially Dec. 13, and it’s an especially significant moment for her.

Van Lieu used to work on Capitol Hill, and she helped former U.S. Representative Todd Platts with the bill as it was going through the House.

Now, she’s advocating for the produce industry as part of United Fresh, which also pushed for the bill 10 years ago.

“A huge part of our nutrition policy is the school meals program,” she said.

The program strengthened nutrition standards for meals and drinks provided through the National School Lunch, Breakfast and Smart Snacks Programs, affecting 50 million children daily at 99,000 schools.

School nutrition standards hadn’t changed for about 30 years, Van Lieu said.

The 2010 policy enforces nutrition based on foods, rather than nutrients, that follow the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s dietary guidelines, and calls for more quantity and variety of fresh vegetables and fruits, along with a calorie cap at the end of the week.

One of the biggest wins was the proven impact of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act on obesity trends, but the groundbreaking research results came out during the summer and was lost among all the pandemic news, she said.

Harvard University studied the program’s effects on childhood obesity in 173,013 youth in the National Survey of Children’s Health from 2013 to 2018.

While there was no change overall, for the portion of children who live in poverty — the children who depend on and eat these school meals the most — obesity risk rates dropped by almost 50%, according to the study.

There are rules that have been contested since then with other food categories in the policy, but the fresh produce sector hasn’t seen the same kind of rollbacks, Van Lieu said.

Critics said there was more food waste because children tossed their vegetables, but there was no change in volume of waste since the new policy was set, Van Lieu said. The cost of the waste had increased, as fresh produce is more expensive than fortified processed foods, what some call junk food.

However, since the COVID-19 pandemic closed many school buildings while also increasing the need for these meals with the financial crisis, temporary flexibility on some of these rules has been granted so that school districts can give out these meals to-go.

A key flexibility is that children or their families don’t need to prove their financial means necessitate food and nutrition assistance.

These previously need-based breakfast and lunches have been given out to anyone who wants them.

And Van Lieu said United Fresh wants that policy to continue post-pandemic.

Schools give textbooks and bus rides to children regardless of their family financial situation, and lunchtime nutrition should be the same way, she said.

So, the association will push for eliminating the means-based aspect of the school nutrition program in the coming months after the coronavirus is under control.

Watch the video to learn more.

Dozens of produce groups support Costa bid for House Ag Committee

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 21:09:24 GMT

A coalition of California farm organizations and water districts has formally asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to appoint Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, as the new chair of the House Agriculture Committee.

In a letter sent to Pelosi today , the 70 organizations said Costa “possesses the experience and leadership adeptness” to serve effectively as committee chair. The position opened last week when the current chair, Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., was defeated for re-election.

The letter cites Costa’s 16 years of experience representing an agriculturally productive congressional district in the San Joaquin Valley, plus his long-time advocacy on behalf of federal nutrition programs, expansion of foreign markets for U.S. farm products, workforce issues and immigration reform, agricultural research, natural resources policy and on-farm conservation
programs.

“Jim Costa has a broad and deep understanding of what’s needed to bring food and farm products to Americans’ homes,” said Jamie Johansson, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation, one of the organizations that signed the letter. “The people and businesses in his district encompass every aspect of the food system, giving him a unique perspective on what’s
needed to assure continued supplies of safe, affordable, plentiful food and farm products.”

Ian LeMay, president of the California Fresh Fruit Association, described Costa as “a trusted voice and a stalwart advocate for both producers and consumers. He understands the issues affecting production agriculture, nutrition, conservation, labor and natural resources, and can create consensus for a better way forward.”

“Farmers are increasingly seen as critical partners in the implementation of environmental policies, yet much more needs to be done to provide them the resources needed to meet regulatory mandates and ensure farmers are true partners in environmental policy, and no one understands this as deeply as Jim,” Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia said.

“As a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, Congressman Costa has consistently shown his ability to work across the aisle while demonstrating a common-sense and pragmatic approach in dealing with a wide array of agricultural issues,” said Elaine Trevino, president of the Almond Alliance of California.

Casey Creamer, president/CEO of California Citrus Mutual, said the House Agriculture Committee “needs a leader who understands agriculture’s importance not only for our farmers, but for underserved communities and national security. Congressman Jim Costa is that leader.”

“It is vital to the future success of California agriculture to be represented by a member who can be a voice for our industry and help us work together on issues prevalent to our industry’s future,” said Kirti Mutatkar, president and CEO of UnitedAg.

Costa pledges to build stronger nutrition programs

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 16:52:19 GMT

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., seeking the House Committee on Agriculture chairmanship, is committing to making nutrition programs among his top priorities in the 117th Congress.

Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., has been the House Agriculture Committee chairman but lost in the 2020 election. Rep. David Scott, D-Georgia, also is seeking the chairman’s role. An official announcement of the next chair is expected by early January.

“No American should go hungry,” Costa said in a news release. “I see poverty every day in my district, where 25% of my constituents rely on SNAP to feed their families. My track record is clear – I have fought against any and all who sought to roll back these benefits, and I’ve worked to expand programs that feed the most vulnerable Americans. Every American deserves to have enough food to eat.”

The release said a study from Columbia University found that 55 million people in the U.S. live in poverty, including 8 million people who entered poverty since May 2020. More than 35 million people in the U.S. are food insecure, according to the release, and nearly 43 million people depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help put food on the table.

“I view SNAP as a critical safety net, providing our communities with the foundation to grow and thrive,” Costa said in the release. “This is not the time to consider cuts or to put up more roadblocks to people receiving the help they need. We must be vigilant in our fight to maintain and expand our nutrition mission.”

The release cited Costa’s accomplishments in nutrition:

Blocking Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) rules for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) and Categorical Eligibility that would Costa said would deny support to the most vulnerable communities;
Advocating for increased nutrition assistance to American families impacted by COVID-19
Introducing the Farm to Food Bank Enhancement Act to provide $25 million for states to expand and establish new farm to food bank projects and feed families during the COVID-19 crisis;
Fighting for $67 billion in funding for SNAP in FY20 Appropriations bill; and
Establishing education and training programs designed to help SNAP recipients become self-sufficient.

“Congressman Jim Costa cares about people and is a champion for everyone,” Pao Yang, president and CEO of the Fresno Center, said in the release. “His efforts to ensure community organizations like The Fresno Center have access to the Farmers to Families Food Box Program has helped put food on the tables of Southeast Asian refugees and Immigrants Families, many who are small farmers living in rural communities. Without these efforts, many in our community would go hungry.”

$26 billion for food, ag in COVID-19 relief package: A mixed holiday blessing

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 18:05:55 GMT

More funding for food production and distribution are among the priorities in the third COVID-19 relief package, agreed upon by U.S. Congressional leaders and the White House less than a week before Christmas.

Still, some leaders criticize the final bill, saying that some sectors and problems weren’t addressed properly, including the foodservice industry, liability protection, and nutrition assistance for women, infants and children.

The House Agriculture Committee was given $26 billion out of the overall $908 billion stimulus package to spend on COVID-19 relief for nutrition assistance and agriculture and rural programs, according to committee chairman Collin C. Peterson’s Dec. 20 overview .

Half of that funding, $13 billion, was provided to the House Agriculture and the House Education & Labor committees to provide nutrition assistance. The other $13 billion went to agricultural assistance and programs.

“We’ve got a good bill. It’s not perfect, but it does provided extended relief for a lot of folks,” said Tom Stenzel, CEO of United Fresh Produce Association, which has been lobbying in Washington, D.C., for the industry to get relief in many ways since March.

The extension of what used to be called the Farmers to Food Box Program, as well as the Paycheck Protection Program, which applies to all industries, will have a big impact, he said. “It really is a key lifeline for companies,” Stenzel said about the paycheck program.

Thousands of small produce companies across the supply chain benefitted from the program’s forgivable loans for payroll or rent to stay in business and keep employees on staff, he said.

“For some businesses, it’s already too late,” Richard Owen, Produce Marketing Association’s legislative and regulatory affairs team lead, said in a statement. “But we are now focused on strengthening all sectors of the industry for a recovery period in 2021. This funding serves as an important bridge, and we are grateful to Congress for recognizing the need.”

For the fresh produce industry, the legislation includes an estimated:

$225 million for supplemental payments to eligible specialty crop producers;
$1.5 billion for commodity and food purchases (Farmers to Families Food Box program);
$100 million for specialty crop block grants to support seasonal growers;
$100 million for the local agriculture market program to help producers, farmers markets and food businesses adapt to supply chain issues;
$75 million for the Farming Opportunities Training Outreach program to assist minority, tribal, veteran and beginning farmers;
$28 million for state block grants to support farmer and rancher mental health initiatives; and
$1.5 billion for food purchases for food banks and food donation programs.

There’s help for people with less access to food and their produce suppliers, including:

$75 million for SNAP participant fruit and vegetable incentives;
Funding for more online SNAP retailers and state SNAP expenses; and
Emergency funding for meal programs in schools and daycares impacted by COVID-19.

“Unfortunately, tense negotiations led to several important priorities being left out of this agreement,” according to a United Fresh Produce Association member newsletter. “United Fresh will continue to lobby strongly for these provisions in the next Congress and with the Biden administration.”

Besides higher and more accessible paycheck protection loans, there’s no targeted relief for restaurants, which was proposed in the Restaurants Act, Stenzel said.

Yet, the National Restaurant Association offered a positive take on receiving the requested short-term help.

“The action taken by Congress today will keep tens of thousands of restaurants from closing in the coming months,” Tom Bené, president and CEO of the restaurant organization, said in a statement. “However, the long-term economic challenges facing independent, franchise and chain restaurants will not end with the new year, and we will continue to press federal and state leaders for the support that will put us on the road to recovery.”

There are no liability protection provisions, but Congress agreed to tackle liability in a separate bill that will include funding for state and local governments, along with limited liability protections for businesses, according to United Fresh.

“Independent supermarkets have led the way in keeping workers and customers safe and have remained open when their communities need them most,” National Grocers Association president and CEO Greg Ferrara said in a statement. “It is unacceptable for Congress to leave open the floodgates for frivolous litigation to be levied against independent community businesses simply for staying open during the crisis.”

Lastly, the final package doesn’t have a state option to temporarily include a cash-value benefit increase to $35 a month in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children.

The National WIC Association recognized the 15% SNAP benefit increase for the next six months and the meaningful step of creating a U.S. Department of Agriculture task force for online purchasing in the WIC program, the Rev. Douglas Greenaway, president and CEO of the WIC association, said in a statement.

“As SNAP households gained access to online purchasing options in the early months of the pandemic, WIC families were left with an unequal shopping experience. Retailers have raced to implement makeshift measures that keep WIC shoppers safe, but USDA took limited steps to engage stakeholders in advancing alternatives to the in-person cashier transaction,” Greenaway said.

The legislation does provide new opportunities for independent grocers to participate in nutrition incentive projects and the SNAP online program, according to the National Grocers Association.

The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive program, which seeks to increase fruit and vegetable purchasing by SNAP consumers, got a $75 million bolster from the bill.

But there is no increase in WIC benefits for fruits and vegetables, Greenaway said.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried criticized the package’s lacking aid for small farmers, small businesses and gig economy workers, but she said there’s a lot of good in there too.

“With our growers facing more than half a billion dollars in losses from the pandemic, these payments will help Florida’s agriculture industry continue producing the nation’s food – especially during the winter when our seasonal growers feed 150 million Americans,” Fried said in a statement.

The legislative compromise is a package that doesn’t suit everyone’s needs, but it’s definitely something to be thankful for in the new year, Stenzel said.

“We can all look forward with a little more confidence,” Stenzel said.

North Central Regional Center for Rural Development celebrates 50 years of rural development

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 18:59:49 GMT

August will mark 50 years since President Richard Nixon signed the Rural Development Act of 1972, creating the Rural Regional Development Centers located throughout the United States.

The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD), currently hosted by Purdue University, reaches across this region to create resilient communities and economies, develop leadership and civic engagement, and promote health and wellness through the network of fellow land-grant universities.

“Having the NCRCRD managed and hosted at Purdue under the capable leadership of Maria Marshall and the assistant director Michael Wilcox is an honor for our college and university and further fulfills our commitment to our land-grant mission,” said Karen Plaut, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Purdue’s College of Agriculture.

Marshall, director of the NCRCRD and the Jim and Lois Ackerman Endowed Chair in Agricultural Economics, said that when Purdue began managing the NCRCRD in September 2020, COVID-19 obstacles initially made regular operations difficult.

“Usually, directors go around and visit the 34 universities, and now it has been rather hit or miss doing that,” Marshall said. “So, we’ve been working on other ways to facilitate those meetings, which Zoom and Microsoft Teams have made easier. But there is nothing like physically being there at a university.”

The one university Marshall has been able to visit between pandemic hurdles has been Ohio State University, where, Marshall said, she was able to meet with research and extension faculty and staff to assist in identifying areas of collaboration.

The NCRCRD has found ways to continue forward with its mission despite the hurdles, Marshall said, hosting webinar series to help connect rural development researchers and extension professionals with each other and with stakeholder groups.

Something NCRCRD has been working to build on over the last year is further involving the 1890, historically Black land-grant universities, and the 1994 land-grant Tribal Colleges and Universities, in fostering rural development.

Marshall said there are plans to celebrate the golden anniversary of the RRDCs through monthly pieces of content distributed through the center’s newsletters, conferences and a series of listening sessions focused on rural prosperity and economic development.

“We’ve been here for 50 years, and we’ve done great work so far,” she said. “But we look forward to continuing through another 50 years of helping rural communities continue to prosper.”

Writer: Jillian Ellison
Source: Maria Marshall

The House passes BBB Act — Do the costs outweigh the benefits?

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 20:11:35 GMT

On Friday, Nov. 19, 2021 The U.S. House of Representatives passed President Joe Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ plan, also known as the reconciliation package. This vote came after months of debate and countless rewrites to the plan.

“ The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is now law and we will reap its benefits of new job and economic growth and the ability to compete around the world. The American Rescue Plan continues to get our economy back on track as we recover from the pandemic. Together with the Build Back Better bill, we have a truly transformational opportunity to rebuild the physical, natural, and human infrastructure of our nation,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a release.

The $1.7 trillion plan invests more than $90 billion in climate-smart agriculture, forestry, research, rural development, child nutrition and debt relief, according to the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry .

Climate-Smart Agriculture: $27 billion to give farmers and ranchers the tools they’ve asked for to keep leading on climate. It’s the biggest investment in conservation since the Dust Bowl —reaching as many as 240,000 farms and 130 million acres of cropland per year;
Forestry: $27 billion to restore forests, fight wildfires and sequester carbon in trees – the biggest ever investment in forest restoration, wildfire prevention, and climate-smart forestry;
Research: $2 billion for agricultural climate research and agricultural research facilities;
Rural Development and Energy: $18.3 billion to invest in rural prosperity and help rural communities transition to cleaner energy;
Child Nutrition: $10 billion to invest in child nutrition programs to feed millions of additional kids during the school year and over the summer; and,
Debt Relief: $6 billion in additional funding to expand support to economically distressed borrowers and underserved farmers, ranchers and forest landowners in high-poverty areas.

“The Build Back Better initiative is a historic step forward. It’s going to enable us, once passed and signed by the President, to remain competitive and resilient in a global economy into the future. While at the same time helping American families cut costs in areas of health care, education, housing, and increase their ability to cope with any increased costs,” Vilsack said in a press briefing on Nov. 19 following the house approval vote.

Vilsack said in the briefing that the plan won’t prevent obstacles to farmers who want to pass on their operation to the next generation, noting that the estate tax code stepped up-basis would not be eliminated. He said corporations and rich individuals would pay more.

“Our corporations have made more than a billion dollars and didn’t pay any tax and individuals who make more than $25 million a year; they are going to pay a little extra tax, and I think they probably can afford a little extra.” Continue reading.

However, some organizations stand opposed to the legislation. The American Farm Bureau Federation sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday, Nov. 16 stating, “After watching months of contentious, partisan debate surrounding the Build Back Better Act, AFBF stands in opposition to the legislation. While some elements of the reconciliation package would benefit agriculture, the massive amount of spending and tax increases required to pay for the plan outweigh the gains we would see in rural America.”

In the Nov. 19 press conference Vilsack replied, “with respect to the Farm Bureau… I just don’t think that’s that aligns with the terms and conditions of this bill. The initial proposal contained an elimination of stepped-up basis. And notwithstanding the fact that there was a provision in the initial proposal that would have exempted 98% of the farms in the country today from having to be concerned about this. There was still I think a level of concern that folks had. That provision is not in this bill.”

“I don’t see anything in this bill that necessarily compromises the ability of family farms to stay in business,” Vilsack said.

Farm Bill 2023 Draft is Expected by Mid-September

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 17:40:37 GMT

The 2023 farm bill is expected to be drafted for a markup in mid-September. It might be considered by the House before some provisions of the current farm law expire on September 30, though demands for floor time are substantial, and the deadline is tight.

The bill will not likely include further work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beyond those stated in the recently approved debt ceiling bill. House Ag Committee Chairman, G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) envisions SNAP as a workforce development program and prefers using incentives to shape participants’ shopping habits.

Despite the farm bill’s challenges, Thompson aims to achieve as many approving votes as possible from both parties. Further, he’s ensuring new representatives are familiar with the bill’s complexities before the vote, to avoid misunderstandings and flare-ups on the House floor.

Thompson, along with other members, is also seeking additional funding sources for the bill, but that will likely be the biggest farm bill hurdle that may trip up lawmakers.

Prepare for big changes in the farm bill

The committee says they plan a mid-September markup of a draft farm bill once the text is ready after August recess. The top four members of the House and Senate Ag committees urged CBO to ramp up staffing to address a backlog of scores for proposed changes to programs the upcoming farm bill, according to a letter .

The letter , addressed to the leaders of the congressional Budget committees and CBO director Phillip Swagel, said the Ag committees have “become increasingly concerned at the volume of outstanding requests” for scores related to the farm bill.

Lawmakers said they “expect several hundred more preliminary scores will be needed before each chamber, and eventually, the Congress, has a farm bill completed for final scoring.”

To address the concerns, the members said CBO and the Budget committees should “use all available resources and authorities to ensure CBO can reorganize staff to prioritize farm bill requests, hire or contract additional staff, or find available qualified professionals who can be assigned on detail.” They added that new hires or detailees should have experience in scoring farm bill-related programs.

Thompson also said that the timeline could be met in getting the bill done by the end of September if the Senate would follow the House schedule.

“There would be no need for an extension if the Senate would get their [farm bill version] done in the same timeframe I’m talking about,” he observed.

Farm bill bottom line

Thompson acknowledged on Tuesday that Congress would likely need to extend the existing farm bill due to delays caused by unrelated legislation. This marks his first explicit admittance that legislators will miss the imminent deadline, as some of the authorizations from the 2018 Farm Bill are set to expire by the end of September.

As his previous comments signaled, Thompson’s prediction seems to stem from assessing the Senate’s progress, being further behind in drafting its version of the farm bill than the House.