Does not matter: Here's what's coming this week at USDA

Sep 07, 2021

With help from Helena Bottemiller Evich and Ryan McCrimmon

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Quick Fix

— The Agriculture Department is expected to make announcements this week on assistance for farm and food system workers and renewable energy investments in rural areas.

— The House Agriculture Committee is slated to mark up its portion of the spending package at the end of the week. But a key Senate Democrat signaled it may be difficult to get a final agreement.

— USDA will release its food insecurity numbers for 2020, offering a window into the effects of the pandemic.

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DRIVING THE WEEK

FRESH FROM THE USDA: Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is expected to make some announcements this week, including one today about a new grant program that will provide assistance for farm and food workers hurt by the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Wednesday, the department is expected to announce investments in renewable energy infrastructure in rural communities across 40 states and Puerto Rico.

Seeking comment: USDA also announced last week that it's soliciting comments on labeling for meat and poultry products made using cultured cells derived from animals.

"This advanced notice of proposed rulemaking is an important step forward in ensuring the appropriate labeling of meat and poultry products made using animal cell culture technology," said Sandra Eskin, USDA's deputy undersecretary for food safety. "We want to hear from stakeholders and will consider their comments as we work on a proposed regulation for labeling these products."

The public has until Nov. 2 to comment.

2020 FOOD INSECURITY NUMBERS OUT THIS WEEK: USDA is also scheduled to release on Wednesday its official food insecurity numbers for 2020 — a big deal in the anti-hunger world.

Economists have been somewhat puzzled about what to make of the current state of food insecurity in the U.S. and USDA's numbers will offer the first apples to apples comparison from before and during the pandemic. (The 2019 numbers showed an improvement. It was the first time the country had dipped back below pre-Great Recession levels.)

How bad will the numbers be? On one hand, Covid-19 created economic havoc and the U.S. Census Bureau surveys showed high levels of food hardship. But the government has also doled out a lot of food and cash assistance. Early estimates for poverty in 2021, for example, show the rate is probably declining largely due to the uptick in federal aid (think stimulus checks, child tax credit payments, etc.)

WHAT AG FOLKS NEED TO WATCH ON RECONCILIATION: House and Senate Democrats are continuing to negotiate the language for the multi trillion-dollar spending package that is expected to include a variety of the party's social goals for agriculture including on immigration, conservation, school lunches and farmer debt relief.

GOP fuming: The House Ag Committee is scheduled to hold a markup of the committee's portion of the reconciliation bill on Friday, but GOP members are already speaking out against the process.

In a letter sent over the weekend, panel Republicans urged Chair David Scott (D-Ga.) to report the bill "unfavorably" and to hold more public hearings and events to discuss the spending.

"It is unconscionable Democrats would provide additional funding in excess of the five-year baseline for farm programs of the 2018 farm bill without engaging Republican members and stakeholders, conducting departmental oversight, or understanding USDA's current needs versus its existing resources," they write in the letter.

Call for biofuels continues: Also over the weekend, 10 lawmakers sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking for more support for biofuels in the reconciliation process.

They want the leaders to consider five different bills for inclusion in negotiations, including the proposed Biofuel Infrastructure and Agricultural Product Market Expansion Act which would help install new fuel pumps to deliver ethanol blends greater than 10 percent and biodiesel blends greater than 20 percent.

Lawmakers, including Cindy Axne (D-Iowa), have pushed for biofuel investments in the infrastructure package and were disappointed when they were left out.

Manchin pumps the brakes: But while lawmakers are negotiating, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) last week called on Democrats to scale back on their plans to pass the $3.5 trillion social spending package. He said he wouldn't support a package with a price tag that large without "further clarity on the economic impact of inflation and the national debt on current government programs," reports POLITICO's Marianne LeVine.

What's next: Schumer has set a deadline of Sept. 15 for committees to complete their work and progressives want to see the entire package passed before Sept. 27, the date by which Pelosi has committed to a House vote on bipartisan physical infrastructure bill.

FARM INCOME HEADED HIGHER IN 2021: The Agriculture Department projects that farmers and ranchers will bring in $113 billion in total income this year, a 15 percent jump from 2020, writes Pro Ag's Ryan McCrimmon.

The uptick is driven by much higher than expected revenue from crops and livestock, including major increases in cash receipts for corn, soybeans and pork, according to USDA's farm income forecast published on Thursday. The department also lowered its measure of 2020 net farm income compared to a previous estimate. (The next update is scheduled for Dec. 1.)

Other side of the ledger: While farmers are earning more money for their products, they're also spending much more on production costs like fuel, labor and animal feed — 7 percent more than last year, according to USDA's forecast.

And producers aren't getting as much government aid, either: Direct farm payments are expected to total $28 billion this year. That's still a historically high amount of taxpayer subsidies, but far lower than last year's record $45.7 billion, which was mostly made up of pandemic relief programs.

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ICYMI

We took a newsletter break for a week but the reporting didn't stop. Here's a recap of last week's news:

TRUMP'S WOTUS REPLACEMENT OUT: The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday that they have stopped using the Trump administration's controversial definition of which streams and wetlands are protected under the Clean Water Act, writes Pro's Annie Snider. The move comes after a federal judge in Arizona struck down the rule earlier last week but not all are thrilled.

What they're saying: The National Cattlemen's Beef Association said the court decision "adds further confusion to an issue that has been complicated by decades of activist-driven litigation." The group said it was disappointed by the ruling and would "continue advocating for regulations that protect the ability of cattle producers to invest in their land and care for their cattle."

The American Farm Bureau echoed similar concerns. "This ruling casts uncertainty over farmers and ranchers across the country and threatens the progress they've made to responsibly manage water and natural resources," its president, Zippy Duvall, said in a statement. "We are reviewing the ruling to determine our next course of action. Farmers and ranchers deserve consistency and a rule that is fair and doesn't require a team of attorneys to interpret."

VYING TO LEAD FLORIDA AG: Florida's Republican state Senate President Wilton Simpson, who is also an industrial egg farmer, announced on Friday that he is running for the state's agricultural commissioner spot, POLITICO Pro reports.

CALLING FOR POULTRY SAFETY: House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) released a statement on Thursday praising a letter from a coalition of food industry leaders and consumer groups requesting a meeting with Vilsack to discuss the USDA's regulatory approach to poultry safety standards and foodborne illness prevention. Read more from our Brittany Gibson.

SEAFOOD GIANT HIT WITH FINE: U.S. Customs and Border Protection is fining American Seafoods millions of dollars over violation of the Jones Act, writes Pro Transportation's Tanya Snyder.

Row Crops

— The Farm Bureau sent a letter to Vilsack on Friday listing potential solutions to supply chain problems caused by the pandemic. The ideas include streamlining visa applications for workers, offering transportation flexibilities and resolving outstanding trade issues with China.

— Mexico's ambassador to the U.S., Esteban Moctezuma, and the U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh signed four agreements last week to increase protections for Mexican workers in the U.S., especially in the agricultural and meatpacking sectors.

— Federal documents show Bayer began working with the EPA just shortly after a federal appeals court decision in 2020 banned dicamba, ultimately getting the herbicide reapproved. Investigate Midwest has more.

— The American Baptist Home Mission Society has submitted a shareholder proposal to Tyson Foods that calls on the meat processor to conduct a racial audit, Bloomberg reports.

— State grants in Rhode Island are looking to increase small agriculture and aquaculture businesses there. The Associated Press has the report.

— Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) launched his bid for a Senate seat earlier this year, touting his agricultural family connections. But he left out his ties to AgriBioTech, a company that ended in a bankruptcy that cost farmers millions, The Washington Post reports.

— The Florida Agriculture Department released a report detailing the effects of rising imports of Mexican fruits and vegetables on lost revenue for the state's farmers. ABC7 has more.

THAT'S ALL FOR MA! Drop us a line: xbustillo@politico.com; rmccrimmon@politico.com; hbottemiller@politico.com; gmott@politico.com and pjoshi@politico.com.