The Senate Agriculture Committee held its first hearing in the 118^th Congress focusing on the 2023 Farm Bill. While the hearing was focused on Titles III, Trade and Title X, Horticulture, the conversation overwhelmingly focused on trade-related matters. Testimony was provided by USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, Alexis Taylor, Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, Jenny Lester Moffitt, and Assistant to the Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development, Sarah Charles.

Additional hearings are scheduled as follows:

Senate Agriculture Committee hearings may be livestreamed from their website here. The House Agriculture Committee is also expected to hold a series of farm bill related hearings in the coming months, however a schedule has not yet been released.

Last week, the California Farm Bureau (with support from several county Farm Bureaus) submitted a letter urging the USDA to move more swiftly in assisting the walnut industry on losses being faced at a drastic level. Many producers are estimating losses of anywhere from 30-40% or more as a result of last year’s freezes and droughts. In-shell burning and molding has resulted not just in an overall loss in quantity, but quality as well. Nearly all commercial walnuts grown in the country are done so here in California, meaning such losses are a major concern not just for our state, but the rest of the country and international markets as well. Realizing these issues not just unique to walnuts, we also requested a review for similar issues being faced with other tree nuts such as almonds and pistachios.

Within the last several days, the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has seen a number of significant changes, particularly as it relates to the “food” branch of their work. Late last week, Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas unexpectedly announced he would be resigning effective February 24^th. In his resignation letter, he called for a realignment of the food programs within the agency—a request that appears to have already been in the works. That is because on Tuesday, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf announced a reorganization of the food programs under FDA.

In his proposal, the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Office of Food Policy and Response (OFPR), and portions of the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) would be unified under one branch called the Human Foods Program. The reorganization comes on the heels of an independent review that highlighted significant mismanagement issues within FDA under their food programs. While the baby formula shortages were top of mind for many critics of the agency, there has long been a call for many years now for a reshuffling of departments and oversight in order to better handle their regulatory obligations.

California Farm Bureau has been supportive of those efforts in recent years through our coalition work with the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA). IFPA liked to note that while we typically do not support “more” regulation, FDA’s core mission statements on food safety have largely been perceived to be secondary in priority to the agency’s drug programs.

On January 18^th, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) introduced a proposed rule to amend existing animal disease traceability regulations pertaining to certain cattle and bison. Under their proposal, both visually and electronically readable tags would be required for such animals being moved via interstate commerce. APHIS believes that these changes, along with some amended record-keeping requirements, would give the agency and other officials an easier path towards responding to high-impact disease outbreaks. The American Farm Bureau Federation has organized a working group to take a closer look this proposal, which is open to public comment up until March 20^th. If you have any thoughts you would like to share with our organization in the meantime, please contact Matthew Viohl ([email protected]).

This week, the US Office of the United States Trade Representative announced that they would be opening a second dispute panel relating to trade agreement violations under the USMCA with Canada. The US previously won a dispute settlement relating to allegations that the Canadian government was giving preferential dairy tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) to Canadian processors. In essence, despite the USMCA’s intent of opening up dairy markets between both countries, our northerly neighbors have instead tried to insulate their industry and made it more challenging for American companies to expand into Canada.

The previous settlement resulted in Canada promising to make changes to their TRQ allocations; however, the USTR is now alleging that these changes have been insufficient and the Canadian government is still inhibiting US access into their markets. Per USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, “Canada is a valued and important trading partner, but they continue to fall short of their USMCA obligations by denying U.S. dairy producers and exporters fair access to the Canadian market…” It took much of last year for the first dispute to be settled, so we will continue to update members as this develops over the course of this year.

The USDA’s Census of Agriculture (or “Ag Census”) open submission period is coming to a close on February 6^th. Those that have not filled out their information are encouraged to do so. The data helps examine trends on land use, income and expenditures, production practices, and other data as well. Since 1840, the information has generally been collected every five years, with some slight alterations at various points. While individualized data is private, the aggregate information is then compiled and released in a national report, helping shift conversations around agricultural industry here in the US.

On Tuesday, the USDA’s Forest Service announced they would be offering up to $41 million in funds to support the 2023 Wood Innovations Grant and Community Wood Grant programs. Per Forest Service Chief Randy Moore, “These grant programs provide opportunities for communities and businesses to develop innovative uses and markets for wood, a renewable and economical resource.” Eligible projects include everything from wood energy expansion to the development of innovative sawmill technologies. A full list of potential projects and further information can be found here.

Late last week, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) released the first addition for what will be a weekly National Hemp Report. The free report will be issued every Wednesday and will include weekly advertised prices as well as import data. This price and volume data should help provide producers with more timely data on how these figures are shifting week to week. Although you can reach the report through the links below, you can also subscribe to receive those directly.