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Feb. 16, 2024
by Tammie Sloup, FarmWeek USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack didn't mince words when asked to speak to the potential economic harms of California's Proposition 12. If Congress doesn't act, "we're going to have chaos in the marketplace," Vilsack responded to U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., during a committee hearing Wednesday. California's Prop 12 went into effect Jan. 1, and places housing restrictions on farms that ship pork to the state. Livestock producers remain concerned the law will result in major costs for farmers, leading to higher pork prices for consumers, and may cause more negative health outcomes for hogs raised under its standards. By setting production standards for other states, California is regulating interstate commerce, an authority reserved for the federal government, opponents argue. Vilsack, as well as numerous agriculture groups, are urging Congress to craft a legislative fix. "The reality is this that when each state has the ability to define for itself and for its consumers exactly what farming techniques or practices are appropriate, it creates the possibility of 50 different sets of rules and regulations, which obviously creates serious concerns for producers, because they have no stability and they have no certainty," Vilsack said. "I'm not sure that this Congress is going to be able to pass legislation, but all due respect, I would suggest that if we don't take this issue seriously, we're going to have chaos in the marketplace, because there's nothing preventing any state from doing what California did." The exchange kicked off the five-hour hearing where committee members questioned the ag secretary about the benefits of the climate-smart agriculture programs, among other issues. Vilsack, who was last before the committee in March, defended the programs, repeating what he has said during recent public events -- they provide additional revenue streams for farms at a time when the majority of U.S. farmers need off-the-farm jobs to stay afloat. Illinois committee member Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield; asked Vilsack to expand on how Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding for climate-smart agriculture has created opportunities for farmers. "Farmers understand what they need to do to improve soil health and water quality. And I think they are deeply interested in doing more of this. But they need help and assistance and I think that's why they responded as they did to the additional resources of the Inflation Reduction Act," Vilsack said, adding there is huge demand from farmers and current conservation programs are oversubscribed. Vilsack stressed the programs are voluntary and incentive-based, and create diverse revenue streams for farms. Committee member Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, who was chairing another committee meeting during the hearing, submitted written comments and questions, outlining his concerns about foreign investment in U.S. farmland and reported flaws in USDA's collection and reporting of such land transactions. Committee members also pushed Vilsack on his "unfettered" use of the Commodity Credit Corp. (a $30 billion fund provided to the ag secretary each year to use to support commodity markets), disaster and safety net programs, farm income, foreign investment in U.S. farmland and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The discussion, at times heated, was framed by a farm bill impasse and recent USDA reports about falling farm income and a continual decrease of family farms., as reported in the recent ag census. Vilsack argued flexibility is needed when spending CCC funds, as well as the preservation of the IRA conservation funding. During a press conference at the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual convention in January, Vilsack suggested utilizing some CCC funds to provide additional funding for the farm bill, possibly to help raise reference prices. Republicans have floated the idea of utilizing the $18 billion from IRA funding appropriated for climate-smart agriculture to prop up safety net programs -- a move Democrats generally oppose. Republicans argue this would create permanence to the IRA funding, which currently expires in 2031. Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., is opposed to repurposing the IRA funding into programs it was not initially intended to help. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also has announced a commitment to finding billions of dollars outside of the Senate Agriculture Committee's jurisdiction to help pass a bipartisan farm bill. Tweet |
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