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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Sunday, May 19, 2024
USDA’s use of Inflation Reduction Act conservation funds is a hot topic on Capitol Hill as lawmakers prepare for the next farm bill. Undersecretary Robert Bonnie heads up the department’s Farm Production and Conservation mission area and joins Agri-Pulse Newsmakers to discuss the status of those investments and other key issues like the status of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program.
Then, Ken Barbic with Invariant and Laura Wood with LWP Consulting share their thoughts on the politics of conservation spending, the government funding debate, the farm bill and more.
This week marked USDA's 100th Annual Ag Outlook Forum, which brings together the industry's leading economists for a look at the financial picture for the upcoming year. USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer joins Agri-Pulse Newsmakers to discuss the projections he offered to kick off the meeting and take a look at the overall health of the farm economy.
Then, economists Mac Marshall with the United Soybean Board and Krista Swanson with the National Corn Growers Association offer their thoughts on the upcoming growing season for their respective commodities and what major factors they see influencing the ag economy.
House Ag Committee Republican Brad Finstad of Minnesota joins Newsmakers this week to discuss his thoughts on the upcoming farm bill, including cybersecurity legislation says is critical for agriculture.
Then, Brandon Lipps with Caprock Strategies and Mike Seyfert with the National Grain and Feed Association share their thoughts on some of the key discussions playing out in farm bill negotiations and how the underlying politics of Capitol Hill might impact the legislation.
Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., serves on the House Agriculture Committee’s Conservation, Research and Biotechnology Subcommittee and Forestry Subcommittee. He says USDA needs to have the staffing, opportunities and levels to be properly equipped to support farmers and ranchers and that means maintaining the funds allocated to conservation programs from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Then, Dave White with the 9b Group and James McKitrick with the American Forest Foundation join to discuss challenges with the U.S. Forest Service and a farm bill timeline.
The Senate was in town this week, but no progress on avoiding an early March government shutdown was observed. Despite the long to-do list and growing partisan climate in Washington, Kansas Republican Jerry Moran remains optimistic some accomplishments can still be notched in the win column for agriculture, as he discusses on this week’s Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.
Then, Alexa Combelic with the American Soybean Association and Jim Richards with Cornerstone Government Affairs offer their thoughts on where things stand with government funding and the current state of sustainable aviation fuel policy.
As Congress continues to work through appropriations bills, passing a farm bill looks further down the road. National Association of State Departments of Agriculture CEO Ted McKinney joins Agri-Pulse Newsmakers to discuss the latest impact on a farm bill timeline and the top trade priorities for 2024.
Then, ag lobbyists Mary Kay Thatcher with Syngenta and Anne MacMillan with Invariant discuss the Iowa caucuses, and the politics surrounding the 2024 appropriations bills and the next steps for addressing FY2025 spending levels.
