Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is in Salt Lake City today to speak at the annual convention of the American Farm Bureau Federation, the nation’s largest general farm organization. The ag secretary traditionally meets with AFBF each year and holds a press conference as well.
Vilsack will be making his case for what the Biden administration has done for agriculture and rural America. And USDA says he will be announcing “major investments in agricultural input production and clean energy infrastructure that lower costs, create new income opportunities and increase competition for producers and rural businesses.”
Farm Bureau confident looming SEC rule won’t target ag
AFBF believes that the impact on farmers and ranchers of an expecting rulemaking from the Securities and Exchange Commission won’t be what was initially feared.
The SEC is expected to announce soon how much climate data it will require public companies to report, but at the group’s annual convention in Salt Lake City, AFBF President Zippy Duvall said SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has “expressed to me that that’s not their intention at all to tangle farmers up into this.”
In fact, in a conversation with Gensler, Duvall said the SEC leader wanted to know why he was “getting emails from 5,000 Farm Bureau members across the country.”
Both Duvall and AFBF Deputy General Counsel Travis Cushman said the organization does not believe the SEC has the authority to regulate Scope 3 emissions on farms and ranches. But if the SEC were to pursue that authority, Cushman said Farm Bureau “would certainly evaluate legally what our options would be.”
Also at the annual convention: New alliance aims to address rural mental health
Several farm groups are joining forces to create the new Farm Family Wellness Alliance and offer resources to raise awareness about mental health in rural America.
Duvall announced the news in his speech at the beginning of the organization’s convention Sunday. The efforts include a peer-to-peer support community and counseling services available free of charge and around the clock.
“It is OK not to be OK, but it’s not OK to not say something,” Duvall said. “At the end of the day, it comes down to you and me recognizing the warning signs, however subtle, and acting on them when we see them.”
Aside from AFBF, the alliance also includes the Farm Foundation, Farm Credit, CoBank, Iowa Farm Bureau, CHS, Land O’Lakes, National Farmers Union, 4-H, FFA, Agriculture Future of America, Togetherall and Personal Assistance Services.
By the way: AFBF and the Ad Council are also teaming up on public service announcements sharing mental health stories of farmers and ranchers.
Senators look to boost SAF development
A bipartisan Senate bill is being introduced today to accelerate the development of sustainable aviation fuel that’s made from agricultural feedstocks. The Farm to Fly Act would make clear that SAF is an eligible product for USDA’s bio-energy programs and affirm a definition of SAF for USDA’s purposes.
A similar bill was introduced earlier in the House. Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, are sponsoring the Senate version.
FDA ends probe of cantaloupe-linked salmonella outbreak
FDA has closed its investigation of an outbreak of salmonella illnesses linked to cantaloupe that killed at least six people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 407 illnesses in 44 states in connection with the outbreak. Some 158 people were hospitalized.
FDA says the last onset of illness was on Christmas Day. After FDA and CDC announced the investigation, there were subsequent recalls of both whole cantaloupes and pre-cut fruit.
Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee faces lack of adequate science
Members of the advisory committee working on the next iteration of Dietary Guidelines for Americans have been frequently stymied in their efforts to come up with definitive answers to scientific questions.
That was illuminated at the group’s most recent meeting Friday, where members presented draft conclusion statements on issues such as the effects of consumption of 100% juice by children and adolescents. Looking at studies, they found there was “moderate evidence” that drinking 100% juice “is not associated with body composition and risk of obesity” for that age group.
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As with other draft statements, the advisory committee found that the available studies did not adequately consider race and socioeconomic status.
“The one thing that's a little bit frustrating sometimes is that there are large numbers of studies, but studies are done in slightly different ways, different perspectives, and there could be 80 studies … and we still can't come up with a real conclusive statement,” said Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee member Ed Giovannucci.
The committee meets again in May and September as it continues work to develop the scientific report that will be used to develop the final dietary guidelines.
Agropur keeping a close eye on conservation funding debate
Dairy processor Agropur is watching the status of the Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding, hoping to redouble its efforts to leverage Regional Conservation Partnership Program dollars for more of its producers.
Holly Jones, Agropur’s director of global sustainability, said the processor is already involved with one RCPP project, awarded last year to “incentivize the implementation” of best management practices by South Dakota dairy farmers. Now, the goal is to replicate that project elsewhere.
“I want to get the money while it’s on the table so that we can support as many dairy producers as we can,” Jones said Thursday at the Dairy Strong conference in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
RCPP was one of several conservation programs to receive an IRA funding boost, but word that the additional money could be short-lived as lawmakers target it for the upcoming farm bill has trickled from Washington to the countryside.
He said it: "In your business, you take your number-one customer – the best customer you have. And think about how well that customer would take it if all you do is complain about that customer.” — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack talking about the tenuous U.S.-China relationship, a major importer of U.S. agricultural goods, during a roundtable with Colorado producers Friday.
