Back by popular demand, the Great Tomato Challenge returns to Sacramento today, in partnership with Senate Ag Chair Melissa Hurtado. The competition is open to members of the California Senate and Assembly and their staff.
The winner will be announced at the Agri-Pulse Food & Ag Issues Summit in Sacramento on June 10. Agri-Pulse will make a $1,000 donation to a California food bank of the winner’s choice, along with a $500 donation for second place. The winner will be invited to speak at the summit.
The competition “educates participants about the challenges of growing delicious tomatoes in the Golden State while also helping those most in need of fresh, local food,” according to Agri-Pulse Founder Sara Wyant.
Contestants can pick up their plants in room 7400 of the Capitol Annex Swing Space from 3 to 4 p.m.
California Women for Agriculture is providing the gardening gloves, and the plants are courtesy of Vegetables by Bayer. Bonnie Plants and DiMare Fresh are providing guidance and support. All are sponsoring the event, along with Morning Star.
Newsom: California still open for business
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday directed agencies to find ways to maintain international partnerships and make California a smaller target for retaliatory tariffs during President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war.
Newsom called for shoring up jobs, innovation and economic stability for businesses and workers. The governor also wants to head off potentially skyrocketing construction costs as Los Angeles rebuilds after the January firestorms.
Newsom touted California as the top state for agriculture and manufacturing and said farmers and workers “stand to lose the most from this Trump tax hike.” His message to trade partners is that “California is not Washington, D.C.”
Sound familiar? Newsom made a similar move as one of his first acts in office. In 2019 he issued an executive order establishing a trade committee.
To chair the committee, he appointed Lieutenant Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who served as a U.S. ambassador to Hungary under the Obama administration and is one of several candidates running for governor next year. Though the informal gathering of cabinet heads faded away during the pandemic, Newsom reappointed Kounalakis as his trade representative in 2022.
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The committee reopened a trade office in Mexico that had been shuttered during the Gray Davis administration. Newsom’s international agenda has largely focused on nonbinding agreements over climate policy.
On that note: On Saturday the Newsom administration appealed to USDA to restore $47 million for food banks purchasing California-grown foods.
The governor called the action an “irrational and malicious slashing of funds.” First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the state’s biggest farm to school champion, described it as a devastating loss for families and the farmers who supply the foods.
Two organic growers in San Diego County and a small farmer in Sanger involved in the program decried the funding freeze as a brutal contract breach and not in the best interest of farmers.
Congress cannot overturn clean air waivers
GOP lawmakers will not be able to cancel California’s Clean Air Act waivers through the Congressional Review Act. The Senate parliamentarian said the authority does not exist under the act.
California Sen. Alex Padilla praised the decision. He called the effort to overturn the waivers “a clearly bogus attempt to undercut California’s climate leadership.” California Rep. Doug LaMalfa has introduced three resolutions to repeal the waivers. He argued the regulation contradicts principles of consumer choice and gives trucking and automotive industries an unfair compliance timeline.
DPR seeks input on environmental justice committee
To create a new Environmental Justice Advisory Committee, the Department of Pesticide Regulation is hosting a series of workshops through May to gather public input.
The committee was initiated by AB 652 and is responsible for integrating EJ concepts into recommendations for the department. At the workshops, commenters can help identify committee goals and ways for DPR to assess membership criteria.
Remember: California Farm Bureau opposed AB 652 for potentially allowing DPR to weigh environmental priorities heavier than others.
Kings County FB hosts talks on its SGMA probation
Kings County Farm Bureau plans to educate local water users on the possible impacts of its SGMA probation.
The first of two informational meetings will be on Wednesday at Lemoore College. The county farm bureau is asking residents, farmers and business owners to show up and learn about what probation means for the Tulare Lake Subbasin. KCFB will also share more about its pending lawsuit against the state water board.
China retaliates by matching 34% U.S. tariff
Beijing announced on Friday it would slap 34% tariffs on all imports from the U.S. beginning next week in response to President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.
China was among the more than 60 countries the president decided to hit with a so-called reciprocal tariff that was well above the announced 10% baseline tariff. Trump on Wednesday unveiled a 34% duty on all Chinese exports, on top of the 20% tariff hikes the administration has already imposed since January.
Read our full report at Agri-Pulse.com.
Some key ag inputs exempt from sweeping new duties
Certain agriculture inputs will be exempt from the 10% across-the-board duties and higher reciprocal duties applied to specific trade partners, according to a detailed list of carveouts published by the White House.
Listed among the 37 pages of products excluded from the steep new duties are potash, certain herbicides and pesticides, peat, lumber products, lubricating oils, some energy products, and certain pharmaceuticals, including tranquilizers and vaccines for veterinary use. Diquat and paraquat are among the herbicides listed.
Read our full report at Agri-Pulse.com.
Senate advances budget after debates on SNAP, farm payments
The Senate early Saturday advanced a budget framework for sweeping tax and spending cuts after rejecting Democratic amendments on tariffs, USDA payments, rural hospitals, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The Senate adopted the fiscal 2025 budget resolution, 51-48, with two Republicans voting against it, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine.
Read our full report at Agri-Pulse.com.
Farm equipment manufacturer warns of delays as tariffs go into effect
The first wave of President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff hikes is now in effect as of Saturday. That means almost all imports are subject to an additional 10% tariff. With more tariff increases set to kick in this week, a farm equipment manufacturer is warning of future delays and price hikes.
Greg Petras, president at Kuhn North America, told Agri-Pulse this weekend that a quarter of all stock comes from Europe, and the European Union is due to get hit with a 20% reciprocal tariff starting Wednesday.
“We just have a lot of shipments on hold,” Petras said. He said Kuhn is not increasing or replacing stock as normal until the firm has worked out how much of the tariff it can absorb and how much must be passed to consumers to remain profitable.
Take note: Trump says the tariffs will spur companies to relocate manufacturing operations in the U.S. But Petras says that’s simply not feasible.
“It’s not like we have a lot of extra labor,” Petras said. It would also take many years to relocate supply chains for intricate components. “If that was the practical thing to do, we would already be doing it,” Petras added.
Looking ahead: U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will be on Capitol Hill twice this week, testifying before the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee. For more on that and the rest of what’s going on in our nation’s capital, read our Washington Week Ahead.
Internal report pushes for prioritizing ag in new trade deals
An internal report submitted to the president on U.S. trade policy priorities pushes for prioritizing ag in new trade deals and calls for revamping existing agreements.
On Inauguration Day, the president directed key agencies and departments to submit a report on an “America First” trade policy. The April 1 report included sections examining the U.S. trade deficit, unfair trade practices, and new opportunities for dealmaking, among others.
New trade deals offer “an opportunity for the United States to knock down non-reciprocal barriers to U.S. exports, especially for agricultural products,” a White House summary of the report reads. The summary, however, does not list which countries officials recommended for new deals.
Similarly, the summary says existing trade deals should be modernized to further lower tariffs on U.S. ag products and improve market access – including for U.S. dairy under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
House next stop for budget framework
House GOP leaders are looking to win passage this week of the budget resolution approved by the Senate early Saturday. The resolution is needed to unlock the budget reconciliation process that Republicans will use to enact Trump’s major legislative priorities, including a permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts. Some farm bill programs also could ride in the reconciliation bill.
A few hardline conservatives are raising concerns about the resolution because it doesn’t lock Senate Republicans into signficant spending cuts.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., expressed confidence that Republicans will pass the reconciliation bill before the August recess. “Most Americans don't track the process. They want to know what the product is at the end. That's coming in the next several months as we work through, in public, what's the product that's actually going to come out of this,” he said.
Kennedy launches MAHA tour
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will meet with nutrition experts, tribal leaders and elected officials this week to discuss various aspects of the Make America Healthy Again agenda.
The meetings will take place in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, Monday through Wednesday. During these events, he will discuss MAHA state laws that aim to restrict SNAP purchases of soda and ban ultraprocessed foods in schools.
The tour follows Kennedy’s first joint event with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Appearing at a Virginia school, Kennedy said the two are working quickly to update the dietary guidelines. He also criticized the scientific report released by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee under the last administration, saying it had too much influence from the food processing industry.
House Dems send letter to USDA on food bank funding
Over 100 Democrats signed a letter pressing Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on the agency’s recent move to pause $500 million in funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program.
Last month, some food banks had orders canceled. USDA said it was pausing and reviewing the Commodity Credit Corporation funding for TEFAP, and noted the program is also supported by appropriated funds and Section 32 purchases.
In the letter, lawmakers expressed concern about the impact this could have on Americans facing food insecurity, as well as farmers that contribute to the TEFAP supply chain. They also list a number of questions about the funding and ways to minimize disruptions for producers and food providers.
House Agriculture Committee Vice Ranking Member Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, and Ranking Member Angie Craig, D-Minn., were among those who onto the letter.
Groups send letter of support for Vaden confirmation
A coalition of agricultural groups are urging leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee to confirm Deputy Agriculture Secretary-nominee Stephen Vaden, who currently serves as a judge on the United States Court of International Trade.
In a letter, the groups said Vaden’s position as USDA general counsel during the first Trump Administration is reason for a speedy confirmation.
"His deep understanding of the agricultural economy, regulatory landscape, and global trade dynamics will be instrumental as the department works to address challenges such as stabilizing the farm economy, strengthening supply chains, and implementing a new farm bill,” the groups said.
Corps of Engineers, Reclamation pause Snake River dam evaluation
The Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation have put on hold reviews meant to evaluate the environmental impact of a series of dams along the Snake River. The hold follows the Council of Environmental Quality’s decision to scrap its guidelines for how agencies should implement the National Environmental Policy Act.
Take note: The reviews were among a slate of actions the administration was taking under a memorandum of understanding meant to pause, and potentially end, decades of litigation over the river’s declining salmon populations.
Final word
“It’s not that the prices go up for us in the short term. It’ll be next year or the year after, when there’s less production.” — Driscoll’s CEO Soren Bjorn, telling Fox Business that blueberry prices could eventually rise as much as $2 per clamshell due to the tariff war.
