Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman is expected to present the committee’s plans on reconciliation to the rest of the conference today before finalizing the text for later this week. 

The details were still in flux on Tuesday. But Boozman, R-Ark., told Agri-Pulse that the plan will include some form of a state cost-share for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. He said some members do have concerns about the cost-share component, and they are in the process of addressing those. Politico reported Tuesday that the Senate plans to scale back the House’s proposal to shift more costs to the states.

Currently, the federal government pays for all SNAP benefits and splits administrative costs 50-50 with the states. Under the House bill, states would be responsible for 75% of the administrative costs. They also would have to pitch in for SNAP benefits for the first time, with the cost-share ranging from 6% to 25% depending on the state’s SNAP error rates. 

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said the Senate’s proposal on this will be different from the House version, but declined to provide specifics. He said today’s lunch will be the last big input session before the agriculture committee finalizes the text by the end of the week. 

Senate Ag members meet with RFK on MAHA report

Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee met with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday to discuss the recent Make America Healthy Again Commission report and encourage more agriculture industry input. 

Boozman and Hoeven were joined by Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss.

Hoeven said Kennedy appeared willing to have a more transparent consultation period ahead of the second report, which will include more concrete policy proposals. Hoeven encouraged Kennedy and the administration to speak with school nutritionists before issuing restrictions on what should be included in school meals. 

Marshall said he shares the goals of the MAHA Commission to address chronic disease among children but doesn’t necessarily agree with everything included in the first report. 

“I think we need a lot more input from agriculture right now and need to stay focused on the same goals,” Marshall said. “I think we need to take a step back and figure out what is the role of agriculture in MAHA.” 

He suggested one way of doing this is focusing on improving soil health, which can lead to healthier, more nutrient-dense food. 

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Take note: After the backlash from farm groups over the lack of input in the first MAHA report, the White House has begun holding meetings with industry leaders to discuss the findings. These include the National Oilseed Processors Association and the International Fresh Produce Association among others.

Rollins says dietary guidelines to be released ‘in the next month or two’

The new dietary guidelines are set to be released this summer "many months ahead of schedule," Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a press conference at USDA Tuesday. And Kennedy reiterated that the guidelines will be digestible — just “four or five pages.”

Rollins and Kennedy were joined by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, and Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., as the ag secretary signed waivers allowing Arkansas, Utah and Idaho to restrict SNAP purchases of soda.

Kennedy hinted at his intent to expand state SNAP waivers to limit purchases of ultra-processed foods but stopped of specifying which foods could be included in future waivers. 

Lawsuit filed over ending support for hunger clearinghouse, hotline

USDA is being sued for terminating the funding for the National Hunger Clearinghouse and toll-free hotline.

Public Citizen Litigation Group filed the suit on behalf of Hunger Free America, which has held the contract for the clearinghouse since 2014. The group has “helped hundreds of thousands of hungry Americans access food, from both government programs and faith and community-based charities,” said Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America. 

Since ending the contract with HFA last month, USDA hasn’t taken action to fulfill its legal obligation, Public Citizen said. The contract was for $250,000 per year.

Deere loses decision in Illinois, has to face FTC lawsuit

A federal judge has declined John Deere's request for an early end to a lawsuit over the company's repair practices. U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston of Illinois' Northern District denied the company's bid to dismiss a complaint brought by the Federal Trade Commission after finding the federal regulator's arguments plausible.

Deere made a similar request in a lawsuit brought by farmers last year only to be denied.

Study: 1,366% jump in regulatory costs for a California grower since 2006

Regulatory costs for lettuce as share of production cost was 2% in 2006. Now, they’re approaching 13% for one California lettuce grower – a more than 1,000% increase.

Speaking at the Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Policy Summit in Sacramento, Cal Poly agribusiness professor Lynn Hamilton outlined a study tracking regulatory costs for a Salinas Valley lettuce farmer in 2006, 2017 and 2024. Since the first data collection nearly 20 years ago, growers have faced increased costs for Sustainable Groundwater Management Act implementation, ag burning elimination, and expanded water quality and pesticide regulations, to name a few.

“Agriculture needs to get more creative in figuring out how to cost-share some of these regulatory burdens because I'm not sure when the tipping point is or where, but I think it's coming,” Hamilton said.

Some non-ag products like TVs and tires pass regulatory costs along to consumers in the form of fees. She suggests ag should think about ways to share costs with the public.

Final word:

“We've been, I'll say, grateful that the administration has had this kind of prioritization that has not included sweeps of ag workplaces and detainment and deportation of ag workers, and I hope that hasn't changed” – Western Growers Association President and CEO Dave Puglia, reporting at the Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Issues Summit West that some farms in Ventura County, California, had reported immigration enforcement actions hours before he spoke.

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