Agri-Pulse Open Mic Interview

This week’s Open Mic guest is Kam Quarles, CEO of the National Potato Council. The potato industry is worth billions to the nation’s economy but is facing strong headwinds from regulatory issues, farm policy and global trade access. The group’s annual Potato Expo is expected to see record attendance this week in Austin, Texas including a presentation by USTR Chief Ag Negotiator Doug McKalip. Quarles says the industry is caught up in debate over the potato’s place in nutritional guidelines for adults and children.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Steve Censky, CEO of the American Soybean Association. ASA was among the chorus of agriculture groups pleased to see an extension of the 2018 farm bill as time ran out to produce a new bill in 2023, and Censky hopes congressional leaders can make progress early in 2024 on new policy. He says soybean growers want higher reference prices and a voluntary update for base acres in a new bill. Censky has worries about the EPA’s implementation of Endangered Species Act regulations on pesticides and is very encouraged about the benefits of renewable fuels for the soybean industry.  

This week’s Open Mic guest is Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. The story of hunger and food insecurity continues to grow in the U.S. and around the world. Feeding America is a national food bank serving millions of hungry Americans. The number of food-insecure adults and children swelled during the COVID-19 pandemic, but recent data from the USDA suggests millions more don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Babineaux-Fontenot supports change in nutrition programs to better assist individuals in enjoying nutrient-dense foods and getting back on their feet.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. The Mississippi Republican stands firm on protecting farmers in her Delta state. She recognizes the financial challenges of writing a new farm bill and believes funding in the Inflation Reduction Act would be better served by bolstering the overall safety net for farmers than existing conservation programs. Hyde-Smith discounts the idea of an Adjusted Gross Income means test for farmers in the crop insurance program andjoins a long list of agriculture groups and other legislators who disagree with the USDA’s administration of ERP funds. Hyde-Smith says livestock farmers need relief from losses caused by predatory animals.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Krysta Harden, president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Dairy farmers and processors are frustrated with a recent trade ruling favoring Canada’s import restrictions on U.S. dairy products. Harden says the industry isn’t finished with the issue and is surveying options in the matter. Harden says the volume and value of dairy exports for 2023 will be short of the record marks set last year. In the upcoming farm bill, Harden says the industry hopes for continued support for the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development funding.

This week’s Open Mic guest is Todd Van Hoose, president and CEO of the Farm Credit Council. Van Hoose is grateful Washington delivered an extension of the 2018 farm bill but joins a chorus of other agriculture organizations calling for new policy to be approved in early 2024. He says USDA loan programs and limits should be adjusted to reflect higher operating costs in today’s agriculture economy. The Council has mounted a challenge against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over language requiring the collection of data that Farm Credit says is already available through the Ag Census. Van Hoose discusses the need for base acre and reference price adjustments as well as needed assistance for young and beginning farmers.