WAWG
Last month, growers had the opportunity to ask questions to Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.), chair of the House Agriculture Committee, during a virtual meeting hosted by Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.).
A group of ag stakeholders gathered at the AgWest Farm Credit building in Airway Heights, Wash., with Baumgartner, while more participated virtually. After an introduction by Washington Rep. Mark Schoesler (R-Ritzville), Thompson began by highlighting the passage of what he called Farm Bill 2.0 through the U.S. House and the wins for agriculture it contains. Committee members held 160 sessions in 43 states “listening to ag folks tell us what they needed. The farm bill reflected those needs,” Thompson said. The bill is now in the Senate Ag Committee.
Wins for wheat in the farm bill include modernizing the Farm Credit Title, transferring Food for Peace to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and reauthorizing the Conservation Reserve Program. Baumgartner’s amendment to include funding to complete the Columbia Basin Project was also included.
Thompson added that the farm bill passed out of the House with 96% of republicans supporting it and the highest minority party support since 2008. He was confident that the bill would pass the Senate and predicted that in conference, the main issues will be dealing with California’s Proposition 12, which requires all pork sold in the state to come from breeding pigs given enough space to turn around in, and SNAP error rates.
Baumgartner then opened the floor to questions and comments for Thompson, some of which are summarized below.
USMCA. The comment was made that Mexico and Canada are both important trading partners, with much of the nutrients applied to crops coming from Canada. The U.S. needs to find a way through the U.S.-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) process. Thompson agreed and told growers that they’d recently had a USMCA committee hearing on how important the agreement is. He added that there may be some things that can be tweaked, but it is important that everybody followed the rules. Thompson said the U.S. should be doing what it can to produce the products farmers need here in the U.S., and he is hoping to take a group to Ottawa for talks.
Barley. A grower highlighted how the barley industry is struggling to compete against Australian barley being malted in China and sent to Mexico where it is brewed into beer which is then imported into the U.S. Thompson said he had full confidence in U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and that the U.S. needs to hold Mexico to task and address China’s subsidization of industries.
SNAP. One grower pointed out that most of the farm bill funding goes to SNAP and asked Thompson if that can be reduced. Thompson said SNAP is a “pretty heated point.” Republicans were able to pass reforms during the budget reconciliation process, including targeting mismanagement by the states and adding work requirements for able-bodied adults.
Dams. Baumgartner asked if data centers’ need for water and power was impacting the conversation around hydropower and the dams. Thompson called data centers an opportunity to use some “untapped” energy sources like dams and natural gas. When it comes to solar power, those sites should not be located on prime farmland.
Research grants. Another grower said he was worried about research funding at land-grant universities. Thompson said they put significant dollars back into research in Farm Bill 1.0, otherwise known as The One, Big, Beautiful Bill. Thompson called ag “critical” in terms of national security.
State regulation. Baumgartner noted that a lot of Washington agriculture’s problems stem from legislation passed at the state level. He asked Thompson’s advice for rural areas of blue states. Thompson suggested emphasizing agriculture’s role in providing nutrition and adding to the state’s economic bottom line. “You have to take care of farmers to take care of food.”