TALKING AG AT D.C. CONFERENCES: A slate of Biden administration officials, including the president himself, are scheduled to make appearances and remarks at two rural and ag-focused conferences this week. Today the National Association of Counties in Washington continues, with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaking. President Joe Biden and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan are scheduled to make an appearance at NACO on Tuesday. What we are watching: The Biden officials are likely to promote recent rounds of funding for rural communities, including Covid-19 aid from last March and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding. The officials are also likely to continue touting efforts at strengthening local food supply chains and new trade negotiations. But we will keep an eye out for any timelines specified for aid. Local officials across the country are still waiting to see how grants and programs will actually work when it comes to Western water infrastructure funding, land restoration and meatpacking facility expansions. Heading into Tuesday, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture will gather in Arlington, Va., with speakers including EPA ag adviser Rod Snyder. Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and ranking member John Boozman (R-Ark.) are also expected to speak on Wednesday regarding their upcoming legislative priorities. What we are watching: Trade and food supply chains are top of mind for this gathering. The first session will feature speakers like James McCurry, chief administrative officer of the Georgia Ports Authority, and Bill Sullivan, executive vice president of the American Trucking Associations. A session later in the day tomorrow will feature Jason Hafemeister, USDA's acting undersecretary of trade and foreign relations. Disruptions in the food supply chain caused by the pandemic are still affecting both producers and consumers. Biden and Vilsack have both taken recent speaking opportunities to tout trade achievements, including the Canada dairy dispute and opened markets for products like pork. Most recent data from the Commerce Department released just last week shows that despite industry and federal government concerns, ag exports were still at an all-time high. Read more on the data from Pro Trade's Steven Overly here. But that doesn't mean the threat of disruptions doesn't exist. Regular MA readers may also recall that last week White House and USDA officials acknowledged that the Canadian trucker blockade could trigger a new wave of food shortages for some products and price spikes. Biden officials, as well as northern-state governors and members of Congress, were involved in negotiations to restore traffic and trade on the bridge over the weekend. Your Morning Ag team will be at both events live! Drop a line to say hi, give us your thoughts and, as always, tips. OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS TAKES THE STAGE: The House Agriculture Nutrition, Oversight and Department Operations Subcommittee will turn its focus to the USDA Office of Civil Rights on Tuesday for a hearing on oversight of complaints. The hearing is a part of the 2023 farm bill overview as members begin to pick their priorities for the new package. Witnesses have yet to be announced. Top issue: This will be the first time in 2023 farm bill talks the subcommittee looks at the oversight of civil rights complaints, which will open the door for conversations about equity and inclusion within the department and its programs. The hearing also comes less than a week after USDA announced the members of its first-ever equity commission, which is tasked with conducting an overview of all USDA programs and agencies to produce feedback to the department. A heated history: USDA has faced criticism in the past for not addressing incoming civil rights complaints both from producers and its own employees — including accusations of discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation against employees who have filed complaints. USDA has settled at least four lawsuits over its mishandling of civil rights complaints from Black, Latino, Native American and female farmers, who were discriminated against in the department's loan programs. Then-Secretary Sonny Perdue in 2018 vowed to increase the scope of complaint jurisdiction to include customers. In 2019, Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) accused USDA of not taking seriously civil rights complaints filed by employees after new data showed that the department found wrongdoing in only two out of more than 300 cases. FDA NOMINATION ON THE HORIZON: Regular MA readers may recall that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on the nomination of Robert Califf to be FDA commissioner late last week, teeing up a potential chamber vote this week. The vote would be key to the department because FDA has been without a permanent commissioner for more than a year It took a while: The Biden administration spent months searching for a viable candidate after several Democrats indicated they wouldn't support Janet Woodcock, who's served as acting commissioner, to remain atop FDA due to her involvement in decisions they say exacerbated the opioid epidemic. But not set in stone: Some key Republicans haven't ruled out supporting Califf, and others have already been vocal about their opposition. But Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) all said Thursday they were still deciding whether to support Califf. Refresh yourself with the full story from our Pro Health Care colleagues here. AG GROUPS CHALLENGE PESTICIDE BAN: Agriculture industry groups are suing the EPA over the ban on chlorpyrifos, which will become official on Feb 28. The American Soybean Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Sugarbeet Growers Association and the Cherry Marketing Institute are among the groups challenging the EPA's ban. A recap: The EPA in August banned the use of the pesticide in the U.S. on all food crops, beginning a six-month phase-out process that ends at the end of this month. It has been widely used to grow fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts and wheat. Some research has linked chlorpyrifos to neurological damage in humans, posing a risk to farmworkers, especially pregnant women, in the fields. But several farming groups, including soybean interest groups challenging the EPA now, have argued that not reauthorizing the pesticide would lead to crop losses for farmers who do not have an alternative. Corteva announced in 2020that it would stop selling the chemical, citing declining sales. Some states like New York have independently banned the use, sale, distribution and possession of chlorpyrifos. Last week: The FDA released new guidance for food producers and processors who handle foods that may contain residues of the pesticide chlorpyrifos. Per the new guidance, foods imported to the U.S. may not be automatically deemed "unsafe" even if they were produced with the use of the pesticide, "as long as the chlorpyrifos was applied lawfully and before the tolerance expired, and the residue does not exceed the level permitted by the tolerance that was in place at the time of the application." WILKES OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL: Homer Wilkes was sworn in on Friday to serve as undersecretary for natural resources and environment at USDA. "An incredible public servant, Dr. Wilkes has worked with USDA for more than 41 years heavily contributing to engineering, natural resource, and watershed projects, as well as forestry and working lands," Vilsack said in a statement. "Wilkes' confirmation is also historic, as he will be the first African American to hold the position of Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment at USDA. " Wilkes is expected to work closely between NRCS and the Forest Service on land restoration projects, including the 10-year wildfire mitigation plan.
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