Scoop: Inside Vilsack’s farm bill strategy session

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Jan 23, 2023 View in browser   By Garrett Downs and Meredith Lee Hill QUICK FIX — Inside the room: Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack convened senior Agriculture Department officials to discuss the future of agriculture and major farm bill messaging goals.He said USDA needs to make the case that the farm bill can help "the many," rather than the few, in order to build strong bipartisan support. — Jeff Zients is expected to be the next White House chief of staff after Ron Klain steps down in the coming weeks.Vilsack was also floated for the role. And, we have news on top ag trade officials heading to Mexico today to negotiate on genetically modified corn. — MEET THE MAJORITY: MA caught up with new Ag Committee members Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) and John Rose (R-Tenn.).  HAPPY MONDAY, Jan. 23. Welcome to Morning Ag. We're your hosts Garrett Downs and Meredith Lee Hill. Send tips to gdowns@politico.com and meredithlee@politico.com, and follow us @Morning_Ag.   JOIN POLITICO ON 2/9 TO HEAR FROM AMERICA'S GOVERNORS: In a divided Congress, more legislative and policy enforcement will shift to the states, meaning governors will take a leading role in setting the agenda for the nation. Join POLITICO on Thursday, Feb. 9 at World Wide Technology's D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America's Governors, where we will examine where innovations are taking shape and new regulatory red lines, the future of reproductive health, and how climate change is being addressed across a series of one-on-one interviews. REGISTER HERE.     Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. Driving the Day VILSACK'S FARM BILL VISION: The USDA chief convened senior department staff last Wednesday for a 90-minute strategy session about the future of agriculture, the farm bill and how key the next two years at USDA will be, according to a person familiar with the meeting. Vilsack, like a coach, laid out on a whiteboard how USDA can make the case that the department via the farm bill can help "the many," rather than the few, raise awareness about all it does to aid rural communities, and build support among both Democrats and Republicans. On message: Vilsack gathered the group to nail down the kinds of major messaging points USDA officials should be using on the Hill and in other conversations when it comes to the future of ag and the farm bill. (Vilsack and his top officials are always very careful not to get ahead of the Hill on actual farm bill specifics.) Why it matters: Cultivatingbipartisan support will be key, as the Biden administration and Democrats on the Hill face a GOP-majority House that already has its own ideas about the upcoming farm bill talks. 2024 impact: The farm bill could help Democrats reconnect with rural communities and USDA's push to translate the benefits to all Americans could be a boon to President Joe Biden if he decides to run for reelection. A new paradigm: Vilsack believes there is room for both large scale agriculture production and small scale farming in the U.S., and he's tried to push a variety of programs to help small farmers get more support. Vilsack said during the meeting that there needs to be more options for small farmers to earn incomes off the farm. Remember when: Vilsack's vision is a purposeful contrast to the go big or go home paradigm of his predecessor, Sonny Perdue, who once suggested in Wisconsin that farms just need to get larger in order to compete. That didn't go over well amid a slew of small dairy farms declaring bankruptcy over the past decade in the state and upper Midwest region. LOOKING AHEAD: Vilsack also told the gathering of undersecretaries and other senior USDA officials he wanted them to think about more ways the department can help rural Americans, and use the farm bill to communicate that and the new vision of thriving small and large-scale farming across the country. In the room: Undersecretary of farm production and conservation Robert Bonnie, Undersecretary of trade and foreign agricultural affairs Alexis Taylor, Undersecretary for food safety José Emilio Esteban, Undersecretary for natural resources and environment Homer Wilkes, Undersecretary of research, education and economics Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Undersecretary for rural development Xochitl Torres Small, Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh, Assistant Secretary of congressional relations Adrienne Wojciechowski, and about 30 other senior staff members. KLAIN OUT, ZIENTS IN: Zients, a close Biden confidante who oversaw the administration's Covid response, will succeed Klain in the role. That means Vilsack will likely be staying put as Ag secretary after he was on Biden's short list for the role. Some USDA officials have expected Vilsack to leave his Cabinet post before the end of Biden's tenure, though several people familiar with the matter told MA last fall he might be inclined to stay in the administration for a West Wing role, possibly chief of staff. (Several senior USDA officials have assured a few people in the industry in recent months that Vilsack is in the Ag secretary role for the long haul.) People close to Vilsack, who was also a serious contender to be Hillary Clinton's vice presidential or chief of staff pick, thought he was incredibly well-qualified to be Biden's chief of staff. But, as Meredith reported this weekend, they didn't think he would likely top Zients or another White House adviser for the position. Future plans: Chatter about Vilsack's possible departure — either to retire or step into a West Wing role — grew so hot earlier last fall that allies of HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge put out feelers to USDA officials about Fudge potentially succeeding Vilsack, according to two people familiar with the conversations. (Some USDA officials thought it was an odd idea, given the role of Jewel Bronaugh, who would be in a position to succeed Vilsack.) Meredith asked Vilsack last fall if he planned to step down from his role before the end of Biden's tenure. He laughed and replied, "I love this job. I came back for it." In November, as another round of rumors about his future swelled, people close to Vilsack privately assured several people in the industry that he was in the Ag secretary role for the long haul. Trade Corner MEXICORN FEUD NEWS: Alexis Taylor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's chief ag negotiator Doug McKalip are in Mexico today for talks on biotech corn, multiple sources tell MA. A USDA spokesperson confirmed the trip and said the talks will take place today "with officials from the Mexican government to discuss Mexico's approach to agricultural biotech products." We're hearing it's increasingly likely the U.S. will reject Mexico's most recent proposal to remedy the spat, with top officials recently signaling it won't be enough. Stay tuned for more. Remember: The U.S. is at odds with Mexico over the latter's decree that would ban imports of GM corn by 2024. The vast majority of corn grown in the U.S. is biotech, and Mexico is the U.S.' second largest export market. Mexico's proposal would have extended the moratorium until 2025. But the U.S. has shown no appetite to compromise on the issue, while major commodity groups and members of Congress have called for formal dispute settlement talks. Meet the Majority THE NEW GOP HOUSE: MA caught up with a few more new Republicans new to the Ag Committee, as they're preparing for a busy farm bill year. GOP Rep. Zach Nunn is a sixth-generation Iowan and Air Force veteran whose family farm raises corn, soybeans and sheep. The freshman is now Iowa's lone member on the Ag Committee and he's eager to hit the ground running. Inflation impact: Nunn told MA addressing high farm input costs in the farm bill is the key to economic growth in the U.S. He's also targeting ways to boost conservation and stewardship, which, like a good Iowan, he argues year-round E15 fuel is a critical part of that effort. Better rural development plans and financing for farmers are also on his list. Ag Security: Nunn, who previously worked as a cybersecurity consultant and also has a seat on the Financial Services Committee, raised "agricultural security" as a priority, including the need to crack down on intellectual property theft and farmland acquisitions by Chinese entities. Trade: "Free and fair trade" is also key, Nunn said. "Here in Iowa, selling pork to places like Taiwan is being interfered with by the Chinese." As we've reported, U.S. trade with China itself has been especially strained since former President Trump's trade war with Beijing ended up hitting U.S. ag exports with retaliatory tariffs, and Biden's team isn't eager to lift many, or any, corresponding tariffs before the 2024 election. (Though 2023 could be the year for some small progress, according to U.S. and Chinese officials. Stay tuned!) Carbon pipelines: Nunn said the carbon pipelines (designed to sequester carbon from ethanol and other processing plants) that are popping up in parts of Iowa and the Midwest are "an innovative approach" that he'd like to encourage. "You've seen a lot of states get on board with this," Nunn said. "And as a result, you've seen some really innovative solutions coming out of the private sector. I feel strongly those are things we should be embracing right now and the federal government's got a role to incentivize that." And, like many of his GOP colleagues, Nunn is eager to push back on some of the regulations from the Biden administration that impact farmers, including WOTUS. Rep. John Rose (R-Tenn.), who runs a cow-calf operation with 2,000 acres in his district, told MA some of his farm bill priorities include reducing regulatory burdens for farmers and boosting the safety net. Regulation: "I think we've got to change the attitude of the Department of Agriculture and our regulators and help them understand that their job is to help farmers comply, not to play gotcha with our farmers," Rose said, noting issues ranging from WOTUS to SEC's proposed climate disclosure rule. Farm safety net: Rose said he'd like to focus on updating and strengthening areas of the farm safety net like the Price Loss Coverage program and marketing assistance loan rates, in order to help farmers through the current price squeeze. Increasing rural broadband access and ag education efforts are also some of Rose's top targets. Nutrition: Like many of his GOP colleagues, Rose said he wants to "work to end some of the pandemic-era emergency assistance programs that have been allowed to continue on." In general, lawmakers need to ensure the nutrition programs "are giving people a hand up and not a handout," he said. Amid the brewing debt limit fight, Rose said he's eager for House Republicans to "use the leverage we have to get what we can in terms of moving the administration and the Senate to be more responsible in their spending decisions." THE CASE AGAINST CUTTING THE FARM BILL: As we've reported, Ag Committee Republicans are so far drawing a sharper line with colleagues who might also want to slash farm bill spending, or tank the entire bill. Rose argued the massive legislation is critical to keeping the U.S. ag sector operational and maintaining food security in the country. "We've designed ag policy in the United States to ensure that there's always a reliable, inexpensive supply of food," Rose said. "That comes at a cost." But, Rose also acknowledged the biggest piece of the farm bill that some of his fellow Republicans are eyeing for possible spending cuts: federal food assistance. "I think the first message to them is to keep in mind that the nutrition programs amount to about 85 percent of the cost of the farm bills. So if you'd want to go after the cost there, you got to keep that in mind." Keep an eye on this: Garrett caught up with former Democratic House Ag Chair Collin Peterson who said he's concerned an impending fight on the debt ceiling could potentially force cuts to mandatory farm bill programs. That could include programs like crop insurance, conservation and nutrition assistance. As we've reported, the battle over whether to wind down those pandemic-era programs, along with the possible addition of more work requirements for able-bodied adults who receive federal food assistance, will be a key fight in the upcoming farm bill talks and any debt limit negotiations.   DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don't miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.     Row Crops — Abbott is under criminal investigation by the Justice Department over the baby formula crisis, Meredith reported. U.S. lawmakers have accused Abbott of engaging in a coverup following a recall at a key formula plant in Sturgis, Mich. — Former Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) will join Mercury as a co-chair. She will lead the public strategy firm's Illinois operations, and co-chair the Washington, D.C., office. — Some farmers in California are taking advantage of massive floodwaters to recharge groundwater supplies, our Camille Von Kaenel reports.  THAT'S ALL FOR MA. Drop us a line: gdowns@politico.com, meredithlee@politico.com, marciabrown@politico.com, abehsudi@politico.com and ecadei@politico.com.   Follow us on Twitter Emily Cadei @emilycadei Adam Beshudi @ABehsudi Meredith Lee @meredithllee Garrett Downs @_garrettdowns Marcia Brown @Marcia_Brown9   Follow us

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