Washington Outlook

By Robert L. Redding Jr.

U.S. House Appropriations Committee Approves Agriculture Appropriations Bill

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill in a 34 to 27 vote. The legislation provides a total of $25.313 billion for programs under the jurisdiction of the Subcommittee, $532 million (2.1 percent) below the FY23 enacted level and $3.622 billion (12.5 percent) below the FY24 President’s Budget Request.

Included in the bill are peanut provisions proposed by Agriculture Subcommittee Ranking Member Sanford Bishop, D-Georgia, and supported by the peanut industry. These U.S. Peanut Federation supported research initiatives, aflatoxin and nutrition, are in their third year of funding. Total funding for Fiscal Year 2023 was $4 million for aflatoxin research at the U.S.

Department of Agriculture’s Peanut Research Laboratory in Dawson, Georgia, Fort Valley State University and other land grant universities and $1.5 million for the USDA Agricultural Research Service to work on peanut nutrition priorities. ARS has been working with The Peanut Institute on nutrition projects.

For Fiscal Year 2024, total proposed funding is $2 million for peanut nutrition research and $4 million for aflatoxin research. Legislative report language is as follows:

Peanut

Nutrition Research

The Committee recognizes the need for more research to identify how peanut consumption contributes to overall health and wellness and reduces chronic disease risk in various groups and across the lifespan. The

Republican Study Committee Releases FY24 Budget Proposal

The Republican Study Committee (RSC) recently released their Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Proposal, entitled "Protecting America's Economic Security." The RSC is a study group of U.S. House Republicans that work toward advancing a conservative legislative agenda. The recently released FY24 budget balances in seven years, cuts spending by $16.3 trillion over 10 years, and reduces taxes by $5.1 Trillion over 10 years.

Notably for the agriculture industry, the budget proposes eliminating the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) programs. According to the proposal, "since these programs are designed to guarantee a certain price of level of revenue, more of the benefits accrue to wealthier farmers with higher levels of sales and revenues. Eliminating these programs would save taxpayers more than $51.15 billion over 10 years while ensuring that support payments are directed to those that need them."

The proposed budget also includes significant reforms to crop insurance programs. The RSC Budget would adhere to the prior Administration's proposal to reduce the federal share of crop insurance premiums by 14 percent. Additionally, the RSC Budget would halt administrative expense reimbursements to crop insurance companies. The RSC estimates that these two reforms would save taxpayers more than $37.8 billion over the next 10 years. Lastly, the budget proposal would cap the overall amount of crop insurance subsidies a single farmer may receive.

Committee provides an increase of $500,000 to support peanut nutrition research. Research topics should include chronic diseases, nutrition and wellness across the lifespan, health disparities, dietary patterns for optimal health, and nutrition for the future.

Peanut Research ce

The Committee provides no less than the fiscal year 2023 level to support research activities to mitigate aflatoxin contamination in peanuts. The Committee directs ARS to enhance ongoing collaborations with land-grant institutions to further advance research efforts.

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee is in the process of approving all 12 appropriations bills, which will then go to the full chamber for a vote. Current government funding expires on Oct. 1, 2023.

The U.S. Peanut Federation signed a letter in support of full and adequate funding for the U.S. Codex Office (USCO) in the FY24 Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. The U.S. Codex Office is housed in the USDA’s Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs mission area and conducts international outreach and provides education to promote and support the development of a sustainable global agricultural system and improved international nutrition efforts.

According to the letter, "A lack of financial support for the USCO would hamper our nation’s ability to engage on critical multilateral issues that affect all Americans as well as the greater global population.”

A total of 46 agricultural organizations signed the letter in support of the U.S. Codex Office.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its updated Baseline for Farm Programs on May 12. This baseline identifies expected outlays for farm program spending over the next 10 years and indicates program spending available to the U.S. Congress as they craft the 2023 Farm Bill.

According to CBO, the 2023 Farm Bill could be the first trillion-dollar Farm Bill, with expected costs of $1.51 trillion over 10 years. This estimate is a $31.5 billion increase over the February 2023 Farm Bill Baseline estimate from CBO. Of this $1.51 trillion, 81.1 percent of the cost will be for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), while the other 18.9 percent will be split between crop insurance, commodity programs, conservation and other programs. Commodity and Related Programs are expected to cost a total of $68.6 billion, just 4.5 percent of total spending.

In comparison, the 2018 Farm Bill was estimated to cost $867 billion at the time of enactment. Overall, 77 percent went to SNAP, nine percent to crop insurance, seven percent to conservation and seven percent to commodity programs.

The May 2023 CBO baseline is widely expected to be the 2023 Farm Bill scoring baseline – meaning any proposed policy modifications and the impact on the U.S. deficit will be measured against this baseline. According to U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, there is no new money for the upcoming Farm Bill, meaning any funding increases for programs are going to require taking money from somewhere else in the bill.

In comments to reporters, Chairwoman Stabenow stated, "we have the baseline, but that's it. We have been asking both in the House and Senate for additional dollars from the Budget Committee. Even a few billion more would have been very helpful. But instead, we really lost all the flexibility that we thought we had."

In a May 7 editorial for the Washington Post titled, "Without the Farm Bill, Very Few American Farmers Could Survive," U.S. Senate Agriculture Ranking Member John Boozman voiced support for protecting the farm bill's risk management tools.

Senator Boozman stated, "The average Agriculture Department loan recipient will borrow $300,000 annually to raise crops or livestock for an average rate of return of less than 2 percent — a proposition few would accept. Add in geopolitical risks, pandemics, natural disasters, labor shortages and stagnant trade opportunities, and the value proposition feels dismal, underscoring the importance of the farm safety net for those who feed, fuel, and clothe everyone in the United States."

Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Scott Announces Ag Labor Working Group

The House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15) and Ranking Member David Scott (GA-13) released the following joint statement after announcing the formation of the bipartisan Agricultural Labor Working Group, focusing on the workforce issues faced by the nation's agricultural producers:

“The Committee on Agriculture has heard loud and clear from producers across the nation that one of the biggest challenges confronting the agriculture industry is a lack of reliable labor. Though not directly in our committee’s jurisdiction, we have a responsibility to be a voice in Congress on the issues and policies impacting farmers and ranchers. This is a complex problem that deserves the focused attention of the Members who hear from producers every day rather than the partisan grandstanding that has plagued these efforts in the past.”

Members of the working group have been selected from current Committee members and aim to represent every sector and geographical region of American agriculture.

Congressmen Rick Crawford (AR01) and Don Davis (NC-01) will co-chair the working group. The working group will:

• Seek input from stakeholders, employers, and workers, particularly emphasizing the H-2A visa program for nonimmigrant agricultural workers;

• Produce an interim report detailing the program's shortcomings and the impacts on food security, and;

• File a final report with recommendations to address the flaws within the program.

Agricultural Labor Working Group Membership

Republicans

Rep. Rick Crawford, Co-Chair (AR-01)

Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05)

Rep. Monica De La Cruz (TX-15)

Rep. Doug LaMalfa (CA-01)

Rep. Nick Langworthy (NY-23)

Rep. David Rouzer (NC-07)

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (WI-03)

Democrats:

Rep. Don Davis, Co-Chair (NC-01)

Rep. Yadira Caraveo (CO-08)

Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24)

Rep. Jim Costa (CA-21)

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX-30)

Rep. Darren Soto (FL-09)

Rep. Gabe Vasquez (NM-02)

National Grilling Month Satellite Media Tour

Just in time for the July 4th holiday weekend, life-long grilling aficionado Courtney Rada shared her tips to wow summer backyard party guests! Her favorite secret ingredient – peanuts and peanut butter!

SPG worked with A-1 Broadcast and Courtney Rada, host of TV Food Network’s "Carnivorous" to put peanuts and peanut butter front and center on television stations nationwide. Courtney showed how peanuts and peanut butter take your coleslaw up a notch with an Asian Peanut Slaw. She claims peanut butter is the secret ingredient you never knew you were missing on a burger.

"The creamy nuttiness of the peanut butter, with some sweet and tart jelly, and the heat from some fresh slices of jalapeno combines for an absolutely delicious burger," Rada says. She likes to round off the meal with some peanut butter saltine brittle.

Rada did 27 live television and radio interviews for four hours on June 29 promoting peanuts and peanut butter, Stella Rosa Wines, and Sprouts Farmers Market for successful outdoor entertaining and grilling.

The final tour numbers should surpass 3 million impressions and 70 million potentially reached online.

Georgia American Academy of Pediatrics Meeting

Southern Peanut Growers exhibited at the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Meeting, June 16-17 in Amelia Island, Florida. Leslie Wagner, SPG executive director, spoke to nearly every pediatrician in attendance focusing on early introduction to prevent peanut allergy and the newest Dietary Guidelines for Americans. SPG also provided the newest information from the National Peanut Board on managing food allergies in schools.

This year’s meeting continued last year’s trend of more pediatricians from outside the state of Georgia attending, which helps extend the peanut industry's reach with the early introduction message.

During the meeting, doctors

Peanuts

Leslie Wagner, Southern Peanut Growers, and Maddie Frost, Georgia Peanut Commission, exhibited at the Family, Consumer and Community Leaders of America’s (FCCLA) national conference in Denver, Colorado, July 2–4, 2023. FCCLA is a Career and Technical Student Organization that functions as an integral part of the Family and Consumer Sciences education curriculum. There were nearly 8,000 people—students, teachers, advisors and parents—from across the United States at this year’s meeting.

SPG has new curriculum developed specifically for career and technical courses including culinary, food and nutrition sciences, and early childhood development as well as a PB Kit order form. SPG's booth in the exhibit hall stayed busy and the Whova app allowed attendees to check-in and communicate with exhibitors before and during the conference so that exhibitors could continue to provide materials attendees need for their individual programs.

Virginia FCS Teachers Learn How to Incorporate Peanuts in the Curriculum

placed orders for the handouts and copies of the poster to be sent to their offices so they can distribute to patients at the appropriate visit.

Leslie Wagner, executive director of Southern Peanut Growers, participated in the Virginia Association for Teachers of Family and Consumer Sciences' Hall of Fame Best Resources on July 19 in Harrisonburg, Virginia. There were 125 teachers in attendance to get curriculum and resources for Food and Nutrition Sciences, Early Childhood Development and Culinary classes. This meeting is designed to help teachers prepare for the upcoming school year and to recognize outstanding teachers and outstanding education resources.