Friday, February 25, 2022
CapitalPress.com 9
Vilsack questions surging input costs
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
The USDA needs to look
closely at surging input costs
for farmers, U.S. Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack says.
“Are all of these increases
absolutely justified?” Vilsack
asked.
He spoke Feb. 16 during a
“fireside chat” at the National
Association of State Depart-
ments of Agriculture’s winter
policy conference.
Vilsack cited a recent
Wall Street Journal article
in which a seed company
executive said the company
would raise prices to handle
supply chain issues, adding
the phrase, “and then some.”
“And then some? What’s
that all about?” Vilsack said.
“Farmers don’t need ‘and
then some.’”
It’s important for USDA
to ask questions about
whether “every penny of
these increases” is justified
based on disruptions, supply
and normal economics, Vil-
sack said.
“And if they’re not, then
shame on anybody who’s
trying to take advantage of
this circumstance,” he said.
USDA can also continue
to create market opportuni-
ties that support higher prices
for commodities, he said.
“At the end of the day,
you’d love to have high
prices and low input costs,
but if you can’t have that,
at least you want the high
prices, so farmers at least
have a little bit of where-
withal to be able to with-
stand some of these shocking
prices that they’re currently
facing,” he said.
USDA needs to invest in
research for improved preci-
sion technology, sensors and
drones, but also to develop
more efficient fertilizers, Vil-
sack said.
The agency could sup-
port farmers with risk man-
agement tools. If a grower
decides to apply nitrogen
once during the growing sea-
son instead of twice, USDA
could help if the farmer expe-
riences a production loss,
Vilsack said.
Other topics Vilsack cov-
ered include:
• On “climate-smart com-
modities”: “We’re able to say
to the rest of the world, ‘Hey,
USDA
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke to the National
Association of State Departments of Agriculture.
agriculture is doing its part,
it’s moving rapidly to net
zero.’ I believe we can get
there faster than a lot of the
other industries that have to
get there. Whether it’s con-
struction, transportation or
utilities, I think agriculture is
in a position to really make
headway here.”
• USDA’s Local and
Regional Food Aid Procure-
ment Program: “I think we
learned during the pandemic
that as efficient and produc-
tive as our system is, it wasn’t
as resilient as we thought it
was. ... You have to create
the muscle memory in terms
of being able to link the local
and regional production to a
market opportunity.”
• On arguments that ani-
mal agriculture is a “signifi-
cant contributor” to climate
challenges: “I want to be in
a position to be able to forci-
bly push back on that notion
by pointing to what farmers
and ranchers are doing and
will do that can be part of the
solution. For a country that is
getting serious about climate,
you can’t get it done without
rural America being heavily
involved in, heavily invested
in and doing its part.”
• Early adopters of cli-
mate efficiency and car-
bon sequestration: Vilsack
wants adequate funding for
and increased investment in
existing conservation pro-
grams like EQIP and the
Conservation Stewardship
Program.
USDA wants those farm-
ers involved and engaged in
pilot programs to collect data
and quantify results, he said.
“So that we can tell those
food companies with great
confidence, ‘Here’s what
farmers are doing, here’s
the result they’re getting
and here’s the value cre-
ated now for your food pro-
cessing company,’” he said.
“We expect and anticipate
that that value is going to be
shared with the producers.
“Those early adopters,
they’re not getting credit
because nobody’s keeping
score,” Vilsack continued.
“This program allows us to
keep score.”
• Renewable fuel: “We’ve
got an aviation industry
that is begging, begging for
drop-in aviation fuel (com-
pletely interchangeable with
conventional fuels) that’s
biofuel. Begging for it. Want
to buy it today,” he said.
“That’s a 35 billion-gallon,
not blended, drop-in. Holy
cow. What an opportunity.
... We’ll carve out resources
to make sure that even the
smallest of farms can partic-
ipate. And the large guys can
participate as well.”
Vilsack pointed to “enor-
mous and amazing” oppor-
tunities to positively impact
farmers’ and ranchers’ bot-
tom line and revitalize the
rural economy.
“We’re talking about tran-
sitioning from an extraction
economy, where we’ve been
taking things off the land and
basically creating wealth,
opportunity and jobs some-
place else,” he said. “And
basically bringing that back
— creating a more circular
economy where those oppor-
tunities, that wealth, those
jobs are created right where
the natural resource advan-
tage is, in rural places, on
farms and ranches and rural
communities that serve those
farms and ranches.”
Innovations on horizon in ag supply chain
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
ARLINGTON, Va. —
It’s no secret that the U.S. is
struggling with serious supply
chain challenges. But there’s
cause for optimism, experts
say — innovations that could
improve agricultural supply
chains long-term are on the
horizon.
On Feb. 15, the National
Association of State Depart-
ments of Agriculture, or
NASDA, hosted an “agri-
cultural supply chain” panel
discussion at its winter 2022
policy conference featuring
leaders of ports, freight net-
works and similar organi-
zations. These leaders said
that while there aren’t many
immediate solutions, lon-
ger-term innovations that are
underway offer hope.
“There’s room for opti-
mism, especially in infra-
structure,” said Lowell Ran-
del, senior vice president of
government and legal affairs
for the Global Cold Chain
Alliance.
Federal dollars — in
part through the infrastruc-
ture package passed last year
— are on the way to cities
nationwide, which experts
say could bolster shipping
infrastructure.
But simply having money
is not enough to guarantee
success, said Alice Ancona,
senior vice president and
chief operating officer of the
World Trade Center Miami.
One problem with the
infrastructure bill, panelists
said, is that it doesn’t explic-
itly include funding for truck
parking or truck stops with
amenities — infrastructure
that Ancona said is critical.
Since federal and state
Port of Los Angeles
Supply chain experts say that while there aren’t any
easy or quick solutions to the global shipping and
trucking crisis, long-term innovations could help im-
prove the industry in the months and years to come.
funding hasn’t made truck
parking a priority, Ancona has
taken matters into her own
hands. When Miami recently
received funding to create a
parking station for passen-
ger use only, Ancona worked
with officials and industry
leaders to tweak the project so
half of the parking lot could
be for passenger vehicles, the
other half for trucks.
Florida has also been
serving as a testing ground
for autonomous trucks, said
Ancona. A self-driving semi-
truck successfully drove
along the Interstate 10 in a
December trial.
“It went well,” she said.
However,
Ancona
acknowledged that while it
may be easy to deploy auto-
mated trucks in Florida — a
flat, warm state — crossing
into other states could prove
difficult.
John Eisen, director of
the intermodal motor car-
riers conference at Ameri-
can Trucking Associations,
agreed that driverless semi-
trucks are in the industry’s
future, but not for a while.
“It’s coming. I just think
it’s going to take probably
longer,” said Eisen.
Eisen said he thinks tech-
nology will play a major role
in improving trucking overall.
Jim Titsworth, general
director of agriculture for
BNSF Railway, the largest
freight railroad network in
North America, agreed that
technology is transforming
supply chains.
“We’re seeing tremendous
leaps,” said Titsworth.
Titsworth said railroad
industries are expanding auto-
mation and designing loco-
motives capable of running
on natural gas and other die-
sel alternatives.
Changes may also be on
the horizon for ports.
James McCurry, chief
administrative officer for
Georgia Ports Authority,
said ports have been inno-
vating by creating “pop-up
yards” offsite to relieve
congestion.
NASDA announces top 10
priorities for new farm bill
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
ARLINGTON,
Va.
— The National Asso-
ciation of State Depart-
ments of Agriculture has
announced its top 10 pri-
orities in the new farm
bill.
The National Asso-
ciation of State Depart-
ments of Agriculture, or
NASDA, is a nonprofit
association representing
the elected and appointed
officials who run the
departments of agricul-
ture in all 50 states and
four U.S. territories.
Ted McKinney, CEO of
the association, made the
announcement during the
organization’s 2022 win-
ter policy conference.
The last farm bill was
passed in 2018. As poli-
cymakers in Washington,
D.C., are gearing up for
the next edition, NASDA
will advocate for specific
policy priorities.
“Often the officials
closest to farmers them-
selves and as co-regulators
with the federal govern-
ment, NASDA members
are uniquely positioned
to lead, impact and direct
policymaking solutions
for the 2023 Farm Bill,”
said McKinney.
According to McKin-
ney, the top 10 priorities,
in alphabetical order, will
be animal disease, agri-
cultural research, conser-
vation and climate resil-
iency,
cybersecurity,
food safety, hemp, inva-
sive species, local food
systems, specialty crop
block grants and trade
promotions.
McKinney said that
devastating disease out-
‘COVID REALLY SHOUT-
ED THE IMPORTANCE
OF HAVING LOCAL
FOOD SYSTEMS.’
Ted McKinney, CEO of The National Association
of State Departments of Agriculture
breaks over the past few
years, such as with Afri-
can swine fever, have
revealed the need for the
next farm bill to include
further investments in
preventing the start and
spread of disease.
NASDA will
also
advocate more federal
investments in agricul-
tural research, McKinney
said, including in the field
of automation.
State
agricultural
department officials also
plan to advocate more cli-
mate-related programs in
the upcoming farm bill,
such as those that incen-
tivize farmers to use or
change certain manage-
ment practices.
“We’re deeply into
conservation and cli-
mate resiliency,” said
McKinney.
After major recent
cybersecurity problems
surfaced — including a
cyber attack on meatpack-
ing giant JBS last year —
McKinney said it’s clear
the next farm bill needs
to include investments
in better programs and
protections against such
attacks.
NASDA will also be
advocating changes to
food safety policies in the
upcoming bill and looking
for ways to help farmers
meet new requirements.
McKinney said the
organization also sees the
hemp sector as an oppor-
tunity for federal invest-
ment via the farm bill —
but the crop also presents
challenges.
“There are lots of
opportunities in hemp, but
it’s also the wild, woolly
West in hemp,” he said.
The previous day,
McKinney had talked
with officials who govern
agriculture departments in
Western U.S. states about
the challenges they face
in managing the hemp
sector, including concerns
over water misuse.
Invasive species will
be another top priority for
NASDA.
The association also
plans to advocate for
more
federal
invest-
ments in local food sys-
tems, including in farm-
to-school programs.
“COVID really shouted
the importance of having
local food systems,” said
McKinney.
NASDA will also push
for the farm bill to invest
further in specialty crop
block grants.
Finally, the associ-
ation plans to push for
the farm bill to support
states in promoting trade
of their own farm goods
with other countries or
provinces — “something
very near and dear to my
heart,” said McKinney,
who has participated in
state-level trade missions.
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