CalCAN, a member of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) since 2009, actively participates in federal policy and budget discussions. NSAC meets with its member base twice a year in the summer and winter to strategize collectively about current campaigns and future Coalition activities.CalCAN attended the summer meeting in early August in St. Paul Minnesota.  The gathering offered a chance for members to take stock of farm bill campaigns and prepare for a new Congressional session and new administration in 2025.

The summer NSAC meeting opened with a panel discussion facilitated by NSAC Policy Director Mike Lavender. The panel featured Minnesota Senator Tina Smith and Robert Bonnie, Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation at USDA.  Bonnie is best known for leading USDA’s Climate and Agriculture efforts. He stressed the important role members have in protecting conservation funding by telling the stories of farmers and ranchers doing climate conservation work and what it means to their operations.

Not only are the working land conservation programs, the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) oversubscribed to the point that three of every four applicants are not funded, Bonnie shared that another conservation program focused on partnerships and known for its complexity, the Regional Conservation Partnership Program received $4.5 billion in applications for $1.5 billion in funding. Bonnie also encouraged advocates in the room to “…build the infrastructure at USDA that supports a broader suite of agriculture.”

Minnesota’s Political Spotlight

During the meeting, the announcement of Minnesota’s own Governor Tim Walz as the vice presidential running mate for Kamala Harris was felt throughout the room which included many Minnesota-based advocates.  Later in the meeting one of his former interns – Michael Happ, now with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, and Amanda Koehler from the Land Stewardship Project also based in Minnesota shared their experiences with the former state legislator, turned Governor. Their experience showed Walz has been quite engaged and supportive on the agriculture issues they advanced. However, they also noted issues remain where he can better prioritize sustainable and climate-friendly agriculture. 

DC Updates: Farm Bill, a new Congress, and a new Administration

Sarah Hackney, NSAC’s Coalition Director, grounded the group amidst this period of great uncertainty in the current political climate.  The Venn diagram below illustrates where NSAC members are and the mixed feelings we have at the moment.

 

The Congressional Budget Office recently released a report of farm bill spending revealing a $33 Billion deficit in paying for the House version of the bill which would cut nutrition spending in the long-term and increase commodity payments for select crops and regions. The term “ four corners” is often used in the farm bill process and is composed of the Senate Agriculture leader (Senator Debbie Stabenow) and ranking member (Senator John Boozman), as well as the House Leadership (Representative GT Thompson) and ranking member (Representative David Scott). The likelihood of these four leaders coming together to iron out differences in the period between the election and the end of this legislative session is low and whether or not the election outcome is conducive to finishing a farm bill remains to be seen.  

Given these considerations, Congress may extend the 2018 Farm Bill this winter to some point in the future – perhaps through next year.

Potential scenarios for the makeup of the next Congress- who holds the House and the Senate and, of course, who wins the Presidency were laid out with the following expectations:

• The White House is a toss up
• The House is a toss up
• The Senate is leaning Republican
• Tight margins will remain
• 60 votes are needed to pass legislation meaning that bipartisanship will be necessary to move policy forward.  The exception is budget reconciliation which was used to pass the Inflation Reduction Act. 
• Partisan unity will maximize opportunities

Looking Ahead & Taking Action:

As we approach 2025, several critical issues will dominate the federal policy landscape:

• Establishing a new administration and new congressional session
• Deciding whether or not to renew Trump 2017 tax cuts
• FY 2026 appropriations
• Raisaing the debt ceiling
• Passing or extending the next farm bill

And so while we face many unknowns in the days ahead, there are things we do know, things we can act upon now and prepare for next steps when we have more information.  Working together with our partners, within CalCAN, and with the broader NSAC community we provide a stronger, more united front and increase the likelihood of achieving our policy goals. 

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More information on the NSAC meeting, including campaigns and farm tours, can be found on their blog.