Hill Heat

Full committee hearing.

Witnesses:

Panel 1

• Bret Erickson, Chairman, U.S. Government Relations Council, International Fresh Produce Association, Edinburg, TX
• Mr. Jeremy Hinton, Chairman, Kentucky Horticulture Council, President, LaRue County Farm Bureau, Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, Hodgenville, KY
• Dr. Tim Boring, Director, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Stockbridge, MI
• Mrs. Anna Rhinewalt, Council Member, Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation/Mississippi Sweet Potato Council, Senatobia, MS
• Mr. Ben Etcheverry, President, New Mexico Chile Association, Deming, NM

Panel 2

• Mr. Ben Lehfeldt, President, American Sheep Industry Association, Lavina, MT
• Mr. Buck Wehrbein, President, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Waterloo, NE
• Mr. Harold Howrigan, Board Member, National Milk Producers Federation, Fairfield, VT
• Mrs. Lori Stevermer, President, National Pork Producers Council, Easton, MN
• Mr. John Zimmerman, Chairman, National Turkey Federation, Northfield, MN
• Mr. Tony Wesner, Board Member, United Egg Producers, Seymour, IN

Full Committee on Agriculture hearing.

RE: “Examining the Economic Crisis in Farm Country”

Witnesses:

• Dr. John Newton, Executive Head, Terrain, Washington, D.C.
• Alisha Schwertner, Owner, Eric and Alisha Schwertner Farms, Miles, TX
• Ryan Talley, Partner, Talley Farms, Arroyo Grande, CA on behalf of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance
• Rodney M. Weinzierl, Owner, Weinzierl Farms, Stanford, IL

The House National Security and Department of State Appropriations Subcommittee (formerly State-Foreign Operations) will hold a hearing entitled “Mexico’s Water Treaty Violations and the Impact on Americans,” to discuss frustrations with the 1944 Water Treaty, under which the United States and Mexico share water from the Rio Grande and Colorado River.

“The panel will focus on Mexico’s looming shortfall on deliveries of flows from the Rio Grande to Texas farmers, which total more than 1.3 million acre-feet ahead of an October deadline.”

Witnesses:

• Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas)
• Jed Murray, Director of Government Relations, Texas International Produce Association *. Dale Murden, Grower and President, Texas Citrus Mutual
• Jennifer Cervantes Washington Representative, Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers

E&E News: House appropriators dig into US-Mexico water spat

Hearing page

Witnesses:

• Scott Marlow, Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs, Farm Service Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Dana Coale, Deputy Administrator, Agriculture Marketing Service Dairy Program, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Lolly Lesher, Owner/Operator, Way-Har Farms, Bernville, PA, on behalf of National Milk Producers Federation
• Mike Durkin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Leprino Foods Company, Denver, CO, on behalf of International Dairy Foods Association
• Travis Forgues, Vice President of Membership, Organic Valley/CROPP Cooperative, LaFarge, WI
• Dr. Marin Bozic, Assistant Professor of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) invite you to a briefing on regenerative agriculture. Regenerative agriculture, or farming in sync with the local environment and climate, produces multiple economic, climate, and societal benefits. Examples of these practices include reducing or eliminating synthetic pesticide and fertilizer use and soil tillage. The briefing will feature findings from NRDC’s new report, Regenerative Agriculture: Farm Policy for the 21st Century, which was informed by conversations with farmers and ranchers from 47 states and Washington, D.C.

As Congress begins to craft the 2023 Farm Bill, the briefing will cover how federal policies can incentivize and invest in regenerative agriculture, including by making reforms to scale up regenerative agriculture stewardship, supporting the next generation of farmers and ranchers, and funding regenerative agriculture research and education programs. Panelists will describe how these steps can lead to a more resilient and productive agricultural system.

Speakers

• Arohi Sharma, Deputy Director, Regenerative Agriculture, Natural Resources Defense Council
• Kris Reynolds, Midwest Regional Director, American Farmland Trust; Farmer
• Dr. Michael Kotutwa Johnson, Assistant Specialist-Indigenous Resilience Center, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona
• Brittany Masters, Founder, Roam Free Ranch

To learn more about NRDC’s report directly from the farmers involved, view the short video “What is Regenerative Agriculture?” and read the blog post “NRDC Report: Pathways to Regenerative Agriculture.” EESI’s current article series on climate and agriculture also dives into key sustainable agriculture practices, including cover crops, agroforestry, no-till farming, and rotational livestock grazing.

Please RSVP

Hearing page

Witnesses:

• Dr. Thelma Velez, Research and Education Program Manager, Organic Farming Research Foundation, Sunrise, FL
• Dr. Sylvie Brouder, Professor and Wickersham Chair of Excellence in Agricultural Research, Agronomy Department, Purdue University, on behalf of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, West Lafayette, IN
• Dr. Ali Fares, Endowed Professor of Water Security and Water Energy Food Nexus, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX
• Dr. Benjamin Houlton, Ronald P. Lynch Dean and Professor of Ecology and Global Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
• Michael Vance, Managing Partner, Southern Reds, LLC, on behalf of the Noble Research Institute, Gainesville, TX

Hearing page

Witnesses:

• Dr. Gopinath “Gopi” Munisamy, Distinguished Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Georgia
• Karla Thompson, Vice President, JET Farms Georgia and Integrity Farms
• Sheryl Meshke, Co-President and CEO, Associated Milk Producers Inc., New Ulm, MN
• Neal Fisher, Administrator, North Dakota Wheat Commission, Mandan, ND

Hearing page

Witnesses:

• Dr. Joseph Janzen, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Robert Craven, Extension Economist and Associate Director, Center for Farm Financial Management, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
• Dr. Ronald L. Rainey, Assistant Vice President and Professor / Director, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture / Southern Risk Management Education Center, University of Arkansas
• Dr. Joe Outlaw, Professor and Extension Economist and Co-Director, Agricultural and Food Policy Center, Texas A&M University

Hearing page

Full Committee on Agriculture – Business Meeting to consider:

• The Budget Views and Estimates Letter of the Committee on Agriculture for the agencies and programs under the jurisdiction of the Committee for Fiscal Year 2023;
• H.R. 7764, A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to provide additional payments under the environmental quality incentives program for implementation of a nutrient management practice, and for other purposes. ;
• H.R. 2518, “Producing Responsible Energy and Conservation Incentives and Solutions for the Environment Act or the PRECISE Act”;
• H.R. 2606, “Sponsoring USDA Sustainability Targets in Agriculture to Incentivize Natural Solutions Act of 2021, or the ‘SUSTAINS’ Act”;
• H.R. 4140, “Butcher Block Act”;
• H.R. 7675, To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish an Agricultural and Food System Supply Chain Resilience and Crisis Response Task Force, and for other purposes.;
• H.R. 7606, “Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of 2022”;
• H.R. 7763, To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to support and incentivize domestic activities to address fertilizer shortages and deficiencies, diversity fertilizer sources, and reduce depending on foreign sources for fertilizer, and other purposes;
• H.R. 7765, “American Food Supply Chain Resiliency Act of 2022”