Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack testifies before the House Agriculture Committee Thursday. (From House video)

By JERRY HAGSTROM

Members of the House Agriculture Committee, particularly the Republicans, have often been contentious with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in his testimony before the committee, but on Thursday the members all greeted him with thanks for his role in finishing the 2014 farm bill and asked him politely to address their the concerns of their districts as he implements the new bill.

Vilsack was questioned by nearly every member of the committee at a hearing that lasted two hours and 15 minutes. The subject was supposed to be the “state of the rural economy,” but almost all the questions and comments were on the farm bill.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., started off the hearing by noting that he had decided to forgo opening statements except to thank Vilsack for his role in finishing the bill, particularly in the final days.

Vilsack also kept his opening comments to a minimum, noting that farm income was at a record level last year, will still be above the 10-year average this year and that the farm debt-to-asset and debt-to-equity ratios are the lowest they have been since 1954.

But Vilsack also said he is worried about immigration reform, the drought in the West, the decline in middle-sized farms and the age of farmers.

Even Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who won an election against Christie Vilsack in 2012 and who is often contentious with her husband, a former Democratic governor of Iowa, was polite in his questioning.

King asked if Vilsack could estimate the increase in the value of farmland during his tenure, but the secretary said he could only note that the debt-to-asset and debt-to-equity ratios are the lowest since 1954 and that farmers have not bought land on credit as they did in the 1970s and ’80s.

King also asked him that if Congress had included a provision to repeal country-of-origin labeling for red meat or made it voluntary, what impact that would have had on the case Mexico and Canada have brought to the World Trade Organization.

Vilsack replied that a repeal would have rendered the case moot, except that they might still have brought up past damage claims, but that he is not sure what impact a change in the law would have had.

King, who sponsored a failed farm bill amendment that would have stopped a California law that bans the sale of eggs produced in smaller hen cages than California requires, also asked Vilsack to comment on what impact there will be on the nation’s egg supply if a case brought by Missouri and other states against the California law fails.

Vilsack said the courts would have to decide about the law, but that on what eggs Americans eat “the market is ultimately going to decide.”

Vilsack also noted that he believes the Environmental Protection Agency should take into consideration a recent increase in gasoline usage in its final decision on changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard, and King agreed that EPA should consider current usage data rather than 2011 data.

Vilsack then asked for an extra 30 seconds of the committee’s time, and said, “This needs to be perhaps in this committee’s history, Congressman. You and I agree. So mark that down. I think they should look at the current gas usage and I think they obviously need to read the law very, very carefully.”

King replied, “I do acknowledge the secretary’s statement.”

Here is a report on some of the questions and comments arranged by subject.

‘Actively engaged’ farmer rules

In response to a question from Rep. Ronald Neugebauer, R-Texas, Vilsack said that on deciding who is “actively engaged” in farming, “We are dealing in a very narrow band in terms of what Congress directed us to do.”

A family farm provision, Vilsack said, “will address a large percentage of operations” and USDA will focus on partnerships. There will be an interim rule with a comment period, he added.

Black vulture

Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., said the black vulture, a bird that eats newborn calves and whose droppings can harm or kill trees, “is plaguing the Southeast.”

Vilsack said the Animal Plant Health and Inspection Service is trying to give the Fish and Wildlife Service, a division of the Interior Department, tips on how to handle it since the black vulture is a migratory bird and therefore under the jurisdiction of Fish and Wildlife.

China

Rep. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, asked Vilsack about reports of cotton subsidies in China. Vilsack said that USDA’s conversations with Chinese officials have been focused on regulatory issues, and that he will have to provide him a report on Chinese cotton subsidies.

Budget savings

Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, asked the secretary to compare budget savings in the commodity title and the nutrition title.

Vilsack replied that the farm bill calls for $8 billion in savings in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and $13 billion to $14 billion in commodity programs, but that “savings are all projections.”

Catfish

Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., noted that the catfish rule is still not expected to be completed until December.

Vilsack said that it is “important” Congress has defined catfish in the new farm bill, but that it will still take time to complete the rule.

Civil rights

Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., brought up a civil rights complaint about the U.S. Forest Service in New Mexico, and Vilsack said he would get back to her on that issue.

Vilsack also noted that equal opportunity complaints are at “record lows” in the department.

Citrus greening

Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., urged attention to citrus greening, a disease fatal to trees which now afflicts 80 percent of Florida citrus.

“Florida without citrus is like a peanut without butter,” Yoho said.

Conservation Reserve Program

House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., asked Vilsack if he plans on a general signup for the land-idling Conservation Reserve Program this year.

Vilsack said that decision has not been made, but that due to the decrease in the size of the program to an eventual 24 million acres under the new farm bill, USDA will have to be “quite targeted, quite focused” in its management.

Peterson said he favors a general signup. Although farmers have taken land out of the CRP in recent years, with lower commodity prices “I think things are going to change,” Peterson said.

“We need a big CRP tract to maintain these wildlife populations,” Peterson said, urging Vilsack not to wait until fall.

Peterson also asked about an announcement that USDA will encourage the planting of crops to attract bees and other pollinators. Vilsack said about $3 million would be spent to help farmers defray the cost of planting grasses to attract pollinators, mostly in the Upper Midwest.

Country-of-origin labeling

Neugebauer said country-of-origin labeling had played a role in the closure of a Cargill packing plant in his district, and Vilsack said that USDA would complete a report on the economic impact of COOL “in a timely fashion.” The farm bill said the report is to be finished in 180 days.

Vilsack noted that the COOL rule is in litigation with Mexico and Canada, and that he expects the World Trade Organization to issue a ruling on whether the U.S. program complies with WTO standards by June or July.

Dairy

Peterson also asked what actions USDA had taken for an election measure to bring California into the dairy order system.

Vilsack said USDA officials have made three or four trips to California and have consulted with the California Department of Food and Agriculture on scheduling the election.

Farm Service Agency office closures

Several members asked Vilsack about USDA’s plans to close FSA county offices.

Vilsack assured them that no offices will be closed in 2014. Over the last several years, Vilsack said, budget cuts have resulted in a 20 percent reduction in FSA salaries and expenses and that right now there are 130 to 140 offices that have only one full-time employee or none.

He told Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., that USDA will use $100 million in the farm bill to hire temporary staff to implement the farm bill.

With technological changes, Vilsack said, USDA hopes that many farmers will not have to go into FSA offices, “but if they do, the office will have all the records for all the counties in which they have land.”

Rep. Vince McAllister, R-La., said that his district, one of the largest row-crop districts in the country, is “a technologically challenged area,” and that any plans to close FSA offices should take this into consideration.

McAllister said he wants to make sure that “Mr. Bud down the road who doesn’t turn on the computer can still get his programs.”

Vilsack said that when making decisions on office closures, “We will take into consideration areas that are technologically isolated.”

Rep. Susan DelBene, D-Wash., said that the three county offices in her district “are incredibly important to my counties which have growing ag communities.”

Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., also suggested that USDA consider both workload and distance when making decisions about closures. She also noted that FSA offices are targeted for closure even though Natural Resources Conservation Service offices that are located with them have not been targeted.

Noem said that in the past, USDA has interpreted Congress’s directive that FSA offices be 20 miles apart as meaning “as the crow files,” but that she believes Congress meant miles driven on the road.

Forestry issues

Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Colo., asked Vilsack about a proposed rule that would force users of public land including ranchers and ski resorts to give up ownership or control of water rights in exchange for accessing lands for which they have a permit to operate. But Vilsack noted that the rule has been pulled.

The secretary also noted to Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., that the percent of the Forest Service budget devoted to fire suppression has risen from 13 percent to 40 percent, which is why the Obama administration has proposed a different method for funding fire fighting.

Vilsack told Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., that the goal for the timber harvest in fiscal year 2014 is 2.8 billion board feet, which is higher than in 2013, and that the goal for 2015 is 3.1 billion board feet.

He also said that USDA is making payments under the payment-in-lieu-of taxes program for forestry communities, but that “the challenge” is to come up with a long-term strategy for a replacement economy if Congress makes a decision not to continue the program.

The Forest Service, Vilsack, said, is working on new wood opportunities, including using wood in the structure of buildings.

GMO labeling

Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., noted that Connecticut had recently passed a genetically modified organism
labeling bill “by an overwhelming majority.”

Vilsack said he is continuing to try to find a process under which conventional, biotech and organic agriculture can all operate.

“One of the great characteristics of America is to embrace diversity,” Vilsack said. “There is always a stress in agriculture due to the conflict in production systems.”

Labeling, he noted, is up to the Food and Drug Administration, not USDA, and that the concern about labeling is “if you label you are sending a message about safety.”

The conversation, Vilsack said, needs to be “more collaborative” rather than “conflicting.”

Healthy food financing initiative

Fudge said she is hoping to get a grant for a project in her district to make a truck available to sell fruits and vegetables. Vilsack noted that the farm bill authorizes the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, but that Congress needs to appropriate money for it and that the Obama administration has asked for an appropriation.

Vilsack said USDA would decide whether it is better to finance mobile units to sell fruits and vegetables in areas considered food deserts, or whether grocery stores would provide better service.

Lesser prairie-chicken

Neugebauer asked what the Agriculture Department had told the Interior Department about the lesser prairie-chicken before Interior’s recent listing of the bird as threatened.

Vilsack replied that USDA had focused on what it could do to mitigate the impact on farming operations, as it had done with the sage grouse.

Livestock disaster aid

Noem thanked Vilsack for “making the livestock disaster program a priority,” and asked how quickly payments would be made to farmers in her state who lost tens of thousands of cattle and other animals in last October’s freak blizzard.

“Everybody understand these folks have waited too long,” Vilsack said. “I don’t anticipate it is going to take very long.”

Rural housing

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., asked Vilsack about the administration’s proposed changes to a rural housing program.

Vilsack replied that half of USDA’s discretionary spending is in fire suppression, food safety and rental housing and that “something has to give” because the other activities of the department are being restricted.

Vilsack noted that 800,000 people have gained home ownership since he became secretary.

School meals programs

Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., asked that some schools be given waivers from new rules for school meals, but Vilsack repeated earlier statements that current law does not allow USDA to grant waivers from nutritional requirements.

Davis noted that the School Nutrition Association has said that 1.2 million fewer children are participating in school meals, but Vilsack said he is not sure SNA is accurate, because the number participating in school breakfast has gone up.

Vilsack also noted that 92 percent of schools have been certified as compliant or near compliant with the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, but Davis said, “Don’t confuse the 85 to 90 percent compliance rate with satisfaction.”

Davis cited reports that fruits and vegetables are being thrown away in the schools, and Vilsack said he would be happy to work with Congress on the overall question of food waste, since studies show that 30 percent of food produced in the United States is wasted.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Conaway asked Vilsack about the future of waivers granted to states to allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments to able-bodied adults for longer periods of time in high unemployment areas.

Vilsck said he believes there is “a real opportunity” to connect food stamp beneficiaries with work in the pilot projects authorized in the farm bill.

He said would take a look at the waiver issue, but when Conaway asked whether he would target waivers to specific counties rather than states, Vilsack said that only “maybe” that could be done.

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said of the cut to SNAP in the farm bill, “I guess we should be thankful that it targeted only a small number of families.”

But he added that he wanted to “publicly thank” the governors who have increased Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program payments to avoid SNAP cuts.

McGovern also asked Vilsack to comment on the proposal of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to turn food stamps into a block grant to the states with a projected savings of $125 billion over 10 years.

“A cut of that magnitude would be devastating to the families that would be impacted,” Vilsack said.

But he added that an increase in the minimum wage would also “move people off SNAP.”

Lucas said he wanted to note that “the actions of the governors mean this issue will not go away,” whether it is appropriations bills or in 2017.

Tobacco buyout

McIntyre thanked Vilsack for help in the final year of the tobacco buyout.

Vilsack said that 90 percent of the money had been paid out in February and that the rest will go out in late spring.

Wetlands determination

Noem noted that farmers in northeastern South Dakota have noted that wetland determinations vary by county. Vilsack said that USDA is attempting to change its methods to reduce those disparities.

▪ Vilsack statement to House Agriculture Committee ▪ USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service — Vulture Damage Management ▪ USDA Agricultural Research Service — Huanglongbing (Citrus Greening): What ARS Is Doing