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With help from Jason Huffman, Doug Palmer, Annie Snider and Helena Bottemiller Evich
NEW ENGLAND LAWMAKERS TO REVIEW GMO LABELING: This could be a big week for the GMO-labeling cause in New England. State lawmakers in New Hampshire and Rhode Island — the only remaining New England states that don’t have labeling laws on the books — are set to give several bills some attention, potentially helping them clear hurdles to passage. On Tuesday, Rhode Island’s House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare will hold a public hearing on a handful of measures that would establish rules for labeling, and lawmakers are expecting a crowd: The session has been moved from the hearing room to a larger space in the state house. Details here.
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On Wednesday, the New Hampshire House of Representatives will take up labeling legislation, although passage is far from a sure thing. The House Environment and Agriculture Committee gave the bill an unfavorable recommendation in a 12-7 vote last week. While that’s not a death knell, it doesn’t help advocates’ efforts either. Details here.
What about Vermont’s law? It’s still set to go into effect July 1. But that could change if the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals grants the food industry’s request for an injunction. A ruling on the issue has been pending for four months.
HAPPY MONDAY, FEB. 8! Welcome to Morning Ag where the team is still pumped that sheep had a moment in the spotlight during last night’s Super Bowl ads. You know the deal: Thoughts, news, tips, dogs dressed up as hot dogs? Send them to jhopkinson@politico.com and @jennyhops. Follow the whole team @Morning_Ag.
THIS WEEK: PRESIDENT’S BUDGET, N.H. PRIMARIES & EPA GOES TO HOUSE AG: MA hopes you had a restful weekend, dear ag policy followers, because there’s a lot going on this week. At the top of the list here in Washington will be the release of the president’s budget Tuesday. So far, we know that the Obama administration’s wish list will call for full funding for agriculture research, more money for combating antibiotic resistance in livestock, a small cut to the EPA and, if past budgets are any indication, an overhaul of crop insurance. Brush up on the research funding push here and the antibiotics resistance effort here. More details from the White House here.
Small bump for food safety: The Obama administration is also expected to request a $25 million increase for implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act — a small fraction of what food safety advocates and state officials expected. The increase in discretionary spending, which is likely to infuriate advocates, will also be accompanied by proposed new registration fees on the food industry, which are a nonstarter in Congress, according to a source briefed on the plan.
Meanwhile, New Hampshire voters will head to the polls Tuesday for the first-in-the-nation primary.
As for the rest of the week:
Wednesday: The House Agriculture and Appropriations committees will take a look at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Agriculture will go first, calling in Chairman Timothy Massad for a hearing on the agency’s agenda for 2016. Then at 2:30 p.m., Massad will appear before appropriators for a budget hearing. Details on the two sessions are here and here.
In the Senate, the Environment and Public Works Committee is holding a 10 a.m. hearing on “the importance of enacting a new water resources development act.” The law governs port infrastructure and inland waterways that are key in getting agricultural commodities to market. See the details here.
Off of Capitol Hill, the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba hosts a one-year anniversary event from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the National Press Club. The coalition of agriculture groups was formed to support the lifting of the Cuba embargo to increase access to the communist country’s market. At noon, the American Enterprise Institute will review progress in implementing the 2014 farm bill. Details here and here.
Thursday: The Agriculture Committee will meet again, this time to review the effects of EPA actions on farmers — a session that was delayed because of the snowstorm a few weeks ago. While the Waters of the United States rule is bound to get some attention at the 10 a.m. hearing, expect lawmakers also to focus on the EPA’s recent moves on pesticides. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, meanwhile, will testify before the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee about President Barack Obama’s budget request. Details here and here.
The House Agriculture Committee’s livestock panel will convene at 2 p.m. to review whether the United States is prepared for an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, which is highly contagious and spreads rapidly among cows, pigs and goats, inhibiting milk and meat production. See the details on the hearing here.
Finally, at 9 p.m. Thursday, Sen Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will face off in another Democratic presidential debate, this time in Milwaukee, Wisc., and hosted by PBS.
Friday: The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee meets for a third time this week to review the budget for the Agriculture Department’s Office of the Inspector General. Details here.
NO CONTEST IN N.H.: Other than the presidential race, Tuesday’s New Hampshire primaries offer little drama in the food or agriculture policy world. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, is uncontested by other Democrats in her bid to retain her seat. Seen as one of the party’s up and comers, she has been an outspoken critic of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal favored by much of the U.S. agricultural industry. She looks to face Republican Jack Flanagan, the majority leader of the New Hampshire House, in November. Read more about Kuster here.
Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte is similarly unchallenged in the primary, although she is expected to face a tough competitor in the general election. Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan is running for her seat and has attacked Ayotte for joining other Republican senators in voting for blocking the EPA’s Waters of the United States rule late last month. Ayotte previously voted to give Obama trade promotion authority, but has not stated her position on TPP.
WHITE HOUSE CHEESE TALKS TODAY? When Obama hosts Italian President Sergio Mattarella today, the topics will include the “importance of concluding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership,” according to the White House press office. That makes us wonder if the tough issue of geographical indications will come up, because Italy is one of the driving forces behind EU’s demand for increased protections for regional food names like asiago, feta, fontina, gorgonzola, muenster and parmesan, which U.S. dairy producers and their champions in Congress fiercely oppose.
U.S. consumers gobbled up 100,000 tons of parmesan cheese in 2014, but only about 6,600 tons were from Italy, according to the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium, which represents producers in the Parma and Reggio Emilia area of Italy. The group recently released a survey that it said showed two-thirds of Americans were deceived into thinking that parmesan cheese products labeled with Italian flags or the other markers were authentic when, in fact, they were made in the United States.
Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano producers “are the owners of the most counterfeited, imitated and evoked [regional food name] unfairly used for products distributed in the USA,” Consortium President Giuseppe Alai fumed. Read the group’s release here.
SHUFFLING, SHUFFLING: CropLife America has hired Genevieve O’Sullivan as its new director of communications and marketing, filling the role that was held by Mary Emma Young, who recently went to the Pet Food Institute. Sullivan comes to CropLife from the National Association of State Foresters, according to a statement. A fun fact about CropLife’s new spokeswoman: she and her husband own Sona Creamery and Wine Bar on Capitol Hill.
Also on the move: Sara Sciammacco, the Environmental Working Group’s vice president of communications, is headed to Boston to be the senior director of communications and marketing for Ceres starting in April. Her last day with EWG was Friday.
Hampton Creek scoops up former USDA staffer: Tina May, who formerly served as chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Krysta Harden, is joining Hampton Creek as its first full-time policy lead. After USDA, May co-founded 9b Group, a lobbying and consulting firm specializing in conservation and ag issues. Before USDA, May was policy director for the Senate Agriculture Committee when Debbie Stabenow was chairwoman. May was also previously legislative director for the Office of Congressional Relations at USDA.
EWG TAKES ISSUE WITH IOWA WATER CONSERVATION EFFORT: Bill Stowe, the firebrand general manager of Des Moines Water Works who is leading a landmark lawsuit against upstream farmers over water pollution is touting a new report from the Environmental Working Group that argues voluntary conservation practices aren’t enough. The report found that between 2011 and 2014, two and a half times as much land was taken out of conservation programs as was added. Stowe said 500,000 drinking water customers “simply cannot wait for voluntary practices to catch up with the reality of degrading Iowa environmental protection.”
FARM BUREAU COLLECTING USDA PROGRAM EXPERIENCES: The American Farm Bureau Federation is asking farmers to share their experiences with 10 USDA programs in order to make recommendations on how they could be improved, the group says. More information here.
MA’S INSTANT OATS:
— North Dakota and Minnesota are helping farmers deal with the costs of organic certification, the Soux City (N.D.) Journal reports.
— Every Chipotle is closing today for a four-hour food safety meeting, CNN Money reports.
— A bottle of water at the Super Bowl cost $7, a glass of wine was $25, according to Business Insider.
THAT'S ALL FOR MA! See you again soon! In the meantime, drop your host and the rest of the team a line: cboudreau@politico.com and @ceboudreau; jhopkinson@politico.com and @jennyhops; hbottemiller@politico.com and @hbottemiller; mkorade@politico.com and @mjkorade; and jhuffman@politico.com and @jsonhuffman. You can also follow @POLITICOPro and @Morning_Ag on Twitter.
