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With help from Alex Guillén, Helena Bottemiller Evich, Jason Huffman and Adam Behsudi
HOPEFUL ROBERTS COMMITTED TO BLOCK GMO ‘WRECKING BALL’: No one is expecting smooth sailing in today’s markup of Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts’ bill to preempt state GMO labeling laws, like the one that takes effect in Vermont in July, but the Kansas Republican has remained stalwart in his pursuit of the legislation. “We know that we have to stop the wrecking ball. That’s the whole thing,” Roberts told reporters Monday night. Pressed on whether there would be any Democratic support, he responded: “Hope to have it.” Roberts also said he expects the bill to pass out of committee, and that he wouldn’t bring a bill to the Senate floor on a strict party-line vote.
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It’s not clear where the behind-the-scenes negotiations for a bipartisan compromise stand, but a source tells MA that Roberts and ranking member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) will continue working on a solution that can pass the Senate.
“We’re looking at it,” said Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who serves on the Agriculture Committee. “The one thing that was hopeful or positive was that there was an effort made to arrive at a consensus and I hope we can continue that. That may not be where we are tomorrow, but I hope we can get a compromise, but with a sense of urgency to get a conclusion.”
Will any Democrats show support for the Roberts bill during markup? MA is hearing plenty of speculation that a couple could be in that camp. “I think we may get some Democrats, but we’ll have to see. I certainly don’t want to speak for anyone else,” said Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), adding that he expects several amendments, including many from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), whose office is not sharing details just yet. “Obviously we’re looking for a way to bring more people to the bill, to get bipartisan to move through the Senate,” added Hoeven, “ ... but the timeline is such that we’ve got to get going.”
HAPPY TUESDAY, MARCH 1! Welcome to Morning Ag, where your host thinks this new Japanese food craze is too cute to eat. You know the deal: Thoughts, news, tips? Send them to cboudreau@politico.com or @ceboudreau. Follow the whole team @Morning_Ag.
NEW PROPOSAL ON GMO LABELING: Threatening to further blur the lines in the GMO labeling debate is a plan by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), ranking member of the Appropriations agriculture panel, to introduce on Wednesday his own compromise proposal on the issue, according to a Senate Democratic staffer. Details on the specifics of the bill haven’t been made public, yet.
IT’S SUPER TUESDAY!: A dozen states hold Democratic and Republican primary or caucus competitions today, including: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. Alaska will hold Republican caucuses, while Colorado will hold them for Democrats. American Samoa also is holding its nominating contest for Democrats.
Keep an eye on a reelection bid by Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, as he faces businessman Curtis Coleman, as well as efforts by Chairman of the House Appropriations agriculture panel Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) to retain his seat and defeat Phil Norris, a nuclear technologist, ex-financial consultant and Navy veteran. Both Republican incumbents are expected to win their primary contests easily. While House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) remains unopposed in the Lone Star State primary, no less than 10 Republicans are vying to fill the seat of retiring committee member Randy Neugebauer, including Jodey Arrington, a former George W. Bush advisor, and Glen Robertson, the mayor of Lubbock.
NEW FARM BUREAU PREZ VOWS CONTINUED FIGHT AGAINST EPA: The Supreme Court may have declined on Monday to review EPA’s landmark Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan, leaving in place a lower court ruling that upholds it. But American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said the larger batter over the scope of the agency’s power isn’t over. The Farm Bureau and 22 states had argued EPA’s plan stomps on their ability to make land use decisions.
"Farmers are justifiably proud of their successes in reducing agriculture's impact on water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, and they remain committed to further improvements,” Duvall said. “We will continue to support state and local programs to improve agriculture's environmental performance, and we will continue to oppose EPA overreach."
The EPA regulation was finalized in 2010, prodding six states and D.C. to go on a “pollution diet” by limiting the use of nutrients used in agriculture and cracking down on other sources of pollution in the region. Years of human activity have changed the chemical and biological makeup of the Chesapeake Bay, increasing the outbreaks of low-oxygen "dead zones" and algae blooms that kill off wildlife. The plan may serve as a model for future multi-state watershed cleanup efforts, though those could face similar legal challenges.
ANOTHER WOTUS COURT CHALLENGE: Last week’s strange 1-1-1 decision from the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has drawn its first challenge, with a slate of industry groups on Monday petitioning the full 6th circuit for an en banc rehearing. In their court filing, the groups, including the Farm Bureau and the National Association of Manufacturers, argue that the three-judge panel’s decision to take the case, rather than sending it through lower federal courts first, “raises more questions than it answers” and “cries out for review.” If the court decides to grant en banc review, it could be months more before the court battle over the rule itself can begin.
** A message from the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food: The Senate Agriculture Committee is holding a critical markup today on Chairman Pat Roberts’ national food labeling standard that will protect American farmers and families from costly, confusing state labeling laws. We applaud Chairman Roberts' leadership and urge Senators from both parties to stand with him. Learn more: @SafeAffordable **
FIRE UP THE BRAAI: U.S. chicken is back on South African grocery store shelves after five containers of bone-in leg quarters and drumsticks from Tyson Foods and House of Raeford Farms were cleared last week by the country’s veterinary authorities. The acceptance settles a long-standing dispute in which the U.S. poultry industry negotiated a 65,000 metric ton annual quota that would avoid hefty anti-dumping duties put in place in 2000. Government officials from the two countries also negotiated a deal resolving several technical issues that served to block U.S. exports of poultry, beef and pork.
South Africa had until March 15 to start allowing imports of U.S. meat or risk losing trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. U.S. producers should be on track to fill the quota amount set for this year, Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, said in a statement Monday.
The U.S. Embassy in Pretoria and U.S. industry representatives plan to mark the occasion in the next few weeks with the “mother of all braais” (a South African barbecue) using none other than U.S. chicken, said Zelda Sharp, USAPEEC’s South Africa representative, in a statement. Check out Sen. Chris Coons’ (D-De.) Flickr page for some photos of the chicken here.
U.S. REOPENS TO DUTCH BEEF EXPORTS: In another morsel of meat news, the U.S. is once again allowing imports of Dutch beef after nearly two decades of restrictions stemming from an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease, in the 1990s. The Netherlands is the third EU country to regain access to the U.S. beef market, following Ireland and Lithuania, although the commission has previously called for the U.S. to treat the EU economy as a single market for food safety purposes. Read the USDA’s audit on the safety of Dutch beef here.
HSUS: NEGATIVE OSCARS AD BACKFIRED: Wayne Pacelle, the president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, says an advertisement that ran during the Oscars Sunday night depicting his organization as being dishonest about how it spends money has backfired. In a one-minute spot that appeared in several markets, the group HumaneWatch accused HSUS of using sad images of dogs and cats to generate contributions while putting the majority of funds into executives’ salaries and offshore accounts instead of animal shelters. Pacelle says in a blog that his group’s supporters know the advertisement isn’t truthful and are responding by giving more money. See the advertisement here and Pacelle’s blog here.
CATFISH OUT IN HERITAGE FOUNDATION BLUEPRINT: The Heritage Foundation suggests eliminating the catfish inspection program that USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service begins implementing today and a handful of other department activities as part of its larger blueprint to balance the federal budget within seven years. The catfish program is costly — about $14 million a year — and duplicative because facilities that process seafood, including catfish, would be required to comply with both USDA and FDA regulations, the conservative think tank said. The FDA was responsible for ensuring the safety of all U.S. seafood until a provision in the 2008 farm bill directed the USDA to take over catfish. The Heritage Foundation also proposes eliminating the USDA Conservation Technical Assistance Program and prohibiting funding for school lunch nutrition standards. See the blueprint here.
RICE SCIENTISTS GATHER IN GALVESTON: Sustainable organic production, water conservation technologies and the role of climactic stress on yield and quality and blast disease are among the topics to be discussed when more than 400 rice scientists, industry representatives, consultants and growers meet in Galveston, Texas, March 1-4, for the 36th Biennial Rice Technical Working Group meeting. Attendees are expected from Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe. More details here.
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INSTANT OATS:
— The last of four defendants indicted together on federal charges for a human-trafficking ring that lured Guatemalan migrants to work at Ohio egg farms has pleaded guilty, the Washington Post reports.
— Are GMO’s a pawn in a much larger fight? Is it really about GMOs at all? Harvest Public Media takes a look.
— USDA has announced $18 Million to support research and teaching at historically black land grant universities.
— Farmers feel “thrown under the bus” as Big Food and consumers make more demands, Marketplace reports.
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.
** A message from the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food: American farmers rely on biotechnology to feed a growing world population expected to hit 9 billion people by 2050. And with 48 million Americans facing food insecurity each day, it's time for the Senate Agriculture Committee to protect this critical technology and ensure our family farms have the tools they need to feed families around the world.
Today's Senate Agriculture Committee markup on Chairman Pat Roberts' national food labeling solution is a critical first step to preventing Vermont’s misguided GMO labeling law from impacting the entire American food supply chain. If the Senate fails to act before Vermont’s law takes effect July 1, hardworking American families will face increased food costs and uncertainty at the grocery store.
One state should not have the ability to alter the entire nation's food supply chain. The Senate must act immediately to pass Chairman Roberts' proposal to protect American farmers. Learn more: CFSAF.org **
