[Senate Hearing 113-558]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 113-558
2014 FARM BILL:
IMPLEMENTATION AND NEXT STEPS
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HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,
NUTRITION AND FORESTRY
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
MAY 7, 2014
__________
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
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______
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COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION AND FORESTRY
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan, Chairwoman
PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi
TOM HARKIN, Iowa MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky
SHERROD BROWN, OHIO PAT ROBERTS, Kansas
AMY KLOBUCHAR, MINNESOTA SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia
MICHAEL BENNET, COLORADO JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, NEW YORK JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
JOE DONNELLY, INDIANA MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska
HEIDI HEITKAMP, NORTH DAKOTA CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa
ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., PENNSYLVANIA JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
JOHN WALSH, MONTANA
Christopher J. Adamo, Majority Staff Director
Jonathan J. Cordone, Majority Chief Counsel
Jessica L. Williams, Chief Clerk
Thomas Allen Hawks, Minority Staff Director
Anne C. Hazlett, Minority Chief Counsel and Senior Advisor
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Hearing(s):
2014 Farm Bill: Implementation and Next Steps.................... 1
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Wednesday, May 7, 2014
STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY SENATORS
Stabenow, Hon. Debbie, U.S. Senator from the State of Michigan,
Chairwoman, Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry... 1
Cochran, Hon. Thad, U.S. Senator from the State of Mississippi... 5
Witness
Vilsack, Hon. Tom, Secretary, United States Department of
Agriculture, Washington, DC.................................... 3
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APPENDIX
Prepared Statements:
Casey, Hon. Robert, Jr....................................... 44
Cochran, Hon. Thad........................................... 45
Vilsack, Hon. Tom............................................ 46
Document(s) Submitted for the Record:
Bennet, Hon. Michael:
``Colorado River Basin as Critical Conservation Area'',
Colorado River District.................................... 60
Republican River Water Conservation District Water Activity
Enterprise, prepared statement............................. 61
Question and Answer:
Vilsack, Hon. Tom:
Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow...... 64
Written response to questions from Hon. Pat Roberts.......... 114
Written response to questions from Hon. Sherrod Brown........ 89
Written response to questions from Hon. Robert P. Casey, Jr.. 97
Written response to questions from Hon. Thad Cochran......... 101
Written response to questions from Hon. Joe Donnelly......... 92
Written response to questions from Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand... 91
Written response to questions from Hon. Tom Harkin........... 87
Written response to questions from Hon. Heidi Heitkamp....... 93
Written response to questions from Hon. Mitch McConnell...... 114
2014 FARM BILL:
IMPLEMENTATION AND NEXT STEPS
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Wednesday, May 7, 2014
United States Senate,
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry,
Washington, DC
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:12 a.m., room
328A, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Debbie Stabenow,
Chairwoman of the Committee, presiding.
Present or submitting a statement: Senators Stabenow,
Leahy, Harkin, Klobuchar, Bennet, Gillibrand, Donnelly,
Heitkamp, Casey, Walsh, Cochran, Roberts, Chambliss, Hoeven,
Johanns, Grassley, and Thune.
STATEMENT OF HON. DEBBIE STABENOW, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE
OF MICHIGAN, CHAIRWOMAN, COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION
AND FORESTRY
Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, good morning. I will call to
order the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and
Forestry; and welcome, Secretary Vilsack. We thank you very
much for being a compelling advocate for passage of the Farm
Bill and we also greatly appreciate your excellent staff
providing critical technical assistance throughout the entire
process, and your personal help in developing a Dairy Title as
we came to an end to be able to put this all together, having a
title that was both politically workable and, most importantly
from a policy perspective, workable for our farmers. Thank you
very much.
I continue to be very, very proud of this Committee and the
fact that at a time when it is tough to get things done,
everybody on both sides of the aisle really came together to do
what needed to be done; and we will see a stronger rural
economy and economy in general as a result of it.
Over the last three years, this Committee worked to put
together a Farm Bill that reforms agricultural programs, cuts
spending, and supports the 16 million people whose jobs rely on
the strength of American agriculture. In many senses, the Farm
Bill is a bit of a misnomer as we all know because this bill
affects every American in many different ways.
This is a bill that takes critical steps toward changing
the paradigm of farm and food policy. We worked hard to make
sure the Farm Bill represents the diversity of American
agriculture from row crops, to specialty crops, to livestock,
to organics, to local food systems.
We passed a very strong permanent livestock disaster
assistance Program that, unfortunately, had to be used almost
immediately after passage. We eliminated direct payments in
favor of strengthening risk management tools and expanding
opportunities for crop insurance, the number one request of
farmers across America.
We increased support for several organic programs which is
one of the fastest-growing segments in American agriculture. We
once again provided a strong Specialty Crop Title supporting
nursery and a floriculture as well as fruits, vegetables, nuts,
and other products you find in the produce aisle in the
supermarket.
I am particularly proud of the Conservation Title and the
new Regional Conservation Program which will bring together
public-private funds to better assist farmers conserve our land
and resources. I am also very excited about the new Foundations
for Food and Agricultural Research that we created which will
combine public-private dollars to make sure we have the funding
streams necessary to continue to solve problems and to create
opportunities to do research and do new innovation.
This new Foundation is really about the future, and I look
forward, Mr. Secretary, to be working with you as the
distinguished board members are appointed and the foundation
begins its work. This Farm Bill is also a rural development
bill that will help small communities build safe drinking water
systems, access affordable broadband internet service, and it
also encourages World leaders to work together on a regional
economic level for regional economic strategies which will not
only make the most of federal dollars but also help small towns
attract business investments and jobs.
I am also very excited about the opportunities we have
created through the Energy Title that will support job creation
and in the growing sector of bio-based manufacturing as well as
the next generation of bio-fuels to continue building America's
energy independence.
I am proud of our Nutrition Title, which expands food
access for families in need and provides incentives and
education related to health food choices in both urban and
rural communities.
Food assistance is a critical lifeline for families in need
giving them temporary help to put food on the table, and I am
very pleased to see the most recent Congressional Budget Office
estimates say that SNAP spending is continuing to decline the
right way, now saving an additional $24 billion more than
previously estimated. I have always said the best way to reduce
nutrition health spending is by improving the economy and
helping people get good paying jobs, and that is what is
happening.
I am very proud this Committee and our colleagues in the
House worked together to give our farmers and ranchers the
support they need to continue producing the safest, most
abundant, most affordable food supply in the world.
Our farmers are truly feeding the world which is why the
Farm Bill expands export opportunities for producers and, in
fact, creates the first ever Undersecretary of Agriculture for
Trade; and I am looking forward, Mr. Secretary, to make sure
that this new position is structured in a way to be an advocate
for your department and U.S. producers.
It has been a long road, a long road to get here to this
implementation hearing; and I want to say thank you to everyone
on our Committee, thank you to Mr. Secretary. Thank you to my
Ranking Member who I know will be joining us shortly and you
will hear from the senior senator from Mississippi when he
arrives.
But I think at this point, we will proceed, Mr. Secretary,
with your testimony and then we will hear from Senator Cochran
as well. It is always a pleasure to have you with us and again,
thank you for not only your leadership in helping us get to
this point but frankly we put a lot on your plate, and we
appreciate that you and your team has stepped up and are
working very hard to implement the Farm Bill.
Secretary Vilsack.
STATEMENT OF THE HON. TOM VILSACK, SECRETARY, UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, WASHINGTON, DC
Secretary Vilsack. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and I
simply want to echo the comments of many people around the
country thanking you for your leadership and Senator Cochran
for his leadership and this Committee leadership in getting a
progressive, transformative, and positive Farm Bill passed. It
sent, I think, a message of hope throughout the countryside and
obviously would not have happened without the great work of
this Committee and without your leadership.
I want to thank you personally for the work that you did.
It was not an easy lift. It did require bipartisan support, and
I think it represents the best of the kind of work that can
occur in this democracy. Thank you.
It seems as if I need to give you an update on where we are
relative to implementation of this Farm Bill; and I can tell
you in the first 90 days, I am confident that we have made
progress in every title of the Farm Bill.
We focused initially on putting the disaster assistance
programs in place. Over 33,000 applications have been received.
$16 million has already been distributed to producers who have
suffered disasters after October 1, 2011. We would anticipate
and expect that those disaster assistance payments will
continue for the course of the next several months for sure.
In conservation, we just set up the Conservation Easement
Program that you established as part of the reforms of
conservation.
I see Senator Cochran is here, Madam Chair. If you want, I
would be happy to stop and allow the Ranking Member the
opportunity to make his comments.
Senator Cochran. I would rather that you continue.
Secretary Vilsack. All right.
Chairwoman Stabenow. We will let you continue and then we
will turn to Senator Cochran at that point.
Secretary Vilsack. Yes. You mentioned trade. One of the
great things about getting the Farm Bill done was that we were
able to resume our trade promotion programs. We are on track
for yet another record year of agricultural trade. It will be
the fifth record in the last six years.
The Nutrition Title, as you indicated, is a strong one. We
are excited about the pilot employment and training
opportunities to help put people that are on SNAP or looking
for work to work. We have received a lot of interest from a
number of states who are willing to participate in those pilots
and we look forward to getting those started this fall.
In the credit area, we have reduced the interest rate on
the Joint Direct Farm Ownership Loan, cutting it in half which
will make that much more feasible. In rural development, the
water resources that you provided to deal with the backlog of
water projects has been distributed. We are reducing that
backlog.
We are announcing our Business and Industry Loan Program,
the set aside for local and regional food opportunities and
food hubs is being set up.
You mentioned the Foundation which we are all so excited
about. We received over 275 nominations for the 15-person
board. It is in the process of being incorporated, and we
anticipate and expect the first board meeting of the ex officio
board members will take place in July with the passage of
bylaws, and hopefully we will be able to begin the process of
getting the matching resources that are required for the
Foundation to continue its work.
In the Forestry Title, we have had 36 states contact us to
take advantage of the streamlined NEPA process in terms of
areas that have been stricken by disease and pests. We are
anxious to get that program up and going.
The Energy Title, we just announced the notice of funds
availability, $70 million. We are working on the additional
roles in terms of the bio-product manufacturing opportunities
which will take place this summer and next year.
In horticulture, the specialty crop block grant has been
advised. The farmer and rancher promotion and local food
promotion programs are being advised of the availability of
funds this week. We have initiated the organic research
initiative as instructed.
In crop insurance, the whole farm policy pilot will be
potentially available this summer. For the benefit of Senator
Cochran in particular, the catfish MOU has been signed with the
FDA, and we anticipate and expect that the catfish rule will go
to OMB by the end of this month.
We have plenty on our plate. The regional conservation
partnership program, we look forward to making announcements
about the critical conservation areas. At the tail end of this
month, the Foundation work will continue and we will be
focusing on getting the educational materials out for the ARC
and PLC program so that producers will have a number of months
to be able to evaluate the appropriateness of either one of
those programs for their operation.
The Supplemental Crop Insurance Option and the STAX program
should be operational, we believe, by the end of this year.
The dairy program will be set up and functional by
September, and we are looking forward to instituting the food
insecurity pilots that I know are of interest to you, Madam
Chair, sometime this fall.
We are focused on this. We understand the importance of it,
and we look forward to answering the questions of the
Committee.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Secretary Vilsack can be found
on page 46 in the appendix.]
Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. It is easy to see
that you are moving on all fronts, and we greatly appreciate
that.
My Ranking Member and partner, Senator Cochran.
STATEMENT OF HON. THAD COCHRAN, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF
MISSISSIPPI
Senator Cochran. Madam Chairman, I thank you for convening
this hearing and providing the leadership that you do to this
Committee.
Mr. Secretary, welcome. We appreciate your service at the
Department of Agriculture and particularly appreciate your
comments and your efforts to find ways in which the Federal
Government can provide assistance to those who lost property
and flocks of birds in Mississippi due to the devastating
tornadoes that really caused an awful lot of damage in our
State. Right now we are still in the cleanup, straightening up
and assessing the damages mode.
But with the assistance of your department, we will make
good progress I am sure in trying to get these people restored
so that they can continue to provide important foodstuffs and
economic benefits throughout not only our State but the entire
country.
Could you give us some indication about what your reaction
to the situation is in Mississippi as a result of these
disasters and whether or not provisions in the Farm Bill are
sufficient to give you the authorities you need to be helpful
to our State and the producers?
Chairwoman Stabenow. I think, Mr. Secretary, it would be
appropriate if you wanted to respond to that.
Secretary Vilsack. Okay. Senator, we have set up the
disaster assistance programs. The Livestock Indemnity Program
is really designed to provide assistance and help to those who
have lost livestock as a result of disasters. I certainly
encourage the producers to make sure that they have adequate
records, and we will be happy to work with them to process
applications as quickly as possible.
We already have in place the programs. The resources are
there, and folks are anxious to help. We also will use our
resources at USDA to provide for appropriate disposal. That is
also an issue in a disaster situation.
Our folks at APHIS will be willing to work with producers
in Mississippi to make sure that all the rules and regulations
relative to disposal are followed as well.
We will be more than happy to help. If there are specific
issues that your staff wants to contact our staff about, we
would be more than happy to help you in any way we can.
Senator Cochran. Thank you very much for permitting that
question.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Absolutely. Thank you. We will proceed
with questions. We are going to do a seven-minute round of
questions; and if there is interest from the Committee, we will
do additional rounds to make sure everyone's questions are
answered, given the time that it is allowable.
Mr. Secretary, first let me ask a little bit more about the
regional conservation partnership program and I have to come,
at this point, say that we have great confidence in the moving
forward and implementation of this since you stole the main
person from our Committee who wrote this, Tina May. We are
sorry to lose Tina from the Committee staff as well as Karla
Thieman. I do not know if I see her here but Tina, the
confidence knowing that she is part of overseeing this I think
is something that we cannot underestimate.
We are happy to have the person that was helping to really
lead this as the architect with you. But this is probably one
of the most understated new policies in the 2014 Farm Bill. It
has the potential to transform the face and the future of
agricultural stewardship.
When we look at the innovative possibilities in the Great
Lakes or Chesapeake Bay or certainly we could name many things
around the country, it is really about partnerships and
leveraging public-private sector partnerships in creating new
models.
Given that this is a new program and the notion of both
regions and partnerships is new to a lot of groups, what type
of outreach and education is NRCS and USDA doing to ensure that
participants are informed and are able to submit competitive
applications, because this really only works if people are
coming together on the ground and the planning and submitting
the kind of applications that we certainly hope we see.
Secretary Vilsack. Well, Madam Chair, first of all, I think
I need to correct the record. I think you stole Tina May from
us before we stole her back.
[Laughter.]
Secretary Vilsack. We are happy to have her back.
We understand and appreciate the transformative opportunity
that this regional conservation partnership program presents.
We have done a series of listening sessions which we will
continue to do to make sure that folks are fully aware of this
opportunity.
In the past, what we have done is we have got a program and
we give people very little time to actually put projects and
proposals together. This time we are going to reverse that
process. We expect and anticipate sort of laying out the
critical conservation areas that are critical to this
partnership effort by the end of this month; and then we want
to give folks several months to basically put proposals and
projects together for consideration; and so, we are going to
give people plenty of time to do what they need to do to get
this done right.
We also want to get it done in time for it to take
advantage of an opportunity that we are trying to create at
USDA and through the rural council to encourage more capital
investment in rural America.
You can rest assured there is going to be plenty of
outreach and plenty of opportunity for people to be very
creative, and we are going to try to get sort of the framework
of this program out as quickly as we can so people can respond.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Great. Another priority in the Farm
Bill that I mentioned was in the Energy Title focusing on bio-
based manufacturing. We all talk about how biofuels are very
important to energy independence and jobs. But we have added to
the USDA's toolkit the ability to support more broadly the bio-
based economy.
For example, we authorized renewable chemical production
and bio-based manufacturing as eligible projects under the
program. I am wondering how you intend to coordinate all of
this from the new opportunities that we authorized in the
Energy Title to financing options that are in rural development
to the support that we have through the research programs.
How do you see that coming together?
Secretary Vilsack. Well, first of all, we are going to make
sure that the opportunities for bio-chemicals are available as
quickly as possible. We think our current rules and structure
will allow grants and loans to be made relative to bio-chemical
processing.
In terms of other manufacturing processing in terms of our
bio-products, it may take a slight change to the rule and that
may take a little bit of time for us to get through the
regulatory process. We are essentially in business in terms of
the bio-chemicals.
We have made a concerted effort to integrate this effort
with our research folks focusing in part on bio-processing and
setting that up as a priority in terms of the National
Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Everybody I think in the building understands and
appreciates how important this is to the survival of rural
America in terms of creating jobs and creating additional
income opportunities.
We are very much focused on this. Our crop insurance folks
are also working on trying to develop new crop insurance
products for energy products. It is essentially a coordinated
and integrated effort, and I think you will see progress in
this year.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Right. I think this is really
important in terms of, as you said, jobs and the economy.
Then finally from me in this round, we would like you to
speak about conservation compliance because, as you know, we
included a landmark agreement fostered by agriculture and
conservation groups to link conservation compliance to our crop
insurance program and both helping us to protect farmland and
the insurance program for the future.
Can you give the Committee an outline of where you are in
the process of that, the expected time line? Can you discuss
what, if anything, farmers should or should not be doing to
prepare for the implementation of conservation compliance?
Secretary Vilsack. Well, first of all, it is important to
note that this is in a sense effective the day the President
signed the Farm Bill; and so, farmers are under this obligation
and responsibility if they want to continue to receive the
government subsidy for crop insurance as of February 7 I
believe of this year.
We expect and anticipate to have sometime this summer the
basic structure of conservation compliance and then folks will
have, those who are not currently compliant because most
producers are. In order to get disaster assistance, in order to
get some of the other benefits under the 2008 Farm Bill, you
had this responsibility anyway so that does not change.
We expect and anticipate the roughly 6000 producers who may
be impacted by this will have until the mid-part of next year
to be able to produce their compliance plans, to make sure that
it is certified, to ensure that they do not lose the benefits
of the government subsidy and crop insurance.
If they fail to do that, then crop insurance, obviously
they will still be able to buy crop insurance but it will not
be with a government subsidy. But it is effective as of
February 2014.
The advice is it will probably be not a good idea for you
to be breaking up land that has not been broken up for a while.
It is a good idea for you to get your conservation plan
together if you are one of those 6000 producers that has not
had it before.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. Senator Roberts,
you are next.
Senator Cochran. I yield.
Senator Roberts. Madam Chairwoman and Ranking Member
Cochran, thank you for holding this hearing today.
Madam Chairperson, I know that you are very proud of
receiving the 2013 perseverance of the year award with all of
the commodity groups and farm organizations and broadcasters
that are here. They voted. I just do not know where we are
going to put the statue but we will figure that out.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Okay.
Senator Roberts. Anyway, thank you.
Secretary Vilsack, I am glad you are here and I appreciate
your update on the department's implementation of the Farm
Bill. It has been about two years since you were last in front
of the Ag Committee. I think you look younger. But at any rate
welcome back.
Since that time, I know everybody is concerned about the
dates when the Farm Bill implementation will take place. We
were talking about that earlier, sometime in the fall with the
new programs. I hope more toward October when Kansas State
plays Iowa State as opposed to Thanksgiving.
But the Kansans that I visit with--I am about 103 counties
done of 105--they are really concerned about the various
agencies regulatory efforts or what I call over regulation, and
I share their concerns, and I would hope now with the Farm Bill
signed into law that at least, and I know you are extremely
busy, but if the department could focus on delivering farm and
food programs, not new regulations, I think that would be the
number one issue that I have heard out in farm country.
Madam Chairperson, I think at an appropriate time, and I
know time is our most valuable commodity here, but the full
Committee should have the opportunity to have a more in-depth
discussion and review of the new USDA climate change hubs, more
especially with the President's announcement as of yesterday.
The department's role in the recently proposed waters of
the United States regulation and last but not least, the
listing of the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened and
endangered species that farmers believe in 35 counties of my
state that are also threatening them.
But we are here to discuss the Farm Bill. So to that task,
the recent wheat quality tour in Kansas has forecasted the
lowest crop in the State since 1996.
Crop insurance will once again be critical to our producers
suffering from a hard freeze and the ongoing drought. Again, I
appreciate all the efforts and the staunch support from our
Chairperson with regard to crop insurance.
The RMA is a very data-driven process to offer new crop
insurance products as the right figures are necessary to ensure
proper ratings and to protect the integrity of the overall
program.
Wheat, corn, soy, and other commodity growers across Kansas
are worried that their county crops, their county and crops may
not have quick access to the supplemental coverage option of
the new SCO or other new products due to a lack of data.
My question is: Does the RMA currently have enough yield
and production history information to get the SCO off the
ground and available to all producers quickly and, if not, how
is the coordination effort with the Farm Service Agency and the
National Agriculture Statistics Service going?
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, we believe we will have the
supplemental crop insurance option available this fall. One of
the challenges with wheat producers is that we probably will
not have it available before wheat producers are in a position
to determine whether ARC or PLC is most beneficial to their
operation.
We will give the wheat producers additional time to sort of
rethink their crop insurance decision because if they choose
the ARC program, then they will not qualify for the
supplemental crop insurance option.
If they start off by saying yes, we want SCO, then they
decide ARC is better for them than PLC, we will allow them the
opportunity without penalty to reverse that SCO decision.
Senator Roberts. I appreciate that very much.
Recently, the department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service released predictability agreements for the lesser
prairie chicken habitat that is enrolled in working lands and
the conservation reserve program.
I know those agreements are necessary and they are
appreciated but they have not ended the farmers' and ranchers'
fear that future decisions could have the Federal Government
driving land out of agriculture production. It is a very real
concern among farmers and ranchers. I would change that from
concern and frustration and possibly even fear.
How would you respond to farmers and ranchers in western
Kansas right now that are concerned about being forced to idle
agricultural land for a bird that we cannot find?
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, I think that we would suggest
to your producers to work with their local NRCS conservation
specialist to put together a conservation plan, because if they
are able to do that with the cost share assistance that we
provided at USDA, we can provide them 30 years of regulatory
certainty that the rules will not change and that they will be
deemed in compliance regardless of what the determination is
relative to the lesser prairie chicken.
We have been working on this with seven different
endangered species. The sage grouse was the first one that we
started with. I would strongly encourage them to look at the
voluntary conservation opportunities, the cost share
opportunities that NRCS presents; and if they are able to do
that and we are able to certify that they have complied with
our structure, we are now working to get them 30 years of
regulatory certainty which I think is a good way to approach
the lesser prairie chicken.
Senator Roberts. Well, I appreciate your response, and I am
going to be in touch with you as this goes along. We have a May
12 announcement and we are just going to have to see how this
is working, and I appreciate that.
I do not have any further questions now. I yield back.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much.
Senator Klobuchar.
Senator Klobuchar. Mr. Secretary, thank you for your good
work and your help in passing the Farm Bill. I think we all
know it was not an easy task and I thank the Chairwoman and our
Ranking Member and everyone that was involved in. But you were
always there with a steady hand, ideas when we were having some
sticking points; and we really appreciate that.
First of all, I want to ask something that is on the mind
of a lot of our farmers in Minnesota, and that is
transportation rail costs.
With the increased use of rail for oil and the increased
use of rail nationwide and the picking up of the economy, we
have had some major issues not only about rail safety which we
talked about but also about the costs, the scheduling of rail
shipments, the cost of that last leg with captive customers.
I actually got a provision in the Farm Bill for a joint
study with USDA and the Department of Transportation to examine
rural transportation issues including captive shipping issues.
Can you prioritize this study, especially given that we are
continuing to see more and more use of rail, so we can get a
sense of what we could do policy wise?
Secretary Vilsack. I had an opportunity to meet with Chief
Economist Joe Glauber about the transportation study. He
assured me that this is something that his team is working on
and it is of value, and we believe that it ought to be expanded
beyond the effort under the 2008 Farm Bill to include not just
rail but also issues relative to our waterways. We think there
is a tremendous----
Senator Klobuchar. At the locks and dams.
Secretary Vilsack. Yes.
There is tremendous opportunity there for us to study this.
We are working with the Department of Transportation to try to
identify the resources that would pay for this study. DOT is a
little strapped right now so we are going to continue to work
with them.
We have also had an opportunity to visit with the folks at
Burlington Northern to express the same concerns that I am sure
you have expressed emphatically to them, received assurances
from them that they have a plan to invest $5 billion this year
in additional rail, in additional locomotives, and in
additional staff.
We will obviously keep an eye and hold them to that
commitment and promise. That will help alleviate the concern.
It is unfortunate that this was not done before but better late
than never.
Senator Klobuchar. Okay. If you could just check back with
your people on the time line for the study, I would appreciate
it.
Second, one of the provisions I worked on was for young
farmers and ranchers. The average age of a farmer in Minnesota
is now 56 years old, and what we did here was reduced the cost
of insurance by 10 percent for young farmers and ranchers in
the first five years.
What is going on with the work to implement that provision?
Secretary Vilsack. That is going to be implemented before
the end of this year. In addition, we will be working with the
FSA offices to ensure that the credit opportunities I had
mentioned, the reduction of the interest rate which is of some
assistance.
We also have recently announced the availability of the
beginning farmer-rancher resources to help third parties assist
beginning farmers and ranchers putting together plans. We are
working very closely with veterans groups as well to create
this opportunity.
There are a number of steps that we have taken to assist
beginning farmers. There are conservation benefits that they
now have, advanced payments of conservation benefits. All of
that is in the works.
Senator Klobuchar. Okay. I am going to put a few questions
on the record about the importance that we have talked about
many times about the renewable fuel standard, the PEDV
outbreak. I that is something the USDA has been working on. and
then some questions on EPA regulations.
But I did want to turn to forestry for a minute. My State,
like the State of Michigan, has a strong forest products
industry, and I am pleased that it is now clear that forest
products are eligible to fully participate in the bio-based
programs.
How is USDA moving to implement the changes needed to
ensure that forest products can participate in these programs
and what is the time frame?
Secretary Vilsack. We have instructed folks to get this
established this year. We anticipate it gets done this year. In
addition, we have also announced a recent competition to take a
look at a new opportunity in forestry with cross laminated
timber.
It is a building material that is being used in other parts
of the world to build multi-story buildings. We think there is
a tremendous opportunity for particularly diseased wood that we
see in the western part of the United States to be used to
create this new industry, and we are hopeful that this contest
will spur additional forest product opportunities.
We are focused on basically putting it in the BioPreferred
Program this year but also looking at additional ways to grow
new industries.
Senator Klobuchar. Okay. Very good. The Farm Bill, as you
know, included a significant compromise between Ag
organizations and wildlife organizations that extends
conservation protections to the crop insurance program.
The Farm Bill also includes a sodsaver provision that I
worked on with Senator Thune to protect native prairie in
certain states. I understand that implementing the conservation
compliance rules is very complicated and that there are some
questions about how they will impact.
I think these both provisions, I know Senator Chambliss
worked on one of these very important. What are you doing to
get the information out to producers about the conservation
compliance and sodsaver provisions, and how are you working to
make sure the rules are enforced consistently?
Secretary Vilsack. We have had a series of listening
sessions and meetings with interest groups in Washington, DC,
and around the country to review with them certain conditions
and provisions of the Farm Bill.
I think we are emphasizing the importance of understanding
that these responsibilities begin the day and the minute the
President signed the bill, and I think there is a general
understanding. We will continue to work as well with
conservation groups to make sure that this message is amplified
and reinforced.
Senator Klobuchar. All right. Then last, I do not think I
need to tell you. I know you know what a hard time diary
producers have had over the last few years with the high feed
prices, the volatile export market.
The new dairy program will help producers manage some of
the risk by protecting against wild swings in a producers
margin.
One issue I have heard from dairy producers in my State
about is the need to ensure that there is a gap between when a
producer purchases margin insurance and when the insurance goes
into effect to prevent producers from trying to game the
system.
What is the USDA doing to ensure that the margin insurance
rules reward farmers for taking prudent risk management steps?
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, I will have to get you specific
information about that specific question. I can tell you that
we are very focused on getting this program up and running in
September as instructed by the Congress and that we obviously
got the MILC program in place in the meantime. But I will get
you a specific answer to the question.
Senator Klobuchar. Okay. I appreciate it.
Secretary Vilsack. I am sure these folks are focused on
this. I am just focused on making sure the program is up and
running in September.
Senator Klobuchar. Right. I appreciate that and thank you
for your good work on it.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much.
I understand Senator Grassley was next but he had to step
out to meet with a group and I know, Senator Harkin, you need
to leave and had asked everyone if you might have the
opportunity. So, without objection I understand that has been
agreed to.
Senator Harkin, we know that you have to be at another
meeting as well so please proceed.
Senator Harkin. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman and Ranking
Member Cochran. It has been a great pleasure to work with you
for all of these years and thank you for your hard work
together to get this Farm Bill through.
I thank the indulgence of the Committee.
I have known Secretary Vilsack now for probably, oh, gosh,
almost 30 years when he first became mayor of Mount Pleasant
and then as a State Senator and then as governor and now has
Secretary of Agriculture; and I have been a great fan and
admirer of his through all these years.
I think if there is one thing that I would characterize
your service as through all these years is one of being
responsible, responsible and results oriented. Mr. Secretary,
Tom, if I can call you that as an old friend, everything I have
watched you do from that time when you had that tragedy in
Mount Pleasant and you took over as mayor to your service in
the State Senate, as governor, and now has Secretary of
Agriculture that the one thing that has always impressed me is
that everything you do whether it was legislatively or in the
executive branch either federal or state executive, you always
had an understanding that everything we do, no matter how we
talked about it, no matter how small we get into the weeds on
it, it affects people. The end result all we do affects people
and affects families. You have never lost sight of that. I just
want to thank you for that.
I appreciate your great service to our State, your service
to our Nation and as Secretary of Agriculture, and if I just
might add just a personal interest of mine, I thank you for all
you have done for conservation and the conservation programs in
America.
I have some questions on that. I do not have time. I have
to chair a health hearing now in another room but thank you for
that and also your great leadership on rural energy and the and
the wheat program, all of those things we are doing out there
to help farmers make sure they get the kind of energy that they
need and to produce that we need in America.
Madam Chairwoman, I just thank you for that and thank you,
Mr. Secretary, for that. Your great leadership on nutrition
programs that you have done has just been outstanding, and I
just want to thank you for that and thank you for your
leadership, your friendship through all these years.
Madam Chairwoman, thank you for recognizing me. I am sorry.
I have to go chair another hearing. Thank you.
Chairwoman Stabenow. We certainly understand that.
Secretary Vilsack. Madam Chair, before the Senator leaves.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Yes.
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, I appreciate those kind words
but I think everyone in the State of Iowa and everyone in this
country owes you an extraordinary debt of gratitude. If you
want to talk about conservation, you cannot talk about
conservation and not talk about Tom Harkin in the same
sentence.
You have been a leader, the CSP program that you helped to
craft is leading the effort along with the EQIP program so that
now we have a record number of acres enrolled in conservation,
and it is working and it would not have but for your
leadership, and no one cares more deeply about folks who work
and are struggling than you do.
I really appreciate those kind words.
Senator Harkin. Thank you, sir.
Chairwoman Stabenow. I would just say amen to that, Senator
Harkin.
Senator Chambliss, you are up next.
Senator Chambliss. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Secretary Vilsack, welcome back. I want to commend you and
your staff over at USDA for committing to implement this Farm
Bill in a very quick manner and a very professional manner.
I truly believe we passed a good, solid bill that will work
for the people of this Nation. It is a bill that reforms
critical farm programs, strengthens the Nation's food security,
protects the livelihood of our farmers and ranchers, and
preserves our efforts to remain good stewards of the
environment.
I would urge that USDA continue to implement the policies
as we intended in the bill and where you have doubts that you
will come back and ask us for guidance if there is any question
about as I know you will.
I want to ask you very quickly about the Brazil cotton
case. In an effort to provide every opportunity to resolve that
long-standing WTO case, cotton is not eligible for the new PLC
and the ARC programs.
The calculation of the cotton loan rates has been modified.
The department has broad authority to make administrative
changes to the GSM export guarantee program, all of which you
are familiar with.
Has the Administration had an opportunity to consult with
Brazilian officials since the enactment of the farm law, and
assuming you have, what has been the reaction of Brazil to the
implementation of these provisions?
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, I think no one wants Brazil to
take the next step in this process to convene the Committee to
take a look at what next steps could occur as a result of the
adverse decision that we suffered.
We have been negotiating and discussing with the Brazilians
an effort to resolve this. I think that there has been headway
in terms of the GSM program. We are doing an effort to try to
educate the Brazilians on the precise nature of the steps that
we are taking in this Farm Bill. It is very complex. It is very
difficult.
We are in the education process to make sure that they
understand that the Congress made a good-faith effort to
respond to the concerns that were expressed in the WTO case.
Those conversations are ongoing, and it is my sincere hope and
belief that we will continue to work with the Brazilians until
we get to a resolution, and we are hopeful that gets done soon.
Senator Chambliss. Obviously, all of us are hopeful that a
resolution to this will be forth coming in the short term.
Assuming Brazil takes a drastic step to ask for a review panel,
I am assuming that the department is well-prepared to defend
the cotton industry on this.
Secretary Vilsack. We are and we will.
Senator Chambliss. Let me ask you for just a minute about
TEFAP. Obviously, we have seen a decrease in TEFAP of about 24
percent over the last several years and we have put some very
positive provisions in the Farm Bill relative to additional
funding for TEFAP.
America's farmers are deeply committed to helping their
local communities and obviously serving those in need and
particularly through the food banks.
In Georgia, for example, farmers have donated more than two
million pounds of produce and many more are in place to donate
additional loads of produce.
I know that food waste is an issue that USDA is focusing
on, and I would just like to ask you about grants and other
programs that can help food banks capture more nutritious
produce and get it to the people that need it.
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, we are working on that. You
know, we have over 2000 people's gardens that we have helped
generate at USDA facilities, donating over 3 million pounds of
produce to food banks across the country. We are working on
trying to create additional applications that could be used by
those who are delivering fruits and vegetables, say, to a
restaurant for whatever reason, if it does not meet the
standard of the restaurant, we would like them to have an
application that they can click on to see where the nearest
food bank would be that would be willing to accept that produce
that was not grade A for the restaurant but it was perfectly
fine for other uses.
That is part of our food waste effort. We are lining up
partners in the private sector. We have over 200 that have
already agreed to work with us on reducing food waste on
portion sizes, on reusing food, and on recycling food.
There is a major focus on this.
Senator Chambliss. Great. Well, again, thanks very much for
your quick implementation of the Farm Bill. It is not going to
be easy. They never are easy, but I will say that I have seen
more activity out of the FSA offices at the local level over
the past three or four months than I had seen in a long time,
and they have really done a good job of working with commodity
groups to bring our farmers together to explain the Farm Bill
in advance of sign-up deadlines, and that is the type of
professional implementation that we needed, and it looks like
it happen.
Thanks to you and your staff.
Secretary Vilsack. It may be because we put a Georgian in
charge of it the oversight.
Senator Chambliss. I did not want to get to that, Mr.
Secretary, but obviously she is doing one hell of a job and I
am glad.
Secretary Vilsack. No doubt about it.
Senator Chambliss. I am glad that you have her there with
you. Thanks to both of you.
Chairwoman Stabenow. I thought that is where you were
headed, Senator Chambliss, and I could not agree more.
Senator Bennet.
Senator Bennet. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I would like to
thank you and the Ranking Member and the Secretary, all of you,
for your leadership in this incredibly dysfunctional town. It
is wonderful to be on this Committee and to legislate in the
way the American people expect to legislate, Democrats and
Republicans working together, in passing not a 10-minute bill
or a two-month bill or keeping the lights on in this land of
flickering lights that actually passing a five-year Farm Bill.
We are very grateful in Colorado for your leadership and
for your leadership, Mr. Secretary, too.
One of the, as you know because we have talked about it a
lot, of vital interest to us was the Conservation Title in the
Farm Bill; and you and the Chair talked a little bit about the
regional conservation partnerships program. That is very
important to us.
The Colorado River District is looking for USDA to
designate the Colorado River basin as a critical conservation
area under the RCPP. The Republican River District wants the
Ogallala aquifer designated.
I would like, Madam Chair, to enter their letters of
support into the record if that is okay with you.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Without objection.
[The documents follow:]
Senator Bennet. I am out of time but I think I have only
gone for one minute.
[Laughter.]
Chairwoman Stabenow. Actually, I think we need to reboot
the time line. I think you started with some of Senator
Chambliss's time. We will boot up another.
Senator Bennet. One minute, quality not quantity.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Yes.
Senator Bennet. But I would like to enter their letters of
support into the record, Madam Chair.
I hope you will, Mr. Secretary, give them strong
consideration both to meet the programs criteria. They are
water-stressed regions of the country facing regulatory
challenges; and as you know, Colorado really is the headwaters
State in this country with the headwaters for 19 other states
that are downstream of us.
I do not know whether you would like to say anything else
about the RCPP program what you are looking for. You said you
were having listening sessions. Has anything come out of that
yet?
Secretary Vilsack. Well, Senator, I think we are going to
try to designate these areas by the end of this month. Then we
want to give folks the opportunity to put their projects
together.
There are three tranches of resources. $100 million that
came with the Farm Bill, seven percent of the EQIP money and
seven percent of CSP acres. We estimate that is roughly $200
million give or take and that money is going to be divided
based on some competitive efforts nationally, 40 percent of it
a national competition, 25 percent of it within states.
Colorado will have an opportunity to determine within the
State resource where money goes, and then 35 percent will go
into these critical care areas, and that will also be a
competitive circumstance.
The key here is to try to leverage these resources, and the
key is also to look at this from a larger conservation
landscape-scale, size effort. We started this several years
ago. We think this, as the Chairwoman indicated, could
transform the way in which we think about conservation and the
effectiveness of conservation.
We are excited about this, and we are looking for as many
partners as we possibly can find. We also want to incorporate
this in an effort that we will be doing this summer to
encourage others who may not be aware of what is going on in
rural America to be willing to invest more capital and create
more credit opportunities, and conservation will be part of
what we will focus on in that effort this summer.
Senator Bennet. Well, we are excited about it too, and we
would love to be one of your partners so let us know.
Actually, another question along those lines with respect
to partnerships. The application of the Endangered Species Act
has become a top of mind issue for a lot of people in Colorado.
Let me say for the record that I am a strong supporter of the
ESA. It is a statute that has protected a lot of wildlife and a
lot of habitat that makes the West such a special place to
live, and we have appreciate it be NRCS's efforts to facilitate
habitat conservation for the greater sage grouse.
Can you talk about the agency's ongoing work in this area
in light of the certainty that is brought about by the five-
year farm bill? I wonder in particular whether NRCS would
consider investing additional resources into the Gunnison sage
grouse, a species whose habitat lies mostly in Colorado. It is
arguably in at least as tough shape or rougher shape than the
greater.
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, we started this effort focusing
on seven species throughout the United States, trying to create
geographic diversity in terms of this effort.
The theory is that if we are asking folks to take steps to
protect these endangered species that they have to have some
degree of certainty that once they take the steps the rules are
not going to change; and once they invest money, the rules are
not going to change.
Our theory is that if we can put together a conservation
plan that we know will help increase and protect the habitat,
that we would work with the Department of the Interior and
obtain from them a commitment that if landowners follow certain
procedures, they would get up to 30 years of regulatory
certainty.
We would be more than happy to take a look at specific
species, but our goal right now is to try to focus on the seven
which includes the sage grouse, which includes the lesser
prairie chicken, and a number of other species.
Senator Bennet. Well, I would love to work with you on
that. My concern is that the local counties have done a
tremendous amount of work. This is not a case where you have
got people of ill will. You have actually got people that are
really trying to do the right thing.
My concern is that if we see a listing, all of those
efforts have been for naught, and people are going to feel like
the folks in D.C. once again are not paying any attention to
what is going on at ground level.
The cooperation is enormously important.
Secretary Vilsack. Well, I am more than happy to have Chief
Weller get in touch with your staff and we can set up an
opportunity to have a conversation about that.
Senator Bennet. Great. Good.
Finally, another provision in the 2014 Farm Bill allows for
expedited treatment of our national forest suffering from
insect or disease epidemics. We have talked about this before.
It is a huge problem as a warming climate and persistent
drought has allowed the bark beetle and now the spruce beetle
to kill millions of acres of national forests. I want to thank
you because very early on in the first Administration you
actually came out to see this for yourself.
I enjoyed partnering with Senator Thune to shape the
provision that gives the agency knew flexibility to treat these
forests while still respecting environmental laws and community
involvement.
As you now suggested on which acreage to treat from 36
governors, including Colorado, Governor Hickenlooper, could you
talk about the next steps for the Forest Service and can you
discuss how you will ensure the treatments are properly
targeted so we do not trigger litigation objections from local
communities?
Secretary Vilsack. These areas in terms of the expedited
NEPA process are limited to 3000 acres in size. We have
received from the governors their recommendations. The Forest
Chief Tidwell will be able to amplify or expand those
recommendations with his own recommendations.
The key here I think is to have the resources to be able to
do the treatment necessary, and that gets back to this whole
issue of how we pay for forest fires that have become more
intense and longer and much more expensive.
The reality is not long ago, roughly 15, 17 percent of our
budget was on fire suppression. Today it is 40 percent and that
creates uncertainty. This is why we have proposed and suggested
a different way of funding fire suppression that would provide
greater certainty in our forest budget which would allow us to
make commitments, specific commitments, that we could guarantee
and follow through with on the stewardship responsibilities.
We are prepared to work with governors. We are prepared to
move forward on these designated areas, but it will be much
more difficult if we do not get a handle on how we pay for fire
suppression. If we continue to do what we have been doing,
treating it differently than other natural disasters, we are
going to continue to squeeze the rest of the Forest Service
budget, and the progress will be much slower than you would
like.
But if we could get a new system that is not about spending
necessarily more money but spending it a little bit
differently, creating greater certainty within that Forest
Service budget, I think you would see accelerated efforts in
these areas.
Senator Bennet. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much.
Now in the nature again as being the bipartisan Committee
that we are, we are making a slight change. I thank my
Republican colleagues for allowing Senator Leahy, who I know
has to chair a Committee, to move ahead and then we will go
back since Senator Grassley was here before and then Senator
Hoeven. We will have two Republican colleagues and then we will
go back to Senator Donnelly and get ourselves back going on
track.
But one of the wonderful things about the Committee is
having a number of Committee chairs on the Committee, but that
means that we need to be flexible.
Senator Leahy, one of our distinguished former chairs.
Senator Leahy. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I thank
Governor Hoeven and I thank Senator Grassley too for their
courtesy.
I want to echo also what Senator Bennet said as praise of
you, Madam Chairwoman, that you kept us all together in getting
this Farm Bill out. You had several former Chairman, former
Chairs, former Ranking Members. I look around the room's
gallery on the wall of several of us.
We came in here under your guidance. You said let us do
legislation. Let's not do talking points. Let's do legislation.
Secretary Vilsack, I have to compliment you on that because
you and your staff worked so hard. We talked to each other in
the evenings and weekends. Adrienne Wojciechowski here on my
staff. We sent photographs of her to her husband so he could
remember what she looked like because she was practically
living down here.
But everybody worked together and I think what a thrill it
was when you and I and the Chairwoman went out for the signing
of this bill in Michigan, and it is important to me.
I obviously had an interest in the mid-sized dairy farms
which are important in my State of Vermont. How the department
interprets the premium rates for coverage in the new dairy
margin protection program for a farm for the first four million
pounds of milk, is going to have a major impact on the rule
about midsize dairy farms. These midsize dairy farms often
support multi-generations of farm families.
I think it is critical that we encourage these farms to
choose higher coverage levels in order to combat the erosion in
the middle. This is something the census of agriculture
referred to.
There is going to be a steep learning curve because you go
from a monumental shift from the milk MILC program where a farm
is either in or out. Now, it is no longer a yes or no decision.
They must have strategic thinking, consideration of farm's
aversion to risk, margin coverage levels, coverage protection,
all of the things you were aware of.
A lot of these small and midsize farms just do not have the
expertise within them to determine all of that themselves. Are
you going to be able to have adequate resources directed to
help these dairy farmers as they transition to this new margin
protection program? I say this knowing you have had huge cuts
in your own budget.
Secretary Vilsack. Fortunately, Senator, you and the
Committee and the Congress had the foresight to put together
resources for education and for modeling; and those resources,
we plan on announcing the distribution of those resources
sometime this month; and when we do, that will begin the
process of engaging our universities and other constituent
groups to give them the tools and the invitation to be able to
help us amplify and educate and provide the modeling that folks
will be able to use to determine what is best for their
operations.
I am confident that getting this money out the door quickly
is the best remedy to the concerns that you have which is
making sure that people have adequate time and adequate
information to make these important decisions.
Senator Leahy. One of my top conservation priorities in
this was the Regional Equity provisions. I want to make sure
that the conservation programs benefit all states as required
by the 2002, 2008, and the 2014 Farm Bill.
But we have seen in a lot of years when regional equity
states did not receive the minimum funding allocations even
when there was a proven demand and need.
We have this with Vermont's Lake Champlain, a new EPA TMDL
for phosphorus, a lot of complex things that they need. Lake
Champlain is the largest body of fresh water in this country
outside of the Great Lakes.
Are you going to be able to assure that regional equity
states have greater certainty about the minimum conservation
funds they are going to get so that all states can benefit from
these important conservation programs?
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, you might be surprised to know
that you are not the first Vermonter that has talked to me
about this. Your governor called me I think before the ink was
dry on the bill.
Senator Leahy. I had a feeling he might.
Secretary Vilsack. Yes, he did, and spoke at great length.
We obviously understand the responsibility that this is the
United States Department of Agriculture which represents all 50
states and we have to be very conscious of making sure that the
resources are distributed appropriately and equitably. That
ought to be a goal, and it is a goal, and we will do our best
to comply with the directive.
Senator Leahy. Then lastly the REAP Zones, the Rural
Economic Area Partnership Programs, these are extremely
important. We have what we call the Northeast Kingdom of
Vermont. It is a very rural area.
In the past, many people, leaders in our State, have said
how beautiful it is but have not really worked hard to do much
for it. Now, we are doing a lot. The REAP Zone has helped.
It has helped fire departments. It has helped people buy
their first homes. It has helped businesses open doors, and I
just wanted to encourage continuation of that. I spent a lot of
time up there. I go through there. My wife was born in that
part. My mother was born in that part of Vermont.
To see the huge return on investment that you made in the
REAP Zones up there, the taxpayer is going to get their money
back in greater jobs and investment and all but the effect on
the people and encouragement. Please keep an eye out for the
REAP Zone.
Secretary Vilsack. Well, both the zone in Vermont and the
zone in North Dakota were extended in this Farm Bill to 2018.
Candidly, I think the REAP Zones and its focus on regional
economic development helped to spur our efforts at looking at
how this could be done regionally in other parts of the country
successfully.
Senator Leahy. Thank you my much. Madam Chair, I thank you.
I thank my colleagues. I should also add to the knowledge that
we have former Chairs of this Committee, we even have a former
Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee.
Chairwoman Stabenow. That is right.
Senator Leahy. I wish all Committees were this easy to put
together complex legislations.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you so much, Senator
Leahy, for your essential leadership as we were able to get
this done.
Senator Grassley.
Senator Grassley. If I could stand up, I would like to call
my Committee members to attention to something that I tried to
accomplish in the last Farm Bill, and the Chairwoman was very
helpful but we did not succeed in the end even though the House
passed this, the Senate passed, or the House passed it and the
Senate passed it the same way.
The Conference Committee changed it so it makes it pretty
impossible for the Secretary of Agriculture to do what I
originally wanted it to accomplish to do.
But this is an example of a general, the legal structure of
a farming operation organizes the general partnership in
Louisiana. The general partnership was highlighted in a
Government Accountability Office report from last fall.
There are 17 different owners of 22 LLCs that make up his
general partnership. Sixteen of the 17 owners claim eligibility
for farm subsidies based upon active personal management only,
according to the GAO report.
According to the last available records that we could find,
these managers lived in seven different cities. The chart you
give will say nine different cities. That has got to be
corrected. It is seven different cities across three different
states.
I said that the Chairwoman tried to help us very much to
preserve this in conference. You remember you reported to me
that you were told, well, you really do not understand
agriculture very well.
It is pretty simple to understand the abuse of the farm
program with an operation like this for 16 out of 17 people
able to collect farm subsidies as the result of this.
As I indicated to both the Secretary before and just now,
it is difficult for him to write rules but he was given that
responsibility. I wanted to ask him some questions along this
line.
This is Section 1604 of the Farm Bill which requires the
Secretary to promote, promulgate a rule to better define,
quote, ``a significant contribution of active personal
management,'' end of quote.
Congress previously approved, as I indicated, a much
simpler fix by eliminating this to just one additional person.
Of course, you can see with manipulation of the farm program
like this you can see that it is pretty difficult for young
people to get started farming when you have got abuse of the
farm program like that.
Mr. Secretary, I think the first question, I am just going
to make a statement, unless you disagree with it. I think this
entity that is organized here is just one example that we have
from the report to maximize management efficiency is really
some things that is organized to maximize farm subsidies.
That is my opinion. Maybe I better ask you if that is too
much for you to accept.
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, I think people have been very,
very creative with the law.
Senator Grassley. Okay. Then this is a question I would
like to have you answer. I think it is simple.
The GAO report cited farm service agency officials who
essentially said the definition, quote-unquote, of actively
engaged was so broad that--and I am talking about previous to
this Farm Bill--was so broad that they could not enforce it
even if they wanted to.
Is that something you could agree as something that we
heard testimony from some of your people, I mean, before you
were even there?
Secretary Vilsack. Yes, I have no doubt that there was some
confusion about precisely what this definition is and is not.
Senator Grassley. So then another question. Since the
current definition of actively engaged stems from rulemaking,
the U.S. Department of Agriculture had authority, even prior to
this bill, I mean, our new law, to make changes to the
definition before this Farm Bill was signed into law.
That is not an accusation against you. That could be an
accusation against any of the previous Secretaries of
Agriculture. Would you say that is right?
Secretary Vilsack. I think that is correct, Senator.
Senator Grassley. Okay.
Secretary Vilsack. I think there was an opportunity to
define it, and efforts were made. Not an easy task.
Senator Grassley. Okay. Then a follow-up. Does this new
Section 1604 limit any of the existing authority--you heard my
premise. You have a difficult job. I understand that.
Does Section 1604 limit any of the existing authority you
had, meaning prior to the legislation, had to change the
definition of actively engaged before the Farm Bill passed? I
hope the answer is no.
Secretary Vilsack. Well, I am not sure about that, Senator.
Senator Grassley. Okay.
Secretary Vilsack. The way I understand it the modification
and the restriction that was then placed by virtue of the 2014
Farm Bill really, really narrows the capacity of the Secretary
in this particular space. As I understand it, you essentially
said, in essence, if it is a family farm, with a very broad
definition of family farm, you cannot be focusing on actively
engaged within the context of a family farm.
Senator Grassley. You are right. I agree with that.
Secretary Vilsack. That creates a very, very narrow lane in
which the Secretary can act. I have asked our team to educate
me fully on all of the examples that people have raised about
the concerns, because at the end of the day it is not really
about credibility, it is not just about all that you mentioned,
it is about the credibility of the farm programs to the 99
percent of America that does not farm. I think it is important.
It is also recognizing that farming is different. Farmers
in Iowa, the way they farm is a little bit different than the
way they farm in Mississippi and probably different than the
way they farm in Michigan.
You have to understand and appreciate that. But you also
have to take a look at ways in which people have been quite
creative and ask yourself is this consistent with what the
purpose of these programs are and I think the purpose is to
reduce the risk of farming so people can stay in the business
when mother nature does not cooperate.
Senator Grassley. I think basically I agree with you but
let us go down that narrow lane then that you are talking
about.
Since it does not say anything about your existing
authority that you had prior to this legislation, you can still
fix this problem for all farms consistent with the single extra
manager approach that Congress approved.
Secretary Vilsack. I am not sure about that, Senator. I
would be happy to look at that.
Senator Grassley. Could you look at that?
Secretary Vilsack. Sure. I would be happy to look at it.
Senator Grassley. Communicate with me.
Secretary Vilsack. Sure.
Senator Grassley. Okay. Then my last question. The
Government Accountability Office report also outlined that the
FSA was not doing its compliance reviews in a timely manner.
Has the Farm Service Agency taken any steps to fix that problem
at the state level?
Secretary Vilsack. Well, I think we are trying to adjust to
the fact that the workforce has been reduced by 20 percent
because of budget reductions, and we are trying to create a
little better structure to our Farm Service Agency offices that
would enable them to do all the work that they need to do.
I can assure you that we are going to take compliance and
the integrity of these programs very seriously.
Senator Grassley. Let me explain or just supplement what I
said. We seemed like we had a lot of examples in the GAO report
where at the local level there were a lot of decisions made
that certain farming operations were not being actively engaged
say, and later on an appeal at the state or the national level,
except in one or two instances, they were overridden.
Secretary Vilsack. I think our goal is to provide enough
certainty and clarity that we do not have a whole series of
appeals, that everybody knows what the rules are.
Chairwoman Stabenow. I would ask you to wrap up, Senator
Grassley.
Senator Grassley. I have no more. You bet. This will be the
wrap up then.
Going back to what you said you would look at and discuss
with me, it is in that narrow area of things that are not
defined as family farmers.
Secretary Vilsack. Yes.
Senator Grassley. Okay. Thank you.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Mr. Secretary, I just want to
associate myself with Senator Grassley and I believe we have
given you authority to address abuses and am confident that you
will be able to proceed to do that.
Secretary Vilsack. Some authority, Madam Chair.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, we are looking forward to you
using the authority you have. Thank you very much.
Senator Grassley. Very much as you can.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Yes.
Senator Hoeven.
Senator Hoeven. Thank you Madam Chairman.
Secretary Vilsack, Governor Vilsack, good to be with you
and working with you in your capacity as Ag Secretary. Thanks
for your work on the Farm Bill.
I also want to thank the Chairman and the Ranking Member
again for their work on the Farm Bill, and I also want to thank
you for your rapid implementation of the Livestock Indemnity
Program, very important in the western part of our State and in
South Dakota; and I have to say you really did jump on that and
it is much appreciated.
I think this is a good Farm Bill. The implementation is
going to take a lot of work to do as well. I know your people
are working on it very diligently. I think it also would be
quite useful for you to hear from farmers and ranchers on the
ground. You have been out to our State before, and I would like
to extend an invitation for you to come out, and I hope during
implementation that you would be willing to do that, to come
out and visit with some of our farmers and ranchers in our part
of the country and get their input as you engage in the
implementation.
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, fortunately, they do not let me
guarantee my schedule but I will do everything I can to make
sure I am available to folks.
Senator Hoeven. Good. Well, if you would work with us, we
will see if that is a possibility, and I think it would be
useful for you. We have a very diversified Ag base both on the
farming and ranching side, and I think that would help.
Secretary Vilsack. Not as diversified as Michigan, but,
yes, I know it is diverse.
[Laughter.]
Chairwoman Stabenow. That is true. I am so pleased, Mr.
Secretary, that you remembered that.
Senator Hoeven. I would be willing to kind of debate that
one anytime.
[Laughter.]
Senator Hoeven. What I do want to talk about for a minute
though is the wetlands mitigation bank that we included in the
Farm Bill to help our farmers deal with their conservation
compliance costs.
That is one of the issues I think you can hear from our
producers on, but just your thoughts now is you work to make
sure that as you implement conservation compliance that you are
doing it in a way that is farmer friendly and does not impose
undue burdens or costs on our producers.
Secretary Vilsack. Well, in terms of the mitigation bank,
it is our intention to get this up and going by early 2015. We
understand and appreciate especially in your neck of the woods
that there have been a lot of issues that needed attention. We
are doing our best to try to play catch-up on some of the
things that may have gotten a little bit out of hand in terms
of wetlands.
I know that the approval process and the certification
process, it created a huge backlog, and we have tried to
address that. We have cut it in half. We have got a new
initiative to put more people on the ground to help.
We are going to do everything we can to make sure that we
are farmer friendly and to try to get these determinations made
as quickly as we can.
Senator Hoeven. That would be much appreciated. This is an
area where the Chairman and I actually disagreed in terms of
the tying crop insurance and conservation compliance together.
Of course, that is why we included language on acre for
acre mitigation, and also this wetlands mitigation makes it
very important that as you move forward with implementation of
this Farm Bill that you are talking to our farmers about how
that is done to provide them with the certainty that they need
so that, like I say, it does not create undue costs and burdens
for them.
Secretary Vilsack. Well, NRCS is working to figure out ways
to best communicate the option that producers have, and we will
continue to do everything we can to make sure they have the
information they need to make the right decision for their
operation.
Senator Hoeven. Along that line, I want to go to a new
regulation that the EPA has put out, Waters of the U.S. This is
one that I am absolutely opposed to, that our farmers and
ranchers are terribly concerned about not only because of the
potential complexity and difficulty it creates for them but
also the potential legal liability.
Now, I think it was in front of our Energy Committee or
maybe one of the Appropriations Committees. Gina McCarthy,
Administrator of the EPA, came and testified in front of us and
indicated that she was going to work with you I think and also
with the Corps of Engineers on that implementation.
This concept of significant nexus I do not agree with and I
think is absolutely going down the wrong road. What assurances
can you give me that this is not a good big-time problem for
our farmers and our ranchers?
Secretary Vilsack. Well, I think it is important to note
that the Waters of the U.S. essentially says very clearly
normal farming practices are not going to be impacted and
affected.
The Administrator has assured that this is not designed to
provide more regulations in terms of ditches, and what we did
was that we suggested the need for greater certainty and
clarity which is why they have identified 56 conservation
practices that will not require notification or permitting.
That list can be expanded over time through an MOU that we
have entered into and will enter into with EPA and the Corps.
As situations arise, as folks confront challenges, I would
fully expect that list is going to continue to grow and that
list basically does provide farmers and ranchers a great deal
more certainty than they had before because they can now be
assured that if whatever they are doing is on that list, they
do not have to notify anybody, they do not have to ask
permission. They can proceed forward.
We will continue to work with folks. I think the key here,
Senator, really is for people to really understand what this
covers and what it does not cover, and they are making an
effort to try to make sure people understand, normal farming
practices not impacted. Additional regulation of ditches, not
the case. Conservation practices, 56 do not require
notification. No notice, no permit.
We will continue to work with you. If there are certain
circumstances and situations where your farmers are proposing
certain things and saying, well, what about this, get them to
us and we will try to help say what the answer is for each
individual situation. We are working with them.
Senator Hoeven. In asking EPA some of the same questions
from the perspective of the farmer, if you have got a farmer
and rancher who is engaging in his operations under this
significant nexus, it appears to me they are at risk downstream
to any group based on what occurs in the, quote, navigable
bodies of water.
That is why we are adamantly opposed to this, and I think
if you talk to farmers and ranchers you will understand that
they are very concerned because EPA is not telling them that
they are protected from liability downstream in the navigable
bodies based on whatever farming or ranching activities that
they may be undertaking. This is a big problem for our
producers.
Secretary Vilsack. Well, Senator, we are visiting with
producers on a regular basis and they are expressing concerns;
and as these concerns are expressed, we are working with our
colleagues at EPA to make sure they fully understand and
appreciate.
This is, as you know, not the final. There is an
opportunity I think for additional education and comments, and
I think EPA is taking that into consideration, and I think they
are hearing the concerns, and I would not be surprised if they
are not addressing and trying to respond to those concerns.
Senator Hoeven. Well, and this is why I think it is very
important that some of our farmers and ranchers have a chance
to visit with you on this and other important issues.
Thank you.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much.
Senator Walsh.
Senator Walsh. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Mr. Secretary, thank you for coming and thank you for your
service.
The Farm Bill is Montana's Jobs Bill. The programs in the
bill support jobs across the State, both on and off the farm.
From risk management tools for farmers and ranchers to
investment in rural economies to conserving our outdoor
heritage, the Farm Bill is a one-stop shop for supporting rural
America. It took too long to pass a new Farm Bill but thanks to
support across the country and the leadership on this
Committee, we have a chance to rebuild public trust by making
sure it is quickly and fairly implemented.
I commend your efforts in moving quickly to roll out the
livestock disaster programs. Montana ranchers need that support
from past losses from drought and blizzards.
I am also happy to see the roll out of the Voluntary Public
Access Program. This program holds incredible promise to
continue opening up access to prime fish and wildlife habitat
in Montana for hunting and fishing, building on Montana's
success with block management, and it will help sportsmen and
land owners alike to continue to grow our 2.5 billion outdoor
industry.
But for the new Farm Bill programs in particular, it will
take dedication and resources to get these right. I am deeply
concerned that the cuts and office closures in the budget
proposal will make it more difficult to get these programs out
quickly and educate farmers.
I sent a letter to your office on this very issue recently
and I am still waiting on a response. We cannot shut the door
on farmers and ranchers. They are the backbone of our rural
economy, and closing even more offices would have a devastating
impact in Montana where each office already covers many more
acres than other states.
Related to that, USDA is not utilizing the community-based
grassroots organization of the FSA. FSA folks on the ground
across Montana are unable to start answering questions about
the new programs from producers in their counties. I know they
do not have the answers yet, but it is important that they feel
free to talk to farmers about the new programs. This will help
identify local problems and solutions before it is too late.
On a more personal note, I was happy to see the provision
that created the Military Veteran Agricultural Liaison. I know
it can be hard adjusting to civilian life after active duty,
and this position will allow USDA to have a central resource
for veterans seeking opportunity in agriculture, creating jobs
across Montana and across the country. I encourage you to act
quickly to fill this position.
Now, there are a few Montana priorities I would like to
discuss. My first question, Mr. Secretary, is that the Farm
Bill provides the opportunity to update payment yields which
will be used in calculating a payment under PLC.
This update for those who choose it will allow productive
Montana farmers who enroll in the PLC to have a program that
better aligns with their good farming practices.
The bill also allows a voluntary base reallocation.
Planning patterns have shifted quite a bit in parts of Montana.
Some farmers want their base acres updated to reflect that
transition. As you know, farm policies change over time, and it
is common to use pieces of previous programs such as base acres
and program yields; and for that reason, it is critical that
the opportunity to update yields and reallocate base be offered
to all farmers regardless of which program they choose. It is
also important that FSA start the process as quickly as
possible.
My question is. Will all farmers be provided these
opportunities and what steps have been taken to implement these
two provisions?
Secretary Vilsack. It is our hope that by the fall folks
will be able to make appropriate adjustments to their acres and
production. Our goal, Senator, is to try to get information out
to folks so that they can begin the process of evaluating
precisely how these programs would operate.
That is why it is important for us to focus on getting the
education money and the modeling money out which we are going
to try to do this month. So, they will have that opportunity
and they will also have, I think, adequate time to be able to
evaluate the impact of these programs.
I will tell you that we will continue to work with our
local folks at the FSA offices. I am happy to visit with you
about the issue of FSA offices because I am not sure that we
have done a good enough job of explaining to you that this is
not really about cuts, it is about restructuring the way FSA
works so it can be better at its work, better at its job.
Senator Walsh. Okay. The Ag land easement program
administered by the NRCS has potential in Montana to serve our
working lands. Montana land trust used the previous easement
program to conserve 111,000 acres of our most productive land.
Unfortunately, the usefulness of the easement program has
been threatened by moving the decision-making from Montana to
Washington. This has made it harder to get waivers for
requirements that do not make sense on the ground in Montana.
The result is that thousands of acres in Montana could be
locked out all due to restrictions that do not advance the
goals of the program on those particular properties.
Also the success of the new easement program depends on
Montana's NRCS staff's ability to accommodate Montana's
agriculture practices. State offices should have the
flexibility to waive regulations that reduce the Ag viability
of the land while bringing no conservation benefits.
How much flexibility will be given to state
conservationists in the new Ag land easement program?
Secretary Vilsack. It is my understanding that they are,
that we look upon them as the principal decision-makers. One of
the things that we attempted to do was, rather than being
prescriptive in terms of how much money could be used for
easements and how much money could be for wetland restoration,
that we are giving state conservationists the ability to sort
of gauge what their need is in individual states and then they
can essentially appropriate and allocate the resources
according to the needs.
It is not going to be siloed. It is not going to be
dictated to them. They are going to have some flexibility to be
able to say, for our state more easements are important; for
other states, more wetland restoration would be important.
Senator Walsh. Okay. Thank you.
Finally, the bark beetle infestation in the West has killed
trees on millions of acres of forest land in Montana and across
the West.
Beatle kill hurts our rural economy by increasing risk of
wildfire, reducing marketable saw logs, and discouraging
tourism. Addressing the issue up front will save money in the
long run.
Governors across the country are awaiting your decision
about the proposed designations for priority landscapes for
treatment under the Farm Bill. In this critical period of
planning ahead of seasonal vegetation management, are you
confident the Forest Service can get work completed on the
ground this year, using the insect and disease language in the
Farm Bill?
Secretary Vilsack. Well, I am confident that our Forest
Service will do everything they possibly can to do the work
that is necessary, Senator.
I would say that the long-term capacity for us to do the
job that you want us to do and that we want to do is dependent
on us getting a different way of funding fire suppression. The
fire suppression budget eats up a substantial amount of the
Forest Service budget and creates the need for us to take money
from restoration and rehabilitation resources to be able to
fight fire suppression.
It is replaced the following year but the problem is there
is never any certainty about those resources. I think it's
extraordinarily important that the Congress addressed this,
create a new and better way of fighting the fires and funding
the firefighting which gives you greater certainty in the
restoration and rehabilitation portion of the Forest Service
budget.
If you had that, if we had that, we would see accelerated
activity in this area. We totally agree with you there needs to
be a tension.
Senator Walsh. All right. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
Madam Chairwoman, thank you.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much.
Senator Thune.
Senator Thune. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here and I want to take
this opportunity to thank you too for prioritizing livestock
disaster program implementation and for beginning to take those
applications on April 15 of this year, and I also want to thank
you for sending Undersecretary Scuse to South Dakota a couple
of different times since the October blizzard that we had out
there.
There were several hundred livestock producers in South
Dakota who lost tens of thousands of head of livestock during
that blizzard and the Livestock Indemnity Program is really
their only lifeline to sustain their operations.
I am wondering if you can provide an update with how many
LIP and LFP Livestock Forage Program applications you have
received in South Dakota and the status of payments that have
been issued for these programs.
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, roughly twenty-five hundred
applications between the two programs have been submitted from
South Dakota. I can get you the specific dollar amount that has
been distributed. It has been $16 million nationally. That
number is probably dated. I get a report every Friday
nationally in terms of all four of the disaster programs. I can
tell you 33,000 applications nationwide.
Primarily in the forage program is where a lot of the
payments have been made. A handful of payments have been made
but we are processing them as quickly as we can.
In South Dakota, 2260 livestock forage applications and 535
LIP applications. It does not tell me how much money has been
spent but we will get those numbers to you.
Senator Thune. Thank you. I want to ask a question too
about the Commodity Title included in the Farm Bill because it
is significantly different from and much more complicated than
the direct payments that title replaces.
The new Commodity Title includes ARC with this calendar
year or farm level option. PLC within SCO option. There are one
time choices that will last the duration of the Farm Bill or
through the 2018 crop year.
With commodity crop margins expected to continue to be much
tighter over the next few years, adequately educating farm
program participants is going to be extremely critical.
My primary interest in the issue is to ensure that USDA
recognizes and supports the need to select a lead institution
that will ensure programs of interest to producers in the
Midwest and the northern plains including county and farm-level
ARC as well as the PLC options are fairly represented in
development of a web-based decision tools that are going to be
available to producers.
Since there are regional differences and differences in
crop production methodologies and marketing, would you agree
that if USDA would utilize multiple universities that are
geographically diverse, more superior web-based decision aids
would be developed?
Secretary Vilsack. Yes, I think there is a recognition,
Senator, that we have to be very careful about these selections
for the very reason that you have addressed. If the modeling is
skewed to one commodity or another, you will end up maybe
making the wrong decision in some parts of the country.
We are going to do everything we possibly can to make sure
that these resources are distributed to folks who are capable
of establishing models that will be of most help and that will
reflect the diversity of American agriculture.
That is the goal. I cannot tell you today whether it is one
or multiple but I can tell you that the goal for certain is
making sure that there is no regional bias one way or the
other, and I think that is important.
I think folks are going to need information to be able to
make. This is a very important decision. It is not a decision
that they can reverse year-to-year. It is a once, this is it
for five years.
We want to make sure we give them adequate information. We
want to give them time to be able to evaluate. We want to give
correct information. That is the focus, and that is why we are
trying to get these resources out by the end of this month.
Senator Thune. Great. Well, if you could, I think it would
be really helpful to have one or more mid-western universities
involved in that process if you could do that.
Could you give us an update on CRP and implementation,
general time line for sign up for general and continuous CRP?
Secretary Vilsack. We expect and anticipate that the
continuous sign-up will resume sometime this spring. I have not
yet made a specific decision relative to the general sign-up.
There are some complexities. We have changed the program a
bit and I want to make sure that, as we look at these changes,
that we do the very best we can to maintain this program but
the continuous program will be resumed very, very shortly.
We expect and anticipate continued interest in the
continuous program, and I think the fact that we are going to
see constrained acreage in CRP really forces us to be very
focused on how we use these acres most effectively, and the
continuous program gives us that flexibility to really focus on
habitat or on pollinators or whatever it might be and on highly
erodible lands.
Producers are going to be given the right potentially to
make a decision to opt out.
Senator Thune. Right.
Secretary Vilsack. That is what I sort of want to be able
to evaluate in terms of its impact on the general sign-up and
how that opt-out procedure will work. We are in the process of
finishing that. I think very shortly we will be making an
announcement on where CRP is, but in my own mind I am not quite
there yet.
Senator Thune. I just want to point out one thing. This is
something that has to do with midterm management practices
which I think needs to be addressed when that new CRP
regulation is drafted.
I have heard from far too many producers in South Dakota
who have been told that the only midterm management practice
approved for them is to either burn the permanent vegetative
cover or to cut and bale it and then burn the bales.
It seems to me that a much more reasonable alternative
would be for all CRP practices that are subject to midterm
management to allow the cover to be harvested, donate it to a
third-party with either a minimal reduction in the payment or
no reduction at all, and discontinuing payment for midterm
management practices.
Everyone wins if this occurs, and the CRP contract holder,
the taxpayer, and you get no reduction in wildlife or habitat
benefits. I am wondering if you might consider making a change
in CRP midterm management.
Secretary Vilsack. Well, I think we recognize, we have
heard the same concerns that you have and I think we recognize
the need for more flexibility and the utilization of common
sense.
In fact, we just sent a bulletin out to our field offices
in the last week or so on this issue. I think you will see more
flexibility. I think you will see more common sense on this. I
think we learned a lot during the drought in terms of the need
for flexibility.
I would expect you will be more satisfied than you have
been.
Senator Thune. Good. That would be great. I mean, this is
something that consistently is raised by producers is they look
at this, this program and the way that it gets managed and it
just makes no sense, particularly when you look at all the loss
of cover. In our State wildlife habitat is a very important
issue as well.
Secretary Vilsack. I think that one of the things that I
have learned in this process is that we really do need to be
sensitive to how we make decisions about CRP because they are
subject to being questioned in litigation which basically slows
the whole process down.
So, to the extent that we can be collaborative, to the
extent that we can reach out to folks who have an interest and
a stake in this and learn from them and attempt to be somewhat
flexible and somewhat understanding of the various interests at
stake here, I think we could do a better job of avoiding
confusion, a better job of providing flexibility and perhaps
reduce the amount of litigation involved.
Senator Thune. Good. It would be great if you could reduce
litigation. I hear what you are saying and I understand that is
something that you have got to prioritize but people look at
burning bales or burning vegetative cover, they are just going
why are we doing this.
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. Before turning to
Senator Casey, I just want to underscore, Mr. Secretary, one
thing that Senator Thune was talking about on education
outreach. Actually, it was our intent in writing the language
more broadly that we would not have just one institution or one
region doing this but that we would have multiple institutions
throughout the region.
Senator Thune. Even if it is Michigan State.
Chairwoman Stabenow. That would be good, that would be a
great place to start, but we certainly do not want to see all
of it going to one institution. I know you understand that.
Senator Casey.
Senator Casey. Madam Chair, thank you.
Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here this morning. I am
sorry I had to run in and out. We are doing some juggling this
morning.
But before I get to questions, I wanted to try to maybe
explore three issues. Dairy, an issue you and I have talked
about over many years and I have always been grateful for your
help and for your understanding and the knowledge, of course.
Dairy, microloans, and maybe healthy food financing initiative.
But let me say first, I am grateful for your leadership at
this department at a very tough time in our Nation's history.
It is a very difficult time to be running any substantial
agency with all of the rancor and partisanship in this place
but also with the sometimes limited funding that is available
to do the things that we hope to do, and we are grateful for
your public service all these years in a tough job.
I am remembering. I do not know if you remember this, but I
think it was maybe August of 2012 or September of 2012. We were
together at a meeting. You were writing down all of the various
programs that were directly impacting Pennsylvania with dollar
amounts.
I do not think I saved that but I should carry that card
around because we need to remind folks about what is working
and what is positive and constructive. I am remembering that as
an indication of good progress.
On dairy, we have had, in all the discussions that you and
I have had about Pennsylvania, you have roots in our State. You
know it well. We are second only to Wisconsin in terms of the
number of dairy farms, and a lot of that story as you have
heard me talk to you about and as you understand has been a
difficult and a sad story.
Families, one-or two-or sometimes three-generation family
when they get to the current or the next generation, people in
their 20s or 30s or 40s turning to their parents and saying I
cannot do this or their parents saying to them you probably
cannot do this.
It has been a difficult story but we have got a little bit
of good news to report in more recent time frames. Milk
production in Pennsylvania is up nearly half a percent from a
year ago; and with milk quality, reproduction, and herd
management benchmarks improving, dairy exports are at an all-
time high.
Some good news there. The first question I had for you was
on the dairy margin protection program. Talk a little bit about
the implementation of that.
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, we are on track to get this
implemented by the September deadline that you all established
in the bill. We obviously have work to do and that is part of
why we are trying to get the education materials out and the
web-based tools out so folks can make appropriate decisions.
I certainly sympathize with the concern that you expressed
about the small and midsize operators. It is not just about the
dairy margin program. It is also about creating additional
market opportunities which is why we have been focusing on
local and regional food opportunities because often times you
have the midsize producer competing against a very, very large
producer who has, by the nature of their facility, greater
efficiency, greater ability to provide quality and quantity.
What we are trying to do is create alternative market
opportunities where those small to midsize operators are not
competing against the big guy in a commodity-based market but
are directly relating to a consumer and a customer that they
personally engage in.
Our hope is that it creates more opportunities for folks in
the middle to stay in business but it is no question it is
tough. We are going to get this program up and going in
September. Hopefully, that will provide some help and
assistance as well.
Senator Casey. That is great, and I am glad you mentioned
those smaller dairy farms and the margin protection program as
it relates to them.
I wanted to ask you about microloans. We know that the Farm
Bill established cooperative lending pilot projects to aid in
the administration of microloans. I just wanted to get your
sense.
I guess this is section 5106 implementing those cooperative
lending microloans programs. Can you talk about the
implementation of that section of the bill?
Secretary Vilsack. Let me just check. My focus frankly,
Senator, has been on getting us in a place where we can
increase the loan amount on the microloans from 35,000 to
50,000, and we expect and anticipate to be able to do that
sometime this fall.
We are still evaluating the pilots to try to figure out
precisely how that could happen and in what circumstance. But
with your question, we will go back and take a closer look at
that issue.
Senator Casey. I am grateful. What I have tried to do over
several years now is to try to create some opportunities where
committees can have the benefit of those microloans where it is
not only targeted but it is also in the context of
incentivizing the growth in local markets, kind of home-grown
food, and using microloans to stimulate that kind of activity.
Finally before we wrap up, the Healthy Food Financing
Initiative, another positive story to tell. We are seeing in
Pennsylvania that the program right now is supporting
renovation and expansion of existing stores in our State--I am
sure this is true in other states as well--so they can provide
healthy foods that communities want. Something like 88 stores
and 5000 jobs.
There is a $30 million investment of State dollars that has
resulted in projects totaling $190 million. A great synergy
between what the State was doing and what now the USDA is doing
to help with that.
I know part of that implementation is not just USDA but it
is also HHS and Treasury. Anything you wanted to tell us that
or any kind of an update?
Secretary Vilsack. The fiscal year 2015 budget that we
proposed includes money for the implementation of that healthy
financing initiative at USDA. It is authorized but resources
have not been appropriated so it would require an appropriation
in 2015.
Senator Casey. Okay.
Secretary Vilsack. We have been working with the Health and
Human Services folks and with the Treasury Department in the
use of credits in their grant program to try to encourage more
focus on food deserts and food areas where there is a need for
full-scale grocery stores or smaller operations that provide
greater selection than a convenience store.
Our focus I think at USDA has been primarily, initially in
this space is to create new market opportunities for those
small to midsized producers.
We have been working on expanding farmers' markets, working
on food hubs which will allow for an aggregation of locally and
regionally produced food.
Today we are announcing the farmers' market promotion
resources and the local food promotion resources that will be
available under this Farm Bill, roughly $30 million. That is
going to be potentially of some help and assistance as well.
Senator Casey. Thank you very much. Thank you for your
service.
Secretary Vilsack. My staff just provided me a note that
there is a listening session on this issue on the 30th of this
month in case your staff is interested.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you. Very exciting. The Healthy
Food Financing Initiative was a very, very important issue.
Thank you, Senator Casey, for raising that as well.
Senator Johanns, we were talking before you arrived about
having a former Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee. We
will certainly miss you as you leave us at the end of the year,
but we were glad as always to have your voice.
Senator Johanns.
Senator Johanns. Well, thank you very much. I have to say I
think this is the best Committee in the United States Senate.
In your leadership both the Ranking Member and Chair could not
be better. So, I thank you. I will miss you.
Mr. Secretary, it is good to have you here and I am going
to give you a compliment. Every time we have asked you to show
up and explain your budget or explain something that was going
on, you have done it, and I want to tell you how much we
appreciate that because it helps us do our job, and it makes
the USDA more accountable which in the end we both agree is a
good thing.
I applaud you and your team at USDA for recognizing the
important role that we play in on these Committees. I thank you
for that.
Secretary Vilsack. Thank you.
Senator Johanns. Let me, if I might, focus on a very
specific provision of the Farm Bill. I offered an amendment to
establish an Undersecretary for Trade in Foreign Agriculture
Affairs.
Almost immediately then Senator Max Baucus spoke up and
embraced the idea, and so it became bipartisan from the moment
I offered it. It got substantial support here. It got
substantial support in the United States Senate and became a
part of them Bill.
Part of the provision there provides that by August 6 you
will report to us on the implementation of that. I just was
curious, want to know, where are you at in terms of the
discussions about that? Where are you at in terms of thinking
about reorganization plans and how that is going to fit in and
do you believe you will meet that August deadline?
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, this is a lot more complex than
I initially recognized. I can tell you that we had a meeting in
my office where folks began to explain the various subparts of
USDA that have some either direct or indirect connection to
trade as you well know from your previous experience.
There are obviously equities and passions and concerns that
people have expressed. So, we are in the process of evaluating
all of those equities and making sure that we do a good job of
identifying every aspect of USDA that may have involvement in
this decision so that the report that we provide you is as
complete as it can be.
I do not want a situation where we report to you and then
someone says, well, what about APHIS' role in trade and why did
you not include that and if you are going to include how do you
include it.
I want you to know that we are talking about this, and I
recognize the need for a thorough and comprehensive review of
it. We will do everything we can to meet the August 6 deadline.
I do not know whether we will meet that or not to be
candid. We will not meet it if, in order to meet it, I am going
to sacrifice the quality of what I give you, but we will do
everything we possibly can to get there by August 6th.
There is a lot going on at USDA as you well know. We have
had reduced workforce. We are continuing to stress budget
constraints. So, we will do our best and we are taking this
seriously and we are looking at it and we will do the best we
can to give you as good a report as we can.
I will tell you this. I do recognize the importance of
trade generally to agriculture. I mean, we have had five or six
good years in trade and that has certainly helped to stabilize
farm prices across the board. We want to continue that and we
also recognize how complex this issue is.
Senator Johanns. Let me offer a thought because I think you
are enormously diplomatic. I can only imagine sitting in your
office----
Secretary Vilsack. You do not have to imagine it. You were
there.
[Laughter.]
Senator Johanns. --and the people coming in and the various
turfs and I can just feel the pressure of that weighing down on
you because we have said to you we want to hear from you by
August 6.
Thirty farm groups supported this. This had substantial
support. Let me use this opportunity just to say to USDA this
is really important. This is one you cannot outlast me because
there are other advocates who want this to happen.
There are 30 farm groups that want it to happen, and it
just makes sense. You know, I look back at my time at USDA and
so much of what I did was trade related. I would have given
anything to have this position in place, and I get the
complexities, I do, and I get the turf, I get the battles that
are going on.
Secretary Vilsack. If I can just say one other thing,
Senator. It is further complex because our deputy, Darci
Vetter, who has been so heavily engaged in trade discussions is
now being proposed to move over to USTR.
It is timely but there are a lot of moving parts here and I
do not want to suggest to you that my answer should indicate to
you that I do not think it is important or that I do not think
it is something that we should do. I just want to make sure we
do it right.
Senator Johanns. Yes, we want it done right and we want it
done. So, that is two things they need to do. It is very
straightforward.
Let me, if I might, turn to trade. I have been offered the
opportunity many times, as all of us have on this Committee, to
talk about TPP, TTIP; and I have offered the opinion that I do
not see a pathway to success with either one of those without
trade promotion authority.
I just do not think a trading partner is going to negotiate
and give back and forth when they know that 535 people, after
the agreement is reached, can hit it, amended it or whatever.
I would like your comments on that. The President mentioned
it in his State of the Union address. How important is it for
us here in Congress to support the President on this one, and I
do support him and I will help him in any way to get this, but
how important is it to get those trade agreements done?
Secretary Vilsack. Well, there is enormous opportunity for
expanded agricultural trade with these two trade agreements.
There are hundreds of millions of new customers that we could
appeal to and that we would basically win a significant
percentage of because of the quality and quantity and the price
that we can provide.
Having said that, I do not think we should underestimate
the difficulty of these negotiations whether you had TPA or
not, whether you had trade promotion or not, they are still
going to be extraordinarily difficult because there is
resistance on the part of some of our trading partners to open
up their markets as open as our markets have been.
I think there are two ways to approach trade promotion
authority. You pass it and then you get the agreements or you
get a decent agreement, a good agreement, you go to Congress
and say, look, you got this opportunity. Trade promotion
authority would fast track this. A great opportunity. Let us
take advantage of it.
I think either way you could get to where you need to be.
But I do not want to underestimate the difficulties of these
negotiations under any scenario. The Japanese are very
difficult. I think there is a pathway to potential progress
there but there is a lot of work left.
Senator Johanns. Thanks. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much.
Senator Gillibrand.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Thank you,
Ranking Member. I so enjoy the work that we do on this
Committee and I am grateful that you brought our Ag Secretary
here to begin to discuss the Farm Bill.
Mr. Secretary, it has been an honor and privilege to work
with you. I think you have done an extraordinary job in meeting
the needs of farmers all across America, and I want to thank
you for your service.
I would like to talk a little bit today about dairy if that
is all right. In the 2014 Farm Bill, we required a number of
changes that will impact dairy farmers across the country.
Now, in New York, we have lost a lot of cows. We lost about
65,000 cows between 2002 and 2012 and nationally dairy farmers
have lost about $20 billion in debt equity between just 2007
and 2009.
2009 was a horrible year for dairy pricing. The average
dairy farm in New York State are small dairies. They are 150
cows and they typically have received MILC for free.
Now we have a new program and my question is. How will the
USDA conduct outreach to the smaller farmers to help them at
enroll them in the new margin insurance program to ensure that
they are still covered in the event of another bad year like
2009 and how will your USDA field offices help farmers decide
what level of coverage to purchase?
Secretary Vilsack. Well, the first step in the process is
to get the educational materials and the decision-making
materials which is why you all have had the foresight to
provide up to $6 million to be able to do that. Those resources
are going to go out the door very, very soon.
That will allow us to engage our university partners in
getting information out and in an appropriate way. It will also
equip interest groups that have an interest in all of this to
be able to begin the process of educating their members or
constituents, their customers.
Our FSA offices obviously will have information and will be
in a position to be able to respond. Our goal here is to
provide producers, whether it is dairy or any other producer,
sufficient and adequate information and the time to make
appropriate decisions.
I think getting the educational resources out the door by
the end of this month is clearly important to accomplish both
of those.
Senator Gillibrand. Do you think the margin protection
program will be ready for September 1?
Secretary Vilsack. Yes.
Senator Gillibrand. That is great. Do you think FSA has all
the stuff they need to do for what they need to do?
Secretary Vilsack. Not today but they will.
Senator Gillibrand. By then. Okay.
Also related, the new Farm Bill stipulates that you cannot
have both livestock gross margin and a margin protection
program at the same time but a lot of our farmers have been
using LGM since the good risk pool.
The problem is that farmers purchase contracts at various
increments in time but usually for a period that covers several
months. So, these are farmers who are beginning to purchase
contracts that are going to the fall. These farmers want the
opportunity to evaluate MPP when the rules come out and decide
if it is right for them but do not want to give up their LGM.
The question is. How will the Secretary work to provide
clarity on LGM dairy transition given that the new margin
protection rules are still pending?
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, I want to give you a correct
answer on that so if you will let me get back to you.
Senator Gillibrand. Okay.
Secretary Vilsack. Because, as I sit here, I do not know
the precise answer to that. I do know while that program is
important, it is so inadequately funded it takes hardly
anything in to get the resources used up.
Senator Gillibrand. Okay. Maybe just give that to the
package of the FSA folks as you are training them for September
1, just that one piece, make sure they can advise the farmers
accurately what to do.
Secretary Vilsack. Good point.
Senator Gillibrand. Second topic I would like to bring up
is the healthy food financing initiative. This was really
important for me because a lot of our communities do not have
access to affordable fruits and vegetables and whole foods.
I was really excited that we authorized it. It provides
loan and grant financing to attract grocery stores and other
fresh food retailers to underserved areas, urban, suburban,
rural.
You would be surprised, in New York State, we are one of
the bountiful states but we have food deserts in the north
country. We have food deserts in the Bronx.
It does not matter if you are a big city or highly rural or
mountainous, just access to healthy foods is sometimes very
difficult. So, the question is. Can you assure us that the
healthy food financing initiative will be administered in such
a way that can get to all of these communities and recognize
that even though it seems crazy that a state that is so
bountiful like New York still has food deserts?
Are they going to be able to implement that in a way that
reaches all the communities that need it?
Secretary Vilsack. We will be able to satisfy that we will
pay attention to wherever the deserts are regardless of what
state they may be located in.
It is important, however, that we are able to receive an
appropriations in the fiscal year 2015 budget to fund this
program. It was authorized but not funded in the Farm Bill. So,
we need and we have asked for millions of dollars in this
fiscal year 2015 budget. If we get those resources, we will
make sure that we do.
Senator Gillibrand. Madam Chair, will you work with me to
make sure we fund that because it is really vital for our
State?
Chairwoman Stabenow. Absolutely. I will just add that I
have talked to Secretary of the Treasury because new markets
tax credits had also been used for this and I have encouraged
them to continue to identify new markets tax credits.
Secretary Vilsack. HHS has had grant programs in the past
that they have also used. We are collaborating with them even
though we have not had a specific tool. There are ways in which
we can use some of our rural development resources that are not
quite as attractive as a grant but we are using them.
Senator Gillibrand. To incentivize folks to invest, yes.
That is helpful.
Related, I have been working with the community development
financial incentives program to really good affect. For
example, with the support of an HFFI grant, we had teenagers in
Brooklyn, the Cypress Hills neighborhood.
We were able to start a youth-run urban farm stand, and
these farm stands are great because these intercity youth who
do not know anything about farming get a chance to learn where
their food is grown, how it is grown. They tried vegetables
they have never had before. They learn about small businesses.
They learn how to manage a business operation.
They are extremely effective. So, the question is. How do
you see HFFI complementing other programs like the farmers'
market promotion program or value-added producer grants?
Secretary Vilsack. Well, it is all part of an effort to try
to reconnect people with their food supply and have a greater
appreciation for producers everywhere.
It is all part of an effort to try to create additional
market opportunities, whether it is urban, suburban, or rural.
The reason why these become important is the shrinking middle
of agriculture that I have deep concerns about.
The folks at the top of agriculture are doing pretty well
and they will continue to do well because they are
extraordinary, they are efficient, they are productive, they
have amazing export market opportunities.
The folks who are small--they are doing okay because they
have off farm income. It is the folks in the middle that have
small-sized, middle-sized operations where farming is their
principal employment and they are just having a hard time
competing in a commodity market.
Our goal is to try to create diverse market opportunities
for them. So, all of this, it is an overall package to
revitalize the rural economy. Production agriculture and
exports, local and regional food systems, conservation,
ecosystem markets and outdoor integration, and the bio-economy
are the four cornerstones that you all have put in place in
this Farm Bill to revitalize and rebuild a rural economy that
will help some of these small and midsized operators.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
I just want to end with I also look forward to working with
you on some food safety initiatives which are not in the Farm
Bill but are not necessarily getting the attention from USDA
that they need and a particularly different bacteria that
affect poultry, making sure we focus on Campylobacter and other
types of bacteria that we need to protract for our food supply.
Secretary Vilsack. We are very focused on that. We are the
first Administration to propose performance standards on
Campylobacter. It is a tough word to say.
Senator Gillibrand. I would love to work with you on that
and also, when we processed meats, ground beef, there is so
much work to be done. It is not a Farm Bill issue but I really
want to move the ball on that issue.
Secretary Vilsack. Okay.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much. I know as we wrap
up, Senator Cochran had another question. I have just a couple
of comments and then I will turn to Senator Cochran.
Mr. Secretary, on crop insurance I would be remiss if I did
not indicate that when we look at all of the ways in which we
have expanded the supplemental coverage option and new
opportunities for the young farmers and so on, I want to make
sure that specialty crop coverage which is so critical does not
get lost or put at the bottom there.
It is very, very important that we create those
opportunities for farmers that have not traditionally had
direct payments or asked for any kind of direct subsidies.
I know that Senator Gillibrand cares about this as well
that we make sure those dollars are there and that crop
insurance plans are getting out the door.
Then finally, and I will follow-up with questions for the
record but I am very excited about our Food Insecurity
Nutrition Incentive Program. We had a very successful program
called Double Up Bucks in Michigan.
There have been programs in other places. I hope you will
be looking to these successes in our country as you put
together the best practices for the incentive programs.
I am looking very much forward to working with you on these
new opportunities for people who are using food assistance
programs have the opportunity for healthy food purchases
through farmers markets and so on. Very, very important.
So Senator Cochran.
Senator Cochran. Madam Chairman, thank you.
Mr. Secretary, as you are aware, cotton producers are
transitioning to a safety net known as the Stacked Income
Protection Plan. It is based on crop insurance.
Because this plan will not be available to producers before
the 2015 crop year, the Farm Bill provides transition
assistance for upland cotton producers using their 2013 cotton
base acres.
When do you expect the department to hold sign-ups for
cotton transition assistance?
Secretary Vilsack. This summer, Senator, with payments this
fall.
Senator Cochran. Any specific dates in there? Summer is a
big season in Mississippi.
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, I do not have a specific date
but we will do our best to get you specific information, but
obviously we understand the importance of these transition
payments and we want to make sure we get them out.
Senator Cochran. The timeliness is important because of our
observations about the weather.
Mr. Secretary, conservation programs underwent significant
changes during consideration of the Farm Bill. Programs such as
the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program and the Wetlands Reserve
Program are maintained but consolidated into programs with
similar functions and purposes.
It has come to my attention that the Natural Resources
Conservation Service has incurred a significant backlog in
restoration costs from prior-year enrollments of the Wetlands
Reserve Program.
How will the department address this specific situation as
it implements a new consolidated easement program, and what
impacts do you expect from merging the Wildlife Habitat
Incentive Program into the Environmental Quality Incentives
Program? How do you envision USDA implementing the funding
allocation for wildlife practices?
Secretary Vilsack. Senator, that is a number of questions
that I want to make sure that we get you a full and detailed
answer to. Let me give you sort of a 50,000-foot answer.
We did recently announce the easement program and the
wetlands restoration effort, and I think one of the things that
will do in terms of processing is it is going to equip the
state folks with a little bit more flexibility and power to
make decisions which should make it easier and less time-
consuming than in the past.
They can now evaluate what they think their needs are
relative to easements and wetland restoration and be able to
allocate resources accordingly. So, that should shorten the
amount of time it takes to get decisions made and resources to
producers.
In terms of the overall relationship of various programs, I
think it is important to point out that this Farm Bill is
historic in terms of conservation.
For the first time I believe in the history of Farm Bills,
the amount of money allocated to conservation programs
generally currently exceeds the amount that will likely be
spent on some of the safety net programs. That is a change.
I think what we are now seeing is conservation in essence
being part of that safety net, and I think it is important that
we be as thoughtful and as strategic with these conservation
dollars as we possibly can, and I like the balance you all
struck in this bill with the regional partnerships that gives
us leverage opportunity. With the remaining EQIP resources and
the CSP resources we can individualize.
We can focus on efforts as we have with endangered species
to provide greater certainty and use tools in conservation to
encourage sister agencies to provide regulatory certainty. We
can use conservation resources to create new opportunities for
private sector investment in conservation.
We are going to see over time the ability to quantify,
measure, and verify conservation results which will allow
regulated industries that need those environmental results to
be able to obtain them not by building great infrastructure,
but by investing in private land conservation which creates a
whole new vista of income opportunities.
Utilizing the resources of conservation is all about soil,
water, and air but it is also about how we leverage, how we
multiply the economic impact of conservation so that it becomes
a tool of rebuilding a rural economy.
That is the instruction and direction I had given to our
NRCS folks is to be creative about this and I think the tools
that you all have given us, I think it is a great day for
conservation, I really do.
Senator Cochran. Madam Chair, I appreciate very much the
candor and the full explanation the Secretary has given us on
these subjects. I admire and praise you for your initiatives in
the environmental area and conservation. These topics are very
important to many of our states, mine included. So thank you.
We look forward to working with you to help ensure that
funding is available to do these things that we had hoped the
Farm Bill authorized.
Thank you.
Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you, Senator Cochran. I
know how important conservation is and what a key role you have
played in this.
Mr. Secretary, thank you very much. You can tell from the
attendance this morning and the questions our top priority is
implementation of the Farm Bill. We spent way too long getting
to this point and are very, very pleased with the work you are
doing. We know you have all hands on deck as you are moving
forward and we commit to work with you as well.
Getting this implemented in it's entirety is the top
priority for me and for all of our Committee doing this the
right way under the legislative intent of the Farm Bill
obviously is something we are committed to and we know you are
as well.
Secretary Vilsack. Madam Chair, if I could just thank you
for the opportunity today to report. We will continue obviously
to do that but you mentioned the Food Insecurity Pilot Program
which is of importance to you.
Our food and nutrition consumer services will be working
with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture that is in
the business of providing grants, to work collaboratively.
We expect the initial solicitation to be in the fall. We
fully understand and appreciate those who have had experience
in this area before need to be drawn on.
But we also want them to maybe bring on some new
participants in this area so that this effort can grow. We are
excited about the opportunity. We are going to try to use these
resources that you provided creatively.
Chairwoman Stabenow. That is terrific, and I know there is
interest in partnering or mentoring between those who have done
this before and those who want to do it. There is really some
opportunity I think to be creative in this space. I appreciate
your doing that.
Secretary Vilsack. Absolutely.
Chairwoman Stabenow. For the Committee members, any
additional questions for the record should be submitted to the
Committee clerk five business days from today. That is by five
p.m. on Wednesday, May 14.
Without any further questions, the meeting is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:24 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
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