AgNet Weekly with Sabrina Halvorson

Last month, the Senate committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on Examining the Implications of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency for Clean Water Act Protections of Wetlands and Streams. Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota is on that committee and was at the hearing, and in fact asked several questions of the witnesses. Host Sabrina Halvorson talked with Senator Cramer shortly after about the hearing and about WOTUS in general. This was just before the House selected the new Speaker, and Senator Cramer and Sabrina also discussed the delays in the House and what that could mean for the new farm bill.

President Biden visited a farm in Minnesota this week, where he announced more than $5 billion in new investments from his Investing in America agenda to advance rural prosperity, economic development, competition, and sustainability. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack joined him on the trip. Sabrina Halvorson spoke with Secretary Vilsack over the phone about the announcement and how the funding for the different programs involved will affect farmers.

The nation has a new Speaker of the House, and he’s someone already trusted by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Host Sabrina Halvorson talks this week with NCBA’s Vice President of Government Affairs, Ethan Lane, who said though Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana has not served on the Agriculture Committee, he has a strong voting record when it comes to agriculture.

In a recent story for Southeast AgNet and AgNet West, Sabrina Halvorson talked with a representative of the National Cattlemens Beef Association on why they’re against the Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act. The OFF Act would make some changes to checkoff organizations. After that aired, Sabrina heard from a farmer and organization leader who is in favor of the OFF Act and invited her to share her thoughts. In this episode, Sabrina is chatting with Angela Huffman, Vice President of Farm Action Fund. To keep everything clear on what the act actually says, Sabrina put a link to it in the post for this episode of the podcast on our websites, so you can check it out for yourself: southeastagnet.com and agnetwest.com. You'll also find a link to the original story with the NCBA, so you can get their thoughts as well. 

In the second episode in our 2-part series on the tomato suspension agreement, we hear from Michael Schadler with the Florida Tomato Exchange, on why the organization wants the agreement terminated and what it could mean for growers.

Last week we heard from Lance Jungmeyer, President of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, which is against terminating the agreement and the effect it could have on importers and some businesses. If you missed that, you can always go back and listen to last week’s episode.

Should the U.S. terminate the tomato suspension agreement with Mexico? This agreement is intended to keep Mexico from flooding the U.S. market with underpriced tomatoes, however, some industry leaders say it’s not working, and the agreement needs to be terminated so Mexico can be held accountable. Others worry that terminating the agreement and making Mexico pay duties or fines for these tomatoes will lead to that nation sending us less product. They are against terminating the agreement. Sabrina Halvorson talked with leaders on both sides of the issue and will have both interviews for you in this two-part series.

Next week, we’ll hear from Michael Schadler with the Florida Tomato Exchange, who will explain Mexico’s tomato dumping and the effects on U.S. growers.

But this week, we’ll start with the interview Sabrina did first, which is with Lance Jungmeyer, President of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas. The organization is against terminating the agreement. The association and its members help to ensure North America’s uninterrupted access to Mexican-grown fruits and vegetables.

In this special early episode, host Sabrina Halvorson talks one-on-one with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack about the effects a government shutdown would have on farmers around the nation. 

There’s a call to reevaluate the required minimum pay for ag labor and the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) Rule . Michigan’s current minimum wage is $10.10 for workers who don’t get tips, but the minimum wage that farmers can pay their H2A workers is $17.34. The Executive Director of the Michigan Asparagus Association, Jamie Clover Adams, says the true cost is even more. She joins host Sabrina Halvorson on this episode of the AgNet Weekly.

Find out why Congressman Dan Kildee (D-MI) says 'don't touch' the nation's sugar policy. He joins host Sabrina Halvorson in this week's AgNet Weekly. 

The Farm Bill, progress on current agreements, and campaign promises. There’s a lot going on in the world of trade. Brian Kuehl, Executive Director of Farmers for Free Trade joins us this week to talk about all of those things.