Farm Bureau leaders make voices heard on Capitol Hill

By Christine Souza

Congress debated legislation to fund the federal government amid other political theater in Washington, D.C., last week. At the same time, a delegation of California Farm Bureau leaders held meetings in the district to urge support on important issues facing farmers and ranchers.

Farm Bureau leaders and the organization’s federal policy team met in the nation’s capital Sept. 10-13. Discussions focused on issues such as the next federal farm bill and the need for prompt relief funding to help farmers recover from disasters, including flooding and wildfires.

Matthew Viohl, California Farm Bureau director of federal policy, said the county leaders’ trip to Washington, D.C., brought together farmers, ranchers and Farm Bureau staff from all corners of the state.

With the House and Senate back from the August recess, Viohl said the focus now turns to Sept. 30, the date the 2018 Farm Bill is set to expire and the deadline to avoid a government shutdown.

In meetings with legislative staff, Viohl said, much discussion focused on whether members of Congress would reauthorize the farm bill—a package of legislation that funds federal farming programs—by the deadline.

“Going into this year, lawmakers were hoping to get the farm bill passed by its original deadline of Sept. 30. However, the timeline for its passage more realistically looks like the end of the year or early 2024,” Viohl said. “We encouraged congressional leaders to pass the farm bill and make sure that the legislation addresses the more unique needs of California and other Western state producers.”

Farm Bureau leaders, in meetings with representatives and legislative staff on Capitol Hill, urged federal crop insurance to be expanded.

Alex Arroyo, operations manager for King City Transplanting, a commercial vegetable nursery in Monterey County, said, “the group advocated for the expansion of federal crop insurance to cover more crops, including specialty crops.

“Only about 75 of the 400 crops we grow in the state are covered by crop insurance,” Arroyo said.

Viohl said specialty crops have historically “played second fiddle to some of the bigger commodities, such as corn and wheat.” He added, “While those are certainly important crops that are also grown in California, the farm bill should be equally supportive of commodities of all types.”

As debate of the 2024 Farm Bill continues, Viohl said, a short-term extension is possible, since certain parts of the legislation technically do not expire or lose funding until Dec. 31.

“A continuing resolution is beginning to take shape, which will give us a better idea of what to expect for the end of this month,” he said.

Farm Bureau leaders also addressed disaster assistance funding in their meetings. They said the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies must work to get the funding to affected farmers and ranchers in a timely manner, noting that many have been forced to wait years for previously approved financial assistance.

Arroyo, a board member of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, said his region suffered major impacts from 2023 floods.

“The storm from early this year was obviously a big hit to everybody,” he said. “The small farmers were the most affected by flooding, and a few of them are still having trouble recuperating and trying to get back on their feet. A lot of crops that were harvested or yet to be harvested were destroyed. It was catastrophic. It was something we had not seen in this area since 1995.”

Arroyo said he works with many small Central Coast farmers and added it is hard to watch them struggle while waiting for some relief. Arroyo said, “The federal relief is not getting to the affected growers or ranchers fast enough. People need to get back on their feet and it takes money.”

Similarly, speaking on behalf of her region of the San Joaquin Valley that was affected by flooding early this year, Tulare County Farm Bureau board member Danielle Vietti said more timely disaster relief funding is needed for those impacted.

“As a partner with the dairy community, it was devastating to watch the impact of flooding to operations and livelihoods,” said Vietti, who works in finance serving the dairy, nut and citrus sectors. “The visit with legislators was an opportunity to explain firsthand the need for disaster relief, as the current programs don’t cover losses adequately or timely.”

Stanislaus County farmer Mark Avilla, who farms walnuts in Modesto, previously visited Washington, D.C., with other agricultural delegations. This time, he was representing California Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers program, of which he is a member.

“In terms of what we lobbied for on the Hill, it was things that benefited all farmers, so expanding crop insurance, funding for disasters like wildfires and passing the farm bill,” Avilla said.

Avilla said he felt empowered by seeing so many farmers and ranchers from across the U.S. lobbying members of Congress in Washington last week.

“The city was buzzing with people. There were multiple farm bureaus in D.C. lobbying for their state farm bureaus and the farm bill,” Avilla said. “It was just really powerful to see members of the Michigan Farm Bureau, the Wisconsin Farm Bureau and the Indiana Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers and so many agricultural organizations there at the same time.”

(Christine Souza is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)