NASDA sets 2025 policy priorities
With the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) set to hold its 2025 Winter Policy Conference Feb. 24-25 in Washington, D.C., the agency recently released a statement outlining the five issues members, state commissioners, secretaries and directors of agriculture agreed upon to serve as the organization’s primary policy focus for the coming year.
These include the farm bill, food systems, pesticide regulations, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and state cooperative funding.
“NASDA members have specified these areas as necessary to work on to best support farmers, ranchers and communities nationwide,” notes NASDA Chief Executive Officer Ted McKinney in a Jan. 29 press release. “Further, we believe these areas represent critical opportunities where state departments of agriculture can lead impactful change and champion effective policy solutions this year.”
The farm bill
In regards to the upcoming farm bill, NASDA believes there are 10 critical issues which need to be addressed.
First, NASDA recommends significantly increasing funding for research on U.S. food security and natural resource protection, especially through programs like Extension.
The agency also supports increasing funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant program and programs to prevent and manage invasive species, as well as expanding the Market Access Program for trade promotion and the Food Safety Modernization Act to assist farmers in complying with the law.
Additionally, NASDA is pushing for the upcoming farm bill to include support to maintain the Comprehensive Food Safety Training Network at the authorized level of $20 million a year to address cyber security, amend the federal definition of hemp to increase total THC concentration to one percent or less and maintain programs related to local food systems and conservation and climate resiliency.
NASDA also endorses – and hopes to build upon – the three-tiered animal disease prevention and management method outlined in the 2018 Farm Bill and supports increased funding for the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank.
Food systems
NASDA’s second policy priority includes advocating for increased investments in food and nutrition assistance programs to combat national food insecurity, strengthen local and regional food systems and improve public health.
“Strengthening the connectivity within supply chains not only creates new market opportunities for small, medium-sized and beginning farmers, but also bolsters rural economies and improves access to nutrient-dense foods,” NASDA explains. “NASDA supports science-based policies and food safety standards, urging policymakers to uphold evidence-based dietary recommendations which promote safe, healthy food for all.”
Pesticide regulations
Because pesticides are an essential tool in ag production, NASDA is in support of the “scientifically-sound development, review, registration and re-registration of crop protection technologies and uses to enable growers to produce the nation’s food, fiber and fuel.”
NASDA says, “A predictable, enforceable, science-based pesticide regulatory framework is essential to achieving food security, minimizing environmental and endangered species impacts and meeting agricultural sustainability goals.”
Therefore, NASDA’s third policy priority is to encourage the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt the best available science and adhere to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act when registering new products and/or re-registering existing ones.
Additionally, NASDA will urge the EPA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to establish an effective compliance strategy and consultation process which incorporates stakeholder concerns and allows adequate implementation time.
PFAS
PFAS, known as the “forever chemicals,” are a large group of synthetic fluorinated chemicals that are not biodegradable.
“Historically, PFAS chemicals have been widely used in consumer products that are stain, oil, heat and water resistant. Federal and state agencies are increasingly studying the impact of PFAS on humans, the food supply and the environment,” NASS notes. “Federal and state governments are also studying means to remedy agricultural land impacted by PFAS.”
NASDA’s fourth priority includes developing strategies to remediate lands contaminated by PFAS in order to keep ag lands productive, support federal legislation which increases state funding and resources to respond to toxic pollutants like PFAS and encourage the development of a federal framework which collaboratively supports states responding to PFAS.
NASDA will also encourage federal agencies to use the best available science and appropriate risk assessments when establishing regulatory standards of threshold levels of PFAS in food products and support robust financial support for impacted farmers, as well as federally-funded research for PFAS contamination mitigation strategies.
State cooperative funding
NASDA’s fifth and final policy priority is focused on state cooperative agreement funding, which the agency defines as a “collaborative funding instrument used by federal agencies to provide money to other entities for programs which benefit the public involving shared responsibilities and active collaboration between federal agencies and recipient organizations.”
NASDA notes many state agencies are currently undergoing drastic budget cuts, which have resulted in statewide job loss.
“Additionally, the replacement of efficient, cost-effective state-run systems with more expensive, non-local federal personnel drives up federal costs and weakens essential prevention measures,” NASDA notes. “This erosion of state programs and infrastructure is putting the integrity and security of the U.S. food supply at risk.”
Therefore, NASDA will urge Congress to restore and increase funding for cooperative agreements.
“By strengthening these state and federal partnerships, we can bolster the U.S. food system’s resilience and security,” NASDA concludes.
Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
