NCBA Previews To-Do List As New Administration Takes Shape

Agriculture groups are gearing up for a new administration and new makeup in Congress. The people advocating on the hill for agriculture policy are tasked with building new relationships and crafting the messages they hope resonate with new lawmakers and President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks.

One of these advocates is Ethan Lane, vice president of government relations with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

Lane says even though the inauguration isn’t until Jan. 20, the work is happening now. He says it starts with the current lame-duck session, which he says is an opportunity to tie a bow around the House of Representative’s Farm Bill.

“There’s a moment in time here where all of a sudden it makes sense,” he says. “The deal is not going to get better for Democrats that are exiting. (Senate Agriculture Chair) Debbie Stabenow’s legacy is on the line here.”

In other news, Lane says animal rights activists were mobile in the latest election, working to ban slaughterhouses in the city of Denver and to ban concentrated animal feeding operations in Sonoma County California.

“There were some really scary things out there,” he says. “They all went down in flames. It was really nice to see the animal rights folks take a blow here.”

The recent ballot initiatives were potential regulations as agriculture already has its hands full with rules in effect. Lane says Waters of the United States is back in focus, as it has been the past two presidential transition periods. WOTUS dictates who regulates the standing water on your property. Lane tells Mid-West Farm Report that thanks to Supreme Court decisions over the past few years, NCBA is satisfied with about 85 percent of the WOTUS rule.

“There’s still some things to deal with there,” he says. “That court case is still ongoing on some of the loose ends about connectivity, particularly over state lines.”

Lane says stakeholders have a decision to make on whether they want to reopen WOTUS rulemaking, which is about a four-year process.

You’ve probably heard the phrase “make America healthy again” or MAHA. This is rhetoric from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. President-elect Donald Trump has picked Kennedy to be his next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Lane says this underscores the need for agriculture to tell its story.

“He has a lifetime career of not trusting farmers and ranchers who are a core constituency of Donald Trump. That does create a conflict,” he says. “The science is on our side. We have a really good story to tell in American agriculture. We’re going to have to tell it.”