Government Affairs Meeting
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Government Affairs Meeting NOVEMBER 14-16, 2016 • SAN ANTONIO, TX NATIONAL COUNCIL OF FARMER COOPERATIVES NCFC Government Affairs Committee Hyatt Regency Hill Country San Antonio, Texas November 14-16, 2016 AGENDA November 14th All Day Arrival and Check-in 6:00 pm Reception & Dinner Windmill Pavilion Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort November 15th Fredericksburg E-G Ballroom 8:00 am Breakfast 8:30 am Welcome & Introductions • Chairman's Welcome & Meeting Overview • Self-Introductions • Approval of the Minutes 8:40 am 2016 Election Analysis Guest Speaker: Matt Lewis Senior Contributor at The Daily Caller CNN Political Commentator 9:30 am Engaging with the New Administration & Congress: Implications for Agriculture • What to Expect in the First 100 Days? • Nominations Process • New Committee Leadership/Membership Guest Speaker: Brian Baenig Executive Vice President U.S. Beet Sugar Association 10:15 am NCFC CO-OP/PAC Report • 2016 Cycle - Review: How'd we do? • Getting Ready for the Next Cycle - Ideas on How to Improve • PAC Auction Representing the Business Interests of Agriculture 10:30 am Break 10:45 am Roundtable Discussion: Issues for Farmer Cooperatives • What are your election reactions & perspectives? • What are your priority issues for 2017? 11:15 am Implementing the New Biotech Labeling Law • USDA Regulatory Roll-Out • Coalition’s Preparations and Strategic Plan 12:00 pm Lunch Brady Room 1:00 pm Legal, Tax & Accounting Update • Capper-Volstead Litigation & Potential Need for Legislation • Estate Tax & Tax Extenders 1:45 pm Co-op Sustainability Initiative • Plans for Release and Implementation • Next Steps Special Guest: Larry Elworth Resolve 2:15 pm Break 2:45 pm NCFC Farm Bill Preparations • Review of stakeholder meetings on each title • Congressional Timeline Projections for Action • Review of the Issues for Co-ops & their Members: What works/what doesn’t in the current farm bill o Commodities & Crop Insurance o Conservation & Energy Programs o Trade & Market Access Programs o Credit & Rural Development o Research o Specialty Crop Programs o Animal Agriculture • NCFC Internal Preparations – Input Needed on Approach o Focus at Annual Meeting – Joint Session o Additional Farm Bill Workshop? o Washington Conference Opportunities for Input 5:00 pm Adjourn 6:00 pm Bus Departs for Reception & Dinner The Culinary Institute of America 312 Pearl Parkway, Building 3, San Antonio, TX 210-554-6400 November 16th Fredericksburg E-G Ballroom 7:30 am Breakfast 8:00 am Trade Outlook • Hope for TPP Passage • TTIP Status • Possible WTO Enforcement Cases • Overall Outlook for the next 2-3 Years Guest Speaker: Floyd Gaibler Director of Trade Policy and Biotechnology U.S. Grains Council 8:45 am Gearing up (Again) for Immigration Reform • AWC Activities with the Transition Team • Starting Point for Legislation • Strategy to Re-Engage Grassroots 9:15 am End-of-Year Policy Wrap Up • Appropriations • Overtime Rule • OSHA PSM • Veterinary Feed Directive • Food Policy (Child Nutrition, Buy America Provision, Nutrition Facts Label, etc.) • Regulatory Reform Proposals for the next Administration • Other Issues of Concern to NCFC Members 10:00 am Break 10:30 am Review & Update NCFC Priorities & Policy Resolutions 11:30 am Committee Elections • Committee Chair Election • Subcommittee Leadership Selection 12:00 am Other Business 12:15 pm Adjourn (Lunch Provided) June 2016 Meeting Minutes NCFC Government Affairs Committee Meeting Washington, DC June 13, 2016 Minutes SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS Each of the six Subcommittees of the NCFC Government Affairs Committee met throughout the day. Below is a summary of the Subcommittee meetings: • Animal Agriculture – William Westman from the North American Meat Institute joined the Subcommittee to review ongoing trade agreements and meat export issues as they relate to animal agriculture. He shared that the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement is unlikely to be implemented this year. In outlining the importance of TPP to the meat sector, he noted that Australia already has a 10 percent tariff advantage over the U.S. with Japan on meat trade. Mr. Westman also explained to the subcommittee the importance free trade with Cuba will play in the industry (primarily poultry), and that the Trans-Atlantic Meat Dialogue was created to try to move things forward with TTIP. Next, the Subcommittee welcomed Dr. Dave Ingram and David Oryang from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss the risk assessment of manure application in regards to treated versus untreated manure. Dr. Ingram explained that this risk assessment was contained in the Produce Rule as part of the implementation process of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The risk assessment would establish an application strategy for how and when to apply treated manure to produce. Mr. Oryang elaborated further on the risk assessment process of manure application and expressed the agency’s need for data, underlining the potential risks, and explaining how to characterize public health risks of pathogens transferred from manure applied to produce to the food we eat. The Subcommittee was then joined by Ron Phillips of the Animal Health Institute. Mr. Phillips provided an overview of the Veterinary Feed Directive and the use of antibiotics, only administered by veterinarians, for the sole purpose of fighting disease. • Fruit, Vegetable & Nut – The Subcommittee was joined by Dr. Katie Wilson, Deputy Under Sectary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dr. Wilson discussed USDA’s implementation of the Buy America provisions and the importance of these provisions in the school lunch programs. She also highlighted USDA's renewed focus on making sure the provisions were being appropriately adhered to and enforced. The Subcommittee was then joined by Shawn Stevens, partner with the Food Industry Counsel, LLC. Mr. Stevens discussed the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) evolving approach to pathogens and new enforcement techniques, focusing his remarks on FDA's 1 criminal charges in food contamination situations. Throughout the update, Mr. Stevens highlighted the need to keep good documentation and records for these purposes. • Environment & Energy –The Subcommittee was joined three panelists who provided insights on state-based environmental programs and issues that are driving on-farm activities. Christopher Henney of the Ohio AgriBusiness Association, provided an in-depth review of water issues in the Ohio River Basin. He also reviewed different programs for implementing sustainable water practices such as Healthy Water Ohio, which is a 20 to 40-year plan to reduce run-off and different water related problems on the farm level, as well as the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification. Becky Kenow with Land O’Lakes, Inc. encouraged subcommittee members to look for proactive and voluntary measures before regulation happens. She specifically highlighted a recent partnership between Land O’Lakes, Inc. and the State of Minnesota on a water quality initiative. Within this partnership, the cooperative is looking at how to make strides through scalability, utilizing technology, precision agriculture, and data management. Alicia Rockwell of Blue Diamond Growers discussed the on-going water shortage issues in California and the impact it has had on the industry. NCFC Staff Lisa Van Doren also provided an update on crop protection policy matters, including pesticide NPDES permitting, Atrazine, and other biological evaluations. • Labor & Infrastructure – Clark Mica with The Fertilizer Institute, spoke to the Subcommittee about the importance of OSHA’s Process Safety Management compliance deadline of September 30. Additional, Mr. Mica reviewed H.R. 5213 Fertilizer Access and Responsible Management (FARM) Act, which was referred to the House Committee on Education and the Work Force. The Subcommittee also welcomed Jonathon Gold of the National Retail Federation to discuss port and ocean shipper concerns. Mr. Gold presented port congestion challenges due to lack of infrastructure investment, labor shortages, rail problems, and large volumes entering the port. Additional challenges occur through the supply chain with increased regulations. David Cobb with CHS, Inc. and Janice Serpico of MFA Oil Company joined the Subcommittee to discuss the Department of Labor’s Overtime Rule, effective December 1, 2016. Mr. Cobb and Ms. Serpico discussed the human resource challenges of this rule, including communicating with managers and potential re-designation of staff roles. NCFC Staff Kathleen Johnson concluded the meeting with a brief overview of the increased demands on the H-2A program and NCFC’s work to find some means to alleviate the bureaucratic backlog that has resulted. • Food and Nutrition – The Subcommittee welcomed Mary Nowak, Mary Knigge, and Lisa Shelton, all members of the House Agricultural Committee. The panel shared that 40 percent 2 of food produced goes into a landfill and discussed the confusion surrounding on-package date labels. Currently, there is no national standard on date labeling except for infant formula. They also stressed the importance of consumer education in regards to date labeling in order to meet the USDA’s goal of reducing food waste by 50 percent. NCFC Staff Kathleen Johnson gave the Subcommittee a FDA outlook discussing how the agency’s priorities will impact farmer co-ops. She spoke on the new definitions of “natural” and “healthy” in regards to nutrient content claims as well as FSMA compliance and