National Council of Farmer Cooperatives Government Affairs Meeting November 12-14, 2018 • Santa Fe, NM www.ncfc.org Government Affairs Committee La Fonda on the Plaza Santa Fe, New Mexico November 12-14, 2018 AGENDA November 12th All Day Arrival and Check-in 6:00 pm Reception & Dinner La Terraza Room La Fonda on the Plaza 100 E San Francisco St (505) 982-5511 November 13th 8:00 am Breakfast (Santa Fe Room) 8:30 am Welcome & Introductions (New Mexico Room) • Chairman's Welcome & Meeting Overview • Self-Introductions • Approval of the Minutes 8:35 am Political Assessment – What just happened? Speaker: David Wasserman House Editor Cook Political Report 9:30 am Political Assessment – An Agriculture Perspective Speaker: Chris Clayton Ag Policy Editor DTN/The Progressive Farmer 10:15 am Break 10:30 am State of the Economy & Pressures on Agriculture Speaker: Brian Cavey Senior Vice President, Government Affairs CoBank Representing the Business Interests of Agriculture 11:00 am Policy Implications of a Changing Agricultural Landscape Speaker: Scott Caine Chief Operating Officer Aimpoint Research 12:00 pm Lunch (Santa Fe Room) 1:00 pm Trade Outlook – Roundtable Discussion 2:00 pm Legal, Tax & Accounting Update • Tax Reform Implementation • Tax Reform 2.0 • FDII – A New Opportunity for Co-ops? 2:30 pm Wage Inflation and Worker Scarcity Speaker: Ben Laine Knowledge Exchange Division CoBank 3:15 pm Break 3:30 pm Regulating Emerging Technologies: Cultured Meats?! Speaker: Danielle Beck Director of Governmental Affairs National Cattlemen’s Beef Association 4:00 pm Policy Round-up – Status of Key Issues • Farm Bill • Environmental Regulations • Biotech Labeling Regulation • Product Labeling • Immigration Reform • Pension Relief 5:00 pm Adjourn 6:00 pm Transportation to Dinner Departs Hotel 6:30 pm Reception & Dinner Gabriel’s Restaurant 4 Banana Lane (505) 455-7000 November 14th 8:00 am Breakfast (Santa Fe Room) 8:30 am NCFC CO-OP/PAC Report (New Mexico Room) • 2018 Cycle Overview • Improving our Reach • Annual Meeting Preparation 9:00 am Strategic Assessment of Committee Structure & Elections • Committee and Subcommittee Elections • Subcommittee Organization & Participation • Addressing Your Priority Issues • Future Meeting Topics 10:00 am BREAK 10:30 am Review & Update NCFC Priorities & Policy Resolutions 11:30 am Other Business 11:45 am Adjourn 12:00 pm Lunch Provided La Plazuela Restaurant La Fonda On the Plaza June 2018 Meeting Minutes NCFC Government Affairs Committee Meeting Washington, D.C. June 25, 2018 Minutes CALL TO ORDER Committee Chairman, Chuck Spencer, called the meeting to order, giving an overview of the meeting and supporting materials. BUSINESS MEETING The Committee proceeded with its business meeting. • APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES – A motion to approve the February 2018 meeting minutes was made by Rich Hudgins, President & CEO, California Canning Peach Association. The motion was seconded by Wally Knock, Board Director, Agtegra Cooperative. • BYLAWS CHANGE – Marlis Carson reported that in order to promote increased communication and membership participation, a change to NCFC’s bylaws regarding the Individual Membership category has been proposed. The Executive Council reviewed this change and recommended it for the Council’s consideration of the change. The proposed change would expand the Individual Membership category to include consultants such as attorneys and government relations professionals who work for NCFC members and participate in NCFC’s LTA and Government Affairs Committees. Individual Members receive NCFC publications, reduced conference rates, annual recognition at NCFC meetings, and eligibility for NCFC CO-OP/PAC’s restricted class. Individual Members do not have a vote on the Council and the NCFC President & CEO is authorized to approve or reject applications for individual membership. The change was to be discussed in the next Executive Council Meeting. • NCFC CO-OP/PAC REPORT – Kelsey Billings reported that NCFC CO-OP/PAC began the year with a balance of $74,445.00. As of June 15, 2018, contributions to the PAC totaled $102,110.00. Individual PAC contributions accounted for $43,500.00 and member PAC contributions accounted for $58,610.00 of the total. The annual goal for the PAC for 2018 is $233,500.00. As of June 15, 2018, the PAC reached 70 percent of its goal. Mrs. Billings announced that the multiple fundraisers will be held during the conference, including a coffee with Senator John Boozman of Arkansas; a reception with Representative Kurt Schrader of Oregon; and a breakfast with Representative Jim Costa. Finally, Mrs. Billings reported that as of June 15, 2018, the PAC supported 28 members of Congress for a total of $45,500.00 in contributions to candidates. As of June 30, 2018, the PAC had an ending balance of $142,795.76. • LEGAL, TAX & ACCOUNTING UPDATE – Marlis Carson gave an update on Legal, Tax & Accounting matters. She first discussed the antitrust case involving egg producers, taking place in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. After nine years of litigation and a trial that consumed most of the month of May, a jury found that egg producers Rose Acre Farms, Ohio Fresh Eggs, and Sauder, Inc. did not engage in unlawful market restraints and did not violate the Sherman Act. The case arose out of allegations in over a dozen separate lawsuits asserting that sixteen egg farmers and their cooperative, United Egg Producers, engaged in a conspiracy to raise the price of shell eggs and egg products by reducing egg supply. Over the years at least eight egg producers and their cooperative settled with the direct purchaser plaintiff class for approximately $150 million. With $3 billion in damages at stake, the three national egg producers achieved a significant victory. Jurors found that Rose Acre Farms was part of a conspiracy involving United Egg Producers to reduce the supply of eggs. However, the conspiracy did not impose an unreasonable restraint on supply, so the producers did not incur any antitrust liability. It is likely that the plaintiffs will appeal the ruling. If that happens, the egg producers could cross-appeal and raise an earlier, problematic ruling by the judge, in which the judge said land ownership is a requirement for qualifying for Capper-Volstead protections. NCFC believes that ruling is wrong, as Capper-Volstead does not impose any land ownership requirements on producers. Ms. Carson also discussed the cyclical interest that lawmakers, regulators, and the American Bar Association take in the Capper-Volstead Act every five to ten years. The Department of Justice held a series of roundtables on regulations and antitrust law this spring. The first roundtable focused on antitrust immunities and exemptions. American Bar Association (ABA) representatives participated and submitted a statement consistent with the ABA’s traditional views on antitrust immunities and exemptions. The ABA asserted that the Capper-Volstead Act is flawed and needs to be reformed. At a separate roundtable, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim said the milk pricing system is the type of market distortion and anticompetitive activity that should be reviewed by the Antitrust Division. And a participant from the Cato Institute commented on sugar policy, labeling it as an anticompetitive intervention in the market. The Cato Institute recommended that DOJ target this sort of policy. Ms. Carson also reported that in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., in which the Supreme Court held that a state can tax internet sales even though the seller does not have a physical presence in the state. Next, Ms. Carson gave a short update on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, particularly on issues associated with Section 199A. The IRS has reported that they are working diligently to provide regulations as soon as possible. The Department of Treasury has stated that they are considering regulations from the old Section 199, which hopefully will make the transition easier for all involved. Finally, Ms. Carson recommended for everyone to go to the IRS website and complete the IRS “pay- check check-up” to make sure that everyone’s taxes are correct after passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. GUEST SPEAKERS The Committee was joined by a number of guest speakers on hot topic issues, including the following: • The Administration’s Outlook for Agriculture; with guest speaker Mr. Gregg Doud, Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Ambassador Doud described the current state of trade relations with regard to recent actions the administration has taken by imposing tariffs. Trading partners currently are retaliating, or threatening to retaliate, by imposing tariffs on $29 billion of U.S. agricultural exports due to the U.S. imposition of Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. He explained that this policy has been developed by the President himself. While his office is working to advocate within the administration for the agriculture community since they are taking the brunt of the retaliation, it doesn’t appear there will be quick resolution to withdraw the retaliation given the priority that the president has put on imposing tariffs. Ambassador Doud further explained the other Section 301 tariffs being put into place against China due to their unfair trading practices with respect to intellectual property and forced technology transfer policies. China’s retaliation by imposing tariffs targeting the U.S. agricultural community is an attempt to get the president’s supporters from the agriculture community to oppose his trade policy and weaken his negotiating stance. However, Ambassador Doud stressed that the president was adamant about using tariffs as a tool to change China’s behavior and that, again, no one should think this will be resolved in the near term. He also noted that the administration intends to be more offensive in opening markets for U.S. agriculture, as well as encouraged that the NAFTA renegotiation would be concluded in the near future. • Labor & Immigration – Lots of activity; any action?; with guest panelist Ms.