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WASHINGTON — The Nov. 3 election brought several changes in the Legislative Branch that could have implications for U.S. agriculture.
“Without a doubt everyone in agriculture is mourning the election loss of U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson in Minnesota,” Mary Kay Thatcher, Syngenta federal government and industry relations senior manager, said at the company’s virtual media summit Nov. 5.
Democrat Peterson, House Agriculture Committee chair, was defeated by Republican Michelle Fischbach, former Minnesota state senator and lieutenant governor, in the Seventh District race. Her campaign platform included supporting the district’s farmers.
“Peterson served for 30 years. He certainly knew which buttons to push, knew when to get to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and knew how to make things happen either with the chairman or the ranking member of the last three farm bills,” Thatcher said.
The House Agriculture Committee has jurisdiction over a vast range of agriculture and rural issues, including the farm bill, renewable energy, disaster assistance, nutrition and crop insurance. The latest farm bill, passed once every five years, expires in 2023 and mandates spending of about $428 billion.
“It was a huge election loss, a guy who was very willing to reach across the aisle, was very willing to work with anybody. I think you would get 99.9% of the aggies in Washington saying this was a terrible loss for agriculture.
“But one of the things we hear often in rural communities is, ‘Oh, man, Nancy Pelosi.’ But when you think about it, she’s voted for every farm bill, she supports crop insurance, she’s voted for disaster bills, she has never been with Humane Society of the U.S. on livestock issues and always with agriculture.
“Most recently she got the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement through the House. I give her a lot of credit, but I give more credit to Collin Peterson because I think he’s the one that was able to go to her and say, ‘These issues are really important for agriculture and you have to help me.’”
Retirees
Thatcher also pointed there were also other long-time agriculture supporters that did not run for re-election.
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., the only member to have served as chair of both the House Ag Committee and Senate Ag Committee, did not seek re-election.
“I think Pat did eight farm bill, so, just a wealth of knowledge and just like Collin. He knows how to push the buttons, knows how to read across, the aisle and knows how to get things done. We will miss him,” Thatcher explained.
Another agriculture legislative veteran retiring is Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, ranking member of the House Ag Committee.
“So, when you think about the four biggies in agriculture you have Sen. Debbie Stabenow left and then you’re going to have three new people. That’s not to say that those folks coming in aren’t going to be very good chairmen, very good ranking members,” Thatcher said.
“Most of us have lived through a lot of those changes and know that these people grow into the jobs fairly quickly. Fortunately, we’re not doing a 2020 farm bill this year because I’d like those new people to get a chance to really get their feet wet first.”
Thatcher said the fourth biggest loss for agriculture for 2021 wasn’t by way of election defeat or retirement.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who has served as Senate Finance Committee chairman for six years is now term-limited out from that role. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, will step in as chair.
“Crapo is a great guy and a big supporter of agriculture. The Senate Finance Committee has a lot of issues that are very important, taxes and trade being the most important thing that Mr. Grassley has been adamant about. We’re going to have to make sure Sen. Crapo is just as adamant,” Thatcher said.
“One thing to think about is the change in emphasis in the Senate Finance Committee and their ability to push things on the president the difference in what matters in Iowa versus Idaho.”
Ethanol is one example of where the emphasis may change due to an Idaho as opposed to an Iowa chairman.
“Mr. Grassley and Sen. Joni Ernst spent it seems like half their time in the last year or so pushing ethanol, working with President Trump to get things done, working with EPA, etcetera. And when you look at a Democratic president, you can see Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and South Dakota are all represented by two Republican senators. I’m not saying Mr. Biden is not going to listen to them, but he’s probably not going to listen to them the same way that Mr. Trump listened to Republicans,” Thatcher noted.
“Instead when we think about ethanol our game plan has to change a bit. We have to look at the two Democratic senators in Illinois and the two Democratic senators in Minnesota as our big leaders and the ability of those people to go to the White House, to go to EPA, to get things positive things done for ethanol and for biodiesel.”