Government Relations & Washington Update - March 2021

AAEA Increases Washington Engagement

Since the beginning of the year, AAEA has been increasing its engagement in Washington, DC.  Lowell Randel, AAEA’s new Washington Representative, is meeting with key government officials and partners to discuss the importance of agricultural and applied economics and identify opportunities to advance AAEA priorities.  Randel has met with USDA officials including ERS Administrator Spiro Stefanou and USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer to discuss ways AAEA and its members can work with them more closely. 

Randel has also been busy working with coalitions including the National Coalition for Food and Agriculture Research (NCFAR) and the AFRI Coalition to build support for the federal investment in agricultural research, extension and education.  AAEA is helping coordinate an NCFAR Congressional Briefing that will highlight the importance of ERS and NASS programs to Congressional staff. 

AAEA is actively engaged with coalition partners in the budget and appropriations process for fiscal year 2022.  AAEA recently joined a letter with 139 national and state organizations congratulating Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on his recent confirmation and calls for increased investments in agricultural research.  The letter asks Secretary Vilsack to support a balanced portfolio that includes both extramural and intramural research, competitive and capacity funding, extension and outreach, and statistics and economics.  AAEA is also supporting coalition letters to Congress requesting federal investments in key agricultural research programs within NIFA, ERS and NASS.

With the transition in Presidential administrations, the budget and appropriations process for fiscal year 2022 will be delayed.  It is common for incoming presidential administrations to miss the traditional timeframe of early February for annual President’s Budget proposals.  In many cases, the incoming administration will provide a high-level overview of its budget priorities and a more detailed, full budget proposal later in the spring.  It appears that the Biden Administration is likely to follow this pattern, which will delay the annual budget and appropriations process for fiscal year 2022. 

While Congress awaits the first Biden budget, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees are considering a return to earmarks.  The process for Congressionally directing appropriations spending to member priority projects was halted in 2011 after a series of controversies related to earmarks.  Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate have indicated a desire to reinstate the process and the House Appropriations Committee has recently released its framework and rules for what the committee is calling “Community Project Funding”.  The Senate is expected to announce its approach to earmarks in the near future.  In the past, agricultural research accounts were home to dozens of annual earmarks, including some related to agricultural economics.

AAEA will keep members updated on policy developments and opportunities to advance agricultural and applied economics as it continues to increase its engagement in Washington.

AAEA Goverment Releations & Washington Update: January 2021

I am excited to start working on behalf of AAEA and its members to promote the interests of agricultural and applied economics in Washington, DC.  For my first column, I’d like to introduce myself and provide some perspective on the outlook for 2021. 

I have over 25 years of experience working on agricultural policy in a variety of capacities ranging from the private sector to government service.  For the last 12 years, I have been President of The Randel Group, LLC, a government relations firm that I founded.  My focus at The Randel Group has been to serve clients in food and agriculture, including work to increase federal support for agricultural research, extension and education. 

Prior to founding The Randel Group, I served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations at the United States Department of Agriculture, where I was responsible for coordinating the Department’s engagement with Congress during the 2008 Farm Bill.  I also was part of a three-person team selected to lead the Department’s implementation of the Farm Bill, working across all USDA agencies.  Prior to my role in Congressional Relations, I worked in the Research, Education and Economics Mission Area, which has responsibility for the Economic Research Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service.   

In addition to The Randel Group and USDA, I have worked for other government relations firms representing agriculture and university clients.  I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University, so have a strong appreciation for the work of AAEA and economists.  I also have a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Development from Texas A&M and a law degree from George Mason University.

Now, with my introduction out of the way, let’s get to work!  I believe that this is an important time for AAEA to increase its efforts in Washington.  2021 brings with it a new Administration, new Congress, and new leaders to key agencies such as ERS, NIFA and the USDA Office of the Chief Economist.  This time of transition marks a great opportunity for AAEA to establish itself as a premier resource at the intersection of policy and economics in a wide range of issue areas that span the diversity of AAEA expertise.  As policy makers tackle issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and preparing for the 2022 Farm Bill, we should strive to ensure that AAEA and its members are well positioned to be valuable resources to inform and influence the debate.    I look forward to working with AAEA to advance the priorities of agricultural and applied economics with Congress, relevant agencies, and stakeholders. 

Lowell Randel

AAEA’s DC Representative

WEBINAR — E-Commerce During COVID-19: Opportunities for Food Producers to Make Direct Market Sales Online

More than 500 registered for a webinar hosted by the Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (C-FARE) and the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association (NAREA) April 24, the most since the council began producing lunchtime webinars.

E-Commerce During COVID-19: Opportunities for Food Producers to Make Direct Market Sales Online was created and moderated by C-FARE board member, NAREA president and Rutgers University economist Gal Hochman. He was joined by three panelists:

• Jeffrey O’Hara of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) outlined the resources USDA makes available for producers to develop e-commerce sales, the latest data and research, and examples of ways farmers have migrated online.
• Chyi Lyi “Kathleen” Liang, the W. K. Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Agriculture and the director of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, discussed various online platforms, the merits of using digital sales strategies, and sample innovative aggregated venues online.
• Gary Matteson, vice president for Young, Beginning, Small Farmer Programs and Outreach at the Farm Credit Council, emphasized the need for business planning with clear goals for inputs such as time and money, and clear expectations for sales and profitability when approaching new markets.

After the presentation, attendees asked for additional information on a number of organizations, trends and developments. Here are the questions followed by written responses from Jeffrey O’Hara (except where noted) with links:

Can you talk more about the different functions of a food hub? What topics do they typically cover? What kind of size of a metropolitan area is right for a Hub?

The Wallace Center produces a lot of good resources for Food Hub practitioners, and here’s a recent report. The Wallace Center and Michigan State University collaborate on a bi-annual survey of the food hub sector, and here’s the latest.

Haven’t states and localities struggled with building aggregation and distribution infrastructure to improve food system resilience? What can we do?

The Agricultural Marketing Service offers funding for this. View the local food promotion program and regional food system partnership RFA’s on the website.

We have offered door-to-door non-contact delivery of fruits and vegetables for three weeks. We are trying to get add-on products/ Do you have any suggestions on how we can “hook” non-fruits and vegetable producers to join our service? Also, what platform seems to be most effective in attracting customers? We have been successful using word of mouth.

Read the new report by the National Young Farmers Coalition. It discusses the pros and cons of various platforms.

Has the AMS considered stats for nuts (nut orchardists), grains and beans?

I used “fruit” as shorthand for fruit/nuts/berries. That is how USDA defines commodities in its surveys. Direct sales of grain farmers is modest, so I did not include that in my presentation. However, in the coming months we will be posting case studies on www.localfoodeconomics.com of how businesses are adapting to COVID-19 shutdowns. This will likely include commodities such as small-scale meat, grains, seafood and other such direct-to-consumer sellers.

What other creative collaborations have you seen [like] wineries partnering with farmer's markets or farmers?

I wonder if there are opportunities for farmers to partner with restaurants. Many local restaurants are now carrying groceries and other staples. Some would likely be willing to partner with farmers as a venue for farm products.

I [Kathleen Liang] will be presenting at two webinars April 27 and April 30 about innovative partnerships and collaborations. They’re hosted by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension's Local Food Program Team about innovative partnerships and collaborations, and to register, visit this sign-up.

• The first webinar from 7-8:30 p.m April 27 will highlight collaborative efforts of farmers that are not tied to a food hub.  Panelists will include representatives of Vacationer Supported Agriculture, Piedmont Progressive Farmers Group, and Carolina Common Enterprise.
• The second webinar from 7-8:30 p.m. April 30 will discuss food hub efforts to link consumers with local food. Panelists will include representatives of High County Food Hub, TRACTOR, Feast Down East, and Sandhills Farm to Table.

AAAS Seeks Stories on the Importance of Scientific Conferences

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is soliciting stories about the value scientific conferences bring to collaboration and the progress of science. As you may know, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued government-wide regulations in 2012 that put hard caps on the amounts federal agencies can spend on conference participation and travel. Congress put further restrictions in place, specifically for international conferences. All of this has resulted in the proliferation of onerous and timely approval processes for travel requests by federal employees and ultimately a major decline in attendance by scientists who work for the federal government. The scientific community sent a letter to Congress in April asking for these regulations to be changed. Share your stories to further urge action on this important issue.

The Exchange- President's Column, Member Profile, AAEA News, & More!

President's Column

Member Profile

• A Gene Nelson

AAEA News

• Housing and Registration is Open: 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting
• 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting: Abstract Decision
• Under Graduate Student Section Activities Announcement
• San Francisco On Demand
• Call for Participation: 2015 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association AEM/ Graduate Student Section Case Study Competition
• Extension Tour: Sonoma County Wine, Apple Cider, and Olive Oil
• Register for the 2015 Employment Center
• International Section: Announcement of Track Sessions
• International Section Track Session: Economics of Food Losses and Waste: What are the right questions?
• Agricultural Finance and Management (AFM) Section Track Sessions
• Call for Judges: SS-AAEA Academic Bowl
• Crop Insurance and the 2014 Farm Bill: Reports and Analyses from the Field

Government Relations Update

• Budget and Appropriations
• C-FARE Events
• Nominations
• Reports

Other News

• International Agricultural Risk, Finance, and Insurance Conference (IARFIC)

Upcoming Deadlines

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Note: The Exchange is now distributed bi-weekly. The People Section will continue to be bi-monthly and is scheduled to next appear in July 2015. Click here to view the most recent People Section from Issue 10.