USA Rice Gets Ducks in a Row as 2023 Farm Bill Looms

WASHINGTON, DC – Thirty members of the USA Rice Farm Policy Task Force flocked here for several days of policy planning, briefings, and visits with legislators and policymakers.

“We are heading into a Farm Bill next year against the backdrop of farm input costs as high as they’ve ever been, an administration and Congress focused on climate policy, and lacking clear direction on trade policy,” said Kirk Satterfield, a Mississippi rice farmer and chair of the USA Rice Farmers Board of Directors.  “We have got a lot of work to do to make sure policymakers here understand what we’re up against – it feels like absolutely everything.”

Satterfield said soaring input costs, projected to result in $500 million in losses for U.S. rice farmers this year, will be at the top of the agenda in meetings, as is laying the groundwork for the 2023 Farm Bill.  He added that reminding the administration and Congress of the rice industry’s record as climate smart farmers, the industry’s global challenges with bad actors such as India and China, and the need for improved access to skilled labor are all key concerns.

“There are a lot of regulatory issues affecting us as well,” he said.  “From Waters of the US (WOTUS), to crop protection, and the Food & Drug Administration’s Closer to Zero Program, we are working to ensure the rice industry can be part of the solution and not shut out of any of these issues.”

Robert Bonnie, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation, addressed the task force, explaining that the Biden Administration’s recently announced $1 billion Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative will be locally-led, flexible, and designed to encourage creativity and innovation to tackle climate solutions for agriculture.

Rod Snyder, agriculture advisor to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), also met with the group and reviewed pesticide, methane reduction initiatives, WOTUS, and other issues, and spent time answering questions from USA Rice members.

Staff from the House and Senate Agriculture Committees briefed USA Rice members on plans for Farm Bill hearings and the vision the respective Chairs’ have for legislation going forward.
 
Pelham Straughn, a USA Rice consultant and expert on conservation programs, presented a briefing on prospects for the Conservation Title of the 2023 Farm Bill and highlighted future opportunities for rice farmers to take advantage of these important programs.

“I was very pleased with our speakers and the engagement from our members,” Satterfield said.  “Face-to-face meetings are back and are so very valuable. It was invigorating and I’m looking forward to productive meetings in the coming days.”