Kevin McCarthy says ag business a priority in California. ‘We need to make the investment’
This story is part of the Central Valley News Collaborative — a bilingual, community journalism project funded by the Central Valley Community Foundation and with technology and training support from Microsoft Corp. The collaboration includes The Fresno Bee, Valley Public Radio, Vida en el Valle, Radio Bilingüe and the Institute for Media & Public Trust at Fresno State.
Firing a ceremonial cannon that resounded across the International Agri-Center grounds in Tulare County, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy marked the start of the 2023 World Ag Expo on Tuesday morning.
In his first event after becoming Speaker, McCarthy was accompanied by a bipartisan delegation of congressmen from California, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and North Carolina. The representatives, members of the House Committee on Agriculture, visited California’s central San Joaquin Valley to host the first official Farm Bill listening session of the year.
“We need to make the investment for the next generation of farmers because food safety is very important,” McCarthy said, “not just to America but to the world.”
The Farm Bill is legislation that governs a wide range of agricultural and food programs and is typically reauthorized every five years. Since its last reauthorization in 2018, predicted and unprecedented challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the agricultural industry across the nation.
From the Central Valley to Washington D.C.
The current Farm Bill is set to expire by the end of September. Without it, programs that benefit farmers and the agricultural industry could potentially cease to operate since their funding is allocated through this legislation.
The representatives reiterated their dedication to learning from the Central Valley’s agricultural industry during the World Ag Expo’s opening events.
Instead of asking California farmers to go to Washington, “in this new Congress, I wanted to make sure Washington comes to them,” McCarthy said.
Representative Glenn “GT” Thompson, chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, defined the national agricultural industry in three words — science, technology and innovation. He assured farmworkers across the country to enact policies to help their industry prosper.
From a local perspective, Rep. Doug LaMalfa reassured Californian farmers that they’d be heard in Washington.
“I’m really, really excited that our Speaker comes from Bakersfield and not San Francisco,” LaMalfa said as he gestured toward the International Agri-Center grounds. “We don’t have to explain all of this to him.”
LaMalfa admitted that the committee is “kind of behind” in terms of the Farm Bill, but all representatives present urged the agricultural community to speak up and share their thoughts and feedback on its reauthorization.
Those speaking at the in-person listening session were mostly concerned about water availability and access, farming costs, crop insurance, food security and climate struggles.
Ian Lemay, president of the California Fresh Fruit Association, was part of the community leaders who addressed the representatives.
“All of us are viewing this farm bill as a great opportunity for Congress,” he said, “not only to fortify assistance but also propel ourselves into the next 100 years of U.S. agriculture.”
Lemay mentioned his association submitted 120 recommendations for the Farm Bill’s reauthorization, including concerns on how to better equip the industry and permanent disaster relief.
“As California growers, what we grow here in California, people in the world want (it),” he said, advocating for a permanent climate relief program that farmers can rely on different to temporary ones that show up when disasters or unusual climate events happen.
Immigration reform and farmworkers
McCarthy answered questions from the media during a brief question-and-answer session, the opening inquiry asking about his thoughts or plans on immigration reform.
“The first thing that has to be done (is) you have to secure the border before you have any immigration reform,” he said. “Once we are able to secure it, I think we can move forward with immigration reform.”
Among California farmworkers, 96% of them identified as Hispanic, according to a study by the Department of Labor. Over half of them are undocumented, per the Public Policy Institute of California.
A significant percentage of farmworkers in the San Joaquin Valley — and across the country — are foreign-born, mostly Latino.
“Farmers do need certainty, certainty for workforce,” Thompson said. “Without certainty and workforce, you have food insecurity. And with food insecurity, you have national insecurity.”
Like McCarthy, Thompson said he believes the border needs to be controlled.
“We don’t have that right now,” he said. Thompson knows members of the Agriculture Committee are interested in seeing what’s next for both domestic and foreign-born agricultural workforce.
Those interested in providing feedback on the soon-to-expire Farm Bill and what they’d like to see in the reauthorized version can comment online at this link.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 12:53 PM.