9-22 NWR Ag Summit

9-22 NWR Ag Summit

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
This is your Northwest report for Thursday, September 22. I'm David Sparks and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture meeting in Nebraska brings state departments of ag together on key issues.

Agriculture may differ from state to state, but many of the key issues facing farmers, ranchers, and food processors are the same from coast to coast. The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture– NASDA– brings those state agencies together to listen, learn, and respond to challenges in a unified fashion that accomplishes more collectively than what any individual state can do alone. Oregon plays a leadership role in NASDA's proceedings and the state's agriculture is benefiting from that participation. ODA Director: Katy Coba: "We are so in sync with the rest of the state departments of agriculture on these key issues and we can rely on NASDA and NASDA staff to carry that message– whether it's to congressional members or federal partners. NASDA is very important for Oregon." Among the key policy issues discussed by the states is an early discussion of the next Farm Bill as well as workforce issues, international trade, and the Food Safety Modernization Act.

"NASDA is so critically important for Oregon, largely because of our distance from Washington DC," says Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Katy Coba, who has been actively involved with NASDA since becoming director in 2003. "It's very difficult for me or for our staff to get back to DC on a regular basis. So we rely on the NASDA staff to convey what's important for departments of agriculture. NASDA doesn't just represent ODA, but we are very much in sync with the rest of the state departments of agriculture on these key issues, and can rely on NASDA and NASDA staff to carry that message whether it's directed at congressional members or federal partners."

This is one of two times during the year that top officials from state agriculture departments meet in person. Titles of these officials may vary from director to commissioner to secretary of agriculture, but each value membership to the organization. The 13-member NASDA staff carries out directives from the member states and coordinates the association's messages and activities. It has been an effective combination.

"Within NASDA, we have a structure of four regional groups," says Coba. "Oregon is part of the western region. Among those 13 western states, you really see similarities, We have so much in common. It's nice to have that collective voice, we are not just a single state standing alone. Regional associations also exist for Midwest, Northeast, and Southern states. Some key issues cross multiple regions. Some can be dealt with at the regional level. But the NASDA Board of Directors is made up of members from each region, which is very important. I think we do a great job of understanding and respecting the differences between regions and bring key issues forward collectively where we have commonality."

Over the course of the week, six committees will meet to discuss key issues common to all states. Those committees include Rural Development and Financial Security; Animal Agriculture; Marketing and International Trade; Food Regulation; Natural Resources and Environment; and Plant Agriculture and Pesticide Regulation.

Among the agenda topics are an early discussion of the next Farm Bill, agricultural workforce issues, worker protection rules, international trade, and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The meeting will also bring in key speakers, including two top deputy commissioners of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who will speak at a forum on agriculture and trade. Vilsack will be joined by his counterparts from Argentina and New Zealand.

"We've never tackled anything like FSMA," says Coba. "The impact FSMA has on agricultural producers that have never really been regulated before in that way, is the reason the state departments of agriculture were driven to get involved. We have managed, thankfully, to be very unified on this issue."

Working with federal agencies is an important role for NASDA. When issues get bigger than the agencies, NASDA finds itself interacting with US senators and representatives.

"NASDA is a player on Capitol Hill," says Coba. "It has been a priority for us to beef up that presence in the last several years. I think we've done a great job of that and that will be a priority moving forward as well."

Specifically, NASDA continually weighs in with the collective voice of the states on the US Farm Bill. The Agricultural Act of 2014, as its known, addressed many of NASDA's top priorities including increased funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program as well as for plant pest and disease management programs. Even though the current Farm Bill runs through 2018, it's never too early for NASDA to begin consideration of what the next version should look like.

The relationship between Oregon and NASDA has been mutually beneficial. "Over the years, I've had the pleasure of working with ODA when dealing with issues that need to be handled well," says Bob Ehart, NASDA's Senior Policy and Science Advisor. "Katy Coba and her team are truly fantastic to work with. The ODA policy team gets it and the technical program staff members are a tremendous resource when we work on issues important to Oregon and the nation's agriculture."

NASDA also provides value to Oregon agriculture through the relationships established among the state departments of agriculture, according to Coba.

Elsewhere, 502 Boundary Blvd. Inc., formerly known as Fletcher's Fine Foods Ltd., an Algona, Wash., establishment, is recalling approximately 8,694 pounds of ham products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically rubber, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

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