As the dust settles from the rollout of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) strategy report – the action plan for the initial report which was released in May – farmers, farm groups and industry continue to assess what this latest document means to agriculture.
There was “a lot more transparency” in the process of developing the strategy report, released Tuesday, according to Brian Glenn, director of government affairs at American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).
“It led to a more positive outcome in this report,” Glenn told AgriTalk Host Chip Flory.
That was not the case in May, when the initial report – which did not include farmers’ input – called out atrazine, chlorpyriphos and glyphosate as pesticides that are “exposure pathways” for potential chronic disease issues in U.S. children.
“Our biggest plea coming back into this August report was, ‘Please listen to the farmers. Ask us for our input.’ And they did ask us,” says Amy France, who farms with her family in western Kansas, near Scott City, and chairs the National Sorghum Producers.
“We had great conversations, and a big chunk of those conversations were directed to education,” France adds.
France addresses the MAHA report and her outlook for the sorghum industry at the AgriTalk link below:
Specifics On Soil Health And Precision Agriculture
What the Commission delivered on Tuesday was a 20-page report outlining 128 recommendations – a roadmap it plans to enact via a series of research projects and multiple federal agencies. Among those recommendations, pages 18-19 of the latest report specifically address “Soil Health and Stewardship of the Land” and “Precision Agriculture.”
The report says “USDA and EPA will promote and incentivize farming solutions in partnership with the private sector that focus on soil health and stewardship of the land,” and provides six specific actions. Read them and the entire report here.
Glenn told Flory that the NFBF had a mostly positive reaction to the report, which included several positive policy recommendations that support U.S. farmers and ranchers.
“There were recommendations to provide a foundation for a lifetime of smart choices, which include focus on American-grown fresh fruits, vegetables and meat. They included a recommendation on reintroducing whole milk into school meal programs. They took an opportunity to highlight efforts to prioritize and support voluntary conservation programs under USDA-NRCS and specifically mentioned the Environmental Quality Incentives Program,” Glenn says. “They even included a recommendation on highlighting EPA’s already robust pesticide regulatory process … with ways to optimize that robust process to accelerate innovation.”
While Glenn says the Commission acknowledged the safety and health of the American food supply, he stressed the importance of the Commission having continued discussions with farmers and farm groups.
“More engagement is needed [with agriculture] as there are a lot of recommendations in this report, asking for different federal agencies to look at different things, and I certainly don’t think this will be our only bite at the apple,” Glenn says.
“I think there will be more opportunities for us to engage, and that is really the message that needs to ring loud and clear for farmers and ranchers. I think us sharing our voice and story has led to a more positive outcome in this report, and I think we need to continue to do that,” he adds.
Glenn offers more perspective from the NFBF on the new MAHA strategy plan here:
