On Tuesday, the House Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a hearing titled: “A Hearing to Review Farm Policy with Undersecretary Robert Bonnie.” The hearing was a discussion with Mr. Robert Bonnie, Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), reviewing U.S. farm policy. Committee members lauded the bipartisan effort of the Farm Bill and applauded Mr. Bonnie and the Agency for their continued commitment to collaboration on the implementation of new programs. Mr. Bonnie discussed how the USDA has been dealing with a host of COVID-related issues along with staffing problems, but he showed optimism in the Agencies’ resiliency to implement the next Farm Bill. Mr. Bonnie described how the USDA is trying two new programs — covered crop insurance programs and climate smart commodities — to be proactive against climate change. Republican members were hesitant about the outpouring of funding for these projects and questioned why the USDA is not trying to help producers more concretely in their relief efforts. Mr. Bonnie explained that even though the USDA and Farm Services Agency (FSA) are committed to disaster relief funding, climate initiatives help alleviate all those immediate issues while still tackling the looming threat of a climate disaster. Democratic members questioned the efficiency with which the USDA can implement these practices while simultaneously being transparent and equitable to all farmers.
