By Meredith Lee Hill and Garrett Downs

— Scoop: Senate Ag Democrats are scrambling to push back on GOP moves amid a fight over the fate of nearly $20 billion in Inflation Reduction Act conservation funds in the farm bill. MA got a look at the talking points Democrats are circulating.

— Lawmakers have fewer than 10 legislative days to avert a crippling government shutdown. While House Republicans are nearing a potential push on a stopgap measure, it doesn’t move the needle much in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

— As the government spending fight paralyzes Congress, Cindy McCain, the head of the World Food Program and widow of the late Republican Sen. John McCain, is facing an uphill battle to convince fellow Republicans to include global food aid funding for Ukraine and other countries reeling from Russia’s war.

IT’S MONDAY, Sept. 18. Welcome to Morning Ag. We’re your hosts, Garrett Downs and Meredith Lee Hill. Send tips to [email protected] and [email protected] and follow us at @Morning_Ag.

A message from National Wildlife Federation Action Fund:

Congress’ largest investment in Farm and ranch conservation since the Dust Bowl is just starting to hit the ground. Already, hundreds of millions of dollars have been committed, and thousands of farmers and ranchers have signed up to participate through this new funding. More than 600 businesses, farms, and other national organizations from across the country agree – it’s time for Congress to follow through for America’s farmers and protect conservation funding in the Farm Bill.

Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.). | Francis Chung/POLITICO

SCOOP: DEMS MOBILIZE IN IRA FIGHT: The gloves are off in the farm Bill fight over IRA ag conservation funds, after months of tensions brewing behind the scenes. And now, Democrats are scrambling to push back.

Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) late last week slammed a GOP blog critical of the law’s climate guardrails and vowed to protect them.

GOP push: Republicans are pressing to broaden the eligibility of those funds within the conservation title, while negotiators in the House farm bill talks are very seriously considering moving some of the IRA funds into another title, possibly to boost commodity support programs.

Any of those moves would require the funds being brought into the farm bill baseline, creating permanent new money in the legislation — a proposal that has some support among Democrat-aligned groups but only if the money stays within conservation.

The IRA injected nearly $20 billion of supplemental money into four farm bill conservation programs. The money is available for ten years and must be used for practices that sequester carbon.

Dems mobilize: Stabenow’s top conservation staffer, Callie Eideberg, quickly sent out talking points to allies Friday morning. In the email, shared with MA by several recipients, Eideberg urged stakeholders to defend the IRA after “Senate Ag Republicans released a blog attacking the substance and future of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) conservation funding.”

“The Chairwoman (and committee staff!) would be very appreciative if you and your organization can spread the word and continue to defend the IRA,” Eideberg wrote in the email.

A memo below explained that “100% of conservation dollars, including Inflation Reduction Act dollars, go to farmers” and “Climate-smart agriculture accounts for nearly half (49%) of EQIP and Conservation Stewardship Program payments over the past three years.”

The talking points went on to say that the IRA resources “benefit ALL farmers, not just a select number of commodities, and ALL farmers can participate.”

The memo added: “6 of the 10 most popular practices over the past three years of Farm Bill-funded EQIP and CSP qualified for Inflation Reduction Act funding in 2023.” Among other arguments, the memo also noted demand for those programs is nearly double available funding, which Stabenow herself recently raised to us.

New staff: Stabenow is also bringing on some new conservation muscle for her team as the farm bill talks and IRA fight heat up.

As Meredith scooped last week, Stabenow is tapping longtime USDA official and Agriculture Committee veteran Mike Schmidt to help coordinate farm bill talks.

Schmidt is expected to start in the coming weeks and is currently a senior adviser to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. He also previously served as an adviser to USDA’s conservation chief Robert Bonnie — who has been in touch with Senate Ag staff as they seek to push back on GOP efforts to alter the IRA ag funding guardrails.

The move comes after Stabenow announced her current staff director would depart the Hill in the coming weeks, and Eyang Garrison would step into that role.

The battle has been brewing: White-hot rage among Senate Republicans has been building for several months over what they say is Democrats’ lack of focus for prioritizing funds for commodity farmers in the farm bill talks. The differences in major funding priorities are triggering a bitter political fight over limited new funds this farm bill season.

Senate Ag member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told us last week that a lot of pieces have come into the farm bill lately that “de-emphasize the safety net for farmers, and we've got to beef that up.”

“And if we don't get that beefed up,” Grassley said, “there's not going to be a farm bill this year. There's going to be a one-year extension.”

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FUNDING ANGST REACHES FEVER PITCH: All the focus this week will be on Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ability to wrangle his caucus to support a stopgap continuing resolution. A contingent of House Republicans are pushing for a vote on a potential CR deal this week, full of cuts and legislative proposals.

Those proposals may be able to unite the fractured House Republicans enough to lift the bill over the finish line and keep the speaker’s gavel in McCarthy’s hands (for now). But they are likely to hit the brick wall of the Democrat-controlled Senate, which would quickly reject it.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks with reporters. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo

Meanwhile, the Senate’s “minibus” that includes the Agriculture-FDA bill hit a snag after Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) objected to the bundling of the spending bills. It’s unclear how soon the impasse will be thawed.

DAIRY CLIFF: As we’ve reported, lawmakers aren’t planning to seek a full farm bill extension in any government funding deal before Sept. 30.

But, asked by MA last week, Stabenow did say that lawmakers, if there isn’t a full farm bill passed by the end of the year, will still “have to act in some way in January” (and likely in December) to head off the looming dairy cliff at the end of the year.

Stabenow noted that’s when “Depression-era” laws governing the dairy industry kick in — which is something that lawmakers across the board are trying to avoid.

A message from National Wildlife Federation Action Fund:

FOOD AID IN THE SPENDING FIGHT CROSSHAIRS: Cindy McCain, a political ally of President Joe Biden, just spent the last few days on Capitol Hill delivering her pitch for Congress to fully fund key global food aid programs as they continue to haggle over a spending deal, Meredith reports.

McCain is clear-eyed about the massive challenges ahead.

U.S. Ambassador Cindy McCain smiles as she arrives for the public ceremonial inauguration of Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs at the state Capitol in Phoenix, on Jan. 5, 2023. | Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo

Details: A sizable chunk of the House GOP caucus has expressed opposition to a $24 billion Ukraine aid package the Biden administration has requested, which includes roughly $8 billion for food assistance and other humanitarian aid.

And, a handful of key Republicans in rural districts have pushed back on far-right GOP efforts to slash funding for global food aid programs like the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, under which the federal government buys and ships U.S. wheat and other key food supplies to malnourished kids and families abroad.

On the Hill: In an interview, McCain said she received positive feedback from a bipartisan bloc of lawmakers who are trying to rally support for the funding, including House Ag members Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Tracey Mann (R-Kan.).

“We have some support,” she said. But getting the votes for the Ukraine aid package, in particular, “is going to take time.”

McCain’s argument to skeptical lawmakers: If the U.S. pulls away from its role in helping to stave off the worst of the crisis, “this will haunt us down the line,” she said. “This is a national security issue.”

Security risks: McCain is trying to convince Republicans that both pots of food aid funding are urgently needed, especially in countries across Africa and the Middle East already facing instability that are reeling from Russia’s war in Ukraine. New food shortages could easily trigger political chaos, famines or both, which in turn poses a security risk to Western countries.

WFP says it has had to cut rations for hungry populations due to higher food prices and dwindling global financial support.

Ukraine package in limbo: While McCain notes the global need for aid is immense, the push for such funding couldn’t come at a more politically difficult moment on Capitol Hill.

A majority of House Republicans are trying to pare back spending on domestic nutrition programs, including the WIC program for low-income moms and babies and SNAP.

And with food costs remaining stubbornly high at home, sending American taxpayer dollars abroad to help feed starving families and stave off conflicts in remote corners of the globe is not a priority for many lawmakers.

“It’s certainly near the bottom of the list,” a GOP aide said of global food aid.

And, amid the bigger standoff over spending, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have privately warned that the roughly $8 billion for humanitarian assistance in the Ukraine aid package is at very high risk of being stripped out. Supportive lawmakers are planning to publicly rally their colleagues in the coming days to salvage the humanitarian piece of the Ukraine package and other key food aid, according to two congressional aides.

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— Read more analysis on the IRA and the farm bill from DTN’s Chris Clayton.

— A new analysis from Jonathan Coppess at the University of Illinois sheds light on the CBO backup and a potential reference price hike.

— Some people are saying subsidized crop insurance shields farmers too much, via NPR.

THAT’S ALL FOR MA! Drop us a line: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected].

A message from National Wildlife Federation Action Fund:

Congress’ transformative investment of nearly $20 billion for on-farm conservation and climate-smart agriculture is just hitting the ground. Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been committed to farmers and ranchers, with billions on the way. For years, farmers have been asking for more technical and financial assistance to enable them to implement conservation practices that improve water quality and soil health, mitigate the impacts of floods and drought, energize rural economies and communities, and empower American agriculture to lead on climate.

More than 600 businesses, farms, and other national organizations from across the country agree: now is the time for Congress to follow through on its promise to protect this crucial, hard-fought funding for climate-smart ag.

Thousands of America’s farmers and ranchers are already on board and signed up to participate – and that’s just the beginning. This once-in-a-generation opportunity must be protected and built on in the Farm Bill.

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