Ag Legislation Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. The challenges for agriculture aren’t going away any time soon and will still have to be dealt with in the new year.
But before 2023, Mary Kay Thatcher, Syngenta’s Manager of Government & Industry Relations, says the Farm Workforce Modernization Act needs a lot of action in this lame duck session …
THATCHER … “I look at it and I think that there are so many Republicans saying, I am not willing to move on this until I figure out what to do about the Mexican border and it’s not under control yet, and until it’s under control, I’m not moving on immigration.”
Sadly, Thatcher says the will may not be there …
THATCHER … “And then you get people who say, well just move the ag stuff forward. Well, the rest of the immigration review crowd isn’t going to let that happen because they’re afraid that, you know if we get our way, and we’re almost always the loudest and most vocal, then they won’t ever get their way. So, I just don’t see how we get a deal forward.”
Beyond that, Thatcher says trade really needs some work …
THATCHER … “Well, I don’t fault this administration for going in and working sanitary and phytosanitary issues and environment and all those kinds of things, I think in agriculture it’s going to be really important to go cut some new free trade agreements and to deal with tariffs, because other countries around the world are doing tariff reductions and if, you know, they reduce tariffs and we stick with our high ones, well we’re going to lose.”
Thatcher says, somethings got to give.
