At the North American Agricultural Journalists meeting in Washington last week, three panels discussed regulation, innovation and sustainability.

Helena Bottemiller Evich also discussed Food and Drug Administration Deputy Commissioner for Foods Jim Jones’s comments on applesauce in the Friday edition of Food Fix.

Panel 1: “Reignite Your Regulatory Watch”

Rod Snyder, senior adviser for agriculture at the Environmental Protection Agency, noted that the final decision on the release of the Biden administration’s GREET model for evaluating fuels under the Sustainable Aviation Fuel tax credit will come from the Treasury Department, but he said Treasury is working with EPA, USDA and the Energy Development to develop its policy.

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Snyder said there will be 10 employees in the new agriculture office he is heading.

Robert Bonnie, USDA undersecretary for farm production and conservation, said that the practices allowed under the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities may be broadened.

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Jim Jones, deputy commissioner for human foods at the Food & Drug Administration, said FDA has asked Congress for authority to mandate finished product testing for products marketed to infants and young children.

Panel 2: “AI, Automation and Emerging Technology”

Walt Duflock, senior vice president for innovation for Western Growers Association, said fruit and vegetable farmers are interested in expanding the use of robots to counter the difficulty in bringing foreign farm workers into the United States.

If U.S. agriculture can’t figure out how to do more with fewer workers competition with Latin America will be so great, Duflock said, “the old adage ‘Go west, young man’ will be ‘Go south, young man.'”

Richard Hung, assistant director of the Science and Technology team in the U.S. Government Accountability Office, said there are opportunities and hazards for agriculture in using artificial intelligence.

Peter Liebhold, emeritus curator of industry and agriculture at the Smithsonian Institution, said American agriculture has been engaged in innovation for more than 100 years but there have been winners and losers along the way.

Panel 3: “How Sustainability and ESG is Transforming the Food Industry”

Dan Christenson, senior director of government affairs at PepsiCo; Mike Aquino, director of ESG at International Dairy Foods Association, and Eric Mittenthal, chief strategy officer at Meat Institute, all said the companies they represent will continue efforts to achieve environmental, sustainable and governance goals, even if the Securities and Exchange Commission will not require the reporting.

The executives said that investors, consumers and foreign and state governments are demanding the information.

Farmer Bill Beam talks about service in Washington

Bill Beam, who operates Beam Farms in Elverson, southeastern Pennsylvania, and served as deputy administrator for farm programs at the Agriculture Department’s Farm Service Agency in the Trump administration, told the North American Agricultural Journalists about his experience.

In a presentation promoted as “A Farmer Goes to Washington,” Beam said his life had been broadened by the experience and said he urges other farmers to become active in their farm organizations, which can often lead to opportunities to serve at the national level.

Beam noted that his introduction to agricultural leadership was as an appointed member of the United Soybean Board for nine years. In this role, Beam traveled internationally promoting U.S. soybeans and export markets. He also served two years on the United States Soybean Export Council and held leadership positions with the Pennsylvania Soybean Board.

Beam Farms plants and harvests mainly wheat, corn and soybeans and also operates a bulk sawdust and shavings business serving dairy and horse farms throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey.