The American Seed Trade Association and the International Fresh Produce Association opened their Washington spring meetings Monday.

ASTA and IFPA are both meeting at the Grand Hyatt Hotel and coincidentally will both be sending their members to Capitol Hill on Tuesday. 

Turner Bridgforth, the senior agriculture adviser to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, told ASTA that the Trump administration is determined to speed up approvals for seeds and chemicals, while Agriculture Deputy Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Brooke Appleton noted that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ priority is to put farmers first.

Neither took questions from the stage, but were available to speak to attendees individually. 

At sessions today, each group prepared their members to talk to members of Congress and their staffs about their priorities amid the reconciliation bill also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the farm bill, the agriculture and Food and Drug Administration appropriations bills, President Trump’s tariffs, and the report of the Make America Healthy Again Commission. 

ASTA said it will send 17 teams of members to emphasize the importance of agricultural research, environmental regulation including biotechnology, domestic and international protection of intellectual property rights, the impact of tariffs on international trade and strengthening  conservation and commodity programs. 

IFPA showed a slide that summarized the group’s priorities: farm labor including H-2A foreign workers; funding to encourage consumption of fruits and vegetables through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and school meals; specialty crop programs in the farm bill; adequate funding for the Food and Drug Administration food safety programs; and nontariff barriers to trade. 

Both groups will lobby for funding for the Agriculture Department’s trade promotion programs. 

At 5 p.m. ASTA will host a reception in Room 385 of the Russell Senate Office Building. 

At the same time, IFPA will host its annual Joy of Fresh reception of the courtyard in the Rayburn House Office Building.