By RACHEL LANE

D.C. correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Some tough questions were asked at a hearing last week that the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held to get an update on the implementation of programs in the 2018 farm bill.

Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Censky focused his opening comments on the different areas of the farm bill and how they are progressing. Then committee Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) was acknowledged for her five minutes, during which she voiced concerns about the Market Facilitation Program (MFP), which is in place to help farmers affected by export tariffs.

She said 95 percent of the top payment rates are going to counties in the South, while 77 percent of the lowest payments are being made to farmers in the North and West.

"We work really hard to make sure the Midwest and the North are viewed equally in terms of (agriculture) ... We are seeing the payment rates clearly going to Southern countries and commodities despite the fact the North and Midwest have been hit the hardest," she pointed out.

As an example, Stabenow explained cotton farmers are getting payments at the top rates, but cotton prices were up in 2018. Soybean farmers, on the other hand, are being paid at the lowest rates, despite being directly impacted by the trade war with China. Those farmers faced significant losses in the sale of their crops and increased costs to transport them to new markets.

“Do you think that’s fair? And equitable?” she asked Censky.

He said the formula was carefully considered when it was developed and the USDA’s chief economist continues to review the formula and the payments. He said they work hard to use a consistent approach, and counties with a higher percentage of heavily-impacted crops will receive more money. Actual geography is not considered.

Stabenow countered that she didn't see evidence the formula is fair.

Her additional concern regarding the payments was that the Senate worked hard to negotiate the farm bill crop insurance programs to cover all commodities in an equitable way, but the MFP does not use that formula, negating the work that was done. Censky said his office would follow up with Stabenow regarding the formula for MFP.

She also asked about changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) the USDA is making. Proposed changes to SNAP was the largest area of contention when passing last year’s farm bill, and few of these proposals were accepted into the final bill.

"The USDA has continued to ignore what we did in the farm bill, ignore the votes that we had, rejecting these, and proposed rules that make major changes to SNAP that are going to take away food from families," Stabenow said.

Censky told her the changes are being made to prevent states from manipulating loopholes in the system that would allow more families to qualify for SNAP, and make sure everyone receiving benefits is qualified.

Stabenow finished her time by saying the USDA seems fine with inequalities in the MFP program, but wants to restrict assistance to families regardless of circumstances.

"On Tuesday, the USDA acknowledged that the categorical eligibility rule would impact school meals. We believe the analysis is still flawed, and it ignores many of the rule’s consequences," she said. “The fact of the matter is we’re looking at nearly a million children that will lose access to meals, as well as other impacts."

Another member of the committee asked about ethanol mandate levels, which the EPA announced in June. Censky said there has been forward motion on the issue and the EPA is determined to make President Trump’s goal.

A rural health liaison position is being researched. Censky's office at USDA is working with the Department of Health and Human Services to find someone to work in both departments, since the HHS has access to different data that will be important to the position.

He said the Dairy Margin Coverage program has finished signups for 2019. About 23,000 producers signed up and will receive about $300 million for 2019 alone. Signups for 2020 have recently begun.

The National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank is moving forward. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service sent letters to manufacturers of different vaccines to determine what is available. Their responses are being reviewed now.

"I think that the animal disease prevention and preparedness provisions in the farm bill are one of the most important provisions that were included in the farm bill, and so it’s our pleasure to move forward on implementing that," Censky added.

By the end of the year or early in 2020, he expects to have a plan for what types of vaccines and quantities are needed, and information on what other vaccine banks in the world are doing.