what is the proper place for this tax money. so, i think this will be an ongoing conversation in the future . >> next week, both the house and senate will release their legislation public way, that was supposed to happen early this week but it was delayed because of the passing of george hw bush and the ceremonies to honor him. so, everything has been pushed back to early next week but i think it will be a fast-moving process because i'm sure we will have the votes . >> that's catherine who reports in agriculture discussing the farm bill . >> this is barbara glenn, the ceo of the national association of state departments of agriculture, joining us to talk about our culture policy .

>> tell us a little about your organization, what it does and your role in it. >> i am the ceo of the national association of the state department of agriculture, our mission is to really create consensus around sound agricultural policy. we do that between the state department, the federal government and stakeholders but, our members are the commissioners, secretaries and directors of state departments of agriculture in all 50 states and four territories. in that role, i am uniquely the chief egg co-regulator with the federal government and also an agricultural ambassador . >> is this farm bill a sound policy decision? >> we need a farm bill. yes. this is good to have, we have to get this past next week. here is the story about agriculture, we provide,

economic viability, $1 trillion to the u.s. gdp, even million dollars so agriculture is important to the u.s. economy. all of us eat and we all enjoyed the sustainability and affordability of foods so we need a farm bill. right now, add is struggling -- the usda said farm income may be down 12% this year. the bottom line is we need the farm bill and were looking forward to its passage and that our members are keen on getting that . >> did this drop become because of trade policy? >> it's a conglomeration of things coming in this year, trade stability hasn't been helped. >> the impact on farmers, is is because of tariffs put in place by the trump administration?

>> the farm industry is the number one industry affected by trade. our top legislative priority will be passed by the um ca but that's a win for agriculture, complements for this point but we've got to get it over the line. that's just one. we need new free trade agreements, ag trade is a huge aspect of viability for the american farmer . >> are conversation on the farm bill and agricultural policy continues. . if you work in the agriculture industry and want to give your thinking on the topic, (202) 748-8002 p and you can post thoughts and comments on twitter. portions are previous guest talked about in the farm bill was subsidies for farms. can you make the case for why

farmers need that kind of thing from the federal government? i'm sure you have heard they don't. guest: one of the portions talked about previously was subsidies for farms. can you make the case why farmers need that kind of thing from the federal government? >> yes i can. we've heard the dialogue, more than ever commissioners secretaries had a viable secretary in the state, crop insurance, these are provisions that enhance the farm sustainability and economic viability. it's a huge title in the farm bill. we actually don't advocate and work on it specifically because of the commissioners and it's not the area we feel we can impact directly but it provides certainty and we need that certainty in these times of low revenue and high times for the economic downturn . >> to all farmers need that type of assurance? >> in general, it's important

to say that there needs to be equitable provision across the farming industry the support of those who grow our food, so yes, it's something that we watch, we are hopeful that the status of it in the current bill will pass. >> is there a concern that it won't? >> no, not in our mind. next week, the guests said we have to see the conference report approved, we know there's a will, political will and an enthusiasm to support agriculture by the administration so we expect the bill to pass. >> when it comes to the commissioners perspective, what's the most important feature >> we look at several priorities, pedro, one of the ones we see in a forward lane and new modernize farm bill is animal health and disease preparedness. we've been working on that on both sides the aisle, both the house and the senate that we are pleased that the committees are looking for a mandatory baseline funding for that

funding. this is the number one first stop when there's an animal health outbreak or disease situation, we work very closely with the u.s. department of ag. this whole package in the current version right now will help states react to these animal health issues . >> give me a for instance . >> we had a influenza outbreak and it was devastating, the loss to our poultry farmers was huge. our commissioners secretaries and direct others were working very closely with industry, stakeholders, congress to stamp this out. that type of economic impact is

huge, not just on the loss of the birds into the farmer directly but it ripples through the entire food chain . >> how would animal health change, is it because of the money or process, can you give an example? >> the package includes the ability to respond when we identify disease outbreak and the ability to identify and mitigate and prevent these from coming and it has a provision for the vaccine bank for the protection of our animal. it's a three-pronged approach and holistically it includes a state block grant program and we are very much looking forward to having that in the final bill and we expect it to be there . >> we have a call in maryland, go ahead. >> nicholas in maryland, hello? >> we will try renie who is in

california, san jose . >> good morning. >> i'm going to mention the pharmaceutical industry. its global and it makes a lot of money and i just kind of want to know how the pharmaceutical -- that farmers have to buy in drought areas, there's like a water supply issue and is there anything being done about the overhead on the pharmaceutical trap that farmers are being put into? does it have anything to do with the bill? >> you have a very broad question there with a lot of avenues but i can tell you this, agriculture relies on the innovation and discovery of new technology and in that regard we've advanced precision agriculture with drones that we

used to assess our feels the rush-hour fields of. there's a lot of technology addressed including the entire phase which we enjoy the benefits of since the mid-1990s all commodity crops today. taken as a whole, the relationship between industry and tech providers, those tools and farmers, they've been very positive and it's the reason u.s. agriculture is so successful in the reason we've been able to increase our exports and the reason we have a safe and affordable food supply. in addition to that, -- thank you for that question. johnny, go ahead . >> hello.

i like to ask a question, i'm 85 years old i've been retired since 65 and i've tried to give help -- get help from social security in west virginia and it's no go. i get $16 in food stamps and that doesn't last half a day, so, i don't understand how some people with two or three children can get eight or $900 and that's actually used to work for the county. i'm just wondering i get 900 400 -- $949 in social security, $300 from retirement from the county and i can understand why i can't get help i might get thrown out of the house because i can't stop a lot of the water

leaks in the roof and all that stuff so they have to kick us out i just don't understand how some people can just be so lucky or whatever. >> thank you for your call, johnny. god bless you and thank you for sharing your story. i hear you. nafta has supported the unified farmville since day one including the agricultural safety net and also the snap , food stamp program, the largest portion in the farm bill so we are standing with you for low income americans and folks like yourself, we know these programs are critical for you and i guess i would offer that you need to call your local u.s. department of agriculture, the secretary is very high and had the highest priority on customer service and i'm sure

they want to serve you and answer your questions about your particular benefit. we know how important they are, you are one example to advocate for this. >> we focus on the priorities that insurers can affect in the individual states and from state perspective but we certainly understand what is trying to be done there to increase work requirements and it looks like we will go with the senate version next week in the conference report. so, we will continue to work in our partnership with the federal government on whatever action is taken and finalized on that bill. >> the next call from michigan, this is rico you are on and you working agriculture, good morning . >> hi. i was wondering if you could speak about any changes in the

industrial hemp industry, is it going to be rescheduled from a schedule one narcotic, willoughby crop subsidies, -- will there be crop subsidies, can we export products and can we do banking in the hemp industry? >> thank you for your question. you've hit a hotspot, new value- added production for agriculture that i think will provide a future for new products and new profits for farmers, thank you for asking about it. yes, the farm bill already has provisions for research and education around industrial hemp that we are hopeful that the next bill which does include significantly advanced programs and also support the bill sponsored by mr. mcconnell which involves changing it from a class i level, changing the

classification and allowing more freedom for industrial help to become an agronomic crop that farmers can rely on and consumers with many valuable products that can be beneficial thank you for your call. it's an emerging crop and it's coming. we are working on it . >> i don't think we've even got to the place where we seen these being added to the farm bill . >> industrial hemp is a crop that's been used for cyber production and other benefits for consumers, way back to the romans. but i think it's just a matter of, as we look across the span and the available cropping system, it's on a search and there's a lot of interest in our states and many members are dealing with how to wrestle with these various programs and provide the opportunity for farmers to participate in research and we look forward to

commercializing . >> you spoke about the previous trade agreement with china and mexico . >> we need trade stability, it looks like there is a formation of a 90 day negotiation period whereby we may not increase our tariffs on january 1 so, secondly there were sweeping statements about exports and purchases from china. the devil is in the details but that was a good positive sign with positive leads on the trade front with china whose one of our top trading partners . >> this is jessica, go ahead . >> good morning, i just wanted ask a question about the impact

and nationally, the question is that it's kind of known that farming allows wonderful benefits unfortunately, it also impacts the water quality and also, there is residual impacts on the food we eat from pesticides and herbicides. we've also had tremendous problems with chicken farms throughout the chesapeake bay region and the impact on water. i was just wondering if we could speak a little to what is being done broadly to some of these issues? >> thank you for your question.

i want to start by saying farmers are the first environmentalists, there's definitely a very close relationship between farming practices and environmental quality, both of which together provide sustainable affordable food so environmental polity is a top priority for agricultural and farmers and we recognize we need resiliency so we can address some of these issues talking about water quality and availability and disease outbreaks. these are continuously occurring and happening to farmers. we've had this on our radar associated with the changing elements of the weather. we worked closely with the usda to the conservation title and,

farmers are good stewards to the land and i can assure you that in every state they are working with the state department of agriculture implementing programs on the farm that allow us to recover the nutrients so they are not running off into the water and maintaining water polity. there also very attentive to health and these are areas of a voluntary incentive-based program that is farmers adopt these they say benefit and there are benefits for consumers. but the good question is definitely tied together, food and agriculture, environmental polity, they are basically sisters and we place all that at a high priority together . >> what is the organization's position on climate change? >> we understand the weather patterns are changing, the climate is changing and the

focus is how we can have enhanced the resiliency for the adaptability that farmers and growers and livestock producers can take part in to assure that the animals are well cared for and the plant health is good. the three areas mentioned in the climate assessment are deemed to be areas where production activity will go down if we don't fix the water availability, soil erosion or pest and disease outbreak. farmers are continuously adopting programs to react to changing weather. industry counterparts. are thepartments of ag first line of defense when there is a plant outbreak, disease, animal outbreak. we take this very seriously, we have robust programs and involvement of farmers to react to the climate. host: when the trump we involve other stfarmers to react . >> so when the trump administration takes its stand

on climate change and root rejects it, what is your reaction from you and those you represent . >> nasa provides a scientific basis so were strong looking at the data and having the best quality data to review. i think we don't look at climate change in a political sense. we know farmers are the ones with their boots on the ground every day, we are really confident . >> i'd like to know if the agricultural department insists on growing natural food and not food that has crops sprayed with gmo's, we know this is poisonous and why do we have to go buy organic foods when we

can't get natural foods? i would rather eat a warm then eat food that has been sprayed with chemicals. i know you ban the use of gmo's . >> good question. first of all, i want you to know that the state department of agriculture supports all methods of agricultural production, whether it's conventional production, biotechnology, all other forms, organic -- regenerative agriculture, etc. the reason we support all methods of production is because farmers and their families are engaged in these methods and consumers are interested in the products. we support all methods. so, for me from a caller in virginia, it's not about either or and we choose from the foods

with different methods of reduction. with brief -- respect to the health, they are safe and distinct but sometimes there are reasons a consumer might want to eat a worm out of an apple as you said or have an organic apple. so, we respect that and it's vital to the department of agriculture. sam in new york. good morning.rk. caller: how are you? host: fine, thank you. for taking myyou >> thank you for taking plmy ca. please be patient with me, i want to tell you something

that's not related to your subject. >> as far as the actual documents for the house and senate versions of the farm bills when should we see those? >> how much activity talking with key members and what's a good question to ask and what you are wanting to see . >> pedro, the work has been done . nasa has been working on both sides the aisle with the ag committees with house and senate so based on those relationships we are excited that we are excited about the outcomes we might see in the final bill that we know what's in there and it's just a matter of letting them do their jobs