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Legislative Updates

Adam Nielsen, director of national legislation and policy development in the governmental affairs and commodities division of the Illinois Farm Bureau, discussed legislative updates and ways the Illinois Farm Bureau brings its members’ priorities to the attention of legislators during The Chicago Farmers’ November 8, 2021, Zoom meeting.

Nielsen, a veteran lobbyist who has been with IFB since 2000, said the IFB prioritizes members’ issues and strives to keep these issues in the forefront of the legislators’ agendas. “Our goal is to turn our member-driven policy and emerging problems into federal priorities and occasional wins,” said Nielsen. “At the same time, we work to keep our members engaged and keep them informed about key events that impact agriculture; we work to get our friends re-elected.”

He went on to say that priority issues fit the IFB mission statement: “To improve the economic well-being of agriculture and enrich the quality of farm family life.”

Nielsen said the policies that concern farmers and the IFB touch all matters. A case in point was the reaction to the potential loss of the “stepped-up basis.” He said that members reacted strongly with 2,152 members sending messages to President Biden, Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, and numerous U.S. representatives. There were 8,660 connections and within days key Illinois Democrats were on record to protect the stepped-up basis. “It’s a good chance we avoided a big change,” said Nielsen.

Nielsen said that IFB is policy driven, not ideological. He noted it was difficult to be an advocate with so much social media in place. Nielsen related that quite a bit of time is spent “putting water on rumors.” He cautioned people against being bearers of rumors and hearsay because it impedes the IFB’s work.

He said that the IFB works to maintain good relations with people and groups that one might not expect, such as the oil industry when the use of ethanol is the subject. However, most of IFB’s efforts target eight U.S. representatives and the two U.S. senators from Illinois, their staff members and committee staff members. “We work with other associations, coalition partners, and, if necessary, sworn enemies,” said Nielsen.

Nielsen said that the passage of the infrastructure bill was a win for agriculture because it provides funding for roads and rail systems, ports and inland waterways, power, broadband, and drinking water infrastructure, all of which benefit agriculture. He pointed out that the bill is partially funded by unspent Covid relief money. “I believe we will see economic growth due to the investments made possible by the bill,” related Nielsen.

Nielsen said that he and the IFB must be cognizant of how people are “really doing.” He said that not everything is a priority or a crisis and groups have to be cautious about what they want to push forward.

“I know IFB has many members who think that the spending in Congress is excessive; however, agriculture has been the beneficiary of some of this spending,” said Nielsen. “It is important to keep a low profile on criticizing the spending; we don’t want to appear ungrateful.”

He noted that in 2020, farmers had received $25 billion in government payments, which included ad hoc support, farm program and conservation payments. At the same time, there was $86 billion in farm-related net farm income from crop and livestock sales minus federal support. The federal support accounted for 29 percent of net farm income.

What’s next?

Nielsen said that Build Back Better received a little bit of new life and was pared down and narrowed; however, it does have climate provisions. He pointed out that IFB members “were spooked” by the possibility that the IRS would have the capability to look into bank accounts, but that has been dialed back.

He went on to say that Build Back Better does not contain a carbon tax, a cap or regulatory program. He said the IFB will monitor BBB and will read the provisions very carefully to ensure they don’t adversely affect agriculture. He said there has been much concern about the possibility of methane taxes imposed on cattle or hogs, but there is no evidence of that.

Currently, Nielsen is busy with the 2023 Farm Bill. Thus far, he has been involved in 18 meetings around the state during August and September that included some 25 hours of discussion and input from about 350 members. He said among the recurring themes are:

• Crop insurance is essential
• People are not sold on a permanent disaster program
• Conservation programs are popular and generating more interest
• Dissatisfaction with rules and the quality of technical assistance
• ARC-PLC was irrelevant
• Trade is essential

Nielsen said there have been meetings with the administration and discussion included beefing up conservation programs with approximately $25 billion. I want to be sure that provisions are workable for our members,” said Nielsen.

He noted that the farmers’ image is important and IFB has been battling some issues. He said that farmers have received billions of dollars of ad hoc assistance and that has generated skepticism, “just short of outright hostility toward them.”

Nielsen said that farmers’ sustainable soil use and conservation efforts are powerful points to stress. They demonstrate what farmers are doing to contribute to conservation.

Nielsen discussed the recent redistricted map of Illinois and said it was “horribly gerrymandered.” He said that while there were losses for agriculture, the new map provides opportunity for IFB to connect with legislators who previously did not have a footprint in rural areas and educate them about these areas’ needs. “We will work with these legislators in an effort to make them more responsive to us. I intend to build a relationship with these legislators and bring them into the rural areas and acquaint them with our members,” said Nielsen.

In response to a question about off-site slaughterhouses, Nielsen said there was a likelihood that this could occur. He said that the USDA announced the availability of $400 million. He said this was the time for groups to work to access some of this funding for smaller slaughterhouses. “I am taken by the number of our members who have small beef herds and are selling directly to the consumer,” Nielsen remarked.

Regarding progressive tax issues versus the moderates, Nielsen said the progressive element does not have a good understanding of agriculture and its needs. He said it was necessary to make this group understand that any dramatic changes will be harmful to many families.

Nielsen said that pre-Covid, he sponsored trips to Washington D.C. for three groups each year. Due to Covid related restrictions, things have been altered. He said that there are not many in-person meetings. While some representatives are having dinner with constituents, their offices are minimally staffed. The Illinois delegation has adapted well to virtual meetings. “We are still able to get our message across, but things are not as personal as they were,” Nielsen shared.

Regarding constituents contacting legislators, Nielsen said letters should be sent to representatives and senators and then a follow up phone call should be placed. “I would be happy to help you in making these contacts,” Nielsen offered. He added that he was open to hearing thoughts from people in agriculture regarding renewable fuels and electric vehicles. “I want to make sure that we avoid any dramatic changes in policy coming out of Covid,” Nielsen said.

In response to a question about the 2022 Congressional races, Nielsen said that historically there has been a negative reaction to the party in power. “I would bet that the Democrats will struggle to keep the moderates elected; the party is moving to the left and it will lose some voters in the middle. The Progressive influence will not help the party’s efforts to win rural seats,” he said.

He added that if the Republicans become the majority in the House and the Senate, the 2022 Farm Bill priorities will be a bit different. He shared, “There will be an interest in giving farmers the tools that are needed to conserve the soil; there will be almost zero interest in carbon.”