Advocacy in Action: Landline transition, water board, biomass definition, Farm Bill 2.0 and farm aid

Landline transition

California Farm Bureau submitted comments to the California Public Utilities Commission on its proposal to transition landline telecommunications to new technologies.

The comments urged the commission to protect 911 access, service reliability and infrastructure standards, increase staffing, and ensure customer notification and oversight.

California Farm Bureau is part of a legislative coalition on the topic, legislation of which is anticipated to be pushed again this year.

Water board

California Farm Bureau is litigating two cases involving the California State Water Resources Control Board’s review of the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Board’s Agricultural Order 4.0. 

Farm Bureau is challenging the regional water board and state water board’s determination of what constitutes a legally adequate economic analysis of new permit requirements. Farm Bureau is also opposing various environmental groups’ challenge of the state water board’s decision to not require nitrogen discharge limits and nitrogen application limits for irrigated agricultural operations. 

Both Farm Bureau and the environmental groups filed their opening briefs on Feb. 13, 2025. The two hearings will likely take place in September.

Meanwhile, the state water board’s second statewide agricultural expert panel continues to meet to discuss nitrates leaching to groundwater from irrigated agriculture and possible statewide nitrogen-related regulatory limits on nitrogen application and nitrogen discharge. 

The panel’s recommendations will be compiled into a draft report, which will soon be released for a 30-day public comment period. The expert panel last met on Feb. 11 and will next meet on March 11. 

Farmers and ranchers are encouraged to attend and provide public comments on current on-farm nitrogen-related practices. California Farm Bureau will join with other agricultural groups to submit united comments on the draft report.

Biomass definition

California Farm Bureau joined in a letter sent to Congress this month urging a legislative fix to the definition of “woody biomass” under the renewable fuel standard. The letter included more than 500 organizations and individuals from across the country. 

The letter said the current definition is too narrow for real-world application, effectively precluding its use as an eligible feedstock. It also said the definition discourages investment, leaving valuable biomass unused, and hinders improvements to forest health, wildfire resilience and rural prosperity.

Farm bill

Text of the “Skinny” Farm Bill, also known as Farm Bill 2.0, was released earlier this month by Rep. G.T. Thompson, R-Pa., chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. 

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed last year, included several items that would typically be part of a full farm bill reauthorization. A critical piece of that legislation included changes and funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 

The bill is expected to be marked up starting this week, with early discussions suggesting it could take several days to conclude. This means the House Agriculture Committee will discuss the bill at length and likely consider a long list of potential amendments. 

In California Farm Bureau’s initial review, the bill makes a number of improvements that would benefit California farmers, including changes to crop insurance that give extra attention to specialty crops; new funding for market access programs and research; and improvements under the forestry title for regulatory reform and wildfire mitigation. 

The bill also includes language aimed at limiting the impacts of California’s Proposition 12 on other states. The 2018 voter initiative prohibits the sale of pork, veal and egg products unless they are produced in compliance with the state’s livestock housing requirements. 

In addition, the bill effectively provides federal preemption to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on pesticide registration. Both provisions are likely to receive significant attention during deliberations. 

Farm aid

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has created the Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers Program, which gives clarity and direction on how the $1 billion set aside for specialty crops, sugar and other commodities will be distributed under the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program. 

Late last year, the $12 billion aid package was established to serve as an economic “bridge,” supporting farmers until changes in reference prices and other commodity support programs take effect next year. USDA has provided a full list of eligible commodities for the program, payments of which are based on reported 2025 planted acres. 

Eligible farmers should ensure their 2025 acreage reporting is factual and accurate by March 13. Commodity-specific payment rates will be released by the end of March. Crop insurance linkage will not be required for the program.