Election season is just around the corner. Whether hitting the poles early or voting on Nov. 8, everyone across the country is reporting to their voting locations for Midterm Elections. Why should it matter this year? In 2022, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate will be contested.
For the agriculture industry with an upcoming farm bill, this midterm election could mean a lot of regulatory changes, depending on who wins the majority in the House and the Senate.
On Thursday, Oct. 27 at 12:00 PM CDT, four panelists are joining us on our next Seed World Strategy Webinar to help us learn where policy shifts might happen and what the seed sector needs to be on the lookout for. Joining us are:
Janae Brady, vice president of Government Affairs for the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). Brady joined the ASTA team in 2020. She served as staff for Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry during his time as both Chairman and Ranking Member. Most recently as Senior Professional Staff, she advised the Chairman on policy issues including international trade, agricultural research, biotechnology, crop protection and agricultural defense. Brady successfully led negotiations on the trade and research titles during Senate and Conference consideration of the 2018 Farm Bill. Additionally, Brady represented the Chairman during the consultation process for multiple international trade negotiations, including the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Bart Fischer, co-director of the Agricultural & Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University. In addition to serving as co-director, Fischer also serves as an AgriLife assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and as senior advisor for Federal Relations in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Agriculture and Life Sciences. Fischer teaches agricultural and food policy to approximately 170 undergraduate students each spring semester, and his applied research focuses on solving real-world policy problems for agricultural producers and on anticipating potential policy changes for Congress to consider. Before joining the university in September 2019, he served for more than 8 years at the Committee on Agriculture in the U.S. House of Representatives, most recently as the Deputy Staff Director & Chief Economist under the leadership of Ranking Member K. Michael Conaway (TX-11). He was involved in virtually every major agricultural policy development in Washington, D.C., during his time with the committee, including helping craft and pass the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills.
Mary Kay Thatcher, senior manager, Federal Government & Industry Relations for Syngenta. Thatcher joined the Government Relations team for Syngenta in February 2018. Prior to that, she was a lobbyist for the American Farm Bureau Federation for 31 years. In that role, she lobbied primarily on issues covering farm programs, crop insurance, conservation and credit. During her tenure at Farm Bureau, she also spearheaded the organization’s participation in farm data, security and privacy. Thatcher served in the first Bush Administration as a political appointee, as the director of congressional and public affairs of the Farm Credit Administration. In that capacity, she was responsible for the policy direction and management of the agency’s congressional and public affairs activities. She began her career as a legislative assistant for agriculture and trade to Senator Roger Jepsen of Iowa. She is a graduate of Iowa State University where she earned degrees in animal science and agricultural economics.
Laura Wood Peterson, owner of Laura Wood Peterson Consulting, Inc. Wood Peterson and her team advance federal policy solutions focused on strengthening opportunities in rural America. By championing issues across the seed sector, she draws on over fifteen years of experience in natural resource and agriculture policy nationwide. Prior, she led federal government affairs for Indigo Ag, Syngenta and the National Association of Conservation Districts. Wood Peterson is a member of the Kansas Bar and attended Kansas State University and George Washington University Law School, where she taught American Politics as adjunct faculty in the Undergraduate Political Science Department.
Make sure to register for Thursday’s webinar today to get alerted for the live panel and the recorded replay.
