ASTA’s Payton Englert discusses upcoming changes at the Federal level and an interesting session at the Field Crop Seed Convention coming up next month in Orlando.
Editor’s note: This interview took place just prior to the 2024 Presidential election.
Payton Englert is the director of government affairs for the American Seed Trade Association. She recently sat down with Seed World to discuss the lack of a Farm Bill, upheaval in the Federal government and what it all means for seed industry advocacy.
She highlighted the significant political shifts on the horizon and their implications for the seed industry. Speaking at a pivotal moment in the electoral cycle, Englert detailed ASTA’s proactive strategies, preparation for political transitions, and plans to engage with new Congressional leadership.
“I think no matter who is elected, we’re going to see changes all across the board, whether it be political appointments or, you know, main policy priorities that we can expect to be pushed forward for the next four, even four years,” Englert said. “So, like I said, an exciting time, uncharted territory in many ways, but I think, right now we’re kind of in a wait-and-see time and making sure we have our strategy set for no matter who takes office.”
The delayed Farm Bill, a key legislative priority for the seed industry, was also a major topic of discussion. Englert explained the impact of the election cycle on legislative activity.
“I think we’ve kind of all been on the edge of our seats for several months waiting to see if we see any action with the Farm Bill,” she said. “The election, it threw a mighty wrench in that plan with Congress people all over the country campaigning for their own races, or helping out to campaign for various presidential races as well. So it’s a busy time, and I think the election very much sucked the air out of the room in terms of what the main focus and priority is on Capitol Hill.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming year, Englert underscored ASTA’s commitment to building relationships with new political appointees and Congressional members.
“No matter who’s in office, whether they’ve been president before or not, there’s going to be new political appointments at various agencies, and then, of course, we’ll have new Congress with new fresh faces in both the House and the Senate, and that lends way to us doing a lot of education and informing people about the seed industry and our priorities,” she said.
Englert also previewed a highly anticipated session at ASTA’s upcoming Field Crop Seed Convention titled “Ballots to Bills,” where former political appointees will provide bipartisan insights on the future.
“One main component of that session that we’re really looking forward to is having former political appointees from both sides of the aisle,” she said. “That’s not every day you have two people, with maybe differing opinions on how we should do things, sitting at a table together, telling us what we can expect no matter who the next president is.”
