00:00It was expired in, at request of the secretary and in consultation with the minority.
00:06We're going to do two more questions and then take a 20-minute break and then reconvene.
00:12And I will keep an order of those in the room at the time of the break so that that will be the order when we come back.
00:21And I'll announce what time that is when we see when these next two individuals are done.
00:27So at this point, I'm going to recognize Mr. Johnson from South Dakota and then in the direction of the minority, Mr. Jackson from Illinois.
00:38So Mr. Johnson is recognized for five minutes.
00:41Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:42Madam Secretary, I feel like we're talking to a member of your team every week on something or other.
00:46So I'm going to walk through six issues and then just you can comment on any of them that you like.
00:51First off, I want to thank you for working with us to provide some relief to that South Dakota ranching couple, the Mauds, just that it should never have gotten to the point it did.
01:01And thank you for your team for seeing the wisdom forward, common sense.
01:05Number two, I want to affiliate myself with Mr. Costa's remarks about high path avian influenza, still a tremendous threat.
01:14And as he said, not just to poultry, but also to our herds as well.
01:17And then I was grateful to see your five prong plan had vaccines as an important part of it.
01:23I think there's been some concern that maybe the priority in USD shifted around a little bit.
01:28And so I just want to highlight the incredible work that a number of companies, including MedGene, are doing in developing some really powerful vaccines that I think are the long term solution to this problem.
01:39Not even long term.
01:40I mean, just the solution here, I think sooner than we realize.
01:42Number three, forestry, Mr. LaMalfa said it well.
01:46I mean, we've got a lot we need to do out in the forest.
01:49I mean, a managed forest is a healthy forest.
01:52We have a million acres of national forest land in the Black Hills.
01:56And it's been a long time since we've been able to hit the data driven harvest targets.
02:04We have had mills closed, lots of jobs lost.
02:07When we lose that infrastructure, it's almost impossible to ever get it back, which means the forest turns into a tinderbox.
02:14I've got confidence in your team.
02:16I just think Mr. Schultz, Mr. French, I enjoy working with them.
02:20So I just want to thank you and ask you to continue to back their efforts to approach this issue with some real urgency.
02:28I think we're making progress, but we've got a ways to go yet.
02:31Number four, I want to thank your team for the incredible responsiveness they have shown in working with South Dakota State University in making some alterations to what is now known as the Producers First Program.
02:42This is going to show us the way forward on some resiliency in how we feed and make sure that the bison and the cattle can get to market and that nutrition is a key part of what they do.
02:53Because we still want to discover some research and how to do better.
02:57Number five, I met with a few dozen dairy producers.
03:01And ma'am, this is not going to come as any surprise to you.
03:02They have a real anxiety in farm labor.
03:06And some folks are not sure how they're going to hang on.
03:09And I just, they view you as a huge leader.
03:11They view you as a critical, I mean, this problem will not get solved without Brooke Rollins.
03:16And they believe in you, ma'am.
03:17And if there's anything I can do to help in developing solutions so we can not just in dairy, of course, this is a bigger problem.
03:23But we've got to find a solution.
03:25And finally, number six, and then I'll shut up.
03:28Trade, you know, just little old South Dakota.
03:31We export almost $6 billion a year overseas in ag.
03:35That's $6,000 a year for every single South Dakotan, every single year.
03:41Clearly, this committee, strong believers in MAP, FMD.
03:45And I know you're a strong believer.
03:47And I would just ask you to continue to be a strong voice for more trade, which will make America stronger.
03:54And I know that's where the administration's headed.
03:56What am I missing, ma'am?
03:58I think you covered it very well.
04:00I just want to start with the last one first on the trade.
04:03And I'm not sure if you were in the room, Congressman.
04:05But the encouragement that I have received just in these first few international trips has been remarkable, in fact, stunning.
04:13I think that the world is ready to recalibrate.
04:16I think that the president has been such an effective leader on this.
04:19I know the uncertain times our producers are feeling there's no one who's operating more on the margins than our farmers and ranchers understand this.
04:27The president certainly understands it.
04:28But I do believe, with every fiber of my being, that this era of unlimited or unprecedented prosperity for our ag community is just around the corner because of these trade renegotiations.
04:43I'm just really, really sure of that.
04:45I also want to comment on the timber piece of this.
04:47I was just in the Oval Office yesterday with the president talking about timber, talking about the firefighting, because they're, as you know, interwoven inextricably.
04:56And I think that we're going to have another meeting tomorrow in the Oval Office.
04:58On the issue, the president has been resolute in the increase of 25 percent in timber production, which, by the way, that will be the same number we had 30 years ago in 1994.
05:09Since then, our entire timber industry, as you know from your state and others, has been decimated.
05:14So the focus, the investment, the putting our timber industry back at the front of the line to ensure they're able to do and thrive, but also on the back end to mitigate against more and unnecessary fires,
05:27it continues to be a priority of this administration, and I'm really, really proud of that.
05:32With that, Mr. Chairman, the secretary and I have solved all the problems, and I would yield back.
05:37I think we're done here.
05:38And by the way, you're unflappable.
05:39I did not know that my mean comment about Iowa and Jess would be picked up by you.
05:43It was mostly for your staff's benefit, but you're unflappable.
