Costa hosts Farm Bill Listening Session in California

Hearing

Congressman Jim Costa, a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture, hosted a Farm Bill listening session in Fresno, California. The purpose of the listening session was to gather input from farmers and consumers as lawmakers prepare to craft the upcoming Farm Bill.

"The Farm Bill provides critical support to farmers from crop insurance, farm loans to disaster assistance as well as provides funding for critical food assistance and wildfire suppression," said Costa. "As we prepare to craft the upcoming Farm Bill, it's critical to gather input and hear directly from Californians impacted by this legislation. These discussions will help us implement policies to better equip farmers, improve conservation, suppress wildfires and feed those going hungry."

The House Agriculture Committee has conducted several hearings in Washington, DC focused on the 2018 Farm Bill and improvements that can be made in the 2023 Farm Bill. This series of listening sessions, entitled "A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Perspectives from the Field," allows lawmakers to hear directly from folks on the ground and to discuss issues related to the Farm Bill, and its impact on the San Joaquin Valley and California.

California is the nation's leading agricultural state, over a third of the country's vegetables and two-thirds of the country's fruits and nuts are grown in California. The San Joaquin Valley is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world and is home to four million Californians. The Valley grows more than 250 commodities, which accounts for $17 billion of combined income per year. In 2020, Fresno County was named the nation's leading agricultural producing county.

Last year, 174,900 participants -- 23% of residents in California's 16th Congressional District -- received benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), ranking #2 in California. Fresno is considered the third hungriest city in America, that is why SNAP is so critical to fighting hunger in the Valley and nationwide. Learn more here.

In the last decade, California experienced 16 extreme weather events, which cost the state between $50-$100 billion in damages. According to the latest Verisk estimates, in California, there were more than 2 million properties at high to extreme wildfire risk in 2021. With the impacts of climate change and other factors, California is expected to experience a long wildfire season this year.

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