Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee were repeatedly assured by Jennifer Moffitt, nominated to be USDA undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, that she would study issues under her purview carefully and seek input from a host of stakeholders in making decisions and that she would taken an “inclusive approach to solving problems.”
Moffitt has been a walnut farmer in California and served as an undersecretary at the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
On the coming regulations ordered by President Joe Biden to update the Packers & Stockyards Act, Moffitt said she would reach out to stakeholders across the food supply chain and “weigh those complexities, and really understand what it means for farmers and ranchers,” promising to take “a nuanced approach” to the rulemaking. She also indicated it was important to “ensure that the food system and the meat system is fair and competitive.”
There were no specifics offered by Moffitt relative to several issues, a situation which can be typical for nominees to various government posts that require Senate confirmation and it is a pattern seen with many other appointees to such roles across the Biden and prior administrations.