Source: POLITICO, 10/7/17

Bill Northey and Greg Ibach sailed through their 70-minute nomination hearing on Thursday, roughly half of which was intros and opening statements. Chairman Pat Roberts hopes the painless affair will be prelude to quick confirmation of Northey, as undersecretary for farm production and conservation, and Ibach, as undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs. If Roberts gets his way, the committee will hold a markup on the sidelines of a floor vote "immediately" after the upper chamber returns from recess on Oct. 16, and promptly send the nominees on to a final vote. 

So what did we learn about Northey and Ibach? In short: Not much. The bulk of the questions from the six lawmakers who chose to ask any were addressed to Northey and focused on changes that senators would like to see made to the Conservation Reserve Program. Since Northey's answers consisted mainly of promising to look into issues and work with lawmakers, the hearing offered more of a glimpse of challenges that lie ahead in farm bill negotiations than a sense of Northey's priorities.

For Ibach, the hearing was easy like Sunday morning. The few questions senators posed to him were mostly aimed at oversight of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which is responsible for controlling and responding to pest and disease outbreaks. Leading APHIS "is perhaps one of the most important roles I'll serve in USDA," he told Roberts, adding that he will take that responsibility "very seriously." 

Next up: After the full Senate votes on Northey and Ibach, the committee will turn its attention to the nominee for USDA general counsel, D.C.-based regulatory lawyer Stephen Vaden, and Sam Clovis, the controversial nominee for USDA undersecretary for research, education and economics. Roberts told reporters after the hearing that "we are going to push for them as soon as we can," though he added there is "some paperwork that's still out there that we need, and we will just have to get that done." 

Roberts called Northey and Ibach "eminently qualified," but he didn't go that far when pushed on Vaden and Clovis, saying the committee has yet to fully review their credentials. "That will come later," Roberts said. "They will stand on their merits and how they answer the questions" posed by the committee.