Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 7/18/19

During the first year of the Trump administration, USDA staff across several agencies drafted a multiyear plan outlining how the department should help the agriculture industry understand and adapt to climate change. But top officials chose not to release the report, and told staff it should be kept for internal use only, Pro Ag's Helena Bottemiller Evich reports this morning.

The climate resilience plan was effectively an update to the department's 2010 report on climate science — a document that was made public. The new report was finalized in September 2017 and was going through an internal clearance process until a senior official quashed its release, according to a person with direct knowledge of the decision.

POLITICO reported last month that USDA has largely stopped promoting its own research on the potential effects of climate change on agriculture and public health. The department has also moved away from using terms like climate change and greenhouse gas emissions in press releases and social media posts.

A USDA spokesperson denied the department has any policy to discourage disseminating climate science or using climate-related terms. The spokesperson also noted that President Donald Trump repealed the Obama administration executive order that required climate planning in the first place.

The news that USDA officials have sat on the climate action plan for two years is sure to come up today when the Senate Agriculture Committee hosts Deputy Undersecretary Scott Hutchins for a hearing on agricultural research and farm bill implementation. The meeting follows growing scrutiny from lawmakers over the department's handling of scientific research, including calls for an Inspector General probe.

Democrats on the panel are also likely to grill Hutchins about the relocation of the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to the Kansas City area, which is causing an exodus from the agencies, according to data provided by USDA this week. The hearing kicks off at 10:30 a.m. Grab some coffee and tune in here.