With Catherine Boudreau, Helena Bottemiller Evich, Maya Parthasarathy and Annie Snider

YO, NEW TRADE MARKETS, WHERE YOU AT?: Several state agriculture commissioners are growing impatient with the dearth of bilateral deals being pursued by the Trump administration during its first year in office, despite promises to the contrary. Ben Thomas, director of the Montana Agriculture Department, spoke up about the issue during one of the more chatty discussions at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture on Wednesday.

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“This administration said it would pursue bilateral agreements, but a year later … we haven’t really seen any substance behind that,” Thomas said. “In my interactions with Japan, what I’m told is, ‘No thanks, we’re not interested, but we’d welcome you back to the TPP’.”

Thomas then started a discussion on President Donald Trump’s comments last week that he would consider re-entering the Trans-Pacific Partnership if the U.S. “got a substantially better deal.” He encouraged the room to start thinking about what those terms may be. TPP was recently revived by the 11 other countries involved in the pact that are planning to sign an amended version in March.

Half of my heart is in Havana, ooh-na-na: The issue of opening up trade with Cuba also came up during the session at the NASDA winter policy conference in Washington, with a strong endorsement from Louisiana (hello to quick shipping routes!). State Commissioner Mike Strain predicted that there would soon be “some resolution” on the question of what happened with the whole “sonic attack” on U.S. citizens. (Seriously, what’s up with that?) That could help get Congress moving on the issue of U.S.-Cuba trade.

“We have Russia moving into Cuba, selling locomotives and cars, so trade there is growing and I think it’s time that we are there, that our presence be there -- and under the Monroe Doctrine it’s our duty to be there,” said Strain. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for American agriculture to trade. They’re right there. It’s $2 billion agricultural trade, but overall it’s $7-8 billion in trade.”

Congress, hop to it: Strain added that there are now more than 60 co-sponsors on Rep. Rick Crawford's bill H.R. 525 (115) to open up agricultural trade. “We must all embrace it so we can get motion through the Congress,” Strain said. “When we talk to our friends in the administration they will tell you: ‘You’ve got to get it through the Congress. If you can get it through the Congress, we can get to work.’”

HAPPY THURSDAY, FEB. 1! Welcome to Morning Ag, where your non-tech savvy host loved seeing Secretary Sonny Perdue test out virtual reality headsets at the International Production & Processing Expo yesterday. Want to shock your host with more cool ways tech is being used in ag? Got any news tips to share? Send them my way: srodriguez@politico.com and @sabrod123. Follow the team at @Morning_Ag.

** A message from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine: Americans relying on SNAP deserve healthy food. But the program also subsidizes junk food, which contributes to SNAP participants’ higher risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. A “Healthy Staples” SNAP would lower these risks by providing more fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes—while saving billions of taxpayer dollars. www.PCRM.org/SNAP **

FDA PLEDGES LEVEL PLAYING FIELD ON FOOD SAFETY: At the NASDA meeting, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb assured the audience of state leaders that the agency was looking to hold imported food to the same standard as domestic producers under the Food Safety Modernization Act. "I fully understand that your state industry wants confirmation that there will be parity between domestically and internationally produced products," Gottlieb said. "While our compliance tools for imports are different for those we plan to use domestically, I want to stress our commitment to holding imports to the same high level of public health protection is absolute."

Strategy to come: The FDA is developing a strategy document that will lay out how the agency plans to ensure foreign food producers are held to the same standards as domestic ones, Stephen Ostroff, deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine, said. "We've been working on this for about the last year," Ostroff said. "This is our blueprint and our document that will describe how we expect parity to be achieved with the new FSMA tools.”

VQIP kicks off: The FDA also announced Wednesday that it had formally opened up the Voluntary Qualified Importer Program. Created by FSMA, VQIP offers a faster review process for the entry of food products where importers are ensuring a high level of control over their supply chains -- and willing to pay a fee to participate. More from FDA here.

WOTUS, YOU MISS ME? The ink had barely dried on EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s signature after his agency issued a final rule to delay the Obama administration’s Waters of the U.S. rule when environmental groups vowed to challenge the move in court. At least three groups are promising legal action when a stay issued by Court of Appeal for the 6th Circuit is lifted (and allowing the Obama-era rule to go into effect): the National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council and American Rivers.

“EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is racing the clock to deny protections for our public health and safety. It’s grossly irresponsible, and illegal — and we’ll challenge it in court,” Jon Devine, senior attorney at NRDC, said in a statement.

Courtroom fault lines: The Administrative Procedures Act will serve as the legal battlefield. Challengers are likely to take shots at the rule over its short comment period — 21 days, including the Thanksgiving holiday. Others will also take issue with the use of the phrase “effective date” and the agency’s decision to make the rule effective immediately rather than waiting the typical 30 days after it runs in the Federal Register.

‘Certainty’ is in the eye of the beholder: Underlying the procedural arguments is a fundamental disagreement about what makes for “certainty.” The Trump administration, along with the industry groups that back it, say the delay rule would provide “certainty” — without it, the country would be a patchwork of different definitions when the appellate court’s hold lifts for the 37 states not covered by a North Dakota District Court stay.

Those for and against: “Today’s announcement is part of a measured and thoughtful process to provide regulatory certainty to farmers and ranchers while the agencies continue the important work of withdrawing and rewriting the unlawful 2015 WOTUS rule,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said in a statement.

But environmentalists and proponents of the Obama rule say the delay would undercut “certainty” since it would leave in place the muddled approach to Clean Water Act jurisdiction that all sides have complained about for more than a decade.

LIGHTHIZER PLAYS DEFENSE FOR TRUMP ON TRADE: During an appearance on Wednesday on a show on Sirius XM satellite radio, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer defended Trump’s trade agenda, saying it was an effort to ensure fairer, enforceable deals. Lighthizer also pushed back on criticism of the administration’s focus on the U.S. trade deficit, which he called “unprecedentedly large,” Pro Trade’s Megan Cassella reports.

“We all want free trade. We all learned in school that free trade leads to market efficiency and the best allocation of resources around the world and more wealth around the world, and that’s true,” Lighthizer said. “But the question is, what do you do when you don’t have free trade? And we don’t have free trade.”

Make trade fairer: Lighthizer added that Trump had instructed him to focus on adjusting the rules of trade to help reduce the U.S.’s trade deficits that are in the billions with multiple countries.

“You can argue deficits just don’t matter in some circumstances, but if you have enormous, unprecedentedly large deficits that go on for decades, you’re basically losing your jobs, you’re losing your wealth, and that’s what bothers the president,” Lighthizer said.

ROW CROPS:

— CDC director who traded tobacco stock steps down: Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, the Trump administration’s top public health official as the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, resigned Wednesday less than 24 hours after Pro Health Care’s Sarah Karlin-Smith and Brianna Ehley reported that one month into her tenure, she bought shares in a tobacco company. Fitzgerald had long championed efforts to cut tobacco use, the leading cause of preventable death. Read more here.

— Food distributors sue over chicken prices: Sysco and U.S. Foods, two of the largest food distributors in the country, are suing Tyson Foods, Pilgrim's Pride and Sanderson Farms over allegations that chicken companies have been colluding to manipulate chicken prices since at least 2008. More from The Wall Street Journal here.

— Update on EPA pesticide rule-making: The EPA by the end of fiscal 2018 intends to issue a notice of proposed rule-making to solicit input on revisions to two pesticide rules: agricultural worker protection safety standards and the certification/training of pesticide applicators. That’s according to Jackie Mosby, director of EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs, told NASDA members. The agency will be changing minimum age requirements in both rules, among other revisions.

— USDA modernizes commodity market data: The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has introduced a new web platform for commodity price and sales data in an effort to improve the transparency, accuracy and delivery speed of the information. Market Analysis and Reporting Services — known as MARS — is intended to modernize USDA Market News, the current system of on-site reporters who gather and analyze data, then issue daily and weekly reports. Read more about the project from Pro Ag’s Catherine Boudreau here.

— USDA nutrition apps scrapped: While we’re here, USDA on Wednesday announced that it’s discontinuing its SuperTracker, an online tool that helps consumers with healthy eating and physical activity. “When SuperTracker first launched in 2011, it was one of the first free tools available for diet tracking,” the USDA MyPlate team wrote in an email. “Since that time, the private sector has launched many great tools with a shared mission. It is time for us to discontinue SuperTracker so that we can invest in more modern and efficient ways to help Americans find a healthy eating style that is right for them.”

— NPA criticizes JAMA article on omega-3s: The National Products Association criticized an analysis in the journal JAMA Cardiology, which concluded that supplements with omega-3 fatty acids derived from fish have “no significant association” with reducing heart disease. More from Pro's Maya Parthasarathy here.

— House hardliners push for vote on Goodlatte bill: Immigration hawks continue to push for House Speaker Paul Ryan to move for a floor vote on Rep. Bob Goodlatte's bill, which includes a controversial text to overhaul the current H-2A guestworker program. They are threatening to withhold votes on extended government funding if Ryan doesn’t make a move, POLITICO’s Rachael Bade and Burgess Everett report.

— Cow-milking robots are the future: As the Trump administration continues to undertake moves to restrict immigration, more cow-milking robots could be soon coming to a dairy farm near you. Robots can cut the number of needed workers on a dairy farm by 50 percent, Bloomberg reports.

— China opens up to U.K. dairy and beef: Chinese restrictions on British dairy and beef imports will be lifted under plans unveiled by U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May. The move is a step toward what British officials hope will lead to a deeper U.K.-China trade relationship after Brexit, POLITICO Europe reports.

— Soda-tax case appeal: Pennsylvania’s supreme court has agreed to hear an appeal in a lawsuit challenging Philadelphia's soda tax and other sweetened drinks by the beverage industry and local retailers. More here.

THAT'S ALL FOR MA! See you again soon! In the meantime, drop your host and the rest of the team a line: cboudreau@politico.com and @ceboudreau; hbottemiller@politico.com and @hbottemiller; chaughney@politico.com and @chaughney; jlauinger@politico.com and @jmlauinger; and pjoshi@politico.com and @pjoshiny. You can also follow @POLITICOPro and @Morning_Ag on Twitter.

** A message from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine: Economically disadvantaged Americans relying on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program deserve healthy food. But SNAP subsidizes foods high in sugar, saturated fat, and sodium that the USDA itself says to avoid. That puts them at risk for diabetes, heart disease, and other problems. The American Medical Association has asked that SNAP promote healthful foods and eliminate unhealthful foods. The “Healthy Staples” plan—which would pay participating grocers to supply healthful vegetables, fruits, beans, grains, and even healthful multivitamins—could help achieve this goal. Participants choosing solely from the “Healthy Staples” plan would get more health-promoting nutrients than from a typical American diet. They would also consume 65 percent less fat, 85 percent less saturated fat, and essentially zero cholesterol. The plan could also save the USDA up to $26 billion a year. That means better food for more people for less money. Everyone wins. www.PCRM.org/SNAP **