Biocom California Brings Energy & Ag Executives to Washington, D.C.

On May 8-10, Biocom California hosted our 2023 Energy & Agriculture Biotech Fly-In, one of our signature federal events. California executives flew to our nation’s capital to meet with high-level regulators and legislators, advocate for issues impacting our industry, and influence major policies such as the President’s Biotech and Biomanufacturing Initiative and reauthorization of the Farm Bill.

We kicked off our 2023 fly-in with a welcome dinner which allowed participants to network, share their priorities and goals for the event, and prepare for upcoming meetings. This year’s participants represented small and large companies working in cellular agriculture, plant-based foods, plant-based material and innovative crops and traits.

On day 2, participants had the unique opportunity to discuss the President’s Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative, access to capital, manufacturing & scaling-up, and labeling with officials at the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

On day 3, participants advocated for changes to USDA’s loan guarantee program and biopreferred program in the Farm Bill, which is being reauthorized this year for the next five years. They met with the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Scott Peters, as well as the offices of Reps. Salud Carbajal, John Duarte, and Doug LaMalfa.

This was Biocom California’s seventh fly-in. Every year, our fly-ins focus on a specific sector of our industry to allow for targeted and productive conversations. Past fly-ins have included Rare Diseases, Digital Health, Precision Medicine, Oncology, and Regenerative Medicine. If you want to participate in future fly-ins or learn more about the program, please contact Biocom California’s Senior Director of Federal Policy and Government Affairs, Laure Clark.