Virginia Houston
The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) has an interest in several titles of the farm bill, so the organization is making preparations for the 2018 legislation.
The research title is extremely important to the industry, and trade promotions are absolutely critical, Jane DeMarchi, VP of Government and Regulatory Affairs and Virginia Houston, Associate Director for Domestic and Government Affairs for ASTA reiterate. But it’s conservation that got a lot of attention at the recent annual meeting.
“Part of our membership segment supply conservation seed that goes for the farmers to implement these programs and just like the farmers you’re hearing are having difficulties with program efficiencies and deliveries, so do seed suppliers,” explained Houston. “So we’re really looking at how can the seed industry help NRCS and help the farmer partners improve the program efficiency– make them more cost efficient and also help them meet conservation goals.”
ASTA’s Jane DeMarchi
ASTA will work with a lot of partners to meet these goals, but most especially their members. The process is already rolling along; members of the working group heard a first draft last week at the meeting and now staff members will head to the hill to find out how the ideas float with lawmakers and other stakeholders.
Learn more about ASTA’s work on the farm bill in Cindy’s interview here: Interview with Jane DeMarchi and Virginia Houston, ASTA