The defeat of a five year farm bill in the House of Representatives was unexpected and disappointing to agricultural organizations looking forward to getting some certainty for the future after last year’s drawn out battle that ultimately ended in a one year extension of the 2008 bill. “The American Farm Bureau Federation is highly disappointed the House did not complete …
House Speaker Supports Farm Bill
Speaker of the House John Boehner says he would vote for the House Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM) of 2013. “I’ve got concerns about the farm bill, as I told our members,” Boehner said during the Republican Leadership press conference Wednesday. “But doing nothing means that we get no changes in the farm program, no changes in …
Senate Passes Farm Bill – Again
By a vote of 66 to 27, the full Senate passed its version of a 2013 Farm Bill Monday evening, much to the relief of agricultural interests. “America’s farmers greatly appreciate the leadership and bipartisan efforts by the Senate to complete their work on the farm bill,” said National Corn Growers Association President Pam Johnson. “We also recognize the efforts …
AFBF Pleased with Immigration Bill Progress
The immigration reform bill passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday retained the farm labor provisions that the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) supports. “We believe this bill will help ensure an adequate supply of farm labor but also will provide an increased level of surveillance of high-risk areas along our borders,” AFBF president Bob Stallman said in a …
Farm Bill Top Issue at NAFB Washington Watch
As both the House and Senate Agriculture committees are marking up their versions of a farm bill this week, that was the number one issue for farm broadcasters meeting in the nation’s capitol for their annual Washington Watch. Mary Kay Thatcher with the American Farm Bureau Federation sees few major differences between the two committee drafts released last week. “If …
Farm Bureau Sends Up Farm Bill Proposal
The American Farm Bureau Federation sent a farm bill proposal to Capitol Hill this week that offers a diverse mix of risk management and safety net tools to benefit a wide range of farms and it saves $23 billion compared to the cost of continuing the current program. “We’ve tried to look at providing farmers a three-legged safety net stool …
Zimfo Bytes
The American Soybean Association announced the regional winners of the 2013 Conservation Legacy Awards program. The American Farm Bureau Federation announced that Dale Moore will lead the organization’s public policy department. USDA reports U.S. commercial red meat production for December was down five percent on the year at 3.997 billion pounds. After seeing the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates …
dishNET Learning From Rural America
DISH Network wants everyone in rural America to have internet access. That’s why they launched dishNET last fall. Now they’re going a little further by bundling DISH tv & entertainment with dishNET. They’re also reaching out to rural Americans and various organizations to find ways to capitalize on the economic and educational opportunities that internet access provides. I found them …
New Farm Bureau YF&R Chairman
The new Chair of the AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee is Zach Hunnicutt, Nebraska farmer. Many of you may follow Zach on Twitter @zhhunn. Now you’ll be following his travels in his newly elected position on this important Farm Bureau committee. Here’s Zach doing one of many media interviews at the AFBF annual meeting. I had my turn. Zach …
Talking Social Media at Farm Bureau Convention
Social media showed up on the program at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting program a number of times. One of the sessions, “Social Agriculture: Social Media’s Role in the Industry,” featured Zach Hunnicutt, AFBF YF&R Committee; Katie Pinke, PinkePost.com; Ryan Goodman, AgricultureProud.com and Janice Person, Monsanto. I visited with Janice about their session which was moderated by Melissa …