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Farm Bill Attention Turns to the House

Cindy Zimmerman

The Senate passed the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 by a vote of 66 to 27 on Monday evening, putting even more pressure on the House of Representatives to complete its work to get a bill to conference and passed by the end of summer. Representative Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), a member of the House agriculture committee, is …

Audio, Farm Bill

House Ag Ranking Member Comments on Farm Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

The full Senate is expected to begin work on a new farm bill today, but the question is will the House ever do the same? In a telephone press conference on Friday, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Congressman Collin Peterson (D-MN) admitted they will have challenges facing us when whenever they do get the bill to the floor, but he …

Audio, Farm Bill

Senate to Consider Farm Bill Today

Cindy Zimmerman

The full Senate is slated to begin consideration today of the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 passed last week by the agriculture committee. “This is the biggest jobs bill we will pass in any Congress,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) meeting with farm broadcasters last week. “It’s time to get it done.” Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) also …

Audio, Farm Bill, NAFB

Cotton in the Committee Farm Bills

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Cotton Council (NCC) is pleased with the farm bills out of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees this week that make some pretty significant changes in the cotton program to hopefully provide final resolution of the longstanding Brazil WTO case. “The focus has been to try and come up with farm policy for cotton in the new farm …

Audio, Cotton, Farm Bill

Senate WRDA Passage Important to Corn Growers

Cindy Zimmerman

The Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) by a wide margin on Wednesday paving the way for upgrades to the inland waterways system important for farmers. The National Corn Growers Association Chairman Garry Niemeyer says those inland waterways, in particular the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, are an important route for moving our corn to markets worldwide. “It’s …

Audio, Corn, Farm Bill

Farm Bill Now?

Cindy Zimmerman

Last year the rallying cry of agricultural organizations for a “Farm Bill Now” fell on deaf ears in Congress, but this week’s actions by both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to pass a bill is leading to new hope that it might finally happen. “This provides a great reason for optimism we will have a new long-term farm bill …

Ag Groups, Farm Bill

House Ag Passes Farm Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

The House Agriculture Committee passed the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 by a vote of 36 to 10, officially putting on their hats and adjourning at a quarter before midnight in the Eastern time Wednesday after more than ten hours of farm bill markup considering 100 amendments. “This is an adventure that started several years ago,” …

Farm Bill

Senate Ag Committee Passes Farm Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

In just a few hours with almost no changes, the Senate Agriculture Committee voted 15-5 today to approve the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013. “This bill reflects agriculture’s cuts from the sequester and goes beyond that in spending reductions by making tough decisions and setting priorities that make sense for farmers, families, and taxpayers,” said Committee Chairwoman …

Farm Bill, NCGA

Senate Farm Bill Markup Today

Cindy Zimmerman

The Senate Agriculture Committee meets this morning to consider the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013, their version of a “Farm Bill.” Yesterday, farm broadcasters meeting in Washington D.C. had the chance to interview a number of representatives from various agricultural and renewable fuels organizations and most of them had something to say about what the House and …

Ag Groups, ASA, Audio, Dairy, Farm Bill, NAFB, NCBA, RFA

Farm Bill Top Issue at NAFB Washington Watch

Cindy Zimmerman

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 …

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