The Farm Bill is still up in the air on Capitol Hill, and that’s why the folks at Farm Foundation have set up another of their free forums not too far from where Congress will be discussing the legislation’s future. In this next forum on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at the National Press Club in downtown Washington, D.C., the group has …
Farm Bill Top Topic at NAFB Trade Talk
For the third year in a row now, the main topic of discussion at the NAFB Trade Talk was farm bill, or lack thereof. Despite reports that high hopes are fading for a farm bill yet this year, the ag group representatives we talked to were still cautiously optimistic. “I think progress is being made and I’m still confident that …
NCBA’s Government Affairs Advocating for Beef
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) attended this year’s NAFB Trade Talk event and I spoke with Colin Woodall, Vice President of Government Affairs, while stopping by their booth. Colin voiced that it is an exciting time to be part of the beef community. He admits herd numbers are down, but that it means people are making money. Beyond cattle …
USDA’s Drive in Support of Rural Communities
USDA Rural Development was on hand during last week’s NAFB Trade Talk to share their work with rural communities across the United States and promote the use of #MyFarmBill. I spoke with Colleen Callahan, Illinois State Director for Rural Development, during the event and she was eager to express their commitment to rural communities and their passion for brining value …
Ag Secretary Visits NAFB
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack made a trip to Kansas City to visit with farm broadcasters during the 70th National Association of Farm Broadcasting Annual Convention. The Secretary centered his comments around the RFS announcement, record levels of exports, drought issues and of course, the farm bill. Vilsack started off by thanking all the farm broadcaster for the work that they do …
Catfish on the Farm Bill Conference Plate
Catfish was a word only heard once in the first farm bill conference committee meeting, giving some hope that it might be one of the less contentious issues in completing the legislation. “We’re certainly hopeful of that,” says Gavin Gibbons of the National Fisheries Institute, which has been actively engaged in the push to repeal the USDA catfish inspection program …
#FarmBill Trends on Twitter
People actually seemed to be paying attention to the first House Senate Conference Committee meeting on the farm bill Wednesday. #FarmBill was a trending topic on Twitter for awhile during the meeting. There were lots of tweets on the King amendment regarding interstate commerce of agricultural products since HSUS is opposed to it, and also plenty of #SNAP comments. There …
Rep. Kristi Noem Unplugged
Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) took advantage of last Thursday’s bonus day off from Congress to head back west and meet with some of her peeps at the AgFirst Farmers Cooperative in Aurora, SD. Noem, who is a member of the farm bill conference committee scheduled to begin meeting this week, kicked back with a couple of the coop members and …
Farm Foundation Talks Farm Bill Conference
The farm bill is coming closer to becoming reality, as Congress is about to start the legislation’s Conference Committee. Our friends at Farm Foundation will take a look at how work is progressing on the bill and how the outcome may effect the nation’s food and agriculture system during its next free forum, Wednesday, Nov. 6 from 9 a.m. to …
FAPRI: New Farm Bills Have a Lot in Common
Now that the House has named members for a farm bill conference committee and agreed to actually go to conference with the Senate, there is renewed hope that we may yet see a new five year farm bill. All they have to do now is work out the differences between the two versions. Pat Westhoff, the Director of the Food …