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 Farm Bill Comments
There was not much discussion as the full Senate considered and voted on the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 Monday evening, but a few senators had some comments. Prior to the vote, Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) talked about the hard work the Senate has done to pass the second farm bill in two years …
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 …
Farm Bill Attention Turns to the House
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 …
House Ag Ranking Member Comments on Farm Bill
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 …
Senate to Consider Farm Bill Today
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 …
Cotton in the Committee Farm Bills
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 …
Senate WRDA Passage Important to Corn Growers
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 …
Farm Bill Now?
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 …
House Ag Passes Farm Bill
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,” …