A diverse coalition of agricultural organizations that came together during the 2008 Farm Bill debate under the name Farm Policy Facts announced that they are stepping up education activities during the 113th Congress. Farm Policy Facts will communicate with the media and members of Congress via regular email alerts that will include a mix of farm policy news, detailed analysis …
Vilsack to Host #AskUSDA Twitter Chat
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will host a live Virtual Office Hours session next week on Twitter to answer questions on the important role of rural America to the national and global economy, increasing agricultural opportunities in U.S. communities, and the importance of passing a five-year Farm Bill. According to USDA, Secretary Vilsack will answer Twitter queries such as: • What …
Economic Outlook for Pork Industry
Pork producers were well represented at the recent National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s Trade Talk. I sat down with National Pork Producers Council economist, Steve Meyer. Steve shared his thoughts on the 2012 growing season, as well as his outlook for our next fiscal year. “It’s been a tough year because of the cost of production. The drought drove corn …
US Wheat Associates Fight For Farm Bill
US Wheat Associates sat down with me during the National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s Trade Talk to discuss how their checkoff dollars are used to promote and market US wheat and what the lack of a farm bill come January will mean to US wheat producers. Dan Hughes, Vice Chairman for US Wheat Associates, shared his passion for the industry …
Ag Group Leaders Trade Talk on Policy
Having the National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual meeting start the day after a presidential election gives leaders of agricultural organizations plenty to talk about at Trade Talk. In this edition of the ZimmCast, we hear from farmer leaders, lobbyists and staff members with eight different agricultural and renewable energy organizations commenting on the election, farm bill, fiscal cliff and …
Agri-Pulse Poll Favors Romney
A poll for election day shows way more farmers say they are voting Romney over Obama for president. According to the Agri-Pulse Farm and Rural Poll released today, 78 percent of farmers polled are voting for Mitt Romney in the presidential election and a majority blame Democrats for failure to pass a new farm bill. “We wanted to see not …
Expiration of the 2008 Farm Bill
The National Corn Growers Association has joined with other agricultural organizations on the following joint statement on the expiration yesterday of the 2008 farm bill: The 2008 law governing many of our nation’s farm policies expired on Sunday, September 30th, and the 2012 Farm Bill needed to replace it is bottled up in Congress. While the Senate and the House …
House Says No to Farm Bill Now
No farm bill for now. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) told reporters last week before Congress called it quits that they would deal with a farm bill after the election because he did not believe there were 218 votes to pass either an extension or new legislation. “The current situation that we face is that we’ve got people …
Call from the Combine for Farm Bill Now
Congress is back in session for a couple of days this week, but all indications are that no action will be taken on a farm bill at this point before the current bill expires. Knowing how fluid the situation in Washington can be, that’s no reason to give up hope yet and National Corn Growers Association president Garry Niemeyer says …
Discharge Could Re-Charge Farm Bill
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have resorted to unconventional means to try and force a farm bill to the floor for a vote. Congressman Bruce Braley (D-IA) formally filed a “discharge petition” on Thursday in an effort to bring the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act passed by the House Agriculture Committee on July 12 to …