The 2024 election turned out well for the nation’s cattle producers, according to National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane. “Whether it be a president that we’ve worked with before, whether it be the defeat of radical animal rights action around the country, a tremendous election cycle, and I think now eyes turn to what can …
Grassley Says Lame Duck Farm Bill Unlikely
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) believes getting a farm bill through during the lame duck session of Congress is unlikely. “I haven’t heard of any movement during the month of October,” Grassley told reporters during a weekly call on Tuesday. “We have two weeks before Thanksgiving, we have three weeks before Christmas, and the way Schumer runs the Senate that’s only …
Walz References Farmers in Debate
Minnesota Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz brought the farm bill into the debate Tuesday night, in answer to a question about when he was in China. Walz was asked about a discrepancy between when he said he was in Hong Kong in the spring of 1989 during the Tiananmen Square protests and media reports that he was not …
USDA Awards More Processing Plant Grants
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Thursday more than $35 million in grants to 15 independent meat processors in 12 states to increase processing capacity, the final installment in the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) launched in 2022. Over $325 million total investment in 74 independent meat and poultry processing projects have been awarded. Joining Sec. Vilsack in making …
ZimmCast 733 – Farm Bill and AMS
Although Cindy and I got a little break from the agriblogging highway things got busy again. In this episode I’m going to share a few interviews that have a focus on a new Farm Bill. What do you think? Is it still possible this year or will it be sometime in 2025? You will hear different thoughts from Ted McKinney, …
Farm Financial Conditions are Rough
The House Agriculture Committee convened a hearing Tuesday to hear from farmers and rural lenders about the state of financial conditions in farm country. Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) painted a depressing picture in his opening remarks. “Declining prices and cash receipts, escalating natural disasters, and increasing input costs have created a perfect storm that will compromise the foundation of …
House Ag Member Still Optimistic for 2024 Farm Bill
Republican Congressman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma still thinks it’s possible to get a farm bill before the end of 2024. “I don’t want to wait personally for January to do the farm bill… I want to do the farm bill as soon as possible,” the senior member of the House Agriculture Committee told the Southern Peanut Growers Conference on Friday …
House Ag Vice Chair Addresses Peanut Growers
Many of his Republican colleagues are in Milwaukee this week for the convention, but Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia put peanut growers and his family ahead of attending his party’s big party. “It’s not that I don’t want to be there, it’s that I have a six year old and a ten year old and I had four other things …
USDA Awards $300 Million for Ag Export Growth
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was joined by U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) to announce the allocation of $300 million to 66 U.S. organizations under the new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP) to build demand for American food and farm exports in diverse markets around the world. RAPP was launched in October 2023, authorizing $1.2 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation funding …
Future of Food & Farming Focus on Farm Bill
“All Crop Rows Lead to Washington” was the title of a Wednesday panel discussion on the National Mall led by Kip Eideberg of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) with Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) and David Rouzer (R-NC). The topic was the farm bill and its importance to rural America and the nation as a whole. The panel was part …